Back in late September my buddy Ani Yeshi had an episode of vasovagal syncopy. For those who've never heard of it, her heart stops every now and then sometimes causing a faint. This first time it happened in her car (not convenient, but fortunately no damage was done) and then a few more times in the hospital. MDs say all is well as it is not a life threatening condition (unless you are in a dangerous place when it happens!). She has given me permission to post all this, but the whole ordeal was an "in your face" example of impermanence. She's recovered from it, though once in a while she feels unwell (so far no further faints though!). Today was one of those days....so we deployed our training as Buddhists....
Since Ani wasn't feeling great we employed one of the antidotes we know of...saving lives. Fortunately for us we live near the Potomac river, where fishing is popular. So we stopped at the local convenience store (BWB) and pick up a bucket of minnows. Our goal is to save them from ending up on the end of a hook...
There they are...
We take them to the river to release them after giving them a few "om mani pedme hung!"
Sorry the images aren't great. The only camera I had with me today was the one in my cellphone. But the little guys are now swimming in the Potomac river. Yeah, they may likely end up fish food anyway, but at least they had a shot at freedom for a while, and they did receive prayers from a couple of nuns!
We do fire pujas (smoke offerings) daily. We've found that working on Dharma activities can be challenging. Obstacles arise. The fire puja or smoke offering is a way to pacify obstacles through generosity.
We have no view, but fortunately we do try to utilize the technology of the Dharma as well as the worldly technology of computers and equipment.
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