Practice with Angie

Welcome everybody, it's lovely to see you all on this super hot June. This is like a solstice, solstice practice, so Satya Robyn and Casper and the dogs are away on holiday, so we're holding the service tonight. And we have a Dharma glimpse by Kim Allard. When I was young, I asked my dad if prayers work. He replied that they might, but they weren't like a gumball machine where you put something in and get something out. Today I would reply, maybe. As I turn to Amitābha in meditation, gratitude and times of difficulty, I find renewed strength from unexpected sources. These small graces happen with a frequency causing me long ago to discard them as coincidence. I no longer make specific requests but simply ask for guidance, strength, patience, or help for someone in need. The creativity and wisdom of the reply never fails to astound me. Then I have to resist the temptation to tell everyone what happened. I've come to realize These replies are private and unique for each of us. Amitabha's response will resonate within the one who asks, and when shared, can be misunderstood. Dad, today is the 4th anniversary since you passed. My prayer for you is an acknowledgement that we didn't do the dad and daughter thing very well. Our time together was complicated and difficult, but I will always be grateful to you for leaving me with coping skills I value, because I now know my prayers bear fruit. I send you my love and gratitude for what you could give me, and I focus less on what you could not. May you forever be in love, light, and peace. Namu Amida Butsu. So now go into a period of meditation. You may take a moment to just settle in a bit more fully, settling yourself on the floor in this space. In you may choose to have a gentle focus on the breath throughout the meditation. Or to silently repeat the word Amitābha, or to simply rest and allow your experience to come to you as it is. So we're going to move into a period of chanting now. And there are lots of different ways to think about this, but one way of thinking about it is that this is another way of connecting to the ultimate, to the infinite, of calling out to the, to the Buddha. And using sound and mantra and vibration to do that. Om Namah Shivaya.

Om Namitabahu. Om Namitabahu. Om Namitabahu. Om Namitabahu. Om Namitabha Hum! Oh my ami taba hum! Oh my ami taba hum! Om Namitabha Hum! Om Amitabha Hum! Oh ma mi ta ba hum! Oh ma mi ta ba hum! Oh ma mi ta ba hum! Om Amitabha Hum! Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum. Om Amitabha Hum! Oh Mami Tabahum! Om Ami Ta Ba Hom! Om Ma Mi Taba Rom! Om Ma Mi Ta Bahom! Om Namitabhau. Om Namitabhau. Om Namitabhau. Om Namitabhau. Om Amitabha Om. Om Amitabha Om. Om Amitabha Om. Om Namitabha Om. Om Mani Padme Hum! Oh ma mi ta ba hum! Oh mah me ta bah um! Oh mah me ta bah um! Om na mi ta bah om! Om Namah Shivaya! Om Namah Shivaya! Om Namah Shivayam! Om Namah Shivayom! Om Namah Shivaya! Oh my— oh mani tabaho! Oh ma mi ta ba om! Om namih tavahu! Om Amitabha Om. Om Amitabha Om. Om Amitabha Om. Om Amitabha Om. Om Abhitabha Om. Om Abhitabha Om. Om Abhitabha Om. Om Abhitabha Om. Om Amitabha Hum! Oh my me taba hum! Oh mah mi ta ba hom! Um namitaba om! Om Namitabha Hum. Om Namitabha Hum. Om Namitabha Hum. Om Namitabha Hum. Om Namah Shivaya! Oh mani tabaho— oh ma mi ta ba ho... om na mi tava um... om namaha shivayam. Om Namitabha Hum! Om Namitabaum! Om Namitabaum! Om Namitabaom! Om Namitabaum! Om Namita Bahum. Om Namita Bahum. Om Namita Bahum. Om Namita Bahum. Om Namah Shivaya! Om Namah Shivaya! Om Namah Shivayam! Om Namitabaho! Om Namah Shivaya! Om Nami Sabaho! Om Nami Sabaho! Om Namah Shivaya! Om Namah Shivayo! Om Namah Shivaya. Om Namah Shivaya. Om Namah Shivaya. Om Namah Shivaya. Om Amitabha. Om Amitabha. Om Amitabha.

Okay, we're now going to recite the refuges and precepts, which are ways of living that are conducive to wellness, to peace, and also things which can guide us. For refuge I go to the Buddha. For refuge, 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 Dharma.

Namo Dharma. For refuge I go to the Sangha. All those who live in the Buddha's light. Namu Sangaya. With faith in the Three Jewels, I pray that I may not take life. With faith in the Three Jewels, I pray that I may not steal. With faith in the Three Jewels, I pray that I may not fall into sexual misconduct. With faith in the Three Jewels, 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. 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. So quite a long time ago, probably about, I don't know, 11 years ago or so, I was told a story. About when one of the Buddha's disciples came to him and they said, so, you know, Buddha, what should I do? Is it, you know, should I go and support the sick, or should I go and do some cleaning? Should I go and chop some wood, or should I go and support my fellow disciples over there with this, you know, with what they're working on? And, you know, should I do this or should I do that? And the Buddha just saying, just kept saying, do what it is time for. Do what it is time for. And the disciple was like, well, yeah, but you know, that doesn't really help me. I mean, you know, what should I do? Is it— what's the best thing for me to be putting my energy into right now? And the Buddha just kept saying, do what it is time for. And so I guess, why might the disciple have been asking that? I guess maybe They wanted a bit of clarity. Maybe they could see all these really valuable, important things that needed to be done, and they just couldn't really work out which one to go to first. Maybe they were after a bit of recognition for having thought and recognized all the things that need is doing. Maybe they wanted some direction, more direction than they had. Received. I don't know, but I've always found this teaching of doing what it is time for really, really helpful. But sometimes it's not actually that easy to discern what it is time for. Like, sometimes I'm there and I'm thinking Well, I really need to do a bit of reading, but I've got these emails to sort out and I should have done that marketing that I haven't done. And, and oh, I was, I was going to contact my friend, but really, you know, something else needs doing as well. And sometimes it's hard for me to discern what it is time for. And, you know, I can make that a bit easier by looking at what is top priority, what needs to be done by the end of the day and by the end of the week and that kind of thing. And sometimes actually what really helps me to work out what it is time for is actually to just completely stop doing anything and to completely drop the intention to do something and to just wait and actually see where the energy lies. And then I can generally tell what this is time for. But we don't always have the possibility to do what it is time for either. Like sometimes we're struck by creative inspiration and we want to go and write that poem or bake that bread or, you know, do some art or whatever. Sometimes we're struck by this inspiration and actually you know, we have to leave for work in 20 minutes, and often by the time we get back from work, that inspiration has disappeared, or it strikes just when we need to go to bed, you know. Um, and sometimes where the energy lies can't be top priority because other people come first sometimes. So sometimes it's not always possible for me and, you know, for other people to do what it is time for. And yet on those opportunities that I have to do that, when I like properly stop and I actually realize genuinely where the energy lies and what it is time for, and engage with that, then just things flow in a way that they don't when I'm running by priority or by, by schedule. And I look at my dog Onya and she has absolutely got this teaching down. Like she knows exactly what it is time for. She knows when it's time to rest. She knows when it's time to play. She knows when it's time to tear up some important thing that I've left lying around because that's what she's in the mood for. And, you know, she just flows with that. And it's really helpful for me if I'm struggling to, to feel into what it is time for, or if I can't actually respond to it in that moment. I can look at her and see her embodying that perfectly. And how that helps me to do it as well. So, yeah, I guess I just wanted to share that story because I found that really helpful. And the teaching of doing what it is time for, when it is possible to do that. Namamitapu. We dedicate the merits of this incense offering to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas throughout space and time. May it be as fragrant as Earth herself, reflecting our careful efforts, our wholehearted awareness, and the fruit of understanding slowly ripened. May we and all beings be companions of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas May we awaken from forgetfulness and realize our true home. Move out to our seats and tidy our seats. We say the closing verse, which is on that page. It begins with— Blessed by Amitābha's light, may we care for all living things and the holy earth. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.