Some of you might be surprised to know that I'm in no real pain. That's one of the deceptive things about cancer, at least in my experience: There's no pain, so it's hard to recognize and diagnose, which allows it to grow and cause trouble.
At the moment, I do have a headache, which I attribute to not having eaten since breakfast yesterday (doctor's orders). Those of you who have taken Mahayana Precepts may recognize this headache.
Speaking of which, I'm sorry that I'm going to miss the Nynyne Fasting and Purification Retreat next Tuesday and Wednesday, which begins with Precepts each day. I hope if you have the chance, you'll get to do part of the retreat. It's about purification through compassion, and we make many physical - and of course mental - prostrations to 1,000 Armed Avalokiteshvara, Buddha of Compassion. Avalokiteshvara was the first Buddha I really connected to, and is still one of my favorites ... along with Je Tsongkhapa, Dorje Shugden, Vajrayogini, Medicine Buddha, and ... well all of them : )
In Eight Steps to Happiness Geshe-la says "'Self' and 'other' are relative terms, rather like 'this mountain' and 'that mountain ... 'This' and 'that' therefore depend upon our point of reference. This is also true of self and other. By climbing down the mountain of self, it is possible to ascend the mountain of other, and thereby cherish others as much as we presently cherish ourself."
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