New Years news
In case you missed the Shambhala Day broadcast, here is a recording of it. One of the day’s events, before the International Broadcast, was throwing the I Ching for Portland. We have a recording of the discussion about the reading: #6 SUNG, transitioning to #44 Kou (its 13 minutes long). My take-away was that we really need to talk as a community, and that there are serious risks if we don’t. Have a look at the summary below to see if you agree.
During the Happy Hour on Shambhala Day afternoon we were more serious than just “happy”. The importance of more talking came through really strongly (even though we have done an awful lot of talking over the past 2 years). Here are some of the topics that are on our horizon as a community:
- The New Code of Conduct Implementation and Recruitment is the result of a lot of work internationally and has a lot of ramifications for how we take care of each other as a community. It went into effect on Shambhala Day.
- A Joint Statement from the Directors of the Shambhala and Sakyong Potrang Boards opens a new chapter in resolving many questions about separation and integration between the two in areas of governance, teaching, property, and so on. The letter was sent out the day after Shambhala Day.
- A Letter from the Open Torii by a group of teachers and practitioners including Lady Diana Mukpo announces their intention to hold a “Mahasangha Gathering” at SMC this Summer that will consider many significant changes in access to empowerments and liturgies. It was sent out the day before Shambhala Day.
That’s a lot!
The Dön season proved that the Mamos know all about our modern data systems since Shambhala Global Services IT group (my other job in Shambhala) faced an incredible series of outages and bugs during the season. Things have now settled down and my team is at its “normal” feverish pace to keep Shambhala infrastructure up and running.
If you haven’t considered making a donation to keep Shambhala Global Services functioning and tying us all together, please do. Here’s why donations matter so much and what Shambhala Global Services offers the whole mandala. It’s easy to donate:
We have a lot to talk about!
Portland Shambhala’s I Ching reading provided by Gardner Murphy: #6 SUNG (argument, dispute, conflict, adversaries) with a changing line #3; transitioning to #44 KOU (return of the dark force).
#6 SUNG
From I-Ching The Book of Answers by Wu Wei
“You are sincere but are nonetheless entangled in an argument. Remain calm and clear headed so that you are always ready to meet your opponent halfway and to work toward arriving at a settlement. No conflict should ever be allowed to become long lasting. If you remain open to resolving the dispute, good fortune will come. “
From I-Ching Navigate Life’s Transitions by Antonia and Bill Beattie
“Sung is formed by the trigrams Heaven over Water. Because water tends to flow to the deepest space available, it distances itself from the heavens as much as possible… so human conflict can be measured by the distance between individuals and their ability to communicate with one another.
When two people or two nations, make a virtue of being alienated from each other disaster threatens.
Sung urges us to take all possible steps to prevent the outbreak of such conflicts and to bridge the gap inhibiting communication.
Sung also recommends that we resolve the conflicts within ourselves, since these give rise to belligerence toward others. The least tolerant people are typically the ones who suffer most from internal conflicts, such as racists crippled by fear of the unfamiliar. We need to identify the areas of self-righteousness within ourselves and resolve the fear and confusion they usually mask.”
#44 KOU (also called coming to meet)
From Beattie
“Formed by Heaven over Wind. This image suggests the dispersal through the land, by the winds, of instruction in honorable and positive behavior (the ways of Heaven). It also carries a warning. The hexagram’s title (Coming to Meet), suggests the state where a virtuous person is tempted to meet with a dangerous beguiling individual who will begin to sow seeds of corruption. If we become tainted by such conflict, we must acknowledge our own fault in agreeing to the encounter.”
From Wu Wei
“The dark force returns suddenly and unexpectedly. No matter what its form, whether as a malicious or evil-minded person or as a temptation or an influence, it will in some way be a bad influence and cause harm… This is a dangerous time for you and for everyone around you. To counteract the dark force, you should develop a plan to protect yourself, your family, your group, or organization. Alert everyone about the dark force and warn them of its potential for harm. Take appropriate steps and precautions to neutralize the danger in this critical time. If the dark force gains even a toehold, it will quickly grow to alarming proportions. It will be to your advantage to begin a project at this time.”
