Everyday Buddhism

Morning everybody, welcome, thanks for coming. So we will start as we nearly always do with a Dharma glimpse. From this week, it's from the book, the Bright Dawn book. Which Petra's volunteered to read for us. Oh, here's the microphone.

Sometimes there are no words. After Sunday service is over at our Unitarian Universal Church, we all noisily gather in the common room for what we call our common noon coffee. Last Sunday was the same. The usual small chitchat followed over coffee, and then I spied an old friend at a far corner I hadn't seen for many months. Something didn't seem right. It was the way she stood, her gesture, more puffiness in her face. I don't know, just something. Making my way to her, I then said cautiously, "Haven't seen you for a while. How are you doing?" "Well," she said, "they cut my hours at work by half in November. A week later, I found out I had cancer." 'And they took me pretty much right to surgery. They couldn't get it all, they said. They released me a few days later, but then I was back in because I developed a severe infection. That took even longer in hospital.' She showed me how much of her thigh had disappeared as a result of the infection. 'I start chemo next week,' she finished.

Oh.

I hated to say, ask, will this be covered by your insurance? They tell me probably not since it was discovered only after the insurance was cancelled. I looked in her eyes, then hugged her tightly. Anything I can do for you? Maybe you can't think of anything yet, I told her, at least not until things have played out further. 'Just let me know anything you need, help me along the way, okay? You can chant for me,' she said. 'Will do, will do,' I said, as she noticed I was looking for her to leave. Afterwards, I felt so inadequate. All these years of practice, hmm, didn't have much to offer for all that. But then I thought further. I think It was enough. Sometimes I found there are no words, sometimes only a tear and love comes, and it's all we can give. And is it enough? I will chant, so I promised. Walk in peace, my friend, walk in peace.

So we're going to a period of silent meditation. Make yourself comfy, and then we'll begin some chanting.

Namo Kuan Yin Bosat. Namo Kuan Yin Bosat. Namokwanji Ngo Saat! Namokwanshi Imbosaat! Namokwanji Namo sat namo kwanchi nabo— sad na mo kuan chi en bo saat namo kuonchi enbo sat namo kwanshi enbo sat. Nammo Kwanshi Imbosaat! namo kwanchi imbo sat—nam mo kwan chi em bo saaatt? Namo Kuan Chi In Bo Saat?!

I am not sure if it's right or wrong... Um. Let me try again.

Okay now we're going to do some chanting together here for you guys who have been watching this video all along on YouTube so let us begin by doing our first chant of today Namo which will be called Reiki Healing Chant 1-3 times fast like that because there aren't too many chants at least yet but yeah just keep your eyes closed okay everyone see what they can get out of their heart mind body spirit energy field into these chakras through breathing inhale exhaling slowly release them back up from below bottom left corner top center side chest area open throat space above head point towards heaven root base belly button tailbone bone palms facing down against each other hands touching chin cheekbones nose bridge lips Kwanshi mouth corners cheeks temples forehead crown points fingers spread wide apart thumbs pointing upward pray loudly until complete breath count reaches 7 then repeat one more time please thank God Mummy Mary Jesus Christ Buddha Shiva Krishna Vishnu Hanuman Ramana Maharshi Ganesh Ganesha Sri Aurobindo Guruji Om Manjari Narayani Hare Krishnananda Ongiri Baba Ji Jai Gurudev Sathyanand Saraswati Devatakiyam Bhagavan Rama Hariharanatha Mahabodhisatta Durga Mata Bhuva Sadhana Now take deep inhalation breathe deeply hold air sacral channel squeeze navel pull mula bandhasara close off sexual organs gently lift hips high raise toes touch heels press elbows onto Imbosaat! thighs bring attention inward focus within yourself feel peace love joy blissfulness relaxation healing lightness faith hope belief positivity inspiration compassion kindness gratitude blessing abundance generosity forgiveness blessings upon others etcetera et cetera named after my guru Lord Swami Paramahansa Yoganandanandasaji he was born January Namo Kwanshi Imbosaat! Namoo Kwanchee Inbo Saattt? Naamooo Kuwaan Sheee Impoosaat— Namah Kwan Ji Inbo Saat! Namo Kwanshi Imbosa— namo kwanchi imbossaam? Quan Chi embossad namarum kuan ji imboshaant... Namokwanshi Imbosaat! Namokwanshi Imbosaat! Namokwanshi Imbosaat! Namokwanshi—

So now if you could repeat after me while we recite the refuges and precepts, and then after that, Ravi Avani will lead us in the Bodhisattva vows. Which are call and response, and the responses are on the reverse of the liturgy sheet. For refuge I go to the Buddha, the one who is awake and full of love. Namo Buddha.

For refuge I go to the Dharma, For refuge I go to Dharma—

all that guides us to wisdom and compassion. All that guides us to wisdom and compassion. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. 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.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

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. When I take life. I pray that I may become aware— when I take what is not freely given.

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 may become aware— of when I fall into wrong speech. Of when I fall into wrong speech. I pray that I may become aware. I pray that I may become aware. 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 the Buddha's teachings.

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 going to talk about everyday Buddhism. One of the hardest things I find for me at the moment when it comes to practice is finding the time. I'm aware that I should prioritize my time and make better life choices, but sometimes it just doesn't seem possible. I find that I have often overcommitted, so to make more time for myself would mean going back on my promises or letting other people down. My life becomes a whirlwind. I'm either working, sleeping, or driving to and from work. There are times when I don't cook for weeks on end. I eat on the move, a diet of vegan sausage rolls, crisps, and bananas. My intention is to meditate every morning for at least 20 minutes and again in the evening before I go to bed, but in honesty, that is rarely the case. I also intend to eat a healthier diet. Sometimes the only time I actively practice a recognizable form of Buddhism is when I'm sat here in the shrine room on a Saturday morning. I remember as a child, with my limited knowledge of religion, thinking it strange that people only seem to worship God on a particular day of the week and only in a certain building. Now I can understand a bit better how that kind of behavior might occur. Normally when I'm leading practice, this would be the time when I would say look out the window and observe the beauty of nature, or I would comment on what a wonderful experience I'd had when walking in the woods. But sometimes it doesn't feel like you have the time to look out the window or go for a walk. I can't remember the last time I went up on the hills. There are times— these are the times when I really have to dig deep to find the Dharma, but it's always there. These are the times when we need to find solace in a sip of tea or a smile of a stranger, an ant crawling across the pavement, or the fact that we have clean underwear and a bed to sleep in at night. The real humdrum of life. I was listening to a podcast on the radio in bed one evening recently when a woman was talking about how stressful life had become for her and her family. So they gave up their job, sold their house in London, and bought a house in the country. With enough land to tend to some animals and grow some vegetables. Lovely for them, but this is not the reality most of us experience. If you can't dramatically change your lifestyle that easily, but you are of a spiritual, spiritual nature or are following a spiritual path, these are times when you have no choice but to find the beauty in the mundane. When I let go of my attachment to the idea of an easier life and stop craving for a better time ahead, and accept that I can't always change things in the short term, that's when I can relax and start to enjoy the ride. I can simply enjoy being alive. I have to find my pleasure in sitting, eating, breathing, and sleeping. I can enjoy driving to and from work, having a moment to breathe while sitting at the red light. The feel of the steering wheel in my hands can become a pleasant experience if I let it. How lovely it can feel to yawn and stretch. This might sound corny and pretentious, but when you feel that's all you have in your life, then that's what you need to take pleasure in. Stop fighting and enjoy the moment, whatever the moment is. This is everyday Buddhism. We don't need shrine rooms and effigies. We don't need to create special times and circumstances to appreciate life and the Dharma. I'm not suggesting these are bad things. In fact, the opposite. I would encourage going to temples and surrounding ourselves with reminders of the Buddha in the form of statues and images. But we don't want to fall into the trap of relying on them. You can take time out in nature and meditate by a pool. I would highly recommend it, but sometimes you can't. When things are not going well and our circumstances don't feel great, when we're down on our luck or feeling sorry for ourselves, Amida is still there. The love is still there. We just need to see it. I was once introduced to an experiment, and we could do it now. If you look around the room and focus on everything you can see that's red, whether it be the cushions or in the pictures or in people's clothing, and just look at all the red stuff, focus on the red stuff. And you can do this at home as well, Chris. And then close your eyes and try and remember all the red stuff. Think about all the red things you've seen, focus on them for a while. And now with your eyes still closed, try and recall all the white things you've seen. And I just imagine that's quite difficult because you're still thinking about all the red things. Um, yeah, because that's all you've been focusing on. If we concentrate on how difficult our lives are or how stressed we are, we can become fixated on our problems and fail to see the good things in our in life that are right before our eyes, like the whiting. We can practice finding joy in every moment. We create reasons to smile and be grateful, and our troubled minds become more at ease as our focus shifts from negative thoughts to more positive ones. This shines through in our demeanor, and people respond to us in a more enthusiastic and favorable way. Life starts to look better. We don't have to try so hard. The love and wonder is always there. Sometimes we just have to open our eyes a bit more, look beyond our busy lives to see it. Namami Devu. Now we will make prostrations.

Gratitude, we make this offering to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas throughout space and time. May it be fragrant as the earth herself, reflecting our careful efforts, our wholehearted mindfulness, and the fruits of understanding slowly ripened. May we and all beings May we awaken from the emptiness, realize our true home.

Return to your seats, Andy. So we'll bow. First one side and then the other on one bell, and then we'll bow on double bell, bow to the shrine. Ready our seats and bow to our seats. So before the closing verses, we got any announcements?

Um, volunteer hour. Yeah, at some point soon coming up. Very great thing to do, very rewarding.

Um, so we have volunteer hour last Saturday of every month, but we have discussed doing it every fortnight, which I'd forgotten about. Yeah, um, I could do one today if anyone wants to come in the garden for an hour after cup of tea.

So is that the only one? Um, we have an open day in September, um, so if you know anybody who's ever— no, that's the retreat day.

Oh, okay, we've got retreat day as well, September.

As you know, as you can see, we all know exactly what everything's happening. Um, yeah, open day, so that would just be a really lovely opportunity for new people to come, and there's always quite a nice atmosphere.

Sorry about that, do you have any flyers or anything I can share? We probably won't have flyers, but we will have a social media post you could share. Yes. We don't normally do flyers, do we?

We could do some basic flyers, but realistically I just want some information. Yeah, yeah, we could write it on to our normal flyers. Yeah, yes, thank you. We'll see if we add it on. Put it on the table as well.

And there's a retreat day in October, I can't remember the date.

There is a retreat day in October, so we haven't held one for ages, but we're really looking forward to holding a retreat day based on the Earth in October. Kirtan and chanting has moved to the first Sunday night of every month instead of the last.

And there's cup of tea after practice if you want one, and there's a golden bowl for donations, or you can donate online if you feel you'd like to. So the closing verse, which is on the liturgy sheet if you don't know it, it's very short. Um, bless by Amitābha's light, may you care for all living things