- Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu -
Welcome again to Reno Buddhist Center - so Happy to see you all this morning. Wow - NOVEMBER! I am still processing a tour I had to a gold mine in Elko this week. It doesn't really have to do with Hell. But at ¼ mile underground it was about 85deg and very very dark. It made me think. We just had Halloween last night. That brings the mind to stories of ghosts, darkness, and Death. Plumas street seems to be strewn with pumpkin parts this morning. Dead pumpkins. We had a three memorial services last month. One included a funeral service at the crematorium. We met the family at the facility. A very industrial place on Greg St. - I don't think they get many visits. Being present at the dissolution of the loved one’s body is a powerful and important Buddhist experience. It leads to the closure that acceptance gives. "We open a sacred door now to do the solemn business at hand and close it when we are done". We entered the room and there was Mandy. She was a dear sister and a daughter and an Aunty. She couldn’t endure the pain of life anymore. So she ended it. But that pain didn’t end there. There she lay, oddly pale. As Rennyo says - “the attractive countenance like peach and plum blossoms is lost.“ As I approached the body I could feel the fear and worry creep into my mind. I remembered the words of the Buddha “return to the breath”. A few calm breaths brought me back. Her sister Alice began sobbing deeply and uncontrollably, supported only by her husband’s arms. She was racked with guilt - worrying that if she had tried to be there for her sister - if that would have helped? If that would have saved her? Nothing reminds us of transience of all this like an experience like this. Everything is so temporary. The Nembutsu came to my mind. I chanted it silently as we arranged things - who will stand where? A very solemn duty to perform. In the Buddhist tradition death is not something to be avoided. As a fact of life it is our solemn responsibility to care for the dead and their onward journey as best we can. Part of this is to be there at the cremation. Traditionally the closest relative is the one to light the funeral pyre. Most Americans are not Buddhist so the tradition of a close family member lighting the funeral pyre seems strange - “Better to have a stranger do it.” This is an upside down view. To be present at the dissolution of the loved one’s body is a powerful and important experience. It leads to the closure that acceptance gives. Mandy’s Brother-in-Law volunteered to take this duty on and stepped forward. There was a big red button on the control panel - fighting back tears - he pressed it. With a rumble of fire the process began. “Words fail to describe the sadness of it all.” We chanted for a time and our service ended. In all the empty moments I chanted the Nembutsu. I realized now that the reflex of bringing to mind the Buddha has seeped into me somehow. The refuge of the Buddha is there for me as well. In challenging circumstances this Dharma came to me. When fear and other emotions threatened to dissolve my composure the Nembutsu offered up. Loss is real and painful. Suffering manifested large for all to see. Even the stoic and the strong break down in tears. Alice was left with Mandy’s pain - transformed but real. A hungry ghost she would live with for a time. Read - White Ashes from Rennyo's Letters trans Inagaki So - What is Obon? This is our Obon service. A holiday celebrating those who have come before us. Our Mothers and Fathers, grandparents and ancestors. As some of you know - this holiday has its roots in the experience of Maha-Moggallana. One of Sakayamuni's ten primary students. We had a visit from Moggallana when the Relic Tour was here. Because of his high level of practice Moggallana was known for having clairvoyant powers, a common trait amongst spiritually accomplished people. He began to think deeply about his parents, and wondered what happened to them after death. He used his second sight to see where they were reborn. He found his father in the heavenly realms. But, his mother had been reborn in a lower realm, the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. His mother took on the form a preta. A being that has a very small mouth and a large belly - so it is always hungry. His mother had been a kind mother but had been a difficult person. It is said she had broken all five of the basic precepts: Not to Kill, Lie, Steal, misuse sex or intoxicants. All this was done with the goal of gaining riches. For this reason she was reborn in the realm of hungry ghosts. As the story goes - Moggallana wanted to ease his mother's suffering. So he asked the Buddha for guidance. The Buddha said, "your mother's offenses are deep and firmly rooted. You alone do not have enough power.... The awesome spiritual power of the assembled Sangha of the ten directions is necessary for her liberation to be attained. " He received the instructions for freeing pretas from the Buddha. The Buddha told Moggallana to offer food, recite a mantra, bless the food, snap his fingers to call out to the deceased and finally tip the food onto the ground. By doing so, the preta's hunger would be relieved. Some years passed by and Moggallana steadfastly performed the offering. These actions created merit and his mother was reborn as a dog under the care of a noble family. You might see this as an improvement? But Moggallana again sought the Buddha's advice to help his mother gain a human birth. The Buddha established a day after the traditional summer retreat on which Moggallana was to offer food and robes to five hundred monks. Many years passed of this offering. Through these merits dedicated to his mother, she finally gained a human birth. Moggallana was diligent and faithful in his efforts to rescue his mother. When she was released from torment Moggallana danced for joy and that is the origin of the Obon Dance. [ I think the Dharma School kids are learning my favorite Obon dance - The Coal Miner’s. ] We can learn a lot from Moggallana’s story. Utmost, that caring for our parents is the highest duty and honor now and forever. We will never be able to repay their kindness and sacrifice. Also that we can heal old wounds. That no trouble is permanent and it is never too late. We are also reminded of the 6 realms of existence. What are the six realms? I’ll list the realms of existence for the most pleasant to the less pleasant… They are the realm of the .. Gods (Devas) Titans or demons (Asuras) Human Animals Hungry ghosts (Pretas) and for want of a better word - Hell - This has many aspects but all are very unpleasant. Dr. Alicia Matsunaga [our founder] wrote a whole book on the Buddhist conceptions of Hell. We want you to understanding these realms in the best way for you. The Buddha once said, 'When the average person makes an assertion that there is a Hell down below, he is making a statement which is false and without basis. The word 'Hell' is a term for painful sensations.' - Patala Sutta Dr. Alicia saw two levels of understanding of these realms. A literal level and a psychological or spiritual level. She argued that for uneducated people the fear of Hell was a kind of social control - To promote good behaviour. For more insightful people the meaning of hell and indeed all these realms is largely psychological. How you see them is up to you. I can say from experience that when we are in a hellish state of existence it sure doesn't feel symbolic - It is difficult and painful and very real. Maybe not a physical place “down there” - but very unfortunate. We understand these realms to be states of being we are reborn into. Understanding these realms gives us a vocabulary to describe the experience of life. When we are very cruel we are reborn in the hell realm. When the bad karma was worked off. We are re-born into another realm. Some of us have felt like this before. Everything hurts; its all suffering - driven by uncontrollable forces. When we are very greedy - like Moggallana’s mother -wanting more and more of everything - we are born into the realm of the Hungry ghosts - This is an unhappy place - on to the edge of human existence like a ghost. All the time feeling craving - always unsatisfied. When we act on impulse and drive rather than thought - we are born into the Animal realm - We are driven only by basic impulses and no spiritual life exist for us. Then there is the human realm. Although we often suffer, we are lucky because we have insight into the Dharma. This was a most fortunate state or realm because here we awakened the desire to be enlightened: Bodhichitta. When we are bold and effective and competitive we are Titans (Asuras] - We can talk about this another day. We can talk about the Heaven realm another day. Just remember no mindspace lasts forever. We have all experienced all these realms - many times. These are the realms of rebirth our ancestors have migrated to. This Obon time is a good time to consider our own Personal Ancestors. Lets take a moment now and call out their names. We will do a “saying of names” together. Many of you have lit a candle for a departed loved one. You brought a picture and placed it on the alter. When I ring the bell - If you would please say the name of the people you are holding in our thoughts. Just say it out and I will ring the bell • • • Robert Fisher • Hershel Wolfe • Alma Wolfe • • • Thank You. We should sometimes ask ….How did they live? Who were they? Where were they laid to rest? Where are they now? What gifts do we enjoy from them? This reflection brings me to think of one of my ancestors - my Grandfather Herschel Wolfe. Gran Daddy Herschel was a pharmacist and an optometrist that went to Cal Berkeley. He was born in 1882 in Des Moines, Iowa. - That was a long time ago - He was married in 1900, in San Francisco to a concert pianist - Merne - that marriage was complicated. And after some time he realized his dreams of a family and a settled life would probably not happen if he didn’t make some changes. Her Show-Biz aspirations were also being stifled - no time for kids. He loved the outdoors and fishing in the Sierras and the city life didn’t offer that opportunity very often. My grandfather divorced and moved to the small town - Sonora, California. He built a life there with a little Drug Store. One of three in town, so he could get two weekends off every month [when he was not on call]. He loved the mountains and the beauty of the Sierras. With a new wife and a daughter he made a new life. A gift - He gave me the idea that it is ok to fail at first. It is OK to rebuild your life. It is up to me to have the clarity to know what I need and build that into my life. Its funny but, he had a habit of crossing just his feet when he sat. My grandmother would point that out and say I was sitting just like her husband. Sometimes they give us little meaningless things - and we carry them forward. Grand daddy Herschel was a old school man who expected everyone to pull their weight and never complain. He could be quite stern and a little frightening. I got some of that from him as well. I acknowledge it as a gift because everyone has dark sides - passing on the fullness of humanity is a gift. Without our pains we would not be spurred to grow and to move onward. So I say thank you to him - even for that. Acknowledging this gift and accepting it. This heals him too. As Moggallana showed us - We can go back and mend broken lives. The wisdom and compassion of the universe makes that possible. The depth and breadth of mind makes it possible. A Gratitude meditation for a loved one who has passed on - Let's do this together - cultivate gratitude for all their gifts. Love and acceptance can release a ghost from Hell. Sit in a centered and quiet way - better if you close your eyes - As you sit, breathe softly and feel your body, your heartbeat, the life within you. Feel your connections. To the chair to the room, to each other, to your ancestors. … Now, bring to mind a lost loved one. Someone close to you, who you dearly love. Picture them and feel your natural caring for them. Notice how you hold them in your heart. How they are with you even now. Smiling with you. Let yourself be aware of one gift they gave you. One way of being or seeing the world that they taught you - that lives on in you. A warm memory, or a skill, or anything that comes up for you. Be with that - feel it well. o o Bell And say thank you to them for that. o o Bell Now return to that dear one and find a neutral gift they gave you. Something benign that lives on in you. Funny little habits of life - the way you eat peanuts, a turn of phrase, whatever comes up for you. Be with that - feel it well. o o Bell And say thank you to them for that. o o Bell Now return to that dear one and find a hungry ghost that lives in your heart from that relationship. A difficult and painful something they left you with. Something dark that lives on in you. Destructive habits of life - fears and worries passed from generation to generation, whatever comes up for you. Be with that - feel it well. o o Bell And say thank you to them for that. o o Bell These are all great gifts. Maybe small ones, but great. And the sum total of all your ancestors gifts are the foundations of who you are. All the wisdoms and compassions that we have learned and experienced are really the greatest gift. And we live those onward. They are not separate from us. These are part of Amida Buddha - Wisdom and compassion imbued in many things and thoughts and actions. Really the universe imbued with infinite light and infinite life. Every small piece of goodness is part of Amida. I am grateful to Amida Buddha - He doesn't know me, he doesn't see me, but he loves and cares for me just as I am. He locves mandy just as she is. Flaws and all . Amida made these vows for you. Working for many kalpas Dharmakara Bhodistavha manifested the Western Pure Land. He dedicated his good works to all sentient beings unable to end their own suffering and reach enlightenment. Just as Moggallana dedicated his merit to help his mother. Just as our ancestors dedicated their efforts to us. Lets all think of that ancestor who most needs our love and compassion - we can extend deep compassion to them and to dear Mandy. Please say it too - just repeat after me... May you be happy; May you be free from harm: May you receive boundless compassion; And may peace and harmony fill your heart - Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu -
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Welcome again to Reno Buddhist Center - so Happy to see you all this morning. Wow - some rainy cloudy days!
We have been occupied with the work of the temple and many projects around here. Thanks to all for the generous donations toward the Solar panel project. We are just a few hundred dollars away from our goal. Even small donations are much appreciated to get us to our goal. Dana - or giving - at the temple takes many forms and serves as the most important Buddhist practice. It helps us learn to let go. Sustaining the Dharma is the highest compassionate action. Thank you. We’re going to talk about meditation today. Most people in America when you mention Buddhism - automatically think of meditation. Specifically silent seated meditation. This is a narrow view but accurate. Really - There are so many ways to meditate. As we have mentioned before Most Buddhist don’t sit and meditate - they chant. But we are not most Buddhists - we are … RBC. What do we mean by meditation - mindfulness - Bringing to mind Buddha - Nembutsu? Since one of our three main sutras is called the Meditation Sutra we do have a long and important connection to meditation. The techniques and practices the sutra describes are profound. This sutra is most accessible for me. Buddhism always and only focuses on this core question - How can sentient beings live in abiding joy? It’s the question that propelled Siddhartha from his home [palace] to his great “re”-discovery” of the Dharma. I say re-discovery because often in Gotama Buddha’s sutras he mentions the many Buddhas that preceded him. Buddhism is not about him and its about a transcendent path that exists in the universe - whether anyone follows it or not - The Dharma. The ultimate goal of Buddhism is the state of natural joy, wisdom, and compassion we call this bodhi or enlightenment. The Buddha taught that understanding the changefullness of your self will make you happier and more compassionate. If we embrace our essential self-less-ness… "guilt, shame, embarrassment, self-doubt, and fear of failure, ebb away and we become a better neighbor." The Buddha taught a way to live life in joy. We experience life as we do now, but without attachment. Most people are challenged to take the time to meditate or practice each day. Most people are not Gotama Buddha. A common confusion comes from people who want to emulate the Buddha rather than follow his teaching. The Buddha was a Mahasattva - a great being - a kind of spiritual hero on a grand scale. Sakyamuni Buddha's great renunciation was a heroic first step toward the enlightenment of all, but it required his separation from his wife and child. He studied 2 forms of meditation with the greatest teachers of his time. This was all a Great individual sacrifice. He needed to do that to fulfill his bodhisattva quest to end suffering - to find a way of living in abiding joy for all. This is not required, not expected, or even not possible for all of us. And that is ok. And too - Amida Buddha was an ancient Buddha of the same stature. A Mahasatvaa - Great being. A “wheel turner”. As the Bodhisattva Dharmakara he persevered through great sufferings, deep meditations, and ages of arduous practice to manifest his Buddha Field - for us. What we call the Pure Land. They both were deep meditators - Let's look at the word here a bit - the English word meditation means - think over, consider; study, practice, and in the original Greek it even means the practice of declamation [saying a thing out loud]. Shin Buddhism has four kinds of meditation activity. These do not form an actual practice. We dislike and kind of don't use use the word Practice: This is the real thing. Not just practice for something else. We see life as a spiritual experience with a physical manifestation. We see that every action, even the most insignificant of daily life, can be an essentially religious action within the Way of the Buddha. No separation is reasonable. Since we Shin Buddhists live in the world and do not have the luxury of separating things the way a monastic lineage can. Our chief concern is the receiving of Shinjin - true entrusting - true and deep trust in the Infinite Wisdom and Compassion of the universe - Great Compassion - Amida Buddha. Our meditation activities bring us to true entrusting and are the result of that awakening of faith. The three important kinds of meditation we practice are: Chanting, Study, and Quiet sitting. 1. Chanting - Of all kinds - rituals and traditional chants in the temple and at home. The most basic chant is the Nembutsu. “Na-mu-A-mi-da-Bu. The word Nem-butsu - literally bringing to mind the Buddha. That is our meditation. Bringing to mind. Shinran Shonin saw more to this than a simple chant. He saw that when we bring the Buddha to mind we are truly and deeply connected to the ultimate. At that moment. The nembutsu is “the name that calls” - that’s a little mysterious - it means that when we take refuge in Amida Buddha - it is really a momentary experience of non-duality. It is Buddha bringing Buddha to mind. 2.Then we have Study - Maybe this is the most important meditation practice - actual participation in discussions at the temple. Rennyo - the second founder - is this gentle person here… He pointed out in a pastoral letter that when we come together at the temple it is important that we consider and discuss the Dharma. I think he said something like “we shouldn't just get together and have rice and sake. We should talk about the Dharma.” This is an important meditation. We consciously contemplate the Dharma. Think and discuss what it means with fellow travelers on the path. 3. Quiet sitting - In Golden light Meditation on Wednesdays we call it Shamata - This is the form of quiet contemplation we first think when we say meditation. Many Shin temples offer this experience. It is a mental cultivation of Peace above all. The Buddha taught that it was necessary to clear the clutter of our monkey mind before deeper insight into the wisdom and compassion of the universe was possible. This meditation is a means to calm and clear the mind in the turmoil of the world within and all around us. It is used to prepare the mind to hear, listen, and question the Dharma or contemplate Amida Buddha. We can become more understanding of the Now and grateful for the circumstances of life. It is Presence. Shinran said meditation is ”not a practice or a good deed”. It is not a practice we do to get enlightened, and its not a good deed we use so we gain merit. He rejected these motivations on principle as non-starters. This Quiet Sitting of Shamata has a long history in Buddhist culture. We sit, either with or without a subject of thought, and quiet our mind. Lets try that now - very simple, but powerful. We will sit and simply identify the in-breath as “in-breath” and the out-breath as“out-breath”. So please close your eyes. And I’ll guide things a bit. Just Breath naturally. o o Bell Just look at your breath. when you breathe in, you know that this is your in-breath. When you breathe out, you are mindful that this is your out-breath. this is an in-breath, this is an out-breath. Very simple, very easy. Breathing 1-2-3 The object of mindfulness is breath, and just focus attention on it. Breathing in, this is in-breath. Breathing out, this is out-breath. Lets keep doing that for a bit…. Breathing 1-2-3 When you just see the breath, mental discourse will stop. Don’t think anymore. Bring attention to in-breath and the mental discourse just stops. That is the magic of this practice. You don’t think of the past anymore. You don’t think of the future. There is only breath. Breathing 1-2-3 Now enjoy in-breath. The practice is pleasant, joyful. Feel life - breath. You are breathing in, and while breathing in, you know that you are alive. The in-breath is a celebration of life, joyful. Every breath is a celebration of the infinite life of the universe you are part of. o o Bell Whenever anything in life challenges you and you feel your composure leaving - anger or fear or worry welling up - the Buddha counseled “return to the breath”. Simple real, practical and profound. Some kinds of meditation are not right for us - The founder of our lineage, Shinran Shonin meditated as part of the Tendai monastic system for 20 years [from 9 to 29]. Tendai meditation had many stages of practice in which the ultimate was the 1000 day spiritual endurance practice, testing the physical and mental strength of the student. But it was not right for him. The problem was his strong passions and self-righteousness seemed to increase the more he practiced. Actually the practice make him less joyful and more unpleasant to live with. For him this system was not working. He saw, such practice led to comparing himself with others and self-congratulation at his skill. We need to avoid this. This is exactly what Rev. Jeff Wilson describes after his 10 year experience at the New York Zen Center. By the end of his stay there he was so proud of his sitting abilities that he was quite unpleasant to be with. He would enter the meditation hall with his perfected movements and perfect posture and pity the poor shlubs that were hacking their way through. That is when Jeff realized he needed to turn to away from a self-power practice toward Shin Buddhism. For him the Self Power path was not going to work. It was making things worse. Shinran’s view is the same as the modern mindfulness movement - meditation is not going to lead to enlightenment. It can deeply calm the mind and let our natural intuition of gratitude for all this flow in. When he realized this he left the monastery and studied and practiced with his teacher Honen. The person here. Honen’s teaching is for all of us. We know from the Larger Sutra that Amida Buddha vowed to embrace and liberate all beings from their entrapment in passion and ego. This is not a teaching for the highly attained - it is for the weak and not so perfect. Honen taught the ancient meditation of the Nembutsu - bringing to mind the Buddha. An easy way for people in a difficult age to simply seek re-birth in the Pure Land where they could then attain enlightenment. His view suggests we first just get out of the chaos. Then understanding can come. By his great vow for all sentient beings, Amida Buddha created his Buddha Field where conditions are ripe/right for attaining enlightenment. The only condition to be born there is trust - simply trust - in the sustaining intention, of the wisdom and compassion of the universe - it is there for you. Trust develops with reciting Namu-amida-Bu. Through the power of this meditation on The Name a confused and calculating individual can be born into that land. This satisfied Shinran and he could see that “progress” and “attainment” were off the table. It is satisfying for me. Striving and self congratulating are off the table. Simply trust. In your heart. Let's pause and try the nembutsu. All together. When we chant the Nembutsu we contemplate the great compassion that hold us all. Just as we are. We cultivate deep gratitude, so have a feeling tone of gratitude in your heart. Lets try it now. Right here. Warm gratitude feeling…. ok let's do the chant together…. oo BELL Namu-amida-Butsu, Namu-amida-Bu, Namu-amida-Bu… oo BELL The Nembutsu is our primary form of meditation - focusing our mind on Amida Buddha and the meaning of his Vows for our lives. Nen means thinking on or recalling. Butsu is the Buddha. It is contemplation and reflection on the Buddha in our lives - the wisdom and compassion of the universe. Through our recitation of the Name, the mind can become focused on the nurturing and loving reality that embraces our lives. We are held - never to be let go. The Nembutsu also expresses our gratitude for all this - this fantastic opportunity. As I said we don’t separate regular life from religious life. This is living the nembutsu in deep gratitude for all the compassion we receive all the time. And so we take refuge in Amida Buddha. I want to extend Amida’s deep wish to all of you. Please say it too - just repeat after me... May you be happy; May you be free from harm: May you receive boundless compassion; And may peace and harmony fill your heart - Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu - Good Morning, I would like to welcome everyone again Reno Buddhist Center - Rev. Shelley and I went on a trip these last 10 days and visited 6 temples and had good talks with 3 temple resident priests like ourselves. This was a great opportunity to hear their perspectives and see their challenges and triumphs.
I speak for all of us when I say - “We have it really good here”. A caring sangha with all ages and stages represented. We are growing, but at a manageable pace. We care for eachother and are supported by the Honzan, our headquarters in Tokyo. Today we are going to talk about finding our path. The quote Cathy read, from Venerable Ananda - cited 84,000 paths to enlightenment. Thats a lot of paths. [It might be hard to choose that right one?] The meaning is that the Buddha showed a way for everyone to reach the sense of Joy and equanimity he had found. Everyone. Some paths are difficult. Some are tricky. Some are easy. All are valid path to the Truth. Let me say that false paths certainly exist. The Buddha didn’t teach those. Remember if someone tells you that they “have all the answers and all you need to do is donate X-amount of money and they will get you into Heaven- or whatever”. You should carefully place your hand on you wallet and walk calmly to the nearest exit. The teacher Nagarjuna, in 300 CE, says this about paths... "There are innumerable modes of entry into the Buddha's teaching. Just as there are in the world difficult and easy paths - travelling on foot by land is full of hardship and travelling in a boat by sea is pleasant - so it is among the paths of the bodhisattvas. Some exert themselves diligently, while others quickly enter enlightenment by the easy practice based on true entrusting." My thought about paths is more recent - Last week Rev. Shelley and I were on a hike. It was in a place we’d gone many times before over the last 30 years. We’ve hiked there with our kids and my parents and alone. Its an old and wet and jungly place so the path is always a bit of a mystery. It had been 7 years since we walked that path. A landslide had covered one part of the trial, Then we found a landmark [the place my Dad had found a petroglyph of the rainbow man] and I felt sure we were on track. But Rev. Shelley was largely following my lead. She had first hiked the trail when she was 9 and the trees were all different now. It was much more open then. I reassured he that we were going to the grove of wild banana trees on the flat ridge a couple miles from the car. The goal was a special place with a grove of wild banana trees, strawberry guavas, and raspberries. My intuition was we were on the right path. There are important things in our life which we only know by intuition. Intuition is not necessarily vague; it can be very precise and specific. We might think we are rational and calculating in life, but, in reality, most of our most important decisions, like who to marry, where to live, what we choose as one's life's work, are made by intuition; and if they are not made by intuition then they are suspect. The person who marries for money, or some other similar calculation, is they are suspect. The person who marries for money, or some other calculation, is living in a way that we all immediately, and intuitively, recognise as unsatisfactory. So I felt like we were on the right path. The path was steep at times, very muddy - the shoe sucking kind - it rained some and then the sun came out. All along Rev. Shelley would have waves of doubt and them a sense of “right path”. Finally I realized I need to give her a concrete promise of “10 min and we turn back”. At about 9 min - we walked into the now overgrown glade with ripe fruit and the humming of a million honey bees. It was beautiful. [My only disappointment was the bananas weren't ripe. ] This experience gave me some insight into path choosing, path following and the intuition of what is beyond we use as our guide. We are all seeking - What do we seek? As humans we are spiritual beings. Religion is a uniquely human behaviour. Buddhism is a religion of awakening - Of opening to reality as it is. This has been called “the numenous” by famous scholars I had to study in school [Rudolf Otto, Mircea Eliade]. Though I’m not sure anyone really knows what that latin word means anymore. We can broaden its meaning to include what buddhists call the Dharmakaya - the truth body of the unconditioned. Ultimate reality. Reality-as-it-is without our distortions and opinions overlaid on it. When we consciously seek this we have ignited “Bodhicitta”. The spontaneous wish to attain enlightenment motivated by great compassion. The urge toward enlightenment is not selfish - it is for the good of all sentient beings. When we chant the Eko at the end of any Chanting session - we are dedicating our efforts to the awaken that spark in each and every sentient being. Without Exception. We are all seeking...What do we seek? We seek meaning. We may seek psychological health. That is good, but not the deepest motivator. Buddhist history and experience is a gold mine of knowledge, experience, theory, and practice in psychological health. But that is not what we are fundamentally seeking. We might feel as though we need a moral compass in our life. Some grounding in right and wrong to guide us. If we think about it, we may be seeking some ways for relieving the pain and difficulties in our life. This is a wonderful part of the Buddhist tradition. Seeking an end to suffering for all sentient beings is what motivated the Buddha. But that is not ultimately what we are seeking. What we are looking for is the meaning in all of this - In the reality of the Dharmakaya - the dhrama-body - the spiritual is primary and the physical is a limited domain. We modern people, try to pretend that the physical is primary and the spiritual, if acknowledged at all, is a thin overlay. Our seeking is at its core a spiritual matter. Wwe want to see past all particular worlds, forms and circumstances. We want to know and experience the infinite spirit of compassion - we call Kannon Bodhisattva. We want to be grounded in the unconditioned, the deathless, the eternal truth of all that is, was, or will be. That is what we are seeking. I said Deathless and Eternal here. Maybe that's confusing because I always say - “the Buddha taught that everything is impermanent” - really what I mean by that is that all conditioned phenomena are impermanent. I usually leave the “conditioned phenomena “ part out to simplify. I don't mean to confuse. I am working my way through understanding - same as you- sometimes I cut corners I shouldn't. The Dharmakaya is deathless and eternal. Remember the phrase “Eternal, Joyous, Selfless and Pure”. That is our true nature. We seek that. We follow a path that we intuit or sense will take us there. Sometimes the path choses itself. “84,000 paths” - Means that we will find one. There is a path for us. Suited to us, tailored to our strengths and safe from our weaknesses. Fundamentally, we seek to know and understand beings with form and beings without form, worlds we know about and worlds we do not know about, aspects that we can see and a sense of limitless dimensions beyond what we see. We want to wake up to vastness. This awakening includes realizing so much is out of our control. That brings us to deep awe rather than worry. Realising it, we can feel a profound gratitude for all this and we can set about ordering our own life in a realistic, I mean, modest, way. That is what the Buddha taught. The path to what he called liberation. We are freed from a prison of our own making and saved from eons of suffering. When I use the word “saved” I see a few faces furrow and heads tilt - “did he say that?”. Sure I did . Saved - saved - saved. I can say that. And I don’t mean someone comes down and sprinkles us with fairy dust and everything is ok. I mean that the Buddha pointed us to a path that he created for us. That thin white path we talked about at our Ohigan service - last time. It is a path that leads to Amida Buddha’s Pure Land of Clarity and understanding - where all this will make sense. We are ok just as we are. Sakyamuni Buddha encourages us to step onto the path. Amida Buddha is there - wisdom and compassion without limit. Offering to aid us on the path, in every dark place and every open field. As Shinran shonin said Amida Buddha is there “for me alone”. For each of us especially and truly - just for you. What do we have to do to get some of this freedom? We step onto the path. The common ground - maybe the only one - of all schools of Buddhism is a simple act called taking refuge. We take refuge in the Three Treasures, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Buddha is the supreme source of teaching, love, compassion, and wisdom. Dharma - the fundamentals of life and being. Sangha, in this place we find ourselves, this assembly of spiritually seeking beings. In a Sangha we seek to deepen life. How do we know if the path is right for us? What measure can we use? Measures are abstract, useful for some purposes, but never touch the essence of anything. No measure can tell you how beautiful something is. None can count how pure a person's heart may be. The science of measurement is valuable and useful and limited. The root of spiritual seeking is something else. It is a different field of existence. A different Buddha Land or realm. It is the one that makes life worth living. We have to “deeply listen to the light”. This intuition is how we know we are on the right path. Most of the things that are important to most people – love, loyalty, faith, goodness, meaning, purpose - are not measurable or countable. They carry the meaning beneath what we can see and count. We take refuge in the Dharma as a metaphysical map. Metaphysics is the reality that underlies the simple physical stuff we see. The metaphysical dimension is all important, but you have to explore it for yourself. Doctrines just like maps are useful. They are never complete or final, but they tell you your are generally in the right place. Some maps are more detailed than others and some are more accurate than others, but the activity that matters is to use whatever map we’ve got to navigate and explore so that we can have direct experience of this place. Of Reality. In Buddhism, not everything is impermanent. This vast vision conveys to us a sense of life as eternally flowing through innumerable lifetimes and immeasurable diversity of circumstance toward unconditional love, unconditional compassion, joy and peace. Fundamentally the Buddha's teaches, life is meaningful and directional. Direction does not mean predestination: things can go backwards as well as forwards, but it is meaningful and life has purpose within the greater scheme. Remember the common ground of Buddhism is taking refuge. : in the Three Treasures, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Taking refuge in these three has a saving power. Some of you may think that the system here is you join the Sangha, learn the Dharma for yourself and become Buddha. That, however, is not taking refuge. We take refuge here. Refuge is not about taking these jewels in your own hands, it is about letting yourself be held by them. Our path is a series of deepenings of this act of refuge. Each step is an awakening of faith - Shinjin as we move along this path. Refuge is the method of Buddhism. It is the way we connect to the higher meaning and interconnected web of life. It is the way the help of the Buddhas and all bodhisattvas is invoked. The feeling of taking refuge is not something that can be grounded in psychology or explanations. It has material and psychological consequences, but they are side benefits. The whole purpose is to transcend these and open the possibility of being liberated from them. Don’t worry about it - take refuge. You are OK just as you are. Each deepening of refuge is a lessening of ego. One teacher says it “easy’s the I” More Trust - less Ego. More faith, less ego. More Gratitude - less ego. This is how Buddhism releases us from the prison of our separate self. I was reading Mindfulness magazine at the doctor's office the other day - they made Buddhism seem like a collection of methods for greater self-development, self-assertion, self-cherishing, self-esteem. Its really a psychology magazine. Buddhism is the opposite. Buddhism is not narcissism, but some techniques - misused - lead that way. Actually in Mindfulness magazine - the never even mention Buddhism - which is odd. As we participate in temple life and fold Buddhism into our lives, we are encouraged to be ever mindful of the objects of refuge - Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha - we bow to them, make offerings, revere and worship them. Being mindful of their wonderful qualities we become more aware of one's own - um - deficiencies. Becoming more aware of these shortcomings, our need to take refuge increases. Finally we can let go of self entirely, take refuge wholeheartedly and enter the Pure Land. Entering in the Pure Land we have deep faith and confidence in the Unborn, the Unconditioned, the Unmade, the Deathless. The Absolute. This is the Dharmakaya - the reality-as-it-is-ness that brought our seeking hearts here in the first place. We can feel its out there and its in here. With this faith I can live a wholehearted life, free from the bondage of selfishness. Along this path, we are led to a deep insight into our own being with all its limitation, fallibility, weakness, vulnerability, bind passions, and strengths. The more clearly we are aware of these limitations the more in need of refuge we realises we are. Shinran shonin put it this way… “Although I take refuge in the true Pure Land way, It is hard to have a true and sincere mind. This self is false and insincere; I completely lack a pure mind. Each of us, in outward bearing, Makes a show of being wise, good, and dedicated; But so great are our greed, anger, perversity, and deceit, That we are filled with all forms of malice and cunning. Extremely difficult is it to put an end to our evil nature; The mind is like a venomous snake or scorpion.” Being part of a sangha - taking refuge here - allows us to examine the limitations of worldly life, the limits of reason and of the limits of materialistic/secular world. In time there comes a mild distaste for any relying on them. If that was the whole deal this would be a pretty depressing path - It is not. Buddhists are notably joyful and light of heart. Why so? Because they have awakened faith in a true refuge beyond themselves. Taking refuge is an act of faith. For a person who takes refuge, Buddha is a deeply treasured presence. If we think that taking refuge is just like joining an organisation - we miss the essence and miss the supreme mystery. Far from reducing mystery to mundane, Buddhism is about seeing the sacred and wonderful in everything. We need mindfulness and the other factors of enlightenment that flow from it. We need mindfulness of the treasure of Wisdom and Compassion that are always there for us. We find them on our path. But not just for us. The treasure is universal and unconditional, each of us encounters them in our own unique way on our own unique path. Buddha speaks to each of us in our own language. Everybody is offered a path - has some spiritual treasure to rely on if they will just listen deeply and approach life naturally. The name that calls offers it to us. Buddhism helps us to “easy the I” with ever greater depth and confidence. As we hiked in the forest when I could “easy the I” and not worry about the deepening mud, the rain - I knew it would be alright. That is the best path to take. We are happy to be home. Let us share the blessing - Please say it too - just repeat after me... May you be happy; May you be free from harm: May you receive boundless compassion; And may peace and harmony fill your heart - Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu - Acknowledgements - Bill Bollman, David Brazier, David Snyder, and Andrea Loseries Reading 4oct15 From the Teragatta-“Verses of the Elders” Verses 1024 -1049 Venerable Ananda, the Buddha’s attendant and scribe, said…. 1024. 82,000 Teachings from the Buddha I have received; 2,000 more from his disciples; Now, 84,000 are familiar to me. 1025. Who has heard nothing and understood nothing, He ages only oxen-like: His stomach only grows and grows, But his insight never deepens. 1026. Who has much heard and learned, But who despises those of poor in learning, Is like blind man holding a lamp. So I think of such a one. 1027. Follow one who has heard much, Then what is heard shall not decline. This is the tap-root of the holy life; and a Dharma-guardian you will be! 1028. Knowing what comes first and last, Knowing the meaning well, too, Skilful in grammar and in other items, The well-grasped examine meaning. 1029. Keen in her patient application, She strives to weigh the meaning well. At the right time she makes effort, And inwardly collects mind. 1034. All the directions are dimmed And the Dhamma is not clear to me, my noble friend has gone And all about seems dark. 1035. The friend has passed away, The Master, too, has gone. There is no friendship now that equals this: The mindfulness directed toward the truth. 1036. The old ones now have passed away, The new ones are not pleasing, Today alone I meditate Like a bird gone to its nest. 1039. Through a full 25 years As long as I have been in higher training I have never had a thought of lust: See, how powerfully the Dhamma works. 1046. Then was there terror, and the hair stood up, when he,The all-accomplished one, the Buddha, passed away. 1049. The virtuous, wise man, The hero strong and ever resolute, The guardian of the word so true, Ananda found enlightenment now. Hello everyone and welcome to Reno Buddhist Center.” Three things before I start - We are most grateful to everyone who has supported our temple for many years. Making it a welcoming and vibrant sangha. If you have been coming for a long time thank you so much.
and Thank you to our new friends who have summoned the courage and openness to come through the temple doors for the first time. Wherever your spiritual quest takes you we are always here for you. Any aid we can give you on your quest will always be offered freely. Lastly - We are going to have a visitor from Japan come to us tomorrow. He is Isago Sensei [you can just call him Sensei for short] and he will be with us for two weeks more on that later. My sub-title today is What is Emptiness? I wanted to say “What is it good for? - but reverend Shelley thought that was a little too flip. So I won’t. How many of you have heard or read Buddhist references to Emptiness? [hands?] The Sanskrit word is Sunyata. Kathy read the Heart Sutra today. Its not long but it is very dense. I’d like to sort of chew our way through it. Then we can all chant the mantra together. The First a Story about misunderstanding the Heart Sutra - The teacher asked the novice monk: “Tell me about your understanding of the Heart sutra.” The novice monk joined his palms and replied: “I have understood that the five skandhas are empty. There are no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body or mind; there are no forms, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, or objects of mind; the six consciousnesses do not exist, the eighteen realms of phenomena do not exist, the twelve links of dependent arising do not exist, and even wisdom and attainment do not exist.” “Do you believe what it says?” “Yes, I truly believe what it says.” “Come closer to me,” the teacher instructed the novice monk. When the novice drew near, the teacher abruptly grabbed his nose and gave it a twist! In great agony, the novice cried out “Teacher! You're hurting me!” The teacher looked at the novice. “Just now you said that the nose doesn't exist. But if the nose doesn't exist then what's hurting?” Most of our understanding of Sunyata is owed to the great teacher Nagarjuna. He is the first in our lineage of teachers. Some of you may have heard of him before. In the Shoshinge on page 13, Shinran credits Nagarjuna with “destroying false views of being and non-being”. I have been reading a translation of his work lately- one of our members loaned it to me. He was a very careful thinker. And honestly I can only maintain enough focus to read his ideas for about 30 min before I have to rest the mind. Nagarjuna talked about about the concept of Sunyata. Unfortunately Sunyata has been translated as Emptiness. As we can see from the story it is easy to mis-understand what is meant by this idea in Buddhism. Nagarjuna warned us that... "Emptiness wrongly grasped is like picking up a poisonous snake by the wrong end." - In other words, it can bite you! Usually when Americans use the word empty it is not good. If your tank is empty - things stop. Sunyata is not like that. If I say "I feel empty," I mean I am feeling sad or depressed. Emotionally, "emptiness" is not happy. We need to often remind ourselves that Buddhist Emptiness does not mean loneliness or separateness. Its the opposite! American teachers have looked for substitute translations for the Sanskrit Sunyata something more like -- "fullness," "spaciousness," "connectedness," and "boundlessness" -- You can hear in these words a very different idea coming through - Shunryu Suzuki in SF used to define it this way…. "Emptiness - Sunyata - is like being held close by your mother, feeling she will take care of you." That feels pretty full! Not empty at all. And that is the point. But lets go back to the Heart Sutra and work our way through it. Keeping in mind this empty as being empty of separateness. “Kannon Bodhisattva while practicing deeply the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore, suddenly discovered that all five Skandhas are equally empty, and with this realisation he overcame all suffering.” There is the story of the dinner guest that asked his host - “Where did this bread bread come from? Its really good”. There is a short answer. But the host is a very honest person. She takes a moment and look deeply into the bread. When she looked she saw see that there is grain there. And she could see a cloud that gave the rain that made the grain grow. And the bees flying from one flower to the next. And she could see the warmth of the Sun - the grain couldn’t exist without the Sun. And she saw that without the guest thinking “this bread is good”, the bread does not exist. Her thoughts lead on and on and on in every direction -Crossing time and space- all the causes and conditions where the bread came from. Everything is in everything - or nothing would work. A smile came to her face. “It came from the bakery on 4th street”. This is an exercise of the mind. Where does the bread come from? Where does the answer end? Can we keep going - Yes. We can keep going until we have included everything in the universe that must be - in a fantastic web of causes and conditions - just to contribute to the existence of the bread in the story. The Buddha said … This is, because that is. This is not, because that is not. This comes to be, because that comes to be. This ceases to be, because that ceases to be. Empty of What? The Host was seeing that everything is empty in a Buddhist way. Now that probably sounds strange because she saw that everything has everything in it. She saw that everything is empty of self existence. Empty of separateness. If the bread had its own separate self existence, it wouldn't be caused by anything but itself. And that - as Nagarjuna often says in his discussion of this - is ridiculous. More than that if it had its own self existence it could not change. So it would be inedible. It would be useless for us to eat it. Bread is empty of self-existence and full of everything else in the universe. “and with this realisation he overcame all suffering.” The host in the story really saw deeply into the bread. That is what meditation is. In Shin Buddhism we call it Deep Hearing of the light - she saw into the bottomless ocean of reality. Unno Sensei came for a visit and he said when we bow we are - “diving into the oneness of reality”. This diving-in is the Buddhist way of understanding. In the Satipatthana sutra it is described as penetrating understanding. I went canoeing with my teacher on lake tahoe many years ago. And on the perfect mirror surface of the lake. Little droplets of water would skitter across. And then schlipp! They would return to that oneness. Were they gone? No. They were just part of everything again. The droplet was confused or deluded that is was separate from the lake and with penetrating insight - schlipp! The droplet understood reality as it is. It emptied out it’s separateness. “Listen Sariputra, this Body itself is Emptiness and Emptiness itself is this Body. This Body is not other than Emptiness and Emptiness is not other than this Body. The same is true of Feelings, Perceptions, Mental Formations, and Consciousness. A good example is a Wave. Imagine a wave crashing onto the shore of Sand Harbor. Then go a little out into the lake and look at the wave moving across the lake - Form is the wave and Emptiness is the water. Maybe this part of the sutra is a little scary? “this Body itself is Emptiness” And people start to misunderstand when they read this. Emptiness is not nothingness. The monk in the story learned that the hard way. His nose probably still hurts. In the Moon Rabbit logo there is the Enso - the circle drawn in one free stroke. It is not a zero. It includes everything. It symbolizes emptiness. Because form is emptiness, form is possible. As Nagarjuna said - “Because of emptiness of self-existence - everything works.” Emptiness - Sunyata and the constant Change that is called Anicca are the same thing. “Listen Sariputra, all phenomena Empty; their true nature is the nature of no Birth, no Death, no Being, no Non-being, ” We see death and birth every day. Sometimes with joy and sometimes with sorrow. Our emotions are misplaced. Kannon tells Shariputra that there is no death. Let's go back to the bread in the story. When was it born? Well it was baked that morning says our host. But did the bread spring into being in the oven? Yes? - No? I have one Yes - its an oven not a replicator. The dough is put in the oven. We have to go to the dough and the grain and the bees and the Sun...here we go again. With deep and penetrating insight. We cannot find the birth. And when does the bread die? You eat it. And it is gone...we not really gone. It gives you energy and you fix the fence beside the temple. Now the bread is in the fence. When does it die? It doesnt. Being and non-Being - as Nagarjuna puts it - are ridiculous ideas. The Chemist Lavoisier said "Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed." This life that you cling to as a precious possession is not really yours - it is life living life. What you call it in a moment of selfishness is immaterial - or even delusional. The wave in lake tahoe doesn't see the shore coming closer and closer in fear. It comes to the shore and- if you have ever watch the waves - it returns to the lake in a different form. “no Defilement, no Purity” In Buddhism we use the symbol of the Lotus blossom for the Buddha. When I was studying Buddhism in Sri Lanka I got to see many Lotus flowers. And it is really true. The most beautiful lotus grows in the funkiest, muckiest water. You see them rising above junk filled ponds, big and beautiful and well proportioned. We usually say it is a symbol of the Buddha because of this - because it rises above the muck and myre and flowers into stunning beauty. But really Kannon is teaching us that the Lotus is a symbol of the Buddha because it is made from that very muck - the muckier the better. It is not beautiful because it is separate from nasty gunk - it is beautiful because of the nastiness. The same is true of people. Who is bad and who is good? Think about someone at work you hate - or dislike - Have you ever noticed that when they move on, someone else starts to bug you? In the complete emptiness of the universe everything is there. If you try to manipulate reality and change that - it returns to balance on its own. Imagine you have a piece of wood. a couple feet long. And imagine you really like the left end of the wood - but you really hate the right end. What do you do? You cut off the right end. Fix things. Now what. As you look at your pieces of wood, you realize the Right end is still there. The right end is empty of self-existence. You can’t undo the nature of emptiness. Everything is part of everything. Compassion flows in when we realize this. Suffering stops as Kannon experienced in the sutra. “no Increasing, no Decreasing.” We worry that when we die we will be less than the is fantastic human specimen we are now. We are so clever and so able. But if we listen to Kannon bodhisattva or Lavoisier, we will not go away. We will transform. The fear and worry are not necessary. When we look at the crescent moon, we don't feel sad that it's going away. Because we know it will be full again. This changing of form is the nature of emptiness. “That is why in Emptiness, Body, Feelings, Perceptions, Mental Formations and Consciousness are not separate self existing entities. The Four Noble Truths - That life can be lived in abiding Joy, That there is a cause when do not live joyfully, That when we remove the cause joy returns, and the 8 Fold Path to living a Joyful life, truly all insight and attainment, are also not separate self existing entities.” All of this applies to all of Buddhism. Buddhism is empty of self existence too. The Buddha is made from non-Buddha elements just as we are made of buddha elements. We don’t have time for the story, “Mara comes for Tea”. This is the one where Mara The Undoer comes to visit the Buddha in his later years. In many ways the Buddha is grateful to Mara. Without Mara the Buddha would not exist. Really in some way they co-exist. They are not opposites really, they are really the same stuff. “Bodhisattvas who practice the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore see no more obstacles in their mind, and because there are no more obstacles in their mind, they overcome all fear, destroy all wrong perceptions, and realize Perfect Nirvana. “All Buddhas in the past, present and future by practicing the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore are capable of attaining Authentic and Perfect Enlightenment.” The real message of the sutra is that the obstacles are in our mind. Emptiness has no issues or problems. Our misunderstanding of the way things are is the cause of suffering. This misunderstanding makes us less joy filled. But when we see things as they are joy and compassion flow freely. Kannon bodhisattva is telling us that once the wave realizes that it is only water, that it is nothing but water, it realizes that birth and death cannot do it any harm. It has transcended all kinds of fear. Perfect Nirvana is the state of non-fear. You are liberated, you are no longer subject to birth and death, defilement and purity. You are free from all that. “Therefore Sariputra, it should be known that the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore is a Great Mantra, the most illuminating mantra, the highest mantra, a mantra beyond compare, the True Wisdom that has the power to put an end to all kinds of suffering. Therefore let us proclaim the mantra to praise the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore: Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha! A mantra is a sound or phrase whose meaning is greater than its mere sound. It energetically and harmonically connects to a higher spiritual plane. In english - “I love you” is a mantra. It is powerful far beyond its mere words. Then… Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha! What does this mean? In Sanskrit - Gate means “Gone” so it reads - “Gone Gone” - “Paragate” means gone all the way to the other shore. “Parasamgate” - The “SAM” in there means all or everyone . Now we have “Gone, Gone, All the way gone, everyone gone to the other shore. “Bhodi” is awakening or enlightenment. And Svaha is a cry of joy - the “yea!“ So - the Mantra is… “Gone, Gone, All gone, Everyone gone to the other shore. Awake! Yea!” Those are some thoughts on the Heart Sutra. It is largely about Emptiness. I also want to share the view of emptiness on our Shin Buddhist path - it is in the Nembutsu. Namo-Amida Butsu. Most of us offered incense during the Shoshinge. Our friendly incense helpers worked with a few new people to show them how we usually make our offering. Its not that important in the specific form - don’t worry if you didn’t do it precisely this way - but it is very important in the intention and feeling-tone brought to the ritual - it is a very full ritual. We approach the altar heightened awareness. We bow in respect for the Buddha. We place the nenju [that means nembutsu bracelet] on our left hand. Why do we do that? It symbolizes our small individual self - seeing the world as myself - my hand - and them - the other hand. I bow in that state. Duality = Us and Them. A misunderstanding of reality. Like I have have self existence? Then I make the offering of incense. Even though the temple provides the incense you are giving a gift. And that gift is given in gratefulness for the wisdom and compassion of the universe. Then we make our final bow. To do that we adjust the nenju to encircle both hands. We place both hands in the circle. They are one. My small self and the vastness are one in this gesture with a feeling of abiding gratefulness - of joy. I bow with a feeling of having it all. Not having all the material stuff my small-self thinks will make it whole - that is Madison Avenue propaganda - NO - When I bow like this it is really Amida Buddha bowing to Amida Buddha. “The bower and the bow are one” as Nagarjuna would say. A moment of profound connection to everything that is, everything that was, and everything that will be. We pause there in supreme emptiness. I often tell the ocean metaphor in the Newcomers circle - The story of a sailor, fallen overboard, who has the choice to fight the sea or to realize he is part of it. If he just realizes this, he can relax and be grateful that it floats him through no effort of his own. Only by his existence. In this metaphor the Ocean is Sunyata - emptiness of separateness and the floating is Amida Buddha. Shinran began the Shoshinge with the exclamation: "How inconceivable! Throughout the universe the ceaseless, boundless, immeasurable activity of Namu Amida Butsu awakens me to what is real and true!" An authentic , deeply human voice. He encountered Amida Buddha at the very center of himself, was rescued from a dead, meaningless, purposeless universe and lives, even now, in a Land of Bliss. From the shoshinge we chanted…. Sakyamuni Buddha was born into this world With the sole mission of teaching The treasure-ocean of Amida's Vow To rescue we who constantly degrade Our streams of birth and death. Please listen to the truth of Sakyamuni's message! The mind of true entrusting, shinjin, Arises from my awakening to the reality Of Amida's Great Vow. No need to sever evil passions to reach Nirvana! Ordinary people, Holy monks, Unbelievers, We who break the five precepts-- All of us, equally, just as we are, Though like various polluted rivers Become of one taste on entering the ocean of the Vow. One taste. Sunyata. Emptiness. "fullness," "spaciousness," "connectedness," "boundlessness" In Shin Buddhism our evil karma is not destroyed but rather transformed: in sunyata, and samsara and Nirvana are not separate. Once our mind is united with the Buddha Amida and the Buddha nature gifted to the us through deep and complete trusting -shinjin - knowing we won’t fall back, we are born in the Pure Land. Bhodi Svaha! Then can return to the world as a Bodhisattva, that we may work to end the suffering of all beings. We work for the Parasamgate of the mantra. We are all in this together Empty of self Existence. Everyone - we can say the great bright mantra...
- Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu - Thanks to: Thich nhat hanh . Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra • • [bell]Insight that Brings the Other Shore - Sutra Reading 4sep15 Kannon Bodhisattva while practicing deeply the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore, suddenly discovered that all five aggregates are equally empty, and with this realisation overcame all suffering. “Listen Sariputra, this Body itself is Emptiness and Emptiness itself is this Body. This Body is not other than Emptiness and Emptiness is not other than this Body. The same is true of Feelings, Perceptions, Mental Formations, and Consciousness. “Listen Sariputra, all phenomena are Emptiness; their true nature is the nature of no Birth, no Death, no Being, no Non-being, no Defilement, no Purity, no Increasing, no Decreasing. “That is why in Emptiness, the aggregates of Body, Feelings, Perceptions, Mental Formations and Consciousness are not separate self existing things. The six Sense Organs, the six Sense Objects, and the six Consciousnesses are also not separate self existing entities. Interdependent Co-arising and its Extinction are also not separate self existing entities. The Four Noble Truths - That life can be lived in abiding Joy, That there is a cause when do not live joyfully, When we remove that cause joy returns, and the Eightfold Path to living a Joyful life, and indeed all insight and attainment, are also not separate self existing entities. Whoever can see this no longer needs to attain anything. Bodhisattvas who practice the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore see no more obstacles in their mind, and because there are no more obstacles in their mind, they overcome all fear, destroy all wrong perceptions, and realize Perfect Nirvana. “All Buddhas in the past, present and future by practicing the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore are capable of attaining Authentic and Perfect Enlightenment. “Therefore Sariputra, it should be known that the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore is a Great Mantra, the most illuminating mantra, the highest mantra, a mantra beyond compare, the True Wisdom that has the power to put an end to all kinds of suffering. This is the truth and not a lie. Therefore let us proclaim the mantra to praise the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore: Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha! New translation of the Heart Sutra by Thich nhat hanh Welcome again to Reno Buddhist Center - Happy to see you all this morning. A special welcome to new visitors - I know it takes great courage to visit a new place and experience new ways of thinking - Great Job! We are happy you are here.
For me - I can’t believe this is the last Dharma talk of the summer! Where has the time gone? Today we bring to mind Buddhism and all sentient beings. Buddhism is unique in the way it values all creatures big and small as precious joyful beings. From the Lankavatara sutra the Buddha said…. ...wherever there is the evolution of living beings, let people cherish the thought of kinship with them, and, thinking that all beings are to be loved as if they were an only child… We believe that all sentient beings born into the six realms, seek happiness, and avoid suffering. And that all sentient beings have buddha nature. In Dharma school with the kids we usually read a Jataka tale. These are stories - like the reading today - of the Buddha’s previous lives. The Jatakas contain thousands of stories where humans and animals interact - as we saw sometimes the is an animal. One story of animal helpfulness to the Buddha is told in the Naaga Sutra [Udāna]. The Buddha left Kosambi in disgust at the quarreling monks there and went to a nearby jungle where he spent a few days sitting at the foot of a sal tree. A bull elephant similarly sought out the seclusion of the jungle and seeing the luminous tathagata he cleared the grass around the Buddha and brought him water in his trunk (Ud.41). A helpful interaction. The story is about animals being kind and helpful. But it also shows that noble beings (enlightened sages and great elephants) share a common appreciation for silence and solitude. A monk once told the Buddha he was being disturbed by a large flock of beautiful birds roosting nearby. The Buddha suggested he go to the birds three or four times a night and ask them for a feather. The birds would, he said, soon get sick of these continual request and go somewhere else. The monk did as he was advised and sure enough, the birds left (Vin.III,147). The monk then missed his beautiful friends. The Buddha used this incident to warn his students not to be always asking people for things. The most famous story of the Buddha and an animal is the Nālagiri incident…. Once, in an attempt to kill the Buddha, his evil cousin Devadatta arranged for a dangerous rogue elephant called Nālagiri to be released in front of the Buddha. With his tail up and trumpeting, the bull elephant charged the Buddha. Seeing the furious Elephant coming, the Buddha sent warm thoughts of loving kindness to Nalagiri. The elephant was suddenly transformed from fury into docility. He approached the Buddha, knelt down and the Buddha stroked its head (Vin.II,195). This shows the view of Buddhists toward all creatures. Dear friends all. It is commonly said in Buddhism…. All Sentient beings born into the six realms, seek happiness, and avoid suffering. All sentient beings have buddha nature. Let me explain a few of these ideas…. We talk about sentient beings in the universe and it may not be clear what we mean. A sentient being is any being that feels. They don’t have to feel the way we do - with ideas and thoughts. But any being that feels - the worm, or the fly, or even a clam is a sentient being. And we say in the universe because we don't limit the meaning and truth of Buddhism to just our little blue marble in space. The Buddha taught that the Dharma applies in all the universe, in every world system. Many of us have animals as companions. Cats and dogs and birds live with us and share their unique perspectives with us everyday. Their kindness, their loyalty and sometimes their indifference are great comforts to us. They are other sentient beings so we care for them. All sentient beings born into the six realms, seek happiness, avoid suffering. All sentient beings have Buddha nature. When I say “born into” my meaning may not be clear. Please remember that rebirth is something different from Reincarnation. Reincarnation is where an eternal soul or essence, after biological death, begins a new life in a new body [human or other]. We Buddhists don't believe in reincarnation. Since we see that no permanent self or essence exists we use the term Rebirth. Rebirth is part of the continuous process of change. If we consider it we are not only reborn at the time of death, we are born and reborn at many moments of existence. We are a flowing together of causes and conditions. So we say beings are born into the six realms. Our understanding of 'rebirth' is like a line of dominoes tipping over, each one causing the movement of the next, the movement is existence in samsara. The tipping is our delusion of the Self. That leads to the next birth. The movement stops when the cause is interrupted. When the mind is still, the dominoes stop falling, the movement of rebirth ceases: Bhodi Svaha! Our birth is influenced by our our karma - our actions and habits - if we have tended toward the good we expect a better birth, if we have been less good, then we expect a less good outcome. But only a Buddha can see the causes and conditions of birth clearly. All Sentient beings born into the six realms, seek happiness, avoid suffering. All sentient beings have Buddha nature. What are the six realms? I’ll list the realms of existence for the most pleasant to the less pleasant… They are the realm of the ..
There once was a little being named ? - Chester - over thousands of rebirths he experienced all of the 6 realms... Once he was very cruel and was reborn in the hell realm. He was horribly tortured in many ways, suffering was his only experience in this very hot place. But it was not forever - when Chester’s bad karma was worked off. He was born into another realm. Some of us have felt like Chester before. Everything hurts; its all suffering - driven by uncontrollable forces. Once he was very greedy - he wanted more and more of everything - and the he was born into the realm of the Hungry ghosts - This is an unhappy place - he was bound to the edge of human existence like a ghost. All the time he felt his craving - But he couldn’t satisfy it. Pretas have huge bellies and tiny mouths. So chester would eat but never felt full. Always wanting. Never satisfied. Chester was miserable. Well this is pretty obvious - we have all been overcome with the insatiable desires - just like Chester we were living in the Preta realm. But it was not forever - when Chester’s bad karma was worked off. He was born into another realm. Once Chester was very thoughtless and acted by doing whatever he wanted whenever he wanted w/o caring for others - and he was born into the Animal realm - In the animal realm he was driven only by basic impulses and was used to pull a big wagon. He didn't really like it. He didn't even have awareness of himself as Chester. No spiritual life exist for him. But it was not forever - when Chester’s bad karma was worked off. He was born into another realm. There are times when we all act without much thought. We are exploited by the strong ones and have little recourse. One time Chester was quite good - and he was reborn as a Titans (Asuras] - He felt very competitive all the time. He enjoyed being a powerful superhuman creature. But he had good and bad qualities. He got very jealous sometimes and often fought with the other titans. This was not forever - when Chester’s good karma was used up, he was reborn elsewhere. One time Chester was born in the realm of the gods is Gods (Devas) - It was lovely - he was able to do and to manifest anything he thought of. He had little interest for the Dharma since he had everything he wanted. It lasted a long time. But it was not forever - when Chester’s good karma was used up he was reborn elsewhere. Sometimes we feel charmed and absolutely able - like devas. But it doesn't last. One time Chester was born in the realm of Humans - although he often suffered, he felt lucky because he had insight into the Dharma. This was a most fortunate state because he awakened the desire to be enlightened: Bodhichitta. He had insight and experience of both joy and suffering and realized that his only real way out of the story was to take refuge in Amida Buddha and let himself be guided toward rebirth in the western Pure land. Where he was enlightened. And then returned to the six realms to help others…..The End. All Sentient beings born into the six realms, seek happiness, avoid suffering. All sentient beings have Buddha nature. What is Buddha Nature? This is a classic Buddhist question - worth a lifetime of study- or at least a whole Dharma talk some time soon. What is Buddha Nature? Tatagata-gharba or Buddha-dhatu - Luminous mind - Buddha Nature is the deep and essential quality inside every being. It is our true connection to all that is - was - or will be. Buddha Nature is the ultimate, pure, ungraspable, inconceivable, irreducible, unassailable, boundless, true and deathless essence of the Buddha's reality, the very core of the sublime nature of the universe. All beings have it. All Sentient beings born into the six realms, seek happiness, avoid suffering. All sentient beings have Buddha nature. Because of this we love all living beings - not just humans. We practise loving kindness towards every sentient being. The Buddha teaches that we should do no harm. Right action is not harming. When we see that every sentient being is just like us, making their way through existence - hopefully toward the Dharma and release from the ocean of births and deaths we find great compassion for them. In the infinite expanse of time that little creature might have been our mother or brother or teacher. How can we harm him? We are all connected in a great ocean of compassion. So we say - All Sentient beings born into the six realms, seek happiness, avoid suffering. All sentient beings have Buddha nature. Please join with me in saying - just repeat after me... May all beings be happy; May all beings free from harm: May all beings receive boundless compassion; And may peace and harmony fill their heart - Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu - The realm of the gods is Gods (Devas) - This is a lovely state we are able to do and manifest anything we can conceive. But suffering and attachment exist here too and as with all births existence in this realm is temporary depending on our karma. Symbolically - this is like flying first class or being the at the spa. Even being born in America is very god like compared to most of the world. Titans (Asuras] - this is a realm of very competitive beings - powerful superhuman creatures with good or bad qualities. Prone to jealousy and fighting but also capable of great compassion. Symbolically - this is a state of being we experience where winning and defeating others is our prime focus. Humans - although humans suffer, this is a most fortunate state because humans have the greatest chance of enlightenment. Our insight and experience of both joy and suffering guide us toward the Dharma in a way that no other realm experiences. Animals - The animal realm is driven by basic impulses and exploitation. These beings do not have self-awareness needed to reach enlightenment. The spiritual life does not exist for them. Symbolically - there are times when we all are driven and without much thought we act. We are exploited by the strong ones and have little recourse. Hungry ghosts - The realm of the hungry ghosts (pretas): these are unhappy beings - bound to the margins of human existence. They are unable to leave because of strong attachments. They can’t satisfy their craving, pretas have huge bellies and tiny mouths. Always wanting. Never satisfied. Symbolically - well this is pretty obvious - when we are overcome with the insatiable desires we are living in the Preta realm. Hell realms: beings in hell are horribly tortured in many ways, suffering is the only experience in these realms. But its not forever - only until bad karma is worked off. Symbolically - some of us has experienced this realm. Everything hurts, it is all suffering driven by uncontrollable forces. Welcome - Welcome - everyone. Happy to see you all this morning. I saw many of you at Our Artown performance or the Relics over at Dharmakaya, or at Moon Rabbit Cafe. It is good to be in community.
We are here today to continue our talk about a Buddhist life - what we call the eightfold path. How many of you were here of the first part? Some of my introduction will go over what we talked about last time, but I think that’s good. In preparing part two, I noticed insights when I went over things the second time. A Buddhist Life in contrast to other lives is characterized by the quest for the end of suffering and ultimately deep and profound acceptance of our limitations, acceptance of the wisdom and compassion of the universe that is Amida Buddha. We can jump right in to part two by going over what The Eightfold path is. It is the Fourth of the Four Noble Truths. When Sakyamuni Buddha reached enlightenment under the bodhi tree he saw clearly these Four Noble Truths…
Right Understanding Right Thought Right Speech Right Action Right Livelihood Right Effort Right Mindfulness Right Concentration In effect there are eight things that we need to make habit. These are eight different aspects about ourselves that we need to monitor, practice, and probably change to help us rise to who we want to be spiritually. The simple goal is to lead a moral life, in compassion and wisdom. Such a life is supremely joyful. Last time - we worked with the memory device last time to be able to recall the 8 fold path. Until Thoughts Stop Acting Like Excited Monkeys…. Confusion! Today we will talk about … Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration Each of the eight habits begins with “RIGHT”. For some new folks the English word RIGHT is a sticking point. Pali word SAMMA was originally translated as "RIGHT" and that is unfortunate. It does not really mean to suggest the dualistic - RIGHT vs. WRONG. The word samma, can mean "best" or "appropriate" or "well-directed". It is much more subtle meaning... juuust right. The Buddha often used the analogy of a harp string..... What is just right when it comes to the string of a this harp? Lets do a live Demo. I’ll ask Matt Goddard to come up with his guitar. Too loose - Here is the sound of a string too loose. Where does this go? Is this a spiritual life? [Matt] Too Tight - Here is the sound of a string too tight --- very tight. “You shouldn't do this.” “You can't do that.” “Don't be this.” Rules and regulations pile up and compound and eventually we are wrapped so tight - that we break! [Matt] Just Right - Sounds like this…[Matt] For today let's say the word RIGHT means Juuuust Right! Back to our Eight habits - Last time we talked about . Right Understanding - Right Thought - Right Speech - Right Action - I think we ran out of gas somewhere in Right Livelihood Remember… Until Thoughts | Stop Acting Like | Excited Monkeys… Confusion! Tso we start with the 5th habit - Right Livelihood We avoid professions and jobs that defile or harm. This is for ourselves and others. Just right livelihood is important because we spend so much of our waking hours at work. The Buddha wanted to ensure that our activities there were also building a kind and compassionate life. The Buddha explicitly said there are five occupations that we should avoid… “monks, a lay follower should not engage in five types of business which five? - trade in weapons, trade in human beings, trade in meat, trade in intoxicants, and trade in poison. These are the five types of business that a lay follower should not engage in” - Vanijja Sutta It seems obvious that business in weapons refers to selling guns or weapons that can cause the death of others, business in human beings refers to slavery or prostitution, business in meat refers to working as a butcher or in a slaughterhouse, business in intoxicants means selling alcohol or illicit drugs and business in poison could mean manufacturing or selling poison to kill insects or animals or worse. But there is ambiguity in some of these. Slavery and prostitution seem clear, but context is very important. A sexual surrogate who heals a broken person would not be in this list. Medicines are acceptable, but not those intended to kill. An obvious omission are soldiers. The Buddha’s family were mostly soldiers of one type or another, he himself was well versed and trained in martial arts. A profession that occasionally uses force to defend the weak is a right livelihood. If a job intends to directly or indirectly cause suffering to other beings we should try to avoid it. When it comes to practicing right livelihood it is not just our actual occupation that is important, but how we conduct ourselves and our business - if our job requires we scam, deceive, or trick the it is not wholesome. You can see that livelihoods that intentionally inflict harm and suffering are proscribed. Shinran Shonin opened Buddhism to Farmers and ranchers and fisherfolk recognizing that their intentions were wholesome and essential to our society. Most of all. If your job ethically eats you up, it can't be a right livelihood. Remember… Until Thoughts | Stop Acting Like | Excited Monkeys… Confusion! Understanding Thought Speech Action Livelihood Effort Mindfulness Concentration The sixth habit is E for Effort - Right Effort - Following this Path takes effort. It is against our Bonbu nature to do these things and think these ways. We have to focus and apply ourselves. But also we must be careful to apply the harp string rule here. It is easy to over do it. Just Right is joyful harmonic and energetic effort. The habit of right effort has four parts - the effort to prevent negative mental states from arising in our mind like preventing anger or jealousy from arising. the effort to abandon any negative state of mind that has arisen If we notice it we let it go right away. the effort to cultivate positive mental states such as cultivating compassion in our mind. the effort to maintain and sustain wholesome states of mind that have arisen These habits are really a shining part of Buddhism. None of us want to experience negative states of mind like as anger or ill will towards others. Buddhism has many different techniques for helping us eliminate these states of mind and preventing them from arising in the future. The meditations on loving kindness and compassion are all about cultivating positive mental states and maintain them. When we focus these thoughts on anyone - more so someone we are not getting along with we are soaking in compassion. May you be happy and well; May no harm or difficulties continue for you; May you receive boundless compassion and care; And may peace and harmony be restored to your heart Doing this takes effort. We have to notice that we are at odds with another and apply the antidote as prescribed by the Buddha. It is just right effort towards letting go of the unfortunate thoughts and habits and effort towards building new wholesome habits. Until Thoughts | Stop Acting Like | Excited Monkeys… Confusion! Monkeys - M - Mindfulness The next habit is right mindfulness. The seventh fold in the Eightfold path. The Buddha taught that mindfulness is an important tool for cultivating an awareness of our thoughts. All the other habits in the path require mindfulness to work.. We can’t act with Just-right intention if we don't even notice what we are doing. If we are asleep at the switch none of this will work very well. Mindfulness strengthens the quality of our concentration which ultimately improves all aspects of our Buddhist life. This is not supposed to be pre-occupation or obsession. Just Right Mindfulness lives in being aware of what's going on outside, and what's happening inside you. Mindfulness requires reflection. Reflection requires honesty. We have monthly meetings of Men's and Women's groups at RBC. I am usually not one for pitting genders against each other, but we have not seen as much participation in the Men’s group as we had hoped. These groups are intended to be safe supportive places for self reflection. They require a measure of courage to openly express our experience of life - joyful or otherwise. Mindfulness is a habit that comes when we are willing to bring to awareness all aspects of our lives and experience. We can be quiet at first and are not required to share, but after a few meetings we feel secure enough to express our insights into our own lives. It is very good to do. So if there are any men in the sangha here today. “Dude - mark your calendar and come to the group”. Next meeting is Aug 29th. Mindfulness is not really about ourselves - ultimately it is really being aware of the boundless force of life, love, compassion, and wisdom that pervades the ten quarters of the universe. This practice naturally transforms our forgetfulness and negative habit energies into awakening and gratitude, so we may experience the Ultimate Dimension as the Nembutsu - Namu Amida Butsu. OK...Until Thoughts | Stop Acting Like | Excited Monkeys Confusion Concentration - the eighth habit is Right Concentration The last one. Right Concentration is the practice deep hearing of the light - Naturally. We get a habit when it is regular. We Chant or Meditate on a regular basis in order to cultivate our power of concentration. Through sitting or chanting or walking in mindfulness we become more able to concentrate. These all help us to clearly see things as-they-are. Chanting is the most popular Buddhist practice by far. Most Buddhist chant - fewer Buddhists meditate. Simply because most people live lives that are incompatible with deeply quiet contemplation. If you are new to chanting, the best advice is to listen carefully to what everyone around you is doing, and just do that. If you do you are apply the habit of Right Mindfulness to cultivate your powers of concentration. While we are on Chanting… You can pitch your voice to be in unison with most of the other chanters (we’re never completely in unison and don’t worry about it), start lower in volume until you are relaxed, then copy the volume of the people around you, and start chanting. Always make sure you can hear the leader. If you can’t - you have taken over. Many people say that they don't try chanting because they are not good singers. This is not required, and shows a little more Right Effort is needed to get yourself down to the temple on Tuesday at 6:00pm and try it. [If you are legitimately tone-deaf you are totally welcome - please chant quietly :) ] Chanting as part of a group service really is something we are all doing together, at first ok - but don't just listen to yourself chant. Hear everyone at once. Be part of one big voice - one big ocean of vibration. We get to a stage where “the chant chants you”. The Buddha gave us five important lessons to experience as we chant…
We take these to heart. But often the opposite is true. We say we don't chant because we are not good enough, but from Amida Buddha’s view - “you are OK just as you are”. From what authority does your worry come - from Mara The Undoer? Many times I've heard senior students and teachers say that the thing they found most tedious and foolish when they first began to practice was the very thing that triggered their first awakening experience. Cultivate the habit, have the courage to be a little foolish. It has worked for me. Chanting is basically another form of meditation. Conscious awareness of the meaning of the words is not so important; this meaning is absorbed on a subconscious level through repetition and habituation. Most important is the mind-state created by the chanting, ultimately oneness to the point of self-forgetfulness. Right Concentration does include meditation. We have regular meditation session here at RBC. Meditation is easy to try and beneficial for everyone, as long as they sit within their abilities. The health benefits are well documented. We don’t think that sitting and meditating is going to make us enlightened tomorrow. But we do recognize the it gives us benefits and aids in our ability to hear the Dharma. That is why Dr. Matsunaga included our 4 minute meditation in our Sunday service pattern. It settles the mind to receive the Dharma. Please remember - There is a Beginner Meditation on service-Sunday mornings at 9:00am. If you want to start this is a good way. We have Golden Light Meditation on alternate Wednesday nights at 6:30pm. We also have a Joyful Chanting Hour every Tuesday night at 6:00pm - please come and try that as well. And we have our Santosha Yoga every Saturday morning. Right concentration means we train our minds to be one pointed and focused. We experience a concentrative mind known as Samadhi, Samadhi is a very pure state of consciousness and awareness in this state our mind can stay fixed on its object without wavering. The Chanting - or our breath - our a yoga posture - are the one thing in mind. We experience calmness and stability that we probably don't comprehend at the moment. These habits really invite us to embark on a big adventure to know and understand the workings of our own mind, to become aware of our intentions and how to live peacefully and compassionately in the world. These habits are the first steps towards uprooting unwholesome and harmful states of mind and instead cultivating qualities in ourselves that we probably admire in others. If we come to know the psychology of our own mind we will slowly start to see that we are the creators of our own happiness and by practicing the noble eightfold path we will find that it is a path of purification of our minds and a path that will lead to realization, awakening freedom and happiness. Wow! we’ve made it through the whole Eightfold Path! Living the Eightfold Path is rewarding and wonderful and we do it in dedication to all sentient beings. Just Right Livelihood , Just Right Effort, Just Right MIndfulness and Just Right Concentration are interconnected with the other habits of the path. The idea of the path is to create a wholesome habit of living. And that leads us to harmony with the Four Noble Truths...
Until Thoughts | Stop Acting Like | Excited Monkeys… Confusion! These Right Habits are a way of changing our minds to see clearly. This is living the nembutsu. We can’t do this on our own efforts alone. And so we take refuge in Amida Buddha. Through Amida we experience our true nature which is - Eternal, Joyous, Selfless and Pure. Please repeat after me the Metta practice... May you be happy; May you be free from harm: May you receive boundless compassion; And may peace and harmony fill your heart - Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu - - Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu -
Welcome again to Reno Buddhist Center - Happy to see you all this morning. We have been occupied with the work of the temple and many projects around here. Many thanks for the generous donation of the new refrigerator for Hiroma Kitchen. And thanks to the volunteers wrestled the 400lb beast through the 1947 doorways. Dana - or giving - at the temple takes many forms and serves as the most important Buddhist practice. Sustaining the Dharma is the highest compassionate action. Thank you. We often to talk about Wisdom and Compassion. In the scrolls over the door Amida Buddha is flanked by Wisdom and Compassion in the form of Seishi and Kannon Bodhisattvas - to his left and right. Wisdom and Compassion- these two core principles are the basis of the spiritual freedom Amida Buddha offers. I should mention that - a Bodhisattva is a being who stays or manifests or returns to this saha world to help save others directly. In the case of Kannon, he returned to this world to save all beings out of Deep Compassion. What do we mean by compassion - Karuna? Compassion is the sense of shared suffering, combined with a desire to reduce or remove the suffering of another. Compassion arises through empathy, and only really exists in our action. Compassionate acts recognize the suffering of others and try to alleviate that suffering as if it is our own. The Dalai lama noticed this about the effects of compassion…. “I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It is the ultimate source of success in life.” ― Dalai Lama XIVCompassion is kindness - that is an important word. Kind - ness. Think about it. When I am kind to you, I am treating you as though we are of a kind you and I. We are one. You are not something other than me. We are of a kind. Kind-ness is essential element of compassion - empathy for the other. Today we are talking about this Bodhisattva - Kannon - compassion in form. You see she is pictured with a weeping willow branch on her hand, suggesting her tears as she encounters suffering in the world. She uses the branch to sprinkle the nectar of life on all beings. He is also clearly a Bodhisattva of this world, often shown sitting on a rock in a more relaxed form. Kannon was deeply determined when he first embarked on his mission of compassion she made a promise to listen to the sufferings of all sentient beings and that, if ever he failed, he would shatter into a thousand pieces. The Characters for Kannon’s name are Kan-Ze-On Kan has to do with seeing, sensing, observing, or perceiving; Ze means “world”; and On basically means “sound.” So a literal rendering of her name might be “perceiver of the world’s sounds.” But the kind of perception involved here is not detached observation, not perception alone; it involves compassion. And the sounds involved are not just any noises but the cries of the suffering of the world. So we translate her name as “Regarder of the Cries of the World.” Kannon was born from a ray of light from the eye of Amida Buddha - Kannon’s Compassion arises from the Wisdom of realizing the interdependence of all beings and their essential oneness. It is non-dualistic, kindness. We say “Emptiness” - meaning to be empty of separateness. <Not empty like a vacuum of space or something like that> Emptiness is the truth that nothing has self-nature or absolute existence for itself. I am reading Nagarjuna - the first Teacher in our lineage - and he explains at great length that Everything is empty of individuality [he says “self existence”], everything exists through a variety of interwoven, interdependent, interconnected causes and conditions. Emptiness is inconceivable reality without marks, form, color or definition. Kannon shows us that when we make this real in our own experience - Compassion arises. Just as when the Buddha, seeing the ill, the aged and the dead, he identified with their plight. Their pain was his pain. He knew that he also would experience those conditions, this inspired him to seek Enlightenment for the sake of all. We are most kind to others when realize that we together share a common destiny - impermanence that carries us along in the flow of time in the ocean of birth and death. These are difficult principles - Wisdom, Compassion, Impermanence, Interdependence, [Prajna, Karuna, Anicca, and Paticcasamuppada]. They are just abstract words. They might seem distant from everyday life. But they take distinct form in our minds and enable us to live well, make choices, express care and concern, and give meaning to life. In Buddhism, Wisdom and Compassion take forms - The form of Compassion is Kannon. Kannon goes by many names - Avalokitesvara [Sanskrit], Kuan-yin [Chinese]) and Kanzeon or Kannon [Japanese]. A Bodhisattva stays/manifests/returns to this world to help save others directly. In the case of Kannon, he remains in form in this world to save all beings. Kannon Manifests as male or female as is appropriate to the situation. In the 84,000 volumes of Buddhist texts there are about eighty that teach about Kannon. The most popular is found in chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra. The chapter describes the ability of Kannon to help all people in any kind of distress, if they call upon her name. In our Pure Land tradition, Kannon [Compassion] and her counterpart Seishi [Wisdom] are embodiments of the attributes of Amida Buddha. Amida Buddha is the Buddha of Infinite Light and Life, the Buddha extending universal Compassion and Wisdom for all beings. Amida and his attendants Kannon and Seishi, express the deep faith that the heart and essence of Reality is Compassion and Wisdom. Kannon’s compassion is manifest through each of us in moments where our “I-me -me -my” self is absent. In order to express this ideal, Kannon has taken many forms and is probably the most venerated of Buddhist figures. There is the Thousand-armed Kannon representing the ability of Kannon to rescue and respond to every need. The Thousand Eyed kannon who sees all the suffering. and many more. Really a Kannon manifestation for every situation. She is very personal. And even the Horse-head Kannon is protector of animals. In March we visited the famous Sanjusangendo in Kyoto, where there are a thousand and one statues of Kannon. Every one with many arms and hands each holding a different implement - to render aid and comfort to all however that is needed. It is a magnificent expression of Kannon. In the center of Kyoto we visited the Rokkakudo temple. It is a small six sided temple surrounded by modern buildings now. It has an important and anchinet history - the temple was founded by the first Buddhist ruler of Japan Shotoku Taishi in the year 587. The legend of its founding goes something like this … when Prince Shōtoku was a child on Awaji Island he found a small Chinese chest on the beach. Inside was a small bronze statue - 2 inches tall. It was the seated Kannon. The prince kept the statue as a sacred Buddhist amulet. He prayed to Kannon to bring him success in his life ahead, promising Kannon that he would build a fine temple to Kanon if he was successful. When Prince Shotoku decided to build the temple of Shi-ten-noji in Osaka and to find building materials, the prince journeyed north. It was a very hot day and the prince stopped by a pond to cool down. He took off his clothes and the precious amulet to swim. He placed his clothes, and the Kannon amulet next to the pond. After his swim, he went to put on his clothes but for some reason the Kannon seemed to be too heavy to pick up. So the prince decided to spend the night there beside the pond and wait until morning. During the night he dreamed that Kannon appeared to him saying, “With this amulet I have given you, I have protected many generations but now I wish to remain in this place. You must build a six sided temple here and enshrine me within. Many people will come here and be healed.” So Prince Shotoku built the temple and enshrined the Nyoirin Kannon within. The prince’s role as founder of Buddhism in Japan is very important. The founder of Shin Buddhism, Shinran Shonin deeply revered Shotoku Taishi and wrote many verses about Shotoku. We can clearly see from these wasans that Shinran worshiped Prince Shotoku as the incarnation of Kannon and the manifestation of Amida Buddha’s virtues of love and compassion in the world. Although we focus on Amida Buddha for refuge, Kannon is very important. When specific issues or problems arise in our practice or our lives. We can turn to Kannon. Shinran, the founder, had a deep crisis of faith when he was 29. He left the mountain monastery and meditated at this same Rokkakudo temple in the heart of Kyoto. The temple dedicated to Kannon by Shotoku Taishi. After 90 days of meditation there he had an important drea. In his dream, he saw Kannon Bodhisattva in the form of Prince Shotoku, who told Shinran that … If he wanted to leave the monastery that was OK. If he wanted to get married, that was OK. As well, Kannon/Shotoku promised to manifest as a woman to be Shinran’s wifes and, as his helpmate, help propagate Buddhism in Japan. The Kannon/Shotoku also recommended that Shinran seek out Honen to be his teacher and opened a new direction in Pure Land Buddhism, freely going among the regular people. He did that and he is here with us now. And it is interesting that in light of his dream at Rokkakudo Shinran eventually got married to a wonderful woman - Eshini. And after his death Eshinni’s sent a letter to their daughter, Kakushini, it recounts a dream in which she saw Shinran as a manifestation of Bodhisattva Kannon. Here are some of her words about the dream... In front of the temple, images of the Buddha were hung on something that looked like a torii (a Shinto gate). One image, which I could not clearly see, seemed to emanate a bright light from the head of the Buddha. There was another image that clearly showed the face of the Buddha.When I asked which Buddha it was, someone replied that the one that emanates a bright light is Honen Shonin, who is none other than Seishi Bodhisattva. Then when I asked about the other image, the voice replied that the one with the face of the Buddha was Bodhisattva Kannon, who is in the form of Shinran Shonin. After I heard these words, I awakened and realized that it was all a dream. After that dream, Eshinni regarded her husband Shinran as the manifestation of bodhisattva Kannon and saw his work to teach the dharma to all people as a great compassionate act. I share these old stories for one important reason. The promise of Kanon to hear the cries of the world is not an empty one. It is one that is fulfilled each day. We each have these moments of connection - of Kindness with others - either receiving kindness of giving it - and we are the manifestation of Kannon at that moment. The weird statues with 1,000 arms now make sense. We are her. She hears and sees through our eyes. [He isn't sitting on a cloud with binoculars and a parabolic microphone]... “The Dharma-body of Kuan-yin Is neither male nor female. Even the body is not the body, What attributes can there be? . . . Let it be known to all Buddhists: Do not cling to form. The bodhisattva is you: Not the picture or the image.” - Traditional Chinese poem So how do we freely manifest Kannon Bodhisattva? It is easy - like making any new habit - if we consistently apply some measure of effort. Here are four practices that are helpful... Have a Morning ritual of setting intention. Say to yourself something like ...“Today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to expand my heart out to others, to pursue enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.” - Dalai Lama An Empathy Practice. Focus on the suffering of a dear person. Everyone has troubles big or small. Now try to imagine the pain they are going through. Imagine the suffering in as much detail as possible. After doing this practice for a couple of weeks, you can try moving on to empathize with suffering of others you know, not just those who are close to you. Eventually even strangers are good focus points for this practice. Act of kindness practice. Plan on doing something small each day to help end the suffering of others, even in a tiny way. Even a smile, or a kind word, or doing an errand or chore, or just talking about a problem with another person is an act of Kind-ness. Evening reflection routine. Take a few minutes before you go to bed to reflect upon your day. Think about the people you met and talked to, and how you treated each other. Think about the intention you stated in the morning, to act with compassion towards others. How well did you do? What could I do better? What did I learn from the experience of today? These compassionate practices can be done anywhere, any time. Weave them in and make them habitl. It is important to have the morning and evening ritual, to frame your day well. An attitude of being compassionate will develop within your. This is Kannon. Her promise is to listen and relieve the suffering of sentient beings in the ten directions. This is living the nembutsu in deep gratitude for all the compassion we receive. This does not happens by our own efforts alone. And so we take refuge in Amida Buddha. I want to extend Kannon’s deep wish to all of you. Please say it too - just repeat after me... May you be happy; May you be free from harm: May you receive boundless compassion; And may peace and harmony fill your heart - Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu - Thanks to these sources: Rev. Alfred Bloom, Emeritus Professor, University of Hawaii Kenneth Doo Young Lee - Shinran and Shotoku Leo Babauta on Compassion Gene Reeves - Lotus Sutra A Reading from the The Lotus Sutra - Chapter 25 in Summary. A bodhisattva named Inexhaustible Mind asks the Buddha why the bodhisattva Kannon is called “Regarder of the Cries of the World.” The Buddha explains that if those who are suffering sincerely call Kannon’s name with all their heart, they will immediately be heard and will be able to free themselves from suffering. A wide variety of possible misfortunes from which one can be saved and a large variety of benefits that can accrue from worshiping the Bodhisattva are mentioned. If a huge ship with thousands and thousands of fortune-seekers is caught in a storm at sea and blown ashore on an island of terrible beasts, if just one person calls to Kannon, all of them will be saved. One has only to call out the name of the Bodhisattva in order to be saved from various calamities and dangers. One can be saved not only from external dangers but also from the three inner poisons—from lust or greed, from anger or rage, and from folly or foolishness. Praying to Kannon can also result in having a baby of the desired gender, one who will be blessed with great merit, virtue, and wisdom if a boy and one who will be marked with great beauty and by long ago having planted roots of virtue and being loved and respected by all if a girl. The Buddha says to Inexhaustible Mind Bodhisattva: “If there were countless hundreds of thousands of billions of living beings experiencing suffering and agony who heard of Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World and wholeheartedly called his name, Regarder of the Cries of the World Bodhisattva would immediately hear their cries, and all of them would be freed.” (LS 371) The Bodhisattva sometimes takes the form of a buddha, a pratyekabuddha, a shravaka, a king, a prime minister, a wife, boy, or girl, or any of thirty-three bodies in order to help those who can be helped in such a way. Inexhaustible Mind Bodhisattva then takes an extremely valuable necklace from around his neck and offers it to Kannon. But the Bodhisattva does not accept it, until the Buddha pleads with Kannon to do so out of compassion both for Inexhaustible Mind Bodhisattva and for all other living beings. Then Kannon accepts the necklace and divides it into two parts, offering one to Shakyamuni Buddha and the other to the stupa of Abundant Treasures Buddha. Welcome everyone. So good to be back. Our visit from Otani Sensei was quite wonderful. Everyone had a chance to glimpse the lineage of our 750 year tradition. Weh held the Buddhist Name ceremony, I am always pleased by the individual care His Eminence gives each person. And in turn each person gives each other. Peaceful and kind - most wonderful. We will be receiving other visits from HHT priests from time to time as we nurture that relationship. In September Isago Sensei will be visiting.
We are here today to talk about a Buddhist life. This is not to be confused with a guilt trip on what you should be. A Buddhist life has a questing quality. Trying to become and realizing that we can’t make it on our own is what its all about. 2600 yrs ago the Buddha identified four important truths. He didn't discover these but we know from him that they have been operative in our Universe from many kalpas. The wall scrolls show the Buddha Lokkasvararaja teaching these same Four Truths almost 15 kalpas ago. [Kalpa is a very long time]. They show his student the king becoming a monk, the monk becoming the bodhisatta Dharmakara | there making his 48 vows. For all sentient beings in the universe. Ultimately becoming Amida Buddha. The triptych is the Pure Land he manifested - Amida Buddha, Seishi and Kannon Bodhisattvas in the Sukkhavatti. These truths have been around a long time. The Eightfold path is the Fourth of the Four Noble Truths. When Sakyamuni Buddha reached enlightenment under that bodhi tree he saw clearly these Four Noble Truths…
Wisdom GROUP Right Understanding Right Thought Conduct GROUP Right Speech Right Action Right Livelihood Concentration GROUP Right Effort Right Mindfulness Right Meditation This is always a challenging talk because there are eight folds in the path. People just don't learn 8 things in a sitting. So we divide the Eightfold Path into three groups Wisdom, Conduct, and Concentration. In effect there are eight things that we need to make habit. These are eight different aspects about ourselves that we need to monitor, practice, and maybe change to help us rise to who we want to be spiritually. The simple goal is to lead a moral life, based in compassion and wisdom. Buddha summarized the path: there are two trainings in wisdom, three trainings in conduct and three trainings in concentration. This is a mnemonic device to help you remember the noble 8 fold path. Until Thoughts Stop Acting Like Excited Monkeys…. Confusion! Each of the eight aspects begins with RIGHT. People often get stuck on the English word RIGHT. It is unfortunate that the Pali word SAMMA was originally translated as "RIGHT". It does not really mean that - RIGHT suggests WRONG. A very dualistic view and not a Buddhist view. The word samma, is like "best" or "appropriate" or "well-directed". It suggests “completeness”, and even “perfection" as in the "perfect summer evening." It is much more subtle meaning. Maybe closer to... juuust right. The Buddha often use the analogy of a harp..... What is just right when it comes to the string of a this harp? Too loose - Hey dude anything you do is ok. no worries. Where does this go? Is this a spiritual life? Too Tight - You shouldn't do this. You can't do that. Don't be this. Rules and regulations pile up and compound and eventually we are wrapped so tight - that we break! Just Right - For today let's say the word RIGHT means a Harmonic Energetic Amplifier of our Thoughts and Actions. Juuuust Right! Back to our Eight habits - The first of the eight is ‘right understanding’. This is the basis of the Path. We recognizing the four marks of existence - 1) Life is a Bumpy road, 2) Life is Impermanent, 3) Life is Interdependent, 4) Life is Fundamentally Good The way to overcome Ignorance is living a just Right life. In this way of seeing the world, we profoundly trust in the Great Compassion of the universe. We can feel the inconceivable life force of all that was, is and will be. This Great Compassion we see as Amida Buddha. We take refuge in something infinitely larger than ourselves. In that refuge you are accepted just as you are. This is the habit of Right Understanding. Remember our Mnemonic for the eightfold path… Until Thoughts | Stop Acting Like | Excited Monkeys… Confusion! The second habit we cultivate in the wisdom group right thought -- just right thought. Sometimes we translate it as intention. The Buddha explained right thought as having the intention of letting go - renunciation- the thought of good will and the thought of harm-less-ness - Ahimsa. Without harming. This means our intentions should be more self-less rather than self-ish. When we are not motivated by personal greed so much - in fact we are letting go of selfishness - practicing more self-less behavior helps us to move away from our deluding ego. We are making a habit of self-less-ness instead. We come to recognize that everyone is in the same boat as us, they want happiness and to avoid pain - we should live in a way that helps us all get there. Instead of trying to secure happiness of just one being, this separate self, we experience as “I-Me-Me-My”. It is actually ignorance manifest. The just right thought is compassion - Compassion is Truth manifested. The Buddha recognized that we are all interconnected, so renouncing our selfish pursuits and working towards the greater good is in line with reality. At first we don’t realize or appreciate what letting go means - living a life more inclined towards peace and letting go doesn’t necessarily mean becoming monks and nuns - it could mean that - mostly it means renouncing our greed, our anger, our jealousy and other harmful emotions. These prized possessions we cherish - our wounds and indignities done to us - that we carry inside us as caustic treasures - what Gollum called our “precious-es”. Right Thought is to leave these things behind. Cast them off and care deeply for others. In the Dhammapada - Buddha said, “he who has renounced his impurities is called an Bhikku”. The impurities we need to let go are our mental impurities or defilements of greed, aversion, pride and jealousy which all arise from ignorance and selfishness. Why do we try to remove these thoughts? - Because they cause so much pain for ourselves and others. The thought of renunciation also means letting go of the belief that happiness is found in things that are external to us. The Media and 24hour fabric of Advertising tells us that happiness is found in acquiring more and more things. Buddha taught that happiness isn’t found in external objects and “Getting stuff” - that just increases our craving and desire. Happiness comes through finding that true light within you. Our true nature is Eternal, Joyous, Selfless, and Pure. Having this Right Thought of renunciation means we slowly loosen the grasp of our craving and attachment to external things. We can start to find the peace and happiness that lies within -- the great expanse of mind -- we can find the light that is all around us. Another aspect of Just Right Thought is goodwill/ Non-harm. Having an thought of goodwill means we act with an attitude of goodwill and love as opposed to ill will and anger. Our actions of body, speech and mind resonate with the wish to help others and make them happy. Anger is something that affects us all in some degree, if we do have anger or ill will towards anyone, the Buddha prescribes the meditation of loving kindness…. May you be happy; May you be free from harm: May you receive compassion; And may peace fill your heart This helps us eradicate the habit of ill will or anger. Our true nature, is “Eternal, Joyous, Selfless and Pure” - one of love, peace and wishing others happiness, so it is this state that the Buddha wants us to tap back into, the last part of right thought is this intention. The thought of harmlessness - having an intention of harmlessness means we should be motivated by compassion and not wanting to cause or increase the sufferings of others, this means we refrain from harming others in any way such as through physical violence, verbal abuse, or mental manipulation. Actually this thought of harmlessness can be employed in anything and everything that we set out to achieve, with right thought we carefully consider the consequences of all our actions to ensure that they don’t cause harm or suffering in any way. Those are the Wisdom group - Right Understanding and Right Thought. Until Thoughts | Stop Acting Like | Excited Monkeys… Confusion! The third habit that leads to the other shore is Right Speech Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh recommended this about just right speech... “Be aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others. Please cultivate loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering. Know that words can create happiness or suffering, learn to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self-confidence, joy, and hope...We must always refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord. Our words can reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small - It doesn't cost anything to speak in a loving way.'' We only need to choose our words carefully, and we can make other people happy. To use words mindfully, with loving kindness, is a practice of generosity. We can make many people happy simply by practicing just right speech. This does require some Just Right Thought. All theses habits are interrelated. Kannon Bodhisattva [over here] is a person who has learned the art of listening and speaking deeply in order to help people let go of their fear, misery, and despair. He is the model of the practice of Just Right Speech, and the door she opens is called the “universal door'' - universal door of communication. If we practice listening and speaking just like Kannon, we too will be able to open the universal door and bring joy, peace, and happiness to many people and alleviate their suffering. In the sutras Kannon's voice is described in three important ways: the voice of the world regarder, the voice of the rising tide, and the voice of world surpassing. First, is the voice of the world regarder The meaning of the word Kannon is “the one who looks deeply into the world and hears the cries of the world.'' This voice relieves suffering and suppressed feelings, because it is the voice of someone who understands us deeply -- our anguish, despair, and fear. When we feel understood, we suffer much less. Second, the voice of the rising tide This is the voice of the teaching of the Buddha. It is a powerful voice, the kind of voice that quiets all wrong views and speculations. It is the lion's roar that Dharmakara Bodhisattva speaks of in the Sanseige - A voice that brings silence to the mountain and brings healing and transformation. Third, the voice of the world surpassing This is a voice that is uncomparable - just nothing like it. This voice does not aim at fame, profit, or a competitive edge. It is a thundering silence that shatters all notions and concepts. The voice of the world regarder, the voice of the rising tide, and the voice of the world surpassing are the voices we can be mindful of when we speak. If we contemplate these three voices, we assist Kannon in opening the universal door, the door of real listening and real speaking. The Universal Door of Communication. Just Right Speech is when we communicate words of kindness and simple truth and avoid speaking about others when they are not present. We also listen deeply to what others say in order to transform conflict into harmony. Sometimes we hear the phrase “that is not really Buddhist” spoken in the temple. -- This is awkward -- Because right speech does not include judgements of others’ faith. It consists in telling our truth with care and awareness. Words spoken in judgement of others do not follow this guidance. As Buddhists we have faith in the wisdom of the Buddhas, so their words and guidance are important to us. We take these words to heart... “If it is not truthful and not helpful, don't say it. If it is truthful and not helpful, don't say it. If it is not truthful yet helpful, don't say it. If it is truthful and helpful, wait for the right time to say it.” ― Gautama Buddha Remember our mnemonic… Until Thoughts | Stop Acting Like | Excited Monkeys… Confusion! The fourth habit we cultivate is Right Action We habituate ourselves toward wholesome physical acts. We practice giving (dana), for the good of ourselves and the community. RBC is supported by your generosity and you give to make the Dharma available to all people in our area. Everyone who gives to RBC has contributed to sustaining the Dharma for many years in Reno. Dana is one of the most important practices for Buddhists. You might ask - What is Dana? The Pali word Dana means to share and give whatever we think we possess without any sense of reward or benefit. Dana can be given from our money, time, space, knowledge, energy, information, fearlessness, Dharma, skill, a smile, kind words, and much more. Anything that we “possess” can be the object of Dana. Dana has two aspects: (1) Release of positive energy and (2 ) Reduction of attachment, a cause of Dukkha (stress, fear, and suffering in our lives), by learning to let go. The Right Action of Dana gives us positive energy. Whatever we give, the action of “giving” always releases positive energy. For example, if a sangha member spends extra time to find a book in the RBC library for a visitor. At the moment the visitor takes the book, the member feels positive energy because of her giving of her “extra time.” Even if we do Dana to show-off, “to be a good person”, it liberates a certain amount of positive energy. Where does the pleasure and positive energy of giving Dana come from? Dana is “giving up” the possession of the mind, not really the object. When you “let go” (give) something with genuine mind [right thought], it necessarily gives you positive energy. This is the effect of genuine giving. That is how genuine Dana works. Like when you have a backpack on your shoulders, and when you put it down, you feel relieved. This is the natural effect of letting it go of something. It is not “I” who produces positive energy -- or reduces greed and attachment -- but the power of Dana itself. It is because Dana is a tool that is designed by the Buddha himself to release positive energy and reduce self-centeredness. It is the nature of Dana that produces positive energy -- “Dana gives happiness” and “That Is The Way It Is. We make dana a habit. We give a little every time we visit the temple and receive the Dharma. I should mention that Just Right Action of the eightfold path also includes the guidance that we refrain from unwholesome actions of the body. From taking life, to mindless consumption, to stealing and other harmful acts. As Gotama Buddha said... "And what, friends, is right action? Abstaining from taking life, abstaining from stealing, abstaining from unchastity: This, friends, is called right action. Remember… Until Thoughts | Stop Acting Like | Excited Monkeys… Confusion! 5. The fifth habit is Right Livelihood We avoid professions and jobs that defile or harm. This is for ourselves and others. Our work is not separate from spiritual practice. We practice the Buddha’s Noble Path at work or school too. We dedicate our labor for the health and vitality of our workplace and the world. During the course of our day, we consider if our words and actions uplift or harm others. At work, in order to avoid conflict; try not to “carry the dharma on your sleeve.” Instead, we practice this Noble Path in humbleness and thanksgiving without others even knowing about it. This is known as practicing the dharma without form. Remember… Until Thoughts | Stop Acting Like | Excited Monkeys… Confusion! Understanding Thought Speech Action Livelihood Effort Mindfulness Concentration of a Buddhist Life. On the other habits we cultivate on the Path I’ll be brief today…. 6. The sixth habit is Right Effort - Following this Path takes effort. It is against our Bonbu nature to do these things and think these ways. We have to focus and apply ourselves. But also we must be careful to apply the harp string rule here. It is easy to over do it. just Right is joyful harmonic and energetic effort. 7. The Seventh habit is Right Mindfulness This is really being aware of the boundless force of life, love, compassion, and wisdom that pervades the ten quarters of the universe. This practice will naturally transform our forgetfulness and negative habit energies into awakening and gratitude, so we may experience the Ultimate Dimension as the Nembutsu - Namu Amida Butsu. It is active all the time. 8. and the eighth habit is Right Concentration This means we will practice deep hearing of the light - Naturally. We get a habit when it is regular. Meditate on a regular basis in order to cultivate mindfulness and insight. Through sitting or chanting or walking in mindfulness. These all help us to clearly see things as-they-are. There is a Beginner Meditation class on service-Sunday mornings at 9:00am. If you want to start this is a good way. We have Golden Light Meditation on alternate Wednesday nights at 6:30pm. We also have a Joyful Chanting Hour every Tuesday night at 6:00pm - please come and try that as well. Wow! we’ve made it through half of the Eightfold Path! Living the Eightfold Path is rewarding and wonderful and we do it in dedication to all sentie nt beings. Just Right Wisdom, Just Right Action, And Just Rights and Just Right action are interconnected with the other habits of the path. The idea of the path is to create a wholesome habit of living. And that leads us to harmony with the Four Noble Truths...
Until Thoughts | Stop Acting Like | Excited Monkeys… Confusion! These Right Habits are a way of changing our minds to see clearly. This is living the nembutsu. We can’t do this on our own efforts alone. And so we take refuge in Amida Buddha. Through Amida we experience our true nature which is - Eternal, Joyous, Selfless and Pure. Please repeat after me the Metta practice... May you be happy; May you be free from harm: May you receive boundless compassion; And may peace and harmony fill your heart - Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu Namu Amida Butsu - Hello, everyone!
It is my great pleasure to have an opportunity to give a greeting to address the members of Reno Buddhist Church today. Last March, about 10 members of RBC came to our Head Temple at Asakusa, Tokyo and four of them took part in the Lay Ordination Ceremony in order to become Buddhist followers. Two others, Mr. Matthew and Mrs. Shelley Fisher, had the Ordination Ceremony to become Buddhist priests by taking refuge in the Three Treasures: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Five years have passed since Dr. Matsunaga returned to the Pure Land. He was the founder of RBC, and also President of International Buddhist Center at Higashi Honganji Temple. “Lay Ordination” in Shin Buddhism means to become a disciple of the Buddha. In the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, when taking lay ordination, people took refuge in the Three Treasures - Buddha, Dharma and Sangha -, and were given five sila (precepts). Sila generally means “precepts” or “regulations” in the Sangha, and also includes personal vows for attaining Enlightenment. In the case of Shuddhipunthaka, a disciple who was not considered wise, his personal vow was to observe a precept to clean up the garden, telling himself, “clean up your mind!” He repeated this training for a long time and finally attained Enlightenment. 挨拶 日本で、今年の3月に僧侶が誕生したことの喜び 帰敬式を受ける意味 仏門に入ると言うこと。 釈尊の時代には、三帰をし五戒を受けた 簡単にいうと、教団での、規則と、修行上の課題。 人を殺すなと言う、盗むなという初歩的で、簡単なものから、精神的なモノまであった。律は、教団のルール。戒は、人それぞれ違うものであった。 ある人には、掃除を徹底することと言うものもあった。その時に、「塵を払う」ということ。これは、心を見つめて、磨くと言うことに通じる戒でもあった。 サンガの規律は、一般の法律よりは、少し精神的には厳しいものであった。 To be a disciple of the Buddha is immeasurably profound. An ancient sutra for taking refuge in the Three Treasures tells us it is not easy to be born as a human. In ancient India, people believed that people were reincarnated or transmigrated, repeating births as an insect, as an animal or as a human being. Shakyamuni taught the six realms of existence: the worlds of hellish beings, hungry ghosts, fighting demons, human beings and heavenly beings. But Shakyamuni Buddha preached that even the heavenly beings (devas) have sufferings. Of course human beings have a lot of sufferings And living a good, virtuous life meant receiving a better life in the next one. So, to be born as a human is a very rare opportunity. To become a disciple of the Buddha, or a Buddhist follower, is said in sutras to be much harder than to be born as a human being in the first place. This ancient sutra for taking refuge in the Three Treasures seems very important even for modern people. It is still true that human life is full of sufferings. In the early stage of Shakyamuni Buddha’s life, what was meant by Enlightenment was nothing but liberation from suffering. Mahayana Buddhism, which pureland Buddhism belongs to, originally meant “Great Vehicle”, a teaching by which to be able to save all sentient beings. Mahayana has been considered to be taught by Shakyamuni in the latter half of his life. Shakyamuni was very successful in teaching people while he was alive. And the essence and the spirituality of his teaching continued to live and work, and later developed into Mahayana Buddhism movement. 仏門に入るというのは、特別に意味があること。 三帰依文では、 人間として、生まれるのも、難しい。また、人間として生まれて、仏教に出会うのも難しい と言われる。 これは、非常に面白い考え方。 人間は、まだ、苦悩が多い存在であると言うことを言っている。 初期の仏教では、苦から逃れることを悟りと呼んだ。 釈尊の生涯後半においては、大乗の教えになる これは、教化の成功を意味する In Mahayana Buddhism, one of the most prominent teachings is Shin Buddhism, one of the Pure Land schools. It is believed in Shin Buddhism that Shakyamuni Buddha’s life was ultimately in order to teach Pure Land Buddhism. 大乗の流れからは、いろいろな教えが出てくるが、その内の一つが浄土真宗 浄土真宗では、釈尊の生まれた意味は、浄土門を開くためと教えている In the 5th century, the famous Buddhist priest called Vasbandhu appeared in Indea. Vasbandhu is one of the seven patriarchs Shinran Shonin admired as the most important in the history of Pure Land Buddhism. His understanding of Buddhism is intriguing, indeed. According to his teaching, the world that one sees as real is a manifestation of one’s mind or consciousness. 面白い考え方がある。 自分が見ている世界は、自分の心が、表面化したものだという考え方。 Human beings are always thinking something. According to Vasbandhu’s Buddhist philosophy, this act of thinking is like planting seeds somewhere in the three thousand great worlds, a very large spiritual universe described in Buddhist scriptures. 人間の心は、何時も何かを考えているが、それは、何時も精神世界のどこかに、種を植えているようなものである。ということ。 Planted seeds grow, being watered and nourished. Then they come to bloom and bear fruits. All that we can feel by our sense organs are the phenomena that have appeared by taking form. 植えた種に、水や、養分がやられて、その内、花が咲き、実がなる。 実を私たちは、見て、触ることが出来る。 In this world, so many things occur. However, they are all the result of human thoughts in the past or present time, manifestations of our spiritual world. この世界には、様々なことが起きているが、それは、実は、世界の中の誰かが、いつか考えたことが現実化したもの。 種は見えず、茎も見えない。 Usually we don’t see seeds or kernels, but can clearly see flowers and fruits. At the very end we can only taste fruits on our dining table. 最後に、花や、実となったときに、初めて見ることが出来る。 We usually do not know what kinds of seeds were planted. 自分が撒いた実というものも、人はなかなかわからない。 Similarly, we don’t know what we have thought or are now thinking 自分で、考えていることも解らない。 That is why Shinran Shonin called us ordinary people, meaning the ignorant or unenlightened だから、私たちは普通の人間。 Usually we are surprised to come to know the final taste of the fruits. There are good fruits and bad ones. This process is called “the karmic law of cause and effect.” some modern thinkers called this law of cause and effect, the rule of mirror, as a result always reflects its cause like a mirror. でも、実がなってみて始めて驚く。良い実もあれば、悪い実もある。 だから、鏡の様であるとも言う。鏡の法則と、言われることもある。 Therefore, we should look at ourselves and change time to time, just as we do so with our appearances. 鏡を見て、自分の姿を直すように、時々、自分を見直す必要がある。 量子力学の創設者の一人、シュレディンガーは、 Erwin Schrodinger, a famous physicist and the founder of quantum physics, says that the image of the world is nothing but one’s ego. (残念ながら、原文不明) 「世界描像とは自我そのものなのである」(精神と物質 mind and matter 4章 冒頭)と、語っていますが、まさに、これは、仏教の種子から世界が生まれるという考え方である。 He is known as studying the ancient Indian philosophy. His understanding of the world is quite similar to the Buddhist view, which I just described また、良い種を植える必要もある。 We should plant good seeds and at the same time should not forget the fact that Amida Buddha is always working to save us. 仏様は、私たちを助けようとしている、 Thus, Shinran Shonin says that we should entrust ourselves to the grand vessel of Amida’s Vow to carry us all to the other shore, the Pure Land. This is the mind of taking refuge in Amida Buddha. だから、その救おうという願いを信じる必要がある。 そのこころが、帰依の心。 When we take refuge in the Buddha, it will naturally be accompanied by sincere gratitude to him for what he has done for us. What is important for us is to take refuge in the Buddha and thank him for all that he has done for us. All this means planting good seeds. 帰依の心をもつこと、常に仏に対する感謝の心を持つことが大切。 それが、良き種となる。 世尊、我一心に、 尽十方無碍光如来に、帰依します そして、如来の浄土に往生する願いを信じます Vasbandhu declared, “Buddha, without any hesitation, with pure concentration, I take refuge in Amida Buddha and entrust myself to his wish for us to be born in the Pure Land.” 阿弥陀仏の、御浄土に生まれさせたいと言う願いを信じていきて下さい。 Please entrust yourself to Amida Buddha’s great wish for us to be born in the Pure Land. And always try to plant good seeds, good seeds for pure faith. 常に、そういう良き種をまき続けて下さい。 それは、いつか良き結果として、実となるでしょう。 Seeds will definitely produce good fruits someday in future. 良き種が、良き実となることを信じることが大切です。 It is important fro us to believe this Buddhist truth. これを因果の法則と言います。 This is called the law of causality or, more in detail, the karmic law of cause and effect. 法とは、縁起である。と言う言葉もあります。 Another aspect of the Buddhist truth is described as the Dharma of interdependent origination. その様に、生きて下さい Please live your life, with pure faith in Dharma, and with sincere gratitude to Amida Buddha, because Amida save us all without any discrimination. I hope you may have a good fruit, whether in this life or next life. 皆さんには、必ず、良い世界が待っているでしょう。 Thank you very much. --- Namandabs - Namandabs - Namandabs ---
Welcome everyone on this beautiful morning. Thank you for coming to the temple - just as you are. We are always happy to gather with friends - new friends and old friends. I am very happy to be speaking to you two weeks after Rev, Unno’s Dharma Talk. He was such a moving speaker. That said - I am always happy to talk about the Dharma with you. It is with great joy that I tell you all that Rev. Shelley and I will be moving into the temple and living here full time. This is a big change for us but a bigger benefit for the Sangha. With priests living here, the sangha will be able to offer the Dharma to more people in more ways than before. It is through the generosity of the Sangha that we are able to do this. [Personally it feels like the old trust exercise of falling backwards. “Will they catch me?” I know you will - You already have. Today my talk will focus on our important Dharma Sisters. Please understand that we consider [what some call] “gender bias” because we know it is inherent and systemic. As with all aspects of Buddhism, awareness is a first step. Seeing reality as it is is the last step. We want to see things as they are - we are OK just as we are. That is wonderful. The Wisdom and Compassion of the Universe - Amida Buddha - is there for us - just as we are. But as we have noted many times, “We don’t usually feel that way”. Today I want to point out that half of us [Women] get the opposite message - you’re not ok - a bit more strongly than men do. And I am sorry for that. It is pumped out by Hollywood and Advertizing Media in very insidious ways. In counter force to that we intentionally thank our Dharma Sisters. The Shakuni among us. Today is the “Go get ‘em sister!” aspect of reality brought into focus. I want to talk about wonderful women who are great leaders and exemplars for us all: Sujata, Mahapajpati, Queen Videhi, Kannon, Green Tara, Eshini, Kakushini, Rev. Unno’s Great Grand mother, and Dr. Alicia Matsunaga. All wonderful Dharma sisters whose contributions make our meeting today possible. Gender Qualities - I’ll read a list of Qualities - think in your mind how it fits with the qualities we associate with female life. Generous Disciplined Patient Diligent Focused Wise . These qualities are called the six Paramitas. Paramita is a sanskrit word that can be translated as “to have arrived at the Other Shore”. In Buddhism we use “Other Shore” to mean enlightenment. Joyful life without suffering. These qualities when expressed well are enlightenment itself. When we consider them deeply we see that they each contain all the others. To be Generous - we have to be Disciplined, Patient, Diligent, Focused and Wise. As with Patience contained within are Generosity Discipline Diligence Focus Wisdom . The first paramita is giving or generosity - DANA Here is a story about giving... In the time just before the enlightenment of the Buddha when Siddhartha was following extreme practices of self denial… The wonderful Dharma Sister Sujata was a taking an offering of Rice-Milk to a Forest spirit in hopes of getting a good marriage. But she came upon a man collapsed on the road - She put down her tray and saw he was barely breathing, he was very thin and looked like a skeleton covered in skin. Sujata cradled him and brought a bowl of Rice-Milk to his lips. Without opening his eyes he sipped the mixture. Slowly he regained consciousness. Sujata brought food everyday as Siddhartha meditated under the Bodhi tree. Until his enlightenment. Sujata showed the first Paramita - Dana - selfless giving. Giving counters greed, and ensures we will have enough resources to helping others in the future. The underlying meaning of giving is letting go. Two kinds of giving. giving of wealth, be it material resources or our time and energy. When our giving becomes increasingly unconditional, we will begin to feel more liberated spiritually. When we give we feel contentment. giving of teaching. Simply teach whatever we are good at and what others are not. A wonderful form of teaching is the Dharma, which can help people find lasting happiness and liberation. Another story…. When the Buddha had been teaching for several years, his father King Suddhodana died, he visited his home of Kapilavastu in Sakaya. Queen Pajapati, his step-mother, ask the Buddha to be ordained as a nun - a Bhikkhuni - The Buddha said “it was not possible”. She tried three more time to ask for ordination on that visit and each time the Buddha said it was not the right time. After the Buddha had left for the city of Vesali. Queen Pajapati gathered the group of women who wanted to be ordained and proposed that they shave their heads, take the yellow robes and walk to Vesali. They walked the hundreds of miles, begged for food along the way, and arrived at Vesali. The Buddha’s attendant Ananda was shocked to see the women. He could see from their appearance that they had walked from Kapilivastu. Ananda didn’t know what to do. Queen Pajapati asked to speak with the Buddha. Ananda first asked him… “Lord, is it possible for a woman to attain the Fruits of Stream Enterer, Once-Returner, Never-Returner, and Arhatship?” “Beyond a doubt” the Buddha answered. “Then why won’t you accept women into the sangha? Lady Pajapati nurtured and cared for you from the time you were an infant. She has loved you like a son. Now she has shaved her head and renounced all her possessions. She has walked all the way from Kapilavastu to prove that women can endure anything that men can. Please have compassion and allow her to be ordained.” The Buddha's concerns we about public reaction to the ordination. But ultimately he ordained the first group of Buddhist Nuns. Mahapajapati [as she was known by her buddhist name] was, Patient, diligent and Focused in the right measure. And benefited the Dharma teaching by opening its doors wide. Mahapajapati was opening discipline of a Buddhist life for all Women and herself. The second paramita is discipline, which counters worries and unhappiness, and enables us to continue on our way to awakening. In a broader sense, discipline is ethical behavior. Initially, as we begin to practice discipline, we focus on not harming. Gradually, we begin to develop and increase this virtue to its ultimate form - to benefit others. The third paramita is patience, which counters anger and hatred, and helps us to avoid arguments and to achieve our goals. We need patience in almost everything we do. If we are in school, we need patience to persevere in our study. At work, patience helps us to properly accomplish our tasks. At home, patience is the foundation for interacting well with family members. Patience enables us to live in harmony. The fourth paramita is diligence, or enthusiastic effort. It is the joy that we bring to our practice and to all that is worthwhile in our lives. It is the true delight that arises from deep within us when we are doing what is wholesome. It enables us to keep going when we feel tired or overwhelmed. It is refreshing and inspiring. Cultivating enthusiastic effort counters laziness, and brings joy to our lives as we feel a sense of accomplishment in finishing what we have started. A new story for us is the story of Rev. Mark’s Grandmother. About a hundred years ago. Even though her husband was a priest, by local custom she was not allowed to listen to the Dharma talks [she needed to attend to the guests of the temple at that time on Sunday morning]. But Mrs. Unno, coming from a temple family herself, was deeply concerned with spirituality. To satisfy this need, she would wake up before dawn every morning - dress her children - take them to a morning service at a neighboring temple where the Temple master was famous for daily Dharma talks - and then bring them home and tuck them in bed again - all before her husband woke up. Her deep interest in the Dharma was so strong she kept this schedule for 50 years. And by this she instilled deep Dharma understanding in her children. And without this, the wonderful American Buddhist Rev. Taitetsu Unno would not have made Shin Buddhism accessible to us. Generous Disciplined Patient Diligent Focused and Wise This woman planted a seed that bore fruit in American Buddhism. The fifth paramita is Dhyana or deep concentration. Our practice of deep hearing - to deeply sense the compassion of the universe around us, is possible through deep concentration. We become aware of our place in that compassion and it’s effect on us. Our minds become calmer and less agitated. Joy flows in when the ice of our delusion melts into the water of understanding. We heard from Green Tara on Diligence as shown in her Vow. Her compassion is boundless. “She Who Ferries Across” is Green Tara. The sixth paramita is wisdom. Wisdom counters ignorance, and enables us to know how best to help others and to improve ourselves; our ability to get along well with others. This wisdom not learned in books - it is our innate, all-knowing wisdom. Imbued deep in our Dharma sisters. Another Dharma Sister that is very important is Eshinni - Shinran’s wife. Shinran broke his vows of celibacy by marrying the nun, Eshinni when he was 37. Shinran viewed their marriage as a turning point when he abandoned the traditional life of a Buddhist priest and defined the role of “Fellow traveler” that we follow here at RBC. Shinran and Eshinni both considered their partner to be a manifestation of the Bodhisattva Kannon and held deep reverence for each other. Eshinni was born in Niigata Prefecture in 1182. We only known about her from ten letters she wrote to their daughter, Kakushinni. These letters were discovered in the temple archives in Kyoto in 1921. The letters give a glimpse into Buddhism practiced by ordinary women of this time. In the letters, Eshinni conveys her deep respect - almost reverence for her husband. Besides giving insight into Shinran, the letters also tell about Eshinni’s life as an independent woman, managing land and staff and coping with famine during the 13th century. Eshinni did not depend on her husband for a living, she supported Shinran financially and materially. Eshinni clearly followed Shinran’s view that marriage was not an impediment to being a nun and to following her religious path. A life of supporting the Nembutsu path and service to the Dharma. Eshinni is revered for her dedication to Shinran during his teaching years. Congregations followed the couple's example, where men and women led Shin temples as husband-and-wife teams. Eshinni was the "Mother" of Jodo Shinshu. One Letter reads... "Dear Wakasa, I often think of your children and would like to hear the most recent news about them. I would really like to know about your oldest child. Oh, will there ever be a chance for me to visit you, or for you to come to see me once more while I am alive? Most likely not! I am ready to go to the land of bliss at any moment. In the land of bliss we will be able to know everything clearly, so I hope that you will live the life of nembutsu and come join me there. I know that if we can meet in the land of bliss, everything will become clear." Eshinni, age 88 Eshinni’s letters revealed normal concerns for her daughter and grandchildren in far away Kyoto. And important facts of Shinran’s personal life as well as his spiritual journey. Even recounting dreams they had. Eshinni died at about age 89 in the village of Joetsu. Generous Disciplined Patient Diligent Focused Wise Several of us toured Joetsu and experienced a beautiful memorial hall dedicated to Eshini where we saw copies of the letters and had the great good fortune to be able to thank her in person at her grave site. Shinran and Eshinni had six children - Kakushinni was the youngest daughter. Kakushinni was her father’s caregiver in his final years. She was about 30 years old when Shinran died. When Shinran died in 1263, he was virtually unknown to the Buddhist establishment of Kyoto. And after Shinran’s death, Kakushinni is revered for planting the seeds of organization grew into today’s Shin Buddhism. She built the first mausoleum for Shinran on her land. In 1277 she donated this gravesite to all Shin Buddhist followers as a common memorial to Shinran. Later this memorial was known as the Otani Memorial (Otani Byodo) that we visited on our recent pilgrimage as well. She wanted to keep Shinran’s teaching alive for his followers. She built a temple enshrining an image of Shinran. As a result, the Nembutsu teaching began to reach more people. About 50 years later, this mausoleum became an official temple recognized by the Emperor as the “Hongwanji” or Temple of the Primal Vow. Kakushinni’s foresight and deep appreciation towards the Nembutsu teaching saved Shinran’s work and established the foundation of Shin Buddhism. Her great contribution in the formation of our branch Buddhism was essential. Like Sujata’s Rice Milk. Without it our path to the Dharma would have stopped. She was ... Generous Disciplined Patient Diligent Focused Wise Shinran himself felt this way toward our Dharma sisters. There is a famous passage which expresses the Buddhist vision of the total equality of all beings in Amida Buddha’s compassion: “In reflecting on the great ocean of shinjin, I realize that there is no discrimination between noble and humble or black-robed monks and white-clothed laity, no differentiation between man and woman, old and young. The amount of evil one has committed is not considered; the duration of any performance of religious practices is of no concern. It is a matter of neither practice nor good acts… It is simply [trusting the great compassion of the universe] that is inconceivable, inexplicable, and indescribable. It is the medicine that eradicates all poisons. The medicine of the Buddha’s Vow destroys the poisons of our wisdom and foolishness. - KGSO sect3 When he wrote about this gentle person here - Kannon Bodhisattva - (Kōtaishi Shōtoku hōsan), envisioning the Bodhisattva in many forms as Kuanyin, and Kannon, and Avalokiteśvara, Shinran writes: He appeared in China To benefit sentient beings; He was reborn five hundred times As both man and woman. The Bodhisattva manifests as needed to save sentient beings from suffering. As spiritual beings we are not Man or Woman. We are sentient beings lost in the ocean of births and deaths. Capable of great compassion and hideous evil. The wonderful Dharma sisters we have recognized today were Generous, Disciplined, Patient, Diligent, Focused, Wise. They stand as strong examples of Buddhist life in compassion and courage. Showing us life on the other shore is possible and near by. I have a strong feeling of gratitude to them all. Without any one of them I would not be here speaking to you: Sujata, Mahapajapati, Green Tara, Unno-Samma, Kannon, Eshinni and Kakushinni the mothers of Shin Buddhism. We can learn from these great Buddhist women and practice their qualities - even in small measure - starting today, gradually, we will begin to look in the right direction, toward the Dharma and gradually we will awaken to the the Wisdom and Compassion of the Universe. Amida Buddha - goodness, contentment, and joy are already within us. We awaken to our true nature, - our Buddha-nature - Eternal, Selfless, and Good. May you be happy and well; May no harm or difficulties continue for you; May you receive boundless compassion and care; And may peace and harmony be restored to your heart --- Namandabs - Namandabs - Namandabs --- |