Satya Robyn leads a guided Buddhist practice session with meditation, chanting, and prostrations. Helen reads a Dharma glimpse by Val about kindness and acceptance. The session welcomes newcomers and includes silent meditation, recitation of refuges and vows, and incense offering.
Chapters
Welcome everybody. Just to let you know that we record a practice for people that can't make it, but it's only us that the video can see, me and Helen. And welcome to this special practice for people that haven't been before. And we do have some people who haven't been before, so it counts, although there are also lots of familiar faces in the room. Uh, you're very welcome if it's your first time. Um, and, uh, um, so we always begin practice with something called a Dharma glimpse, which is a short little ordinary event that kind of gives us a bit of inspiration, or we suddenly see something, we see the Dharma, we see things as they are. And today we've, we've, we've, we've had to use our archive Dharma glimpses because we're on furlough. We've got some book groups running now, so we'll be okay for the future, but today's is from Val And it will be read by Helen. So over to you, Helen. Thank you very much.
Dharma Glimpse by Val. I'm looking forward to visiting the temple this week. I've been so focused on painting during a residential course, it would be good to connect with the Buddha in the peace beauty and energy of the temple. Have I had a Dharma glimpse? Not really. I've been doing very basic stuff like remembering to be my own friend and to love myself, and then allowing myself to simply be without— be without having to make any announcements whilst I was with the group of strangers on the painting course. No one noticed. I simply allowed myself to drop a barrier of criticism towards them and towards me and quietly sat without judgment, allowing me to be me and them to be them. And for a while, there was a heavy weight lifted, and I knew I was safe. I knew I was loved by the Divine, by Buddha, and by me. Was that a Dharma glimpse? It felt like it to me. A slight shift, a door opened, a moment of grace perhaps. That happened on day 3 of the course. Day 1 was caution. Day 2 was having a lot to say and, and many questions to ask. And Day 3 was the experiment in letting the guard drop, accept we're all bit— accept we're all foolish beings, and letting the gentler way be my guide. Like I said, this is basic stuff, so often, so often spoken about and acknowledged, but to feel it while in an entirely secular environment with a group of people I'd known for 1 or 2 days was a new experience. For me. Namaste.
Thank you very much. So the next thing we do is move into some— thank you— some silent meditation together, um, about 10-12 minutes, something like that. And in the silence, um, if you would like to, you can pay attention to your breath as it naturally moves through your body, just noticing whether it's a short breath or a longer breath, not trying to change it, just being with the air as it comes in and out. And if thoughts come up or if feelings come up you can just note them and gently return to noticing your breath. So we'll do that for a while, and then we will start chanting. And the chant we'll use tonight is the Buddha of Infinite Light, Amitabha. So the word is Amitabha for the Buddha. And as you get the tune, do join in with the chant. Sometimes people feel self-conscious when they chant for the first time, and the best remedy for that, the only remedy for it, I think, is to just do it for a little while and, and the self-consciousness will fall away. And that usually happens quite quickly. And then after the chanting, we'll have a little bit more silence before, before the bells. So moving into meditation.
Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Meeta baba. Ah, meeta baba. Ah, meeta baba. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha.
Next, we will recite the refuges, vows, and precepts together, and they are on the liturgy sheet which is underneath your chairs if you want to read along, but it's mostly call and response. So, uh, it's mostly not call and response, mostly repeat after me. Um, so the refuges, uh, are what we lean into, what we take refuge in. The precepts are the guidelines for trying to live an ethical life, that we're moving in that direction. And then the Bodhisattva vows are an aspiration towards helping all beings. So please repeat after me. 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 Buddhaya. 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. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. With faith in the Three Jewels—
with faith in the Three Jewels—
and in light of our human tendencies—
and in light of our 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 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. I pray that I may become aware 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 Lotus Passions.
We vow to transform them all.
Immeasurable are the Dharma teachings.
We vow to master them all.
Infinite is the Buddha's brain.
We vow to fulfill it completely.
So welcome also to Anna, who's joined us on Zoom. So when we have these, um, weeks for people to come who haven't been before. They always make me think of the beginnings of, uh, the beginnings of connecting with something new like this. And 34 people on Facebook said that they might come tonight, new people, and 2 did. Which is about average. So that just gives you some idea of what's involved in actually turning up, actually coming through the doors. Some of the people that said that they're coming tonight have said that they're coming like probably 6 or 7 times, and they're nearly, not quite, maybe next time. And why is that? Well, I think the first reason is probably, I don't know about you, but I'm really busy. And my life is quite complicated, and so just squeezing another thing in can be a big deal. Or going out on a cold dark night, getting into your car, leaving your television and your blankets and mugs of tea and coming to a new place takes some effort, takes some, some commitment. Sometimes I'm sort of amazed that anyone makes it here at all. And the second reason is that especially the first time that you come, there may be a fear that you might not like something about what happens when you're here. You might feel like you can't do something and then you look silly, or you might meet someone that you don't like, or, or I might say something that you don't like, or that there are— there's, there's the unknown kind of risks or little, little dangers, things that, that might be unpleasant. And the third thing may feel like a strange thing, but I think, I think it's true for a lot of people. The third thing is that you might find some things you do like. And that can be difficult, that can be complicated in its own way. It may be that you do kind of like the sense of the community, and then you think, oh well, does that mean I've got to come every week now, or does that mean I'm gonna be absorbed into this new thing and I'm not really sure what it is? Um, maybe you might find some peace, and then that might open your heart a little bit, and then there's more feelings. Maybe there's an invitation to— maybe it feels more possible to change things, and that you're not sure you, you're ready to change things in your life or in your, in yourself. Or maybe it's just painful to receive love. My, one of my first therapists said to me that there's a phrase in French, and I've never been able to find the actual phrase, but she said that it translates as the pain of too much tenderness. That feeling of, uh, when someone's really nice to you and you're feeling a bit wobbly and you're like, oh, it's almost too much. It's almost too much to take in. And I think that that is also a possibility when you step into a space like this, that you feel that people are kind to you, or you hear about the Buddha who loves us, the Buddha who loves us just as we are. And Amitābha Buddha, we chanted to just now, is especially known for accepting people just as they are. Really sees inside us and knows about all the most prickly, uh, difficult bits of us and accepts all of them just as they are. And that's quite a big deal to even imagine being possible. So How, one of the questions I sometimes have is how can we help people to make those steps to get in the door? Because I really believe that we've got something really precious here. And the people that have been here before, hopefully I'm here because they know that there's something really precious. And the other thing that happens often when you get this precious thing is you want other people to have that precious thing. You're like, have some of this.
It's really helped me.
It's really. Changed my life. How can we help people to, to get a taste of that? And we can make events on Facebook, and we can invite lots of people, and we can write and say, would be lovely to see you. And sometimes people write back and say, yes, see you later, or sometimes they're like, oh, that's too much, too soon. So all we can do is open the doors and be welcoming and trust that people will find their way here or not, and that when people arrive, they will find a way of latching on or not, and keep doing our practice and keep connecting with the Buddha and know that something what happens here is of benefit to everybody anyway, whether or not they actually come to the temple. That we're, we're giving off, hopefully giving off some golden waves of something into Malvern, and that sometimes people might just kind of peer in through the window and get a little, oh, what's going on in there? Feels nice, something feels nice. Um, and we do that if we keep doing our own practice and keep finding our own seat, our own ground, then that also impacts all the conversations we have. And maybe we're slightly less impatient, or we're slightly more forgiving of ourselves. So that's what we're all engaged with here in various ways, is building that connection between us and the Buddha, or whatever the word is that you use for the Buddha, and trusting that that ripples out. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. So we will stand in a second and make prostrations to the main shrine. If your body is able to, do join us and go all the way to the floor. The chant that we use is Namo Amida Butsu. Amida is Amitabha in a different language. And making prostrations, we can talk about that in lots of different ways, but tonight I'll just invite you to experience it as a way of just letting go of everything that you want to let go of. You go to the ground, you can just let it all soak in. The Buddha will take it away. And allow the ground to hold you. Know that the Buddha is holding you just as the ground is holding you. Namaste. So just point towards the shrine and make sure you've got a bit of ground in front of you.
Namoh Avijja.
In gratitude, we offer this incense to all Buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout space and time. May it be fragrant as the Earth herself, reflecting our careful efforts, our wholehearted awareness 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. So do you return to stand at your seats. Now we always finish practice by first bowing to each other to show our gratitude to each other for being here, having someone to practice with. Chanting sounds better with more than one voice, so when Angie rings the bell, I will bow to Angie, Kaspal bow to Helen, Bea will bow to Rodrigo, and you three have to work something out, and then turn around to the opposite direction and bow to the person that's not there. I didn't see what you did over there, but I'm sure it was perfect. And then we bow to the Buddha, to the main shrine, and tidy our seats and bow to our seats to thank our seats. So we always have a cup of tea after practice. If you'd like to join us, you're very welcome. There is a golden bowl in the hallway on the desk for donations. You can either put money in, or there's, um, online, if you go to brighter.org/donate, that would be very much appreciated. We've got a big broken wall in the garden at the moment, so we appreciate donations especially. It's been fixed. Is that about enough? Yeah. So we close with the closing verse, which is on your bit of paper if you'd like to join us. It starts with blessed. It's on the top of one of the sides. And once I say blessed, just join in with me. Blessed by Anne Carver's light. May we care for all living things. And hallelujah. And may we pray. I'm going to say hello to Hannah. Thank you very much.
