Contemplify Nonrequired Reading List Email for September 19, 2016
The September NonRequired Reading List
Hey everyone.
There is no month quite like September...for it marks the official beginning of reading season. The weather downshifts from pleasant to crispier until Autumn throws you out into a full-blown winter.
For those of you who sneak books into the bathroom, bring extra books to the office just in case or stay up a little bit later than your body likes, I present to you the September edition of the NonRequired Reading List.
Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra by Mirka Knaster (Book)
This book is a gem. In the early pages of this book, when I read the story of the Bengali Buddhist master instructing a young monk to smoke his cigarette more mindfully, I chortled my beer everywhere. I could resonate with a teacher like this. Munindra was a remarkable presence who taught many of today's most popular Western spiritual teachers (Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Ram Dass to name a few) when they were wide-eyed kids looking for spiritual truths in the East. They lionize him with their written words, but Munindra chose the path of person-to-person teaching over a writing career of his own. The author, Mirka Knaster, thoughtfully organizes the book by Buddhist principles and breathes life into them via the experiences of Munindra. This structure creates a sense of ordinariness to the path of enlightenment. Munindra pushed his students to find their own way too, telling one, “Buddha’s enlightenment solved Buddha’s problems, now you solve yours.” (p.110). As a Vipassana meditation teacher he married encouragement and discipline through humor, a significant detail celebrated by each of his students. In all hopes, Mirka Knaster will be guest on Contemplify next month where this wandering teacher will be celebrated once again.
Kumaré by Vikram Gandhi (Documentary)
This documentary had been on my list to watch for a couple years now. The premise is that the director, Vikram Gandhi, puts on the garb and persona of a guru to demonstrate the ease in which people can be duped by a spiritual teacher. It works like gangbusters, but the trouble is that his impact on the lives of his followers appears to be all positive. I thought this film would be an opportunity to laugh at the ways we humans can get swept up in the power of belief (rightly or wrongly), but instead was turned by the sweetness of attention that was shared between the ‘guru’ and his followers. It exposed the deep desire that connects us all--to be whole and healthy members of a community rallying around a common truth. The question that will undoubtedly arise for ever viewer at the end of the film is, “What is the stock that I am putting into any faith or belief system, and why?”
Bob Dylan said it best, “Don’t follow leaders. Watch the parkin’ meters.”
Alternative Versions of the Lord’s Prayers (PDF)
This document reads like the outtakes from a classic album, sometimes an alternative version resonates more deeply than the original. This short document chronicles a whole slew of versions of the Lord’s Prayer from the Christian tradition. I commend the person who gathered these together (I assume there are a multitude more out there) and wish to share the one that made me swoon.
KITCHEN MOTHER VERSION
by George Ella Lyon
Our Mother Who Art
in the kitchen
cooking us up
hallowed may we see
all that is
Your kingdom here
delivered into our hands
Your will in children
and trees leaping out
on earth
as if it were Heaven.
Give us this day
bread we could feed
the world
and snatch us bald-headed
if we try to swallow it all.
Don't forgive us
till we learn it is all for giving.
That salve you've got in a pot
on the back of the stove
only heals when everybody has some.
And heed us not
if we believe You look like us
and love us best
and gave us the True Truth
with a license to kill Others
writ inside.
Deliver us from this evil.
for it is Yours,
this kitchen we call Universe
where you stir up our favorite treat,
the Milky Way,
folding deep into sweet
our little sphere
with its powerful glory
of rainforests and oceans and mountains in
feather-boa mist
Forever
if we don't blow it up
and ever
if we don't tear it down
Amen
(Ah women
Ah children
Ah reckon She's about fed up.
We better make room at the table
for everybody
before She yells - OUT!
and turns our table over,
before She calls it off
this banquet we've been hoarding
this paradise
we aim to save
with bombs.)
Contemplify Update
The two most recent episodes of Contemplify…
Next on Contemplify…
T.D. Mischke (@TommyMischke) is a radioman that has fled the studio for the open road and the stories waiting to be told via his latest project, The Mischke Roadshow. My conversational history with Mischke dates back to 1996 when I first rang his radio program as a 16-year old. Ever a beacon of creativity, Mischke is an artist and storyteller who has always allowed his natural curiosity to carve the path forward. His talent is enormous (James Fallows of The Atlantic lauded Mischke as “truly original”), his disposition humble, and with his podcast, his soul remains free to wander.
In this episode, Mischke shares the process of shedding skins to make room for the unknown, the impact of a mentor, his fascination with Bob Dylan, and his discoveries along his spiritual wanderings.
This episode will be available September 20 through Contemplify and these fine outlets: iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play.
Listen well + read often,
Paul
contemplify.com
Kindling the Examined Life
P.S. As always, I'm curious to know what you are reading or watching and what drew you to it. If you are so inclined, reply to this email with your own list.