Satya Robyn guides a Buddhist practice on impermanence and change, inviting listeners to find refuge in the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The session includes meditation, chanting of Namotassa and refuge phrases, and closing bows.
Chapters
Sometimes something occurs to me just before practice, and the only thing I've got so far is I was just looking in the mirror at myself in the dining room and noticing my neck getting older. I was looking at it and thinking Oh yeah, I can see, I can see that that's not the young neck I once had. It's not, you know, it's not too bad yet, but it's definitely changing. And I guess that change and time passing is also on my mind, just talking to Lizzie in the dining room, who's not been here for a little while, which makes me think about the past 2 years and the past 7 years that we've been here. And how most things— there were some big changes when we moved in and we arranged everything as a temple rather than a hotel. This used to be the breakfast room where people would eat their bacon and eggs, so it really smelled of bacon and eggs when we first arrived. And there was a very old carpet that had lots of bacon and eggs on it, probably, and very worn. So we moved, moved all the furniture and had a new carpet and set up the shrine. And then this mandala appeared a few years ago now. So there were lots of big changes when we moved in, and then less dramatic changes, but dramatic Nonetheless, that when we welcomed our new Buddha to the shrine room, that felt like the start of a new era, that he's got a very different quality to the Buddha that's in the hallway now, who was on the shrine before. It changes the whole atmosphere of the room. Buddhism tells us that everything is impermanent, that, that we spend a lot of our lives either wanting things to be more impermanent than they are, or less impermanent than they are, wanting to hold on to the things that we like just as they are, or rely on, or get used to, or are afraid of losing. And, and rubbing up against the things that we don't like, the things that make us uncomfortable or get in the way or cause us pain. And I guess the reality is that, that life is a bit like how it's been in the temple, that, that every so often there are these kind of seismic shifts like earthquakes, where a lot of different things get shaken up in the air, maybe practically, maybe emotionally, and then everything comes down in a different place. And then much more frequently there are small shifts, new chairs in the dining room or new candle holders. And ideally, in an ideal world, we would be able to accept all of these things just like that. But as human beings, it's understandable that Some change is really hard, and it's like, you know, a whole supporting wall has suddenly disappeared, and then how do we know that we're going to stay upright? And the reverberations that move through our system when things change, and the implications of things changing, the kind of remembering that we're not in control as much as we'd like to think, remembering about death, remembering about, um, kind of things that have happened in the past that felt out of control. So one of the things that we practice when we come together here in this room is turning our attention just for a little while towards 3 things that are permanent, that are always present, whether we can access them or not, whether we believe in them or not, whether we have an experience of them or not. And that, that's what Buddhists all over the world do, that we rely on the community of people that practice together, whether that's the people in this room or the people connected to this temple or other people on a spiritual path, whatever that path is. We rely on the sangha. We rely on all the teachings and the wisdom that is present in the world, not just in Buddhist teachings but in everything. And we rely on the Buddha and the, the embodiment of love and wisdom that the Buddha is, both Shakyamuni Buddha and all the other Buddhas that we might be in relationship with. Amida Buddha, I can't think of any others. All the others, there's lots of them. Medicine Buddha. Buddha Satya Robyn. Yeah. I can't think of any more. Sorry, Buddhas. We, we know you're all there. We just can't remember your names right now. And how do we lean into those three things? In lots of different ways. One of the ways we lean into those three things is by coming here and being together. A way that often really works for me is being in nature. Nature connects me straight in with, with those kinds of qualities and that kind of refuge. We might have a little private practice where we— I know Philip's doing a prostrations practice at the moment, or just sitting for 5 minutes, or chanting for a little while, or offering something to the Buddha every day. Lots and lots of different ways that we can cultivate these relationships, and the more we cultivate them, the more reliable they are. Like any relationship, when we put work into it, not in a kind of a, oh, I must do this thing, but oh, I just might like to hang out with the Buddha for 10 minutes, then that adds into the holding quality of that refuge. So lots has changed, lots have stayed the same, and it's a different form on the shrine, but it's the same infinite light streaming through. And as we move into silence together, you might just want to hang out with the Buddha. Just picture the Buddha however you want to picture him or her or they. Sometimes I quite like to picture an absolutely massive Buddha and just, just lie in the palm of her hand for a little while where it's really comfy and safe and soft. You might want to lean into the Buddha's lap, or you might want to lie on the ground, the grass in front of the Buddha. However the Buddha appears to you, let, let the Buddha be like that, and just hang out and see if any of the qualities of the Buddha start to rub off on you. Whatever comes up, just make an offering of it to the Buddha, and if you become peaceful, just enjoy being in the peace. You don't become peaceful, that's also fine. And then after a while, we will chant Namotassa. Now, why am I chanting Namotassa? Because Brian had Namotassa come into his brain this week. So we'll chant Namotassa, and the words for that are on your bit of paper. Namomita bit.
Namah tassa bhagavatu arahato. Buddha, Satya, Namah Tassa Bhagavato Arhatu, Samma Sammuddhasatya. Sama Samudasa. Namahottasa Bhagavatu Arhatu Samasambuddhasa. Namotasa. Namotasa Bhagavatu. Arhatu. Samasambuddhasa. Namotasa Bhagavato Arhatu. Samasambuddhasatya Robyn. Nammo Tasam Bhagavatu Arhatu Samasambuddhasa. Namur, Tasa, Bhagavato, Arato, Samasambhujaswa.
Please repeat after me. For refuge we go to the Buddha. Oh, refuge! We go to Namo Buddhaya. For refuge we go to the Dharma. Namodhammaia. For refuge we go to the Sangha. For refuge we 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 this time they're going to say like—with faith in The Three Jewels—with faith in The Three Jewels—I pray that I may not steal. —I pray it's on me now still.—With faith in The Three Jewels—With Faith In 3 Jews—I pray that I may not fall into sexual misconduct. —I pray at some point or another for sexual misconduct. With faith in the Three Jewels— I pray that I may not fall into wrong speech. With faith in the Three Jewels—I pray that I may avoid intoxication. No blame! Be kind! Love everything!
Innumerable sentient beings, we vow to save them all. Inexhaustible 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. Amor a mi, Jalu. Amor a mi, Jalu.
Amor a mi.
Amor a mi.
Go back to our seats, and now we bow to each other. Tidy our seats and bow to our seats. And then the closing verse is on one page of a bit of paper if you want to join in. Blessed by Amitābha's light, may we care for all living things.
