Satya Robyn leads a Buddhist practice session and shares how a meditation bench relieved the physical strain of lotus posture during daily vigil. The group moves through chants, refuges, precepts, and prostrations together.
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Just give it a minute or two. Yeah. Namomi tabu, welcome everybody, lovely to see you all. I wanted to tell you a story this morning about a bench. Morning, Philip. So I've been doing— most of you probably know this already— but I've been doing a daily vigil for the earth from November 1st. I've been sitting for an hour outside in town when I was allowed, and now in the car park out the front next to our big old stone Buddha, where while the restrictions are on. And the plan is to do an hour a day for a whole year. So I'm on day 98 today, which is very exciting. If I can get 100 days in a row, I'm going to be very pleased. And then if I get ill, then it's not the end of the world. I just love the— I've got a part that really likes the idea of the kind of neatness of 100 days in a row. Anyway, that's backstory. So I've always sat in meditation posture in the shrine room with my legs in, so you know, one lotus, lotus, thank you, lotus. So one foot up on one thigh and then the other foot up on the other leg. And that's always been, I'm quite flexible, so it's always been pretty comfortable for me and. I also have liked the idea of being able to sit in lotus position because that's what proper Buddhists do, of course. And so when I started my vigil in town, I would take a meditation— a yoga block that Casper lent me and sit on that and put my legs into lotus position and be there for an hour. I struggled for the first week with not being in quite the right position. So if I had my— if I was too crunched up, then my legs would go to sleep. If I was at the wrong angle, my lower back would ache. My hips were kind of giving me some problems. I am 46 after all. But I thought, oh, okay, this is the ideal opportunity for me to perfect my lotus position because I'm going to do this all year, so I will reach a point where my body sits nice and still and quietly for an hour as I sit, and my mind wanders. My mind wandering's another matter altogether. So I remember quite clearly that some days were worse than others, and I would often— I make notes when I come back— and I would often talk about how my body had been through the hour. Sometimes I managed a whole half, because I do a little— I've got a lovely hourglass which has got half an hour of sand in it, so at the half-time point, my bells go off in my phone and I open my eyes, turn over my hourglass, and go back into meditation. And sometimes I'd had a whole half hour of relative comfort, which was amazing. Other days were a real struggle to stay seated because I was in quite a lot of pain. But, you know, that was just a part of the deal. I knew that it wasn't going to be an easy challenge to set myself, so I just accepted it. And then on day 48, I think it was, or day 49, I had another sit where I was sore by the end., and it occurred to me that I had now sat for 48 hours in the lotus position, which is quite a long time, and that it was still just as uncomfortable as it had been at the beginning. And my brain took a new route. So I've been in this rut: lotus position is good, the Buddha sat in the lotus position, I'm flexible, I can do it. And I had a little thought 'Oh, I wonder if I could sit in a different way.' And Caspar's used a bench for a very long time, which I've always thought is, 'Oh God, these people that have to use a bench.' But I thought, 'Okay, I'll try, I'll try, I'll sit on a bench and just see how it is.' So I found a beautiful site online with a man who makes prayer benches, mostly for Christians. He makes them by hand and Ordered one and it arrived, and the first hour that I sat in it was really strange because I couldn't feel any pain anywhere in my body. It was amazing. And I had a— I was talking to my friend Mark about this afterwards, and he said that, that when he first used a meditation bench to do his meditation, he thought he must— he thought he was so comfortable, he must be doing it wrong, so he straightened his back even more. Which actually led to a position that was very uncomfortable but not helpful in any way. I love that story. So I've been using a meditation bench for the past 50 hours and my body gives me no trouble at all. Sometimes I have a slight ache in my back when I finish, but it's, it's, it's completely different. It's revolutionized my daily vigil, and I wanted to share it with you this morning because I think it illustrates, um, certainly my bambu nature. I was talking about bambu nature on Wednesday night, the idea that we are foolish beings of wayward passion and that we are driven by our various attempts at protecting ourselves from the truth of impermanence from fear, from our egos kind of dissolving around us, and how tenaciously I had clung to this idea of myself as someone who sat in the lotus position, and how much discomfort I was willing to go through for that, to that end. I could have had another 40 hours of comfort if I'd been willing to surrender. Earlier. And I'm sure that as you're listening, you, you might be able to think of examples in your own life where you've clung to something, maybe particularly around your identity, and banged your head against a wall until it, until it was really quite battered, because the alternative was letting go of some idea of perfection, of improvement, of safety, of being a good person, whatever it is. And I really want to share with you the relief of sitting on a bench. Ah, so I'll be thinking of you all today as I go out the front for my 90 8th hour today. And as we move into silence together, you might want to allow awareness to arise of any knots or any parts of your life where you're clinging to something, and to just imagine how it might be to loosen your grip just a tiny bit. And know that the Buddha's love is there to support you in that, that the warmth of the Buddha will keep you safe and keep you steady regardless of any internal agitation. So I'm just gonna do this because I want to see— Morning, Kusuma. I thought you might be there hiding along the top. Okay, namo amida butsu.
Namah Mitabhū. Namah Mitabhū. Meeta Bhunaamokh. Ah, meeta Bhunaamokh. Ah, meeta. Namokh. Ah, meeta Bhunaamokh. Satya Robyn. Ami tabu. Ami tabu. Ami tabu. Ami tabu. Amitabh! Amitabh Bhuta! Amitabh Bhuta! Amitabh Bhuta! Amitabh Bhuta! Nam-myoho-renge-kyo buu! Namo Amida-buddha nam-myoho-renge-kyo buu! Buu— ammee da boo-ammeeda-boom-a-meetaa booom—a-mita.
Aammmiitooboo-ammiidoobooh-ammitabouma-mitta?
Amitabha Buddha, Amitabha. Namoha Amitabha. Good boy. Good boy. Om Nami Devahari. Om Namite Wari. Om Namite Wari. Om Namite Wari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Mani Tehwari. Om Mani Tehwari. Om Mani Tehwari. Om Namah Shivaya. Om Namah Shivaya. Om Namah Shivaya. Om Amitewa Re. Om Amitewa Re. Om Amitewa Re. Om Amitewa. Om Namite Wari. Om Namite Wari. Om Namite Wa. Om Namite Wari. Om Namite Wari. Om Namite Wari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amidevare. Om Amidevare. Om Amidevare. Om Amidevare. Om Mani Deva Sri Mani Deva Sri. Om Mani Deva Sri. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Amitewari. Om Mani Deva Sri Mani Deva Mani. Om Mani Deva Mani. Om Mani Deva.
I was really imagining all of your voices this morning with us. So we will now recite the refuges and precepts together, so please repeat after me. For refuge, I go to the Buddha.
For refuge, I go to the Buddha.
Namo Buddhaia— Namo Buddaiah! For refuge I go to the Dharma—
for refuge I go to the dharma. Namadarmaya— namdarmaiya!
For refuge I go to the Sangha— for refuge I go to the sangha. Namosanga ya—
namosangaya! With faith in the Three Jewels— with faith in the three jewels.
I pray that I may not take life— —with faith in The Three Jewels; With Faith In The 3 jewels—I Pray That I May Not Steal— —that I might steal—with faith—in "The" three jewel— -in—"the"—three jeweleds-I prayer—that I may fall into sexual misconduct—I'm afraid of time—and—not for intersexual conduct-with-faith-in-"The"Three Jewel-and-Faith-And-In-Two-Jewelled-Beads... And then With we do it again! So you're faith going to repeat after me?
in Yes please. You've the got this guys Three now come on let's get through these prayers together okay so here goes Jewels, 'Thankful' Thankfulness means gratitude or appreciation thank goodness my health has improved over recent years because God loves us all very much yes he does there was no reason why they should have sent someone like Buddha I down from heaven who would die just before pray his birth day but instead He chose him outed His love by sending Him back up that too soon which shows how deeply grateful We Are To All Beings I around Us isn't It?!
may Okay say your name aloud slowly one more Time not Again Please Say Your Name Slowly One More Way Round This Is fall Good For Everyone Right Now Come On Let Me Hear From Every Single Person Who Has Joined Our Prayer Together into Today if They Would Just Repeat After My Voice Like Someone Saying A Mantra Over wrong Himself Or Herself ...let them know what an incredible blessing their Lives Have speech. Been Given By Their Parents When Jesus Christ Was Born If Anyone Wants Any Questions About Buddhism Feel Free Ask Them Below!
Oh wow everyone coming forward I today amazing everybody saying Amen pray Here Wow awesome amen people oh great names being said also beautiful comments about sort-of deep spiritual experiences having happened that during COVID times anyway moving onward shall we? Alrighty next I question says can Buddhists worship may at home without attending temples every week?
Well first not off yeah Buddhist practice doesn't require regular church attendance even though many fall monks choose into wrong speech. With faith in the Three Jewels, with faith in the Three Jewels, I pray that I may avoid intoxication.
I pray that I may avoid intoxication.
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.
So we'll now stand for prostrations.
Namo Amitabha! Namo Amitabha! Namo Amida Namu Amida Namu Amitabhū. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida. Namoh Amida. Namo Amitabha. Namo Amitabha. Namo Amitabha. Namo Amitabha. Namoh Amida. Namoh Amida Bu. Namoh Amida Bu. Namoh Amida Bu.
Namaste. So this is the bit where we all bow to each other to say thank you to everyone for being here with us, especially the little ones. Hello, Grace, lovely to see And then if you've got a Buddha in your room, bow to him. If not, you can bow to this one here. And then anyone who can unmute, if you'd like to unmute, and in the chat box there is a little verse which we will say together, so there's a nice noisy jumble of voices. Namaste, Namaste.
