How To Structure An Email Follow Up Series
Janet returned from the U.K. (over my protests) and we eventually moved from Johnstown to Winchester, Virginia, hoping for a better chance for employment, even though none of these small Appalachian towns could offer much. Winchester was only an hour's drive from the Bhavana Society and Bhante G, who was just over the line in West Virginia and a couple of hours from my mother's nursing home in Pennsylvania, so we were able to deepen our practice and at the same time keep an eye on Mom.
Next, bring your awareness to your lower belly, just below the navel. Notice the sensation of the breath, the rise and fall of the abdomen with each in and out breath. Notice the length and depth of your breath without judgment or manipulation. After several minutes you can also bring your awareness to the natural gaps between the in and out-breaths. If you can, stay alert to the entire cycle of the breath.
The Clear Water Zen group is developing a strategy for greatly increasing the number of Zen groups in the area. A pamphlet entitled "How to start a Catholic Zen group" is being distributed to Catholic churches in the area. It includes quotes from such Catholic leaders as Father Robert Kennedy, among others, and provides practical advice on how to get a group started. Future pamphlets will be modified to address other faiths but the practical advice on how to start a Zen group will be common to all faiths.
Do your best to let your body breath, after all it does it all by itself 24/7 since you were born. All you are doing is paying attention to the process. Maybe the process changes because you are paying attention but let go of trying to control the breathing.
Also I think that Batchelor has to be clearer about his criteria for what is to remain and what is to be taken out of the Tipitaka. Just because the idea of rebirth was previous to the time of the Buddha doesn't mean that the Buddha did not accept a form of rebirth. Yes, the Buddha taught rebirth in a completely different way. In Buddha's first discourse he says that regarding the Four Noble Truths that he realized things before unknown to him. That means he found out from his own experience; nobody taught the Buddha. He did not take the teaching from other people. One of his insights was that there is a rebirth in the sense that there is a continuity of mind.
Throughout the years, Buddhism has taken on many different forms, as seen with the establishment and growth of various schools. Each school possesses their own take on rituals and traditions. The earliest form of Buddhism, which is also practiced in Thailand, is called theravada. Branching off from this school, Mahayana Buddhism was formed, which deals with Zen Buddhism, as well as Pure Land Buddhism. Another major school is called Vajrayana, as seen through Tibetan Buddhism. Today, all three schools are found throughout the world.
Massage Therapy is a well-known and well-documented remedy for inducing relaxation and reducing mental stress. In particular, traditional Thai massage with its slow meditative and rhythmic compressions, yoga-like stretches, and passive joint movements seemed to be an ideal tool for someone like Harvey.
