[UD News] Weekly Happenings
Words from the Yijing for the Winter Solstice"After a time of decay comes the turning point. The powerful light that has been banished returns. There is movement, but it is not brought about by force. The upper trigram ‘kun’ 坤 is characterized by devotion; thus the movement is natural, arising spontaneously. For this reason the transformation of the old becomes easy. The old is discarded and the new is introduced. Both measures accord with the time; therefore no harm results…. The idea of RETURN is based on the course of nature. The movement is cyclic, and the course completes itself. Therefore it is not necessary to hasten anything artificially. Everything comes of itself at the appointed time. This is the meaning of heaven and earth."
-on the 24th hexagram “fu” 復—“The Return" Yijing 易經 (I Ching), translation by Richard Wilhelm, 1950 To read Dr. Lye's commentary on the Winter Solstice and its significance from an East Asian perspective, click here. Happy Holidays from Urban Dharma!Last Thursday, we celebrated the Holiday Season and also welcomed Dr. Lye back from Asia. We had plenty of sweets, teas, good cheer and fellowship to share. Thanks to all who joined us! Dr. Lye also took the opportunity to share some of the highlights of his recent trip to Bhutan and Nepal and also gave us what he called his very own “The Pith-Instructions on the Non-Difference between Navigating Traffic in Nepal and Practicing Dharma in Life.” Stay tuned for further “transmissions” on this special pith-instruction! And don’t forget our New Year’s Eve candlelight service that starts at 8 pm! This Week at Urban DharmaSeasons Greetings!
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Urban Dharma
Words for the Year of the Snake February 28th marked the beginning of the Female Wood Snake Year in the Tibetan calendar. Our spiritual director Dr. Hun Lye shared some words about the significance of this day in the Tibetan Buddhist context, and encouraged the following: ...Trust in each other, trust in basic goodness have eroded so much that even teachers who are supposed to inspire bodhicitta and divine pride in all of us are sowing more seeds of confusion and divisions, wedging Mount...
"What Steadies the Heart" We won't become free of attachments by "getting rid" of them—only through clear seeing will we naturally lay them aside. Watch this drop of dharma here! This Weekend: Freedom From Fears Just a reminder that there are still in-person and online tickets available for this upcoming weekend’s “Freedom From Fears: Principles & Practices of Lady Tara” retreat with Dorjé Lopön Dr. Lye. Dr. Lye invites you to a special retreat on Lady Tārā—a buddha who vowed to always appear...
"This storm is you." From our Spiritual Director Dr. Lye's Facebook Page “Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do...