Clinging on to summer & remembering the ocean of love

Welcome to this Wednesday evening practice. I was going to say, oh, we're light on the ground tonight, and then I thought, wow, Light on the ground. What a great image for Amida, for the light of Amida grounding, manifesting, embodying on the ground, on our level. So we are light on the ground tonight. So I'm going to start with the Dharma Glimpse from our Bright Dawn Dharma Glimpses. Bright Dawn is our sibling temple over in America. Got the concept of Dharma glimpses from there. This is written by Ricardo Ryuyu Sasaki. Last week I spent 5 days in the beautiful beaches of Recife in the northeast Brazil. I live in the Southeast. All days spending at the beaches, lots of sun, clean sands. I got a terrific price on a flight, so I got 2 tickets for me and my son, and away we went. I took the chance and already— and also gave 3 talks on Buddhism and meditation there. Overall, it was a great experience. Though I was born in a coast city, where I live now is surrounded by mountains, and everyone complains there is no ocean near here, so going to the coast is really pleasant. And there I was, sitting at the beach, thinking about what I was going to say about meditation to people that night. The answer was right in front of me. Thich Nhat Hanh talks about waves and sea in the book we are reading at the lay program. How individual waves think they are individual, deluding themselves in forgetfulness that all are just water. However, I made another turn in the symbol of sea and waves. I was thinking about a possible connection to meditation. Since that, that was, that was the subject I was going to talk about. And it occurred to me it had the two elements essential in Buddhist meditation— what in the Theravada tradition is called samatha vipassana, the Chinese used to call qi kuan. I also loved the way they translated it. Stop and see. Stop and see. So the first move in our meditation practice is stop. We need to calm down, concentrate, focus our mind in whatever object we choose to use. In my case, body sensations and breathing. I look at the sea and observe the beautiful vastness of it. The waves give rhythm, and they're coming and going, relax us, calming us down through its soothing magic. Like in the breathing, watching it's coming and going, looking at the waves also gives us that relaxing effect. And facing the vastness of the sea opened a space inside, empty and pure, and at the same time a fulfilling space. It is like the inner space we need to create while meditating. Breathing in, breathing out, calming down. Creating space. Clouds come and go, the space remains. Waves come and go, the ocean remains. The other aspect of meditation is vipassana, what the Chinese call seeing. Seeing what? We can say seeing the inner truth the reality of what things really are, something Thich Nhat Hanh talks about a lot. In Theravada tradition, vipassana is seeing with the eyes of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and non-self. We need to see our experience with that perspective, and again, the waves give such an example for that. They're coming and going. Ups and downs show us that things arise and pass away. What is now is not in the following moment. Am I the boy of 18 in the photograph, mastitna khan, or the old man of 70, or none of them? No self is clear when watching the waves. Try to catch a wave. You can't try catch it, and you get frustrated, stressed. You suffer trying to make the reality something it is not. So during 5 days, my son and I spent being calm and cool, watching the sea and riding the waves of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and no self, enjoying the waves, going with them without foolishly trying to catch them. I look at my shorts and read the brand name of it: Wave Rider. Thank you. Namaste. Moving into a period of meditation where some of the things in that Dharma talk may percolate, may land.

And flow. Ameeta.

Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabh. Amitabh.

Amitabh.

Amitabh. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh.

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 Dharmaya.

Namo Dharmaya.

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 Sanghaya.

Namo Sanghaya.

For refuge I go to the Earth.

For refuge I go to the Earth, the holy ground of awakening. The holy ground of awakening.

Namobhumyay.

Namobhumyay.

With faith in the Four Refuges, with faith in the Four Refuges, and in light of my human tendencies, and in light of my human tendencies, I pray that I may become aware I pray that I may become aware of when I take life—of when I take life—I pray that I may become aware—I pray it's time to be come aware-of when I take what is not freely given—and then I take what is not really good-I pray that I may become aware—I'm afraid so—I made you calm—or if when I fall into sexual misconduct-and now for intersectional misconduct—I pray that I may become aware—I praise her big power—when I fall into your own mind into wrong speech. I pray that I may become aware of when I become intoxicated. 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 transform them all.

Immeasurable are the Dharma teachings.

We vow to master them all. Infinite is the Buddha's way. We vow to fulfill it completely.

Mm-hmm. So autumn seems to have arrived very suddenly this year. We seem to have gone from a very definite summer to a very definite autumn, pretty much with the 1st of September, although the, the vibe was in the air for a week or so before that. And I know like that every year we, when autumn approaches and autumn's landing, I feel this real like trepidation about the autumn coming, about the changing of the seasons. I feel, feel like almost this kind of dread, like a dread. And there will be lots of reasons for that, you know. One, I love the freedom of the summer. I love, you know, long evening dog walks and lots and lots of wild camping and being able to get much more out of my days, like 2 days worth of a winter's day, and being, you know, going places and visiting people and doing things. Even though by June, really by August, I'm like really feeling the always being away and moving around and need to settle. And they'll probably be in the mix. There'll probably be feelings of like from being a kid dreading going back to school after the summer holidays. And you know, it's— there's always parts of me that really touch, that really try to cling on, try to cling on. No, the last bit of warmth in the sunshine, you know, that kind of thing. And, and then what normally happens is I normally observe this happening, and then after a while I kind of accept that we've changed seasons and we're in a, we're in a new season and we're in autumn. And then I can actually really start to enjoy autumn and wear more clothes so I'm not cold all the time, and my body adjusts a bit to the change in temperature, and I can I can enjoy things. And even now, like, you know, in— as we've been turning, as we've been turning from the summer through into the autumn quite rapidly, I've been aware of like all the, the, you know, the discomfort that I feel around that, and as well as really appreciating, you know, the rain on the dry earth and the feeling of the squidgy mud under my feet as I'm barefoot in the garden and the ground is colder now already, and appreciating those things. I put out the last— planted out the last of my seedlings, like some pak choi and some really late lettuce, and they were definitely being nibbled in ways that they weren't earlier in the year. And this morning— or was it yesterday morning? This morning I watched a little fluffed up, um, what was it? What was it? It was a little A little starling, I think it was a little starling, all fluffed up from the rain, eating my seedlings. And I was like, ah, oh, such a mix of like, oh, it's getting some food and some nourishment, and that's what it needs to be well and strong. And some sadness for my little seedlings that won't grow to be into plants that have been sacrificed. So we have this, this, you know, so many signs of impermanence and a reminder that even like in really wonderful experiences, you know, having, you know, like, like how much joy I experience from the things I can do in the summer, which are harder to do in the winter and that kind of thing. You know, even those kind of positive experiences can at the time be tinged with an awareness that they're impermanent. And even if that's not there, they are— they will end. And sometimes those endings are easier than others. Sometimes it's easy to let go of experiences, and sometimes it's not. And Even also, you know, obviously this summer, even experiencing really, you know, in the times when I've had really wonderful experiences, I've also been poignantly aware of the absolutely heartbreaking situation in so many places in the world, in our country, and obviously in Palestine and Sudan and the Congo and Ukraine and Afghanistan and all of the really utterly heartbreaking things that are going on and the level of suffering that is around in the world. So even in those moments, I, you know, find, find myself holding both those experiences. And I think it's the same for a lot of people, you know, even when we, when we are able to have really beautiful and joyful and happy experiences, there's also other painful elements to it. And that's, you know, that's basic dukkha. These are the, you know, the conditions of the world in which we live in. Of this, you know, human existence. And yet it's not all doom and gloom, because Buddhism actually also encourages us to take heart, to take heart in the fact that holding all of this in ways we can't comprehend with the rational mind is this vast ocean of love and wisdom and compassion, and that at any moment that ocean can kind of burst through into our reality. And when we say Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we say nenpa nenpa tsu here. That can be a really wonderful reminder, a reminder of the ever-present, immediate, dynamic force of love, compassion, of wisdom. Which is Amida, which is the Pure Land, that doesn't come and go the way our experiences of happiness and suffering also impermanent do. Doesn't come and go, that is constant, that exists outside of the impermanent conditioned reality in which we normally live in, and yet we can experience at any moment. And there's so many ways to be reminded of that. There's so many ways of being reminded of that. The natural world reminds me of that on a daily basis. The love I experience with loved ones also is like little seeds of that vast love, like little waves of that vast ocean of love. And I'm also very grateful to have an enbutsu and other practices to remind me of that as well. And that, that's something we can share here. We can share these ways of tapping into and reminding ourselves and anchoring back into and remembering This dynamic, fathomless, infinite ocean of love and compassion and wisdom that can be alongside us within our other fleeting experiences. Namaste. Namoh Avita. Namoh Avita.

Namoh Avita.

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 awaken from forgetfulness and realize our true home.

Boom! Announcements. We have kirtan chanting and sacred singing this Sunday from 30 PM till 9 PM. Always a real treat to come along and join us. We have an open morning happening on the 13th of September, Saturday the 13th of September, and we have a retreat day happening on the 18th of October. And we have various volunteer hours happening around in between them, and we have book groups starting as well. And yeah, so lots happening. So that's it for announcements. Blessed by Amitabha's light, may we care for all living things. Hallelujah!