Satya Robyn leads a Buddhist practice session with a Dharma reading on mindfulness of the cat, guided meditation on body awareness and impermanence, communal chanting of Amitabha, and refuge vows.
Chapters
Welcome everybody. Welcome to Chris and Beth joining us from Zoom, on Zoom, from wherever they are. We'll begin with a Dharma glimpse from Chris, that Fee is going to read for us this evening.
No pressure. Mindfulness of the Cat: Dharma Glimpse by Chris Earle Story. Timothy is relaxing on the sofa. Timothy does a lot of relaxing. Like most cats, It's a skill he has down to a fine art. Timothy doesn't worry about mistakes he's made in the past. He won't be agonizing over that time when he accidentally upset a mug of coffee all over the new carpet, or when he ripped a hole in the net curtain while trying to catch a fly. Timothy doesn't worry about what the future holds either. He doesn't feel anxious about the conflict in Eastern Europe or feel concerned about the damage us humans are doing to the planet. Timothy lives in the here and now. He enjoys the warm sunshine on his back. He strolls around the garden with all its fascinating sights and smells, the feel of a friendly hand stroking his back and around his ears, the taste of his food as the bowl appears in front of him. Courtesy of his tame human. Sometimes I wish I could be like Timothy. It would be so much easier and less stressful not to be concerned with anything beyond what is happening in this present moment within the narrow confines of my everyday life. On the surface, it may seem that living in the present moment is just that and nothing else. Being mindful of what is happening to us in this moment and putting everything else aside. However, living mindfully is so much more than that. If we live mindfully, we become more aware of what is going around— on around us. We become more open to the world. With its joy and its pain, its wonder and suffering, its potential and fragility. Being mindful doesn't limit us, but rather expands our horizons. I could say more, but Timothy has got up from his rest and wants his dinner. He wants it now. Of course.
The Russian theater director Stanislavski once said he wished all of his actors were like cats. Because they only— because they're relaxed all the time, and whenever they need to move, they use the minimum amount of muscles. So they're very elegant creatures. So thinking about being relaxed and using the minimum amount of muscles as we sit this evening, an invitation to pay attention to our bodies, to our physical being, noticing feelings and sensations. Maybe there's places that are as relaxed as a sleeping cat, and we can just enjoy resting our awareness in those places. Maybe there's places where the muscles are working hard for some reason, and we can bring a kind attention to those places as well. So as we sit quietly together, taking our physical being as the object of our attention. And if or when the mind becomes distracted, gently bringing it back to that body awareness, perhaps beginning with the sensation of where your body meets the earth, or noticing how the body changes with each breath. If we're all cats, then I suppose Amida Buddha is the sun providing the warmth that we can just lie in front of and really rest as we chant together. Amitabha.
Amitabha. Amitabha. Ame taba. Ame taba. Ame taba. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Ame taba. Ame taba. Ame taba. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Ame taba. Ame taba. Ame taba. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Taba. Ami taba. Ami taba. Ami taba. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha. Amitabha.
For refuge, I go to the Buddha. For refuge, I go to the Buddha. Namo Buddha. For refuge I go to the Dharma. Namo Dhamma. For refuge I go to the Sangha. Namo Sangha. With faith in the Three Jewels, I pray that I may not take life. I pray that I may not take life— With faith of three jewels... —in this world! ...and steal from others? Avec Foi en les trois bijoux! Pray for me to fall into sexual misconduct— avec la foi des Trois Joyaux de l'Âme humaine! —that I might never commit such misdeeds?! Prayer on behalf of all beings who have been harmed I by human cruelty or abuse... Je prie pray pour ceux qui ont été blessés par le malheur et que je souhaite that qu'ils soient libérés immédiatement du karma négatif liée au crime ou abus I sexuel... Par exemple: may «Je te pardonne toutes mes offenses.» not fall into wrong speech. I pray that I may not fall into wrong speech. With faith in the Three Jewels. With faith in the Three Jewels. I pray that I may avoid intoxication. I pray that I may avoid intoxication. No blame. No blame. Be kind. Be kind. Love everything. Love everything.
Innumerable sentient beings, we vow to save them all. Inexhaustible arduous passions, we vow to transform them all. Immeasurable Abhidharma teachings, we vow to master them all. Infinite is the Buddha's way, we vow to fulfill it completely.
We all have bodies, or most of us do. There are, of course, mythical beings in the sutras, devas and dragons and rakshas, who may not have the same kind of physical bodies that we do. And some people go as far as to say that we are our bodies. Buddhism doesn't go that far, and I wouldn't go that far, but that does hint at the closeness between our relationship, the, the close relationship between who we are and our bodies. And of course, if we were our bodies I don't know what that means for those invisible beings who don't have them. In Buddhism, physical being is one aspect of ourselves. It does condition the mind, the mind conditions the bodies. We can learn a lot from paying attention to our body, which is why it was often one of the first meditations that the Buddha gave to his disciples. In fact, the first meditation was often the elements meditation, where you notice the solid places in your body, the bones and teeth, and then pay attention to the solid places in the earth, the the rocks, the trees, the mountains, and so on, moving through the different categories, realizing, oh, I'm made of the same stuff as the universe. We can know that in our minds, but experiencing that in a practice— oh, this is the same as me. We've got the same building blocks. It's quite a profound teaching. We can learn about impermanence, another major Buddhist teaching, through paying attention to our bodies, both in kind of small and large ways. So maybe here's a knot in my shoulder, and as I put my attention there, it eases slightly, or maybe it gets worse, but both examples of impermanence. When we really tune in to a still body, what we discover is there's always movement. My heart is beating, my lungs are moving. If I'm standing up, my balance is being adjusted moment by moment. Nothing stays the same. And of course impermanence across a big scale. The light in here and the Zoom camera reveals my thinning hair particularly well, for example. And we can discover where we are armored against the world. Where am I holding myself tightly in ways, uh, in self-protective ways? And do I need to do that in this context? Maybe it's an old habit. Our bodies are conditioned by the messages we receive from the world, or the way we see our bodies is conditioned. Oh, I'm too fat. I'm the wrong— my skin's the wrong color. I'm not fit enough. My body can't do this, whatever. We receive all these messages, conditioning, unhelpful conditioning that is a form of Whatever the opposite of being awake is— being asleep, I suppose. These cages that we build for ourselves. Anyway, all of this is to say that It's good to follow the Buddha's advice of paying attention to our bodies. What a rich ground for learning they are. Namamitabha. We dedicate the merits of this incense offering to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas throughout space and time. May it be fragrant as herb itself, reflecting our careful efforts, our wholehearted awareness, and the fruits of understanding slowly ripening. May we and all beings be companions of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. May we awaken from the get with us and realize our true name. Namami Teva. So on Saturday evening we're hosting a Heading for Extinction talk. If you— some of you have just been to one recently, others I know might be coming to this one, but if you aren't and would like to, you're very welcome. And the weekend after, the first Saturday of April, we will have our usual retreat day, which you're also very welcome to join us for. Blessed by Amitabha's light, may we care for all living things and the holy earth. Amen.
