In and Out of Robes: An Opening in Time
In an opening in time made possible by a small inheritance, the author was free to follow open doors into Tibetan Buddhism as practiced in the United States. The author answers the question, "What did you learn from your three year exposure to and practice of Tibetan Buddhism that may be interesting and valuable to others?"
Letting go of vanity and the effort to be attractive
The exhilaration of chanting prayer practice
Compassion in connecting one's own suffering to all who suffer through prayer practice
Getting some sense of emptyness and the appearance of phenomena
Compassion in connecting to all that is and was and will be at the minutest molecular level through prayer practice
Whereever I go, there I am, still, always
The challenge of persisting and the burning edge of discipline
"It doesn't matter whether you believe it or don't believe it; it doesn't change what is."
Compassion for the struggle of life for all visible creatures, bugs, worms, frogs, fish, lobsters...
Compassion for one's own being is fully included in compassion for all