Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche

Earlier this year, we lost the great beings Khandro Tsering Chodron and  Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche. And now, Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche. ..


Message from Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche on Dungsei Thinley Norbu Rinpoche's Passing

We have heard that Thinley Norbu Rinpoche passed away. Therefore, at all the centers students should gather if they can and practice Dorsem Lama Chodpa--the practice of making offerings to the guru as Vajrasattva. Individually, students should recite Vajrasattva mantra as much as they can. Why should everyone do Vajrasattva at such a time? Whether or not the lama who passed away needs purification, we have no way of knowing. But when a great master passes, the power of merit accumulated at such a time is said to be increased even 100,000 times. Therefore, since we all need to purify our obscurations and accumulate merit, we can use the Lama Chodpa (practice of offering to the guru) as the method to engage our three doors in virtue at that time. Engaging our body, speech, and mind in such powerful virtue purifies the negativity that we constantly use them for out of habit. And we all have connection to this lama, the son of His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, so therefore we need to practice now. 

There is a special blessing and power to practices done at such a time with faith and devotion--the merit gathered and the negativity purified are truly inconceivable. This is because of the enlightened intent of such a master, whose every act is only to bring benefit to all beings. Such masters are not ordinary like ourselves. They don't die like we do, powerless and sniveling. They are born into this world as an act of compassion, as long as their physical body endures they use it only to bring benefit, and then they pass away and again teach the truth of impermanence just as Buddha Shakyamuni did. Therefore their passing, too, is part of their enlightened display, their miraculous activity in this world. That is why there is such power and blessing at their seeming 'death.' We should not think, "Oh, I'm so sorry that this lama is dead." Instead, we should feel faith and devotion and appreciate that we personally have such an opportunity for powerful practice. We shouldn't think, "Oh, it is just tradition to practice when a lama passes." It is more than just a tradition; it is an opportunity to take advantage of the exceptional blessing of that time. Also, traditionally you might go and offer katags and other offerings, and maybe you can't do that now, but always you can make the offering of practice. That is a real offering, and you don't have to go anywhere to make it. 

We also shouldn't think, "This was not my lama." In fact, when any great lama of any tradition passes away there is this same opportunity. We can always do the Lama Chodpa practices at such a time. Gelug, Sakya, Kagyu, Nyingma--it makes no difference what school of Buddhism the master taught or practiced. We also should not think that there is no blessing for us if we never met that master in this life. When you do the Lama Chodpa, you are offering to all gurus, all yidams, all dakinis. You should think in a vast way like this when you practice, don't be narrow or rigid thinking that it is only one way. A true guru encompasses all the three roots--all guru manifestations, all yidams, all dakinis. You don't have to do the Lama Chodpa only for a lama, or only at their passing. We always need to gather merit, because we are always exhausting our merit. We always need to purify negativity, because we are always so busy making more negativity. Therefore see this as an opportunity to practice, a time of blessing and guru devotion, and do as much Vajrasattva as you can--a little bit here and there continuously. It will be of great benefit.

[PCS] Vio/Miré - Shrinking Coasts

loving this lately

Of Note

1) The movies Restless and Submarine
2) Persimmons and walnuts
3) Sweet potato greens soup with olive oil and feta
4) Layers of wool
5) Upcoming: Ali Shaw's The Man Who Rained and Linda Olsson's The Kindness of Your Nature
6) Sigur Ros new album in spring! 

7) Spending my first ballet class in 17 years with professional ballet dancers=unnerving
8) A day in the kitchen roasting chickpeas, butternut, apples, pumpkins and their seeds; baking pie, making pumpkin soup and avocado kale salad
9) The sweetness that is my work
10) H&M insanity
11) snow and more snow

the first 10 minute of INNI - sigur ros

Teej!

I've been meaning to post this since I was in Nepal a few months ago!








       When the music first began, I was worried it would stop before I’d get a chance to document it. K and I were practising in our room. I was itching to finish and race out to the balcony to record this strange occurence. The music was like nothing I’d ever heard--it rose up from Bhanjang as though to the heavens--this blasting Nepali pop. Little did I know I had nothing to worry about, as the music marked the first day of Teej, beginning at 8AM the first day and not ending until the night of the third! Instead of worrying that the music would end, I soon began to worry about my sanity-or lack thereof-as just a handful of songs were roatated at an ear-splitting volume over the next few days--ultimately boring into my brain.
From what I’ve been able to glean, Teej is a Hindu festival for woman which lasts for three consecutive days. During this time, the men supposedly stay home and cook, and the women dress up and go to temples to pray to Shiva for a good husband and/or the health of their families. The married women dress in shimmering red saris accented with green, moving through the streets of Pharping en shimmering masse. In the evening, the women and girls gather together and dance (to said blaring music).
In Bhanjang, the little village down below Karma Chagme’s monastery, two enormous speakers had been set up in front of the shops in the dirt. They stood there, blasting their music through sun, fog and rain. It was the music from these speakers that I heard that first morning (and the next, and the next). Along with the addition of the speakers in Bhanjang, across the street below the school, a tent was set up next to a small shrine. Banners of triangular colored cloth crisscrossed the street.
In the morning, the music was the soundtrack to the villagers going about their daily routines--the women spreading cobs of bright yellow corn, husks and wet sheets on roofs; sitting in the sun combing their freshly washed, impossibly long black hair; dogs chasing small chickens; laundry hung to dry; men standing around.
Throughout the day, the tent slowly began to fill, first with jubilantly dancing little girls holding hands twirling in frilly dresses; then with more and more women, until evening when the tent became a mass of undulating red in the rain, while men and boys looked on.
Sitting on my bed, the music mixed with the sounds of the monastery: the blowing of horns, crashing of cymbals and thumping of drums by the young monks up in the temple. It mixed with the sound of K chanting along to a loudly playing recording of Penor Rinpoche and his monks chanting and playing instruments--resulting in the most horrific cacophony I had ever heard.
Even after K and I had threaded our way through the lush green fields, where dry cornstalks towered above us and rice grew to our waists, where white cranes flew and goatherds tended their goats, to the other side of the valley, we could still here the music! Even as we walked through the neighboring village of Drolod and climbed up scaffolding whose safety we questioned, to the top of the 118 foot Guru RInpoche statue being built, there was still the music’s echo.
      Last night, Teej ended with the women down in the tent singing and clapping out rhythms. What did Teej teach me? How lovely silence is! It made me miss the whirring of crickets, the cooing of pigeons, the occasional honk of a horn going down the mountain.

Indeed,

there was
           cider,
               apple cider doughnuts,
                   the toasting of pumpkin seeds,
                     this:

There was also this:

a foot and a half of snow,
  a dragonfly frozen on the windshield,
    the power out,
      huddling 'round the fire,
         dad heating water for coffee with a blow torch
             fallen trees littering the streets,
                everything closed.
                    a snowmageddon
     

Resigned

As I mentioned last time, I was having a hard time accepting autumn for a few weeks there. My body and mind perhaps confused from all the shifting temperatures lately: boiling hot and rainy in Nepal to warm India to crisp here. But I'm finally resigned! No, not just resigned but even embracing fall! The yellow aspens, the squash, the apples!

And next week I finally visit my family's home after being away for almost a year and a half. I am looking forward to sweet (and naughty) nieces and nephews, apple cider from the side of the road in lunenburg, flaming maples, and my dear family!

Better

Well, I think I'm finally settling back in here--the melancholy has lifted--despite the mountains covered in snow, the forty degree weather, the gray skies. Library books never fail to cheer me. Today three were waiting for me...I'm especially excited to read Vendela Vida's, Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name and Tove Jansson's Fair Play! Oh, and to watch another Susanne Bier movie tonight. Last night I rewatched After the Wedding, one of my all time favorite movies. How could I not love it: India, Sigur Ros soundtrack, amazing acting...Oh, and this blog!

the last month and a half

trying to become accustomed once again
to the most holy of places
mixed with garbageeverywhereincessanthonkingnoisebeggarspovertyfilth

khenpo telling me i need to be able, "to live at any level," to be able to seamlessly shift between comfort and poverty, west and east

the worry that the indian police would come throw us in jail for not having our PAP's...

and then k's illness. for really the first time in my life being confronted with sickness, and needles, and hospitals. i don't know how k does it...being a doctor

so while Asia was anything but easy this time around, easing back into our american lives has also been a shock to the system...

k back to his gruelling residency and me back to trying to keep us both afloat

and it is fall

coming home, i wasn't prepared for pumpkins and leaves all a'change. the snowflakes that fell this morning as lentil soup simmered, my hands kneaded dough.

 i'm not yet ready for the dark...

Tasty and Hygienic or Note to Myself Not to go to Asia During the Monsoon

Unfortunately, not all things in Nepal and India are tasty and hygienic...

Thus, I have spent the last eight days making sure my husband didn't die from most likely typhoid fever. When I last wrote, I said he was on the mend...oh how wrong I was!

The last five days have found us surrounded by needles, iv's, blood samples and transitioning through three different hospitals here in India--k alternately burning with fever, shaking uncontrollably, sweating, writhing with nausea and unable to eat or drink for days and days. Scary business.

We were in the Namdroling hospital for two days. K laying in a three bed room next to a monk with typhoid. All the monks telling me not to worry, that everyone there gets typhoid and it's not a big deal. Oh yeah, except it can kill you!

Then we went to the Columbia Asia hospital in Mysore, which seemed like a step in the right direction, or at least a few hours closer to the airport! In Mysore, the doctor accused K of being a pill popper for taking round the clock Tylenol and ibuprofen for trying to control his fever of 104...When we said we wanted to be transferred to the Columbia Asia in Bangalore, we were told, "You'll have to take a tax because he's not really sick."

So after a three hour taxi ride last night, we ended up here at the biggest hospital in the area. I was immediately reassured by the real emergency room and how K was immediately whisked away and his vital signs checked and history taken. We are finally in really good hands here. And the best part? k really Is on the mend this time!! He hasn't had a real fever in two days and as of yesterday can actually eat and drink! The gray pallor is Gone! Woohoo...His doctor thinks we'll be able to fly Home Tuesday or Wesnesday-here's hoping...

A word of advice-if you ever go to Nepal or India, make sure your typhoid vaccine is up to date!

There had been a lot of talk of typhoid this trip. First, drolkar, karma chagme's daughter-in-law told us how she almost died from it a few months ago (she waited to go to the hospital and got super dehydrated). Then a girl we met named tsering told us how she once had it and was in the hospital for six days...

For some reason, k and I assumed our vaccines were still good... then k developed a fever. Not just any fever, but a fever of about 104 accompanied by uncontrollable shaking chills. A few days later he was also throwing up and having "loose motions," as they like to say here. Unfortunately, we were all too familiar with stomach issues here, but a fever of 104 for three days-highly disturbing!!

Yesterday morning found us in the hospital, k hooked up to iv's. Fluids, antibiotics and pain meds being dripped into his veins. Not a situation you want to find yourself in!

Thankfully, the doctor at the hospital here treats typhoid all the time, so to him this is nothing new or scary.

Luckily, k's doing much much better! He hasn't had a crazy high fever for almost 24 hrs! I'm happy to report he's on the
Mend!

To Circumambulate

The nausea. The humidity, the heat. The son of the begging blind couple standing near the stupa-how he hugs his mother while she runs her hands over his face. All the old and maimed people determinedly limping around the stupa. The nausea! The man all crumpled over on the ground-knees up by his ears-permanently bent in half. Mani mantras playing in the giant bhatbatini. All the old ladies circumambulating early in the morning before the heat comes on. The three men permanently in squatting position going round-one always holding the hand of a little girl in red shorts. Girls with long sheets of black hair down backs...Everyone navigating their way between masses of pigeons, dogs.

Nepal, still

Just

Just the head of a pig.
"Just a rat," said the front desk boy, when asked by Keith what he was chasing behind the couch (I fear the squeal will forever haunt me).

Boudha

Boudha! It is indisputable that spending the last 14 months in America has totally spoiled me.

Arriving in kathmandu yesterday, you would think I'd never been here before with the way I was overwhelmed...

From the airport, we trudged with our packs out to the street, where we finally got a taxi and then proceeded to immediately get stuck in a crazy traffic jam, breathing in kathmandu's polluted air. And then, then the monsoon rains began, sheets of water pouring down and the car became fogged and the driver had to keep repeatedly wiping the window with newspapers.

And then, boudha. Throngs of people circumambulating the stupa. Lepers and disfigured people, mangy dogs and blind singing beggars. A pant-less baby pooping in the gutter. Butter lamps and incense and the smell of sewage. Overwhelming!

Today we're a bit more well rested and things didn't seem quite so crazy. Now, we're about to hop in a taxi up to the green rice paddies of pharping...

Well, we made it through the dreaded 14 hr flight from Chicago-passing the time watching a movie filled with "bad informations" (as the Khyentse yangsi says you need to not fill your head with), and the oh-so-sweet Kung Fu panda 2, listening to Sigur ros and dozens of Indian babies alternately screaming and cooing on their parent's laps. K and I took turns sleeping on the floor. Exiting the plane into the Delhi airport, I would have known I was in India even with my eyes closed from the scent of spices mixed with BO that immediately washed over me. It doesn't sound good, but last nice it smelled quite nice to me. However, today, India is a bit of a shock to the system, having just spent 14 months in the god realms of the avenues of salt lake and park city!

I had forgotten the intensity of the heat here, the flies, the garbage, the ceaselessly honking horns, the smell of burning plastic, the stray dogs skulking around your legs in the streets, the small children in their white school uniforms-wearing backpacks more than half their size. But onwards we go...me and my nausea (and k) are off to Kathmandu in a few hours...

Location:India!

Sigur Rós - Ára Bátur HQ (recording)

The stories of this book resonate within me

Why did I never hear of Finnish author Tove Jansson until just recently? How is it possible that this beautiful beautiful writer escaped me?
Today I finished The Summer Book, one of the sweetest, most wonderful books I have ever read. The writing is clear and unpretentious...making me want to take up my own pen once again. I can't shake the feeling that this book brought upon me, as though a spell (much like the Swedish author Linda Olsson's, Astrid and Veronika). 

Sakya Trizin!

Amazing Amazing Amazing! There really are no words to describe what it's like to be in the presence of a living Buddha...All I can say is that despite the traffic and skipped meals and sitting on a concrete floor for five hours and being lost and lack of sleep--it was worth it!

And so the alpenglow is over for the night, the sky now purple above the mountains. my daylong headache finally almost gone after ingesting copious amounts of orange gatorade, tylenol, ibuprofren and tea with cream and honey. the headache brought on by money worries? travel worries as the impending date of our departure to asia creeps closer? 'course i'm so happy and excited to go, still...i dread the long plane ride...squashed into a long row of seats in economy class. at least it's only 19 hours...

I haven't been able to bring myself to write here for some time now--too immersed in life to be able to enter this space. The summer has come, and almost gone--the second summer I didn't feel the cold New England sea.

Still, we jumped into the icy waterfall pool in our underwear, there in the woods. We've slept in the hammock under the stars. We've gorged on tomato pie, berries, cucumbers, corn. I've read the beautiful Bitter in the Mouth and lived in a tiny tent in a forest in upstate New York.

Now, we are off to see Sakya Trizin in Vancouver, then on to India and Nepal... 

In the Trees

The last few weeks found us spending hours and hours amongst trees and water. In forests with moose and bison nearby. Crossing a crystal clear Jenny lake. At the bottom of an enormous waterfall. Sitting by raging rivers. Floating through rapids. Drinking melted snow. Loveliness.

Finally, Summer

This year, salt lake has been very strict, not letting us have any truly hot days until it was officially summer. Never before have I longed for heat as I did this year. But finally, finally the hot days are upon us, the rhubarb and strawberries are here, the beans and tomatoes and blue Hubbard squash, the carrots and chard and Brussels and broccoli, it's all growing like wildfire-despite the crickets and slugs best efforts to eat everything up.

And now, finally, we've been having summer food: raspberry rhubarb crisp, homemade mint ice cream, cold asparagus soup, suntea.

And the parents are here! We've picnic-ed by rivers and lakes, stuck feet in icy waterfalls, thrown snowballs, driven through the greenest rolling hills covered in purple and yellow wildflowers, walked through snow in sandals, viewed lakes still covered in ice...

Hooray For Summer!

This year in Salt Lake, spring has made a poor showing. It hasn't swooped in with nonstop sun and blue skies and warm days. Instead, there's been rain and more rain. Snow and endless clouds--the sun visiting oh so briefly. Still, the flowers haven't minded. First crocus, then daffodil and tulip, big showy irises and now poppies and roses. In the Avenues, the flowers hang out on street corners, blanket front yards; constantly cheering in the face of all this un-springlike weather. And while we're not having hot ninety degree days like they are back on the east coast, and it technically won't be summer for another seven days, each day I can feel it creeping closer.

Signs That Summer is Almost Upon Us:
1) the farmer's market has begun! fresh wild arugala, scapes, chives, honey and a billion people rejoicing in the fact that summer is coming
2) ate two popsicles the other day
3) there are tiny tomatoes on one of my plants, the painted lady beans have come up, we've been eating kale and baby broccoil greens from the garden
4) yesterday at little dell reservoir there were girls in bikinis in inflatable rafts, my feet in the icy water
5) wide open windows, two mosquitoes in the mudroom
6) the sun is up at 5:15 AM!

So Happy About

-green growing things
-black seeded simpson lettuce (which i planted too late last summer but popped up this spring as a wonderful surprise)
-clear blue skies
-10 snowfree days and my tomato plants not dying!
-finally feeling better
-green green green
-that my work baby has taken a nap this morning!
-keith and i having time off together this weekend (after his third 31 hr shift in a week)!
-cherry pineapple sage suntea
-lemon leek goat cheese frittatas
-fresh eggs from the park city farmer's market (they taste like indian eggs...i guess i've been eating super fresh eggs in india and not knowing it)
-the strawberries which will soon be ripe
-asparagus picking this weekend
-the first downtown farmer's market of the season on saturday!
-argentinian cheese from my landlords!

Homemade Laundry Detergent, and other things

Well, I'm feeling much better these days and so I've decided to finally post about homemade laundry detergent. I started making this several months ago, using the below recipe (which I got from the SouleMama blog), and am happy to report that it's super easy to make and works wonderfully--even on Keith's nasty hospital scrubs. Also, I am sure it's saving us at least a little bit of  money!

Homemade Laundry Detergent:
-2 cups finely grated castille soap (I use Dr Bronner's)
-1 cup borax
-1 cup baking soda
-1 cup soda ash (also called washing soda)

Mix together and that's it! I use about an 1/8 cup per load.

PS I've recently discovered some very nice blogs:
Tend
Food in Jars
BapStory
Natalie Creates
Local Kitchen
How i Get Through Today

Oh, and reading this great book, The Dirty Life--it almost makes me want to become a farmer...and this looks like it might be good, The Future by Miranda July.

Well,

it's no fun to be sick in spring. not when there're weeds to be pulled, sweetpeas, chamomile, calendula to be planted, irises to be cut. not when there's handcream to be made, cooking to be done, a baby to nanny for.

that said, how lucky i am that the sweet family i work for has let me take a few days off from work to recuperate, that i finally have health insurance!, that i have a warm comfortable home to rest in!

so, here i am on the couch with plugged ringing ears, a cough that won't quit, reading a book about a woman who volunteered at a radio station in bhutan, trying to figure out how to make more money without getting a second job outside the house, staring out the window at the droopy wet lilacs, trying to remember that things will get better--in a few years k will be done this dreadful residency and our lives will open wide.

The Countdown is On and Trying to Be Present

-14 days till keith finishes this dreadful ob/gyn rotation
-37 days till my parents come to visit
-74 days till we leave for retreat
-116 days till we leave for india

oh so much to look forward to!

and if i can just stay in the present a bit--down in salt lake, kale, broccoli and lettuce
are growing nicely in the garden
along with lavender, lemon thyme, rosemary, peppermint, spearmint and cilantro

now, if it would just stop snowing up here in park city!

The Beautiful

1) Bryce Canyon
2) Children of God - heartbreaking korean documentary about children who live on the grounds of the crematory beside the bagmati river in kathmandu. you see these street urchins (often huffing glue) every day in kathmandu and getting a glimpse inside their everyday lives in this movie is unbelievable.
3) By the sundeck, the strawberries and lilacs are blooming
4) Inspiration
5) An upcoming visit from the dearest of parents!

zion

there were billions of caterpillars falling from cottonwood trees--onto our necks, our heads.
each night we'd pick dozens from the firepit, roast potatoes, chocolate oozing into marshmallow. there were red mountains, day long hikes up and up and up.

here, we wake before dawn. hours before dawn.
before the sun has set, we fall into bed.

today, the birds are merry.
the sun shines, warming the front porch.
plans for our first dinner outside this evening!

and in less than three months we will be in a little tent in a forest in new york. basking in the glow of the three heart sons, khenpo...hooray!

This

is a reminder to myself that despite the 30 degree temperatures and snow on the grass, it's still spring. 

Over the Hill by Agnes Obel

Arabic Coffee

Well, it's April, and it's snowing. This weather calls for a hot drink, namely, oh so delicious arabic coffee.

Arabic Coffee
adapted from Crescent, by Diana Abu Jaber
(makes 1 cup)

2 tbsp finely ground coffee
1 cardamom pod
1-2 tsp sugar (depending how sweet you want it to be)
milk or cream

Put coffee and water in a small pan and stir. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add cardamom and sugar, stir. Bring to a second boil, let settle. Then bring to a third boil. Pour into a cup and add milk or cream (traditionally it's supposed to be served black).

Also, the recipe says the third boil is supposed to make lots of foam which you then top the coffee with, but i've yet to accomplish this (Diana Abu Jaber says being able to do so is the sign of an accomplished coffee maker--guess i'm not there yet)!

'No safe levels' of radiation in Japan - Features - Al Jazeera English

'No safe levels' of radiation in Japan - Features - Al Jazeera English

This article is not for the faint of heart-including myself. I fervently hope all that is said in this article is not true...I think I'm going to throw up...

Spring Time

Keith and I have begun having little adventures each evening--taking walks and noticing all the tiny things we'd otherwise miss--carpets of purple violets, tiny green buds--discovering secret little neighborhood trails.

We've also been getting back into reading dharma to each other before sleep--so sweet.

The forsythia outside our window is in bloom, the daffodils and crocuses are up, but this morning we awoke to a thick layer of snow.

I just now made cardamon arabic coffee--so good.

Yesterday as I ate lunch I was looking at a magazine and saw a blurb about this female rapper from Baltimore named Rye Rye. I wondered what she sounded like so I watched one of her videos on youtube. It made me slightly anxious (and not just from the insanely raunchy dancing). I think I have Baltimore PTSD...

Two days ago K and I discovered that at the top of our neighborhood are wonderful amazing hiking trails. We walked to the top of a hill and the above photos were our view! Oh the picnics we will soon have!

Oh, also, do you know about Pinterest? First, let me backtrack. I have this problem where I somehow accumulate a thousand bookmarks/favorites on my computer and phone. And then I worry they'll somehow get deleted (or perhaps my computer gets stolen and they're all lost). And Keith is always like, "How on earth can you have all these favorites cluttering up the computer!!!" Mostly they're recipes I want to make, but then I forget about them or can't find them. But, now there is Pinterest. It's this website where you can keep track of these sorts of things (and thus I can delete all my bookmarks!). Hooray, now I can organize all the recipes I want to make (and movies too see and books to read and music to listen to). As you can see, I keep trying to convince myself that Pinterest is actually good--it's a way to be organized--not a way to while away more time on the internet, or is it?

Finally, do you know about last.fm? It's an online radio which in my humble opinion, is way better than Pandora--there are so many more options and it's not so mainstream. Now I can discover new music as I clean the house!

These Final March Days

1) Planning our April vacation: camping, national parks, big sur, the beach, hot springs, fresh olives and cheese!
2) Making yet another butternut soup and granola bar recipe that were flops!
3) These amazingly delicious sour cream pancakes from Smitten Kitchen...(apparently i've become a huge pancake fan).
4) Discovering Warby-Parker, this amazing online glasses company where you can get a pair of glasses (prescription lenses included) for only $95! What a deal. Plus they have free home try-ons and all the shipping is free. Plus for each pair of glasses sold, they donate a pair. Pretty sweet, as the anti-reflective coating on my current glasses is peeling off and I'm not about to pay hundreds of dollars for a new pair!
5) Re-reading this sweet book.

*I have to retract the above statement. Sorry Warby-Parker, but your frames were not up to par!

Socks for Japan

Last week I was going to write a post about how I was so thankful spring was almost here and how happy I was for laundry on the line that didn't freeze. And it is officially spring- only now we have snow again! The other day I discovered there was lettuce growing in my garden, I hope it survives.

Also, last week I discovered the beautiful blog Tea and Cookies. This morning when I was reading it, the author recommended this great thing called Socks For Japan. There's this American guy who works fairly close to the town with the nuclear reactor on the fritz and he goes and delivers the socks to people. Apparently, lots of people need socks! When you send socks, you're also encouraged to send a little note and the website links to a page that helps translate your note. I know it's not much, but I'm excited to do something helpful for even one or two people...

Japan

Today, Japan's National Police Agency confirmed that 6,539 people have died in Japan due to the tsunami/earthquake. Another 10,354 people are missing. 300 people are still working at their nuclear power plant, exposed to radioactive material. 320,000 households have no electricity in freezing weather. 1.6 million are without running water.

I'm not sure why, but in the past, when horrible things like hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes happened, it didn't touch me. I don't know why, and am ashamed to admit it. I mean, I felt bad for the victims. But somehow I didn't really feel anything, it didn't penetrate. Maybe I was too young, maybe I was wrapped up in an American bubble of okay-ness. Or maybe I was just lacking in compassion. I don't know. All I know is that these horrific things that have occurred and are still occurring in Japan right now have somehow cracked my shell of apathy...

Lama Tharchin Rinpoche has recommended certain prayers to be said, including a prayer written by Chatral Rinpoche for averting nuclear war. If you're interested, here's the link: http://www.vajrayana.org/retreats/rinpoche-s-advice-re-the-japan-tsunami-and-related-events-march-/

Despite

the earth's convulsions, the ocean's rising, men slicing their own throats.

there are
yellow crocuses poking through brown soil

there is
fresh green grass by the garage

Pixar's UP inspires National Geographic to build flying house

sweet

Oh No!

I just found out about the earthquake and 23 foot tsunami in Japan which has left hundreds  thousands of people dead, missing and injured! Also,
"Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching around the Pacific where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur, including the one that triggered the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people in 12 nations. A magnitude-8.8 temblor that shook central Chile in February 2010 also generated a tsunami and killed 524 people. "

My happiness over spring flowers seems trite compared to all this...I am forever grateful that K and I narrowly missed the 2004 tsunami...Back then, we were in Phuket, Thailand for a bit. Then we went down to Singapore for a few days to see HH Penor Rinpoche. We were planning on returning to Thailand and heading to some islands in the Andaman for a few weeks. Luckily, in Singapore, Holiness' monks urged us not to do that, but instead to leave immediately  for India and Namdroling for the inauguration of the new Zangdopalri temple, which the Dalai Lama was presiding over. Fortunately, we listened to the monks, just stopping back in Phuket for one day. A few days later, our hotel was wiped out...

This is a reminder to myself to not get caught up in the mundanity and drudgery of daily life, to not take this precious human rebirth for granted. I pray that all the people who have died in this Japanese tsunami and others might go to Dewachen (or at least have good rebirths)...

Do You Know What This Means?

SPRING!!!
Hooray for violets and crocuses popping up!

This Is Not Healthy

But it is delicious!

For years I have unsuccessfully been trying to bake bread. Each time it would turn out hard as a rock and wet in the middle. But this time ladies and gentlemen, we had a winner. Here's the recipe for Delicious But Unhealthy White Bread (makes 2 loaves).

Ingredients:
-2 packages active dry yeast
-3 tablespoons sugar
-2 1/2 cups warm water
-3 tablespoons butter, softened
-1 tablespoon salt
-6 1/2 cups flour

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Stir in butter, salt and two cups of the flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

2.Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

3.Punch the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into loaves. Place the loaves into two lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pans (or save one for the next day in the fridge). Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.

4.Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

5.Bake at 375 degrees F  for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Voila!

Losar Tashi Delek!

Happy Losar to all my dharma friends! I hope this year brings you into the presence of many amazing teachers, that you receive lots of teachings, and that your practice is fruitful! I miss you all! Love, J

Well,

I've been meaning to post for some time now. But between K monopolizing the computer to study for exams and me busy at work on my book again, it just hasn't happened.

The other night, Snowbird got 15 inches in 12 hours. So K and I headed there Friday morning. Even though we'd slept in and didn't get there till 11, the powder was insane--as though floating. Or like Keith said, as though gliding through butter. However, there were insane 50 mph winds, it was dumping, and the visibility was about 0%. Add Jenn getting stuck in waist deep powder in a flat section and you have a recipe for some tears at the end of the day! Then, we couldn't leave as the canyon was closed for a few hours due to avalanche blasting. It finally reopened and down in Salt Lake it was 50 degrees and sunny!

Yesterday I realized I've done a very poor job with my labels on this blog as I was searching for previous posts about Bodghaya and Calcutta. I spent hours going through and properly labeling things. K was proud of my archiving...If you know Keith, you know he's a huge fan of archiving. He archives the dharma, I archive our life.

In other news, K and I are off to sup with the neighbors. They've invited us for dinner. My contribution is lemon cheesecake bars which unfortunately got stuck in the pan and by the time I got them on a plate, K said they looked rat bitten. Sweet. But now they're decorated with a raspberry sauce I made, blackberries and powdered sugar. I think they're presentable.

This morning I made a Dutch baby for breakfast. It was a really wonderful winter breakfast, I think I'll try to post the recipe soon...

More good things

the book from the land of the moon (reminds me of the writing of marguerite duras)
this raw chocolate milkshake
the movies it's kind of a funny story/the child and the fox. if I had kids, they'd be watching this. so many beautiful images. makes me want to live in the mountains of france and italy--where it's filmed.

hot porridge for breakfast: amaranth, buckwheat.
this soaked flour gingerbread

Road Trip Part 2

at orgyen dorje den

ditto

charlie chan's

from the window in andy nguyen's--an amazing "thai buddhist diner" (as the guidebook said)--in sacramento

mocha at reno's oh-so-strange vegetarian pneumatic diner

wendover casino insanity

snowstorm driving!

so yes, there was more to this trip than just the rinchen terzod--but nothing else really mattered--i just liked these pictures i took.

k and i hadn't seen yangthang tulku for a few years, and had never received an empowerment from him--never mind dozens! truly wonderful.

in truth, the trip was like a reverse pilgrimage. everything went smoothly on the way there, but leaving...lots of obstacles! a $25 toll fine, crosssing the donner pass at midnight in a blizzard (visions of cannibals in our heads), and then snow and more snow! i think the mandala didn't want to let us go. and we certainly wished we didn't have to leave...