Here are a few sentences of Bob Clark’s recent article "Rebels Without A Cause" showing that NAPFA is the organization that must stand up for competent comprehensive fee-only financial planning:
"Today, we need a similar principle-based “miracle” to convince the media, the public, and the folks in Washington that all financial advice should be required to be client-oriented, fiduciary responsible, fee-compensated, and independent. Who’s going to make this happen? The CFP Board is too busy trying to figure out how to make all Merrill and Smith Barney reps CFPs. The FPA has stepped up its lobbying and PR, but its membership may be still too diverse to allow it to effectively make this fight. Only NAPFA has a membership that stands for all these things today. So it’s possible that only NAPFA can lead this fight. It’s a fight that has to be won. To survive, independent financial planners have to stand up."
Concern for others to be happy and compassion wishing them to be free
from suffering are needed not only as the basis for a bodhichitta
motivation for mahamudra* practice, but also for keeping that practice on
course to its intended goal. When we have changed our focus in life from
the contents of our experience to the process of experience, there is
great danger of becoming fixated on mind itself. This is because the
direct experience of mind itself is totally blissful - in a calm and serene
sense - and entails extraordinary clarity and starkness. Concern for
others is one of the strongest forces that brings us back down to earth
after having been up in the clouds. Although all appearances exist as a
function of mind, other beings do not exist merely in our head. Their
suffering is real and it hurts them just as much as ours hurts us.
Furthermore, to be concerned about someone does not mean to be
frantically worried about this person. If we are fixated on our child's
problems at school, for example, we lose sight that whatever appearance of the
problems our mind gives rise to is a function of mind. Believing the
appearance to be the solid reality "out there," we again feel hopeless to
do anything and thus become extremely anxious and tense. We worry to
the point of becoming sick and we over-react toward our child, which does
not help. If we focus instead on the process of mind that gives rise to
our perception of the problem as if it existed as some horrible monster
"out there," we do not eliminate our concern for our child, only our
worry. This allows us to take whatever clear and calm action is necessary
to alleviate the problem, Thus not only is compassion necessary for
successful practice of mahamudra, but mahamudra realization is necessary
for successful practice of compassion.
* "Mahamudra" is a Sanskrit word meaning "great seal" and refers to the
nature of all phenomena. Mahamudra also refers to sophisticated
Buddhist systems of meditation and practice to realize this great sealing
nature.
-- by His Holiness the Dalai Lama from "The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of
Mahamudra," published by Snow Lion Publications
NOT STUCK WITH SICKNESS
When patients come into a treatment situation, they may have a sense of
anxiety, a sense of hope, or a sense of complete negativity. It is a very
sensitive matter to bring them into the right situation and work with them.
The main point is that they are not stuck with their sickness. If a person
regards sickness as an enemy, then his body has no working basis to be
well. He thinks his body is invaded by enemies, and he goes to the doctor
to get rid of these foreigners occupying his castle. And once that's taken
care of, it's all over. So no relationship is established. There is another
problem which goes back even further -- the concept of death as the
archenemy, where we try to avoid death every minute, every second. There
has to be more emphasis on creating an atmosphere of help. Sickness is a
message, and it can be cured if the right situation is created....Mind
reflects body, and body is affected by the atmosphere. The idea is
recovering rather than being cured of a particular disease. This approach
could also be used with older people who are dying. In the process of
dying, they are uncovering some kind of sanity. So they approach their
death peacefully.
From "Intrinsic Health," in THE SANITY WE ARE BORN WITH: A
BUDDHIST APPROACH TO PSYCHOLOGY, pages 163- 164.
Of interest to our readers: Since its publication earlier this year, THE
SANITY WE ARE BORN WITH has sold out two printings and the publisher is
going back for a third printing. To get a copy, go to
http://ChogyamTrungpa.com
All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by
permission.
New SEC Rule helps investors sort out brokers from investment advisers, requires a brokerage account disclosure,
“Our interests may not be the same as yours”
Important investor protection disclosure requirements for broker-dealers take effect July 22nd according to the National Council of Financial Fiduciaries, a Potomac Maryland-based organization of financial advisors promoting a client-first approach to financial advice.
Parts of the new SEC regulations, headed “Certain Broker-Dealers Deemed Not To Be Investment Advisors,” requires that broker-dealers who claim an exemption from the Investment Advisors Act and its fiduciary standards must disclose that their interests may diverge from those of their clients. Broker-dealers have been exempted from investment advisor registration and disclosure rules when their advice has been “solely incidental” to their broker-dealer role.
Harold Evensky, a founding National Council of Financial Fiduciaries (NCFF) board member noted, “This new disclosure rule is a vital step towards reinforcing the sharp historic and legal differences between an SEC registered investment adviser and an NASD registered representative or broker. For investors the key difference is not a matter of compensation or the number of regulations in place. It’s more than that. A broker and an adviser have fundamentally different responsibilities. They have fundamentally different jobs, based in law. A broker owes loyalty to his firm, and his job is to sell investment products and execute transactions. An investment adviser, on the other hand, provides advice and, by law, must put his client’s interests first. He owes his loyalty to his clients. This difference is not unlike the difference between your friendly butcher in the corner grocer and your dietitian. Each can be very helpful, but each has a very different job to do.”
Knut Rostad, the Executive Director of the NCFF, said the SEC rule does not go as far as his group advocates, but is a strong step in the right direction. “We believe that the public will best be served when there is no broker-dealer exemption from the registration and disclosure rules for investment advisers. But the new disclosure requirements at least place the public on notice that, when they seek advice from brokers, the ‘buyer beware’ warning applies.”
On July 22, 2005, the new rule requires that any broker or broker-dealer claiming an exemption from the fiduciary standards of the Investment Advisor Act must assure that “…all customer documents contain a clear, prominent statement as follows:
‘Your account is a brokerage account and not an advisory account. Our interests may not be the same as yours…. We are paid both by you and sometimes by people who compensate us based on what you buy….’”
Obviously concerned that some firms might attempt to bury this stark warning in small print deep in voluminous documents, the SEC specified that “To be ‘prominent,’ the statement should be included, at a minimum, on the front page of each document or agreement in a manner clearly intended to draw attention to it.”
“The NCFF applauds this important first step by the SEC to better differentiate brokers and registered investment advisors through these disclosures on ‘brokerage accounts’ said Rostad. As media attention to this issue broadens consumer awareness of the significance of this new disclosure, the loophole allowing advice-giving brokers to avoid their fiduciary responsibility will rapidly shrink. That’s good news for all investors.”
To help investors better understand how brokerage and advisory accounts are fundamentally different, NCFF has created the attached print public service announcement (PSA) that seeks to highlight the importance of the differences.
A survey of affluent Americans by PNC Advisors, a large wealth managemnt firm showed that of the 60% respondents who had more than $1 million in investable assets
only 46% had become happier as they accumulated more money
29% said having a lot of money brought more problems than it solved
33% still worried constantly about having enough money
49% worried that their children would grow up feeling "entitled"
37% did not have a will, health care proxy, or a trust, largely due to procrastination.
Sounds like a lot of these folks need a coach.....
"Mind is fickle and objects are seductive, it is said. The Buddha told us not to be that way. Don't chase after one object, then another, then a third. That pursuit is not your real home, your real mother"
Tsoknyi Rinpoche
My husband and I were invited to speak at the 18th annual Stanford Trauma Symposium on July 26th at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Cabana in Palo Alto. I look forward to it because I feel like I have a lot of constructive criticism as well as praise for them.
But enough of me, I will do tonglen for my good friend, Joseph, who suffered a heart attack last week and is recovering and is also due for a kidney transplant. I will also do tonglen for all those who are suffering.
See how to practice Tonglen by Pema Chodron below:
THE PRACTICE OF TONGLEN
Transforming Confusion into Wisdom
City Retreat | Berkeley Shambhala Center
Fall 1999
In order to have compassion for others, we have to have compassion for ourselves.
In particular, to care about other people who are fearful, angry, jealous, overpowered by addictions of all kinds, arrogant, proud, miserly, selfish, mean —you name it— to have compassion and to care for these people, means not to run from the pain of finding these things in ourselves. In fact, one's whole attitude toward pain can change. Instead of fending it off and hiding from it, one could open one's heart and allow oneself to feel that pain, feel it as something that will soften and purify us and make us far more loving and kind.
The tonglen practice is a method for connecting with suffering —ours and that which is all around us— everywhere we go. It is a method for overcoming fear of suffering and for dissolving the tightness of our heart. Primarily it is a method for awakening the compassion that is inherent in all of us, no matter how cruel or cold we might seem
to be.
We begin the practice by taking on the suffering of a person we know to be hurting and who we wish to help. For instance, if you know of a child who is being hurt, you breathe in the wish to take away all the pain and fear of that child. Then, as you breathe out, you send the child happiness, joy or whatever would relieve their pain. This is the core of the practice: breathing in other's pain so they can be well and have more space to relax and open, and breathing out, sending them relaxation or whatever you feel would bring them relief and happiness. However, we often cannot do this practice because we come face to face with our own fear, our own resistance, anger, or whatever our personal pain, our personal stuckness happens to be at that moment.
At that point you can change the focus and begin to do tonglen for what you are feeling and for millions of others just like you who at that very moment of time are feeling exactly the same stuckness and misery. Maybe you are able to name your pain. You recognize it clearly as terror or revulsion or anger or wanting to get revenge. So you breathe in for all the people who are caught with that same emotion and you send out relief or whatever opens up the space for yourself and all those countless others. Maybe you can't name what you're feeling. But you can feel it —a tightness in the stomach, a heavy darkness or whatever. Just contact what you are feeling and breathe in, take it in —for all of us and send out relief to all of us.
People often say that this practice goes against the grain of how we usually hold ourselves together. Truthfully, this practice does go against the grain of wanting things on our own terms, of wanting it to work out for ourselves no matter what happens to the others. The practice dissolves the armor of self-protection we've tried so hard to create around ourselves. In Buddhist language one would say that it dissolves the fixation and clinging of ego.
Tonglen reverses the usual logic of avoiding suffering and seeking pleasure and, in the process, we become liberated from a very ancient prison of selfishness. We begin to feel love both for ourselves and others and also we being to take care of ourselves and others. It awakens our compassion and it also introduces us to a far larger view of reality. It introduces us to the unlimited spaciousness that Buddhists call shunyata. By doing the practice, we begin to connect with the open dimension of our being. At first we experience this as things not being such a big deal or so solid as they seemed before.
Tonglen can be done for those who are ill, those who are dying or have just died, or for those that are in pain of any kind. It can be done either as a formal meditation practice or right on the spot at any time. For example, if you are out walking and you see someone in pain —right on the spot you can begin to breathe in their pain and send some out some relief. Or, more likely, you might see someone in pain and look away because it brings up your fear or anger; it brings up your resistance and confusion.
So on the spot you can do tonglen for all the people who are just like you, for everyone who wishes to be compassionate but instead is afraid, for everyone who wishes to be brave but instead is a coward.
Rather than beating yourself up, use your own stuckness as a stepping stone to understanding what people are up against all over the world.
Breathe in for all of us and breathe out for all of us.
Use what seems like poison as medicine. Use your personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings.
My sister-in-law was over one day discussing the various atrocities that she had seen on the news that day. You know the usual- child molestation, political faux pas, consumer rip-offs, etc. Her heart grew heavy as she recited the litany of human suffering but her mind grew angry at the world. There was no talk about the "Basic Goodness" in the world just how awful everything has become.
This morning was no less of an awful news day with what happened in London. I am reminded that suffering and death is not limited to London or the US. I also remembered the following story:
The Mustard Seed
The reputation of Buddha Shakyamuni had spread far and wide. Not only was he renowned as a great, compassionate and fully enlightened human being, but also as a skilled teacher and a miraculous healer who could even bring the dead back to life.
One day, a woman approached him after a teaching begging that he do something to restore her dead child to her. The Buddha listened patiently to her plea and saw how great was her despair. He said to her, "Mother, if you bring me just one mustard seed from any household in which no person has died, then I shall revive your child."
The woman was greatly encouraged by the Teacher's words. She traveled from door to door throughout her own village, but could not find even a single residence in which no one had died. She went out of town, wandering to this hamlet and that in search of the tiny seed that the Buddha had requested. Days later, muddy and footsore, she returned to the place where the Buddha and his followers were passing the rainy season.
She was ushered into the Teacher's presence worn out, but not discouraged. "Master, try as I might, I could not locate the token you requested as an offering. But I have come to understand that death visits every household and eventually, every single one of us. I would like now, to 'enter the stream' and work towards the liberation that the teachings provide."
Every first and third Sundays of the month, I hold a meditation group here in the community center of the condo complex where I live. Sometimes friends from Shambhala Center come, and sometimes people from the condo community come and sometimes, I just sit alone like yesterday.
I am sitting quietly and alone in the room. All doors except one is locked and I have a sign that says meditation in progress from 9:30am to noon. This does not deter a woman with a large cart to start knocking on the window to let her in. When I point to the sign, she reads it and ignores it and uses her own key to come in. She announces that she must water the plants. I announce that meditation is in progress till noon and that she should come back then. She replies that the plants haven't been watered in three weeks and that she must water them. I tell her to please leave and come back when it is appropriate. She ignores me and let's herself in and her cart and starts to water the plants and make a racket.
I start to stew in anger and also laugh at the irony of the situation. Here I am trying to meditate in peace and someone has entered my space with one big whack. It took me a good half an hour to let go of the situation and do some tonglen for her and the plants.
I realized also that if I was another person this could have been a very confrontational exchange between two people. But I also realized the value that my practice has given me to not go in that direction and I bowed and got up at noon and left that place and had a wonderful day.
Older Americans (45-plus) are the wealthiest segment of the spending public, yet half of them say they're really worried about making ends meet. This according to the findings of AARP's just- release 2004 Multicultural Study, Financial Perspectives Past, Present, Future:Traditional and Alternative Practices of the 45+ community, which tracked many of the financial behaviors amd concerns of this population. Read all about it at http://www.aarp.org/research/financial/retirementsaving/2004_perspectives.html
The majority of them said (63%) saving for a vacation is their first priority. After that 61% say paying off medical bills, and then
57% say saving for retirement, and then
45% say paying off credit cards and loans.
Yikes! Americans need to get their priorities straight.