At our home, we feel very thankful for so many things. Here are a few:

• love for our children, parents, aunts and uncles, and friends travelling from distances.
• Having lots of food. — my daughter says that one.

Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha: this mantra basically means: go, go, go beyond, go completely beyond to complete enlightenment.

1. The mind is Buddha. When there are desires, vexations and attachments in the mind, this Buddha becomes a sentient being. When this mind is pure, a sentient being becomes a Buddha.

2. If you cannot assume responsibility for your own cultivation or endure its trials and hardships, then you are at best studying Buddhism, not practicing it.

3. No matter how much external circumstances change, if we can see through and let go of vexations, delusions, and attachments, with the mind always in equanimity and suchness, having clarity and true understanding—that is Zen.

4. Prosperity and adversity both facilitate our cultivation. They are expedient means for our cultivation. Prosperity fulfills us; adversity disciplines us.

5. If we are content, our minds will be at peace, we will see our blessings, be filled with gratitude and a willingness to help all, and our lives will filled with hope and happiness.

6. If we face suffering without worry then we can remove karmic hindrances, settle disputes, turn our enemies into friends, and be united in the Dharma family.

7. With respect we eradicate arrogance, with compassion we extinguish anger, with harmony we eliminate violence, with truth and sincerity we eradicate deceit.

8. To be liberated is not escaping reality. It is eliminating vexations, eradicating erroneous thoughts, and opening the knot in our minds. When the mind is opened to true understanding, that is liberation.

9. The riches and honor in this life are fleeting, like the dew on the flower, evaporating when the sun rises. The only true prosperity in life is when the mind is pure, clear, and content.

10. Vexations and joy are only within one single thought. The key is, when faced with the problems in life, can your mind maintain tranquility, will you have the wisdom to understand and observe accurately?

11. The one key word in practicing the Way is tolerance—to endure patiently and accept suffering. By accepting suffering, we eliminate suffering. This eradicates karmic hindrances, and prepares us for supreme enlightenment.

12. Purity of mind is to be away from the mind of delusion. The Diamond Sutra says, “the mind moves freely without attachment.” That is the mind of purity.

Yesterday I had lunch with some of my favorite women.  Liz Leach, Holiday Johnson, JeanAnn Van Krevelen, and Peraim Khalsa came out for lunch at the Nines (do all my blogs deal with the Nines these days?) in its restaurant, the Urban Farmer.

The setting was really fun, since we got to sit on the “cow hide” bench tables that fit up to 8 people.  It’s easier to hug someone or lovingly lean on them when you sit on a bench than in chairs. The restaurant sections are split by “grasses” blooming on a low wall. This got a big thumbs down from the garden savvy JeanAnn and art sensitive Liz as being too fake looking and cheesy.

The menu was pretty good. We had the beet and quinoa salad (considered very filling), mushroom terrine, salad with sliced pears (dressing was a little too oily for me), onion soup made with true beef broth and poured from a cast iron tea kettle, and chicken thigh sandwich, which was on buttered/grilled bread (again, a little too oily).  We finished with butterscotch brownies served with ice and whipped cream and doused with broken toffee bits. These were served in canning jars with gaskets, which the group considered fun and quaint.

It was cool to see all the jars of canned fruits and vegetables lining the wall shelves in one of the rooms near our table.  Occasionally, a chef would walk out to the shelves and pull down a selection to take to the kitchen, so those decorative items are actually used!

Conversation proved most interesting, however.  We discussed Holiday’s experiences with Ayengar, the founder of Ayengar yoga, who still persists in his teachings today at his advanced age.  His dogmatism about yoga practiced was discussed in a particularly non-judgemental way, just examining his determination about process and how Angela Farmer broke away when he couldn’t accept new practices or approaches to “his” yoga.

Another conversation revolved around the experience of group meditation.  When does group meditation become a religious practice? When does it become too structured?  This group of distinctly un-religious or even anti-religious folks had ideas across the board.  If the group doesn’t have a program, and they just sit together quietly, that’s not religious.  If folks come together weekly and have structured programs, it is religious.  The entire group agreed that blindly following dogma or practices stunts the growth of the soul.

We spent a lot of time discussing the art work at the Nines, since 4 pieces were commissioned to artists that Liz represents.  Melody Owen’s glass chandelier that stretches from the 8th floor down a staircase to the 6th floor got a lot of commentary.  The shapes of her glass tubes represent sound waves of bird songs.  If you stand near the piece, you can hear birds over the stereo system.

Synchronistically, Sean Healy, also represented by Liz, began installation of a piece where the odd mannequins are currently standing near the front desk.  All we caught was his drilling of holes in the ceiling to hang it, so we didn’t get to see the piece.  I love Sean’s sense of whimsy, humor and child-like artworks.  They often have a lovely innocence to them, and I can’t wait to see the piece.

We all agreed to have another ladies lunch, since the positive level and quality of the conversation was invigorating, loving, and empowering.  Go us!