new fortune

diff --git a/infobase/fortunes.dat b/infobase/fortunes.dat
index b0eb78442a37cc9b57902ac28cfb7a7385a025ae..3a9653fc663797383313d9713230487e4d6b5099 100644 (file)
--- a/infobase/fortunes.dat
+++ b/infobase/fortunes.dat
@@ -43635,4 +43635,18 @@ conditions that we have identified with and labeled “I.”
   -- Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo, in "Stop Biting the Tail
      You're Chasing: Using Buddhist Mind Training to Free Yourself from Painful
      Emotional Patterns" published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+I once heard a Buddhist teacher say that the whole point of having a teacher
+was to become autonomous.  I considered that for a while.  I thought, "Well,
+yes, as a mother, I did everything I could to help my son stand on his own two
+feet.  I get that."  But is it possible for anyone to stand on their own two
+feet without their mother, father, or guardian to guide them?  When we are
+born, we are completely helpless and dependent.  We would never survive
+without the help of others.  There is truly no such thing as autonomy.  So if
+you want to live in accordance with the nature of things—which means living
+in grace—practically speaking, it will require some humility and gratitude
+for the ways in which your tradition has come down to you with so much care.   
+  -- Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel, from "The Logic of Faith: The Buddhist Approach
+     to Finding Certainty Beyond Belief and Doubt", published by Shambhala
+     Publications