lotusinthemud

Nembutsu chanting, 17 August: Mondays and every day

Nembutsu recitation* is for every day, not just for Mondays, of course (reminds me of ‘dogs are for life, not just for Christmas! Some people are taking up the '30 days of Nembutsu practice', which is an excellent way to start of refresh your practice. :: link

During the next few days a few people are preparing to enter the Amida Shu and Amida Order   :: link 

They have been asked by Dharmavidya to “Recite as many nembutsu as possible – aim for a thousand a day between now and the ceremony” Maybe you can join them at a distance – as many recitations as you are able. Namo Amida Bu!

* :: about Nembutsu practice

Paravritti (part 8 - final part): Faith and Courage ~ Dharmavidya

Dharmavidya writes:

In both turning away and turning toward the element of faith is of crucial importance. Without it the turning does not complete because, panicking inside, we cling on to our old ways. In the case of turning away, one might arrive at the feeling of revulsion, yet still slip back into the bad habit. We might indulge obsessions and addictions until we feel sick and this might give us pause. However, one might then drift back. Think how many people have given up smoking for a short time, but soon taken it up again.

This happens because, however loathsome or foolish the habit, it still served some purpose in our life. It still fed the ego. We tend to dignify our bad habits by calling them “needs” and when we are without them we feel “needy”. To bear this feeling of lack requires faith. Buddhism is about faith in emptiness. The ego fights back and always wants to fill the emptiness, usually with something unwholesome.

Similarly, in the case of turning toward. One might have a generous impulse, but then, as from nowhere, a string of thoughts urging caution spring up. Soon one has talked oneself out of it, or, we might say, Mara has talked one out of it. By then, in any case, the moment has passed. Perhaps one now feels badly about oneself, but, however that may be, the fact is that the opportunity has been lost. To not give in to such cowardly thinking requires faith. Faith means knowing what Mara is up to yet acting anyway.

THE FAITH TO PLUNGE INTO LIFE

The life of faith is thus also one of much spontaneity, exuberance and enthusiasm. The kind of Buddhism we are talking about here is not one of cold detachment. It is not by ever greater self-control that one becomes liberated, but by releasing the energy of joy, compassion, and belief in what one is doing and living.

Where does such faith come from, one might ask? The bedrock of our faith is confidence that we - even beings such as we, prone, as we are, to such cowardice, addiction, obsession and destructiveness - are loved and cared for by the Buddhas. The light of their smile is always shining and even though we live in the tormenting realm of impermanence, there is a spirit that is not impermanent that runs like a silver thread through every dimension of existence. This spirit has the feeling of emptiness. It is beyond purity and impurity. It is the light that comes from the Tathagata who glances back.

In Buddhism, we call this refuge. We take refuge from the harm that might otherwise be done by our wayward mind; we find a shelter, a pure abode, where emptiness is experienced, not as terrifying, but as total liberation. Alone, we are inclined to panic, but when we have Buddha always in mind as our spiritual companion, we can turn back, confront Mara, and defeat him, since nothing prevents us. Finding inner silence and stillness, we become invisible to his armies, and this calm is then experienced, not as a loss, but as a lightness and ease - something to be happily grateful for.

Thus, when paravritti occurs, conforming to the precepts ceases to be an effort and becomes the only natural way to act. In fact, we no longer need precepts as our natural action will be what precepts attempt to point out. Self-power means exerting effort in order to conform oneself to the path, but in the condition of paravritti such effort is non-effort.

CONCLUSION
In this series I have tried to show how paravritti gives us a practical sense of spiritual awakening and the life that flows from the awakening of faith. We can be inspired by the examples of the Buddhas and ancestors. Each of them turned back from the seduction of conventional life and social posing and so were able to live authentic lives. They were each very distinct persons, aware of human limitation, yet free in spirit.

The idea of turning back can be applied in the many different ways in which we can experience natural freedom. I hope this exploration helps us to appreciate many different Buddhist teachings that all inspire us to make a crucial turn in our lives.

:: link

Amida Samadhi ~ Dharmavidya

Dharmavidya: 

INSIGHT AND CALM

In the approach known now as Insight Meditation, there are two phases to practise. The first is to calm the mind and the second is “looking into the true nature of things as they are”. In other words, calm is a basis for the development of insight. However, in our Amida Shu approach it is the other way around. First we enquire into the state of things and then we offer whatever insight we have to the Buddhas who then bestow their blessing of great peace. So in this schema, insight leads to calm, which is to say to peace of mind, for which the Japanese term is anjin, sometimes translated as “settled faith”.

SETTLING

Why does faith need to “settle”? Everybody has faith, or, in most cases, a variety of faiths, that are, much of the time, at odds with one another, all vying for priority. When we say “faith” here, for practical purposes we can say we are referring to what one puts one’s faith in. It might be financial security, or a political cause, or a relationship, or one’s own cleverness, or good health, or many other things. A little insight reveals all of these to be unreliable. they are all subject to conditions and therefore impermanent. None of them constitutes a true refuge, yet all of these things exercise us in ways that are stressful and demanding.

OFFERING

Insight, therefore, can be unsettling. Seeing into the state of things is challenging. The only reliable way to overcome this disturbance is to admit one’s own incapacity to solve the riddle. In Buddhism, one does this by offering all of this to the Buddhas. This is our prayer: “Oh Buddha, please receive my offering. Please receive all the complicated puzzle that is my life. I give it all to you in confidence that you alone know how to deploy it within your scheme of harmony.”

We do not have to use these words; in fact, it is better to use one’s own words and to be specific about what it is that one is offering today, which might be sorrow, or joy, or anger, or longing, or confusion, or whatever. It might be arrogance, or generosity, or stubbornness, or chagrin, or achievement, or defeat. It might be tears. It might be the unreliability of body and mind. It will be whatever one has discovered in one’s inner search. The point is that it is not a matter of offering the right thing, but rather of being honest about what one has found within and offering it unconditionally.

PEACE

The Buddhas are always offering their peace. Only when we turn toward them and unburden ourselves do we actually receive it. This receiving can be quite physical. One can feel peace and calm descending through one’s body as one offers one’s offering up.

Such peace comes because when we take refuge in Buddha, or, we can say, in Buddhadharma, all our faith is reunified. The reunification of faith is samadhi. This makes one into a suitable channel for the descent of the Buddha light into the heart. This, therefore, is the Amida Samadhi, the samadhi without measure, without limit, that is completely centred, yet boundless. This is what Honen means by “gazing upon the moon”. Here “the moon” represents the spiritual light. Standing outside on a summer’s night and gazing at the physical moon in the sky gives one a sense of peace. This, therefore, has become a way of representing the act of taking refuge. In taking refuge one gazes upon a moon that is eternally present, outside of time, always shedding its benign light.

:: link

Paravritti (part 2): Faith and Confidence ~ Dharmavidya

Dharmavidya:

Faith (shraddha) arises in the condition of dukkha, says Buddha in the Nidana Vagga in the Samyuta Nikaya. Dukkha is the circumstance of our being sensitive to living in a world of suffering, a world of birth and death. If we were not sentient in this way we would not need faith. A rock does not need faith because it does not mind. If one takes a sledge hammer and breaks it up. it does not mind. Although the rock might have, in a sense, died, in this way, it is as nothing to it. We, however, feel such things and this presents a challenge. Inevitably, therefore, we proceed in some kind of faith. If we did not have faith we could not do anything as we would be too daunted by the risks of this life.

REFUGE

However, faith may be invested in many different things, some more wholesome than others. One of the fundamental teachings of Buddhism, therefore, is to advise us to turn back from adopting a false refuge and, instead, have the confidence and courage to choose a secure one. Thus some people may take refuge in finding the right relationship, some in prosperity, some in social status, some in political power, some in devotion to a cause. None of these things are evil in and of themselves, but none constitutes a secure refuge. This is because they all themselves exist within the frame of conditional existence and are therefore impermanent. When conditions change, they change. The only true refuge lies beyond conditions, in faith in what is not impermanent. In Buddhism this is the Three Jewels.

THE THREE JEWELS BEYOND CONDITIONS

Modern people have tended to lose this understanding of the fundamental Buddhist message. This is because they tend to locate the Three Jewels within the world of conditions. They think that Buddha means a man who lived a long time ago and died; that Dharma is a set of ideas that can be revised from time to time as circumstances change; that Sangha means the community of people practising Buddhism at a given time. These three things, as so conceived, do not constitute a true refuge, because they too are subject to conditions and therefore to impermanence.

The true Buddhist sense of the Three Jewels, however, is different. It is, rather, a feeling for the Three Jewels as dimensions of a spiritual reality that is not conditional and not impermanent. In this sense, Buddha refers to the Dharmakaya, conceived as singular and personal, Dharma refers to the Dharmakaya conceived as impersonal and Sangha refers to the Dharmakaya conceived as a multiplicity. “Personal”, “impersonal”, “singular” and “multiple” are our ways of conceiving things. They do not belong to the reality itself which is beyond words. We have many other words for it too - the Unborn, the Deathless, Nirvana, the Tao, and so on. All these are merely fingers pointing. The moon shines on all alike, but only brings peace to the hearts of those who gaze upon it. However, when one has such a peaceful heart (anjin) it gives one courage to face whatever circumstances may come along.

SENCHAKUSHU

It is in this sense that Buddhism is true religion and not merely just another secular philosophy. Turn back from false refuge in conditioned things and turn toward the Three Jewels. This is what Honen means by making a decisive choice. In  Pureland, the Three Jewels are encompassed in the nembutsu. When one has made such a choice, one might go on to have a special relationship or one might not, one might be prosperous or one might not, one might have social staus or power or not, one might dedicate energy to a cause or one might not, but one will do these things within a framework of true faith and so one will not be defeated by their inevitable vicissitudes, nor will one feel a desperate need to have them at all. One will be liberated and in a position to choose. Faith brings freedom, confidence, courage and deeper equanimity. The faithful heart is not defeated even if thrown into gaol or, in a figure used by Shakyamuni, even if the body is cut in half with a two handed saw.

When, in the circumstance of dukkha, one turns back from false supports and finds true refuge, the path naturally unfolds.

:: link

Homily To The Dragons (2): Refuge ~ Dharmavidya

Dharmavidya writes, on his Eleusis network:

Dragons also take refuge in Amida Buddha. The dragons are proud of their role as defenders of the Dharma. They roar around on their motorbikes and scare off ghosts, demons and anyone who seems to represent a threat. However, all these threats only exist in the relative world of conditions. Amida is the Buddha of infinite light, which means that he appears everywhere, and of limitless life, which means that he will exist throughout time. Therefore, on the one hand, he is invulnerable, yet, on the other hand, there are innumerable opportunities to protect, cherish and worship him. In the same way, the nembutsu reverberates through time and space whether we chant it or not, but this means that there are a limitless number of opportunities for us to join in. Refuge, therefore, is practice and all forms of practice are refuge, and this is a cause for rejoicing and gratitude. Prostrating to the Buddhas enables them to insert the Dharma seed into our hearts, but each being prostrates in their own way accordong to their nature. The seed in the heart of a dragon may emerge as fire. Since they are dedicated to the Dharma, dragons take refuge naturally. As this is so we do not need to be afraid of them - they are our brothers and sisters.

:: link 

Dhyana: What is Real Meditation? ~ Dharmavidya

SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS IS NOT MEDITATION
We should ask ourselves, what is meditation, really? Meditation is surely not sitting still and silent while one’s mind wanders all over, even if, from time to time, one achieves some self-consciousness of what is happening. Indeed, one must question whether any kind of self-conscious can really be a Buddhist goal, other than the kind involved in restraint when one desists from a harmful action. Even then, the true mind is the one that desists because one envisages the harmful consequence, not because one has pride in ones ability to rise above temptation.

TRUE MIND
We can see that the question what is meditation quickly leads us into the question what is a true mind, whether one is sitting on the meditation cushion or not. We can immediately understand that the true mind is the mind of refuge, or, as we can say, the mind of nembutsu. We can call this "nembutsu samadhi". Samadhi means concentration. When our mind is concentrated on refuge, we partake of the true essence of Dharma.

When our refuge faith becomes settled, nembutsu samadhi resides in our unconscious. It is the taken for granted foundation of all our thoughts, words and deeds. It only erupts into consciousness from time to time.

REFUGE AS THE CORE OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE
Refuge is not something one can contrive, but it is something one might realise. When we realise our own hopeless state, then we feel that refuge is the only hope. It is a kind of gamble, just as a refugee gets onto an overcrowded boat hoping to cross the Mediterranean and arrive safely in a country where he will not starve, being completely at the end of his resources.

Some people may say that they have other forms of meditation that do not fit this frame, but, in fact, all forms of true meditation come down to the mind of refuge in the end. Attempting to visualise this or that sambhogakaya figure is a way of taking refuge. The Zen adept struggling with a koan is seeking his nature. When he realises that his nature is no nature yet karmic passion is beginningless, he might be told he has experienced satori, but this will only be true if, in deep contrition, he takes refuge. All true Zen masters understand this.

Anjin Makes The Path Easier ~ Dharmavidya

Dharmavidya:

In Buddhism there is a theory of conditioning. All conditioned things are impermanent. Buddhism is a religion that is about transcending impermanence and reaching the Deathless - nirvana. However, by definition, one cannot reach the unconditioned simply by changing conditions.

A fire depends upon a supply of fuel - let’s say firewood - to keep going. Without the firewood the fire could not be. However, the firewood is not dependent on the fire. Without the fire the firewood would continue to be. Most conditional relations are of this one way, non-reciprocal nature.

The firewood instance is very relevant to Buddhist thinking. Fire represents passion. For a person’s passions to keep burning, there has to be a supply of fuel. We feed the fires of passion. If we cease to feed them, either by not having the fuel or by reconstruing what had previously been fuel so as to see it in a new light, then the passion cannot be.

We become Buddhist by taking refuge. Most Western people have only a hazy idea of what taking refuge is. Often they see it as a formality that must be passed in order to get on to the real stuff which they take to be meditation. However, refuge is Buddhism. To go deeper into Buddhism is to go deeper into refuge. Meditation is not Buddhist unless it is itself a deepening of refuge. When we realise the real meaning of refuge, our perception of the world changes. We can say that everything becomes refuge, or, in the style of Pureland, nembutsu. Washing the dishes is nembutsu. Sweeping the floor is nembutsu. Welcoming guests is nembutsu. These things are no longer mundane chores, they have become holy acts. As they have become precious treasures, they are no longer capable of feeding the fires of passion. Thus arises a deep inner peace.

We can note that in this condition of anjin, we are still subject to conditions, but we perceive those conditions in a new way since our faith transcends ordinary human passion. This awakening of anjin is an important step on the Buddhist path. It makes everything else so much easier. We might not have yet entered nirvana; we might still be foolish beings with all kinds of errors and foibles, but we have a faith that is a precious jewel that will keep us going on the path and help us overcome many obstacles.

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