From Barbara Rose...
In our culture, there are individuals who dedicate their lives to service in the spirit of the ancient sadhus, renunciates and mendicants. They make sacred vows to inspire and serve others as the core purpose of their own lives. Such a person inhabits daily practices and ways in accordance with their vows to meet the world as they find it, with all its challenges, colors and complexities.
Many called to serve in this way join monasteries or orders and take up the methods of their chosen lineages. They are familiar to us as the nuns, priests and monks of various spiritual traditions.
A few, however, choose to walk the path alone. The way of the solo mendicant, though an ancient and venerable calling, is not recognized in American society as it is, say, in India. We envision the mendicant in a meager garment seated under a tree with a begging bowl or walking with a staff through a dusty landscape.
The begging bowl of yore is a symbol of charity, of the life-sustaining bounty of food, shelter and the understanding that for a society to be whole and healthy, even the humblest among us must receive these elemental needs.
The ancient words “Alms for the poor!” remind people throughout the ages of this foundational truth—that the wholeness of one is interconnected with the wholeness of all. Some cultures understand this with more clarity than others.
Like the hermit with his lamp held high, mendicants are wayshowers of awareness, charity and reciprocity. When their bowls are empty, you may see suffering in the communities where they live and walk. When their bowls are full, you may experience more joy and peace.
My American mendicant friend and teacher, dunja, recently extended her bowl to me, with a bow, and asked that it be filled with words.
“Write of the way of the mendicant,” she said. “Let words be your alms today.”
In this era of unrest, anxiety, promise and discovery, when darkness and light flash all around us and the very planet we live on cries out to be filled with the mercy of healing care, the humble bowl of the mendicant is a more powerful symbol than ever. Awareness. Charity. Reciprocity. The path to wisdom, peace and fulfillment.
dunja lives a life of practice, sacrifice and pure aspiration in service to these principles and to the ageless wisdom of the world, which she studies and shares abundantly in her yoga and meditation classes.
When her bowl is full, she takes what she requires and makes her own offerings from the rest. She has been known to give without serving her own needs, also the way of the mendicant.
Through her many decades of learning, teaching and walking the open roads of the globe with her staff and bowl, dunja has asked much of her strong and flexible body. It might be said, too much.
Now she brings her practice, with as much equanimity as possible, to meet a fierce pain in her hip, as she also seeks a way to meet her modest needs, unable to offer the teachings as she awaits surgery and recovery.
dunja’s friends and students--who benefit from her wisdom, generosity and example--are invited to put offerings into her bowl to see her through these coming weeks and months while she cares for herself. I ask you to be generous to our dear mendicant of nowadays.
Her bowl is out, with a deep bow of gratitude.
Here she is, in her own words:
subsisting mostly on alms -
i have been called a mendicant
by many who know me well..
it is true..
my life is possible,
as it has been lived thus far,
by the generosity of friends
and strangers..
the alms are given
in kindness with no claim
or beholden-ness
nor hope for return ...
unconditional gifts -
this way of living has been with me
for as long as i can recall..
i moved around from the age of 16
traveling america by bus..
staying with families..
hanging with strangers..
journeying to faraway lands..
walking the roads of the usa
cared for, loved and supported.
i have made my way in the world
thru practicing and teaching yogadharma...
the sole source of my right livelihood.
dana..a sanskrit word for gift /donation
is the voluntary giving of materials,
energy or wisdom to others..
dana is one of the six perfections ~
dana paramita..
as a practitioner and teacher,
it is the giving of dharma.
as a practitioner and student,
it is the giving of food, clothing and materials
to a mendicant, teacher or community.
a mendicant survives
and lives a lively life -
through the act of seeking charity ..
a humble and earnest manner
of begging..
many a time
when i was heading
to india and elsewhere
for study and practice..
or conjuring a wooden floor
for a yoga shala..
or in need of cushions
for meditation..
shades for window coverings..
paint for the walls and painters!
earnestly requesting assistance..
charity
the bowl,
the begging bowl,
was placed in the yoga studio..
emaho! it would be generously topped up..
and..
when things got tight
i would sell the
art that donned the walls..
blankets and props..
jewelry, prayer beads, books..
even the begging bowl itself ~
in 2007, when i trudged my way
along the western coast
to california for peace is healthy,
a paypal account was created..
a modern day alms bowl, in place,
to assist my heartfelt endeavor..
these days, websites are set up
requesting monies to fulfill a dream,
fund a study or meet a need -
it is no longer possible
for me to offer yogadharma
in its highest and best form.
a hip has turned to dust....
a heart saddened ..
palms are open
i humbly and earnestly request charity ..
paypal.me/dlingwood
offerings of gift cards to a food co-op,
gas cards for mila rubie..the mighty red prius,
a check for payment of bills
would be o so welcome indeed ~
may my life and practice always be worthy of your support
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