Buddhist group practice led by Satya Robyn and others, featuring a dharma talk on a Zen story about Master Linji and an ox-herding woman. The teaching emphasizes present-moment attention and ethical practice through the metaphor of dog wisdom and ox wisdom.
Chapters
Good morning everybody, welcome. Welcome if you're joining us on Zoom, Philip and Claire. Well, you are joining us on Zoom. Welcome if you are joining us on YouTube later on, I suppose. We'll begin with a Dharma glimpse, which is going to be written and read by Gyame. There's also a piece of paper with whatever.
So this is called 'A Wake.' Anya, the new temple dog, joined us for walking meditation in the garden on Saturday, and as we were slowly shuffling round amongst the flowers and shrubs in the gentle rain, She found an old newspaper that she liked the look and smell of. It was already wet, and as she tossed it and thrashed it around with her mouth, it disintegrated into hundreds of bits which distributed themselves over a large section of my recently cut lawn. I was struck by an analogy that relates to the potential for our capacity to wreak havoc in our pursuit of happiness. Anya's fun left an after effect that from an outside perspective looked pretty messy. This really resonated with my experience of how just my everyday activities and interactions have the power to leave quite a powerful trace on the intricate web of my life. I can be quite innocently engaging in what I feel to be relatively innocuous pleasures or normal endeavors whilst inadvertently and often negatively impacting on the lives of others. Of course, this is largely unavoidable and mostly accidental, but is not without its consequences, which can bring a whole range of residual and quite subtle stirrings. It made me think of the etymology of the word awake, which is somewhat deeper than our widely accepted version of basically just being conscious. The analogy of moving through water is sometimes used to describe the root meaning of the word. As we walk or swim, we leave a visible track behind us, or in our wake. This track represents the immediate impact of our movement through the world in its physical and metaphysical forms. The track fans out behind us and keeps spreading as we surge forward, generating more of the same. To be awake is to be living consciously in amongst the ripples flowing out from our actions and behaviors. Taking responsibility for all of the joys and sufferings that our existence inevitably occurs— incurs. To me, this perfectly fits with a good portion of what Shakyamuni taught in his time on our planet, that we must learn to understand the implications and far-reaching effects that arise out of our existence, that it's possible to leave a less harmful wake as we strive onwards towards truth, peace and harmony. Namamitabhu.
Namamitabhu. Namamitabhu. Thank you, very nice. I suspect it was a newspaper from the rabbit's litter tray, so it would have been especially attractive to a young dog. Okay, so we've got some time for meditation now. So just finding an easy upright position, maybe moving a little bit left or right, backwards and forwards, just to find that central point. And slowly bringing awareness to the breath. Not trying to change anything, just noticing moment to moment.
It's—
So we'll move into some Kwan Im chanting. Kwan Im is the Bodhisattva of Compassion. She's on our ancestor shrine in the corner, as among other places. She's associated with moonlight and with active compassion, with coming into the world from her Pure Land to help people. And historically, she's been more popular in Southeast Asia than with lay people than reciting Nembutsu to Amida. There's a sense that somehow she's more accessible, I guess, because of that nature. Of hers to come forwards and meet us where we are, whereas Amida is often shown in this sitting posture and welcomes us, but we kind of have to go forward to them. So invoking that spirit of active compassion for ourselves and others, and the words of the chant are Namo Kwan Shin Bosat. I call out to the one who hears, the bodhisattva who hears the cries of the world.
Namo Guan Yin Bosat. Namo Guan Yin Bosat. Namo Guan Yin Bosat. Namah Kwan Ji Inbo Saat! Naamoh Kwanchi Dhim Boosaaht— Namo Quan Chi Imbosaft? No more crunching bursaats...?! Namah Kwan Chimbo Sath! Namokwan Shinbosa. Namokwan Shinbosa. Namokwan Shinbosa. Namokwan Shinbosa. Namah Kwan Chim Bosat! Namah Kwan Chim Bosat! Namah Kwan Chim Bosat! Namoh Kwanchim Bossa—
Namo Quan Chi Ingo Saad?
No more kwanshi imbosaed?! Namokwan Shinbosa. Namokwan Shinbosa. Namokwan Shinbosa. Namokwan Shinbosa. Namah Kwan Chim Bosat— namo kuan chim bosak! Namo kwanchi mbosad?
—namokwanshi embosa...
namoskhwansi imbo saaamooommmuuummumuluuuunsshaaninnumnuumuunuumnusannimmoaroomsishiiimbosasaaaaaaamooooumnissheeenbosalaaaamuñsammaaanisshiiiembossaat. Namah Kwan Shin Bosat! No— no more Quanshin Bosaichan... Namah Kwan Chim Bosat! Namah Kwan Chim Bosat! Namoh Kwanchim Gosats! Namo Kuanshin Gosa— Namah Kwan Chimbo Sath! Namah Kwan Shin Go Saat! Namah Kwan Shin Bosat! Namah Kwan Shin Gosat! Namah Kwan Shin Bosat! Namah Kwan Shin Gosa— sat? Nah-mo-kwahn-sheen-bos-at... namoh kwanshin bosasam. Namah Kwan Chi Ingo Sat! Namah Kwan Chim Bosat! Namah Kwan Chim Bosat! Namah Kwan Chim Bosat! Namoh Kwanchi Inbosa—
Namo Kuanshi Imbosad? Now we'll recite the refuges and precepts together, and then the Bodhisattva vows in call and response, which you can find on the piece of paper. These, you could say, the refuges are ways— they're things that we put our trust in, and the things that we put our trust in are ways in which the Buddha's life or the divine breaks through into this world. 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. 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.
For refuge I go to sangha— for refuge those who live in Buddha's light— Those living in Buddhist life— With faith in three jewels— with faith of 3 Jewels—I pray that may not take life— I pray that will not take lives—with faith in the Three Jewels—faith in the Three Jewels—I pray that might steal—might I pray that I may not steal— With faith in The Three Jewels . —with faith in The Three Jewels. "I pray that I may avoid—" No! "I pray that I may not fall into sexual misconduct." "With faith in The Three Jewels..." "...with faith in The Three Jewels," " ...'I pray that I may not fall into wrong-speech.'" "'...that I might not fall into wrong-speech,'" ..."'...with faith in The Three Jewels'," The 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.
Innumerable are sentient beings.
We vow to save them all. We vow to transform them all.
Immeasurable are the Dharma teachings.
We vow to master them all.
Infinity is the Buddha's way. We vow to follow When I was wondering what to speak about this morning, I tried to— I'm conscious that there's different ways of deciding. I can think in a very rational way, you know, kind of calculating way, and I tried to just drop into a space of something a little bit more intuitive and notice where am I being drawn to, a different kind of way of choosing. I noticed this book on my bookshelf. I was like, oh, maybe there's something there. Felt a little tug in that direction. I just let it open on the page it wanted to open on, and here is a teaching for me anyway. Um, so it's one of these old Chinese stories about a disciple and a master and an encounter, and I'll read it and then I'll and then I'll talk about how I made sense of it and why it seems pertinent this week. Master Linji went to see Master Bingjian . On the way, he met an old woman driving an ox in a field. Linji asked her, "Which way is the road to Bingjian?" The woman hit the ox with her stick and said, "This animal, it walks all over the place without even recognizing the road." He repeated, "I asked you, which is the road to Bingjian?" The woman said, "This beast, it's 5 years old and still can't be put to use." Linji said to himself, If you want to learn something from the person in front of you, first observe what the person does. And as he had this feeling— oh, and, and he had the feeling his sticking point had been removed. Later, when he reached Master An, An asked him, have you seen my sister-in-law? Linji said, yes, I've already been taken in tow. So the, the beating something with a stick is an echo of what the Zen masters do in Japan and China to keep you paying attention when you're starting to fall asleep in your meditation. They'll kind of tap you on the shoulder, sometimes more strongly than others, to kind of bring you back to paying attention. And when she's hitting the ox with the stick We don't know what happened, of course, but this is what happens in the story. It's an echo of that practice. She's saying, if you're a real monk, you'll know this means pay attention. And then she says, this ox keeps looking around, but it doesn't see what's in front of him. It doesn't even recognize the road. She's sort of saying, the road's right here. You're lost in fantasizing about what's going to happen when you get to the temple. Maybe you're anxious about seeing the master. Your head's in the cloud. You're missing what's right in front of you. Why are you grasping for something over there? If you just pay attention right here, you have everything you need. And he asked her again. And she's like, oh, maybe he's not as bright as I thought. I said that in a way that was very clear in the context of the time. So she repeats something about the ox. And of course she's saying, you're this— when I'm talking about the ox, it's a polite way of me talking about you, young whippersnapper. And he realizes in that moment, oh, she's talking about me. If I'd really noticed her when I first arrived, I would have known there was a master in front of me. One of the things that's striking about that story, of course, is that all the men have names and the woman doesn't. Sorry, what's the end bit mean? Oh, the end? Oh, he's literally— the master says, have you met my sister-in-law? And he's like, yes, I already had that meeting. And I've, yeah, I experienced that. She's already taken me in hand. We would say, I think more colloquially, she put me right. I was wandering lost and she set me right, both literally in terms of finding the road and metaphorically in that my mind was going all over the place and I wasn't paying attention. And suddenly I bumped into something real, into somebody real who was awake. And then I was present in the present moment. And he still went on to the monastery to learn from this other master. You might say in some ways he could have turned around and gone home at that point. Oh yeah, I've worked out, I've got it now, I can go back and live my ordinary life practicing this teaching of paying attention to what's in front of me. And I think what spoke to me when I read it was Being reminded of this week when I've been reading, while we were away, lots of different teachings and books from different traditions, indigenous traditions around the world, and noticing that sometimes I read those in a kind of grasping way. Oh, this is going to give me the thing that I want, as if there's something out there that is really going to change my life or make everything better, or Really, when I examine that, more about propping me up, making me feel safe and secure in a sort of egotistical way. And sometimes I'm reading them from a place of being relaxed and genuine curiosity and not needing anything from them. And of course, when I'm in that state of mind, those are the times when I actually learn something, when insight appears. And there was something in there about this sort of classic Zen teaching of you don't need to go all the way over there. Everything you need to be enlightened is right here in this place where you are in this moment, whether you're in the monastery or whether you're on the road meeting an ox herding old lady. Every moment There's a teaching in every moment if we're paying attention, and we miss that when we're thinking that the teaching is going to be in 10 minutes' time, or when I'm in this special place, or when I've read that book, or when I receive this empowerment, or when I've got this title, or when I've passed this birthday, then I'll be, you know, probably then, you know, when I'm 50, then I'll have got it sorted out. So it's an invitation to notice what's here and to trust that simply by paying attention to what's here, to the person that's in front of you, the ox that's in front of you, that the dog tearing up the newspaper that's in front of you, That's enough. The world is always speaking to us. Enlightenment, the Buddha is always speaking to us through every object, through every person, in every moment. And yet he does still go on to the monastery because we are human, and it's easier to notice that and pay attention in some places than others. Anyway, I guess that's the invitation this morning, is If you bring that quality of attention, who knows where you'll find an awakened master. Maybe not sitting here in this seat, maybe when you're out wandering around and somebody's just doing an ordinary job in front of you. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. So now we'll stand and make prostrations to the main shrine, and as we Bow, we will recite Namo Amitabha. I call out the Buddha of infinite love.
We dedicate the merits of this incense offering 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 fruit of understanding slowly ripen. May we and all beings be companions of Buddhas and their disciples. May we awaken from forgetfulness and realize our true home.
So we'll come back to standing in our places. The bowing bell. So we'll bow to each other. First I will bow to Anji, and Satya will bow to Jharmay, and then you bow to each other, and then we'll turn the other way. Into the main shrine at the front. Mataji asks about our seats. So you're welcome to join us this afternoon from 2 for some gardening in the garden. It's the best place for gardening. Or later on this evening at 6 for a listening circle in the shrine room. And we'll— next weekend, next weekend's the retreat day, so we'll begin in the same way as we did this morning, and then there'll be a talk after practice, and then we'll sit with XR in the center of town and a walk in the afternoon. So let us know if you want to come to that, or just turn up on the day.
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
So we'll finish with the closing verse, which is on the top of one of the sides of the piece of paper next to you. Blessed by Amitabha's light, may we care for all living things on the holy earth. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
See you next week, Clare and Philip, in your lives. Yeah, next week.
