Author: Payton Swick

Throughout the ages of Buddhism, monks have been supported by receiving food from their communities, traditionally by going on rounds with a begging bowl. The lay people would place food and medicine within these large bowls which would then be used by the monks not only to feed themselves but also their entire Sangha.

Even the Buddha himself performed these alms rounds, and, as shown by the story of Bāhiya, they were a high priority: the Buddha would not stop his alms round to answer a desperate petitioner until the man had asked three times, and even then the Buddha gave only a brief teaching.

There are many layers to the practice of alms rounds, but one in particular stands out: monks must use whatever is put into their bowl to bring nourishment, no matter their preferences or thoughts on the contents.

Even if we are not begging for food, we face a similar situation every day.

In so many moments, other people and the world itself put things into our life over which we have no control; if we want to be happy and healthy, we must find a way to make use of those things. Even things which are unpalatable offer us wisdom.

This does not mean we should accept injury and injustice without taking action to protect and heal ourselves and others. The teaching points out, rather, that no matter what we do, unexpected things will end up in our bowl and we must wisely learn how to respond to them in a way that reduces suffering.

This week, Michael led our Sangha in a discussion about the practice of receiving and how it applies to our modern life.

We may have begun spiritual work in a quest for certainty, but the more we examine our lives, the more we see how uncertainty is a constant – just as the Buddha predicted.  Darryl has chosen excerpts from a talk by Mark Nunberg to help frame our exploration of the role of uncertainty in our lives.

You can listen to Mark’s talk here: https://www.dharmaseed.org/talks/62655/

In his article in the spring Tricycle “The Elephant in the Dharma Hall”, Buddhist scholar John Peacock quotes Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek: 

“Although Buddhism presents itself as a remedy for the stressful tension of capitalist dynamics, allowing us to uncouple and retain inner peace…it actually functions as capitalism’s perfect ideological supplement…The “Western Buddhist” meditative path is arguable the most efficient way for us to fully participate in capitalist dynamics while retaining the appearance of mental sanity.”  

This Sunday, Ron led us in a discussion to explore this controversial article.

Concentration is the final element listed in the Eightfold Path – and throughout our practice life some degree of concentration is necessary to be able to look deeply into the workings of the mind.  This may range from the amount of attention necessary to read a book (Ajahn Cha) to the profound absorptions of the jhanas (Pa Auk Sayadaw). This week, Don guided our reflections utilizing excerpts from a talk by one of the leading Western teachers of the jhanas in the present day, Leigh Brasington, who covered what to cultivate and what to move beyond in the first three stages of jhana meditation.

You can listen to Leigh’s talk here: https://www.dharmaseed.org/talks/76538/

Disclaimer for jhana practice discussion:

1. Jhana practice is not suitable for everyone for a variety of reasons. Only you can decide what is best for you.
2. I have no ambition to become a dharma teacher. You should go to my sources if you want more information.
3. This is a basic theravada tool not a “cub-scout-merit-badge-of-attainment.” If you are proud of being able to do this, you have totally missed the point.
4. The prerequisite, quieting down the mind, is useful by itself.
5. Insight practice could get better as a result. Observe your mind as you come out of jhana, see your habitual patterns as they start up.
6. Find your own “center-of-gravity”. Some practitioners may want to emphasize different things (or nothing whatever.) Some traditions (E.G. Vajrayana & Zen) do not teach jhana at all.
7. Excessive intense practice is not recommended. Here are websites that deal with meditation gone wrong. Go to Dr. Willoughby Britton & https://www.cheetahhouse.org/ website or do a google search and look for discussion of “Zen Sickness”. Unproductive meditation is a real thing.

Sharing Joy, celebrating the good fortune that comes to others, can be quite individual. But it can also be deeply social – as when we work for social justice to change the lives of others for the better.  We can work with joyful hearts to move beyond racism, economic inequality, gender bias and the like, rather than casting our work as a series of battles.  

This Sunday, Ellen shared excerpts from a dharma talk by Tuere Sala and led us in a Mudita meditation to bring the full and transformative power of the Brahma Viharas to support this shift in perspective.

You can listen to the talk here:

https://dharmaseed.org/talks/player/76912.html

Gratitude is a doorway into our practice. We are always in relationship – interdependent with everything around us.  An attitude of gratitude – fully realizing ‘I am receiving this in this moment’ – can be felt in the body. It relaxes and calms the mind.  We are unstuck, and the world looks new.

With open eyes, we receive, learn and grow.  We live complicated lives; we love complicated human beings.  Grateful attention is a key dimension of skillful mindfulness, at the heart of the Eight-Fold Path.

This week, Eveline guided our discussion, sharing portions of two dharma talks: Shelly Graf on “Pragmatic Gratitude” and Susie Harrington on “Gratitude as Doorway to Belonging”. 

You can find the talks here:

• Shelly Graf: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/83099/
• Susie Harrington: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/69664/

Stress is at the heart of most suffering, and many teachers today have begun to use “Stress” as the best translation of Dukkha.  Stress is stressful not only because we resist it, but because we actually  participate in its creation as well.  Ironically, we may seek to ‘cure’ it by engaging in other activities that are themselves stressful. Or I may ruminate on stressful memories, or dwell on future activities that involve high stresses, like completing the to-do list.  

But if we sit in the present moment and observe, we find there really is no stress inherently here.  To be able to be in the present moment and observe our experience frees us, allowing us to let go of our Self and be empty of stress. Jackie guided this session, drawing on excerpts from a talk by Howard Cohn, pursuing an inquiry into the nature of stress and its resolutions.

You can listen to the talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/player/83128.html

All indigenous healing systems highlight the elements we humans share with the physical world we inhabit, and from which we arise—Earth, Air, Fire, Water. Lorilee facilitated our session this week based in a guided Gaia meditation by Jenny Wilks, exploring our true nature and what we are made of.

You can listen to the meditation here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/84037/

We have each been tasked with a huge project called “my life”. Moment by moment we are steering this project, trying to maximize our happiness. Using feedback from feeling in the body, our thinking mind evaluates our experience and creates strategies. The main tool of the mind is language, our constant self-talk. 

In a talk titled “Language is the hammer and every problem, a nail” Dharma Teacher Matthew Brensilver investigates this usual process and advocates an alternative approach, using non-judgmental awareness. Jeff used Matthew’s talk to frame our reflections as we investigated the benefits of this shift of focus in living more effectively.

You can listen to the talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/83885/

Some quotes:

In most moments life feels like a problem to be solved

To solve our problems we need language

To dissolve them we need awareness

Non-judgmental awareness is very foreign to some part of our system

We build stories out of positive or negative feeling, not out of neutral feeling

With compulsive pressure to manage the project of our life, language is the tool that we use to orchestrate our life

When we learn the Dharma we treat all phenomena as false alarms

Matthew also gave a talk at IMC titled “Dharmette: Fear and Language” which complements the “hammer” talk:

https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/20282

Faith is often translated from the Pali language, as saddhā, which means “to place the heart upon”. However, in these times of great change and crisis, what do we place our heart upon? Buddhism teaches that everything is changing and impermanent. So, how do we cultivate the wisdom and the resolve to act, when there is no ground to stand on and we have no control of how things will turn out? This week, Sonia spotlights a talk from Narayan Helen Liebenson about faith, for us to explore these questions together.

The talk Sonia played is available here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/2946/

Sonia also read this quote

a person who falls off of a very high cliff. This person is in free fall, without anything to catch them. Terrified, the body tenses up. The mind is consumed with fear: “This is not going to end well!” However, after falling for some time, this person looks down and realizes that there is no ground. There is just empty space below. At this point, they relax. They begin to enjoy the falling. This person recognizes that they are being held by the Dharma, the nature of things, the way things are.

– Liebenson, Narayan Helen. The Magnanimous Heart: Compassion and Love, Loss and Grief, Joy and Liberation (p. 119). Wisdom Publications. Kindle Edition.