Satya Robyn leads a small Wednesday-night Buddhist gathering with chanting, meditation, and a talk using a hill analogy to explore how spiritual practice changes your perspective on connection and meaning.
Chapters
Welcome to one of our smallest ever Wednesday night gatherings. We have 3 of us, 4 of us in the shrine room and 2 joining online.
Welcome, welcome.
We're going to start with a Statement of Faith instead of a Dharma Glimpse today. That's next to you or underneath your chair. Um, people joining online, I think there's a copy up on the website.
Statement of Faith.
Purpose of our practice is to open us to the wisdom and compassion of the Buddhas. Our heart practice is the Nembutsu, the recitation of Amida Buddha's name. We also connect with the Buddha's wisdom through practices like listening to teachings, meditations and being in the natural world. We treasure Shakyamuni Buddha, who set the wheel of Dharma turning. We learn from Buddhist teachers throughout the ages, awaken beings everywhere and the world itself. We especially revere the great Pure Land sages Honen and Shinran. Held in Amida's loving gaze, we come to know ourselves deeply, both our bombu nature and our Buddha nature. As bombu beings, we grasp at unreliable refuges, and sometimes we cause harm. Knowing the harm we cause offers us the chance to lessen that harm. Seeing our fallible nature also strengthens our refuge in Amida Buddha. The more deeply we take refuge in Amida, the more our greed, ill will, and delusion will melt like ice into water, allowing our natural compassion to flow into the world. We trust that at the center of each of us is the heart that loves all living beings and that is for their liberation. We take action powered by this love in response to the suffering in the world. We pay attention to the causes of suffering. We mitigate for power. We practice discerning what work is ours to do. We wish that all who may benefit are able to access the jewels of the Buddha's teachings. Moved by the Buddha's love, we vow to take care of all living beings, including ourselves. Held tenderly by the Buddha's love, we find clarity, consolation, and settled train.
Okay, so we're gonna move into a period of meditation. So having a little wiggle, find your center of gravity, find those parts of the body that are in contact with the floor or the cushion. Cast the awareness out into the room, maybe in front and behind, to the sides, up above and below. And gradually allowing the being to come to some level of rest and being at the center of your experience. As it moves towards you and within you. We're going to move into the chant of the Medicine Buddha. It is written down on a little liturgy sheet, and it goes: Taya ta Om Bekanji Bekanji Maha Bekanji. It's funny having to say this out rather than sing it. Rather, Samangati Soha. So that's, uh, that's on the little liturgy sheet. Online people, have you got the website link with the liturgy you have. Yes, or do you want me to put it up? No, you've both got it. Fantastic, thanks for letting me know.
Thai Ataram bacon J bacon J maha bacon J rasa samut katheso. Thai Ataram bacon J bacon J maha bacon J rasa samut katheso. Ha! Satya Robyn, bacon J, bacon J, maha bacon J, rasa samudgati soha. Satya Robyn, bacon J, bacon J, maha bacon J, rasa samudgati soha. Satya Robyn, bacon J, bacon J, maha bacon J, ratsa samut katsi soha. Satya Robyn, bacon J, bacon J, maha bacon J, ratsa samut katsi Bacon jail, that's a Samudghati song.
Moving into the refuges and precepts, which are written on the little liturgy sheet.
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.
Who guides us to wisdom and compassion.
Namu Dharmaya.
Namu 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.
Namu Sangha.
Namu 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.
Namobumiye.
Namobumiye. 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—
—when I take what is not freely given. And when I fall into sexual misconduct—
of my fault— intersectional conduct—
I pray that I may become aware—
I prayed to her maybe come over here—
of when I've fallen too wrong-speech—
I thought you told me she was asleep! Yeah? Pray that I may become aware I pray time may become well of when I become intoxicated.
Of when I become intoxicated. No blame. No blame. Be kind. Be kind. Love everything.
Love everything.
Innumerable 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.
So I was hanging out with somebody the other day and we were talking about how— talking a bit about politics and about the world and how people can make some of the decisions that they make and my friend said, uh, you know, what you see depends on where you're seeing it from. And I was like, right. And it was like, I mean, it's really literal in that, like, when you stood down in the, in a dip, you know, can't see very far around, can't see very far around. You can only see things that are really, really up close. And when you're a little bit higher up, you can see a little bit more, and you can maybe see down into the dip and into the valley. And maybe you can look up a little bit and you can see up a bit. And then when you're further up the hill you can see a lot further. And then when you have the kind of view that we have here from the shrine room, you can see for miles and miles, miles, miles, miles, miles, and there's this huge expanse and a lot of sky and a lot of fields and trees and houses. The perspective is very different. And, um, what if you always lived at the top of the hill and only ever had this panoramic bird's-eye view, this big perspective on things? Then it'll be really easy to be like, but the people all the way down there, like, what's wrong with them? They're just like making decisions based on like this 6 foot around them that they can see. Don't they know there's all this up here? And that would obviously be really unhelpful because then there'd be othering, you know, there'd be othering of the people down there. And if you were always down there and only ever saw this, well, then that's all that really exists. And other people, like, might— you might hear things about this, these other views, these other things, but it's like it's not in your direct experience. So how do you really know it's true? And they could just be making it up. And maybe sometimes someone who's a little bit— who's like, you know, walked up a little bit higher goes, hey, like, come up here and have a look at this. Like, from here, like, you can— you can see your place, although, you know, just down there, that's your place down there. And then you can also see over there, and you can see your neighbor's place over there, and you can see all this wider perspective. But if you've only ever seen What's like here? It's like, well, that might just sound a bit scary going all the way up there.
Why would I want to do that?
Or maybe sometimes if the conditions were right, if the conditions were supportive, if you had a really good friend and your friend was like, come on, we're just going to walk up 5 minutes, 5 minutes, and we'll get a little bit higher up, then you might be like, okay, 'Okay, that doesn't sound too risky. I'm going to give it a go.' And you go, and then you, you get to have this perspective where you see more. So it's, so it's really important to have experience of all the different levels of perspective. And it's like the birds. So some, you know, The bird kingdom needs all sorts of different levels of feeding. Like, some birds eat on the wing, some birds only eat off like a surface. Like, some birds will go to your bird feeder and be able to like have a peck away and like have a good time, and others will only, maybe only be able to eat off like a nice widespread surface. And some will be able to do both. That needs all that variety. And it's the same with being able to be in touch with the spiritual life, it— to have these different flexibilities in all this flexibility in terms of different positions. So some days it might be like literally all we can see is this little ring around us. Yeah, life, everyday life is really up close and it's really absorbing. And we have a memory and maybe a fully embodied memory of other times when we've been able to feel connection and that, you know, expansive sense of connection. But there may be times when it's just a memory and just a memory, and, and when we can just see that real close-up, just see the real close-up. And then there might be other times when we're just like soaring high and we've got this great panoramic perspective and we can feel how the air currents of love and compassion and awareness and the Buddha and the divine and all those things are like holding us up. Up and underneath our wings, and we're like— and, and we can look at all the little day-to-day running around and be like, oh yeah, I have to do that too, but right now I'm up here. And there may be days when we kind of move between the two, and like one moment we're really in connection with the spiritual life, and other times when We're not, but, but there's like, there's a lot of movement going around. And I think when you've had quite long periods of time feeling really connected and then suddenly everyday life is really like here again, it can be a bit upsetting. It can be a bit like, oh, but I normally feel so connected. What's happened? Oh no, will it ever come back? What's wrong with me? I've lost my faith. Have I lost my faith? But I don't think I have. 'cause I know it's there, you know, it could, those kind of thoughts can arise. But you know, the longer that you keep engaging in the spiritual life, the more you have, it's a real variety of experiences. And like this kind of, ideally, I think this real kind of embodied trust kind of starts to develop whereby you know that, that, that connection is always there. That connection is always there. And sometimes you'll be more connected to it and sometimes it seems closer and sometimes it seems further away. And that's okay, because there's this trust that the same air that was buoying you up one moment is inhabiting the body much closer the next. We can have all these different textures of relationship with the spiritual life. So thank you to my friend for pointing out that what you see depends on where you stand. A little pearl that came into the room today. Namu Amida Butsu. In a moment we're going to move into prostrations whilst chanting Namu Amida Thanks.
Namoh Amida Butsu.
Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoha Nita. Namoha Nita. Namoha Nita. 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 fruits 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. All right, and now Dean's going to bow one way, the other way, and then back to the main shrine.
Namaste. Satya Robyn. Satya Robyn and Kesper are continuing to hold a wonderful series of talks which you can find out about through the website and we'll come to through—
I think, right? And there is the golden bowl and the card machine. Inhale if you are able to make a donation.
Blessed by Amitabha's light, may we care for all living things on the holy earth.
