Satya Robyn leads a Buddhist group practice mixing meditation, chanting, and reflection on climate activism. The session includes guided sitting, Om Mani Padme Hum, refuges and precepts, and a talk connecting contemplative practice to Extinction Rebellion and care for the Earth.
Chapters
Welcome, everybody. There's 6 of us here in the shrine room together. At the moment we're joined by Andesh on Zoom from the other part, and often a few others slip in as well. Satya Robyn, practice this morning, so I'll hand over to you.
Namitabeh, thank you and welcome everybody. Really enjoying the dahlias on the shrine this morning, they're magnificent. So I've been preparing all week to go to London tomorrow with Extinction Rebellion Buddhists. There are currently 70-something, 72 of us Buddhists from around the country who are going to go and converge on Trafalgar Square with thousands of other people to speak up for the earth after the horrible IPCC report a couple of weeks ago, which some of you might have seen, which confirms what we already know, which is that, that the governments aren't doing enough and that we are already in the grips of climate change and that things will get much, much worse. If we don't do some drastic things very quickly. And so I've been talking to many, many people. There's many apps if you're an Extinction Rebellion, so I've had several WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, email. I'm not even on Mattermost, thank goodness. Lots of different groups of people, lots of different plans. It's been a really full week, and my thoughts have been completely preoccupied with, with what's happening to our planet. And I found myself feeling increasingly critical of people who aren't in pre-Rebellion fever talking about anything that isn't the climate crisis. I'm just like, how could you talk about Lunch when the world is burning? How could you? How could you go to a party? How could you, I don't know, anything that isn't that?
How could you be in the newspaper?
How?
We've been in the newspaper this week for having the wrong colored paint on our front.
Yeah.
How could you talk about that? Why bother with anything when this is the critical issue facing us, facing this generation? And then walking around the garden this morning, I was noticing the little details from nature. There was just a shining piece of rain that was falling from a bit of foliage. It was really just bright. And noticing the dog snuffling around. The anemones, which are really beautiful and at the moment very pink, and then the, the yellow daisies next to them, the feel of rain on my face, just all those little details kind of reminded me of why I'm going to London next week. It's because we live in a beautiful world and if I don't enjoy it, if I don't remember to enjoy my life, then I'm not doing the Earth justice. I'm not, I'm not connecting with her. I'm not renewing my relationship with her. I'm not allowing her to nourish me. So it was really good timing this morning to do that practice. And I've been doing a daily vigil, and I'll do that at lunchtime today with a group of— the local group of people, and I'll look forward to sitting in the rain and hearing the rain pitter-patter onto my hood, and I'll carry that with me into the chaos of the streets next week, where there will be, from previous experience, lots of samba bands and police helicopters and chaos. And I kind of really enjoy being an Exile Buddhist and an Exile Faith Bridge member. Faith Bridge is the name for the kind of the group of Exile Buddhists, Exile Christians, Exile Jews, Exile Muslims, that we all come together quite often when we're on rebellion and hold banners together and and have friendships, and we all have a particular perspective on protest and on practice as action, practice as allowing the Buddha to tell us what we should be doing in the world, allowing ourselves to be led by the Buddha. And for me, that means I'll probably be getting into a sticky situation on Monday. But for lots of other people, it means lots of different things. I have a colleague who's just stepped forward to be co-leader of the Green Party. Or I have a friend who's just transferred their bank account to Triodos, which is an ethical bank. I have another friend who's just beginning to think about the science and talk about the science with, with their friends, that all of these acts are crucial. In Greta Thunberg's little book, I can't remember the name of it, but she wrote a very little book which is very good, and she says in it that, you know, small acts are important. Small acts matter, they all add up. So I enjoy being a part of those gangs of people because they understand that faith is something that gives us courage and patience and sometimes wisdom, and it connects us back in with with the divine, with the Buddha, with God, and with the Earth. And that it, it keeps us going, it inspires us, it helps us rest. I feel very held by that. I feel very held by the Buddha, and I will take that with me. Next week. Namomi dabu. So we'll now move into some quiet sitting. Just to let Andesh know as well, I'll be with Animal Rebellion on Saturday. I know you'll approve of that. You can be there in spirit. So we're moving some quiet sitting, and as you sit quietly, you might just want to listen to the sounds that are around you. The whoosh of the traffic, the drip of the rain. And just allow your thoughts to settle. If thoughts arise or feelings arise, just notice them, let them know that you see them, and then return to listening to the sounds. And you may become more peaceful. If you do, just Enjoy that peace. And your brain might— my brain's probably just going to do lots of whirring. If your brain does lots of whirring, that's also fine. Know that it's good for our brains to sit still for a while, even if they keep whirring, that they appreciate it. And then when we come to the end of the silence, I will begin chanting, and we'll do the same chant that we did in the garden this morning. The words are Om Mani Padme Hum Hri, and there's a bit of paper behind you which has the words on it if you want to look at the words.
Namaste.
Om mani padme hum hri! Om mane padme hom ri! Oh my Nepali hungry— oh ma ne pa me hoong ree? Um, um... Ma nepa me hungry. Om Mani Padme Humri! Oh mané padmé hum ri... om mané padmé hun gri... oh mané pad mé houm gri... ooh ma né pa me hung rii— Om Mane Padme Humri! Om Mane Padme Humri! Om Mane Padme Hungry! Om Mane Padme Hungry! Om Mani Padme Humri! Oh mané padmé hum ri... om mané padmé hun gri... oh mané padmé hung rii— ooh ma ne pa me hoong ree? Oom māne pahmeh hoom ri. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Humri! Oh my name— Papaméhumree? Um... My name's Pappméhomrie?! Oh manne papp mé homm riieeemmm. Om Mane Pa Me Hom Riiimmmm. Om Mane Padme Hum Hri! Oh Mané Pâvê Umbrí... Ooh Ma-neh-pah-meh-hoom-breee? Om Mane Padmé Homm-Brie— Om Mani Padme Humri! Oh mané padmé hum ri! Ooh ma nee paap mé hoong reee... Oh mané pap mé hoomm breeeee— Om Ma Ne Paap Me Ho'om Reee... Om Mani Padme Humri! Oh mané pa me hum ri... oh mané pa me hum ri... om mané padmé hom rée— Om Mani Padme Hum Hri! Om Mane Padme Hom Hri! Om Mane Padme Hungrye! Oh mané padmé hum hri... oh mané padmé hung ri— Om mani padme hum brij om mani padme hum brij om mani padme hum brij om mane padme hungri— Oh! Om Mane Padme Hum Hri! Om Mane Padme Hum Hri! Om Mane Padme Hum Hri! Om Mane Padme Hungry—? Oh my God... Um Mani Pave Me Home Free?! Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum.
Om Mani Padme Hum. We'll now recite the refuges and precepts together, which are on the bit of paper behind you or underneath you. For refuge, I go to the Buddha. For refuge, I go to the Buddha. Namo Buddha. For refuge I go to the Dharma. For refuge I go to the Dharma. Namo Dharma. For refuge I go to the Sangha.
For refuge I go to the Sangha.
Namo Sangha. With faith in the Three Jewels, with faith in the Three Jewels, we pray that we may not take life.
We pray that we may not take life.
With faith in the Three Jewels— we pray that we may not steal! With faith in the Three Jewels—we pray that we may not fall into sexual misconduct!
We pray that you may not fall into sexual misconduct!
With faith in the Three Jewels—with faith in the three jewels—we pray that we may avoid wrong speech!
We pray that we may avoid wrong speech.
With faith in the Three Jewels. With faith in the Three Jewels. We pray that we may avoid intoxication.
We pray that we may avoid intoxication.
I change it slightly just to make sure you're paying attention to me and just not the writing.
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 That is the Buddha's way, we vow to fulfill it completely.
So we'll now stand and do prostrations together. So we'll all face the Buddha and just make sure you've got a bit of floor in front of you and copy me. And the words are Namo Amida Buddha.
Namoha mida.
Namoha mida.
Namoha mida.
Namoha mida.
Namoh Amitabha. Namoh Amitabha. Namoh Amitabha. Namoh Amitabha.
Namaste.
Return to our seats. And we always finish practice by bowing— uh, sorry, standing up. So we always finish practice by by bowing to each other to thank each other for practicing together. So there's one bow for that, and then you turn one way and then the other. Something like that. And then two bows to bow to the Buddha. And then we tidy our seats so they're as they were when we arrived and bow to our seats to thank our seats. And we finish with the closing verse, which is on the bit of paper. We don't know it yet. On top of one of the sides, I suppose, just unmuting the people who— who else is here? Hi, Mandy from Greece. Kasper's just typing in, I think. I had typed in.
Yes, I typed a lot of things.
So blessed by Amitābha's light, may we care for all living things and the holy earth. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. So we now have a right to stop the recording. We have a cup of tea afterwards if you
