Anna Douglas
All things are impermanent
They arise and they pass away
To be in harmony with this truth
Brings great happiness.
A Letter From Anna
Dear IMT Sangha,
My time with you as Guiding Teacher has swiftly passed, and now has come to an end. I need to rest and take time to care for my health. It has been grand and gratifying to be with you these past several years!
I feel the strength and continuing growth of your practice. It will continue to grow as long as you tend the garden of Dharma! As Joseph Goldstein has said, “You take care of the Dharma and the Dharma will take care of you.”
Terry and David will be your primary teachers now. They have grown along with you, and many bonds have formed that will help the Sangha to flourish. Please keep showing up for each other and with each other – and good things are bound to arise!
Here is a small (but mighty) teaching which has guided me thru the last twenty years or so. May it guide you also!
In this passing moment karma ripens
and all things come to be.
I vow to choose what is:
If there is cost, I choose to pay.
If there is need, I choose to give.
If there is pain, I choose to feel.
If there is sorrow, I choose to grieve.
When burning -- I choose heat.
When calm -- I choose peace.
When starving -- I choose hunger.
When happy -- I choose joy.
Whom I encounter, I choose to meet.
What I shoulder, I choose to bear.
When it is my death, I choose to die.
Where this takes me, I choose to go.
Being with what is -- I respond to what is.
This life is as real as a dream;
the one who knows it cannot be found;
May all Buddhas and Wise Ones
help me live this vow.
May the Blessings of Dharma surround you and protect you always!
With a warm heart,
Anna