Buddhist practice session led by Satya Robyn with participants including Graham and Izzy Ellis. Izzy shares a Dharma glimpse about a smashed car window and moving from anger to compassion, followed by group meditation, chanting of Amitabha, recitation of refuges and vows, and prostrations.
Chapters
Welcome everybody. Uh, as I said, extra points for coming out in the rain. Uh, Zoom people get extra points too, just because I'm feeling generous. Welcome, Beth, and welcome— I don't know what your name is, but you're very welcome. Um, and so we always begin practice with something called a Dharma glimpse, which is a short piece of writing that describes a moment of inspiration, just ordinary inspiration where something kind of occurs to us in a new way. And Graham's kindly agreed to read this week's Dharma glimpse, which is by Izzy. So over to Graham.
Thank you.
Thank you. Hey Dharma Glimpse, by Izzy Ellis. I woke up one spring morning, and as I left the temple to get to an early shift, I found my car window had been smashed in the night. The stone that we usually used to weigh down the lid of the bin to stop the lid blowing open in the wind lay on the floor next to my car. I remember wanting to believe that a strong gust of wind had blown the stone off the bin into my car, but given the distance between the car and the bin, unless there'd been a transient departure from the laws of physics at some point in the night, it was unlikely. More likely, someone had thrown the stone at the window. I was flooded with anger. A part of me was searching for someone to blame. I remember trying to blame the sangha member whose idea it had been to weigh the lid down with a stone in the first place. They were tempting fate. Of course people can't be trusted to walk past a stone so close to a car window. The urge to throw the stone is just too strong. This part was desperately clutching at straws. I remember picturing scenes in my mind: a group of young men walking back home from the pub. Drunk and rowdy, someone throwing the stone for a laugh or to assert themselves. In its attempt to find some explanation, my mind created elaborate tales. I remember thinking, "Who would do this?" and wondering whether it could have been someone I knew. I felt my faith, trust, and love in people waver. Some of that was restored later that day when the daughter of the person I was caring for came back home with a package of pastries and insisted I take some. I don't usually eat dairy, but I was eager to accept this gift from a stranger, to lap up any love going. I gratefully accepted. Pieces of the puzzle came together later that day when a templemate told me in the kitchen that they'd heard commotion in the night. Someone screaming, the sound of smashing glass. They said it sounded as though the person was upset and in distress. There was glass on the ground opposite the temple too, so it looked as though the person had smashed other windows. On hearing this, I sensed a shift in my understanding. The selfish, vindictive, hateful person I'd fabricated in my mind suddenly evaporated. In its place, a person in pain, wounded, unable to contain the suffering. Someone overcome by this human impulse to destroy. Someone I could instantly empathize with. In that moment, my heart reached out to them and I wished them well. Every now and again, when I spot the dent in the side of the car or feel its rough surface, I think of them and I feel this warm glow of love in my belly. It extends out to them and all those who suffer in that moment.
Thank you so much. Welcome, Philip. So we always, uh, move from Dharma Glimpse into silence, and we sit in silence for 10-15 minutes. Um, all of the things that we do here in the shrine room are different ways of hanging out with the Buddha, or hanging out with what the Buddha represents, which is infinite compassion and infinite wisdom, uh, the kind that Izzy connected with by the end of her Dharma Gump. So as we sit quietly, you can either just notice your breath as it goes in and out of your body or just listen to the sound of the rain. And as your thoughts wander, which they definitely will, just notice that they're wandering and, and gently bring them back to your breath or to the sounds of the rain without having to push anything away or beat yourself up. And over time, you may feel more settled If you don't feel more settled, just trust that settling is happening. It might just take a long, long time. Then after a while, we will chant together. We'll chant the word Amitabha, which is the name for the Buddha of infinite light. And do join in when you get the tune. Namu Amida Butsu.
Amitabha.
Amitabha.
Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha.
Amitabha.
Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha.
Ee ta. Ah, ee ta. Ah, mee ta. Amitabha.
Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha.
Amitabha.
Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabh.
Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh.
So we will now, um, recite the refuges, precepts, and bodhisattva vows together. Um, and these words remind us of various things. They remind us to lean in to what is reliable. They remind us to try and head towards ethical behavior and ethical life. And they remind us that there are many beings suffering and that we may be able to help some of those beings, those suffering beings. So do repeat after me: 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.
The way of understanding and love.
The way of understanding and love.
Namo Dhammaya.
Namo Dhammaya.
For refuge I go to the Sangha— for refuge those who live in the Buddha's light—
those who live in the Buddhist life.
Namaste, sanghaya! With faith in the Three Jewels—
with faith in the three jewels—
I pray that I may not take life—
I pray so I may not say bye—
with faith in the Three Jewels— I pray that I may not steal towards intoxication. No blame.
No blame.
Be kind.
Be kind.
Love everything.
Love everything. Innumerable sentient beings, we have the true state of inexhaustible undiluted passion We vow to trust and support immeasurable teachings. We vow to master the Dharma. Infinite is the Buddha's way.
We vow to fulfill it completely.
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. So during the refuges that we've recited together just now, if you're paying attention, You may have noticed that the second refuge was different to the one that we usually do. Um, for refuge I go to the Dharma, the what, the what, all that guides us to wisdom and compassion. And, and what happened is I got distracted by a little pussycat on the on one of the screens on my laptop, and then suddenly I realized I needed a line. And the line that came to me is the line that we recited for 10 years before we rewrote The Refuges, uh, last year. Um, and not only did it come to me, but then it just replaced it. I couldn't remember the old line. I couldn't remember the new line. Um, it's fine. They both work in the same way. But, um, I'm just smiling at how the brain works, how my brain works anyway. Um, which makes me think about habits.
Mm-hmm.
That one of the reasons we practice here together and say the same things over and over again and do the same things over and over again is is that it, it kind of drives it in really deep. Even when we're not paying attention, the words are going in somewhere. And that's why I really appreciate that we do things differently. So we have a fresh Dharma glimpse every practice session, and I talk about something different, or Casper talks about something different. But we also have these kind of standard words that we repeat over and over again. Um, and there is something about that repetition that I think drives things into our subconscious. It, it doesn't just stay up here somewhere, it goes right inside. And What Buddhists do as a habit, our main habit as Buddhists, is, as I said before, hanging out with the Buddha. Because when we repeatedly come in front of a statue of the Buddha, or do a bit of meditation in the morning, or say the Nembutsu, or, or walk slowly around the garden appreciating nature, We are developing a habit of being in relationship to something that helps us, um, helps us remember, helps us remember that we are good, helps us remember that we are flawed and forgiven, helps us remember that we can do good And I'm really lucky because I live in a Buddhist temple, so I get to, uh, see Buddhas all the time. We've got a lot of Buddhas in this building. I have probably 5 or 6 Buddhas in my little office down, down in the flat. Um, and that's because I need a lot of reminding. That, that there are all sorts of other influences around that, that, um, that I develop other habits around. And I'm really, uh, interested in that moment in Izzy's Dharma glimpse earlier where she was able to just shift her perspective and be curious about what state of mind the person that broke her window was in. And that, that kind of shift is also a habit, that shift between blaming or, um, being afraid or being jealous into just that little moment where we're curious for a second, or, or something softens for a second. And we can, and we can see the world through the Buddha's eyes. So we take refuge in the Dharma, all that guides us to wisdom and compassion.
Is that right?
Yeah, good. And, um, we take refuge in, in all those things that guide us to wisdom and compassion, and we do so over and over again until it becomes second nature and we don't even have to think about it. We just open our mouth and the words come out. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. So we will now bow to the Buddha, which is a way of paying respect to the Buddha. It's another habit that we form. It also encourages us to be humble. Being humble isn't always easy for us Westerners. Doesn't come naturally. Um, we've been reading, um, recently a book, um, that says that, that to be humble is better than to try and be good, because there's something about, um, coming to a realistic, uh, view of our limitations and our, our flaws And so when we prostrate to the Buddha, we are, we are also saying, um, I kind of, I lift the Buddha up above me, acknowledging my, my limited nature. And, um, there's, for me, there's quite a relief in that. So just be honest about that. And as we prostrate, we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. So don't worry about getting the words and the tune and the movements all at the same time. And do, do as much or as little as your body allows you to. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Namoh Amida Buddha! Namoh Amida Buddha! Namoh Amida Buddha! Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
We offer this incense to Buddhas and bodhisattvas around us. Space and time. May it be as fragrant as Earth itself, 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, realize our true home.
Come back to stand at your seats, and then we will bow to one side and then to the other, and to the Buddha. Tidy our seats and bow to our seats.
Announcements.
We have, uh, this Saturday from 11 to 1, we're going to do some mindful maintenance around the temple, inside and outside, if you want to join us for an hour or more. And then next Saturday, uh, it's— no, Not next Saturday. Is it 2 weeks?
2 weeks?
Is it 2 weeks? Anyway, the 3rd of December, whenever that is, is Bodhi Day. Um, can't be 2 weeks. I hope it's 3.
3 weeks, I think.
Well, anyway, 3rd of December. We'll discuss it later. Um, is that everything? Ame tabu. So we finish with the closing verse, which is on your bit of paper. If you want to join me and do unmute if you're on Zoom. Sorry that my head's cut off.
There we go.
Just Graham said that it's cut off now. Blessed by Amitabha's light. May we care for all living things and the Holy Earth. Now my needs speak, so
