Satya Robyn leads a Buddhist practice session with guided reflections on gardens and the Pure Land, communal chanting of Om Mani Padme Hum, and refuge vows. The group explores finding sacredness in unexpected places like a Travelodge, then dedicates merit to Muriel Bull.
Chapters
I'm just disappearing off the frame. Zoom, you just take it back a little bit. Perfect. So welcome to the shrine room, welcome to Chris. We're in a beautiful garden of flowers this evening. Chris has written us a Dharma glimpse, but her internet's a little bit dodgy, so Alex is kindly going to read it out. Over to you, Alex.
Dharma Glance, Touching the Pure Land by Chris Earl Story. I've been feeling a bit low in spirits for the past couple of weeks. I've done something to my knee, or perhaps I haven't done anything in particular and maybe it's just an age thing, and it's been really sore and uncomfortable, which has meant I haven't been able to get out walking as much as I'd like. So today, in order to lift my spirits, I've been sitting in the garden. My garden is one of my very favorite places to be. The lawn is more moss and weeds than grass. My green fingers are a very pale shade of green, and a few of the plants I put in the border last year have unfortunately not survived. But to me, the garden is wonderful and my private sanctuary. Let me paint you a picture. The garden is dominated by two beautiful trees, a majestic weeping willow and a beautiful old apple tree that provides us with a huge crop of apples every year without fail. The blossom on the apple tree is opening up nicely and the late afternoon air is heavy with its sweet fragrance. Bees buzz busily amongst the branches. Our visiting blackbird sits in the willow singing its complex and beautiful song, a voice so sweet it makes the heart sing too. Timothy the cat lazes at my feet on the patio, occasionally stirring himself sufficiently to swipe the dried leaf as it tumbles past in the breeze. His friend Sam, always such a happy soul, sits amongst the border plants and purrs contentedly to himself. Some of the plants in the border are starting to open up their flowers, and I see spots of white, pink, orange, and purple in the fresh green foliage. Whilst I've been laid up with my poorly knee, I've been rereading the smaller Pure Land Sutra and enjoying the rich, sumptuous descriptions of pure land, full of gorgeous sights, sounds, and aromas to delight the senses and calm the spirit. Many people think of the Pure Land, or Sukhavati, as a place we go to after death. As I sit here in my garden, I can't help thinking that it would be such a pity to be so focused on the Pure Land, or God's Kingdom, or Heaven, or whatever else you may wish to call it, as something we reach only after death, and thereby miss the opportunity to discover Sukhavati in our life now. For me, here in my own small paradise of garden, I know I can touch the Pure Land every day in the beauty and peace of this blessed place. Namu Amida Butsu.
Namu Amida Butsu. Thank you, Alex.
Thank you, Chris.
Welcome, Philip. I hope you haven't missed a really good dialogue. So we will now move into some science together. Maybe we can— oh, thank you.
Let's go. Maybe we'll sit in Chris's garden with her for a little while and imagine the willow and the blackbird and the flowers opening up. And as you imagine yourself in this garden, maybe if you want, you could add the Buddha, add the Buddha's love, just kind of gently wafting in on the breezes and penetrating everything. If it feels okay, just let the Buddha's love seep into you and find whatever it is in you that, that is in need, in particular need of that tonight.
Namaste.
So this evening in Chris's garden, we'll chant for the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and she can add her love to the love that's radiating towards you as you sit quietly. The words are Om Mani Padme Hum Hri. Om Mani Padme Hum Hri. And they're on your paper if you want to read them.
Om mani padme hum hri. Om mani padme hum hri. Om mani padme hum hri. Om Mani Padme Hum Hri! Oh mané padmé hum hrih! Ooh ma nee pa me hun brie— oh mā née pa me hun brie— om mané pamé hon breeeh...
oom mah né pahm eh hung riiih?
Om Mani Padme Hum Hri! Oh mané pa mé hum hrih! Ooh ma nee pah meehum bree? Ahm-ma-ne-pah-me-hoom-breeh— ahm-man-ay-pah-me-hooom-breeh. Om Ma Ne Pa Me Hoong Ree... Om Mani Padme Hum Hri! Oh mané pa me hum hri... oh mané pa me hum hri— om mané pa me hum hri...
umane pamehum hri...
Om Mane Padme Hum Hri! Om Mane Padme Hum Hri! Om Mane Padme Hum Hri! Om Mane Padme Hungry! Om Mani Padme Hum Vrih! Om Manee Pame Hungreeeh! Oh manee pa me hungreeeh! Oom ma nee pah mee hoong bree— ooh mah neh pam ee hoom vriih... oh maa nee pom eh hum brieemmm? Om Mani Padme Hum Hri! Om Manee Pame Hoong Reee! Oh manne pa me hoong ree... oh mane pa me hoom riie— omane pade hum breee. Om Mani Padme Hum Hri! Oh mané padmé hum hrih! Ooh ma nee pa me hoong reh rihi? Oom maa née pah mé ooom reeh rihi hihim...
Om Ma-Ne-Pa-Me-Ho-Om-Re-hree—Om Mary Pa-me Ho-o-m Re-ehe-Riiihhhmm...
Om mani padme hum hri! Om mani padme hum hri! Om mane padme rum hri! Om mane padme vum hri!
Om Namaha Shivaya.
For refuge I go to the Buddha— for Refuge I Go To The Buddha! Namo Buddhaya— For Refuge I Go To The Dharma— Namodarmaya— For Refuge I Go To The Sangha— For Refuge I Go To The Sangha! Namo sanghaya!
Namo Sangha—
With faith in the Three Jewels I pray that I may not take life; —with faith in the Three Jewels I pray that I may not steal; —with faith in the Three Jewels 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. 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 fulfill it completely.
Namaste. I'm going to drag you out of Chris's garden and into a travel lodge. Last night, uh, Casper and I were staying over. We went to a funeral yesterday, and so in In the evening, we stayed at a little travel lodge off a motorway in the countryside. And as we pulled into the car park, it was very difficult to find. And we got to the car park and pulled in under a tree. And under the tree there were beer cans and fast food cartons. There was a mattress and a a whole box of— I can't remember the name of those— nitrous oxide capsules. Didn't check and see whether they were used capsules or not. So we went to the front door. My dad said, "What a dump!" as we kind of rung the doorbell to get in. And the room was basic. The carpets were worn. The bath was kind of built up underneath, so it was only like that shallow, so you could only put water in, a few inches of water before it started going down the drain at the top. It was basic, it was basic. So Pure Land, the word or the phrase Pure Land, can be described as the perfect field of merit. The perfect field of merit is what surrounds every Buddha. So where we find Buddhas, we naturally find around them everything becomes beautiful. And that happens because a Buddha naturally takes care of their surroundings and is kind to the beings around them and tends to the animals and the plants and the land. But it's also true because of the love that comes out of the Buddha and the way that the Buddha understands others. And it's really easy to find pure lands— not really easy, but it's more possible to see pure lands in beautiful surroundings, and that's really important. It's really important that we appreciate those places and help to take care of them. But I was wondering before practice, and especially after hearing your Dharma Gims clip, Chris, how would it be if the Buddha visited the travel lodge? That we spent our night in last night. What would the Buddha see? How would the Buddha create the perfect field of merit with the, the old mattress and the worn carpets? And as I imagine that, I begin to see a little bit of what the Buddha might see. I appreciate that The sheets, although they had a small stain on them, were washed and clean. The carpets had been hoovered. The bathroom was clean, mostly. The receptionist, who probably had quite a rough job— it wasn't a very pleasant place for her to be working— was— smiled at us when we arrived and was kind. I imagine the people that clean those rooms, and it's probably not a great job to have, but they did that job. I imagine the people that put the rubbish in the car park and what kind of suffering they are carrying, that, that, that was the thing that felt possible for them. To leave that rubbish there. And I begin to feel— I'm laughing because it's so incongruous— I begin to feel fond of that place. I begin to feel fond of the people that keep it going within the boundaries of the contracts and the standardization of, you know, one little tea bag per room and one little sachet of coffee per room. And I begin to feel grateful for the fact that we had a comfortable bed. We got to watch CSI from bed— not CSI, what was it? Law and Order. I don't think that matters too much. We got to watch Law and Order from bed. And despite the shallowness of the water, I got to have a bath, which is always a treat because we don't have bath. Maybe there were some glimpses of the Pure Land after all. So maybe our practice can be to imagine how the Buddha would see the different spaces that we move through, and be grateful and appreciate those, those spots of beauty. And also look with compassion on the places that are more tired, more where the suffering is, is more obvious, the struggle that people the people struggle, the system kind of straining. And my experience, my sense is that if we can look at those places with love, through eyes of love and understanding, something happens and they are transformed and they do become different. They do, um there's a relationship, something, something happens. So maybe we can take away a bit of the travel lodge and a bit of Chris's garden and merge them together into something even more beautiful. Namaste.
Namaste. Namaste. Namaste. Namaste.
In gratitude, we offer this incense to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas throughout space and time. May it be as fragrant as Earth itself, reflecting our careful efforts, our wholehearted awareness and the fruits of understanding slowly awakening. May we and all beings be companions of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. May we awaken from forgetfulness and realize our true birth.
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. So I'd like to transfer the merit from this evening's practice to Muriel Bull. Jeff's mom, who died this week. By your vows and through your grace, a pure land appears. Do you unmute, Wes?
Blessed by Amitabha's light, may we care for all living things and the holy earth. Namomi tabu. Just gonna stop the recording.
