Dave Stringer on Hollywood

Kirtan and World Music recording artist Dave Stringer on his home base:

People come to Hollywood with all kinds of expectations — fortune, fame, self-fulfillment of a certain kind — and are generally greeted with nil. … You try to control the timing of things, and you simply have to wait. In the face of all your attachments and desires, the universe says “no”, and you spend a tremendous amount of time staring at the void.

… The doors of Hollywood open sometimes to those who are more or less desire-less, and also to those people who are incredibly driven and ruthlessly ambitious. Ultimately, of course, there’s a price. But so you spend a lot of time staring at the void, at emptiness and disillusionment and ultimately you start to ask those questions again: “What am I here for? What does it all mean?” There are a lot of people dealing with that in Los Angeles and I think this is one reason why yoga is so popular there, why it is one of the epicenters of things yoga right now.

… People have a lot of time on their hands, often with more money than not. Or even without money, it’s a place where you really have stare at yourself and ask what all this means. So many of the things Hollywood offers turns out to be specters, mayas, illusion, and you have to contend with that, and also, in turn, yourself. So there are a lot spiritual opportunities there, underneath the surface. And I have met many, many, very spiritual people in Hollywood, all trying to come to grips with this paradox of seeing beyond illusion. But at the same time they’re working to create it. That’s the paradox.

Source: The Yoga of Kirtan

Find teachers who are attuned to the Deeper Aspect of Yoga

David Williams was one of the first Westerners to study with Pattabhi Jois. The quote below is from a 2004 letter to yoga students in Oahu¹. The sentiment he expresses is consistent with previous posts I’ve written on the subject of finding teachers and classes.

I am occasionally asked if someone is “good at yoga.” I quickly respond that the best Yogi is not the one who is most flexible, but the one who is most focused on what he or she is doing, the one most intensely doing the mulabandha and deep breathing … My goal is to convey the idea that the greatest Yogi is the one who enjoys his or her Yoga practice the most, not the one who can achieve the ultimate pretzel position. It is my belief … that in your practice of this moving meditation, what is really important, is what is invisible to the observer, what is within each of you.

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Unfortunately the hyperlink to that letter is broken. I came across the above quote in this essay written by an Australian academic.

In the end, just three things matter

From Jack Kornfield on Twitter:

In the end, just three things matter: how well we have lived, how well we have loved, and how well we have learned to let go.

Methods and Purpose: Vegetarian Meals at Eiheiji

Part of our series on Kaoru Nonomura’s account of his year-long stay at at Eiheiji, the premier Zen training center in Japan (Eat Sleep Sit: p. 158-159):

… I should mention here that even though the main ingredients are all vegetables, such dishes are not strictly vegan. At Eiheiji, curries and stews are made using standard commercial roux, which does contain meat products. Even so, this does not violate any Buddhist precept.

In Thailand and other countries practicing Hinayana Buddhism, which emphasize adherence to ancient precepts, monks go begging for their food. They eat whatever is placed in their begging bowl, be it meat or vegetable, without penalty. The Discipline of the Ten Chants stipulates three conditions under which it is permissible to eat meat: if you did not see the animal being killed for your consumption; if you did not hear the animal being killed for your consumption; if it is certain the animal was not killed for your consumption. As long as these three conditions are satisfied, the meat placed in Thai monks’ begging bowls may be eaten with impunity.

What really matters is the determination not to take life. In fact society is full of people who spend so much energy pursuing the means of doing something that they all lose sight of purpose. Rather than thinking about purpose, people are more attracted by, and more proficient at having various methods at their disposal. But methods that are devoid of purpose or detached from ultimate meaning will often — like war, and like development in the name of progress — lead only to disaster.

Finding the right Yoga class

From Max Strom (A Life Worth Breathing, page 69):

Healing your own anger issues:

… If you feel that you tend to be competitive or aggressive by nature, I recommend that you avoid yoga classes that approach “attaining” postures as the main focus. Instead, seek out classes that are noncompetitive and more oriented toward healing. Release your addiction to “power” and seek out breath and alignment. You will discover a new kind of power that will astonish you. …

Five things to help you relax in two weeks

One of the best things I attended last year was a breathe workshop conducted by Max Strom. Max has such a gentle way about him, notwithstanding the fact that many regard him one of the finest yoga teachers in the US. These tips are from his recent book, A Life Worth Breathing (see pages 55-56).

1. Listen or read the news once a week — no more. … Does this mean we should go into denial and ignore the problems? Absolutely not. … If anything momentous happens you will hear about it; everyone will be talking about it …

2. Read inspiring, life-affirming books before going to sleep at night … Whether it is the Bible, the Upanishads, the Torah, the Koran, great philosophers, or inspiring poetry — to go to sleep with hope and inspiration will improve the quality of your sleep and dreams.

3. Watch no violent or disturbing images on TV or at the movies. No explanation is necessary.

4. Get to sleep by 10 PM. According to traditional Chinese medicine (those who practice acupuncture), the period between 10 PM and 3 AM is the most vital for the body to replenish and repair itself.

5. Give up caffeine gradually. Sorry but this is important. … What will amaze you is that you will find you have more energy, not less.

Malas

• Buddhists in the US Military: Heart and Soul on how the US Military struggles to accomodate minority religions. Some Buddhist countries (e.g., Thailand) have robust militaries, so military service among Buddhist practitioners is “possible”. The challenge faced by non-Christians in the US Military is the large and vocal contingent of Evangelical Christians.
  
  

• Healthy Alternative to China Gel: China Gel is popular among yoga practitioners, I myself have come to appreciate it.
  

  After a cardio-sculpt class involving repeated lunges with hand-weights or when I’ve had one asana too many, the last thing I want to slather on my aching body is China Gel.

  I realize that sounds kind of sacrilege, since China Gel’s considered the muscle remedy of choice at many New York City gyms and yoga studios. I can see why it’s popular: The topical pain reliever has a handful of ingredients that make sense—like menthol and ginseng. But it has way too many ingredients that don’t, like Triethanolamine (a skin, immune system, and respiratory toxin), DMDM Hydantoin (a formaldehyde releaser), and dyes like Blue 1 (CI 42090) and Yellow 5.

• Mimi Silbert on Delancey Street’s rehabilitation model: As Jerry Brown starts his term as Governor of California, I’m hoping he listens to experts like Mimi Silbert. A SF success story, Delancey Street is now found in five other US cities.
  
  

  We take applications from people who have hit bottom, from prison, jail or walk-ins. Residents who have been at Delancey Street awhile interview all applicants. The minimum stay is 2 years; the average stay is 4 years. We have 3 rules: no drugs or alcohol, no physical violence, and no threats of violence. The goal is to learn to lead a productive crime-free, drug-free life of purpose and integrity. Everyone learns a marketable skill (the goal is 3 skills), and earns at least a high school equivalency degree. Advanced education is available.

  Silbert on Options for Dealing with Criminal Offenders:
  “I am going to describe two options. One option: you get put somewhere where you don’t have to work, where you don’t learn anything, where the government – the taxpayer – pays $40,000 to $50,000 dollars. Here’s the second option: the government pays nothing, you have to wake up at 7:00 am, you have to work eight hours a day, you must get educated, you must volunteer in the community… Which would you rather see?”

• Thought-full Meditation: I’ve written about the scandal which engulfed Sally Kempton’s guru in the past, and I still haven’t found any indication that she’s distanced herself from some quotes attributed to her in the midst of it. Nevertheless, I look forward to reading her columns in the Yoga Journal! From the Feb/2011 issue:
  
  

  From the Yoga Vasishta text of high Vedanta: “Consciousness plus thoughts is the mind, Consciousness minus thoughts is God.”

On Compassion

Happy New Year to all! Here are a couple of quotes on compassion, to get your 2011 off on the right footing:

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. (from the Dalai Lama)

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete. (from the Buddha)

The right mix of Pranayamas and Asanas

A longtime student of Krishnamacharya, A.G. Mohan’s recent book about his teacher is a great resource for Yoga practitioners.

How many pranayamas should a typical yoga practitioner do? Since the start of the year is traditionally a period when people fine tune their practice, I thought the following quote would be helpful:

“How many pranayamas should I do in one day?” Krishnamacharya responded by asking, “How old are you — about forty years? … Then you must do four times that number daily. Do 160 pranayamas a day.” (By “one pranayama” he meant one round of inhalation and exhalation.)

Early in 1975, Krishnamacharya had tol me, “You must do pranayama for half the time you spend practicing asanas.” And in a class on the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, he had told me, “One must practice pranayama for at least three hours a day.”

… I asked Krishnamacharya why he had made different recommendations about pranayama. He answered, “The person who asked me in the lecture a few days ago was a yoga teacher. A teacher must always be ahead of his students in his practice. Therefore I told him to practice more. … You are also teaching yoga, but you are only around thirty years old now. He is ten years older than you. At your stage of life, you can do pranayama for half the time you spend practicing asanas. As you grow older, you must do more pranayama. When you are sixty years old, you must do pranayama for twice the time you spend on asanas.

On Trust and your Sadhana

Some words to ponder as you start reflecting on the year that’s drawing to a close, and as you begin to look ahead to the next year. I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolutions, but I always relish quiet time at the end of the year. From Ram Dass in Living the Bhagavad Gita (pages 240-245):

If you have any doubts about whether you should be doing a practice, stop doing it. If you have any misgivings about doing sadhana, if there is any question in your mind as to why you are doing it, stop. Go back and live your life just the way you lived it before … you ever meditated or prayed, before you knew anything about all of this nonsense. Go and live exactly as you did, and forget this whole meshuga business. And then watch what happens. Watch the way you are drawn by some inner thread to open a spiritual book and read a few passages, or to sit quietly and watch a candle flame.

… We keep thinking we have to get behind ourselves and push, when all the time we are actually being propelled full speed ahead. When we see that, we recognize that sadhana isn’t something we do to get ourselves somewhere; it’s something we do to get ourselves out of the way, so we can stop being obstacles to the process.

… My final suggestion for a strategy of sadhana is this: Trust the dharma. Trust it, even if you feel at some ego level that you’re shucking yourself a bit. It’s very helpful to our sadhana if we can start looking at the laws working around us and upon us as benevolent. Notice that I don’t mean benevolent as “nice”, in the sense of something that’s trying to keep our ego happy or even trying to keep us alive. I mean something that’s benevolently guiding us through our karma — that is, something that’s benevolent because it’s helping us to awaken.