Smiling All Week and Beyond (I Hope)

I am a pretty upbeat and smiley person by nature, but I don’t even come close to the Buddhist teachers at the Kadampa Center in Raleigh. Our teacher, Geshe Gelek, has an amazing smile and incredible laugh. I like to hear his teaching on Sundays just to hear his laugh, and along with that comes a wisdom that helps me take myself less seriously. Geshe-la’s teacher, Khensur Rinpoche, is at the center teaching for six weeks, and he is always smiling. And, of course, there is the Dalai Lama, whose smile is infectious.

Today I sat in the audience, and as Geshe-la came in I noticed his radiant smile more than usual. He was followed by Rinpoche, who has the most warm, peaceful and joyful smile. When he speaks it feels like he is hugging you with his voice, even though I don’t understand a word of what he is saying – Geshe-la translates. Geshe-la and Rinpoche are two of the most joyful people I have been fortunate to hear teach.

Their smiles stayed with me, and I realized that I need to up my level of smiling since I was thinking so much about theirs. This week I am going to try to smile more. As with any new habit, I am sure I will need a warm up time to get in the groove. Each time I enter and leave a room I will smile, each time I am in close proximity to a person, even a stranger, I will smile, and I will even smile at my dog after she tears up the bathroom garbage, a new three day old habit of hers.

Wishing you many smiles for the week!