Helping the Honeybees

The US Department of Agriculture and US Environmental Protection Agency released a scientific report on May 2, 2013 on the health of honey bees. The report found that there are numerous factors for the decline in numbers including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure.

The world-wide decline in honey bee populations is of great concern because many crops such as almonds, apples, oranges, cucumbers, squash and some beans are dependent on bees.

The USDA-USEPA report found that nutrition has a major impact on individual and colony longevity. As more land has been developed, there is less open space for bees to forage. Farmers are planting large areas of land with high value row crops such as corn thereby reducing the variety of forage types. Finally, modern weed control methods have resulted in the loss of have reduced availability of weeds that once provided valuable nutrition to bees.

What can we do to help? Rather than just pointing the finger at corporate agriculture, we could each help the honeybees by planting the flowers that they favor. As the suburbs continue to spread, more and more land belongs to individual homeowners. If every one planted a few flowers that are favored by the honey bees, that would make a significant difference. Even if you can only plant a pot of flowers, or maybe a window box, that would help the bees in your neighborhood.

So, the next time you are at your local garden center, look for plants such as the following:

Asters
Salvia
Sunflowers
Thyme
Mint
Coneflowers
Bee balm

From a Buddhist perspective, helping the honeybees is one of the several ways to practice generosity which is to offer protection to sentient beings no matter how small they are. Parents and teachers can engage children in planting flowers that bees prefer and thereby teach them consideration and respect for these living creatures who indirectly help keep us alive. Through these small steps, we can help sustain the environment and ensure that we have food to eat in the future.

References

The Honey Bee Conservancy – tips on how to create a bee friendly garden (and much more!).

Bee Keeping for Dummies – includes a chapter on which flowers to plant to feed bees.

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On Seeing Your Own Faults

Just as our own eyes can’t see each other, we must rely on other people to point out our faults so that we can improve ourselves.

~ Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche, March 2013

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Important Information for Triple Empowerment March 23

Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche will confer the Triple Empowerment of Hayagriva, Vajrapani, Garuda on Saturday, March 23, 2013 at the Vienna Community Center in Vienna, VA. Participants should note the following:

• As is customary for lower tantra empowerments, it is best not to consume onions, eggs, garlic, or meat prior to the empowerment.
• There is a mantra recitation commitment for the empowerment.
• The discussion on Sunday afternoon on the topic “Truth, Path, and Buddha Nature” will be led by Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Losang Jampa
• Please bring your own cushion and a towel or mat to sit on if you would like to sit on the floor instead of a chair.
• If you are planning on staying for dinner on Saturday, please email the organizer Pema Dechen (pema2011@yahoo.com)

Please contact Pema Dechen if you have any questions about this event by phone: (571) 643-4233 – mobile , or email.

This event is sponsored by:

Partners for Tibetan Education (PTE) http://www.partnersfortibetaneducation.org 1875 Connecticut Ave, NW., Suite #410 Washington D.C 20009

The schedule of events is available here

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Guns are not the solution

In memory of the victims of the Newtown, CT shooting, I wrote this article:

Newtown shooting and gun violence: a Buddhist response

Please keep the victims and their families in your prayers.

Take action:

Demand a Plan

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Holiday Dharma Gift Ideas

A few special Dharma gift ideas for the Buddhists in your life:

Gift of prayer: dedicate a puja for a loved one and help support The Tibetan Nuns Project. The Tibetan Nuns Project was founded over two decades ago to provide education and humanitarian aid to refugee nuns from Tibet and Himalayan regions of India. Pujas include Tara and Medicine Buddha and several others.

Words of Wisdom: In his book Beyond Religion: Secular Ethics for a Whole World , His Holiness the Dalai Lama provides an eloquent, detailed explanation of the need for a secular ethics rooted in the two principles of compassion and interdependence.

Bodhisattva Attitude: How to Dedicate Your Life to Others – Ven. Sarah Thresher has masterfully crafted a collection of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s motivations about cherishing others.

2013 Calendar: Lhasa and Beyond – stunning photos of Tibet. Publisher: International Campaign for Tibet. ICT promotes human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet.

Meditation Shawl: Perfect for winter! Available from the FPMT Foundation store. The FPMT is an organization devoted to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

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On Breaking the Bodhisattva Vows

Not only is it difficult to have the opportunity to receive the Bodhisattva vows from a spiritual teacher, it is also difficult to maintain the vows purely. Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Losang Jampa recently conferred the vows to a small group of students at the Mahayana Sutra Tantra Center in Northern Virginia. Rinpoche said when someone asks for your help you need to carefully analyze whether or not it is within your powers to do so. In some cases, you might not be able to due to a lack of means, time, or skill. If you have taken the vows and there’s no reason why you can’t help the person, then you’ll break your Bodhisattva vows. This also applies to you helping your community with social issues such as poverty.

Remember that His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, “Apathy is a form of selfishness”.

Please share your thoughts.

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How to Rescue Earthworms

Hot, dry summer weather is hazardous for our friends the earthworms. Crossing the sidewalk is like crossing the desert for us. The ground is so hard, the worms seem to pop out and roll onto the pavement. Tenzin (age 12) and I found a worm that was half dead – half its body was already shriveled up and hard, it barely responded to touch. To our amazement, the worm cast away the dead section and revived after a few hours of gentle soaking.

This is Tenzin’s account of how to rescue worms:

1. Bring the worm to a safe place.
2. Examine it carefully to see what’s wrong.
3. If it looks too dry, take it home.
4. Build a habitat using a container filled with damp  soil and leaves.
5. Place the worm in a damp paper towel inside the habitat in a quiet place.
6. Let the worm rest, this may take a few minutes or a few hours depending on whether it needs to discard a dead section of its body. Keep it captive for the shortest amount of time possible.
7. Say many prayers for the worm, surround it with holy objects, play recordings of the Medicine Buddha prayer.
8. When it has fully healed, find a shaded area in the woods. Water the ground if it’s too hard. Make sure there aren’t any ants nearby. Ants might attack the worm. If possible, water the area regularly if the dry weather continues.

Here’s the link to a detailed, caring article on rescuing worms in a variety of weather conditions.

By setting your motivation correctly and dedicating all the merit from your efforts, you create immeasurable good karma and please countless Buddhas. Rejoice!

This is an easy way to engage kids in practicing the Dharma. It shows them how to respect living creatures and to be mindful of others’ sufferings. Instead of lecturing kids about love and compassion, save a worm with them. If it survives, they’ll be heroes, but even if the worm dies, you’ve set an example by trying to save it. The kids will get in the habit of being on the look-out for those in need.

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What is Engaged Buddhism?

Here’s the link to my article in the Washington Post On Faith section with some thoughts about what it means to be an engaged Buddhist in the 21st century. Or really, what does it mean to be Buddhist? Can you call yourself Buddhist if you are not out there serving your community?

Please feel free to share your comments.

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Can You Be A Catholic and Practice Buddhism At the Same Time?

There’s an interesting article and a lively discussion in the Washington Post: Barbara Johnson’s Buddhist Catholicism. Barbara Johnson was denied communion at her mother’s funeral by Rev. Marcel Guarzino because she is a lesbian, according to the original article in the Post.

It’s a complicated story, and at one point, Johnson described herself as a Buddhist. So the article, Barbara Johnson’s Buddhist Catholicism, picked up on that aspect of her faith and explores whether one can be both Catholic and Buddhist.

Actually, it’s not uncommon, I have met many people who consider themselves both Catholic and Buddhist, and they practice a blend of the faiths. They take aspects of each tradition that feel right for them. The definition of a Buddhist is quite clear, one is a Buddhist if one goes for refuge to the Buddha, the Buddha’s teachings (Dharma), and the sangha (ordained spiritual friends). Well, maybe there’s a little more to it than just that.

What do you think? Can you be a Catholic and practice Buddhism at the same time? Where and how do we draw the line? Does it matter? Is it a question of labeling, or something more?

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Lama Zopa Rinpoche Encourages Sur Practice

A recent FPMT newsletter contains advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche in which he encourages his students and FPMT Centers to do the sur offering practice regularly.

On a personal note, you might have noticed based on this blog, that I’m deeply disturbed by the self-immolations in Tibet. For me, doing the sur practice has helped me reach out to those who have so bravely sacrificed themselves for religious freedom. The bardo beings are everywhere and can read our thoughts. Standing out in the cold, dark night on the edge of the solemn woods, drenched in the smoke and aroma of the charcoal and roasting offering substances, I find a way of connecting with their vulnerability. Above all, it’s my small way of repaying these martyrs’ incredible kindness.

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