It’s Bonni’s 75th Birthday!
Let’s celebrate with a collection of her essays. These were curated by her for the Sunshine Coast Retreat House website in the 2000’s. They are focused on getting started in the dharma. My two favourites are “Giving and Receiving - Why Dharma Teachers Don’t Charge Fees” and “Dharma of Unfoldment”.
The essay “Giving and Receiving” is a practical exploration of working with generosity. How much should one pay a dharma teacher? Does anyone really know?
The essay “Dharma of Unfoldment” is an illustration of Bonni’s tough and playful teaching style. In this essay she talks about the usefulness of the Sixteen Stages of Insight and how sometimes they can be totally useless! Also, the text reads just like she’s there with me. I can hear her saying this to a group of students and hearing us all laughing.”
"For example, the Sixteen Stages of Insight, are really useful if one happens to be in retreat practicing strict, formal meditation on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness for two or three years. It’s not such a useful tool if you’re practicing for a week or a month and it’s an almost-completely-beside-the-point tool for someone who’s getting up every morning, helping a family get out of the house on time, getting to work, taking care of business and maybe having a brief, sleepy dialogue with their meditation cushion before they go to bed!"
I love these essays. They remind me of all the teachings I've received from this beautiful person. I love them because they are focused on the difficult aspects of getting started with the dharma. They helped me to navigate the dharma and I hope that they will help you too.
