"Ox"ing the Lang Dor
Sojong Reminder from Anam Thubten 2/2021
Dear Dharma friends,
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The lunar new year has just begun. Many are celebrating it with good food, laughter, song and dance. It’s time to make sure that we all have a good time. Such events are needed for people to forget their problems, and love life. This is the year of the Iron Ox.
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Someone sent me a Losar greeting that is a picture of an ox sitting in a meditative posture, turning the prayer wheel. This simple drawing invites us to bring a spiritual element to this time. Beyond getting together with family and friends and having an endless party, we could take this opportunity to set a higher intention for the coming year. This may sound similar to a new year’s resolution. There are a few examples that will help guide us toward the type of intention to which one could give rise.
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There is a two-part practice known as lang dor, or letting go and cultivating. The first part has to do with seeing our inner baggage that causes us problems on our path and affects our life negatively. It could reveal itself as an unprocessed emotion or as a long-held belief. Let’s name them with utter honesty, and vow to work on letting them go. The second is to hold the commitment to cultivate what we value as meaningful practice, such as compassion, love, and so forth.
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Let’s take this upcoming sojong as an opportunity to hold the intention to practice those two Buddhist observances. Let’s hold the joyous confidence that we will have many insights this year.
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With palms joined,
Anam Thubten
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