Mini Retreat Day had arrived and, encouraged by my grapes Ubai and my Outline to Enlightenment, I decided to put my big girl pants on and attend. Those pants however were not white. Instead, I wore pale beige – something I hoped was modest, appropriate and respectful, but not the white of the precept takers because I still didn’t feel ready to take those vows. The first night went smoothly…
Time Out: An Outline To Enlightenment
So Dear Reader, in case you have not already noticed, I am a woman who likes control. And what better way is there to control than having a plan 😉? Obviously, this blog is filled with stories about my lack of control –of my best laid plans ruined by all sorts of stuff. But, being a planner isn’t all bad, it has helped me be a systematic thinker, an outliner,…
Grow Little Grapes. Grow Damn You!
It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and Eric and I decided to go for a drive to Napa. We were cruising along, top down, and I noticed the usually lovely, leafy vines were pretty barren. “Ah, of course, its winter” I thought to myself. Its not yet the time for grapes. Suddenly, an image –- an ubai — popped into my head, of a farmer standing in the fields yelling…
the monster that lives in my head
A close friend from the Temple and I were carpooling to work one morning when she asked the fateful question: “Hey Alana, are you planning to be at the mini retreat, the one where we will all take the 8 precepts and stay at the Women’s Center?” Those were basically her actual words, but what I heard was a secret message, roared in a loud, monstrous, voice saying something like,…
School Shooting
เมื่อสัปดาห์ที่แล้วเกิด School Shooting ที่ Stem School ใน Highlands Ranch, Colorado และโรงเรียนที่เกิดเหตุนั้นอยู่ตรงข้ามกับหมู่บ้านที่เรากำลังจะย้ายไปอยู่อีกไม่กี่เดือน ประกอบกับได้ฟังคลาสธรรมะเรื่องการจับประเด็น จึงนำมาลองจับประเด็นกับเหตุการณ์ที่เกิดขึ้น ได้ดังนี้
นางวิสาขา
ได้ฟังคลาสธรรมะของพระอาจารย์ที่ให้จับประเด็นเกี่ยวกับเรื่องของนางวิสาขาที่พระอาจารย์นำมาเล่าให้ฟังเกี่ยวกับการใส่บาตร เราสะดุดใจตรงที่นางวิสาขาเข้าไปบอกพระว่าไม่ต้องรอแล้วเพราะวันนี้คงไม่ได้ใส่บาตร เนื่องจากเห็นพ่อสามีเมินพระที่มายืนรอบิณฑบาตรอยู่ เรารู้สึกทันทีเลยว่านางวิสาขา ทำไมถึงคิดเองเออเองแล้วยังตัดสินใจไปบอกพระว่าจะไม่ใส่บาตรโดยไม่ถามพ่อสามีเลยว่าจริงๆแล้วพ่อสามีต้องการจะทำอย่างไร พอสะดุดใจแล้วเรื่องของตัวเองเมื่อเร็วๆนี้ก็ผุดขึ้นมาทันที
Alana the Bad Buddhist: A Prelude to This Blog
Well Dear Reader, we have finally arrived at the beginning — the events/thoughts that immediately preceded the very blog you are reading now. I’ll set the scene for you… The time was early 2016 and my practice was gliding along quite smoothly. Until, it suddenly wasn’t: A close friend from the Temple and I were chatting and she asked what seemed like a simple question, “Alana are you coming to…
The Danger of Blind Spots
In my endless quest to be beautiful, I stumbled upon what I thought was the holy grail — Korean beauty products. Snail serums, vitamin C-masks, kojac sponges, oh my! I did so much research, carefully scrutinized ingredient lists, read reviews: I knew, for sure, the green tea mask I picked-out was going to make me look like a 20 year old again. 1 week after I started using the mask though, I…
Not So Sweet Revenge
It was that not fun time again; time to take my car in for servicing. Since the vehicle was under warranty, I had to go to a dealership and that left me with a tough choice to make — do I go to the far away dealer in the South Bay where I had bought the car? Or, ugh, to those assholes in Brisbane, a dealership a good 1 hour…
The Perils of Being a Pampered Pooch
Background: There was a period of time in which LP Anan was using Aesop’s Fables as a tool to encourage students to think about Dharma; fables are a great way to help people see 2 sides of a story, to internalize, to become critical in identifying main points and themes. The contemplation I am sharing here was not one of these specific fable-related exercises, but rather my thoughts after hearing…