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News

Current teachings + happenings. 

Teachings and practices are curated per what is relevant to the community, state of the world, month, season and more. Scroll to read what is current, scroll down to subscribe to receive monthly updates in your inbox. A full archive can be found beneath the current wisdom teachings. Enjoy! 

Mount Fuji and pagoda

Dear Community,

 

Wisdom is not a thing to be acquired only as we grow older - in fact, with a little effort, we can be wise in every stage of life. To encounter such wisdom requires us to pause, breathe and step back enough so that we might best see - welcoming in the chance to wonder and to practice our capacity to focus, not just now and then, but all of the time, no matter what is happening. From here we can understand dharma as a living tradition of clarity and honesty. There is a Zen philosophy, shikata ga nai (仕方がない) which roughly translates to, there is no other way or it is what it is. This is the active, working practice of staying conscious about what's true - getting clear enough by way of our bodies and our senses to understand what it is that we cannot change or control and thus training to focus our attention on what we can. 

 

Our knee-jerk reaction to shikata ga nai might be to criticize, seeing it as a negative or pessimistic view. On the other hand, this is just another way of exploring the more familiar concept of mindfulness. There’s a sense of relief in letting things be or accepting things as they are, even if they are less than ideal. And this is exactly what this phrase is seeking to express. It is within our ability to accept things and not be mentally tormented by every little mishap that’s out of our control. Consider this as a thoughtful set of actions that moves us through difficult feelings and delivers us to a willingness to move on, saving ourselves and others from unnecessary mental anguish or suffering. We are actively removing ourselves (and others) from unnecessary harm by learning to linger in the truth of the present, which offers a diverse spectrum to feel into.

 

In my research, there is some consensus that this Zen Buddhist concept became more widely used after the second world war. The phrase was adopted as a way to cope with ongoing tragedy, to position folks to extend care, compassion and the motivation to reflect so as to learn from past mistakes and prevent similar events from happening again. Such insight can help us to identify and take up what is within our grasp, to grow and move on, and take the important steps required to heal from individual and collective trauma. Simply put, we see what we can do and we do it. Simultaneously we develop a skillful means to combine doing the thing with compassion or karuna. Compassion becomes discerning wisdom in action. As practice matures, our pessimistic habits slowly dissolve and are replaced by a universal care that is directly realized through embodied experience (realization). With realization the texture of our being changes, along with our disposition, our outlook and overall regard for life. We look upon our reality with fresh eyes and know that this is life, just as it is. 

 

In reverence, respect and care,

 

Meg Lucks

El Getsu Endō | "Brilliant Moon, Way of the Circle"

Lay-Ordained Senior Yoga-Dharma Teacher

The Heart Revival Center for Belonging

 

*March through December we look to the Buddhist Ox-Herding images and their corresponding verses as an artistic illustration of the student on the path. While we will look at them 1 through 10, it's important to note that they are not linear nor hierarchical. They are helpers in our active practice of listening to the heart. We can gaze upon an image or hear the poetic lines and compare them to our lived experiences, with the intention to expand from a narrow mind to a limitless beginner's mind. In the spirit of for now, we can practice taking up what helps and letting go of what does not. We can practice listening to each other, holding space as a living, breathing dynamic, instead of fueling beliefs and patterns that divide, compare and diminish. My intention for our community is to create the ecology (container, context and content) for inner seeing and empowerment to come alive and ultimately bridge the gap between spiritual practice and daily life. www.theheartrevival.com/news

Past Newsies:

July 2025: Taming the Ox

June 2025: Catching the Ox

May 2025: Seeing the Ox

April 2025: Finding Traces of the Ox

March 2025: Searching for the Ox

February 2025: The Way Seeking Path

January 2025: Joy as the Path

In January of 2025 we set a broader intention - may our lightness lift the world, as we prioritize our responsibility to one another. In February we direct our attention through that intention. We might ask, do I feel prepared, resourced and supported in this work? Where am I experiencing doubt? How can I rouse faith and determination to gracefully live awake with the unfolding? 

 

This year I am hoping to support your/ our work on the path by coming together to study and practice thoughtfully via a specific teaching series called the 10 Ox-Herding Pictures (scroll down to see them at the close of this letter) and their corresponding ancient poetry. These pictures, from the Zen tradition, serve as a map (one of many) designed to support students on the path of enlightenment. It's also worth noting that within every spiritual tradition there are accounts of seeking and corresponding maps with guideposts that are strikingly similar. We could say that the way seeking path is universal - it's human. 

 

In the case of the Ox-Herding "map", each of the 10 guideposts come alive through an ink drawing and a corresponding short verse that is meant to represent the common struggles and turning points that we encounter as practitioners living in the (conditioned) world. The ox represents what can be called the true self or anattaa (non-self). The ox-herder represents each of us as practitioners. The images tell the story of a practitioner’s journey towards greater connection, peace and the ultimate acceptance of reality. Together the pictures and the verses can broaden our awareness of the nature of the path to awakening with all its challenges (perils) and benefits (pearls).

 

The pictures and verses follow a specific sequencing, of which we will look at a different set each month, beginning in March. The first week of the month we will look at the picture and verse. During the subsequent weeks of the month, we will explore the teachings in greater detail. On the last week, we invite you to bring and share your personal insights with the community. With hope, the combined teachings, safe space for practice and community interaction will allow us to participate more directly in our evolution, perhaps bringing to light some of our habit patterns and habitual states of mind that keep us stuck. Your freedom and lightness will lift the world for we are the world!

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December 2024: Equanimity

November 2024: Empathic Joy

October 2024: Compassion

September 2024: Brahmavihara, Loving Kindness

August 2024: Being Upright

July 2024: Rhythm + Repose

June 2024: Intimacy

May 2024: Vulnerability

April 2024: The Art of Mindfulness

March 2024: The Eightfold Path

February 2024: Enlightened Society

January 2024: This Meaningful Life

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December 2023: Bodhichitta

November 2023: Prajnaparamita2

October 2023: Prajnaparamita

September 2023: Om Mani Padme Hum

August 2023: Mahamrtyunjaya

July 2023: Gayatri

June 2023: Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

May 2023: Om Santih, Santih, Santih

April 2023: Om Gam Ganapatye Namaha

March 2023: Om Purnam Adah, Purnam Idam

February 2023: Om Namah Shivaya

January 2023: Sat Nam

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December 2022: Self-love as Dharma

November 2022: Practice is the Antidote

October 2022: Happiness is the Path

September 2022: Taking Your Seat

August 2022: A Crowded Mind Leaves no Space for a Peaceful Heart

July 2022: Yoga is the Journey of the Self...

June 2022: Practice and All is Coming

May 2022: The Altruistic Intention

April 2022: Being Mudra

March 2022: Receptive Listening

February 2022: There is No Enlightenment Outside of Daily Life

January 2022: The Source of a True Smile is an Awakened Mind

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December 2021: The Practice of Touching the Earth

November 2021: Rejuvenation: Nourish Your Entire Being

October 2021: Contemplative Interbeing

September 2021: The Nobility of Silence

August 2021: Dissolve Your Fixation with Self

July 2021: Let's Linger

June 2021: I am in the Flow of the Universe

May 2021: Lighten Up

April 2021: We Travel the Path in Good Company

March 2021: Om Mani Padme HumM

February 2021: Embodied Dharma

January 2021: "Everything can be a 'that'; everything can be a 'this' " 

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December 2020: I Am a Sanctuary

November 2020: In the One is The All

October 2020: Ready, Set, Rest

September 2020: Attract Beauty Today, Create Tomorrow 

August 2020: Refuge in One and blogging by the sangha

July 2020: Awaken Your Voice 

June 2020: The Spirit of Sangha 

May 2020: Just as You Are 

April 2020: The Next Buddha is Sangha

March 2020: You and I Are Essentially Infinite and blogging bits by Heather Kolvenbach

February 2020: Mudita: Taking Delight in the Happiness of Others and blogging bits by Amy Griebenow

January 2020: I am 

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December 2019: Give the Gift of Presence 

November 2019: We are All Royalty by Roy Grant

October 2019: Rekindle the Heart 

September 2019: Where Your Intention Goes, Energy Flows 

August 2019: Come Home & Be Anywhere 

July 2019: Paradise is Now 

June 2019: Let Peace Be Your Superpower 

May 2019: Play is our Pathway to Possibility 

April 2019: Give Yourself Room to Bloom 

March 2019: Living Your Highest Truth 

February 2019: Out of Love, Our Path Can Lead us to Serve

January 2019: True Belonging is the Spiritual Practice of believing in and belonging to yourself...

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