A Wednesday evening Buddhist service led by Satya Robyn includes guided meditation, chanting, and a talk on everyday rituals. Alexandra shares a Dharma Glimpse about robins appearing during a difficult therapy session after losing a relative. The service explores how ordinary actions like cleaning a shrine become sacred practice.
Chapters
Welcome everybody to this lovely little select Wednesday night gathering. We're going to start our service today with a Dharma glimpse written by Alexandra. So a Dharma glimpse Dharma Glimpses is a short bit of writing about a moment of insight, a moment of truth, a moment of awareness that has touched somebody within our community and that they have felt drawn to write up and offer to be read out in one of our practices. So we really welcome Dharma Glimpses. I've been calling out to Amida a little more frequently recently, not really asking for help as such, but just to be there for me and embrace me in what I need. I spend a lot of time looking at or being in my garden, as nature is so important to me. It is a hive of activity. And we have so many birds who visit. Robins are one of my favorite birds. To me, they bring the energy of a loved one who has passed away, territorial by nature, as they want to protect me. However, just recently I've noticed that the robins I often see haven't been around. I've put it down to them finding places to nest and too busy to pop by and say hi as they are preparing for parental duties. This morning I've been watching the comings and goings in the garden whilst I engage in my therapy session. Well, this is the place I find most comfort. I've, I've just started having some typed therapy through work, and as I sit here, I've just finished my second session. It was a difficult session as I completed my timeline of my life, of certain events, and had to reflect upon how in more recent times the impact of work— the impact of work has been having on me. The events of the timeline and work are different, yet the theme remains the same. Sadly, upon entering today's session I had to explain that my beloved Doreen, who was 92 years young, passed away yesterday. She was my mum's cousin, but more like a nan to me. She was so similar to my granddad, who passed away over 20 years ago. I loved them both dearly and was always the apple of their eye from such a young age. Having type therapy enables me to sit quietly in my kitchen overlooking my beautiful garden Talking this through with the therapist was tough and the tears were falling. She asked me to visualize what my granddad and Doreen might say to me when I feel sadness or anger caused by certain events in my life, and I knew exactly what they would be saying to me. As I was trying to process my thoughts, the therapist's interventions and guidance, out of nowhere two robins flew down into my garden, sat on my fence just a little way from my window. They were back. They were here at my time of need. Despite being busy building nests elsewhere, they came to hold me up, to surround me with love and remind me of exactly who I am and what I deserve. I'm so very grateful and thankful for Amida for giving me this gift when I needed it so very badly today.
Namaste.
Preparing to move into a period of meditation of about 10 minutes or so. So just having a little wiggle, a little move, getting the body As comfortable as it can be, getting a sense of the room and this new part of the day that we've moved into, leaving the busyness of the day earlier. Behind, maybe if you can, in some ways at the door, and gradually feeling the sensations of the breath within the body, the way that the belly softens and goes in and out with the breath. Movement of the diaphragm. Movement of the chest, the lungs. Sides and the upper back. Movement of the air in the throat, across the nose or the lips. Inviting and letting go of trying to meditate. Inviting more of a softening, soft, gentle kind of focus on the breath. I'm going to move into a period of chanting. I'm going to keep it really simple tonight and just chant Amitabha, the name of Amitabha Buddha, the Buddha of infinite life.
And if you need to write it down, then it's on the little liturgy sheet.
Otherwise, it's simply repeating the name Amitabha.
Amitabha. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Aami taba. Aami taba. Aami taba. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amin taba. Amin taba. Amin taba. Amitabh. Amitabh.
Amitabh.
Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Ame dabao.
Ame dabao. Ame dabao.
So we're going to recite the refuges and precepts now, which are written on the little liturgy sheet next to you. And the refuges are exactly that— they are refuges, they are places we can lean into amidst the storminess of life. And the precepts are ideals which in greater or subtler and subtler ways we are constantly falling short of. But if the Buddha said that if we, we move in their general direction, then we will be moving towards a more harmonious life. For refuge I 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.
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.
Namo Dharmaya.
For refuge I go to the Sangha.
For refuge I go to the Sangha.
Those who live in the Buddha's light.
Those who live in the Buddha's light.
Namo Sanghaya. With faith in the Three Jewels, and in light of my human tendencies, I pray that I may become aware of when I take life. I pray that I may become aware I pray that I may become aware of when I take what is not freely given. I pray that I may become aware of when I fall into sexual misconduct. I pray that I may become aware of when I fall into wrong speech.
I pray that I may become aware.
I pray that I may become aware of when I fall into intoxication.
Of when I fall into intoxication.
No blame.
No blame.
Be kind.
Be kind. Love everything. Love everything. Innumerable are sentient beings.
We vow to save them all.
Exhaustible are deluded passions.
We vow to transform them all.
Immeasurable are the Dharma teachings.
We vow to master them all. We vow to fulfill it completely.
Mm.
So today I thought I'd talk a bit about everyday rituals and the difference that opening up to little micro moments of sacredness our day-to-day can have. So I have a good friend in Nottingham, and, uh, we have this kind of intention that once a month we have a solitary retreat day in connection with each other. And it quite often doesn't happen once a month, but it's basically a day where we both agree that we're gonna Um, you know, kind of keep as much of it free as we can. Obviously, like, things do creep in, but we do our best. And, um, we send each other something to read the night before so we can wake up in the morning and read whatever the other person's sent. And then we have a check-in at lunchtime, we have a check-in at the end of the day, and they're really, really lovely days. And it also makes it much more likely for me to actually properly block out the time and, and commit to a day of mostly solitary practice. And one thing I do in those days, it seems, that has become a kind of habit is I clean my shrine. Not, not these shrines, but my personal shrine. And, um, it's always an amazing amazing thing because I often look at it and I think, oh, it really needs a clean, I'm going to get around to that really soon. Um, but it's really only in the— only in these retreat days when I do a proper deep clean of every— all, all the, all the items on it. Um, and that kind of thing. And it's a real practice. I always feel very different after having done it and my shrine feels all renewed, and my desire to sit in front of it and practice is renewed and refreshed. And every time I do it, I'm like, this is amazing, I could do this every, every week. And then obviously I don't, but it's, it's really significant. It's like, it's a— and it's a really everyday, vaguely speaking, ritual, a really simple act of just taking every, every tiny thing off and cleaning it and putting it back. And yet it creates this shift in consciousness. It puts me more in touch with the sacredness, and I feel like every day provides us endless opportunities like this. They're even more mundane, so to speak, as cleaning a shrine. Like, every time we pour ourselves a glass of water or make a cup of tea, we could imagine it as a little offering to the Buddha as well as an offering to ourselves. Every time we hear our footsteps as we walk between different rooms at work or in the house, we bring our focus to it, then again that opportunity for it to become a really conscious moment arises. And the natural world is constantly giving us these opportunities as well. Like, I really noticed the way the sunset was catching some of the clouds this evening, and I spent— yeah, it's all blue and dusky out there now, so we can't see it, but I spent literally 2 minutes, just 2 minutes, looking at the clouds, and that became a tiny little ritual, like a mini a mini moment of sacredness. And I find the more moments that I have like that in my day personally, the, the more I feel regularly grounded and connected, and my capacity expands and my nervous system relaxes. And it reminds me that there is this sacred dimension that is ever present, that is almost like slightly— you could think of it as slightly overlaid with our day-to-day existence. And it only takes the slightest moment of slightest turning towards it to actually break through into that that realm of connection and presence. And there are countless opportunities in our day-to-day without even taking any time out. We're doing things all the time that could be tiny little rituals. That's my My reminder for me and my invitation for everybody is to see, see what tomorrow, what opportunities to break into a tiny little moment of sacredness or an everyday ritual might bring. Namah Amida Butsu. So in a moment we're going to move into some prostrations, and this is like where we're using the whole body as an expression of connection and of opening up to something greater than ourselves that here we regard as Amida Buddha. I'm just going to be chanting and singing at the same time. If you're new or newish, then join in for as much or as little as you want.
Message is okay.
Namoha ni rabu.
Namoha ni rabu. Namoha ni rabu.
Namoha mi ya!
Gratitude for this incense— to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas throughout space and time. May it be fragrant as the Earth herself, reflecting our careful efforts, our wholehearted awareness, and the fruits of understanding so enlightened.
May we and all beings be companions of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
May we awaken from forgetfulness and realize our true life. We're returning to stand at our seats. So we're going to bow one way and then the other, so, um, I'll bow first to Faye, and Angelina—
I'm sorry, what's your name?
Giovanni.
Giovanni, you come back to each other, and then we turn around and bow to Satya Robyn. And then we bow to Mae Chan. And we bow to our seats and we tidy our seats, thanking our seats for being our place here tonight.
Thank you.
In terms of announcements, we have got a work hour here this weekend, so if you want to come and do a bit of gardening And then that'll be from 11 till 12. I think that's it in terms of announcements, so we'll close with the closing verse, which is just a couple of lines. So, less child and the childless light, may we care for all living beings and the holy earth. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Thank you.
