A Buddhist practice session with Philip offering a Dharma talk on self-centeredness and spiritual progress, followed by guided sitting, chanting, and recitation of refuges and vows. The group explores ego and faith in Pure Land practice through meditation and devotional ritual.
Chapters
Good morning everybody, welcome.
This morning we're starting with a Dharma glimpse by Philip, who's joining us on Zoom. So I'll make sure the volume's turned up here. I'll hand over to Philip. Namaste.
Can you hear me okay? Yeah, yeah. So good morning everyone. Um, I'm writing this Dharma glimpse immediately after a Saturday morning practice, having been inspired by listening to Paul and Casper share I have to confess, when I first tried writing a Dharma glimpse, I wasn't exactly sure what one was. What is the Dharma again? The truth and true nature of reality? Something about the teachings of the Buddha? Sharing everyday experiences of being present, non-judgmental, and all those other things I might imagine Buddhists and spiritual people to be, and parts of me want to be for different reasons. My second confession is that I'm still not sure. But I remind myself of my intentions for sharing attempted Dharma glimpses. Firstly, that I want to contribute to something I believe in. Which is the power and value of lots of different people sharing their own thoughts, experiences, and glimpses. And I also know it probably needs people like me to do it in order for it to continue. Secondly, it's an opportunity to progress on a spiritual journey, however haphazard that journey feels. And it is the latter I had a glimpse of during and after practice today, perhaps. That opportunity to progress down a spiritual path through Paul sharing about his experiences with the daily Nembutsu practice and Casper sharing about there already being a path through the forest. I understood the path analogy, the forest path analogy, is even if that path isn't visible, it is still there to be discovered. It doesn't have to be created from scratch. And the hope and reassurance that many others have walked it before, along with the hope and reassurance that others can help us find that path and stay on it, or return to it when we lose sight of it or stray off it. Because we're only human. I thought though that the path may still be individual and that no one can walk it for us or entirely with us. It reminded me of a quote on similar lines about wisdom that I've just looked up by somebody I can't remember their name. I didn't find it, but instead found a similar quote by Rumi, the Persian scholar and poet: "It's your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you." I think I briefly glimpsed something from Caspar sharing about the forest path, that perhaps the leaves, twigs, branches, undergrowth and fallen trees covering it are our delusions. That to see the path, we have to remove those delusions, but perhaps probably also walk or wade through mud, bogs, and swamps at times. I glimpse spiritual progress as uncovering beauty, but also involving suffering and hardships. It's not like in the movie, as the saying goes. At least in Hollywood movies, such hardships and discoveries will probably be shown in a montage. I wanted to use that word for a long time as I thought it sounded clever. To condense those hardships and day-to-day struggles so viewers can get to the outcome, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Such as the love, love story bit, the nice bit. But adding on writing Dharma glimpses to the small bits and pieces of a more spiritual and hopefully slightly more awakened, or perhaps slightly less deluded, life, it might help me at times glimpse the Dharma a little bit more. A few more leaves removed to see a little bit more of that forest path. To keep trying when removing those leaves doesn't reveal any more of the path, or when I find myself waist deep in a swamp again. One thing I took from Paul's Dharma glimpse is that you have to try. Trying doesn't provide the certainty something will come from it, or the what you do will be exactly as you planned for or wanted. Indeed, it might appear to create more difficulties than it provides benefits. Tapping into ego, fear, judgment, frustration, and additional day-to-day life decisions. But perhaps what is certain is that if you don't try, in my opinion, nothing will change. Without trying, I would stay stuck where I am. Even if I'm still not sure what the Dharma is and how to go about discovering it, Maybe I'm a tiny bit more enlightened about it, and maybe that's good enough for now, even if it means I have to battle a bit with feeling stupid that I'm still not sure what the Dharma is and how it fits in with Buddhism. I'm feeling some shame for trying to show off a little bit in this piece of writing, remembering the comment about the montage. I could persuade myself that I've done and learned enough about Buddhism for now. There may be a bit of progress in spiritual and human journey to suffice. I can continue with some false comfort in that, but if I do, the forest path will stay undercover and probably start to become even more overgrown. Because perhaps you can't unsee or unfeel something. If you've glimpsed a bit of the Dharma and you're consciously aware of that appearing to be what's happened You probably have to make nearly as much effort, perhaps, to push it out of your consciousness. I think I'll try— keep trying to uncover and walk the path instead, at my own pace and in my own way. Namomi dabu.
Thank you. So now we'll go into a period of quiet sitting together, and I'll bring us out of the quiet sitting by chanting Amitābha, which you're invited to join in with. And perhaps as we sit quietly together, beginning to notice our physical Being the weight of the earth supporting our weight, feelings and sensations in the body. And an invitation to rest your awareness on the breath, noticing how the body changes with the breath. And if, when you become distracted, just gently noticing that distraction and then bringing awareness back.
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. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha.
Amitabha.
Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabh. Amitabh.
Amitabh. So we'll recite the refuges and precepts together, and then the Bodhisattva vows. The refuges and precepts, I'll ask you to repeat after me, but if you want to read them as well, they're on the piece of A5. And the Bodhisattva vows are in call and response, so you'll definitely need the piece of paper if you don't know the words. For refuge I go to Buddha . Namo Buddhaya! For refuge I go for Dharma , Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. For refuge I go to Sangha—Namo Sanghaya—with faith in The Three Jewels.
With three jewels.
I pray that I may not take life— —with faith in Three Jewels. With faith in three jewels, I pray that I may not steal— —with faith in the Three Jewels. Faithful to Jesus, I pray that I may not fall into sexual misconduct—
—with faith in the Three Jewels. In fact, in the 3 Jews, I pray that I may not fall into wrongs. I pray that I may not fall into wrong speech.
With faith in the Three Jewels, I pray that I may avoid intoxication. No blame, be kind, 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 foster them all. Infinite is the Buddha's way. We bow to confidence completely.
Namamitso.
Namamitso. I quite like this cover.
Because you're anticipating reading it for prostrations, I think. Okay. I was a bit nervous before doing this morning's practice session. And nerves can be kind of neutral feeling. They can be saying this is important, there's an opportunity here, there's a chance to do a good job. To make an offering that's valued or useful, or at least vaguely entertaining. Or they can be saying, I don't want to mess up in front of my friend, or even more than that, I want to look good, particularly after the good feedback I had last Saturday. And of course, because I'm slightly nervous, then I don't quite remember the whether I'm supposed to say I or we when I'm reciting the precepts. Yesterday I was reading Karen Armstrong's biography of the Buddha, and she describes the sort of key thrust of the Buddha's teachings as inviting people to let go of ego, or more powerfully, that it doesn't exist. Self-centeredness, I guess, is another way of saying that. So when I was nervous and recognized that there was some kind of egoic component, I was thinking of that teaching. It brought that to mind. This is the one thing Buddha was advising against. Making our self the main concern in our lives, which is understandable that we do that. Human beings are hardwired for survival. That's— I saw a neurologist saying that we shouldn't use the expression hardwired anymore because it's not completely true, but essentially it's a helpful metaphor We're hardwired for survival, and that means that some parts of our system are really interested in protecting us and putting ourselves first. And this is also the thing that creates separation, dissatisfaction, suffering, existential angst. And I think, I suspect, who knows really, I suspect the Buddha noticed this in a few ways. One is that in those early practices he was doing before he became enlightened, that they were about ending— he had mixed motivation. Some was about seeing the suffering of people around him, but some I'm sure was simply about I want to feel better for myself. And it was when he realized that compassion was an important element of the practice, compassion for all beings, that he became enlightened. And he also critiqued very early on the idea of Atman, that each person had an unchanging piece of the divine in them. Why would he have critiqued that philosophy? I think because he saw the people around it holding on to it and making themselves into something special. And I guess that because I've had something of that experience when I first started practicing Buddhism 20 or so years ago. There's a story in the Lotus Sutra about a man who falls on hard times, and in his— in secret, his friend sews a jewel into the hem of his suit. He doesn't tell him he's done this, so it's maybe not the most helpful act in the world from one point of view. And it's only many years later that this guy discovers the jewel. He's like, oh, he realizes where it's come from and that his luck could have turned around much sooner. And this is a bit like the, um, the path in the forest analogy that Philip referred to, that the jewel is always there, you just have to notice it. And when I first started practicing Buddhism, it, um, it improved my mental health significantly enough. I was like, oh wow, I've got this jewel now. And I remember walking around town one day imagining that I'd got this jewel where I'd found it and nobody else had. And I felt really good about myself and really sorry for everybody else. So I can understand why the Buddha was critiquing that position. We can use anything to make ourselves— we can put— we can use anything to make ourselves self-centered. And in doing that, of course, then suddenly I didn't exist in a real relationship to anybody in the town. And for all that I thought I'd achieved, I was creating more separation. Less relationship. So that was one specific way that the Buddha noticed that we make ourselves self-centered, and I think he just noticed the general case as well. That the times when we become consumed by ourselves are the times when we create suffering. He didn't say we should forget about ourselves altogether. There's a sort of strange tension because he says that the self doesn't exist, or that's often how it's translated, and that can lead you to thinking, oh well, I should just neglect myself and only think about others. And the Buddha was really clear that self-neglect didn't work. All caring for all beings includes ourselves as well. And that self-centeredness, as I said, because we're wired for survival, it comes from fear. Fear that I won't be okay unless I take this or push that away or make myself into this or change myself into something else. The antidote to fear is faith or trust or confidence that there is really a path through the forest if I put one foot down and another foot down, that the Buddha is really here somehow receiving in me, saying that everything's going to be okay. That the possibility of giving and receiving compassion exists. The more we're able to trust in those things, or experiment trusting in those things, the less likely we are to be self-centered, because the fear is less, the existential anxiety. Is less. This is why Pure Land Buddhism is a path of faith.
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
So, some illustrations. Please do join in as much as your body, your mind allows. We'll recite Namo Amitabha as we bow 3 times.
Dedicate the merit of this inter-suffering to all Buddhas and Buddhists existing as the right space and May it be fragrant as the apple sap, reflecting our careful efforts, our wholehearted awareness, and the fruit of understanding slowly ripening. May we and all beings be companions of Buddha and the bodhisattvas. May we awaken from forgetfulness and realize our true home.
So in a moment we'll bow to each other, so come back to your places. First one side and then the other. That's the main shrine. Yeah, we'll go to our seats and tidy our seats. And we'll finish by reciting the closing verse together, which is on the top of the piece of paper. Do unmute. Oh, you have. Great. Bless Satya Robyn's life. May he care for all living things and the world. Retreat day next Saturday, all welcome. It's going to be very good. Satya Robyn is going to talk about joy. Very good.
And do come and say thank you to Philip if you want to.
