Showing posts with label cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cancer. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Giggling Sorrow?

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Tips on Meditation and the Spiritual path - idea #184
from your Buddhism expert



“How is your wife?”
I asked, to which he responded,
“She has Ovarian Cancer.”
he uttered with contrived cheerfulness, and then
forced a laugh.


Why would he do such a thing? Is he a bad man who
relishes the suffering of his wife? No, not so much.
Mr. C. is a good man with a good heart. I’ve come to
know him because he is one of my Telephone students…
I’ll explain.


I have four types of students:
#1 those who rely primarily upon my free essays,
#2 those who rely primarily upon my
instructional CDs,
#3 those who rely primarily upon receiving
teachings from me directly in live, telephone sessions
{ http://www.lamajigme.com/Beginning-Series.html } and
#4 those who rely primarily upon attending my
five day retreats.


By the way, if you feel you’re up to the task of
organizing and promoting my next 5-day retreat, where
the entire “Beginning Series” will be taught in it’s
entirety; then you are welcome to submit a 1 page
proposal to: lama_jigme_gyatso@yahoo.com


Now, back to Mr. C. I’ve come to know him, over the
many months that we have been working together over
the phone. This is a good man, with a good heart who
sincerely loves his:
• wife,
• child,
• career and
• spiritual development.


Why then would this good hearted fellow strive so
hard to sound joyful about his beloved’s cancer,
that he would not only fake cheerfulness, but also
force a contrived laugh? Is he a wife hating villain,
straight out of a mellow drama? Nope!





It’s obvious to anyone with even half a working brain
that our friend Mr. C is both saddened and frightened
by the specter of his wife’s battle with the monster
of cancer. Why then, the bravado? Why the bluff? Why
the bluster?


Simple! Mr. C., just like each of us, has been lied
to. And, my friend, it has been said that if anyone
hears a lie loud enough and often enough, then they
will come to accept it as a common place truth. But
don’t believe me, just ask those Germans who lived
through Hitler’s reign. They’ll tell you of the
insidiously persuasive quality, of even the most
outlandish lies; to their great embarrassment.


What then is it? What is the lie that you, and I, and
Mr. C. have swallowed hook, line and sinker?

“Big boys don’t Cry!”


Or, more precisely, that great men and woman of faith
are never fearful or sad. What a load of lies! Which
demon, from hell, concocted that steaming load of
monkey crap?


My friend, I’ll go into this further in next month’s
home study course, but for now, suffice it to say
that:

“Who we are is NOT determined
by what we feel,
BUT by what we do
with what we feel!”


The self righteousness, taught by many false:
• Rinpoches,
• Lamas,
• Sifus,
• Roshes,
• Ajahns,
• Gurus,
• Rabbis,
• Priests,
• Pastures,
• Preachers and
• Amans
forces us to lie to others and to ourselves about
what we feel.


My friend if even Buddha could get a headache and if
even Jesus could weep then can we agree that even
the greatest of saints could suffer both physically
and emotionally without any harm to their faith and
devotion?


What then are the four things that we should do, when
we are confronted by the specter of eminent tragedy?
And don’t fool yourself, if you have yet to encounter
the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune… you
will. As one of my teachers was fond of explaining,
it's just part of this amusement park we call life.


So when we come face to face with the specter of
eminent tragedy what are the four things we must do
to weather it both spiritually as well as practically?

#1 Be honest about the situation and it’s graveness,
#2 Be honest about what we feel about that, even if
it’s embarrassing,
#3 Take action to effectively bring what ever we feel
into the paths of love and letting-go and
#4 Actually modify the circumstance and it’s
potential outcome.


Well that’s a pretty tall order! But that is exactly
what the “Quick Path to Happy Peace” is
designed to do. That is exactly why I’ve made it
available to all how go to http://www.lamajigme.com
that is exactly why I provide additional instructions
on it’s use and application every month at:
http://www.lamajigme.com/CDs.html


Everything we feel, whether it is glorious or
grotesque, can be used as fuel for advancing us
further upon Buddha’s paths of love and compassion.
Every circumstance, potentiality and emotion we feel
is conventionally:
• impermanent and
• interdependent and
therefore {ultimately} as NON-graspable as a rainbow
that although is compelling to both the eye as well
as the heart, can neither be seized, nor stored in
a box, nor worn as a garment. Ultimately everything
is no more graspable than a kingdom we may have
conquered in last night’s dream.


Let us no longer squander our time, energy or
resources scolding ourselves for falling prey to
unpleasant circumstances or emotions. Rather let use,
everything that befalls us as fuel to speed us along
Buddha’s path to full enlightenment in THIS life.


No, not 10,000 lifetimes in the future. No, not even
one lifetime in the future. But in this very life,
without giving up your:
• children,
• marriage, or
• career.
Oh yeah, controversial, old Lama Jigme said it!


One of the foundational practices upon Buddha’s path
to enlightenment in THIS life is Breathing Meditation.
It can help you to find the peaceful eye, in the center
of life’s stormy circumstances. Have you mastered it
yet? Could you see some of the advantages of doing
so? This month’s instructional CD, the “Centering
Questions
” is exactly what the doctor ordered.
And of course, for the next 21 days it will be offered
for a substantial discount. I think this is an
important lesson to receive. I have a page on the
website that explains more about it. And it does so,
in a fun and humorous manner. So be sure to check it
out right now at
http://www.lamajigme.com/Centering-Questions.html






Om Mani Padme Hum,
Lama Jigme Gyatso
Tibetan-Buddhist: Monk, Teacher, Healer and Tantrika



Lama Jigme’s tips and teachings… they’re free!
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” you could subscribe at:
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How could you benefit from a Long distance Healing-treatment?
http://www.lamajigme.com/Healing-Treatments.html

What is the EASIEST way to Learn to Meditate?
http://www.lamajigme.com/Beginning-Series.html

Change how you Feel in less then 90 seconds?
http://www.lamajigme.com/Change-90.html

What does “Om Mani Padme Hum” really mean?
http://www.lamajigme.com/Mastering-The-Mani.html

Improve the Skill and Ease of your Breathing Meditation?
Special discount, this month ONLY:
http://www.lamajigme.com/Centering-Questions.html





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Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Patrick Swayze

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Tips on Meditation and the Spiritual path - idea #162
from your Buddhism expert



Patrick Swayze


My three favorite Patrick Swayze films are “Ghost,”
“Point Break,” and “To Wong Foo;” how about you?

Like many actors, he has known both highs and lows
in his career as well as personal life. But like too
few of us, he has hung in there, always ready to
come out swinging and fight his way back to the top.
Whether on screen or off, many of us have rooted for
Patrick over the years. Today, several internet news
sources have both reported his grave struggle with
cancer and have requested their readers to pray for
him.



Let’s use our will, imagination and intention to
embrace the idea that this fellow, who has brought
joy to so many people still has a few more come-backs
left in him.

With hands folded in the “prayer gesture” before our
sternum or breast bone, let’s gaze upon his picture
during our IN-breath and then during the OUT-breath
let’s recite the prayer: “Essence of the Manipa’s
Heart.
” You can find it on page 11 of “Quick Path
to Happy Peace.”
It is available for FREE download
at: http://www.lamajigme.com


Although most of us have never met Patrick Swayze,
it can feel as though a friend or an acquaintance
has fallen ill. Is that because of his movie career
or could there be a deeper reason? What are some of
the ways we could all be at least indirectly
connected? What are some of the many things we could
have in common with this actor?

Each of us were born, each of us has tasted the
bitter draft of illness, and each of us dances daily
with the specter of our inevitable demise. What is
it about the certainty of our own death that could
evaporate the trivial distractions that can clutter
our lives?

It has been taught that as we lie dying our awareness
collapses inward, like an umbrella closing. Our
awareness could encompass our hospital room, then our
companions who are sitting with us, then our own body,
then our dimming perceptions. It has been said that
all we can take with us over the threshold of death
is our karma and our practice of the Six-syllable
mantra.


Om Mani Padme Hum,
Lama Jigme Gyatso
Tibetan-Buddhist: Monk, Teacher, Healer and Tantrika


P.S. Learn how to correctly pronounce “Om Mani Padme
Hum” once and for all. In THIS month’s instructional
CD: “Mastering the Mani” I’ll teach you exactly how
to utter the Six syllable mantra. Plus you get five
tantric blessings as well. Make sure you order NOW to
get this month’s special gifts of bliss – http://www.lamajigme.com/Mastering-The-Mani.html




Lama Jigme’s tips and teachings… they’re free!
Be sure to Forward to a friend.



To receive the FREE, fun, politically Incorrect,
daily e-mail, “Lama Jigme's Tips on meditation and
the spiritual path”
you could subscribe at:
http://www.LamaJigme.com



Download FREE meditation supplies?
http://www.LamaJigme.com

What is the EASIEST way to Learn to Meditate?
http://www.lamajigme.com/Beginning-Series.html

Change how you Feel in less then 90 seconds?
http://www.lamajigme.com/Change-90.html

What does “Om Mani Padme Hum” really mean?
Special discount, this month ONLY:
http://www.lamajigme.com/Mastering-The-Mani.html






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Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Robert Schimmel

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Tips on Meditation and the Spiritual path - idea #157
from your Buddhism expert





Robert Schimmel



Cancer.” Now there is a word that can cause even
the stoutest heart to skip a beat. Upon learning
that one has this dreaded disorder what are some
of the natural emotional reactions? Well how about:
• denial,
• fear,
• anger,
• sorrow
• and even hope.

Just like one of us, when stand-up comedian, Robert
Schimmel got this horrendous diagnosis he too was
subject to these feelings. Remember it is NOT what
we feel, BUT what we do with what we feel that
separates the men from the boys, or the Buddhas from
the Bodhisattvas.

So what did Robert Schimmel do as he followed his
course of medical treatment? He married a raw,
vulnerable honesty about his dreadful experience
with his sense of humor and the product was his book entitled: “Cancer on Five Dollars a Day (Chemo Not
Included): How Humor Got Me Through the Toughest
Journey of My Life”


If you’re curious you may order a copy through:
http://www.lamajigme.com/Books.html
and Amazon.com will give me about 4% as a gift to
be used for monastic support, including the
founding of San Diego’s first Buddha of Compassion:
meditation center and monastery.

And how does this relate to Buddha’s teachings?






Simple! Buddha taught that every:
• thing,
• being
• and phenomena
is directly or indirectly interconnected.

If you’ve already downloaded your FREE copy of
“Quick Path to Happy Peace” from
http://www.lamajigme.com
then you could already be familiar with the passage
on page 6 that reads:

“…be it causes, components, conditions or
perceptions,
separateness is but an illusion;…”


Yes, our experience of health challenges is
dependant upon many things, including our:
• causes,
• components,
• conditions
• and perceptions.

How did Robert Schimmel influence his perception of
cancer? With words! Many of the exercises in “Quick
Path to Happy Peace”
use words, gestures and
mantras to help us transform sorrow, anger, fear or
turmoil into Renunciation, Concentration, Insight
and Compassion.

What does that mean to you? It means that you have
access to the tools that make a man out of a boy,
or a Buddha out of a Bodhisattva!

Om Mani Padme Hum,
Lama Jigme Gyatso
Tibetan-Buddhist: Monk, Teacher, Healer and Tantrika

P.S. In the interim, make sure you get a hold of
“Harnessing the Power of the Bowing Prayer”
http://www.lamajigme.com/Change-90.html
so you can get your “karmic” ducks in a row!

But remember this special offer will be
over in just 2 days.



Lama Jigme’s tips and teachings… they’re free!
Be sure to Forward to a friend.



To receive the FREE, fun, politically Incorrect,
daily e-mail, “Lama Jigme's Tips on meditation and
the spiritual path”
you could subscribe at:
http://www.LamaJigme.com



Download FREE meditation supplies?
http://www.LamaJigme.com

What is the EASIEST way to Learn to Meditate?
http://www.lamajigme.com/Beginning-Series.html

Change how you Feel in less then 90 seconds?
Special discount, this month ONLY:
http://www.lamajigme.com/Change-90.html



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