#geshe michael roach

The Importance of Empowering Others

Last week, I received notice that my feature documentary, The Great American Family, won an IndieFEST international film award (Women Filmmaker category), joining the ranks of other high-profile winners of this respected award including Liam Neeson, George Clooney, Susan Sarandon, Leon Lee, and Katie Holmes. This is the same story…

Images via derek7272/Flickr and the New York Times

In 2012, Ian Thorson was found dead in a cave in Arizona. He and his wife had been kicked out of a silent Buddhist retreat that was supposed to last three years, but they decided to finish out the time alone in the desert — and that extreme quest for spiritual enlightenment eventually killed him.

Scott Carney wrote about Thorson in A Death on Diamond Mountain -- he told NPR’s Rachel Martin that the case had a personal resonance for him, and that “I knew that I wanted to tell the story of spiritual sickness through his eyes."

I think he was sick, and I think many people on this quest can get deluded by that desire to know absolutely. And I believe that very intensive meditiation might be able to accentuate some of these underlying proclivities in us, and push us over the edge. It's a problem that we know about in the traditions and yet you don't really talk about it in the community at large, because I think a lot of people feel that if you mention that there's this dark side to meditation, that you're undercutting the very credibility of the techniques in the first place. But I don't understand why we can't have both, right? Why can't we say, these things can be wonderfully good for you, but maybe like a drug, it's better thought of as powerful, and used in a way that is responsible.

The best thing about making taking this journey with loved ones is the inspiration they provide.  Yesterday, my sister brought me up to date on the two-month financial "fast" she and he husband traditionally do after Christmas. They abstain from buying anything that's not strictly essential, right down to fresh flowers for their home.  Their fast ends this weekend and the fact that they stuck to it so beautifully fires me up to do the same.  It never would have occurred to me to take on that challenge if my sister hadn't paved the way.

And then there's the fact that everyone who's blogged here has been honest about how difficult it is to stay on track.  And yet no one's getting discouraged.  We're all moving forward by layering on more goals, more determination, and plenty of forgiveness.

When I faced the fact this morning that I'd really fallen short of my yoga goals, I didn't beat myself up for more than a minute or two.  I took a page from my family members' stories and decided to begin tackling it now.  After all, we've still got 29 days.  Deciding to cut myself some slack is a new behavior for me, one that feels both comforting and stimulating .

So I intend to do a full yoga practice this morning and will pour over my yoga books, trying to find a bit of wisdom to steer me through this day.  I've heard it said that intention is everything and here's hoping that's a bit of the Truth.

"And so we step onto the first of the five paths....we will no longer have any time for the meaningless distractions of life--we must simplify our lives, concentrate on what's really important.  No more time to only work and eat and sleep and die--no more time to waste on newspapers and television to hear about how others wasted their time."

                                                   --Geshe Michael Roach & Christie McNally

Perfect Relationship Talk 完美关系讲座 – Geshe Michael Roach

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Geshe Michael Roach

Started Andin Diamond Business, from a US$50,000 loan & 3…

From an evening teaching on the Bhagavad Gita, the third in a series, by Geshe Michael Roach.  Geshe Michael is a Tibetan Buddhist monk in the Gelugpa lineage - the first Westerner ever to earn the "Geshe" degree and an author, philanthropist and teacher.  He is the root lama in the Tibetan Buddhist lineage of Conquering Lion Yoga.

Greeting the teacher on entering, a tradition in this lineage.  Geshe'la joking about a rose.

Greeting the teacher

Lovely A

Geshe'la

Some jazz to start before the opening chants, with Geshe Michael on upright bass

The room in rapt attention