Spotlight on Our Sangha: Joan
May 12, 2019

Right now I’m in a state of grieving. I was taking care of my mom for the last year until the moment she passed. She had metastatic lung cancer that spread to her brain. It’s one of the worst things that can happen to a person.
There were times I felt I couldn’t do it. But my mom showed me my capacity for benefiting others. She showed me why my life is meaningful – I saw how precious it is to care for others.
Dharma helped me approach the situation from the standpoint of this is a challenge, so how am I going to transform it into something positive? I had to really watch my mind and keep it light and happy for her sake because she would feed off my energy.
After she died, I went to her room, and there were her reading glasses on the bedside table, along with her computer…and the cat was on her bed. I realized you can’t take anything with you when you die.
I have to process the grief I feel but if I can home in on the loss and use it as energy to motivate me to train my mind then this has all been even more meaningful.
OTHER BLOG POSTS

Wisdom is Beautiful
Enjoy this collection of photos of our sangha meditating, along with wisdom thoughts shared in our weekly classes

Spotlight on Our Sangha: Joseph
Joseph shares his journey from discovering Buddha’s teachings as a teenager to learning how to love meditation

Spotlight on Our Sangha: Marcela
Marcela’s discovery of the magical world of Kadampa festivals and retreats

Spotlight on Our Sangha: Jonathan
Jonathan’s “loving shake” from Buddha that led him to reprioritize

Celebrating the Life of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, the Architect & Artist
In order to give people everywhere throughout the world access to Buddha’s proven methods for attaining peace and happiness, Venerable Geshe-la has also established the International Temples Project (ITP). Already,…