Dear Common Ground Friends,
I am finishing up my month of teaching at the Forest Refuge in Massachusetts and had the good fortune to facilitate a Question & Answer session with Joseph Goldstein this afternoon. The last question from one of the retreatants that I posed to Joseph was, “What is an aspect of Buddhist practice that is often overlooked but you think would be of great benefit to most people?” Because we were running out of time Joseph’s answer was short and sweet, “Have fun.” He went on to say that you probably won’t find that exact teaching in the Buddha’s discourses, but the Buddha did emphasize the importance of joyful interest. This seems to me to be a radical response to the question, and makes me wonder about how I relate to joy these days. I am probably not alone in having the thought that there is so much wrong in our world that joy & fun are not only inappropriate but possibly offensive to some. I am committed to taking a deep look at what might actually be good medicine for my heart at this time. Who benefits when I move through life with a mistrust and absence of joy? Feel free to join me in resolving to relearn how to truly play and let joy touch my heart in the new year.
May Goodness Continue, Increase, and Never End!
Mark Nunberg
Co-Guiding Teacher
Tripping over joy by Hafiz, Translated by Daniel Ladinsky
"What is the difference
between your experience of existence
and that of a saint?
The saint knows
that the spiritual path
is a sublime chess game with God
and that the Beloved
has just made such a fantastic move
that the saint is now continually
tripping over joy
and bursting out in laughter
and saying, "I surrender!"
Whereas, my dear,
I am afraid you still think
you have a thousand serious moves."
- Hafiz (from I Heard God Laughing)