Life is a State of Mind

More gorgeous weather got us off to a good start today. Erci started writing a paper while I went to the Fortune District (Soka Gakkai) discussion meeting on “What is Kosen Rufu and how can we achieve it in our lifetimes?” that Mike and Steve lead us in. I particularly liked a passage Steve had selected from the SGI website about separating people from their victimhood so they could find happiness being a key to stopping violence. I am trying to find the passage, because it was so very good.

Then we headed out to Gadino Vineyards where dance teachers from The Ballroom Studio taught some basic Salsa and we did the Gadino wine tasting. We liked their “Sunset” blended white wine, that had characteristics of a light Gewurztraminer and their Cabernet Sauvignon and bought a few bottles of each. The drive out and back was gorgeous; it had just rained, and the mountains were shrouded in a blue mist.

On our way back from little Washington, Virginia, we stopped at Blue Ridge Seafood for some lobster, snow crab legs, and gator tail. Very informal and very good eats.

Last Sunday, and I picked up fellow SGI member Ros in Centreville, took her to Vienna Metro and we rode in to Farragut North, then caught a bus to the brand new Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Washington, DC Cultural Center at 3417 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.

It is a lovely building, and we had an inspiring meeting there with experiences shared and some chanting, though I foolishly got the start time wrong and we missed opening chanting (gongyo). Ros is fascinating and we enjoyed the whole trip in and back with her talking about life experiences and jobs. Parking in the area around the new cultural center was not nearly as bad as we’d assumed, and I suspect I may carpool, but drive all the way in next time as the busses were unpredictable and slow.

I still want to sing the praised of the DC are public transportation planning site though:
wmata.com/
The trip planning site is very useful for planning your trips. You can prioritize on time, transfers, or money; it includes information about competing (non-Metro) busses and trains, and it is very informative. If you plan to drive part of the trip - just skip that leg of your journey.

There are more photos of the new cultural center at my .Mac gallery.

It’s been too long since I wrote anything meaningful hear, sorry. I’ll make a determination to write more frequently this year. To celebrate the winter season I decided to work on some of Erci’s honey-do-list for me a bit, so I began wiring up and connecting all the unconnected speakers in our house. It’s what she asked for, really! The doorbell is working now, and surround sound is connected in the family room. I have a 12 channel amp coming soon, and volume controls for several rooms in the house. New outdoor speakers are already installed on the back patio, and waiting only for outdoor weather-proof volume control and the amp. That was over the company holiday they call Christmas.

Details and update after the fold…
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This last weekend before the election we should all be getting voters to commit to going to the polls or voting absentee, and I certainly have been doing that and will continue, but only after a short break from politics. My wife and I are sporadically celebrating 14 years of adventure together (yes, sweetheart, I know the wedding was only 13 years ago, but our adventure began about a year before we stood up for the ceremony). We are seeing the Cirque du Soleil show Corteo in Washington, DC tomorrow night. We usually get the cheapest tickets at a show, and that is always awesome, but this time we splurged and got Tapis Rouge Tickets so we could see a little more of the behind the scenes point of view. It will be a nice cap to an whole day with the Smithsonian Resident’s Association at India in all Its Senses: Understanding What You See When You Go.

Life is a wonderful story and a grand adventure, and for us; marriage is about sharing that story equally and all the time. All of you extremely motivated and altruistic election volunteers should take a small breather and appreciate your loved ones out loud and with complete focus this weekend, at least for a little while. I have been so caught up in the election that I have not spent the time I should have with my beloved, and I plan to change that this weekend, if only for a little while. It has been wonderful having a partner in the revolution; for us sharing our efforts has been a reward, but a short break is needed.

Sunday morning we are going to cheer for a friend who is receiving his own Gohonzon (NOVA Community Center, 11:00) and being formally accepted into our Soka Gakkai community. Then we may jump back into literature drops, get out the vote efforts, phone banking, and staffing to change our government into one that responds to and for people.

Update (6 November): India in all Its Senses was an awesome series of mini-seminars, giving a tiny taste of the rich history and culture of the sub-continent. Corteo was spectacular, and the Madera is a very comfortable hotel to stay at, and has a restaurant/bar called Firely (how cool is that!?!). Sunday morning the community center was packed with SGI-USA members and 4 gohonzons were conferred.

Now, do your last minute research and go vote. Specifically, in Virginia, vote for Jim Webb for U.S. Senate and Vote NO on the first proposed amendentment question (please make us all proud to be in the first state to reject this bigoted and mean-spirited hatred). Depending on your congressional district, please vote for Judy Feder, Andy Hurst, Jim Moran, Shawn O’Donnell, Al Weed, Phil Kellam, Jim Nachman, Rick Boucher, Barbara Jean Pryor, or Andre Peery. If you are in Prince William County vote for Sharon Pandak. If you are in the 50th house of delegate’s district, vote for Jeanette Rishell. Most important of all though, please go vote.

Yesterday was a lot of fun. We started with the SGI-USA Fortune District discussion meeting at Maria’s house where we talked about compassion and embracing our neighbors, and we heard an experience from Maria. Jeff announced that the 2006 Annual Study Guide is available online, by order, and at the community center bookstore. Then many of us went from the meeting to participate in the interfaith 9/11 Unity Walk for Peace.

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It’s getting close to the anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the United States by a group of men, mostly from Saudi Arabia and Egypt, who were outraged by the sexual liberty of women, gay marriage, birth control, and no-fault divorce.

RenaRF has a great story about Fear, Real Fear vs. Manufactured Fear in her Thank You to President Bush. Excellent reading, highly recommended. I can’t help recalling the story of a local (to Reston) Buddhist medical doctor who said to his wife as he was dying of cancer: “Fear is not real.” He told her to anchor her heart in peace, love, and culture. That is what he hoped his life was all about, and that is what would keep her happy even without him.

To quote Franklin Delano Roosevelt: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

It is fear that our government is using to try to manipulate elections and laws and even the constitution.

It is fear that the terrorists used on September 11th, 2001. In fact terrorism is the use of fear as a weapon against non-combatants throughout history, both before and after September 11th, 2001. Oklahoma City bombing, Anthrax mailings, shootings and bombings of family planning clinics, any nation possessing nuclear weapons; these are all examples of terrorism and the power of fear. All such power is ultimately fleeting.

The power of love is far greater. One man’s love for humanity has changed the lives of billions, not just once - but several times. Jesus of Nazareth, Siddartha Gautama, T’ien T’ai, and Muḥammad all brought messages of peace and love. Their impact is still felt all over the globe a thousand years and more after their passing.

Do something for love, for culture, and for peace this weekend.

Erci and I plan to participate in the interfaith 9/11 Unity Walk for Peace this Sunday in Washington, DC. Our purpose:

“We walk together as neighbors from many faiths and cultures. We gather in peace to demonstrate our unity, recalling the spirit of togetherness that grew out of 9/11. We commemorate this day because concern for each other’s welfare is the shared hope of us all.”

Saturday, Erci and I hosted our third annual men’s division Virginia West chapter meeting in our home. The chapter is a lot smaller now, as it has been split two years in a row because of growth in local Soka Gakkai membership numbers (woo hoo!). Yesterday we went up to Purceville for Potomac Chapter’s annual men’s division meeting hosted by Vijay. It was remarkable how different the two meetings were even though they were nominally focused on the same topics: “the oneness of mentor and disciple” and “building a self-reliant faith.” Both were pulled from the July/August issue of Living Buddhism magazine and from the July 21st issue of the World Tribune.

For the Virginia West chapter the discussion focused on the definition of the mentor and disciple relationship and on speaking from the heart. We talked a lot about how the mentor disciple relationship is disciple initiated, that we each choose our own mentors, and that sometimes our mentors can choose us. We also talked a lot about practicing an engaged and active life, where we take actions on those things closest to our hearts.

In the Potomac chapter there were more experiences given, and they were particularly heart-wrenching and moving. One man talked about his mother’s passing, and another about his fight with alcohol and substance abuse. Potomac men’s discussion focused more on actively establishing great friendships with those around us and staying connected both in faith and in community regardless of faith.

Both meetings were followed by excellent food and fun, and at both there was a reminder that Fall study review is coming, and that the interfaith walk for peace is coming even sooner (SGI-USA is participating).

Yikes! Local news channels are all predicting that today, tomorrow, and Thursday will have peak temperatures of 99 or 100 F, with heat index of over 110 for the greater Washington DC area. Icky, sticky. This is one of the reasons we moved out to the woods where we could have a pool and be a little cooler (temperatures in the lee of Bull Run Mountain run 3-6 degrees cooler than they do at Dulles airport only a few miles away).

At least we are scheduled to mostly be indoors between work and dance lessons/practice through most of the expected heat wave, and it is supposed to cool to a still hot and sticky 88 F (95 heat index) by Saturday when we’ll be helping our Soka Gakkai Area Youth Division put on their Festival “Trust through friendhip, peace through trust” at Marshall H.S. from 11:00-1:00.

Definitely a week to hang out in your basement and check on your neighbors periodically to make sure they are surviving the heat. Brutal heat like this can be very hard on the elderly and the poor.