Virtuous Desires

Hello lovely supporters of Mimi,

Just another brief update. Mimi continues to be in a state of low energy and isn't seeing any visitors this week. Kind friends are still stopping by to deliver treats, or spend some extra time visiting with Richard, or help out by being here while Mimi sleeps, or do housework/gardening. We are so deeply grateful for the care and support! Next weekend Kadam Lucy will be here in Seattle to give a review of the Summer Festival 2016 teachings. Mimi's hoping that she'll be able to attend some of the sessions - we'll see how she's feeling in a few days. Mimi has a special connection with Kadam Lucy and has been two separate times to Colorado to enjoy teachings and advice at KMC Colorado's annual Rocky Mountain Retreat. Here's what Mimi had to say about her experience there last summer: "So many blessings, wisdom blessings, that gave me many small insights. Those tiny sprouts of realizations were handed to me - I did nothing except set up the conditions where they could be revealed, and listened to the supreme Mahamudra teachings and perfect meditation guidance of Kadam Lucy, a true Meditation Master."

So it makes sense that Mimi is conserving her strength, and setting up the conditions for receiving teachings next weekend. Please make prayers that she is strong enough to engage in the teachings, it's something she wants very much.

Your friend,
Boswell
rebecca-dot-lafond-at-gmail.com (This is the same email address, I had to disguise it because of spammers. Please comment on the blog if you can't reach me directly)

Prayers Please for Christine

Please make strong prayers that the conditions come together for a better life for Christine.
I'm sure those would make a big difference; you know I believe in the power of prayer!

Thank you.

Prayers for Cindy's Mom, Susan

Please make strong healing prayers for Susan Irwin, who is in Intensive Care.

My dog has cancer

Dear Sangha Friends,

Our dear dog Sara has advanced cancer, but she is still acting like herself: eating with gusto, resting with less gusto, staring at us to tell us she wants to go for a walk.
Surgery isn't a possibility, and chemo probably wouldn't help, so she is on palliative care at home with us.
There was no prognosis, but it seems like it may be a matter of weeks.
Please make prayers.
Thank you.

Love,
R & M

P.S. Today is Tara Day. I am planning to attend the puja, in part to make requests for Sara to Mother Tara.

Prayers for Bonnie

Please make strong prayers for our Northwest Sangha member Bonnie D, who is now on hospice.

Many thanks.

Prayers for Bertha Wain

Please pray for Bertha Wain, who is the mother of a Sangha member in Seattle.

Many thanks.

Prayers for Sandy's son Isaac

Sandy is a Kadampa teacher in Vancouver and nearby Abbotsford and previously Admin at the latter. Her 29-year-old son recently had an accident that left him a quadriplegic, although they are  already making arrangements so that he can live as independently as possible in Vancouver.
Please make prayers for healing blessings for him and peaceful minds  for him and his family.

Thank you. We all know that mental actions are the most powerful and that the Buddhas keep us in their loving care especially when we make specific requests of them.

Paul Ashton Passed Away

Paul died peacefully on January 29th.
Please make prayers for him and his family.

Love,
M.

Prayers for JohnP

Please make strong prayers for JohnP, one of our dear Sangha in Seattle. He has two forms of cancer but is keeping a very positive mind.
Thank you very much.

Prayer Request for a Different Paul

Please keep Paul from Long Island in your prayers.

Prayers for Ven Tharchin

A request from Tharpaland, and from me:

Gen Tharchin has had another fall last night and has broken his other hip. He is being well cared for in hospital and is having an operation tomorrow, Wednesday.

Please make strong prayers and dedications for a successful operation and for Gen Tharchin's full and speedy recovery.

More Prayers for Cathy

Please also continue making prayers for Tamara's sister Cathy, who is scheduled to have surgery Jan 4th.

Update on Paul

Great news: He is going to have surgery on his lung because the scan showed no further spread. Please keep making prayers for him.

Prayers for Potential City Commercial Space for KMC CA to

Copied from an email:

As many of you are aware, we are in the process of trying to make Kadam Dharma more accessible to the people of Los Angeles. In light of this goal, we have been searching for a city commercial space that would be highly visible and located in a busy, thriving area.

 

After extensive searching, we have found a potential venue at 7950 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood (pictured below, outlined in red).

 

We are now in a critical stage of negotiations with the owners of this building, and pending our communications with them over the course of the next few days, it seems they will make their decision.

 

Please, with compassion, make strong prayers and dedications today and throughout the weekend for the most beneficial result.

 

Thank you for your support of this meaningful project.

 

With love,

Erica Schieferstein
Administrative Director

Update on Paul, Prayer Requests

In a development his doctors called "unusual," things are looking up for PaulA. I think we know why that is. The power of prayer!
Please keep them coming, especially tomorrow, the 29th, when we make long prayers to our Protector, Dorje Shugden.
Please dedicate not just for Paul, but also for others with cancer (for which my list is much too long but includes Cathy, Ken, Petra, and Ingrid), and everyone else who is suffering mentally as well as physically. Please don't forget to pray for those who are barely aware of their suffering, because they may be in the worst position of all.
Thank you.

Prayers for Tamara's Sister

Please pray for Tamara's sister Cathy, who was recently diagnosed with cancer and will be having surgery, hopefully next month.
Many of you know Tamara, who used to be near Seattle and now lives in paradise. She has worked very hard for the NKT in various capacities over the years and would appreciate your dedications in support of her sister.
Many thanks.

Prayers for Storm Victims

Please pray that everyone remains calm in the aftermath of the horrendous that hit the East Coast of the U.S. and is proceeding inland. So much damage has been done to the infrastructure, it will not be quickly fixed. May everyone get the essentials they need while keeping peaceful, loving minds.

Prayers for Paul

From Kelsang Tubchen, the Resident Teacher in Oslo and the former Education Program Coordinator at Tharpaland Retreat Center:

Dear Friends,
As some of you may already know, Paul Ashton, a dear friend and Resident Teacher at Mahabodhi Buddhist Centre in Edinburgh and former resident and cook at Tharpaland Retreat Centre has recently been diagnosed with cancer in his lung and brain.  He is undergoing tests to determine the extent of the cancer and any treatment options.  His mind is very blessed and peaceful.  
I would like to ask for your strong dedications and prayers for Paul, and for the centre and students in Edinburgh.  Please can you also ask your centres to put him on their dedication lists.
This sudden news shows how fragile things are in samsara.  
I found these remembered words from a meditation Gen Tharchin guided at FP some time ago after he had been quite sick for some days. 

"Countless living beings take rebirth as animals, hungry spirits or hell beings.  This is happening right now.  This is the reality.  Over the past few days I have become acutely aware of the need to make preparations now.  Suddenly death can come even in the next hour. 
Make preparations.
Stop idle chatter.
Stop meaningless activities.
Practice energetically.
Live every day as though it were your last.
Promise to do this.
Especially ordained Sangha.  It is included in ordained vows. 
Stop meaningless activities.  
Stop idle chatter - completely meaningless, in fact one of the 10 non-virtuous actions.
Stop procrastinating.
Indulging in distraction.
Don't waste precious time, precious energy.

The lord of death doesn't need any invitation.  He can come at any time."

Later he said:  "If we die and we don't meet Buddha in our next life - we are in big trouble."

I found these words had a big impact together with the current situation.
Samsara is cruel and unexpected.


Here is a photo of Paul:

Wisdom and Obstacle-Dispelling Prayers Please

I am shameless about asking for prayers for myself, and really need them now. Deciding on which chemo route to go has never been so complex, so I really need wisdom blessings - as do we always, especially if we are leaders of countries; pray for them too. (Of course, what I really need is the realization of wisdom realizing emptiness, which would mean I wouldn't need anything else.) There is a choice between a promising clinical trial and more proven treatments, and if the latter between a dizzying range of options.
I also need any obstacles dispelled that might prevent my insurance from paying for my current top 2 choices.
Thank you so much.

Kathi on Hospice

I was shocked and saddened to hear this evening that my good friend Kathi just went on hospice. I knew that her last scan results were disappointing, in that the tumors in her abdomen were larger and that there were lesions on her liver, but I didn't expect this outcome so very quickly.

Please make prayers for her, her partner, John, and her whole family. Her parents arrived from Louisiana to be with her, and her brother and sister are there too.

She was a regular at lunchtime meditations on Mondays with Gen Khedrub and often stayed for lunch afterward to socialize with Sangha. When she was first diagnosed, she took the book How to Solve Our Human Problems with her to the hospital, reading and re-reading the section about patient acceptance. Kathi found so much solace and wisdom in that teaching.
Speaking of teaching, she's a professor and dept chair of Religion and Women's Studies at a university in Tacoma, south of Seattle. She bought a "Peace Is Possible" water bottle from the Center's bookshop and displayed it prominently on her desk, especially for a course she was teaching that asked how much peace is possible, where she surveyed students' beliefs at the beginning and end of the term.