About Me
I'm joining Service Space because ... I value having a community with which to practice 'inner work' while engaging in 'outer projects'
A good day to me is when ... I'm breathing :)
My hero in life is ...So many :)
My favorite book is ...So many :)
One thing I'm grateful for is ... Love
Buddha Root Farm And Understanding Mahayana Buddhism
Aug 07, 2019, 6 comments, 19 smiles
"You have stumbled upon the 5 schools of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, in the lineage of Master Hua." After the first day of retreat, where I was constantly asking questions, Rev Heng Sure said this to me as a precursor to lots more sharing in the coming days. These were very meaningful days in my life.
I recently returned from my first meditation retreat that was not in the SN Goenka tradition. Lots of learnings from this and I thought it would support me to process through writing. The retreat was in the tradition of Rev Heng Sure, who so many have been inspired by in our community. The retreat was their yearly 'Buddha Root Farm' retreat in rural Oregon (the picture above is the path to our campsite). Several folks in our ecosystem have attended before (including my partner!) but it was my first time.
Master Hua lecturing in 1975
Master Hua ... Read Full Story
Ankit In NY Times!
Jul 23, 2019, 2 comments, 13 smiles
Great to see Ankit in the The NY Times! The story doesn't start far enough back, but those in Laddership Circles would be quite familiar with it -- but inspiring to see the ripples onwards and outwards. :)
Feeling Lonely? Perhaps You’d Like to Talk to Some Strangers - The New York Times
To fight isolation, several groups are working to create in-person connections by bringing strangers together.
Few stats from the article ...
For public health officials, there’s an urgent need to heed that call. Dr. Vivek Murthy, a former Surgeon General of the United States, called loneliness an “epidemic” and told The Washington Post that its health impact was as severe as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Others have linked chronic loneliness to weakened immune systems, worsened cognitive function and an increased risk of cancer.
Some researchers doubt loneliness is higher today than it has been in the past, but recent surveys reveal ... Read Full Story
From Listeners Of Parker Palmer's Awakin Call
Mar 01, 2019, 4 comments, 20 smiles
Awakin Calls has been on a roll recently. Three weeks ago, we launched a revamped website. Two weeks ago, Alan Wallace set a record for attendance. Last weekend, Parker Palmer upped even that with 450+ RSVPs. And tomorrow's call with NY Times best-selling author, Mary Pipher, seems to be heading in that range too.
For every Saturday's call, we assemble a crew of volunteers. It typically takes about 40 hours of volunteer work for each call, and last week, I got to play a small part in it. Our guest was the revered spiritual activist and community builder Parker Palmer, who first popularized “mobius strip” as referring to the integral dance between our inner and outer lives. Anna Skrzypczynska wrote the bio, Pavi hosted the call and posted the memorable "nuggets", and Preeta moderated the conversation, I did the live-streaming, Prabha managed the post-call editing (also on iTunes), and Gayathri and ... Read Full Story
Flashback To Ekatva 2010 :)
Sep 12, 2018, 2 comments, 12 smiles
Just ran into this video from 2010, the first retreat we held at the Gandhi Ashram, called 'Ekatva' -- oneness. Since that spontaneous emergence, there have been well over a 100 such retreats around the globe, including the most recent Gandhi 3.0 retreat that Zilong wrote about.
Anyhow, just wanted to share my gratitude for all the goodness that ripples out into the world ...