lotusinthemud

Walking away from Ordination

In November I left my Buddhist Order - the explanation is related to what Faran writes in their post:

 :: here  

For about 4 or more years, I was dedicated to becoming a priest in a particular Pure Land tradition of Buddhism. In the Summer of 2020, I was invited to become an ordained member of a Buddhist order. However, I stopped short of the goal when I found that the head of the order at the time was not affirming to trans people such as myself.

It started when I messaged him about being nonbinary and that my pronouns at the time were they/them. His response was far from accepting, particularly when he refused to use my pronouns. I then had another conversation with the deputy head of the order which was not encouraging as she spoke of not wanting to encourage something that was an illusion. In the midst of this, I also told some close friends in the order about my experience with the head and one of them reached out to him. Soon an conflict ignited that brought up other issues within the community, resulting in members leaving the order.

 

Photo by Silvia Rita

 

After some careful thought, I wrote to the deputy head and declined the order’s invitation to ordain me as I know longer saw the community as a safe place for trans people. I left the community within weeks of ordination, heartbroken. Since then, I’ve tried to get back to practice and that has not been easy. I realized that much of my practice was tied to a sense priestly duty that I hadn’t really been conscious of before. Without it, I found little reason to perform the rituals, particularly because many of those rituals were connected to a community to which I no longer associate with. Now, I’m floundering to do something that once felt natural. The consequence of spiritual malpractice among those called teachers is a pain that is hard to describe.

My transition has also changed my views on ordination. The person who wanted to be a priest died when I put down the old mask of forced masculinity. Now, I just want to go hiking, play video games, wear makeup, and live. However, my training gave me skills. I still love to read scripture. I also still feel an urge to reach out to anyone who might be struggling on their own path, even if it’s just to be there for them and listen.

I remember that the early lay community of Buddhists was just as involved in ministry as the monastics. In fact, the Buddha said that it was beneficial for lay folks to befriend other lay folks and learn from them. They didn’t need to have a priestly or monastic position. The Buddha called all beneficial spiritual relationships admirable friendship, a term that was applied to both monastics and laity. A person took on such relationships are known as a kalyanamitra or admirable friend.

I’m not sure how admirable I am but I do like to try to be a friend to the extent that I can. Although my dreams of priesthood are gone, I still have a ministry. Slowly, I’m getting back to it.

I’m glad that at least I have an affinity to a “simple” practice and grateful that Buddha is not bound by human form unlike some very human teachers. Buddha’s body is the Dharma and, though it’s hard to meet sometimes, it takes form in light, wind, and the emptiness from which all things arise and to which all things fall. It’s like trying to find a particular flower and then, once spotted, you find that flower everywhere in the field.

Not only does Buddha take form in the phenomena of nature but also the phenomena of friendship. In fact, I have a circle of comrades who recognize my achievements and vouch for my ministry. One of them, a former member of the order, gave me my religious name, Karunamala (Garland of Compassion). I also have many non-Buddhist and non-religious friends who have been a wonderful source of support. Inside and outside the tradition, I’ve been blessed to know wonderful beings who show me that kindness is still powerful in a world that can be rather unkind.

They are among the most beautiful of flowers.

Amitabha

 

Faran Lee Elowyn is a trans nonbinary femme (they/she) and self-styled Pure Land Buddhist friend whose ministry includes nembutsu, meditation, and spiritual support. They are a member of the Amitabha Fellowship group of Buddhist leaders, completed Champlaincy training at Amida Academy, and became a recently enrolled graduate student in Strategic Communications at the University of Maryland Global Campus.

:: link to original post

Amida Shu Pureland Buddhism (Amida School) Definitions

Q: What is Amida Shu

Dharmavidya's Answer: Socially engaged Pureland Buddhism, a generic, religious spirituality animated by the energy of Amida Buddha. Amida shu has three basic teachings: the trikaya nature of Buddhas, the bombu nature of adherents and the nembutsu as principle practice. The core teachings of Amida shu are found in the Larger Pureland Sutra. Amida Shu is an other power spirituality.

Q: What is other power?

A: Other power refers to the Buddha's teaching of 'dependent origination', according to which all things arise in dependence upon causes and conditions. This means both that the causes in our karmic history will always cause us to be bombu and also that there are other causes that can, nonetheless, empower our spiritual life. All of these - our own karmic history and our openness to the healing power of Buddhas - are outside of ('other' than) our present self. We are both victims and beneficiaries of other powers. When we take refuge in the healing power of a Buddha it is as though a seed were planted within us that will then grow by itself. We then become a tathagatagarbha, or 'buddha-womb' within which the seed of Buddha gradually matures. Calling upon Amida Buddha is thus like allowing oneself to be impregnated by the Buddha's healing power which will then grow of its own accord. Amida Shu thus relies upon a subliminal process of spiritual growth.

Q: What does the Larger Pureland Sutra say?

A: In brief, it is the story, told by Shakyamuni Buddha to his disciple Ananda, of a bodhisattva called Dharmakara who establishes a Pure Land and thereby becomes Amida Buddha. Included are Dharmakara's prayers that describe the nature of that land as a place where there are no hells or places of punishment, no discrimination or disadvantaging of particular social groups, no war or oppression, only opportunity for spiritual advanement and enjoyment. Dharmakara also promises that he will bring to his realm anybody who sincerely calls upon or takes refuge in him. The beings in Amida Buddha's Pure Land are all either shravakas or bodhisattvas. Thus the sutra specifies the calling of Amida's name as the means by which an affinity is created between oneself and the Buddha and also provides an archetypal example of how, in the case of Dharmakara Bodhisattva, such a connection eventually ripened into the creation of a Pure Land and full Buddhahood.

Amida Shu in Delhi: An Introduction and a Request for Help with Funding: Whispers From The Bamboo Grove, Amida News #45

Introducing Amida Shu in Delhi: A Request for Support

Reverend Jnanamati writes:

I’d like to tell you about the Amida sangha in Uttah Pradesh, Delhi.

The sangha began over 10 years ago, when Rev Sahishnu and Acharya Modgala were invited to go to Delhi to carry out an educational programme which taught English to Dalit children on the streets of Delhi. The Dalits – or so-called ‘Untouchables’ – are the lowest caste in the Indian system and are subject to the most extreme prejudice, seen as less than human, worthy of no respect and restricted to work regarded as unclean. Dalits generally live in great poverty and often fear for their lives, especially if they challenge the system. Learning English is an essential first step to improve the prospects of Dalit children.

The educational programme was a great success, teaching English to many dozens of street children and their Dalit families, and helping to gain respect from the local authorities.

The Delhi sangha grew as the fruit of this work. Children and their families asked for classes in Buddhism and then became Buddhists, inspired particularly by the legacy of Dr Ambedkar’s Dalit Buddhist Movement, which sees Buddhism as a way out of the Dalit predicament.

When Rev Sahishnu retired 3 years ago, Rev Suvidya, a local member of the Dalit community, was ordained as a full minister and took over the leadership of the project, to great success. A local organisation, the Amida Buddhist Association (ABA), was set up at the same time and now oversees the work of the project. Last year, new premises were rented to become the sangha’s first Dharma centre.

Rev Suvidya runs three busy weekly children’s classes in three different locations, teaching English and Buddhism, as well as leading two adult/mixed family services. He also makes regular pastoral visits to Buddhist families and others needing support.

You can read more about his work here :: Amida India



For the last three years, Amida Trust* has supported Rev Suvidya in his work by providing him with a modest allowance and paying the Dharma centre rent. However, the Trust now needs to find additional donations to maintain the level of financial support needed to sustain this wonderful project. We are fundraising and have a team concentrating efforts on new ways of attracting donations, but………

We need your help. 

Please help us to support Suvidya, Suando, Sudoshin and the community by making a donation today. 

No matter how small, your contribution will make a difference and help us secure the future of this project. 

We would particularly welcome regular monthly contributions.
Even £5 per month would have a significant impact.

You can make a donation online

In the UK - use this link ::CAF Donate

Based outside the UK - you can donate in euros, USD or CAD using PayPal or by card at the bottom of the page :: here
*****
Follow Amida India on :: Facebook

* Amida Trust is a registered charity in the UK. The Trust supports the work of the Shu in the UK and Delhi. It supports people to come to the dharma, to learn and practice and to open their hearts to give and receive loving kindness.

NAMO AMIDA BU

sangha is deep spiritual practice

:: The Practice of Sangha

Thich Nhat Hanh explains that sangha is more than a community, it’s a deep spiritual practice.

Photo by Paul Davis.

A sangha is a community of friends practicing the dharma together in order to bring about and to maintain awareness. The essence of a sangha is awareness, understanding, acceptance, harmony and love. When you do not see these in a community, it is not a true sangha, and you should have the courage to say so. But when you find these elements are present in a community, you know that you have the happiness and fortune of being in a real sangha.

In Matthew 5:13 in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, we find this statement: “Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt hath lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden underfoot of men.” In this passage, Jesus describes his followers as salt. Food needs salt in order to be tasty. Life needs understanding, compassion and harmony in order to be livable. This is the most important contribution to life that the followers of Jesus can bring to the world. It means that the Kingdom of Heaven has to be realized here, not somewhere else, and that Christians need to practice in a way that they are the salt of life and a true community of Christians.

Salt is also an important image in the Buddhist canon, and this Christian teaching is equivalent to the Buddha’s teaching about sangha. The Buddha said that the water in the four oceans has only one taste, the taste of salt, just as his teaching has only one taste, the taste of liberation. Therefore the elements of sangha are the taste of life, the taste of liberation, and we have to practice in order to become the salt. When we say, “I take refuge in the sangha,” it is not a statement, it is a practice.

The trees, water, air, birds, and so on can all be members of our sangha. A beautiful walking path may be part of our sangha. A good cushion can be also.

In the Buddhist scriptures it is said that there are four communities: monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen. But I also include elements that are not human in the sangha. The trees, water, air, birds, and so on can all be members of our sangha. A beautiful walking path may be part of our sangha. A good cushion can be also. We can make many things into supportive elements of our sangha. This idea is not entirely new; it can be found throughout the sutras and in the Abhidharma, too. A pebble, a leaf and a dahlia are mentioned in the Saddharmapundarika Sutra in this respect. It is said in the Pure Land Sutra that if you are mindful, then when the wind blows through the trees, you will hear the teaching of the Four Establishments of Mindfulness, the Eightfold Path, and so on. The whole cosmos is preaching the buddhadharma and practicing the buddhadharma. If you are attentive, you will get in touch with that sangha.

Sangha as our roots

I don’t think the Buddha wanted us to abandon our society, our culture or our roots in order to practice. The practice of Buddhism should help people go back to their families. It should help people re-enter society in order to rediscover and accept the good things that are there in their culture and to rebuild those that are not.