This content was created by Satya Robyn. This content was uploaded by Satya Robyn. This is a YouTube recording titled "Practice - the real meaning of 'just as you are'" (uploaded Feb 13, 2021). The excerpt is a guided Buddhist practice led mainly by SPEAKER A with responses and chanting from other participants (SPEAKER B, C, D). It includes a reading from Reverend Koshin Schomburg on sangha/contrition and the Buddha's love, a short reflection likening the process to psychotherapy, an invitation to quiet sitting, extended group chanting of the mantra (Om Amitabha Hum and variants), recitation of the refuges and precepts, vows, and a closing verse.
Chapters
Good morning everybody, nice to see you all on this Saturday morning. It looks much sunnier on the computer screen than it is in real life. The lighting looks like this, you know, we're in that warm orange sunrise sun, but It's just a trick of the light. Anyway, nice to see you all. I found a couple of paragraphs that I'd like to read this morning from, um, it's a commentary on Jūken'it's book How to Grow a Lotus Blossom, and I'm just trying to find where I can see who the author is. Oh, here we go. It's by Reverend Koshin Schomburg, who is a Zen priest in the United States, and he's talking about contrition— Japanese word sangei, meaning contrition. And he's talking about how we open our hearts to the Buddha. He writes, "This offering is sangha, a word for which there is no adequate translation in English, but which contains aspects of the meanings of self-forgiveness, contrition, acceptance, and confession." The best— but the best definition I've ever seen and I do not remember where I saw it, was strewing flowers before the Buddha. For sangha means to open our mind and hearts to the eternal without blame and without excuses, making an offering of everything that we are, that we have, are, think, have done, and feel. It is not just compassion and tenderness that are flowers that can be spread before the Buddha. All the darker aspects of our humanity are also flowers that can be spread before the Buddha. The Eternal knows how to help the need that is contained within these flowers of pain and confusion. Sangha is entrusting everything within us to the love of the Eternal. This love never judges, despises, or condemns, but always does the best for everything. It will do the best for whatever we present to to it. In response to this offering, the love of the Eternal does indeed flow to all that within us that needs help. Suffering's cause has deep roots which need to be exposed if the help is to get to them. Therefore, the way in which the love of the Eternal manifests It's a spiritual scouring that exposes deeper layers of spiritual need. This can entail exposing layers of pain along with layers of cause. Oh, I see Kema sort of nearly joined, and then maybe that— maybe she is there. No connection flicked on and then disappeared as I was speaking. So this is talking about really deeply noticing what we're carrying in our heart and bringing whatever that is to the Buddha. It's the same kind of process that happens when I'm with a client in my psychotherapy practice. They bring something that's troubling them in the present day. We co-create a field of compassion together, and through that compassion, we ultimately come to the wounding, the pain that is at the root of that suffering in the present light. And through bringing that compassion to it The pain is released and the suffering in the present day is transformed into something that is, that can be supportive and useful and helpful. And in this text about Zen Buddhism, which has got a lot of Pure Land in it, the eternal is Amida Buddha, this the Buddha of infinite light, I think. This sense of the beginningless and endless presence of the Buddha's love. He's describing the same process. First of all, we notice the trouble that's in our hearts, or the trouble that we're causing in the world, and sangha. One of the translations is confession. So that's often about noticing the effects of our actions, and we bring that into the field of the Buddha's love. And through continued exposure to that love, those actions reveal their roots, which are usually in some deep pain in our system. And through bringing that deep pain into the Buddha's field of love, it is healed and transformed. So this is a real invitation and encouragement not just to make offerings of beautiful things and of the best qualities of ourselves, the things that we would like other people to notice about us, perhaps, but to bring all of ourselves into relationship with the Buddha. This is the deep meaning of just as you are. As we go into a period of quiet sitting together, I invite you to notice any thoughts or feelings or sensations that are with you. How am I feeling? How am I doing right now in this moment? And whatever is there, make an offering to the Buddha. And what do we mean when we say make an offering to the Buddha? We mean Set an intention to show that aspect of yourself to the light of the Buddha, to the love of the Buddha, whatever it is, whether it's something you're pleased with that you notice, or whether it's something that usually you would push away. Some people might establish a sense in their mind's eye of Amida Buddha large and glowing before them. Other people just have a felt sense of a presence that they can make a connection with. Some days it's hard to have any sense of the Buddha at all, in which case the invitation is to notice what's arising And just experiment with the idea that this too, this thought, this feeling, this aspect of myself is loved by the Buddha. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
So we'll chant together using the mantra Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum!
Om Amitabha Hum! Om Amitabha Hum!
Om Ami— Om Nam Mi Tabahum. Om Nam Mi Tabahum. Om Nam Mi Tabahum.
Om Nam Mi Tabahum.
Om Mani Tabahum. Om Mani Tabahum.
Om Mani Tabahum. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabham.
Om Amitabham. Om Amitabham. Om Amitabham.
Om Namah Amitabha Hum. Om Namah Amitabha Hum.
Om Namah Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Om Amitabha Om Amitabha.
Om Amitabharam.
Om Amitabharam. Om Amitabharam.
Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha.
Om Amitabha. Om Amitabha.
Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabharam. Om Amitabharam. Om Amitabharam. Om Amitabharam.
Om Amitabhahum. Om Amitabhahum.
Om Amitabhahum. Om Amitabhahum.
Om Amitabhahum. Om Amitabhahum.
Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum. Om Nam Mi Tabahum!
Om Nam Mi Tabahum! Om Nam Mi Tabahum!
Om Nam Mi— Om Amitabha. Om Amitabha.
Om Amitabha. Om Amitabha.
Om Amitabha. Om Amitabha.
Om Amitabha. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Om. Om Amitabha Om.
Om Amitabha Om. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabhahum. Om Amitabhahum.
Om Amitabhahum. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha. Om Amitabha.
Om Amitabha. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum.
Om Amitabhahum. Om Amitabhahum.
Om Amitabhahum. Om Amitabham.
Om Amitabham. Om Amitabham.
Om Amitabha. Om Amitabha.
Om Amitabha. Om Ami.
Tava.
So we'll now recite the refuges and precepts together. Please repeat after me. For refuge I go to the Buddha.
For refuge I go to the Buddha.
Namo 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.
Namoh sanghaya. With faith in the Three Jewels—
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 Three Jewels—
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... ...with Face of Heaven's Light to protect me from evil spirits when practicing Buddhism?
...to Protect Me From Evil Spirits When Practicing Buddha Dharma?!
...]...when practising Buddhist teaching!? With face in The three jewls; With FaITH IN ThRee jEwELs...; With faaTH iN thREee juWELS; Ich praya thaT ik maY noF fall into wrong speach— ich praia thoTh Ik mAy nOt foLL Into wong spuech;—with faiθ Innthreē jouŋzjūwlṣ With faith in the Three Jewels, I pray that I may avoid intoxication.
I pray that I may avoid intoxication. 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.
Namah Amitabhu. Namah Amitabhu. Namoha mida. Namoha mida. Namoha mida. Namoha mida. Namah Amitābha! Namo Amida— namo amita... nāmo āmitabhū. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida. Namoh Amida. Namo Amitabha. Namo Amitabha. Namo Amitabha. Namo Amitabha.
What you laughing at?
Just, there's not much room.
Reba to each other. Donk.
And to the Buddha. And just to close, if everyone's willing to unmute, we'll read this closing verse together.
If you're not willing to unmute, that's fine.
Exactly, that's what that means. Blessed by Anakuta and his light, may I care for all living things and the Holy Earth.
Namo Amitabha.
Namo Amitabha. Just stop the recording.
