Kelly Coburn
Forum Replies Created
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Sending love and aspirations for auspiciousness to each and all from Saratoga Springs, New York ????✨
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I find this so valuable! Thank you Minche
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Thank you!
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Thank you Hilary (and of course, Rinpoche-la!)
One last (for now) question:
Let’s imagine I’m doing Concise Daily Practice, so I insert this directly before the mantra recitation. Then at the end of my practice session, I am accumulating the Cloud of Blessings. Do I repeat the mantra before the Cloud of Blessings, or is it still “active” from before? -
Can this be recited before the Great Cloud of Blessings?
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Thank you Hilary and everyone behind the scenes!
I have a specific request. Could the images of the Twelve Manifestations from the Guru Rinpoche Day teachings be posted somewhere? (The images that appear briefly in the beginning of the videos). Perhaps they can be added as Rinpoche teaches about each one?
Fondly, Kelly
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Earlier in December, I received a kind and generous 50th birthday gift from my husband and daughter…2 days of solitude in a hotel to practice in a mini-retreat. I was so happy and excited and grateful for the gift. So much promise! But after the retreat, I came home feeling tired, lonely and not so inspired (not nearly as inspired as I had hoped...reminder to myself, stop hoping ?). Mostly, my brain felt exhausted from the struggle (In my mind, I can hear Rinpoche laughing and saying, “Let go”.) I didn’t post about it, because I didn’t want to un-inspire anyone. But then during Rinpoche’s New Year’s live-stream teaching, he said, “You meditate alone. I meditate with Buddha.” And suddenly it all made sense somehow. Thank you, Rinpoche, for that very pithy teaching. May we all meditate with Buddha this coming year.
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Wow! Rejoicing for all of the refuge-takers!
And thank you all
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As some of you know, my daughter, Bailey has some challenging physical and cognitive disabilities. She and her two brothers recently turned 18 (but that’s a whole different story…one of letting go). 🙂
Bailey is the reason, directly and indirectly, that I became a Buddhist. I think she is a bodhisattva…really. (it certainly helps during the challenging moments to see her that way–and you never know, right?). Recently, we were having a talk (after a disagreement–typical of teenage daughters and their mothers) and I said, “I love you, Bailey. You know, I think you are a bodhisattva.” She replied, “I know I am,” then paused and bowed her head and added softly and sadly, “sometimes I just don’t act like a very good one.”
Me neither.
So, I have added a new aspiration to my daily personal ones…”In all my activities of body, speech and mind, may I always act like a good bodhisattva.”
Thank you Bailey.
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The short answer to the question is “yes”!
Here’s just a sampling…
we were with a sick child this weekend and I spent much of my lunch date with my husband yesterday worrying that my daughter was going to get sick (and thereby complicate my trip to Coooperstown this week), instead of enjoying our time together. I was creating whole storylines and scenarios to feed anxiety, despite knowing exactly what I was doing.
noticing I wasn’t asked my preference about something led to annoyance and the thought “he doesn’t care what I think.” cut that one before it was full-blown anger…
spending much of a beach walk ruminating on a time from seven years ago when our neighbor here was angry with me about something and ignored/avoided me for about a month–I never found out why and to this day will find myself lost in the story, imagining what might have happened, fantisizing about asking what happened, reliving the hurt, just by walking past her house on my way to the beach (despite reminding myself that at this point it is all my thinking creating the suffering)
my son anwered me abruptly (as teenagers sometimes do), and I found myself taking it personally (and not in a good way)
wondering if I am doing this exercise “right”–having long conversations in my mind with Hilary and Matthew about it before sending this reply–wondering if Rinpoche thinks I am an idiot or worthy of being his student or…
That’s just a small sampling…
And funny that I chose to focus on the negative manipulations, instead of the feeling of joy when same son sought me out to share something and I thought, “how cool, he still likes me!” and countless other positive moments…
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Rejoicing!
Thank you!
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Thanks Monica! I find it very interesting…Bailey is very aware and curious about words she doesn’t know. For example, if I say “it was radically different,” she will stop me and ask, “wait…what does radically mean?” She has never once asked me what Buddha or bodhisattva mean. 🙂