Beyond the Clouds

The Buddha, the Dharma, and The sangha are like these three bright chinese lanterns. We are not them and they are not us.

The way the fool sees the Buddha, the way she understands the Dharma and the way she relates to the sangha is always marred by foolish ways.

Here's something cheerful for all of you

Tomatsu and Watts have recently published Never Die Alone in which contains papers presented by a fantastic group of scholars and Buddhists alike at the Thirteenth Biennial Conference of the International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies (August 2007)
Never Die Alone: Recreating Communal Structures for the Dying from Buddhist Traditions

The timing of its delivery to TBH couldn't have been better as I was looking for a book to study with our group during our Monday evening Sutra Study classes. And the subject matter is one that I consider the most important in life and so needless to say I'm half way through it. So far, the essays that I've read are fascinating. It looks at how the collective can be transformed through witnessing and participating in a 'good and peaceful' death and equally how the dying person can be supported by the collective. It covers cultural, historical and traditional beliefs about the continuum from this life to the next and how death is percieved and experienced mainly in the Far east but not exclusively so.

I suppose the one thing I got from this book so far and would like to highlight and emphasise is the importance of practice in Buddhism. Practice as preparation for that moment when we are on death's door for it only takes a split second to cross that threshold. Life is full of many surprises but if death catches us unawares then will we see and feel welcomed and loved by Amida Buddha and his retinue or will we be too pusillanimous and cling to the miserable self?

But if you insist then fine - cling away. Amida still loves clinging fools

Here's a great album that fits this post really well This Fool Can Die Now