Shine your light with a candle
... and a prayer.
Recently, while attending a Catholic wedding, I stopped at an altar in the church after the ceremony, lit a candle, and prayed. Later, a friend —who knows I’m a Buddhist student and a secular person like him—asked me what I was doing. When I explained that I was praying for the good health of my friends and family, for the newlyweds to have a happy relationship, for impoverished and oppressed people to be free, and for Vladimir Putin to open his heart, he laughed.
That’s because, like many people, he didn’t understand that prayer affects the one who prays. When I bring my attention and focus to the many struggles and joys in the world—including my own—I’m developing my compassion and mindfulness, and alleviating the hatred, anger, and impatience in my own heart. I’m not asking for God to intercede or magically wishing the problems of the world to disappear, but rather rewiring my conditioned habits of neediness, aversion, and ignorance into wisdom and clarity, so I can orient my thoughts and speech and behavior to benefit myself and others.
If you’re not already, you can pray too. You don’t have to believe in God or anything except your own loving nature. Light a candle in your kitchen or just sit quietly by a window, and offer blessings, good wishes, and aspirations for the people you love, for strangers, for enemies, for animals—for all Earthlings. If you don’t know what to do, you can think of someone who is struggling or a place that is hurting from war or disaster, and simply say silently, “May you be free from mental suffering. May you be free from danger. May you be at peace.”
Navigating Grief and Loss: 25 Buddhist Practices to Keep Your Heart Open to Yourself and Others will be published on November 1st by Prometheus Books! It’s available for pre-order now and I hope you’ll purchase a copy for yourself or as a gift for someone you care about soon. And we’re having two launch parties so save the dates—it will be wonderful to see you at one or both!
November 4th is an in-person Book Release Party at the Rubin Museum in NYC! Get your book signed, visit with old friends and make new ones, and enjoy the music, the art, and the community! Learn more at this link.
November 15th is an online Book Release Party at Mindful Astoria, hosted by my dear friend Manaslu Gurung. Everyone is welcome, more details to come! Learn more at this link!
Gladden Your Mind
Wonderful teacher Mona Chopra is offering an online half-day retreat on October 15th at New York Insight Meditation Center, Lessons From the Fall – The Art of Letting Go. Learn to make space for new opportunities and let go of what you no longer need. More info at this link.
Share Your Blessings
May we know inner and outer peace. May we meet each other as dear friends. May our kindness and good sense flourish and take root in our hearts and the world. Sabbe sattā sukhi hontu. May it be so!
Metta+++,
Kim✨