Burlington Buddhist Sangha

Focusing attention on a single object is fundamental to meditation.  In fact the skill of focusing attention has two distinct applications in meditation practice.   One application is as the fundamental strategy of Samatha practice, which has as its aim the development of calm and tranquility, a “place to rest one’s mind”.   The other application is as the framework that supports Vipassana practice, the stability of mind that allows us to “see things as they really are”, that is, to nurture mindfulness.  In our gathering this Sunday we reflected on the difference and connection between these two aspects of practice, and on the relevance of both to the world in which we find ourselves today.

Margaret guided the discussion on these matters, using teachings of Chas DiCapua, Sharon Salzberg, and Jack Kornfield.

The first recorded teaching was a guided meditation by Chas DiCapua, recorded as part of the IMS “Daily Dharma” series on September 7th. You can watch the talk here.

The second teaching was by Sharon Salzberg, which was given last week as part of an online retreat through IMS. In this talk Sharon was reflecting on the role of mindfulness in developing understanding of what is really true (at both the relative and absolute level). Unfortunately we cannot link to the talk as it was part of a retreat.

The third teaching was by Jack Kornfield, discussing working with “slogans”  (tonglen practice, which derives from the teachings of the 9th century sage, Atisha) which you can view here.

Here are Kornfeld’s versions of the slogans Jack mentioned in that clip.

1.  Explore the nature of timeless awareness.  
2. Don’t be swayed by outer circumstances. 
3. Consider all phenomena to appear as dreams.
4.  Don’t brood over the faults of others.
5.  Be grateful to everyone.
6.  Offer your gifts to the world.
7.  At all times, simply rely on a joyful mind.
8. Don’t expect a standing ovation.

Ginny guided our session this Sunday, drawing on readings and teachings from Thich Nhat Hanh and others on the importance of Socially Engaged Buddhism.

The hour is striking so close above me,

so clear and sharp,
that all my senses ring with it.
I feel it now: there’s a power in me
to grasp and give shape to my world.

I know that nothing has ever been real
without my beholding it.
All becoming has needed me.
My looking ripens things
and they come toward me, to meet and be met.

The hour is striking so close above me
Rainer Maria Rilke, translation by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows

“These days, I am thinking that socially engaged Buddhism is to be found in those with a solid Dhamma practice—not just fuzzy, nice intentions—who can bring it to bear on social issues in real live situations. What Dhamma practice can give is enough mindfulness to be present in the moment, enough non-bias to see the situation from various angles (including one’s own inner dynamics), enough compassion to want to end suffering, enough wisdom to understand the major causal relationship at play (including intra- and interpersonal) and enough effort to do something effective on the ground.”

Santikaro Bhikkhu, cited in Ken Jones, The New Social Face of Buddhism: A Call to Action (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2003), p. 230

Everybody wakes up – the story of the Sarvodaya movement in Sri Lanka – the talk was given following the massive Tsunami that hit Sri Lanka and Thailand in December of 2004.

Part 1 – https://audiodharma.org/talks/audio_player/762.html

Part 2 – https://audiodharma.org/talks/audio_player/763.html

“Violence never ceases through hatred. It is only through love that it ceases. This is ancient law.”

the Buddha from the Dhammapada

Ginny also discussed the 14 Principles of Engaged Buddhism, whihc you can read here: https://www.lionsroar.com/the-fourteen-precepts-of-engaged-buddhism/

A great gift of practice is the ability to cultivate presence, a space in which we can meet our experience with a real attention that brings deep connection and fulfillment. This Sunday, Andrea guided our reflections, drawing on Tara Brach’s exploration on this topic.

Tara’s talk is available here: https://www.tarabrach.com/gift-to-the-soul-the-space-of-presence-4/

During the talk, Tara read a poem by Judy Brown, entitled “Fire”. It begins,

What makes a fire burn

is space between the logs,

a breathing space.

Too much of a good thing,

too many logs

packed in too tight

can douse the flames

almost as surely

as a pail of water would.

So building fires

requires attention

to the spaces in between,

as much as to the wood.

Judy Brown, from The Sea Accepts All Rivers


You can read the full poem on Judy’s website here: https://www.judysorumbrown.com/blog/breathing-space

Matters like COVID, political uncertainty, police violence and the like often seem remote from the meditation cushion and the world view of the Buddha. And yet the connections between dharma, pain, grief, effective action, and social challenges can be clearly drawn, as they are in an end-of-retreat dharma talk by Michele MacDonald and Jesse Maceo Vega-Frey which served Mike B as the inspiration for shaping this week’s sangha meeting.

Here is a link to the talk:

https://dharmaseed.org/teacher/126/talk/62233/

The Self, so often thought of as a thing, is, from a Buddhist perspective, an activity that arises under certain conditions, which can be seen and seen through.  Sam guided our reflections this week, and drew upon several teachers in the Early Buddhist tradition, including Andrea Fella, Guy Armstong, and Susie Harrington (who also offers  a guided reflection).

We listened to excerpts from the following three talks:   

Not-self and selfing :  Andrea Fella 9/11/18

The Five Aggregates Are Not Self:  Guy Armstrong 9/10/19

Selfing and Freedom from Selfing:  Susie Harrington  11/12/19

Sam then read verse 14 from the Tao Te Ching:

Eyes look but cannot see it
Ears listen but cannot hear it
Hands grasp but cannot touch it
Beyond the senses lies the great Unity —
invisible, inaudible, intangible
What rises up appears bright
What settles down appears dark
Yet there is neither darkness or light
just an unbroken dance of shadows
From nothingness to fullness
and back again to nothingness
This formless form
This imageless image 
cannot be grasped by mind or might
Try to face it
In what place will you stand?
Try to follow it
To what place will you go?
Know That which is beyond all beginnings 
and you will know everything here and now
Know everything in this moment
and you will know the Eternal Tao

Sam also read a quote from Nisargadatta Maharaj:

There is only one truth in the world, and that is that everything is unreal.  I am the Unmanifested talking through the Manifest.  When the body, the mind, the vital breath drop off, nothing happens;  only I, the Absolute, prevail always.  No knowledge is called for to understand this truth, because that knowledge is innate.   (Feb. 12, 1981)

This week Jeff H guided our reflections, returning to the topic of racial justice from a Buddhist perspective, and anchoring the discussions with a podcast titled “Racism and Independence” by Jack Kornfield that seems to have been recorded this year but was in fact from the 1990s. Jack starts with the context of our celebration of Independence Day a few weeks earlier and illuminates how the history of racism and prejudice in this nation directly contradicts our instilled ideals of freedom and independence. Jack weaves Buddhist teachings into an examination of some of the root causes of suffering in America and challenges us to use the Dhamma to lessen suffering.

The link to Jack Kornfield’s talk is here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-wisdom-with-jack-kornfield/id923017416?i=1000479804563

Below are Jeff’s notes from the talk:

I found the talk I am going to play on the Heart Wisdom Podcast with a date of June 26, 2020. In the talk, titled “Racism and Independence”, Jack Kornfield mentions Rodney King speaking to a crowd. The second time I played it I realized that the talk was probably from 1991 or 1992, as Rodney King died in 2012. Although the talk is nearly 30 years old it is just as relevant today, partly due to Jack Kornfield’s timeless wisdom. Sadly, the talk is still relevant because many things have not changed over the course of the intervening years for people with black and brown bodies.

Jack explores the American meaning of independence and freedom, and contrasts it to the reality of our history of aggression, genocide, racism and greed. This is not a flag-waving, happy time Dharma talk. Jack challenges us a look at the “greatest wound in American society”, racism, and to use Buddhist teachings to work towards healing America. Jack also candidly explores his own racism and other forms of racism.

Jack Kornfield repeatedly states that the small sense of self is the basis of all fear. Independence can be interpreted as being separate from others, in which case it leads to suffering. This type of independence in its extreme is isolation.

Jack discusses two domains or Buddhist vehicles for freedom:
• The first domain for freedom is letting go
• Letting go – through practices of generosity, integrity, virtue and kindness
• A kind of sacrifice – giving up greed for generosity and kindness
• The second domain for freedom is realizing an underlying shift of identity
• A shift away from identifying with money, belongings, status, body and mind
• Realizing that all boundaries are not real

Jack reminds us that real independence can be achieved by realizing interdependence.

A quote that really resonated with me:

Let us bear in mind that a society will not be judged by the standards attained by its wealthiest and most privileged members, but by the quality of life it is able to ensure for the weakest of them.

This Sunday, Jeffrey provided an overview of Stephen Batchelor’s key ideas in his book, Living with the Devil, followed by a talk by Batchelor. He rejects the dualistic conception of Mara or Satan or The Devil as embodiments of pure evil; and of Buddha as pure good, to instead tease out the subtle nature of the devil as “the adversary”, the one who blocks our paths.

Mara stands for those patterns of behavior that long for the security of clinging to something real and permanent rather than facing the question posed by being a transient and contingent creature. “It makes no difference what you grasp,” said Buddha, “When someone grasps, Mara stands behind them.” 

Even after their awakening, Mara approaches Buddha and his followers. Mara never is defeated, always close at hand. Why “always”? Evolution produced our capacity for greed, hatred, delusion as survival mechanisms. As long as we are in a body, these will be our faithful companions. 

Theme: If we let go of the personifications, then Buddha stands for a capacity of openness, awareness, freedom, and Mara represents confusion, closure, restriction. To live with the Devil is to live with the perpetual conflict between one’s Buddha-nature and one’s Mara-nature.

The video was excerpted from a long playlist of videos available here.

The Buddha said that he taught the nature of suffering and the end of suffering.  But many have found that his teachings take us far beyond that, and into shaping lives that are more meaningful to us — and even to others.  And some have discovered, along the way, a relation with continuing suffering can be part of a life that is most meaningful.  

This Sunday, Don guided our reflections drawing on a recorded talk by Brian Lesage to frame the discussion. You can listen to the talk here:

https://dharmaseed.org/teacher/484/talk/62300/

Another quote that was shared was and discussed was the Dung Beetle Sutta, which you can read here.

Rather than seeking the certainty of answers, we can mature authentically by staying with the great questions.  This past Sunday, Michael guided our reflections as we explored three zen koans which directly meet the question of authenticity in practice.

We did not record the session, but Michael gave a very similar talk another time, which you can listen to here:

Many of us have a tendency to be critical and judgmental of ourselves and others. This habit can seem quite strong and can create a lot of suffering. Mindfulness is a wonderful tool to enable us to see these thoughts for what they are, so we can begin to bring wisdom and understanding to them. The good news is, like any conditioned habit, we can learn to decondition them. This week, Wendy guided our reflections, with particular attention to an excerpt from a talk by Sally Armstrong addressing the judging mind.

The talk is available here: https://dharmaseed.org/teacher/153/talk/52218/

In this talk Sally quotes Byron Brown, author of “Soul Without Shame“, who explores the root causes of self judgement and overriding this habit. She also references Shakil Choudhury’s book “Deep Diversity: Overcoming Us vs. Them” and his work studying judging others and racial bias.