Birthrights of Belonging

Hello everybody, welcome, welcome. So I'm going to start with a little Dharma glimpse. From our Bright Dawn family, Satya Robyn, Nico, Byoyo, Bacardi. Recently our group has been exploring the topic of realizing enlightenment through whatever means we have. As a group, humans tend towards the dramatic and glamorous, so sometimes we think we will get to enlightenment by a grand gesture or event. I've been exploring the concept of enlightenment through acknowledging limitations over the past few weeks and find it very liberating. There are so many judgments we have as individuals, as a society or culture, about which— what we should or should not be doing. For instance, someone with a very strong work ethic can feel very useless unless they are constantly engaged in some result-oriented task. Satya Robyn: When we encounter limitations in life, whether financial, physical, or mental, we tend to judge ourselves and feel guilt. In the past few weeks, I've had a chance to choose a different response to my own limitations rather than feeling guilty or defeated. I've experienced acceptance. After acceptance sets in for a while, I was able to see reasons to appreciate these limitations and have been able to use them as a springboard for new opportunities I could not have seen before. To me, this is a glimpse of enlightenment, and it keeps me going when things seem too challenging. As long as we are in resistance to a problem, we cannot see the way out. By resisting, we are in a state of mind that believes in duality. There is a problem, and then there is me. They are two separate entities. By practicing acceptance, we become one. With limitation and thereby are empowered to move past it. Namu Amida Butsu.

Na mo kwan chi in bo sa. Namokwanji inbo sat. Namokwanji inbo sat. Namokwanji inbo sat. Satya Namah Shivayinmo Satya Namah Shivainmo Satya Namah Kwan— Kwan Chi en—

sat!

Nammo Kwan Chi en Bo Saat namo kwan chi in bo saat nammo kwanchi ngo saatt naamo khwaan chee een goh sass naam mo quaan sheen gho sat namaa moh quaanshee eeen goo sasst namoo-kwaaann-chee-eenn-goh-saat nahm-mo-kuahn-chiiin-goossssat?

Nnam-o-quahnsheeh-en-boosaat-nammmo-kwanchee-in-buhsaat... Nahmm-mm-hmm-o-kwan-chee-iinnn-puuusssaat... Naammo-kwan-chee iinnnn-poossaat...

Nammo-Kuan-Chi-Inkook-Satsang Namo Kwan Shin Bosat! Namo Kwan Shin Bosat! Nammo Kwanchi Inbosa— namo kwanshi nmosa tnamokwansi en bosad. Namoh Quan Chi Invo Sat. Namoh Quan Chi Invo Sat. Namoh Quan Chi Invo Sat. Namokwan Shin Bosat. Namokwan Shin Bosat. Namokwan Shin Bosat. Namokwanji in Bosat. Namokwanji in Bosat. Namokwanji in Bosat. Namoh Quan Chi Ngo Sat. Namoh Quan Chi Ngo Sat. Namoh Quan Chi Ngo Sat. Namoh Kwanji Namo Satya Robyn. Namoh Kwanji Namo Satya Robyn. Namoh Kwanji Namo Satya Robyn. Namo Kwan Shin Bosat. Namo Kwan Shin Bosat. Namo Kwan Shin Bosat. Nammo Kwanchi Inbosafta. Namokwanji in Mosa. Namokwanji in Mosa.

For refuge I go to the Buddha.

For refuge I go to the Buddha.

The one who is awake and full of love.

The one who is awake and full of love.

Namo Buddha.

Namo Buddha.

For refuge I go to the Dharma.

For refuge I go to the Dharma.

All that guides us to wisdom and compassion.

All that guides us to wisdom and compassion.

Namo Dharma.

Namo Dharma.

For refuge I go to the Sangha.

For refuge I go to the Sangha.

Those who live in the Buddha's light.

Those who live in the Buddha's light.

Namo Sangha.

Namo Sangha.

For refuge I go to the Earth.

For refuge I go to the Earth.

The holy ground of awakening.

The holy ground of awakening.

Namo Bhumya.

Namo Bhumya.

With faith in the Four Refuges.

With faith in the Four Refuges.

And in light of my human tendencies, I pray that I may become aware of when I take life. I pray that I may become aware of when I take what is not freely given. I pray that I may become aware of when I fall into sexual misconduct—

of when I fall into sexual misconduct—I pray that I may become aware—

I pray that I make them aware—of when I've fallen to wrong speech—when I fall into one's pitch—I pray that I may become aware—I'm afraid—that they come away—if we're gonna become intoxicated—and then it becomes complicated.

No blame!

Be kind! Love everything! Love everything!

Innumerable are sentient beings.

We vow to save them all.

Inexhaustible are deluded passions. We vow to trust for them Immeasurable are the Dharma teachings.

We vow to master them all.

Infinite is the Buddha's way.

We vow to fulfill it completely.

I'm a midwife, so I I've been reflecting, uh, the last few months on and off, uh, on the theme of belonging, which is quite a common theme for me to spring up. And I think generally it's quite a common one, uh, for people to search for, you know. I think we have a deep longing to feel at home in a group. So at different points in my life, I've joined different groups, and there have been the groups where I never felt like I belonged, and, and that was okay. I was like, oh, I'm just kind of doing been doing this for a while. This is where I am and this is okay. You know, maybe I still like found some gems, you know, that I could, um, take from those times. And then there've been other groups where I've been like, oh yeah, wow, this is great. There's loads of synergy. I really feel like I belong in this group. And, um, you know, I'm noticing some differences, but, but, you know, that there's enough cohesion for it to feel really good and to get that good sense of community and belonging. And then I feel that for a while, sometimes quite a long period of time, and then, and then I'd be like, oh, oh well, well, no one else seems to be expressing this part of themselves. And I definitely— I mean, mine wants to be like that. That dimension of me wants to be like really in expression, and no one else is really expressing that part of themselves here. And then I'd be like, oh yeah, and that, that bit, that, that doesn't— oh, that, that doesn't really feel at home here either. And, and then I'll be like, oh, but it's okay, like, you know, I still, still belong, still belong, you know. And then Over time, I'll have to, uh, I come to accept the fact that, like, that the sense of belonging is partial, and sometimes I feel it more strongly and sometimes I don't. And I think this is, this is— I've spoken to quite a lot of people about this experience. I think particularly Amongst sensitive individuals, this is quite a common experience, so you may be able to relate to it in your own experience. And sometimes it's been really painful. There's been like a painful grieving process where I have to let go of this dream that I would feel a complete sense of, um, total belonging or total, like, uh, sustained community. So some of, you know, sometimes it's been quite painful in that process, that kind of disillusionment. And I've got that again, you know, different times. Maybe I've, you know, joined another group and I've had that same experience again. And then in contrast, there's also this other dimension in which I like have a deep sustained experience and trust of my connectedness to all that there is, like absolute like a real deep knowing and a real deep sense of belonging in this universe, of belonging in like part of this web of, uh, energy, this web of, of life and death. And I always feel like I belong when I'm in nature, and I always know when I really, you know, come back to myself, but that's also belonging And so we have this kind of two different things, which again, like, reminded me of, of, of, like, quite a useful concept that I found quite useful a lot of times in the, in the relative and the ultimate, like, on this relative sense, on a relative sense. Because we're all so unique, maybe it's quite difficult to get a full and total sense of belonging and, uh, kinship with all the different parts of ourselves in relationship to all the different parts of groups and individuals within those groups. And on an ultimate level, like, this is it, like, this, like, we are home, we're connected, we belong. At one of the festivals I was at recently, I've been feeling into this to these two things. And, and across the field, I heard a bit of a cappella singing, and I was like, oh yeah, I'm just gonna go and jump in and hope I pick that up. So I wandered over and jumped in, hope for the best. And they were singing the words of the words of the song that they were singing. Was, this is home where I belong, in this breath, in this heart. This is home where I belong, in this place, in this song. And I felt like, and it was really, it was really powerful to be in a group of people all singing this, all like, you know, opening their hearts. And singing this, and I was singing, I was crying. It was a really beautiful experience. And, and I just thought that those, those metaphors within it were really helpful because like, you know, home in the breath, like home in the ever-present, ever-changing dynamic inter— play, interplay between our bodies and the world outside. That immediately accessible, constant, and yet also constantly changing thing that is the breath. And then in this heart, you know, this is home in this heart, in this metaphor for this center of love and presence, and this place where we connect, like, with ourselves, and can we connect with others. And I felt like those two metaphors were really helpful in, in reminding and remembering this birthright of belonging that we all have on an ultimate level, which exists alongside whatever partial or sometimes full and then changing senses of belonging and connection and home that we might pick up in other places on a relative level. So gratitude for all of this. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

In gratitude, we make this offering to all Buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout space and time. May it be as fragrant as Earth herself, reflecting our careful efforts our wholehearted mindfulness, and the fruit of understanding slowly ripening. May we and all beings be companions of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. May we awake from forgetfulness and realize our true home.

I think we have any announcements.

Bless by Amitabha's light, may we care for all living things.