Burlington Buddhist Sangha

This Sunday, we continued our exploration of emptiness. Emptiness enables the wise heart to respond with fearlessness: without always protecting our own position, we can become deep listeners. Our being can be expansive and inclusive. Jeff shared a talk by Kittisaro “There Are No Footprints In The Sky” from a retreat at Spirit Rock in 2021. The talk touched upon a topic familiar from last week (contemplation of form & emptiness), and then went on to explore how, in the non-dual nature of the reality that Emptiness reveals, everything is sacred.

You can listen to the talk here:

https://dharmaseed.org/talks/68275/

The title of the talk, “There Are No Footprints In The Sky”, references part of the Dhammapada which you can read a discussion of here.

During the discussion, a quote by Democritus was shared:

[Democritus says:] By convention sweet is sweet, by convention bitter is bitter, by convention hot is hot, by convention cold is cold, by convention color is color. But in reality there are atoms and the void. That is, the objects of sense are supposed to be real and it is customary to regard them as such, but in truth they are not. Only the atoms and the void are real.

Books mentioned during the discussion:

Seeing that Frees by Rob Burbea

Heartwood of the Bodhi Tree by Buddhadasa

The Heart Sutra, with its proclamation that Form and Emptiness are identical, is among the most famous, widely read and frequently chanted of Buddhist texts. Over the centuries, practitioners have found it both puzzling and inspiring. Steve guided our reflections on this powerful Sutra this Sunday, drawing on excerpts from a talk by Gil Fronsdal and a recent commentary by Thich Nhat Hanh to help frame our discussion.

You can listen to Gil’s talk here:

https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/10

Thich Nhat Hanh’s translation and commentary is available here:

New Heart Sutra translation by Thich Nhat Hanh

Carrying into everyday life the wisdom of retreat or of an intensive period of meditation and study at home can be a challenge. Yet we can shape our experience in ways that preserve insights gained. Just back from an extended stay in Europe, Eveline shared with us parts of a talk given by Nathan Glyde in Finland addressing this very question.

Instead of just finding that we are having a hard time adapting to ordinary life, Nathan uses the framework of the Hindrances to examine our distractions, and focuses on the Paramis as time tested guides to bring us back to the path.

You can listen to Nathan’s full talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/71147/

We are familiar with the central role of craving (Pali: tanha) in the dharma. The Buddha discussed three distinct kinds of craving. The first kind is the craving for sensual pleasure; the second is the “craving for existence”, or “craving to become” (bhava-tanha); the third kind is the craving for non-existence. At the Sangha this Sunday we undertook a more fine-grained analysis of the second kind of craving, “bhava-tanha“, and its impact on our lives and practice.

The literal translation of “tanha“, is “thirst”, and this translation points more clearly to the kind of craving in question here. Ajahn Sucitto comments,

Craving to be something is not a decision, it’s a reflex… So the result of craving to be solid and ongoing, to be a being that has a past and a future, together with the current wish to resolve the past and future, are combined to establish each individual’s present world as complex and unsteady. This thirst to be something keeps us reaching out for what isn’t here. And so we lose the inner balance that allows us to discern a here-and-now fulfillment in ourselves.

https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/bhavatanha

We listened to the last part of a talk by Joseph Goldstein to scaffold our discussion. You can listen to the talk here:

https://dharmaseed.org/talks/54647/

Finally, Margaret read two quotes from the Dhammapada as translated by Gil Fronsdal,

“The craving of a person who lives negligently 
Spreads like a creeping vine.
Such a person leaps ever onward, 
Like a monkey seeking fruit in the forest.”

“Those attached to passion
Are caught in river [of their own making]
Like a spider caught in its own web.
But having cut even this, the wise set forth,,
Free from longing, abandoning all suffering.
Let go of the past, let go of the future,
Let go of the present.
Gone beyond becoming,
With the mind released in every way,
You do not again undergo birth and old age.”

How can we most effectively explore life’s existential questions using Buddhist meditation and mindfulness practices? Will pursuit of greater knowledge and certainty about Buddhist teachings lead to more profoundly meaningful living? Jane guided our reflections this Sunday, with particular reference to revered dharma teacher Stephen Batchelor (author of Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist), who offers another approach, grounded in the capacity of physical experience to open the mind to creativity, imagination and wonder. 

A link to Stephen’s talk is below:

https://dharmaseed.org/talks/34643/

In his talk, Batchelor begins by quoting from what was in time to become a famous letter Keats wrote to his brothers positing a human capacity of the imagination which he names “Negative Capability,” which we might describe as the artist’s ability to erase his/her own personal ego, in order to give place to a multitude of imagined human possibilities. John Keats coined this term in a letter to his brothers George and Thomas (December 21, 1817). He wrote:

several things dove tailed in my mind, and at once it struck me what quality went to form a Man of Achievement, especially in Literature, and which Shakespeare possessed so enormously—I mean Negative Capability, that is when man is capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.

The displacement of the poet’s protean self into another existence was for Keats a key feature of the artistic imagination.  He attended William Hazlitt’s Lectures on the English Poets (1818) and was spurred further to his own thinking by Hazlitt’s groundbreaking idea that Shakespeare was “the least of an egotist that it was possible to be” and “nothing in himself,” that he embodied “all that others were, or that they could become,” that he “had in himself the germs of every faculty and feeling,” and he “had only to think of anything in order to become that thing, with all the circumstances belonging to it.”  Keats took to heart the ideal of “disinterestedness,” of Shakespeare’s essential selflessness, his capacity for anonymous shift-shaping.  In a letter to Richard Woodhouse (October 27, 1818), he describes the selfless receptivity he considers necessary for the deepest poetry.  He exults in the poetic capacity for total immersion, for empathic release, for entering completely into whatever is being described:

As to the poetical Character itself . . . it is not itself—it has no self—it is everything and nothing—It has no character—it enjoys light and shade; it lives in gusto, be it foul or fair, high or low, rich or poor, mean or elevated —It has as much delight in conceiving an Iago as an Imogen.  What shocks the virtuous Philosopher, delights the chameleon Poet . . . A Poet is the most unpoetical of any thing in existence; because he has no Identity—he is continually in for—and filling some other Body—The Sun, The Moon, The Sea, and Men and Women who are creatures of impulse are poetical and have about them an unchangeable attribute—the poet has none; no identity—he is certainly the most unpoetical of all God’s creatures.

Metta — loving kindness or friendliness — is a foundational theme  in Early Buddhism and from the beginning has been understood as essential to a balanced practice.  In addition to cultivating the heart, metta has always also been framed as an excellent way to develop deeper samadhi, unity of mind. This week, Sam guided our reflections, drawing on talks by several different dharma teachers to shape our discussion.

Sam read from the original text, the Metta Sutta, of which you can find many translations here:

http://www.leighb.com/mettasuttas.htm

Here’s the version Sam read:

He who is skilled in good, and wishes to attain that state of Peace, should act thus:
he should be able, upright, perfectly upright, amenable to corrections, gentle and humble. 

He should be contented, easy to support,
unbusy, simple in livelihood,
with senses controlled, discreet,
not impudent, and not greedily attached to families. 

He would not commit any slight misdeeds that other wise men might find fault in him. May all beings be well and safe,
may their hearts rejoice. 

Whatever beings there are —
weak or strong, long or short,
big, medium-sized or small, subtle or gross, 

Those visible or invisible,
residing near or far, those that have come to be or have yet to come, (without exceptions)
may all beings be joyful. 

Let one not deceive nor despise another person, anywhere at all.
In anger and ill-will,
let him not wish any harm to another. 

Just as a mother would protect her
only child with her own life,
even so, let him cultivate boundless thoughts of loving kindness towards all beings. 

Let him cultivate boundless thoughts
of loving kindness towards the whole world — above, below and all around,
unobstructed, free from hatred and enmity. 

Whether standing, walking, seated
or lying down, as long as he is awake, he should develop this mindfulness. This they say, is the divine abiding here. 

Not erroneous with views,
endowed with virtues and insight,
with sensual desires abandoned,
he would come no more to be conceived in a womb. 

Sam also read a passage from The Tassajara Cookbook p.347 (by Edward Espe Brown),  a story about offering food to a statue of the Buddha.   

The sangha then listened to a Pali chant here:

https://dharmaseed.org/talks/player/70463.html

Finally, we heard excerpts from the following two talks:

https://dharmaseed.org/talks/player/42724.html

https://dharmaseed.org/talks/audio_player/44/15696.html

The times we are living in seem far more uncertain than many of us have previously experienced.  Yet the Buddha’s teaching is that uncertainty is the norm, and that we can learn how to meet it with skill and an open heart.  This week, Ron guided our reflections on uncertainty and its relation to our capacity to remain fully present.  As an aid to discussion we heard from Tara Brach, who explores letting go and beginner’s mind as pathways to discovering timeless presence in the midst of inevitable change.

Tara’s talk is available here:

Last week we heard from Brian Lesage about not taking things personally. This week, courtesy of Lorilee, we again hear from Brian and deepen our knowledge of the Buddha’s teachings about nature, in a talk he gave May 3rd this year “Being Aligned with the Dharma & Ecological Perception”.

It is prescient that over 2 millennia ago, the Buddha actually taught that one of the conditions “that prevents the rain from falling” is when we people are not aligned with the Dharma.  Whether we are aligned with nature or not, affects our planet. This is not surprising, given that we are not separate from, but part of, nature.  

You can listen to Brian’s talk here:  https://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/484/talk/70489/

How often do we feel harshly put upon when things don’t go according to our liking? A big tree falls on your car. The doctor’s office calls with the seriously bad results of your test. The drain in your shower is clogged. Your computer freezes and won’t do anything. Ants show up at your picnic. Oh, it all seems so unfair.

Do we see these as the results of causes and effects? We should be able to deal with things. We still have our equanimity, right? Maybe we indulge in a bit of self-pity or feel like we are under attack. What kind of habits are we cultivating?

This week’s Sangha was led by Don S. and featured a talk by Brian Lesage. You can listen to the talk here:

https://dharmaseed.org/talks/57964/

What are the Four Noble Truths? Buddhist practice epouses practice and insight, and yet the core teaching of the path is a short list of statements. How can we look at this teaching from another perspective? Perhaps the Truths are meant to be activity rather than philosophy.

This week Eric played a talk by Stephen Batchelor on the Four Noble Truths and how they are reflected in traditional vows taken by some monastic traditions.

The point is that each of these “truths” is something to be acted upon in a specific way. The point of the Dharma is not to persuade yourself that life is suffering… the point of the practice is to embrace suffering. It’s to fully know Dukkha… To say “yes” to the life situation that confronts you in this moment. These are tasks to be recognized, performed, and accomplished. They are not truths to be believed or disbelieved.

Stephen Batchelor

You may wish to examine this chart as a reference to the comparison of the Four Truths, the Four Tasks, and the Four Vows:

You can listen to Stephen’s talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/34647/