Carpe Diem #1327 A Perfect Life ...?

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Well ... this episode will be a bit strange, because it's about the question "Do I Have a Perfect Life?" Today's novel is one of the novels I haven't read fully yet. Of course I had to read it while preparing this month in which we are inspired through the novels written by Paulo Coelho, but I couldn't complete my reading because of circumstances.

Today's quote I have taken from Coelho's novel "Veronika Decides to Die". Yes it's about the questions someone asks him or her self according to their life ... Veronika decides to die is about committing suicide. As you all know Jane Reichhold also decided to die by committing suicide. She no longer could cope with her illness, fybromyalgia. So the theme of this novel comes very close to our, to my, feelings and thoughts.
To me being suicidal or having suicidal thoughts isn't strange, because I know what it is. Several years ago, at the beginning of this century, I had a severe burn-out and I had suicidal thoughts, so this episode comes as close to me as is possible.

cover

Let me give you a brief overview of this novel:

Veronika is a beautiful young woman from Ljubljana, Slovenia who appears to have the perfect life, but nevertheless decides to die (commit suicide) by overdosing with sleeping pills. While she waits to die, she cancels the suicide letter she starts to her parents while suddenly provoked by a magazine article.

The magazine article wittily asks "Where is Slovenia?", so she writes a letter to the press justifying her suicide, the idea being to make the press believe that she has killed herself because people don't even know where Slovenia is. Her plan fails and she wakes up in Villete, a mental hospital in Slovenia, where she is told she has only a few days to live due a heart condition caused by the overdose.

Her presence there affects all of the mental hospital's patients, especially Zedka, who has clinical depression; Mari, who suffers from panic attacks; and Eduard, who has schizophrenia, and with whom Veronika falls in love. During her internment in Villete she realizes that she has nothing to lose and can therefore do what she wants, say what she wants and be who she wants without having to worry about what others think of her; as a mental patient, she is unlikely to be criticized. Because of this new-found freedom Veronika experiences all the things she never allowed herself to experience, including hatred and love.

In the meantime, Villete's head psychiatrist, Dr. Igor, attempts a fascinating but provocative experiment: can you "shock" someone into wanting to live by convincing her that death is imminent? Like a doctor applying defibrillator paddles to a heart attack victim, Dr. Igor's "prognosis" jump-starts Veronika's new appreciation of the world around her.

An excellent story I think and it brings me thoughts about nature. The story in this novel you can compare with the circle of life. And maybe that's an inspirational idea for your Japanese poetry.

Circle of Life

eternal circle

lotuses blooming and decaying -

ancient wisdom grows

© Chèvrefeuille

And that's so true, but it is not in the same feeling as the story above, but ... well it's the circle of life. Here is the quote from "Veronika Decides to Die" for your inspiration:

[...] "An awareness of death encourages us to live more intensely." [...] (Source: Veronika Decides to Die - Paulo Coelho

A very short quote, but a quote with a lot of layers. My thoughts immediately went back to our first Theme Week (2016) about "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying". And a quote by Sogyal Rinpoche returned to me:

[...] "Everyone of us will once face death, that idea makes us sad and anxious, but it is inevitable, but as you can face your mortality than that will keep your life in balance". [...]  (Sogyal Rinpoche form "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying".)

phoenix spreads its wings

after the dark cold winter night

finally spring

© Chèvrefeuille

Isn't that the same as meant in the quote from "Veronika Decides to Die"?

Well ... much to think about ... This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 21st at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

PS. If you like to read the exclusive CDHK e-book created after the theme week about "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" than you can find it on issuu.com 

PPS. I have created an account on issuu.com 

Carpe Diem #1310 Ball Game

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

In an earlier episode I told you about "life as a chess game", but as I was exploring the quatrains I ran into another verse in which life is compared with a game. That verse intrigued me so I just had to share it here with you. By the way there are several other ideas about life and death as a game. There are images of the Devil playing dice or being a street-magician ... all to give an image for life and death. Life and death can not be seen separated, because (as we know from the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying) death belongs to life, without death there is no life.

An image to show you the idea that death uses a game:

The Devil playing Cricket

Here is the quatrain for your inspiration today:

The Ball no Question makes of Ayes and Noes,
But Right or Left as strikes the Player goes;
And He that toss'd Thee down into the Field,
He knows about it all – HE knows – HE knows!

© Omar Khayyam (Tr. FitzGerald)

Background:

Life here is likened to a Ball Game, actually the equivalent of our modern game of Polo. Ayes are votes in favor of a proposal; Noes are votes against. The first line means that the Ball (Man) has no choice (no vote) in the Game (of Life), it just goes here and there according to the whim of the Player who hits it. The reference here is surely to Free Will and Destiny – we are given Life (the Ball), but how much Choice (Free Will) do we really have in it? We are seemingly just bounced from here to there. But though it makes little sense to us, God (He that tossed thee, the ball, down into the playing field) – he knows what it is all about, he knows, HE knows, for He is Omniscient – he just isn't telling US…. (Another interpretation is in terms of the Rules of the Game: the Ball doesn't know the rules, it just goes here and there according to which player hits it where; only He (God) who made up the game knows the Rules, he knows, HE knows….)

Life (and Death) viewed as a game has given rise to many interesting images, here is another image to show you that.

The Devil playing dice

life is but a game
nature rolls the dices
seasons change

© Chèvrefeuille

I think there is another wonderful game, a game I love by the way, that can be seen as the ongoing battle between good and bad or life and death ... I created a tanka about it:

cherry stone clam
delicious for it's taste -
playing Go
the sweet memories of clams
once tasted

© Chèvrefeuille (2013)

Well ... life is a game ... so enjoy it, because life is short ... as is a game with a limited time.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until November 28th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our next episode later on.

PS. At "My Haiku Pond Academy" on Facebook you can find a new contest in which you are challenged to create Troiku. You can visit the CONTEST HERE.

Carpe Diem #1209 reincarnation the Tibetan Vision

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai. this month it is all about Tibet, a Magical Experience, we have seen already the beauty of Tibet and we have read wonderful poems written by the renown Tibetan poet and yogi Milarepa and today we are going to look a little bit closer to one of the "pillars" of Budhism, reincarnation.
In our first CDHK Theme Week the one about the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, we have already had a quick look at reincarnation, but for this episode I decided to dive into the matter of reincarnation (especially Tibet ideas) a bit more. However ... I couldn't really find a good background on this and so I had to decide to search the Internet. I ran into a nice essay about Tibetan ideas on reincarnation which I love to share here with you.

As you maybe know in Tibetan Buddhism the only one who can recognize a reincarnation is His Holiness The Dalai Lama. His last recognition (as far as I know) was on July 9th 2013. He then recognized a Tibetan boy born in Nepal as the reincarnation of one of his teachers and former head of Nyingma, the oldest tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
The Tibetan spiritual leader gave his seal of recognition to Ngawang Tenzin Choekyi Lodoe Rabsel, a Tibetan boy born to Choeling Trulku Ngawal Choepal Gyatso and Paylung Tsewang Dolma in Kathmandu on July 25, 2013.

The announcement was made on July 6, 2015 to coincide with the 80th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Ngawang Tenzin Choekyi Lodoe Rabsel, the recognized reincarnation of Trulshik Rinpoche of

It is a bit stronge to see a young boy (above) as the reincarnation of one of the Heart Lamas of Nyingma, the oldest tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. As this little boy was recognized as a reincarnated spiritual teacher he was just 2 years. From the moment of recognition the life of this young boy and his family will change drastical. However the parents of this young boy will be grateful and honored that their son will become one of the leading Tibetan Lamas.

Tibetan reincarnation (tulku)?

The reincarnation system (tulku), a distinguishing characteristic of Tibetan Buddhism, is based on the theory that Buddha's soul never vanishes, but reincarnates in succession to lead his followers and to accomplish his mission. One of the first reincarnations among the Buddhist monks in Tibet is Karma Pakshi. In 1193, before Dusum Chenpa, a religious leader, the first Karmapa of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, passed away, he told his disciples that he would return as a reincarnated being. His disciples soon led a search for his infant reincarnation in accordance with his will. Several years later, Karma Pakshi turned out as the first reincarnation in Tibet and trained to be Karma Kagyu leader. After Karma Pakshi's reincarnation, the reincarnation system was adopted by other sects gradually to keep a consistent religious leadership. By applying the system, heirs for hundreds of Gyalwas (Living Buddhas) were selected, among whom the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama are the most prestigious. The Yellow Hat sect, Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism also applied the system to hand down the titles conferred on the third Dalai Lama and the fourth Panchen Lama to keep their established religious and secular title and power. By the end of the Qing Dynasty there were 160 high lamas registered with the Board for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs, each applying the reincarnation system to identify their next successors.

Lhamo Latso Lake

Religious methods and rituals are used to identify a reincarnation of a late high lama. A search party headed by another high lama begins the search. After a religious retreat, lamas, dispatched in disguise, scour Tibet for special signs: new mothers who had unusual dreams, children who have special knowledge without being taught, and special physical traits, such as big ear lobes. The lamas refer to oracles, portents, dreams and  the late lama's prophesy in order to aid them in their search. Some lamas are sent to Lhamo Latso, the Oracle Lake, to look for prophetic visions to help locate the reincarnation.

Once the High Lamas have found the home and the boy they believe to be the reincarnation, the boy undergoes a series of tests to affirm the rebirth. They present a number of artifacts, only some of which belonged to the previous Dalai Lama, and if the boy chooses the items which belonged to the previous Dalai Lama, this is seen as a sign, in conjunction with all of the other indications, that the boy is the reincarnation.

Many believe the Dalai Lama to be an earthly manifestation of Avalokiteśvara (Chenrezig). Eventhough this thought was only recently formulated by the fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso ( 1617 -1682 ). It is said that Padmasambhava prophesied that Avalokiteśvara will manifest himself in the Tulku lineages of the Dalai Lamas and the Karmapas. Another Tibetan source explains that Amitabha Buddha gave to one of his two main disciples, Avalokiteśvara, the task to take upon himself the burden of caring for Tibet. In Tibetan Buddhism, Tara came into existence from a single tear shed by Chenrezig. When the tear fell to the ground it created a lake, and a lotus opening in the lake revealed Tara. In another version of this story, Tara emerges from the heart of Chenrezig. In either version, it is Chenrezig’s outpouring of compassion which manifests Tara as a being.

Avalokiteshvara

As I was preparing this episode I also sought for haiku on reincarnation and I ran into a nice haiku written by Martha Magenta:

reincarnation
each raindrop
lost at sea

© Martha Magenta

And I found another nice haiku on reincarnation by Rajkumar Mukherjee:

future born in me
with love of present for past
who knows what he holds

© Rajkumar Mukherjee

By the way I couldn't find a way to contact them to ask their permissions, so if you know these two poets or you are one of these two poets, please let me know if you are okay with it.

Reincarnation (Dutch website)

Here are a few poems I wrote on reincarnation or related themes:

several lives
once lived and re-lived -
Lotus blooms again
reaching for a new day of life
cherished by the sun

the final frontier
to become newly born -
conquering death

phoenix spreads its wings
after the dark cold winter night
finally spring

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until July 1st at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, Tibetan Book of Death, later on.

 

Carpe Diem's Theme Week: The Songs Of Milarepa (1) Introduction

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at this month's Theme Week. This month while we are discovering magical and spiritual Tibet I have included a nice Theme Week. This Theme Week it's all about Tibet's renown poet and yogi Milarepa and is titled "The Songs of Milarepa".

Maybe you can remember our first Theme Week in which we explored the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. In the e-book that followed after that Theme Week I included a "song by Milarepa". In this Theme Week that starts today I have gathered a few wonderful "songs" by Milarepa to inspire you. So let's go!

Let me first introduce to you Milarepa:

Milarepa is one of the most widely known Tibetan Saints. In a superhuman effort, he rose above the miseries of his younger life and with the help of his Guru, Marpa the Translator, took to a solitary life of meditation until he had achieved the pinnacle of the enlightened state, never to be born again into the Samsara (whirlpool of life and death) of worldly existence. Out of compassion for humanity, he undertook the most rigid asceticism to reach the Buddhic state of enlightenment and to pass his accomplishments on to the rest of humanity. His spiritual lineage was passed along to his chief disciples, Gambopa and Rechung. It was Rechung who recorded in detail the incidents of Milarepa's life for posterity. The narrative of his life has thus been passed down through almost a millennium of time and has become an integral part of Tibetan culture.
Milarepa extemporaneously composed innumerable songs throughout his life relevant to the dramatic turns of events of himself and his disciples in accordance with an art form that was in practice at the time. These songs have been widely sung and studied in Tibet ever since and have been recorded as the Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa. His faithful devotion, boundless religious zeal, monumental forbearance, superhuman perseverance, and ultimate final attainment are a great inspiration today for all. His auspicious life illumined the Buddhist faith and brought the light of wisdom to sentient beings everywhere. (Source: Cosmic Harmony)

Red Rock Jewel Valley (Tibet/India)

Milarepa was not only a poet, but also a yogi who sang his teachings for his followers. These songs are gathered in "Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa", of course he didn't compose that much songs, but he composed a lot of them.

The song I love to share here for your inspiration is part of "The Tale of Red Rock Jewel Valley" in which Milarepa has to conquer demons. Here is the song to inspire you:

This lonely spot where stands my hut 
Is a place pleasing to the Buddhas, 
A place where accomplished beings dwell, 
A refuge where I dwell alone. 

Above Red Rock Jewel Valley 
White clouds are gliding; 
Below, the Tsang River gently flows; 
Wild vultures wheel between. 

Bees are humming among the flowers, 
Intoxicated by their fragrance; 
In the trees birds swoop and dart, 
Filling the air with their song. 

Image source

In Red Rock Jewel Valley 
Young sparrows learn to fly, 
Monkeys love to leap and swing, 
And beasts to run and race, 
While I practice the Two Bodhi-Minds
and love to meditate. 

Ye local demons, ghosts and gods, 
All friends of Milarepa, 
Drink the nectar of kindness and compassion, 
Then return to your abode

© Milarepa (Tr.: Garma C. C. Chang; Shambhala Publications, 1977)

And here is my inspired haiku. I hope you like it:

deep silence
inhaling the sounds of nature -
white clouds dance

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I hope I have inspired you. This was our introductory episode of this Theme Week: "Songs Of Milarepa". I am looking forward to the upcoming days and your responses of course.

PS.: More reading? Follow this link and find out more about Milarepa.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 23rd at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our nex Theme Week episode, later on. For now ... have fun

Carpe Diem Namasté The Spiritual Way #7 New Life (Easter)

!! Open for your submissions Sunday April 16th 7.00 PM (CET) !!!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our "weekend-meditation". This week I have a nice new episode of Namasté, The Spiritual Way. I think it's a nice weekend to have a Namasté episode, because of the fact that it is Easter this Sunday. So that's why I have chosen for the "sub-title" New Life (Easter).

As you all know Easter is the holiday on which we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, it's the end of the so called "Lenten", the period from Ash-Wednesday until Easter. Here in The Netherlands we have already started with the so called Easter period, because yesterday (Thursday April 13th) it was "White Thursday", today it is "Good Friday" and tomorrow it is "Silent Saturday" and than Sunday the day to celebrate that the Lord has risen from the death.

"The Lord Has Risen"

24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ (Luke 24: 1 – 7 NIV)

What does this mean? It brought my thoughts back to our Theme Week about The Tibetan Book of The Living and Dying; and it also brought my thoughts back to our Tarot-month back in 2013. In that Tarot-month we discovered that the Tarot isn't occult, but divine ... and this is what we discovered about the resurrection of humanity:

In the so called "Great Arcana", we find the card titled "Death", it's the 13th card of the "Great Arcana". That card tells us a lot, to much to replay here again, but part of that episode I love to "re-print" here again:

Great Arcana card 13, Death

There is no death.  There is only resurrection.  Live your  life of fulfillment, taking advantage of every opportunity of every moment of every day.  When the miracle of resurrection has passed on, then you are at peace to recognize that things have simply returned to their natural state. 

That is why this card is in the Tarot deck.  It is meant to be embraced.  It is meant to be a gateway to a new birth.  If we can embrace death, then our lives are transformed.  That is the physical realm.  This is also a card of immense spiritual power.  The crucifixion of ego, that we saw in the Hanged Man, can and will become reality.  As that ego dies, we then live in a glorious resurrection.  As we continue to look at the card, we see several important elements.

Death is a secret, death is a darkness which we do not wish to look at nor embrace.  So if we are not going to supplicate death and we're not going to ignore death, what response do we have?  The response of the little child.  Unless we have faith like a little child, we will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven and recognize all truth.  The little child does not seek to turn death into a friend.  The little child does not seek to ask death to go away.  The little child does not turn her eyes and pretend that death is not there.  The little child opens her eyes, sees death in the face, recognizes death as what it is, and has a simple straight forward natural acceptance of this reality.

The disciples were engaged upon the start of the spiritual pathway when they began to understand the resurrection of Jesus.  You must start there to understand the death and resurrection of Jesus.  But as we have said before, Jesus’ death and resurrection are only the beginning, because they are an instruction booklet for you and your personal death and resurrection.  That is the power that enables you to embrace death, look it squarely in the face with the faith of a little child, and rise beyond the human limitations to a glorious and infinite resurrection. (Source: Carpe Diem #199, May 18^th 2013)

 

What does "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying say about this? Well ... let us "jump" back in time and re-read part of the Theme Week about the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, in this part it's about what Tibetans call "Bardo":

The original meaning of bardo is, the space between the moment of dying and reincarnation / rebirth. As we 'dive' deeper into this matter than we discover more than one bardo. Let's go ...

First there is the bardo of living and dying. This is a painful bardo, but also the moment that the nature of spirit / soul becomes real and in a way breaks through the armor of the body. This we can see in, for example, the story of Easter as Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane and asks His Father, God, to take away the cup of poison. Than He is arrested and endures the pain of 39 lashes and the crucifixion. As He dies He commands His Spirit to His Father. This is what we can call the bardo of living and dying.

What follows is the bardo which is called the shining bardo or dharmata, the state of consciousness / mind after death. To explain this shining bardo, wasn't easy, because I could not find something to explain it with. Then I got a revelation. This shining bardo you can see as a bright light, the radiation of the pure nature of spirit / mind. It's a state of pure happiness. In a way this you can see as what is happening as you (someone) has a Near Death Experience (NDE). I ran into a few stories about NDE when I was preparing these episodes. As you read the reports about NDE than everyone sees a bright light in which shadows are moving, ancestors mostly, but angels too.

This shining bardo doesn't stay forever. Sometimes it takes / endures seven days, but it can also take seven weeks.

The next bardo is called the bardo of becoming. The consciousness / mind finds a new place, in a new body and a new life gets started. This we can also see in the story of Easter. After three days, and that’s very fast as we compare this with the Tibetan idea about living and dying, Jesus rises from the grave. He conquered dead and became an enlightened being who walks a short time on this earth and then rises to Heaven making the Holy Spirit, a kind of reborn energy, available to the world. With His resurrection and entering Heaven He broke the Circle of Bardo, as did Buddha.

In Tibetan tradition of bardo the songs from The Book of the Dead were recited by the monks to lead the spirit. Rinpoche goes further in this idea and describes his ideas in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. In his book he sees life as it is as a bardo. The bardo between birth and the moment of dying, life in itself is a transition. It's a time in which we learn, contemplate, meditate and prepare on death. (Source: Carpe Diem Theme Week 1, episode 3; February 17th 2016)

Daffodils

New Life ... the resurrection of the Lord proves that a new life can be established, not by rising from the death, but by finding your path to spiritual growth ... that can bring you New Life too.

Easter is mostly associated with the color yellow and with tulips and daffodils ... and maybe that's correct ... in my opinion, yellow stands for the color of the sun, and the sun gives us new life, new energy ...

Well ... it has become a (to) long episode I think, but it was really a joy to create this episode for you and I hope it will inspire you to create haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form.

resurrection
part of my being is dying
finally found myself

the final frontier
to become newly born -
conquering death

© Chèvrefeuille

You can start responding next Sunday April 16th at 7.00 PM (CET). You can respond until April 21st at noon (CET). So you have a whole weekend to meditate and contemplate about this episode of Namasté, the Spiritual Way. I will (try to) publish our new episode, shawl, later next Sunday around 7.00 PM (CET).

!! Don't forget ... Saturday April 15th 10.00 PM (CET) our Summer Retreat 2017 (unconditional) love will start. 30 Days writing haiku and tanka themed "unconditional love" !!

 

 

Carpe Diem Extra February 26th - New CDHK e-book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Our first CDHK Theme Week has ended and as I have promised at the start of the first Theme Week I have gathered all the Theme Week post and your responses in a new CDHK e-book.
In this new CDHK e-book you can find the posts and the responses on those posts by you my dear Haijin. I have tried to create a nice e-book, but I cannot guarantee that I have used all the responses in their form as published by you, maybe I have forgotten someone's response ... if that has happened than I apologize for that.

You can find our new CDHK e-book, free for download, at the left side of our Kai. I hope you will enjoy the read.

Namaste,

Chèvrefeuille, your host.

Carpe Diem Theme Week #1 episode 7: The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying Insight 6 balance isn't always necessary

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the last episode of our first Carpe Diem Theme Week in which we explored The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. We discovered that life and dead belong to each other and that we can learn from dead how to be in our life. In this last episode we learn that balance isn't always necessary.

Introduction

This month our regular prompts are all about senses and in one of the first (regular) episodes of this month Hamish asked us to look at "equilibrium / balance" and I think this introduction I already have written, so I will quote myself here:

[...] "Balance ... it has not only to do with movement, but I think it also has to do with "inner balance". You have to be "in balance" mentally to stay focused on the things you have to do in your life. As I look at myself than I need "inner-balance" to do my work as an oncology nurse. I have very ill patients who need my care and attention and my love, so I can only give that to them if I am in balance myself.

To stay in balance myself I use to write. First novels and later I wrote more and more haiku to keep myself in balance. In my poetry I can find that balance through the scenes in my haiku, but also through being your host here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. I wonder ... what if I had not the opportunity to write or being your host? Then I think I would be less successful in my job as an oncology nurse.

in the light of dawn
sunflowers reach to the blue sky
praising their Creator

© Chèvrefeuille

A nice haiku in which I see "balance" in the strength of the Sunflowers reaching to the blue sky. As I "analyze" this than I associated on "light of dawn" to come to "sunflowers". And on "blue sky" to come to "Creator" in the third line. A nice "baransu"-haiku I would say." [...] (original post HERE)

Balance isn't always necessary.

Disappointment. It's one of the things which can bring us out of balance. Just like sadness and e.g. loss. The realization that we will not be here anymore about, say one hundred years, brings us out of balance. Questions like "How do my children and grandchildren survive as I am not there anymore?" or "What's next?" are crawling into my mind.

After reading and re-reading The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying we have learned one thing for sure: "Life isn't easy, but we have live it to the fullest". The book makes us think about all and everything. Out of balance? What does that mean? We loose our balance through all kinds of things. Things were we care about such like art and love. Losing our balance can be positive too. It makes us stronger, because we are searching for ways to regain our balance. Losing our balance and regaining it makes us human. We are flexible beings. We adapt ourselves constantly as we find ourselves in new, unexpected situations. Just through all those things we learn to develop balance.

As we discussed in one of the earlier posts for this first Theme Week, Rinpoche sees life as a bardo (a kind of transition station) and that's not a such bad idea in my opinion. It shows us that our consciousness has senses, lives in a world, observes, starts relationships, living life. Rinpoche says: "Life is to discover the goodness of life, an exercise to realize that life is good and that also means ... accepting dead as part of our life."

Look at yourself with compassion from the depth of your consciousness, your soul. It's a peaceful thought to know that our daily personality has a deeper Inner Self to whom we can listen always. Our Inner Self is our tower of strength. A lovely Inner Voice, that whispers: "Yes you are out of balance, but don't worry you will regain your balance. You need this difficult time to grow and become stronger and more balanced. So don't worry, don't be afraid, I am there, I am with you. I travel with you". Isn't that a reassured idea? Isn't that the reason to live your life to the fullest?

Seeking The Inner Self

My response

This Theme Week was awesome. It was (at least to me) an eye-opener to discover that life and dead belong together, that life and dead are siblings ...

I hope (know) that you all did enjoy it, but it wasn't easy to create these posts or write haiku about it. Haiku inspired on The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying ... it really wasn't easy, but we did it. Through the six Insights we have discovered ... learned a lot. And every lesson can inspire you to create the beauty of haiku ... thank you all for being here.

deep silence
the spring breeze whispers
"life is great"

© Chèvrefeuille

This last episode of our first Carpe Diem Theme Week is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 24th at noon (CET). I am looking forward to your responses and I hope you will be here again next month as we will have another wonderful Carpe Diem Theme Week.

Namaste

Carpe Diem Theme Week 1 episode 6: The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying Insight 5 The Teacher isn't holy too

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's my pleasure to present to you a new episode of our first Theme Week here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. In this first Theme Week we are exploring and discovering the beauty of the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying written by Sogyal Rinpoche.
Today our 5th Insight is the prompt. This episode is titled "The Teacher Isn't Holy Too". It's an Insight which I hadn't expected, but after reading and re-reading it I think it's true.

just one leaf
struggles with the wind
like Basho

© Chèvrefeuille

Introduction

Some of you have called me "Master" or "Sensei", I feel honored that you see me as your master, but I am just a humble guy, who happens to love haiku and is (damn) good in writing them. I am grateful for the love and kindness you sprinkle on me and have sprinkled on me during our existence, but I am still that guy who launched a daily haiku meme to promote his love for haiku ... I am just your humble host.

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), my master

The Teacher isn't holy too

Over the years several spiritual teachers became entangled in not such nice situations. Rinpoche also was one of them. He is / was a great spiritual teacher, but he also fell for the desires of the flesh. Well the mind is strong, but the flesh is weak.
In the case of a spiritual teacher "the flesh is weak" impairs all their beautiful and spiritual words if enlightenment finally ends between the sheets of the master, the teacher. Yes ... the flesh is weak.

A spiritual teacher is just a human like you and me and not a god. For spiritual teachers also counts the idea of "nothing human is them strange". And if you cannot find the ultimate truth and wisdom in the teachings of a spiritual teacher than stay close to yourself ... you are a spiritual teacher yourself ...

As I wrote above ... several of you have called me "master" and I thank you for that, but I am just a humble guy who fell in love with haiku more than 25 years ago. I am glad that I have found haiku and that I could evolve to a well known haiku poet with his own haiku family, but I am only grateful to be of help to improve your haiku writing skills.

Basho was a real haiku master, but he also said: "Now you have learned the rules, you have to forget them immediately and just enjoy the writing / composing of haiku". In this we can see that Basho was a humble man, full of compassion. He was glad to be of help, but told his disciples to explore their world and their creativity. Basho was just the "living manual" and his disciples could interpret that manual in their own way.

That's what I love to say to you too: "Look around in your world, experience the beauty of nature and be creative in your own way. I am only your "living manual".

My response

I bow my head
in front of Basho's statue
whispering "thank you"

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode of our first Theme Week is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 23rd at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our last episode of this first Theme Week, Insight 6 balance is not always necessary, later on.

Carpe Diem Theme Week #1 episode 5 Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: Insight 4 the power of compassion is limitless

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First I have to apologize for being this late with publishing. I hadn't enough spare time to write this 5th Theme Week episode. I was busy with work and family.

Today we are looking at the 4th Insight the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying reveals to us. This episode is about 'compassion'. I remember that w have had 'compassion' earlier here at CDHK as a prompt and it was in several other episodes a source for inspiration. Today however 'compassion' we will explore as part of living and dying.

enlightened soul

remains solid and truthful
full of compassion

full of compassion
Tara inspires her worldly followers -
lotus reaches for the sun

lotus reaches for the sun
finally enlightenment is near
Om Mane Padme Hum

© Chèvrefeuille

Introduction


Let me first look at the meaning of compassion and than I will bring t into the theme. What is compassion?

Rinpoche says the following about compassion in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying:

[...] "It is not simply a sense of sympathy or caring for the person suffering, not simply a warmth of heart toward the person before you, or a sharp clarity of recognition of their needs and pain, it is also a sustained and practical determination to do whatever is possible and necessary to help alleviate their suffering. Compassion is not true compassion unless it is active. Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion, is often represented in Tibetan iconography as having a thousand eyes that see the pain in all corners of the universe, and a thousand arms to reach out to all corners of the universe to extend his help."[...] (Source: The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying - Sogyal Rinpoche)


The power of compassion is limitless

The strength of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying is that it gives you a kind of manual to handle living and dying in your surroundings especially when you are facing death or are confronted with dying and dead. Most often we don't know what to do or say. Is it possible to help someone who faces dead?
Rinpoche says: "only love and compassion" can be of help in such a situation. Compassion, as you could have read above, is something different than remorse. In compassion there is respect. It sounds easy, but compassion is not only affection and warmth, it is also an everlasting and practical steadfastness to do everything possible to make suffering more easy.
The Buddah of Compassion,  Avalokiteshvara, is often depicted as having thousand eyes and arms and gives an idea what compassion really means. The Buddha of Compassion sees all the pain in the Universe and with his 1000 arms he offers help throughout the Universe.

How to be compassionate? You can gain that through loving kindness. Look at the other as you would look at yourself. We are all the same notwithstanding spiritual or religious differences. We have all the same feelings and desires. If you were in the position of facing death, what would you like to do, what would you want that others would do for you?

Compassion is only compassion, real compassion, if you do something. Just be there, be present ... can be enough.

Credits: Buddha of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara

My response

Today we looked at Insight 4, Compassion. As I think about compassion the first thing which comes in mind is Buddha. I see his eyes in front of me and I feel how his compassionate eyes are touching me deep. Compassion ... a wonderful emotion, which we see to less in the world of today. Maybe ... maybe there will be a time, far in the future, that every living thing on Earth will be compassionate. I hope ... this will become true.

full of compassion
the Buddha looks into the world
with sad eyes
I look around in my world
dreaming of better times

© Chèvrefeuille

Again my apologies for being this late with this Theme Week episode, but I hope it will inspire you to create an all new haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 22nd at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our new episode in this Theme Week, Insight 5 the teacher is not sacred too, later on.

Carpe Diem Theme Week #1 episode 4: The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: Insight 3 "thinking about death gives life meaning"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Until today our first Theme Week goes well, but the response are a little bit low, maybe that's because of the Theme itself or (and I can understand that very well) it isn't very easy to create haiku or tanka inspired on the posts. Well ... it doesn't really matter, I just like to share this wonderful thoughts and ideas with you all.

Introduction

finding peace of mind
the soothing sound of rippling water
the rustling of leaves
strengthens my tired mind
that's fortitude
deep inner peace, the beating of my heart,
the music of life
caught in the rippling stream -
finding peace of mind

© Chèvrefeuille

thinking about death gives life meaning

We all know that we will die some day. We also know that when this will happen we not know, or what will be happening. Most of us don't want to think about dying and in a way we hide for it. As I stated in an earlier post ... "death is part of life, it's the only certainty we have".
I can understand that talking about death isn't your daily business, but according to Sogyal Rinpoche you have to talk about living and dying, because death comes without warning. Try to live your life to the fullest and let death be a part of it. Of course you don't need to talk 24/7 about death, but it certainly must not be paralyzing to talk about it.
In my work as an oncology nurse I experience in so much different ways how people, patients and their loved ones, are talking about life. There are patients who don't dare to talk about death, and other patients talk freely about their death. They see dead as a part of their life and than you really can see and learn how life has to be celebrated.
This is what Rinpoche says about this:

You have to be busy with the things you find important. For example: if you like to read, read; if you like to paint, paint; if you like to write novels or poems, write ... enjoy every moment of your life. It's to short to leave things as they are. Experience life. If you dream about visiting countries go ... make that journey. It's similar with what people do if they make a so called "bucket-list", things they want to do.
Meditate and contemplate about your life and if your life is to busy, than set it on hold. Take a step back ... look at your life ... and thing about the things you find important. Maybe this will help.
Dare to be honest to yourself, try to imagine when will I die, in which year my life will end, in which month. What's happening in the world around you. Enjoy your life ... let dead be part of it.
Let me tell you how I am looking at my life:

I have a wonderful life, I enjoy it to the fullest. I had goals and those goals I have reached ... what do I want in the future? Do I have dreams? Of course one of them is to visit Japan and I hope it will become true, but that's not up to me. I have a family in  which children and grandchildren are the most important. I spend a lot of time with them and ... of course there is me ... the haiku poet and as you all once have said to me ... I am a sensei, a master and I ernjoy that very much. And ... yes I think about dead. Dead is part of my life, not only through my work, but also in private life. It's not something we don't talk about.

Celebrate life and let death be part of it. Life gives meaning as you think about dead without being anxious or sad ... What would you do if you knew that you are facing death ... right on this moment!

My response

Death is in my opinion part of life, without thinking about death we can not live our life, or even better ... without thinking about death we can not celebrate life. Look around you enjoy nature, enjoy the coming and going of the seasons in which life and death are each other's best friends. If you look at living and dying as being part of nature, part of being human ... than death can be giving meaning to life.

in the backyard
the old Sakura has lost his blossom
until next spring

© Chèvrefeuille

This is how I see life and death ...there will be a new beginning always ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 20th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode of this Theme Week, Insight 4 the power of compassion is limitless, later on

Carpe Diem Theme Week #1 episode 3 The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying Insight 2 "through the chinks comes the light"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at this delayed episode of our Theme Week. I have tried to find some spare time to create this episode. Yesterday I told you something about the first Insight and today I will try to tell you something about the 2nd Insight for our daily life as can be learned from The Tibetan Book of LIving and Dying.

Introduction

What happens exactly as you die? In the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying Sogyal Rinpoche explains it through the idea/ thought of bardo. "Bardo" means "inbetween" and its a kind of transition-mode. Let us look further in the depth of the meaning of bardo, maybe than we can understand it 100%.

Through the chinks comes the light

The original meaning of bardo is, the space between the moment of dying and reincarnation / rebirth. As we 'dive' deeper into this matter than we discover more than one bardo. Let's go ...

First there is the bardo of living and dying. This is a painful bardo, but also the moment that the nature of spirit / soul becomes real and in a way breaks through the armor of the body. This we can see in, for example, the story of Easter as Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane and asks His Father, God, to take away the cup of poison. Than He is arrested and indures the pain of 39 lashes and the crucifixion. As He dies He commands His Spirit to His Father. This is what we can call the bardo of living and dying.

 

 

Credits: Near Death Experience (NDE)

 

What follows is the bardo which is called the shining bardo or dharmata, the state of consciousness / mind after death. To explain this shining bardo, wasn't easy, because I could not find something to explain it with. Than I got a revelation. This shining bardo you can see as a bright light, the radiation of the pure nature of spirit / mind. It's a state of pure happiness. In a way this you can see as what is happening as you (someone) has a Near Death Experience (NDE). I ran into a few stories about NDE when I was preparing these episodes. As you read the reports about NDE than everyone sees a bright light in which shadows are moving, ancestors mostly, but angels too.
This shining bardo doesn't stay forever. Sometimes it takes / endures seven days, but it can also take seven weeks.

The next bardo is called the bardo of becoming. The consciousness / mind finds a new place, in a new body and a new life gets started. This we can also see in the story of Easter. After three days, and taht's very fast as we compare this with the Tibetan idea about living and dying, Jesus rises from the grave. He conquered dead and became an enlightened being who walks a short time on this earth and than rises to Heaven making the Holy Spirit, a kind of reborn energy, avalable to the world. With His ressurection and entering Heaven He broke the Circle of Bardo, as did Buddha.

In Tibetan tradition of bardo the songs from The Book of the Dead were recited by the monks to lead the spirit. Rinpoche goes further in this idea and describes his ideas in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. In his book he sees life as it is as a bardo. The bardo between birth and the moment of sying, life in itself is a transition. It's a time in which we learn, contemplate, meditate and prepare on death.

Rinpoche goes even further, a period of uncertainty can also be a bardo. For example, the moment you come home and see that there has been a burglary while you were away. Or that moment between "I have bad news" and "I have to tell you ..." At that moment the concrete of your reality breaks and you feel that the ground is disappearing beneath your feet. Than the realization comes ... you see the essence. No more time for futilities. It's a moment of truth ... you can see what really is important.

This is what this Insight means ... discover the truth by tearing down the veil. This is what happened as Jesus died at the cross. The veil that hid the Holy of Holies was torn apart exposing the holiest place in the temple and the revelation that Jesus really was the Son of God.

Credits: Phoenix

My response

To write a haiku, tanka or another Japanese poetry form about this 2nd Insight isn't easy I think, but I had to try it myself (of course) and this is what came in mind, a haiku from my archives:

phoenix spreads its wings
after the dark cold winter night
finally spring

© Chèvrefeuille

I hope I inspired you. This Theme Week episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 19th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our next episode of this CD Theme Week, Insight 3 thinking about death gives life meaning, later on.

Carpe Diem Theme Week #1 epsiode 2 The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Insight 1 We are travelers

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to write the first "real" episode (after yesterday's introduction) for our first Carpe Diem Theme Week in which we are exploring the depths of "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" written  by Sogyal Rinpoche.

I promised you to tell a little bit more about the Insights this beautiful book can give us to use in our (daily) life. Today I love to share the first Insight: We are travelers.

Introduction

Every post here at CDHK I start with the same sentence "dear Haijin, visitors and travelers" and that last word "travelers" I think you will interpret in a slightly different way after this first Insight. We are travelers ... that's so true. We are always on our way, which fits our modern life by the way, to our work, the office, the hospital, on a holiday and so on, but have you looked at your life as a journey, a travel?

As I started this Theme Week the only thing I knew about my own spirituality is that I am on a path to fulfill the goals which life, or spirit, or the universe, has given me. And I hope to reach those goals some day ... somewhere.

We are travelers

Reincarnation is one of the central ideas of Tibetan Buddhism and The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. I hope to explain this (with the help of Soygal of course).

Rinpoche makes a difference between our "ego", our daily personality, our "I", the form / shape our psyche has in our body in which we live our life, and the deeper, natural consciousness, which is our essence.

Credits: Veil Nebula

What happens when we die? In fact only our body dies, but our consciousness "rises" to another new state of being, another dimension maybe. That is our rigpa, the absolute nature of mind (spirit), the consciousness before thoughts and emotions occur / rise. Later it will be reborn in another body.

Death is not the absolute end. Our body doesn't exist anymore, but our consciousness travels on. The idea of dying can be paralyzing, but in this vision death is just a moment of transition. That makes the idea of death lighter: we are travelers, continuous on our way from one world to another.

My response

Finally our consciousness will reach enlightenment, maybe not in this life, but maybe in another life.

ghostly nebulae
covers the old graveyard
cherry blossom blooms

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... find your inspiration, awaken your muse and share your haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form with us all. (Or maybe a Tibetan form of poetry?)

This episode of our first Theme Week is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 17th at noon (CET). I will publish our next episode, Insight 2, later on.