Satya Robyn leads a Buddhist sangha practice on ecological grief, opening with William Stafford's poem and guiding meditation. The session includes a Medicine Buddha chant and reflections on stewarding attention and action in response to climate loss.
Chapters
Morning everyone, this beautiful sunny day. Lovely to have JJ, Chris, and Ellie with us. Hopefully it's sunny there too. Um, and we're going to begin this morning with a poem by William Stafford, and it's called In Response to a Question: What Does the Earth Say? The earth says, have a place, be what that place requires. Hear the sound the birds imply and see as deep as ridges go behind each other. Some people call their scenery flat, their only pictures framed by what they know. I think around them rise a riches and a loss too equal for their chart, but absolutely tall. The earth says every summer, have a ranch, that's minimum. One tree, one well, a landscape that proclaims a universe. Sermon of the hills, hallelujah mountain highway guided by the way the world is tilted, reduplication of mirage. Flat evening, a kind of ritual for the wavering. The earth says, where you live, wear the kind of color that your life is. Gray shirt for me. And by listening with the same bowed head that sings, draw all things into one song. Join the sparrow on the lawn, and row that easy way. The rage without met by the wings within that guide you anywhere the wind blows. Listening, I think that's what the Earth says. So as we sit quietly this morning you might want to listen to what the Earth is saying to you. You can either just listen to the sounds that the Earth is making, and I would include the traffic as the Earth. We wouldn't have traffic without the Earth, and the birdsong and the breathing of your fellow sangha members. Or you might want to listen more deeply to what the Earth might have to say to you about your life. And the Earth can speak to you in any way it wants to speak to you. It might use words, it might show you memories, or it might make you feel something. So as we sit together, we'll listen to the earth. In a minute, we will chant the Medicine Buddha's chant, and the words are on your liturgy sheet. I'm just going to type them into the chat. So it's Taya Ta Om Begun Je, Begun Je, Maha Begun Je, Radza Samudgati Soha. And as we summon the Medicine Buddha You might need some healing yourself. If you need some healing, then allow the Medicine Buddha to offer you that, and then allow the Earth to receive healing, calling on the, the great healing power of Medicine Buddha to come to the aid of the Earth. Jai Bhagavan, Jai Maha Bhagavan, Jai Ratsasambhutgatiswaha, Satya Robyn, Jai Bhagavan, Jai Bhagavan, Maha Bhagavan, Jai Rasa Samudrati Soha. Satya Robyn, Jai Bhagwan Ji, Maha Bhagwan Ji, Rasa Samudrati Soha. Thai, Thai. Bacon, bacon, bacon. For refuge I go to the Buddha, one who is awake and full of love. Refuge I go to the Dharma, that guides us to wisdom and compassion.
Compassion.
For refuge I go to the Sangha, those who live in the Buddha's light. Namo Sangaya. For refuge I go to the Earth, the holy ground of awakening. With faith in the Four Refuges and in light of my human tendencies, I pray that I may become aware of when I take life. 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 when I fall into wrong speech. I pray that I may become aware of when I become intoxicated.
No blame.
Be kind. Love everything.
In your loss and in being, we vow to save the whole.
So yesterday morning I watched a short video of a poem read out by Michael Sheen about the weather. And in the video, there was a boy, must have been about 9, who lived in this village, and he kept listening to all the adults in the village talking about the weather. All the time, like what the weather was doing in various parts of the village. And as the poem went on, it became clear that what they weren't talking about was that the weather had changed. And he was just listening, knowing that they weren't talking about climate change. And in the middle of the poem, Michael Sheen— he's really good at dramatizing, he's very full of feeling— he says that there are 60 harvests left, which is based on research that That's how long the climate will sustain harvests. And, you know, I know it's not going to be a binary thing, but to hear that figure and to know that the boy in the video is 9 and will have children of his own, it really moved me. And I drove to my mum's. Uh, it's an hour's drive to get to my mum, and I was just sat. And, and then I think what happened is I got to my mum's, and I'm not really allowed to be sad around my mum. It's not really, uh, helpful for me. So I just shoved it all away. And then when I got home, I shouted at Casper. And I'm only realizing now what happened is that the grief, it, it came up and then there wasn't any space and I couldn't talk to my mum about it. I could have, but I don't think it would have been helpful. I used to have more spaces where I got to feel that grief and talk about it and, and be with other people who are moved. And I have the vigil in town on Saturday. I don't really have many of those spaces anymore. And I used to have things that I could do, quite dramatic things. That, that helped me to, to do something with that grief, that helped me to channel that grief into something. And my first instinct, having felt this upswelling grief, was to find those opportunities again and to do something. And there's some wisdom to that. And then this morning I was looking for a poem to accompany this talk. I wanted to talk about this this morning, and I found this poem by William Stafford. And what I really like is that he says, the earth says, have a place, be what that place requires. Because I think for me, something that goes along alongside the grief is guilt, and that I'm not doing enough, and that I'm taking resources, and that I'm making choices that mean that I'm having more of an impact on the earth. But what William Stafford heard the earth say is, have a place, have a landscape, just enough, just a tree. Just a flower bed, just a vegetable patch, just a path on the hills, and pay attention to that place. And I listened to the Earth during meditation. I brought my, my grief again And what the Earth said to me was, just feel your grief, just feel your grief. You don't have to go and do something about it. But that, that's the task that the Earth said I have to do. And the Earth is also saying to me, don't forget to enjoy the daffodils, and don't forget to appreciate the blue skies and the hills in the distance, and the seedlings that are just about to hopefully poke up in our pots on the windowsill at home. And don't forget to be kind to yourself, and don't forget to be kind to other people who carry their own suffering, who are passing their own suffering on. And don't forget to do Buddhist practice together on a Saturday morning. Walk around the garden with your friends and see all the flowers that are coming out and the brambles. Don't forget to live. Don't forget to enjoy your life. That the grief is important, and we need spaces for that. We need spaces to talk about the weather, and it's also important to, to stay in relationship with what is here. I also read this morning Wendell Berry's The Peace of Wild Things. And he says something like, "Wild things that do not tax themselves with forethought of grief." That's probably not quite quoted correctly, but that, that they don't worry themselves about what's going to happen in 60 harvests' time. And we do have to worry about that, and we also have to look after ourselves and make spaces where the grief can exist alongside joy, alongside gratitude, alongside, um, intimate connection with the beauty that is all around us. So Making a little space for my grief here this morning, and yours if it arises, and also making space for the deep wisdom of the Earth, knowing that the Earth is bigger than the human race and will continue in some form or other. Knowing that there is something much bigger than we understand in process, and just aligning ourselves with our small tasks. We say in the Statement of Faith, we practice discerning what work is ours to do, and that's also important important that, that our work may be raising children, or smiling at people in the supermarket, or looking after a temple. There's lots and lots of ways that we can help the Earth. So yeah. Grateful to the people that made that film and grateful to you all for being here with me.
Namaste. Alas, people busy. Conceptual matters. Take no notice of life wearing away day by day, night by night, like a lamb in the wind. How long can it last? In the six realms of glass and sound, there is no fixed abode until we are emancipated from the seal of affliction. We rest in peace. Should we not be afraid while we still have strength?
Announcements. After practice, some of us will be doing some work in the garden for the Earth. If you're not free this morning but you would like to help in the garden sometime, time and do speak to them, John, or whoever's on it. Um, next Saturday we have a Dharma meeting, Sangha meeting, after practice, where we talk about how we can both sustain the Bright Earth Dharma and share the Bright Earth Dharma. So if you are interested in either of those things, and if you have a little bit of energy, do join us for that meeting. Don't have to have been here a long time, just, um, you have to have a little bit of energy. Ideas are great, but also ideas plus action is what we're really looking for. Um, and then, uh, Rafaani's prayer time is tomorrow night at 7:30, and we have the Hanuman Suri on the 11th of April. Any more announcements?
Have you—
where's your thing? Have you put your thing up?
No.
Okay, so there will soon be a calendar. Banny's made a calendar with all the things on, so that will soon be up. I will come back and say hello to you guys if you're still here after practice. I'm just going to press stop while I remember, and we'll finish with the closing verse.
