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                                                                                      6-29-19

Gain and Loss


We begin with an opening chant that sets our intention, both for ourselves and for others:   “Universal Well-Being”

May I/everyone abide in well-being
In freedom from affliction
In freedom from hostility
In freedom from ill-will
And may I/they maintain well-being in myself/themselves

This gives us an initial direction for our spiritual practice. We want to experience well-being which is more than just a temporary happiness. Rather it is something that is deeper and more lasting, something that can remain with us even during difficult times.

Another word for spirtual practice is cultivation (bhavana in Pali). This implies ongoing attention to what can be developed. Our aim in this thematic study is to learn from the example of nature and apply these lessons to our life. The Buddha chose to use similes from nature to illustrate many of his points, i.e. handful of leaves. 

Today we will look at gain and loss (aka success and failure) as part of the natural unfolding. How do we define gain and loss and is it a reliable measure of our well-being?  

Usually, we assess gain and loss based on our personal preferences: 


1.  If we want something and it happens, we consider that to be gain. 

2. If we want something and it doesn’t happens, we consider that to be loss. 
3. If we don’t want something and it doesn’t happen, that can also be gain (although less often recognized)
4. If we don’t want something and it happens, we consider that as loss. 

My own example from tending the garden: I planted many seeds. They germinated and began to sprout but insects ate them before they had a chance to get strong and resilient. Consequently, I don’t have a crop of beans, carrots or beets.

Problem: the sense of entitlement - these beans are "mine" just because I planted them (clinging/wanting/expecting). When the plants don’t survive, I suffer, thinking “I won’t have a harvest for myself and for other CSA members. How can I not suffer? 

    Let go of the sense of entitlement (it’s mine)
    Recognize impermanence/uncertainty
    Rejoice that the insects have food and that they are building soil
    Plant more seeds somewhere else
    Kill the insects 

Which of these responses demonstrate generosity, kindness and clarity (the three wholesome roots of action)?

Inquiry

Think of some examples from your own life (see the four types of gain and loss listed above).

Now ask yourself, "Is the gain really a good thing in and of itself"? Does it provide lasting satisfaction? Is there a way that it could lead to something that is not so helpful, i.e. complacency or harm to others who feel differently? Example: I get a raise at work. I use this money to go gambling so I can get even more money.

Is failure always a “bad” thing? Or is there a way that it could lead to something beneficial for you and/or be good for others?  Example: I don’t want it to rain on the day of my picnic. It rains. The plants and animals get a drink.

How does this apply to our meditation practice? Do  you consider the following to be gain/progress or loss/failure?

I have peace of mind when I meditate……
My thoughts are all over the place when I meditate…..
My body feels relaxed and at ease when I meditate…..
There is pain in my back and legs when I meditate….

What makes the difference in our experience? Is it what is happening or our how we view what is happening which then determines our reaction to our experience?  Can we see the same experience from a different angle and experience less/no stress? Consider this Chinese parable.

On a collective level, how does our society view gain or “progress”? Do you think that this way of measuring things is helpful? What does it lead to? How is it similar or different from the example of using one's raise to go gambling?

Revisiting the chant: “Universal Well-Being”

May I/everyone abide in well-being
In freedom from affliction
In freedom from hostility
In freedom from ill-will
And may I/they maintain well-being in myself/themselves

Is the affliction, hostility and ill will something that is imposed on me from the outside or does it have to do with my view and attitude toward what is happening? What helps me to abide free from affliction, hostility and ill will?
​        

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Earth Touching Mudra, 6-22-19

In most religions there are symbols, statues and drawings that represent  key teachings or are used as avenues of worship, reflection or practice. In Buddhism we don’t actually worship the Buddha and yet frequently there are Buddha statues and other iconography displayed in temples and Dharma halls. This iconography is something that we may or may not relate to depending on how we view them.
                    
Let’s look at a few.


In fact, the Buddha never asked anyone to make a statue of him and never encouraged people to treat him like a God. When asked how to deal with his body after death, the Buddha simply suggested the traditional way of honoring a teacher which was to pile a mound of rocks on top of the place where s/he died. Hence, we have the stupa which is a memorial often usually containing the ashes or relics of the teacher inside. It is usually rounded on the bottom and goes upward pointing towards the sky, possibly signifying the connection between the Earthly realm and the heavenly or sublime realm. 

You may have noticed that the Buddha statues vary in posture. They depict different events and qualities that were exemplified in the Buddha’s life. They can be inspirations for us if we understand their meaning. 

The Bhumisparsha or Touching the Earth Mudra depicts the Buddha sitting with one hand raised to show that he’s teaching, the other reaching down to touch the Earth below. It represents the moment that Buddha finally defeated all the snares of Mara and gained Enlightenment. Mara, the Tempter, asks who will stand as witness to his right to gain Enlightenment. Buddha reaches down and touches the Earth as he says, “The Earth is my witness.”

As the legend goes, the Buddha made a strong determination not to get up from his seat until he achieved full enlightenment. Mara comes with his army to defeat the Buddha because Mara would rather have people remain in ignorance. Whether or not we look at Mara as external or internal, the temptations to move away from clear seeing are strong. In the case of the Buddha they came in several forms:

temptation to power, gain, honor and reknown
temptation toward sensual pleasures which are fleeting
tempation toward an easy life without challenges or struggle
temptation toward excitement 

That’s when the Buddha touches the Earth, claiming it as his witness. Why does the Buddha touch the Earth? How does the Earth serve as his witness?

Here's one of many commentaries that I have found useful for contemplation: 

“When Buddha touched the Earth, he accepted the Earth, just as it is. Not an Earth that was re-made into what HE wanted, but the Earth, sky, oceans and rivers, just as they were at that moment. No waiting for it to be better, no waiting for it to change. But the Earth, with all it’s beauty and horror and disasters, as it was in that moment. It introduced an entirely new way of looking at time. Time, for the Buddha, stopped existing. 

 Not in the literal sense, of course. But from a practical viewpoint, time had effectively stopped. Because Buddha never again obsessed over the past, or feared what the future might bring. He didn’t worry about yesterday or tomorrow. He simply existed outside of the flow of time: Past or future.
 
With that one act, he found the timelessness inside of time. He found that true time is only to be found in THIS moment. Not tomorrow, not yesterday, not this morning, but right now. There IS no time if you live in the moment, going from moment to moment to moment, accepting what is and what is not. 

Simply saying to yourself, “This moment will never exist again. I will savor and capture it fully. I will experience it fully, right now, before it escapes. We say, “Time marches on.” With that one act of touching the Earth, Buddha stopped the march with a single gesture. He taught us to look for the timelessness within time. To stop, not to smell the roses, but to save ourselves. To stop the endless march toward an unknown future somewhere out there. To stop running from past regrets. In the end, to just stop. Because this moment of timelessness is all we ever really have. Just this moment. No other. Just this one timeless moment which includes everything.”            
                                                                                           Cindy Bird, Huffington Post

Here's another commentary that adds a different perspective: 

“Just before he realized enlightenment, it is believed that the demon Mara tried to frighten him with the armies of demons and monsters including his daughters who tried to tempt him to get out of meditation under the Bodhi tree. While the demon king Mara claimed the throne of enlightenment for himself, his demon army claimed to be the witness for Mara's enlightenment. Mara then challenged Siddhartha about the witness. Then the former prince reached out his right hand to touch the earth as it is believed that the earth itself roared "I bear you the witness!" Hearing the roar from the earth herself, the demon king disappeared. The following morning saw the first appearance of the one who is awakened, the Buddha. 

Hence, it is believed that the Bhumisparsha mudra, or "the earth witness" mudra commemorates the Buddha's victory over the temptation by the demon King Mara.This particular mudra does not only represent the defeat of Mara and his demonic army by the Buddha, it also represents the unwavering or firmness shown by the Buddha while he was in the pursuit of enlightenment by meditating under the Bodhi tree.”

Whether you think of this legend as fact or parable, please take the essence of the teaching and see how it applies to your life. Here are a few of my own observations of Mara’s temptations compared to the Buddha’s response:

Mara’s temptation                                            The Buddha’s example__

​power over the Earth - using                                                     connection with the Earth, humble
force over people and nature                                                    non-combative (turning arrows into flowers)


promises satisfaction in the future                                          discovers satisfaction in the present moment      
 
attention directed outward                                                       attention directed inward                                                                    


distracting with excitement of                                                 recognizing the impermanence of all                  
sensual pleasures                                                                         conditions leads to dispassion and contentment



What does the Buddha touching the Earth mudra signify to you?

Inquiry and Discussion Questions:
​

1.  What snares of Mara do you experience in your life? What gets you off track, distracts you, or undermines your confidence?

2.  Do you ever feel like taking the easy way out instead of looking directly at a situation to see how things really are -either internally or externally?

3.  What fears come up when you are faced with looking at matters deeply?

​4.  In this very moment - leaving aside both past and future - upon what can you rest with confidence? What do you connect with that serves as a witness to your capacity to awaken?

10/3/2017 0 Comments

Where is Perfection in an Imperfect World?

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​
We have the possibility of sensing the underlying perfection even in the midst of pain.

Questioner: Can you describe this perfection to me? I want to believe in this underlying perfection, but nothing in my experience of pain has ever lead me to believe in the perfection of anything about the experience. I've read enough to think this might have to do with being awakened, which I most certainly am not. I would definitely appreciate the ability to tolerate that which is intolerable, but I can't honestly, experientially, sense that this state is possible. I'd love to know your thoughts. 

Ayya: Thank you for expressing your heartfelt question. I sense that it poses a formidable obstacle to your peace of mind. Understandably so. I hope that the following reflection helps as a way of gaining a new perspective so you can experience more ease and well-being in the midst of the struggle.

It is difficult to tap into the great perfection when so many things both internally and externally seem to be in chaos. Whether it's our own dark moods, past traumas or the present day earthquakes and mass shootings, the world seems to be falling apart at the seams. Of course, we don't always get to see all the beautiful things that are happening simultaneously. The quote you shared is potent because it is saying that the pain and the perfection aren't separate. Such a non-dual perspective is not apparent on the surface of things.

"How to tolerate the intolerable?" you ask. Calling it intolerable, makes it so, keeping it at arms length from us with judgment and disdain. Calling it deeply painful, disappointing, heart-breaking, etc...allows our hearts to feel the pain and to break open. We don't want to see ourselves as being connected to the horrific in any way and if we do see our connection, we judge ourselves or blame others as the cause of our suffering. In either case, we are caught in the separation that perpetuates the pain. 

You may be familiar with Thich Nhat Hanh's famous poem "Call me by my true names" in which he identifies with both the aggressor and the victim. How can this be? We usually side with one or the other. This peaceful monk asks us to look deeply at things in order to see that we "inter-are". There is only the flow of the river, sometimes crashing down wildly and other times serenely reflecting the open sky above. Where will this river take us? Why am I even on this wild ride? How can I get off? Why can't I be in control of the craft I am in so as to steer clear of the eddies and rapids that catch me and toss me around? Obviously, I"m not in control and facing this fact is disturbing....unless we let go of the need to have control. 

Many people choose to surrender to a God who they believe is in control. But if this God has control, how could s/he let all this madness happen? And if there is no God in control, are we left to the vices of fate which seem to favor the lowest common denominator? In the Hindu tradition, there is at least the acknowledgment of the different faces of God - creator, sustainer and destroyer. If we look at nature, we can see all three of these processes happening at once. As green leaves turn to brown and flowers fade at the end of summer, the soil takes in what is discarded as nourishment that will build and sustain manifold life beneath the surface. Death renews itself in life, the flow of the two are not separate. It is easier to accept the perfection in nature than in the human realm but how are we different? Could it be the mind fancies itself to be autonomous? Is it not that sense of separation which is at the root of all problems be it the internal wars that manifest as depression and despair or the external ones that manifest as racial prejudice, violence and domination? Our confused mind with its distorted perceptions and tainted motivations gets in the way of the intrinsically perfect nature of our being. It's not that the perfection isn't there, but that it is not realized (hence, the admission of not being enlightened).

You are right, there are many questions. One leads to another and another....We crave answers. We crave solace. We crave resolution. Where is the perfection? The Buddha would say it is in the giving up of craving. We may think that letting go of the demand that things be other than the way they are is passive and won't have any affect on creating the world that we want to see - a world that is more just, inclusive and harmonious.  Actually, our immediate experience, being connected as it is to the whole, cannot help but have an impact both energetically and physically, though it may not be evident as quickly or specifically as you like. Giving up craving doesn't mean that we give up the longing for peace, love and harmony, but that we don't seek to find it in the mind that divides ourselves, others and events into self-entities that stand apart from the whole.

The mystic saints have shown that it is possible to enter the silence and know the "God" who is beyond all names and forms and yet lives within every being. We lose that silence as the mind screams "intolerable", "imperfect", and "unacceptable". As the story goes, the Buddha held up a flower in the midst of an assembly. Only one person understood the message and smiled. In that flower, there is perfection: the present life which contains beauty, its continuous changing nature, its apparent diminishment or dissolution, and the seeds for future life. We want to to see only the aspects that please us and not the ones that offend our senses. The heart that is free is spacious enough to contain it all. May you open to that heart and be at peace. 


 We have the possibility of sensing the
underlying perfection even in the midst of pain.

Questioner: Can you describe this perfection to me? I want to believe in this underlying perfection, but nothing in my experience of pain has ever lead me to believe in the perfection of anything about the experience. I've read enough to think this might have to do with being awakened, which I most certainly am not. I would definitely appreciate the ability to tolerate that which is intolerable, but I can't honestly, experientially, sense that this state is possible. I'd love to know your thoughts. 

Ayya: Thank you for expressing your heartfelt question. I sense that it poses a formidable obstacle to your peace of mind. Understandably so. I hope that the following reflection helps as a way of gaining a new perspective so you can experience more ease and well-being in the midst of the struggle.

It is difficult to tap into the great perfection when so many things both internally and externally seem to be in chaos. Whether it's our own dark moods, past traumas or the present day earthquakes and mass shootings, the world seems to be falling apart at the seams. Of course, we don't always get to see all the beautiful things that are happening simultaneously. The quote you shared is potent because it is saying that the pain and the perfection aren't separate. Such a non-dual perspective is not apparent on the surface of things.

"How to tolerate the intolerable?" you ask. Calling it intolerable, makes it so, keeping it at arms length from us with judgment and disdain. Calling it deeply painful, disappointing, heart-breaking, etc...allows our hearts to feel the pain and to break open. We don't want to see ourselves as being connected to the horrific in any way and if we do see our connection, we judge ourselves or blame others as the cause of our suffering. In either case, we are caught in the separation that perpetuates the pain. 

You may be familiar with Thich Nhat Hanh's famous poem "Call me by my true names" in which he identifies with both the aggressor and the victim. How can this be? We usually side with one or the other. This peaceful monk asks us to look deeply at things in order to see that we "inter-are". There is only the flow of the river, sometimes crashing down wildly and other times serenely reflecting the open sky above. Where will this river take us? Why am I even on this wild ride? How can I get off? Why can't I be in control of the craft I am in so as to steer clear of the eddies and rapids that catch me and toss me around? Obviously, I"m not in control and facing this fact is disturbing....unless we let go of the need to have control. 

Many people choose to surrender to a God who they believe is in control. But if this God has control, how could s/he let all this madness happen? And if there is no God in control, are we left to the vices of fate which seem to favor the lowest common denominator? In the Hindu tradition, there is at least the acknowledgment of the different faces of God - creator, sustainer and destroyer. If we look at nature, we can see all three of these processes happening at once. As green leaves turn to brown and flowers fade at the end of summer, the soil takes in what is discarded as nourishment that will build and sustain manifold life beneath the surface. Death renews itself in life, the flow of the two are not separate. It is easier to accept the perfection in nature than in the human realm but how are we different? Could it be the mind fancies itself to be autonomous? Is it not that sense of separation which is at the root of all problems be it the internal wars that manifest as depression and despair or the external ones that manifest as racial prejudice, violence and domination? Our confused mind with its distorted perceptions and tainted motivations gets in the way of the intrinsically perfect nature of our being. It's not that the perfection isn't there, but that it is not realized (hence, the admission of not being enlightened).

You are right, there are many questions. One leads to another and another....We crave answers. We crave solace. We crave resolution. Where is the perfection? The Buddha would say it is in the giving up of craving. We may think that letting go of the demand that things be other than the way they are is passive and won't have any affect on creating the world that we want to see - a world that is more just, inclusive and harmonious.  Actually, our immediate experience, being connected as it is to the whole, cannot help but have an impact both energetically and physically, though it may not be evident as quickly or specifically as you like. Giving up craving doesn't mean that we give up the longing for peace, love and harmony, but that we don't seek to find it in the mind that divides ourselves, others and events into self-entities that stand apart from the whole.

The mystic saints have shown that it is possible to enter the silence and know the "God" who is beyond all names and forms and yet lives within every being. We lose that silence as the mind screams "intolerable", "imperfect", and "unacceptable". As the story goes, the Buddha held up a flower in the midst of an assembly. Only one person understood the message and smiled. In that flower, there is perfection: the present life which contains beauty, its continuous changing nature, its apparent diminishment or dissolution, and the seeds for future life. We want to to see only the aspects that please us and not the ones that offend our senses. The heart that is free is spacious enough to contain it all. May you open to that heart and be at peace. 

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    ​Ayya Dhammadhira is a Buddhist monastic trained in the Thai Forest Tradition in lineage of Ajahn Chah. She spent eleven years at Amaravati and Chithurst Buddhist Monasteries in England from 2001-2012.  In 2012,  she took the higher ordination as a bhikkhuni in Los Angeles, CA.  As an alms mendicant bhikkhuni living outside the support structure of a monastery, Ayya Dhammadhira relies on the ongoing support of individuals like you to continue her practice and service in community.

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