Nun of Your Business

In a recent class, we were learning the Vajrasattva mantra. During the break, somebody asked how the Sanskrit word vajra  becomes benza  in Tibetan pronunciation. I typed these notes on the screen. Notes about Vajra > Benza Vajra in Tibetan script, i.e., Badzra. Va jra – V is not really V. It’s usually a W or a B. Nepalese and Tibetan people understand it to be a B in this context. Ba jra – J is not really J. In the Tibetan alphabet there is a Ch row and a Ts row of consonants. This Sanskrit J is spelled with the Tibetan letter that we write (in Roman letters) as DZ (which is in the TS row – TS TSH DZ NY). Ba dzra – so, badzra is a completely legitimate spelling

Some of us have a hard time remembering how old we are once we get up there in years. Recently my friend and I were trying to calculate her age and we found an age calculator online .

To get the screen notes that were typed at the Mexico retreat with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, go to this folder: LZR Mexico 2015 The notes from all sessions, all teachers, have been combined, totalling 157 pages. You can save either the PDF or the Word DOCX file. Other resources, such as the Bodhicitta Mindfulness list will be there, too. Update: I added a file with the notes typed into the Daily Meditation , including Blessing the Speech, from when Rinpoche gave the lung  (oral transmission). Click on the same link above and you'll see all the files. Caution: The screen notes are not a transcript. Sometimes things were missed because of not understanding, Rinpoche speaking very quickly, other things interrupting the typing, or the typist's fatigue. Also, we were just typing notes for the audience; we weren't trying to get every word. In addition to Lama Zopa Rinpoche's talks, there were also sessions by Venerable Steve Carlier (the retreat leader), and Venerable...

At the conference I attended recently, a meeting of Catholic and Buddhist monks and nuns [1] , held at the Abbey of Gethsemani, I learned about the Benedictine practice of lectio divina, in a presentation given by Sister Anne McCarthy, OSB. First, ‘lectio’ is pronounced lexio. Believe me. I checked. All the Benedictine monks and nuns pronounce it like that, regardless of what you might find in an online dictionary. Lectio divina is translated as divine reading. It reminded me right away of a practice in Buddhism called tö-sam-gom (in Tibetan), or listening-thinking-meditating. It doesn’t line up exactly, but it definitely has some overlap. I see an explanation on Wikipedia that says, “Traditionally, Lectio Divina has four separate steps: read; meditate; pray; contemplate.”  Some of the participants listening to a presentation. Sister Anne is in the middle, in the red blazer. After Sr. Anne’s presentation, with input from a couple of other participants, we di...

I spent November of 2014 at a retreat center in Arkansas, a part of the country I had never been before. Here is a photo album showing scenes of the retreat center, Katog Rit'hröd , and the nearby area. If the slideshow doesn't play for you, try this link .

Years ago, in 2001/2004, I wrote an arrangement of the Guru Puja so that I could chant it in English to the Tibetan tunes. Even though I have settled on my favorite tunes, you could use any of the many alternative Tibetan tunes you like. You see, I just set the verses to the traditional Tibetan meter, usually nine syllables per line. I did this for my own practice, but some other people have shown an interest in performing the puja in this way. For this purpose, I recently recorded a group performance of this puja and have begun to upload some tracks to Internet Archive. I am editing the recording, cutting the puja into meaningful sections of several verses each. As I get the sections edited, I will continue to upload them. In the future, I might also record alternate tunes. Here is the link for the page where these recordings will continue to be uploaded. https://archive.org/details/GuruPujaEnglishChant Here is a sample: Enjoy.

What happens in your kitchen when you come down for breakfast? I live at a Dharma center which gets a lot of traffic through its dining room, the place where I get my meals. I currently live about 30 feet away from the back door of the dining room. On a quiet morning like today, I can feel comfortable rolling over there at any time for breakfast, but when there is a big group I usually wait until the guests have mostly cleared out before trying to get my tea and cereal. Still, there is usually something interesting happening when I get to the dining room. I'm starting this post, which I will add to over the next month. Wednesday, June 6 Table over by the back door: A group of three works on a musical about Amelia Earhart and George Putnam called Final Approach . They discuss lines and scenes from the script and hum tunes. They discuss famous actors who have ruined their careers by undiplomatic things they have said or done. Table by the front door: I sit down here where...