Day 5 - STOP! Rest. Be. Be Happy. Make Others Happy.

Then it was Dharma sharing at 2.30pm. This consists of one hour of sharing insights, experiences, thoughts about the Dharma we listened in the morning, very much like what we do in Catholic groups. I did not talk, since I did not feel with the right to do so. Although the oldest monk –the one with whom we shared an after-dinner chat- said that he would be interested in knowing the opinion of first-comers. Thankfully a lady who came for the day, talked. I felt very emotional, and above that, as if I had absorbed too much- I couldn’t put two words together. The bell rang.

Better news: one of the girls walked in to tell me that tomorrow is lazy morning! So no waking up at 5am! I am glad that I made it these 2 days at least. I would have felt horrible otherwise. I hope I can stay Saturday and have my own ‘me day’. I was planning to go to the village and spend the day at a Gym or at a Spa until the time to catch the bus, but I have enjoyed this place and its energy and its people so much, that I will stay!

This is also something wonderful and worth imitating of this culture and religion: they have several breaks along the day and along the week. Fridays are always “lazy mornings”. And then once a week they have ‘total body relaxation’ meditation. Hmmm! I am currently reading “The Power of Full Engagement” and one of the core messages in the book is precisely this: that we need periodical recovery periods to perform at our best. So in the Western world we are only NOW coming to the same conclusion as this culture did thousands of years ago… What else are we missing? What is even sadder and more concerning is the fact that not even this Western best-seller written by Westerns seems to be assimilated by Western organizations (i.e., by Westerns!). Everybody, everywhere seems to be treating human beings more and more as mere profitability machines. Work-aholism seems to be not only the only acceptable addiction but a desirable one! And in many organizations, work-aholism seems to be the only way to keep your job, to keep doing more with less. Is there a limit to the "more" and to the "less"? Who are you making happy?

Photo: Snow Coming- again...

Quote of the day:

“Dharma (dharma = righteous duty, or virtuous path) is not about who is right and who is wrong; it is not about whose centre is big, it is not about which religion is right, it is not about whether there is a next life or not, it is not about whether Buddha exists or God exists, it is not about whether Catholicism is the real religion or Buddhism is the real religion, it is not about any of that. It is about us bringing harmony into our families, into our lives and to the people we care about NOW. That is what it is about.


The effect we have on others when we make them happy without motive and when their mind is happy because of us, that is Dharma (dharma = righteous duty, or virtuous path).”


[From “IF NOT NOW, WHEN?” by Tsem Tulku Rinpoche, www.kechara.com. Kechara is a non-profit Buddhist organization.]