Lostcoin notes for 12-2-08     

This week pay attention to effort, put effort in this, come to class on Tuesdays, sit on Thursdays, and come to the retreat on Sunday.

What do we make efforts for?  When we want something, we think of a million easy ways to get it.  When we watch a movie we see people that excels in something, they achieve this by hard work, not so much is talent but working hard at something.  You need to inconvience yourself if you want to do this practice.  What you are trying to do here is chang the mind, this is much harder than changing the body.  The more you make it inconvient for yourself the better it is.  Try this in your relationships too.  Most women like their partners to buy them flowers, how hard is that?  Yet how many men do it?

If you want something and are not getting it, you are probably not trying hard enough.  For us students - come to all classes, sitting and retreats.  If you inconvience yourself enough you will get what you want out of class.  Also put in the mental effort.

You live in your mind, not in this world.  In this world everything can be fine and you can be unhappy and everything can be wrong with the world and you can be happy.  The most important thing is the relationship to your own mind.  If it is good that is all we have and all that matters.  It is not easy,  but quite hard, your mind does not want to change.

Story:  This was written from Jewish tradition, means peaceful meeting.  There was a man, Bonsha, living in Warsaw Jewish Academy, his family was very poor and family had little food.  His parents and siblings died from starvation.  When he saw his RAbbi he was asked how are you doing?  Bonsho replied, fine, I am doing the best I can.  Then as he was older, was raising is own family at a time when they killed gypsies and jews, and his whole family was killed.  the RAbbi askes him how he is and he replies, Fine, I am doing the best I can.  Eventially he dies in jail from starvation.  In heaven word gets around, Boncha the silent has died, the greatest spiritually evolved person has died and is coming to heaven.  He arrives in the court of heaven with the other angels and other spiritually evolved beings.  Everyone bowed their head in reverence to him.  He was confused and and wondered if he was in the wrong place, embarrassed, he states," what am I suppose to do?"  They replied,"You can have anything you want, we will give it to you."  He said, "Is it true, I can have anything I want?  Can I have a ittle piece of bread with butter?"  The angels wept.  

Second story:  Twilight Zone.  A gambler dies and goes to heaven, he was a high roller type and comes to an angel who tells him you can have anything you want.  He wanted to play poker and win every time, he got tired of this. Next he wanted bet on the horse races and win every time.  He also got bored of that.  Then he wanted to have all women to love him, he got discontented.  The angel said that they could arrange for him to loose sometimes.  He said, " You know this place, heaven, it is not for me, the other place, hell, it is for me."  The angel said this is the other place.

If your mind is open, unattached, nothing can happen to you.  Isn't this the most valuable thing?  We carry the belief when you become a rock star, win the lottery, get married, something fundamental will change, it will not.Working on the mind will.  If you walk out of here feeling good, free and alive, your mind is more free.  

There is something much more ungraspable than thought.  See your mind, greed, anger and ignorance - 3 states of the mind.  The lack of unhappiness is happiness.  Daniel feels like if we all put in the effort Debra does with running, getting up at 0445  it would be great for the whole group.  Daniel doesn't remember the days he slep in but does remember the days he as inconvienced himself.

The warrior part is empowering.  This is the part that gets you out of bed earlyin the morning.  Daniel was more interested in adventure than Zen, it was an adventure to get up early in the cold to meditate.  Try inconviencing yourself, for yourself, not for a cause being imposed on you.

We have responsibility to each other and to Daniel if you are his student.  If you are out of town let Daniel/group know.  The strentgth of your committment helps the others in the group.  This puts more closeness and love toward each other and maintains inspiration toward each other.  Daniel has told 6-7 people that this group would not be so good for them.  This group has a very low turnover, 20-25 people can accomplish miracles that work together.  

Greed, anger, and Ignorance: It is typical to chant the same chant every morning.  "All evil karma ever committed by me since of old, On account of my beginningless greed, anger, and ignorance  Born of my body, mouth, and thought, Now I atone for it all."  That greed does not mean money, objects or relationships.  Every moment in our life we are not ok, we always want something.  Be happy or sad and be there. Always wanting it to be other is greed.  Biggest examples of greed to Daniel in the past, he wanted the sitting period to end, when it did end, he wanted it to start again, and over and over.  Once in a while it stops and you notice it has stopped.

Crater sniffers( Muppets on Saturday Night Live) when they would sniff a crater they would get high, see colors, etc.  We don't have to sniff craters to see beauty.  Things are beautiful when you stop wanting something.  We are very spoiled about life and always want something different.  WE can't flow with reality- it is never good enough.

ASSIGNMENT THIS WEEK.  RELAX INTO WHERE YOU ARE AND STOP THINKING, CONTRAST THAT WITH THE STATE OF MIND CALLED FEAR.  ART IS LIKE THIS, IT STOPS THINKING.  

Kim hated southern Utah as a child , she had rather be in Hollywood or Disneyland.  Now she is an artist and loves the beauty and color.  Daniel hated the rubble in Downtown New York where he was raised, now he sees it as beautiful, it moves his heart. We all have an "I" that doesen't like anything.  Greed always wants things to be other.  Taking what you get is beautiful.  You can have goals, you may want to see Vancouver, do you have to be unhappy until you get there?  You get a bicycle and enjoy the whole trip along the way to Vancouver.  When your spirit over comes the pain of the process you get alot out of it. Inconviencing yourself strengthens yourself.  What is wrong now?  How is my mind torturing yourself?  Are you starving?  Life will get alot worse than right now, but yet you don't appreciate it.  Greed takes you away from the gifts of life- even if you feel sad, transient, old or in proverty.  Sadness is not ugly.  Somethings are unbearably sad and beautiful.  

Debra has been watching herself go through human emotions, anger is believing someone else is responsibile for your state of mind.

Life is thus, death is thus, deathpoem or no deathpoem , what is the fuss?

We make ourselves unhappy by constantly desire of othyer so it does not let it be as it is.  Just be with what is- what could be more true?  We can see the truth by being what it is.

