Monday, February 07, 2005
Tashi Delek!
In addition to being a professional potter and avid dog sled racer, my wife's cousin is also a Tibetan Buddhist, a fact I was not aware of until I received this email today.
We are writing to let you know that both of us are participating in the 2nd
annual KTC Minneapolis Meditation-thon. (http://www.ktcminneapolis.org/)
Just prior to the Tibetan New Year, Losar, the KTC Sangha and guests will again sit
in meditation for seven days straight, 24 hours a day, for the benefit of all beings. The Meditation-thon began at 8 a.m. on February 1, 2005 and continues through 8 a.m. on February 8. The Tibetan New Year falls on February 9.
While most westerners celebrate the New Year on January 1, Tibetan Buddhists celebrate a lunar New Year called Losar (lo means year and sar means new). Because it is a lunar holiday the actual date depends on moon cycles. This year the Losar begins Wednesday, February 9, the first day after the new moon. Preparation for the New Year begins before the actual date. For Tibetans, a whole month is spent in the preparation such as special practices, retreats and cleaning everything from top to bottom. At KTC Minneapolis, most of us aren’t able to stop our lives for a full month so we begin the preparation for Losar with the Meditation-Thon. The Meditation-Thon does two things. It allows us to help finance the Center, but even more importantly it sets the energy and tone for the New Year. By opening our Losar celebration with meditation that involves all of the sangha (community), we honor the very reason for our existence, meditation practice that is designed to benefit all living beings. The Meditation-Thon began February 1 at 8:00 a.m. and finishes on February 8 at 8:00 a.m.
This leaves me practically speechless, so in lieu of pithy comment allow me to instead recommend The Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monastery by Janwillem Van De Wetering, an interesting memoir about a western youth trying to find the answer to life's eternal questions. Van De Wetering went on to author a series of interesting detective novels that are also recommended.
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