I did not plan this day to have an India and Tibet theme, honesty. It simply happened.
For the first time, I faced my fear of buses and traveled via public bus to downtown. I didn’t get lost, and the bus drivers were really friendly! Toto, we’re not in St. Louis anymore.
I got off the bus and walked to the Portland Art Museum, where I attended a dharma talk by Shamar Rimpoche. He’s a member of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, and he’s the second highest-ranking tulku in that lineage, right after the Karmapa. He’s not young and pretty like the present Karmapa, but he knows more and had insightful words to say. The talk was in a small conference room, and the volunteer who spoke said they were expecting a small turnout. Um, not only was every seat filled, but there were people lining the walls, standing in back (with me) and ultimately sitting around on the floor way up front. He talked about the Four Noble Truths and meditation practice. I took notes, although not on everything he said.
All in the same day, I saw Shamar Rimpoche, cooked mung dal from scratch (this is the first time I’ve ever cooked dal from scratch instead of using ready-made dal that comes out of a box or can), saw Slumdog Millionaire for the first (and certainly not the last) time, and was reading In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon, edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi and The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. Additionally, I took the Buddha book with me to see Shamar Rimpoche, and I took The Space Between Us with me to see Slumdog Millionaire, because of course I always have at least one book with me.
Perhaps more past life memories will come back to me after a day like this.
For the first time, I faced my fear of buses and traveled via public bus to downtown. I didn’t get lost, and the bus drivers were really friendly! Toto, we’re not in St. Louis anymore.
I got off the bus and walked to the Portland Art Museum, where I attended a dharma talk by Shamar Rimpoche. He’s a member of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, and he’s the second highest-ranking tulku in that lineage, right after the Karmapa. He’s not young and pretty like the present Karmapa, but he knows more and had insightful words to say. The talk was in a small conference room, and the volunteer who spoke said they were expecting a small turnout. Um, not only was every seat filled, but there were people lining the walls, standing in back (with me) and ultimately sitting around on the floor way up front. He talked about the Four Noble Truths and meditation practice. I took notes, although not on everything he said.
All in the same day, I saw Shamar Rimpoche, cooked mung dal from scratch (this is the first time I’ve ever cooked dal from scratch instead of using ready-made dal that comes out of a box or can), saw Slumdog Millionaire for the first (and certainly not the last) time, and was reading In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon, edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi and The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. Additionally, I took the Buddha book with me to see Shamar Rimpoche, and I took The Space Between Us with me to see Slumdog Millionaire, because of course I always have at least one book with me.
Perhaps more past life memories will come back to me after a day like this.
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