72 Labors of Perpetual Care

So my CPE experience ended two months ago and I've been waiting to see how all that I learned (or unlearned) while at Evergreen will play out in my life.  I'm not quite ready to talk about it in detail.  I'm just letting it seep into the cracks and crevices of my very being.  But I will share the meditation I penned for our biweekly IDG meeting at hospice as it grew as a result of my CPE experience. 

One of the books that our CPE supervisor taught from in weekly Didactic sessions was "How Then Shall We Live" by Wayne Muller.  It's a great book.  We're reading through it in our Lectio Group.  Everyone is enjoying it immensely.  Thanks Delmas!

The following writing is my response/interpretation of a reading from the “How Shall I Live, Knowing I Shall Die” section of Wayne Muller’s 1996 book, “How Then Shall we Live.”  Names in the story have been changed for privacy.

The 72 labors of perpetual care

July 23, 2014

 

There is an old Buddhist prayer that monks recite before meals that begins with this line: "First 72 labors brought us this food.  We should know how it comes to us.”  Their point being that we should become more aware of all the connections in our life.  Do you ever think about such labors in regards to your own food?  In light of this prayer let’s consider my morning latte which is something I take for granted on a daily basis.  How many people did it take for it to get to me?  I’m not exactly sure but here goes: the Farmer who prepared the field, the planter, the picker, processor, roaster, miller, exporter, importer, dock workers, ship workers, truckers, packagers, grinders, brewers, cup manufacturers, coffee machine makers, the coffee stand owner and of course, the Baristas.  That’s just 18 labors that I know of and that’s without even discussing the milk!

What would my life be like if I remembered all these connections?  How much more grateful would I be for this latte that sits in front of me? And how much more would I enjoy the latte knowing how much I have received?  Did you know that gratefulness slows time down?

Over the past 2 weeks I’ve had several conversations with people in which the idea of giving and receiving was mentioned. Everyone agreed that giving was a lot easier than receiving.   For all of us here at this table today, we know how to give.  It’s probably why we went into hospice work.  We love to give.  But many of us struggle with receiving.  We almost bristle at the idea of receiving.  Why is that?  I think it’s because we easily forget reality.  And that reality is that we constantly rely on others for our well-being (and for our lattes.) 

This was made very evident this week at the office when our co-worker, Lina, quite suddenly became very ill.  How frightening that was.  And yet she was not alone.  Her experience did not occur in a vacuum.  Everyone gathered around her.  Everyone felt her pain and her fear.  And just as those 18 labors connected me to my morning latte how much more were we all connected to Lina and one another?  911 was called.  EMT’s arrived.  Rhonda took blood pressure & monitored vitals.  Kristen lay on the floor with her. Doug managed the phones and Julie rode to the hospital with her.  Doctors and nurses cared for her.  Maggie kept us posted as to her status.  Her family gathered around her.  Technicians took x-rays and MRI’s and CAT scans.  All those connections.  All that love. 

You could feel the tension amongst those of us waiting here in the office as we continued working while wondering how Lina was doing. I was thrilled when Julie called looking for a ride back to the office from the hospital for then I too became one of the 72 labors!   We were connected in our humanity.  And it served as a good reminder of what our patients experience from us as caregivers.

What we forget to remember is that “we are in the perpetual care of others.”[1] I looked up the definition of “perpetual.”  It means “never ending or changing, occurring repeatedly, so frequent as to seem endless and uninterrupted.”   We are not independent. We are in the perpetual care of one another.  We are interdependent.  We are givers and we are receivers.  We can’t be one without the other.  Perhaps in giving we heal ourselves and in receiving we heal others. Or maybe it’s the other way around?  

I invite you to pause today to think through the 72 or 32 or 18 labors of something or someone you take for granted.  Maybe it’s the water coming out of your tap, or the road you drove into work on today or the medication that keeps a loved one well.  Whatever it is, remember that we have much to be grateful for within all of our daily connections, no matter how mundane they may appear.  Let us give thanks for the opportunity to give to one another and to receive from one another.  May we continue to offer perpetual care for one another, for ourselves, and for our patients.  And may Lina recover completely from her vertigo.   Amen

---

[1] How Then Shall We Live, Muller, p. 227

 

heart armor

“The armor we erect around our soft hearts causes a lot of misery. But don’t be deceived, it’s very transparent.

The more vivid it gets, the more clearly you see it, the more you realize that this shield—this cocoon—

is just made up of thoughts that we churn out and regard as solid. The shield is not made out of iron.

The armor is not made out of metal. In fact, it’s made out of passing memory.” --Pema Chodron

photo of “chain maille heart keepsake” is from this unique artist on Etsy

punished by anger

"You will not be punished for your anger.

You will be punished by your anger."

Buddha

How much energy have I wasted with my anger?

It's tough being an 8:)

Liz Hager sidewalk photo from here.

the path

As we start to turn the corner

and see Holy Week on the horizon,

let us contemplate the upcoming journey

that Jesus will make on our behalf towards Jerusalem.

"You cannot travel the path

until you have become the path."

- Buddha

photo from this pilgrimage

why one should use oven mitts

"The Buddha compared getting angry
with picking up hot coals with bare hands

and trying to throw them at one's enemy. Who gets burnt first?

The one who's picking up the coals, of course - the one who is angry.

We may not even hit the target we are aiming at,

because if that person is clever and practiced enough, he'll duck -

and we shall still have burnt hands." - Ayya Khema

Praying Flowers

"All creation teaches us

some way of prayer."

-Thomas Merton

This photo was taken from inside the Shrine Room

at Jampa Ling.  The flowers were pressing against the

window in such a way as to say, "Let us in!"

More Jampa Ling

The Aims of the Retreat Centre include:

1) To preserve the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and culture through teaching meditation and Dharma practice.

2) To assist in the re-establishment of monasteries in Tibet.

3) To work for the re-establishment of Buddhism in Mongolia and relieve the difficulties of the Mongolian people.
4) To promote inter-faith dialogue at a deep spiritual level in the context of the work for peace in this island.
5) To support Tibetan refugees and their monasteries in India.
6) To work for peaceful co-existence between all living beings.
7) To encourage conservation of earth’s natural resources and to develop an awareness of the interdependence of existence.

Through the establishment of Asral NGO in 2001("asral"  means "compassion" in Mongolian) Ven. Panchen Otrul Rinpoche aims to prevent the disintegration of families through establishing means of educating children who live in dire poverty.  Click here to learn more about the work being done in Mongolia.

This is a photo of the mantle taken in the Shrine Room

Another view of the Shrine Room.

One can't feel anything but "happy" in this room.  The vivid colors create an atmosphere of vitality and growth.  I was delighted to see the basket of peat sitting next to the stove. This is the only peat fire that I experienced on this trip.

Here we all are! Sally, Me, Ven. Panchen Otrul Rinpoche, Ven. Margery Cross, and Father Terrence Moran, C.SS.R. (This is the first time I've been able to say that I've had the most hair of anyone in a group photo:)

Jampa Ling

Front Door of the

Jampa Ling Buddhist Retreat Centre

Owendoon House, Bawnboy,

Co. Caven, Republic of Ireland

I love red doors - I have one on my home, as does St. Paul's, and so I had to take a picture of this one at the Tibetan Buddhist Centre which was established under the guidance and spiritual direction of Panchen Otrul Rinpoche in 1990.  We traveled across five Irish counties to visit Sally's most sacred space, and it was an experience filled with beauty and delight.

Jampa Ling is Tibetan for "place of infinite loving kindness".  We toured the centre and shared  lunch with the Rinpoche and the residents. (I also took pictures of the interior  but this one is my favorite.)  

"The Panchen Lama says there is a story spoken about during the lifetime of the Buddha. There was a very rich man in India, very wealthy, but he wasn't even able to give anybody any food. When people came to him and asked for a cup of water, he wouldn't even be able to give that away, and so he asked the Buddha, 'What can I do? This is very difficult for me. I just can't give anything to anybody.' The Buddha said 'It doesn't matter. What you do, you start off with your right hand, you take some water in your right hand and give it to your left hand."  quote from here

easier said than done

"Dwell not on the thoughts

and shortcomings of others;

instead, seek clarity about your own."

- Buddha

Tea Time...

Today is the birthday of Thich Nhat Hanh, well known Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk and peace activist. Here are several of his words:
"Drink your tea slowly and reverently,as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future; Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life."

"Tea Time" art from: http://deutscherdaily.blogspot.com/

Four Types of Vessels

The Buddha compared people to four kinds of clay vessels.

One type of vessel has holes in the bottom.

We can pour in as much water as we like and it runs right out. When this type of person hears the Dharma (spiritual truth), it goes in one ear and out the other.

The second type of vessel has cracks.

Though we pour in the Dharma (spiritual truth), it seeps out slowly until the vessel is empty again.

The third vessel is full to the brim with stale water--views and opinions.

One can't pour anything new in, everything is already known.

The only useful vessel is the fourth, without holes or cracks and totally empty.

-Ayya Khema, "Be an Island"

photo taken from: Beautiful-Landscape.com
by the photographer Alain Briot

(for the most part i think i'm the third vessel - these are those moments when the Holy Spirit is faithfully nudging me
to keep my mouth shut and my mind open so that i may learn!
Where do you see yourself?)