lotusinthemud

Awesome Power

“Sometimes you get to see just how little you’re actually in charge of." 

~ Anne Lamott

Modern mankind, particularly urban dwellers, can be under the illusion that they have cheated or transcended nature and have power over the elements. In our well built and insulated houses with central heating and double glazing, electric light, washing and cooking appliances, refrigerators, we seem immune to season, time of day and weather. In control. Of course, every now and again we come down to earth with a bump. That veneer of Self Power control is only thin and can be insubstantial, our feeling of invincibility whipped away from us in an instant. The power of the natural world is awesome and potentially devastating. Earthquake, volcanic eruption, tsunami, tempest, forest fire can obliterate even the most organised and well provided for.

I was thinking of this a week or so ago as, through the medium of Twitter, I was in conversation with a sangha member in Hawai’i, where they were preparing for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Madeline, shortly to be followed by two others. There can be a price to pay for living somewhere that sounds like a paradise. The nearest I have come were tornados in Michigan, taking shelter in basements from the eerie stillness and yellow-green light that presaged the coming winds. 

Having been, for much of my life, a townie, apart from holidays in Cumbria and Scotland, I became much more aware of the power of nature when I lived on a boat off the North Essex coast and sailed many others. Even though the boat I lived on was permanently moored, we needed to take note of the wind strength and direction and the tide tables. If abnormally high tides were forecast the local policeman would cycle along to warn us to loosen our guy ropes so that we wouldn’t be swamped. High tides meant that the gangplank and even the road onto the island could be covered. Many a driver has had to be rescued when trying to drive through the water on The Strood, the road that leads to the island, unaware of the terrific pull of the tidal waters. The local lifeboat, as with the Mountain Rescue teams in the Cumbrian mountains, where I have spent considerable time, are called out more for people foolishly unprepared, unaware of the environment and the speed with which conditions might change for the worse, than for more major disaster. 

We’re no longer living as precariously as hunter-gatherers but we are more vulnerable than we like to admit. What can we do? Well, plenty and most of it common sense. Large scale and small scale -  take as much care as you can of our planet and resources, know the terrain, train in your sport, listen to the weather forecast, dress appropriately, carry supplies and clothing for deteriorating weather, put up storm shutters, seek shelter when advised to, drive to the conditions, don’t set out to drive/climb/sail when things are likely to get worse or others may have to risk their lives to rescue you…and so on. 

But we can’t insulate ourselves entirely from that awesome power of our planet. So we should be more modest and more realistic - we have far less power and are far more vulnerable than we like to admit. 

I remember sailing my small boat along the Essex backwaters, reacting, almost by instinct, to the constant subtle changes of wind and tide. I felt heartened by the powers that surrounded me and the realisation that, through those forces, we could all disappear and, within a number of years, it would be as if we had never existed. The Earth would be fine, as would many other species. Indeed, wiped clean of our interference, they’d probably be better without pesky mankind. But I didn’t wish for it imminently, of course!

Namo Amida Bu

Are You Creative?

During the last couple of days I’ve been corresponding with a couple of the students taking the Introduction to Pureland Buddhism course on Amida Academy on the subject of creativity, specifically, their own creative endeavours. 

We all have ideas of what ‘real’ creative people produce, literature, poetry, painting,  sculpture, music. And members of our sanghas and other friends are among those producers. 

When we think of ‘the artistic’ we can see that there’s the Self Power element of skills honed, time put in. Musicians rehearsing over and over again. There’s also the Other Power elements of inspiration and the attraction to the particular creative impulse. 

In comparison, it’s easy to see oneself as not a member of that illustrious group. “Oh, I’m not artistic”, we say. How did we learn this about ourselves? Who told us? I can’t remember any of the children I taught who didn’t enjoy finger painting, collage, marbling, presenting their parents with Christmas cards that showered one with glitter. Even the parents, when they came in for an evening where they were ‘my class’, loved the magical results of marbling and seemed just as thrilled as the children!

I love this poem:

We are Transmitters

As we live, we are transmitters of life.

And when we fail to transmit life, life fails to flow through us.

That is part of the mystery of sex, it is a flow onwards.

Sexless people transmit nothing.

And if, as we work, we can transmit life into our work,

life, still more life, rushes into us to compensate, to be ready

and we ripple with life through the days.

Even if it is a woman making an apple dumpling, or a man a stool,

if life goes into the pudding, good is the pudding

good is the stool,

content is the woman, with fresh life rippling in to her,

content is the man.

Give, and it shall be given unto you

is still the truth about life.

But giving life is not so easy.

It doesn't mean handing it out to some mean fool, or letting the living dead eat you up.

It means kindling the life-quality where it was not,

even if it's only in the whiteness of a washed pocket-handkerchief.

~ DH Lawrence

Perhaps, in addition to judging ourselves less as to the ‘quality’ of the results - after all, we are not aiming at the Turner Prize - we can reclaim that joy of exploration and of expression of that inner urge, that ‘life-quality. And perhaps we can broaden the category of what creativity means. Making meals, doing the washing, over and over and over again, can be humdrum, boring, seen as chores, maybe resented. Yet the same tasks, focused on with love, with appreciation for the gifts of the ingredients, can be a delight, both for the cook and the person cooked for. 

What will you create today?

Words

Today, like a huge number of people, I am reeling from the result of the referendum whereby the UK will leave the EU. This will have huge repercussions far beyond the shores of the island on which I live. Millions of people will be affected, including, of course, some of our Order. some of the effects are to come during the next weeks and months, although we have seen resignations and financial institutions moving their staff, the stock market hit already.  There will be much uncertainty in the future, including the possible breaking up of the UK itself.

I have been dismayed, during the last few weeks, over the quality and content of the rhetoric used. Lies, half-truths, blaming, finger pointing, promises without substance, threats. 

What did the Buddha say about speech?

Right Speech

samma vaca

The definition

"And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, & from idle chatter: This is called right speech.” 

— SN 45.8

Five keys to right speech

"Monks, a statement endowed with five factors is well-spoken, not ill-spoken. It is blameless & unfaulted by knowledgeable people. Which five?

"It is spoken at the right time. It is spoken in truth. It is spoken affectionately. It is spoken beneficially. It is spoken with a mind of good-will.” 

— AN 5.198

The danger in lying

"For the person who transgresses in one thing, I tell you, there is one evil deed that is not to be done. Which one thing? This: telling a deliberate lie."

The person who lies,

who transgress in this one thing,

transcending concern for the world beyond:

there's no evil

he might not do.

— Iti 25

Speak only words that do no harm

"One should speak only that word by which one would not torment oneself nor harm others. That word is indeed well spoken.

"One should speak only pleasant words, words which are acceptable (to others). What one speaks without bringing evils to others is pleasant."

— Thag 21

Self-purification through well-chosen speech

"And how is one made pure in four ways by verbal action?

"There is the case where a certain person, abandoning false speech, abstains from false speech. When he has been called to a town meeting, a group meeting, a gathering of his relatives, his guild, or of the royalty, if he is asked as a witness, 'Come & tell, good man, what you know': If he doesn't know, he says, 'I don't know.' If he does know, he says, 'I know.' If he hasn't seen, he says, 'I haven't seen.' If he has seen, he says, 'I have seen.' Thus he doesn't consciously tell a lie for his own sake, for the sake of another, or for the sake of any reward. Abandoning false speech, he abstains from false speech. He speaks the truth, holds to the truth, is firm, reliable, no deceiver of the world."

— AN 10.176

So much of what we have heard and read about during the campaign has been divisive, abusive, bigoted and against all of the principles the Buddha taught. Was it, as it was portrayed, to educate and benefit the electorate? How much of it was manipulative? How much of it was to divert attention from the real sources of dissatisfaction? How much of it was to serve the aspirations of the politicians in question? I cannot see into their hearts, it’s true.

Words have led us into this uncertain situation. And words, slogans, aped by others, have led to the death of a young woman of principle. It was following the shooting and stabbing of Jo Cox, herself a fearless defender of the defenceless, in the face of threats she was receiving, that we saw a different rhetoric. 

As Dharmavidya wrote in The Feeling Buddha:

“Buddha saw the potential of communication…..The purpose was to convey the message of peace in the world through peace in the heart.”

The reaction, as Jo was celebrated in cities around the world on what would have been her 42nd birthday, showed how people were inspired by her words, her fearless championing of those who needed such support, with positivity and joy and determination. She was someone with a firm and positive purpose in life. And her words lit up and inspired so many.

So, on a day that has come from much darkness, let us not lose sight of the light that words can engender.

Something new around the corner!

Something new

When there’s something new expected in your life, just around the corner, during those minutes or days or weeks of anticipation, how do you feel - inspired, excited, anxious, apprehensive, curious? Of course, the context will have a bearing. Are you in touch with the present moment at all or is your mind totally filled with the story of how it will be, what you will do, what others will think or say? How it was last time, maybe? Concocting a whole scenario, often in detail, which may bear little relation to how things will actually turn out to be.

Rehearsal

There are some instances where mental or physical rehearsal can be beneficial. Finding the fire exit from your 5th floor hotel room, watching the cabin crew safety demonstration before your flight takes off and locating your nearest door, learning how to do CPR, could all save lives. You never know! Imagined actions are easier to reproduce in an emergency than starting from scratch while there’s a state of panic, yours or others. And you’ll hope that your surgeon has rehearsed your heart surgery, that your pilot has trained on a flight simulator! 

At a much less crucial level, we Amida priests rehearse our ceremonies so that they can flow smoothly and the focus can be on the other participants - the new refugee, the ordinand - and to allow Amida to take over. And we learn that, if things change in the moment, that’s OK too. It adds a human touch. Ceremonies aren’t clinical.

Reactions to our story

But most times this churning a story over an over in the imagination is a waste of time, or worse. Oh, how we can wind ourselves up into quite a state, built on a foundation of pffft……nothing of substance! How do you feel, viscerally, when you are anticipating so vividly? Dry mouth, accelerated heart-rate? Your imaginings causing chemicals to swirl around your body, whether you are imagining something delightful or terrifying. The body reacts, whether there’s an actual event or an imagined one.

Anticipation

I’m anticipating something that will probably happen in a few weeks. In the meantime, there are books to read, new principles to learn, some purchases to make and plans to be arranged, that all depend on other people. I’m trying not to get swept away or totally invested in an image of the way it ought to be. I was relieved to discover, when the first steps in the plan fell through completely two weeks ago and when an arrangement disintegrated last Sunday, albeit for very good reasons, that I was able to let go, regroup, re-think, without being swept away with disappointment. Again, you never know. You never know what will actually happen, no matter how prepared you think you are. As the saying goes, “Man plans, God laughs!” You never know exactly how you will react - although you can hope and practice. It’s only at the time that you’ll discover how flexible you really are. You never know, until they are tested, whether those Buddhist ideas are just nice principles or whether they’re actually functioning, at least some of the time, in your real and juicy life. I don’t feel this is under my control so I was able to watch those fairly moderate reactions with gratitude - Namo Amida Bu. And if, on other occasions, I don’t do so well, I get a little het up, despondent, thrown by uncertainty, whatever - well, that’s how it is for us bombu people - so, a wry smile and a little shrug and, yes, Namo Amida Bu, again.