This week, in the spirit of Mother's Day, we discussed the Buddhist concept of "mother sentient beings". Buddhism includes the belief in reincarnation, recognizing that we have lived countless lives before this one, and will continue to take birth in a variety of ways throughout time. Maybe reincarnation is not something you are into, and that's ok. You don't need to believe in reincarnation to learn about Buddhist meditation. Below are two contemplations, with and without reincarnation, that help us reduce our intense self-focus and expand our mental and emotional capacity. 

"All mother sentient beings" is a term used very often in Buddhist philosophy, prayers, and meditation. When we refer to others as "mother sentient beings" we are saying that, at some point in a previous life, they were precious to us, they showed us great kindness and love. Our mothers, at a minimum, gave us the bodies we cherish, at incredible cost to herself. Consider for a minute the possibility that the Buddha was right, that we have lived many, many lives before. In each life someone was our mother- she nourished our bodies, endured our birth, and supported our growth. Then there were many more we loved, cried over and cared for. After just a few lives we would have quite a long list. Now we encounter them again, karma brings them back into our lives, only we don't remember. 

Even without reincarnation, the number of people we are connected to is much larger than we might initially think. You've heard of the concept of six degrees of separation? We rely on other people, all over the world, to support our lives. Everywhere we go, everything we buy, everything we eat, wherever we work, other people's efforts have created the circumstances of our lives. You've surely eaten a banana but never grown one. How about the clothes you are wearing? We are not independent, but interdependent. 

In contemplating our connection with others, whether in this life or throughout time, (or both!) we expand our own capacity, and release ourselves from the prison of self-focus. This is one of the reasons our visualizations are so vast, and a reason we dedicate our merit to all sentient beings. By integrating others into our practice with contemplation, visualization, and dedication, we connect with our innate vastness, and reduce our negativity and frustrations. So let's get to it!

I hope the Fire Horse year has gotten off to a favourable start for you all! This past Tuesday we finally got snow in Grand Forks, and unsurprisingly our meditation group met online only. We talked about Losar traditions and how it is celebrated at the Ngakde centre in Germany. Below is a picture of the Ngakde altar all ready for Losar morning! After completing rituals and prayers for auspiciousness there was feasting and celebrating, both here and there! Juniper and I made another batch of khapse (Tibetan cookies, pictured below) which we can enjoy tomorrow.

How is saying "I'm sad" different from "I am experiencing a wave of sadness"? What about telling yourself "I can do this" vs. "She/You/Name can do this"? This week we discussed these statements with excerpts from Steve Magness' book Do Hard Things (from the Alex Honnold article a couple weeks ago). Each of the second sentences above create a "distanced" perspective, giving space between ourselves and our emotions. The positive impact of shifting our perspective has been well researched; below I've included a short excerpt from a Psychology Today article on the topic.

This linguistic trick is a fascinating mind hack, shown to reduce our stress response. In Buddhist-speak, we would say it helps us reduce our attachment. While our association with the word "attachment" probably resembles "really like", such as "Don't give away that shirt, I'm really attached to it", the Buddhist term is used to discuss both gross and subtle level experiences, such as attachment to our sense of self. As this is the bedrock of our experience of samsara, it rightly gets a lot of attention. Not only do we interrogate attachment in philosophical learning, we also employ various techniques in meditation to loosen our attachments, including visualizing ourselves in different forms and making physical and imagined offerings. When we are attached to wealth, for instance, it isn't the money that's the problem, it's how we feel about it, and then, what we do because of those feelings. Reducing our attachment proportionally increases our peace of mind, and our wisdom. 

From Psychology Today:

Ariana Orvell of the University of Michigan and colleagues (2020) had participants reflect on a series of future- and past-oriented negative personal experiences of varied intensity using distanced and immersed self-talk. They found that a “subtle shift in language—silently referring to oneself using one’s own name and non–first-person-singular pronouns… promotes emotion regulation.” Compared to first person (“immersed”) self-talk, distanced self-talk reduced participants’ emotional reactivity to negative experiences of varying levels of intensity. The findings held for future and past events, across types of events, and regardless of participants’ differing levels of emotion.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/insight-therapy/202012/science-based-technique-coping-stress/amp

This week we talked about the Buddha’s first teachings, the Four Noble Truths- the Truth of Suffering, the Cause of Suffering, the Cessation of Suffering, and the Path. At first glance these four might not seem to suit our cultural preoccupation with the pursuit of happiness, but they are in fact a guide for just that. The Buddha basically said Life is hard, then you die…and then do it all over again. It’s one battle after another. If there was no escape I’d say let’s make the best of it. But there is a way to gain control of your mind, to end the cycle of suffering. That’s really good news. Here, let me show you. 

The Truth of Suffering is evidenced everywhere, once you see it. I thought of it this week with the viral Crying Horse- a stuffed toy that was accidentally produced with its muzzle sewn upside down. Stores in China can’t keep it in stock, its sad face so, so relatable.

So when you’re having a hard time, reflect on pain as an inherent characteristic of samsara. It’s not you, or a shortcoming of yours, it’s just the way it is. But it doesn’t have to be. Take advantage of this precious life, this chance to change your karma and control your future.

Following up on this past week's discussion about meditation and the brain, below is a link to the article Justin referenced. It compares brain scans from Alex Honnold (of the recent, historic Taipei 101 climb) to the scans of Buddhist meditations. Spoiler alert- both showed a reduced fear response. The article is actually an excerpt from his book, Do Hard Things. No, we don't have it in our local library (I just checked at work today) but I am bringing it in from another library and will let you all know if it's a good read :)

This is a fascinating topic with much to explore, and very supportive as we begin integrating meditation into our lives, so I've added another short article and a link to Rinpoche's reading list.  While this information is on our GF website I have included it here from our center in Germany (the English website!).This is a great place to explore more about our lama Urgyen Rinpoche, Vajrayana meditation including ngondro practice, and our center in Germany. A short excerpt from the site: 

Buddhism offers practical tools for navigating the complexities of modern life. When we gather in our regional communities across Germany, Austria, and Canada, we're not retreating from the world—we're learning how to engage with it more skillfully. Our Sangha meetings provide a space to explore how meditation and Buddhist principles directly address the stress, conflicts, and decisions we face every day. (https://ngakde.org/en/regionalgroups.php)

Alex Honnold article:

https://stevemagness.substack.com/p/a-look-into-alex-honnolds-brain

Short article about meditation, happiness, and brain scans, featuring the popular Buddhist monk and author Matthieu Ricard:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-worlds-happiest-man-is-a-tibetan-monk-105980614/

A list of Rinpoche's recommended reading, with many of Ricard's books:

https://ngakde.org/en/readinglist.php