November 2021

Crestone

2023-01-01T02:13:55+00:00

I heard from various sources that Crestone CO was the seat of many buddhist retreat centers for a very small town and I had thought it was because of some government policy that encourage this type of concentration. As it turns out, there was a land grant by one of the 16th Karmapa's student that promoted the development all these centers. Since I spent most of the time interviewing people of the project, I didn't get to check out the town as much but in general, it's fairly undeveloped as a town so I am not quite so sure that I would want to move there anytime soon! I found this write up from a travel writer about Crestone that gives more history about the town.

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October 2021

First Year of Ngondro Practice

2023-01-01T02:14:34+00:00

So my first anniversary of ngondro practice is coming up in a few days and I've been thinking about the significance of the practice in my life. I can't quite say it has been so transformative that I quit my life in suburbia and went off on some pilgrimage to find my 'spiritual' home of sorts. Alas, I have certainly thought about making such a drastic change and asking my teachers if I should do such a thing but I feel like I already know the answer. Which is to say, I know enough that just changing the outer circumstances doesn't change the obscurations of my mind and habit. Fundamentally, I have the time/resources to fully practice where I am at even though I don't 'like' it here. Which is to say, I need to focus on the present state of auspicious conditions that has allow a fairly consistent practice in the last year and get over the ego's likes/dislikes/perceptions. 

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August 2021

Year of Impermanence

2023-01-01T02:15:08+00:00

The importance of a consistent contemplation practice became an experiential realization in the past year. I vaguely recall reading a passage from 'Words of My Perfect Teacher' in the past year about the how critical the teaching on impermanence is. When I picked up the books many years ago, I knew it was a 'classic' Vajrayana text and enjoyed reading it but I wasn't actually practicing ngondro at that time. In the past year, I have revisited the book as part of my practice and the teachings are coming to 'life' so to speak. Since I am still on the 'outer' preliminaries of the practice, the teaching on impermanence and death is one of the 4 thoughts that turn the mind towards dharma.

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July 2021

Drupchen Visual Journey

2022-12-29T03:36:28+00:00

I stumbled on this video piece while researching Drupchen and it is a beautiful example of the kind of work I would like to make in the future. I had the chance to attend a Drupchen retreat at Pema Osel Ling a few years ago and at the time, I felt that it was a bit overhead in terms of practice. Watching one of my favorite teachers in one of his more ‘traditional’ roles is inspiring on […]

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May 2021

Tattooed Buddha Interview

2022-12-17T01:34:51+00:00

The good folks over at The Tattooed Buddha did an interview on the project. I did a media outreach earlier in the year and they were the only ones that responded so back to drawing board. My main intention on doing the media outreach was to help get more subjects for the project and my current outreach process has definitely been challenging.

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