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Archive for category Anyen Rinpoche Biography

Earthquake in Tibet

Apr 14

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Tibet | 5 Comments

Anyen Rinpoche wanted to thank everyone who has sent emails today inquiring about the health and safety of his family in Tibet.  The recent 6.9 earthquake that hit Tibet, thankfully, did not hit near his village this time.

I was reminded by a Sangha member, Julie, this is still a great opportunity for our e-sangha  to join together and pray for those who were injured or killed by the earthquake.  Let’s all take a moment (or more…) to do that today.

Here are a few links to the news on the earthquake:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/04/13/2010-04-13_earthquakes_strike_chinas_western_qinghai_province_leaving_at_least_67_dead.html?ref=rss

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/04/13/magnitude-quake-hits-chinas-tibet-region/

I also heard that some monasteries collapsed in the quake, but I couldn’t find a link.  Please feel free to add that to the comment sections of this post if you find it…

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Disappointment

Apr 12

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Personal Transformation, Teachings, Tibet | 12 Comments

How many times in our lives have we tasted the bitter flavor of disappointment?  Disappointment steals the wind from the sails of even the most optimistic and driven among us.  We feel heavy and weighed down, as though we can’t breathe.  And we experience true humility when we recognize, for painful moment (that sometimes seems to drag on forever) that we are not capable of controlling a situation and turning it towards our favor.

In Buddhist words, we have been caught in the net of hope and fear.  Like a tar baby, the more we struggle, the messier things get.

Anyen Rinpoche offers inspiring words and stories to do with disappointment.  The one I remember most clearly has to  do with his (and my) Root Lama, Kyabje Tsara Dharmakirti Rinpoche.

http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Tsara_Khenchen_Chokyi_Drakpa

Khenchen Tsara Dharmakirti Rinpoche spent part of his life in prison.  During that time, one of his arms was broken and was never set properly.  It hung down, useless, on one side of his body.   This is just one example of  the extraordinary amount of suffering that was experienced in the jail. In other words, this must have been an excruciating experience of disappointment for all of the prisoners–it was a complete and total loss of freedom.

Later in his life,  Khenchen spoke of that time,  saying, “In this situation, you could really see who was a true practitioner and who was just pretending.  The true practitioners continued on just as they always did, they practiced diligently as if they were in retreat in a solitary hermitage.”  Other practitioners, though, were crushed by that formidable force of disappointment and hardship.

How do we cope with disappointment? I”m sure everyonge knows the unhealthy ways that we Americans tend to use–alcohol, drugs, relationships, food…the list can go on and on.  We use anything we can to avoid or  get rid of the feeling.

Rinpoche’s thoughts:

Reflecting on the truth of suffering is a powerful ally in this situation–simply reflect on the fact that many beings in the world are experiencing the same kind of suffering as you.  Rinpoche also suggests we reflect on impermanence, and gain confidence that this difficulty will pass.

I myself choose Guru Yoga, my favorite practice in any and every situation.  Over the years, I have found that focusing on my devotion in the Lama and Padmasambhava can be just the right medicine to bring me back into balance.

Allison

www.anyenrinpoche.com

PS Thanks to all of you who are now using the Khamdroling toolbar!!!

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Dedication

Apr 5

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Mindfulness, Momentary Buddhahood, Personal Transformation, Uncategorized | 15 Comments

Dedication has its own meaning in the context of the Dharma, but it is nicely complimented by a second more colloquial meaning of dedication in the English language.  For practitioners, dedication refers to dedication of merit…in other words, dedicating any good we accomplish or any virtuous activity or motivation, to the benefit of others.  In the English language, dedication has a religious meaning (that of setting something aside for a sacred purpose), but it also has a second meaning of “committing onself to a particular thought or action.”   This is a lovely addition to our normal use of the word, it reminds us of the commitment it takes to develop spiritually and, especially, to walk the bodhisattva path.

I’m reminded of the act of dedicating because we finished another year of shedra teachings yesterday.  Our marvelous sangha has nearly completed a fairly detailed study of Ju Mipham’s Beacon of Certainty.  For those not familiar with this text, Anyen Rinpoche describes it as “the bridge between the sutra and tantra, which makes the view of Atiyoga Dzogchen accessible and meaningful.”  At the end of yesterday’s talk, Rinpoche reminded us to dedicate any merit we had attained through our practice and study this year to for the benefit of all beings.  Although most of us normally do this after each session of practice, how wonderful it is to do this together as a group and focus our energy outward on others, when we are normally focusing so hard on inner development.

Wisdom Publications has published one commentary on Beacon of Certainty that you may like to review.  The extremely lucid commentary we have been studying (favored by most Tibetan scholars) was written by the great master Khenpo Kunpal and has not yet been published widely in English.

http://www.wisdompubs.org/pages/display.lasso?-KeyValue=103&-Token.Action=&image=1

How do we remember to practice dedication in our daily lives?  Rinpoche and all the great masters tell us that this is something we should do when we complete each session of practice (it is generally said that we follow three principles: starting with the generation of Bodhichitta, reflecting on impermanence, emptiness or the perfectly pure view in the middle, and dedicating the merit to seal the practice at the end).   But shouldn’t dedication also be an engaged action as well?  Of course it should be, but isn’t it one of the aspects of Dharma that is easily neglected?  I’d love to hear your thoughts about dedication…

In Momentary Buddhahood, Anyen Rinpoche spent over a hundred pages discussing how we can use mindfulness to bring any virtuous action to the level of engaged manifestation, and how this same mindfulness would lead us to direct experience of and realization of the Dharmakaya through moments of the experience of Buddhahood (hence the title Momentary Buddhahood).   So I guess the real question is, how do we train in mindfulness so that we remember to dedicate all that we do for the benefit of sentient beings?

(here’s a link to Momentary Buddhahood…)

http://www.wisdompubs.org/pages/display.lasso?-KeyValue=33086&-Token.Action=&image=1

When we do remember to dedicate the merit, it causes us to experience joy and meaning in our conventional lives, such that we almost forget we were aspiring to give away what we “have” to others…

Allison

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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The Power of Gathering

Mar 29

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Global Community, Personal Transformation, Teachings | 8 Comments

Gathering is an important word or concept in the Vajrayana.  We translate it in all sorts of ways, usually based on some expression of the Tibetan word “tshogs.”  Literally, this word is used to describe: the retinue of wisdom beings, Buddhas or Dakinis, the offering feast or practice of tsok, the accumulation or gathering of merit and wisdom, or an assemblage of practitioners.   A basic idea behind all uses of this word is that by joining or collecting energy together, more can be accomplished, more benefit can occur.  This is a logical idea of course,  but when we actually do it, it is sort of magical.

The blessings of Medicine Buddha

The blessings of Medicine Buddha

Yesterday, we gathered together to practice Medicine Buddha, to pray for the benefit of all sentient beings everywhere.  This is something our sangha began doing last year, with the inaugural Medicine Buddha Monlam in Denver last June.    The idea behind gathering together to practice Medicine Buddha is that by gathering or collecting all of our energy together, we are able to benefit more beings through our prayer and positive intentions.  Snow Lion recently did a story about the Medicine Buddha Monlam that you may want to take a look at:

http://www.snowlionpub.com/pages/N89_11.html

Gathering together to focus on compassion and the good of all beings is a wonderful thing to do.  Literally, it feels wonderful.  Not in the way of “getting something” or of fulfilling desire, but the wonderful feeling of having a genuine wish to benefit others, the experience of Bodhichitta.  We hope many of you will join us for the 2nd annual Medicine Buddha Monlam this June in Denver.    You can find more information about the Monlam here:

http://www.anyenrinpoche.com/menla.html

The opportunity to gather is a wonderful aspect of sangha as well.  When we work together, we are able to accomplish so much–we can do things we couldn’t have done on our own.  And when we relate and truly care about others, we begin to experience the world with less selfishness and self-centeredness, since we have the chance to put others before us.    With sangha, we have the chance to extend outside of our (usually nuclear) families and be part of a larger community.

In the 21st century, it can seem like community is lost.  We are too busy, too spread out, too technological, too isolated.  But when we have sangha, when we gather, and when we work for a common goal, we have the chance to feel the blessing of gathering and being part of something greater than ourselves.   Although it can be another thing on our plate, another thing to work at, it is definitely worth the effort.

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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The measure of happiness

Mar 24

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Global Community, Mindful speech, Personal Transformation, Teachings | 18 Comments

Today’s blog post is courtesy of Eileen C., who suggested that we reflect on the following (very interesting) article:”What makes the healthiest and happiest societies?”

http://www.alternet.org/story/145955/what_makes_the_healthiest_and_happiest_societies_hint%3A_it_not_rich_people_?page=1

Go ahead and browse the article–I’d love to hear your thoughts about it! In sum, the article presents the idea that it is not increased wealth that creates a happier and healthier society, but rather social and material equality.   The source of this research, epidemiologist (one who studies health and illness in different socities) Richard Wilkinson, explains that human beings feel more stress and a stronger psychological impact based on materialism in a highly stratified society.  He also asserts that in a consumerist society, we relate to ourselves as we are seen by others, which is why we compete for designer labels and expensive clothes.

As a Buddhist, I struggle with assertions like these.  On one hand, I find some Wilkinson’s ideas have the ring of truth.  And he appears to have some research to back it up.  For example, he says there are higher prison rates, teen pregnancy rates, mental illness rate, and homicide rates in countries with more social inequality (which, of course, includes the US).   Still, I wonder, even if true– how much of my time should I spend engaging in these ideas?   What benefit does it bring me to reflect on this deeply?

I am reminded of when I first met Anyen Rinpoche.   At that time, I was terribly unhappy and often confused about many things in my life.  I grasped  at (desired) others’ happiness and did not know how to find my own peace of mind.  Rinpoche’s advice to me was to reflect on the nature of samsara in every possible situation–to develop unfailing mindfulness and certainty in the fact that the outer world could never bring me happiness or satisfaction.  As a result of this serious reflection, I do carry with me confidence that the society I live in will never bring me happiness.   (This also reminds me of the discussion that developed out the last post on taking personal responsibility for ourselves and our own state of mind, rather than putting the blame on other things.   For more on this discussion, especially on the lojung slogan ‘drive all blames into one’ see the comments to the post on Imperfection).

http://mojofiti.com/anyenrinpoche/2010/03/22/imperfection/

I think my deep interest in Buddhist philosophy has caused me to have a bit of a falling out with a lot of the other types philosophy I used to subscribe to (and love to read and discuss, I should add).   Getting down to it…I think this is really what it is…I think I have lost faith in the idea of fixing society.  I have the suspicion that whatever I try to fix will still be unsatisfactory, or that patching up one part will just lead to degradation in another.   But rather than feeling disturbed by this, I think it just frees up my energy to work hard on my own spiritual practice, and do my very best to have positive and helpful interactions with others.  Perhaps this is just one aspect of “the mind’s ease.”

Allison

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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Imperfection

Mar 22

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Mindfulness, Momentary Buddhahood, Personal Transformation, Teachings | 13 Comments

Have you noticed your imperfections yet today?

Perfectly imperfect!

Perfectly imperfect!

Anyen Rinpoche often tells his students that if we are not noticing our imperfections, then we lack mindfulness, introspection, and insight into our all-so-human personalities and behavior.  Noticing our imperfections is not easy though–it takes patience to see our flaws and learn from our mistakes.   This is obviously, like everything else in our samsaric wilderness, a painful experience.

Some students first experience with meditation is the sense that their minds have become even wilder as a result of practicing meditation.  This perception, Rinpoche tells us, is the result of increased mindfulness and introspection, which cause us to see ourselves more objectively–or less like we are used to seeing ourselves.  The same phenomena occurs with respect to seeing our imperfections.  The more mindful we become, the more we notice our flaws, our habits, those same things we do over and over again without noticing.

Spirituality is truly a humbling experience.  The more we practice, the more we realize how far we have to go.  In fact, Anyen Rinpoche and other great masters tell us that too much confidence can actually be arrogance in disguise, and be a sign that we’ve taken a turn downhill.  This is always a difficult thing to discern.  Looking outward through the very small window of afflicted, conceptual mind, how do we know when we have crossed the line from self-assurance to arrogance?  How do we know when we are falling in love with our imperfections rather than working with them?

Obviously, I lack the answers to these questions.  My way is all about trial and error, and (of course) feedback from the Lama.  Those of you who are close to a Lama know that Lamas are quite skilled at discerning authenticity from arrogance–usually much sooner than we do.  There must be some infrared beam (unseen by us) that we emit…

What to do with imperfection?  Some would suggest that we celebrate it, as an aspect of humanity.  I’m not really a fan of this school of thought–why celebrate something that harms ourselves and others?  Some of us deny it.  That definitely won’t work–that’s what got us enmired in all this suffering in the first place.

Notice it?  Mindfulness is usually a surefire tool to rely upon it.  Get tired of it?  Getting tired of a harmful behavior is a crucial step towards moving past it.  Regret it?  Regret is a pure form of guilt.  Whereas with guilt we just feel bad, with regret we aspire to transform oursevlves and make a strong determination to change.   Do something new?  Yes, that usually helps, though it feels a bit crazy at first.  Do anything new?  Probably not–we might be wise to actually reflect on a better course of behavior and try it out than just to do something random.

Compassion anyone?

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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Simplicity

Mar 15

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Global Community, Personal Transformation, Teachings | 14 Comments

Simplicity is something that many of us want to achieve.  In fact, I heard Anyen Rinpoche speaking about it with a student just this afternoon.   Today, when I heard Rinpoche’s advice, I was reminded how simplicity often evades us.  We may misunderstand it completely–and how to achieve it–while we trying to force the appearance of simplicity on life.

Here are some interesting words about simplicity that I found…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplicity

Specifically, one of the things this passage says is that “simplicity denotes freedom from hardship, effort or confusion.”   Ahhh…!

At times I have heard Rinpoche give advice to Westerners who are trying to achieve simplicity through (what I call) the normal American way–having a low-paying job and a life free of responsibility.  It seems that by having less, we will naturally be attached to less.  To the (samsaric) mind, this seems logical because we don’t have as many beautiful things to be attached to.  But  Rinpoche’s advice always goes something like this: do not be fooled that the appearance of simplicity on the outside (by having less expensive possessions or a smaller house) means that your mind is resting in simplicity (defined above as freedom from hardship, effort or confusion).  Your state of mind is not dependent on how many possessions you have.  You can be just as attached to a penny as to a gold coin.

Actually, each and every one of us is “controlled” by our material situation, so to speak.  Although avoiding responsibility can seem like a good decision now, and in support of our spiritual life, when we have financial problems (especially as we grow older and become more fearful of not being able to work) the mind becomes filled with turmoil and has no freedom to think of anything else.  Actually, we are just frittering away the “leisure” (the Buddhist word for freedom to practice) of our future.

If simplicity doesn’t depend on your home and your job, then what does create simplicity?  Rinpoche says that simplicity is actually supported by two spiritual elements: mental satisfaction and proper motivation.  When we cultivate a feeling of satisfaction with what we have, we do not feel as wrapped up in or exhausted by our responsibilities.  We are more able to focus.  The mind is more relaxed, we enthusiastically share what we have with others.  We become happier people.

Proper motivation is (of course) bodhichitta, or at very least the wish that your actions can be of benefit to others.  Naturally, when we focus on the task at hand with the wish to benefit others, the task becomes more fulfilling–it has the ability to affect us deeply because we know that we are working for the greater good.  Again, we become happier people.

Safe to say–the mind, resting in natural simplicity–is authentic joy.

Another definition of simplicity is focusing on the things in the life that are the most important, and focusing less on those that are less important.  As practitioners, this is something we can all take to heart.  Most of us suffer from over-commitment, or spend time doing mundane things at the expense of our spiritual life.  Priorities and commitment…these are probably things all humans struggle with.

When have you achieved simplicity?  Or have you?  We’d love to hear from you!

Allison

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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Silver Lining

Mar 10

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Personal Transformation, Teachings, Uncategorized | 24 Comments

What is your silver lining?

What is your silver lining?

Reflecting on gratitude put me in such a good frame of mind this week that I wanted to call out to everyone to ask for your silver lining stories…

What exactly are silver lining stories, you may ask (though it may be obvious).  These are the “I thought it was bad-but-it-turned-out-good” moments in life; the times that we thought we had failed only to later realize that what had happened was much better than we could have ever planned for ourselves; moments where we feel that our lives have truly been touched  by something divine.

Theoretically, we will create a treasury of your  silver lining stories…with your help, of course.

For those of us who are on the spiritual path, I think the idea of a silver lining goes deeper than just our usual cultural proverb.  The silver lining applies to us personally, as human beings.  I have often noticed about myself–and therefore put it out there as a possible generalization to be made–that the things which I think are my greatest downfalls are actually, when put into a more balanced light, my best qualities.

You all know the usual kind of dribble and commentary that the mind engages in…we seem to have an endless supply of self-criticism (coupled, ironically, with self-centeredness and often self-righteousness)…I’m too sensitive, too intense, too this, too that…(fill in the blanks with your own mental dribble–and yes, dribble is probably the best word for it).

When I was young, growing up Catholic in the suburbs of Denver, I found most things about my life to be mentally and emotionally troubling.  I was sensitive, intense, very intelligent, and in many way different from my peers.  I constantly sensed that I was different, and looking back I know that I was different–I always seemed to be thinking about things that my peers weren’t concerned with.  I felt that I spoke a different language, almost.  For so many years, I wished these aspects of my personality would disappear so that I could find it easier to relate with other people.

Actually, it is only since I’ve gotten older that I realized that I had this in common with many other children and also many adults–the emotions of lonliness and wanting to belong are emotions that we share with others.  In any case, now so much later in life, I feel that these very qualities have turned out to be my silver lining.  Sensitivity and intensity serve me well as a writer,  in my career as a lawyer, in my role as a translator, and my (other) role as facilitating a sangha and working with Anyen Rinpoche’s dharma students.  It is like finding a buried treasure–or even something more wonderful than that because it is actually something I knew I had all along, yet did not appreciate or understand.  Yes, there is work to be done on ourselves, but isn’t it wonderful to know that we already have what we need to blossom right there inside of us already?

Perhaps this is called emotional ripening.  It has to do with the expression of bodhichitta in all directions–not only towards the other beings in our lives, but also towards ourselves.  This seems to go hand-in-hand with the confidence and realization that as human beings, we are inherently good, no matter how it seems at any given moment.  That doesn’t mean that we are perfect at this point…but it does mean we are an awfully good work in progress.

In general, this way of thinking seems very in line with the Secret Mantrayana teaching that instructs us to transform the afflictive emotions to wisdom.  This teaching presents the afflictive emotions as an expression of energy, which, when perfectly liberated (maybe for our non-Buddhist readers we could just say “brought into balance”) express as one of five kinds of wisdom.  I like to think of my life, thoughts and emotions as fodder for wisdom.

What a great word, by the way.

Allison

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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Gratitude

Mar 8

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Personal Transformation, Teachings | 7 Comments

An offering to the Lama

An offering to the Lama

Gratitude is something that none of us keep in mind enough.   Cultivating gratitude makes us feel happier and more satisfied with our lives, brings us a more positive and optimistic outlook, and also enables us to focus on the good qualities of others rather than the torrent of emotions that usually consumes us.  This is one medication we need not get a prescription for…

I wanted to take a moment to make this virtual offering to Anyen Rinpoche for the amazingly clear and incredibly profound teachings he gave the members of our shedra yesterday.  In a sense, Rinpoche is luckier than most of us–the generosity that he practices has a long lasting effect on us, and has the potential to ripen us into wiser and more compassionate beings, who then can share whatever good we have with others.   He has the satisfaction of watching what he does ripple outwards and touch  an ever-widening circle of beings on the planet.   Oh (audible sigh),  the generosity of bodhichitta…what can possibly compare?

There must be hundreds of things to be grateful for at this exact moment.  How many of them have you called to mind today?  How often does the feeling of gratitude enter your mind and heart?  How often do you feel lucky?

Actually, it is easy to see the effects of gratitude in a person.  There are all kinds of people in the world, each of whom have their own persona and are followed by an almost tangible cloud of energy.  Often, a person will be enveloped in a cloud of optimism.   I don’t think this means that the person is wholly cheerful or never experiences mental or emotional difficulty, but they have the general attitude that life is what you make of it.  When a difficulty comes up, a true optimist has the forbearance to work through it.  True optimism, it would seem to me, is a product of gratitude (rather than naivatee, as some would have you think.)   When you are grateful for what you have in your life, and grateful for each moment and situation as a chance to transform yourself into a better human being, there isn’t much negativity to dwell on.

Optimism has an interesting definition in relation to Bodhichitta:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimism

While bodhichitta includes a belief that people are inherently or basically good (i.e. every being has the ability to express compassion, even a vicious tiger cares for her young with tenderness), optimism is the belief that situations will work out for the best–in other words, one trusts in the fact that any situation is workable.  Simply the belief that a situation is workable can vastly transform our outlook and our energy.

On the other hand, you also meet people who are shrouded by doubt–who look for faults in others, are the first to complain,  and never have anything good to say.  I’m not sure if I would call this pessimism or skepticism as much as I would call it a lack of gratitude.  It is as though life, or the people in it, can never give you enough–never provide you with what you feel you deserve.

It is amazing how much happier we feel as human beings when we start to notice the good we have in our lives instead of always focusing on the negative, or trying to find faults in everything or everyone.  When we start to believe, for example, through our bodhichitta training, that people are inherently good and are sometimes overpowered by negative mental and emotional habits, we see those people as being more human and more like ourselves.  We feel warmer, more patient and more compassionate towards them.  We realize how incredibly lucky we are not to have ended up in that same situation.  A life of intolerable suffering, where we act in ways that directly and indirectly cause harm to to others, is certainly possible for any of us.

Thank you again, Rinpoche.  You are the very best thing in my life, and I will never be able to repay what you give me every day.

Allison

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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Revising Our Lives

Mar 4

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in 4 Mind Turnings, Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Mindful speech, Personal Transformation, Teachings, Uncategorized, Writing | 8 Comments

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I am a writer by nature, a Buddhist in spirit, and a Tibetan translator by trade…This week I had the chance to bring all of these aspects of my life together as Anyen Rinpoche, Eileen and I worked on the final editing of our new manuscript Dying with Confidence. (Wisdom Publications, October 2010)  As an aside, you may have missed a recent conversation we had on the blog about writing:

http://mojofiti.com/anyenrinpoche/2010/02/09/the-art-of-writing/

Except for when I have been at work (at a law firm that works for clients and companies interested in doing work that betters the world, including our blog’s very special host Mojofiti) and translating the last of the talks on the Four Mind Turnings last night, my sole focus has been on the revision of each and every word that is written in our 182 page manuscript.  In fact, I am probably writing about this process right now because I can still think of nothing else but what will be the impact of the written word on the reader–will they receive it properly, is anything lacking or imperfect?

Dying with Confidence is by far the most ambitious book we’ve ever taken on.  Anyen Rinpoche, Eileen and I worked most of last year on the book to ensure that it had a broad enough scope, and that it touched on the issues that Buddhists (or non-Buddhists interested in this topic) are concerned about–not just how to practice the Dharma, but legal issues, medical directives, cremation, pain medication, organ donation, hospice care and so on…Now, no longer worried that we have included the right topics, we have turned to the text itself.  For those of you who have never engaged in the revising of a manuscript before, it can be an emotional, difficult and also exciting process.  Actually, it is similar to the experience of personal transformation.   Initially, there is attachment to the way things are–resistance to change and revision.  There is difficulty with cutting out or leaving behind things that don’t work, words or passages that distract or take away from the overall meaning.  And then there is the excitement of seeing what is newly created–like when we notice a positive change in ourselves after diligent attention to an aspect of our personality or lives that needs work.  In spiritual traditions, death is often symbolic of change, letting go of the old.  Revision is often a death to our attachments, cleaning out the old, and making energy available for new things to manifest.

I have long been a fan of Buddhist and spiritual writers.  Especially,  I love the book The Long Quiet Highway by Natalie Goldberg.  The book focuses on the author’s personal engagement with the spiritual path, and how it entertwined with her career as a writer.  Some of the writing in the book is truly dazzling–I remember one passage particularly, where she described a feeling of emotional emptiness that Americans tend to try to fill by going shopping on Sundays to look for just the “right” sweater.  It is amazing how true that passage rings.   I think many writers find the act of writing to be a spiritual experience, a way to engage with introspection, creative energy, and the exploration of material that is (on the page and personally) ripe for revision and transformation.

Here’s a link to the book, in case you want to have a look:

http://www.amazon.com/Long-Quiet-Highway-Waking-America/dp/0553373153/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267724843&sr=8-1

To all of you who are actively pursuing the Buddhist (or some other spiritual) path…Happy revising!

Allison

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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