Practice - Weeds

Welcome everybody, welcome to Beth and Dave on Zoom. Good to have you here. The camera's very far away. Never mind, we'll be smaller. So tonight we will begin with a reading from a book that we will be studying as a book group book later in the year. Frankie will be leading it, and hopefully you know what her name is. Okay. Yeah, just read a section for us.

So the book is Zen Teachings in Challenging Times, and I'm reading an excerpt from the chapter I Hate Donald Trump by Zenki Mary Michimi. The following is the sort of thing I usually say about practicing with difficulty. I lead a Dharma group for lawyers, and I send some words to consider before each meeting. Recently, the Clearwater Zendo has been studying the ancient Chinese poem by our ancestor Ji Quan Shi Tu, Song of the Grasped Roof Hermitage. So I sent the lawyers this: I've built a grass hut where there's nothing of value. After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap. When it was completed, fresh weeds appeared. Now it's been lived in, covered by weeds. This is the opening stanza of the poem. In effect, it is practice instruction. One way to understand this is that the author, a monk, built a simple shelter for practice. And to live in. It was built of nice grass. Soon, however, weeds appeared. After he actually lived there, it got to be covered with weeds. Oh well. I think we want our practice, both law and Dharma, to be clean and efficient. We want to feel that we know what we are doing and that we are in control. We don't want a bunch of distractions. We don't want our less attractive traits to show, nor to trouble us. So we reject the weeds. Oh well. Of course, it doesn't work to reject the weeds. What about making friends with them? Getting to know them? Many have traits that are helpful. Weeds can be medicinal after all. Nettles are good for the blood. Tibetan teachers say that an enemy is a great jewel. This enemy can be a person, but it can also be one of our weeds. An enemy is a great jewel because such an item has much to teach us if we can calm down and pay attention. Please pay attention and notice your weeds and see what they may have to teach you. If you're resistant to— if you are resistant to this practice, notice that and see how well the resistance serves you. Oh well. This is good advice and relevant even regarding Donald Trump and his administration, but it does not feel like enough in these difficult times. I want to say yes, and And what about when it feels like the hut is threatened, not simply by weeds of the garden variety, by weeds of garden variety neurosis and difficult people or situations? What about if it feels threatened by a huge brick wall falling on it? Do I make friends with the bricks and my resulting broken leg? Are these jewels? The answer is still yes. It's just harder. Sorry, but this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

Thank you. We'll sit quietly together, and as we sit this evening You might want to be aware of your weeds, maybe just seeing them out the corner of your eye, or if it feels okay, welcoming them a little closer. And know that the Buddha holds our entire ecosystem. The Buddha sees all our weeds.

Om Muni Muni Maha Muni Shakya Muni Swaha. Om muni muni mahamunishakhyamunnisvaha! Om muni muni mahamunishakyamunnisvaha! Om muni muni mahamunishakyamunnis— oh my God... Oh my god! Om Mune Mune Maha Muni Satya Mune Swaha. Om Mune Mune Maha Muni Satya Mune Swaha. Om Mune mune mahamuni shakya munisvaha! Om Mune mune mahamuni satya muniswaha! Ahm-munim unmum mum— ahem? —Muh-nish-sha-kyah muh-ni-swa-haa! Ohh... Um mune mune mahamuni sha-ki-yah mu-nee swahaha! Om Mune mune mahamuni shakya munisvaha! Om Mune mune mahamuni satya munisvaha! Om Mune mune mahamuni sakya munis— Shakti Amma? Om Mune Mahamunishat Yamunesvaha! Om Mune Mohne mahamunishatyamunesvaha! Om Mune mohne maha munishat yamamunesvaha! Om Mune mohne ma ha munishakyamunesvaha! Om Namo Shivaya! Om Namahamuni Shakya Munisvaha! Om Namahamuni Sakya Munisvaha! Om Namahamuni Shakyamunisvaha! Om Mune mune mahamuni shakya munisvaha! Om Mune mune mahamuni satya munisvaha! Om Mune mune mahamuni sakya munis— Om Namo Namo Satya Robyn. Mahamudra, Satya Robyn, Satya Robyn.

A refugee go to the Buddha. 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. For refuge I go to the Dharma. For refuge I go to the Dharma. All that guides us to wisdom and compassion.

All that guides us to wisdom and compassion.

Namo Dharmaya. For refuge I go to the Sangha. Those who live in the Buddha's light. Those who live in the Buddha's light. Namo Sangaya. Namo Sangaya. With faith in the Three Jewels. With faith in the Three Jewels. And in light of my human tendencies.

And in light of my human tendencies.

I pray that I may become aware.

I pray that I may become aware.

Of when I take life. Of when I take life.' 'I pray that I may become aware—' of when you have come away from me to be happy for yourself... Of what? When we say God has not freely given us something! We're saying he's taken it back again or stolen our happiness. So here she says "Of course." Her translation was wrong because now this person can't do anything about their suffering anymore but they still want more freedom so her prayer becomes much deeper than just healing herself; if anyone would like some help on how to ask these prayers properly then please contact my website www.mariaemilia.com.au/requests/. It'll explain why people should request such things correctly first before asking them themselves directly at all times even though there might seem no reason against doing those requests right offhand except maybe fear which usually drives your attempts towards seeking forgiveness immediately after committing an injustice by another being who had nothing done unto him!' Thank You Lord Jesus Christ!! Amen!!! Love ya guys!!!!! Bye-bye!!!! Of when I fall into wrong speech. Of when I fall into wrong speech. I pray that I may become aware. I pray that I may become aware. Of when I become intoxicated. Of when I become intoxicated. No blame. No blame. Be kind. Be kind. Love everything. 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.

Sazanki Mary Mohsin. I like a lot of the things that she said in that piece of writing, but I think my favorite bit is when she says, "Oh well." And there's something about those two words that really tickle me. And in the rest of the chapter, she's talking about how deeply challenged she is to stay steady in the face of Donald Trump. I think this was written just after he became president. Still hard to believe. And, and so when she's talking about staying steady and she's talking about the weeds, she's not talking about small weeds. She's talking about the wall falling on the grass hut. And yet there's something about those two words that carry a kind of lightness to them. So she is a Soto Zen priest. And you can feel the flavor of Zen in that piece of writing. There's that kind of, um, that urging to work, to work with our own systems, to become more aware of, of our own weeds or the weeds of other people, and to see that as kind of grist for the mill or fuel for the fire, to work on our sitting meditation, to concentrate, that kind of effortful practice. And I wonder if there's something in those two words, oh well, that reminds me of more of a kind of a Pure Land flavor, something that deeply understands the state of us, the state of human beings. And can kind of just sort of shrug a little bit and smile and, and welcome it. And I think it's really valuable to have both of those ways of approaching spiritual practice, that it is important to expend effort. Sometimes when it's dark and wet outside, it can take a little bit of effort to get out the front door, and we do it knowing that, that we've maybe made the effort before and it's, it's paid off. We've been glad that we made it. It takes a little bit of effort to not just turn away from the things that are difficult. Inside us and outside us. And the discipline of a daily practice, or the accumulation of meditation or Dharma study, they do, in my experience, help to steady us. They do offer us something. We become more resourced, or we become um, more resourceful. Our capacity grows. And however hard we practice, sometimes walls fall on us, and sometimes the wall is from outside, and sometimes the wall is an internal wall that just just crumbles. Um, so something that I fall into less and less these days, and I still fall into, is, is imagining that I can practice my way to enlightenment, practice my way to perfection, practice my way to patience or compassion or generosity. And it feels like one of those, um, something that Buddhism talks about really well is that kind of— it's this and it's the opposite. That, that yes, practice really helps us to become better people, and it really doesn't make much difference at all. Certainly to some parts of us. Some parts of us will take many, many, many lifetimes to wear down or heal. So thank goodness that Pure Land Buddhism tells us that we don't have to wait until That happens because we are acceptable and lovable right now. And as I said before we sat quietly, the Buddha sees right into us, right inside us, right into our darkest corners, sees all the weeds, the Japanese knotweed and the bindweed and the all the other things we've— ground elder, that's the one I was trying to think of— all the other ones we're familiar with in the temple garden, the bamboo, and, and really gets it, really gets why that's there, understands, feels tender towards us and encourages us to forgive ourselves Oh well, I might need to play.

Namoh Amida. Namoh Amida.

Namoh Amida.

Namoh Amida.

In gratitude, we offer this incense to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas throughout space and time. May it be as fragrant as earth herself, reflecting our careful efforts, our wholehearted mindfulness, and the fruits of understanding slowly ripening. May we and all beings be companions of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. May we awaken from forgetfulness and realize our true health.

So when I finish the incense offering, that's your signal to go back to stand by your seats. Don't copy Casper, just 2 vowels. What we—

I did 2, I went the wrong way.

Okay, usually, usually mine is So the, the two bows is just one to your right and then one to your left. It's like what sometimes, sometimes you have someone that's bowing to everyone and then everyone's like, well, maybe I should be bowing to everyone as well, which is nice. You can't have too many bows. And then we bow to the Buddha. And to our seats. So announcements. We have copies of our book in Hallway Hurray, so if we can sell 25 copies then we make our money back for the setup charge. So I think we've done about 9 so far. Um, there will be 2 book groups studying the, the book in January on Monday nights. Keima will be running one in the Temple at 7 PM for 10 weeks, and on Saturday nights at 7 PM, Jāme will be running one on Zoom. So if you want to join either of those, do let me or them know. Um, we're meeting at 11 o'clock on New Year's Eve if you want to join us for New Year's Eve practice, or in the living room before then. Uh, that's it, I think. Um, so we've— if you haven't done this before, we're leaving the shrine room in silence. I'll go first. You like to open the door. And then I will be returning, Beth and Dave, so if you want to say hello or ask me any questions, don't go away. And we need to be— oh, closing verse. Blessed by Amitabha's light, we care for all living things.

That's what happens, people come for like years sometimes on one rather than the other.

Somebody's still there, let me just stop the video.