Practice - New Year's resolutions & foolishness

Good evening, lovely to see you all. I fear that there may be dog shenanigans as there's only one lap and two dogs near Casper. We'll see how we go. So just waiting for Paul to arrive. Welcome, Fee, Chris, Beth.

Welcome, Paul.

Lovely to see you. We are in our extra isolation phase, so we're practicing from my office today, but hopefully next Wednesday we'll be back upstairs. I'll let you know if not, Fee. And the new format for practice is that we begin with Dharma glimpse written by someone who isn't me or Caspar, and hoping that we'll receive some Dharma glimpses from some of you lovely people at some point, but until then we're reading from a book. Oh Ralph, come and see me, come on, come over here. So Caspar will read to you today and I'll just hold the microphone here.

Thank you, so I'm reading from—

that's not going to work.

It would have been fine where it was. I'm reading from Bright Dawn Dharma Glimpses, and this chapter— or I'm reading a section from the chapter Five Ways How Not to Be a Bodhisattva and Other Confessions of a Dharma Practitioner by Wendy Shinryu Haylett. I'm reading the first way. The first way not to have two dogs. So number 1: I thought if I became a Buddhist, it would profoundly change me and I would get all spiritual, better, different, and then I would change the world. Becoming a Buddhist did not profoundly change me. Studying the Dharma did not profoundly change me directly. Imitating practitioners doing Buddhist practices did not profoundly change me. But I was profoundly changed by looking carefully, as Gyomei— Reverend Gyomei Kobo Sei wrote, and finding the truth of things as they are, of suchness, finding universal life deeply within myself and in all things around me. He wrote, to learn Buddhism is to become aware of life. Which means to become aware of oneself. I am profoundly changed by not becoming different or more spiritual, but by becoming intimate with who I am in all my foolish ego-grasping judging thoughts. In that intimacy, I learned to develop compassion for myself, for being this foolish being. Which creates space to change a bit by not blindly acting on the foolish thoughts. And with compassion for myself, compassion for others increased because I saw how we were the same in our foolishness.

Namomi Tabu. Namomi Tabu. That was a bit like you were reading us a bedtime story. So we'll move into— welcome, Angela— we'll move into some quiet meditation, as quiet as the dogs will allow. I'll mute ourselves. Yes, time for meditation. Okay, so as we sit quietly this evening, the invitation is just to let spaciousness in. It can be a complicated time of year, so as you, as you breathe in, just, just allow spaciousness to enter and everything inside you just relax a little bit. And then after a while, we'll do some chanting together. The dogs are just fighting over a single piece of vegan, um, what's it called?

It's fat core.

Vegan rawhide. Yeah. So I will meet myself. Namomi debi.

Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om mani padme hum hri! Oh my God— oh Manu Padma Hum Hri... Om Mani Padme Hum Hri! Om Mani Padme Hum Hri! Om Mani Padme Hungry! Oh manny pad me hung hreee... oh many pahmeh hunghweee— Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om mani padme hum hri! Humane Padmé Hungrye... Oh my name's Pabmehumhui— Omae pap me hung ri? I am hungry now! Umami Pap Me Hoom Riiieeeemmm. Māni Paap Mehung Riiméomarīyam Manipadmeyoong-Huuyyeenrēōrmānepaadmeyhoowringgrieinrrreeanrreəwėŋṇɔ̃kʁḥūmḡː-llæpȧbmey hooung-hwi-y-e-mma-ne-pahb-me-hoo-mm-hweeee?! Hmm... wow that was really good though! Thank you so much for sharing your experience today Kirtani Ji! Yeah it wasn't too bad at all actually yeah um no not to be rude but did she say 'I'm gonna eat her?' Right here right there on stage just like this!? What kind of question do we ask someone who wants us dead or killed by being eaten alive?? Anyway let's get back into our meditation practice guys again okay uh thank everyone very much once more please join hands together one side against each other inhale through both nostrils exhaling out from behind head up towards heart chakra namaste om ah ham mah shivaya kramana sattva mukti hi vishnu paramatmyasmi oh ma ne pa'ame hunghuri omanipaumehunguriii mmhmhhhiyyaa nippabehehumji. Om mani padme hum hri! Humani Padmé Hungry— Oh Mané Pâbe Méhung Hwi... Ummane pah mé hung ri? Oumane pa me hun ghi?! Om mani padme hum hri! Humane Padmé Hungrye... Oh my name's Pabmehumhre— Oomahneh pa me hung rey? Um ané pambemuh ri?! Om Mani Padme Hum Hri! Om Mani Padme Hum Hri! Om Mani Padme Hum Hri! Om Mani Padme Um Hri! Om Mani Padme Hum Hri! Om Manee Pahmee Hoong Reeee! Ohh Maane Paam Mee Huuum Ree— Ooh Maanay Phaab Me Hung Rhee— Ohh Mae Neepaab Meh Homreee... Om mani padme hum hri! Humani Padmé Houri— Um Mané Pábeoum Rhi... Oh my name's Pat Méhom Bri? I'm not sure how to pronounce that one right away but it came out of me anyway so there we go. Thank you for indulging us today everyone on this special day called Ramadan or Eid-ul-Fitr 2018 here at Peaceful Harmony Center. And thank all those who have been tuning into our channel recently; if anyone has any questions please feel free to ask them down below because they're getting answered every single time just like your comments about these videos do too now when people find their way over from YouTube directly onto Facebook Live Room which was an awesome thing by itself thanks guys wow amazing oh yeah good job everybody let's get going again um okay great question actually what happened last week Yeah well some things were happening behind closed doors during lockdowns also other than making content online obviously uh due to COVID-19 happenings around everywhere including India being locked up pretty much completely apart from each other through quarantine regulations etc., however many times per month folks would be able to see others outside once more after staying inside sheltered homes alone together forever perhaps until next year hopefully heheh om mane pa bhume hoon rehree —Oh yes indeed Ooh nice catch Nilaaamiee! That sounds beautiful though huh?! Yes very true OMG look she knows Hindi really quickly haha love her accent! It makes sense why no matter what country someone comes from sometimes even Indians can't speak perfect Urdu properly lol anyways Om moving along ooo lots coming back home finally yay!! Welcome Home Guys!!! Wow such fun energy tonight hey!?

So happy y'all joined us live stream chat room still alive maybe then come join social media groups link will appear soon bye-bye friends.

Bye-o-manny-pab-me-hum-reeeeee!

Oh Manny pab-me-hum-rhee-e-heeyyy.

mani padme hum hri! Humani Padmé Hungry— Ummani Podmi Hong Rui? Omae pa me hung ri... Oh my knee Pob Me Home Free?! Om mani padme hum hri! Oh mah nee pa mihum rehii... oh manee pah meehoohm rehee— om maneepa mihoom reheeey? Ummanipadmi Hum Hreeeyyy?! Omaaneepadmeyhumhreemmmmyyyy!! Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om mani padme hum hri. Om mani padme hum hri. Om mani pam mehum hri. Om mane pa mehumm ri... Oh! Om mani padme hum hri! Oh mah nee pa mmmhree... oh ma nei paa meehum griii? Ooohhh my knee pub— mee-hoom-grieeyy?! Umahnee Paamee Hoong Reeeee!? Home money Pub Me Hungry!! Hooommaaaneepaabmeehoongooreeiyyyyy?? Om mani padme hum hri! Oh mah nee pa me hoong reee... oh maaneee pah mee hoeeng weeyy— om maaanih pohm ee honngweeiyy? Oom-maaneepoh-me-hoon-weewwy?! Hoommaaaniiipob mihoon-reeiiiye!? Hmmmm. Umami Padmi Hum Reem. Ahhhhm ahhaam mmmyooowwwwumreem hmm-mm-yayyyy ummae-pab mie hun-gwiieeh. Momm-aaniepawmie hung-whee-ehegghs-Oo-MaaaN-E-Paab Me Hung-Whey-o-hegghs-Hun-Groove-Yuh-Rim-Breathe-In-Out-Air-out-Dunking-Soup-Cup-Face-off-the-Landscapes-of-The-Universe-in-Chamberlain-Village-China-Tibet or Hong Kong City-Korea-North Korea. Ahamana Paame Hoombrie— omanipa memeum rieeeéée— Omanopa Memyum Reeedrém —Oh Mani Pave Hom Brie—I'm sorry for my pronunciation of Tibetan but I think it's something like this anyway; that was what came to mind when writing down these lyrics.—Om Mane Pap Mei Hun Gri' Om Many Pam My Hon Bri'. Omni pam Mi Humbry.' And then he says 'OM MANI PADME HOON BREE!' It goes on forever until you're dead from laughing at your own stupidity so much because no one will ever be able to understand anything about how Om stupidly funny his song sounds anymore. So yeah guys if anyone wants an introduction video please let us know below using Mani #AskJaiRamjiHindiMemeShow Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum.

For refuge I go to the Buddha.

Namo Buddha.

For refuge I go to the Dharma.

Namo Dharma.

For refuge I go to the Sangha. 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, 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 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 the Buddha's way.

We vow to fulfill it completely.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. You won't be able to hear Casper's voice, but he's He's wrangling the dogs next door and responding. So I was thinking during the dog shenanigans about Pure Land Buddhism, and they're not the— they haven't been the best behaved dogs this evening during practice, partly because they've had a long day at my parents' and partly because We gave them some new vegan peanut butter rawhide, which has sent them a little bit crazy. And even though, of course, they had an identical one each, they've chewed it a bit, and then as soon as they chew it, the other dog wants the one that's been chewed by the other dog. So yeah, and I was also thinking about New Year's resolutions and my, um, the, the parts of me that every year get quite excited about the idea of a brand sparkling new version of Satya Robyn that will be thinner and do more meditation and do less work and go on the internet less. And there's, you know, there's quite a long list. And as I get older, I'm 47 now, I can't help but become more and more familiar with, with these feelings that arise at this time of year. And I can't help but be aware of what usually happens, which is that I set some set some goals that seem reasonable and then pretty quickly break them and return to almost the same Satya Robyn as before, slightly different, but not the shiny new improved version that I hoped for. And it becomes more and more amusing as well, which is quite lucky. Rather than— I'm not despairing, I'm just amused, more and more amused. And it reminds me of why, for me, Pure Land Buddhism was so revolutionary when I encountered it. The idea that we are bomboo beings, that we are foolish beings of wayward passions, and that not only is it helpful to have something outside us to help us, it's necessary. Because from within our own foolish system, it's impossible for us to, to become new and improved, to, to, to have an experience of the divine without some kind of intervention from outside. And that's what Amida Buddha offers us, is is an intervention from outside of our systems in a way that breaks everything open, that makes something amazing possible. And as we heard in the reading by Wendy Xinyou, It's not that we become completely different people, but that something— just wondering how I can describe how it feels for me. It's like there's more space inside, or it's like there's more light inside. There's, I think, Pema Chödrön speaks about there being a lake with kind of lots of junk at the bottom. And that when the lake clears, when the lake sort of settles and all the sediment kind of goes down to the bottom and it becomes crystal clear, you can just see the junk at the bottom really clearly. And you just look in and you're like, oh yeah, there's all that junk. But there's something about it that's okay. It's okay. We're okay. We're okay with all our junk that we don't need to be any different in order to be decent human beings, and in order to be acknowledged and appreciated for who we are, because who we are is because of where we came from. And there's an awful lot that we don't have complete control over, like the dogs when they're fighting over the the rawhide. There's, there's times when we just, we just can't help it, that we just do the thing that we don't want to have done. And, and when Amida Buddha sees us doing that, she just smiles and winks at us, maybe. So as we move through this strange holiday period. If you're able to rest, then I hope you are. I hope you're feeling permission to really allow that. It sometimes— it feels like it's a really difficult time to rest because of all the other stuff that's happening, but hopefully you'll find some space to rest. And if you do want to make some changes in the new year, maybe try and scale them back as much as you can. I'm speaking to myself now as well as to you. And also just acknowledge that, that whatever happens with those goals, Amida will be seeing you, smiling at you, and offering you love wherever you are and whatever you're doing. Namo Amida Butsu. So we'll move into prostrations, and I will be prostrating to my Buddha who's just here, and hopefully you can hear me chanting from there.

Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida. Namoh Amida. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida. Namoh Amida. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida.

So we'll finish as we usually do by bowing to each other, and then hopefully you've got a Buddha in your room somewhere. If not, you can bow through the screen to mine. And then if you want to unmute, we can recite the closing verse together.

Kaspa, do you want to come in for a closing verse?

Blessed by Amitabha's light, may we care for all beings and the Holy Earth.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.