--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, azgrey <no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "sparaig" <LEnglish5@> wrote:
> >
> > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote:
> > [...]
> > >
> > > Plus, it would have *significant* advantages when dealing
> > > with PTSD because (even though Nabby in his blissful TM-
> > > induced ignorance doesn't understand this) mindfulness is
> > > not necessarily a "meditation technique" in the sense that
> > > he thinks of it. One can practice mindfulness anytime, any-
> > > where...no need to sit or close one's eyes, no need to
> > > withdraw from activity or work. Most important, if unwanted
> > > thoughts and emotions come up during the day or night for
> > > a PTSD sufferer, he or she can just practice mindfulness
> > > right then and there and relieve the distress, coming back
> > > to a more balanced mental and emotional state.
> >
> > In fact, there are articles published about Tibetan monks
> > living in this country who are unable to meditate because
> > of the flashbacks from their PTSD.
>
> Cite please. "Unable to meditate." I think not.
>
> I believe that you may be misunderstanding the phenomenon
> and therefore misstating the situation. PTSD, however, certainly
> exists in some Tibetan monks.
>
> I had the good fortune of a chance meeting once, in Phoenix,
> with Palden Gyatso. To say he is a remarkable fellow would be the
> grossest understatement of my life. I had no idea who he was.
> Friends brought him by for me to share lunch with him. The
> humble manner he showed when I payed for our lunch stays
> with me to this day. I can only compare it to the gratitude seen
> in my adopted Greyhounds eyes when given a meal in their
> adopted home. Anthropomorphism my ass!!
> It is true gratitude. It was then that I began to understand the
> real meaning and depth of seeing Buddha nature in sentient beings.
>
> He went out to the car my friends had arrived in and then gave
> me a copy of his autobiography which he then wrote a long
> inscription inside. It was only upon reading the book that I learned
> of his 33 years spent in Chinese prisons and labor camps.
> Someday I hope to view the 2008 documentary film about him
Nice story. I got to see him in Santa Fe, although
only from the audience in a room of about 100 others.
His presence touched all of us. He and only one other
person I've met embody for me the concept of compassion.
The other, interestingly enough, was a filmmaker, the
director of "Phörpa" ("The Cup"). Khyentse Norbu is a
also a Tibetan Buddhist lama and a recognized tulku; he
just prefers making movies to doing the tulku thing. :-)
Anyway, I got to meet him and observe him at a fund-
raising showing of "The Cup" in Santa Fe. The room was
full of heavy rollers, there to be seen and to slip
Norbu a check, and thus receive a little financially-
induced darshan. (Hey!...we're talking about Santa Fe.)
It was his *equanimity* that floored me. The co-founder
of Microsoft walks up and schmoozes him and puts a
check in the bowl and he treats him...uh, there's no
other word for it...perfectly, and then he walks off.
And the next person he interacts with is a young Chicano
woman who has been hired at minimum wage to serve drinks
at this fund-raiser, asking if he would like any more
tea. And he treats her...uh, there's no other word for
it...perfectly, and then she walks off.
NOTHING fazed him. NOTHING shook him from his baseline.
He treated everyone who he interacted with with perfect
equanimity and compassion.
The dude could have been a superstar if he'd stayed
within the confines of Tibetan Buddhism. But he realized
that he liked making movies better. Based on having been
able to watch him for a couple of hours, I'd say that
he made the correct choice. Dude rocks.
