The best way to be independent

Do not go after the past,
Nor lose yourself in the future.
For the past no longer exists,
And the future is not yet here.
By looking deeply at things just as they are,
In this moment, here and now,
The seeker lives calmly and freely.
You should be attentive today,
For waiting until tomorrow is too late.
Death can come and take us by surprise--
How can we gainsay it?
The one who knows
How to live attentively
Night and day
Is the one who knows
The best way to be independent.

-Bhaddekaratta Sutra
From "The Pocket Buddha Reader," edited by Anne Bancroft, 2001

Dharma on the Web from Buddhadharma

Meditation is a way of working with
the neurosis of ego, so in order to
understand the psychology of meditation
we must understand the dynamics of that
neurosis. According to Buddhist psychology,
the basis of ego is the tendency to solidify
energy into a barrier that separates space into
two entities, I and the Other, the space in here
and the space out there. This process is technically
termed dualistic fixation. First there is the initial
creation of the barrier, which is the sensing of other,
and then the inference of inner or I. This is the birth
of ego. We identify with what is in here
and struggle to redress that imbalance
further solidifies the weall. The irony of the barrier-
creating process is that we lose track of the fact
that we have created the barrier and, instead,
act as if it was always there. After the initial
creation of I and Other, I feels the territory
outsed itself, determining if it is threatening,
attractive, or uninteresting.

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

The bimonthly Buddhadharma always includes suggestions for Dharma websites...here are a few from the last issue:

www.killingthebuddha.com

www.accesstoinsight.org

www.zenguide.com

www.nalandabodhi.org

Harvest of Peace

September 18, 2005

Today a day of double auguries. The San Diego Shambhala Meditation Group inaugurated its new home (4060 Adams Avenue), and our residence there began with the Harvest of Peace celebration and an address of the Sakyong to all Shambhala groups around the world.
We have a Shambhala Council in place, and this morning we held our first meeting at the new center. There are many projects in the works. Shambhala Levels 3, 4 and 5 are coming up in October, December and February, which marks the first time that all the levels will have been offered in San Diego. We are set with other classes in the Buddhist Studies Series (currently Eric Heinz is leading a class on the Six Paramitas). On the weekend of November 11th, Ben Howard will present the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. And Petra Youngberg will be leading a class on Dharma Arts in the near future (which will culminate in March with the annual Shambhala Arts Festival).
The photographs included herein were taken during the Harvest of Peace celebration at the new Shambhala Center.

Nowness

We need to find the link between our traditions and our present experience of life. Nowness, or the magic of the present moment, is what joins the wisdom of the past with the present.

Chögyam Trungpa