Satya Robyn leads a small group Buddhist practice session combining silent sitting, Amitabha chanting, and a Dharma talk on Pure Land themes. The session explores the idea of Buddha inside and outside, with participants both in-person and on Zoom joining guided meditation, prostrations, and closing blessings.
Chapters
Good morning.
Good morning, Mrs. Robin.
Just come in from a really lovely walk in the rain around the temple garden, joined by Izzy and Angela, who get extra points for coming in the rain. We take a note of these things. Um, and it's lovely to be joined in the shrine room this morning by Izzy, Angela, and Dave, who live here, and Val and Casper, my husband. Um, I'm Satya, and we're joined today on Zoom by Alex, my Twitter friend. That's where I usually see these days. And Paul and Oli. Welcome, Oli. I think it's your first time today, is that right?
Yes, that's correct.
Yeah, great. Well, welcome, welcome. I'll talk you through what we do as we do it. So we always begin practice these days with, um, words from somebody who's not me and Caspar, um, and something called a Dharma glimpse, which is just a little— a few paragraphs on something that's happened and something we've learned. So Val, I think you'd write beautiful Dharma glimpses. Might set you some homework from today for next time. Anyone is welcome to write one, so it's not compulsory, but it's like a new thing that we're doing, and it's like a little share. It's like a kind of, you know, just an opportunity for us to hear from somebody different. It can have Buddhism in it, but it doesn't have to. And this morning the Dharma glimpse will be read by Kaspar Lita, and it's from the book of Dharma glimpses by Bright Dawn, which is the Buddhist group that we're training with. Namomi debu.
So this is A glimpse by Mark Kayo Fives called Dharma Eyes.
I'm wondering if you're the best person to read. He hasn't got much of a voice left. Hundreds of silent retreats, never speaking. Dave's got a cold. We'll manage.
I've worked outside for many years. Now, as I look back on those years, I remember the work that was at hand. But not much of anything else. It's as if I was looking at the world through eyes covered with a film of dust. 5 years ago, or maybe more, I became a seeker on a spiritual path, a path that led me to discover the teachings of the Buddha. The voices of the teachers I've met along the way have been like a Dharma breeze that's blown away some of that dust. Now I'm beginning to see the world in a much different way. Maybe it's being mindful or more aware of what's going on around me. It's an awakening. Now I see a world of wonder and beauty that lies before me. I'm surrounded by ponds of blue water, by tall majestic pines and rainbows of foliage that blanket the landscape. Landscape, by the gliding birds that fly high in the sky, by rabbits that hop on by. I've come to realize the beauty of nature and my oneness with it. This world is truly a paradise of sights, smells, and sounds. With every new moment, there are discoveries to be found. Now, while working Rather than letting it all pass me by, I find myself pausing to take in the beauty of this world. For so many years I've had partial sight. I've lived my life without any light. The teachers I've met, the Dharma breeze blew. Now I see light and I'm living anew. Before, life was bland, but now it's grand. The Dharma breeze blew and life is anew. This world is a wonder of sights, smells, and sounds, with every new moment discoveries to be found. Make it your cause and take time to pause, enjoying this life without any strife. Namaste.
We'll move into some silent sitting. And if you're in a space where you can hear the rain, then do just listen to the rain. We can hear the cars kind of swishing past a little bit, or maybe just allow your ears to be open to whatever is around you and try not to focus in on individual sounds, but just experience it as like an orchestra, all the different things around you making up one movement of sound. And if your mind wanders away from listening, just gently bring it back again. And after a little while, we will chant together, and we will chant Amitabha. Amitabha is the Buddha of infinite light we're connected to here at this temple. Above all other Buddhas. And the tune, just, you'll, you'll just chant along with us once you get the tune. Namo Amitabha. Amitabha.
Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha.
So in Buddhism, what allows us to become slightly better versions of ourselves is refuge. It's taking refuge in the Three Jewels, leaning in to the Buddha. So when we recite the refuge together, we're just reaffirming that we lean into these three things. And then we recite the precepts to remind us what we're aspiring towards in terms of our ethical conduct. And then we recite Terry's little six words. And then the Bodhisattva vows are Call and response. Yeah, that wasn't what I was looking for. Thank you. The Bodhisattva vows are even kind of higher aspirations for where we're heading once we've taken refuge. So yes, and Bodhisattva vows are call and response. No, they're not. Everything else is call and response. Oh no, you're right. Okay, now I need to beg. For refuge I go to Buddha . For refuge I go to Dharma . Namo Dharmaya! Nam-myoho-renge-kyo—
for refuge I go to Sangha.
Namo sanghaya! With faith in the Three Jewels, with faith in the three jewels, I pray that I may not take life; I pray that I may not fall into wrong speech. With faith in the Three Jewels, with faith in Three Jewels, I pray that I may avoid intoxication.
I pray that I may avoid intoxication.
No blame.
No blame.
Be kind.
Be kind.
Love everything. Love everything. Do you want me to sing these? Innumerable are sentient beings, we vow to save them all. Inexhaustible are the Dharma teachings, we vow to master them all. Immeasurable are the— it's the passions. The passions one. Deluded. Where is it? Inexhaustible our deluded passions. Inexhaustible our deluded passions. We vow to transform them all. Infinite is the Buddha's way.
We vow to fulfill it completely.
We're usually much more professional than this, Oli. It was because I did the third one as the second one and that completely threw me. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. So this is where I do a little talk. I feel like it ought to be about foolish beings today. Bonbu nature, maybe I'll talk about bonbu nature. Bonbu nature is a Pure Land concept. We are, well, we're Mahayana Buddhists, but we have quite a history of Pure Land Buddhism here, so we're quite immersed in Pure Land Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism is wonderful in many ways. It's very simple. All you have to do is recite the name of the Buddha and you'll be okay. It's very democratic, so it's very open to everybody regardless of how much time you have or how clever you are or what job you have. And it also holds that it's very difficult for human beings to save themselves. Because as we're trying to save ourselves, as we're trying to become kinder human beings or overcome some of our wounding, our trauma, we're doing that from the brain that includes the trauma, that includes the the, the what was missing as we grew up, or, or whatever it is that we're struggling with. And so Pure Land Buddhism points us to something that's outside which can help us, which is Amida Buddha, the personification or the embodiment of infinite love, of infinite compassion, of infinite wisdom.. And the emphasis is on us receiving that love rather than us self-generating something from inside ourselves that we work really hard at and push ourselves and strive. Pure Land Buddhism is a really good fit for me because I am a complete strive-a-holic. Throughout my life I have pushed pushed myself very hard in various ways for various reasons, and I've always worked very hard. I've always put a lot of work into self-improvement. And so when I encountered these teachings for this the first time, there was a kind of a— I was incredulous, really. Like, is it really possible that that A, I'm loved just as I am, and that B, there is help outside that I can lean into if I open myself up. It was very different from my experience of being self-propelled and, um, all the effort that that kind of involved. And I didn't really believe it at first. But I was also attending a 12-step program at the time, and in the 12-step program I was attending, something they, they told us was that you should just kind of just experiment with it, just see what it feels like, just do it and then see what it feels like. So I began to imagine that it— there was something that, that would be there for me, and I would sometimes just talk to this thing in my head, or I would hand over my problems.. And what I began to experience is a sense of being held by something, a sense of not being alone. So in Pure Land Buddhism, we talk about humans as being bamboo. We're, we're, we're kind of, you know, we're flawed. We're, we're products of our karma and our family's dysfunction and their family's dysfunction. And their family's dysfunction, all those things that happened to our ancestors— wars and trauma and tragedy— we're a product of that. That's who we are. And there is something that we can lean into. And for many years I focused on the leaning into because that was a kind of a counterbalance for me, that, that I was Bonbu and that there was something good that I could lean into. And more and more these days, I trust that there is also something inside me that I can lean into, which is exactly the same as the thing that's outside. It's made of the same stuff. In IFS, we call it Self with a capital S. It's those qualities of compassion and curiosity and clarity. And courage. There's 8 of them, and I won't remember them all, so I'll stop there. But when we feel those kinds of feelings, we know that we, we have self around. So we all have Buddha inside us, and we all have Buddha outside us. Some days we need to lean on Buddha outside. Some days we can trust and find the Buddha inside us. So in amongst all our mistakes and all the things that we do that, that are driven by our passions, by greed, hate, and delusion, there's always this clear pool underneath or behind, which is made up of love. So I'm hoping that that's partly made up for all the mistakes I made earlier. The Buddha was speaking through me this morning. So what do we do now? We do prostrations. So the words for the prostrations are Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and if you're able to do prostrations where you are, please do. We go down onto the floor, but you can just bow, and we do 3. We do one for the Buddha, one for the Dharma, and one for the Sangha. Amor a mi da.
Amor a mi la bu. Amor a mi da bu.
Amor a mi da bu. In gratitude, we offer this incense to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas throughout space and time. May it be fragrant as Earth herself, reflecting our careful efforts, our wholehearted awareness, and the fruits of understanding slowly ripening. May we and all beings May we awaken from forgetfulness and realize our true home. So now we return to our seats and stand, and then we can bow to each other. And I do a bow for the camera, but that confuses people sometimes. You stop bowing after 2. I don't want them to feel left out. And then bow to the Buddha. Let me bow to our seats and tidy our seats. And then we finish with the blessings, so it's on the top of your paper. Blessed by Amitabha's light, may we care for all living things on the whole earth. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. So if you're in the temple, hopefully you'll join us for a cup of tea. And I'll just say hello to these guys. I'm just gonna stop the recording.
