Practice - robins and quiet shrine rooms

Good morning everyone, it's drizzly Saturday morning, a bit quieter today, just 5 of us in the shrine room, 4 of us, me, you, Sam, the Buddha, and Kema.

Yep.

And Philip and Paul have joined us on Zoom. Welcome both.

Namaste. Thank you. So me and Casper started our walking meditation around the garden this morning alone, and then I looked around and Keima was there. And then I came up to the shrine room to see if anyone was going to arrive from outside. And 5 minutes before practice started, it's time to ring the bell, the gong. And I thought, there's nobody here, nobody's going to hear the gong. And I rang the gong anyway because sometimes it's good to do things regardless of whether they are heard or not. It may not have been heard by humans, but it was heard by the Buddha and it made the Buddha happy. And maybe some invisible beings were summoned to join us this morning. And that made me think about the chanting we just did in the garden. We did a little bit of chanting, the 3 of us and the 2 dogs, one dog per lap of course. And we were joined by our friend Robin, who has been following us around the garden when we do walking meditation and sitting. When we sit on the bench, she sits just inside the hedge nearby. I just wondered what she was making of it, but she really just seems to enjoy our company. Maybe she's got nothing better to do Saturday morning. She certainly does hang out with us when we're there, when we're outside. And that made me think of my friend Shen Yan who is currently nearing the end of his 3-year, 3-month, 3-day retreat in November sometime, I think. And I remember writing to him a couple of years ago and sort of bemoaning the fact that there weren't many people coming to practice. And this is pre-pandemic. It goes up and down. And he wrote back and said that maybe for now your ministry is the garden and the creatures that are in the garden. And, um, it was just so beautifully put, this idea that, uh, that when we make offerings, we never really know who's receiving them. We never, we never know what ripples go out, and maybe this morning the most important thing I've done is chant to the robin. Who knows? And of course we also live in the world, we don't just live in mystical sphere, we live in the world where the temple is financed by a chunk of money that's looked after by a trust, and that if we were just ministering to Robyn's week after week, the trust may have something to say about it. Maybe not, maybe that would be fine with them, but I think, you know, we do live in a world where it's also good to keep an eye on what we're offering and how it's received and who's receiving it, but I think we can get too caught up in that world. I think we can— I read a little meme on Facebook this morning about internalised capitalism, the kind of, you know, the signs of internalised capitalism, and there were things about you know, feeling guilty when you rest, or only valuing when you're doing stuff, or all those kinds of things that, that, that soak into us living in this society, that we must always be doing things that are bigger or better or getting more money or getting more popularity. It's all very tiring. So this morning I'm really appreciating the quiet shrine room and acknowledging that sometimes it's quiet and sometimes it's busy, and that that will continue to ebb and flow. There are pros and cons to small and big I'm also thinking of the Robin, how it was to chant with her. And then my, my thoughts go out again to all the things that are happening outside this shrine room, all the, um, the good things, the important things, the destructive things, the difficult things, that we just have this little space this morning to rest before we go out there again. So as we sit in silence together today, maybe you might just invite the different parts of you to relax a tiny bit. Some of your parts might be really willing to just lie down on a deck chair or have a little sleep. Some parts might feel like they need to keep doing whatever they're doing. That's fine. But if they do just want to slow down a tiny bit, then you can make that invitation. And just notice as you sit, just notice what's happening inside you. Notice the thoughts that come up. Notice the feelings, the physical sensations. And as they come up, just greet them, give them a little bow if you want, and then let them go away again. And we'll chant the same chant that we chanted in the garden this morning, Om Mani Padme Hum Kri. Was that what we chanted?

Yes.

No.

Yes, it was.

Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Humre. You were chanting something different, were you? Okay.

No wonder it sounded a bit different.

Om Mani Padme Humre.

Just the words in the tune are both different.

You're away with the Robin. Om Mani Padme Humre. Namo Amitabha.

Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Humri! Oh my name— oh mané padmé humbríe... om manépameumrîm... omanepaméooumbriée... Omani Pabmé Umbris? Om mani padme hum hri! Om mani padme hum hri! Om mani padme hungry! Om mani Padme Hungry! Oh my Nepalese hungry— Om mani padme hum ri om mani padme hum ri—omani pa me umri—Om Mani Padme Hum Ri! Omani Pa Me Um Rii... Oh my Nepali memory? I'm sorry about that one guys. Om mani padme hum ri om mani padme hum ri— um... Um mane padme rumri! Oh my God! Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om mani padme hum ri om mani padme hum ri—om mani Padme Hum Ri! Um... um... mm-hmm? Oh my God! Om mani padme hum ri om mani padme hum ri—omani pa me umri—Om Mani Padme Hum Ri! Omani Pa Me Hungry? Oh my name's Pammy Hungery... Umami Pamehungreeeeyyy?! Om Mane Padme Humri! Om Mane Padme Humri! Om Mane Padme Humri! Om Mane Padme Hum— Om Mani Padme Humri! Oh mané padmé hum ri! Ooh ma nee pa me oom reee... Oh mané padmé hum ri! Oh māne pab mé hooum riiiii— Om mani padme hum hri! Oh mah neh pa me huhm bhi... oh ma neh pah meh hunbhrim— om mane pap may hom bri?

Oma Neh Pa Me Hum Bri?!

Om Mane Padme Hum. Om Mane Padme Hum. Om Mane Padme Hum. Om Mane Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum.

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 Dharmaya! For refuge I go to the Sangha—

for refuge I go to the sangha—

Nammo Sanghaya! With faith in the Three Jewels , I pray that I may not take life—

I pray that I may not take life—

with faith in the three jewels, with faith in the free jewel, I pray that I may not steal I pray that I may not steal— With faith in The Three Jewels .

—with Faith In The 3 jewels... ...WithFaithInTheThreeJewelz.

prayer—that I might avoid sexual misconduct? that I fall into wrong-speech.

That we do it correctly!

.....faith... the three jewel... That I have ...such wisdom to ...)avoid intoxication?successful...)? I pray that I may avoid intoxication. No blame. No blame. Be kind. Be kind. Love everything.

Love everything.

Innumerable are sentient beings, we vow to save them all. Inexhaustible are the Nudie 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.

So the closing verse together. The end. Recording.