Practice - nembutsu

Welcome everybody, and as I said, extra points for getting here if you have to come from outside the building. No extra points for Dave, Angie, and me and Casper, who just had to come up some stairs or down some stairs. My name is Satya Robyn, and I'll talk you through what we do as we do it. So we always begin with something that we call a Dharma glimpse, which is a little piece of writing written by someone in our community about some experience of Coming into contact with the truth. And this evening, Caspar will read a piece by Frankie, who lives in Sardinia. A bit far for her to come, and it's a very lovely glimpse. So over to you, Caspar Liedt.

So, 'Dharma Glimpse' by Frankie Carboni. Very early morning, before the sun rises and before anything or anybody is awake, has always felt special to me. It has an intimacy, a quietness, a kind of privacy. I feel completely immersed in the solitude that I love. This particular morning, it must have been around 5 AM. I got quietly out of bed, went to the kitchen, and made myself a cup of tea in my oversized teacup—more of a bowl with a handle, really. A tea bag squeezed, no milk, sugar, or lemon, and then back to bed. I didn't want to wake anyone, so I switched on the torch on my phone and turned it face down on my small turquoise diary. That way the light diffuses softly, just enough for me to see by. I cupped the tea bowl in my hands, enjoying its warmth. I could hear my husband's deep sleep breathing beside me and feel the warmth of our little dog curled against my thigh under the duvet. There were no other thoughts arising. I wasn't thinking about the day ahead or the books I'm reading or this morning's Wordle. I was simply appreciating the warmth of the cup, of the bed, the presence of my two companions. I wasn't thinking gratitude in either words or images. And quite suddenly, as I sipped my tea, I felt the nimutsu. I heard, but not as a voice and not with my ears, the words 'Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.' I hadn't summoned them. They spontaneously arose. From where? Sometime previously, I'd been reading about the name that calls. I had wondered what that even meant and how it could be experienced. I had tried, as I recited the Nembutsu, to imagine it calling back. I had faith that it was a possibility, but felt equally that I may never experience it. And yet there it was, clear as a bell, sweet and warm and strong. I know I should be careful not to cling to this experience or try to replicate it. It wouldn't matter if it never happened again, although it has, because that's not the point. A glimpse of other power, of the Dharma gently manifesting, was enough to inspire a feeling of such rightness and oneness, of faith. Namamit bhū.

Thank you, Frankie. So we will sit quietly together for a while in silence. You might just want to— I was going to say just imagine either being the hands holding the warm cup, or imagine being the cup. We're just settling down and allowing peace to descend. If peace isn't inside, that's also fine. Just allow whatever is there to be there, and maybe just relax a tiny bit. After some silence together, we will chant the word Amitabha. Amitabha is the Buddha of infinite light, the Buddha that we connect with most often here in this temple. And when you get the tune, do join in. And then after the chanting, there'll be a little bit more silence before the closing bow. Namaste. Thanks. Wake up now.

Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amita. Amita. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh.

The next thing we do is recite some words together, which are either on your little liturgy sheets, or it's a repeat after me, so you don't need to read them unless you want to. And they are words or variations on words that Buddhists have been reciting for 2,500 years. First we recite the precepts, which is the ethical guidelines for how we can try and live. That's actually second. First of all, the refuges, which is the three things that we lean into as Buddhists, and you recite the precepts. And then feel the Buddha's inner body sapphires, which are inspirational, something that we can point ourselves towards. 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 wisdom and compassion.

All that guides us to wisdom and compassion. 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 Buddha. Namo Sangha—

With faith in Three Jewels I pray that I may not take life.

With faith in The 3 jewels I pray that I may steal. With faith in The 3 jewels I pray that I might fall into sexual misconduct. I pray that I may not fall into sexual misconduct— With faith in The Three Jewels! —with Faith In 3 jewels...

"With Faith That" , May Not Fall Into Wrong Speech?

...may do wrong..." "...praying to Guru Rinpoche." ..."May You Help Me!" "..praying for help from Her Majesty Pema Chödrön—" ....'No blame,' 'be kind.' No Blame Be Kind; Love everything. 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 Buddha's way.

We vow to fulfill it completely.

So now I will say some things, a couple of phrases or words in Franki starlumps that people may not be familiar with. The Nembutsu, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and the name that calls. So as Pure Land Buddhists, which is what we are here in this temple, we have an experience of there being something in the universe which is infinitely compassionate, infinitely wise. And this, whatever it is, becomes personified as Amida Buddha. And Amida Buddha is a kind of a the mythological Buddha, the Shakyamuni Buddha who lived in India 2,500 years ago, talked about, taught about. I'm trying to keep this simple and it's also complicated. In some ways it is complicated and it's in some ways it's very simple because as Pure Land Buddhists we connect to Amida Buddha by saying their name. And we say their name by saying 'namo.' I call out to Amida, Amida Buddha. And this phrase, 'namo amida butsu,' calling out to Amida Buddha, is known as the Nembutsu. When we chanted during the silence just now, we were saying Amitabha, which is another word for Amida. And that's another way of saying the name of the Buddha, calling out to the Buddha. So as we call out to the Buddha, what we're really doing is calling out to this source of infinite wisdom, infinite compassion. And as Frankie wrote in her Dharma Glimpse There is also this idea that it is the name that calls. So rather than it being us calling out, asking for assistance, or, um, wanting to invite those qualities into our lives, there is also a movement from the other side. There is something about that infinite love that is wanting to reach out to us from its side. And then the Dharma Glimpse that Frankie wrote, her experience was when the words, the Nembutsu, just kind of arose from nowhere in her mind as she was in that peaceful, empty state. But there might be many ways that that compassion, that that wisdom calls out to us. It may be that we look out at the snow and are suddenly filled with kind of wonder at the beauty of it. It may be that a friend reaches out in a way that, that touches us. It may be that we've had a really terrible week or month and we read something that just kind of leaps out the page with the sense that it was just for us, that sentence kind of unlocks something for us. And none of this, I'm not expecting that any of this, that you'll take any of this, take my word for any of this. The suggestion instead is that we we come into our own relationship with these teachings and experiment with them, live with them, open our minds to the possibility that there, that there is something that isn't us that cares about us, and just be curious. Just be curious about what that feels like to imagine, what barriers we might have inside ourselves to that idea. Welcome in the parts that are skeptical and that, um, will have good reason for not trusting or being cautious, being discerning. And just keep turning up to places like this one. It might be this place, it might be another place like it, and make space for something to call out to you. So we finish by making prostrations to the Buddha. So in a minute everyone will stand up and point towards the Buddha. I'll go to the front of the room, and we also chant as we bow. So if you haven't done it before, it will be almost impossible to get the hang of before we finish. Do bow as much as your body and mind allow you to bow, so copy us and go down to the ground if that's possible. If not, you can stay standing, just do a standing bow, whatever feels comfortable.

And, um, We dedicate the merit of this incense offering to 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 slowly ripening. May we and all beings be companions of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. May we awaken from forgetfulness and realize our true home.

If you'd like to come back to stand, tighten your seats. We always finish practice by bowing to each other to say thank you to each other for practicing together. So first of all, when Phi brings the bow, I'll bow towards Phi, as you all bow towards Peter. And then Angie and Raymond, Dave and Tash, and you can bow at the Buddha if you want. And then we'll just turn around the opposite direction and bow to the opposite person. So let's see how that goes. Not bad, not bad. And then, and then we have two bows to bow at the Buddha. Then we tidy our seats and bow to our seats. Lots of bowing in Buddhism. And we finish with the closing verse, which is typed on the little liturgy sheet. It begins 'Blessed.' And a little bit of paper. Blessed by Amma Tara's light, may we care for all living things and the Holy Earth. So there is a golden bowl in the hallway if you have a donation, or you can donate online, brighter.org/donate. And we have a cup of tea now, you're very welcome to join us for a cup of tea. Any other announcements? No? So if anyone's got any questions, you can ask any of us after practice. Um, yeah, thank you, James.