Category: Writing

All Humankind is my Kin

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The third jewel/refuge in Buddhadharma is Sangha—the community of virtuous ones, past, present and future, who reflect, practice and live in a pure hearted way, contemplate truth and develop wisdom.

When we take refuge in Sangha, we not only belong to, a safe, vibrant, engaged and interconnected community, we also provide refuge. Whatever gender, race, culture, sexual orientation, young or old, rich or poor, educated or under-educated, each equally belongs.  It doesn’t mean that conflicts don’t arise when human beings interact.  Yet, taking and providing refuge, a ground of trust is established in mutual intentions of goodwill and harmlessness, assured that each of us takes responsibility for the impact of our thoughts, words and deeds on fellow beings.  Sangha grows through the agglomeration of our individual commitments to provide such refuge.

Committing to our part, we resolve to make our invisible prejudices and biases visible, to honestly and openly work to make conscious our unconsciousness in the spheres of race, class and  all other categories into which we compartmentalize, and ignore the uniqueness of, every being.  This is required of each of us in these times of internecine race, class and religious wars born of greed, hatred and delusion.  Uprooting these defilements, we are Sangha that provides that refuge for which every one of us yearns.

We join Thomas Paine in saying, “The world is my country, all [hu]mankind is my … [kin] and my religion is to do good.”

May we each provide peace, harmony and true refuge.

Dhamma is Everywhere

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Dhamma is the second jewel, the second of the three refuges in Buddhist practice. When we take refuge in Dhamma, we seek and find safety in the truth of the way things actually are, everywhere, warts and all.

Taking refuge in Dhamma is a state of meditative relaxed alert attention, neither trying to get rid of anything nor caught in the habits of indulgence of the pleasant and suppression of the unpleasant—not trying to make things fit our idea of how they should be, but understanding, through looking deeply, how they truly are. We can open ourselves here and now to the way it is, rather than attaching to the way we romantically think things ought to be.

Meeting the flow of life as Dhamma (teaching), clarity and peacefulness emerge.

Not waiting for someone else to realize the truth for us, we see Dhamma for ourselves right here and now in this seemingly imperfect daily life, in the hurly burly of interaction and responsibilities; in mind/heart/body internal and external reality, and their relationship.  Wisdom viscerally sees the truth of the constantly changing, insubstantial, subtle, diaphonous and tenuous nature of all life; the truth of unsatisfactoriness, its cause, its ceasing and the Path to its ceasing; the inexorable law that all words and actions have consequences; and the dryness of a life lived without kindness and compassion.

Seeing, we stop.  Stopping, we find refuge in Dhamma. Wisdom opens the way to spaciousness, to living in safety.  Deep and long outbreath.

 

Intending and Resolving

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This transitional week creates opportunity for each of us to activate the power of intention and resolve, setting direction to actualize our deepest potential.  Spend time in reflection to appreciate how much you have grown this year and identify areas of potential. When we note progress, faith in practice and study grows.

We have witnessed eruptions of violence and hatred on a global scale, from Ferguson to Australia, Pakistan, New York, Hong Kong, Berkeley….   Increasingly, many face physical, emotional, mental and spiritual hardship in escalating crises, struggling to handle fear and polarization (by religion, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, economic status and political affiliation) that drive hatred.  Often we use practice as a way to spiritually bypass the pain and sorrow of collective suffering.  The sorrow of the world is as much our business as our own sorrow.

It may seem fantastical to imagine dissolving polarization.  Yet, that fantasy must become reality. Our planetary and species survival depends on our willingness to abandon existing paradigms based on blame, prejudice, exploitation, and fear and recognize that “we are tied together in a single garment of destiny” (Martin Luther King). Solutions that unite us in diversity are needed now.  It begins with us.

Contemplate where you are polarized, internally and externally.  What keeps you polarized and inflexible?  Imagine a universe in which we each offer love, wisdom, generosity and ethical action in every encounter, including with ourselves.  We dream this world together.  Can we dream a world that values all sentient beings (human and non-human), creating peace in each life and throughout the Earth?  Can this be our personal and collective intention and resolve?

Happy and peaceful 2015.

Awake In The Wild

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As we witness and engage in the challenges and expressions of anguish in our world, we also see the joy and inexpressible beauty in all of life. When we take refuge in the Buddha, we remember that like us, the Buddha was a human being, and our refuge in Awakened Mind/Heart realizes our potential—luminous, spotless, wise, allowing the expression of wisdom and compassion in the truth of how things are.

The qualities of Buddhamind/heart are chanted daily in Buddhist monasteries: elimination of greed, aversion and ignorance; wisdom; endowment with knowledge, living in concord with that knowledge; adept in the art of choosing the right words to benefit the listener; beautiful and excellent; seer of the world as it really is; incomparable tamer of the conditioned mind/heart; exalted, fulfilling the ten perfections.

Reflecting and contemplating, we are “the one who knows truth” and “acts in accordance with that knowing.” Wisdom is already here.  We know the world as it is and as it arises in consciousness—the fears, desires, views and opinions, perceptions that come and go in the mind.

In taking refuge in the Buddha, we allow that-which-is-wise to lead us.  We turn to our Buddha-wisdom—it trains us to live in a skillful way, as individuals in these bodies and as heartful members of the collective, in wisdom, goodness and kindness.  We learn to be of benefit, rather than harm, to the world.  Buddha is the teacher.  We are the teacher.  The Buddha, as refuge, trains all to see things as they are, to embody truth.

Take refuge in the awakened mind/heart in the midst of the world.

 

Refuge

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“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”
Maya Angelou

Living in beautiful Westchester County, I have the privilege of choices of woodlands, riverbanks and dirt roads to walk in nature.  My backyard is a sanctuary to fauna—birds, stray cats, foxes, squirrels and deer, and abundant flora—buddleia, fungi and lichen. We are constantly reminded of how nature takes care of itself, a metaphor for cultivation of the mind: establish supportive conditions, guard young growth against damage, and attend with care.  In time, a Refuge, a sanctuary, a safe place, is discerned.

From the Buddha’s central teaching that human life is fraught with danger from greed, anger, and delusion, we realize that taking refuge is essential.  Because the mind is the source of both the dangers and their release, there are two levels of refuge: external (models and guidelines to identify which mental qualities lead to danger and which to release); and internal (skillful mental qualities, where true safety is found).

The refuges in Buddhism are the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, also known as the Triple Gem. In ancient times, gems were believed to have protective powers. The powers of the Triple Gem are even more powerful—protecting us from the uncertainties of the realm of aging, illness, and death.  Skillful mental qualities are developed internally from the external guides of the Triple Gem. For example, the Buddha was a person of wisdom, purity and compassion and Awakened through conviction, determination, mindfulness, and discernment. We, too, can develop qualities of Awakened Mind as ultimate refuge and sanctuary.  Where do you go for refuge?

Awakening Together in Wisdom

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The Buddha called the faculty of wisdom, the fifth and final Spiritual Faculty, the crowning virtue among all the requisites of enlightenment, as it illuminates the meaning of karma (the weaving of causes and effects in our interdependent world) and the characteristics of phenomena—naggingly incomplete, impermanent and without self.  Wisdom also includes establishing intentions of good will and harmlessness in all actions of body, speech and mind.

True wisdom is to directly see and understand for ourselves, rather than “blind belief.” We are invited to investigate deeply—to keep an open mind, listening to other (even contradictory) points of view, being mindful of our own bigotry; to carefully examine, not ignore, facts that contradict our beliefs; to be mindful of our prejudices and partisanship; to take time forming opinions and beliefs; and be ready to change our beliefs when contradictory evidence is presented. The path of believing what our narrow circle believes is easy. The Buddhist path of wisdom requires courage, patience, flexibility and intelligence and opens to a wider landscape.

When events such as those in Ferguson, Missouri of this past week occur, do you recognize the opportunity to develop wisdom?  How do you understand such seismic events?  What is your process in forming a view and acting?  Wisdom is to be cultivated in ALL areas of life, uncompromised, with full integrity, even if it means countering past mental and emotional habits and opinions.  Do you feel invited to look deeply, to contemplate interdependence and to act with wise intention?

How wonderful that we have opportunities to awaken together!  Shall we?

 

Blessing the World

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This week many of us will pause to participate in what we call “Thanksgiving,” for the blessings in our lives. There is a text called the “Mangala Sutta,” the Buddha’s discourse on Blessings.  At the beginning of the sutta, he asks: “What is truly auspicious, truly a blessing?”  His response (perhaps surprising) is how to craft an empowered life that is in harmony with, and supportive of, our deepest values. The thirty-eight enumerated blessings in the sutta remind us that we are a part of something greater than a small sense of self. Connected to all of life through integration of deep wisdom in our lives, we give and receive blessings.

What he describes as blessings is essentially an integrated way of living in the Dhamma—fulfilling individual spiritual and communal requisites for success such as education, attaining a craft, discipline, virtue, fulfilling family responsibilities, generosity, as well as the elements of a spiritual life—respect; humility; contentment; gratitude, patience, the ability to take criticism.  Through these come the blessings of a mind unshaken by changing worldly conditions, “sorrowless … stainless … and secure.”

Can we this week of Thanksgiving look at the world with “quiet eyes,” (as expressed by the Theologian Howard Thurman) and remember these deepest gifts with which we are blessed?  Can we give and receive such blessings by our quiet—acknowledging the turmoil of the world, remembering its many injustices, and yet blessing it with our peace, loving kindness and compassion?

Concentrating on Freedom

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The Buddha’s teaching is straightforward:  liberation is not clinging.  That’s a radical and uncompromising statement.  And to me, it’s very inspiring—OK, this is the work to do, and the first step is using the power of increased concentration, that comes from our consistent and constant practice, to begin to see the places of attachment, identification and fixation of mind.  And through seeing, letting go—the end of clinging, freedom—comes.

Concentration is the fourth of the five spiritual faculties.  The deepening of concentration and the quieting of the mind provides stability of attention and attentiveness necessary for deeper seeing of the nature of mind and body, of this life.

For most of us, the development of concentration—an undistracted quality of mind, takes time.  Some people seem to have natural ability for, and can settle right into, concentration; but from my own experience, settling into a quiet and undistracted mind doesn’t necessarily come easily.  When the mind is quite scattered or distracted, and we’re struggling to keep bringing it back, it is very difficult to develop the penetrating insight that comes from the undistracted mind.   Nevertheless, if we sustain a constant and consistent practice, eventually the struggle lets go and coming back happens by itself.  This is the first step toward penetrating insight.  Indeed, it is one of our first insights—that letting go is not so much ours to do as it is establishing conditions for the sure heart’s release to happen, all by itself!

You Are the Music

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Considered individually, each of the five spiritual faculties performs its unique task.  Together, they establish inner balance and harmony.  Above the complementary pairs of faith and wisdom and energy and concentration, is the faculty of mindfulness, the third faculty, protecting the mind from falling into extremes.

T.S. Eliot said, “Music heard so deeply that it is not heard at all, but you are the music while the music lasts.”  Being thus absorbed is concentration.  Knowing that one is absorbed is mindfulness.  Mindful, we are aware now—of activity, physical sensations, thoughts and emotions arising, and external events. The root meaning of the Pali word for mindfulness, sati, signifies ‘to remember’ non-wobbling presence of mind and attentiveness to the present, yielding absence of confusion and of forgetfulness.

We often think spiritual development is a sound and light show, that when the big realization comes some time in the future, it will grandly announce itself, a very magnificent happening that will transform everything once and for all. More often than not, we think great beings may be capable of it, but not “me.”  It’s not like that at all—it’s simple—right here and now, so close we don’t notice it.  It is always there presently, but our inner eye has been closed.  The thrust of the Buddhadharma is opening the inner eye through the faculty of mindfulness, sustaining the recognition of wisdom in the midst of diurnal activities.  Being present, mindful, we are content, in harmony, balanced—nothing to gain, attain or lose—marvelous!  We are the music while the music lasts.