Sunday, November 02, 2008

Offering Chant in my dreams


Yesterday morning I woke from my dreams hearing a song I listen to frequently in my studio. It was the Offering Chant on Rain of Blessings by Lama Gyurme and Jean-Philippe Rykiel. I'm sure it's well lodged in my head, along with most of his other music, but am still surprised to find I was dreaming it.

Part of the text from the liner notes: "Offering Chant - Offering is an essential aspect of Buddhism. It leads to the broadening of one's spirit in an ever expanding dimension, whereas keeping things for oneself prevents an opening to the world. . . Generosity extends itself to those in material need or inwardly in pain. It also unfolds itself, as in this chant, . . . the practitioner thinks of himself as offering in spirit all the universes, all the beauties and all the wealth they contain; thus he is able to offer more and more, as he continually opens himself to the dimensions of the infinite."

I wonder what this dream means. Maybe it's an area I should be working on. Maybe it's an idea for a book.

I'm not a Buddhist, I'm not anything related to organized religion. But I have been interested and curious about Buddhism for 20 years. Back then, friends took me to a ceremony of blessing somewhere in the east bay. I was moved by the simplicity and beautiful calmness, but felt like a tourist in someone else's church. Now I meditate irregularly, think about the issues, etc. I also shy away from talking about these things most of the time because it's an internal dialog.

Recently I have been listening to some of Pema Chodron's talks, available on audible. I find her explanation of the Buddhist precepts very easy to understand. There is a good interview with Bill Moyers here.

And on a sort of related note: In you're in the U. S. Please Vote! No matter how this election goes, I will be happier if it is fair and a majority of people express their opinions. Of course if you are on the fence, you can email me, and I'll try to influence you!

1 comment:

lorrwill said...

This post brought such a smile to my face.

:-)