vajra bell - aryaloka buddhist centervajra bell kula from the editors mary schaefer co-editing the...

Vajra Bell Spring 2016

Arts and the Dharma

Losing Self in Art PoetryMusic and Movement

Also in This Issue The Triratna Path of Practice Developing Peace By Dh Surakshita and Dh Vidhuma

vajrabellSPRING 2016

keeping sangha connectedspreading the dharma

page 2 Vajra Bell Spring 2016

vajrabell

Dh Amala (Chair) Dh Vidhuma (Vice Chair)

Dh Arjava Dh Dayalocana Dh Surakshita

SPIRITUAL VITALITY COUNCIL

CO-EDITOR Mary Schaefer mbschaefercomcastnet

CO-EDITOR David Watt davidwatt1956gmailcom

COPY EDITOR Dh Vihanasari vihanasaricomcastnet

ARTS EDITOR Deb Howard dshoward1aolcom

DESIGN Callista Cassadycallistacassadygmailcom

VAJRA BELL KULA

from the editors Mary Schaefer

Co-editing the Vajra Bell for me is a very selfish venture I love writing and editing (is that a form of grasping) and planning and preparing each issue is a joyous

work of creativity My love of the Dharma deepens with every issue If I am curious about ethics karma samadhi wisdom the lakshanas the four noble truths or the eight-fold path my co-editor David Watt and I just need to tap Triratna Buddhist or-der members from around the world and ask them for their reflections and teachings on these or other Dharma topics

This issue of the Vajra Bell again features a wealth of teachings and inspiration from order and sangha members In editing the articles exploring the link between arts and the Dharma from order members Kiranada Sravaniya and Kavyadrishti

David Watt

Dh Arjava (Chair) Barry Timmerman (Secretary) Elizabeth Hellard (Treasurer)

Dh AmalaJean CorsonTom Gaillard

Daniel KenneyDh RijupathaAlisha Roberts

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Aryaloka Buddhist Retreat Center14 Heartwood Circle

Newmarket NH 03857603-659-5456

InfoAryalokaorg wwwAryalokaorg

Find us on Facebook facebookcomAryaloka

or on the Aryaloka Facebook GroupfacebookcomgroupsAryalokaSangha

Connect at The Buddhist Centre Online TheBuddhistCentrecomAryaloka

Peter Ingraham Aryaloka Buddhist Centerpingalumniunhedu

Kay Jones Rocky Mountain Buddhist Centerkayljone108gmailcom

Sabrina Metivier Nagaloka Buddhist Centersab_mativierhotmailcom

Paramita Banerjee Vancouver Buddhist Centrebudhisenyahooca

Mary Salome San Francisco Buddhist Centermarycsalomecomcastnet

Susan DiPietro Khanti Outreachsusandipietro6gmailcom

SANGHA NOTE CONTRIBUTORS

along with New York mitra Sita Mani I was encouraged to lose my ldquoself ldquo in art poetry music and movement I ldquofell in loverdquo as Kiranada talks about in her article ldquoappreciating the impermanence of life I grew to note the simple beauty all around merdquo

What a joy and gift not only to be inspired by their practices but to have the privilege and opportunity to spread their wisdom and experi-ence to others

Order members Vidhuma and Surakshita shed greater light for me on the Triratna Path of Prac-tice in the opening articles on the series we are starting in this issue I have studied this system in re-treats before but I was uplifted in reading how as we build up positive emotions and deepen our practice we begin to ldquoknow our

Welcome to the latest incarnation of the Vajra Bell Rijupatha designer and former editor of this journal for many years has moved on to (many) other projects He has

left us a wonderful legacy and huge shoes for to fill We joyfully welcome our new designer Callista Johnson who brings creativity energy pa-tience and a great sense of humor to the task Without her this issue would not have been possible

In this issue we have two arti-cles in a series about the five-stage Triratna Path of Practice In his article on the first stage integration Vidhu-ma shows us what sets the stage for developing peace in our lives mind-fulness meditation solitude and spiri-tual friendship This is the foundation for realizing all of our other spiritual aspirations For me the different aspects of my practice have often felt fragmented touching different parts of my life While reading his piece

the connection between the differ-ent aspects of my practice became much more clear As Vihuma says ldquoOur spiritual lives suffuse and per-meate nourish and inspire all the activities and lsquolivesrsquo that we liverdquo

Art is an important element of the spiritual life about which Sang-harakshita has written extensively Indeed much of the sangha life at Aryaloka arises from the arts in various forms the monthly drawing group the exhibitions in the yoga room concerts arts evenings and the paintings thangkas and sculp-ture that are found throughout the center This issue features pieces by four artists ndash Kirinada Sita Mani Kavyadrishti and Sravaniya ndash whose lives and experiences of the Dharma have been been shaped by their artistic gifts and conversely whose artistic lives have been shaped by the Dharma All write movingly about the common purposes of art and meditation As Sravaniya says

- continued on page 10

- continued on page 10Cover image Yellow Buddha by Deb Howard

page 3Vajra Bell Spring 2016

board notes Barry Timmerman

spiritual vitality council Dh Vidhuma

The Aryaloka Board of Directors (BOD) held its annual year-end meeting at which we reviewed the yearrsquos accomplishments and challenges We said sad

farewells to two BOD members who stepped down Dayalocana after over two decades of service on the BOD is focusing on other endeavors Akashavanda also stepped down She will continue to develop the SanghaCare initiative

The BOD elected two new board members Daniel Kenney and Alisha Roberts Daniel is a mitra who has asked for ordination He has busi-ness experience knows a lot about facilities management has studied the BOD bylaws and wants to assist with fundraising Alisha also is a mi-tra who brings quite a bit of business experience as an operations man-ager for a finance company She is in charge of Aryalokarsquos Children and Teen Sanghas

Since the BOD is responsible for the overall center operations we

need members who have the experi-ence to fulfill that mission The Spir-itual Vitality Council (SVC) continues to work closely with the BOD to make certain we adhere to the core ethics and values of our spiritual mission The BOD and SVC meet together several times a year Members of the BOD sit on the SVC and vice versa

We recently moved the center of-fice from the west to the east dome We also have designated a room in the east dome as a community room These changes allow us to be more energy efficient by only heating the west dome when it is in use

The BOD decided to support two new initiatives First the BOD approved the ongoing development of the SanghaCare initiative The SanghaCare kula is meeting planning and developing the infrastructure to launch the project that will provide assistance to sangha members in need

Second the BOD considered a proposal by Arjava for the Friends of Aryaloka program an initiative to improve the experience of anyone

who comes to Aryaloka regardless of their level of commitment The BOD voted to continue to develop and implement this program

We head into the spring and summer with hope and new energy on the BOD Things are looking up fi-nancially We ended January in better shape than last year at this time We have lots going on at our center with opportunities for all levels of practi-tioners

Do not hesitate to talk with anyone on the BOD with questions concerns or ideas We post the meet-ing minutes on the bulletin board so anyone can get more specific information about meetings and the topics discussed and voted on

The current board is Officers Arjava chair Elizabeth

Hellard treasurer and Barry Timmer-man secretary

Members at large Amala Jean Corson Tom Gaillard Daniel Kenney Rijupatha and Alisha Roberts

For the past months the Spiritual Vitali-ty Council (SVC) has devoted its energy to two large projects along with the usual reviews problem-solving and

planning that fall under the auspices of the SVC

The first project has been the careful consideration of the pro-posed ldquoFriends of Aryalokardquo (FA) initiative This is a joint endeavor with the Aryaloka board of directors that has been under consideration since May 2015 The purpose of the FA is to identify those in our Aryaloka sangha who are part of our com-munity on a regular basis but who for a variety of sound reasons have chosen not to become mitras

By allowing these members to identify themselves in a more spe-cific deliberate way the center will be able to better meet their spiritual interests A more detailed copy of the proposal is available in the office for anyone interested The SVC has reworked the original proposal and at the February meeting approved its version to be sent to the board for its review

The second major undertaking has been the review of the 2013 ldquoVi-sion for Aryalokardquo with amendments to make it current The vision is a sweeping overview of future planning directions for Aryaloka The updated vision will be presented to the board for their input When the board has completed its work the finalized doc-ument will be available to the Aryalo-

ka community The vision will serve as a foundation for more specific goals and objectives

The SVC also has carried on its usual discussions of the well-being of the Aryaloka community We review the activities and attendance at pro-gram events and explore possibilities for future programming

The SVC is always receptive to input Ideas reactions suggestions and thoughts are welcome Any com-munication can be made through the Aryaloka office Dh Shrijnana the ex-ecutive director of Aryaloka attends SVC meetings and communicates any information the office receives


sangha notes

ARYALOKA SANGHA(NEWMARKET NH)

Friendsrsquo Night Rolls Out Spring Series

The winter series for Friendsrsquo Night at Aryaloka wrapped up in February and our teachers are rolling out the spring series Arjava is leading the course on fundamentals with ldquoThe Noble Eightfold Pathrdquo Tom Gaillard and Kiranada are leading ldquoTools for Livingrdquo focused on techniques to keep you on the Buddhist path Satyada is facilitating a look into the history of Triratna Buddhism with his course ldquoSangharakshita and the Triratna Communityrdquo

Special Events and RetreatsAryaloka started the year off on

the first of January with a Meditate for Peace Day Visitors meditated every hour from morning until night and enjoyed food and each othersrsquo company Khemavassika officiated at Parinirvana day our annual cele-bration of the life of the Buddha as experienced in his final moments and an appreciation of our own imper-manence The center hosted a single retreat this winter where members of the outlying sanghas (Portland ME Boston and New York City) came together to study and practice the Brahma Viharas

Volunteers Recognized at DinnerAryaloka hosted a dinner in late

January in appreciation of the many volunteers who keep the center going Aryaloka has at least 75 indi-vidual volunteers who teach maintain the building and grounds manage the shrine and help out in multiple ways In the last year thanks to their efforts there was a great deal of activity around the center 21 retreats with 238 retreatants from 17 states and two provinces in attendance 11 introductory classes teaching med-itation to a total of 106 people 12 study days five intermediate medi-tation classes and nine showings of Buddhist-themed movies There were five presentations to high school and college classes three ongoing mitra

study classes and four open medita-tion sessions per week every week The generosity kula made donations to eight charitable organizations including the Newmarket food bank the Green Tara Trust and Cross Roads House The center hosted three art exhibits and one stupa dedication Sadhu

SanghaCare Program Coming SoonSanghaCare is a volunteer pro-

gram that expands our Buddhist prac-tice in practical ways to help those around us It is the Bodhisattva Ideal come-to-life in the here and now SanghaCare provides an opportunity for sangha members to give as well as receive practical assistance and spiri-tual friendship in a time of need

Elbow-deep in fresh pasta at the Aryaloka Volunteer Appreciation Dinner are (left to right) Ralph Phipps Dayalocana Arjava Elizabeth Hellard Bodhana Vidhuma Alisha Roberts

Notable Upcoming EventsKamalashila a senior order

member and author of Meditation the Buddhist Way of Tranquility and Insight will lead a week-long order retreat on compassion and empti-ness in April Yashobodhi another order member from the UK will lead an intermediate level medita-tion retreat on compassion in June

mdash Pete Ingraham

The first retreat of 2016 was held in January The topic was the Wheel of Life On Friday night one of the men presented each section of the wheel and how it relates to his life It was a powerful presenta-tion and created a wonderful segue into the following day Saturday continued with more meditation and study and concluded with a discussion of what a modern wheel might look like Several participants were inspired to create a personal wheel of life

The dates for the remaining retreats in 2016 are April 22ndash23 July 22ndash23 and October 28ndash29 If you are interested in attending one of these retreats please let Satyada or Khemavassika know They are nonresidential and begin with a

CONCORD SANGHA(CONCORD NH)

It was a busy and productive fall and winter at the Concord menrsquos sangha Khanti Outreach provides weekly Dharma mitra study in the Concord State Prison for Men on Thursdays open meditation sessions on Saturdays and four retreats each year

Kiranada joined the October re-treat as a guest visitor She presented an incredible talk and shared pictures from her year of silence There were many questions and a meaningful dis-cussion about silence meditation and meditating in a difficult environment It was a truly special event The men are grateful to Kiranada for taking the time to share her experience


Over the winter Nagaloka was busy supporting Wednesday Friendsrsquo Night In January we completed our book study of Life with Full Attention by Maitreyabandhu Discussions were facilitated by Gail Yahwak Janet Miles Dharmasuri and Khemavassi-ka Amala and Viriyalila led a practice day for women who have asked for ordination A four-week introduction to meditation and Buddhism class

We love our summers in Mon-tana and we have many outdoor enthusiasts who take full advantage of the conditions This can mean that sometimes we miss each other on sangha night However when the weather chills a bit and schools start back up it seems that our energies refocus The fall schedule started off with another introduction to Buddhism and meditation class that was well attended Several of the attendees rolled over to Friendsrsquo Night In November Zach Seligman and Danielle Lattuga became par-ents to a beautiful son Gideon Wolff Seligman A few weeks later Gideon was in attendance to watch mom and dad (Zach and Danielle) take part in a

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SANGHA(MISSOULA MT)

NAGALOKA SANGHA(PORTLAND ME)

also was held in January supported by Dharmasuri

We were fortunate in February to have the kind presence of Vimal-amoksha visiting Maine from San Fransisco He graciously facilitated a four-week series on Wednesday nights focusing on pleasure in medi-tation Also in February Bodhipaksa led a morning retreat on the art of the mindfulness and self-compassion practice entitled ldquoHow to stop beat-ing yourself UP and be kinder to oth-ers toordquo Some 15 people attended

fantastically huge mitra ceremonyMany family members and

friends celebrated as 10 ndashyes 10ndashpeople became mitras It was such a beautiful evening Sadhu to the following new mitras Amy Engkjer Annette Puttkammer Carol Mat-thews Danielle Lattuga Cyndi Stary Hillary Wood LeAnne McDonald Tim Lawhorn Zach Seligman and Alison Laundrie

Groups and classes meet three nights a week with two newly-formed chapters One is a mixed chapter and the other is a womenrsquos chapter There is a lot of energy buzzing in Missoula Montana

― Kay Jones

The retreat for sangha members from Boston Nagaloka and New York took place in February at Ary-aloka Attending were (front row left to right) Beth Burham Sunada Sue Cross and Danakamala (second row) Dharmasuri Janet Miles Linda Dillingham Claire Reinelt and Michelle Boisvert and (back row) David Johnson Gail Yahwak Farhana Stevenson Steve Wade Chris Johnson Christopher Warnasch Nancy Artz Keith God-bout Zoltan Molnar and Vajra-mati

Bodhipaksa offered another four-week series in March on transform-ing suffering exploring the Buddharsquos teaching on dukkha

Our annual outlying sangha retreat took place again at Aryaloka over Martin Luther King Day week-end For the last seven years we have joined with sangha members from Boston and New York to practice and celebrate the Dharma together This year we were all inspired as we engaged with the Brahma Viharas meditation practice

― Sabrina Metivier

Friday session at 630 pm and pick up again on Saturday at 830 am Satyada and the men choose the themes for the Thursday study group and they never disappoint To attend a visitor must first get clearance by completing an appli-cation with the NH Department of Corrections at least six weeks before the visit

The Sangha is a jewel no less important than the Buddha and the Dharma and the strength of sangha is felt in Concord The depth of discussion and the respect and compassion that the members of the Khanti Sangha demonstrate exemplify the true meaning of sangha

mdash Susan DiPietro


TRIRATNA VANCOUVER(VANCOUVER BC)

their thanks ldquoWords cannot express how

deeply grateful we are to you and all the other members at the San Fran-cisco Buddhist Center for allowing us to stay here to heal and regroup after the fire We loved and needed the utter quiet and contemplative feeling of your home and feel ready for our next step in our livesrdquo

Zooming in to a close view of Bartlett Street home of the San Fransciso Buddhist Cinter the con-struction that started in late 2014 is ongoing The Cityrsquos Streetscape Improvement Project is behind schedule according to their web site but progress is visible and a more accessible street will be great for the sangha

We recently concluded the an-nual rainy season retreat Tejananda gave teachings focused on bodymind distinction ldquosingle pointed maitrerdquo

sangha notes

Triratna Vancouver is enjoying growth a vibrant sangha life and sharing of the Dharma The Van-couver Sangha currently has five active order members ndash Vimalasara Dayasiddhi Upakarin Shantinayaka and Satyavasini ndash plus a lively circle of more than 20 local mitras

Teaching the Dharma is the life-blood of our sangha and our order members are organizing a teaching workshop to help support newer mitras to continue to share the Dhar-ma and to foster spiritual practice in our sangha We are running two mitra study groups years one and two of formal Dharma training Teams of our mitras organize and coordinate the spiritual activities and Dharma study on Mondays Thursdays and Sundays

Monday night sits are a real hub of activity for spiritual friendships

Recently we had a mitra ceremony where we celebrated and witnessed the declarations of three new mitras who deepened their commitment to their spiritual journeys Monday nights blend Buddhism and recov-ery with activities primarily led by Vimalasara and a support team of mitras and Monday regulars

A lot has happened since our last report in the Vajra Bell Perhaps the best way to approach an update is as if moving toward the San Francisco Buddhist Center from a great dis-tance a satellite view What would be the first thing you would notice

It might be a large scorched scar about 135 miles north of the city where last fall a valley fire burned more than 76000 acres and de-stroyed thousands of homes in the area The San Francisco Buddhist Center owns property there in Lake County While the fire came within a mile of the property it did not burn We were able to offer temporary shelter to two residents who lost their home Dean and Lena Nicolaides own Dinorsquos Loch Lomond Market (which was not destroyed) They continued to run their store while living in our retreat center from September 2015 through this February On the eve of their departure they wrote to send

SAN FRANCISCO SANGHA(SAN FRANCISCO CA)

working with samadhi and prajna the three lakshanas just sitting and pure receptivity There were meditation reviews and extra sits throughout the month The center reopened to the public in February with a series focused on friendship From a satellite view I imagine it shining brightly on the map

mdash Mary Salome

The front door of the San Francisco Buddhist Center

An exciting new retreat ndash which now will be a yearly event ndash was a result of these Monday sits The retreat will be held just prior to the holidays in December of each year At the December 2015 retreat we reflected on living ethically and bringing peace and harmony to our lives families and communities in


A new retreat was held prior to the holidays Attending were (front) Kim

McLeod (left to right) Farrel Janell Paramita Banerjee and Anne Lavergne

anticipation of the holiday season Due to our growing numbers

we are entering a new chapter with a move to a larger space With high hopes for new beginnings we leave our cozy basement suite with a beautiful garden ndash home for the past 15 years ndash for a new center a sec-ond floor office space in a four-story building situated in a vibrant multi-cultural Vancouver neighborhood

In our new home we have the opportunity to grow and enrich our Buddhist practice by sharing the gift of the Dharma with more people We started our growth journey in November with a day of visioning in-volving our wider Vancouver Sangha It was well attended and generated a

lot of ideas for change We are work-ing toward increasing attendance in our drop-in classes and possibly offering weekday activities at lunch or after work

We are actively fundraising to meet our rent commitment and repay the loan for necessary renova-tions we made to beautify the new

space Please contact us with any innovative ideas for fundraising that have been successful for your local sanghas

― Paramita Banerjee

Seattle and Vancouver sangha members come

together John Ricker (Seattle) Paramita Ba-nerjee Manuele Mayer

(Seattle) and David Valentine

sanghacare

SanghaCare is a volunteer program that expands our Buddhist practice in practical ways to help those around us It is the Bodhisattva Ideal come-to-life in the here and now SanghaCare provides an oppor-tunity for sangha members to give as well as receive practical assistance and spiritual friendship in times of need Program details and how you can participate will be publicized soon

Here are a few ways you as a SanghaCare volunteer can help others

middot Provide transportation Drive someone to a doctorrsquos or therapy appointment Pick up a prescription and deliver it Take someone shop-ping Bring an elderly or disabled person to Aryaloka for an event

middot Arrange babysitting for a mom who has just returned home from the hospital and is experiencing complications

middot Send a card of support to someone who has been recently laid off Offer a sense of support and empathy

middot Bake cookies for a memorial reception

middot Arrange meals for a couple who has just returned from an overseas adoption trip Organize several vol-unteers to provide a weekrsquos worth of meals for this new family

middot Call an elder ill or shut-in per-son just to talk get a sense of how things are going and be a connection to the outside world

middot Welcome a new sangha mem-ber whom you know might be having domestic problems Be aware of and make yourself available to those in distress

middot Visit someone in the hospital who is ill or pre- or post-surgery Of-fer spiritual support and reassurance to the patient through talk medita-tion or whatever the person asks for

middot Call someone struggling with depression

middot Visit an elderly member in their home to talk meditate or do what seems appropriate and supportive

middot Send a card of condolences support or ldquojust thinking of yourdquo

Bodhisattva Ideal in Practice


Living in this very com-plex world we often feel out of control and driven in directions that are not meaningful Our society has enormous wealth yet acquiring the

next material thing never seems to satisfy There is a gnawing feeling that there has to be more of ldquosomethingrdquo that leads to satisfaction joy beauty and peace

Some 2500 years ago the Bud-dha had the same feelings Born into great wealth he began to wonder what his life ndash this human condition ndash was all about Do we just live until sickness old age and death over-take us or is there a state of living that brings lasting satisfaction in this lifetime

The Buddha went on a six-year quest for the truth What he discov-

ered was revolutionary He saw with great clarity that people believed that they are physically and mentally fixed in nature solid and unchang-ing The Buddha discovered this was not true We humans are constant-ly changing based on conditions that affect our body mind and circumstances What a wonderful discovery Because we can change we can work with our body speech and mind to address our fears and habitual tendencies This enables us to move to a more stable state that leads to peace joy and beauty

Based on his insight the Bud-dha developed tools for change He developed precepts to live by mindfulness techniques to contem-plate meditations to work with and suttas or teachings to study and live by His goal for us was to see what he saw ndash the actual state of things as they are ndash which is called the en-lightened view These spiritual tools employed in a logical and heartfelt fashion develop the path that leads to meaningful change

The Triratna Path of Practice consists of five interrelating stages or aspects Peace Happiness Wis-dom Freedom of Heart and Mind and Spontaneous Compassionate Action

This path is not meant to be linear but we usually begin by working on the development of mindfulness because most of us are novices in this area In truth we could start anywhere on our path of practice But we start by working to achieve a level of peace and inte-gration by learning how to meditate on mindfulness and by studying the teachings on which it is based (such as the Satipatthana sutta) We learn about the precepts for daily living that the Buddha prescribed to support our efforts and we begin to understand conditionality through study of the Four Noble Truths and

The Triratna Path of Practiceby Dh Surakshita with contributions from the curriculum kula at Aryaloka Dh Amala Dh Dayalocana Dh Bodhana Dh Vihanasari and Dh Shirjnana

The Triratna Path of Practice is a comprehensive view of the whole of the spiritual life from a Buddhist perspective and represents the crys-tallization of a lifetime of teachings by Urgyen Sangharakshita The Path of Practice describes the crucial ele-ments that taken together compose a life of happiness purpose free-dom equanimity and inner peace

The Path includes a system of meditation ethical precepts and how to live by them a deep and sensitive awareness of oneself and others and the development of insight that leads to a lasting inner peace

The Aryaloka Spiritual Vitality Council (SVC) has endorsed making the Path of Practice and Spiritual Development the general theme for the centerrsquos 2016 programming As part of that effort the Vajra Bell will explore the Path of Practice in more depth in this and the following two issues We start with an overview of the system by Surakshita and a closer look at the first stage of devel-oping peace by Vidhuma

ndash Editors

the Noble Eightfold Path All of this provides a firm basis on which to approach the other four aspects of the path of practice

After the development of peace and integration we start working on happiness and positive emotion by learning to meditate on loving kind-ness We build up positive emotions to work with in the varied life situa-tions we encounter We learn what the Buddha taught about these topics and about the high priority he placed on friendship Likewise as we become more integrated and more positive we begin to under-stand our mind and the concept of wisdom We then develop the capability to know our minds and more important to start controlling our actions in a positive way Our mediation will move further into working with the mind itself to un-derstand its great capacity to heal and to achieve great joy Again in this effort we rely on and study the teachings of the Buddha

Finally when we are comfort-able integrated positive and able to control our minds to some degree we work with practices to develop freedom for our hearts and minds as well as build compassion toward all beings The Buddha found that utilizing different meditation tech-niques in these five areas and living a spiritual life through following the precepts would eventually lead to knowing the truth about humanity and bring freedom joy beauty and peace to our lives

Surakshita has been studying and practicing Buddhism for 35 years He was ordained in 1998 into the Triratna Buddhist Order He has been actively engaged at Aryaloka since 1989 and is a member of the Spiritual Vitality Council

A Comprehensive Approach to Spiritual Development


Developing PeaceA Natural Starting Point on the Spiritual Path

by Dh Vidhuma

Spiritual life and prac-tice in the Triratna Bud-dhist Community (TBC) tradition is composed of five inter-related as-pects or stages These are the fibers that when

woven together make up the fab-ric of spiritual life The five aspects are described as developing peace (integration) developing happiness (positive emotions) developing wis-dom (understanding or insight into reality) developing freedom (creative perception of self others the world) and developing spontaneous com-passionate action

These five are not necessarily linear and need not develop in a stage-to-stage manner They are present in differing amounts in peo-ple at different times They support and reinforce each other No spiritual life is complete without all five being present

Developing peace is a natural be-ginning point to discuss this model of spiritual life and practice It provides a solid and basic foundation on which the other components can establish a nourishing root system beautiful blossoms and sweet fruit

A sense of peace depends on bringing together into a unified whole all the various fragments of our

experiences As we move through a day we experience a wide range of needs desires aversions and un-certainties Navigating these is often confusing Integrating the disparate experiences of our lives is no small task Yet without some sense of wholeness our experience feels like a tangle a jumble of random events without a solid core or direction We become as a shapeless bag of conflict confusion or both

The experience of peace begins with becoming familiar with who we are What is our experience of ourselves physically emotionally in-tellectually socially The only way to

Developing Peacegetting to know oneself bringing all onersquos energies together behind spiritual purpose integrationSamatha mindfulness meditations


Developing Happinesspositive connection with oneself and others skillful or positive emotionMetta and Brahma Viharas meditations

Developing Understanding and Wisdomdirect knowing transformation through insight letting go spiritual deathInsight practices

Experiencing Freedomof heart and minda new way of being spiritual rebirthSadhana meditationsBuddhannussati

No More Effortspontaneous compassionate actionJust sitting meditation


Vidhuma has been dedicated to learning Buddhism and living his life accordingly for nearly 30 years He was ordained in 1997 in the Triratna Buddhist Order and is actively engaged in teaching and other activities at Aryaloka Bud-dhist Center

natural kindness With ourselves and with others we become more honest and direct

Mindfulness in everyday life sim-plifying our lives clarifying our values and acting ethically in accordance with them monitoring our sensory input and acting with honesty and kindness are the essential prelimi-naries to leading a spiritual life They each and all are part of becoming a whole person with a unified pattern of direction and definition Developing peace in the Triratna system of spiri-tual practice and spiritual life means becoming familiar with oneself be-coming a well-integrated person with clarity of purpose

The important tools for the work of developing peace are three mind-fulness meditation seclusion and (in balance with seclusion) spiritual friendship The TBC emphasizes the development of mindfulness and concentration through teaching the mindfulness of breathing in the forms taught by the historical Buddha Re-treats and other periods of seclusion away from the busyness of the world are strongly encouraged Spiritual friendship is synonymous with Sangha life a natural part of going for refuge to the Sangha Jewel

Developing peace as with the whole of the spiritual life itself is never finished Perfect peace perfect integration perfect unity of purpose and behavior are some of the high ideals that inspire us to lead a spir-itual life A spiritual life is one that is integrated and whole We cannot have a spiritual life as only one part of our life a fragment separated from our work our personal lives our fam-ilies and the like Our spiritual lives suffuse and permeate nourish and inspire all the activities and ldquolivesrdquo that we live It is the great container that gives meaning value and direction to all the components of living the one precious life that is ours

find answers is to pay attention to our experiences our body our feelings our thoughts and our interactions with other people Paying attention requires a deliberate effort

A basic tool for paying attention is mindfulness meditation Mindfulness meditations were taught as a spiritual practice long before the time of the historical Buddha But the Buddha emphasized mindfulness and it has become a cornerstone of Buddhist teaching in all traditions Mindfulness of breathing meditation has been taught as a central part of practice in Buddhist traditions for the past two and one-half centuries

Mindfulness meditation encour-ages us to observe ourselves We learn to develop a mind that can ob-serve carefully that can concentrate on observation without distraction In meditation we become familiar with our body thoughts perceptions and emotions We can use this mind that pays careful attention not only when we meditate but as we move through our daily lives We become more fa-miliar with our experiences We notice our various actions and reactions We become aware of feelings and thoughts as they arise as they are present and as they disappear We recognize the patterns of perceptions and behaviors that make up who we are

This process of developing a greater mindfulness in meditation and in everyday life has several natu-ral consequences We begin to act on a deep tendency to bring these var-ious aspects of our experience into a more unified whole being moving in a more steady and clear direction We recognize when we are more at peace more content and when we are more agitated by confusion con-flict fear or remorse We adopt clear values or ethical guidelines that steer us away from agitation and toward inner peace We seek less stimulation and distraction in our experience of living We experience a tendency toward simplicity of living rather than complexity or confusion In our rela-tionships with others we find our-selves moving toward friendship and

- continued from page 9developing peace from the editors continued

minds and more important to start controlling our actions in a positive wayrdquo We can then begin to understand the mindrsquos ldquogreat capacity to heal and achieve great joyrdquo

What an invitation How can I not but give myself over as com-pletely as I am able to this path May you be as inspired by this issue

― Mary Schaefer

- continued from page 2Mary Schaefer

ldquoBoth invite us to lead a more beautiful life more in accordance with how things arerdquo Each goes on to point out that that the ben-efits of artistic creation are open to us all As Kirinada writes ldquoI have grown to believe that artcreativity is a birthright for all not some-thing to be indulged in only by the talented fewrdquo As I write this a battered sketchbook sits on my desk containing my own drawings that I awkwardly crafted in my living room in cafes on beaches and at Aryaloka I have just patted it and smiled

I am especially fond of the lovely essay by Mitra Dan of the Concord Sangha about teach-ing his children to meditate It reminds me of why I became a Buddhist in the first place

As always special thanks to our sangha correspondents Pete Ingraham from Aryaloka Susan DiPietro from Concord Sabina Metivier from Nagaloka Mary Salome from San Francisco Kay Jones from Missoula and Parami-ta Banerjee from Vancouver

― David Watt

- continued from page 2David Watt


As parents we have an obliga-tion to best prepare our children for their current round of life For me that task has been complicated by separation from my wife and two young children However I have managed to provide them with a gift that can lead them to the path of freedom a gift they can keep for the rest of their lives a gift that will never break should never get lost and can grow as they grow That gift was to plant the seeds of meditation in the curious minds of my daughters ndash Gracie age 9 and Katie age 5

One day while talking to Gracie on the phone she was very sad I suggested she try to meditate and that meditation helps me when Irsquom sad I told her to start by counting the breath going in and out of her nose

ldquoFeel the cool air coming in and the warm air leaving Inhellipone outhellipone inhelliptwo outhelliptwo Concentrate on the nose and the breath If you start to think of something else like what Skipper (the dog) is doing or why do I have to clean my room just realize that your thoughts have wan-dered and go back to counting the breath You can start where you left

off or start over It doesnrsquot matter Itrsquos not a big deal Continue counting until yoursquore really relaxed then stop counting

ldquoNext picture me Mommy and Katie hold-ing your hands making a circle From our hearts we shine love on each other Concentrate and feel the love then shine it back If you want you can tell me you love me

ldquoNow honey I want you to go to bed at 8 pm and I will too Sit in your bed with your legs crossed ndash lsquocriss-cross applesaucersquo the girls call it ndash and I will too I will meditate and try to send you love See if you can feel it Then you try to send me love and Irsquoll see if I can feel it Irsquoll call you tomorrow and see if it workedrdquo

At 8 pm I practiced as prom-ised The next day I called home and asked Gracie if she meditated She said quite enthusiastically ldquoYes and it worked Daddyrdquo

I asked ldquoCould you feel the love I sent you honeyrdquo

Gracie replied ldquoYes Daddy yes it made me tingle all overrdquo

I responded ldquoGreat honey I felt your love too It made me tingle all over too Now teach your sister and we can do it again tonight at 8 pmrdquo

The next day I talked to both of my girls Gracie felt tingly and Katie told me she felt the ldquoone-thou-sand-hundred lovesrdquo I sent her and she sent me back one-thou-sand-thousand loves

Itrsquos been three years now and my girls still do our ldquofamily love meditationrdquo My wife tells me that she finds them sitting ldquocriss-cross ap-plesaucerdquo sometimes before bed If one of them is having a bad day they sometimes ask me to meditate at the same time they will And I med-itate and every time I swear I feel ldquoone-thousand-thousand lovesrdquo

Two years ago I read the book A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming by Dylan Tucillo and Jared Zeizel Since then I have gone from lucid dreaming a few times a

year to at least once a week I have built stupas and met archetypal Buddhas in my dreams completed my meditation practice before I even woke up and cured lifelong sleeping issues by learning to consciously fall asleep and diffuse nightmares I believe these benefits are accessible

to anyone and I am happy to share this book

Tucillo and Zeizel begin by put-ting context around lucid dreaming explaining scientific views of how dreams work looking at studies proving lucid dreaming and review-ing some cultural history of dream-ing Many Buddhists aware of lucid dreaming in the Tibetan tradition might hesitate to adopt a practice that was traditionally reserved for advanced yogis However advances in techniques have made it easier to become lucid (Stephen Laberge

2011) and the authors emphasize that anyone can do it They start by teaching to people who canrsquot remember their dreams

First to remember your dreams they recommend writing them down Many find dream interpretation pro-vides valuable insight and strategies in this book go beyond common ones With lucid dreaming they take us further teaching first how to become aware of dreams while in them then teaching how to interpret and deepen


book review A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming review by Scott Hurley

Lead to Freedomby Mitra DanConcord SanghaA Gift that Can


The Hidden Lamp Stories From Twenty-five Centuries of Awakened Womenedited by Florence Caplow and Susan Moon

Transforming Work An Experience in Right Livelihoodby Padmasuri

A Guide to The Bodhisattvasby Vessantara

The Mind and The Way Buddhist Reflections on Lifeby Ajahn Sumedho

Being Nobody Going Nowhereby Ayya Khema

buddhaworks Dh Shantikirika

When logging in your purchases please indicate the part number for each item you are buying (if avail-able) as this helps us to track what items are selling and what items need to be reordered

Things are always shifting and changing in the bookstore so keep checking us out Buddhaworks features cards created by sangha members Bodhana Eric Ebbeson and Kavyadhristi We have 2016 calendars that are the cre-ation of artists in India The lovely artwork is worthy of framing There are two hand-made one of a kind medita-tion benches made by Paul Dupre as well as other benches and cushions You also will find a wonderful selection of pottery by Sue Ebbeson and numerous neck and wrist malas made by Bob Montgomery

Our Latest Arrival of Books Include

Buddhaworksthe aryaloka bookstore

Your support brightens Aryalokarsquos futureBuddhaworks is located at the Aryaloka Buddhist Center

No Self No Problem Awakening to Our True Nature Selfby Anam Thubten

The Sound of Silence The Selected Teachings of Ajahn Sumedho with a preface and introduction by Ajahn Amaro

Mindfulness with Breathing A Manual for Serious Beginnersby Buddhadasa Bhikkhu and Santikara Bhikkhukindfulness

The Issue at Hand and Unhindered A Mindful Path by Gil Fronsdal

Kindfulnessby Ajahn Brahm

Books by Sangharakshita DVDs from Pema Chodron and Lama Surya Das Meditation journals CDs from Thich Nhat Hanh Singing bowls Brass door chimes from Nepal and india Malas and jewelry Lots and lots of great books

awareness while in them and to do things like fly shapeshift teleport and make artistic creations

Ask yourself right now if you are dreaming yoursquoll probably have increased awareness as a result Tucillo and Zeizel recommend doing this regularly and checking things like your number of fingers and reflection in a mirror to tell if you are dreaming When you eventually try it in a dream out of habit and receive the surprise of a lifetime to find that you are dreaming you will have access to endless wonder and discovery

- continued from page 11book review

I found this book easy and enjoyable to read Itrsquos organized into sections on theory and practice Each chapter has subsections with side reading and art that makes it easier to read than continuous informa-tion It is written in a style for people unaccustomed to abstruse thinking distilling a lot of popular information on lucid dreaming in an accessible way I think Triratna Buddhists can find plenty of valuable material Sangharakshita in Living Wisely said that by expanding our limited sense of self we can get closer to a sense of having no fixed self to free us from the source of our suffering and that

connecting with our dream expe-riences can help I look forward to seeing what the sangha could make of lucid dreaming

― Scott Hurley


Impermanence is one of the three marks of existence in Buddhism All of conditioned existence is undergoing constant change

This is particularly true in the evolution of the Vajra Bell You may notice a slightly different look to the Vajra Bell this issue after a brief hiatus from publishing We welcome Callista Johnson as the Vajra Bellrsquos new designer who stays connected to the Aryaloka Sangha from her home in Montreal Canada Sadhu to Callista for a beautiful job on her first issue We offer a huge bouquet of appreciation to Rijupatha who for several years transformed the news-letter into a work of art and master-ful presentation of the Dharma

Since David Watt and I took over as co-editors a few years ago we have been inviting more contribu-tions from other North American Sanghas and are delighted to have a growing network of contributors from the Portlands in Oregon and Maine San Francisco CA Vancouver Canada Missoula MT New York Seattle WA and Portsmouth NH This outreach has included invit-ing teachings and reflections from order members throughout the Triratna Buddhist Community (TBC) The publication ndash also found on

TheBuddhistCentrecom ndash is now seen and read around the world

This has all been in an effort to build Sangha and spread the Dharma at Aryaloka and across the TBC In digging into the history of the Vajra Bell I could see the evolution and change of the newsletter over the decades in its look content and sangha mem-ber contributors

An early Aryaloka newsletter appeared in the 1980s and another newsletter (Mandala) was published in the 1990s It was in the 1990s that Viriyagita and Vidyavati who had been Aryalokarsquos center director at the time launched the Vajra Bell to ldquoimpart information and inspire read-ersrdquo build visibility and ldquoreach a larger audiencerdquo

Each issue of the Vajra Bell as now had a theme and featured teachings and reflections from order members Then too TBC order and sangha members contributed articles on a range of Dharma teachings in-cluding going for refuge meditation ethics widom samadhi and dana

The articles gave readers an opportunity to dive more deeply into the teachings and get to know order and sangha members Over time the arts were added including poetry The growth of the sangha is evident

in the increasing number of activities in the calendars of events the birth of the kula system and the reports on the changing growing operations of Aryaloka

Vajra Bell as in all conditioned ex-istence will continue to change Yet the original mission of the Vajra Bell continues ndash that of building sangha and spreading the Dharma

The look and content of the Vajra Bell has grown and evolved over the years always with the purpose to build Sangha and spread the Dharma

vajrabellAlways Changing and Focused on

Building Sangha and Spreading the Dharmaby Mary SchaeferVajra Bell co-editor


Yellow Buddha by Deb Howard

For me painting like meditation is about learn-ing to really see clearly Instead of painting what I think I know I try to see what is in front of me here now in the gift of this fleeting moment The world is so much more than we normally perceive in our limited habitual way of looking at it

Through making art I try to expand my percep-tion see things anew and recognize the freshness in every moment When I paint on site I am thinking ldquowhat does it feel like to be here in this moment unwrapping this gift of liferdquo This is true in medita-tion as well the object is just to be in the moment with what is there

In The Zen of Seeing Frederick Frank writes ldquoI have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing I realize how extraordinary it is sheer miracle the branching of a tree the structure of a dandelionrsquos seed puffrdquo

We surely know that to be alive among things is a gift yet itrsquos a gift we so often fail to unwrap To defamiliarize it is to unwrap it so we no longer see what we already know or believe but rather see directly or less indirectly

― Henry Shukman

Freezing a moment in the face of impermanence and change is to me one of the fascinating things about pho-tography The challenge is to choose a moment a com-position a perspective that captures the imagination and pleases the eye

My photograph ldquoGreen Tarardquo one of several from an upcoming exhibit at Aryaloka was taken using a handheld flashlight colored glass used as a filter and an exposure lasting several minutes In a way this Green Tara never existed in ldquoreal timerdquo she was shrouded in darkness as my flashlight painted first one area then another In a world of impermanence she never existed at all but is somehow real

― Tom Gaillard

Green Tara by Tom Gaillard

ldquoVisions of Impermanencerdquo an art exhibit featuring photographs by mitra Tom Gaillard and oil paintings by mitra Deb Howard will be on display at Aryaloka from April 19 through May 26

All are invited to attend the opening reception with the artists on Sunday April 24 from 4 to 6 pm Artwork will be on display weekdays from 10 am to 1 pm and Tuesday evenings from 5 to 7 pm or by appointment (603) 659 5456

arts at aryaloka Aryaloka has a deep commitment to the contemplative arts ndash supporting the art pro-cess creativity and artistic expression as tools for communicating spiritual insights and in the process of creation dropping the self

On the day that I diewhat else will I doAfter breakfast I will brush my teethI will give a stranger an extra quarterfor his parking meterI will use real maple syrupI will postpone telling youwhat Irsquove always wanted you to know

poetry cornerEmily Dickinson Heard a Fly Buzzby Dh Kavyadrishti

This is true for me as well Through art the most familiar things can become a source of wonder So both creating art and meditating can become sources of deep joy and gratitude

― Deb Howard


Bhante Sangharakshita our Buddhist teacher and a poetoften talked and wrote about how art can challenge our perceptions awareness and experience of truth and reality

In this issue four artists and Buddhists share how by applying a similar kind of awareness to their art that they develop in medi-tation they have discovered a path to transform how they see themselves and the world

Exploring Art Poetry Music amp Movement as Part of Onersquos Spiritual Practice


I came to meditation through art The first time I sat with medita-tion instructions I went into a deep pristine place where ldquoselfrdquo was gone where there was

no separation where I merged into that inner space I knew I had been there before many times with my artwork There was no ldquomerdquo on the cushion as there had been no ldquomerdquo at the end of the brush no ego even working with the judgment of what color should come next where the line should go whether this was worth doing I became as hooked on meditation as I was on art on moving materials around on paper canvas and cloth

For years I looked for bread-crumbs of experience droppings from others who could share with me their knowledge about art and meditation I searched the work of psychologists meditation teachers

the writing of fellow artists thirsty for an explanation of what I experienced I asked in art workshops that I led if anyone had ever experienced ldquolosing selfrdquo of merging I was thrilled when up to 75 of the advanced students said yes We shared something ndash ineffable yes ndash but there Many of us know this experience from childhood but have forgotten it We now watch our children or grandchildren lost in play and can remember that place

I was encouraged to find the writings of psychoanalyst and pedia-trician DW Winnicott who spoke of a clear interrelationship between art psychotherapy and meditation ldquoAll three disciplines thrive when the curi-ous in-between state of bare atten-tion is allowed to become dominantrdquo he said In that in-between state that transitional space that formless ex-perience a bridge can be kept open

Kiranada went off for a year of silence to a small hut on the Coromandel Peninsula of New Zealand

lsquoLosing Selfrsquo

Exploring the Connection Between Art and Meditation

between imagination and everyday experience

A 2004 Tricycle magazine article cited Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyirsquos theory of ldquoflowrdquo the optimum experience of happiness when people are so involved in an activity that nothing else matters an experience so enjoyable that people do it at great cost to themselves for the sheer sake of doing it I learned that flow experiences dominate the lives of artists athletes musicians chess masters and even surgeons

This I knew that place in my meditation that I could drop into where nothing else was more im-portant when I could stay seated unmoving even if the ceiling fell in a feeling that I was sitting with what really mattered Even concentration was gone Everything outside was just unreal not true reality

by Dh Kiranada


I had found this in the art pro-cess too I wondered if the ldquoabsorp-tionsrdquo ndash as Ayya Khema a Buddhist teacher calls the jhana states of ecstasy calm contentment and

stillness ndash were a link I wanted to un-derstand where my art experiences fit in with these Buddhist studies of self and the bliss of transcending

I am still researching this Could these art experiences be first or second jhana Is there a connection between what artists and meditators experience between art and med-itation Something that we are still discovering Are the contemplative arts in some way a stepping stone to awakening as the Zen arts tell us

Moving to Japan I learned of The Way (Dō) I heard monks encour-age western practitioners to study enlightenment through following the Zen arts rather than the arduous 18 hour zazen sits that were usually proscribed Could this be true Could studying Sho-dō (the Way of the Brush) or Cha-dō (The Way of Tea) even Aiki-dō (The Way of Ki Energy) be ways to transcend and reach the ineffable Different routes

Returning to the USA after 18 years abroad and still on the trail of art and meditation I found more connection to this ineffable route in the work of our Triratna found-er Bhante Sangharakshita a poet himself I learned of his struggles early on while training in India the struggles he experienced between time on the meditation cushion and Dharma writing the work of the intellectual and the joy he found through participation in and appre-ciation of the arts He asked himself if involvement with the arts could lead to enlightenment or was it only indulgence Through personal explorations he found a deep and valuable integration between these two aspects of head and heart

From these musings we have the Triratna Buddhist Community where Dharma study is entwined with the emotional positivity of the arts and ritual Both can be paths

to awakening Increasing our expo-sure and appreciation of art and the natural world around us can have some definite impact on the life of a Bodhisattva

Like Sangharakshita I too had questions about the paths to en-lightenment that were not the usual While some young people show early artistic talent that discovery and in-tense focus can separate them from others I have grown to believe that artcreativity is a birthright for all not something to be indulged in only by the talented few those gifted in art areas To truly ldquoseerdquo to increase our awareness of line and color in our environment our awareness of bal-ance and repetition is not something only gifted artists can do or should do I grew to believe that the joy and bliss that comes from this is a

Dharma study is entwined with the emotional positivity of the arts and ritual Both can be paths to awakening

Appreciating beauty in impermanence Kiranada watched leaves transform from green to gray to yellow


birthright for all of usI carried all of this with me

into seven solitary retreats until it seemed imperative that I take a longer quiet time of contemplation to follow my reflections and the dropped breadcrumbs of others and explore further the connection between art and meditation

So in July of 2014 I went off for a year to a small hut on a windy precipice on the Coromandel Pen-insula of New Zealand to discover to explore silence to know myself better to be quiet and reflective and to investigate all of this Art is done in silence I had been drawn to this idea of silence of a solitary life and its possible fruits for decades ever since I saw a film in my teen years about the Birdman of Alcatraz and his solitary confinement

I asked myself what would happen if I sat alone in a confine-ment of choice on a ridge for 360 days Would any art come from it Any insights With many questions I sat meditated immersed myself in clouds took my tea into the bush and asked to learn what it had to


teach me I asked if I could live more fully in the moment Could I wake up to being grateful appreciative Through my life in the arts I knew that to be creative is to let go I wanted to find silence I listened and watched and took it in creating with what I had

I opened my ears and my eyes in new ways remembering again and again a refrain from a favorite poem ldquoMind Set Freerdquo by the 14th century Zen master and poet Shutaku (1308-1388) who lived at Nanzen-ji Temple in my beloved Kyoto

Mind set free in the Buddha realmI sit at the moon-filled windowWatching the mountain with my earsHearing the stream with open eyesEach molecule preaches perfect lawEach moment chants a true sutraThe most fleeting thought is timelessA single hair is enough to stir the sea

With eyes wide open and ears receptive I took in that landscape before me Thoughts bubbled up and I remembered how to let them go and become the landscape a leaf a piece of bamboo I remembered how to transfer that to art to paper I remembered the ancient Japanese wisdom about ldquoThe Way to Draw Bam-boordquo

First draw bamboo for ten yearsThen become bambooThen forget all about bambooWhen you are drawing

Become a bamboo I knew that when you focus and really look at something you actually can fall in love I remembered a one-inch crack in the tile floor at a Java monastery that I noted every day on my walking meditation and how it became a tiny fish a vertebrae in my mind that was transferred to a cut stencil that worked into four pieces of rozomewax-resist art work

I remembered a leaf I passed everyday on my meditation path in New Zealand that I fell in love with I watched and noted it over 11 months I saw its transformation watched the insect bites enlarge its glossy green color dull blemishes and stains enlarge from green to gray to yellow I realized that this leaf was aging just as I was aging Falling in love appreciating the impermanace of life I grew to note the simple beauty all around me

I remembered others in a solitary life and how even when all was taken away when all was destroyed there was beauty to see I found

When I gave a talk for Triratnarsquos Urban Retreat this past fall on ldquoArts and Beautyrdquo I was asked to include some suggestions on what we might do in our own urban and rural environments to make art part of our lives I share these ideas with you

middot Simplify Clean your space for new views

middot Take an art class a drawing class or a design class not to become proficient to produce masterpieces or become an artist but to learn to see to appre-ciate what surrounds you Learn to see line color pattern texture variety and contrast and to feed your emotions

middot Encourage others and appreciate what they have created Buy art Give it away

middot Note the beautiful in each day not only when the glorious sun shines through the fall leaves but also when it is deliciously rainy damp and full of puddles moving gray clouds or mist Yummy Nourishing

middot Celebrate the changing seasons Cre-ate from the bounty Cook a new dish for friends Create a collage of found materials Build a shrine to the season a woodland stupa of found rocks

middot Have a weekly ldquoart daterdquo as Julia Cam-eronsrsquos book The Artistrsquos Way suggests

middot Go to a museum and spend time with just one or two paintings only alone Take them in

middot Go to a concert or listen to a fine re-cording and absorb all the subtle levels of melody and rhythm

middot Go to the woods to an urban park to one tree a blade of grass or twig and see what it has to tell you In the inner city even a bit of odd machinery a jumble of trash or a smudge of graffiti has a message beauty

Making Art a Part of Your Life and Daily Practice

by Dh Kiranada

- continued from page 17lsquolosing selfrsquo


solace in my research about others confined in the harsh conditions of solitary confinement

middot Nien Cheng who fell in love with a small spider and its miraculous web connecting with it daily during her six years in solitary confinement in Shanghai

middot Robert Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz) who discovered a small bird nest in the exer-cise yard and made it his life work over 43 years of silence in prison at Leavenworth Kansas and in Alcatraz California

middot Dr Edith Bone who trans-lated poems she had mem-orized into the six languages she knew over the seven years she was held in a frigid dark cell in Hungary

All three found beauty in their environment and creative ways of handling the most severe conditions and survived ndash whole ndash because of it

I reflected on finding that cre-ativity in my own environment What floated into my consciousness was a trip with my teenage daughter to the Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand years ago After days of tromping through jungle-like thickets cross-ing rivers meeting tribesmen with guns on their backs feeling echoes of a long-gone Vietnam War we arrived in a high village After a little unpacking we each went our own way to explore I soon circled round and discovered my daughter (who disavows any art talent herself) there on her knees surrounded by a gaggle of small children working the earth smoothing the brilliant red iron-soaked dirt making lines and patterns in it Each child pressed a vi-brant green leaf from nearby shrubs into the earth patterns creating an amazing abstract painting there on the ground with available materials No shared language no pre-plan-ning yet a cooperative project It was a dazzling piece of art that still so

Away from her usual art materials while on a year-long retreat Kiranada created a Buddha collage of the tiny stickers collected from the fruit she ate

Kiranada artist lecturer and author found Buddhism after arriving in Kyoto in 1981 Returning to the USA she was ordained in the Triratna Buddhist Order in 2009 Kiranada has exhibited her art in more than 50 exhibitions worldwide and delights in coordinating the Contemplative Arts Program at Aryaloka

many years later I see in my mindrsquos eye as a glorious environmental painting in the hills of Thailand

And I there in New Zealand away from my usual art materials found my own ways to express creativity Collecting tiny stickers from every piece of fruit that came into my hut over the year I created a Buddha collage from it in the last weeks I painted mantras on rocks I painted mantras on a chair I stitched cloth pulling up threads recording I watched I listened

I wrote of this in my journal Notes from a Year of Silence ldquoA year on a precipice in the wilderness of New Zealand Alone I look listen and explore silence Working with needle and Ahimsa (non-harm) silk I consider how to lsquorecordrsquo silence how to make silence visible I look at the capacity of cloth to absorb to mute to hold sound between the tines of thread silence woven in and held

ldquoI look at the work I have created with silk and dyes and see the ruffles and ridges of silence embedded in the weave silence ndash quiet and pris-tine yet articulated Woven stitched

pulled marked with plant essence with plant residue with dyes silence in my hands silence in my fingers listening ndash hearing with my eyes watching with my earsrdquo

And so I went to a mountain with questions with years of re-search and study with observations of art processes and my own mind I went to a hut on a precipice with all of these thoughts there to watch and consider to let go to dissolve into the rising mist to transform into the waning moon to fall in love with a tattered leaf on a meditation path Art Buddhism Samsara The jhanas Impermanence Joy and bliss

While on retreat Kiranada stitched cloth and painted mantras on a chair


Meditation teacher and writer Kamalashila says that all our meditation practices should be aimed toward realiza-tion That is our efforts at various kinds of

meditations ndash mindfulness of breath-ing metta bhavana the six element practice visualizations and so on ndash should have one ultimate goal the understanding of how things are

Looked at from one point of view our meditation practices (and any-thing in life itself) can be tools to un-veil more and ever more completely the three lakshanas the three marks of conditioned existence Meditation deepens both our ability and resolve to constantly look into the nature of existence that it is impermanent (an-icca) that it is replete with suffering (dukkha) and that it is devoid of per-manent selfhood (anatta) The more we penetrate these three lakshanas the more we are able to live life cre-atively appropriately and happily

As someone who spends a great deal of time thinking about and play-ing music I often have contemplated the connections between music and various aspects of the Buddhist path and meditation in particular

On a practical level there are several obvious commonalities To learn an instrument and advance at it require the same things meditation does discipline patience flexibility receptivity commitment energy good teachers whom you trust and the help and support of friends Prefera-bly you have a daily practice Even if you reach an advanced level to main-tain that still requires effort and more discipline Therersquos no letting up

At the same time with advance-ment comes a certain ease What you once found challenging no longer is you are on to more refined hurdles So it is in meditation particularly on retreat The gross hindrances have been met and handled quite readily and we are working at a higher level and dealing with more subtle states of mind

As well as these arenas where music and meditation have much in common I have wondered Can music like meditation point us to a deeper understanding and penetration of the three lakshanas Can music point the way to a truer more real way of perceiving the world and thus living better within it

The great Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache said ldquoEvery art has

one single goal freedomrdquo and that ldquobeauty is just a stage on the path to truthrdquo For Celibidache the sense of beauty we feel and respond to in a great music performance is all very well but itrsquos only the bait leading us to something deeper and profound-ly more important freedom For him this freedom was both palpable and mystical ldquoMusic is the shortest route to human revelation and the existence of the central cosmic vibrationrdquo

It is easy to see that music particularly when it is heard live (which may be one of the values of hearing live music) can stand as a great metaphor for the three lakshanas the more potent because it is or can be a lived metaphor As metaphors are devices to aid in a deeper understanding of the thing described then music is indeed a tool like meditation for seeing more deeply into the lakshanas

Anicca (impermanence) More than all other art forms except possibly theater music is temporal by its very nature Itrsquos unretrievable experienced moment by moment Its temporality demonstrates its impermanent nature The advent of recorded sound began to give us an

Music Meditation and the Nature of Existence

by Dh Sravaniya


Sravaniya (far right) plays violin in the Aryaloka Quar-tet with (left to right) Beth Welty (violin) Noralee Walker (viola) and Sandi-Jo Malmon (cello)

illusion of reversing this temporality But try as we might however many times we play our favorite track song or CD we are still bound by time flowing by things changing and ending

Perhaps one of the reasons mu-sic is so viscerally powerful is that by its very nature it is giving us a taste of reality We know we canrsquot hang on to it We actually appreciate its im-permanence as something profound and real and we are grateful for that

Dukkha (suffering) Can music give us any deeper understanding of the suffering that characterizes conditioned existence Hmm Surely music is wonderful and pleasing Otherwise we wouldnrsquot listen to it would we Through its identifiably impermanent nature we are able to more easily see that clinging to the experience is futile and brings suffering

Think of a time when yoursquove listened to a favorite piece of music one that you really love and that you know brings certain responses of joy gratitude and delight or perhaps a sweet melancholy and nostalgia You love this experience this deep and easy emotional connection It may well be that you want to hang on to the feeling the experience Thatrsquos quite natural But you know perfectly well that itrsquos a double-edged sword and that you have to let it go In this regard too the experience of music is always pointing to something real

the constant dissatisfaction that aris-es through grasping for permanence

Anatta (non-self) Can music help us realize the empty nature of phenomena The abstract non-con-ceptual nature of most music is one of the strongest indirect methods we have of perceiving the fact that things donrsquot have a permanent non-chang-ing self We hear a piece of music but what actually is that We have been stimulated through the sense door of the ear but what really has been doing the stimulating Itrsquos a congeries of sounds organized in a certain way thatrsquos familiar to us but which is very hard to grasp or describe Unlike a chair a table or a book or indeed ourselves which we latch onto as sol-id entities mistaking our experience of them for the thing itself all we can really point to in music is the experi-ence itself

One aspect or outcome of anatta is the universal interconnectedness of things Through the infinite web of conditions we are all connected Though much of the time trapped by our tendency of ldquoselfingrdquo we fail to see this

One afternoon in Philadelphia I was sight-reading string quartets Irsquod never met the violist Tom before I believe we were playing Mozart Somehow both through the music and our playing it became clear and completely known to both of us that we were connecting on a deep level that we were appreciating that we

Sravaniya has been practicing music since about age 6 and Bud-dhism and meditation since 1978 He was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order in 2003 He plays violin in the Aryaloka String Quar-tet is music director of the NH Phil-harmonic Orchestra and conducts and teaches at UMass Lowell

were not bound by self but tran-scending it and furthermore that a future good friendship was being ce-mented then and there as we played This did indeed become the case My interpretation of such events is that when we open the door to the three lakshanas through music we can be richly rewarded We are able to do so because music is that door

The next time you listen to music see how readily you can appreciate its impermanence the fact that by its very nature of change and movement itrsquos impermanent Recognize any tendency to grab onto and hold the experience and know that itrsquos contrary to the very nature of music to do this and that this will bring suffering See that therersquos no inherent existence in this music It is just an experience in the immediate moment nothing more nothing less See if this leads to a more expansive relationship with the music and the experience

As with meditation so with music Both invite us to lead a more beautiful life more in accordance with how things are Can we em-brace this beauty Can we enter the realm of the cosmic vibration Can we contemplate and realize what the Buddha said to Subhuti

Like a tiny drop of dew or a bubble floating in a streamLike a flash of lightning in a summer cloudOr a flickering lamp an illusion a phantom or a dreamSo is all conditioned existence to be seen

page 22

Bhante Sangharakshitarsquos poetry is accessible For me thatrsquos what makes his writing valuable

Just as Bhantersquos commentaries on tra-ditional writings of the Buddha Dharma can

help us understand meaning so his poems can touch an emotional chord to awaken deep meanings beyond words This of course is the value of all poetry as well as good prose It is whatrsquos valuable about all the arts as Sravaniya tells us of music and Kiranada and others of the visual arts ndash painting drawing sculpture and photography

All art captures a moment points to a meaning that can so easily be lost as we engage in our everyday lives Just as we can lose something when we leave a retreat we can easily lose those moments our own experienc-es in those moments But moments captured in words or music or images by others are there to be retrieved thanks to the artist and the Buddhist teachers who continually point us back to those moments that are so easily lost They are not forgotten just painted over by the sounds of traffic by the clutter of plastic in Walmart and by our own sloth and torpor

I encourage you to indulge in the arts whenever you can snatch a few moments from your busy life I also encourage you to capture your own moments spiritual moments for lack of a better word Itrsquos interesting that poets talk of images A good poem uses concrete images In music we talk of images that a piece of music evokes

Let us all capture those images If yoursquore too shy to share them with oth-ers then hide them away in a bottom drawer But cherish them capture them and appreciate those who have the skill to make the images alive for others

ImagesIndulge in the Arts

by Dh Kavyadrishti

Kavyadrishti attended her first med-itation class in Maine more than 20 years ago where she helped organize a local sangha and later moved to New Hampshire to be near Aryaloka She has had a long-standing interest in the gardens at Aryaloka as well as a passion for writing especially poetry


I have been a practicing Buddhist for 15 years and a physical theater artist (dance and move-ment) for 25 Exploring ldquomovement practicesrdquo has been part of my life

since I was a child starting with the yoga class my mother taught in our living room in Bangkok when I was 11 I went on to tae kwon do and then dance

I fell in love with dance and studied western forms ndash ballet jazz modern It became my profession I still couldnrsquot have enough I took up contact improvisation in my 30s and aerial arts in my 40s To earn a living of which I have done very little via my dance career I followed my curiosity to learn about my ldquoinstrumentrdquo for movement the body I studied mas-sage therapy shiatsu reiki and finally the Feldenkrais Method Feldenkrais is a neuro-muscular re-education method often used by theater art-ists athletes and musicians for injury

rehabilitation and enhancement of performance skills I eventually became a Feldenkrais teacher and practitioner

I donrsquot know where my life as a physical theater artist teacher or Feldenkrais practitioner would be without my Buddhist practice Nor do I know how far my Buddhist practice could have gone without my explora-tion of movement

I believe we begin on the spiritual path with the intent to improve the quality of our lives and also for some of us to improve the quality of life for other sentient beings We begin to transform moving one layer at a time from what Buddhism refers to as conditioned existence into the un-conditioned We practice experience interpret and respond in and through the vehicle of a living breathing moving body

Dr Moshe Feldenkrais the founder of the method was a phys-icist engineer and judo black belt and one could say a movement

expert He said ldquoI believe that the unity of mind and body is an objec-tive reality They are not just parts somehow related to each other but an inseparable whole while function-ing A brain without a body could not thinkrdquo

This view profoundly changed my practice One of the major tasks of our practice is to look at our habitu-al conditioned ldquore-actionsrdquo and find how we can let go of or at least loos-en our grip on habits that perpetu-ate our suffering that donrsquot serve us in the pursuit of an ethical life and that congeal us into our sense of be-ing fixed selves making change seem impossible

This self-examination as Bud-dhist practitioners know is a daunt-ing undertaking on the cushion In our living moving bodies though we have our greatest ally According to Feldenkrais ldquoAll behavior is a com-plex of mobilizing muscles sensing ndash feeling and thought Most of what

Practicing in a Living BodyMovement is Life

ndash continued on page 24

by Sita Mani


goes on within us remains dulled and hidden from us until it reaches the muscles We do not become aware of what is happening in our central ner-vous system until we become aware of changes that have taken place in our stance stability and attitude for these changes are more easily feltrdquo

Even sitting still on a cushion there is constant movement There is breathing blood flow nerve impulse muscular contraction and release and more All these biological func-tions are tempered by our current experience So as Feldenkrais points out our experiences come to our awareness first through the physical-ly-felt sense

It is this aspect of awareness I have found helpful in my practice As my precious friend and guide Amala taught me to do I anchor my attention to the moving felt-sense aspect of my experience as distinct from the thought aspect of it and I allow it to play This practice not only frees me from the tyranny of thought habitual interpretation and reactive responses but also provides a natural doorway to the possibility of no longer being held in the captive grip of conditioned learned thought-based response

When an experience is too overwhelming for me to contain on the cushion (I am after 15 years a Buddhist still a beginner) I have found movement improvisation to be an effective tool Improvisation is a practice many artists use expressly to enter the creative state I will refer specifically to movement improvisa-tion below

Anyone can practice movement improvisation It involves moving free-ly within a comfortable and healthy range in a private space or group en-vironment The range or ability of an individual is not important the prac-tice is one of cultivating awareness of our impulses and exploring freedom and spontaneity Even the smallest movements provide a vehicle for exploration Movement allows onersquos

energies to manifest express and move without the trap of interpreta-tion until whatever feels damned up gets freed back into its natural flow

I also have found my energies or the felt-moving aspect of experience can be channeled effectively through ancient movement practices such as qi gong or yoga These practices are based in a philosophy of life force energy (or prana in Indian philosophy and ki or chi in Chinese philosophy) In these ancient philosophies as well the mind and body are not consid-ered separate fractured entities

Asana practice is a limb of yoga that cultivates and shifts an individu-alrsquos awareness gradually from grosser to subtler consciousness I find when practicing with concentration and mindfulness and without force yoga asanas encourage the attention away from mental activity toward physical experiencing They move and redis-tribute stagnant energy harness and redirect excess energies The result is not subtle When I practice yoga before I meditate most of my preoc-cupations vanish my mind is quieter and in a more energized state I sit more comfortably am more physi-cally present and the number and forms of hindrances I encounter are fewer they are clearer more easily identifiable and far less seductive

When I learn new movement forms that are challenging in their un-known quality in order to trust that I will be ok I am forced to practice the

Sita Mani a physical theater artist and Buddhist took up aerial arts in her 40s

ndash continued from page 23movement is life

invaluable art of turning my atten-tion away from the ldquomental chatter and feel sensationrdquo Feeling my body and breath attending and respond-ing with one pointed focus to the finely timed instructions I find for a brief moment the freedom to which I aspire in my spiritual life I viscerally experience what complete presence and shraddha (faith) can be like as we ldquostep off the precipice of conceptsrdquo as Sangharakshita once said into nothing

Movement is a gift to my Dhar-ma practice and helps me be gentle with my incessantly chattering mind It provides me with experiential proof that this undertaking is possi-ble and gives me hope for accom-plishing the seemingly overwhelm-ing objective of transformation

The gift exchange flows both ways As a creative artist in theater a performer and creator of original work Buddhist practice has been a cornerstone in my development The practice of mindfulness keep-ing attention on one thing at a time has allowed me to slowly shed what is a primary obstacle for many art-ists the personal storyline the per-petual inner monologue critiquing the self and work as it is happening This is a common trap and hinders any real work from being produced I donrsquot think I was able to identify and separate out this aspect before I came across Buddhism If I was aware of it I had no means to work


around it My mindfulness practice offers a vehicle for me to embark more deeply and effectively on my quest to further my artistry

In Blood Memory Martha Graham wrote ldquoThere is a vitality a life force an energy a quickening that is trans-lated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time this expression is unique And if you block it it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you Keep the channel openrdquo

Dharma practice and the teach-ings are what started me on a real creative journey perhaps for the first time by teaching me to loosen just a little my death grip on my sense of a self to be protected at any cost I am not far along in this but even the lit-tle ungrasping I am able to do allows me to put the art and process first

Another big challenge for an artist is letting go of onersquos fixed ideas to allow inspiration to come

Sita Mani has been a practicing Bud-dhist and mitra with Triratna for 15 years She is a physical theater artist who performs creates movement based original work and teaches in New York She also is a licensed and practicing massage therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner

through One has to be receptive for true creativity to come forth What better practice for this than to let go of thought return to the breath and patiently soften around failed expec-tations over and over

Teachings on compassion give me the courage and a useful con-text in which to look at myself my strengths and weaknesses abilities and limitations in a more realistic less polarized way Through count-less grueling hours on the cushion humbling unskillful interactions with sangha (despite my good intentions) and with the wise and compassionate guidance of those ahead of me on the path I am developing a deeper understanding of and compassion for myself and the human condition This gift allows my work to be more sin-cere compassionate and more con-sciously crafted with the intention of transformation toward a more skillful creative existence for all involved ndash the artists and the audience

I end by celebrating what is the natural marriage of my movement

and Buddhist practices by drawing attention to one of my favorite Bud-dhist teachings the three lakshanas The three marks of conditioned existence are suffering (or unsatisfac-toriness) impermanence and insub-stantiality (no fixed self) I place these enlightened offerings in the compas-sionate and wise basket of Feldenk-raisrsquo words uttered remarkably many hundreds of years after the Buddha

ldquoNothing is permanent about our behavior patterns except our belief that they are so Movement is life Life is a process Improve the quality of the process and you improve the quality of life itselfrdquo

designerrsquos noteI donrsquot expect to have the luxury of half a page of space to fill often so I thought I would take this opportunity to say hello to everyone My name is Callista John-

son and Irsquom a writer artist designer and graphic novel maker based in Montreal I donrsquot consider myself a Buddhist so when the offer to work on the Vajra Bell came to me I was curious but hesitant Choosing to accept the position has been life-al-tering

Creating this issue has been wonderfully instructive more than a bit stressful and hugely satisfying on a personal level I made a plethora of mistakes in the last months and spent hours ndash days at this point ndash correcting them I can tell that I will learn and grow so much from working on this project With each

subsequent issue I make Irsquoll get more proficient and will be able to bring the articles to life with greater confidence I would like to stretch my capabilities and draw illustrations for the compositions to more clearly represent the writerrsquos voice and thoughts

I hope you enjoy the work Irsquove done Rijupatha left enormous shoes for me to fill and I want to continue to deliver a quality newsletter that isnrsquot merely informative but beautiful as well something that you will be proud to share with your friends and family or display on the coffee table at Aryaloka for Friendsrsquo Night

Irsquod like to thank Mary and David for their support and compassion as we transition into a cohesive team Starting a new project of this scale can be intimidating and they helped me find my feet

Irsquom looking forward to facilitating future issues and am grateful for having the chance to provide this service

― Callista Johnson

Uncomfortable resistance will change you Take yourself a little further


Living With Mindfulness Introductory Retreat

Led by Dh Sunada and Dh Viriyalila

What does it means to live mind-fully How do we bring more calm and inner clarity into our daily lives How can we stay confident and pur-poseful when times get rough This gentle introductory retreat is open to all especially those with no prior ex-perience of meditation or Buddhism

April 15 mdash 17

April 29 mdash May 1After the First Bite Mindful Eating

Led by Megrette Fletcher

Bring the power of mindfulness into your life by engaging in the practice of mindful eating To trans-form your mind health and life learn how to use a three-step interaction with food and the act of eating using 2500-year-old wisdom from the Bud-dhist tradition

The three steps include checking in noticing aspects of our experience and bringing kindness to whatever arises These three steps can trans-form any meal into something that goes beyond the nutrients on the plate The act of eating mindfully can change neural pathways allowing new behaviors to emerge

This weekend retreat will also discuss three common obstacles to mindfulness and mindful eating and three helpful tools to overcome them

The retreat is open to anyone in-terested in cultivating mindfulness in daily life or around food and eating in

upcoming retreats Retreats give us an opportunity to slow everything down and spend time reflecting on what is most important Aryaloka offers frequent weekend and periodic weeklong retreats To register for a retreat please visit aryalokaorgcategoryretreats

We will explore the Bud-dharsquos teachings on mindfulness in a down-to-earth practical way through meditation discussion and hands-on exercises Wersquoll also in-vestigate how to live with greater awareness and contentment with ourselves and in turn how to live in harmony with the world around us There will be detailed instruction for those who are new to meditation and periods of silent practice for those with experience

particular Some prior experience of mindfulness meditation is helpful but not necessary for participation

If you have specific allergies issues or conditions relating to food and eating please inform the Aryalo-ka staff when you register All meals will be prepared on-site and staying in residence at Aryaloka for the week-end is recommended

Special note This workshop has been approved for 20 CEU for Registered Dietitians

At Aryaloka we strive to make our programs available to every-one regardless of their financial circumstances Our fee structure allows you to pay according to your means The Sustaining price is for people comfortably paying their rent or mortgage and who can afford the occasional meal out and movie The Sustaining price level also helps Aryaloka offer lower prices to those who otherwise could not afford to attend Any payment above this price is a tax-deductible donation

Mid-Level prices are for those who have a regular income and are paying their mortgage or rent Prices at this level contribute to the range of Aryalokarsquos operat-ing costs

The Base-Level price is for those without an income or with an income low enough that making ends meet is a challenge Those whose circumstances are not included above can call the office to arrange alternate pricing

Retreat participants are asked to work together to pre-pare and clean up after meals and to help with general cleanup at the end of the retreat

Megrette Fletcher MEd RD CDE is an internationally recognized expert on mindful eating who helped co-found The Center for Mindful Eating wwwTCMEorg Megrette is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital She is the author of two books including Eat What You Love Love What You Eat with Diabetes believes that mindfulness practice is an essential part of health and has maintained a daily meditation practice since 1999 For more information visit megrettecom


June 3 mdash 5Opening to the Heartrsquos Wisdom Meditation Retreat

Led by Dh Yashobodhi

June 17 mdash 27Noble Silence Intensive Retreat

Led by Dh Bodhana Dh Karunasara and Dh Lilasiddhi

July 21 mdash 26Summer Stillness

Meditation Retreat Led by Dh Amala

Several days of stillness silence and meditation can be an important means to deeper understanding of ourselves and the Dharma Through reading and study classes and par-ticipation in sangha life the Buddhist way of life gradually permeates Retreat time helps our learning soak through to our core so that we are

more consistently and fully express-ing kindness and wisdom in our lives

On this retreat we will have sev-eral formal meditation sessions each day including the practice of Mind-fulness of Breathing Metta Bhavana open lsquoformlessrsquo meditations and walking meditation There will also be time during the day for person-al contemplation yoga practice or deep rest

Over the course of five days there will be one or two optional private meditation ldquoreviewsrdquo for each participant

There will also be optional small-group check-ins twice during the re-treat for those who find sharing their experience helps them to be con-scious of the patterns and processes they are experiencing

We will hear short poems of inspiration and will have chanting of mantras andor offering of puja as we find them helpful

We will be in silence for the du-ration of the retreat apart from these supportive sessions

In silence we can hear our inner voice more clearly In stillness we can see the ripples of our patterns and reactivity more distinctly In medita-tion we can see ourselves holding on and letting go In the simplicity of retreat we can set aside commit-ments and activities we can let go of whatever hinders our way to peace and happiness and wisdom

Enjoy sitting in the shrine room with the sounds of summer birds and insects Discover the freedom of letting go into silence and stillness within and all around

This retreat is open to those with some meditation experience Introductory meditation instruction is not offered on this retreat however guidance and support are available through the small group sharing ses-sions and the one-to-one reviews

This intensive retreat creates an atmosphere conducive to extended meditation with the fewest external distractions Retreat participants will have no responsibilities during their time here so they can focus com-pletely on their meditation practice An emphasis on the collective aspect

of practice using the five precepts is woven into the fabric of this retreat

Participants will have the oppor-tunity for daily individual conversa-tions with retreat leaders about their meditation practice

Meals will be light and snacks will be provided After a brief intro-duction and a question and answer period the first evening we will be in Noble Silence until the morning of the final day

An intensive meditation weekend inviting the heart to be open and listening deeply to what it is trying to tell us Just sitting with the wisdom of the heart we are breathing in the world and breathing out our influ-ence on the world allowing the mys-terious process of the bodhichitta to manifest in our experience Come

along and find out where your heart will take you This meditation week-end retreat is open to those with previous experience of meditation

upcoming events All events are subject to change For the latest information and more details on events check our web site at aryalokaorgcalendarevents or call the office at 603-659-5456

JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun

17 Retreat ndash Noble SilenceFri

27 Mon

ongoing events


VISIONS OF IMPERMANENCE

Aryaloka will have the ldquoVisions of Impermanencerdquo art exhibit on view featuring the art of Tom Gaillard and

Deb Howard

April 19 ndash May 22

arts at aryaloka

More details on the exhibit and

articles from the artists

page 14

More details on the upcoming retreats are located on pages 26 ndash 27 To register for a retreat please visit aryalokaorgcategoryretreats

RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL

06 Silent Auction and Fundraising Dinner

Fri

Retreat ndash Living with Mind-fulness (introductory) Led by Viriyalila and Sunada

19 Visions of Impermanence (art exhibit opens)

Tue

20 Six-week Intermediate Meditation Course beginsLed by Lilasiddhi

Wed

23 Ancient Wisdom Study Day Lighting up the Gos-inga Sala-tree WoodLed by Vidhuma

Sat

24 Young Sangha HangoutSun

Retreat ndash After the First Bite Mindful EatingLed by Megrette Fletcher

29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to

Retreat ndash Compassion and Emptiness (order members)Led by Kamalashila

02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat

08 Deepening Practice GroupSun

20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun


26 Visions of Impermanence (art exhibit closes)

Thu

to to

03 Retreat ndash Open to the Heartrsquos Wisdom (meditation retreat)Led by Yashobodhi

Fri

05 Sunto to

to to

Every Tuesday evening 645 ndash 915 pm

bull Led by Amala Arjava and other sangha membersbull Open to allbull Suggested donation $10 per classbull No registration necessary

Typically our Tuesday night activities includebull 645 ndash Gathering tea and an-nouncementsbull 700 ndash Meditation and shrine room activitybull 745 ndash Study discussion or a talk on the eveningrsquos topicbull 915 ndash End

Friendsrsquo Night at Aryaloka

With these activities you are free to participate or to just sit and listen Nothing is compulsory If you have any questions please ask

Open Meditation Practice

Are you looking for more opportunities to meditate with others or for help maintaining a regular meditation practice Join us on Monday Tuesday and Thursday mornings for open meditation sessions followed by time for discussion Everyone is welcome to attend Some guidance will be provided for those new to meditation The open medita-tion sessions will not be held when retreats are in session There is no fee for these sessions but donations are appreciated No registration required

Monday Morning Sessions7 ndash 8 am and 830 ndash 1030 am

Tuesday and Thursday Sessions9 am ndash 1000 am


vajrabell

Dh Amala (Chair) Dh Vidhuma (Vice Chair)

Dh Arjava Dh Dayalocana Dh Surakshita

SPIRITUAL VITALITY COUNCIL

CO-EDITOR Mary Schaefer mbschaefercomcastnet

CO-EDITOR David Watt davidwatt1956gmailcom

COPY EDITOR Dh Vihanasari vihanasaricomcastnet

ARTS EDITOR Deb Howard dshoward1aolcom

DESIGN Callista Cassadycallistacassadygmailcom

VAJRA BELL KULA

from the editors Mary Schaefer

Co-editing the Vajra Bell for me is a very selfish venture I love writing and editing (is that a form of grasping) and planning and preparing each issue is a joyous

work of creativity My love of the Dharma deepens with every issue If I am curious about ethics karma samadhi wisdom the lakshanas the four noble truths or the eight-fold path my co-editor David Watt and I just need to tap Triratna Buddhist or-der members from around the world and ask them for their reflections and teachings on these or other Dharma topics

This issue of the Vajra Bell again features a wealth of teachings and inspiration from order and sangha members In editing the articles exploring the link between arts and the Dharma from order members Kiranada Sravaniya and Kavyadrishti

David Watt

Dh Arjava (Chair) Barry Timmerman (Secretary) Elizabeth Hellard (Treasurer)

Dh AmalaJean CorsonTom Gaillard

Daniel KenneyDh RijupathaAlisha Roberts

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Aryaloka Buddhist Retreat Center14 Heartwood Circle

Newmarket NH 03857603-659-5456

InfoAryalokaorg wwwAryalokaorg

Find us on Facebook facebookcomAryaloka

or on the Aryaloka Facebook GroupfacebookcomgroupsAryalokaSangha

Connect at The Buddhist Centre Online TheBuddhistCentrecomAryaloka

Peter Ingraham Aryaloka Buddhist Centerpingalumniunhedu

Kay Jones Rocky Mountain Buddhist Centerkayljone108gmailcom

Sabrina Metivier Nagaloka Buddhist Centersab_mativierhotmailcom

Paramita Banerjee Vancouver Buddhist Centrebudhisenyahooca

Mary Salome San Francisco Buddhist Centermarycsalomecomcastnet

Susan DiPietro Khanti Outreachsusandipietro6gmailcom

SANGHA NOTE CONTRIBUTORS

along with New York mitra Sita Mani I was encouraged to lose my ldquoself ldquo in art poetry music and movement I ldquofell in loverdquo as Kiranada talks about in her article ldquoappreciating the impermanence of life I grew to note the simple beauty all around merdquo

What a joy and gift not only to be inspired by their practices but to have the privilege and opportunity to spread their wisdom and experi-ence to others

Order members Vidhuma and Surakshita shed greater light for me on the Triratna Path of Prac-tice in the opening articles on the series we are starting in this issue I have studied this system in re-treats before but I was uplifted in reading how as we build up positive emotions and deepen our practice we begin to ldquoknow our

Welcome to the latest incarnation of the Vajra Bell Rijupatha designer and former editor of this journal for many years has moved on to (many) other projects He has

left us a wonderful legacy and huge shoes for to fill We joyfully welcome our new designer Callista Johnson who brings creativity energy pa-tience and a great sense of humor to the task Without her this issue would not have been possible

In this issue we have two arti-cles in a series about the five-stage Triratna Path of Practice In his article on the first stage integration Vidhu-ma shows us what sets the stage for developing peace in our lives mind-fulness meditation solitude and spiri-tual friendship This is the foundation for realizing all of our other spiritual aspirations For me the different aspects of my practice have often felt fragmented touching different parts of my life While reading his piece

the connection between the differ-ent aspects of my practice became much more clear As Vihuma says ldquoOur spiritual lives suffuse and per-meate nourish and inspire all the activities and lsquolivesrsquo that we liverdquo

Art is an important element of the spiritual life about which Sang-harakshita has written extensively Indeed much of the sangha life at Aryaloka arises from the arts in various forms the monthly drawing group the exhibitions in the yoga room concerts arts evenings and the paintings thangkas and sculp-ture that are found throughout the center This issue features pieces by four artists ndash Kirinada Sita Mani Kavyadrishti and Sravaniya ndash whose lives and experiences of the Dharma have been been shaped by their artistic gifts and conversely whose artistic lives have been shaped by the Dharma All write movingly about the common purposes of art and meditation As Sravaniya says


- continued on page 10Cover image Yellow Buddha by Deb Howard



























sangha notes














mdash Pete Ingraham
















― Kay Jones














sangha notes









mdash Mary Salome
















sanghacare




























ndash Editors








by Dh Vidhuma



























― Mary Schaefer





― David Watt















































― Scott Hurley





















― Henry Shukman



― Tom Gaillard








― Deb Howard

















by Dh Kiranada





































by Dh Kiranada































by Dh Sravaniya
















page 22








by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to




































sangha notes














mdash Pete Ingraham
















― Kay Jones














sangha notes









mdash Mary Salome
















sanghacare




























ndash Editors








by Dh Vidhuma



























― Mary Schaefer





― David Watt















































― Scott Hurley





















― Henry Shukman



― Tom Gaillard








― Deb Howard

















by Dh Kiranada





































by Dh Kiranada































by Dh Sravaniya
















page 22








by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to




















― Kay Jones














sangha notes









mdash Mary Salome
















sanghacare




























ndash Editors








by Dh Vidhuma



























― Mary Schaefer





― David Watt















































― Scott Hurley





















― Henry Shukman



― Tom Gaillard








― Deb Howard

















by Dh Kiranada





































by Dh Kiranada































by Dh Sravaniya
















page 22








by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to
















sangha notes









mdash Mary Salome
















sanghacare




























ndash Editors








by Dh Vidhuma



























― Mary Schaefer





― David Watt















































― Scott Hurley





















― Henry Shukman



― Tom Gaillard








― Deb Howard

















by Dh Kiranada





































by Dh Kiranada































by Dh Sravaniya
















page 22








by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to























sanghacare




























ndash Editors








by Dh Vidhuma



























― Mary Schaefer





― David Watt















































― Scott Hurley





















― Henry Shukman



― Tom Gaillard








― Deb Howard

















by Dh Kiranada





































by Dh Kiranada































by Dh Sravaniya
















page 22








by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to























ndash Editors








by Dh Vidhuma



























― Mary Schaefer





― David Watt















































― Scott Hurley





















― Henry Shukman



― Tom Gaillard








― Deb Howard

















by Dh Kiranada





































by Dh Kiranada































by Dh Sravaniya
















page 22








by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to












by Dh Vidhuma



























― Mary Schaefer





― David Watt















































― Scott Hurley





















― Henry Shukman



― Tom Gaillard








― Deb Howard

















by Dh Kiranada





































by Dh Kiranada































by Dh Sravaniya
















page 22








by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to























― Mary Schaefer





― David Watt















































― Scott Hurley





















― Henry Shukman



― Tom Gaillard








― Deb Howard

















by Dh Kiranada





































by Dh Kiranada































by Dh Sravaniya
















page 22








by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to























































― Scott Hurley





















― Henry Shukman



― Tom Gaillard








― Deb Howard

















by Dh Kiranada





































by Dh Kiranada































by Dh Sravaniya
















page 22








by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to






























― Henry Shukman



― Tom Gaillard








― Deb Howard

















by Dh Kiranada





































by Dh Kiranada































by Dh Sravaniya
















page 22








by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to


























by Dh Kiranada





































by Dh Kiranada































by Dh Sravaniya
















page 22








by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to














































by Dh Kiranada































by Dh Sravaniya
















page 22








by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to







































by Dh Sravaniya
















page 22








by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to

























page 22








by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to

















by Dh Kavyadrishti















by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to























by Sita Mani








































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to

















































April 15 mdash 17









































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to


































JUNE

05 Drawing GroupSun


27 Mon

ongoing events




Deb Howard


arts at aryaloka



page 14


RETREATS

vajrabell

APRIL


Fri



Tue


Wed


Sat



29 Fri

01 Sunto to

15 Fri

17 Sunto to


02 Sat

09 Satto to

MAY

01 Drawing GroupSun

07 Order DaySat


20 Buddha DayFri

21Work Days

Sat

22 Sun



Thu

to to


Fri

05 Sunto to

to to










vajra bell - aryaloka buddhist centervajra bell kula from the editors mary schaefer co-editing the...

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