tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42930550130365753662024-03-05T03:02:10.892-08:00ratnaghoshaRatnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-43139815241956322582022-08-22T07:43:00.004-07:002022-09-16T07:04:19.896-07:00Commentary on the Dasadhamma Sutta<p>This talk was given at the UK & Ireland Triratna Order Convention August 2022 <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 22.0pt;">Commentary
on the Dasadhamma Sutta </span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Dasadhamma
Sutta (AN 10.48): Ten Things translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">"There
are these ten things that a person gone-forth should reflect on often. Which
ten?</span></i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">The first
thing to note is that this is a practice, a reflection practice, and it is
being recommended to those who have made a definite commitment. It is an
appropriate practice within the context of that commitment. For the purposes of
this talk I am assuming that Order Members have gone forth. There is an
effective going forth which is the flipside of effective going for refuge. In
this teaching the Buddha is pointing towards what we could call a Real going
forth, which is the twin of Real going for refuge.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">So, my
rendering of the opening line is:</span></p>
<p><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">These are
ten things that should be reflected on again and again by an Order Member.</span></u></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">'I have become casteless': a person gone forth
should often reflect on this.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">Bhante in
giving a talk in India on the Yogachara located the origins of caste in the
klishto- mano vijnana, the defiled mind consciousness. Caste is a human
creation and a wrong view. It’s a human creation that is designed to be
divisive. Of course, we, in the West, don’t have caste, but that doesn’t mean
that the defiled mind consciousness is not busy expressing wrong views through
the creation of divisive ideas and structures. For instance, the nation state
is a human construct and is also often the source of divisiveness. How would it
sound if the Buddha had said, ‘stateless’ or ‘nationless’ instead of ‘casteless’.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">One of the
many ways in which we create and consolidate our sense of self is by
identifying strongly with some particular section of humanity, who become ‘us’
as opposed to the rest who are ‘them’. In this way we reinforce our delusions.
Group identity also perpetuates divisions and hatreds and leads to conflict.
When reflecting on ones group identity, it is important to remember that this
is not about other people’s identity with particular groups, which may be
important or even essential for them – especially if they don’t have the
context of a spiritual commitment and spiritual community. This is a reflection
for those who have gone forth. Envy, jealousy, pride, and a host of other
little ‘maras’ are given fertile ground to breed in through our tendency to
identify with a group or identify ourselves as a member of a group. So, this is
about letting go of group identities, whether they are based on physical
characteristics or in ideologies.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">This first
reflection about not having a caste is also about how we see and treat other
people. The ideal is to be aware of each other person as a person, in their own
right, regardless of our views about them or their status in society and even
regardless of what group identity they are attached to. This is very difficult
to achieve – if we are honest with ourselves, we will probably have to admit
that more often than not we are relating to our interpretation of another
person rather than to them in all their complexity. It is difficult to know
another person, even those we assume we know well.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">My rendering
of this is:</span></p>
<p><i><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I no longer hold to any group identity, such
as nationality, gender, sexual orientation, family, skin colour, class, ethnic
origin, the wealthy, the poor, socialist, capitalist and so on. This should be
reflected on again and again by an Order Member.</span></u></i></p>
<p style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">"'My life is dependent on others’: a
person gone forth should often reflect on this.</span></i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">The second
point is about the fact that the lay people feed the Bhikkhus because they
trust that by feeding those who are pure they will gain merit. So the Bhikkhu
is being exhorted to be worthy of that trust and of his free meal. As Order
Members we become an example of a committed spiritual practitioner, whether we
like it or not. We become the ‘Fourth Sight’ for others. This means we have a
certain responsibility thrust upon us. We are seen as representatives of
Buddhism and of the Triratna Order and exemplars of going for refuge to the
Three Jewels, because we have made a public statement of faith in and
commitment to the Three Jewels and confidence in the Order as a context for
giving expression to that faith and commitment. If we tell lies, swear, eat meat,
drink alcohol, or if we give generously, speak kindly, respond with patience or
with anger; whatever we do or say or write will reflect on the Order and on the
Dharma. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">Also we depend
on each other. The Order is the context in which we practise, and we trust each
other to carry on going for refuge, so that the Order continues to be a genuine
spiritual community. Our spiritual practice, our skilfulness and our
unskilfulness affects the integrity of the Order and its effectiveness as a
context for others to practise in.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">My rendering:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">Others
put their trust in me because I have been ordained. I should live and practise
in such a way as to be worthy of their trust, generosity and receptivity. This
should be reflected on again and again by an Order Member.</span></u></i></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">"'My behaviour should be different [from
that of householders]’: a person gone forth should often reflect on this.</span></i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">If we go forth
from group identity and no longer identify ourselves in terms of roles and
norms of the society around us, we will stand out as different. We will be
noticeably more honest, friendly, helpful, and straightforward. Our views and
behaviour will not necessarily be those of the majority. Our views and
behaviour will not be quite so predictable, habitual and without subtlety as
group views and behaviour. And we will be more open to changing what we think
when there is reason to. The world and its views and concerns are powerfully
impinging on us all the time and if we permit it, we will be receiving an
immersive conditioning in views, attitudes, opinions, and behaviours that are
not based on the Dharma. This can be quite insidious, and it requires a lot of
awareness to notice this gradual process. The slow stain of the world. It’s not
just our behaviour that needs to be different from those who have not gone
forth, it’s also our communication and even out thinking.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">I
have vowed to live by the ten precepts. I should observe the precepts so that
it is noticeable to others that my behaviour, communication and attitudes are
ethical and governed by deeply held principles. This should be reflected on
again and again by an Order Member.</span></u></i></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">"'Can I fault myself with regard to my
virtue?’: a person gone forth should often reflect on this.</span></i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">This could be
seen as an example of the sometimes negative bias of the Pali Canon. We could
add ‘can I rejoice in myself with regard to my virtue?’. This fourth reflection
is one that we may be tempted to give only a passing thought to, but it is
actually quite demanding. It’s about being ethically sensitive. To really
become ethically sensitive we need to quieten, to become more tranquil and
equanimous, so that we can look objectively at our own behaviour, thought
patterns and communication and assess them candidly. For many of us this
implies a reduction of input and being more discriminating about what we input
into our minds, as Bhante mentions in his sets of fifteen points for Order
Members. The speed at which we live our lives, the volume of information we
take in and the kind of information we expose ourselves to all have an impact
on our ethical sensitivity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
reflection is related to Hri (hiri) but that word is not mentioned in the text.
The word used here is <i>upavadati</i>, which means blame and also something
like ‘to tell (secretly) against’. The idea is that you have your own internal spy
who knows what’s really going on and can tell you the truth if you are willing
to listen. This is your conscience. Just by the way, I have noticed sometimes
in discussions of the precepts that people like to talk about the ethics of
others or of the Order, but shy away from scrutinising their own ethical life
too closely. Sometimes this is because people don’t know how to go further with
ethical practice and sometimes it’s avoidance. In this teaching the Buddha is
asking us to take a good look at our own ethical lives. If we do, we may find
that we are doing very well and therefore have a sound foundation to build on
and take further.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">How
ethically sensitive am I? Am I aware of my conscience being troubled in any
way? Could I rejoice in my ethical sensitivity? This should be reflected on
again and again by an Order Member.</span></u></i></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">"'Can my knowledgeable fellows in the holy
life, on close examination, fault me with regard to my virtue?’: a person gone
forth should often reflect on this.</span></i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">The fifth
reflection is about the impression our behaviour would make on the rest of the
sangha if they knew about it. It is referring to apatrapya (ottapa). This could
give rise to further questions. Are there some things we keep secret from our
friends in the Order? Do we have the opportunity to confide and confess to
friends in the Order? Are we willing to be questioned and even admonished by
our friends in the Order with regard to our observance of the precepts? Could
we make greater use of the Order to help us to refine our ethical sensitivity
and become more scrupulously skilful? Perhaps a paraphrase of something Bhante
once said about living in communities could be applied here – being an Order
Member is an opportunity, not an achievement. In other words, the Order is a
context in which to practise and it is only meaningful when we use it in that
way. It is worth noting that these last three reflections are all about ethical
behaviour or skilfulness. This is a reminder that the ten precepts, which we
vow to uphold at the time of our ordination are a very important practice if
our effective going for refuge is going to blossom into Real going for refuge.
The ten precepts include ethics, meditation and wisdom and are therefore an
essential and sufficient practice, which is why they are so central to our
ordination.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">Would
other Order Members or my preceptor(s) be troubled by any of my actions, words
or attitudes, if they were aware of them? Or would they rejoice in my actions,
communication and attitudes? This should be reflected on again and again by an
Order Member</span></u></i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">.<i><u></u></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">"'I will grow different, separate from all
that is dear & appealing to me’:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a
person gone forth should often reflect on this.</span></i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">This sixth
reflection is about both impermanence and separation. Our attachments are so
comfortable and intimate, so much part of who we are, that it is often
difficult for us to notice them. The fundamental attachment is, of course, the
attachment to self and we can become aware of that through its grosser
manifestations, sometimes. But often we will simply rationalise our
egocentricity with, what to us, is a completely reasonable conceptualisation of
our delusions. Arising out of our self-attachment, is attachment to
possessions, status, groups and views. This sixth reflection is encouraging us
to let go of our mental and emotional clinging, because the reality is that
everything will be snatched from us by impermanence. This goes to the heart of
how we cause ourselves pain. It may be obvious that generosity and a sense of
abundance is the natural expression of non-attachment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">I
will be separated from all that I hold dear, either at death or before. Am I
aware of my strong attachments and how they hold me back? This should be
reflected on again and again by an Order Member.</span></u></i></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">"'I am the owner of my actions (kamma),
heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my
actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that will I
fall heir’: a person gone forth should often reflect on this.</span></i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">The seventh
reflection reminds us that we can rely on the law of karma. All of our skilful actions,
such as our meditation or devotion will definitely have consequences and we
will experience the fruits of our efforts. If we want to experience contentment
and happiness or become wise, we need to set up the conditions and undertake
the actions that are appropriate, and the consequences will follow. In spite of
knowing this in theory, I have always found myself surprised when I do actually
experience the results of persistent practise. But it is what happens.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">I
experience the consequences of my own actions of thought, word and deed, good
and bad. I should not depend on others for my contentment, and I should not
blame others for my dissatisfaction. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
should be reflected on again and again by an Order Member.</span></u></i></p>
<p><i><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></span></u></i></p>
<p style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">"'What am I becoming as the days &
nights fly past?’: a person gone forth should often reflect on this.</span></i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">“I wasted time
and now doth time waste me”, Richard II. This is perhaps one of the most
challenging of these reflections. There are two aspects to the reflection.
Firstly, there is the relentless passing of time, taking us rapidly to the edge
of a cliff where we cannot stop or pause, but are pushed onwards to plunge into
---what? – whatever arises in dependence on the conditions we are setting up as
time races relentlessly on. Which of course brings us to the second part of the
reflection – how are we spending our time? Or to put it another way, what conditions
are we setting up? What are our minds engaged with predominantly? What is the
usual tenor of our emotions? What do we do most of the time? How do we express
ourselves verbally? What effect do we have on other people? Do we notice the
effect on us of the internet, TV, radio, shopping, our conversations, our
reading and so on? Are we content or restless? These reflections can lead us to
further reflections on the nature of the spiritual path, the discipline needed,
the motivations that drive us and how strong our commitment to the Three Jewels
is ongoingly. These could be very challenging reflections and also very
rewarding. They can take us into depth from the starting point of our very
mundane activities.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">The
days and nights pass without pause. How do I spend my time? This should be
reflected on again and again by an Order Member.</span></u></i></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">"'Do I delight in an empty dwelling?’: a
person gone forth should often reflect on this.</span></i></b></p>
<p style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">This
is about spending time in solitude. Whether we delight in solitude or not it is
necessary to have some solitude if this practice of reflection is going to be
effective. Based on my own experience, which is of course limited, I do not
believe I can continuously go for refuge effectively unless I have time away on
solitary retreat frequently, i.e., at least once a year. Solitude is a very
clear mirror, which shows us who we are in fine detail. This self-knowledge is
the essential fuel of spiritual progress. Solitude is not simply a matter of
being alone. Being alone comes easy to introverts. Solitude as a spiritual
practice is about looking into our hearts and minds unflinchingly, seeing what
is there, both the good and the bad, owning it as our own and learning about
the next steps of our spiritual path. It is about reflecting on our life in the
light of the Dharma and allowing the Dharma to permeate and shape our lives.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">In
solitude I can become deeply aware of myself:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>my habits, my conscience, and my spiritual progress. Do I spend
sufficient time in solitude? This should be reflected on again and again by an
Order Member.</span></u></i></p>
<p style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">"Have I attained a superior human
attainment, a truly noble distinction of knowledge & vision, such that —
when my fellows in the holy life question me in the last days of my life — I
won't feel abashed?': a person gone forth should often reflect on this.</span></i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">The tenth
reflection imagines someone who is dying, with just a short time left to live
and they are asked by others in the Sangha what all their years of practice
have amounted to. What has it all meant? What is there to show for it? Have
they evolved to a state of consciousness that is higher or more refined or more
insightful than that of ordinary folk who have not taken up Dharma practice?
Have they experienced some liberation from craving, ill-will and delusion?
There are two aspects to this reflection: What has happened as a result of all
the years of spiritual practice and am I aware of what has happened? Just as at
the beginning of the path there is Dukkha and there is the awareness of Dukkha,
at every stage of the Path, there is the breaking of the bonds that bind us to
the wheel and there is the knowledge of the destruction of those bonds.
Awareness of the fruits of practice at every stage along the way is a source of
inspiration for further practice. As Order Members we can gain encouragement
from what we have established so far and build on what is positive and
insightful in our lives, rather than worrying about what we have not yet
achieved.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">Am
I aware of the fruits of my spiritual practice? Could I say that I have become
more aware, kind, confident, wise, positive, compassionate, and free? This
should be reflected on again and again by an Order Member.</span></u></i></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">"These
are the ten things that a person gone-forth should reflect on often."</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">These
are the ten things to be reflected on again and again by one who is effectively
going for refuge to the Three Jewels.</span></u></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p></p>Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-75534742105042804122020-09-06T03:16:00.007-07:002021-01-21T02:27:53.578-08:00What is Buddhist Faith?<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">This
talk was given in El </span></i></span></span><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Centro
Budista Triratna de Barcelona</span></i></span></span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
Sangha Night, March 10</span></i></span></span><sup><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">th</span></i></span></span></sup><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">
2020 and again at Mid-Essex Centre, Sangha Night, Jan 20th 2021<br /></span></i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">There
are many different ways to talk about what faith means in Buddhism.
The word in Sanskrit is Shraddha or Saddha in Pali. This word comes
from a similar root to the Latin 'cor', meaning heart. To have faith
in something is to have a heart response. In other words faith is
primarily emotional.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">The
Buddhist scholar Dr. Conze talks about faith as having four elements
Emotional, Volitional, Intellectual and Social. Elsewhere faith is
spoken of as consisting of intuition, reason and experience and
traditionally it is talked about under the headings of Deep
Conviction, Lucidity and Longing. (Way to Wisdom seminar and Know
Your Mind) It would take far too long for me to go into all of these.
What I am going to do is talk about faith as I have experienced it in
my own life and try to relate my own experience to some of these
aspects or elements I have mentioned. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">But
first I should perhaps say that faith in the Buddhist sense has
nothing to do with blind belief. I grew up in Ireland in the 1950's
and 60's. Almost everyone was Catholic and Catholicism was often
referred to simply as The Faith. The three principal virtues in
Christianity are faith, hope and charity. This already tells us
something about the difference between Christian faith and Buddhist
faith. Buddhist faith is primarily faith in the law of karma. Because
the law of karma, actions have consequences, operates without any
outside agency such as a creator God, there is no question of hope.
Hope is not a virtue in Buddhism because it means there is a lack of
faith. At the age of fifteen or sixteen I stopped believing in the
existence of a creator God. This would have been seen as losing my
faith.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">However,
it is probably not possible for anyone to lose their faith. We always
have faith in something or in many things. Even if it's only faith
that the Metro will be running when you want to go somewhere. Bhante
Sangharakshita has an aphorism – <i>“faith is innate, doubt is
acquired.”</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">If
you are familiar with the Tibetan Wheel of Life you will know that at
the centre of the wheel the is an image of a cock, a snake and a pig
going around in a circle biting each other's tales. This image
represents greed, hatred and delusion at the heart of unenlightened
consciousness. But this is not the whole story. If Humans were just
prone to greed, hatred and spiritual ignorance then there would be no
possibility of spiritual growth and development, there would be no
possibility of Awakening or Enlightenment. Above the wheel of life a
Buddha is depicted and he is pointing to the path of Dharma practice.
This represents the extra element that is present, which could be
called faith, or as Bhante has called it <i>“the response of what
is highest in us to what is highest in the universe.”</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Faith
is innate but it needs to be activated. For that to happen we need to
be inspired. We need to be in touch with inspiration. We need to know
and love whatever we have faith in. It's not really possible to have
faith in something you don't know and love. To have faith in
yourself, for instance, you need to know yourself and love yourself.
Similarly, to have faith in the Buddha's teaching we need to know and
to love the Dharma. This of course implies learning,discussing,
reflecting and practising. If we act on our faith, then faith will
grow.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Initially
this faith may just be felt as dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction with
our current life implies that we have an inkling or intuition that
there is something more to life. This was certainly the case for me.
I lost faith in God but I was left with dissatisfaction with the lack
of meaning in my life. I felt that there must be more to life than
continuation of the species or accumulation of possessions or status.
Therefore I was searching for meaning. I spent five or six years
doing that. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">In
the course of my questing I came to live in Berlin ( West Berlin, as
it was then) and after a couple of years there I encountered a Sri
Lankan Buddhist monk called Maha Dhammanisanthi. My meeting with him
was a turning point in my life. He told me about the five precepts
and the Metta Bhavana meditation. I was very impressed by what I
heard, but even more than that I was impressed by him; I was
impressed by the congruency between what he was saying and how he
lived his life.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Immediately
I felt I had found what I was looking for. I became a Buddhist there
and then! This was an experience of faith that was definitely
emotional. But it was also volitional: I wanted to act on it. I
didn't have any knowledge of Buddhism, so there was no intellectual,
rational or reasoning element to my faith then. A year later, in
London, I cam across a book called Buddhism for Today by Subhuti.
That book laid out the Buddhist path and, in particular, the Buddhsit
path as practised in the Triratna Community and Order. I responded
very strongly to the ideas expressed and to how people were trying to
live out those ideas. From that book I gained a more intellectual
understanding of the Buddhist path.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">As
a result I got involved in Triratna and began to study the Dharma
more systematically. I also started making friends and learning from
and being inspired by the example of others. This could be seen as
the social aspect of faith.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">It
wasn't all easy, however, and after a couple of years I had a very
difficult time. One of the things about becoming more aware is that
you can encounter difficulties. You can encounter aspects of yourself
that you were never aware of before. That's what happened to me and
it was probably somewhat dramatic because I was so enthusiastic. I
became aware of low self esteem. I had feelings of worthlessness and
felt I was a burden on others. I became depressed. I felt that I was
incapable of practising the Dharma. When I was at my worst I realised
that I still had faith in the Dharma and I reasoned with myself that
the Dharma says that everybody is capable of Awakening, therefore if
I have faith in the dharma I have to have faith in myself. This then
is faith by reasoning.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">In
the last couple of decades I have many times felt happy, even
blissful for no particular reason. This is the fruits of practice and
it gives me a sense of deep conviction in law of karma. I know now
that the Dharma works. Actions do have consequences. There is no need
to be concerned with the goal of Awakening, we just need to set up
good conditions and practise. Everything else follows.This is faith
based on experience.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Dr
Conze talked about faith as being emotional and volitional. In a
sense these are inextricably tied together. It is because we are
moved by something that we act. Faith is what gives us the energy to
take action. If we have no faith in meditation we won't meditate. If
we have no faith in the efficacy of ethical practice we will have no
incentive to be ethical. Faith is the dynamo, the fuel, that enables
us to keep going even when we are having a difficult time. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Faith
is innate. We don't have to manufacture it, but we do need to be
clear about what we have faith in. We need to try to be clear what we
are responding to emotionally, what are we moved by, what is
motivating us to act. It is easy to fool ourselves, because so often
we allow ourselves to be ruled by our intellect and reason and remain
alienated from what we truly feel, what our deepest needs really are.
Our task is to get to know ourselves deeply and become clear about
what really, truly, deeply moves us, what motivates us. What we will
often discover is that we are complicated and may be moved by many
different things, sometimes contradictory things. When this happens
we are making progress and becoming more integrated, because we are
becoming more aware. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">We
can become more aware of what we have faith in through communication
with friends, through study, through reading; especially through
reading about the life of the Buddha and the lives of his followers
down the generations. Devotional practice is also very important
because it helps us to bypass our intellectual barriers to faith.
Also of course meditation and reflection helps us to know ourselves
and know what we have faith in. Sometimes if we don't know what we
want to do with our lives, we just have to act and by doing so we
discover what we really want to do.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Faith
(shraddha) is the motivating factor. It is what motivates and
energises us to look into ourselves, into our behaviour and thoughts
deeply and thoroughly. It is what energises and motivates us to
transform ourselves and it is what motivates and energises us to
engage and participate and co-operate within the spiritual community.
It is what energises and motivates us to be open-hearted and
open-handed in our empathy and generosity towards others.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">We
speak of faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, but what does it
really mean? What really motivates us? When we are convinced that it
is possible to grow and develop, to transform ourselves for the
better and when we are convinced that the methods of Buddhism will
enable us to grow and develop and when we have a conviction that
change is not just possible but highly desirable, is the most
desirable thing, then we will be motivated. This needs to be more
than just an intellectual conviction. It needs to be in our hearts.
It is being emotionally convinced as well as intellectually and
rationally convinced. When we have a yearning or longing to emulate
the Buddha and the great Buddhists who have gone before us, then we
will be motivated. Strong conviction and yearning towards something
higher is what we need. If we just have a vague feeling that Buddhism
is nice and Buddhists are nice and the Buddha was a nice man, it
probably won’t motivate us hugely.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">However
shraddha or faith is innate, it is part of human consciousness and it
can be further developed. We can develop shraddha through reflection,
study, meditation and spiritual friendship. And if we practise like
that, then from our own experience we will have the evidence on which
our conviction can be based and out of which a longing for even
greater wisdom and compassion can emerge.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Our
faith is our conviction, our confidence in the Buddha, Dharma and
Sangha as the medicine for the worlds sickness. This is the flame
that has to burn within us and the flame that has to burn within our
community if we are to avoid the worshipping of ashes. Good
intentions, good works and being nice people are the ashes that are
left when a Sangha ceases to burn and flame with a strong conviction
of the supreme wisdom of the Buddha and his teachings.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">I
would say that it is my deep and abiding faith in the Dharma that has
sustained me through difficulties. It is what has motivated me to
shoulder responsibility, it is what has allowed me to be unconcerned
about personal material security. It is why I have immersed myself in
the work of the Triratna Order; that work being the passing on of the
spirit of the Dharma as taught by the Buddha and elucidated for us by
Bhante Sangharakshita. My faith in the Dharma began long before I
knew anything about the Dharma. It began as a conviction that there
must be deeper meaning and a bigger purpose to life than material
security and procreation. When that faith encountered Buddhism it
found a channel to flow through. It found expression. And when I
encountered the teaching of Bhante Sangharakshita my faith was
augmented by clarity and by the inspiring beauty of the vast vision
of the Buddha and the concrete way it was expressed by Bhante. I wish
that you all may be inspired to practise the Buddha's teachings and <span face="Arial, sans-serif">I
hope these few words on faith in the Buddhist context will be of some
help to you.</span></span></span></p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-25277098676047240192019-12-24T07:07:00.001-08:002020-08-24T03:13:17.973-07:00The Three C's of Spiritual Community
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font><i>This
talk was given at Nottingham Buddhist Centre, Sangha Day 2019</i></font></font></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>Sangha
Day is one of my favourite Buddhist festivals. It is a celebration of
the spiritual community – both the existence and the activity of
the spiritual community. We can become very accustomed to our
festival days and maybe take them for granted. So it can be helpful
to take a fresh look at why we have a particular festival day – how
did it originate, what is the purpose, what do we want to achieve?
Why are we here today?</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>There
are three traditional Buddhist festivals celebrated by Buddhists in
Asia which all have some connection to Sangha Day. There is the Magha
Puja which is observed in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Sri
Lanka. This happens in the third lunar month ( corresponding to
March) and is sometimes called Sangha Day. It is reputed to
commemorate an incident that happened not long after the Buddha's
Enlightenment when at the end of a rainy season his disciples all
spontaneously came to visit him. The festival celebrates 'the
creation of an ideal and exemplary community'.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>Another
Festival that has a connection to spiritual community is the Elephant
Festival in Thailand. ( Has anybody seen this – it is supposed to
be spectacular) This is an ancient festival that was originally
something to do with elephant hunts but has been turned into a
Buddhist festival. The story that makes it Buddhist may be just
legend. It is said that the Buddha used the example of a young
elephant being trained by it's elders as an illustration for his
disciples of how the newer or younger disciples need to be mentored
or trained by the more experienced. This is what we call Kalyana
Mitrata or spiritual friendship. So the elephant festival is a
celebration of spiritual friendship. It takes place on the third
weekend of November.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>Then
there is the Katthina Festival. This marks the end of the rainy
season retreat, the time just before all of the wanderers set off
wandering again. It is a time for confession, apology, forgiveness; a
time for mending robes; a time for the householders to give gifts to
the wanderers – usually new robes.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>Our
Sangha Day is based on this last festival. Perhaps the fact that it
is traditionally characterised by confession, apology, forgiveness
and the giving of gifts is something for us to reflect on and maybe
even act on. In this talk I want to draw lessons from each of these
festivals, which are all concerned in one way or other with spiritual
community, Sangha.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>The
Magha festival is about coming together, congregating , which is the
foundation for a spiritual community, an ideal and exemplary
community. The
elephant festival is about spiritual friendship which is what creates
spiritual community. The Katthina festival is about harmony and
co-operation. That gives us our three C's of the title –
congregating, creating and co-operating and that's what I'd like to
talk about today.</font></font></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>Congregating
means simply coming together, assembling. The important thing is
being physically present. A person is not just a voice or a moving
image on a computer screen. A person is something whole and complete
that cannot be fully experienced except by being physically present.
So for our communication to be whole or complete we have to actually
meet each other in the flesh, so to speak. Communication is the
essence of spiritual community and the more thorough and complete our
communication the stronger and more stable is our community. </font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>In
the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, which is the story of the Buddha's last
days before his death, the Buddha talks about the conditions for the
stability of the Sangha. ( Digha Nikaya, Sutta16) The very first of
these conditions is meeting together frequently and in large numbers,
in other words congregating. Congregating regularly and in large
numbers is then a foundation for the building of spiritual community
– you can't build anything without good foundations.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>There
is something special about meeting face to face. Skype or Zoom is
okay, WhatsApp is okay but actually meeting is very different. There
is an intimacy to meeting – the intimacy of touch – hugging etc.,
the intimacy of conversation , nuances, jokes – so much of which is
non-verbal. Also when we meet we see and experience each other
practising meditation and puja. It can alter our view of another
person just seeing them make offerings to the shrine or seeing them
meditate. Perhaps with someone we don't like or find difficult – it
can change our perspective – seeing our common devotion, our common
practice. It makes a difference.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>Congregating
is the foundation for spiritual community, what gives it stability.
This is true when you already have a spiritual community,but before
that it is the common commitment to spiritual practice which is the
basis for spiritual community. The spiritual community is made up of
all those who are committed to practising ethics, observing the five
or ten precepts, meditating and reflecting. The practice of ethics,
meditation and wisdom is the common ground on which Sangha is built.
This is important: so often we will relate to others on the basis of
shared politics or shared interests or even just a sharing of
preferences. But this is not what a spiritual community is based on.
We may have the same views about Brexit, or the same concerns about
climate change or the same preference for music or movies and that
may bring us closer to people but that is not spiritual community in
the Buddhist sense. It is the shared practice of going for refuge to
the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha that makes a spiritual community
possible. For us in the Triratna Buddhist Community this means
ethical practice, it means going on retreat, it means regular
meditation, it means spiritual friendship, it means Dharma study and
discussion, it means reflecting on our lives, it means working with
whatever mental states arise to transform the negative into positive,
the unskilful into skilful. When we then relate to each other on the
basis of this practice we have spiritual communion. And the more
intensively we practice, the more dedicated we are the more alive
will our spiritual community be.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>It
is important to come together, to congregate. This means attending
classes, festivals, retreats and so on. I would like to particularly
emphasise the importance of the whole Sangha going on retreat
together from time to time – that is a very crucial practice for
the health and well-being of any local Sangha. If you can I would
recommend that you make it a priority. It is one of the ways we can
create an ideal and exemplary community, which is what the Magha Puja
festival celebrates.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>Now
let's move on to the second of the three C's – Creating. When we
come together we meet those we don't know so well or those we don't
know at all. But we also meet our closer friends – people we know
from study groups, or retreats, or being on a team together. We meet
our Sangha pals . The spiritual community is essentially a great web
of friendships, a network of friendships. It is spiritual friendship
that creates spiritual community. If congregating is the foundation
then spiritual friendships are the building blocks of Sangha.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>The
Elephant Festival in Thailand celebrates a particular kind of
spiritual friendship – what Bhante Sangharakshita has called
vertical friendship. This is the friendship where someone more
experienced on the Path is helping and guiding someone less
experienced just as the bigger elephants guide and help the smaller
ones. Of course the less experienced have to be receptive if they are
to receive help. As Bhante puts it “ Receptivity is the first
requisite of the disciple and indeed of anyone who wants to learn
anything.” (In
case your wondering gratitude is the second requisite)</font></font></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>As
well as vertical friendship there is of course horizontal friendship
-friendship between peers – being mutually helpful, mutually
supportive and encouraging. This is also of great importance. It is
both the building blocks of spiritual community and the cement that
holds it together.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>Spiritual
friendship was greatly praised by the Buddha: there is the famous
occasion when he told Ananda that spiritual friendship was the whole
of the spiritual life. Here is a passage from the Pali Canon where
the Buddha is talking to King Pasenadi and he is telling him about
the incident with Ananda, “<i> On one occasion Great King, I was
living among the Sakyans, where there is a town of the Sakyans named
Nagaraka. Then the bhikkhu Ananda approached me, paid homage to me,
sat down at one side and said: 'Venerable Sir, This is half of the
holy life, that is, good friendship, good companionship, good
comradeship'. When this was said Great King, I told the Bhikkhu
Ananda: Not so, Ananda! Not so, Ananda! This is the entire holy life,
Ananda, that is good friendship, good companionship, good
comradeship.” </i><span style="font-style: normal;">(The Connected
Discourses (Samyutta Nikaya), trans. Bodhi,1:3:18, p.180)</span></font></font></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>In
another place the Buddha says <i>“With regard to external factors I
don't envision any other single factor like friendship with admirable
people as doing so much for a monk in training. A monk who is a
friend with admirable people abandons what is unskilful and develops
what is skilful.” (Itivuttaka 17)</i></font></font></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>Bhante
Sangharakshita adds to this. He says: <i>“ We can't be with our
spiritual teacher all the time but we can be with spiritual friends
all the time or at least much of the time. We can see them regularly,
perhaps live with them, perhaps even work with them. If we spend time
with spiritual friends in this way, we will get to know them better
and they will get to know us better. If we have spiritual friends
they will try to relate to us with metta and will expect us to relate
to them with metta. Learning to relate to our friends in this way we
will gradually learn to respond to the whole world with metta, with
unselfishness. It is in this way that spiritual friendship is indeed
the whole of the spiritual life.” </i><span style="font-style: normal;">(The
Essential Sangharakshita, p.512)</span></font></font></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>This flow of metta between friends and out to the rest of the world
is how a spiritual community is created. This is my experience over
the last 35 years in the Triratna Community; I experience myself as
being in a great and growing web of friendships, which is beautiful
to see and beautiful to experience.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>The
third C is Co-operating. The Katthina festival which our Sangha Day
is based on is a time to celebrate and foster harmony. Traditionally
the wanderers confessed their failings and unskilfulness and
apologised and extended forgiveness where appropriate. And the
householders and supporters gave them gifts of new robes and provided
for their basic needs. We don't have wanderers and householders,
monks and laypeople – we just have people committed to living the
spiritual life as fully and wholeheartedly as possible – Order
Members, Mitras and Friends. But we do need to continually foster
harmony. </font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>Harmony
does not mean everyone agreeing with everyone else. Harmony does not
mean a total absence of conflict. Harmony is a movement, a process.
It's a movement towards agreement, towards accord, towards
congruence, towards a coincidence of wills. Harmony includes
assonance and dissonance and is a movement between the two towards a
higher unity. When there is disagreement, dialogue is a harmonising
factor. When there is angry conflict, taking responsibility for one's
own mental states is a harmonising factor.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>Harmony
isn't something fixed, a final state in which we all exist, like some
dream of paradise. Harmony is the <span style="text-decoration: none;">movement
towards unity</span> and that movement requires constant effort,
constant direction, a constant exercise of will. When all of us are
moving towards a unity of consciousness, through an effort of will,
then there is a coincidence of wills, there is harmony. So for
harmony to exist, there needs to be a common goal or common ideal.
The co-operative movement of many individuals towards that ideal or
goal is harmony.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>It
would be good if we take seriously that Sangha Day is an opportunity
to move towards greater harmony. We can do this by taking up the
challenge to confess or own up to any unskilfulness and also an
opportunity to forgive those who may have offended us. Forgiveness is
a free gift we can give without losing anything. It is very important
that any division between Sangha members is not allowed to fester
like an open wound. In confessing we are taking responsibility for
our own actions, speech and states of mind regardless of whether
others do the same. In forgiving we are letting go of any need to get
even or even be recompensed in any way. We are simply letting go of
the state of feeling <i>offended</i> and moving on. We are in a sense
giving ourselves the gift of freedom from a difficult state of mind
as well as giving the other person the gift of freedom from guilty
feelings.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font color="#000000" size="3"><font face=""><font>It is worth noting that as Bhante Sangharakshita said in a letter a
couple of years ago:</font></font> “<font face=""><font><i>true
forgiveness is unconditional. There should be no question of our
laying down terms and conditions, such as that we will forgive the
person their trespasses against us only if he or she repent and
apologise for what they have done. Otherwise our so-called
forgiveness is no more than a sort of bargaining. The granting of
forgiveness is a free act of the true individual, and it has nothing
to do the reactive mind.”</i> </font></font></font>
</p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font color="#000000" size="3"><font face=""><font>Elsewhere
he invokes William Blake : <i>“What William Blake says about mutual
forgiveness could hardly be more suitable as a motto for a spiritual
community like Triratna.” Mutual Forgiveness of each vice', 'such
are the Gates of Paradise' </i><span style="font-style: normal;">(from
The Gates of Paradise)</span> Alexander
Pope makes forgiveness a definite spiritual practice and quality when
he says 'To err is human, to forgive divine '</font></font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>Perhaps
in the lead up to Sangha day this practice of confession, forgiveness
and apology could be done ritually in our study groups, Order
chapters, Going for Refuge groups and so on. It could be either
specific, in relation to particular instances, or general – a
general confession of any unskilfulness we may have committed and a
general forgiveness for any offences caused.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>As
well as fostering harmony by clearing the air of disharmony and
resentments, we can also create harmony by giving gifts. So we should
perhaps take seriously that Sangha Day is our day for giving gifts –
a kind of Buddhist Christmas – except without any expectation of
reciprocity. We can give gifts to friends and we can give gifts to
the Centre. The Centre is our point of contact with the Buddha,
Dharma and Sangha and we should cherish it and lavish our abundance
on it. I know the Centre here is on a very tight budget, without
enough reserves for building maintenance etc., This is a great shame
and I'm sure the Sangha here could do something about it. Don't wait
to be asked, don't wait for fundraising appeals – just give. That
is the Buddhist tradition – giving as a practice.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>We
co-operate by creating harmony between us through confession,
forgiveness and by giving gifts and from that basis we can offer our
friendship and guidance to others. In this way the spiritual
community thrives.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>What
is the purpose of a spiritual community – what is the point of it
all? There
are two aspects to this. Firstly a spiritual community is a condition
which is necessary to enable most of us to live a spiritual life, to
practise the Dharma. The mutual support and mutual inspiration is
crucial in helping us to practise intensively and effectively. This
is the aspect of friendship, guidance, learning and personal
transformation.</font></font></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>The
second purpose of the spiritual community is to enable us to give to
others, to make the Dharma, the Buddhist teachings, available in an
understandable and practical form. The Dharma is Ehipassiko.
Ehipassiko means 'come and see', it's an invitation to try out the
practices for yourself and the invitation is given by the sangha. The
sangha, the spiritual community of those who are already practising
is, in effect, saying to everybody else - here is something
worthwhile, here is something really valuable and beneficial, come
and see for yourself.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>The
spiritual is doing the inviting; we are the hosts – inviting people
to our Centres and tending to their spiritual needs as best we can.
The spiritual community has an altruistic purpose as well as a
personal one. </font></font>
</p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>The
Katthina festival marks the end of the rainy season. Now that the
rain has stopped the wanderers are going to set out wandering again.
Why are they wandering? For two reasons – to practise meditation
and living a simple life and to teach the Dharma to whoever wants to
listen. They are wandering so that they can give the gift of the
Dharma for the welfare of the many – as the Buddha asked them to
do. He said to his early followers <i> “Wander for the blessing of
the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the
world, for the benefit and welfare, blessing and happiness of gods
and men.” </i><span style="font-style: normal;">(The Life of the
Buddha, Nanamoli, p.52)</span></font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>We
don't wander, but we set up Buddhist Centres. Why do we have Buddhist
centres? For two reasons - to create conditions for our own practice
and to give the gift of the Dharma for the welfare of the many – as
the Buddha has asked us to do. This is why we should do everything we
can to support our local Buddhist Centre – it is vital to following
through on the Buddha's request to his followers – to share the
Dharma with others.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face="" size="3"><font>I'll
leave the last word with the Buddha. In the Pali Canon he says:</font></font><span style="font-size: medium;"> <font><font face=""><i>"</i></font></font><font face=""><font><i>Of
two people who practise the Dhamma – one who practises for his own
benefit and that of others and one who practises for his own benefit
but not that of others – the one who practises for his own benefit
but not that of others is, for that reason,blameworthy; the one who
practises for his own benefit and that of others is, for that reason,
praiseworthy.” (</i><span style="font-style: normal;">The Numerical
Discourses,Anguttara Nikaya,trans. Bodhi, 7:68, P.1080)</span></font></font></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
</p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
</p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-80998921499362337892019-11-29T03:52:00.002-08:002022-08-22T07:44:52.280-07:00A Fish out of Water: Commentary on Dhammapada, Chapter 3
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>This
talk was given at Nottingham Buddhist Centre, Sangha Night, Nov 2019</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
word 'mind' is a noun, a countable noun. Now that is a problem.
Language is often a problem when it comes to trying to express
Buddhist ideas. Because we have a word, 'mind', which is a noun, we
can naturally enough think that the mind is a thing. And if it is a
thing then it is something that can be possessed or owned. We have
the concepts of 'my mind' or 'your mind' or 'the mind'. But what are
we really talking about when we use the word 'mind'. Is it a thing?
Can we possess it? Who would do the possessing? I will leave these
questions hanging there and perhaps the rest of the talk will go some
way to answering them.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
this talk I am going to look at the nature of mind as it is described
in the Dhammapada, chapter 3. The word in Buddhist texts that is
translated as mind is often chitta and that is the word used in the
Dhammapada in the chapter on Mind. According to the Pali–English
dictionary, 'chitta' means 'heart'. It says chitta is <i>“the centre
and focus of our emotional nature as well as that intellectual
element which inheres in and accompanies it's manifestation.” </i>In
other words chitta means emotions and intellect. The Pali dictionary
goes on to say that chitta is best understood by referring to
familiar phrases like 'with all my heart' or 'I have no heart to do
it' or 'blessed are the pure in heart'. It is not primarily concerned
with intellectual thought or reasoning. It is much broader than that.
Chitta means both emotion and thought. This is what the word 'mind'
indicates in the Dhammapada.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Dhammapada is very practical. It is not interested in sophisticated
analysis of mind and mental states. Basically the Dhammapada says;
you're in a mess, get yourself out of it. And the method is repeated
over and over in different ways. But it all comes back to what we
think and feel and the actions and speech we engage in as a result of
what we think and feel. The Dhammapada is concerned to get us to look
into our minds and take steps to improve them. The very first verse
of the Dhammapada says : <i>“All experience is preceded by mind,
led by mind, made by mind.”</i> (trans. Fronsdal)</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
emphasis on improving how we think and feel – becoming more
positive and skilful and undermining our tendencies to negativity and
unskilfulness – this emphasis is also found in other parts of the
Pali Canon. In particular there is a discourse (Dvedhavitakha Sutta,
Majjhima Nikaya 19) where the Buddha talks about his own practice
before he gained Enlightenment. He says he observed his own mind
closely and noted when he had unskilful thoughts and when he had
skilful thoughts. He was always paying attention to his own inner
process and with that awareness he gradually transformed himself.
That's the Buddhist method in a nutshell!</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
is what the Dhammapada is recommending too. It is recommending that
we pay attention to our inner life, our thoughts and emotions. And
not just pay attention but make a judgement and acknowledge honestly
to ourselves whether what is going on is skilfull or unskilful,
positive or negative, beneficial or not beneficial. Often these days
we may hear people say that it is a bad thing to be judgemental. What
they mean is that it is a bad thing to condemn either oneself or
others and that is very true. But we must exercise judgement, we need
to make distinctions, we need to be able to make a judgement about
whether a particular course of action is helpful or a whether a
particular conversation is going to be useful. And we need to make a
judgement between what is skilful, ethical and what is not ethical.
This is the basis for practice and this is the purpose of bringing
awareness or mindfulness to our inner world. Mindfulness that is
divorced from ethics is like a sense of taste that cannot distinguish
between what is edible and what is poisonous. It is just as likely to
be harmful as beneficial. Buddhist mindfulness is never divorced from
ethics.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Coming
to the chapter of the Dhammapada entitled The Mind we find the Buddha
recommending awareness of the thoughts and emotions and introducing
the idea of controlling or taming the mind. Some of this needs to be
teased out to avoid misunderstanding. I'll read a few verses and then
comment on them. There are only eleven verses in total in this
chapter. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The
restless, agitated mind,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Hard
to protect, hard to control,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>the
sage makes straight.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>As
a fletcher the shaft of an arrow.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Like
a fish out of water,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Thrown
on dry ground,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>This
mind thrashes about,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Trying
to escape Mara's command.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The
mind, hard to control,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Flighty
– alighting where it wishes-</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>One
does well to tame.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The
disciplined mind brings happiness.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here
we have a few different images and metaphors giving a vivid picture
of our minds as restless, agitated, unsteady, thrashing about,
flighty or frivolous. The first image is of a mind that is not
straight like an arrow. This means that thoughts can't be directed
towards anything in particular, like a crooked arrow that can never
reach its target. This is the agitated, restless mind, not able to
stay with anything, always jumping to something else, reacting to
every stimulus indiscriminately. I think we are probably all familiar
with this kind of mind. And the Buddha says that a wise person will
straighten this out, make it capable of being properly directed. That
is why we do practices like the Mindfulness of Breathing.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then
there is the mind that is like a fish out of water. This is a bit
further on. This when we are practising and trying to be more skilful
and trying to focus our minds. We could see this as being like a
meditation practice where we are trying focus or concentrate and our
mind keeps on thrashing about. But at least we are making an effort
and with practice it will quieten down.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then
we have the image of a flighty mind, alighting wherever it wishes.
The image that comes to my mind is a butterfly fluttering about. This
is a bit more subtle and less violent than the image of the fish out
of water. This is a quieter mind, but still not calm. Mara is a
symbol for all the negative states such as greed, illwill, anxiety
and so on. The opposite to these states is talked about in terms of
protecting, controlling, taming and disciplining, which don't
immediately bring to mind very attractive images. But let's look at
them a bit more closely.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">First
of all protecting; the verse says the restless agitated mind is hard
to protect. Something that is not protected is exposed to all sorts
of influences. If your hands are not protected with gloves when
cleaning you may suffer from the cleaning chemicals. If you are not
protected by an overcoat when it's cold and wet you will be very
uncomfortable and may catch a cold. If your mind is exposed to all
sorts of unhelpful input you will be agitated and restless. Unhelpful
input is anything that gives rise to craving, grasping, ill-will,
hatred, fear and so on. If we can protect our minds from these things
then it is sensible to do so, especially if we want to have a calm
and tranquil mind. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then
there is the image of controlling the mind. The verse says the the
mind is hard to control. Control sounds a bit harsh, like
imprisonment or an authoritarian government dictating what people can
and cannot do. But there is a more positive image of control. For
instance if you are driving a car it is good to be in control; in
control of the car and of you're own body and mind. If we are
travelling by train or air we trust that someone is in control. We
consider this kind of control a very positive thing. If we apply this
to the mind we are talking about the kind of control that keeps us
out of danger, out of harms way. We want to foster a mind that is not
harmful to ourselves or others. The kind of control that is needed is
something that allows us to have thoughts and emotions without having
to launch missiles or hide ourselves in a dark room. We become
familiar with the broad expanse of the mind and by maintaining
awareness we can look steadily at what is going on and have the
ability to intervene and change our minds as needed, change
ourselves.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then
we come to the image of taming. I think we probably need to go back
in imagination to ancient India to appreciate what a positive thing a
tame animal might be. In a world without machinery a tame elephant
could cope with huge weights and a tame horse is a very effective
mode of transport. A tame buffalo can do the fieldwork of many men.
A more contemporary image might be a guide dog. Taming means
usefulness, taming means friendly as opposed to savage or dangerous.
A tame mind is one that is useful or helpful and not wild and
dangerous. A tame mind is friendly to self and others, this suggests
metta, loving-kindness.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then
we come to the image of discipline. The verse says a disciplined mind
is a happy mind. Do we associate happiness with discipline. Or do we
think of discipline as being like being in the military. I think the
kind of discipline the verse is talking about is much more like the
discipline of a sports person; daily training and eating well. Or for
any of us, if we want to be healthy, we need to be disciplined in
taking exercise and eating well. And that leads to our physical
well-being which is a basis for mental well-being. It is easy to see
why a disciplined mind is a happy mind. It is a mind that is in
training and is taking in or consuming whatever nourishes it and
avoiding whatever poisons it. Just as we can feed our body well or
badly, we can also feed our mind well or badly.</span></span></p><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
next three verses are very similar to the first three.</span></span>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The
mind, hard to see,</i> </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Subtle-
alighting where it wishes-</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The
sage protects.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The
watched mind brings happiness.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Far-ranging,
solitary,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>incorporeal
and hidden,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Is
the mind.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Those
who restrain it </i></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>will
be freed from Mara's bonds.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>For
those who are unsteady of mind,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Who
do not know true Dhamma,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>And
whose serenity wavers,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Wisdom
does not mature.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">We
are introduced to a few more images here: We have the watched mind or
in another translation it is referred to as the well-guarded mind.
Then we have some characteristics of the mind; far-ranging, solitary,
(sounds like Clint Eastwood in a Western!) and incorporeal and
hidden. There is the image of restraining. <span style="color: black;">And
we have the image of something unsteady and wavering.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
image of guarding the mind is a common one in Buddhist texts. Again
it conjures up images of being safe from danger and of protecting
something valuable. It is often spoken of in terms of guarding the
gates of the senses. In other words being careful or discriminating
about what you expose your mind to. The image of restraining the mind
is about seeing the mind as being like a infant that doesn't know
what is harmful and what is pleasant. Restraint is applied for it's
own good and for the sake of others. Again it is like discipline or
protection or guarding. All of these images are getting at the same
thing. Our mind is not a thing it is an ongoing process and that
process is dealing with memories, current input and imaginings and
fantasies. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">We
can have some influence on memories because as we grow in awareness
we may come to see the past differently. We may revise our story.
This happened to me. I made up an aphorism – we can be optimistic
about the past. The present is much more under our influence and all
of these metaphors are encouraging us to pay attention to what we
allow into our minds; what we read, what movies we see, what people
we hang out with. Because our mind is largely what we feed it and how
we respond to that.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
a talk given to Triratna Order Members in 1993 Bhante Sangharakshita
encouraged us to reduce input and be discriminating about what we
introduced into our minds. Among other things he said: <i>“We are a
sort of receiving station all the time, but we don't have to allow
all of these different outside factors and influences to play on us
constantly without any sort of control or restriction. So reduce
input. Be more selective and try to make sure that the influences
that are impinging on you are positive rather than negative.”</i>
(Fifteen Points for Order Members,p.2
<a href="http://www.padmaloka.org.uk/shop/booklets">www.padmaloka.org.uk/shop/booklets</a>)
He went on to recommend solitary retreats and meditation as ways of
getting an experience of reduced input. Nowadays when many of us have
the internet in our pocket all the time it is much more difficult to
reduce input or be selective about it and that means it is much more
important now that we make strenuous efforts to reduce input and be
selective about what we allow to influence us.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
images of the mind as far-ranging and solitary are interesting. There
is virtually no limit to what we can imagine or think about. This
makes it possible for us to imagine things like an expanding universe
and it also makes it possible for us to contemplate Awakening or
Enlightenment. The mind is solitary, according to the commentary,
because it can only experience one state of consciousness at a time
and also because it is not directly accesible by others.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
mind is incorporeal and hidden. Incorporeal means having no material
body or form. This is a statement of the Buddhist view that
consciousness is not tied to the body, not just a product of brain
chemicals and electrical impulses. The mind is hidden. According to
the commentary the word used here means literally 'lying in a cave'
and the cave in question is the cave of the heart. The heart is seen
as the seat of consciousness. This is another image emphasising that
the mind is not just about thinking and reasoning.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
image of restraint is similar to control or discipline. The text says
those who restrain the mind 'will be freed from Mara's bonds'. This
is implying that we are already restrained or in bondage to Mara.
Mara represents greed, hatred and delusion. The kind of restraint
that is being recommended is to ensure our freedom. It is like saying
that if we restrain ourselves from committing crimes we will be free
from the need to be imprisoned. If we are restrained about about all
that we put into our minds, we are free to do other things. An artist
will sometimes restrict their palette in order to enhance creativity.
</span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
image of a mind that is unsteady and wavering refers specifically to
saddha or faith and confidence in the Dharma. It is saying that if
there is a lot of doubt then it is much more difficult to direct the
mind. Just as if you headed into town without having any idea of
where you were going or maybe having two or three ideas of where you
are going. It would be more difficult to decide which direction to
take than if you were clear about your destination and how to get
there.</span></span></p><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let's
move on to the next three verses:</span></span>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>For
one who is Awake,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Whose
mind isn't overflowing,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Whose
heart isn't afflicted</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>and
who has abandoned both merit and demerit,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Fear
does not exist.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Knowing
this body to be like a clay pot,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Establishing
this mind like a fortress,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>One
should battle Mara with the sword of insight,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Protecting
what has been won,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Clinging
to nothing.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>All
too soon this body </i></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Will
lie on the ground,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Cast
aside, deprived of consciousness,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Like
a useless scrap of wood.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Again
we have a lot of rich imagery here. The Dhammapada is really quite
poetic! I won't go into so much detail here. The first of these three
verses is saying in effect that fear arises because we want something
or we are averse to something. If we are free from craving and hatred
and don't even want merit for ourselves then we will have nothing to
fear. It is saying that one of the delightful characteristics of an
Enlightened mind is freedom from fear. This is depicted in later
Buddhism in the figure of the Buddha Amoghasiddhi, who has the abhaya
mudra, the gesture of fearlessness. Right hand held at the heart palm
facing outwards.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
second verse reminds us of the fragility of the body,like a clay pot,
which we can't do much about. And it then contrasts this with the
image of the mind like a fortress. And it brings in the martial image
of battling Mara with the sword of wisdom. The sword of Wisdom
appears in later Buddhism in the iconography of Manjughosha. It is a
most subtle sword that cuts through all delusions and ignorance
without effort. The image of a battle suggests that we need to be
alert and have our wits about us or we will be overwhelmed by Mara.
In other words we need to maintain awareness of our thoughts,
feelings, imaginings and so on or we will find ourselves immersed in
egotistic pursuits. The verse ends with the exhortation to protect
with mindfulness whatever spiritual gains we have made and to give up
clinging, both in the sense of not settling down in our current
spiritual life and level of attainment and in the sense of not
clinging to mundane concerns.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then
the third of these verses reminds us that we will die. This is in
order to give us some sense of urgency about making the best use of
the opportunity we have here and now. It says “All too soon”, in
other words, before you feel ready, “this body will lie on the
ground.”</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
last two verses are a strong statement of how important it is to have
what it calls a 'well-directed mind'. This reminds us again of the
image in the first verse of straightening an arrow.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Whatever
an enemy may do to an enemy,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Or
haters, one to another,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Far
worse is the harm</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>From
one's own wrongly directed mind.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
harm is far worse because it is harm to the mind, not just to the
body. In Buddhism our consciousness is hell or heaven, so a wrongly
directed mind is on the road to hellish experience.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Neither
mother nor father,</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Nor
any relative can do</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>one
as much good</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>as
one's own well-directed mind.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">We
are not dependent on others for our happiness, it is in our own gift
to make for ourselves a mind that is on the road to heavenly
experience of happiness and freedom.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">That's
what the Dhammapada has to say about the mind and I hope you find it
interesting and even useful. I would just like to finish where I
began and remind you that the mind is not a thing. It is all too easy
to think that somehow apart from our thinking, feeling, willing,
perceiving and imagining there is something else called the mind that
is behind it all, activating it all. But that is just the delusion of
a fixed Self under another name. It is because what we call mind is
fluid and ever changing that we can direct it and transform it, until
we become awakened ones - Buddhas.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-8504384165376732132019-08-06T03:15:00.000-07:002020-08-14T04:04:37.562-07:00The Three R's
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>This
talk was given at the Norwich Buddhist Centre's Buddha Day festival,
in a marquee tent in the Norfolk countryside, in 2019</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I
like to read novels now and then and one novelist I return to again
and again is George Eliot. I think she is one of the greatest
novelists anywhere, ever. In her work there is a great combination of
wisdom, compassion and technical skill. She is a profoundly moral
writer trying to find a truly moral basis for humanity in a
post-Christian, scientific world.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I
have a reverence and admiration for George Eliot, both her work and
her life. She had many of the qualities of a true individual and a
visionary perspective. I also admire and revere the Buddha and Bhante
Sangharakshita. I admire and revere both of them for their wisdom and
compassion, their skilfulness in communication and their visionary
perspective. As well as admiring and revering George Eliot, the
Buddha and Bhante Sangharakshita, I am also very receptive to them
and receptive to what they say.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In
this talk I want to take a closer look at reverence and receptivity.
Because we are here to celebrate Buddha day – the Festival of the
Buddha’s Enlightenment, I want to look at reverence and receptivity
in the life of Siddhartha Gautama before he became the Buddha and
when he became the Buddha.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But
first, what do we mean by reverence and what do we mean by
receptivity? Reverence means having a deep respect for someone. It
comes from a root meaning 'to be in awe of'. Receptivity is a
willingness to consider and accept new suggestions and ideas. In a
short essay he wrote just two years ago, Bhante Sangharakshita talks
about his own capacity for reverence, he talks about all the mythic
heroes he looked up to and the writers and artists and spiritual
teachers of past and present. And then he goes on to make a point
which I think is of great importance. He says: <i>“the fact that I
find it easy to look up, especially to my spiritual teachers, does
not mean that I am able to do this simply because I am of the
devotional rather than of the intellectual type. One's personal type
has little to do with it. The capacity to look up to something or
someone higher than oneself is inherent in human nature and reaches
across religions and cultures. Any attempt to minimise the importance
of devotion in the spiritual life, or to limit it to a particular
personality type, is a betrayal of the Buddha’s teaching and does
less than justice to human nature.”</i></span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This
is very important – reverence and devotion are not a temperamental
thing, not just a quirk of nature in some people. They are inherent
in human nature. Reverence is natural. To lack all sense of reverence
is to be artificial rather than natural. It is an artificially
adopted position probably based on some alienation from the emotions
and over dependence on the intellect. It is an attitude conditioned
by the ethos of the society we live in.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The
essay in which Bhante Sangharakshita makes this point is about the
Garava sutta. The word Garava means reverence and according to Bhante
<i>“includes such emotions as admiration, wonder and delight in the
fact that there exists, or existed, others superior to one’s self
in creative ability or spiritual attainment.”</i> In the Garava
sutta the Buddha is depicted just after his Enlightenment experience.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The
Sutta says: <i>“thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed one
was dwelling at Uruvela on the bank of the river Neranjara at the
foot of the goatherds Banyan tree just after he had become fully
enlightened. Then while the Blessed one was alone in seclusion, a
reflection arose in his mind thus: “one dwells in suffering if one
is without reverence and deference. Now what ascetic or Brahmin can I
honour and respect and dwell in dependence on?” I do not see
another ascetic or Brahmin more perfect in the knowledge and vision
of liberation than myself, whom I could honour and respect, and on
whom I could dwell in dependence. Let me then honour, respect, and
dwell in dependence on this very Dharma to which I have fully
awakened.” </i><span style="font-style: normal;">(Samyutta Nikaya,
6.2)</span></span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This
whole theme of reverence is important. Reverence is a positive
emotion, a positive state of mind, like Metta or faith – shraddha –
and it’s an important state of mind to be able to access and
experience. Without reverence for that which is higher and for those
who embody something higher or deeper, we are left with our own
consciousness as the highest and deepest in the universe. If we
cannot look up to and reverence others then by implication we
ourselves are the pinnacle of existence. I think reverence is closely
related to gratitude. Gratitude is the response we have when we know
we have received some benefit and reverence is the response we have
when we know that someone or something can benefit us. Receptivity is
being open to receiving that benefit.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I
was listening to a radio programme recently – it was about IVF
treatment in Denmark. What struck me was one woman saying that after
she gave birth she felt the need to express gratitude to something.
Even though she wasn’t religious in any way she went to the
hospital chapel to express gratitude. Again it’s this sense of
something innate, an urge to give thanks, to express gratitude or an
urge to give or express reverence.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reverence
seems to be part of the conditions for receptivity. If we reverence
the Buddha we will be receptive to the Buddha and on the other hand
if we are receptive to the Buddha we will probably experience
reverence and gratitude. If we are receptive to any spiritual teacher
we will probably experience some reverence and gratitude towards
them. This seems to be a very natural human thing.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our
Western culture and conditioning can sometimes bury and thwart our
natural urge towards reverence and receptivity and one of our tasks
when we embark on the spiritual path is to become aware of any
conditioning like that and try to get in touch with our more natural
aspirations and emotions.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As
well as being receptive to people, to teachers and those who are more
creative or more spiritually developed, we can also be receptive to
events, to circumstances and to people we don’t know or who are not
especially spiritually developed or creative. We become receptive by
being aware of the significance of what is happening around us and by
reflecting on that significance.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">For
instance what is the significance of this event today. I have
travelled here to speak to you. You have all come here to be
together, to hear me speak and to celebrate Buddha day. How has that
come about? Why is it happening? Why are you here? Is it just a day
out in the countryside or does it have some deeper significance? If
it’s more than a day out in the countryside, what are the
implications for you? Are you open, are you receptive to your own
actions – in being here – and the actions of others in coming
here? What are the implications of this gathering for other people –
people you haven’t met yet, people who haven't even been born yet?</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Nothing
is without significance if we can bring sufficient awareness to bear
on it. This is part of the message of the story of Siddhartha
Gautama. He saw the musicians and dancers in his palace sleeping and
he had an insight into the futility of craving. He saw a sick person,
and old person and a corpse and he was struck by the ubiquitous
nature of suffering and impermanence. He saw a wandering holy man and
he grasped the significance of the possibility of dedicating one’s
life to the pursuit of meaning and truth.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">He
was aware and he reflected and through that awareness and those
reflections he was able to go deeper and see beyond the surface of
things into their deeper significance. He was receptive to his first
meditation teachers and learned and made progress very quickly. He
was receptive to his own intuitions which took him on a quest beyond
his meditation teachers and beyond austerity practices. We could even
say he was receptive to Mara – in the sense that he didn’t deny
or reject Mara but brought awareness to Mara and what Mara
represents. This is what Subhuti calls 'reaction practice', not
denying or rejecting our own greed, ill will, doubt and so on, but
penetrating it with ever greater awareness.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">After
his enlightenment, his awakening, the Buddha was receptive to
Brahmasahampati, the King of the gods who implored him to share his
wisdom, his understanding and insight. He was inclined not to teach
others thinking that nobody would be capable of understanding. We
could see Brahmasahampati as representing a higher imaginative and
visionary faculty which prompted the newly Awakened Buddha to go out
and teach the Dharma.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">His
vision showed him that there were some people who would be receptive
and would understand his teaching and knowing what people needed he
responded out of compassion. And later he exhorted his first
disciples to go out and teach the Dharma for the benefit and welfare
of the many. The Dharma is for the many and not the few, to borrow a
political slogan.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The
title of this talk is The Three ‘Rs’ and so far I’ve talked
about reverence and receptivity. The third R is responsiveness. So we
have reverence receptivity and responsiveness. I have said a bit
about what reverence and receptivity are and I’ve said something
about reverence and receptivity in the life of Siddhartha before and
after the awakening. I’d like to say something more about the
relevance of reverence, receptivity and responsiveness to all of us
who are practising the Dharma within the Triratna tradition.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In
order to live the spiritual life and to commit to the spiritual path
of ethics, meditation and wisdom, we need to see the path and the
life embodied in people, at least to some degree. We need to see
people who are genuinely striving to live an ethical life, who
meditate regularly and take responsibility for their own states of
mind. And we need to see people who are to some degree embodying the
wisdom and compassion of the Dharma. As Hakuin says: “apart from
water, no ice. Outside living beings, no Buddhas.”</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In
other words the Dharma is not just a set of abstract concepts –
such as “this being, that becomes” and so on. The Dharma is not
even a set of practices. The Dharma is alive when it is lived out in
the lives of people. When it’s not lived out, it is dead and
becomes a museum piece, something exotic for tourists in Thailand or
Sri Lanka or the British Museum.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Because
the Dharma needs to be lived in order to be alive, it is through
living it and seeing it lived by others that we come to really,
deeply understand it. It is much easier to live the Dharma, if we see
others living it and easier still if we are inspired by some people
who have made progress on the path. When we see people living the
Dharma life very fully we quite naturally feel respect and gratitude
towards them. We look up to them and revere them. This act of looking
up to and revering those who are more spiritually mature is the
practical manifestation of going for refuge to the Buddha. The Buddha
is symbolic of what we aspire to. Those people we come into contact
with who embody to some degree what we aspire to are reflections or
echoes of the Buddha.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">If
we look up to and revere those who are spiritually mature, then we
naturally want to listen to them, to hear what they think; we may
even want to follow them, to emulate them. In other words we are
receptive. We want to learn – not just to learn the concepts and
the ideas of the Dharma but to learn how to transform ourselves.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As
we gradually learn how to transform our conditioning, our negative
emotions, our views and opinions: as we gradually put the teachings
into practice, as receptivity bears fruit, then we can be said to be
going for refuge to the Dharma. The key to this stage is awareness.
We need to turn the light of awareness on ourselves and with total
honesty, see ourselves as clearly as possible – to see our good
qualities clearly, to see our positive emotions clearly and fully
accept them, see our intelligence and aspirations clearly and warmly.
We also need to see our bad qualities and negative emotions clearly
and with loving kindness, see our stupidity and resistance to reality
with clarity and warmth.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As
we listen to and learn from our elders, we reflect deeply on what we
hear and we engage in introspection, contemplation and meditation. In
that way we grow in awareness. But it doesn’t stop there. Robert
Bly writes about the poet Rilke: <i>“Rilke was Rodin’s secretary
for a while, and Rodin one day advised him to go down to the zoo and
try to see something. Rilke did, and spent some time watching a
panther. Rodin respected seeing, the ability to observe, to use the
terrific energy of the eyes, to pay attention to something besides
one’s own subjectivity. Rilke understood that his own poetry lacked
seeing, and he wrote nearly 200 poems in about six years in an effort
to sharpen his seeing. Through that labour Rilke passed to a new
stage of his art. Strangely, Novalis in 1800 had spoken of this
passage. Novalis thought there were two stages in an artist’s life:
“self-expression is the source of all abasement, just as
contrariwise, it is the basis for all true elevation. The first step
is introspection – exclusive contemplation of the self. But whoever
stops there goes only halfway. The second step must be genuine
observation outward – spontaneous, sober observation of the
external world.” (News of the Universe, R. Bly, p.204)</i></span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Awareness
doesn’t stop with introspection. It must also turn outwards and
see others with kindness and intelligence. This leads on to the third
R of the title, which is responsiveness. It is not enough to be aware
and metta-full towards ourselves. It is also not enough to be aware
and metta-full towards others. We also need to act, to respond.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">After
the Buddha’s Enlightenment or as part of the experience of
Awakening, he looked out towards the world, he turned his attention
to the world around him and he had a vision of the world as a lotus
lake – some lotuses were completely submerged, some were barely
emerging from the water and some were completely free from the water
and resplendent. He understood that people were at different stages
of development and receptivity and that some would be able to
understand him. So he went out into the world to share his experience
with others. He responded to the needs of humanity.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Later
when the first sixty disciples were sufficiently grounded in the
Dharma, living the Dharma, he exhorted them to go out into the world
and share their experience for the welfare of the many. They too
responded to the needs of humanity. And so it has been down the
generations and so it is now. That is why there is a Buddhist centre
in Norwich and that is why we can be here together today to celebrate
the Buddha’s Enlightenment.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The
responsiveness of the Buddha manifests as a compassionate
communication of the Dharma to all those who are open to it, who are
receptive. Our responsiveness may have to be expressed differently,
but the spirit is the same. It’s the spirit of generosity, the
spirit of loving-kindness. We may not feel able to communicate the
Dharma widely, but we can support those who do. And we can be
friendly and kind to others in the Sangha and beyond. This
responsiveness to the spiritual needs of others is an expression of
going for refuge to the Sangha.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I
have talked about the three Rs of reverence, receptivity and
responsiveness and I have linked them to going for refuge to the
Buddha, Dharma and Sangha respectively. I’ve also talked about
these elements in the life of Siddhartha and the Buddha, as we are
here today to celebrate the awakening of Siddhartha and his becoming
a fully Enlightened Buddha.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Celebrating
the Buddha’s Awakening implies a reverence for the Buddha and
receptivity to the Dharma he taught. The Dharma taught by the Buddha
implies responsiveness to the spiritual needs of others. As the
Buddha says in the Anguttara Nikaya: <i>“of two people who practice
the Dharma in line with the Dharma, having a sense of Dharma having a
sense of meaning – one who practices for both his own benefit and
that of others, and one the practices for his own benefit but not
that of others – the one who practices for his own benefit but not
that of others is to be criticised for that reason, the one who
practices from both his own benefit and that of others is, for that
reason, to be praised”. (AN,7.68) </i>Let us then, out of reverence
for the Buddha, be receptive to his message and let us practice the
Dharma, ethics, meditation and wisdom, for our own benefit and for
the benefit of others.</span></span>
</p>Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-84494821927283798892019-08-06T02:30:00.000-07:002020-08-14T04:04:58.972-07:00The Shorter Discourse on the Full Moon Night (MN 110 Chulapunnama Sutta)
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>This
talk was given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre on the full moon night of
July 2019</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Buddha is staying in the Eastern Park just outside Savatthi, a rainy
season residence provided by Visakha, known as Migara's mother. She
was the chief female patron of the Buddha and a number of his
teachings are given at this place known as the mansion of Migara's
mother.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
sutta is all about the true man and the untrue man or as Bhikkhu
TThannisaro translates it – the person of integrity and the person
of no integrity – or as we might say in Triratna, the true
individual and the individualist. The Buddha says that a person of no
integrity would not be able to recognise a person of integrity and
that they would not even be able to discern another person of no
integrity. Then he talks about the qualities or actions that make
some one untrue or without integrity. There
are 7 personal traits they have which lead them to behave in
unskilful ways. The personal traits are that they:</span></span>
</p><ul><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">have no faith</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">have no shame</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">no fear of wrongdoing</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">are lazy</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">are forgetful or
unmindful</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">are unwise</span></span></p>
</li></ul>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These
lead them to behave in the following ways:</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<ul><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">they associate with
others who are lacking integrity</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">their mental states lead
to their own suffering and that of others</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">they give bad advice</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">they speak falsely,
harshly and in a gossipy and malicious way</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">they constantly break
the first three precepts, which are the precepts of loving kindness,
generosity and contentment.</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">they hold wrong views</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">They give gifts as a
untrue person: </span></span>
</p>
</li></ul>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span><span> </span>carelessly,
not with own hand, without respect, give what is to be discarded,
don't <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>believe in the karmic consequences of generosity.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then
he goes on to talk about the qualities and actions of the true man or
person of integrity as being the opposite of those of the person of
no integrity.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
would like to go into some of the qualities and actions of the person
of integrity a bit more. So this talk is just a series of reflections
on some of the Buddha's teachings in this Full Moon Discourse. The
main qualities of a person of Integrity that the Buddha highlighted
and that I want to talk about are:</span></span>
</p><ul><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Faith</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ethical sensitivity</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Receptivity</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Energy</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mindfulness</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Discernment</span></span></p>
</li></ul>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These
qualities lead a person of integrity to behave in particular ways:</span></span>
</p><ul><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">to observe the precepts
– the ten precepts in this sutta</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">be helpful to others</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">develop good friendships</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">practice generosity.</span></span></p>
</li></ul>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There
are more things mentioned in the Sutta but this is more than enough
to explore for now.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Faith
</b>comes up again and again as both a prerequisite for the spiritual
life and the main quality of an experienced practitioner such as a
stream entrant. Faith in the Dharma and faith in the teacher are
mentioned again and again by the Buddha. It's as if the deepening and
strengthening of faith or confidence is one of the main qualities
that permeate and enhance any spiritual life. Or to put it another
way we won't get very far without faith and with faith we can move
mountains. The opposite of faith is of course doubt and indecision
and when we are prone to doubt and indecision we need to get into
communication with spiritual friends and guides, we need to study and
reflect on the Dharma and go deeper into what holds meaning for us
through meditation and especially by going on retreat.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
second quality the Buddha talks about is <b>ethical sensitivity</b>.
This is my gloss on what in Pali is hiri and ottapa or hri and
apatraya in Sanskrit. Usually these terms are translated as shame
and fear of censure by the wise. Or we could shorten that to
conscience and concern. What it comes down to though is ethical
sensitivity. Bhante Sangharakshita talked about the need to be
scrupulous in our observance of the precepts. What this means is that
it isn't enough to be aware of the ethical principles of non-violence
and awareness and so on, we also need to pay attention to a more
detailed practice of the precepts. We need to notice how skilful or
unskilful we are in the details of our daily life. We need to notice
our resistance to deeds of kindness and generosity, notice any subtle
manipulation, notice any juggling with the truth and so on. It is in
the details that we practice and it is in an awareness of the details
that we develop our ethical sensitivity.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
third quality the Buddha attributes to a person of integrity is what
the text translates as learned. But that isn't really what it means.
The bahussuto is made up of two words – bahu means 'a lot ' and
suto or suta is listening or hearing as in the trio of listening,
reflecting and meditating. This quality is the quality of <b>receptivity</b>
which manifests as listening to the Dharma, listening to a teacher.
It is what another sutta refers to as taking delight in the Dharma
and being inspired by the Dharma. And just to be clear listening
includes reading and Dharma discussion and study.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Next
is the quality of virya or </span><b>energy</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
in the practice of the precepts, meditation, study and so on. In the
</span>Padhana Sutta of the Sutta Nipata. The Buddha says Mara
approached him as he was striving <span style="font-style: normal;">speaking
kind words </span><i>(karunam vacam bhasamano). </i><span style="font-style: normal;">The
words attributed to him are as follows:</span></span></span><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>O
you are thin and you are pale,<br />And you are in death’s presence
too;<br />A thousand parts are pledged to death,<br />But life still
holds one part of you.<br />Live, Sir! Life is the better way;<br />You
can gain merit if you live,<br />Come, live the Holy Life and
pour<br />Libations on the holy fires,<br />And thus a world of merit
gain.<br />What can you do by struggling now?<br />The path of struggling
too is rough<br />And difficult and hard to bear.”</i></span></span></p><div><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I<span style="font-weight: normal;">n
effect Mara is saying – 'take it easy, don't exert yourself too
much, be easy on yourself , have a comfortable life'. Mara is opposed
to Virya. Mara is the personification of all unskilfulness and
unskilfulness thrives when we stop making an effort to be aware and
kind.</span></span></span></div>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
fifth quality of a person of integrity is <b>mindfulness</b> –
sati. I probably don't need to say much about mindfulness, as it is a
very popular topic these days. I will just emphasise one aspect of
mindfulness and that is mindfulness of things or of our immediate
environment. Working at a Buddhist Centre it is quite noticeable that
people are often aware of others and generally courteous and kind,
but when it comes to objects and the immediate environment people can
be much less aware. That is not just things in the Centre but
people's own property – the lost property box fills up every few
months. It's good to make a practice of being aware of your immediate
environment and treating it with courtesy and kindness too. As a I
said in regard to ethical sensitivity – it is good to practice
being mindful in detail and not just in some vague general way.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
next quality of a person of integrity is discernment, or <b>wisdom</b>.
This is usually understood as reflecting deeply on impermanence.
Impermanence is something obvious and therefore it can seem that it's
not really necessary to go into it more deeply. Everything changes
all the time – what more is there to say. But it is precisely
because it seems so obvious that we need to reflect more deeply on
it. The purpose of the reflection is to take it from being an
intellectual understanding to being an emotional and imaginative
realisation that affects how we live our lives – how we think, how
we act and how we speak.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
the Jewel Ornament of Liberation – a Tibetan text written about 900
years ago by a student of Milarepa called Gampopa – there is a
teaching about impermanence. It says <i>“ you may ask, how is
transitoriness to be understood? The answer is that the end of every
hoarding is spending, of every rising falling, of every meeting
parting and of all living dying.” </i>There is an interesting
commentary on this by Bhante in a seminar. <span style="text-decoration: none;">One
thing he says is </span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;">“ If
one wanted to look at this systematically one could say that 'the end
of every hoarding is spending' applies to external possessions, 'the
end of every rising is falling' applies to one's position in life,
socially, politically, in relation to other people, that 'every
meeting parting' applies to one's personal relationships with those
who are near and dear, and that 'all living dying' applies to just to
oneself alone and separate.”</span></i><span style="text-decoration: none;">
(108 Ways of Looking at Death, p.60)</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-decoration: none;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I would like to add
though that I think Gampopa is looking at impermanence in a one-sided
way. Yes, it is about endings but it is also about beginnings. That
which is transitory is leaving something behind and moving on to
something new. Every summer may end in an autumn and winter, but it
also true that every autumn and winter ends with a spring and summer.
Death is inevitable and necessary because it creates the conditions
for life. As with the precepts it is worth getting into detailed
reflection on transitoriness and applying it to various things,
people and circumstances, but not only in a way that leads us to
being gloomy or downhearted. We can also rejoice in change and
growth as something that enables us to emerge from our delusions,
addictions, quarrels and other suffering.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then
the Buddha goes on to talk about the behaviour of a person of
integrity: There are three things in particular:</span></span>
</p><ul><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Keeping the precepts</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Friendships</span></span></p>
</li><li><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">generosity</span></span></p>
</li></ul>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
this sutta observing the precepts means observing the ten precepts.
That is what the Buddha talks about to these disciples on the Full
Moon night – the importance of the the ten precepts. The ten
precepts are of course the ethical code of the Triratna Order and are
taken as vows by Order Members at the time of ordination. This does
not mean that it is only Order Members who need to observe the ten
precepts. They are here from the very earliest days of the Buddha's
teaching and are applicable to all who want to live a Buddhist life.
In fact we could say that the ten precepts tell us how we need to
behave and think if we are to live as Buddhists. There are three
precepts relating to the mind , which are really a wisdom practice if
taken in the right spirit and gone into deeply. They are about making
an effort to always move away from unskilful states of mind and
towards skilful states, by cultivating contentment, metta and right
views.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
four speech precepts are a very useful guide to how to communicate
effectively, whether in conversation or in writing. Elsewhere the
Buddha talks about speech needing to be timely or appropriate as well
as truthful, kindly, helpful and harmonising. We could add to that
the observation that much of what we communicate might be better
replaced with a wise silence.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
three precepts about actions are familiar to all of us and therefore
need an even greater effort to bear in mind and act upon. It is so
easy to forget or be complacent about the things that we are very
familiar with and perhaps regard as only suitable for the attention
of beginners. It would be unwise to regard any of the precepts in
that way.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With
regard to generosity the Buddha says in this Sutta that a person no
integrity gives a gift carelessly, not with his or her own hand,
without respect, gives what is worthless and doesn't believe there
are any consequences to giving. The person of integrity on the other
hand gives a gift carefully, with his or her own hand, with respect,
something that has value and with awareness that generosity has
consequences.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There
are a couple of things to draw out here – the first is that giving
should be done with awareness of the person receiving and the gift
should be as far as possible appropriate to them. The second thing is
that the Buddha is keen to point out that giving has consequences and
what he is getting at here is that generosity is spiritually and
psychologically beneficial to the person giving. If you give then you
receive. Giving with awareness means taking some time to to consider
what is needed by the person or organisation that you are giving to.
It also means being aware of your own resistance to giving and how if
you contemplate it for too long the gift may shrink in size or never
come to fruition at all as the Mara of your own insecurity gets
louder.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Friendship
is mentioned a lot in the Pali Canon. The Buddha repeatedly
emphasised spiritual friendship and later Buddhism has it as a very
strong theme. Usually,in the Pali Canon, spiritual friendship is of
the vertical kind – between teacher and disciple or between peers
but some of whom are more experienced or more ethical. There are
famous instances of the Buddha recommending spiritual friendship and
mutual kindness. The instance of Meghiya, the instance of the Buddha
telling Ananda that Kalyana Mitatta is the whole of the spiritual
life, the instance of the monk suffering from dysentery when the
Buddha exhorted his disciples to look after each other's welfare.<span style="color: #ff3333;">
</span><span style="color: black;">In the Iti</span><span style="color: black;">vuttaka
the Buddha says: </span><span style="color: black;"><i>“In regard to
external factors, I do not perceive another single factor so helpful
as good friendship to a bhikkhu who is a learner, who has not
attained perfection.”</i></span><span style="color: black;"> (Itivuttaka,
17)There appears to be a close link between shraddha or faith and
Kalyana Mitrata in the Buddha's teaching. Sometimes faith will be
enumerated as the starting point for spiritual practice and sometimes
Kalyana Mitrata. But the faith is often in relation to a teacher and
the relationship with the teacher is one of Kalyana Mitrata. This
good friendship or spiritual friendship requires faith and faith is
engendered by it.</span></span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These
were some of the topics the Buddha touched on in his talk or
discourse on the full moon night at the mansion of Migara's mother in
the Eastern Park at Savatthi. At the end of the Sutta it says <i>“the
disciples were satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One's words.”</i></span></span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="" style="font-family: "arial", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You
may not delight in my words and you may not even be satisfied, but
whatever you feel I do hope that you continue to be inspired by these
Dharma teachings, just like the monks of old.</span></span></span></p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-9722552965201654022019-07-01T03:37:00.003-07:002020-09-07T03:36:31.592-07:00Touching the Earth
<div class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><i>This
talk was given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre, Young Buddhists evening,
June 2019 </i>
</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">I
have been asked to talk about the Buddha's Enlightenment. It's
difficult, if not impossible, to talk about another person's inner
experience. It's even more difficult when they have been dead for
2500 years, and yet more difficult when the experience in question is
one that you haven't had yourself. But I guess I shouldn't let a
little difficulty like that get in the way. We do have the Buddhist
texts which are based on the oral tradition of stories and teachings
that survived the Buddha's death. The texts have many different ways
of speaking about the Buddha's Enlightenment. In the Pali and
Sanskrit the experience is referred to as Bodhi. And a Buddha is
someone who has experienced Bodhi. Usually Bodhi is translated as
Awakening and a Buddha is 'one who is Awake or has Awakened'. The
metaphor of sleep and waking is used to try to convey the contrast
between the experience of being a Buddha and not being a Buddha.</span></span></span></span></div>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Elsewhere
the Buddha's experience is spoken of negatively as the absence of
greed, hatred and delusion. This is what Nirvana means. Or the
Buddha's experience of Awakening is spoken of as the fullness of
wisdom, compassion and energy or it is spoken of in terms of
paradoxes or in terms of images, such as a cool cave or the discovery
of a lost city. I think one of the best ways of evoking what
Enlightenment might mean is by looking at it through the medium of
myth and symbolism. Mythology and symbolism are very rich and able to
convey more than concepts. A symbol or a story can have more than one
meaning, can have several meanings and that is very helpful when
you're dealing with something so outside of normal experience as
Awakening. </span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">I
want to focus on some images that are used to describe the experience
of the Buddha's Awakening in terms of a kind of Drama or story. </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">In
this account Siddhartha, as the Buddha was called before he became a
Buddha, is sitting under the peepul tree meditating and he has a
number of visitors. Or alternatively you could say he has a vision
and it unfolds in the form of these visitations. </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Firstly
he is attacked by Mara's army. Mara is the personification of
craving, hatred and spiritual ignorance. Then he is visited by Mara's
daughters and then by Mara himself. Later he is visited by the Earth
Goddess, the King of the gods and a great Cobra who is also a prince
called Mucilinda. I'll tell you a bit about what happens and what it
symbolises. Bearing in mind that symbolism is not exhausted by one
explanation.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">There
are different accounts in the Buddhist scriptures of what happened
when Siddhartha Gautama, sitting underneath the Bodhi tree, became a
Buddha, an Awakened One. In some accounts it says that the earth
shook and there were great rumbling noises, like an earthquake. In
the account given in the Lalitavistara Sutra it says that the Buddha
was visited by Mara just before he gained Enlightenment. This is also
described in the Padhana Sutta of the Sutta Nipata. The Buddha says
Mara approached him as he was striving </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">speaking
kind words</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">
</span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">(karunam
vacam bhasamano). The words attributed to him are:</span></span></span></span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">“<span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><i>O
you are thin and you are pale,<br />And you are in death’s presence
too;<br />A thousand parts are pledged to death,<br />But life still
holds one part of you.<br />Live, Sir! Life is the better way;<br />You
can gain merit if you live,<br />Come, live the Holy Life and
pour<br />Libations on the holy fires,<br />And thus a world of merit
gain.<br />What can you do by struggling now?<br />The path of struggling
too is rough<br />And difficult and hard to bear.”</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><br />So
Mara is saying to Siddhartha – ‘take it easy, don’t be so hard
on yourself, have a comfortable life’<br />Siddhartha recognises Mara
and refuses to be tempted. He goes on to describe Mara's army in this
way:<br /></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">“Your
first squadron is Sense-Desires,<br />Your second is called Boredom,
then<br />Hunger and Thirst compose the third,<br />And Craving is the
fourth in rank,<br />The fifth is Sloth and Torpor<br />While Cowardice
lines up as sixth,<br />Uncertainty is seventh, the eighth<br />Is Malice
paired with Obstinacy;<br />Gain, Honour and Renown, besides,<br />And
ill-won Notoriety,<br />Self-praise and Denigrating Others:<br />These
are your squadrons. </span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">(Sutta
Nipata, III, 2)</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><br />And
Siddhartha declares his readiness to take up the fight - the
spiritual life is often likened to a battle or a fight in the Pali
Canon -</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">“<span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><i>None
but the brave will conquer them<br />To gain bliss by the
victory.…<br />Better I die in battle now<br />Than choose to live on
in defeat.…<br />I sally forth to fight, that I<br />May not be driven
forth from my post.” </i></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">“<span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><i>For
I have faith (saddha) and energy (viriya)<br />And I have wisdom
(pañña) too.”</i></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> “<span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Your
serried squadrons, which the world<br />With all its gods cannot
defeat,<br />I shall now break with wisdom<br />As with a stone a clay
pot.” </i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">(Sutta
Nipata, III, 2, https://legacy.suttacentral.net/en/snp3.2)</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><br />Mara
is all the negative, undermining and tempting mental states and
emotions and the spiritual practitioner has faith, energy and wisdom
in response. This is a big inner conflict. This is part of most
people's spiritual journey and can't be avoided.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">In
the story Mara first sends his army of monstrous creatures against
Siddhartha, but their weapons turn to flowers when they come into his
aura. What does that mean? Then Mara tries to tempt Siddhartha with
his daughters who dance seductively, but again Siddhartha is unmoved.
Then Mara tries a different way. He says that Siddhartha has no right
to sit on the spot where all previous Buddhas gained Enlightenment.
In other words he tries to sow doubt in Siddhartha's mind. He asks
Siddhartha whether he has anyone who can witness that he has a right
to sit there, and that is when Siddhartha touches the earth and says
the earth is my witness.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Anyone
who tries to follow a spiritual Path will recognise all the different
distractions and inner conflict and doubt that have to be encountered
and enveloped in awareness. We have to own our own darkness by
becoming aware and accepting who we are. That in itself leads to
transformation and integration. This is certainly my own experience.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">The
Earth Goddess then arises out of the ground and vouches for
him.<br />Before we go into the meaning of this episode there are a few
things I'd like to mention that may be worth reflecting on. Frstly,
in many other religions this sort of confirmation of a teachers
attainment comes from the sky rather than the earth. It may be in the
form of angels or a voice from the heavens, but it is often from the
sky rather than the earth. It might be worth reflecting what this
means for Buddhism and Buddhists.<br />Another thing to note is that
Mara and his armies and his daughters is an allegorisation of various
mental states. such as boredom, cowardice, malice, obstinacy and
denigrating others. Most of us will be quite familiar with some if
not all of these, which means we are on very familiar terms with Mara
and he probably speaks to us with kindly words quite frequently.
Before Awakening we are very much on the side of Mara. This is also
worth reflecting on. <br />Another thing worth reflecting on is
the use of warlike metaphors in the Buddhist scriptures; fighting,
doing battle, conquering, staying at your post. Why is all this
imagery used and does it have any relevance for us ? What metaphors
or imagery do we habitually use and what is the affect of using
different kinds of imagery? Is the kind of imagery we use or
the stories we tell ourselves really just the kindly voice of Mara?
How would it be if we told ourselves different stories and used
different metaphors, images and language.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Another
thing to reflect on is that Mara did not just turn up as Siddhartha
was sitting beneath the Bodhi tree. Here is what happened according
to the Lalitavistara Sutra:<br /></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">“while
the Bodhisattva was was seated at Bodhimanda, the thought occurred to
him: ‘The demon Mara is the lord of this realm of desire – the
master who wields the power; it would not be right to become a Buddha
without first informing him. I shall therefore summon Mara Papiyan.”
(The Voice of the Buddha, Vol.2, p.457)</span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><br />Bearing
in mind what Mara symbolises, what does it mean that Siddhartha
summoned Mara? </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">By
asking these questions what I really want to get across is that
symbolism and images are very rich and communicate many things
simultaneously.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">But
to come back to the Earth Goddess and touching the earth. The earth
here is firstly a symbol of stability, unshakeability, constancy and
also a symbol of abundance, fertility and wealth. The Earth
Goddess is a universal symbol and she has many names around the world
- Isis, Gaia, Demeter, Ceres, Sheela na Gig , and Pachamama are
a few names from different cultures. In Sanskrit there are names like
Sthavara, meaning Stable One, or Prthvi, meaning Earth or Vasundhara
which means the Bearer of Treasure. This whole story of Siddhartha
touching the earth has three elements that we could look at a little
more closely. There is the attack by Mara, there is the response of
calling on the earth to witness and there is the emergence of the
earth goddess. What this story does is tell us some universal truths
about spiritual practice in the form of the rich symbolism of
mythology. </span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">There
are three spiritual truths in particular that we can draw from this
story: Firstly, spiritual practice involves struggle with forces of
resistance which may be experienced as internal or external.
Secondly, we need to find a source of stability and confidence,
something to trust in, if we are to be able to access the spiritual
riches which are there for all. Thirdly, we live in a universe where
spiritual progress is possible and if we make the effort we will get
a response.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Throughout
the Buddhist scriptures you will find the Buddha exhorting his
disciples to be aware, to develop mindfulness (sati) and one of the
things we have to become aware of is our own mental states. We can
think of this as becoming aware of our skilful and unskilful thoughts
and emotions or we can think of it as becoming aware of Mara and what
we might characterise as the Siddhartha within. In the
Dvedhavittakka Sutta the Buddha puts it like this: </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">"Bhikkhus,
before my Enlightenment, while I was still only an unenlightened
Bodhisatta, it occurred to me: 'Suppose that I divide my thoughts
into two classes. then I set on one side thoughts of sensual desire,
thoughts of ill-will and thoughts of cruelty, and I set on the other
side thoughts of renunciation, thoughts of non-illwill and thoughts
of non-cruelty.</span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><br />He
goes on to say that that is how he practised and then he
says:<br /></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Bhikkhus,
whatever a bhikkhu frequently thinks and ponders upon, that will
become the inclination of his mind. I saw in unwholesome states
danger, degradation and defilement and in wholesome states the
blessing of renunciation and the aspect of cleansing." (Majjhima
Nikaya, Sutta 19)</span></i></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">This
is the Buddha exhorting his disciples to practise in the way that he
had practised by becoming aware of their mental states, both positive
and negative.<br />Throughout the Pali Canon Mara comes to the Buddha
to try to tempt him in one way or another and each time the
Buddha recognises him and when he is recognised he disappears. Mara
cannot bear awareness. The point of this for us is that mindfulness
of thoughts and emotions is an important and crucial practice, which
will enable us to purify our minds. Put more poetically, it will free
us from the clutches of Mara. If we think of our unskilful thoughts
and emotions as Mara it may help us to be less attached to them.
Mindfulness, awareness, is the aura that turns weapons into flowers
or put more simply; awareness undermines self-destructive mental
habits.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Then
Siddhartha touches the earth. This symbolises getting in touch with
sources of stability, within ourselves and externally. We need to
have confidence in what we are doing with our life, confidence in the
practices of Metta Bhavana (meditation on Loving Kindness) and the
mindfulness of breathing, confidence in our ability to make progress,
confidence in our teachers and guides. This confidence is the stable
basis from which can flow the energy and persistence that the
spiritual path demands.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">To
achieve anything a motivating energy is needed. If we want to get
rich we have to have confidence that it is worthwhile. If we are
convinced that it is worthwhile we will have the energy and be able
to put in the effort that is required in order to get rich. If we
want to be successful in any way we need to have a confidence in the
value and worth of what we want to achieve and with that confidence
comes the motivating energy; the dynamo which powers our efforts and
gives us the ability to persist and be constant and consistent in our
efforts. Confidence arises out of our intuitive and imaginative
relationship to the goal and it also arises out of our reflections on
life and it's purpose. We should be frequently thinking about the
purpose of life. It is complacent to assume we already know what life
is all about and more importantly it’s not making full use of our
human consciousness. </span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Confidence
also arises out of reflecting on our positive qualities and
abilities. Reflecting on what we have already achieved and on the
opportunities open to us. A thoroughly positive and realistic
appraisal and acknowledgement of our positive qualities and abilities
is a really essential ingredient in a successful life and especiall a
spiritual life. </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">By
focussing on what is positive in our lives,even the things we may
take for granted, such as our health, our ability to see, hear and
walk, the trees, grass and flowers, water and air, by being aware of
and focussing on these things we can develop confidence by
counteracting our tendency to focus on our problems, faults and
weaknesses or worse still, the faults and weaknesses of others. <br />And
by giving attention to what is positive in us, in others and in the
world around us we develop a sense of richness and abundance which
reinforces our positivity and gradually turns us into the sort of
person who can easily give to others and to the world out of an
abundance and richness. It will also give us the energy to keep going
as we will not be in emotional conflict with ourselves. A lot of
energy is used up in internal conflict and when through awareness and
kindness we become more whole that energy is released. </span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">We
also gain confidence from other people; from seeing them and knowing
how they have made progress, from listening to their feedback and
just from being in contact with people who are more spiritually
experienced and developed than we are; more mindful, more generous,
kinder, wiser and so on. And of course we gain confidence in the
Buddha's teachings by studying them, engaging imaginatively with the
Buddha and his teaching and by hearing what our own teachers have to
say.<br /></span></span></span></span><br />
</p><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">In
response to Siddhartha touching the earth the Earth Goddess appears.
Vasundhara, the Bearer of Treasure, appears and she bears witness
that Siddhartha has practised generosity, ethics and meditation for
many lifetimes and is therefore well qualified to sit on the
vajrasana the seat of Enlightenment. She rejoices in his merits. The
earth Goddess is universally a symbol of abundance, fertility,
richness. Reading this more psychologically you could say that
Sidddhartha's confidence, his faith or sraddha, gives him access to a
depth of riches within, which envelop his mind and flow out into the
world.</span></span></span></span>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">The
next part of the story after this is about Brahmasahampati ,one of
the gods, (the gods often symbolise higher states of consciousness)
persuading the Buddha to share his Insights with the world. In other
words the Buddha's Insight into the nature of reality flows out in
compassion. It is not so much that the Buddha was persuaded by some
external person, but more that inherent in the experience of
Awakening is this upsurge of compassion for the world with all it's
suffering and an overwhelming urge to reach out and communicate
something of the potentiality of human consciousness. It is said that
the Buddha had a vision of humanity as being like a lotus lake, with
lotuses at various stages of growth, some completely submerged, some
just peeping though the surface and some already raised above the
water. He saw that some people were sufficiently awake or aware to be
able to understand his message.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">After
the vision of Brahmasahampati there comes the episode with Mucalinda.
Mucalinda is a mythical creature known as a Naga. He is a prince of
the Nagas. Nagas live in the depths of the ocean and are associated
with Wisdom. In the story the naga prince appears first as a great
cobra and wraps himself around the Buddha and spreads his hood over
the Buddha to shelter him from the monsoon rains and storms. And then
he appears as a beautiful young prince. Here we have the symbolism of
the depths and wisdom. The Buddha is protected by his Wisdom and the
youthful prince can be seen as the energy that comes when all the
conflict is over and the inner experience is calm and clear. The
coiled serpent is also a symbol of energy. This is symbolising this
great explosion of energy that rises up when all the craving, hatred,
illwill, doubts and delusions are seen through and one awakens to the
reality of inter-connection between all living beings and the true
nature of our own self as an ever-flowing process rather than a fixed
or separate identity.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Enlightenment
can be talked about in many ways. One very common way is to talk in
terms of the perfection or consummation of Wisdom, Compassion and
Energy and in these symbolic episodes we have encountered Compassion,
Wisdom and energy in a more mythic and poetic way. But of course we
are swimming in very unfamiliar waters when we dive into the topic of
Enlightenment or Nirvana. We need to come to the surface and indeed
come back to earth and ask ourselves, what is the relevance of all of
this to me and to my life now.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">There
is plenty of hatred, conflict and polarisation in the world and if
we are to help to alleviate some of that we need to become aware of
and deal with our own inner conflicts, which often manifest in our
lives as conflict with others. There is a great deal of unhappiness,
dissatisfaction and mental ill-health in the world and if we are to
help we need to become aware of and learn how to deal with our own
unhappiness and dissatisfaction. There is plenty of greed, craving,
addiction and consumption in the world, which is leading us into more
suffering. If we are to help we need to become aware of and deal with
our own craving, greed and addictions. This is something of the
relevance of the Buddha and his Awakening to our lives. But really we
each need to individually ask ourselves the questions about what our
life is for and what we want to do with our period alive and also to
look with objective and kindly eyes at what we are actually doing
with our lives. Self deception helps no-one.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">The
story of Siddhartha becoming a Buddha and the story of his teachings
being practised and passed on down the generations to us, is a story
that can be an inspiration and a source of confidence to us, if we
allow ourselves to be influenced by it.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKyvIF8mw5gc_UqNeuPG0UdDoHQM52JAcEV8KM1rcxa2RvwhV0Ar6NziY0b0hu5vlC7Gs5BGiBOR01EvLXq-4MwNUypH90uAHvvwCjLCT178IYp58pMZbEtfWUyCBRBs63-Y1HY366okI/s1741/scn+pics+for+touching+the+earth-page-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1741" data-original-width="1227" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKyvIF8mw5gc_UqNeuPG0UdDoHQM52JAcEV8KM1rcxa2RvwhV0Ar6NziY0b0hu5vlC7Gs5BGiBOR01EvLXq-4MwNUypH90uAHvvwCjLCT178IYp58pMZbEtfWUyCBRBs63-Y1HY366okI/s320/scn+pics+for+touching+the+earth-page-001.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAA2IzBTw3NKsOq-2L1UsTRAuP4Nf2S5umx3qFvBCGAoMoQZ6-PNkm1EmGWEf6QjqkSDViH8h_6Nvr28xB2gCroRjxrp1yyUBeOgyyk1RdajBAt8thUbiPuq_U3ZwxS3Eme0dc5Nzews/s1741/scn+pics+for+touching+the+earth-page-002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1741" data-original-width="1227" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAA2IzBTw3NKsOq-2L1UsTRAuP4Nf2S5umx3qFvBCGAoMoQZ6-PNkm1EmGWEf6QjqkSDViH8h_6Nvr28xB2gCroRjxrp1yyUBeOgyyk1RdajBAt8thUbiPuq_U3ZwxS3Eme0dc5Nzews/s320/scn+pics+for+touching+the+earth-page-002.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_z3tcx9vRzwM7QNbE3bRRvr006IMxW7PMme_UsyZrG-LsBhu_TX23zE3peYjbpXGcde58xSXqhuDFIP-XT9qRhPk1fdOqeqamt2gJNks6c3jQqx40DRUT0WbVuiCDaC89Z88bGPRk3U/s1741/scn+pics+for+touching+the+earth-page-003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1741" data-original-width="1227" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_z3tcx9vRzwM7QNbE3bRRvr006IMxW7PMme_UsyZrG-LsBhu_TX23zE3peYjbpXGcde58xSXqhuDFIP-XT9qRhPk1fdOqeqamt2gJNks6c3jQqx40DRUT0WbVuiCDaC89Z88bGPRk3U/s320/scn+pics+for+touching+the+earth-page-003.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgzvnfpXbDF6BP0EvVLcWnt6eTOa9n2rLOc6VIWBZR_AiYXvb8tLFtVC7_3Y2teD89z8ksE_FPZi4G3MXRIQHOsK9h0xm_KXBix8SiaU1thSZVK_QOkS14vAT2X2UR0dMI4JdGYL1YJdk/s1741/scn+pics+for+touching+the+earth-page-004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1741" data-original-width="1227" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgzvnfpXbDF6BP0EvVLcWnt6eTOa9n2rLOc6VIWBZR_AiYXvb8tLFtVC7_3Y2teD89z8ksE_FPZi4G3MXRIQHOsK9h0xm_KXBix8SiaU1thSZVK_QOkS14vAT2X2UR0dMI4JdGYL1YJdk/s320/scn+pics+for+touching+the+earth-page-004.jpg" /></a></div><br /> </span></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> </span></span></span></span>
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Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-22896994654783756992018-11-27T07:42:00.001-08:002020-08-30T01:57:44.558-07:00Passing on the Flame
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>This
talk was given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre,Sangha Day,November 2018</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
main point I want to get across is that Buddhism is active and
outgoing and friendly. Fledgling birds learn to fly and then they
fly. They don’t stand on the tree branch asking all the other birds
to look at their wonderful wings or pontificating about the best ways
to fly, the best techniques and so on. No when they learn to fly,
they fly. That’s the whole point of having wings.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Secret
Wings</span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></span></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.18cm; margin-top: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>We cry that we are
weak although</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></span></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.18cm; margin-top: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>We will not stir our secret wings;<br />The world is
dark - because we are<br />Blind to the starriness of things.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.18cm; margin-top: 0.18cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Oh cry no more that
you are weak<br />But stir and spread your secret wings,<br />And say
`The world is bright, because<br />We glimpse the starriness of
things.'</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.18cm; margin-top: 0.18cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Soar with your rainbow
plumes and reach<br />That near-far land where all are one,<br />Where
Beauty's face is aye unveiled<br />And every star shall be a sun.
</i><span style="font-style: normal;">(Sangharakshita, Complete Works,
Vol.25,p.185)</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Just
as the whole point of having wings is to fly, the whole point of
having some insight into the reality of having no fixed and isolated
self is to transcend that fixed ego identity in our relationship to
the world and in our relationships with the people we encounter.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One
of the reasons I have been asked to give this talk is because I will
be stepping down from the role of Chair of the Centre next summer. I
am aware that many people are sad about this and have a great deal of
fondness and respect for me. I am also aware that I am not so
special. I don’t have any great gifts or talents. What I have is a
passion for the Dharma as an active force in the world. Ever since I
came across the Triratna Community I have been actively engaged,
participating, helping out. Before I was a Mitra I volunteered to do
things around the Centre, I attended classes, I participated. When I
became a Mitra I volunteered around the Centre, I attended classes
and retreats, I supported classes and retreats, I cooked, I cleaned,I
painted. I participated as fully as possible. When I became an Order
Member I attended classes and retreats and festival days, I helped
out, I participated, I engaged. I made friends. For thirty five years
I have been fully engaged, I have participated, I have been active.
If there is any flame for me to pass on that is it. That is the
message. Participate, engage, be active, help out, make friends, be a
friend, do things. Be involved in the life of the Centre; in classes
and courses and retreats and festivals and put yourself forward to
help out whenever and wherever you can. Be a friend to the Sangha and
to people you meet.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buddhism
is active, not passive; it’s participative, not passive;it is for
participants, not spectators, it’s engaged, not passive. Loving
kindness is active. It is actively lived out in relationship to
others and to all life. Awareness is active. It is actively lived out
in our relationships with others and the world. Insight is active. It
is actively lived out in our relationships with others and with the
world. The flame of the Dharma is the spirit of the Dharma and the
spirit of the Dharma is loving kindness, compassionate activity,
sympathetic joy, and equanimity. In passing on the flame we are
passing on the active living spirit of loving kindness, compassionate
activity, sympathetic joy and equanimity.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
phrase about passing on the flame comes from a quote from Gustav
Mahler, who said “t<i>radition is the handing on of the flame, and
not the worship of ashes.”</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To
worship ashes would be to worship something lifeless; a mere form of
words that no longer inspires and inspirits and enflames hearts and
minds and moves those hearts and minds to action and engagement.
Ashes are to remind us of past glories. Flames fill us with the
passion to act now. The flame of the Dharma inspires and inspirits
and enflames hearts and minds and moves those hearts and minds to
action and engagement.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
flames that we pass on are the flames of transformation. That is what
the flame on my kesa represents. In the spirit of the Dharma we
transform ourselves and we encourage others in their transformation
of themselves and we do that in order to bring about the
transformation of the world, of humanity. We have the aim of the
total transformation of consciousness in ourselves and all of
humanity but we don’t have the expectation. We pursue perfection
without any expectation of perfection.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">How
do we transform ourselves and how do we encourage transformation in
others? How do we fan the flames of the Dharma in our own hearts and
how do we pass on that flame to others? The answer in short is
loving kindness, friendliness, spiritual friendship, metta. Our Order
grows out of friendship and it’s purpose is to disseminate loving
kindness and friendship far and wide. Friendship demands commitment.
Our friendships grow slowly, like oak trees; they start from the
acorn of friendliness and gradually grow and and spread their
branches, bringing comfort and refuge to more and more creatures. Our
friendships form part of a big network connecting us to many people
around the world, just as oak trees are connected and communicate
underground through a network of tiny mycorrhizal filaments. Examples
could be given of friendships spanning the world – the Cambridge
Sangha is connected to the Turkish Sangha through Nayadipa, to the
Estonian and Finnish Sanghas through Vidyasakhi, and there are many
other friendships that connect us here in Cambridge to Sanghas across
the world in India, Australia, NZ, Mexico, US, Canada and so on.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
spirit of a Triratna Centre is the spirit of friendliness, growing
into friendship. That means that we listen to each other, take an
interest in each other and do our best to have open and honest
communication. We pass on the flame of friendliness by being
friendly; by listening, taking an interest, by communicating in an
open and honest way. In Triratna we try to create lots of different
contexts to enable friendship to develop, to enable communication to
go deeper. We have courses and classes and the teams that run them.
We have study groups and Going for Refuge groups and Order chapters.
We have festival days, seven a year at this Centre, and above all we
have retreats. And we have residential communities and work
situations. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
order to ignite and eventually pass on the flame of friendship we
need to participate in as many of these contexts as possible. By
being on a team for a class or course or being in a study group or
Going for refuge group or by going on retreat we are engaging in
conditions that allow and encourage good communication, conditions
that enable friendships to grow. We are nurturing the oak tree of
friendliness and enabling it to spread it’s branches. Or to switch
metaphor ; we are passing on the flame in a very tangible way. So
many times I have heard people say that when they first encountered
Triratna, went to a Triratna Centre or on a retreat, that what
impressed them most was the atmosphere of friendliness and friendship
or simply somebody listening to them. This friendliness, this Metta,
this loving kindness is the spirit of Triratna and we pass it on by
being deeply immersed in it. It is what we need for ourselves and it
is what the world needs. As Albert Schweitzer put it: <i>“At times
our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another
person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those
who have lighted the flame within us.”</i> Albert Schweitzer.
(https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/flame)</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">From
friendliness grows friendship, from friendship grows happiness, from
happiness grows an outward looking attitude and from that happy,
outward looking attitude grows compassion and sympathetic joy. In
other words, by engaging with and immersing ourselves in this spirit
of friendliness we put ourselves on the path to transcending egotism,
the path to awakening from the dull slumber of self-centredness. And
we become able to help others to awake from their self-inflicted
suffering of self-obsession. But in order to help others to see how
they are causing their own suffering you have to have some insight
into how you are causing your own suffering.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
suffering I am talking about here is existential suffering, it is the
Dukkha of the Four Noble Truths. Dukkha is unsatisfactoriness and
this unsatisfactoriness arises out of wanting what you can’t have
and not wanting what you can’t avoid. What you can’t have is
permanence; what you can’t have is full satisfaction from mundane
things or full satisfaction from your relationships with others. What
you can’t avoid is sickness and death; you can’t avoid
impermanence; you can’t avoid dissatisfaction; you can’t avoid
your own limitations and the limitations of other people. We can’t
avoid reality. We can’t avoid the reality that everything happens
because of conditions and without the right combination of conditions
things don’t happen. However much we wish things were otherwise.
Wishing things were other than they are is another kind of suffering.
Dukkha or unsatisfactoriness comes about because we are blind to
reality and desperately try to create our own little island of
reality isolated from the greater reality. How then do we see through
our tendency to cause our own suffering?</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Through
awareness. We need to become aware of the ways in which we resist
reality, the ways in which we try to manipulate reality and bargain
with reality. We need to notice the subjective and even egotistical
nature of much of our experience. There was a time some years ago,
whenever I experienced any negative mental state, irritation, anger,
impatience, loneliness,anxiety, I made a practice of asking myself
‘where is the egotism in this?’. I found that helpful, even
liberating.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
need to notice that when we say that somebody or something makes us
angry, that we are at that moment disclaiming responsibility for our
own state of mind and therefore denying reality. We need to notice
the stories we tell ourselves about what is happening. The way we
manufacture our own ‘fake news’, our very own ‘alternative
facts’. We need to notice that when we feel guilty about something
we didn’t do we are distorting reality, making up stories. We need
to notice that when we resist the compliments and rejoicings of
others, we are resisting reality; trying to stick with old stories.
We need to notice: we need to be aware: we need to reflect on the
life we are living, the life of our mind; the real life. We need to
notice our expectations and understand how expectation is the main
pre-condition for disappointment. We need to notice how happiness
arises in us and put ourselves in the right conditions for happiness
to arise. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
noticing, this awareness, this reflection process, this is how wisdom
dawns on us. This is how we become aware of how we cause our own
dissatisfaction and this is how we get on the Path to happiness and
contentment. This is also how we become genuinely compassionate and
helpful to others, as we see more clearly how they are causing their
own suffering and we are able to refuse to collaborate in their ‘fake
news’ and ‘alternative facts’ and all those stories people
constantly create where they are the hero or villain of their own
little world. Through this process of reflection, noticing and
awareness we will come to understand more deeply the wisdom of
Shantideva in the Bodhicaryavatara when he says <i>“ Why be unhappy
about something if it can be remedied? And what is the use of being
unhappy about something if it cannot be remedied ?”</i> (Chapter 6,
verse 10.)</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wisdom
begins with some insight into how we cause our own suffering and how,
by implication, we can cause our own happiness. This insight takes us
out of the boundaries of a narrow fixed self-identity; it breaches
the walls of the fortress of self that we build up. Our mundane,
common-sense, wisdom advises us to take care of self-interest first,
to defend and protect our status, our possessions, our rights. That
is the wisdom of the world. Buddhist wisdom tells us that what is in
our best interests is the development of loving kindness. The
Karaniya Metta Sutta begins with the line, <i>“This is what should
be done by one who knows his own good “</i> and goes on to talk
about ethics and loving kindness.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sympathetic
joy comes more easily to us if we have embodied some of the wisdom of
seeing how we cause our own suffering; the wisdom of taking
responsibility for our own states of mind and the wisdom of putting
ourselves in conditions that give rise to happiness. If we are self-
centred and concerned with our own status and security we may find it
difficult to be glad when others experience good fortune. We might
instead be jealous or envious or we might compare ourselves
unfavourably with them and give ourselves a hard time or we might
have a sense of injustice. We might think, why do they have all the
luck? What about me?</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
this regard I remember that before I was ordained I saw some others
being ordained, people I knew, and I didn’t feel sympathetic joy, I
didn’t feel at all celebratory or happy about it. This was very
uncomfortable. I could reason with myself that if I wanted to join
the Order, then I must think it was a good thing to be part of the
Order and therefore I should be delighted that others were joining
the Order. I could reason like that, I could see the sense of that,
but that wasn’t what I was feeling then. What I was feeling was
quite different; I felt resentful and a sense of unfairness and I
made comparisons. But I didn’t deny what I was feeling, I didn’t
pretend to myself that I was happy about the situation. So I was in
an uncomfortable position. I knew what I ought to be feeling and I
knew what I was feeling and it was painful to experience such a
conflict.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What
I did was I investigated it thoroughly, I probed into the basis for
my emotions and I felt humiliated to realise that I had some very
wrong views about what ordination meant. My ideas were all correct on
the surface but my emotional responses were the key to what my real
views were and my real views were wrong. I saw that at an emotional
level I was relating to ordination as being about having some sort of
status conferred on me and not being ordained as being denied
something, love or approval. This led me to sort out my views and
arrive at a much more real and liberating view of what ordination
really meant; that it meant making a decision to dedicate my life to
practising the Dharma. Seeing that more clearly I was able to make
that decision more cleanly and dedicate my life to Dharma practice
without any need to make comparisons with others or even any need to
be ordained. And paradoxically, that of course meant that I was now
more ready to be ordained. The point I am making is that even if we
can’t experience real sympathetic joy sometimes, we can still use
our experience as the raw material for reflection and gain a little
wisdom.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
have said that the flame the we are passing on is loving kindness,
compassionate activity , sympathetic joy and equanimity. What is
equanimity? It is not indifference. It is not cold-heartedness. Just
like metta, compassionate activity and sympathetic joy, equanimity
involves a lessening of egotism, a diminishing of self-centredness.
Equanimity means not being attached to particular outcomes for
reasons of personal self-interest. Equanimity means a loosening of
all attachments. Attachment here means possessiveness; possessiveness
about possessions, possessiveness about people and possessiveness in
relation to what happens, how things turn out. Attachment leads to
distress when possessions are damaged or cease to be possessions in
some way. Attachment leads to distress when people don’t comply
with expectations or when they depart. Attachment to outcomes leads
to distress when we don’t get our own way. Of course, attachment
can also lead to elation or delight when we do get our own way, when
people conform to our expectations and stand by us, when possessions
remain in our possession and continue to satisfy us. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
distress and this delight are not equanimous because equanimity is
not dependent on externals. Equanimity is a kind of inner peace or
contentment that allows us to easily let go of any expectations in
relation to our surroundings, things, people and outcomes. When we
are not concerned with ‘me’ and ‘mine’ all the time and when
we can be contented with simple things, then we can experience
equanimity. When we can allow other people to live their own lives
and make their own decisions, even their own mistakes, then we can
experience equanimity. When we can keep our good humour, even when
people don’t listen to us or show us respect, then we can
experience equanimity. When we can be happy whether others approve or
disapprove of us, then we are equanimous. In short when we are not
blown off course by the worldly winds of gain and loss, fame and
infamy, praise and blame, pleasure and pain, then we will truly
experience equanimity. Like compassion and sympathetic joy,
equanimity comes from wisdom. It is born out of practising awareness
and reflection when we are experiencing distress or elation. As
Rudyard Kipling might have said: “If you can keep your head, when
all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you”, then you’ll
be equanimous, my friend.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
have been talking about the spirit of the Dharma and the spirit of
Triratna in terms of what we call the four Brahma Viharas or four
Immeasurables. Of these four the most important is metta, loving
kindness. All the others grow from loving kindness. There is one more
positive emotion I want to mention and that is Shraddha. Shraddha,
which is often translated as faith, is loving kindness directed
towards what is highest for us. In the case of a Buddhist, shraddha
is directed towards the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The reason I want
to mention Shraddha is because it is the motivating force; it is what
motivates and energises us to look into ourselves, into our behaviour
and thoughts deeply and thoroughly. It is what energises and
motivates us to transform ourselves and it is what motivates and
energises us to engage and participate and co-operate within the
spiritual community. It is what energises and motivates us to be
open-hearted and open-handed in our empathy and generosity towards
others.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
speak of faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, but what does it
really mean? What really motivates us? When we are convinced that it
is possible to grow and develop, to transform ourselves for the
better and when we are convinced that the methods of Buddhism will
enable us to grow and develop and when we have a conviction that
change is not just possible but highly desirable, is the most
desirable thing, then we will be motivated. This not just an
intellectual conviction, it is in our hearts; it is being emotionally
convinced as well as intellectually and rationally convinced. When we
have a yearning or longing to emulate the Buddha and the great
Buddhists who have gone before us, then we will be motivated. Strong
conviction and yearning towards something higher is what we need. If
we just have a vague feeling that Buddhism is nice and Buddhists are
nice and the Buddha was a nice man, it probably won’t motivate us
hugely.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">However
shraddha or faith is innate, it is part of human consciousness and it
can be further developed. We can develop shraddha through reflection,
study, meditation and spiritual friendship. And if we practise like
that, then from our own experience we will have the evidence on which
our conviction can be based and out of which a longing for even
greater wisdom and compassion can emerge.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
reason I wanted to mention shraddha is because it is the primary
motivating force that gives us the desire and impetus to want to
pass on the flame and it is at the same time the flame that we are
passing on. I have said that the flame is Metta and we are passing on
loving kindness. But even more basic or primary than metta is our
faith, our conviction, our confidence in the Buddha, Dharma and
Sangha as the medicine for the worlds sickness. This is the flame
that has to burn within us and the flame that has to burn within our
community if we are to avoid the worshipping of ashes. Good
intentions, good works and being nice people are the ashes that are
left when a Sangha ceases to burn and flame with a strong conviction
of the supreme wisdom of the Buddha and his teachings.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
mentioned earlier that one of the reasons I have been asked to give
this talk is because I am handing on the Chairmanship of the Centre
next Summer. But what I have really been trying to hand on for the
last thirty years at least, is my deep and abiding faith in the
Dharma. This is what has sustained me through difficulties, it is
what has motivated me to shoulder responsibility, it is what has
allowed me to be unconcerned about personal material security. It is
why I have immersed myself in the work of the Order; that work being
the passing on of the spirit of the Dharma as taught and revealed to
us by Bhante Sangharakshita.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My
faith in the Dharma began long before I knew anything about the
Dharma. It began as a conviction that there must be deeper meaning
and a bigger purpose to life than material security and procreation.
When that faith encountered Buddhism it found a channel to flow
through. It found expression. And when I encountered the teaching of
Bhante Sangharakshita my faith was augmented by clarity and by the
inspiring beauty of the vast vision of the Buddha and the concrete
way it was expressed by Bhante.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Since
the age of twenty eight I have dived into a total immersion in the
Triratna Community and Order and in Dharma practice of all kinds.
That total immersion has brought me many blessings. And the greatest
blessing it has brought is that I have been able to pass on something
of value to others and to many others. This feels like fulfilling
life’s purpose. The message I want to pass on now is that Buddhism
is active and that if you are to fully benefit from the wealth and
richness of the Dharma you have to immerse yourself in it. If you
want to benefit from the wealth and richness of the conditions in the
Triratna Community you have to immerse yourself in it. And you
immerse yourself in it by engaging and participating in the work of
the Sangha; classes, courses, retreats, festivals, friendships, study
groups and so on.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
order to pass on the flame you have to be consumed by the flame and
become the flame. Flame passes on flame by lighting many flames. The
flame is innate but it is ignited, it is given life, by the breath
from the words of our teachers. My teacher was and is Bhante
Sangharakshita. When Bhante died I wrote this: <i>“Bhante
Sangharakshita is dead; long live Bhante Sangharakshita. Long may he
live in our hearts as we feel and express our appreciation and
gratitude for the beauty of a life that has touched all of our lives
and transformed us. Long may he live in our spiritual communion with
each other, our love for each other and our harmonious co-operation
in continuing his great work of building the Buddhaland. Long may he
live in our study and practice of his teachings such as: mind
reactive and creative, the spiral path, the true individual, the
higher evolution, the spiritual significance of confession, the
centrality of going for refuge, spiritual friendship, building the
Buddhaland and the importance of the imagination and the arts . Long
may he live in our cherishing of his legacy of talks, seminars, Q&A
sessions, books, poetry, memoirs: his Complete Works. Long may he
live in our kalyana mitrata; our handing on of the spirit and
substance of what is distinctive about Triratna. Long may he live in
the lineage of preceptors and all the men and women yet to enter our
Order; all the women and men yet to be born even who will respond to
his unique and clear elucidation of the Buddha’s teachings. I have
faith that all of this will happen and that many centuries from now
the name of Bhante Sangharakshita will be honoured and he will still
be inspiring new generations of Dharma practitioners.” </i><span style="font-style: normal;">(Shabda,
Triratna Order Journal,Dec 2018) </span>Bhante has passed on the
flame to us, let us tend it and pass it on to many others.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-4353199835054630712018-08-04T08:33:00.003-07:002020-08-29T01:41:28.698-07:00More and More of Less and Less<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>This
talk was given at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre, Dharma Day, July 2018 </i></span></span>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
the introduction to the Ten Pillars of Buddhism Bhante Sangharakshita
mentions the principle of ‘more and more of less and less’ in
relation to reading about and studying the Dharma. He talks about it
in terms of going more deeply into the seemingly basic teachings of
Buddhism. He mentions it as a principle of the Triratna Community and
suggests that it’s a principle we should take to heart. A principle
is defined as <i>“a fundamental truth or a settled rule of action,
an attitude which exercises a directing influence in life and
behaviour.” </i>The attitude and action that is being recommended
is to return again and again to the same teachings and mine them for
deeper meanings. This leads to depth of reflection and depth of
understanding. In a way what is being suggested is that when we think
we have fully grasped a point of Dharma, then that is when we need to
look deeper. We can even ask ourselves ‘what have I not
understood?’</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There
are two aspects to this principle; this action and attitude which
directs our life and behaviour. The two aspects are the ‘more and
more’ aspect and the ‘less and less’ aspect. Let’s look into
the less and less aspect first. What does it mean? I think there are
two aspects to this as well. It is less and less in terms of the
quantity of books we read and talks we listen to and videos we watch
and it is less and less in terms of the number of topics we focus on.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To
go deeper into any topic we have to, for a time at least, focus on it
fairly exclusively and leave other topics to one side. If we are
focussed in this way then that will influence our reading and the
talks we listen to and so on. For instance if you wanted to go into
the topic of Buddhist ethics quite thoroughly, you might read the Ten
Pillars of Buddhism, Living Ethically, Bhante’s article Aspects of
Buddhist Morality and Abhaya’s booklet, Living The Skilful Life,
which is about the Five Precepts.Then you might look at the Pali
Canon suttas that deal with ethics. Then you might look at what some
other Buddhist writers have to say about ethics and perhaps even see
what Western philosophers have said; Schopenhauer for instance and
maybe look at William Blake’s take on morality. This is just an
example, but you get the idea. By focusing on one topic, that gives
direction to your explorations and gradually your understanding will
deepen and your knowledge will broaden and of course as you go into
any one aspect of Buddhism thoroughly you will discover the
connections to other aspects of the Buddha’s teaching and will be
led on to further investigations. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
other aspect of this idea of ‘less and less’ is to do with the
amount of stuff that is available to us. Just fifty years ago there
were very few books on Buddhism and few translations of Buddhist
scriptures. Now we are awash with books and with the advent of the
internet we can find all sorts of talks and teachings and teachers at
a click of the mouse. There are literally hundreds of new Dharma
books being published every year. Windhorse Publications, which is a
very small publisher probably averages about four or five books a
year and then there are publishers like Wisdom, Shambhala, Dharma
Publishing and Buddhist writers like the Dalai Lama, Pema Chodren,
Joseph Goldstein. would guess there are at least a hundred new
Buddhist books coming out every year and probably more. Then we can
add to that all the new translations and all the stuff on the
internet; thousands of articles, audio talks and video talks. Even
Free Buddhist Audio is hard to keep up with. There is just so much
available and a lot of it is of very high quality. There is all the
Triratna output. The London Buddhist Centre alone produces a mountain
of video teachings every year, then there is Tibetan Buddhism, Zen,
Theravadin and each of those have their sub-divisions. You could be
happily lost in a world of Buddhist teachings for a long time. But
lost is probably the right word, because we need guidance to navigate
all that mass of material. We need to have some idea of what it is
best to engage with, otherwise we could be in danger of having a
completely random Buddhist training.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As
Triratna Buddhists we have that guidance. Other Sanghas have their
own teachers. But of course having guidance available and following
the guidance are two different things. We can easily ignore guidance.
Indeed it is a tendency in our society to feel that we don’t need
guidance and that we can find out what we need to know without much
assistance. In effect that means that some people decide to be their
own Dharma teacher. There is an inherent contradiction in that, but
nevertheless it is much more common than we may realise. Even people
who attend Buddhism courses to learn about Buddhism can come with the
view that they already know. This may seem perverse, but it happens
and there are subtle versions of it that we are probably all guilty
of. It is very easy for a little knowledge to go to our heads and
with the support of our basic egotism we can assume that we know and
understand a lot more than we do. This then gets in the way of being
receptive to guidance and therefore gets in the way of deepening our
understanding.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Triratna
Community and Order was born from and built on the teachings of
Bhante Sangharakshita and it is obvious that our best guidance as to
how to engage with the mass of Buddhist teachings now sloshing around
the internet and beyond is to ground ourselves thoroughly in Bhante’s
teaching. It is unfortunate that many people don’t do this. But
really we need to become Sangharakshita experts by reading and
re-reading his work, listening to his talks and delving into the
seminars, which most of us only see in edited form. By undertaking
deeper and more thorough exploration we not only ingest the content
of the teaching but also the spirit and the method, which are also
very much part of the unique offering of Bhante and Triratna. The
talks given by Order members and their books and articles are mainly
commentaries on Bhante’s teaching and therefore very helpful in
allowing us to see the same topics from different angles and giving
us a glimpse of how different people reflect on the Dharma.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
have been talking about the ‘less and less’ side of the issue of
;more and more of less and less’. And I am recommending less of a
spread of teachers and a focus on particular teachings to enable
deeper exploration. What about the more and more side of the phrase?
What does that refer too? In a word it is all about repetition. In
order to learn we need to repeat, in order to remember we need to
repeat.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If
the ‘less and less’ side of this phrase is concerned with <b>less
quantity</b> of books, talks and videos and less quantity of topics
at any one time, the ‘more and more’ aspect of the principle of
‘more and more of less and less’ is concerned with <b>more
quality</b> of attention to what we are engaging with, more quality
reflection, more quality time spent with particular teachings and
topics. Less quantity and more quality could sum up this principle of
‘more and more of less and less’. How do we give quality time and
attention to a teaching how do we improve the quality of our
reflections?</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
first thing is to notice what you are interested in. You will only be
able to give sufficient time and attention to something you are
interested in. No interest no attention. It might even be informative
to think about what you don’t give attention to and ask yourself –
is it because I am not interested? Sometimes, of course, we don’t
know what we are interested in. If you have never heard or read
anything about some topic then you are in no position to know whether
it interests you or not. Sometimes we don’t look at something
because we feel a bit daunted by it. If you find yourself shying away
from going into some aspect of the Dharma it may be because you’re
not interested or it might be because you feel it is too difficult
for you. You can stimulate your interest by hearing what others have
to say about something. Another person’s enthusiasm can spark off
our interest and engagement. For instance I, heard a talk recently in
which someone quoted a verse from a Mahayana text called the
Ratnagunasamcayagatha and the way they unfolded what the verse meant
to them made me really interested to find out more. If you find a
text or idea too difficult you can get a different perspective on it
by listening to how other people think about it.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
next step after interest is reflection. There are many ways to
reflect. Ratnaguna has written a book on the topic which many of you
will have read.(The Art of Reflection) Padmavajra has given a very
fine talk on reflection too. I will refer to some of their ideas
later. First I just want to share a method I have found useful
myself. I happen to like writing and I use writing to reflect. When I
write things down I can come back to them and I can see how a train
of thought develops. One method is to take a topic, perhaps a short
verse and ask a series of questions to help you to go deeper into
it.One set of questions you might find useful are as follows:</span></span></p>
<ol><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What
is being said – put it in your own words</span></span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What
do I think about it – do I agree or disagree</span></span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What
is my emotional response? Comfortable, uncomfortable, nothing and
why?</span></span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Does
it have any relevance to my life now?</span></span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Consider
the opposite- sometimes not easy at all – but gets you to think
about something in a fresh way which may open up new insights.</span></span></p>
</li></ol>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
important thing with asking questions of yourself as way of
reflecting is to not settle for superficial answers. Every answer can
give rise to another question. Just like a child, who asks question
after question, you can take yourself deeper into a topic by not
settling for a one word answer. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
his book The Art of Reflection, Ratnaguna talks about other ways of
reflecting on a topic. For instance he mentions talking to yourself
This is similar to the writing exercise I have outlined above but
without the writing. It is basically having a kind of inner question
and answer dialogue with each answer giving rise to a new question.
He also suggests the possibility of having an argument with yourself;
take both sides and argue it out. He gives an example of an ethical
dilemma: you have a friend in another country; does the value of
friendship mean that you take flights to visit them or do the
ecological concerns mean that you don’t visit them. As well as
inner dialogue, he mentions reflective writing, reflection while
walking and reflecting with another person. I will leave you to read
his book or even better re-read it. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another
point Ratnaguna makes is about the importance of giving time and
space to reflection. He talks about having periods of doing nothing.
This is the kind of reflection where you are not concerned with a
particular topic but allowing something to come to the surface from
the depths – like a fish coming to the surface of the water. In
this kind of reflecting what you are really doing is getting to know
yourself and by noticing where your mind goes you get to see what you
are really interested in. If you are nourishing your mind with
wholesome input then you may experience some of that emerging to be
digested more fully. If you are nourishing your mind on rubbish that
is quite likely to emerge. Either way you will be discovering or even
uncovering something about yourself and that is very helpful and can
be a good foundation for more directed reflections on a particular
topic.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
Padmavajras talk and booklet on Listening, Reflecting and Meditating
he talks about six different ways of reflecting . Some of them have
nice poetic titles. He explores how to reflect under the headings:</span></span></p>
<ol><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Circling
like a pigeon</span></span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dropping
pebbles in a pool</span></span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Significant
landscape</span></span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">How
to live, what to do</span></span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cutting
like a sword</span></span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
ever flowing river of contemplation.</span></span></p>
</li></ol>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
will just say a few words about each of these. If you are interested
you can follow it up by getting the booklet from Padmaloka.
(www.padmaloka.org.uk/shop/booklets)</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Circling
like a pigeon means bringing to mind all the associations you can
with a particular topic. When I’m preparing a talk I often start
with a mind map. I write the topic in the centre of a page and around
it I arrange all the thoughts that come to mind, all the associations
I have with that particular topic. That’s the starting point for
reflections.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
second way of reflecting – dropping pebbles in a pool – is about
reflecting when you are concentrated in meditation or after a puja.
You just drop into your mind a word or phrase and just repeat the
word or phrase slowly letting it sink deeper into your concentrated
mind. That will bring it’s own results.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
third way of reflecting, significant landscape, is to do with being
aware of the world around us and using it as a source for
reflections. A classic example of this is the way the autumn leaves
speak to us of change and impermanence.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
fourth kind of reflection is called ‘how to live, what to do’ and
this is basically about relating our reflections to our own
experience, our own life. This guards against the Dharma becoming an
abstraction or a hobby that you add on to the rest of your life. This
involves asking yourself questions, as I mentioned already.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
fifth way of reflecting, cutting like a sword, refers to a reflection
that analyses and searches into the heart of a subject, cutting away
anything that is not essential. For instance in reflecting on
impermanence you look into your own experience and keep looking to
see whether there is anything that is permanent. You investigate
thoroughly the experience of impermanence in your own life and mind.
You would do the same with the notion of ‘self’ or ‘I’ or
‘mine’.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
final recommendation of Padmavajra is to develop the ever flowing
river of contemplation. He encourages us to develop a reflection
practice, perhaps beginning with short periods of five minutes or
less and then taking a rest and so on. If you keep this up then
eventually reflecting becomes mare natural and develops a life of
it’s own. This then would be the flowing river of contemplation.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These
are some ways of reflecting and reflecting is a way of developing the
more and more side of the principle of more and more of less and
less. Quality of engagement over quantity of things engaged with. As
well as interest and reflection, in order to go deeper, we also need
encouragement. You can give yourself encouragement by being aware of
how much you have learned and how much you have understood. One way
of discovering what you know is trying to explain it to others. It’s
important to find and take opportunities that demand that you explain
things to others. It could be supporting a newcomers class, where you
might be asked why you are a Buddhist or what Enlightenment means to
you. Often we don’t know what we know until we have to explain it
and often we can be surprised by just how much we have learned and
how much we understand. It could be a study group or some situation
in which you have to give a little talk. All these kinds of situation
can draw something out of you and help you to reflect. They can also
be encouraging. Just talking with a friend and sharing your
understandings can be encouraging and fruitful. By being interested,
or discovering what interests you, by reflecting and by finding ways
to encourage yourself you will go deeper. You will deepen your
understanding of yourself and your understanding of the Dharma. This
is what is meant by more and more of less and less.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the Triratna Community
we have a very large body of teachings from Bhante Sangharakshita and
there are probably only a handful of people who have engaged with all
of those teachings. Perhaps it is too much for any of us to read
every book and every seminar and listen to every talk. Fortunately we
can get a very good, in depth, understanding of the whole scope of
Bhante’s teachings by reading one or two books again and again. For
example Subhuti’s book, Sangharakshita: A New Voice in the Buddhist
Tradition is an excellent overview. Or there is The Essential
Sangharakshita published by Wisdom. Or there is the series Living
with Kindness, Living with Awareness, Living Ethically and Living
Wisely – those four together are a very comprehensive entrance into
Bhante’s teachings too. And now over half of the Complete Works
have been published and the whole set of twenty seven volumes should
be ready by 2023. That will be a constant source inspiration for
those who wish to practise within the Triratna tradition. Don't
forget to subscribe and create your own library.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What ever way you
approach it or whatever books you read I think it is really crucially
important that anyone who wishes to practice within the Triratna
tradition is thoroughly and continually deepening their understanding
of Bhante’s teachings and his whole approach to the Dharma, as
systematically as possible. The Mitra Study course
(<a href="https://thebuddhistcentre.com/mitra/">https://thebuddhistcentre.com/mitra/</a>)
is very good in this respect but is not sufficient in itself. It
needs to be reinforced by further study and reflection and retreats.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have been in our Order
for over thirty years now and was involved with Triratna for four
years before that and in all those years I have read and studied much
of Bhante Sangharakshita's teachings but not all. And I have returned
again and again to some of his books and in returning I have always
found something to give me food for thought. Indeed it is often when
you think you know something thoroughly that a return visit
highlights what you’ve forgotten or what you never noticed in the
first place.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I am recommending as
strongly as I can that you become an expert on Bhante’s teachings
as part of your Dharma life within Triratna and I am also
recommending that you take up the principle of ‘more and more of
less and less’ or in other words more quality of reflection and
less quantity of teachers and teachings. I hope you find this a
fruitful way forward with deepening your understanding of the Dharma
and increasing your self-knowledge.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</p>
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<![endif]-->Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-66354785726388476462018-08-04T08:29:00.005-07:002020-08-31T03:19:08.107-07:00The Importance of the Ten Precepts<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<i><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">This
talk was given at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre in May 2018</span></span></i>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">To
understand the importance of the Ten Precepts (listed at the end of
this talk) or of any precepts it is first of all important to
understand the law of karma. It is important to understand that the
law of karma is what makes spiritual life, Dharma life, possible. In
this sense the law of karma, karma niyama, is the key Buddhist
teaching. The law of karma is, of course, an aspect of a much greater
teaching, a much bigger perspective. That greater teaching, that
bigger perspective is pratitya samutpada, the doctrine of conditioned
co-production.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">The
teaching of conditioned co-production (pratitya samutpada) tells us
that everything arises in dependence on conditions, not in a linear
cause and effect kind of way, but in a much more complex pattern.
Things and thoughts, events and ideas all arise in dependence on a
multiplicity of conditions, a vast web of conditions and include in
their brief existence all of those conditions. This is not easy to
understand. The understanding which is trying to grasp the complexity
of the web of conditions giving rise to conditions, is also the
product of conditions and a condition in turn. A part of the web is
trying to comprehend and embrace the whole.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">This
tornado of conditions rolls on relentlessly. There is little any
individual can do to alter the vast web of conditions operating in
the world and on our lives. Except, and it’s a big exception, when
it comes to conscious actions, words and thoughts. What are often
called volitional actions, that is things we do, say and think under
our own steam, so to speak, by conscious choice. A non-volitional
action is one you have no choice about. Like a sneeze or cough or an
utterance when you’re surprised or frightened or the survival
instincts of fight or flight. Volitional, conscious, chosen actions
of body, speech and mind are in the realm of the law of karma. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Broadly
speaking actions of this kind can be either skilful or unskilful.
There may be neutral action too, e.g. scratching your back. The key
distinction that any Buddhist has to learn to make is this
distinction between skilful and unskilful. Maitreyabandhu was saying
in a recent talk that he thought the terms skilful and unskilful
sounded quite technical and may not touch our hearts sufficiently. We
may need to think in terms of good and bad or even of virtue and
vice. Not that we want to think of ourselves as a good or bad person
or as virtuous or vicious, but that we can think of our behaviour or
speech or thoughts as good or bad, to bring home to our hearts the
need to change.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Because
of this distinction between skilful and unskilful and because we can
learn to act more and more skilfully, spiritual life is possible. In
the Dvedhavitthaka Sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya (Sutta19) the Buddha
talks about his practice before he was Enlightened and he says what
he did was he tried to be aware of whether his mental states were
skilful or unskilful. This is much more difficult than it sounds. We
all have an inbuilt tendency to justify ourselves to ourselves. That
is what having an ego identity is like. And we justify ourselves to
ourselves by seeing what we think, say and do as justified or as
inevitable or reasonable and therefore in no way blameworthy.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Perhaps
we have been offended by something someone said to us or about us. We
feel hurt, upset, angry, as sense of injustice. In that state it is
very difficult for us to remember our Buddhist practice and to ask
ourselves whether the mental state we are experiencing is skilful or
unskilful, conducive to well-being or otherwise. We are much more
likely to pursue an inner narrative justifying ourselves and blaming
the other. There are various factors involved here. There is the
overriding factor of self clinging, ego identity. There is
conditioning, from family, school and society. There are the
conventions current in the world at present.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">We
are very influenced by the world around us. The views and attitudes
of the time and place in which we live pervade our lives and it is
extremely difficult to step back and see things from a higher or
bigger perspective. We have been influenced since childhood by
various views, attitudes, beliefs and conventions. Sometimes we are
more under the sway of past conditioning sometimes we are more under
the sway of present conditioning.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Monogamous
marriage based on personal emotion is an example of a recent
historical convention that has a huge impact on us on what we
conceive of as normal. The Internet and social media are examples of
current conditioning factors that have a huge impact on us and our
sense of identity. Credit cards, advertising, nationalism are all
relatively new phenomena which have had and continue to have huge a
impact on us. Often we are unconscious of this and we are also often
unconscious of the more personal conditioning and conventions of our
upbringing which continue to influence our behaviour, attitudes and
ideas; the impact of our relationship with our father and mother, the
impact of any religious conditioning and so on.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">All
of these things are influencing us all the time and these influences
will sometimes be at variance with the Buddha's teachings about
skilfulness and unskilfulness. We have to train ourselves to
recognise skilful and unskilful mental states. We have to train
ourselves to be honest with ourselves about our greed, our lack of
generosity, our ill will, hatred and anger and our deep-seated
egotism. We have to train ourselves to be honest with ourselves about
our generosity, kindness and love, our wisdom and unselfishness.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Ten Precepts are the training principles; the tools provided by the
Buddha to help us recognise and acknowledge what is really going on.
As well as training ourselves to recognise and acknowledge our states
of mind, rather than simply justifying them, the precepts also
provide us with a template, a guide for action and speech. Even if
our mental states are not very positive we can learn to act and speak
in such a way that we are likely to bring about more positive states
of mind. But we have to make an effort. The ethical precepts may seem
basic and easy but they require careful thought and application and
they are relevant to every Dharma practitioner and every level of
development.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">As
well as all the social, historical and personal kinds of conditioning
we experience there is also our non-Enlightened state to contend
with, our self clinging, our ego identity. The ten positive precepts
describe a state of no self clinging, where actions are characterised
by loving kindness, generosity and contentment, where communication
is true, kindly, helpful and harmonising and mental states are calm,
non-grasping, compassionate and wise.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">At
the other end of the spectrum is the grossly unskilful which is a
description of unadulterated self clinging. Actions are violent,
harmful, greedy, manipulative, coercive. Communication is lying,
exaggerating, harsh, unhelpful, crude, slanderous and divisive. And
states of mind are envious, grasping, hating, full of ill will and
aversion and deluded and selfish. We are probably somewhere between
these two poles, these two ends of the spectrum, and our task is to
become more and more the embodiment of the ten kusala Dharmas, the
ten positive precepts.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">By
making the effort, of reflection, of thought, of honesty, of action,
to be more and more skilful we become more and more skilful. The law
of karma states that skilful actions of body speech and mind have
beneficial consequences for self and others and unskilfulness has bad
consequences. The law of karma is a guarantee that spiritual
development is possible. The law of karma is not a matter of belief,
it is something that can be tested and proven in your own life.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Precepts
are important because they are a guide to what is skilful and
unskilful. They are important because they are the tools we can use
to train ourselves to be more and more skilful. The Ten Precepts are
important because they describe the behaviour and states of mind of
one who is free from self clinging. The Ten Precepts are also the
most comprehensive list of precepts. They apply to body, speech and
mind in a complete way. In this regard it is sometimes asked why the
Ten Precepts do not include the fifth of the five precepts; the
precept about refraining from intoxicants that cloud the mind and
developing mindfulness. To me the answer seems obvious; keeping your
mind clear and aware is implicit in the Ten Precepts. They could not
be practised by someone who is unaware, unmindful or drunk.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Ten Precepts are especially important in the Triratna Community and
Order because they are part of the vows taken at ordination.
Ordination into the Triratna Buddhist Order represents an effective
going for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. It represents an
effective commitment to placing the Three Jewels at the centre of
your life and at the heart of everything you do. This effective
commitment, effective going for refuge, is given expression through
observing the Ten Precepts. The Ten Precepts represent the practical,
daily, outcome of making a commitment to live by the light of the
Three Jewels. Observing the Ten Precepts is the unifying practice for
Order members. Whatever studies, meditations on retreats Order
members may engage with, all should be observing the Ten Precepts.
And whatever living situation or lifestyle Order members have, all
should be observing the Ten Precepts. Those who are not yet ordained,
especially those who have requested ordination, should also be
familiar with and practising the Ten Precepts.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Ten Precepts are formulated positively based on the Buddha’s
teaching to Chanda in the Anguttara Nikaya (10.176). This positive
formulation allows us to see that there is no limit to the practice
of the Ten Precepts and therefore that the same precepts are relevant
at all levels of development. It is possible to embody to an ever
greater degree the qualities and virtues encouraged by the Ten
Precepts. We can move from the level of the precepts as a discipline,
which we have to make an effort to observe, to the level of the
precepts as a spontaneous practice, requiring little effort, to the
level of the precepts embodied, requiring no effort, being the
natural flow of our thoughts, communication and deeds.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">It
is said, in the Pali Canon, that there are forty meritorious
qualities associated with the Ten Precepts. The first ten meritorious
qualities are equivalent to observing the Ten Precepts. The second
ten meritorious qualities consist in encouraging at least one other
person to observe the Ten Precepts. The third ten meritorious
qualities consist in giving approval to, rejoicing in, those who
observe the Ten Precepts. And the last ten meritorious qualities
consist in speaking in praise of the Ten Precepts. These are the
forty meritorious qualities associated with the Ten Precepts and I
hope we all partake of them tonight and for the rest of our lives.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">T</span></span><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">he
Ten Precepts</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Panatipata
veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Adinnadana
veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Kamesu
micchachara veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Musavada
veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Pharusavachaya
veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Samphappalapa
veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Pisunavachaya
veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Abhijjaya
veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Byapada
veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Michaditthiya
veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">sadhu
sadhu sadhu</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><u><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">translation</span></span></u></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">I
undertake the item of training which consists in abstention from
killing living beings.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">I
undertake the item of training which consists in abstention from
taking the not-given.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">I
undertake the item of training which consists in abstention from
sexual misconduct.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">I
undertake the item of training which consists in abstention from
false speech.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">I
undertake the item of training which consists in abstention from
harsh speech.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">I
undertake the item of training which consists in abstention from
frivolous speech.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">I
undertake the item of training which consists in abstention from
slanderous speech.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">I
undertake the item of training which consists in abstention from
covetousness.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">I
undertake the item of training which consists in abstention from
hatred.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">I
undertake the item of training which consists in abstention from
false views.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">As
used in the Triratna Buddhist Order</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">T</span></span><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;"><u>he
Positive Precepts</u></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">With
deeds of lovingkindness, I purify my body. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">With
open-handed generosity, I purify my body. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">With
stillness, simplicity and contentment, I purify my body. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">With
truthful communication, I purify my speech.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">With
kindly communication, I purify my speech.,</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">With
helpful communication, I purify my speech. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">With
harmonious communication, I purify my speech.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Abandoning
covetousness for tranquillity, I purify my mind. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Changing
hatred into compassion, I purify my mind. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: medium;">Transforming
ignorance into wisdom, I purify my mind.</span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-44509967396812247952018-08-04T08:27:00.004-07:002020-08-27T02:49:14.757-07:00The Ethics of Money<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>A
talk given in Bury St. Edmunds in May and in Nottingham in June 2018</i>
</span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
first question that comes to mind is what is money? There are many
conventional answers to this question. Money is a medium of exchange,
is the most common and obvious answer. But since we’re Buddhists we
want to go a bit deeper than that. In the 1990’s I had quite a bit
of contact with Triodos Bank for a while. They are an ethical bank
whose ethos is based on the philosphy of Rudolf Steiner, known as
anthroposophy. A big part of their practice was to make banking as
transparent as possible. Triodos Bank had an interesting way of
seeing money and talking about money. Their answer to the question?
Money is energy.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When
you put money into a bank account it doesn’t just sit there
labelled with your name. The bank uses it. They invest it by lending
it to institutions or individuals and those institutions and
individuals use it to do something; build a house, buy a car, fund a
war, manufacture teddy bears, a myriad of uses. Your money is working
away doing something somewhere and for most part you have no idea
what or where.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You
generate an income by expending your energy. You sell your time,
skills and abilities and in return some individual or institution
pays you. The money you receive represents an expenditure of energy
by you and is then spent by you to buy the goods and services that
represent the energy expended by other people. Whatever you don’t
spend, your savings, is lent to other people and buys the energy and
skills of others to do something. Money never stops, it is always
moving like a flow of energy around the world.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If
you try to stop it, if you put your money in a box and bury it in the
garden, then it gradually loses value. The energy drains out of it.
The value of money rests on it’s constant converting of time,
energy and skills into goods and services and it also rests on the
confidence of all the people using it. Their confidence that it can
be converted into goods and services. When people lose confidence in
money or any particular currency, then it quite quickly becomes
valueless. This happened in the Weimar Republic after the first world
war, it happened in Zimbabwe more recently and it is happening in
Venezuela now.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Money
is energy. Money is also a symbol. It symbolises security. If we have
adequate savings, an adequate nest egg, then we feel secure. Without
that we may feel anxious and insecure. However it is a symbol of
security and so even if we have savings and an income we may still
feel anxious and insecure, because in the end it is not what security
is or the sort of security we seek may be impossible to achieve. For
instance, no amount of savings or possessions protects us against old
age, sickness and death.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For
the purposes of this talk I am going to reflect on money under five
headings:</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Non-violence</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Generosity</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Contentment</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Honesty</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Awareness</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Most
of you will notice that these are the principles behind the five
ethical precepts of Buddhism. In terms of the first principle –
nonviolence – the main point is that our money should not cause
harm and where possible money should do some good. That means we need
to give some consideration to things like: how we earn our money, how
we spend our money, where we spend our money and how and where we
save money. In the eightfold path there is the stage of Samyak Ajiva,
which is usually translated as right livelihood. But Ajiva is a word
that also has a wider meaning. It means livelihood, but it also means
way of life. We could think of this stage of the eightfold path as
right way of life. That means it encompasses how we gain a livelihood
and also how we use our resources.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Most
people gain a livelihood by expending their energy in one way or
other. That energy is then converted into money, which we then
proceeded to spend, converting it into goods and services that we
use. Those goods and services are produced by the expenditure of
energy by other people. What we need to consider as Buddhists is
whether the way we gain a livelihood causes any harm and also whether
the way we spend what we have gained causes any harm.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
is not a simple matter because as I’ve hinted, our economic life is
intimately and intricately bound up with, intertwined with, the
economic lives of others. And of course our economic life affects
every aspect of our lives. But insofar as it is possible we can ask
ourselves whether any harm is caused by our work. Traditionally the
Buddha said trade in living beings, entertainment that lowers
people’s mental states, divination, gambling, armaments, meat,
intoxicants and poisons were all forms of wrong livelihood. Bhante
Sangharakshita has suggested that these days there may be other
careers that are harmful such as, for example, the advertising
industry when it’s in the business of promoting craving.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Similarly
when it comes to spending our money we could reflect whether our
money is flowing in the direction of our values of whether it may be
causing harm. Is causing actual harm to living beings? Or indirect
harm via the environment. Are we supporting or promoting something
that harms others; alcohol or gambling, for instance. And likewise
with our savings and pensions; are they in an ethical bank or an
ethical fund. The choice is usually available. We could say that this
principle of non-violence or non-harm is about using energy
appropriately and in this case using the energy of our money
appropriately and skilfully.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
second principle of the precepts to apply to our economic life is the
principle of generosity or open-handed generosity as the precept
says. In his memoirs Bhante Sangharakshita talks about the Kham
people of eastern Tibet who each year took stock of the wealth they
had generated, their surplus for the year, and then put one third
aside for business, spent one third on themselves and gave one third
to the local monastery. In some Christian churches there is a system
of tithing where a certain percentage of their income goes to the
support of the church. In traditional Theravadin Buddhist countries
the monks are completely supported by the laypeople. This is a
practice that has its disadvantages. The laypeople may assume that
that is all they need to do. That is their Buddhist practice . And
for the monks it can mean an unhealthy lifestyle without any
exertion. Also since the monks depend on the laypeople they often
have to do what the laypeople want. He who pays the piper calls the
tune. It can also lead to the hypocrisy of keeping up appearances.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
don’t have any system like that in the Triratna Community. Money is
freely given, usually when requested by a centre or other Triratna
charity. There are a few people who give spontaneously, but most
often people give when requested to. Of course, many people involved
with Triratna will be donating to other charities like Oxfam,
Amnesty, Greenpeace and so on. The principle of generosity is
supported by the mental state of non-attachment or you might even say
abundance.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What
holds us back from giving often is that we somehow feel that we are
going to lose something or be diminished in some way when we give.
Contemplating giving away money brings up fears and anxieties. Will I
have enough? Is it a worthwhile cause? Am I being stupid?Basically it
touches a deep sense of insecurity in us. Why do we feel insecure?
After all from a historical perspective we live very well indeed. We
don’t live like kings. We live far better lives that the Kings of
old! We are healthier, wealthier and in many ways wiser. But we still
suffer from insecurity. At bottom it’s existential; we fear death.
But why do we fear death? After all it’s inevitable. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">From
the Buddhist perspective it is because we have the notion of a fixed
self that seems to continue through time and be separated in space
from all other selves. This according to the Buddha is a delusion;
the fundamental delusion that causes our suffering. Having a notion
of a fixed self, we have to protect and enhance it, promote it, shore
it up. That leads to craving and the flip-side of the coin of
craving, which is aversion. This is the second of the four noble
truths. Craving is the opposite of contentment. It is
unsatisfactoriness. Craving is wanting what adds to and protects our
sense of identity as a fixed and separate self and wanting to avoid
or destroy anything that seems to threaten or diminish our sense of
self.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That
is why we become attached to people and possessions. We are attached
to the extent that they are included in and support and add to our
self-identity. Our money, which we expend our energy to gain and
which has the quality of being convertible into all sorts of products
and services is therefore something that has the potential to really
protect and defend our self-identity. That is why we can so easily
get attached to it and be so reluctant to give it away. And often it
will be those who have the most money who are most scared of parting
company with it, whereas poorer people can often be quite easy-going
about giving. I guess the more of anything you possess, the bigger a
part of your identity it becomes. If for instance you have very
little power you are less likely to be bothered about losing power,
whereas if you have a lot of power you may live in constant fear of
losing it.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That
may be at the bottom of why it is sometimes difficult to be generous.
That is also why it is good to act on a generous impulse when you
have it and don’t wait for second thoughts. We want to train
ourselves to be generous and second thoughts will often be less
generous. It is good to be generous because it is an orientation of
our energy towards being more selfless and that is the whole point of
spiritual practice. Not being generous orientates our energy into a
protective shield around our self-identity and that leads us in the
opposite direction to where we are trying to go with spiritual
practice. Being generous, as we make it more habitual, unblocks
energy and can lead to us having a greater sense of abundance and
expansiveness and joy.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
third principle is contentment. The precepts talks about stillness,
simplicity and contentment. How do we apply that to our relationship
with money? Contentment is the opposite end of the spectrum from
craving and greed. When we are content we don’t want anything.
Everything is okay and as it should be. We’ve all experience
contentment I’m sure, even if only for a few moments; a walk in the
hills, on holiday, on retreat, reading a book on a wet afternoon.
Whatever the situation, we probably all have had at least a glimpse
of that state of contentment when we are not yearning for anything
and everything is fine as it is. The situation is sufficient. How do
we move from our more ordinary state of restlessness and wanting
something or other to this state of contentment? There are many
answers to this question and different things will work for different
people but broadly speaking it is via the path of simplicity. By
gradually learning to live a simple life, by gradually learning to
get enjoyment from simple things, by gradually learning to be content
with less, we move from restless wanting towards contentment.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Simple
enjoyment is about learning to enjoy what is already around you in
the world, the ordinary beauty of the clouds and the trees and
children playing. The key to this kind of pleasure is mindfulness.
The more mindful or aware we are of the world around us and the
people around, the more we notice and the more we notice the more
enjoyment and pleasure we can find. As the old poem says: <i>“what
is this life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare.”</i>
(Leisure, WH Davies)</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These
days we are more likely to be engaged with our technology than our
surroundings. I was in Rome last year and noticed one man going
around the Vatican looking at all the artworks through the screen of
his phone. This is just a parody of what is going on for a lot of
people a lot of the time. And when we are not engaged with our
technology, we are likely to be fully caught up in the tumble dryer
of our own minds; thoughts, fantasies, little stories tumbling around
and we can walk through life seeing and hearing very little. We have
to make an effort to notice. We have to take time to stop and stare,
to see the beauty of light reflected on a wet Street or hear the
sound of frying onions.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If
we can begin to enjoy the simple things through awareness that can
enable us to simplify our lives. We need less things around us. In
fact too many things can start to feel like a weight pressing down on
us. If we can happily simplify our lives, we will be less concerned
about money and more engaged with the quality of our lives. This
means we become more contented and there are less worries about money
and what money we have we use in a more considered way. We will be
refining our energy including the energy of our money. Basically this
is all about moving from a life that is based around what we want for
ourselves to a deeper reflection on what we really need to have a
fulfilling life.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
fourth principle is honesty. As with all of these principles we need
to apply this principle of honesty to our relationship with ourselves
as well as to our relationship with others. In this case we need to
be honest with ourselves about money. We need to be honest about our
conditioning around money, we need to be honest about our attitudes
around money. This has nothing to do with condemning yourself or
giving yourself a hard time. There is no point in that. This is about
knowing yourself more deeply and more thoroughly, so that you can
have more choice in your life.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
were all exposed to some kind of conditioning around money and that
can be affecting our attitudes very strongly, even if it no longer
makes any rational sense. We may have grown up in a family where
there was a sense of abundance or in a family where there was a sense
of scarcity. We may have been given the lesson that saving is a good
thing or that saving was laughable. We may have been conditioned to
take risks with money or to avoid risk at all cost. There will be all
sorts of conditioning around money that we have been exposed to. It’s
worth taking the time, perhaps with some close friends in the Sangha,
to explore this conditioning and by doing that to become a bit more
free, and able to develop our own attitude based on our current
circumstances, current values and life experience.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It
is very easy to rationalise about our relationship to money and to
never delve deeper into what it really means to us, what it
represents for us, what it symbolises for us. Money is almost a taboo
subject and people rarely discuss with friends how much they earn,
how much they have in the bank, what their hopes and fears are around
money. Other countries may have very different attitudes, I think
it’s in Norway where everyone’s income is public knowledge. I
have been in various groups in the Sangha where we have told our
money life story and discussed our money in detail; what we have,
what legacies we expect, our attitudes and so on. It’s very
liberating. But as I said we need to be honest with ourselves first.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then
obviously we need to be honest in our dealings with others and with
institutions, scrupulously honest. It is easy to think that cutting a
corner here or there, a little massaging of the truth won’t hurt
anyone, especially if it’s bringing us some financial advantage.
Evading a little bit of tax, getting a bit extra from an insurance
claim, dodging a fair, paying a concession rate when we’re not
entitled to it. There are probably lots of little temptations that
come our way. But of course these things affect other people. Our
financial lives are completely interdependent. Perhaps worse than
that though is that compromising our values tends to blunt our own
ethical sensitivity; a little bit of dishonesty leads to some
untruthfulness, some untruthfulness may require a little more
untruthfulness and all the time we may be concealing from ourselves a
sense of uneasiness, which leads to worry and stress etc. Honesty is
indeed the best policy and especially when it comes to money. It’s
a way of keeping our energy clean and clear.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
fifth principle is awareness and mindfulness. Awareness is the
beginnings of wisdom. The first precept of non-harming is definitely
about Metta, loving-kindness, which is the beginnings of compassion
and the other precepts are about bringing that kindness into
relationship with others. Awareness is the wisdom aspect. How do we
apply wisdom to money. But in a way a lot of what I have already been
talking about is about applying awareness to money:</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">knowing
about the skilfulness of how you obtain money</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">knowing
about the skilfulness of how you spend money</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">knowing
what you really need</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">knowing
what you can give away</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">knowing
about your own conditioning around money</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">knowing
about your own attitudes to money.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
is all about awareness and even wisdom. Perhaps a way of going deeper
into our relationship with money could be to look at it in terms of
the five hindrances. You will all be aware of the hindrances to
meditation that prevent us from concentrating. You could think of
these hindrances as states of mind that block energy from flowing
freely. It may be that the energy of our money could flow more freely
if some of these mental states were not getting in the way.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Restlessness
and anxiety in relation to money will prevent us from being clear and
objective about what we have and what we need. The antidote here
would be to take the time to become clear and get more objective –
perhaps with help from someone else.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sense
desire in relation to money will mean that we feel we never have
enough and definitely none to spare for anyone else or for any
charitable cause. The antidote here is a refining of our pleasures
and simplifying so that our happiness is not too tied up with how
much money we have.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sloth
and torpor in relation to money could lead us into debt or confused
financial problems, because we don’t put the energy into sorting
things out when they need to be sorted. We let things slide and end
up with a big credit card balance or paying for some service we no
longer use or being fined by the Revenue and Customs for a late tax
return. The antidote here is planning. Some people are just not good
at organising and planning but it’s a skill that can be learned.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Doubt
and indecision in relation to money seems to me to be very like
anxiety. Anxiety could lead to impulsive behaviour. But the sort of
fear behind doubt and indecision just leaves us stuck, frozen, unable
to act, unable to commit to any course of action. The antidote to
this will be clarity. We need to find a way to become clear about
what we really want. This probably needs the help of someone with no
interest in the outcome. It may involve learning to take risks and
even learning to act impulsively. What seems like a risk to someone
prone to doubt and indecision probably isn’t a risk.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ill
will in relation to money probably indicates what might be called a
curmudgeonly attitude. A miserly attitude. Mr Scrooge in Charles
Dickens story a Christmas Carol is probably the prime example in
literature. In some ways this is like the attitude of a small child
that doesn’t want to share its toys with the other children.
Usually at the bottom of illwill or miserliness will be some fear or
anxiety or insecurity. This is a psychological issue rather than
something specifically to do with money and the antidote if it’s a
serious case would be therapy of one kind or other. Interestingly,
Scrooge is cured by a more spiritual process, he gets to have a
vision of the consequences of his actions, if he doesn’t change. If
it’s a more mild case of grumpiness in relation to money then the
Metta Bhavana meditation practice would probably help. If you are a
Buddhist and you find yourself with this grumpiness, then you could
decide to practice generosity as a discipline. That would mean giving
generously whether you feel like it or not. The practice, the action,
can change the attitude.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I’ve
talked about money under the headings of the five principles of the
five precepts and explored awareness under the headings the five
hindrances. I began by talking about money as energy and I hope that
these reflections on money will help you to use the energy of money
appropriately, unblock the energy of money where it’s blocked,
refine the energy where it’s coarse and keep the energy clear and
clean and not waste the energy of money. I talked about our
conditioning around money and our current attitudes to money; money
past and money present. I hope that your future in relation to money
is characterised by loving kindness and awareness.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-73564636022791419002018-08-04T08:25:00.001-07:002020-08-27T03:47:22.385-07:00Sadhana Meditation
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>This
talk was written for a Triratna Order Weekend in March 2018 but never
delivered as a talk.</i> </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
are talking about meditation practices that involve the visualisation
of particular symbolic forms of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Sadhana
means ‘practice’ or‘means of accomplishing something’.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A
sadhaka is someone who practises. Yidam is from the Tibetan, meaning
‘bond’, being firmly bond with the pure and liberated mind.
Sadhana practice focused on the Yidam is about becoming firmly bonded
with the Yidam. The phase of visualisation is the beginning. From
there the practice moves more and more in the direction of the
practitioner becoming the Yidam.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Visualising
the Yidam is about creating the Yidam, filling the image with life
and qualities. It is not about seeing a picture. It is something much
more dynamic than that. Just as a person changes all the time and is
not static like a photo, so too, the Yidam is always changing. We are
not trying to create some sort of static picture in our minds, but a
living presence. The qualities, colours, mudra, implements and
attributes all add to the sense of presence, the sense of personality
and aliveness.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As
Bhante Sangharakshita puts it: <i>“When you visualise a Buddha or
Bodhisattva, you aren’t just doing a visualisation exercise as you
might visualise a ball or a spade. The visualised form represents an
embodiment , from a particular aspect or a particular angle, of the
spiritual ideal itself, and it is that that you are trying to get in
contact with, in a very direct and tangible way.”</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then
we bring an attitude of devotion and receptivity to that. It is good
to compose our own verses of devotion and even puja, not to share
with others necessarily. Most of us should not share these devotional
outpourings for two reasons: very few of us have great poetic ability
and the more our devotional verses get used the less connection we
have with them. It is good to write ,or compose or sing or recite
our devotion, often and in different words, so that it stays alive
and vital and expresses the current state of our bond with the Yidam.
That changes over time. I have noticed myself that I am much more
able to surrender to the Yidam now than I was even ten years ago,
never mind thirty years ago ,when the connection was first formed.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As
well as devotional verses there is also prayer and dialogue with the
Yidam, expressing an attitude of openness and receptivity and a
yearning for an ever closer bond. In most sadhanas there is a stage
of receiving blessings and we need to surrender to this, to fully
allow the blessings to reach us and transform us. The blessings
shouldn’t be like a shower of rain that falls on us and falls off
us. It is more like having the temperature turned up gradually so
that the whole of your being becomes a fire of devotion and
receptivity and burns up the defilements and the pettiness of
egotism.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
are entering into a bond with the Yidam that means totally
surrendering to the Yidam and allowing ourselves to merge with the
Yidam, pushing out all of our poisons and replacing it with the
wisdom, compassion and energy of the Awakened mind.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But
the actual sitting practice of Sadhana is only a preliminary to
bringing the sadhana into everyday life. Again to quote Bhante: <i>“the
Buddha or the Bodhisattva is not just a being outside yourself.
That’s what it seems like at present, but in reality that Buddha or
Bodhisattva represents what you yourself can become. On a deeper
level, on a very much deeper level ( and I usually use this language
only with caution) they are yourself, outside time, outside space.”</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What
do we mean by becoming the Buddha or Bodhisattva and bringing the
sadhana into everyday life? To start with we mean finding ways to
constantly remind ourselves of the bond. By using the mantra, by
being aware of the colour in our environment; whatever helps us to
remember the bond with the pure and liberated mind. But as I said at
the beginning Sadhana means a means of accomplishing something and
what we are trying to accomplish is to become completely imbued with
or saturated with the qualities of theYidam, so that we act as the
Yidam would, speak as the Yidam would think and feel as the Yidam
would. This is the devotional path to Insight. It is a surrendering
of self to something much higher and more expansive. In essence then
a Sadhana practice is about what we call spiritual death and rebirth,
which are two sides of the same coin. Spiritual death is the death of
the delusion of an unchanging and separate self and spiritual rebirth
is being suffused with qualities of the liberated mind; the expansive
Compassion and Seeing that means there is no room for the pettiness
of self-centredness and opinionatedness. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These
are metaphors and other metaphors could be used. For instance,
instead of death, the metaphor of victory could be used. As the
Buddha says in the Dhammapada: <i>“better than victory over a
thousand men in a thousand battles is victory over oneself”</i>.
(verse 103) Or the metaphor of surrender could be used, giving up
victory, as the eight point mind training puts it:</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When
others, out of jealousy</span></span></em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Treat
me wrongly with abuse, slander, and scorn,</i></span></span></em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>May
I take upon myself the defeat</i></span></span></em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>And
offer to others the victory.
</i></span></span></em><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(<a href="http://www.dalailama.com/teachings/training-the-mind/training-the-mind-verse-5-6">www.dalailama.com/teachings/training-the-mind/training-the-mind-verse-5-6</a>)
The defeat here is the defeat of egotism; spiritual death or victory
over the lower impulses. </span></span></span></em>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">The
problem with metaphors is that they can be literalised so easily and
they carry so many connotations that if literalised they become a
sort of hardened set of views. That’s why it is important to
realise that we are using metaphors and to be flexible with our
metaphors. For instance, when we think of death we may have in mind
two states that are very different from each other, being alive and
being dead and a sudden transition from one to the other. But perhaps
for most of us dying is a better metaphor than death; a gradual dying
of delusion rather than the sudden death of delusion. Otherwise we
may be expecting that our Sadhana practice or other practices are
going to grant us some big cataclysmic experience after which we will
never be the same again. This may happen, just as some people die
suddenly, but it is much more likely that death will be anticipated
and gradual. So also it is much more likely that spiritual practice
has a gradual and often almost imperceptible effect. </span></span></span></em>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">We
could see Sadhana as like a gradual seeping into our being of the
qualities of the Yidam like a coloured dye gradually seeping into a
cloth or liquid. If you are a Green Tara devotee you might think of
yourself as being slowly coloured by the spiritual equivalent of
green.</span></span></span></em></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">My
own Yidam is the Buddha Ratnasambhava. I have maintained the
connection for the thirty years since ordination although I don’t
often do the formal practice. I have found other ways of maintaining
the connection and I have experienced the gradual colouring of my
experience by this association with Ratnasambhava. I have also found
myself surrendering more and more to Ratnasambhava. Sadhana is really
quite an extraordinary practice – it makes use of the imagination
to transform a mundane mind of mud and shackles into something much
more pure and free and the whole process happens in a realm of beauty
and fascination. </span></span></span></em>
</p>
<p class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-64701973967900170282018-07-02T01:03:00.001-07:002020-08-27T11:12:48.013-07:00The Five Spiritual Faculties<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>This
talk was given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre, Oct 2018</i></span></span>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">There
are many lists in Buddhism. They were obviously a good aid to memory
in an oral tradition and of course Buddhism was an oral tradition for
at least a couple of centuries. Some lists are meant to be
comprehensive, to encompass the whole of the Buddha’s teachings.
Other lists are a more detailed analysis of some practice or idea.
Dharma lists are a bit like naming parts of the body. You could say a
body consists of a torso, a head two legs and two arms and that is a
big overall list that includes everything, a bit like a childs
drawing, short on detail but recognisable. Or perhaps a more
sophisticated list might be in terms of the body’s systems; blood
circulation, nervous system, respiratory system, lymphatic system and
so on. But then you could have another list which would be a detailed
analysis of a particular limb or organ; like an analysis of all the
bones, nerves, veins etc., in your hand.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Similarly
with Buddhist lists, there are lists that encompass the whole Dharma
and lists that are just dealing with a particular limb or aspect of
the Dharma. For example the list Ethics, Mediation and Wisdom,
although short is comprehensive. Like the child’s drawing. But then
each one of those can be analysed further. For example, ethics into
the five or ten precepts and then further the second precept could be
analysed down into the five kinds of gifts or the four ways of giving
and so on.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">But
it is important that we remember that there is a whole body, a whole
body of the Dharma and it should be possible to relate any list back
to that complete body. If we can’t relate it to the whole body,
then perhaps it’s not really part of the body of the dharma, just
as your handbag or wallet is not part of your physical body, however
closely related.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Also
it is worth noting that every list is just a particular way of
breaking down a whole. It is for convenience of memorising, the
convenience of understanding and convenience of practising. Just as
the body can be looked at in terms of limbs and organs or in terms of
systems and so on, the Dharma can be looked at from different
perspectives and in different ways. But all comprehensive lists will
overlap and include each other.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
list of the 5 spiritual faculties that we are exploring here is a
comprehensive list and an important one in the Buddhist tradition. In
Pali it is called the Panca Indriya and there is another identical
list called the panca bala. Panca means five, Indriya is related to
the god Indra and it has the meaning of a controlling principle. The
idea is that if you practice the five spiritual faculties then you
will come to embody them and therefore they will become the
controlling or ruling principles of your life. They will be how you
naturally function in the world, how you naturally think, how you
naturally respond.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">When
they are completely fulfilled by you they become the five balas. Bala
means power, so they become the five powers. This is similar to the
idea of the mundane eightfold path and the transcendental eightfold
path. To begin with and for a long time practices are a discipline
and then when realisation deepens the same practices become an
expression of that realisation. As the Zen saying goes; before satori
I chop wood, I draw water, after satori, I chop wood, I draw water.
The same practices but from a different basis, a different
motivation. For example, generosity can be a practice to help develop
the altruistic heart and mind and generosity can be the completely
natural expression of an altruistic heart and mind. From the outside
no difference may be visible.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
5 faculties and the five powers together are very comprehensive. This
is the case for a number of Dharma lists, such as the threefold way,
the eightfold path and the six perfections. And of course you can,
with a bit of thought correlate all of these lists, even though they
may not include the same terms.nBut are these really comprehensive
lists? Do they encompass the whole path of the Dharma as a practice?</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">For
instance Compassion is not mentioned in any of these lists- surely
that can’t be left out of a comprehensive overview of the Dharma.
Now there are two ways to answer this question: you could say that
they are not comprehensive because they don’t include compassion.
Or you could say yes they are comprehensive because compassion is not
a practice in the same way. The Dharma as teaching arises out of
compassion and when practised fully it finds expression in
compassion. Giving the Dharma is the great compassion and it is
inherent in the Dharma that it can only be given it cannot be
possessed. The Dharma is in a sense synonymous with compassion.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">It’s
a bit like saying that the analysis of the body into parts or systems
or limbs is not comprehensive because it doesn’t take into account
the fact that a body can move and act. It is taken for granted that a
living body is alive. It is taking for granted that a living Dharma
is compassionate, it is compassion.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Bhante
Sangharakshita used the 5 spiritual faculties as an organising
principle for his seminal work The Survey of Buddhism. In order to
talk about the whole of the Buddhist tradition he needed some way of
organising all the different schools of Buddhism into a coherent
pattern and the five spititual faculties served this purpose, because
they are such a comprehensive list.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">One
of the key features of the five spiritual faculties is the idea of
balance; balancing practices against each other. The five spiritual
faculties could be seen as a linear path from Faith to Wisdom.
However it is better to see them as a mandala.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">It’s
probably about time I said what they are:Faith, Energy, Mindfulness,
Meditation and Wisdom. (Saddha or Shraddha, Virya, Sati or Smrti,
Samadhi and Prajna.) Faith is balanced by Wisdom. In practical terms
this means that if you are a very devotional type of person by nature
you need to balance that with the practice of reflection and study.
If you are someone who loves to study and reflect and think then you
need to balance that with devotional practice, something more
emotional and imaginative. Energy is balanced by meditation. If you
love to meditate and get concentrated easily and have very positive
and even blissful experiences in meditation then to guard against
self-centredness and refined hedonism you need to act in the world
for the benefit of others and work on developing an interest in
others and an empathy with them.If you are an action person who loves
to do things and make things happen then you need to balance that
with turning inwards in meditation and acquiring a more thorough
self-knowledge and refining your sensibilities through meditation.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
only faculty that doesn’t need to be balanced is Mindfulness. You
can develop mindfulness as much as possible. There is no such thing
as too much mindfulness. This is mindfulness seen comprehensively
from it’s Buddhist perspective, rooted in right view and ethics.
Mindfulness in it’s full Buddhist sense is the faculty that enables
us to be aware enough to take the necessary steps to balance our
practice.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">That
is a very brief introduction to the five spiritual faculties. If you
would like to know more you can find many talks on the different
elements of the five spiritual faculties on Free Buddhist Audio. (www.freebuddhistaudio.com)</span></span></p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-67874960475727688172018-06-27T07:26:00.001-07:002020-08-31T10:02:23.271-07:00Open Handed Generosity
<p class="western"><i>This talk was given at Cambridge Buddhist
Centre, June 2018</i><br /><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif;">Generosity
is characteristic of Buddhists. It is one of the qualities that are
immediately associated with Buddhism and the image of the monk with
an alms bowl has been a symbol of the generosity of the Buddha’s
disciples from the beginning. It is interesting to note that
traditionally the monks don’t request alms; they are silent. In the
Triratna Community and I suspect in many Western Buddhist groups the
norm is to ask for donations ongoingly and to fundraise for
particular projects. But really Buddhist generosity should not be in
response to requests; it should ideally be a simple and continuous
application of our ethical principles and a flow of time, energy and
money in the direction of our heartfelt values. Giving is one of the
key practices of any Buddhist and one of the delights of the
spiritual community. I won't be going into why this is so here.
Suffice to say that because we are all interconnected and
interdependent, generosity is in our best interests.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif;">All
of us give and we probably do give continuously, but there is a very
broad spectrum of generosity with no distinguishable end point. It is
always possible to be more generous. However the fact that there is
no limit to generosity doesn't mean there is no limit to our ability
to be generous. Most of us have limits and the challenge for most of
us is how to be a little more generous, how to step a little bit
outside our comfort zone. There is, as I said, a broad spectrum and
people will be at different points on the spectrum. A spectrum
running from zero generosity to completely spontaneous, uninhibited,
generosity.</span><br /><br /> <span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif;">In
his famous work A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens has created the
archetypal miser, the fund-raisers nightmare, Mr. Scrooge.</span>
<span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Here
is a passage where Mr. Scrooge is approached by a couple of men
raising money to help the poor at Christmas:</span><br />“<span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>They
were portly gentlemen, pleasant to behold, and now stood, with their
hats off, in Scrooge's office. They had books and papers in their
hands, and bowed to him.</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"Scrooge
and Marley's, I believe," said one of the gentlemen, referring
to his list. "Have I the pleasure of addressing Mr. Scrooge, or
Mr. Marley?"</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"Mr.
Marley has been dead these seven years," Scrooge replied. "He
died seven years ago, this very night."</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"We
have no doubt his liberality is well represented by his surviving
partner," said the gentleman, presenting his credentials.</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>It
certainly was; for they had been two kindred spirits. At the ominous
word "liberality," Scrooge frowned, and shook his head, and
handed the credentials back.</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"At
this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge," said the
gentleman, taking up a pen, "it is more than usually desirable
that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and Destitute,
who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of
common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common
comforts, sir."</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"Are
there no prisons?" asked Scrooge.</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"Plenty
of prisons," said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"And
the Union workhouses?" demanded Scrooge. "Are they still in
operation?"</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"They
are. Still," returned the gentleman, "I wish I could say
they were not."</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"The
Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?" said
Scrooge.</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"Both
very busy, sir."</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"Oh!
I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had
occurred to stop them in their useful course," said Scrooge.
"I'm very glad to hear it."</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"Under
the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or
body to the multitude," returned the gentleman, "a few of
us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and
drink and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time,
of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What
shall I put you down for?"</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"Nothing!"
Scrooge replied.</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"You
wish to be anonymous?"</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>"I
wish to be left alone," said Scrooge. "Since you ask me
what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don't make merry myself
at Christmas and I can't afford to make idle people merry. I help to
support the establishments I have mentioned -- they cost enough; and
those who are badly off must go there."</i></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif;">We
can put Mr. Scrooge at one end of the spectrum. He is fictional, but
unfortunately he may have his counterparts in the real world. Then
there are people like the Tibetan Lama mentioned by Sangharakshita in
this story: </span>“<span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif;"><i>a
friend of mine who was a lay Nyingmapa Buddhist, took me into Benares
to see a Tibetan Lama – not an incarnate Lama, an ordinary monk –
who was living there to learn Sanskrit. His name was Tendzing
Gyaltso. He was over seventy. The Dalai Lama had wanted him to start
teaching, but he had refused. He told the Dalai Lama that he was far
too busy learning; he hadn’t finished his studies. So he settled in
Benares to study Sanskrit. We found him at a place almost like a
typical Hindu ashram. He had a little room at the top, but it was
quite bare. He was sitting on the floor with a tin trunk in front of
him which served as his desk and table, with just a little text on it
which he was studying. He was very pleased to see me and we talked
for about an hour. As we rose to depart, he said, “I really must
give you something”. He looked around the room, but there was
absolutely nothing. I could see that he was almost desperate. He had
nothing but his mala, so he broke his mala and gave me one bead and
said, “Please take this. I must have said many millions of mantras
on it. It’s all I have to give you”. </i></span><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(Bodhisattva
Ideal Mitrata 2, Altruism and Individualism in the Spiritual Life.
Page 47)</span></span><br /><br />Then<span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">
there is the great American poet, Walt Whitman, whose activities
during the Civil War were so Bodhisattva-like. One of his biographers
writes: </span>“<span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif;"><i>From
December 1862 until well after the war was over, he personally
visited tens of thousands of hurt, lonely, and scared young men in
the hospitals in and around Washington, bringing them the ineffable
but not inconsiderable gift of his magnetic, consoling presence. In
the process, he lost forever his own good health, beginning a long
decline that would leave him increasingly enfeebled for the rest of
his life. To his credit, he never regretted his wartime service, or
what it had cost him personally. ``I only gave myself,'' he told a
friend. ``I got the boys.'' And more to the point, they got him.
Whitman entered the rank, fever-ridden hospitals in the nation's
capital like a literal breath of fresh air, bringing with him a
knapsack full of humble but much-appreciated gifts: fruit, candy,
clothing, tobacco, books, magazines, pencils, and paper. His long
white beard, wine-colored suit, and bulging bag of presents gave him
a decided resemblance to Santa Claus, and the wounded soldiers, many
of them still in their teens, called after him plaintively at the end
of each visit: ``Walt, Walt, come again!'' Except for a six month
period in late 1864 when he was forced to return home to Brooklyn to
regain his health, he did come again, scarcely missing a day on his
self-appointed rounds.” </i></span><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(The
Better Angel, Walt Whitman in the Civil War, Roy Morris.)</span></span><br />“<span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif;"><i>Whitman
provided an invaluable service to thousands of wounded and sick
soldiers merely by being their friend. He would bring small gifts,
sit by their beds and listen to them speak of their homes, their
hopes, and their fears. He would also write letters for those who
were unable to do so, lend a gentle hand to hold, and even provide
that last, tender moment of human contact that so many of the dying
needed.”
<a href="https://bobcivilwarhistory.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/walt-whitman-the-better-angel">https://bobcivilwarhistory.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/walt-whitman-the-better-angel</a>.</i></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In
Buddhism we have the ideal of the Bodhisattva who seeks to Awaken for
the sake of self and others. Indeed this has been the goal of
Buddhism from the beginning as suggested by the Buddha here : </span><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif;"><i>"Of
two people who practice the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma, having a
sense of Dhamma, having a sense of meaning — one who practices for
both his own benefit and that of others, and one who practices for
his own benefit but not that of others — the one who practices for
his own benefit but not that of others is to be criticized for that
reason, the one who practices for both his own benefit and that of
others is, for that reason, to be praised.” </i></span><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(Anguttara
Nikaya 7.68)</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif;">The
spectrum of Generosity can run all the way from Mr. Scrooge to
Awakening. Maybe we could call it the Scrooge-Bodhisattva Spectrum! I
imagine most of us are quite a long way from the Scrooge end of the
spectrum and that is important to acknowledge. When it comes to
Dharma practice (or indeed any undertaking) it’s good to
acknowledge and appreciate what we already have in place. We are not
starting from zero. We are building on a foundation of existing
qualities, activities and aspirations. Our task then is not to become
generous but simply to practise generosity more and more. Practising
generosity also involves letting go of various attachments and
generating a sense of abundance in our lives. One way we could
approach this is to look at what gets in the way of being more
generous and what steps we can take to overcome our resistances or
hindrances. We are probably all familiar with the hindrances to
meditation and we could think of these as states of consciousness
which are obstacles to all Dharma practice, including the spontaneous
flow of open handed generosity.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Restlessness
(auddhatya) and anxiety (kaukrtya) together constitute a state of
mind that is always worried about security and in constant need of
stimulation and pleasure to keep worry at bay. Life is uncertain and
cannot be controlled, but we desperately want to control life and
create certainty. Restlessness is characterised by energy and its’
positive counterpart is virya, energy in pursuit of the good. Anxiety
or, as Subhuti refers to it in Mind in Harmony, </span><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><i>“a
troubled mind”</i></span><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">
also has a positive counterpart, remorse. Restlessness can be
transformed into joy, inspiration and positive energy and anxiety can
be transformed into a recognition of the consequences of actions. How
do we bring about this kind of transformation? We can cultivate a
sense of abundance and a delight in the beauty that is always around
us. We could take time each day to remind ourselves of the things we
have enjoyed, whether that is a meeting with a friend or flowers in
the park or the laughter of children. The more we remind ourselves of
what is enjoyable and beautiful in our lives the more we will notice
and appreciate beauty and pleasure everywhere. This leads to a more
expansive state of consciousness which very naturally expresses
itself in generosity.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The
hindrance of sense desire or craving is all about wanting to possess
and hold on to objects or people that we think will bring us
happiness or to bolster our sense of who we are,our identity. This
state of mind is very much focussed on our own satisfaction and it is
basically an attempt to avoid suffering. When we crave an object or
person we focus intently on the positive aspects and completely
ignore the actual or potential negative aspects. This is what happens
when we fall in love, isn’t it? We bore our friends with how
wonderful and amazing this person is …. It could be a new car or
smart phone that we go on about. In this way we are always setting
ourselves up for disappointment. If this is our tendency we need to
bring in a reflection on what is really in our best interests. What
do we really desire? What are we projecting on to the things and
people we want to possess and cling to? It may be that doing the
Metta Bhavana and cultivating friendship will alleviate some of the
more extreme forms of craving. We may also need to engage with the
natural world and the arts to find higher sources of pleasure that
have the effect of calming the mind. Contentment is the opposite of
craving and contentment is a very positive state of mind that is
easily satisfied, prefers simplicity, and is not overly attached to
things or people. When we are contented it is very easy to be
generous and concerned with the welfare of others. If we have been on
a retreat we may have experienced how satisfying and pleasurable it
is to be contented. Being contented feels joyful and a joyful mind is
expansive and generous.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Doubt
and indecision can get in the way of being generous too. We may
always have second thoughts about whether to give and how much to
give and whether what we are giving to is really worthwhile or
whether our giving will make any difference and all of that will put
us into a state of indecision which may never be resolved. Second
thoughts are often less generous thoughts, self-protective thoughts,
that gradually turn off the tap of our generous impulses until the
flow becomes a trickle and the trickle becomes nothing. We need to be
clear about our values, what we value most in life and allow our
energy to flow after our values. If we are indecisive we may need to
act impulsively sometimes and just give. Generosity is also a
training and can be a practice like meditation, something we do every
day which has the effect of changing our mental states and gradually
modifying our habitual personality. It could be argued that
generosity is a more important practice than meditation because
meditation can so easily become a self-centred activity that is
ego-making, whereas generosity is always moving beyond self and has
the potential to lead to ever greater self-transcendence, which is
what Buddhism is all about.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The
hindrance to meditation that is often referred to as ‘sloth and
torpor’ is perhaps not as straightforward as that phrase might
suggest, but here I am going to take it to mean a dull, passive,
forgetful, unaware state of mind. In relation to generosity this
would mean not noticing what is needed or forgetting immediately. We
might have good intentions but never follow through into action. The
antidote to this would be mindfulness and promptitude. These
hindrances overlap in the sense that they are all egotistical and
self-centred, so the ways of countering them can be very similar. And
here in the case of ‘sloth and torpor’ some of the ways of
dealing with the other hindrances will be applicable again.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The
fifth hindrance is illwill and in relation to generosity this
indicates what could be called a curmudgeonly attitude. Mr. Scrooge
is literatures’ prime example of this miserly attitude. In some
ways this is like the behaviour of a small child who doesn’t want
to share his or her toys with the other children. Why should I? It’s
mine? The adult might add, I worked for it? I need it? Often at the
bottom of illwill or miserliness is some fear or insecurity. This is
a psychological issue and if it’s a serious case the only solution
may be therapy of some kind. Interestingly though, Mr. Scrooge is
cured by the more spiritual process of having a vision of the
consequences of his actions and attitudes. With all of these
obstacles to the free flow of generosity it may be helpful to reflect
on the positive consequences of generosity as well as the negative
consequences of limiting or crushing our spirit of generosity. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">At
the beginning I mentioned the Scrooge - Bodhisattva Spectrum, but of
course this is not very fair to Mr. Scrooge who in the end becomes a
very generous character indeed. He is capable of change and we are
all capable of change. Mr. Scrooge could change because miserly as he
was the seeds of generosity were nevertheless in his heart and we can
change and grow because the seeds of generosity have already sprouted
in our hearts. We only need to nurture them and in time there will be
a flowering of the Bodhi heart which will make us forget all about
being generous, as generosity will be as natural to us as breathing.
At the end of A Christmas Carol, Dickens says of Scrooge “</span><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><i>His
own heart laughed and that was quite enough for him”</i></span><span style="font-family: " sans-serif, ,, serif, mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.
May all of our hearts learn to laugh like the heart of the
transformed Scrooge.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
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<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>This
talk was given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre, March 2018</i></span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Entering
the stream is a metaphor. The image of a stream is also used in
another way when speaking of crossing the stream. Here is a quote
from the Pali Canon where these two streams are mentioned: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“just
as the calves and feeble cattle breasted the stream of the Ganges and
got safely across to the other shore, so to those Bhikkhus who, with
the destruction of three fetters, are stream-enterers, no longer
subject to perdition, bound for deliverance, headed for enlightenment
– by breasting Mara’s stream they to get safely to the other
shore.”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
(Majjhima Nikaya, 34.9)</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We
need to be careful we don’t get our metaphors mixed up and end up
in the wrong stream! Most of us are already in Mara’s stream and
Mara is quite content for us to think we are in the stream of the
Dharma. What is the stream that a Stream Entrant enters into? In the
Samyuta Nikaya, the Buddha asks this very question. He says:
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“Sariputta,
the stream, the stream: thus it is said. And what, Sariputta is the
stream?” “This noble eightfold path, Lord, is the stream: right
view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood,
right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.” “Very
good, Sariputta! Very good – – this noble eightfold path is the
stream.”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
(Samyutta Nikaya, 55.5)</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now
that might be a bit puzzling. The Noble Eightfold Path is surely the
very basics that anyone has to practice and here it is being equated
with the stream that a Stream Entrant enters into. And elsewhere it
says that when you attain Stream Entry what you have to do is
practice the noble eightfold path. As many of you will know there are
two noble eightfold paths. There is the mundane eightfold path and
the supramundane eightfold path. In the Majjhima Nikaya, the sutta
called The Great Forty (117), the Buddha goes through the eightfold
path in terms of a path that is still </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“affected
by taints, partaking of merit”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
and the path that is </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“noble,
taintless, supramundane.”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
It is this supramundane eightfold path that is the stream which the
Stream Entrant enters into and practises. Stream Entry is
traditionally known as a Dassana Marga and the other three higher
paths of Once Returner, Non-Returner and Arahant are known as
Bhavana. Dassana means seeing. Bhavana means development. So there is
the path of seeing and the path of development. This is what Bhante
Sangharakshita refers to as the paths of vision and transformation.
One practises the mundane eightfold path and that leads to seeing,
Dassana, vision, Stream Entry and on the basis of that one practises
the supramundane eightfold path, the path of Bhavana, development.
This is what the tradition tells us.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How
does one enter the stream? How does one attain to seeing or vision?
By the way, the metaphor of opening the Dharma Eye is frequently used
together with the image of entering the stream. The Dharma eye opens;
we see something more clearly and as a result we enter the stream. It
may be a mixed metaphor but it kind of works. We have a natural
tendency to want to pin down these descriptions and interrogate them
to get a clearer idea of what is being said. But the whole point of
using images/metaphors is to point towards something without pinning
it down. Metaphors are intended to circumvent the natural tendency to
be literal minded and to want to concretise everything.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Buddhists
down the ages have not been deterred by metaphors and images.
Attempts have constantly being made throughout the history of
Buddhism to tie things down, to categorise and label and define and
subdivide and analyse and so on. And of course this is useful. It is
useful to have a bag of tools but having a bag of tools is not the
same thing as accomplishing the task. Other ways we can try to pin
down this image of entering the stream is to look at the first three
fetters which the Stream Entrant is said to break through. Now we
have another image,fetters. This teaching is saying that ordinary
people are firmly bound, imprisoned by ten fetters. According to the
dictionary a fetter is </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“a
chain or manacle used to restrain a prisoner, typically placed around
the ankles”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">.
That is a strong image and that is how we seem from the Awakened
perspective. We look like we are shackled, restrained, imprisoned.
The prison we are in is the prison of our own hearts and minds and we
are fettered by our delusions. The first three fetters according to
the Pali Canon are:</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Satkayadrsthi
– usually translated as 'self view'</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vicikitsa
– usually translated as 'doubt and indecision'</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Shilavrata-paramarsha
– usually translated as 'reliance on rites and rituals'</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Satkayadrsthi
is the view that I constitute something ultimate, that I, as I am,
here and now, represent an unchanging fixed entity. The breaking of
this fetter involves realising that we do not have any fixed,
unchanging, essence beneath or behind the ever changing body and
mind. This is the Buddhist doctrine of anatman. Atman is a soul or
essence. Everything else changes but Atman remains the same, it is
unchanging and eternal. This is the view that is contradicted by the
Buddha. The Buddha says we do not have any self in the sense of
Atman, something fixed and unchanging, behind the flux and the flow
of body and mind. We do not have an eternal soul. The view that I
have a fixed self/soul/atman is a delusion which is a fetter, a
shackle and holds us back from Awakening.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">At
Stream Entry we break this view to some degree. There are always
degrees on the gradual path of Buddhist practice. We can quite easily
see through this view intellectually. |That doesn’t make us a
Stream Entrant, because our behaviour may still be strongly
influenced by our felt need to protect and defend and strengthen our
fixed self, even if intellectually we don’t believe in its
existence. Views are not just ideas, they are motivating forces. The
forces that motivate us have their roots in our human evolution, in
our individual psychology and conditioning, and in our emotional
tendencies. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Breaking
the first fetter is not just a matter of nodding assent to the notion
that we don’t have an eternal soul. It’s not even enough to
accept the idea that we are constantly changing physically, mentally
and emotionally. Breaking a fetter means seeing deeply enough into
the delusion so that the seeing affects our behaviour. You could say
there are three levels to this ‘seeing'. First is knowing, as in
being familiar with and accepting the teaching, second is
experiencing, as in seeing something for ourselves and the third is
embodying, we become what we have seen.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bhante
Sangharakshita has talked about the three fetters much more in terms
of our actual experience, which makes it clearer what we need to do.
He calls the first fetter the fetter of habit. What we identify with
as myself is basically a bunch of habits. A habitual way of being, a
habitual way of seeing ourselves, a habitual way of relating to the
world, a habitual way of doing things, habitual responses, habitual
thoughts, habitual emotions. He says: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“breaking
the fetter of habit means essentially getting out of the habit of
being a particular kind of person.”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
(The Essential Sangharakshita, p.198) You need to gain some awareness
of the habit you are, in order to break free of it. And you do that
with the help of your friends and with the help of meditation. I said
there are degrees to breaking the fetter of self view. Even after the
Stream Entrant has broken the first fetter of self view there still
remains self view. This is explained in the Samyuta Nikaya; Khemaka
who is a monk has attained the level of Non-Returner, two steps
further on from Stream Entry, and he is explaining how although he
has broken the first five fetters, he still has the conceit “I am”
which lingers until all the fetters are broken. He says: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“friends,
it’s not that I say “I am form”, nor do I say “I am something
other than form”. It’s not that I say “I am feeling, –
perception, conditions, consciousness,” nor do I say “I am
something other than consciousness”. With regard to these five
clinging aggregates, “I am” has not been overcome, although I
don’t assume that “I am this”.</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(Samyutta
Nikaya, 22.89) </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Stream
Entry is a particular level of seeing through the illusion of a fixed
unchanging self but it is not a complete seeing through.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
next fetter is Vicikitsa, translated as doubt or sometimes as
uncertainty. It’s a sort of hesitation, wavering. It’s the “but”
that gives a voice to our resistance. It sounds good but – – –;
I can see it’s a good thing, but – – –, I know it would be
good for me, but – – – –. It’s not a state of total
disbelief in the path or the goal but it’s not quite a conviction
either. It’s this hovering in between kind of state, a refusal to
take a stand, to make a commitment, to act decisively. It’s a fear
of jumping in, being content to look on, without fully participating.
This fetter is arguably the most important one to break through. When
we come to look at the different lists of the attributes of a Stream
Entrant, we find that what is given prominence in all the lists is
the absolute conviction of the Stream Entrant in the Buddha, Dharma
and Sangha. The Stream Entrant is someone whose faith, shraddha, in
the Three Jewels is firm and irreversible. That is the primary
characteristic of a Stream Entrant.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
fetter of doubtfulness, wavering, is the key fetter to break, because
if we are full of indecision we will not be able to apply ourselves
to practice in such a way as to break through the fetter of habit,
the fetter of self view. Bhante talks about this fetter as the fetter
of vagueness and he says that the antidote is thinking clearly. If we
are indecisive and vague in this way we need to think things through
and look honestly at the alternatives we have and sort out our
priorities in life. It means coming to some sort of decision, making
up our minds and being willing to act wholeheartedly on the basis of
our decision, our choice. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It
can be that people spend part of their life wholeheartedly pursuing
one set of goals and then switch to a spiritual path. That is not the
smoothest way, but maybe the best or only way for some people. I
think that for many people doubt is not overcome by thinking but by
having a heartfelt response to other people who have faith. Faith or
conviction is embodied in people and sometimes coming into contact
with that, becoming friends with people who have conviction, is the
way to develop faith and conviction, to overcome doubt and
indecision. This is one of the reasons why Dharma friendship is so
important.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
third fetter is Shilavrata-paramarsha. ‘Shila’ means a precept or
moral observance or rule. ‘Vrata’ means a religious practice or
observance, a ritual. Shilavrata is moral rules and rituals.
Paramarsha means attachment or clinging. The fetter is about
attachment to or clinging to moral rules and rituals as ends in
themselves or it is sometimes thought of in terms of superstition,
taboos, conventions and rituals to propitiate the gods. Thanissaro
Bhikkhu translates it as </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“protective
charms and ceremonies”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">.
It is contrasted with a trust in karma. Bhante talks about this
fetter as the fetter of superficiality.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A
superficial Dharma practice is one where we meditate, do Puja and
even observe the precepts without reflection, without understanding
why. We need to ask ourselves; what is the point of this practice? Is
it effective? Do I understand what I’m doing and why I am doing it?
The superficiality is about acting from the surface of ourselves, not
going deeper. If we act from the surface we are not being
wholehearted, we are not bringing the whole of ourselves to the
practice. This means that we will be acting from the conscious,
rational and sentimental level and leaving out our unconscious
depths, our deeper motives and drives. He recommends commitment as
the antidote. Commitment is acting with the whole of ourselves as far
as we can.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That’s
something about the three fetters that are broken by a Stream
Entrant. How do we break these fetters according to the tradition?
What is the path to Stream Entry? The Samyuta Nikaya lays it out
neatly for us in a list of four factors. It says:</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Association
with people of integrity is a factor for Stream Entry</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Listening
to the true Dharma is a factor for Stream Entry</span></span></i></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Appropriate
attention is a factor for Stream Entry</span></span></i></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Practice
in accordance with the true Dharma is a factor for Stream
Entry.”</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(Samyutta
Nikaya, 55.5)</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These
four constitute the path. The path begins with associating with
people of integrity as this translator puts it or sometimes it just
says good people or admirable people. The word is Pali is ‘sappurisa’
and literally means ‘true man’ or even ‘true individual’.
This is about having a teacher or teachers, people we can learn from,
by listening to what they are saying and by following their example.
This is what we speak about as Kalyana Mitrata or Dharma friendship.
Here is how the Buddha puts it in the Itivuttika: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“with
regard to external factors, I don’t envision any other single
factor like friendship with admirable people as doing so much for a
monk in training, who has not attained the goal but remains intent on
the unsurpassed safety from bondage. A monk who is a friend with
admirable people abandons what is unskilful and develops what is
skilful.”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
This is followed by a verse:</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“<i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a
monk who is a friend</span></span></i></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">to
admirable people</span></span></i></p>
<ul><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Who’s
reverential, respectful,</span></span></i></p>
</li></ul>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">doing
what his friends advise –</span></span></i></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">mindful,
alert,</span></span></i></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">attains
step by step</span></span></i></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the
ending of all fetters.” </span></span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(
Itivuttika,17)</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Some
of the qualities of a person of integrity or an admirable person are
drawn out in different places in the Pali Canon. In the Anguttara
Nikaya (3.133) the Buddha says: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“a
friend endowed with these three qualities is worth associating with.
Which three? They give what is hard to give, do what is hard to do
and endures what is hard to endure”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">.
Elsewhere in the Anguttara Nikaya it says: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“a
person of integrity is grateful and acknowledges the help given to
him. This gratitude, this acknowledgement is second nature among
admirable people. It is entirely on the level of people of
integrity.”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
(2.31) It also talks about a person of integrity as someone who
rejoices in other people and doesn’t speak ill of them.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
steps leading to Stream Entry begin with associating with admirable
people,Kalyana mitras, Dharma friends. Then it goes through the
stages of listening to the teachings, giving appropriate attention to
the teachings and putting them into practice. You can see that
involves developing clarity and commitment, which according to Bhante
Sangharakshita enables us to break the fetters of doubt and
superficiality. With regards to listening to the Dharma the Anguttara
Nikaya mentions five rewards:</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“<i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One
hears what one has not heard before</span></span></i></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One
clarifies what one has heard before</span></span></i></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One
gets rid of doubt</span></span></i></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">one’s
views are made straight</span></span></i></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">one’s
mind grows serene.” </span></span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(Anguttara
Nikaya,5.202)</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As
regards appropriate attention (this is a translation of yoniso
maniskara, often translated as wise attention) the Majjhima Nikaya
suggests that the questions we should be asking a teacher are: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“what
is skilful, what is unskilful, what is blameworthy, what is
blameless? What should be cultivated, what should not be cultivated?
What having been done by me will be for my long-term harm and
suffering? Or what having been done by me will be for my long-term
happiness and welfare.” </i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(Majjhima
Nikaya,135)</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
other words it is recommending that we go into what is of practical
benefit to us on the path. Elsewhere the Majjhima Nikaya gives an
example of inappropriate attention: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“this
is how one attends inappropriately: was I in the past? Was I not in
the past? What was I in the past? How was I in the past? Having been
what, what was I in the past? Shall I be in the future? Shall I not
be in the future? What shall I be in the future? How shall I be in
the future? Having been what what shall I be in the future? Or else
he is inwardly perplexed about the immediate present: Am I? Am I not?
What am I? How am I? Where has this being come from? Where is it
bound?”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
(Majjhima Nikaya,2) And it suggests that this leads to a thicket of
views, in other words confusion.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Practice
in accordance with the Dharma is basically a matter of developing
right view and it begins with associating with people who are truly
good. Here is how it is laid out in the Anguttara Nikaya: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“now,
I tell you, clear knowing and release have their nutriment. They are
not without nutriment. And what is their nutriment? The seven factors
for Awakening… And what is the nutriment for the seven factors for
Awakening? The four establishings of mindfulness… And what is the
nutriment for the four establishings of mindfulness? The three forms
of right conduct… And what is the nutriment for three forms of
right conduct? Restraint of the senses… And what is the nutriment
for restraint of the senses? Mindfulness and alertness… And what is
the nutriment for mindfulness and alertness? Appropriate attention…
And what is the nutriment for appropriate attention? Conviction…
And what is the nutriment for conviction? Hearing the true Dharma…
And what is the nutriment for hearing the true Dharma? Associating
with people who are truly good…</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Just
as when the gods pour rain in heavy drops and crash thunder on the
upper mountains: the water, flowing down along the slopes, fills the
mountain clefts and rifts and gullies… The little ponds… The big
lakes… The little rivers… The big rivers. When the big rivers are
full, they fill the great Ocean and thus is the great Ocean fed, thus
is it filled. In the same way when associating with truly good people
is brought to fulfilment, it fulfils the conditions for hearing the
true Dharma… Conviction… Appropriate attention… Mindfulness and
alertness… Restraint of the senses… The three forms of right
conduct… the four establishings of mindfulness… The seven factors
for Awakening. When the seven factors for Awakening are brought to
fulfilment they fulfil the conditions for clear knowing and release.
Thus is clear knowing and release fed, thus is it brought to
fulfilment.” </span></span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(Anguttara
Nikaya,10:61)</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
is the path leading to Stream Entry and the basis of the whole path,
the foundation, is Dharma friendship; associating with people of
integrity, admirable people, good people. Kalyana Mitrata is the
beginning of the path to Stream Entry and the essential ingredient at
every stage; to guard against delusion, inappropriate attention or
practising in the wrong way.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Now
I want to say something about the characteristics and attributes of a
Stream Entrant as laid out in the Pali Canon. There are a number of
lists of the characteristics of a Stream Entrant. Often they are
lists of four attributes of the Stream Entrant, not always the same
four. The factor that is common to all the lists is conviction or
faith. In fact it usually</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;">accounts
for three of the four things in the lists. You have unwavering
confidence in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha as the first
three characteristics of the Stream Entrant and then the fourth the
characteristic may be</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
“virtues that are appealing to the noble ones”, </span></span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;">usually
meaning a high degree of skilfulness. Or the fourth attribute may be
generosity or it may be wisdom or right view.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I’m
not going to go into all these lists. I will just mention generosity
as there is an interesting bit in the Anguttara Nikaya about how a
person of integrity gives a gift. It says:</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>
“a person of integrity gives a gift with a sense of conviction. A
person of integrity gives a gift attentively. A person of integrity
gives a gift in season. A person of integrity gives a gift with an
empathetic heart. A person of integrity gives a gift without
adversely affecting himself or others.”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
(Anguttara Nikaya,5:148)</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What
I will do is go through briefly a list of the seven characteristics
of a Stream Entrant from the Kosambiya sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya
(48). The first is that the Stream Entrant’s mind is free of the
five hindrances – the text says not obsessed by or enthralled by
the five hindrances or by speculation about this world or the other
world and also not obsessed with arguing, quarrelling and disputing,
stabbing others with verbal daggers. That’s the first
characteristic of a Stream Entrant, not being obsessed or enthralled
by any of these things; the hindrances, speculation or disputing.
Secondly, a Stream Entrant experiences serenity. Thirdly a Stream
Entrant as a full confidence in the Dharma Vinaya, the teachings and
practices. Fourthly, the Stream Entrant is ethical. It says </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“although
he may commit some kind of offence for which a means of
rehabilitation has been laid down, still he immediately confesses,
reveals and discloses it to the teacher or to wise companions in the
holy life; having done that, he undertakes restraint for the future.”</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
fifth characteristic of a Stream Entrant is that even though he or
she may be active in helping or teaching others, they never neglect
their own practice. The sixth characteristic is that they are eager
to hear the Dharma being taught and give it a full attention. And the
seventh characteristic of a Stream Entrant is that when the Dharma is
being taught they become inspired and delighted.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Those
are the characteristics or attributes of someone who is a Stream
Entrant. Their mind is not occupied by the hindrances, by
speculations by quarrelling, arguing and disputing. They are serene.
They have complete faith in the Dharma and practices. They are very
ethically skilful and confess even small indiscretions. They keep up
their own practice, while helping others. They are eager for Dharma
teaching. They are inspired and delighted by the Dharma.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
the Suvajra’s book, The Wheel And The Diamond, about the life of
Dhardo Rimpoche, he says: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“Dhardo
Rimpoche had not felt like a great Lama, although everybody had
treated him as one. It nevertheless occurred to him that, despite his
feelings, we should try to act like a tulku by developing wisdom and
compassion. Over the course of time he had become a Rimpoche.”
</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(p.39)</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It
occurs to me that we could apply the same to Stream Entry. Many of us
may naturally enough from time to time wonder where we are on the
spiritual path. We may even want to know if we are Stream Entrants.
One way of answering this question, if you are really unsure and it
bothers you, could be to assume that you are Stream Entrant and then
to behave like one. If we behave like Stream Entrants, then whether
we are or not, we will be going in the right direction. When the
Buddha was alive he seems to have had no hesitation in pointing out
who was a Stream Entrant although at the same time he often made the
distinction that when he said somebody was a Stream Entrant it was
because he knew, whereas when Ananda or Sariputta or somebody else
said it. it was because they had great faith. Some of you may be
interested to know that in a sutta called Advice from Nandika in the
Majjhima Nikaya (146) the Buddha announces to the monks that five
hundred Bhikkhunis, female disciples, are Stream Entrants and beyond.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
want to consider two further questions before finishing: firstly what
are the benefits of Stream Entry?, and secondly, what comes after
Stream Entry? According to the Samyuta Nikaya, the Buddha says a
Stream Entrant will have a long life, beauty, happiness, status and
influence.(SN55:30). He also says that Stream Entry overcomes death
proximate karma. Mahanama, who is a Stream Entrant, tells the Buddha
that sometimes when he’s out and about in the city he encounters
various calamities and accidents: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“I
meet with a runaway elephant, a runaway horse, a runaway chariot, a
runaway cart, or a runaway person. At times like that, my mindfulness
with regard to the Blessed one gets muddled, my mindfulness with
regard to the Dharma… The Sangha gets muddled. The thought occurs
to me, if I were to die at this moment, what would be my destination?
What would be my future course?”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
And the Buddha replies: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“have
no fear, Mahanama. Have no fear. Your death will not be a bad one,
your demise will not be bad. If one’s mind has long been nurtured
with conviction, nurtured with virtue,</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>nurtured with
learning, nurtured with generosity, nurtured with discernment, then
when the body is eaten by crows, vultures, hawks, dogs, hyenas, or
all sorts of creatures, nevertheless the mind – long nurtured with
conviction, virtue, learning, generosity and discernment rises
upwards and separates out.” </i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(Samyutta
Nikaya,55.21)</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Those
are some of the benefits of gaining Stream Entry according to the
Buddha. And of course only a maximum of seven more lifetimes and to
Awakening! The last question is: what is the next step for a Stream
Entrant? Stream Entry is dassana’, seeing, vision, and what
follows is ‘bhavana’, development, transformation. I already
mentioned the supramundane eightfold path is the path of practice for
a Stream Entrant. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another
way of seeing it is that Stream Entry occurs at the eighth stage of
the spiral of positive nidanas, the stage of knowledge and vision of
things as they really are. The next step for the Stream Entrant is
the following four nidanas or immediately, the nidana of
disentanglement. Bhante refers to this stage as the stage of
withdrawal. He says: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“this
stage represents a clean, even serene, withdrawal from involvement in
conditioned things. When you deeply see, when you really realise,
that conditioned things, all the things with which you normally come
into contact, are unsatisfactory, that they’re going to pass away,
and that there is no real truth or reality in them, you become less
and less attached to them. You withdraw from them, you lose interest.
This stage of withdrawal is a sort of sitting loose to life. You may
be doing what is necessary objectively, but subjectively you’re not
caught up in it. This is what is meant by withdrawal. You’re still
part of the conditioned, but in your heart you have withdrawn from
it.”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> (
Complete Works, Vol.3,p.275)</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another
hint at the next step for a Stream Entrant is in the Mahaparinibbana
sutta, the account of the Buddha’s last days and death. In the
sutta the Buddha at one point says to Ananda: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“in
this assembly there is not one monk who has doubts or uncertainty
about the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha or about the path of practice.
Ananda, the least one of these 500 monks is a Stream Winner,
incapable of falling into states of woe, certain of Nibbana.”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
(Digha Nikaya,16.6.6) And then he gives these Stream Entrants his
final exhortation: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“all
conditioned things are impermanent – strive on diligently”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
or </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“with
heedfullness strive on”,</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
(appamadena sampadetha). However you translate it, he is basically
saying, continue to make an effort. That was the Buddha’s final
advice to Stream Entrants. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
the Samyuta Nikaya, Sariputta is more explicit. He is asked by the
venerable Maha Kotthita : </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“Sariputta
my friend which things should a virtuous monk attend to in an
appropriate way?”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
Sariputta answers: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“a
virtuous monk, Kotthita my friend, should attend in an appropriate
way to the five clinging aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a
disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a
dissolution, and an emptiness, not self. Which five? Form, feeling,
perception, fabrications, consciousness. For it is possible that a
virtuous monk, attending in an appropriate way to these five clinging
aggregates would realise the fruit of Stream Entry.”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
Maha Kotthita then goes on to ask him the same question in relation
to a Stream Entrant, Once Returner, Non-Returner and Arahant and
Sariputta gives the same answer except that he says that a Stream
Entrant could become a Once Returner, a Once Returner could become a
Non-Returner, a Non-Returner could become an Arahant. And as for an
Arahant he says: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“although,
for an Arahant, there is nothing further to do, and nothing to add to
what has been done, still these things (meaning appropriate attention
to the five skandhas) – when developed and pursued – lead both to
a pleasant abiding in the here and now and to mindfulness and
alertness.”</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(Samyutta
Nikaya,22.122) T</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">he
message is whether you are a Stream Entrant or not a Stream Entrant
,or wherever you are on the spiritual path, you just need to get on
and practice. “With diligence strive on “ as the Buddha said.</span></span></p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-20669996573892945432018-01-24T08:23:00.001-08:002020-08-29T02:08:49.849-07:00Conversion and Enlightenment<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">This
talk was given at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre, January 2018</span></i></span>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
Triratna Buddhist Order was founded on 7</span><sup><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">th</span></sup><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">
April 1968 under the name of the Western Buddhist Order. This year is
the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Order. As part of our
celebration and remembering that auspicious occasion I thought it
would be a good to revisit some of Bhante Sangharakshita's early
lectures, which were all part of establishing and creating this Order
and the teachings on which it is based. Unfortunately the two talks
that Bhante gave on the day of those first Ordinations were not
recorded it seems. I have decided to focus on a series of four talks
that were given a few of years before the founding of the Order and
another short series of talks that were given about seven years after
the founding of the Order. The series of talks on The Meaning of
Conversion in Buddhism were given in at the Hampstead Vihara, in
London either in 1965 or 1966. In The History of My Going For Refuge
Bhante says he gave the lectures in the Summer of 1965 but in the
preface to the book the date given is 1966. I think 1965 is the more
reliable date. That is two years before the founding of the Triratna
Community- and three years before the founding of the Order.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">In
1965 the population of the world was just under 3.5 billion, today it
is over 7.5 billion. Harold Wilson was Prime Minister of the UK,
Lyndon Johnson was president of the US, the Vietnam war and protests
against it were in full swing, Martin Luther King led a famous civil
rights march from Selma to Montgomery, India and Pakistan were at
war, The Rolling Stones were in the charts with Can’t Get No
Satisfaction and the Beatles with Help.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">In
1975 the world population was 4 billion, the Vietnam war ended, the
genocide in Cambodia began, The US president was Gerald Ford, Harold
Wilson was UK Prime Minister for the second time, Margaret Thatcher
became the first woman to lead a political party in the UK and
Britain voted yes in a referendum to remain in the European Economic
Community. Fawlty Towers was on TV, Elton John, David Bowie, John
Denver and the Eagles were in the record charts.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Just
as an aside here, it is often difficult for those of us who have
turned up later, when there are established Centres and Retreat
Centres and Free Buddhist Audio and The Buddhist Centre Online and an
almost worldwide Movement to really imagine what it was like in those
very early days. One little detail from Bhante's diary entry about
the day of the first ordinations could give us a clue. He says:
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><i>“Arrived at Centre House (a
hired venue, macrobiotic restaurant and yoga etc)at 10.15. Found
nothing ready. Cleared and arranged room, set up shrine etc.” </i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">That
little detail takes me back into a image of a Buddhist Movement that
barely existed. It didn’t even have people to clear the room and
set up the shrine, something we have for any class now. It was
largely a vision of Bhante’s that had not yet come into existence.
He had to communicate his vision and talk the Triratna Community and
Order into existence.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Three
years earlier he was doing some of that communicating in his series
of talks on The Meaning Of Conversion in Buddhism. In those talks his
approach is very pragmatic, he is trying to address the needs of his
audience. He had noted that many people coming along regarded
themselves as having been converted to Buddhism usually from
Christianity and so he decided to give some thought to the idea of
conversion and what that might mean in the context of Buddhism. His
talks cover the topics of Going for Refuge, Stream Entry, the arising
of the Bodhicitta and the Turning About spoken of in the Yogachara
tradition. The first talk covers what it means to convert to Buddhism
and the other three talks are about conversion from lower to higher
mental states within Buddhism. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Some
of you will have heard of William James author of The Varieties of
Religious Experience. His student, Edwin Starbuck published a book
called The Psychology of Religion in 1911. In that book he looks at
the phenomenon of conversion in the context of various Christian
groups in New England and he also goes on to talk about what is known
as sanctification in that context. One of the key differences he
pointed out between conversion and sanctification is that people can
fall back from conversion but sanctification represents a stage of
irreversibility. In the Christian context he talks about it in terms
of temptation. After conversion one experiences temptation and is
still susceptible to falling back into what we would call
unskilfulness. After sanctification one still experiences temptation
but there is no wish to respond. The tendency to unskilfulness has
gone. The other element of sanctification that Starbuck mentions is
altruism. He describes it as ‘intense altruism’.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">In
a way this corresponds to what Bhante Sangharakshita was talking
about in the Buddhist context in these four lectures on The Meaning
of Conversion in Buddhism. The first talk on Going for Refuge is
about conversion to Buddhism, putting the Three Jewels at the Centre
of our life and the other lectures cover the topics of
irreversibility and intense altruism and deep transformation. Overall
conversion is about turning from a lower to a higher way of life,
turning from worldly values to spiritual values. It is about a change
of heart and of course it is a process, a process that gradually
becomes more and more established and eventually becomes irreversible
and becomes who we are. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Of
course for some people, perhaps many people, there are sudden changes
along the way, experiences that deepen our understanding, experiences
that transform us, strong experiences. These experiences, these
sudden shifts to a different level are part of the process of
conversion within the life of any spiritual practitioner. When I
listen to people's life stories I am always interested in the point
when they become a Buddhist, sometimes that can be very moving. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Usually
conversion is preceded by a period of dissatisfaction. This was the
finding of Edwin Starbuck too. So when the breakthrough happens it is
a moving experience. As a matter of interest, later shifts in
consciousness from a lower to a higher level are also often preceded
by a period of dissatisfaction too. One might feel that after some
years of practice no progress is being made. But it is important to
know that that dissatisfaction is part and parcel of making progress.
Again this was something that Edwin Starbuck noticed in the people
that he studied. It is also my own experience. I can think of two
occasions in particular when I had go to a point of being really
dissatisfied with my Buddhist life; everything seemed to have
plateaued or gone stale and then after a prolonged period of
dissatisfaction I experienced a breakthrough. Incidentally in my
case, on both occasions, that breakthrough happened not when I was
meditating but when I was looking at paintings in an Art Gallery. I
don’t think that means anything for others, except perhaps that
spiritual breakthroughs can happen in situations where you are not
expecting them.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
other series of talks that I mentioned is the Human Enlightenment
series. These talks were given in New Zealand, at the Town Hall in
Auckland. The talks were given in Feb 1975, forty three years ago.
Bhante had been in NZ for a few months already and had conducted the
first ordinations outside the UK. Nine or ten people were ordained.
Bhante felt that NZ had ideal conditions for Dharma practice and so
he wanted to try to inspire more interest in the Dharma. That is why
he gave this series of public talks.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">If
you have ever introduced people to Buddhism you will know that one of
the first questions people tend to ask, naturally enough, is, what is
Enlightenment. In the first talk in this series of three talks Bhante
talks in a very down to earth way about the Ideal of Human
Enlightenment. But although he talks in a down to earth way the talk
also has depth. It is still a very good answer to the question what
is Enlightenment. The second talk is about meditation and the third
talk is about Spiritual Community.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">From
Bhante having to clear the room and set up the shrine for the first
ordinations, teaching all classes and giving all talks for many
years, we have come a long way. Now there are probably thousands of
talks by other Order Members and mitras, lots and lots of meditation
and Dharma teachers and teams of people for every retreat and class.
This a remarkable thing. The vision of one man has been communicated
effectively and taken up by others and made manifest in the world in
very tangible ways that allows the Dharma to touch the lives of many
people on a daily basis.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">When
Bhante wrote the introduction to the booklet when these talks were
published in 1980 he was keen to point out that they were not talks
on Buddhism but Buddhist talks. He said: </span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><i>“The
lectures I gave in Auckland were Buddhist lectures and as such they
were meant not merely to convey facts about Buddhism, whether
historical or doctrinal, but rather to communicate the results of one
individual Buddhist’s personal experience of Buddhism over a period
of more than thirty years”</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">.
This is what it means to communicate the Dharma and to communicate
the vision of the Dharma as a transformational influence in the lives
of many people who form together a spiritual community. In Mahayana
Buddhism this is known as the Bodhisattva’s ‘act of gathering’;
creating a spiritual community by sharing one’s experience of the
Dharma. We are the result of a Bodhisattva’s ‘act of gathering’
and our task is to perform our own ‘act of gathering’ by
contributing to the sharing of the Dharma and the creation of Sangha.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-74192848144254667012017-09-17T07:11:00.001-07:002020-08-26T02:51:06.610-07:00The Skilful Means of the Bodhisattva<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>This
talk was given at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre, September 2017</i></span></span>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
seventh paramita of the Mahayana is skilful means (upaya kusala),
which is spoken of in terms of the four means of unifying the Sangha
(samgrahavastus) and the four analytical knowledges (pratisamvids).I
will give a very brief introduction to the four Sangrahavastus and
say somewhat more about the other aspect of the skilful means of the
Bodhisattva, the Pratisamvids.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But
to begin at the beginning. What do we mean by a Bodhisattva? In this
context a Bodhisattva is anyone on the Buddhist Path who is aware of
and endeavouring to practise the altruistic dimension of the path. A
Bodhisattva aims to attain higher states of consciousness not just
for his or her own sake and not just for the sake of a hedonistic
buzz but also and primarily for the sake of all beings. This outward
looking and other-regarding attitude is the hallmark of the
Bodhisattva and of the Bodhisattva path.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
Bodhisattva path is sometimes laid out in terms of the four
preliminaries or four reminders followed by the Annutara Puja,
followed by the six Perfections. The Four Reminders or preliminary
practices are: reflections on the preciousness of human life, the
inevitability of death, the law of karma and the faults of samsara.
This is followed by the practice of Annutara Puja. This is what we
think of as the Sevenfold Puja. However as part of the Bodhisattva
practice this is not only a ritual but also a description of the
stages of the path, leading up to the realisation that is represented
by the seventh verse, Transference or merits and self Surrender. This
is what is usually talked about as the arising of the Bodhicitta, the
Awakened heart. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">There
is, then, a path from the four preliminaries, through the stages
represented by the sevenfold puja to the arising of the Bodhicitta.
The arising of the Bodhicitta represents a realisation that spiritual
practice is not just about personal development, it is not about
gaining personal insights and it’s not about a personal
Enlightenment. It is a realisation that the whole point of the
Buddhist path is to transcend all sense of self identity and expand
awareness outwards to include all beings, as being as precious to you
as you are to yourself. This idea is well described in the Metta
Bhavana meditation practice.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When
this realisation dawns and becomes more established then the
traditional path of Bodhisattva practise is to follow the six
Perfections (Paramitas). These are Generosity, Ethics, Forbearance,
Energy in pursuit of the good, Meditation and Wisdom. This path of
the six perfections is sometimes expanded into a path of Ten
Perfections and it is the seventh perfection of the ten that we are
concerned with. The seventh perfection is the perfection of Skilful
Means. Just for the sake of completion, the eight is the perfection
of the vow or aspiration, the ninth is the perfection of spiritual
power and the tenth is the perfection of knowledge. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
seventh Perfection is the perfection of Skilful Means (upaya kusala
paramita) Upaya is translated as ‘means’ or ‘expedient’ or
‘approach’. It is simply a way of achieving something. Kusala, of
course means ‘skilful’, in the sense of ethically skilful; based
in mental states of love, generosity and wisdom. But in this context
it also means skilful in the sense of the most effective and
appropriate means. When taken together these words indicate a means
of communicating the Dharma that is both expedient, in the sense of
appropriate and skilful in the sense of being both ethical and
effective. Sometimes skilful means is taken to mean some
unconventional or unusual way of communicating the Dharma and it
could be that, but the main thing about Upaya Kusala is that it is
appropriate, effective and ethically skilful.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Upaya
Kusala can be looked at in terms of the four Samgrahavastus, the four
means of unifying the Sangha, together with the four Pratisamvids,
the four Analytical knowledges as they are sometimes called. The
first four are generosity, (dana), kindly speech,(priyavadita)
beneficial activity, (arthacarya) and exemplification (samanarthata).
These four are skilful means, means of communicating the Dharma that
are appropriate and skilful in the sense of being both ethical and
effective. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
four Pratisamvids, the four analytical knowledges are about training
in the best way to communicate the Dharma. Buddhism began when the
Buddha managed to successfully communicate the Dharma to one person.
That first person to get it, to really understand what the Buddha was
communicating was Kondanna. That moment when Kondanna understood is
sometimes referred to as the setting in motion of the wheel of the
Dharma. The wheel of the Dharma has been rolling ever since, down the
generations to us.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
point in the history of Buddhism is often symbolised by an eight
spoked wheel,representing the eightfold path, and it is the origin of
Buddhism. This is such a key point, this successful communication of
the Dharma, that the wheel of Dharma, the Dharmachakra, is often used
to symbolise Buddhism, in the way that the cross symbolises
Christianity or the crescent moon symbolises Islam.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">These
four Pratisamvids or analytical knowledges are about what the
Bodhisattva does to become a supreme communicator of the Dharma. The
first thing to note is that communication of the Dharma is not just
about verbal communication. It is worth noting that three of the
Saghrahavastus, means of unification, are about doing rather than
speaking. The most important communication of the Dharma is actually
practising it. Only by practising the Dharma can we come to embody it
to some degree and it is only by becoming loving, generous, mindful
and so on that our verbal communication has the congruency and
coherence to positively influence people. As the Dhammapada says
</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><i>“First
establish yourself in what is good, then advise others”</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">
(verse 158).</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Assuming
we are practising ethics, meditation, study, friendship and going on
retreat, then all of us have something to communicate. We may
communicate through our actions, our example or verbally or in some
other way. If we are practising then what we can communicate is very
valuable and can even be life saving for some people. There are many
people in the Triratna Order and Community who say that the Dharma
literally saved their lives.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
four Sangrahavastus tell us that generosity, kindly speech,
beneficial activity and exemplification are key ways to communicate
the values and principles of Buddhsim and in that way contribute to
the creation of Sangha. The four Pratisamvids go a bit further and
suggest some very specific things to work on in order be a
super-communicator of the Dharma, a Bodhisattva. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
first thing we need is experience. The first Pratisamvid is Dharma
Pratisamvid, this can be translated as ‘knowledge of principles’
but what it is really getting at is that we need to have some
experience of what we are trying to communicate to others. In order
for our communication to have congruency it needs to be based in
experience. The Buddha tried to communicate his experience of
Enlightenment. We may communicate from our experience of being
ethical or our experience of meditating or our experience of going on
retreat. Often we have much more that we can share with others than
we realise. We may think that we are only struggling to concentrate
or that we are not very mindful or that we are always falling short
of the ethical precepts or that we don’t understand the Dharma
conceptually. And of course all of that is to some extent true, but
nevertheless there will always be someone who has less experience who
may benefit from what we have to give. If you have tried to meditate
you will have something to say about meditation, if you have ever
been on a retreat you will be able to give a first hand account of
what it is like to be on retreat. This Pratisamvid is encouraging us
to practise so that we can be of benefit to others, so that we will
have some authentic experience to share.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
second Pratisamvid is Artha Pratisamvid, which can be rendered as
‘knowledge of meaning’. This is about knowing the conceptual
formulations of the Dharma so that you have a framework for
communicating. This is encouraging the study of the Suttas and of all
the commentaries that are available to us. We don’t have to try to
struggle through the Diamond Sutra or the Sutra of Golden Light, we
can read Bhante Sangharakshita's commentaries and other commentaries
Sometimes it is helpful to look at the original texts after we have
read a commentary so that we learn for ourselves how to approach
these texts.</span></span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">By
studying the Dharma we also equip ourselves to communicate about
things that we have no direct experience of. Of course we should be
clear when we are quoting someone else or communicating what we have
studied rather than what we have experienced. This pratisamvid is
encouraging us to study the Dharma, to have familiarity with some of
the conceptual formulations, such as the eightfold Path or the Five
Spiritual Faculties or the Three Lakshanas, not for the sake of
knowing things, but so that we can effectively communicate something
of the Truth, for the benefit of others.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">We
need to study the teaching of our own teacher primarily. If we don’t
engage with our own teacher's teachings we are in effect deciding to
be our own teacher and following our own path. This is consumerist
Dharma, picking and choosing according to personal preference. And
that is not really conducive to spiritual growth.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Having
mastered the first two Pratisamvids; having an experience of the
Dharma and having knowledge of the concepts and ideas, we then come
to the third Pratisamvid. This is Nirukti Pratisamvid. We could
render this as ‘knowledge of words’ or more precisely ‘knowledge
of etymology’. This is about being able to communicate in the most
effective and intelligible way. It’s not enough to have studied the
Dharma, we also need to be able to speak about it in a way that
effectively conveys the meaning we want to convey. It’s important
to have a sense of what words mean. This may involve having some idea
of the etymology of words, but I think it is probably more important
to have a sense of the provisional nature of words. It is as if all
words are fingers pointing at the moon, all words are trying to give
expression to something that is not the words themselves and
therefore they are signposts, pointers. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Having
a sense of this provisional nature of words means that we don’t
rely too much on one way of expressing things. For instance we are
continually using metaphors and images in our speech and it’s good
to have some awareness of this so that we can vary the images and
metaphors we use. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
other key thing we need to be aware of in relation to words is the
tendency to be literal minded. It is very tempting to take things
literally and allow the words and concepts to rule the direction of
our thinking and our whole outlook on life. In the arena of Dharma
practice we might for instance be fond of the metaphor of depth or
the metaphor of height, as in going deeper in meditation or attaining
higher states of consciousness. If we are too literal minded we could
get into a whole argument about ways of practising and so on just on
the basis of the images evoked by these metaphors. It is best for us
to be aware of the provisional nature of words and the role of the
imagination in interpreting language. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Whole
cultures have been influenced adversely by literal-mindedness, people
have been persecuted and wars have been fought because of
literal-mindedness. As Kamashila put’s it in a talk on the
Eightfold Path, “</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Literalism
</i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>means
taking words at their face value instead of recognising their
metaphorical resonance. </i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Literalism
</i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>happens
when we stop trying to understand, when we think we know, and start
going through the motions. It is characteristic of merely external
religion.”</i></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Of
course the other danger with words is that we don’t take them
literally when they should be taken literally. We may sometimes try
to avoid the impact of a teaching by trying to give a metaphorical
slant to it, when actually it is intended quite literally. Our minds
are wonderfully flexible and usually flexible in the service our very
own ego empire building. We could take the idea of a Path literally,
as in the Noble Eightfold Path, when it is intended as a helpful
image, but we might want to take the another teaching metaphorically
when it should be understood in a straightforward way. For instance
the Dhammapada says </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><i>“Not
by hatred are hatreds ever pacified here (in the world). They are
pacified by love. This is the eternal law. Others do not realize that
we are all heading for death. Those who do realize it will compose
their quarrels.”</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">
(verses5 and 6) Now if we have not composed our quarrels we may not
want to accept that we are among those who do not realise that we are
all heading for death and therefore we may be tempted to try to
soften what the Buddha is saying by some rationalisation.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
point I am making is that when it comes to communicating the Dharma
it is important that we try not to get caught up in misunderstanding
simply because we don’t understand the words sufficiently or
because we get too attached to particular metaphors or become blind
to the principles behind the words. That’s Nirukti Pratisamvid,
‘knowledge of words’.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
fourth Pratisamvid is Pratibhana Pratisamvid, which can be rendered
as ‘knowledge of courage’. It is not really about having
knowledge of what courage is, it is about actually having courage or
confidence. It is saying that when we are communicating the Dharma it
is good to be prepared to communicate it at the time when it is
needed. That again implies being very familiar with the concepts and
ideas and with the stories and images of Buddhism. It also implies
practising communicating so that you become more skilled at it. For
instance we have Mitra Study sessions. These are discussions in a
group and they are about helping us to understand the ideas and
concepts but also about giving us practise in communicating our
understanding and blending our experience with the traditional
formulations of the Dharma. This is one of the reasons why it is
valuable to study and discuss with others. It is a practice in
sharpening our wits, making us familiar with the best ways of
expressing ideas and showing us when we are failing to make ourselves
understood. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">This
pratisamvid is about developing the skill to be able to communicate
with promptitude, clarity intelligence and wit when the need arises.
Lack of confidence hampers us in all sorts of ways and in particular
it can hamper our ability to share our experience of Buddhism with
others. The Dharma is the greatest gift we can give and it would be a
great shame if we didn’t train ourselves to be able to communicate
well. We shouldn’t think that we are lacking in confidence and
that’s the end of the story. If we are lacking in confidence we
need to find ways to overcome that, ways to face our fears, liberate
ourselves from our fears and become capable of giving others the gift
of the Dharma. That is the path of the Bodhisattva.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
only way of overcoming fear that I have found that works for me is to
face the fear. As the book title has it ‘feel the fear and do it
anyway’. As a shy and introverted person by nature and inclination
it has been constant practice that has enabled me to become more
confident and at ease in public situations. It is something I have to
consciously work with still. The other thing that gave me confidence
was being ordained. I experienced that as a major affirmation by
people I looked up to and respected.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
Bodhisattva is a Buddhist who is training to become an exemplar and
communicator of the Dharma and the Sangrahavastus and Pratisamvids
give an indication of the areas that we need to train in. Now in the
traditional Mahayana teachings the ability to teach the Dharma is
seen as a very high attainment, that is the ability to teach the
Dharma perfectly. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
four Pratisamvids are mastered at the level of the ninth Bhumi, which
is just on the threshold of Enlightenment. But we don’t need to
expect ourselves to be perfect; he perfection comes from practice and
from making mistakes. Making mistakes is an important part of the
Bodhisattva practice. The alternative is to not do anything in order
to avoid making mistakes. If we act or speak we are likely to
sometimes make mistakes and the importance of mistakes is that they
are a vital part of the learning process. If we hold ourselves back
from doing things because of fear of making mistakes, we could, as
Bhante puts it, <i>“become someone with a great future behind
them”.</i></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
the mandala of the five Buddhas it is possible to see a progression
of practices related to the Sangrahavastus and pratisamvids. We begin
with Akshobya and his Mirror-like Wisdom, which reminds us of the
need to be objective. If we are communicating it is important not to
rely entirely on our own subjective experience or our interpretation
of experience. We need to be as attuned to reality as possible, as
objective as possible. This is similar to Artha Pratisamvid,
knowledge of meaning as taught by the Buddha. Then we have
Ratnasambhava and his association with Generosity, which is the first
of the Sangrahavastus. Then Amitabha reminds us that we need to go
deeper and experience the nature of reality for ourselves, which is
what Dharma Pratisamvid is about. Then Amoghasiddhi encourages
fearlessness, which is what the Pratibhana Pratisamvid, the knowledge
of courage, is all about. Sitting at the centre of the mandala of the
five Buddhas is Vairocana and his mudra is of course the teaching
Mudra. What is at the Centre of the Mandala is what the whole mandala
is all about and this is indicating that what is represented by all
of the Buddhas culminates in the teaching of the Dharma. There is no
Enlightenment which is not shared, because Compassion is innate to
the Awakened consciousness and the greatest act of Compassion is to
give the gift of the Dharma, which is the greatest gift. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a name="page_112_fr_1"></a>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">When the
Buddha had sixty disciples who shared his understanding and
experience of the Dharma he gathered them together and he said: “</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><i>Go
ye now, O Bhikkhus, and wander, for the gain of the many, for the
welfare of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the good,
for the gain, and for the welfare of gods and men, Let not two of you
go the same way, Preach, O Bhikkhus, the doctrine which is glorious
in the beginning, glorious in the middle, glorious at the end, in the
spirit and in the letter; proclaim a consummate, perfect, and pure
life of holiness. There are beings whose mental eyes are covered by
scarcely any dust, but if the doctrine is not preached to them, they
cannot attain salvation.” </i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(Vinaya,
Mahavagga,1.11.1)</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">This
is what the whole Bodhisattva Path is about – it is the path to the
most perfect Compassion, the compassion which endeavours to cure the
sickness of humanity, not by assuaging the symptoms but by going to
the root cause and by means of the Dharma helping people to liberate
themselves from the causes of suffering.</span></span></span></p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-80142423559123972562017-08-05T03:18:00.000-07:002020-08-14T04:04:13.539-07:00What Buddhism is and what a Buddhist Centre is for
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><i>This
talk was given at the official opening of the Mid-Essex Buddhist
Centre 22</i><sup><i>nd</i></sup><i> April 2017</i></font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">When
I was a teenager I wanted desperately to know what life was all
about. I was hungry for answers to all kinds of questions. I couldn’t
find answers – indeed often I didn’t even know what the questions
were – I couldn’t formulate them. I just had a sense of wanting
something – wanting to know something, wanting to understand
something. At the age of 17 I realised that I was not a Catholic, as
everyone around me seemed to be, I was not even a Christian, I didn’t
believe in the existence of an omnipotent, creator God who sat in
judgement on individuals. I knew what I didn’t believe – I had no
idea what I did believe. I read voraciously, I devoured books,
searching for answers to the great existential questions.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">I
left my home in rural Ireland at the age of 18 and went to London. I
worked in accountancy and auditing and studied to become an
accountant. All the time I was unhappy to the point of distress
because I could not see what was the point of being alive. I was
really bothered by this. I could see clearly what I could do with my
life – I could continue my studies, get a qualification as an
accountant, get a good well paid job, perhaps become a partner in a
firm of accountants, buy a house and car, get married, have children
and so on. I could see that very clearly spread out before me and at
the age of 20/ 21 I felt deeply unsatisfied at the prospect. I don’t
know why this was because others seemed very content with this vision
of life and it seemed to give a sense of purpose to peoples lives. I
felt a kind of hopelessness at the prospect.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">At
age of 22, on the basis of a dream I’d had I gave up my career and
decided I was going to go in search of the meaning of life. Others
thought I was nutty. And by all reasonable standards, I guess I was.
I knew it meant that I was going to be poor and I accepted that. I
spent the next five years on that search – travelling around
Britain and Europe. I settled in Berlin for a few years and just at
the end of my time there I was introduced to Buddhism by a Sri Lankan
monk. He taught me the five ethical precepts of Buddhism and a
meditation on Loving Kindness. I was struck by these teachings, but
what struck me even more was the congruency between the teachings and
the monk – he really did seem to embody what he was talking about.
This was such a contrast to the priests of my childhood that it made
a big impression on me. I experienced an immediate sense of relief
and I just knew I had found what I was looking for, even though at
that stage I knew nothing about Buddhism and it wasn’t easy to find
good books or teachers then.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Back
in Britain I came across the Triratna Buddhist Community and here the
teaching was put in a way that I found very accessible and I decided
to get involved and I have been fully engaged with practising and
later teaching Buddhism ever since.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">What
is Buddhism – what was it that gave me that sense of meaning and
purpose I had been yearning for. Initially for me it was simply the
ethical precepts and meditation – and what I really liked, what
attracted me so much was that it was so practical – it was
something you did, not just a bunch of good ideas. And that is a key
to understanding Buddhism – above all Buddhism is a method, a set
of practices to transform the individual. And is based on a vision of
existence that Buddhists know as Nirvana, Enlightenment, Awakening.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Buddhism
begins with the Buddha – It begins with a human experience, the
experience of Awakening to the true nature of Reality. Siddhartha
Gautama was born and died, just like any other human being, but he
attained to the state of being a Buddha – the word ‘Buddha’
means ‘one who has Awakened’. </font></font>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Most
of us experience ourselves as separate from the world – we are a
subject with a subjective experience and out there is a world of
‘objects’, including other people, separate from us. That is a
common sense view of reality.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Modern
quantum physics tells us that this common sense view is a delusion
and that world of solid objects is not what it seems, atoms are
mainly empty space and therefore most of what seems so solid is in
fact empty space and what seems so inert is in a constant state of
flux. And it is even more mysterious than that since the basic
particles, which modern science has identified as the essence of
‘stuff’ are not only particles but also waves. And whether they
are particles or waves depends on whether they are observed or not –
weirdly, interaction with consciousness changes ‘matter’. Mind
is primary.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Our
common sense view of the world outside is a delusion and according to
Buddhism our common sense view of our self is also a delusion. If we
investigate thoroughly we will not find anything that we can call a
self, nothing fixed, separate. Nothing substantial. No unchanging
essence. Physically we are changing all the time, mentally,
emotionally – in every way we are in a state of constant change,
constant flux. The world of so called objects is a constant process
of change; the world of subject – what we think of as ‘me’ is
also a constant process of change. So we have these two seemingly
separate processes interacting.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">What
Buddhism tells us is that everything and everyone is intimately
interrelated. Everything arises because of conditions – a vast
multiplicity of conditions – and all those conditions are in turn
happening because of other conditions and so on. Nothing is isolated
– nothing happens of itself – everything is related to everything
else in some way.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">When
this is deeply understood, not understood in an intellectual sense
but deeply realised. When this fact of inter-connectedness,
inter-relation is deeply, deeply realised and becomes part of our
consciousness, then what arises is spontaneous compassion. This is
not the Compassion of a self/ subject doing something for or to
others who are experienced as separate objects out there. This is the
spontaneous inevitable activity of a mind, a consciousness, that
experiences no separation between subject and object, self and other.
This is the compassion of one who has Awakened – a Buddha.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Buddhism
arose when the Gautama the Buddha managed to communicate his vision
of existence to others and they realised it deeply for themselves, so
that they too experienced what he had experienced and became Buddhas
too.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">The
essential message of Buddhism is practical – We cause ourselves
suffering by trying to live from a deluded view of reality –
divided into a real self which wants to get something from or defend
itself against a real other. Our suffering is caused by wanting what
we can’t have and not wanting what we can’t avoid. Buddhism says
we can change ourselves and develop our minds so that we can have a
clearer and more accurate view of ourselves and the world. Change is
inevitable – some of it, such as ageing is beyond our control, but
on the level of choice, willed action, volitions, we can choose to
change in a positive direction or not.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">This
is the law of Karma: Actions have consequences. Good actions –
those based in mental states that are expansive, kindly, generous and
aware lead to positive consequences for ourselves and others. Those
actions based in narrow mental states of greed, hatred and
unawareness lead to bad consequences for ourselves and others.
Buddhism speaks of actions which are skilful or unskilful –
Skilfull actions come from expansive, positive states of mind and
Unskilful actions come from narrow, negative states of mind.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">The
five ethical precepts of Buddhism are a guide to the kind of
behaviour that is skilful – they are not rules or commandments but
rather principles, even training principles of an ethical life. It
was these precepts that I responded to so strongly when I first
encountered them.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">The
5 Precepts:</font></font></p>
<ol><li><p lang="" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><span lang=""><i>I
undertake the training principle to refrain from harming living
beings and put positively – with deeds of loving kindness, I
purify my body.</i></span></font></font></p>
</li></ol>
<p lang="" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><span lang="">So
this is firstly something that is </span><span lang=""><b>freely
undertaken</b></span><span lang=""> ( not a command to be
obeyed) and secondly, it is </span><span lang=""><b>a training</b></span><span lang="">,
something to be practised as you’d practise running or drawing or
playing a musical instrument. And it’s about </span><span lang=""><b>non-violence
towards living things</b></span><span lang=""> – which is why
many Buddhists are Vegetarian or Vegan.</span></font></font></p>
<ol start="2"><li><p lang="" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><span lang=""><i>I
undertake the training principle to refrain from taking the not
given or with open handed generosity ... </i></span></font></font>
</p>
<p lang="" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><span lang=""><span style="font-style: normal;">The
principle here is </span></span><span lang=""><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>generosity
and overcoming the greed or craving to possess things</b></span></span><span lang=""><span style="font-style: normal;">.
Purifying the body means purifying our actions or more simply being
ethical and caring in the things we do.</span></span></font></font></p>
</li><li><p lang="" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><span lang=""><i>Refrain
from sexual misconduct. </i></span></font></font>
</p>
<p lang="" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><span lang=""><span style="font-style: normal;">This
is about </span></span><span lang=""><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>refraining
from any kind of coercion, exploitation or manipulation in order to
obtain sexual graticification.</b></span></span><span lang=""><span style="font-style: normal;">
It is not about whether you are hetero, homo</span></span><span lang=""><i>
</i></span><span lang=""><span style="font-style: normal;">sexual,
bisexual or what happens in private between consenting adults. It is
an extension of the first precept of non-harming to the arena of
sexual relations – because sexual desire is such a strong force in
the lives of most people – a force of nature. The positive
counterpart to this is about developing stillness, simplicity and
contentment.</span></span></font></font></p>
</li><li><p lang="" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><span lang=""><i>Refraining
from false speech, truthful communication. </i></span></font></font>
</p>
<p lang="" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><span lang="">Without
truth there can be no trust and without trust there is no social
order, no society. </span><span lang=""><b>We depend on being
able to trust others</b></span><span lang=""> – otherwise our
lives become impossible. We can only communicate and build
relationships on the basis of trust and trust requires truthfulness.
Other speech precepts – Kindly, Helpful, Harmonising opposites of
harsh, unhelpful and slanderous.</span></font></font></p>
</li><li><p lang="" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><span lang=""><i>Refraining
from intoxicants that cloud the mind. </i></span></font></font>
</p>
<p lang="" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><span lang="">Mindfulness.
I think intoxicants by definition are meant to cloud the mind –
often that is the main reason why people drink or take drugs, they
want to cloud their minds, they want to escape from their normal
awareness. So this precept is about </span><span lang=""><b>mindfulness,
awareness and creating the conditions which allow greater awareness
to emerge.</b></span></font></font></p>
</li></ol>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">You
could say that there are two basic principles of Buddhist Ethics –
Metta, usually translated as loving kindness and Sati, often
translated as awareness or mindfulness. Buddhism is saying that we
need to train ourselves in both of these, develop both of these , in
order to become more ethical and incidentally happier. Mindfulness
or awareness is initially a process of getting to know ourselves
better and becoming intimately acquainted with how our mind works and
then it expands out to include everything and everyone else and
eventually embraces all of reality.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Loving
kindness approaches the same goal from another direction –
focussing on the well-being of all including ourselves and in that
way developing a deep understanding and realisation about our
inter-relatedness and the nature of reality.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">These
two principles – awareness and loving kindness – can be applied
to all of our relations with others, our relations with all living
things and even our relationship to so-called inanimate objects.
Awareness and kindness are the basis of an deep ecology of
consciousness and life.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Meditation
is a method to help us develop these qualities – it is a way of
working on the mind with the mind to cultivate a stream of positive
mental states. On the basis of these practices we are enabled to
approach the experience of Gautama the Buddha , the perfection of
wisdom and compassion, which goes beyond all notions of self and
other, all notions of fixedness or separateness – to the activity
of spontaneous compassion.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">The
first step to wisdom is a receptivity to the teaching – listening,
hearing, taking in what is being taught by the Buddha. The second
step is reflecting what has been taken in, making it our own,
understanding it intellectually, applying it to our actual lives,
seeing for ourselves that it works. The third and highest level of
wisdom is the deep realisation which means that we become wisdom, we
become compassion, we become loving kindness and awareness. We awaken
to how things really are.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">So
that is a very rapid and condensed description of what Buddhism is
from someone who has been a Buddhist for over 30 years. I hope it has
been comprehensible. Now what is a Buddhist Centre for. We are here
to celebrate the opening of this new Buddhist Centre – the Mid-
Essex Buddhist Centre. What is the point of a Buddhist Centre. A
Buddhist Centre exists to give people access to the conditions that
will enable them to practice the ethical principles, learn to
meditate and begin to move in the direction of wisdom and compassion.
A Buddhist centre makes available the teachings of the Buddha, in an
accessible form, the teachings of ethics, meditation and wisdom.
People can come along and take what they want from those teachings –
some will just want to learn to meditate, or practice some
mindfulness – others will want to take things further and deeper.
All are welcome.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Above
all A Buddhist Centre is a spiritual community of like minded people
who wish to share what they have gained and learned with all who are
interested and who support each other in their efforts by developing
friendships, studying together, going on retreat together and
encouraging and helping each other. Both friendliness and calmness
should be the palpable atmosphere of any Buddhist Centre. I hope that
many of you will be part of helping to create that atmosphere over
the coming years and I hope that many more people will come along in
the coming years to experience that atmosphere of loving kindness and
awareness.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-37092983547385175662017-08-05T02:29:00.000-07:002020-08-14T04:05:20.933-07:00How to create intensity and depth at Buddhist Centres
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><i>This
talk was given at the Triratna European Chairs assembly in 2017</i></font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">I
have been asked to talk about how to create depth and intensity at a
Buddhist Centre. But
what do we mean by intensity and depth? Let’s take depth first:
There is term in Pali and Sanskrit that corresponds to ‘depth’ –
it is Gambhirataa – Gambhiraa means ‘deep’ and gambhirataa
means depth. Gambhira is translated as deep, profound, unfathomable
and hard to perceive. It is used in the literal sense to describe a
deep lake for instance and it is also used to speak about depth of
knowledge and wisdom or depth of meditation. So this metaphor of
depth is an ancient one . The opposite in Pali is uttaana which means
shallow, superficial or thoughtless. That gives us a hint of what we
are aiming for – a move from superficiality to profundity. What
this means in a nutshell is that achieving depth is about the
movement from a shallow, superficial view of oneself and the world
towards a profound and subtle (hard to perceive) view of self and
world or in an even smaller nutshell that is the movement from
egotism to egolessness, from selfishness to selflessness. </font></font>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">As
a matter of interest I think the metaphor of height means exactly the
same as the metaphor of depth – but somehow the different metaphors
have a different affect on people and lead them to practise
differently even. I guess it means we need to be careful about
getting too attached to any particular way of talking about practice.
So this whole business of moving from egotism to egolessness, from
self-centredness to selflessness is fairly straightforward and
uncontroversial. But how do we do it and what should we be
encouraging others to do.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Before
saying anything about that I want to briefly look at what ‘intensity’
might mean in this context. I am not aware that it corresponds to any
particular idea in the Suttas or Sutras. However the etymology of the
English word ‘intense’ may be helpful in this regard. It comes
from a Latin root meaning ‘stretched’. So an intense Dharma life
is one that stretches us – a practice that we are stretched by.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Bringing
these two ideas together we have the image of going deep and the
image of being stretched. In some ways they amount to the same thing,
but I am going to approach them as being concerned with two different
aspects of Dharma Practice. <span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Attaining
depth is about those practices which give us a more profound or
deeper understanding and experience of ourselves and of the Dharma.
Intensity is about those practices which stretch us when bringing our
understanding and experiences into relationship with other people and
different situations and circumstances.</span></span><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">
</span>We could consider intensity to be a collective thing and depth
to be a matter of individual practise<i>.</i></font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">I
suspect that there isn’t any one true path to depth – different
people will have to concentrate on different things. Broadly speaking
gaining depth is about what we often refer to as integration and
positive emotion. On the basis of these two we can stretch ourselves
in the process which is sometimes referred to as spiritual death.
Depth is about doing whatever is necessary to gain greater
self-knowledge and greater awareness more broadly. Obviously
meditation helps. However I don’t believe meditation is sufficient
and it has been my observation that although people can gain greater
wisdom through meditation they can also get greater delusion. <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">In
the Pali Canon it is recommended that you check your meditation
insights against the explicit teachings of the Buddha and the
testimony of the wise. </span>It is only in communication that we
really gain insight. Meditation is not the whole of the spiritual
life. Kalyana Mitrata is according to the Buddha the whole of the
spiritual life. However I would say that in between meditation and
Kalyana Mitrata there lies another practice which is essential to
achieving any depth and that is the practice of reflection -
reflecting on our own experience, our responses, our habits, our
reactions, our joys. Asking ourselves questions – questioning our
centrality in the universe, questioning the pre-eminence of our ideas
and viewpoints. All of that leads to depth. Reflecting on our lives
in the light of the Dharma also helps. For example, if we find that
we have got into a conflict with someone, and it is genuinely obvious
that they are in the wrong – we still need to reflect on our own
response. If we are upset – why are we upset? How does our upset
get expressed? What are the Dharmic perspectives on the situation?
Does the third verse of the Dhammapada apply? <font color="#111111"><i>"He
abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me." Those
who harbour such thoughts do not still their hatred.” </i></font><font color="#111111">Does
the 5</font><font color="#111111"><sup>th</sup></font><font color="#111111">
verse of the Eight Point Mind Training apply? </font></font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><font color="#000000">“<font face=""><font size="3">When
others, out of jealousy</font></font></font></i><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font size="3"><i><br /></i></font></font></font><i><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font size="3">Treat
me wrongly with abuse, slander, and scorn,</font></font></font></i><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font size="3"><i><br /></i></font></font></font><i><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font size="3">May
I take upon myself the defeat</font></font></font></i><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font size="3"><i><br /></i></font></font></font><i><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font size="3">And
offer to others the victory”.</font></font></font></i></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Subhuti
talks about Reaction Practice in this regard. In other words the
practice of using your own reactions/ responses to situations and to
other people as a way of going deeper into how we create ego – how
we further the ‘ego project’ to use Vessantara’s phrase. The
third verse of the Eight Point Mind Training recommends this
exploration too. It says:</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><font color="#000000">“<font face=""><font size="3">In
all my deeds may I probe into my mind,</font></font></font></i><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font size="3"><i><br /></i></font></font></font><i><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font size="3">And
as soon as mental and emotional afflictions arise-</font></font></font></i><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font size="3"><i><br /></i></font></font></font><i><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font size="3">As
they endanger myself and others-</font></font></font></i><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font size="3"><i><br /></i></font></font></font><i><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font size="3">May
I strongly confront them and avert them”</font></font></font></i><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font size="3">.</font></font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">In
order to use our reactions and responses in this way we need to be
willing not to take ourselves too seriously – our opinions and our
emotions are just the surface ripples churned up by the busy swans
feet of our very own ego project. </font></font>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">I
have had the experience of seeing people who are very capable and
keen meditators, able to get into Dhyanic states frequently, not
seeming to change very much. I have known people to be selfish,
irritable and unaware of other people , in spite of deep meditation
experience. I’ve also known and do know people who are very keen on
Dharma study, very knowledgeable about the Dharma able to reflect
deeply on the connection between different Dharmic concepts and able
to explain the Dharma very well, but not seeming to be transformed by
their Dharma knowledge, not seeming to be able to apply what they
know so well to their own lives and their own mental states.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">This
doesn’t mean that meditation and Dharma study are useless, it just
means that another factor needs to come into play and that is this
practice of reflection on our own responses and reactions, a thorough
questioning of ourselves in a spirit of curiosity and adventure. And,
of course, reflection on how the Dharma actually applies to our life.
Meditation can give us the flexibility of mind and the awareness to
be able to do this and Dharma Study can give us the perspective and
conceptual framework to make sense of what is happening in our own
minds.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">We
also need to reflect on our happiness and sense of well-being and
understand deeply the conditions that have given rise to that. In his
lecture on Nirvana, part of which is reproduced in Guide to the
Buddhist Path, Bhante Sangharakshita puts it like this: <i>“we
should try to understand , much more deeply than just intellectually,
why we are what we are. If we are suffering, accept the suffering,
and understand why we are suffering. Or, as the case may be, if we
are happy, accept the happiness (don’t feel guilty about it ) and
understand why we are happy. This understanding is not something
merely intellectual; it is something which has to go very deep down
indeed. For some people this penetration, or insight, will come in
the course of meditation. Meditation is not just fixing the mind on
an object, nor just revolving a certain idea in the mind. Meditation
involves, among other things, getting down to the bottom of one’s
own mind and illuminating one’s mind from the bottom upwards. In
other words it involves exposing one’s motives, the deep-seated
causes of one’s mental states, the causes of both one’s joy and
one’s sorrow. In this way, in awareness, real growth will take
place.”</i></font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">The
first step in achieving depth is Meditation and Reflection. I think
solitary retreats are also indispensable. We have lives that are full
of people and meetings – a lot of interactions with people. It is
essential to get away from all that and just be with your own mind
for a while – without that I doubt whether going deeper is
possible. If I have attained anything that might be called depth I
would say it is almost entirely due to solitary retreats. Also, of
course, if you don’t go on retreat for your own benefit, then you
are in no position to recommend to other people that they go on
retreat for their benefit. Perhaps we could look at the question –
what could I do to go deeper in self-understanding, deeper in
awareness and deeper in my understanding of the Dharma? </font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Let’s
move on to intensity now. As I said earlier, the word ‘intensity’
comes from a root meaning ‘to stretch’. When we are talking
about intensity in spiritual practices, we are talking about
something that stretches us –in our understanding, in our
abilities, in our communication and so on. Attaining depth is about
those practices which give us a more profound or deeper understanding
and experience of ourselves and of the Dharma. Intensity is about
those practices which stretch us when bringing our understanding and
experiences into relationship with other people and different
situations and circumstances.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">We
could, for convenience, relate depth to Integration and Positive
Emotion and relate intensity to Spiritual Death and Rebirth.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Spiritual
Death is an odd phrase and a metaphor that I don’t particularly
like. I am not too keen on the word “death”, because although we
are speaking metaphorically of a kind of death of egotism, the word
death implies something sudden and also the word itself doesn’t
have many positive connotations. But what we are talking about here
can be very gradual and is highly positive – we are talking about
seeing through our delusion of having a fixed and separate self. This
seeing through manifests as a movement away from self-centredness to
greater and greater selflessness. The wisdom of seeing through our
delusion of ego identity manifests as the compassion of selfless
activity.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">We
could use other metaphors for this process, this vision, as well as
the metaphor of death. We could talk about Spiritual Victory for
instance. In the Dhammapada the Buddha says: <i>“though one should
conquer in battle thousands upon thousands of men, yet he who
conquers himself is truly the greatest in battle. It is indeed better
to conquer oneself than to conquer other people.”</i> (Verse 104)
We could talk about ‘freedom of mind’ (cetovimutti), the term
the Buddha uses in the Meghiya Sutta, also translated as ‘the
hearts release’. When Bhante talked about Spiritual Death in a
seminar back in the 1970s he began by referring to it as the Stage of
Vision.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Whichever
images or metaphors we use the important thing is to understand what
is being expressed and sometimes it’s best that we have a number of
expressions to guard against literalism and a descent into jargon,
where every little expression of generosity is referred to as a
Spiritual Death. What we are talking about here is a victory over all
kinds of self-centredness and selfishness and pettiness. We are
talking about the death of the delusion that we have some kind of
fixed permanent essence, a self, which needs to be defended and
nourished. We are talking about a release from the prison of
isolation that is egotism. We are talking about a vision of complete
selflessness known in the Mahayana as the Bodhisattva Ideal. Although
we talk about Spiritual Death separate from spiritual rebirth, really
there is no separation. When you are released from delusion you are
released into a vision. When you let go of selfishness you let go
into selflessness. When you are victorious over ignorance you gain
the kingdom of wisdom and compassion.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Intensity
then is a way of talking about those activities which stretch us
beyond our ego project and into the lives of others. Spiritual
friendship in all it’s forms is central to what this idea of
intensity is getting at. And in the context of a Buddhist Centre
intensity is present when the people running the Centre and the
activities of the Centre are developing and engaging in spiritual
friendship with each other. This may not always be comfortable, just
as our meditation and Dharma study isn’t always comfortable, but it
can be transformative. When this starts to work well – friendship
between people, all of whom are individually seeking depth- then the
combined forces of this group of people creates a tangible culture
and atmosphere, which others can experience and gradually join in
with.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">In
the Anguttara Nikaya – the chapter of sevens – there is a passage
about the seven qualities of a friend. The first three of these
qualities are that a friend is someone who ‘gives what is hard to
give’, does what is hard to do’, and endures what is hard to
endure’. If you have a bunch of people working together all of who
are willing to give what is hard to give, do what is hard to do and
endure what is hard to endure, then you have a very powerful dynamo
of spiritual energy that can transform all those who come into
contact with it. What does it mean that something is hard to do, or
give or endure. Well as I see it there are two elements to this –
the objective and the subjective. </font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Some
things are objectively hard to do – lift a very heavy weight, climb
Mount Everest or in terms of giving, it is hard to give up personal
comfort or give away all your money and it’s objectively hard to
endure a lot of physical pain. However, I think for most of us, most
of the time , this practice of giving, doing and enduring what is
hard to give, do and endure is more about what we find subjectively
difficult. In short it is about whether we are willing to
inconvenience ourselves a little for the sake of others or for the
sake of the bigger situation or for the sake of the Dharma or our
teachers. We are more likely to find it hard to give because of our
attachments – to money, things, time, comfort and so on. We are
likely to find it hard to do things that stretch us beyond a limited
view of ourselves or cause us some anxiety or give rise to fear of
conflict and so on. And we are likely find it hard to endure other
people being critical of us, having strong opinions that don’t
agree with ours and so on.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">This
practice of developing the ability to give what is difficult to give,
do what is difficult to do and endure what is difficult to endure may
involve very different things for different people. One person may
love to be in front of an audience teaching and find it hard to
support a class, another may find it very hard to give a talk or lead
a class and want to be in the background all the time. This is not to
say that we need to be always challenging ourselves to do things we
find difficult, it is more about being willing to do or give or
endure the difficult thing when the need arises, especially in the
context of supporting our friends in a Buddhist centre.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">I
have come up with five things I think we need to try to put in place
so that a Buddhist Centre becomes a place of that intensity of
practice that leads to the arising of Bodhicitta. The first thing is
a certain amount of renunciation – especially <b>renunciation of
worldly values</b> and worldly identities.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Probably
most, if not all, of you will be familiar with the Dasadhamma Sutta.
The first verse there says:</font></font></p><font color="#0e0e0e">“<font face=""><font size="3"><i>There
are ten dhammas which should be reflected upon again and again by one
who has gone forth. What are these ten?</i></font></font></font>
<p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><i><font color="#0e0e0e"><font face=""><font size="3">I
am no longer living according to worldly aims and values. </font></font></font></i><font color="#0e0e0e"><font face=""><font size="3"><i>
This must be reflected upon again and again by one who has gone
forth.” (Anguttara Nikaya,10,48)</i></font></font></font></font></font></p>
<p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.42cm;">
<font face=""><font size="3"><font color="#111111">I
have put this into my own words to make it more relevant to our
actual situation:</font></font></font><font face=""><font size="3"><br /></font></font></p><p class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">These
are ten things that should be reflected on again and again by an
Order member.</font></font></p><p class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">I
no longer hold to any group identity, such as nationality, gender,
sexual orientation, family, skin colour, class, ethnic origin, the
wealthy, the poor, socialist, capitalist and so on.</font></font></p><font face=""><font size="3">This
should be reflected on again and again by an Order Member.</font></font>
<p style="background: rgb(255, 254, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; break-before: auto; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-left: 0.03cm; margin-top: 0.56cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<font face=""><font size="3"><font color="#111111">In
other words the first thing we need to do is </font><font color="#111111"><b>renounce
worldly identities and the values that go with them</b></font><font color="#111111">.
As far as I can tell many of the problems we have encountered in the
Order over the years are to do with the fact that we are so immersed
in worldly values, so influenced by worldly values that we are unable
to see clearly that we are immersed and influenced by worldly values.
Being immersed in worldly values and identities means being heavily
influenced by worldly norms, worldly ways of thinking, worldly ways
of doing things. If we are to really develop depth and intensity at
Centres, some of us at least will need to thoroughly and
wholeheartedly renounce worldly values and identities. Or to use the
traditional term we need to ‘go forth’ from worldly values and
identities.</font></font></font></p>
<p style="background: rgb(255, 254, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-left: 0.03cm; margin-top: 0.56cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<font face=""><font size="3"><font color="#111111">Then
secondly, in our Centres we need to have </font><font color="#111111"><b>agreed
aims</b></font><font color="#111111">. This may seem obvious and in
some ways it is, but as we have often heard it is worth stating the
obvious. In Cambridge the team has encapsulated it’s aim in one
sentence: </font><font color="#111111"><i>“</i></font><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Our
aim is to live, practise, realise and communicate the Buddha’s
Dharma as elucidated by Bhante Sangharakshita.” </span></i>Having
an agreed aim gives us something that is above individual opinions –
a shared aim and value. This is something that a team can come
together around, something that helps cohesion.</font></font><font face=""><font size="3"><br /></font></font></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Thirdly,
a team needs to develop <b>trust</b> . Team members need to develop
confidence in each other, at least with regards to working together.
Without that confidence or trust it becomes very difficult to create
the kind of atmosphere and culture that contributes to the intensity
of engagement we are trying to encourage. Those who attend a Centre
weekly or less often pick up on the atmosphere and are influenced by
it – if the atmosphere is one of coldness or tension it will be
very off-putting. I don’t think there are any techniques to enable
trust to develop – it comes out of working together,
communication, having fun together and spending time around each
other. And it takes time. I did the Daniel Ofman Four Quadrant
Analysis with my team and it was very well received and helpful.
That is one possible activity for helping to build trust between
people. (see
www.toolshero.com/communication-skills/core-quadrant-ofman/).</font></font></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">As
the Centre Chair and therefore probably the most influential person
in the situation we need to be careful that we are <b>not too
attached to particular outcomes</b> in all situations. We need to be
big enough to allow other people to take initiative too. And we need
to keep an eye on the bigger picture, the principles involved and
the perspective of the overarching aim of the Centre, rather than
get too caught up with a particular way of doing things or
particular solutions to problems. This is much more difficult than
it sounds, because we often think our way of doing things is the one
that best communicates the principles. It is one of the shadow sides
of being confident – being too confident or even a bit
over-bearing, without meaning to. Often people will go along with
someone who is very confident but they may resent it later, because
they feel humiliated or a sense of failure or inferiority. We need
to not be too attached to particular outcomes or particular ways of
doing things. After all we will eventually leave the situation or
drop dead and the world will carry on merrily without us and our
genius and the Buddhist Centre will thrive without us too.
The more people
can contribute to the Centre the more of a hub of energy is created.</font></font></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Fifthly,
there needs to be a spirit of altruism running through everything we
do at a Buddhist Centre. We need to encourage and practise
generosity in our teaching, in being Kalyana Mitras, in relation to
money and in relation to volunteering. This altruistic spirit is
really what enables people to move on from a narrow vision of
personal development, personal insight, even personal enlightenment
– to a greater vision of the spontaneous compassionate activity of
the Bodhisattvas. If a
Centre has an atmosphere of generous altruism and energy in pursuit
of the good – then that stretches everyone who comes into contact
with it – it creates the intensity that ultimately gives rise to
that outburst of compassion, that outpouring of energy which is
often referred to as the arising of the Bodhicitta, the awakening
heart.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">I’ve
said a few things about depth and intensity which I hope help to
stimulate your own thoughts. But I would like to end with a quote
from Subhuti from his paper entitled A Suprapersonal Force
(<a href="http://subhuti.info/essays">http://subhuti.info/essays</a>):
</font></font><font face=""><font size="3"><i>“Sangharakshita
teaches that this kind of intensity is most likely to come about in a
team of committed Dharma practitioners, living a simple shared
Dharmic way of life, closely and intensively cooperating together in
serving the Dharma. These conditions offer the greatest opportunity
to enter the Stream of the Dharma. Within such a Dharma community,
will be found the best basis for bodhicitta to arise. This is a key
understanding underlying Sangharakshita's founding of the Triratna
Buddhist Order and Community. When people come together who deeply
share a common vision and purpose, their efforts combine in a
momentum that draws them all onward, beyond themselves. This is
Sangha. If they are able to join in real harmony, with openness and
mutual trust, then the weaknesses of each are obviated and their
strengths contributed selflessly to their shared Dharma service.
Between them they set up a powerful current, by which they are all
simultaneously carried along. An intensity of combination is created
out of which something more than the sum of the individuals comes
into play – bodhicitta arises. If we truly want to let what feels
like a suprapersonal force work through us to transform the world, we
need to bring conditions of that kind together in daily life. We need
to find ways of engaging effectively with Order members and others to
serve the Dharma on the basis of Dharma practice and lifestyle. What
then emerges is a living culture or atmosphere that immediately
strikes others who come in contact with it.”</i></font></font>
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Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-38781169779345174732017-08-04T04:37:00.000-07:002020-08-14T04:05:40.313-07:00Going For Refuge
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><i>This
talk was given at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre in 2017</i></font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">If
you reflect on life and on your own life you probably have some
inkling of what you want to do with your life. You have some idea
that if you have the chance – you would like to be able to sit back
in old age – look back on your life and say, yes, I have lived life
to the full. I have done my best and achieved what I could achieve.
For some this kind of contemplation brings to mind things like
travelling the world or being a millionaire or raising a family
successfully.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">For
a spiritual aspirant and especially for a Buddhist it may bring to
mind images of the Buddha or great Buddhists like Milarepa or
Padmasambhava and their spiritual achievements. Whatever it brings to
mind it’s an exercise worth doing – imagine yourself at the end
of your life being able to say I have lived life fully and then
reflect on what that would mean for you now. The answer can give
shape and direction to your life. For the purposes of this talk
living life to the full means doing all that is necessary to lead
towards the Awakening that we call Buddhahood. In traditional terms
this is spoken of as Saranam Gacchami – going for refuge. Buddham
Saranam Gacchami , Dhammam Saranam Gacchami and Sangham Saranam
Gacchami; going for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. This is
what we are going to explore in depth in this talk.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><u>Going
for refuge to the Buddha</u><br /></font></font></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">I’m
going to look at going for refuge to the Buddha under five headings</font></font></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">affirmation</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">investigation</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">transformation</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">emulation</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">contemplation</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">The
first thing that going for refuge to the Buddha means is being clear
that the Buddha was an Enlightened human being – not a son of God,
not the ninth avatar of Vishnu, not a great philosopher like
Socrates, not a religious leader but an Awakened or Enlightened human
being. What does that mean?</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Here
is a quote from Bhante Sangharakshita: <i>“Enlightenment – we
can say that it is a state of pure, clear, radiant awareness. And it
is sometimes specified that in this state of awareness one no longer
makes any emotional distinction between oneself and others. That
sense we have of an inner world set against a world outside ourselves
is entirely transcended. There is just one continuous, pure, and
homogeneous awareness extending freely in all directions. It is,
moreover, an awareness of things </i><span style="font-style: normal;">as
they really are.</span><i> This means an awareness of things not as
objects, but as transcending the duality of subject and object. Hence
this pure, clear awareness is also spoken of as an awareness of
Reality. It is a state of knowledge – knowledge not in the ordinary
sense of someone accumulating notions of things, but rather a seeing
of things directly and truly, unmediated by any separate subject
doing the seeing. It is a spiritual vision – even a transcendental
vision – which is free from all delusion, or misconception, all
wrong, crooked thinking, all vagueness, all obscurity, all mental
conditioning, and all prejudice.</i></font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><i>However
this is not the end of it. Enlightenment can be described as full
illumination, as transcendental awareness, as Wisdom. But it is also
an overflowing of profound love and compassion for all that lives. It
is described, too, as supreme bliss, or complete emancipation – the
bliss of release from the subjective ills and limitations of
conditioned existence. It is thus also characterised by inexhaustible
energy continually bubbling forth, total spontaneity, uninterrupted
creativity. At the same time none of these aspects of Enlightenment
function separately from one another. Therefore the actual experience
cannot be described at all. Only by reflection on the Dharma –
reflecting on the Buddha’s teaching as well as his example – by
deeper communication with friends, and above all by meditation, can
we get some real intimation of what the Enlightenment of a Buddha
consists in.” </i><span style="font-style: normal;">(Complete Works,
Vol.3, p.31)</span></font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Having
a sense of the Buddha as Enlightened, as symbolising the ideal of
Enlightenment for all humanity – we can open our hearts in devotion
and gratitude and aspiration. As Sangharakshita <i>says “the image
of the Buddha with which everyone is familiar seems a figure of
unfathomable knowledge and compassion. Its message is not strident or
defensive. It does not call for fear and guilt. Instead, it triggers
off a subtle perplexity in ourselves, questioning of our deepest
assumptions – about what is possible, about what can be known and
what cannot be known, about what a human being can become. We may
recognise in it something in ourselves that we have not perhaps taken
into account; and the belief may stir in us that such knowledge and
serenity might be available to ourselves.”</i></font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">The
first stage of going for refuge to the Buddha is <b>affirming</b>
that the Buddha was an enlightened human being and therefore an ideal
model for all humanity. Buddhism begins with the Buddha. We can use
many metaphors – an ideal indicates where we want to go, Buddha
nature indicates what we are potentially and nirvana indicates what
we want to let go of our escape from.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
second stage is</span><b> investigation</b> – this refers to
getting to know yourself. The Buddha is your ideal – but what or
who are you? This aspect of going for refuge involves looking into
your conditioning; family, school, society, class, religion,
politics. It
also involves becoming aware of your habits, your views, your
behaviour and your speech. It involves getting to know yourself
thoroughly through meditation, communication( includes things like
life stories, friendships) and reflection. It’s not about passing
judgement on yourself but about being honest with yourself, not
hiding from yourself.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
third stage of going for refuge is </span><b>transformation. K</b>nowing
yourself and having a direction to your life means that you can begin
to transform yourself in that direction, especially through working
on your behaviour and your speech. A key wrong view is not accepting
the law of karma – without it practice is pointless. If we have
right view and accept the law of karma then we can practice by using
the law of karma and relying upon it. We don’t really have right
view if we only accept the law of karma intellectually and don’t
act upon it.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
fourth stage is</span><b> emulation.</b> The precepts are a
description of the normal behaviour of a Buddha. We can use the idea
of emulating the Buddha to encourage us to be ethical, to meditate
and reflect and communicate well – that is what the Buddha did. We
can read about the Buddha – in books like Gautama by Vishvapani,
Life of the Buddha by Nanamoli and of course the Pali Canon. We can
read about other great Buddhist teachers – in the Tibetan tradition
the Guru is the Buddha for the disciple. We could read about the life
of Sangharakshita we could look at the people around us, who do we
admire? - who would we like to emulate?</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
last stage according to my list is </span><b>contemplation. </b>The
traditional practice is called Buddhanusati – recollection of the
Buddha, contemplating the Buddha’s qualities – wisdom,
compassion, energy. This could also mean knowing stories from the
Buddha’s life. We can also contemplate qualities through reflecting
on the symbolism of the archetypal Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The
symbolism of the five Buddhas is very rich – colours, gestures,
animals, and much more. Visualising and contemplating these helps to
open our hearts in devotion. Devotional practices are a kind of
ritual contemplation of the Buddha and the qualities of
Enlightenment. They are meant to move us emotionally so that we
recognise that which is higher with receptivity, gratitude and
reverence.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">In
order to go for refuge to the Buddha more deeply we could ask
ourselves some questions: what does awakening mean to me? What steps
could I take to know myself better? Do I really believe that I could
change? What particular quality of the Buddha would I most like to
emulate?</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><u><font face=""><font size="3">Going
for refuge to the Dharma</font></font></u></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">The
first thing is to know it. What is the teaching of the Buddha and
what is Bhante Sangharakshita's elucidation of the Buddha’s
teaching. In order to know the Dharma we need to study, discuss,
explore. Especially we need to explore and try to understand pratitya
samutpada, dependent arising and its implications. Then we need to
apply the Dharma to our lives. Bhante always asked himself “what is
the purpose of this teaching?” So for instance – we shouldn’t
just think – all things are impermanent and tick the box – got
that – okay next. No, we should ask what are the implications for
me? Do I really really believe it? We should try to apply it to the
things that we are attached to and the people we're attached to. All
things – everything and everybody is impermanent – you are
impermanent – your legs, your eyes, your ears, your heart – all
of you. Your thoughts, your emotions, your resentments, your
complaints, your desires – all impermanent. We can go into it
deeper and deeper. Impermanence doesn’t just mean that things come
to an end it also means that things come into being, it implies
growth and we should reflect on that side of impermanence and its
implications for ourselves too.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">Going
for refuge to the Dharma of course means practising the Dharma. That
means practising ethics, meditation, going on retreat, friendship and
spiritual community, reflection. Reflection is a crucial practice –
asking yourself questions such as what do I really believe? What do I
want to do with my life? Asking questions can take us deeper and
deeper. Going for refuge to the Dharma can be summed up in the words
– study, practice, realise. The last of these, realising, is not
something that can be forced, it arises in dependence on conditions,
on a particular intensity of practice. Realising is a matter of
experience followed by embodying the truth of what was experienced in
how we live our lives and relate to others.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><u><font face=""><font size="3">Going
for refuge to the Sangha</font></font></u></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">According
to Bhante going for refuge to the Sangha means <i>“looking for
inspiration and guidance to those followers of the Buddha, both past
and present, who are spiritually more advanced than oneself”. </i>The
Dharma is not an abstraction – it is embodied in flesh and blood
people. And we need to be in contact with people who embody the
Dharma to a greater degree than we do. There is a spiritual
hierarchy, but how do we recognise that people are more spiritually
advanced? In the Anguttara Nikaya the Buddha talks about the ways to
know a person: <font face=""><i>“four facts about a
person, O monks, can be known from four circumstances. By living
together with a person his virtue can be known, by having dealings
with a person his integrity can be known, in misfortune a person’s
fortitude can be known, by conversation a person’s wisdom can be
known”. (AN,IV,192) </i></font></font></font>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">We
also know a person through seeing their faith and their ethical
practice. We are connected to the ideal of Enlightenment via the
Sangha, especially the people who embody the Dharma to a greater
degree than we do. So going for refuge to the Sangha involves finding
inspiration and guidance. What inspires us? Do we want or welcome
guidance?</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">In
relation to the Sangha of all those on the path with us we go for
refuge by being in communication, creating friendships, confiding in
confessing. Through all of this we transform ourselves. Sangha
supports our practice. It makes possible lifestyles to support
practice – you meet others and you can go on retreat with them,
study with them, meditate with them, even in some cases live and work
with them. Sangha also provides a context where we can give
expression to our values and ideals – share with others. </font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">A
Buddhist Centre is a result of Sangha and a condition for Sangha to
expand and flourish. It is something to be valued as part of our
going for refuge to the Sangha. Going for refuge to the Sangha means
being engaged in creating Sangha. It’s surprising how easy it is to
take the Buddhist Centre and all its activities for granted but it’s
worth reminding ourselves and remembering that it only exists because
of the generosity of people; people giving their time, people giving
their energy, people giving their money, it’s all supported by the
generosity and efforts of people.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">So
that is something about going for refuge to the Buddha, to the Dharma
and to the Sangha. I hope it’s taken us a little deeper into these
topics. </font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-85109476772614203512017-05-15T06:08:00.003-07:002020-08-25T07:55:26.576-07:00The Worshipping Buddha
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><i>This
talk was given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre, Buddha Day, May 2017</i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">Today
is about celebrating the Buddha’s Enlightenment. It’s about
celebrating the actual Enlightenment or Awakening of Siddhartha
Gautama and the possibility of Awakening that that opens up for all
of us and for all humanity. Because this man, Siddhartha Gautama,
awoke to the true nature of reality, because of his Realisation, his
discovery of the path to Awakening, that Awakening is a possibility
for all human beings. It is the hidden, unrealised potential of all.
Because one person was able to perfect wisdom and compassion that
shows that all have the potential to perfect wisdom and compassion.
The Buddha is both an historical person, a man who experienced a deep
spiritual Awakening and also a symbol of that deep spiritual
Awakening for all of us. We can come into relationship with
Enlightenment, Awakening, Nirvana, Bodhi, whatever word we use, we
can come into relationship with that Realisation by coming into
relationship with the Buddha.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">But
how do we come into relationship with the Buddha? And what was the
Buddha’s realisation? Of course it is not possible to fully convey
what the Buddha’s experience was. But he did teach and we can use
some of those teachings to hint at his experience. We have to use our
imagination to give us some sense of the profundity and far reaching
consequences of his Awakening. The Buddha saw that everything that
exists, everything that comes into being for however short or long a
time, everything from a thought or emotion to a mountain or an ocean,
absolutely everything is dependent on a whole multitude of
conditions. And all of those conditions are also dependent on a
multitude of conditions and so on, and all those conditions and all
those conditions for conditions are interrelated.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">One
consequence of this is that nothing is fixed or permanent. Everything
is in process, including every aspect of you and every aspect of me.
Everything about us is changing all the time. Nothing is fixed.
Everything about the whole universe is changing all the time, nothing
is fixed. These facts of constant change and total interdependence,
when we see deeply into them, when we realise their truth with our
hearts and minds, when it penetrates to the core of our being; these
facts have profound consequences for how we see ourselves and how we
relate to the rest of the world. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">This
deep realisation is wisdom and it manifests in the world as
compassion. Out of this realisation about constant change and
interdependence grows other teachings around the law of karma, ethics
and meditation. One way we come into relationship with the Buddha is
through his teaching, the Dharma. By studying the Dharma, reflecting
on it, putting it into practice in our lives, we come into contact
with the Buddha. We begin to understand more and more deeply the
significance of the Buddha and of his Awakening as we ourselves
gradually start to awaken to reality. As our awareness grows and our
Metta begins to flow, we have a better sense of who the Buddha was
and what his experience signifies. In the Pali Canon, the Buddha says
to his disciple Vakkhali, <i>“he who sees the Dharma sees me, he
who sees me, sees the Dharma. Truly seeing Dharma, one sees me;
seeing me one sees Dharma”</i>.(Samyutta Nikaya, 22.87 ) However
this is not the only way we can come into deeper contact with the
Buddha.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">We
can come into relationship with the Buddha by reading or hearing
about his life. We could read the excellent book Gautama by
Vishavapani or the Life of the Buddha by Nanamoli or we could read
stories from the Buddha’s life in the Pali Canon, stories that
bring out his qualities and his mysteriousness. We can come into
relationship with the historical Buddha and see him walking the dusty
tracks of Northern India, encountering all sorts of people, Kings,
farmers, priests, prostitutes, aristocracy and peasants, the whole
range of humanity. Encountering the Buddha in this way can give us a
strong sense of his humanity and, at the same time, as we see again
and again the impact it had on others, we get a sense of how
extraordinary he was.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">We
can also come into relationship with the Buddha through meditation
and reflection. We can meditate and reflect on the qualities of the
Buddha and in that way deepen our understanding of him. We could
meditate on his compassion or his wisdom or his energy. We could
reflect on his generosity, his simplicity, his contentment. There is
the traditional practice of Buddhanussati, recollection of the
Buddha. There are also meditations that involve visualising the
Buddha sitting beneath the Bodhi tree or visualising the symbolic
Buddhas, which give emphasis to particular aspects of Awakening. All
of these are ways of coming into closer relationship with the Buddha
and with the Buddha’s experience of Awakening to the true nature of
reality.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">Today
I want to concentrate on another aspect of the Buddha and another way
of coming into relationship with the Buddha. That is ritual and
devotion. In the Garava Sutta the Buddha says: <i>“one suffers if
dwelling without reverence or deference. Now on what Brahman or
contemplative can I dwell in dependence, honouring and respecting
him?”</i> (Samyutta Nikaya,6.2) The Buddha wanted to revere, honour
and respect somebody. The Buddha was a worshipping Buddha. According
to him, having no one to reverence is suffering.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">The
Buddha is not recommending reverence as practice. He is saying that
it is essential to a fully human life, without it we suffer. He is
saying reverence is a natural human need and the natural human
response to something higher. When we encounter someone more
spiritually developed, reverence is a natural response. It’s
natural, but we are not very natural. Our attitudes and ideas and
conditioning all go together to build up artificial responses in us.
We may respond with resentment or feelings of inadequacy or cynicism
or childishness or gullibility or fear. We may have all sorts of
responses when we encounter someone more spiritually developed. We
may not experience any reverence at all. Reverence may be very alien
to us. The mere idea of reverence may seem weird. But nevertheless
according to the Buddha, reverence is an essential ingredient in a
fulfilling life. If we have nothing or nobody to look up to, to
revere, hat implies that we consider ourselves to be at the pinnacle
of existence. That may be a very uncomfortable place to find
ourselves.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">Whether
reverence comes naturally to us or not, we have in the figure of the
Buddha the object of veneration. And we have in Buddhism many
practices which give ritual form to the practice of reverence or
devotion. By practising Puja and other forms of reverence, such as
bowing before the shrine, making offerings, and so on we strengthen
our ability to experience reverence and to give expression to our
devotional feelings. We use the power of ritual to access these
feelings of reverence and devotion. Ritual is an important part of
human life that has been taken up by Buddhism to harness the deepest
energies of the mind, energies that are not accessible by intellect
alone but require the activation of imagination.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">According
to Eric Fromm, the well-known Jungian psychologist, there are two
kinds of ritual, rational and irrational. He says: <i>“we not only
have the need for a frame of orientation which makes some sense of
our existence in which we can share with our fellow men; we also have
a need to express our devotion to dominant values by actions shared
with others. Ritual broadly speaking, is shared action, expressive of
common strivings, rooted in common values. The rational differs from
the irrational ritual primarily in its function; it does not ward off
repressed impulses but expresses strivings which are recognised as
valuable by the individual. Consequently it does not have the
obsessional – compulsive quality so characteristic of the
irrational ritual. In fact, one can always recognise the irrational
ritual by the degree of fear produced by its violation in any
manner.” </i>(Psychoanlysis and Religion) Irrational ritual is of the nature of obsessive
compulsion – like washing your hands every ten minutes. Irrational
ritual tends to isolate people.</span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">I’d
like to make a further distinction, between ritual and ceremony.
Ritual is collective, ceremony is more individual. For instance in
our own context we have Mitra ceremonies in the context of ritual.
Puja is a ritual, “a shared action, expressive of common strivings,
rooted in common values.” The Mitra ceremony is marking an
individual’s decision to publicly declare that they are a Buddhist
and intend to practice in this Triratna context. We also have the
ordination ceremony, which similarly marks an individual decision and
commitment. And in ordinary life there are funeral ceremonies and
wedding ceremonies. There are elements of rational ritual here, but
Eric Fromm’s definition is a very good way of thinking about
ritual. “Shared action, expressive of common strivings, rooted in
common values.” In the Buddhist spiritual context the common values
that any ritual is aiming to express is the aspiration to wisdom and
compassion or the aspiration to grow and develop in the direction of
wisdom and compassion.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">Ritual
is “shared action”. It is done with others and this collective
aspect is very important. Karma means action in the ethical sense and
karma is about individual action of body, speech and mind. The word
for ritual is Kriya, which also means action. In the case of ritual
the action is also of body, speech and mind and it is done together
with other people, and in fact tends to bring people together, to
harmonise people. As Bhante Sangharakshita puts it: <i>“the
performance of ritual action in company with others should celebrate
a common spiritual attitude. For this reason a feeling of fellowship
is essential, which means that ritual implies a spirit of metta
(loving-kindness) and solidarity. If this is present, a very powerful
spiritual atmosphere can be created.” </i><span style="font-style: normal;">(Ritual
and Devotion in Buddhism,p.30)</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">I’m
sure many of us have experienced this. As well as being shared action
ritual is also, according to Eric Fromm’s definition, “expressive
of common strivings.” Fromm also speaks of ritual as <i>“a
symbolic expression of thoughts and feelings”</i>. Bhante talks
about this in his book Ritual and Devotion in Buddhism. He says
“<i>essentially expression means bringing something out from
within, even from the depths within. It is in order to express our
depths that symbolic expression is necessary. Conceptual expression
isn’t enough. Conceptual expression brings something out only from
the conscious level of our minds – and we have got to do more than
that. We’ve got to plumb the depths beneath the conscious level, to
contact the parts of our being to which myth and symbols speak. We
could say, in fact, that ritual is like an acting out of symbol or
myth. By expressing what is deep within our being, we externalise it,
see it, make it something we can know. We can then begin to
understand it and incorporate into our conscious attitude. In this
way our whole being will be enriched and integrated.” </i><span style="font-style: normal;">(p.32)</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">This
draws out the purpose of ritual as a spiritual practice very well. It
is “<i>to plumb the depths beneath the conscious level to contact
the parts of our being to which myth and symbols speak”</i>. Of
course ritual in Buddhism is not isolated from all the other aspects
of Buddhism. It is intimately connected with the goal of Awakening,
the striving towards wisdom and compassion. It is supportive of
meditation. It draws us into cooperation with other people in a way
that can give us glimpses of ego transcendence. It helps to release
the unconscious energies that may otherwise be blocked or
unavailable.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">Because
ritual is a way of giving wholehearted expression to our spiritual
aspirations and because our spiritual aspirations are embodied and
symbolised by the Buddha and all the great Awakened ones down the
ages, ritual is also an expression of reverence and devotion. We
express our aspiration to wisdom and compassion by revering those who
have realised and embodied these spiritual qualities. And by
expressing reverence we are coming into contact with the Buddha, who
also expressed reverence; the worshipping Buddha, who said that it is
a source of suffering to be unable to reverence.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">In
Triratna our main rituals are the Sevenfold Puja, the Threefold Puja,
the Dedication Ceremony and the Ti-Ratana Vandanā. The Sevenfold
Puja is a particularly full and effective ritual. It is based on the
long poem, the Bodhicaryavatara, which is about the path of the
Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva being the Buddhist practitioner who
emphasises compassion particularly. The Sevenfold Puja is a ritual
that evokes seven different moods, all leading up to a kind of
outburst of compassion. This outburst of compassion is the arising of
the Bodhicitta, the awakening heart. This explosion of compassion in
the heart leads to a fervent practice of the six perfections;
generosity, ethics, patience, vigour, meditation and wisdom.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">The
ritual is evoking in the practitioners the attitudes and moods which
lead up to this enhanced aspiration and motivation. The different
stages are also practices in themselves, each of which needs to be
carried on outside of the context of the ritual. The ritual is also a
kind of poetic reminder of the path of practice. As well as being a
ritual the Sevenfold Puja can also be a meditation practice. As
Bhante puts it; <i>“you can practice a mental Puja, going through
the Puja silently as a form of meditation, visualising the Buddha,
the offerings, and so on. This is regarded as a higher level of
practice which is possible only for those who have the necessary
power of concentration and experience.”</i> (Ritual and Devotion,
p.45) The Sevenfold Puja is a ritual evoking a common spiritual
striving and aspiration. It is also a devotional exercise, giving
expression to our receptivity to and reverence for those further
ahead on the path.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">In
the Mahayana sutras, especially the Pure Land sutras, there is a very
imaginative evocation of a vast eternally ongoing Puja with hundreds
of thousands of Bodhisattvas continuously singing hymns and chanting
mantras in praise of Amitabha and all the Buddhas. This is a kind of
cosmic Puja and is a symbol for Enlightened consciousness. Our
Sevenfold Puja is a reflection of this state of being, an imaginative
expression of the reverence and aspiration that is inherent in human
consciousness and finds its fulfilment in Buddhahood.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">Puja
works best when we engage with it fully. We engage our minds by
having an understanding of the purpose of the practice before we do
it and by bringing that purpose to mind just before we practice Puja,
as a preparation. We also engage our minds by imagining the offerings
and the Buddha’s and Bodhisattvas as vividly as possible and
imagining ourselves in the midst of those Buddha’s and
bodhisattvas. We engage our speech by saying the words consciously,
with feeling and in harmony with everyone else. We engage our bodies
by adopting the Anjali mudra, the gesture of reverence, by bowing
before the shrine and by making offerings to the shrine.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">Devotional
ritual is important because it enables us to access our deeper, less
conscious energies and it brings more of us on to the spiritual path;
not just our head, but also our heart; not just our thoughts, but
also our emotions; not just our rational mind, but also our
imagination.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">Outside
of spiritual practice these deeper, more emotional and imaginative
aspects of our being can be accessed and activated through engagement
with the arts. Great art, whether painting, poetry, music or
whatever, is expressive of states of consciousness not usually
accessible to us, even not usually accessible to the artist. By
engaging with the art we come into contact with that bigger awareness
and we are moved by it, even perhaps changed by it.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">For
art to have this kind of affect on us we have to engage with it
wholeheartedly. If it’s a visual art we have to look at it and look
at it for some considerable time. Sometimes in art galleries you see
people walk around glancing at all the paintings or even just looking
at the labels or photographing the paintings. To get something out of
looking at paintings it’s probably best to settle in front of one
painting for half an hour or forty minutes. I often bring a notebook
with me and write down any thoughts and feelings evoked by the
painting as I look. Sometimes a painting will only divulge it’s
secrets very gradually. You have to make friends with it. I’m sure
something similar applies to music, literature, photography, dance
and drama. The more you engage, the more attention you pay, the more
you are repaid. Sometimes people feel inadequate in the face of the
arts and the conceptual Dharma, but really there is no need to. We
are not trying become experts who can answer all the questions. We
are just trying to make use of whatever helps us to go deeper, “<i>to
plumb the depths beneath the conscious level, to contact the parts of
our being to which myth and symbols speak.” </i>A combination of
engagement with the fine arts and participating in devotional ritual
will gradually give you access to the depths and the heights of your
own being and enable you to practice the Buddha’s teachings more
and more fully.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">The
Buddhist tradition down the generations has given birth to an
abundance of ways of engaging imaginatively with the ideal of
Buddhism, symbolised in the figure of the Buddha. More and more
Buddha figures have emerged, like Amitabha the red Buddha, the Buddha
of love, Ratnasambhava, the Golden Buddha of generosity,
Amoghasiddhi, the green Buddha of fearlessness and Akshobya ,the blue
Buddha of stability. There are Bodhisattva figures like Manjughosha,
Bodhisattva of wisdom; Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva of compassion;
Vajrapani, Bodhisattva of vigour and many many more.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">All
of these Buddhas and bodhisattvas symbolise aspects of the Awakened
mind and they also represent the totality of Enlightenment. They are
extensions of or imaginative emanations of the Buddha Shakyamuni.
Because we are all so different and respond so differently, we have
different spiritual needs from each other and different spiritual
needs at different times in our lives. This pantheon of imaginative
emanations of the Buddha allows us to connect with the Buddha through
symbols that attract our attention.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">The
Threefold Puja
(<a href="https://thebuddhistcentre.com/triratna/threefold-puja">https://thebuddhistcentre.com/triratna/threefold-puja</a>)
is perhaps one of the simplest devotional rituals, but although it is
very simple and straightforward, it is also profound, going straight
to the heart of Buddhism with a passionate fervour. In the first
section we are recollecting the Three Jewels, bringing them to mind
and reminding ourselves of their importance to us. We express
reverence, because that is the appropriate relationship with
something so sublime. The Buddha as Guide. The Dharma as Wisdom. The
Sangha as Inspiration and guide. <span style="color: black;">There is
plenty for reflection here – what do we mean by a guide? – what
guidance do we need or want? What part does inspiration play in our
lives and is the Sangha a source of inspiration for us?</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">In
the second section we express confidence in the Buddha, Dharma and
Sangha. We are saying we have faith that there is the possibility of
Awakening, Enlightenment, Buddhahood. We are saying we have faith in
the Dharma and want to practice it. We affirm that we will study and
practice. This affirmation of faith in the Three Jewels is very
important. This is our sense of commitment and emotional engagement.
Here we speak of aspiring. Aspiration is this emotional element of
faith that moves us to act and in the third part of the second
section we talk about making our own commitment, a decisive action.
This is a channelling of energy in the direction of our spiritual
goals, a channelling of energy into our life as a Dharma practitioner
and follower of the Buddha. Commitment is of course something we have
to do over and over, it is not a one off event.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">In
the third section we are opening up the channels of energy between
ourselves and our ideals even more. The offerings of flowers, lights
and incense symbolise a receptivity and openness to whatever the
Three Jewels, the spiritual Path asks of us. With the flowers we are
recognising our impermanence, the Reality which we need to respond
to, the existential facts of life as represented by the four sights
in the story of Siddhartha. The offerings signify our need for help
and our aspiration to be of benefit to all beings. This is the
Bodhisattva path in a very condensed form. We make our own individual
commitment to the perfect life and that has an influence on others;
it spreads in all directions. The incense offering is like the fourth
sight in the story of Siddhartha.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">Throughout
the whole puja we express reverence again and again. This is a deep
recognition that there is something higher, more sublime, than our
ordinary mundane consciousness. We are not the pinnacle of existence.
And expressing reverence is a recognition of our relationship to what
is highest and best in the universe and an expression of a heartfelt
gratitude and love for those highest ideals.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">I
said at the beginning that there are many ways of connecting with
Enlightenment or Awakening, which is symbolised by the image of the
Buddha and all the archetypal Buddhas and Boddhisattvas. One way of
coming into relationship with the Buddha is through ritual and
devotion. The arts are an important, perhaps essential bridge to
these deeper energies and ritual is the spiritual practice which
leads us into these depths. The rational mind, the intellectual
pursuit, is often resistant to ritual and devotion and in the
spiritual life we need to bring awareness and kindness to our
tendency to resist the unfamiliar, to resist going deeper. Every
Sangha needs to engage frequently and thoroughly in ritual and
devotion: pujas, chanting, encounters with the world of the
imaginative. We can make more of pujas. We can prepare for Puja’s.
We can even prepare physically by having a bath or shower, putting on
our best clothing, choosing the colours associated with the Buddha or
Bodhisattva the Puja is dedicated to. </span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;">We
have had lots of Dharma talks over the last few years, with lots of
great speakers and those talks are very uplifting and inspiring but
we need something more. Listening to a talk is relatively passive and
it stimulates our thinking, our conceptualising. We need to go
further and deeper than that. We need to be engaging our energies,
engaging our imagination, engaging the deeper energies of the
unconscious mind and engaging all of that in the quest for Awakening.
We do that through the poetic, the imaginative and the mythic and
through ritual.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyj4ekxbliPNJBUjcQAYLKCAlmSl8z-ANXSN9yKO4CIL3TJ2BLJtvp-Hd_gvKC6VJva0T_19OOAke62GoU9Bhr04jLGsu3m8EqqrHTcMK9kJy4co2Ikqq-IWq007aI8aDPjTJfeFuS6w/s2020/Buddha+in+Anjali-Mudra.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2020" data-original-width="1116" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyj4ekxbliPNJBUjcQAYLKCAlmSl8z-ANXSN9yKO4CIL3TJ2BLJtvp-Hd_gvKC6VJva0T_19OOAke62GoU9Bhr04jLGsu3m8EqqrHTcMK9kJy4co2Ikqq-IWq007aI8aDPjTJfeFuS6w/s640/Buddha+in+Anjali-Mudra.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><p></p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-55354166274987668752016-08-04T08:39:00.003-07:002020-08-25T02:34:54.790-07:00Every Day is Dharma Day – The Six Recollections<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--> <p class="western" style="line-height: 0.86cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><i>This
talk was given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre, Dharma Day, July 2016</i></span></span></span></p><p><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">It
was a few sentences that are repeated like a refrain in the Mahanama
Sutta that caught my attention and led me to want to explore it
further. It says: <span style="color: #111111;"><i>"Mahanama, you
should develop this recollection (of the Buddha) while you are
walking, while you are standing, while you are sitting, while you are
lying down, while you are busy at work, while you are resting in your
home crowded with children.” (Anguttara Nikaya, 11.13)</i></span></span></span></span><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><span style="color: #111111;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><span style="color: #111111;">This
Sutta is basically about six different reflections or recollections
which the Buddha is recommending and which he seems to think it is
possible to bear in mind whatever you’re doing or whatever the
circumstances. Many of us do not have time to do a lot of meditation
or Puja or put aside time for quiet reflection. Perhaps this is a
practice for those who are time-poor.</span></span></span></span><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"></span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">The
basic practice is to bring to mind six different things one at a time
and just let your mind dwell on them. They are called the six
Anussatis. Sati means mindfulness or awareness and anussati is
constant mindfulness. The six anussatis or six recollections are:</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">Recollecting
the Buddha</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">Recollecting
the Dharma</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.5cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">Recollecting
the Sangha</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.5cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">Recollecting
your own generosity</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.5cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">Recollecting
your own virtues or your integrity</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.5cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">Recollecting
the gods. This last one will need a bit of explanation .</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">I’ll
just go through these six and give some pointers as to how we might
do this practice. It doesn’t have to be done as a sitting
meditation, as the Buddha indicates in the Sutta. I think the best
way to do it in daily life would be to devote a certain period of
time to each one; a day, a week, a month, a year!!</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">What
does it mean to recollect the Buddha. Traditionally this is about
bringing to mind the qualities of the Buddha as repeated often in the
scriptures and recited in the chanting of the Tiratana Vandana. </span>The
Tiratana Vandana starts with same line as the Refuges and Precepts:
<i>“Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsaṁbuddhassa.”</i> As
with the Refuges, the very first words, ‘namo tassa’, mean
‘respectful salutations to him’. Bhagavato implies someone who
stands out from everyone else, someone who has the highest spiritual
qualities, someone awe inspiring, someone sublime, someone
auspicious. The Buddha is also ‘arahato’ meaning 'worthy or
noble' and ‘sammāsaṁbuddhassa’ meaning 'really and truly
awake'. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">The
next verse then emphasises the truth of what has been said: ‘Such
indeed is he’ (‘Iti’pi so’). He really is like this. He truly
is awake, while we are still asleep and dreaming. Because he is not
compulsively chasing pleasures as in a dream and running away from
fears as in a dream, he is free, while we are imprisoned by the
delusional reality we experience. He is ‘equipped with knowledge
(‘vijjā’) and practice (‘carana’). In other words his
Insight is not merely an intellectual understanding. He is not
someone who speaks well, but whose live is ruled by the same
conventional worldly concerns as everybody else. He has attained to
real happiness (‘sugato’), because he is living in reality, not
in delusion. And he is the ‘Knower of the Worlds’ (‘loka-vidū’)
– his vision is beyond anything we can conceive, beyond anything we
can imagine . For all these reasons he is ‘the Unsurpassed Guide of
those to be tamed’ (‘anuttaro purisa-damma sāratī’). </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">The
Pāli word ‘purisa-damma’, which is translated as ‘men to be
tamed’, means, acccording to Bhante Sangharakshita, something more
like, ‘those who wish to be more controlled’, or perhaps even
‘people of the Dharma.’ We count ourselves as people who wish to
be more controlled, and less given over to greed hatred and delusion;
so the Buddha is the teacher we need to follow. He is ‘Unsurpassed’
or foremost, (‘anuttaro’), far above any other teacher, and
therefore far more important to us than any currently fashionable
writer or thinker</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">This
is the traditional way of recollecting the Buddha, but we don’t
need to stop there we can be creative with the practice. We could for
instance recollect some of our favourite stories from the live of the
Buddha: Kisa Gotami, Meghiya, the three friends in the forest;
Aniruddha,Kimbala and Nandiya and so on. We could reflect on the life
of the Buddha and the legacy he has left. We could read books like
Gautama Buddha by Vishavapani or Life of the Buddha by Nanamoli. We
could reflect on the archetypal Buddhas of later Buddhism: Akshobya,
Amitabha, Ratnasambhava, Amoghasiddhi and Vairocana. We could ask
ourselves how we relate to the Buddha or what image comes to mind
when we think of the Buddha. Is it a seated figure in meditation or
someone walking the dusty roads of Northern India or someone teaching
the Dharma to a gathering of people. We could allow this image to
develop in our minds and become more vivid. Chanting a mantra is
another way to recollect the Buddha. For myself, I love to read the
stories in the Pali Canon of the Buddha’s interactions with all
sorts of different people. In these stories I can often get a glimpse
of the Buddha’s humanity and his great wisdom and compassion.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">Then
there is recollection of the Dharma. Again the traditional form is as
it appears in the Tiratana Vandana. The second part of the Tiratana
Vandana starts with a hymn in praise of the Dharma, Dhamma’ in
Pāli, in which we call to mind the positive qualities of the
teaching, and our gratitude, respect and reverence for it. The
teaching is described as ‘bhagavatā Dhammo’, the Dharma of a
Buddha. This is no ordinary teaching, on a par with the other systems
of thought. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">In
Bhante Sangharakshita’s words <i>“The Dhamma is an expression in
words… of the ultimate reality of things. The Dhamma as the
Buddha's teaching … is His communication of, His experience of, the
ultimate reality of things. [It] is the Dhamma which has issued from
the mind, or the spiritual realization, of a Buddha, a perfectly
enlightened one, and not something which has been fabricated
intellectually, or put together in an eclectic manner from sources.”
(Salutation to the Three Jewels,1978,p.43)</i></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">This
is a teaching that comes from a higher dimension of being. It is a
teaching worthy of reverence, to which we can honourably bow our
heads. This Dharma is also ‘well communicated’, (‘svākkhāto’)
and put into a form that we can understand, using not only rational
discourse, but also parables, metaphors, and poetic imagery. The
teaching is also ‘immediately apparent’ (‘sandiṭṭhiko’).
It has an observable effect, which we do not need to wait for the
next life to experience. If we practice the metta bhavana, for
example, we will notice an effect on our emotions and our
relationships with others. If we go on retreat, our mental states
will be altered. This is a matter of experience, not speculation. We
could call to mind at this point the ways in which the Dharma has
affected us, stimulating our faith that it will have ever greater
effects in the future. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">The
Dharma is ‘perrenial’ (‘akāliko’), which means timeless,
free from time, or outside of time. At one level this may point to
the fact that the Dharma is like a message from a higher dimension of
reality, a dimension that is outside of time. At a more down-to earth
level it means that the essence of the Dharma is true in any
historical period and in any culture, even though it may be in
conflict with the values and worldviews that happen to be fashionable
in any particular time or place. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">The
Dharma is also ‘of the nature of a personal invitation’
(‘ehipassiko’). The Pāli ‘ehi’ literally means ‘come’,
and ‘passiko’ means ‘see’. It is the ‘come-and-see Dharma’.
Nobody is forcing us to practice it. We are invited to try it out, to
see if it works. We keep practising because we know from experience
that it does us good. We have benefited from it in the past, and we
expect to benefit in the future. Then the Dharma is ‘progressive’
(‘opanayiko’). Opanayiko means leading forward or leading onward.
The Dharma leads us forward step by step and stage by stage, opening
our eyes gradually, as our whole inner being develops. It is a path
of organic growth that is progressive and evolutionary, so it does
not ask us to take on anything we are not ready for, and there are
always practices we can do that suit our present condition. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">Finally
the Dharma is ‘to be understood individually by the wise’
(‘paccataṁ veditabbo viññūhi'ti’). ‘Paccataṁ’ means
‘personally’; ‘veditabbo’ means ‘to be known’;
‘viññūhi'ti’ means ‘by those who are wise’, or ‘by those
who understand.’ The Dharma is not a dogma we must accept on blind
faith. We need to explore it, to understand it for ourselves, and to
make it our own. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">Those
are the qualities of the Dharma that are brought to mind in the
traditional practice of Dhammanusati, Recollection of the Dharma. We
could also think about what first attracted us to the Dharma for
instance and why and what part that plays in our practice now. We
could bring to mind symbols of the Dharma like the Dharmachakra, the
wheel of the Dharma or images like the Path, the rain of the Dharma
or the lotus or fire. The important thing is to make a connection
with what inspires you and allow yourself to be uplifted and let
yourself experience reverence or gratitude or whatever emerges.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">We,
in the Triratna Community, can also recollect the Dharma as
elucidated by Bhante Sangharakshita. Perhaps you have favourite
teachings; mind reactive and creative, the five stages of spiritual
life, building the Buddhaland, the group,the individual and the
spiritual community, the higher evolution,the new society.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">Then
comes the third reflection, recollection of the Sangha. This is the
third verse of the Tiratana Vandana. As with the Buddha and Dharma,
the third part of the Tiratana Vandana opens with a number of phrases
in praise of the third Jewel, the Sangha. The Sangha is referred to
as ‘Bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho’, the spiritual community of those
who are disciples of, those who are open to, the Buddha and his
teaching. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">This
Sangha is ‘happily proceeding’ (‘supaṭipanno’). The members
of this community proceed well and happily, treading a positive path,
moving forward on a path of practice, and they are doing this
happily. They are also ‘uprightly proceeding’ (‘ujupatipanno’).
‘Uju’ means ‘straight’, so this could be taken to mean that
the members of the Sangha are on the direct, straight path to
spiritual progress; but the word ‘uprightly’ used in the
translation seems to carry a strong hint of ethical uprightness, also
implying that the Sangha proceeds ethically, with integrity and
honesty, and with the upright dignity that an ethical life confers. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">The
Sangha are also ‘methodically proceeding’ (‘ñāyapaṭipanno’).
They practice systematically, according to a definite method, where
each stage builds on what went before. The final way in which the
Sangha is said to be ‘proceeding’ is 'harmoniously proceeding',
(‘sāmicipaṭipano’) proceeding together, proceeding in harmony.
We do not just practice the Dharma for our own spiritual progress, we
practice to create a harmonious community, and this is essential to
our development as individuals. Harmony among its members would be an
important part of any adequate definition of the Sangha. This
fellowship of the Buddhas disciples is worthy of worship
(‘āhuneyyo’), worthy of hospitality (‘pāhuneyyo’), worthy
of offerings (‘dakkhineyo’), and worthy of
salutation(‘añjalikaraniyo’). </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">And
the reason that these people are worthy of this level of respect is
that they are ‘an incomparable source of goodness to the world’
(‘anuttaraṁ puññakhettam lokassā’ti’). </span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">At
this point we could call to mind all the great figures of the
Buddhist tradition, as well as all the unknown people who have made
their own contribution, and we could include any present-day members
of the Sangha we have a particular respect for. We could connect with
our sense of gratitude for the great gift these people have given us.
We could, perhaps, imagine ourselves bowing to them respectfully,
with folded hands because people who transmit the Dharma to future
generations are indeed an ‘incomparable source of goodness to the
world.’ We could reflect on the importance of Sangha, we could
reflect on the truth of interdependence and we could reflect on
Sangha as a practice that we do. I like to bring to mind any large
gatherings of the Sangha I have experienced, such as Festival Days,
Order Conventions, or any event where we come together to practice
and to chat and enjoy each others company.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">Then
we come to reflection on our own generosity. This is what the
Mahanama Sutta says: <span style="color: #111111;"><i>"Furthermore,
there is the case where you recollect your own generosity: 'It
is a gain, a great gain for me, that — among people overcome with
the stain of possessiveness — I live at home, my awareness cleansed
of the stain of possessiveness, freely generous, openhanded,
delighting in being magnanimous, responsive to requests, delighting
in the distribution of alms.' At any time when a disciple of the
noble ones is recollecting generosity, his mind is not overcome with
passion, not overcome with aversion, not overcome with delusion. His
mind heads straight, based on generosity. And when the mind is headed
straight, the disciple of the noble ones gains a sense of the goal,
gains a sense of the Dhamma, gains joy connected with the Dhamma. In
one who is joyful, rapture arises. In one who is rapturous, the body
grows calm. One whose body is calmed experiences ease. In one at
ease, the mind becomes concentrated.”</i></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">You
can bring to mind acts of generosity and you can reflect on how to be
less possessive, how to be as the sutta says “cleansed of the stain
of possessiveness”. You can bring to mind ways in which you are
already open-handed, already non-attached, not possessive. You can
bring to mind what it feels like to be generous, the feelings of joy
or expansiveness. And of course you can go deeper into reflecting
what it means be responsive to requests, “delighting in the
distribution of alms”, as the Sutta says. You can reflect on what
it means to be generous, why it’s important and how you do it.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">You
can reflect on how the practice of generosity can help to loosen any
tightness around money or material things and move us out of a
poverty mentality into a sense of abundance, a sense of freedom. This
feeling of freedom is the beginnings of a more complete sense of
non-attachment and that sense of non-attachment is the precursor to a
letting go of any sense of a fixed and separate self. When we begin
to go beyond our attachment to a fixed a separate self, then we are
partaking of the wisdom of the Buddha and our sense of abundance and
generosity expands continuously.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">Then
there is the fifth recollection, recollection of your virtues. This
is what the Sutta says: <span style="color: #111111;"><i>"Furthermore,
there is the case where you recollect your own virtues: '[They
are] unbroken, flawless, unblemished, liberating, praised by the
wise, untarnished, conducive to concentration.' At any time when a
disciple of the noble ones is recollecting virtue, his mind is not
overcome with passion, not overcome with aversion, not overcome with
delusion. His mind heads straight, based on virtue. And when the mind
is headed straight, the disciple of the noble ones gains a sense of
the goal, gains a sense of the Dhamma, gains joy connected with the
Dhamma. In one who is joyful, rapture arises. In one who is
rapturous, the body grows calm. One whose body is calmed experiences
ease. In one at ease, the mind becomes concentrated.”</i></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">The
reason for recollecting your own integrity, your own virtues, is that
while you are doing that your mind is free from greed, aversion and
delusion. You could do this practice by bringing the positive
precepts to mind and reflecting on how you practice non-violence,
contentment, honesty and mindfulness. You could reflect on how your
ethical life has changed and improved over time. You could bring to
mind your good qualities. This is very like the first stage of the
Metta Bhavana.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">For
some reason many people are wary of rejoicing in their own worth and
even find it difficult to accept genuine praise or rejoicings from
others. This may be due to a fear of being thought arrogant or it may
be due to low self-esteem or it may be a fear of the responsibility
that comes with strength and awareness. Whatever the reason, it is
important to be able to have a realistic appraisal of yourself, not
rejecting your weaknesses or your strengths. It can really hold us
back if we are attached to view of ourselves as worthless or
incapable; incapable of understanding or practising or contributing. </span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">The
final recollection is the recollection of the gods. The gods here
symbolise any higher states of consciousness, higher than greed,
aversion and delusion. This recollection is also specifically about
faith or confidence in spiritual practice. The way it’s explained
is that to be born as a god you need to have sufficient faith in
spiritual practice to do it over a long period of time. What you are
recollecting in this stage is your spiritual aspiration, your
confidence in spiritual practice and the fruits of your practice so
far. Reflecting on the fruits of your practice increases your
confidence. This brings to mind the earth touching mudra of the
Buddha, which is a gesture of confidence. The previous recollection,
recollecting our own virtues, is a kind of 'earth touching'. In this
final recollection you could reflect on the occasions when you have
experienced greater happiness or greater awareness or greater
confidence, perhaps on retreat. Or you could reflect on what you
really have confidence in or even what it means to have confidence in
something.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">Those
are the six recollections, the six anussatis that the Buddha
recommended to Mahanama. He says that this practice is beneficial
because in whoever does it: </span><span style="color: #111111;"><i>“his
mind is not overcome with passion, not overcome with aversion, not
overcome with delusion. His mind heads straight, based on the
[qualities of the] devas. And when the mind is headed straight, the
disciple of the noble ones gains a sense of the goal, gains a sense
of the Dhamma, gains joy connected with the Dhamma. In one who is
joyful, rapture arises. In one who is rapturous, the body grows calm.
One whose body is calmed experiences ease. In one at ease, the mind
becomes concentrated.”</i></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">In
other words, doing this practice gives you a sense of what your life
is about and having a sense of what your life is really about is
calming and conduces to happiness. This is a mindfulness practice
rather than a meditation practice, which means you don’t have to
sit in meditation posture etc. This is a practice to be taken into
the activities of your everyday life. As the Sutta says: “</span><span style="color: #111111;"><i>you
should develop this recollection (of the Buddha) while you are
walking, while you are standing, while you are sitting, while you are
lying down, while you are busy at work, while you are resting in your
home crowded with children.”</i></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">It
is a practice to counteract our tendency to get caught up with
narrow, unhelpful and even unskilful mental states. In that respect
it is somewhat like mindfulness of the body or mindfulness of our
surroundings. It is a method of filling our minds with positive and
uplifting reflections. This practice doesn’t need to be done in any
particular way- you could stick with one of the recollections for
days or months or years or cover all six everyday, whatever works for
you. You may find that whichever one you choose to reflect on will
quite naturally lead you to the others.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<br /><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: #fffeff; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
<br /><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="background: rgb(255, 254, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 0.45cm; margin-bottom: 0.56cm; margin-top: 0.56cm;">
</p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-78896796275079743542016-08-04T03:07:00.000-07:002020-08-14T04:05:59.999-07:00The Four Dimensions of Awareness
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><i><font face="">This
talk was given at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre in 2016</font></i></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">In
the Pali Canon there is a sutta devoted to the topic of mindfulness –
the Satipatthana Sutta. The theme of the Satipatthana sutta is
mindfulness of oneself – body and its movements, feelings,emotions
and thoughts and reality. This is pretty comprehensive and it covers
two of the four dimensions of awareness that Bhante Sangharakshita
teaches us. Bhante draws together traditional teachings from
different sources for a completely comprehensive teaching on the
practice of mindfulness and that teaching is laid out as the four
dimensions of awareness.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font face=""><font size="3">The term mindfulness is widely
used in our culture today and a limited practice of mindfulness has
been widely disseminated – much of it arising out of the work of
Jon Kabat-Zinn, who founded the Stress Reduction Clinic at the
University of Massachusetts in 1979 and used what he had learned from
Buddhist teachers, such as Thich Nhat Hanh, to help people suffering
from pain. According to his Wikipedia entry </font></font><font face=""><font size="3"><i>“</i></font></font><font face=""><i>he
adapted the Buddhist teachings on mindfulness and developed the
Stress Reduction and Relaxation Program. He subsequently renamed the
structured eight-week course Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
(MBSR). He removed the Buddhist framework and any connection between
mindfulness and Buddhism, instead putting MBSR in a scientific
context. </i></font><font size="3"><font face="">The popular practice of mindfulness arises out of a fusion of
Buddhist teachings with medical science. Mindfulness in this sense
has been helpful to many many people – but this is not what I'm
talking about. This talk is about mindfulness in the context of
Buddhist spiritual practice.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">First
things first, what is the English word ‘mindfulness’ translating
and is it the best translation? Usually mindfulness is used to
translate the term Sati (Pali) or Smriti (Sanskrit). The more literal
meaning of the term Sati is memory or recollection. Other Pali terms
which are translated by the word mindfulness are Sampajanna and
Appamada. Personally I prefer to use the word awareness to translate
Sati, because mindfulness has been largely removed from its Buddhist
context into a scientific context which I think renders it more
palliative than curative. I think it is also useful to remember that
Sati means memory or recollection. Sampajanna has been spoken of as
meaning 'continuity of purpose' and has the sense of being aware
through time – an awareness of past, present and future. Appamada
is about keeping up mindful attention in order to guard against
unskilful action. This is the more specific Buddhist sense of
awareness or mindfulness. It’s an activity you engage in rather
than a state you achieve.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">The
four dimensions of awareness are: awareness of things and
environment, awareness of self, awareness of others and awareness of
reality. Sati or awareness is not itself a technique or method –
it’s a quality of mind which we are trying to cultivate; it’s a
state of mind. According to Bhante Sangharakshita it’s </font><font face=""><i>“a
state of recollection, of undistractedness, of concentration, of
continuity and steadfastness of purpose, of continually developing
individuality”</i></font><font face="">. All the
practices of Buddhism aim to cultivate greater awareness. The
Buddha’s last words were – Appamadena sampadetha-with awareness
strive on. In other words bring awareness into everything you do.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<font face=""><font size="3"><font face="">The
first dimension of awareness is awareness of things, awareness of our
surroundings. This is an aesthetic appreciation of all of nature and
all the objects we encounter. There are two striking examples of what
this could be like – taken from the words of two people in extreme
circumstances. Dennis Potter, the playwright gave an interview when
he was dying of cancer. He said,</font></font></font><font color="#000000"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> “<font face=""><font size="3"><font face=""><i>We're
the one animal that knows that we're going to die, and yet we carry
on paying our mortgages, doing our jobs, moving about, behaving as
though there's eternity in a sense. And we forget or tend to forget
that life can only be defined in the present tense; it is, and it is
now only. I mean, as much as we would like to call back yesterday and
indeed yearn to, and ache to sometimes, we can't. It's in us, but we
can't actually; it's not there in front of us. However predictable
tomorrow is, and unfortunately for most people, most of the time,
it's too predictable, they're locked into whatever situation they're
locked into ... Even so, no matter how predictable it is, there's the
element of the unpredictable, of the you don't know. The only thing
you know for sure is the present tense, and that nowness becomes so
vivid that, almost in a perverse sort of way, I'm almost serene. You
know, I can celebrate life.</i></font></font></font></span><font face=""><font size="3"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><br /></span></i></font></font></font></p><p class="western" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font size="3"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Below
my window in Ross, when I'm working in Ross, for example, there at
this season, the blossom is out in full now. It's a plum tree, it
looks like apple blossom but it's white, and looking at it, instead
of saying "Oh that's nice blossom" ... last week looking at
it through the window when I'm writing, I see it is the whitest,
frothiest, blossomest blossom that there ever could be, and I can see
it. Things are both more trivial than they ever were, and more
important than they ever were, and the difference between the trivial
and the important doesn't seem to matter. But the nowness of
everything is absolutely wondrous, and if people could see that, you
know. There's no way of telling you; you have to experience it, if
you see the present tense, boy do you see it and boy can you
celebrate.”</span></i></font></font><font face=""><font size="4" style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">
</span></font></font><font face=""><font size="3"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">(Interview
1994 published as Seeing The Blossom)</span></font></font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">Then
there is Brian Keenan who was held in captivity in the Lebanon. In
his book An Evil Cradling he tells the story of his captivity and
solitary confinement often in darkness that his eyes covered. He
wrote, </font><font face=""><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">“another
day. I don’t look any more at the food, knowing its monotony will
not change, not even its place on my filthy floor. The door closes,
the padlock rattling, and it’s over again for another day. With
calm, disinterested deliberation I pulled from my head the filthy
towel that blinds me, and slowly turned to go like a dog well-trained
to its corner, to sit again, and wait and wait, forever waiting. I
look at this food I know to be the same as it always has been.</span></i></font><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><font face=""><br /></font></span></i></font></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><font face="">But
wait. My eyes are almost burned by what I see. There is a bowl in
front of me that wasn’t there before. A brown button bowl and in it
some apricots, some small oranges, some nuts, cherries, a banana. The
fruits, the colours, mesmerise me in a quiet rapture that spins
through my head. I am entranced by colour. I lift an orange into the
flat filthy palm of my hand and feel and smell and lick it. The
colour orange, the colour, the colour, my God the colour orange.
Before me is a feast of colour. I feel myself begin to dance, slowly,
I am intoxicated by colour. Such wonder, such absolute wonder in such
an insignificant fruit. I cannot, I will not eat this fruit. I sit in
quiet joy, so complete, beyond the meaning of joy. My soul finds its
completeness in that bowl of colour. The forms of each fruit. The
shape and curl and bend all so rich, so perfect. I want to bow before
it, loving that blazing, roaring, orange colour... Everything meeting
in a moment of colour and form.”</font></span></i></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">Sometimes on retreat we can
experience something like this intensity of awareness of our
surroundings, the beauty and perfection of everything is suddenly
revealed to us. This is the experience the Buddha is referring to in
the famous teaching to Bahia of the Bark Garment (Udana 1:10) –
</font><font face=""><i>“in the seen, only the seen; in
the heard, only the heard; in the sensed only the sensed; in the
cognized, only the cognized</i></font><font face=""><font size="4" style="font-size: 16pt;"><i>”.</i></font></font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">Usually
what we see is our interpretation of our surroundings rather than –
in the seen, only the seen. However we cannot force ourselves into
the higher state of consciousness which can let go of interpretation,
let go of the likes and dislikes. By deliberately practising
awareness (Sati) we elevate our consciousness and then we can begin
to experience a greater depth and intensity of awareness. This kind
of awareness is an aesthetic experience. It is like the experience of
an artist. As Bhante Sangharakshita says in Vision and
Transformation, </font><font face=""><i>“this should be
our attitude towards the whole of nature: towards the sun, the moon,
the stars, and the Earth; towards trees and flowers and human beings.
We should learn to look, learn to see, learn to be aware, and in this
way become supremely receptive. Because of our receptivity we shall
become one with, or at least fused with, all things; and out of this
oneness, this realisation of affinity and deep unity, if we are of
artistic temperament we shall create, and truly create.”</i></font><font face=""><font size="4" style="font-size: 16pt;"><i>
</i></font></font><font face=""><span style="font-style: normal;">(Complete
Works, Vol.1,p.572)</span></font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">Another
aspect of this first dimension of awareness, awareness of things or
of our surroundings, is a sensitivity to the natural resources of the
planet. This planet, this mother Earth, needs our awareness and our
love more than ever.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">The
next dimension of awareness is awareness of self. Usually this is
broken down into three areas: awareness of body and movement,
awareness of feelings and awareness of thoughts. It might be best to
say awareness </font><font face=""><span style="text-decoration: none;">in
the body rather than awareness of the body. It is not a matter of
taking a stance as </span></font><font face="">if you are
outside of your body observing it. It is more about becoming aware of
the movements of your body, from within those movements – as if you
were a dancer or a gymnast. Initially we need to practice awareness
deliberately. To do that we may need to slow down or at least to
focus our attention, as we do in walking meditation. Walking
meditation is a very good practice for developing a thorough body
awareness and it can also lead to a more clear awareness of our
feelings and thoughts. In his book Wild Mind, Bodhipaksha says, </font><font face=""><i>“as
you’re walking along, you can be aware of the emotions you are
experiencing. These will almost certainly change throughout the
course of a single period of walking meditation. A particular
meditator might start off experiencing boredom, becomes slightly
irritated as she wonders what this practice is about, start
developing curiosity and interest as she begins to notice her body
beginning to relax, and then start feeling intensely joyful as the
practice becomes more and more fulfilling. Our emotional states often
change very rapidly.” </i></font><font face=""><span style="font-style: normal;">(p.145)</span></font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">Awareness
of the body includes both an awareness of our movements and an
awareness of the internal dimension of our body – the flow of
blood, the pumping of the heart, the flow of air, the filling of the
lungs, the digestion of food, the intricate interplay of organs and
wonder and fragility of it all.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">Awareness
of feelings is firstly about noticing whether whatever we are
experiencing is pleasant or painful and bland. Feelings here
translates the term vedana – which is usually thought of as
sensations, such as the sensation of touch – the feeling of a
breeze on your skin, the feeling of your bare feet on a cold floor,
the feeling of a headache. However our responses to feelings are so
instantaneous that awareness of feelings needs to include awareness
of emotions. Usually it is easier for us to become aware of our
emotional state and then from that we become aware of the sensations
or sense experience that give rise to the emotions and we may also be
able to become aware of the thoughts, the elaborations and stories
that arise out of the emotions. Our emotions can be seen as arising
out of sense experience and giving rise to thoughts and
interpretations and stories. It is clear then that it's important to
be aware of our emotional states and not to confuse our emotions with
reality or truth.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">There
are two basic tendencies in our emotional life – towards or away
from, attraction or aversion. Attraction or aversion in relation to
things, places, people, ourselves and the whole of life. And that
attraction or aversion manifests in lots of emotions of varying
degrees of strength. Emotions like irritation, impatience, anger,
craving, lust, greed, sadness, happiness, joy, depression,
disappointment. We can become aware of our emotions without having to
label them precisely – perhaps it sufficient to see whether it’s
a movement towards or a movement away from, attraction or aversion.
Someone also characterised our emotions as either sad, mad, bad or
glad – which might be a useful aid to awareness.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">Awareness
of thoughts involves being aware of what we are thinking and whether
our thinking is directed or undirected. In other words are we
thinking about something or are our thoughts just drifting. It
involves being aware of the stories we are telling ourselves. It is
possible for us to think ourselves into a good or bad mental state
and mental states can lead to words and actions and as we all know
actions have consequences. The more aware we are of our thoughts and
the direction of our thoughts the more choice we have to change our
mind and change our behaviour.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">In
the end the whole point of awareness from a Buddhist perspective is
transformation – the transformation of unskilful mental states into
skilful mental states, the transformation of a distracted and
dissipated individual into an integrated and steadfast person. So
awareness always has an ethical dimension, it is always permeated by
awareness of karma. This is the key difference between, so-called,
secular mindfulness and sati as taught by the Buddha. Of course,
awareness as taught by the Buddha in the Satipatthana sutta for
instance, has a much wider scope than secular awareness too.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">That
brings us to the other two dimensions of awareness - awareness of
others and awareness of reality. Awareness of others means taking the
awareness we have applied to ourselves and imaginatively applying it
to those around us. We cannot always be aware of </font><font face=""><span style="text-decoration: none;">what
others are thinking or feeling but we can be aware that </span></font><font face="">they
are thinking, they are feeling, they do have emotions. We can be
aware that they are a person not an object. They exist in their own
right – independent of us and independent of our views about them.
Sometimes in close relationships, the partners in a couple or parents
and children – it is very difficult to have this awareness of the
other person as a person, rather than as my partner or my son or my
daughter or my mother or my father. Each person is a universe in
themselves but often we can only see the part of them that is
illuminated by the rather dim and shaky light of our own awareness.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">To
properly practice Buddhist ethics we need to have awareness of
others. To be kind we need to know what others would experience as a
kindness. Otherwise we might be like the Boy Scout in the story –
when asked what good deed he had done that week he said he had helped
an old lady to cross the road and the scoutmaster said “but that’s
not much of a good deed,that is very easy”. “oh no” said the
boy “it wasn’t easy at all, she didn’t want to cross to road”.
We need awareness of others to be generous and to give appropriately.
We can improve our awareness of others by practising the Metta
Bhavana, by learning to listen carefully and by seeing them in
different situations.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">In
the Anguttara Nikaya there is a Sutta about how to know another
person and the Buddha says you need four things in order to really
know another person. This is what it says, </font><font face=""><i>“four
facts about a person, O monks, can be known from four circumstances.
What are these four?</i></font><i><font face=""> By
living together with a person his virtue can be known, and this too
only after a long time, not casually; by close attention, not without
attention; by one who is wise, not by one who is stupid.</font></i></font></p><div><font size="3"><i><font face="">By
having dealings with a person his integrity can be known, and this
too only after a long time, not casually; by close attention, not
without attention; by one who is wise, not by one who is stupid.</font></i></font><font size="3"><i><font face=""><br /></font></i></font></div><div><font size="3"><i><font face="">In
misfortune a person’s fortitude can be known, and this too only
after a long time, not casually; by close attention, not without
attention; by one who is wise, not by one who is stupid.</font></i></font></div><font size="3"><font face=""><i>By
conversation a person’s wisdom can be known, and this too only
after a long time, not casually; by close attention, not without
attention; by one who is wise, not by one who is stupid.”</i></font><font face=""><font size="4" style="font-size: 16pt;"><i>
</i></font></font><font face=""><span style="font-style: normal;">(AN,IV,192)
</span></font><font face="">The Buddha is saying that
it’s not so easy to know another person and we shouldn’t assume
that we know someone or that our interpretation of who they are is
correct. I know from experience that people can surprise you even
after you’ve known them for decades - especially Buddhists, who are
open to being transformed.</font></font>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">Now
we come to awareness of reality. There are many ways we could talk
about reality but I think the first thing we need to understand is
that reality is not a thing out there; it’s not something separate
from us, not something separate from our experience. As Bhante puts
it, </font><font face=""><i>“reality is a breadth of
perspective. One can be aware of reality through the other dimensions
of awareness.”</i></font><font face=""> In our
awareness of things, the environment, ourselves and others we can
experience awareness of reality.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">We
can look at the nature of reality from the perspective of the
limitations of the mundane state or from the perspective of the
perfection of the awakened state. Reality is reality whether we are
deluded or awakened. When we are deluded we want to grasp and cling
on to things and experiences. We want to get satisfaction from
possessing and clinging on to things, people and experiences. We want
our house and our money and our relationship to give us security. We
want love to last forever, we want to be healthy always and so on. To
bring home to us our deluded state the Buddha characterises our
experience of ourselves and the world as unsatisfactory, impermanent
and insubstantial. Our bodies, our thoughts, our emotions and our
dreams– all are ultimately fleeting and can’t give lasting
satisfaction because we are trying to grasp and hold on to them.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">On
the other hand if we can allow the world and our experience of it to
be what it is without grasping and clinging to it we experience
equanimity, aesthetic appreciation and lasting contentment. The
tradition talks about the doors of liberation – vimoksha mukhas –
apranihita,the unbiased; animitta, the imageless and shunyata,the
void. When we see clearly that there can be no permanent lasting
satisfaction or security from grasping and clinging to things,
people, or experiences then we can reach a state of equanimity where
there is no tendency towards craving or aversion this is what the
state of apranihita, the unbiased, means. There is no bias towards or
away from whatever comes into awareness.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">When
we understand deeply the impermanent nature of things, people and
experiences then we reach the stage called animitta,the imageless or
signless. Everything is in a constant state of flux, and absolutely
continuous flow. It is not the case that there are existing
substantial things that then change into something else or cease to
exist – no, there is just flow, flux, change all the time. All
ideas and concepts about existence and non-existence are transcended
in the state called the imageless. This is not just a state of not
grasping or clinging, it is the deep realisation that there is
nothing to grasp,nothing to cling to, and it is a state of deep
contentment and aesthetic appreciation.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">When
we realise deeply that mundane security is impossible to achieve and
life flows on in a continuous ungraspable beauty, we also see clearly
that there is no fixed, separate, permanent, essential nature in
anything including ourselves. Everything is empty of essence, of
permanence, of fixedness and separateness. This is the state of
shunyata, the void. This is the rich state of the realisation of the
interdependent flow of conditions that constitutes the nature of the
reality that we are part of.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">Our
task is to grasp this first intellectually, then
secondly,imaginatively and finally, experientially. We need to try to
understand and penetrate deeply into what is meant by
unsatisfactoriness and the unbiased state of equanimity, what is
meant by impermanence and the very liberating and beautiful state of
animitta, the imageless, free from the limitation of ideas and
concepts. And we need to understand the idea of the void, emptiness
and interdependence.</font></font>
</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">In
trying to understand these ideas, these concepts, as we go deeper we
will find that the imagination has to come into play and we have to
make a leap from logical thought to intuitive imagery. And while we
are engaged in this way – we need to be open to allowing our
experience and the way we live our lives to be affected and
transformed by our reflections and deepening realisation.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font size="3"><font face="">This
is what awareness of reality is about; it is about transformation –
total transformation of our views of ourselves, the world, and other
people. Here is how Bhante puts it, </font><font face=""><i>“it
is not always understood that wisdom, the experience of reality, is
destructive. It is tempting to think of it as a pleasant extra,
something comfortably added on to what we already are. But it isn’t
like that at all. The experience of reality in what the Tantras call
its ‘nakedness’ can be a shattering experience. One can even go
so far as to say that any shattering experience has an element of
reality in it. If an experience shatters, it is real – and if it
doesn’t shatter us, it’s authenticity may be questioned. This is
not to say that this experience of breaking through or shattering
needs to be traumatic – it can be very joyful. Whether one can
expect to have this kind of experience oneself all depends on the way
one goes about one's spiritual practice. If you meditate for half an
hour or an hour a day over a period of years, you will get results,
but they will be slow in coming. However, if you meditate for 10 or
20 hours a day, and keep that up, you can expect something much more
dramatic to happen. Breaking through depends not so much on the kind
of meditation you do as on the intensity with which you do it. And of
course most people tend to take things quite easily. There is
certainly room for a great deal more intensity in the spiritual
practice of most western Buddhists.” </i></font><font face=""><span style="font-style: normal;">(Complete
Works, Vol.13, p.171) </span></font><font face="">All
four dimensions of awareness can be practised with more intensity and
the more we practice awareness, the more fulfilling will be our lives
and the happier we will be.</font></font></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-68620859293872881692016-07-27T04:30:00.000-07:002016-07-27T04:30:34.173-07:00Getting Out of The Way<i>This is the sixth and final talk in the series given at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre in the summer of 2016.</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In this final talk on the five stages of spiritual life I
want to touch on the topics of Dharmic
Receptivity or Dharmic
Responsiveness and Spontaneous Compassionate Activity. Viewed as a path
of practice this stage is Dharmic Responsiveness
or Receptivity, viewed as a goal it is Spontaneous Compassionate Activity. Dharmic Responsiveness is Shraddha – usually
translated as faith. Shraddha has the elements of intuition, reason and
experience and Dharmic Responsiveness is
in the first instance an intuition – it might simply be the feeling and idea
that there must be more to life. The intuition or feeling that there must be
more to life than survival, procreation, distraction, old age, sickness and
death. At this stage our faith is not faith in anything but when we connect
with the Buddha and Dharma and when we begin to practice meditation, ethics,
reflection and so on, then our intuition becomes, what Subhuti calls “a
harmonic resonance” between the element of Buddhahood in us and the Buddha or
as Bhante puts it – “the response of what is highest in us to what is highest
in the universe”. This intuition is confirmed by reason and experience as we
practice meditation, ethics and contemplation more and more fully.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Traditionally faith (shraddha) is spoken of as having the
three aspects of deep conviction, lucidity and longing. Deep conviction or deep
faith is the intuitive response to Dharma teachings and a conviction that the
teachings are true. I remember that when I first encounter Buddhist teachings,
the five precepts and the Metta Bhavana, I had this kind of response; there was
the conviction of the truth of what I was hearing, together with a heart
response; a deep intuition that I had found what I was looking for, the holy
Grail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lucidity refers to the clarity that this deep faith
brings to your mind. There is no longer confusion and vagueness, but a clearer
idea of the goal and the methods for attaining it. Lucidity gives a strong
sense of purpose and meaning. The longing aspect of faith refers to the
aspiration to fulfil our potential. The aspiration to have the vision of the
Dharma unfold in our own being and in our own life. Longing includes the
confidence that Enlightenment is possible, not just in theory, but is possible
for us. I am a human being and therefore I have the potential to be a Buddha –
that is the confidence of shraddha under this aspect of longing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“What the Buddha overcame, we too can overcome;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">what the Buddha attained we too can attain.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Shraddha is a Dharmic Responsiveness that is intuition supported by
reason and experience. It is deep conviction, clarity and confidence. Above all
it is a heart response; it is placing the heart upon our highest aspirations.
It is falling in love with the Dharma. It leads us to put our trust in the law
of karma and in the whole process of dependent arising – pratitya samutpada. We
know that if we create the right conditions, internally and externally, then
the results will follow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If we endeavour to observe the precepts – the spirit as
well as the letter; if we meditate; if we take responsibility for our own
mental states – not justifying or rationalising unskilfulness as the fault of
circumstances or other people; not rejecting our skilful mental states through
lack of self-esteem or fear of awareness; if we study the Dharma and try to
understand the basic principles involved, rather than getting sidetracked into
fruitless arguments and discussions about particular teachings or methods; if
we try to simplify our lives and give ourselves fully to the practice of
spiritual community; if we take time out to go on retreat; if we perform Puja
and ritual, which is an enactment of deep faith lucidity and longing – if we do
all of this – we will be setting up the best possible conditions for our own
happiness and fulfilment and we can be confident that a process of
transformation will take place that will be of benefit to others as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the nature of Reality. There are natural laws in
the realm of physics and chemistry. There are natural laws of biology and
botany and there are natural laws of zoology and basic psychology. These
natural laws such as gravity, photosynthesis, procreation instincts and other
instincts, are known in Buddhism as the niyamas. Niyama means law. These three
levels of natural law are known respectively as the niyamas, Utu Niyama, Bija
Niyama, and Mano Niyama. But in terms of the spiritual life, the life of
awareness and love, there are two further levels of natural law – these are
Karma niyama and Dharma niyama.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Karma niyama, the law of action, is the natural Law we
rely upon as spiritual practitioners. The law of action – karma niyama – is the
natural law which means that skilfulness of action, speech or of thought has
beneficial consequences and unskilfulness has negative consequences. If this
were not the case then there would be no point in any spiritual practice
because the consequences would be random. But because Buddhist ethics is based
on a natural law, then we can rely on our practice of skilfulness to bring
about beneficial results. This is a key understanding for us. If we understand
karma niyama and if we feel we can rely on the natural law of action, then we
have a solid foundation for all spiritual practice, we have indeed a solid foundation
on which to base our whole life. We can be confident that our generosity or
kindness, our meditations and pujas, retreats and study all have a beneficial
effect and are modifying and transforming us. Perhaps gradually and
imperceptibly but nevertheless inevitably we are being transformed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the Anguttara Nikaya there is a section with five
reflections for all Buddhists and another section with ten reflections for
monks. Some of these reflections are the same for everyone and one of these
reflections which is the same for everyone is a reflection on karma. It says: “A
woman or man, a householder or one gone forth, should often reflect thus, I <b>am</b> the owner of my karma, the heir of
my karma; I have karma is my origin, karma as my relative, karma as my protector;
I will be the heir of whatever karma, good or bad, that I do.” Dasadhamma
Sutta, AN 10.48.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So this is a reflection or contemplation that the Buddha
is recommending to us. You could see it as a meditation practice – you sit down
and get as concentrated as possible and then reflect on these five or ten
reflections or perhaps just reflect on karma or one of the other reflections.
You could reflect by asking yourself what does it mean to be the owner of your
karma or the heir of your karma? What does it mean to say that karma is my
origin, karma is my relative, karma is my protection? The purpose of reflecting
on karma in this way is not to enable you to write a dissertation on karma. The
purpose of these reflections is to make your so fully and immediately aware of
the law of karma that all your actions of body, speech and mind are thoroughly
influenced by that awareness. Awareness of karma niyama becomes the flavour of
your mind. The law of action – karma niyama – paves the way for Dharma niyama.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If we really act in accordance with the law of karma, we
create conditions which transform us. The nature of that transformation is that
we become less and less egotistic, less and less self willed. When we become
less self-centred and less self willed, something else begins to happen. Karma
is willed action and therefore it needs a degree of self orientation. There has
to be a sense of ‘me’ or ‘I’ as the one acting. A sense of ‘me’ or ‘I’ as the
agent of all the action and a sense of ‘me’ are ‘I’ who takes responsibility
for actions and who receives the consequences. I act and I reap the rewards or
suffer the consequences. This sense of ‘I’ and ‘me’ is essential to the working
of the law of karma. It is because we have evolved beyond the mano niyama of
instinct and have developed self-awareness that it is possible for the law of
karma to come into play.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But if we act skilfully in accordance with the law of
karma then something happens; if we are persistent and consistent over years
something happens, we are transformed and the nature of that transformation is
that we transcend self. We don’t stop being self-aware, but we transcend self
will. We are no longer motivated only by self advantage, we are no longer motivated
by self interest and the whole separation between self and other starts to
break down. The division between self and other becomes diluted and begins to
fizzle out, to wither away. When that happens the motivation for our actions is
no longer a matter of self will, it becomes much more a matter of Spontaneous
Compassionate Activity. This Spontaneous Compassionate Activity is Dharma
niyama. It can be experienced as if something is working through you, rather
than as your own willed action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes it is like a call – a call to which you quite
easily and naturally respond. We are familiar with the idea of a vocation or
calling. We may say that someone’s vocation is to be a doctor or an artist – it
is their calling. The word vocation is rooted in the Latin ‘vocare’ meaning to
call. If someone has a vocation or calling to be a Christian priest they
naturally think of being called by God. In the Bible there are many instances
of God calling in this way – to Moses, Abraham, Joshua – those old Testament
prophets were very familiar with being called upon to do something and
responding. Of course when we speak about a doctor or an artist or musician,
their vocation or calling is not usually thought of as being a call from God.
Nevertheless it is a calling, it is something different from a decision to take
up a particular professional career based on weighing up the prospects for
salary and promotion and so on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We could say the call comes from within. Whether we say a
call comes from within or from outside, that is probably just a matter of
belief structure or how our imagination works or metaphor and really it doesn’t
matter. What matters is that when the call comes we are ready to respond. It is
generally acknowledged that a vocation calling is something higher and better
than a mere career choice. Those of us who have felt called to the life of
spiritual practice know what this is like. We could say it’s the call of a
higher self, that aspect of us that longs for a meaningful life and intuitively
knows that status and salary are not the best response to the fact of our
death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From the very beginning of our spiritual life we have a
sense of what Dharma niyama means; a sense of what it’s like to respond to the
call of a higher self, even though it won’t bring material advantage or fame. And as we continue
to practice we may experience to call in many different ways. We might
experience a call to honesty – honesty with ourselves and others. We might
experience a call to generosity – impulses of generosity rising up. We might
experience a call to change our lifestyle, to change priorities. We might
experience a call to take responsibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So long as we are not fully in the flow of Dharma niyama
we will probably experience some discomfort from these calls to go beyond our
current familiar self. We may find ourselves resisting the call to go deeper,
the call to go further, the call to take the plunge in some way. It is quite
natural that we should experience resistance, but if we keep on practising
ethics, meditation, and wisdom then gradually the law of karma will ensure that
our resistance fades away and eventually when the Dharma niyama predominates
there will be no more resistance to the calls of our higher self. We will be
our higher self. There will be no resistance to the calls of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
because we will embody what they represent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This language of vocation and calling might give the
impression that only some people, a small few ever hear the call to something
higher. I can’t be sure, but I doubt very much that this is the case. I think
that what happens is that more or less everyone is aware of the call to
something higher. People will interpret this differently and for some it will
mean politics, for others social work or charitable activity. For many it will
simply get buried beneath the demands of ordinary life. For some there will be
a deliberate turning away from the call to something higher because of fear,
fear of disappointing others, fear of isolation or just fear of not being good
enough. Once when I was Chair of the London Buddhist Centre I met someone who
was a member of the House of Lords and also on the board of a large well known
international company. He was interested in meditation and spiritual matters
and was highly intelligent. He could understand things very quickly and deeply.
And having heard something of my life story is said to me that he had not been
courageous enough to pursue the sort of life I had lived. I was struck by that
– that he highlighted courage as a key factor. I had never considered myself to
be courageous, but when I thought about it I could see what he meant. I had
knowingly embarked on a path of life that was materially precarious, with no
knowledge of where it would lead and all I had to guide me was the call to
something higher. From the perspective of any normal rational person concerned
with security and material well-being my course of action was either courageous
or foolhardy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In his lecture on Perfect Vision, Bhante talks about all
the different ways in which the Path of Vision may arise here he is using the
metaphor of seeing where I have been using the metaphor of hearing. A vision or
a calling amount to the same thing. He says that the Path of Vision may arise
due to personal tragedy, bereavement or loss, or it may be the result of some
unexpected mystical experience, or it could be from engaging with the arts – a
painting or a piece of music, or the Path of Vision might be the result of deep
and prolonged thought or it could happen through meditation or from engagement
in some altruistic activity or it might just happen as a result of the whole
experience of life as we grow older or it might even emerge in a dream. Bhante
goes on to say that this vision is fragile he says: “however it does arise we
should be very careful not to lose it, not to forget it. This happens very
easily, for as the poet says “the world is too much with us”. We may have an
experience so wonderful that we might think we will never forget it. But after
a short time, after a few days or weeks, it is no longer there. It is as though
it had never been.” Vision and Transformation, p. 21. Many people may hear the
call but for some it is soon forgotten, for others it is experienced as a
fearful demand, for others it will find an outlet in the arts or altruistic
activity or some other vocation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Even if we hear the call of a higher self and respond to
that call by embarking on the path of transformation, the path of spiritual
practice, even then we can be drawn away from that path by pulls in other directions.
In an early lecture on Stream Entry, Bhante talks about the gravitational pull
of the mundane. He imagines Buddhahood as one celestial body or planet and the
mundane world of ordinary concerns as another celestial body and they each have
their own gravitational pull and these fields of gravity overlap to some
degree. When we are on the spiritual path we are in the area where the
gravitational pull of mundane ordinary life overlaps with the gravitational
pull of the higher life of Buddhahood. So we are being pulled in two directions
at the same time. If we stop practising ethics, meditation et cetera we will be
pulled back into the mundane, ordinary life, but if we keep going the
gravitational pull of the mundane will get weaker and the gravitational pull of
the Transcendental, Buddhahood will get stronger. And eventually the pull of
the higher life is so strong that we can no longer be pulled backwards and we
will no longer feel any resistance to the pull of the spiritual. This is when
our whole life becomes a response to the call of Spontaneous Compassionate
Activity – we have reached the stage of no more effort.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dharmic Responsiveness
is not really a practice, apart from the practice of being aware of the Path of
Vision, being aware of the call to something, whether that call is the small
voice of an impulse to do something generous or a loud call to change the whole
direction of your life. Dharmic Responsiveness
needs space. Mozart is reputed to have said “the music is not in the notes, but
in the silence between them.” Commenting on this Bhante wrote: “as music is
born of silence, and derives it’s significance and therefrom; and as a painting
is born of empty space, and derives it’s significance therefrom; so are our
lives born of silence, of stillness, of quietude of spirit, and derive their
significance, their distinctive flavour and individual quality, therefrom. The
deeper and more frequent are those moments of interior silence and stillness
the more rich in significance, the more truly meaningful, will our lives be. It
is the pauses which make beautiful the music of our lives. It is the empty
spaces which give richness and significance to them. And it is stillness which makes
them truly useful.” Crossing the Stream, page95.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The pauses and empty spaces are the times when we reflect
or meditate or do nothing. They are the opposite of “a life that consists of a
frantic a stream of activities” without any time for inward awareness and
reflection. So if there is a practice that enables Dharmic responsiveness it is probably the practice of
doing nothing. This could be the practice of just sitting at the end of a
meditation or Puja or it could be just a time we put aside each day to do nothing.
In his book The Art of Reflection, Ratnaguna recommends this as a preliminary
to any reflection. He says: “if we want to learn how to reflect, we first need
to learn how to do nothing, because it’s out of the spaciousness of doing
nothing that our minds can open out. This spaciousness allows our mind to range
freely and unhurriedly around and through whatever it is that we’ve chosen to
consider. We need to have a sense of timelessness. I don’t mean that we enter
into the infinite, but that we feel that we have all the time in the world,
that there is nothing for us to do, that it’s okay to do nothing, to achieve
nothing. You might think that you don’t have the time for this, and if that’s
the case it might be a good thing to take a look at your life to see if there
is anything you can cut out, because having time to do nothing is important.
However entering into the timeless realm doesn’t necessarily require a lot of
time. We enter the timeless realm when we give up looking for results, when we
stop trying to meet targets and deadlines, when we cease to think of time as a
commodity. If we’ve only got 10 minutes to spare we can enter into the timeless
realm, as long as we don’t try to fill that time up with something useful.
Reflection is not useful. To reflect we need to feel free – we need to feel
that it’s okay to be totally useless.”p. 36.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In his seminar on the Mangala Sutta, Bhante talks about
what we could call Boredom Practice. He says: “if you feel discontented, say if
you feel bored, what should you do? Not start trying to fill that emptiness and
to remove that boredom: just stop and experience it; but remain with it, remain
in the present: at least you’re in the present. If you can remain with it, and
stop trying to remove the boredom by filling the void with something or other,
then the boredom – the discontent – will slowly dissolve and you’ll feel more
at peace with yourself, more at ease.” Auspicious Signs, page 52. So there is
Just Sitting Practice, Doing Nothing Practice and Boredom Practice – these are
all about leaving space in your life so that you can become receptive, so that
you can receive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But what do we receive? We could say that what we receive
is the love of the Buddha – we receive the influence of the Buddha, we receive
the grace waves of the Buddha – what is called His Adhisthana – also translated
as ‘blessing’. If we are open to the call of the higher life, the call of the
Buddha – we are blessed, we receive the blessing of wisdom and compassion. When
we do devotional practices such as Puja, we are adopting an attitude of
openness and receptivity to the blessings of the Buddha – we are opening our
eyes to the vision and our ears to the call of the Buddha. This attitude of
openness if it is practised again and again in Puja and Sadhana, gives rise to
an openness in our whole life. Our whole life becomes open to responding to the
call of Buddhahood, responding to the call of higher values. Puja is a
declaration of receptivity and it is also a celebration of Spontaneous
Compassionate Activity that arises when we are fully responsive to the call of
the Dharma. In the sevenfold Puja we declare our openness and responsiveness
when we say:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Saluting them with folded hands<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I entreat the Buddhas in all the quarters:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">May They make shine the lamp of the Dharma<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">for those wandering in the suffering of delusion!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With hands folded in reverence<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I implore conquerors desiring to enter Nirvana:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">May They remain here for endless ages,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So that life in this world does not grow dark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And in the Transference of Merits and Self Surrender we
celebrate Spontaneous Compassionate Activity. In the threefold Puja we express
reverence for the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Nine times we express reverence
and it is this ability to revere which indicates our openness to something
higher. By reciting this again and again with a wholehearted intention to be
open to the call of the Buddha, we are training ourselves in Dharmic Responsiveness, and eventually that will
become who and what we are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We are coming to the end of this series of talks on the
five stages of the spiritual life. We could also call them five aspects or five
facets of spiritual life. Like a jewel different facets turn to the light at
different times, but all are part of the one jewel. Spiritual life is one, it
is not really broken up into stages or aspects, because we are one and our
spiritual life is simply a way of talking about or describing our response to
the existential facts of life. However, just as a river is the same river from
source to estuary but changes and widens as it progresses, so we broaden as we
progress. Just as a tree grows from seed to sapling, to a huge shady oak or beech,
we can grow from a vague intuition and meaning to someone whose spread of
awareness and compassion has a positive influence on the lives of many people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is what this series of talks has been about and I
hope they will be of benefit to others so that more and more of us grow and
broaden and become spiritually influential, like the offering of incense in the
Puja “whose fragrance pervades the air”. May we all become spiritually mature so
that our positive influence “spreads in all directions throughout the world”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4293055013036575366.post-16227336722239514822016-07-27T04:27:00.000-07:002016-07-27T04:27:34.302-07:00A Buddha Like No Other<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 21.3333px; line-height: 24.5333px;"><i>This is the fifth talk in the series given in the summer of 2016.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From childhood right up until my early 30s I was
something of a shrinking violet. There are probably many complex reasons for
this; I wasn’t socialised early in life due to living in a very rural area, I
was very shy and I am a natural introvert. And as far back as I can remember I
lived with some uneasy fear of the world around me. I was a reflective and
observant child and therefore often confused by people, religion, history etc.
Whatever the reasons, I was a shrinking violet and that was internalised and
became my habitual way of being in the world for at least the first three
decades of my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I would not characterise myself as a shrinking violet
now, perhaps more a sunflower or a hollyhock. Maybe I was never really a shrinking
violet, just a sunflower in unfavourable conditions. In the Parable of the Rain
Cloud from The White Lotus Sutra the Buddha compares the Dharma to rain,
monsoon rain, and he compares people – us – to the plants which grow and
flourish as a result of the rain: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“all the various trees,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">lofty, medium, low, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">each according to its size, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">grows and develops<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">roots, stalks, branches,
leaves,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">blossoms and fruits in their
brilliant colours;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">wherever the one rain
reaches,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">all become fresh and glossy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According as their bodies,
forms<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">and natures are great or
small,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">so the enriching rain,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">though it is one and the
same,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">makes each of them
flourish.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Ever to all beings<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I preach the Dharma equally;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">as I preach to one person<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">so I preach to all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ever I proclaim the Dharma,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">engaged in naught else;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">going, coming, sitting,
standing, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">never am I weary of<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">pouring it copious on the world,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">like the all enriching rain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On honoured and humbled, high and low, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Law-keepers and law-breakers, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">those of perfect character, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">and those of imperfect, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">orthodox and heterodox, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">quick witted and dull-witted, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">equally I rain the Dharma- rain <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">unwearyingly.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All the flowers, shrubs, bushes and trees grow in their
own unique way and similarly all the people hearing and practising the Dharma
grow and develop in their own unique way according to their character,
temperament, abilities and capacities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At this stage, the Stage of Spiritual Rebirth, which we
are exploring this week, we begin to see what kind of plant we are, what kind
of flower or tree we are. We begin to realise at this stage what kind of
Buddhist we are and what kind of Buddha and Bodhisattva we are becoming. Bhante
Sangharakshita has referred to this stage as the Stage of Transformation,
reminding us not to get too attached to any one metaphor. Transformation is
symbolised by the flames and the Lotus on the kesa. He says: “this is when the
vision that you have seen or experienced starts, as it were, descending and
transforming every aspect of your being.” Seminar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We can see that although we are speaking in terms of
stages, this is really a process that begins when we first respond to the Dharma
and continues until it bears fruit in Insight and Enlightenment. Right from
when we first hear and respond to the Dharma we have this experience of being
transformed. Earlier in the year we had four mitras speaking on the topic “why
I asked for ordination?” And the answer in a nutshell was that the Dharma had
transformed them – how they lived their lives and how they thought about their
lives had been transformed by their engagement with the Dharma. Like flowers
nourished by the rain and opening to the sun their hearts had opened. This is Spiritual
Rebirth beginning to happen. Or even earlier, people ask to become mitras
because they have experienced the transforming power of the Dharma. As we
continue to hear the Dharma, respond to the Dharma, practice the Dharma and be
transformed by the Dharma – we become more and more the individual we really
are. The protective armour and defensive strategies of our egotism slowly
dissolves and the many faces we show the world give way to our true face, the
face of the Bodhisattva or Buddha that we are becoming. Qualities begin to
shine through, our gifts and abilities are more and more in the service of the
Dharma. We are being reborn, shedding the chrysalis of self concern and
emerging in all our splendour. As time goes by we become the answer to the
request in Bhante’s poem Secret Wings: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Oh cry no more that you are weak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">but stir and spread your secret wings<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">and say “the world is bright, because<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">we glimpse the starriness of the things”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Soar with your rainbow plumes and reach<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">that near – far land where all are one<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">where beauty’s face is aye unveiled<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">and every star shall be a sun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Every star shall be a sun – every Buddhist shall be a
Buddha. Buddhism has a positive goal, it is not just about the negation of
egotism or the absence of greed, hatred and delusion. There is positive content
to the Enlightenment experience that manifests in the actions, words, thoughts
and imagination of the Buddha mind. As the great 18<sup>th</sup> century
Japanese master Hakuin said: “apart from water, no ice, outside living beings,
no Buddhas.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The ideal of Buddhism can seem abstract, but the Buddha
was not an abstraction. We aim to emulate the Buddha, to become Buddhas not to
become abstractions. But emulating the Buddha and becoming a Buddha, is not
about becoming just like a man who lived in India two and a half thousand years
ago. That would be an absurd undertaking. We have to use our awareness to
discern and experience what kind of Buddha we can be and we need to develop our
imaginal ability, our imaginal power, to get a sense of who the Buddha really
was and what being a Buddha really means.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are a number of traditional practices which help us
to awaken our awareness and imagination of the Buddha. The great Indian sage
Vasubandhu taught four practices – known as Vasubandhu’s four factors. The last
two of these are Recollection of the Buddhas and Contemplation of the Virtues
of the Tathagathas. Here is how Bhante describes these practices in his book
The Meaning of Conversion in Buddhism: “in Recollecting the Buddhas, one brings
to mind the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, who lived in India about 2500 years
ago, and the lineage of his great predecessors of which the Buddhist tradition
speaks. In particular, one reflects that these Buddhas started their spiritual
careers as human beings, with their weaknesses and limitations, just as we do.
Just as they managed to transcend all limitations to become enlightened, so can
we, if only we make the effort. There are several ways of approaching the
fourth practice, the Contemplation of the Virtues of the Tathagathas. One can
dwell on the life of an Enlightened One – the spiritual biography of the Buddha
or Milarepa for example. One can perform pujas in front of a shrine, or perhaps
just sit and look at a Buddha image, really trying to get a feeling for what
the image represents. Then again, one can do a visualisation practice in which
– to be very brief indeed – one conjures up a vivid mental picture of a
particular Buddha or Bodhisattva, an embodiment of an aspect of Enlightenment
such as wisdom, compassion, energy or purity.” The practice of Recollection of
the Buddha is echoed in our Threefold Puja when we say:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“the Buddha was born as we are born<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">what the Buddha overcame we too can overcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What the Buddha attained, we too can attain.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reading a life of the Buddha such as Gautama by
Vishvapani, is a good way to get a feeling for the Buddha as a person with a
spiritual practice. Going on pilgrimage to the Buddhist holy places in India is
another way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The contemplation of the qualities of Enlightenment is
reflected in our study, our longer pujas, our shrines and images, and the Sadhana
practices of Order Members. The many and diverse images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
– the archetypal figures such as Amitabha, Avolokiteshvara and Green Tara – all
these images produced from the depths of meditation experience can speak to us,
speak to our depths, in a way that words and ideas may never do. These images
emerged from the meditations of unique people, unique minds, unique experiences
and we, in our uniqueness, may respond to some and not to others. There are so
many figures, so many colours, and gestures, qualities and associations. There
are many many different archetypes of Enlightenment symbolising and emphasising
different qualities. They are like the different plants of The Rain Cloud
Parable, the different unique individuals we can grow into or, of course, we
may become a kind of Buddha as yet unimagined.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All of these different Buddhas and Bodhisattvas symbolise
Enlightened or Awakened consciousness in its fullness and they each emphasise
particular qualities of the Awakened individual. These figures and their
qualities also indicate ways to practice – a path of wisdom, a path of
compassion, a path of beauty, a path of energy, a path of generosity, a path of
meditation and so on. Spiritual Rebirth manifests in even greater faith –
shraddha – unshakeable faith in The Three Jewels, because now, at this stage,
one is embodying the three jewels more and more and one is experiencing the
fruits of practice – so faith has a very firm basis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Spiritual Rebirth also manifests in altruistic activity –
spontaneous altruistic activity – because there is less ego to get in the way;
less worry, fear, anxiety, less self concern, less need for praise, less fear
of blame. By this stage positive emotion is more established and present all
the time. By this stage integration is manifesting as the unique kind of plant
you are. By this stage, the victory over self-centredness is the norm and so
altruistic, generous and kindly activity is becoming the natural unpremeditated
way to be and behave. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As well as manifesting in great faith and altruism, Spiritual
Rebirth also manifests as greater appreciation of beauty and less desire to
possess. Possessiveness and pride and fear and status – they all kill beauty.
When they decrease, beauty is more present all the time. This is what Bhante
has referred to as the Greater Mandala of Aesthetic Appreciation – an attitude
towards the world and people that is not wanting to use or own everything, but
an attitude that is content with little and appreciates everything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Spiritual Rebirth is not really something that can be
practised – it is the result of practice. However, Spiritual Rebirth cannot
really be divorced from Spiritual death or Spiritual Victory. Spiritual death
is a way of talking about the deeper understanding and clear vision that brings
about transformation in our lives and Spiritual Rebirth is a way of talking
about how that transformation unfolds in our lives and manifests in the world.
These are two ways of looking at spiritual practice – there is practice as
discipline, as a means to bring about growth and development – practice as a
path to transformation and there is practice as the expression of
transformation, practice as the expression of deeper understanding and clear
vision. The practice of ethics can be a discipline or training we undertake in
order to enable us to experience higher states of consciousness or ethical
practice can be the expression of a higher state of consciousness. The same
applies to meditation or devotional ritual or contemplation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At this Stage of Spiritual Rebirth, the Stage of
Transformation, ethical practice will be more natural and spontaneous and
engagement in devotional ritual will be an enactment of the nature of Reality.
Buddhahood is the highest expression of humanity and to orientate ourselves in
the direction of Buddhahood in all our activities is both a practice and an
expression of realisation. To ritually orientate ourselves in the direction of
Buddhahood through Puja is a necessity for those who aspire to realisation and
the natural expression of realisation for those who have been transformed
through practice. At this Stage of Spiritual Rebirth, Puja, devotion and even prayer
are the practices most likely to engender the attitude and spirit of
transcendent consciousness and give a flavour of the Buddha mind. Acting on
kind and generous impulses is also a practice that can both lead in the
direction of transformation and give a flavour of those higher states of mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many people get a hint of Spiritual Rebirth through
developing a connection with an archetypal Buddha or Bodhisattva – through
contemplating images of particular Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, chanting their
mantras, meditating on their qualities, even talking to them or acting as if
you were that particular figure- acting as if you were Tara or Amoghasiddhi and
so on – this intense imaginative interaction leads to a relationship with Reality
via symbol and image. Imagination is essential to Insight. Imagination is
essential to Spiritual Death and Rebirth. As Sangharakshita puts it in his
essay Journey to Il Convento: “when one truly perceives an image one perceives
it with the whole of oneself, with ones whole being. When one truly perceives
an image, therefore, one is transported to the world to which that image
belongs and becomes, if only for the time being, an inhabitant of that world.
In other words, truly to perceive an image means to become an image, so that
when one speaks of the imagination, or the imaginal faculty, what one is really
speaking of is image perceiving image. That is to say in perceiving an image what
one really perceives is, in a sense, oneself.” The Priceless Jewel, p.57. Enlightenment is
not conceptual, not a rational ideas-based experience. It is much more akin to
the experience of being moved and transformed by great art or by the natural
world, which speaks to us on deeper levels that involve the whole of us, heart
and head, emotions and thoughts, all united in an imaginative identification
with the nature of Reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In Ratnaguna’s book Great Faith, Great Wisdom (page2) there
is a quote from Aaron Hughes which defines imagination, It says : “Imagination
is the faculty that experiences and expresses in sensible form that which is
essentially inexpressible”. So that is what archetypal Buddhas and Boddhisattvas are doing. They are
expressing through the senses , ‘in sensible form that which is essentially
inexpressible’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Spiritual Rebirth is the arena of imagination and
inspiration. Inspired by the Buddha we make an imaginative leap out of our
mundane concerns into the great expansive, cosmic, reaches of Reality. It is
very important that we allow for inspiration in our lives. We need to become
aware of what inspires us and as much as possible stay close to our sources of
inspiration. Being inspired motivates us to practice and practice is the
training that eventually leads to the imaginative breakthrough we call Insight,
or Spiritual death or Spiritual Victory or Vision. That is the transformation
which allows the qualities of Awakened consciousness to manifest more and more
through our uniqueness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The great Tibetan yogi Milarepa is a supreme example of
the stages of the spiritual path and in his songs we can hear the expression of
inspiration, imagination, kindness and compassion and realisation. One of those
songs that many of us are familiar with it is the Song of Meeting and Parting.
The first verse goes like this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“in the immense blue sky above<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">roll on the sun and moon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Their courses mark the change of time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Blue sky, I wish you health and fortune,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">for I, the-moon-and-sun, am leaving<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">to visit the four continents for pleasure.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So here you have the poet Milarepa giving a personality
to the sun and moon and that personality expresses Metta towards the blue sky,
also perceived as a living being. Milarepa has a close, intimate connection
with the natural world and this is where he finds his images. You also have a
reminder of impermanence. Bhante says that what is here translated as ‘for
pleasure’ might be better rendered as ‘out of sheer bliss’.So the whole verse
is an exuberant outpouring of joy, an exulting in the nature of Reality. In the
second verse the poet envisages a vulture speaking to a rock – there is again
the reminder of impermanence and the expression of Metta is even more detailed,
an imaginative identification of the vulture with the rock and it finishes with
the refrain – <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“inspired by the Dharma<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">May we soon meet again<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">in prosperity and boon.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Milarepa’s song is a hymn to impermanence, symbolising
the wisdom aspect of awakening and to Metta, symbolising the compassion aspect
of awakening. It is also a hymn to the inspiration derived from the Dharma. The
whole song is framed in highly imaginative terms that lift us into a realm of
beauty and richness. It seems to me an appropriate way to end this talk on Spiritual
Rebirth and as a special treat Arthasiddhi will now sing Milarepa’s Song of Meeting and Parting to help
us all soar into the exalted realms of the yogi Milarepa and his highly
imaginative evocation of the nature of Reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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In the immense blue sky above<br />
Roll on the sun and moon.<br />
Their courses mark the change of time.<br />
Blue sky, I wish you health and fortune,<br />
For I, the moon-and-sun, am leaving<br />
To visit the Four Continents for pleasure.<br />
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On the mountain peak is a great rock<br />
Round which circles oft the vulture,<br />
The King of birds.<br />
Their meeting<br />
And their parting mark the change of time.<br />
Dear rock, be well and healthy, for I,<br />
The vulture, now will fly away<br />
Into the vast space for pleasure.<br />
May lightnings never strike you,<br />
May I not be caught by snares.<br />
Inspired by the Dharma,<br />
May we soon meet again,<br />
In prosperity and boon.<br />
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Below in the Tsang River,<br />
Swim fish with golden eyes;<br />
Their meeting and their parting<br />
Mark the change of time.<br />
Dear stream, be well and healthy, for I,<br />
The fish am going to the Ganges for diversion.<br />
May irrigators never drain you,<br />
May fishermen ne'er net me<br />
Inspired by the Dharma,<br />
May we soon meet again<br />
In prosperity and boon.<br />
<br />
In the fair garden blooms the flower, Halo;<br />
Circling round it is the Persian bee.<br />
Their meeting and their parting,<br />
Mark the change of time.<br />
Dear flower, be well and healthy, for I<br />
Will see the Ganges' blooms for pleasure.<br />
May hail not beat down upon you,<br />
May winds blow me not away.<br />
Inspired by the Dharma,<br />
May we soon meet again<br />
In prosperity and boon.<br />
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Circling round the Yogi Milarepa<br />
Are the faithful patrons from Nya Non;<br />
Their meeting and their parting<br />
Mark the change of time.<br />
Be well and healthy, dear patrons, as I<br />
Leave for the far mountains for diversion.<br />
May I, the yogi, make good progress,<br />
And you, my patrons, all live long.<br />
Inspired by the Dharma,<br />
May we soon meet again<br />
In prosperity and boon!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Ratnaghoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124048204007262039noreply@blogger.com0