My attention was caught by a massive rainbow showing over a small elementary school. The colors were deep and rich, they did not seem to be transparent like other rainbows, but instead they seems to be solid. If I could find the site there this rainbow was touching ground I know I could have climbed it, it would have held weight.

Children from the school stood in the last rays of the sunshine, pointing up to the rainbow to show their friends. A hundred small arms stretched up, pointing to the heavens, showing the way. It was majestic and wonderful, pure everyday magic; this solid rainbow for all to see.

The contrast in colors: the rainbow, superimposed on the gray rain clouds, was moving and beautiful; a spiritual experience for everyone to see.

On August 19, 2007 Burmese Buddhist monks began a series of peaceful protests against the government in Burma, now called Myanmar by the military junta in control of the nation. On September 26 the military took violent action against the protesters. The back story to this situation is terrible. For over four decades the military government has been systematically attacking, killing a looting villages in the eastern providences of Burma. At this point the military is shooting civilians on site according to many international reports.

I recently received two emails in my inbox that both contained a wonderful amount of information. Links to articles, online petitions and blog posts; all germane to the military crackdown on the Buddhist monks in Burma.

The first email came to me from Kris Ladusau. Kris is a Dharma Teacher at the Rissho Kosei Kai Dharma Center of Oklahoma.

Subject: Proposal for Burma Strategy Just some ideas for a Burma strategy. Cut and paste to your heart’s content. Demands could include:

1) Support UN, ASEAN and high level diplomatic efforts by immediately calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, as well as an urgent end to attacks against ethnic minority civilians, monks, and democracy protestors.
2) Compel the Burmese military regime towards an inclusive and representative national reconciliation process under the guidance of the UN Special Envoy for Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari.
3) Support UN Security Council resolutions on Burma.

On-line petitions:

• http://pol.moveon.org/pac/burma
• http://www.avaaz.org (international sister organization to Move-On.Org)
• http://wwwsavemyanmar.com

Private letters and faxes (let’s start an avalanche):

The China Angle:Burma has been isolated economically by international sanctions, so the only country with real sway there is China, and China has its own concerns about pro-democracy movements, so the only way to sway China is to mention the up-coming Olympics of which the theme is “One World, One Dream.” Don’t omit to refer to them as “Your excellencies . . .”

Hon. Mr. Hu Jintao, President
Hon. Mr. Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister
Hon. Mr. Tan Jiaxuan, State Counselor
Hon. Mr. Yang Jiechi, Foreign Minister
Hon. Mr. Wang Guangya, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations,
Government of the People’s Republic of China
c/o Mission of China to UN
350 East 35th Street, New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-655-6100, Fax: 212-634-7626
E-mail: chinamission_un@fmprc.gov.cn

Hon. Mr. Zhou Wenzhong, Ambassador to the U.S. of the People’s Republic of China
Hon. Mr. Jiang Yu, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson
c/o Chinese Embassy to the United States
2133 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 625-2030

The Myanmar Angle: There is doubt we’ll sway the leaders of Myanmar, but it might be of concern to them that we know their names. Be sure to refer to Burma as Myanmar and Rangoon as Yangon. It’s a pet peeve of theirs.

Hon. Mr. U Linn Myaing, Union of Myanmar Ambassador to the United States
c/o Embassy of the Union of Myanmar
2300 S Street NW, Washington D.C. – 20008
Tel: 202-332-3344, 202-332-4350, 202-332-4352
FAX : 202-332-4351
Email: info@mewashingtondc.com
E-mail: thuriya@aol.com

Chairman, Senior-General Than Shwe, Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Vice-Chairman, Vice Senior
General Maung Aye, Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, Commander-in-Chief (Army)
General Thura Shwe Mann, Joint Chief of Staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force General Soe Win, Prime Minister of the Union of Myanmar
Lieutenant-General Thein Sein, First Secretary of SPDC, Adjutant General
Lieutenant-General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo, Quartermaster General
Lieutenant-General Kyaw Win, Chief of Bureau of Special Operation-2 (Shan, Kayah)
Lieutenant-General Tin Aye, Chief of Military Ordance
Lieutenant-General Ye Myint, Chief of Bureau of Special Operation – 1 (Kachin, Chin, Sagaing, Magawe, Mandalay)
Lieutenant-General Aung Htwe, Chief of Armed Forces Training
Lieutenant-General Khin Maung Than, Chief of Bureau of Special Operation – 3 (Pegu, Yangon, Irrawaddy, Arakan)
Lieutenant-General Maung Bo, Chief of Bureau of Special Operation – 4 (Karen, Mon, Tenasserim)
Maj-Gen Myint Swe, Commander of the Yangon Command, Peace and Development Council
Brig-Gen Thura Myint Maung, Minister for Religious Affairs
Brig-Gen. Thura Aung Ko, Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs
Government of The Union of Myanmar, and
Hon. Mr. Kyaw Tint Swe, Ambassador/ Permanent Representative of the Union of
Myanmar to the United Nations
c/o Permanent Mission of the Union of Myanmar to the United Nations
10 EAST 77TH St. N. Y 10021, New York .
Tel: 00-212-535-1310, 535-1311
Fax: 00-21-737-2421
E-mail: myanmar@un.int

The Buddhist Angle: Officially called the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (SSMNC) , these are a group of aging monks who have supported the junta by enforcing Order No. 15, since 2001 banning monks who have ever been arrested from donning robes again once they are released. This is to intimidate monks who make up 3% of the population from taking part in the democracy movement. They administer the infamous “Monk Identity Card” system which identifies “good establishment monks” from “pro-democracy monks.” Many monks have boycotted the identity card system even though they miss out on government subsidies that way. The State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee is opposed by the Young Monks Association, which has continued to support the 1990 “patam nikkujjana kamma” agreement, in protest of the mass killings of 1988, by which they refuse to accept dana from government officials thus isolating them from absolution of their karma. This statement comes from section 262 of the Vinaya. How the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee can give lip service to the three-fold Saddhamma of scriptural study (pariyatti), Buddhist practice (patipatti), and realization of the Dhamma (patipvedha), and continue to support the murder of their fellow monastics is beyond me. They stay safe and well fed in their universities, claiming the most supreme of these sasanas is pariyatti. Anyone who can answer that from the Vinaya is welcome. There may be some point to American Buddhists influencing these senior monks to finally support the rest of the monks.

These are the establishment monks (apparently the longer the karma, the longer the name):

1. Agga Maha Saddhama Jotika Dhaja Sayadaw Bhaddanta Panna Dipa, Dean of the
Faculty of Patipatti at the International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University (ITBMU).
2. Sayadaw Abhidhaja Maha Rattha Guru Abhidhaja Agga Maha Saddhammajotika Bhaddanta Paññinda Bhivamsa, Vice-Chairman of the SSMNC and head of Aungmyebonsan Monastery
3. Magway Sayadaw Abhidhaja Maha Rattha Guru Abhidhaja Agga Maha Saddhammajotika Bhaddanta Kumara, General Secretary of SSMNC and Secretary Vice-Chancellor of the State Pariyatti Sasana Universities
4. Nyaungdon Sayadaw Abhidhaja Maha Rattha Guru Bhaddanta Osadha Bhivamsa, Vice president of SSMNC and Joint Secretary and Sayadaw Chairman of the State Pariyatti Sasana Universities Administration Board
5. Bhaddanta Thuriya Bhivamsa, Vice President of SSMNC
6. Bhaddanta Sandima, Secretary of SSMNC
7. Bhaddanta Agghiya, President of Shwekyin Nikaya SSMNC
8. Bhaddanta Sumangala Lankara, Tipitakadhara Tipitaka Kovida Dhammabhandagarika, Ph.D
9. Dr Ashin Sila Nanda Bhivamsa, Rector Sayadaw, ITBMU
10. Dr Canda Vara Bhivamsa of the ITBMU, Buddhist Education Department
11. Dr Punnobhasa of Sitagu International Buddhist Academy of Myanmar

They most likely can be reached at the:
International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University
Dhammapala Hill,
Mayangone P.O. Yangon,
UNION OF MYANMAR.
Fax: 095-1-650700
Phone: 095-1-650702

Except for:
Thegon Sayadaw Agga Maha Pandita Agga Maha Saddhamma Jotikadhaja Maha Dhamma Kathika Bahujanahitadhara Dr Ashin Yanissara, Chancellor of Sitagu International Buddhist Academy Ovadacariya of the ITBMU and Honorary Professor, who can be reached at:
Sitagu Vihara
Sagaing Hills
Sagaing City
UNION OF MYANMAR
Phone – 095-072-21270
or c/o Sitagu Ayudna Hospital
Phone – 095-072-21310
Fax – 095-072-21587

These are the pro-democracy monks. I don’t know where they can be reached at the present moment:

U Pandavamsa, Secretary General the Young Monks Union
U Tilawkar Biwuntha, head of Insein Ywama monastery
U Thumingalar Linkara, head of Mahar Ghandaryone monastery
U Nyarna Wuntha, head of Maydini monastery
U Panditha Biwuntha, head of Maharbawdi monastery
U Tanza Wunda, head of Ma Soe Yein Nu monastery
Ashin Aingitha, head of Parli Karyi monastery
U Wantha Wanpandi, head of Maggin monastery
U Waryamandar Biwuntha, head of Shwe Phone Pwint monastery
U Byanma Thini, senior monk of Shwe Phone Pwint monastery
U Kaw Thanla, senior monk of Shwe Phone Pwint monastery

The Economic Angle:

U.S. companies doing business in Burma these days:

DHL
223, Sule Pagoda Road
7 (A ), Kaba Aye Pagoda Rd., Mayangon Tsp.
Tel 251752, 664434, 664423, Fax 664430

United Parcel Service
337 Boaungkyaw Street, Kyauktada Tsp
Tel: 245481 Fax 242734

Donations:

The previous massacre in 1988 was blacked out of the news, but this time private video and cell phones are making a difference. For video equipment for Burma, make out checks to “Stone Circles” and put “Burma Equipment” in the “for” line and mail to The Stone House, Attn: Burma Equipment, 6602 Nick’s Rd., Mebane, N.C., 27302.

Please add to this list if you can. The more we write and fax, I believe maybe this time, we can break through.

May benefit arise from this.

“The more one unites with that which is, the more one becomes absolute
compassion.”

This email came to me from a friend involved with the Karma Thegsum Choling in Dallas, Texas.

Burma – a collection of posts and petitions.

Perspective – NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Myanmar-What-Next.html
Excerpt: Yet the monks are deeply revered in this mostly Buddhist nation, and imprisoning them upsets the faithful, no matter what their occupation or political bent.
”The crackdown by the military against the monks may be a major element in the destruction of the very military unity they seek. Many may be profoundly disturbed by the actions of their colleagues,” says David Steinberg of Georgetown University, an author of several books on Myanmar.

Exploiting the Dalai Lama to Spread Malware By John P. Mello Jr. TechNewsWorld 10/03/07 4:00 AM PT

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/59617.html
Hackers have taken advantage of the worldwide attention centered on the violent protests in Myanmar to further the spread of malware, according to security firm Sophos. A new scam sends its victims e-mail with an attached Microsoft Word document purportedly written by the Dalai Lama supporting the pro-democracy demonstrations in the country. The file, once viewed, opens the PC to malware.

Petition sent in by Catharine Heller
Avaaz.org and MoveOn.org have launched a petition demanding Burmese
generals negotiate rather than crush the demonstrators. They’re focused on getting United Nations Security Council members–particularly China’s Hu Jintao–to intervene.
http://pol.moveon.org/burma/?r_by=&rc=mailto

Petition sent in from Jan Puckett
An appeal to the UN Security Council to Protect the People of Burma (UK Daily Mail)
http://new.petitiononline.com/9848/petition-sign.html

Petition sent in from Jo Wharton
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/t.php

Shambhala News Service: Letter to the U.N. regarding Burma From Columbus E-list
Excerpt:
“The Sakyong would like members of the Shambhala community know that in his view it would be appropriate for prayers and practices to be offered in a spirit of encouraging a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Burma (Myanmar). It would also be appropriate for individuals to join in vigils, meditations, petitions or other non-violent manifestations aimed at generating international protection for the sangha in Burma (Myanmar).”
Letter from Pema Chodron:
Dear Ones:
I feel that this is of such importance that I want you all to be informed and to hold aspirations for a peaceful outcome to result. With much love, Ani Pema Chödrön

From Isabel Umana / Excerpt Letter from Lama Shenphen Hookam:
“It is important that we as Buddhists do not think that ignoring what is going on is somehow an expression of our commitment to peace. If an active response is called for, then we as Buddhists need to be ready to respond with courage and determination. Non-effort doesn’t mean inaction and passivity, apathy or indifference. It means responding from our hearts without ego-involvement.” By Lama Shenpen Hookham

Both emails are worthy of merit. Both were compiled by compassionate individuals for our benefit and the benefit of countless other sentient beings. I myself have signed a few of the online petitions and I plan to make updates to this blog as new developments occur. I am one person, but by adding these thoughts to my practices and to my offerings, my voice can be added to the countless others seeking the peaceful resolution to this conflict.

Please, if you have comments or ideas, post them below and I will get them to people more appropriate than me.

In Dharma,

Matt

This is an amazing presentation, I hope to attend a TED conference one day in person. I may not agree with everything that is presented there, but I would love to have the chance to listen in person and participate in the conversations that must take place all over the conference.

This all made me wonder how ideas have changed me. As I sat last night thinking about this I came to the understanding that my mind is very malleable. The definition of malleable is that a substance can take on the shape of something else without cracking or becoming less that it was.

Over the years I have accepted many ideas and allowed them to change me. Roman Catholicism, the ethos of the United States Marine Corps, becoming a married man and then having a family, Tibetan Buddhism; all of these changed me in ways I do and do not know of.

Buddhism has shown me what compassion is; that it is something to strive for, something to attain and nourish. I thought I knew before, but I am sure now that I had only glimpsed at it from behind the walls I had built. The story of Angulimala shows me that any one can be redeemed and that I should condemn no one. That was hard for me to see at first, that we all contain the Buddha-nature, it might not have presented itself yet, but we have it nonetheless.

I know I rambled on in this post, sorry for that, but ideas change us.

So, tell me, what do you think about it. Can we heal the planet with our thoughts and intentions? Can we heal each other with good and positive thoughts? Is it possible to sit quietly each morning and pray or meditate the world to peace? I think so.

Over a decade ago an experiment to reduce crime in Washington D. C. was shown to have an effect. A large group of people utilized Transcendental Meditation(TM) to increase coherence and decrease stress within the District. The benefits were shown to be excellent.

For a very detailed report on the meditation experiment please visit this site at the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy: http://www.istpp.org/crime_prevention/

Imagine a world where we were all conscious of our own thoughts. Where we used our thoughts, our intentions, to heal the world, to heal our families, friends and every person alive in the past, present and future.

It would be amazing.

I have decided that I can be a healer too, just as you can as well. I am learning to use Reiki to heal and I have already experienced some wonderful effects. What can you do to heal yourself and the world around you?

The Buddha said this: “Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion.”

So go now and show compassion to everyone and everything, begin the healing.

1. This chance is precious.
2. We will all die.
3. Samsara – suffering is everywhere.
4. Karma is the law of the universe.

This is very foreign to many of us in the west, but also has a resonance about it. It just sounds familiar and right. I have nothing deep to depart with you today, just this small message that the 4 Reminders has for us. If you wish to learn more about the 4 Reminders, and I hope you do, please visit this link to read meditations written by Ven. Lama Norlha Rinpoche.

On a side note I found a small list of parenting and children’s books on the subject of the Buddha, the Dharma and other Buddhist related topics, I added a few more and so now I want to share this with you.

Books about parenting with Compassion:

• Dharma Family Treasures: Sharing Buddhism With Children, by Sandy Eastoak (Editor) (North Atlantic Books, 1997).
• Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting, by Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn (Hyperion, 1998).
• The Family Meditation Book, by Kerry Lee Maclean (On the Spot! Books, 2004)
• Buddhism for Mothers: A Calm Approach to Caring for Yourself and Your Children, by Sarah Napthali (Allen & Unwin, 2003)
• Buddha Mom: The Journey Through Mindful Mothering, by Jacqueline Kramer (Jeremy P. Tarcher, 2003)
• Zen Parenting: The Art of Learning What You Already Know, by Judith Costello (Robins Lane Press, 2004)
• Baby Buddhas: A Guide for Teaching Meditation to Children, by Lisa Desmond (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2004)
• Teaching Meditation to Children: A Practical Guide to the Use and Benefits of Meditation Techniques, by David Fontana and Ingrid Slack (Element Books, 1998)
• Karma Kids: Answering Everyday Parenting Questions With Buddhist Wisdom, by Greg Holden (Ulysses Press, 2004)
• The Way of Youth: Buddhist Common Sense for Handling Life’s Questions, by Daisaku Ikeda (Middleway Press, 2000)
• Your Children Will Raise You: The Joys, Challenges, and Life Lessons of Motherhood, edited by Eden Steinberg (Shambhala, 2005)

Children’s Books for many ages:

• Blue Jean Buddha: Voices of Young Buddhists, by Sumi D. Loundon and Jack Kornfield (Wisdom, 2001).
• Buddha’s Apprentices, More Voices of Young Buddhists, by Sumi Loundon and Sharon Salzberg (Wisdom, 2006).
• Kindness: A Treasury of Buddhist Wisdom for Children and Parents, by Sarah Conover and Valerie Wahl (Eastern Washington University Press, 2001).
• The Hungry Tigress: Buddhist Myths, Legends, and Jataka Tales, by Rafe Martin (Yellow Moon Press, 1999).
• The Wisdom of the Crows and Other Buddhist Tales, by Sherab Chodzin, Alexandra Kohn, Marie Cameron (Tricycle Press, 1998).
• The Rabbit Who Overcame Fear, by Eric Meller (Dharma Publishing, 1991).
• I Once Was a Monkey: Stories Buddha Told, by Jeanne M. Lee (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1999).
• Tibetan Tales for Little Buddhas, by Naomi C. Rose and Pasang Tenzin (Clear Light Publishing, 2004)
• Taking Our Places: The Buddhist Path to Truly Growing Up, by Norman Fischer (Harper SanFrancisco, 2004)
• Buddha in Your Backpack, by Franz Metcalf (Ulysses Press, 2002)

So there you go, more reading.

In Dharma,

Matt

Two nights ago:

I was on the rocky beach of a fast moving, dark water river. The water was that lush, deep green that you see in the old rivers, the ones that run for a thousand miles before they collide with the ocean. In the middle of the river the current is moving fast while the shore is more docile. People are wading out in to the water to wash their clothes, their pots and pans. The river is too cold to swim in unless you are bathing, and there are a few old men doing that too.

The beach is hard to walk over with so many rocks. They are various colors of earth tones. Reds, browns, tans and grays are everywhere. The beach itself is small though, less than one hundred yards up and down the river and you are in deep jungle again.

On the shore, twenty or thirty feet up from the water I am making a raft with a little old monk in saffron robes. I don’t know his name, in the dream or in real life either. I will call him Lama-la because I know that is what I would call him if we were to meet one day.

The raft is strange looking. Long and narrow, it is made of ten or more bamboo poles lashed together to form a mast of sorts with a sail secured every so many feet with smaller bamboo pieces. This is hard to explain. Picture the left side with 20 bamboo poles tied together and then blue fabric secured to some of them. That blue fabric is only about 2 feet wide but it goes the length of the poles. On the outside of the fabric we have secured one more bamboo pole. In the dream this made complete sense, but as soon as I woke I wondered how this would hold us on the water.

We work on the raft for hours, cutting and securing the bamboo over and over again until Lama-la says it is good. Once Lama-la says we are finished we walk towards a small outdoor restaurant where people are sitting on the ground or on fallen trees eating the food they have. The fire smells wonderful to me and for the first time I notice how good the river smells, how the bamboo and the mountains smell. My nose is filled with the smell of grasses, earth, burning wood and water all at once; it is a cacophony and I love it. For one instant, there on the way to the front of the line I am alone in the universe; I am everything and everyone and everywhere.

Lama-la pushes me and I look up from my reverie, my vision. I point to the soup, which the little old woman sloshes into a tin cup. She passes me the soup and a slab of flat bread. The bread has blackened burn marks on it. It smells so wonderful.

After we eat Lama-la announces that we are ready.

Back at the raft we kneel, say our prayers and then we lift it together. He is carrying a strange wooden anchor that too my eyes looks like a wooden yoke, the kind you would see on oxen as they tilled the land or pulled a wagon. I start to ask him what it is, where it came from, but he just smiles and walks past me in to the water with his load.

As we set off on the river there is a thunderous applause from the beach. Our friends are excited to see us off. I wave and smile, but then the current swiftly takes us out of sight from the beach.

As we approach our first bend in the river I realize the mistake in the design. The raft is too long as well as too narrow. The turn will do something nasty to this little vessel, Lama-la will be headed one direction with me in the tail another. Before I can raise the alarm it is all too late. The river takes Lama-la hard to the starboard, this sends me careening to the port and I can see the beach coming closer by the second. Just as I come to the beach I am lifted in to the air and I sail over a small green bamboo stand to land back in the water gently.

I look to Lama-la but I only see the back of his stubble-covered head. Had he known, did he realize and lift me somehow? Maybe I should trust him?

The rest of the days journey is full of fast current and warm sun. Then, just before nightfall, we move through a cavern where the walls are smooth and the passage is easy. The water is calm and somehow warm here as I let me left hand dangle in the liquid. As we come out the other side I could see a beach on the far side of the river.

There is a group of people there and they are waiting for us. Cheers erupt and they wave us to them. As our tiny raft comes to a halt along the sandy beach they are patting our backs and hugging us both. Many people some up and offer hand shakes, kisses to our cheeks, more hugs and smiles.

I am not sure, but I think we were home.

Last night:

I was checking in to an opulent hotel suite. The staff was preparing the room all around me and I was busy taking it all in. The room was massive. It had deep, richly stained woods on the walls and a thick lush red carpet. The concierge was very concerned that the room was to my liking and the only thing I could do was smile and tell him that it would have to do. Even there, in my dream I knew that I did not belong here.

Later in my dream I am standing at the front desk in the foyer of the hotel and I am asking which room I am checked into. I can not remember and they can not tell me. They woman behind the counter knows I belong there, but like me, she can not recall which room I should be in.

I woke there this morning. Strange.

This is one example:

Once upon a time, in a magical kingdom, there lived a little girl. She wasn’t very big, just almost five years old, and a tiny little thing of a girl too. She loved to play in her backyard with her dog, and jump as high as she could on her trampoline, trying to catch the clouds.

Scout, that is to say her doggy named Scout, was walking around the trampoline and watching the clouds, as he was used to doing, when he first noticed the birds in the sky. The seemed so very far away at first, and then oh-so-fast they were there, almost upon him.

Scout had to dive under the trampoline to avoid the birds as they flew across the yard from every angle. He barked out to his little girl, who was bouncing on the trampoline and laughing, that she needed to take shelter, and to do it now. She bounced on to her bottom Indian-style and then jumped to the grass and rolled under the shelter of the trampoline with Scout.

Peacocks, with long feathers of blues, greens and purples, floated in and slid across the grass, almost hovering as they gracefully landed near the porch. A giant albatross, snow-white and regal, flapped his massive wings a few more times as he stretched out and lit upon the wood pile. Cardinals, blue jays, crows and chickadees seemed to cover every limb in every tree all across the lawn.

The little girl and Scout were not afraid, but rather wondered what was about to happen as the last of the birds found their place and landed. She stood up, Scout followed her and they both walked out in to the sun light.

“You are the one we seek.” announced a very smart looking owl.

She slowly nodded her head ‘yes’ and looked from side to side at all of the colorful birds now in her yard. She knew that they had come for her, that she was needed, but she did not know why or how she knew that.

“Who are you?” the little girl asked the owl as she started walking towards the little brown bird.

“Humph,” said the brown owl looking quite dismayed that she did not know his name. “I am the Lotus King’s vassal. The kingdom needs you. You and your knight, Scout. We have come to ask for your help, and to take you to the Aviary if you agree.”

The little girl could feel the energy in the yard. It was a strange feeling and she knew that her mommy and daddy would worry, but she had to help the birds and the Lotus King.

“How long will we be gone?” the little girl asked the vassal and looked to Scout making sure he was still there beside her.

“To you, it will seem like a long time,” said the owl as he lifted his wings, stretching them in the sun. “But to your family it will be as if you never left your backyard. The Lotus King is strong and time has a way of bending in his kingdom.”

The little girl and her dog agreed to help in any way they could, and with that another adventure had begun.

I tend to end all of the stories with an open ending, so that we can either start where we left off, or further along in the journey at any time. The little ones lay in bed and I sit on the floor, playing with their feet or hair as they dangle off the edge of the bottom bunk. I don’t always take the time to tell them these stories, but I do always have the time. I need to remember that more. What does it cost me? Twenty or thirty minutes of my night?

One day, when I am old and my kids have children of their own, I hope they are still telling the stories to that new generation. I hope I am around to do the same.

I knew a little bit about Tara already, but really only about her emanation as Green Tara, so I decided to do some reading and some meditating on White Tara. I found a great resource about Tara and in reading this page I quickly realized that I want to receive teachings from Lama Dorjee soon about Tara.

Compassion and Understanding struck a chord in me when Lama-la spoke that night. I am drawn to Chenrezig anyway, I suppose it was just who Chenrezig is that drew me to learn more and begin to meditate upon him. I mean, the sum of all the innumerable Buddha’s compassion; that is amazing. All the enlightened beings in creation consciously pour their compassion into one being for the good of all sentient beings.

Then to find out that Tara is the emanation of compassion and understanding that shown forth in Chenrezig, that just made sense to me. Lama-la saw right to the heart of me and handed me the prefect gift. A red string with a small pendent hanging from it; White Tara on one side and her mandala in thread on the other. Perfect.

Thank you Lama-la.

‘Lost’ might not be the right term, I mean you know where the person is spatially, just not where they are as your friend any more. It is a sad and lonely feeling. Even when you have other people around you, and you value them, losing someone is hard on your soul.

Don’t get me wrong, I have grown away from people in the past too. Just ran out of things to talk about and lost the connection we shared. You join the military, you seek education, you find a deeper religious belief system, all of those change who you are and I understand that. Then there are other times where you know that you and the person are still capable of being friends, but you just aren’t. Those are the sad times.

I personally think the only option is to be compassionate and open to the person, letting them know that you are and always will be there for them when they need you or reach out to you.

Compassion is the only answer to almost all of life’s questions anyway.

Kindness is something that my mother taught us our whole lives, even though we had no idea class was in session. Whether it was helping with homework or talking to us about our life decisions, mom was there, sitting with us on the couch or on our bed, talking us through it all. I knew that as I grew older and began to make decisions that took me further and further afield, she was still there, a phone call away, when I needed her. That gave me tremendous peace of mind.

There were times I am sure my siblings and I thought she was too worrisome or to demanding. Now that I am an adult with a family of my own I see how kind and compassionate my mom was and is still.

There is a reason my kids want to spend every weekend with her. They love the attention she gives them. The time they can spend with her at the kitchen table, painting and making things with pipe cleaners and construction paper. She shows my kids what everyday magic is, every day. My mom is good for me and she is good for my children too.

One quality that is necessary for Buddhahood is compassion for all sentient beings. With out knowing it my mom was teaching me this my entire life. I hope I am lucky enough to have my mom in my life for a long time to come. For me, for my children and for theirs one day as well.

Mom taught me to forgive others by her own actions. There have been times when I know she was wronged, even by those close to her, and she got over it somehow. She taught me to repay kindness by those same actions. She has opened her house time and again for those that need a safe and secure place to sleep and eat. A place to feel welcomed. She is far more compassionate than I am on so many fronts.

I wish everyone had the chance to have a mom like mine.