There are all sorts of clever technological methods for reducing the amount of energy expended on lighting. Karmê Chöling is a big place, we have many light bulbs. As they’re uniquely compatible with dimmer switches, a lot of them are of the old fashion electricity guzzling incandescent variety. Many are more efficient fluorescent flavors. A few of our lights here and there are hooked up to motion sensors. In the evening someone goes around and makes sure all the lights that are supposed to be off are off.
So we’re trying to be more judicious with our electrical expenditures, but our efforts to this point have been somewhat ad hoc. (There are, for instance, I’m sure all sorts of ways to conserve energy that are not lighting related at all. We didn’t even think of that!) Which is why we’re opening this discussion up to you, internet users of the world.
Do you know anything about energy efficiency? Would you like to share? If so go ahead and get in touch. Leave a comment or email blog@karmecholing.org, and we’ll try to sort this out. We’re particularly interested in hearing from professionals in the field. Thanks.
In communicating with others, we can definitely make a profound statement. We can communicate with others about their state of being, their own pain, their own pleasure. We don’t feel that this world is bad. We feel that this world has basic goodness. We can communicate that. We don’t have to run away from this world. We don’t have to feel harsh and deprived. We can contribute a lot to the world, and we can raise ourselves up in this world. We should feel so good.
-Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, from “Helping Others,” in Great Eastern Sun: The Wisdom of Shambhala, pages 177 to 178.
You can’t live and work at the same place and expect anything less than a pressure cooker. Add romance to the equation and you might as well give up completely…
On the other hand, it’s great to fall in love, isn’t it?
So I wrote a love poem… It’s called ‘The UPS Guy”:
Karmê Chöling invites applications for the position of Director of Practice and Education
Are you interested in:
Enriching the education and practice of the staff of Karmê Chöling through classes, community practice and individual path?
Working under the guidance of the Acharyas to hold and develop the practice forms and environment at Karmê Chöling for staff, participants and the community-at-large?
Caring for and uplifting shrine rooms, practice materials and objects?
Working as a leader and member of a dynamic team, offering support and guidance to other departments and staff in the areas of practice and study?
Providing inspiration as an example of a dedicated and mature practitioner?
Living in a contemplative community of practitioners dedicated to working with their hearts and minds in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition?
Are you a senior practitioner (sadhaka preferred), a Meditation Instructor, and experienced administrator in the area of Practice and Education within the Shambhala Buddhist community?
Apply online by visiting our website or for additional information email our Director of Personnel Lisa Stanley personnel@karmecholing.org.
Folks are often curious when we talk about “applying” mindfulness in the workplace: they like the sound of it but aren’t quite sure what it means. I had my own ideas based on experience as a transactional lawyer, and those expanded as I talked with leaders of Tail of the Tiger programs, which are often geared toward applying mindfulness in livelihood settings.
Sometimes people wonder if it’s about setting up a workplace environment for sitting practice–nice work if you can get it, but the practical application is more in the range of what we call “postmeditation practice.” This can be as simple as applying what we’ve learned about how the human “equipment” functions and often falls into the category of what’s popularly called Emotional Intelligence. EI basically means seeing clearly what’s going on (in ourselves and others) and being skillful in what to do about that.
For example, we know we can get grumpy and inflexible (or worse) when someone pushes our buttons, and it eventually dawns on us that the dynamic works the same way in other people. So if we’re engaged in a difficult negotiation, we know from personal experience that if we use certain words, gestures, or tones of voice, people on the other side of the negotiation are going to be harder to get along with. Since the object of a negotiation is to make a deal and not torpedo it, it seems pretty simple what makes sense.
And the shoe can be on the other foot. If the opposite party in a negotiation is overly pushy, aggressive, or rude, we may find ourselves solidifying. If we’ve learned how to overcome that impulse, then we have the opportunity to stay in the game and not stomp out of the room. Of course, sometimes exiting a negotiation makes sense, but the point of mindfulness is to make that our choice and not a conditioned reflex.
Patton Hyman is an attorney and the director of Tail of the Tiger, an educational organization dedicated to bringing the benefits of mindfulness meditation into business, the professions, and the arts. This summer Tail of the Tiger will present its third annual Applied Mindfulness Conference, July 22 – 25.
1973, outside a tent on Karmê Chöling’s front lawn, where Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was teaching the Message of Milarepa, a pioneering student demonstrates the peril and promise of American car culture.
Please join us in wiping away the cobwebs of conventional mind as we welcome the new year with great joy and verve. We’ll practice, celebrate and generally enjoy one another’s company in the best Shambhalian tradition. Word is the phone hookup may even be in full working condition!
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Sunday, February 14, 2010
7:00 Morning Chants
7:50 Colour Party, Shambhala Anthem on the front porch
8:00 Breakfast
9:00 Walk to Purkhang, circumambulations upon arrival, led by the Dorje Kasung
10:15 The Elixir of Life: A Birthday Practice
11:30 Lunch
12:45 Phone Hook-up in the Main Shrine Room
Opening remarks from Shambhala Internationl, Address by President Reoch
Address by His Majesty, The Sakyong, Mipham Rinpoche
Dedication of Merit
2:00 Remarks by Director Jane Arthur
Fundraising for Shambhala International
Retirement Ceremonies
2:00 Distribution of Practice Booklets
3:00 Lhasangs to purify and uplift Karmê Chöling
6:00 Sadhana of Mahamudra Feast in the Pavilion
I Ching for 2010 by Director Jane Arthur, Acharya Suzann Duquette, and Jan Enthoven
