Vesak/Wesak in NSW and Sussex

The full moon day of the western calendar's month of May signifies different things to various Buddhists. Most recognize it as theBuddha's birth date, with others additionally accepting it as the date of the Buddha's enlightenment and/or his physical death/passing into nirvana. Whichever major event(s) is/are recognized, many Buddhists celebrate in some way around this time.

When I was living in Wollongong, NSW, Australia, the local Nan Tien Temple had a May festival in the park or the mall commemorating the Buddha's birthday. Sydney also has such an event annually held in Darling Harbor. The Vietnamese temple down the street did not seem to have anything going on and may or may not have celebrated privately rather than publicly.

In Brighton, England, the Wesak Festival lasts from 24th to 30th May and there were events going on including free meditation classes and an open day at the local Buddhist Center. I have not investigated the goings on at the Shambhala or Thai Forest Buddhist communities, as they are also too far from where I live for me to actually attend. Maybe in a few years time, I will be able to travel further and participate.

This year, I decided to hold my own private recognition of the day - which I view as celebrating all three events. With the enlightenment being the key feature, I decided to run my day at home centered on this. A symbolic 36-hour water-only fast, followed by a meal based on rice being the key component, and various reflections, readings, a CD-guided meditation session, and Tibetan Heart Yoga practice all on the agenda.

Overseas Relocation...

I spent most of May-November 2009 studying the ACI classes, Shantideva, and various other books. Since December began with 2 days of teachings on Nagarjuna from HHDL, it then petered out into very little reading or study.

Now that I have safely arrived in England, I have settled down and have time to recommence my studies - but, I no longer have an internet computer at home.... I cannot therefore commence course 8 ACI studies, only read the 8-9 books I already own. (The closest library has none on the subject, and I have yet to check out other local libraries.)

However, this has not put a stop to my Buddhist practice - on the contrary, I have had ample opportunity to PRACTICE what I have been learning over the past few years.

In the mornings, I spend 2-3 hours sitting on the floor in the family lounge focussed ON a topic and focussed OFF my dad's snoring/radio station. During the day, I have the chance to hold discussions, practice compassion and other internal mental matters, and in the evenings I retire and can read/meditate for several hours before sleep.

Life here is very different - but it just offers me the chance to explore a different aspect of Buddhism. Less book and more action!

Relocation blogging break

Just a quick message to any regular readers, to let you know that I have not stopped writing my BITW blog if you find no new posts over the next 1-2 months.

I am relocating to the other side of the planet, and I may be without internet access for some time - other than weekly visits to a net café - as I do not have a credit card or yet have a local bank account to organize ISP payments 'instantly' and my son may need to borrow my new-computer-savings for a rental bond.

I hope to re-start my blog writing within 4-8 weeks of the New Year. In the meantime, I shall endeavor to continue my studies of previously learned ACI courses (1-7), Shantideva, and PRACTICE…

HHDL in Sydney December 1&2

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to be among circa 5000 people in attendance at HHDL's Nagarjuna teachings. This was a major event for myself, as I am sure it was for most of those attending the events offered. Not only had I not left my locality or traveled by train in over a year, but I had never before attended an event with HHDL or an 'official' teaching.

Several things stood out for me. Firstly, although the crowd was not entirely made up of Tibetan Buddhists, there was a strong representation of such among those present. Having had no contact other than through written texts and online groups with such, it was a relaxing and enjoyable experience to be in the same building with so many people practicing the same path as I for the first time.

Secondly, it is the first time that I have heard HHDL speak. I have read many of his books and several articles about him - but never before heard his actual voice. Despite his mentioning that he had flu and sneezing and snuffling on occasion, he spoke very calmly and clearly - and in very good English for a non-English speaker.

Thirdly, I noticed the importance of HHDL to the Tibetan population. Whereas I and many more respect and appreciated HHDL, the Tibetans seemed to cherish him considerably. This was brought out when a chanting-meditation session lead by a Tibetan woman occurred shortly before an afternoon session. It made me realize just how important this man is to the Tibetan people and allowed me to appreciate his presence even more myself.

Finally, it was a wonderful opportunity to connect to the Tibetan people and learn of their culture. Among the various activities, were Tibetan music played during the lunch break, many stalls with information, books, and contact to Tibetan people and groups, and a display of Tibetan traditional dancing performed in front of HHDL!

It was a totally exhausting experience also - as I had circa 2 hours travel before and after an all-day event two days in a row! I had to apply strong concentration during both the teachings and the meditation sessions that I attended - though I had relaxation time out while eating my lunch - they catered well, having both very-tasty vegetarian and vegan wraps!

Sudden changes

Buddhism recognizes change, thankfully. I am not without assistance therefore, when encountering major changes arriving in rapid fire. Although I would like to have a 'slow down' button to press, I think that I am doing 'ok' at least, if not pretty good, with all the change happening this month and next.

After wishing that bureaucratic institutions would hurry up a little, I am suddenly finding the last few pieces falling into place and my own life needing to speed up to handle everything. This time last week, I was looking at waiting 4-9 weeks before moving overseas. Yesterday, it shot forward to '13 days time'.

Within these last 13 days, I have tickets to attend H.H.D.L.'s Nagarjuna teachings in Sydney, an adult son to re-house, a 3-bedroom home and yard to clean and tidy - and pack or sell…

Buddhism has not left me screaming in chaos - although my heart might be pacing a tad faster. I can fall back into knowing that I am moving for the right reasons, to the right place, at the right time, to do the right thing. THIS time, I am moving because of the needs of others rather than a desirous heart, to offer assistance rather than seek out a dream, and to practice Buddhism in my life rather than wish I had more opportunity to act.

UPDATE: I wrote this blog yesterday, aimed at posting it today - already another change has arrived - due to my son's accommodation falling through, I am going to be delayed back to waiting 6-9 weeks after all...

UPDATE: But coming online today, I see my son should be eligible for said accommodation and may be able to pursue it after all. This means I may still be traveling in less than 2 weeks time OR in 7-9 weeks... and do not yet know!

I seem to be on a rapidly moving see-saw between helping my father by being THERE and helping my son by being HERE... Buddhism has taught me that providing I can eliminate any personal desires and emotions, and focus on these two people and the situation, I should not suffer whichever date I fly or way life turns...

Without Buddhism, I would be screaming in the midst of a chaotic mess right now!

Short quotes

"We humans are the only species with the power to destroy the earth as we know it. The birds have no such power, nor do the insects, nor does any mammal. Yet if we have the capacity to destroy the earth, so, too, do we have the capacity to protect it." ~ HHDL

"Silence your own emotions, and those of others sound far clearer. When you learn to focus on your clear light mind and cease to become obsessed with your own emotions, you become free to empathize with other sentient beings. You will then find yourself picking up their emotions. This can be an extremely confusing stage if you do not know that you are taking a step closer to becoming a Buddha." ~ a friend of mine

"How 'whizzzzzzz' and 'zzzzz' are rectified in meditation needs to be applied to the whole of one's life - especially when life is spent mostly in meditation!" ~ me

A problem to solve

I can understand the principle of offering assistance to others, but I am still learning how to actually put this into practice. Obviously, when encountering real life rather than contemplations, readings, or plans, there are going to be some difficult situations to learn from. I am currently experiencing one such matter.

There are two separate beings that I could assist. However, I cannot assist them both at the same time. The reason for this being that they live in separate countries and need physical presence as a part of the help required.

I find myself willing to assist both and able to assist either - but not both at once. Both have major temporary problems, both are related to me as family members, both have been analyzed and are free from personal preference or 'my choice', and both are counting on me - but, there is only one me and I am unable to assist both at once.

I have tried entering the know-zone, but the preparations for my upcoming travels, difficulty with another problem, compulsory brain-washing courses, and trying to organize an overseas relocation for 'soon' are somewhat limiting my ability to rest there.

I therefore estimate that my lesson to be learned here is not am I or am I not willing to help, nor can I or cannot I help, nor am I free of personal desire in making a choice, but something else. Perhaps I have to practice waiting patiently for answers to 'appear', maybe I need to use communication with one whilst actualization with the other, or perhaps I have to find some other track from which to analyze this…

Whatever happens, whatever I decide, I am bound to learn something new to help my studies - at least I have that!