Singing Is Believing Message from Lama Surya Das I saw the terrific Selma film yesterday, so reminiscent of many of us marching in the streets of Washington, DC and NYC in the mid-late Sixties, being tear-gassed and arrested-- and beaten occasionally too. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is much on my mind, following a season of shooting black youngsters in the streets of our country as well as the United Front of Charlie around the world. May we not merely sit around and fiddle while Rome burns! Oh, that I might protect all the children beneath my maroon lama robe, help guardian and mentor them, and lift them up together in the light of sanity, tolerance, harmony and even oneness!
After returning from leading our week-long annual winter Dzogchen Center silent meditation retreat on the banks of the Hudson in Garrison, NY- a great way to start the New Year, every year- I reflected on how noble silence, sublime solitude and interiority seem to be in such short supply these days, in our
post-modern Twitter Era. We all need to unhook, however briefly, and take a breath of natural energy and awakefulness before losing ourselves in the cacophony. Many moments of mindfulness, including sacred music and chants, and morning Tibetan energy yoga sessions too, along with the gift of noble silence, take place on retreat. Come and see, as Buddha himself said. Make some moments of mindfulness, inner clarity and harmony amidst your life. Singing is believing! With love, Lama Surya Das