Hi everyone. I hope that as you read this post you are feeling well and looking forward to our yoga session tonight at 7 PM.
Earlier today I came across a reminder that everywhere we turn we can find inspiration to live our lives with purpose and generosity. On a day like today, nobody knows exactly what day, but definitely in the month of December of 1850, Harriet Tubman engineered her first rescue mission into slave holding territory and led her niece and two young children to freedom. (The three of them were being auctioned and separated.) Tubman risked her life doing so, and she continued doing so at least 13 more times.
A bodhisattva is someone who commits to practice freedom and service not merely for themselves but for all beings. They are regular people who realize that their breath and life is an expression of a great mystery of an ever expansive awareness. Here are the verses that describe the vow and the verses the Dalai Lama recites daily to remind him of his purpose:
May I be a guard for those who need protection
A guide for those on the path
A boat, a raft, a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood
May I be a lamp in the darkness
A resting place for the weary
A healing medicine for all who are sick
A vase of plenty, a tree of miracles
And for the boundless multitudes of living beings
May I bring sustenance and awakening
Enduring like the earth and sky
Until all beings are freed from sorrow
And all are awakened.
On this longest night of the year, we turn to the North Star of our purpose, celebrate the darkness that reminds us of our mother’s womb, and orient ourselves toward freedom and service in the year to come. This will be our last yoga session until the January 4th 2021.
Bring your mat and invite a friend.