http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl Random jots and scribbles of Bernie Simon en http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/mean_streets.html So Sunday night was Tibetan class and it started late because our teacher was feeling unwell and overslept. Dave and I were standing on Fayette Street watching the street life of Baltimore. A crowd was gathered in front of the convenience store down the street. A police car stopped and the two ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/code/repair_guy.html I hope everyone had a good holiday. At least, those of you here in the United States, where it was a holiday. I spent my weekend making fixes to my web sites. Yes, sad, nut true. Having a web site is like having a dog. It must be fed, walked, and occasionally de-wormed. I only mention it because I ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/elevator_speech.html Sometimes when people find out that I'm a Buddhist, they ask me what Buddhism is all about. I've fumbled this several times in the past, so I've tried to come up with the elevator speech — a short explanation that I can rattle off in an elevator. I suppose in some sense, the Four Noble ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/mindfulness_and_awareness.html Brad kicked up a fuss on his blog by criticizing the misuse of the term mindfulness in Buddhist circles. That was a month ago, but the subject has stuck with me, so I'm going to say something about it. The Sanskrit word for mindfulness actually means remembering. The real meaning of mindfulness is ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/counting_yaks.html I've been studying my Tibetan vocabulary lately, which takes some time away from the Internet. Last Sunday we went over the numbers from one (gcig) to one hundred thousand (gcig.'bum). So now when I lie awake at night I can count yaks instead of sheep. (Gyag gcig, gyag gnyis, gyag gsum ...) ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/monk_to_dragon.html During the Spring Retreat Khenpo Choephel taught on the sixth chapter of Gong Chik. The Gong Chik is a collection of sayings of Jigten Sumgon, the founder of the Drikung Kagyu school of Buddhism. I only caught part of Khenpo's teaching, but he told stories about two monks who were able to ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/myself/self_improvement.html I'm taking another class in Tibetan at the Ja Ling Center . It's being taught by Jigme Lodro, one of the Tibetan residents I haven't met before. The first class was well attended. However, after the first exposure to the Tibetan alphabet, attendance dropped for the second class. So I don't know if ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/perfect_conduct.html Here's a little more from Khenpo's talk on Gampopa's Pricious Garland. The topic is perfect conduct. In can you didn't know, Precious Garland has been translated with a commentary by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche. Guarding one's conduct like the pupils of ones eyes is the perfect conduct for a person of ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/four_unions.html I've finished correcting my notes from the Spring Retreat in Frederick. I didn't get to attend as much of the teaching as I had hoped, as I've been busy at work. Hwere's part of a teaching on Gampopa's Precious Garland that I found particularly inspiring. Beings are divided into three groups, ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/what_do_you_get.html Someone asked the question, "what do you get out of your practice?" The question is an interesting one, because, as I learned back in my college philosophy class, every question is also a statement. The statement here is that practice is about gain and loss. You practice in order to get something, ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/karmapa_wrapup.html The Seventeenth Kamapa's visit is long over and all that's left now is the sweeping up. The Krmapa Visit blog is reduced to flogging the merch that they couldn't move during the visit and fishing for inspirational stories. The picture of the Karmapa frowning while drinking Starbucks coffee is ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/consecrating_tormas.html Khenpo Choephel gave a teaching on tormas during the Spring Retreat in Fredericj. Tormas are thos nifty little cones of dough that are used as offerings during empowerments and tantric sadhanas. Before tormas are offered, they are consecrated by reciting the syllable "om ah hung" three times. http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/retreats_end.html Today was the last day of teaching at the Spring Retreat at the Tibetan Meditation Center in Frederick. I've only been able to get there on weekends, as I've been very busy at work. That's also the reason why I haven't been posting. I've been too tired after finishing work. Drupon was teaching the ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/four_empowerments.html As I've mentioned, the Spring Retreat is currently underway in Frederick at the Tibetan Meditation Center. Sometimes when I listen to a teaching, I get the feeling that it's meant especially for me. I know that I'm not the only one who has had this feeling, as other people have told me in the past ...