TEACH THIS...

Melissa Cook, appeared to me as a healing woman. I was participating in Arts in the Valley in Western Pennsylvania. I believe it was in 2010. Our conversations were warm and embracing. I felt deeply listening to her talk about the life she led, and the things she gleaned from traveling around the world,and what it meant to be an American citizen, when a lot of your formative years were spent abroad.  Melissa gives the most soulful, and meaningful hugs from a place that is assured, and sure of herself, and what that feels like. I enjoyed looking at her and into her face. An interesting thing about beautiful women of body and soul is each is different from the other for no apparent reason than the simple fact that beauty, like snow drops, are unique creations unto and from themselves, the Creator, and the dream-world they come from.  - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories
9.5.12

Sade in shorts.

"Should men define a woman?  The ideal forms of a woman are the substances conspiring to be together within her that says, "I am beautiful.  I am divine.  Can you see me? You want me."  How we as men respond to the sight of women is intimately connected to how we regard the vast concepts of femininity.  If we are protectors we see something a predator will never grasp within and about women."  ~Dawn Wolf, Keeper of Stories

Melissa Cook  june 6, 2011

colorful MANDALAS

Melissa Cook & a friend
in Feb. of 2012

understanding the Bodhicaryavatara - ch.9 & 10

Melissa Cook cloaked with snow

Chapter Nine - Wisdom

The 9th Chapter is on Wisdom. We have to develop the perfect Wisdom in order to pacify our sufferings and in order to pacify our ignorance. Therefore we need to develop Wisdom.

Wisdom has two aspects: The Wisdom to understand the Relative Truth and the Wisdom to understand the Ultimate Truth.

Any wisdom that involves concepts is under the Relative Truth. Any wisdom that does not involve concepts is under the Ultimate Truth. There are many different views and different philosophy points, so this is a very difficult subject. Next time, if we have opportunity to explain then we can elaborate on it. I leave it here because it is too difficult.

meditation !!!!

Chapter Ten - Dedication

The last chapter is on Dedication. For every good deed or action that we do or complete, we must dedicate it to the good cause. We dedicate for both ultimate and temporary benefit.

Ultimate dedication is to dedicate to oneself for the attainment of Enlightenment so as to benefit all sentient beings.

Temporary dedication is this: "By this merit of my development of wisdom and so on, for a person, any being who is suffering, may they purify their suffering. Those who do not have food to eat, may they obtain food. Those who have no clothes, may they obtain clothes. Those who are in the hot hell, may they have cool showers to make them cool, and those who are in the cold hell, may they have heaters to make them warm.

You can dedicate as broad as you possibly can, for a small amount of merit. This can be very effective and can multiply up to a great extent. Dedication is very important according to the Mahayana Practice.

Melissa Cook cloaked with snow

a Drummer I know: MELISSA COOK

Melissa Cook

"What an honor it was for me to share and play music with you, Melissa. Now here you are learning from another tradition. Good for you. Good for the world."
-Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories
9.5.12

Melissa Cook i n 2012