Another Queer Jewish Buddhist

Today is the 23rd day of the counting of the Omer: Gevurah of Netzach

When I went away on my first ten-day meditation retreat I had no idea of the discipline that was required, or the endurance that would be called upon. Meditation often starts as a discipline of the mind, keeping it from wandering, bringing it back to attention, and keeping it within a limited area. This is Gevurah — discipline and limits.

As I found myself sitting for almost ten hours a day, and sometimes for an hour trying not to move, I experienced great pain. In my knees, my back, my shins, my shoulders. And the object of meditation at this point was sensation in the body, so the job was to observe the pain, without reacting to it. To endure the pain until it was no longer possible — and then try just a little bit more, since our minds will do anything to try and get us to get off the cushion. So this is the endurance of Netzach, the ability to stay on throughout, and then break through the wall of resistance the mind puts forth. This is also the Victory side of Netzach, since the victory meant here refers to what Krishnamurti refers to as the "only revolution," which is of course, the revolution within. To come through that inner struggle intact, we must pass through the day of Gevurah of Netzach, and use this strength and discipline to endure as a way of breaking through all the old patterns that keep us from experiencing Nirvana 365.

Perhaps Folsom Street East Should Print A Program Book And Look For Advertisers...

Unlike condoms, I'm sure it doesn't offer different flavors. But I find myself wondering just who the target was for this ad...what the media choice was? Created by Partners, an agency in Lisbon. So just what's going on in Portugal anyway?

Today is the 22nd day of the counting of the Omer: Chesed of Netzach

This is the week of Netzach, which is spoken of as Endurance, and as Victory. And this being the first day, we have entered the day in which we experience Loving kindness in Victory, the boundary-less love in endurance. Certainly nothing endures without love. Endurance requires love to go on. And Victory without love is empty. It is being right at any price. It is the boss pushing in the office to get the job done without thinking about the people who are doing the work. I know this one only too well, since I fall prey to it.

When we experience Chesed in Netzach we have the love that allows us to endure the disappointments in our work, in the causes we work for. Today, as Governor Spitzer has announced he will put forward a bill in the legislature to legalize same-gender marriage in New York State, I know that this bill certainly won't become law this legislative session. But we shall endure in this cause of love, and we shall know victory that will celebrate love.

As long as they don't frighten the horses: Claremont Riding Academy Closing

I was on West 89th street last Sunday, on my way to enjoy the cherry blossoms and hyacinth in the community garden that I love so much when I passed some construction workers outside the Riding Academy blasting away with a pneumatic drill. All I could think was, it's hard enough on the horses with all the noise of Manhattan, but to have these drills right outside. Made me sad.

As I sat in the garden I remembered one of the two times I saw Jackie Onassis. I was coming home from working all night at a bakery on 72nd street (yes, I was a Cake Slave at Cake Masters years back) and walked up Central Park West. It had snowed that night, and at 7am, the park was glistening. I stood over the bridge at the 77th street entrance, breathing in the cold fresh air, enjoying that hushed silence of the city in the morning before it wakes up, that hushed silence of the city after a heavy snow. Looking out over the white expanse broken only by bare grey trees, it was possible to imagine it was the 19th Century. And as I stood there, looking down over the bridle path, along came a woman on a horse, riding at a slow canter, taking in the beauty of this particular moment. It only added to that time-travel feeling. She looked up and there was a brief moment of connection, a shared appreciation of the rare silence and the exquisitely fragile beauty soon to melt away in the rush. It was the first time I ever saw Jackie Onassis. She smiled, and then was away at a gallop.

And now, in this city of constant change, one of the last remnants of an earlier time is about to go. I'm sure the horses did not have an easy life here. But I was always happy to see them in the neighborhood. And what will become of the low rise stable? I hate to think.

We Are All Americans: Art In Iran

Farhad Moshiri was born in Iran, and lives in Teheran. He studied art and film making at the California Institute of the Arts in the mid 80s. Imagine being an Iranian student in the US at that time, just four years after the release of the embassy hostages. What kind of art do you think that would inspire — and do you think his art would be welcome in Iran? Here are two pieces, and they raise all kinds of questions. As someone who works in advertising yet finds rampant consumerism a spiritual blight on the planet, the medium through which the artist chooses to deliver his message "We Are All Americans" — that statement made by so many around the world after the attack on the country at World Trade Center — gives me chills. Thanks to Tim in San Francisco for turning my attention to this artist.

For another image, continue below...

Today is the 21st day of the counting of the Omer: Malkhut of Tiferet

In the realm of Malkhut, there is only one kind of compassion — it is fully informed by the energies of all sefirot above, and it is fully manifested in the world. In other words, it is Compassion in Action. Which just happens to be the title of a book by one of my Queer Jubu Heroes, Baba Ram Dass (co-written with Mirabai Bush).

So for this day of Compassion in Action, some quotes from Ram Dass and Mirabai Bush on the subject:

Compassion refers to the arising in the heart of the desire to relieve the suffering of all beings.

When our hearts open, when we know that we are in fact the world, when we experience the pain of others in our own blood and muscle, we are feeling compassion.

Whether our compassionate action is done alone or in a group, inner exploration remains the complement to external action, and, with time and patience, it can lead to clearer awareness, action and more integrity, and a freer flow of the heart's breath.

By acting compassionately, by helping to restore justice and to encourage peace, we are acknowledging that we are all part of one another.

Choose your path of action, have it come from a place of love. And start small, but do it consistently. Just like this practice of counting the Omer.

And by the way, for those of you who haven't seen the photography exhibit on Queer Spirit at the LGBT Center, there is a portrait of the good Dr. Richard Alpert, aka Ram Dass, on the wall in the good company of other great men of spirit. If you don't know his story, it's a wild one, starting at Harvard with Timothy Leary and the search for transcendence through psychedelics. But as Leary lost himself in drugs, Alpert left him behind to continue his search for transcendence in India, where he met the spiritual teacher who gave him the path that has enabled him to experience the transcendence he sought earlier though unskillful means, this time, grounded in the reality of everyday experience. Since then he has devoted his life to teaching and service. A few years ago he suffered a debilitating stroke, but has made learning to live with and recover from its effects part of his practice, thus becoming an example for all who suffer and struggle with illness.   

I must admit to being somewhat resentful for years that Ram Dass wasn't publicly out. And when he did come out, it wasn't quite the statement I wanted, though I had to agree with the spiritual message he was delivering. But that's my issue, my attachment to my views. There is no question that he is a great teacher. Go see his portrait, along with the others, while you can, the exhibit is up through this weekend. And take action — be an inner activist and do your work in the world.

Today is the 20th day of the counting of the Omer: Yesod of Tiferet

This is the passion in compassion. Yesod, the connecting energy, the energy of desire, is harnessed here to divine empathy. This is the energy of passionate commitment to social action and social justice. This is the energy of deeply connecting to another through acts of compassion.

But it also raises the question of promiscuous compassion. Do I show compassion here without a true connection but out of an urge to connect that isn’t satisfied, so then rush off to “demonstrate” it somewhere else? And because there is this kind of addictive quality to Yesod, do I rush to help another as a way of avoiding something I need to look at in myself?  Thoughts and questions for the 20th day of the count.

Today is the 19th Day of the counting of the Omer: Hod of Tiferet

Maimonides taught that there were different levels of Tzedakah -- ways of giving charing, of expressing compassion. The next to the highest was truly anonymous charity, where the giver had no idea of who received the gift, and the one who received had no idea who gave it. Lower than that on the scale were various permutations of the giver and recipient knowing each other. One might think that total anonymity would be the highest form of charity. But no...and why is this the question on my mind today? Because Hod of Tiferet is about Humility in Compassion. In all the ways mentioned above, one of the goals is to spare the dignity of the recipient of charity. And to keep the giver from getting puffed up. However in the highest form of charity, according to Maimonides, both know each other. However, the act of charity is not the gift of food, clothing or money.

The highest form of charity, Maimonides said, is to give a poor person a work opportunity or a business partnership so that s/he can stand on their own feet. What strikes me most is the offering of partnership. More than anything this is a statement of equal relationship. A recognition of common humanity. That I am no more and no less than another. That healthy humility enables true compassion, since it includes all humanity.Think of it as the Jewish version of the bodhisatva vow, since it is very much of this world, coming from the understanding that liberation is not separate from samsara.

Soulforce at Patrick Henry College

If you are unfamiliar with Patrick Henry College, you should know that it is a college primarily for home-schooled teens who come from evangelical Christian backgrounds, and that over 100 students from this school have served as White House interns. This is no less than a third column push towards a religious take-over of the government. I would call it a conspiracy except that it is out in the open for all to see. Their teaching is that the word of the Bible (their translation of it) is true, factual, 100%. Of course for those parts about eating shrimp being an abomination I suppose. Well. In any case, the Washington Post was there when Soulforce went to Patrick Henry to talk with students in their quest to convince evangelicals that their hateful teachings about GLBT people are not very, shall we say, Christian. See what happened. These young people are heroes and deserve your full support.

Perfectly Potted: Masayuki Miyajima

When I met Masayuki Miyajima, he was an apprentice of one of Japan's official Living National Treasures, Tatsuzo Shimaoka — who was himself the apprentice of Shoji Hamada. So Masa comes from a royal lineage of folk potters.

In this octagonal dish, he uses a technique revived and popularized by Shimaoka that takes its inspiration from the Korean Yi Dynasty process of applying slip to decorative pottery indentations.

A true mingei artist — that is a folk artist, Miyajima continues to make ceramic objects of great beauty that are for everyday use.

Last night I was chatting with a young man who pointed out that collecting pottery has its issues, since pottery can chip or break. This is true. And this is another aspect of the Japanese concept: 物の哀れ - mono no aware: the beautiful sadness of things. It is the understanding that life is fragile, that all we hold dear will chip, crack and ultimately pass away. The pottery I own I hold in trust for future generations, but I know that someday, perhaps even while it is in my possession, it will be nothing but shards. Much like the very concept of the Living National Treasure — Shimaoka is 88 years old at the moment. The treasures he has created will live on after him, but the treasure that is the sum of who he is will fade as surely as the cherry blossoms that fell from the trees last week. And that's what makes our lives, and beauty, all the more precious.