Tricycle Dharmas

Excited with my new found zeal of actually trying to be a conscious and conscientious father to my three boys, I went to a Booksale outlet to check out back issues of parenting magazines advertised at P65.00 each. It was quite frustrating because after sorting over stacks of local FHMs and Maxim magazines (I was told the parenting magazine is mixed alongside this stuff), I did not find one. So I let go of the excitement and browsed through the imported magazines looking for my basic magazine staple of UTNE Reader, Mother Jones, High Times, The Progressive, and Heeb. I did not find any but I did stumble to an old favorite of mine, Tricycle. It is a Buddhist magazine with articles that apply Buddhist tenets and practices in daily life. I did not even scan the copy but just scooped it and ran towards the counter. I also got the book “Snowboarding to Nirvana” for a good karmic price of P35.00. The Dharma is at work, so I thought.

Then as I stared at Tricycle’s cover, it read, “Bringing Up Buddhists,” it was a parenting issue of sort for the Buddhist magazine. Stories on raising children the Buddhist way, teaching kids Buddhist values of compassion and loving kindness, and other concepts that I still do not understand in spite of the countless Buddhist and zen books I have accumulated since the mid 1990s.

Focusing on my in and out breath while Ponso intently watches Ernie and Bert close to the telly, I hope that the Dharma is still at work.

Buddha bless you.

March 21, 2009