Satya Robyn leads a guided Buddhist evening service with assistant Casper, featuring chanting, walking meditation, prostrations, and a talk on peace and taking refuge. The session includes ritual recitations and information about a free 30-day practice course.
Chapters
Namomi tabu. When we found the banger for the drum, then we can— ah, has the dog got it?
I feel like the dog's taken the knocker for the drum. I'll just use this one. Okay.
Namomi tabu.
Namomi tabu.
You might be able to hear that the dogs also joined in with that part of the service. So the next thing that we do is that we do, traditionally, we do some walking meditation. We walk slowly around the shrine room, we pass behind the Buddha, looking at our beautiful view across the valley, and then we come round near the road, the front road in Malvern, and as we walk, we chant the word Amitabha, and Amitabha is another word that means Amida. Amitabha. So if you can walk around your room, you'd like to, then feel free to just walk nice and slowly around. Otherwise, just sit with us and chant. And once you've got the tune, just join in. Nobody can hear you, so feel free to make mistakes and just allow the peace to settle in.
Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabh. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha.
Namumi dabu. So this is the part of the service where whoever is celebrant, which is me today, and me and Casper take turns, say something that hopefully will give you some food for thought, something you can take away. I'm conscious that I've got a tough audience today, a mixture of very experienced Buddhist practitioners and people who are here for the first time. I wasn't sure what I was going to talk about, and I saw this stone on the floor in front of me, which I'm using as a doorstop, that says 'peace.' So maybe I'll say something about peace. The things that we do together, these rituals, this tradition, I sometimes think that it's a bit of a miracle really that anyone comes to these services because it's a strange thing to do. It feels like a strange thing to do to put time aside and sit and and say the Buddha's name and be quiet and walk in circles and do prostrations, which we'll do later, when there are all kinds of other things that are calling for our attention. I don't know about you, but I found that especially since lockdown, there is so much available online. There are so many free things festivals and talks and courses and all kinds of things, and they're all calling for our attention all the time. And that we all have a reason for being here this evening, or later if you're watching later. There's something important that is calling us, that is pulling us here, and it, and, and it may not be what we expect or what we want, but there's some desire for something And that's different for different people. Maybe people have done some reading before about Buddhism, maybe they've already attended Buddhist practices, maybe there's something about the Buddhist teachings that are attractive, but my experience is that a lot of people who turn up, that there's something that they, that they don't have that they want and that they haven't been able to find anywhere else. And that's how it was for me, certainly. And I think that one of those things is this, one of those things is a sense of peace Maybe a sense of meaning, a place where we can feel safe and understood and accepted. All of those things, we have a longing for those things as human beings, and it's not always easy to find them. So Buddhism says that We can find these things, and we don't have to rely on other people or on ourselves to find them, because we can, we can lean into something that's outside of us that has the qualities that we are craving, that has those qualities I was speaking of earlier of infinite compassion, infinite patience, infinite wisdom. And that we can lean into this thing that's outside us and begin to experiment with knowing that that is always available to us, that that is always there regardless of what else is going on in our lives. In Buddhism, we call this refuge. We call this taking refuge., and it's a wonderful thing, and it's a very difficult thing to talk about or to describe or to give to anyone else. I wish I could just kind of give you this stone and you could take it and then that was it, it's as simple as that, but it's a mysterious process and it happens really outside of anything that I can say or do. But all you need is a little taste of something to keep you going and to keep you coming back. It may be that you come back here. It would be wonderful if you did want to come back here. It may be that there's another place where you can find refuge that's more suited to you, because different forms of Buddhism, different forms of religion suit different people. But I guess that that's what we're all doing as we gather here together, whether we're our first meeting, or whether we're at our 607th, we're resting for a little while on a Wednesday evening in refuge. We're resting in the Buddha's compassionate gaze, and as we do that repeatedly, something gets stronger and stronger, some sense of stability, of being comforted or consoled, a place to find wisdom, that kind of ineffable thing that we feel when we know we're in, we're at home, we're home somewhere. So as we sit in silence in a minute, You might want to just notice any parts of you that are calling out for something, maybe reassurance, or some soothing, or some answers, or some peace, or some love. Just notice those parts that are calling and show those bits to the Buddha, show those bits to whatever it is that you see as kind of personifying infinite love. And if it feels okay, just allow those bits to be, to be, to receive. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
So we start the silent meditation with a chant called Junin, which is quite complicated, so try and follow it if you'd like to. The words are easy: Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Namoh Amida Buta. Amida Bu. Amida Bu. Amida Bu. Amitabh! Amitabh! Amitabh! Amitabh!
Amitabh!
Amitabh!
Ami—
da-bhuuuhh? A-mee-ta-poo-ohhh-hah-meeth-a— pooo-ooh-uugh! Ahmeeeetaaabuuuuhh! Amyita!
Amitabha Buddha!
Amitabha Buddha!
Namoh Amida Buta!
Namoh Amitabha Buddha!
Namoh Amitabha Buddha! Amitabha Amitabha Amitabha Amita!
Amitabha Amitabha Amitabha Amita! Amida Buddha Amidah! Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
So the next part of the service is prostrations and Usually we'd be in the shrine room and you'd be able to watch what we do, but you won't be able to see much of us as we do them, so it's up to you if you want to go down onto the floor or not, but if not, just kind of bow. And the words are Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with a different tune, so you might be able to see some people on this, on the video, doing them. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. I can probably move the camera.
Is that helpful?
Might be hard to.
Namah Amitabha.
Namah.
Namu Amitabha! Namu Amitabh! Namu Amida!
Namo Amita Buddha!
Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida Butsu. Namoh Amida Butsu.
Namoh Amida.
Namoh Amida. Namoh Amida Butsu.
So we finish with, um, evening service, which is on page 13 of the service book, which is— I'm not sure how that helps. There we go. So the service book is—
Feel like I'm on QVC.
In the chat box there's a link to our service book which you can look up if you want. If not, you can just listen this time. If you do come to this service regularly, you might want to just print it out Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
With body, speech, and mind, humbly I prostrate and make offerings, both set out and imagined. I confess my wrong deeds from all time. And rejoice in the virtues of all. Please stay until samsara ceases and turn the wheel of Dharma for us. I dedicate all virtues to Great Enlightenment. The ground sprinkled with perfume and spread with flowers The great mountain full and sun and moon seen as a Buddha land and offered thus. May all beings enjoy such pure lands. Hitam guru ratna mandala kam niryatthayami. By the grace that I received through Amitabha's vows, May I be moved to deeds for the benefit of all. By the grace that I receive through Amitābha's vows, may I be moved to deeds for the benefit of all. By the grace that I receive through Amitābha's vows, may I be moved to deeds for the benefit of all. The purpose of our practice is to be a pure container wherein the common passions mature as higher wisdom. The preliminary outlook comes with bowing and contrition, facing up to my obstructions Unceasing life's first essence, devotion to my teacher, hence my smugness and ejection. Helped by his compassion, I will find a straight direction. By refuge vows and precepts, recitation of the sutras, I grow through every challenge. Embodi sattva aspiration. Cooperation in a sangha brings so many joys and freedoms. Through gentle words and gestures comes collective transformation. Sattva faith and inner cleansing brings us home to life's great meaning. In the four divine abidings Buddha's light is always with us. Multitudes are disconcerted by impermanence and difference. With Dharma as true refuge, we dwell within the pure land. Now gratitude is overflowing, going forth, returning richly. I offer gifts of Dharma Buddha's path bliss bestowed. Innumerable are sentient beings, we vow to save them all. Inexhaustible are deluded passions, we vow to transform them all. Immensurable are the Dharma teachings. We vow to master them all. Infinite is the Buddha's way. We vow to fulfill it completely. Invocation of Vakalanata. Hail to the mandala! Let us so be engulfed within its praises evermore, that by our own wills and vigilance may we our fetters cast away. May we within the temple of our own hearts dwell amidst the myriad mountains. Hail, hail, hail, invocation of Maha Kala. Let us be engulfed within the sun mandala of Buddha.
Hail, hail, the arrow of emptiness. Hail, hail.
Invocation of Vairochana Buddha. Hail, beneficent mystic, the treasure. Hail, hail, the golden bell that rings but once.
Peace upon the pilgrim.
Namo Amitabha. So now we bow to each other, thank each other for being here and practicing with us. And we bow to the Buddha. If you haven't got a Buddha in your room, you can bow to our Buddha. So thank you all for joining us this evening. If anyone— we usually just slip away quietly at this point because it's quite tricky to have a conversation on Zoom. We do have an event every Saturday night if you want to, with Space for Speaking, if you want to come and get to know people. But if you do have a question about anything that's happened this evening or about anything else, I'll hang around so you can ask it to me.
There's loads of stuff on the website at amidsamandala.com and on the YouTube channel— talks, videos, explanations, and so on.
Yeah, and there's also a free 30-day course on email if anyone wants to practice, experiment with doing our practice, which is Nembutsu, just for 5 or 10 minutes a day. So namo mi dabu, goodbye if you're going, and do hang around if you've got anything you'd like to ask. I'm going to stop the recording. Namomi dabu.
