Satya Robyn leads a Buddhist practice session with guided meditation, chanting of Amitābha, recitation of refuges and precepts, and prostrations. The session includes a reading from John Tarrant's Bring Me the Rhinoceros and closes with community announcements.
Chapters
Welcome everybody.
Satya Robyn. It's a bank holiday weekend. We're going to begin this morning with a reading from Bring Me the Rhinoceros, John Tarrant's very good book introducing koan practice, and this is not— well, I'll just let Philip read it and you'll see what it is. Thanks, Philip.
This is from Bring Me the Rhinoceros. Another Zen koan that will save your life.
So maybe I should read it.
Um, so this chapter is entitled The Heaven That's Already Here, and this is Matsuo Bashō's advice to poets, which is: just watch children playing, eat vegetable soup instead of duck stew. It is natural to look for the things you want outside of where you are now. That is the whole point of a journey. Yet this moment is all anyone has. So if freedom, love, beauty, grace, and whatever else is desirable or are to appear, they must appear in a now. It would be nice if they appeared in the now you have now. And if they are to appear and endure, they will have to be found in ordinary circumstances. Since ordinary circumstances fill most of life, the marvelous, the lovely will have to be right here in the room where someone is reading, someone is sick, someone is coughing, two people are making love, or a man is yelling at a dog. It will have to appear in the sound of rain splashing off trees, of a truck laboring up a grade, of TV from another room. It will have to appear in the sight of a child running, in the feeling of a headache, in the anxiety preparing for exams, in worrying over a sick child. It will have to appear in what is ordinary, usual, commonplace, and right under your nose.
Namamidabhu. Namamidabhu. Thank you. So we're going to a period of meditation, taking a moment to find that central upright position. I usually find I have to lean back a little bit. That's pretty common. And then sinking into this moment. As John Tarrant beautifully said, it's the only one you will find anything in. It's the only one that's here. And noticing what you notice moment to moment. A good place to start is with the breath entering at the tip of the nose, warmer air leaving at the tip of the nose. But other things will catch your attention. Maybe it's the sound of the rain, or Maybe it's a thought or a feeling. The invitation is to notice that happening. Oh, here's the sound of the rain. Oh, here I am thinking about work. Oh, here I am feeling something. And then perhaps returning to the breath. And the more we notice without clinging, the more likely those things are to appear— joy, beauty, grace. If meditation is seen as noticing things to create space between them so that the positive qualities of Buddhism can bubble up. Then chanting is often seen as invoking those qualities, as inviting them, calling them in. But as Pure Land Buddhists, we trust that these qualities are already here, that we're already surrounded and infused with loving kindness. So when we chant the name Amitābha, the Buddha that loves all beings just as they are, it's as much an act of remembering and entrusting as it is invoking, like, oh yes, this is already here, maybe I can trust that. So we will chant the name Amitābha together, entrusting ourselves to the love that loves all things just as they are.
Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Me. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh.
Amitabh.
Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Mami, tappa, mami, tappa, mami.
So in a moment we'll recite the refuges and precepts, which you can find on the A5 liturgy sheet next to you. The refuges, the things we place our trust in, our confidence in as Buddhists, the things that Buddhists have placed their confidence in since the time of Buddha Shakyamuni, 2,500 years ago, give or take a few years. These are the Buddha, meaning that historical person who started the tradition, and all awakened teachers. The Dharma, the words of the Buddha, but also the things the words point to the spirit of the teachings. And the Sangha, which originally meant the community of elders that the Buddha gathered around him, has come to mean anybody walking the way. Together they're called the Three Jewels. We then recite our version of the Five Lay Precepts. Traditionally, yeah, given to lay followers of the Buddha almost as a sort of stepping stone to monasticism. Not that they all became monastics, but they're a sort of watered-down version of the monastic code. As pure land Buddhists, we know that we can't keep these perfectly, so we recite them as an exercise in awareness. Where can I do better. Not to shame or blame or feel guilty, but to know that we are works in progress. And finally, in call and response, the Bodhisattva vows, which express the longing of the Buddha that everybody will become enlightened one day. 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 Buddha.
Namo Buddha.
For refuge I go to the Dharma. For refuge I go to the Dharma. All that guides us to compassion and wisdom. All that guides us to compassion and wisdom. Namo Dhamma. Namo Dhamma. 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 Sangha. Namo Sangha. With faith in the Three Jewels. With faith in the Three Jewels. 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 say 'life.' I pray that I may become aware—I pray that I may become aware—of when I take what is not freely given—when I do something which was not really good. And then you can repeat it again for each one; so if we're doing this together now, please join me on your own at home or wherever else you might be watching from. Of when I fall into sexual misconduct—or whether falling to sexual misconduct—and I pray that I may become aware— of when I fall into wrong speech. I pray that I may become aware— of when I become intoxicated. No blame! Be kind! Love everything!
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 follow it completely.
Pure Land Buddhism is a Buddhism of two halves. On the one side, an ordinary foolish being. On the other side, a perfectly enlightened Buddha. And the teaching that invites us to know ourselves as ordinary foolish beings is one to take seriously and also to take lightly. Um, it's good to have a sense of humor about the kind of characters that we are. But it's also good to know the kind of characters that we are. To say I'm a foolish being isn't just, oh, I'm just a foolish being. It's not just a coat of paint on top that I sort of use to excuse myself in the world or let myself off the hook. It's really an invitation to look beneath the surface of my character and to notice, as, as the precepts invite us to, when am I behaving unskillfully, when am I causing harm. The precept, the first precept, not to take life. You might think, well, I don't kill anything that often. And yet in all sorts of ways, in all sorts of subtle ways, we're taking life. We take life from other people when we steal their time. When we undermine their faith, when we are cynical, when we damp down their enthusiasm for things. We contribute to taking life when we use resources in the world. We're part of a system that relies on taking life to function, that relies on the harm of certain groups of people around the world to live in the Global North. Even, even to be, you know, suffering in the Global North is still to be in receipt of a huge amount of things that, that other people around the world suffer for. The mining that produces cobalt— is it cobalt that's in all mobile phones?— is horrific. So the invitation to know ourselves as foolish beings is to take all of this seriously without tipping over into despair. Or guilt. And that's why it's the Buddhism of two halves. We're not only invited to pay attention to those things, we're also invited to notice that there is something else present. That we call Amitabha Buddha, or Amitābha, that there is this quality of enlightenment that is available in every moment. Not just available, but present. Loving kindness, compassion, wisdom. That the sort of being that we are that breaks the precepts in gross and subtle ways is still welcomed into the Pure Land, is still held by the loving kindness of the Buddha, which is the loving kindness of the earth underneath me and the air that I'm breathing as much as anything else. So we hold these two truths together, that we are completely lovable and loved just as we are by the Buddhas. By the whole universe, and that we are these works in progress that make quite serious mistakes sometimes. Both of these things are true. I, um, there's a story that one of the bishops of the Jodo Shinshu, uh, movement in America. The Buddhist churches, like, they, when Pure Land Buddhism went to America, they styled themselves after Christian churches. So they have ministers— we have ministers, but they have ministers and bishops, and they call themselves the Buddhist Churches of America. And I don't know if this is still true, but all the Japanese Pure Land Buddhist temples on the East Coast had pews in them. Because they were scared if they appeared too foreign they would be rejected. Anyway, one of the bishops tells this story about three skunks. The first one says, 'No, I don't stink. There's no smell on me.' The second one says, 'Yeah, I do stink, and I've been working. I'm just gonna work really hard.' And now I've sort of killed myself trying to get the smell off. And the second— the third one is the Pure Land Buddhist, who says, 'Yeah, I'm sorry, I stink.' And That's the sort of seriousness and lightness together somehow. Maybe that's the end. Maybe I should have just told that story. I'll try and remember who it is, which bishop. Anyway, thank you to them. Thank you to you. In a moment, we'll stand and make prostrations, which is another way of us foolish beings meeting the Buddha. Make sure you've got enough space around you. The invitation is to go almost to the ground, but please only do what your body and mind are willing to do. And we will start. Namaste, Amitabh, Satya Robyn. In gratitude, we offer this incense to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas throughout space and time. May it be as fragrant as Earth herself, reflecting our careful efforts, our wholehearted awareness, and the fruits of understanding. May all beings be companions of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. May we awaken from forgetfulness and realize that they are one. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. So we turn to standing in our places, and when John may ring the bell, we'll bow first to one side and then the other. Into the main shrine. Let me tidy our places, back to our seats. So before we close, just to let you know, next Sunday evening there's a kirtan in here, sacred singing and chanting, and she's leading the shrine room from 7:30. I think that you're all welcome to join before. Welcome to stay for a cup of tea after practice. Someone willing to make the tea, maybe volunteer? Great, thanks, Izzy. There's a donation bowl in the hallway for donations, so you can donate online. There are several pieces of work coming up, um, that, that, you know, it's an expensive building to run, so we do appreciate all the support that people can give. And I'll just say a word about how we leave the shrine room. Once we've read the closing verse, I will bow and leave. And when I get to the door, I will bow again. Somebody, maybe Philip, will open the door for me. While that's happening, we'll all just stay still and silent and quiet. No kind of shuffling around or getting ready to leave. It's a mark of respect for the, the celebrant, in this case me today, who's sort of standing in for the Buddhist tradition. But also, we're just beginning to practice extending the sort of feeling of the shrine room into the outside world. So once I've left, quietly leaving yourselves, but sort of keeping a little bit of that mindfulness as you leave quietly and carefully, bowing yourself at the door, and then obviously feel free to make noise once you're in the corridor. Namaste. So we'll finish with the closing verse, which is on the top of the liturgy sheet if you want to read it. Blessed Satya Robyn and his Harvest Light, may we care for all living things and the Holy Earth.
