TonsofTime – Enjoy the now

The retreat was great. I was with a group of Dutch and Belgium people, as well as practitioners from Taiwan, Hongkong, Austria, Germany and Finland. I missed my daily dose of coffee (a bad habit to drink it, I know) so I was a bit sleepy now and then. The location was the European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB) in Waldbröl, 60 km from Cologne.

Thay (Thich Nhat Hanh), our teacher, was in great shape, despite his 83 years. Listening to his Dharmatalks gave me some new insights because Thay explaines the subjects a bit differently every time.

One day we hiked in the country and woods for a couple of hours and picnicked in the back yard of a small farm house. Of course, the hike was in silence and concentration.

The main building of the (EIAB) is being renovated, therefore the big meditation room was located a tent and the buffets for food and drinks were also in tents. All the (vegan) meals during the retreat were enjoyed in silence.

I know a number of the people of the Dutch Sangha who were there and I also met people from other retreats, which was very nice. I held many conversations that warmed my heart.

Every day, I shared my experiences with a ‘family’ group of about 24 people. The sharing of the group members was deep and intense and gave me some more insights.

All in all I am very gratefull for this experience. (Fotos will follow shortly)

A fellow member of my Sangha sent me the link to this video. It has the chant of a monk and the words of the zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, who I admire very much. And of course some great views of nature.

The Great Bell Chant from R Smittenaar on Vimeo.

This summer, I have read the book Happiness of Matthieu Ricard.

The book starts with examining the nature of happiness. What is the definition?

By hapiness I mean here a deep sense of flourishing that arises from an exceptionally healthy mind. This is not a mere pleasurable feeling, a fleeting emotion, or a mood, but an optimal state of being.

Ricard has studied a lot of material about happiness which he quotes and comments on throughout the book. One central theme is that achieving happiness is a skill that can be learned; happiness does not come to us automatically.

Ricard elaborates on the subject of happiness by analyzing what makes us happy and what not. His reasoning is very logical and almost scientific. It is in no way esoteric or religiously biased. He states that scientific research has shown that rich people are not more happy, although people need a basic level of material well-being. The author also makes clear that our happiness does not depend on outer circumstances at all.

Being a Tibetan monk, Ricard uses sources from the buddhist tradition, like non-self, the roots of suffering, the difference between emotions and feelings. He also analyses disturbing emotions like desire, hatred and envy. These chapters reminded me of the book Destructive Emotions, a report about a dialogue between The Dalai Lama and Western scientists, whereby Matthieu Ricard was the translator for His Holiness.

I have enjoyed reading this book very much, while I was staying with my family in Hungary in August. It is eloquently written, well grounded in science and philosophy and can resist criticism from the more rational readers.

Recognize suffering,
Eliminate its source,
End it
By practicing the path

This spring, performances of the opera Satyagraha of Philip Glass had a tremendous reception in New York and London. This opera, although composed 28 years ago still moves the audience with its repetative cords that bring near exaltation or trance. I hope to see it sometime if I get the chance.

I remember that I was working for the peace movement in The Hague when in 1982 Gandhi the movie came out and we all got an invitation to see the film prior to the premiere, as were all peace activists I knew.

In my library is the autobiography of Gandhi. I decided to get a copy, because on a couple of lists about “books that changed my life”, like this one included this life story from the man that hated to be called ‘Mahatma’. In this book, the image of a very honest and outspoken man is painted, somebody who is just as open about his failures as he is about his triomphs.

On my reading list is Mattieu Ricard’s latest book about happiness in the buddhist perspective.

A few days ago, Ricard has given a talk in the TED conference.

Here is a related post and here is another one: link.