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De Oceaan van Waarheid Weerspiegeld

De koan van Kapimala

Deze tekst is een vrije vertaling en bewerking van de tekst van David. De tekst is oorspronkelijk geschreven als een vervolg op het verhaal van Nagarjuna. Kapimala is de leraar van Nagarjuna, de grondlegger van het Mahayana Boeddhisme. De originele tekst van David is zo poëtisch dat ik in mijn vrije vertaling heb ik gekozen om een gedeelte van de tekst in dicht-vorm te verwoorden.

Kapimala (100 na Chr) is geboren in de Indische staat Magadha. Als jonge man was hij leraar in Brahmanisme en had hij drieduizend leerlingen. Hij had magische krachten en was ambitieus. Met zijn krachten was hij in staat van vorm en verschijning te veranderen en daarmee anderen te imponeren.

Op een dag ontmoette hij Ashvaghosha. Ashvaghosha was niet onder de indruk van Kapimala's krachten.

Kapimala wilde indruk maken en zei dat hij de het vermogen had om de grote oceaan te veranderen. Ashvaghosa vertelde hem dat hij meer geïnteresseerd was in het vinden van de oceaan van waarheid, de oceaan die Kapimala niet kon veranderen.

De vraag is:

Ben je opzoek naar de macht om de wereld te veranderen?

of

ben je bereid om te veranderen

en je te laten verrijken,

door de wereld?

Ontmoet je

de ander echt

of

vermijd je dat?

Wanneer je de ander echt ontmoet,

be- leef je

de ander,

en

be- leef je

jouw leven.

De oceaan van waarheid stroomt door je heen,

zonder dat je hierdoor iets

opmerkelijks wordt,

zonder verstrikt te raken in een

vaste vorm.

In de Samadhis van het Boeddhisme,

wordt alles waarheid,

iedereen wordt een Boeddha,

precies zolang

als het duurt.

Soms een Boeddha,

soms een Dwaas,

soms een Vreemdeling,

soms een Vriend,

dit is leegte.

Het is niet nodig om de ander te veranderen in een leerling en zijn meester te zijn.

Men wordt een echte leerling door zich zelf te worden.

Je ware zelf

is

een spiegel van alles

deze spiegel is leeg.

Al is

de spiegel

leeg,

er is altijd iets

in te zien.

En niet alleen

is er iets

in te zien,

zonder enige moeite van de spiegel,

is het hele universum

er in te vinden.

Zo is het met ons zelf.

De grootste leraar

is de beste leerling.

Later verspreidde Kapimala het Boeddhisme in Zuid en West India. Toen Kapimala op weg ging om Nagarjuna te ontmoeten, was hij simpelweg van plan een interessante man te ontmoeten. Hij had geen ambities of een intentie uit eigen belang. Paradoxaal genoeg leidde dit tot het feit dat Nagarjuna zijn leerling werd, omdat het exact deze leegte was die Nagarjuna zo nodig had.

Kapimala was niet langer ambitieus en vol van zich zelf toen hij een leerling van Ashvaghosa werd. Het was niet langer meer zijn verlangen om machtig te zijn, in plaats daarvan ontving hij de kracht van de oceaan van waarheid.

Gelukkig als dienaar wordt hij de meester.

I picked up a stone from a natural path which is not far from my home.

The stone is not very big. It seems to be a piece broken off a larger stone, as some of its borders are still sharp-edged. It is a little bit rough to the touch and leaves a fine dust on my fingers when touching it. Its surface is more or less flat because of the erosion of wear but you can notice the grain of its original texture.

I observe and touch it slowly. I appreciate dark areas and other redder ones. The more closely I look at it, the greater is the feeling of having a full mountain in my hands. I wonder whether there is really any difference  between this stone and any peak of the mountain range. If I was a molecule this stone would be the Universe for me.

I realize the huge amount of life that is unfolded in that stone that I cannot perceive through my senses, but that it is there from so many years ago.

I can hardly imagine its origin. I know it belonged to a larger piece. I know that water erosion has transformed it. I imagine a rock being moulded or the water drawing on it deeper grooves that become worn and create new forms; I imagine the cracks and the time of falling off. I imagine air and soil, worms and ants; and then man removing that land

Now cars are passing on it and also people, like me, are continuously passing by and being supported by it as  part of their path.

And, for me, this is surrender. In each moment it has served what the particular situation demanded from it. Each time you touch it, your fingers are filled with it. Each time a car wheel rolls over it, it takes away something from it, and the same will happen when the wind blows strongly. It will become dust, smaller  and smaller and finally, when it disappears completely, it will be everywhere.

That is surrender for me. You disappear in it because you give yourself completely in each moment, you become smaller in the world of form, but, paradoxically, without intending, your presence becomes huge and eternal.

I am going to put it back to the place I picked it up. This exercise has been enough to receive what it had for me. In this way, each time I pass by that path or each time I watch the stones closely I will remember the meaning of surrender.

I like that this stone becomes a ritual object that I can live outside my bedroom so as I can remember, each time I see or listen to stones under my feet, what surrender means to me and the opportunity of surrendering I have in each step.

When attention becomes adhimoksha, and the look is full of reverence, ritual occurs. Then the stone becomes my teacher and in front of such a special meaning my answer is gratitude and the most absolute respect.

I express all this joining my hands and bowing down before the stone.

For now I am calling this section The Event, I may come up with a better title later on. To write this section presented me with not only the challenge of the name but I've also had to tackle the problem of what to suggest to you for your exploration. I knew what questions I was answering for myself, I simply was not sure, or confident about, what they might be for others. In this case, my strategy for moving forward relied on the creation of the visual expression, or making art.

In Chapter I, with the Buddha seated in meditation, and the folks in the congregation all waiting in anticipation suddenly various phenomena occur. There is a beam of light which is emitted from the brow of the Buddha, there is the earth quaking, mandarava flowers begin raining down. As if the beam of light emitting from the head of the Buddha isn’t enough, this beam of light enabled people in the Saha World to see people in other worlds and the Buddhist and Bodhisattva practices they engaged in. Naturally this causes many in the crowd to be curious as to what was going on, what might happen next, how should these things be interpreted, and many more.

My original idea was to suggest exploring the idea of phenomena when you decided to make a commitment to practice the Lotus Sutra. This section of this chapter always reminds me of the night I decided to begin practicing the Lotus Sutra. There were so many memorable emotions at the time making it a powerful memory. That first night the room we were meeting in, the living room of a Marine and his wife in the base housing at Millington, TN. There were about 30 Marines there all chanting strongly, energetically, and intently. Simply being in a room with crammed with that many guys with all that 20-year old testosterone would have it’s own energy. As I am writing this, I realize that perhaps there were not exactly 30, so let’s consider it a figurative number. After the chanting was over, various guys got up and explained some general Buddhist concepts. Some got up and shared some of the things going on in their lives and how their Buddhist practice was working.

Recall if you will, that this was a low point in my emotional life. Just hours before I had no hope, I saw no future, and I felt powerless. Now I was in a room with guys my age, practicing Buddhism, something I was keenly interested for many years. Earlier in the evening before arriving, I was sad, depressed, and even lonely. Now, here were all these guys seemingly happy, surviving the collective hell of the Marine Corps, and all expressing hope and dreams for the future. This was a stark change in emotional landscapes. All of this would be memorable enough, yet it was in this context I decided to give Buddhism, or to give this group of guys a chance to help me change my life.

Thinking about this it would be easy to assume I was merely attracted to the positive energy or emotions of the meeting. It might be thought of the two options sadness or happiness it would be a clear choice, easy to make. I suppose there is some truth to that, yet for me it was more than that. In fact, I’m not sure before this writing I had ever articulated the contrasting emotional places. What I do remember is the feeling of ‘rightness.' The concepts they explained made perfect sense and were things I intuitively had felt for most of my life. The ideas, while bearing foreign labels, were not foreign concepts. There was no different thing for me to do fundamentally, other than beginning to practice chanting the sutra and the Odaimoku or sacred title.

I also recall vividly walking back to my barracks that evening with my Omandala tucked securely under my shirt. It was around 10 PM on an early cold December evening. The colors of the night were almost electric, bright, and surreal. The sky above was clear, and the stars shown brightly and seemingly within in arms reach. Now was that exactly how it was, I don’t know. This is my memory of the historical event. I do believe it is close to how it was, yet we can ever know the degree to which our emotions or feelings influence our memory and interpretation of events. The idea of this exercise is to begin to understand this and open up to cherishing these memories and becoming familiar with them so we can share with others the Lotus Sutra as it occurs in our lives.

That’s my story, now what about yours? My challenge here is not everyone will have such a stark contrasting memory of the moment of decision or commitment. Right now there are two high school students attending the temple services. For them, should they continue to practice for a long time into the future, their memory may be less dramatic. Their memory may be they simply eased into and then before long it simply was their life. For some, the memory may be in stages of first experimentally trying, then saying what the heck let’s do this thing. Some may still be in the trying or experimenting phase after numerous years.

Even in these circumstances, there are points of demarcation. There is always a point which can be used for reference. In my telling, I could talk about beginning to do the daily service in my space in the barracks and how awkward that was doing it by flashlight soundlessly so as not to disturb the other guys. I could also share how in the face of being threatened with loss of security clearance I had to make a choice between going to Vietnam immediately for not quitting my practice or the easy path of not being challenged because of my religious beliefs. Those and several others required of me to more concretely express and live according to my beliefs. For this, I chose the night I brought my Omandala home.

In your experience of practicing the Lotus Sutra is there a demarcation point, a point of reference, a point of a before and after? It need not be dramatic though it may be. Perhaps there was a spectacular occurrence, and you’ve never thought about it. Or you may have never given any thought to this at all. From my experience talking with people over the years, many people simply did not notice or even think much about it at all.

What I’m inviting you to do is to find a point, it can be any point in your continually evolving practice. Also, that point may change in the future, yet it is still a point, among many which are important to become aware of. Mindlessly we can occupy space ticking off the seconds and then die. Or we can say, wow, some really neat stuff has happened, I’ve done some cool things, and I want to remember them. Yea, we will also realize some crappy things as well, and we survived.

How has your earth quaked? What has the beam of light of the Lotus Sutra illuminated in your life? If the Buddha were you, what would you tell?

The ground for the art piece is page 35 from The Threefold Lotus Sutra published by Weatherhill/Kosei. I'm using the gatha section describing the mandarava flowers; the delight everyone felt in body and mind, and the coloring of all with gold. For this, I used collage, acrylic paint, and ink. You will see a dark blue sky overhead filled with stars. The Buddha ink drawing which doesn’t look much like a Buddha is probably a subconscious combination of the Gunnery Sargent, who invited me to my first meeting and the Buddha, yea let’s go with that. Over the image of the Buddha/not-Buddha written in gold is the portion I just shared. On the left edge is a group of guys, well they really are Buddhist priest reciting sutras. And as it mentions in the sutra all of this occurs from the Avichi Hells to the highest of heavens. So quite naturally I’ve got hell in there. Also, that night was a movement from hell to heaven without denying or avoiding the suffering of the hell of the Marine Corps. Over the top of everything, there is gold paint ‘illuminating’. Sadly sparkle and shiny don't photograph well, so you miss out on that.

I hope you have fun and remain curious as you consider this exercise. I welcome you comments and questions and sharing of your discovery.

One comment I hear from folks who attempt to read the Lotus Sutra is about the long listing of names at the very beginning. The list extends over two pages. Most of the people have asked what they were supposed to do with such a list. The names are weird, they are long, and frequently they are unpronounceable at least not in one breath or smoothly. Some have either proudly or in desperation laid claim to skipping the section altogether. They would skim ahead until it looked like some action was taking place and then re-engage with the scripture text.

If you are one of those people, guess what so was I when I made my first, second, third attempt to read the sutra straight through. I am sure there are some who soldiered on through or who with the aid of a study companion made it through in one pass. I’ve not met one, that however doesn’t mean one does not exist. Most people, myself included, either didn’t have or presently do not have a well-informed guide as they study. That has been one of my aims as I’ve published various books on the Lotus Sutra. The reality is most of the people who have been and who may become interested in Nichiren Buddhism do not live near a Nichiren Shu temple. I am not sure when those in higher up positions will awaken to this fact, so I plow on in the hopes it will be someday. I do hope someday there will be a coordinated and well-planed vision for the spreading of Nichiren Buddhism deep into the heartlands of the United States and other countries as well. For now, you and I are stuck doing it this way.

Hopefully, you’ve done some thinking about what your life was like before the first contact with the Lotus Sutra. Let me emphasize I’m talking about the Lotus Sutra specifically, not Buddhism in general or some other denomination of Buddhism. I do this because my single focus is on the Lotus Sutra and how that has manifested in your life. I am not responsible for other schools, nor do I know the details of what they taught or what your experience was. You are here now, and you are considering the Lotus Sutra and its practice. Yes, this is exclusive, but please do not feel I am discounting or disrespecting other schools or other teachings. I’m glad for you if you had that opportunity. I’m also aware most people do not, and that is where I’m beginning.

Who were you before the Lotus Sutra? Were you out of work, unhappy, discouraged, or hopeless? Or were you successful in your endeavors, reasonably secure in all aspects of your life, carefree, and firmly on your path to achieving all of your life goals? I am encouraging you to define in detail your story of the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, your pre-Lotus Sutra life. This will help you remember where you entered the stream of Lotus life.

You’ve done that I hope. I also am reminding you that it is intended to more than merely a recounting historical facts. I hope you will practice looking deeper, and to do so with brutal honesty. Sometimes we do need to be brutal with the notion of honesty. Often honesty doesn’t want to be tugged out from under the rock it is hiding behind. Honesty doesn’t like for you to see it, perhaps because it thinks it is ugly or shameful. In those cases, we will need to befriend honesty, help it understand that there is nothing for which we need be ashamed. Give honesty the assurance that it is useful and we need it to be present to us so we can change what needs changing. Offer it tea and cookies, invite it to a conversation at a nice coffee shop one which is clean quiet and perhaps a little funky. I know just the place in Portland, Oregon called Rimsky’s. My favorite coffee/tea/dessert place, but bring cash because they don’t accept cards.

The Lotus Sutra as I mentioned begins with naming a large group of people who are present with the Buddha while he sits in Samadhi I wonder who was in your life pre-Lotus Sutra? Who remained in your life after you began your practice and study? Did some of your friends or family abandon you? Was the transition difficult? Was there turmoil? Were the characters in your life supportive or not. If you were to draw this picture would there be a lot of people, would the picture be bright? Or would there only be a few individuals, and the tone of the image dark and dreary?

My picture would be perhaps me sitting on my rack[2] bed, the blanket I am sitting on is green, dark green. The wall locker that contains my entire life possessions other than my guitar and a few mementos which I left with my parents when I enlisted in the Marine Corps. There would be row after row of similar racks, some with other Marines sitting on them some not. There would be naked florescent lights hanging from the open bare wooden ceiling which was painted white. The setting was Memphis TN at the US Navy base in Millington TN. I had only recently arrived after my transfer from basic training. At the time boot camp and training after boot camp was a three-month long ordeal, perhaps I should in honesty say, Hell.

I had gone home after boot camp to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my parents. My brother was stationed in California, also in the Marine Corps. My memory of him was someone who was exactly where he needed to be and who loved every minute of it. He did retire from the Marine Corps, did exceptionally well, exceeded everyone's expectations, and I believe found a certain level of happiness. Certainly he found respect, and I think he deserved it. I was not where I wanted to be nor where I felt I belonged. I was coerced into joining the Marine Corps. My choices were to flee to Canada, to go to jail for avoiding the draft, be drafted, or this new life in the Marine Corps for four more years.

The only thing I had done wrong was being draft eligible and a US citizen. When people thank me for my service it irritates me because I only did it because of coercion. The same thing continues to happen today with young folks enlisting because there are no jobs. Ok, I don’t want to get too far away from where I would like to go. You can see hopefully a little bit of who I was at the time, not just what I was doing.

The only friends I had were either getting stoned, going back to college after a summer of tripping and going to Woodstock. I was on the way to Woodstock, hitchhiking, taking lots of acid and some other chemical substances. I had one friend I was supposed to hook up with in Connecticut as we hitchhiked from New Orleans. He later said he didn’t know what happened until he got a letter from me from boot camp saying I was in the Marine Corps.

Since I had just transferred to Memphis less than two weeks before my first contact wth the Lotus Sutra, I had not developed any ties to any of the other guys; I had no friends. When you’re the new guy, it is tough to find your way into the established group, and being more of an introvert becoming embedded in groups was challenging.

In my picture of the moment, there would be a tall Gunny Sergeant walking through the barracks asking if anyone wanted to go to a Buddhist meeting and in that picture everyone from the front door to my rack would be pointing at me. They all knew. As I write this, I realize they knew more about me than I knew about any of them.

The picture changes when we move to my first contact with the Lotus Sutra. The previous painting or photograph would be dark, discouraging, forlorn, hopeless. Shift forward only a few hours and my life was forever changed. If I painted in florescent glowing plasma oozing colors, almost trippy acid colors it still would not quite be bright enough. Being in that room with roughly 30 guys, all Marines, crammed together, hot, even sweaty hot, and everyone chanting some strange phrase repetitively, it was a feeling which even now I can still feel the vibration, the energy, the opening of doors of hope, of joy, of a future.

I’ll leave off here with my story and shift to you and your story. How would you paint, write about, photograph, or sew your story. What would the quilt panel for this moment look like? Who would be the people you want to stand still as you take a group photograph? Would you be painting with bright, bold colors, or would they be similar to the colors of your life before with little change.

I look forward to hearing about your story, of seeing your story drawn, or seeing the quit panels as you create them. Perhaps you might think about illustrating a zine and serialize it. I could see this as a stick figure manga book. If you haven’t broken down any resistance to be creative, I hope you will now as we begin in earnest to enter the Lotus Sutra story.

Come on join with me won’t you? Again, you don’t need to share it publicly if you don’t want. If you did though share it with me I would be your biggest fan, and eagerly wait for the rest of your Lotus Sutra, the Lotus of your life.

David Brazier ~ vertaling Elja Stoel

Nagarjuna wordt gezien als een van de meest belangrijkste en invloedrijkste denkers in de geschiedenis van het Boeddhisme. Alle Mahayana scholen zien hem als de stichter van het Mahayana Boeddhisme. Aan de ene kant kan Nagarjuna gezien worden als een originele denker, zijn ideeën vormen de basis voor het essentiële gedachtegoed van Mahayana Boeddhisme; leegte, altruïsme en 'other-power'. Aan de ander kant kan hij simpelweg gezien worden als iemand die met grote vaardigheid de essentie van de leer van Shakyamuni Boeddha heeft herhaald en daarmee de richting van het Boeddhisme heeft gecorrigeerd en terug gebracht naar de juiste koers.

Playboy

Er zijn vele verhalen en legenden te vinden over Nagarjuna. Het verhaal gaat dat hij uit een rijke familie kwam en dat hij als jongeman min of meer bekend stond als een playboy. Op een dag besloot Nagarjuna met twee vrienden over de muur van het paleis van de Radja te klimmen om de haremvrouwen te kunnen zien. Volgens het verhaal hadden de drie mannen een manier gevonden om zichzelf onzichtbaar te maken. Ondanks dit feit werden de bewakers de mannen gewaar en zij zwaaiden met hun zwaarden in de lucht. De twee vrienden van Nagarjuna werden gedood door de bewakers. Dit ongeval had een grote impact op hem, en maakte hem neerslachtig en ernstig.

Ware natuur

Hij besloot zich tot een religieus leven te bekeren en hij begon te studeren. Hij bestudeerde vele religies in de hoop de zin van het leven te ontdekken. Hij was vooral geïnteresseerd in het vinden van zijn 'ware natuur'. Hij zag de ware natuur als een kostbare en eeuwige parel in de mens zelf. Langzaam aan werd hij zeer geleerd in religieuze onderwerpen. Hij was met name toegewijd aan zijn eigen, persoonlijke verlossing. Hij trok zich terug in een kluizenaarshut in de bergen.

Overwinnaar van draken

Op een dag reisde de Boeddhistische meester Kapimala (Japans: Kabimora) in de buurt van Nagarjuna's verblijf. De koning van de regio had Kapimala een hal gegeven op enige afstand van het paleis, waarin hij kon mediteren en les geven. Kapimala gaf les aan dieren en mensen. Op een dag gaf hij toevlucht aan een python. Van deze python hoorde Kapimala over Nagarjuna, die als een kluizenaar leeft in een afgelegen hut hoog in de bergen waar geen mensen zijn. Nagarjuna onderwees de dieren en de draken.

De naam Naga-arjuna betekent 'overwinnaar van draken'. Wanneer we een symbolische betekenis willen geven aan deze naam zou je kunnen zeggen dat Nagarjuna tijdens zijn zoektocht naar zijn ware natuur, zich bezig hield met het de baas worden van zijn eigen draken.

Ontmoeting met Kapimala

Kapimala ging op bezoek bij Nagarjuna. Toen de mannen elkaar zagen, vroeg Nagarjuna zich af of Kapimala een echte verlichte meester was en of hij inderdaad de parel gevonden had. Kapimala besefte wat er omging in Nagarjuna en zei tot hem dat hij zich geen zorgen moest maken over zijn verlichte staat, maar dat hij zelf, Nagarjuna een toegewijde monnik moest zijn.

Nagarjuna ondervroeg Kapimala om te ontdekken of hij de parel bezat die hij zocht. Kapimala bezat inderdaad de parel en Nagarjuna wilde alles weten over haar verschijningsvorm. Kapimala zei dat de parel met niets te vergelijken is. De parel kan elke vorm aannemen. De juwelen van de gewone wereld hebben allerlei verschijningsvormen en zijn daarom geen echte juwelen, maar de Dharma parel gaat voorbij alle vaste vormen.

Toegewijd

De betekenis van het gesprek tussen Nagarjuna en Kapimala is dat een echte, toegewijde monnik, vanuit het oogpunt van Kapimala, iemand is die anderen helpt en die bereid is om alles te doen wat nodig is om de ander te helpen. Een toegewijde monnik is niet iemand die al zijn tijd besteed aan het najagen van zijn eigen verlichting, eigen boeddha-natuur, eigen realisaties, piek ervaringen of meer van die dingen. Ook is hij niet iemand die al zijn draken verslagen heeft of zo nodig een heilige moet worden.

Kostbare parel

Nagarjuna wil weten of Kapimala gedaan heeft wat hij probeerde te realiseren – zelfmeesterschap en 'boeddha-schap' bereiken. Maar Kapimala zei: “Het doet er niet toe of ik een heilige ben of niet. Wat er wel toe doet is of je een toegewijde monnik bent en stop met het najagen van je eigen spirituele ambitie. De parel die je hoopt te vinden is niet de parel waar je nu naar zoekt. Ook al is het het waar dat deze parel de meest kostbare in de wereld is, het is ook waar dat heel de wereld deze parel is. 

Dit betekent voor de ware monnik dat er niets in deze wereld is dat buiten de Dharma valt, er is niets dat niet van betekenis is, of een goede reden kan zijn, om levende wezens te bevrijden.

Leegte

Nagarjuna was in grote mate verlicht door deze ontmoeting met Kapimala. Kapimala die zelf overduidelijk niet gaf om het feit of men hem zag als verlicht of niet en die reeds in het bezit was van de kostbare parel zonder gefixeerde, concrete verschijningsvorm.

Dit idee van vormloosheid werd een centraal thema in de toekomstige leer van Nagarjuna. Hij noemde dit leegte (shunyata). Hij zag dat alle systemen van rationele ideeën, zelfs Boeddhistische ideeën, onsamenhangend worden wanneer je deze tot een ultieme conclusie tracht te brengen. Op deze manier kon dit nooit een goede basis zijn voor het soort van zelfbevestiging waar hij al die tijd naar op zoek was geweest.

Oorzaak en Gevolg

Boeddhisme in zijn algemeenheid houdt zich bezig met oorzaak en gevolg, maar er is niet te zeggen dat iets volledig veroorzaakt wordt door iets anders nog dat het niet veroorzaakt wordt door iets anders. Er is een essentiële vrijheid.

Ook al lijken deze ideeën ontologisch (voortkomend uit de zijns-leer) Nagarjuna beschouwd ze als soteriologisch (voortkomend uit de verlossingsleer)

Spiritueel materialisme ontmanteld

Zoals zo veel andere grote verlichte wijzen kunnen we zien dat Nagarjuna's verlichte staat in twee fasen is verlopen. Zijn eerste verlichtingservaring vindt plaats na de dood van zijn vrienden. Hij stuit op vergankelijkheid op een manier die diep ingrijpt. Op dit punt in zijn leven geeft hij zijn oude manier van leven op en wijdt hij zich aan zijn religieuze leven. Hij maakt zich een methode eigen waarmee hij zijn eigen verlossing hoopt te bereiken. Uiteindeljk heeft hij zijn ontmoeting met Kapimala die hem doet inzien dat zijn weg van 'self-power' de plank mis slaat.

Nu was Nagarjuna zelf een grote verlichte meester geworden -misschien wel een van de grootste in het Boeddhisme, alleen de Boeddha zelf was groter – omdat hij zich realiseerde hoe subtiel illusie kan zijn. Hij zag zijn eigen spirituele materialisme en sindsdien vind je in zijn leer de meest indrukwekkende ontmanteling van dit soort zelf rechtvaardigende rationalisatie uit de hele Boeddhistische filosofie.

Fundamenten van Mahayana Boeddhisme

Nagarjuna's inzichten zijn de fundamenten van het Mahayana Boeddhisme. Er wordt gezegd dat hij door de diepten van de oceaan reisde en de Prajna Paramita literatuur van de koning van de draken (Nagas) ontving. Wanneer we dit psychologisch interpreteren kunnen we zeggen dat hij zijn onderbewuste onderzocht en in plaats van de parel te vinden, waarna hij dacht te zoeken (dat zou een soort van ultieme zelfrechtvaardiging zijn) kwam hij uit bij Shunyata, de essentie van Prajna Paramita, volledige vrijheid van gehechtheid aan 'self-power'.

Shunyata en Svabhava

Shunyata, in Nagarjuna's filosofie, is het tegengestelde van Svabhava. Je kan een grote hoeveelheid aan moderne literatuur vinden over deze twee concepten. De meeste literatuur is vooral geschreven vanuit een ontologisch, in plaats van een soteriologisch perspectief. Mijn suggestie is dat hiermee iets essentieels gemist wordt. Er is een grote hoeveelheid aan academische discussies over Svabhava. In deze discussies wordt vaak aangenomen dat Svabhava duidt op een zelf-bepalende essentie in objecten in de wereld. Ik ben van mening dat Svabhava eenvoudigweg een ander woord voor self-power is. De originele leer gaat over soteriologie (verlossings-leer) en niet over ontologie. (zijns-leer)

Sva betekent 'zelf ' en Bhava betekent 'worden'. Nagarjuna heeft geprobeerd een heilige te worden tot hij Kapimala ontmoette. Hij hoopte door een heilige te worden de passie te blussen die zijn vrienden had gedood en zoveel dood en verderf in zijn eigen leven had gebracht. Kapimala was in het bezit van het Dharma-juweel, maar was niet geïnteresseerd in het feit of hij een heilige was of niet. Het zelf-creatie project (svabhava) was slechts een bijkomstigheid.

Other-power

Veel van Nagarjuna's geschriften zijn geschreven in de meeste extreme vorm van abstractie en hierdoor breed toepasbaar. De meest relevante toepasbaarheid is die op het persoonlijke spirituele pad.

Wanneer Nagarjuna zegt dat er niets is, dat opkomt vanuit zichzelf en hij ook zegt dat iets opkomt uit iets anders, dat niet zich zelf is, klinken beide uitspraken onlogisch. Hij zegt onder andere dat men niet volledig spiritueel ontwaakt op eigen kracht, en wanneer je ontwaakt door een ontmoeting met een ander – zoals hij – je niet die persoon wordt, of identiek aan deze persoon. Het spiritueel ontwaken van een ieder is uniek en toch niet onafhankelijk. Men vertrouwt op 'other-power'. Je wordt niet de ander, je bent niet de ander en toch is wat je wordt niet onafhankelijk van die ander ontstaan.

Ultieme doelen in het alledaagse leven
Nagarjuna's shunyata is vrijheid binnen voorwaarden, niet omdat deze voorwaarden vrijheid begrenzen, maar omdat deze voorwaarden de schitterende parel zijn, ze zijn de actieve substantie die we Dharma noemen, de verschijning van Nirwana in de wereld. Men kan altijd naar de geconditioneerde verschijningen kijken en de relatieve waarheid zien (pravritit), of men kan kijken naar de onvoorwaardelijke of absolute waarheid (paramartha). Om het spirituele leven te leiden heb je beide nodig. Hier is weer een praktisch punt over het spirituele leven. Om het ultieme doel te dienen, moet je als toegewijde monnik, zoals Kapimala dit uitdrukt, alle gewone omstandigheden inzetten. Religie gaat over ultieme doelen te midden van het alledaagse leven.

Eenvoudig of moeilijk

Volgens het Reine Land Boeddhisme was het ook Nagarjuna die het initiatief nam voor het idee van een eenvoudige weg en een moeilijke weg. Weer kunnen we zien hoe dit is gerelateerd aan zijn eigen leven en ervaring. De moeilijke weg is te vergelijken met wat hij probeerde te bereiken in zijn kluizenaarsverblijf in de bergen; proberen zijn menselijke natuur te bestrijden en zijn draken te verslaan. Dit is svabhava, 'self-power', en dit is, zoals hij zei, zo moeilijk als het te voet beklimmen van de Himalaya bergen zonder enige hulp. De eenvoudige weg is de weg waar men de strijd om persoonlijke perfectie opgeeft, het juweel ontvangt, van harte gegund door de Boeddha's en men een leven leidt in vertrouwen, de Dharma aanschouwend in alle omstandigheden van het leven. In plaats van het Himalaya gebergte te voet beklimmen kan je dit vergelijken met het zeilen van een boot.

Ikka no Myoju

Eeuwen later viel Zen meester Gensa op door het citaat “ Het hele universum in tien richtingen is een schitterende parel” en hij gebruikte deze uitdrukking om het begrip van zijn studenten te testen. Degene die starten met de beoefening van de spirituele weg zijn vaak zoals de jonge Nagarjuna, denkend dat zij de parel in hun zelf kunnen vinden, maar net als Dogen zegt “Ikka no Myoju - “Aangezien de geest niet persoonlijk is, waarom zullen we ons zorgen maken of we een schitterende parel bezitten of niet, zelfs deze zorgen zijn niet te onderscheiden van deze ene schitterende parel.

Zeal, Vigor, Mindfulness, Discernment, Single-Mindedness

These Five Implements were presented by Chih-i in his "Essentials for Practicing Calming and Insight and Dhyana Meditation"

Zeal - Zeal - First a person much possess the desire, the willingness to change something.  Without this aspiring to change there is no initial cause for implementation.

Vigor - Next a person must approach the task with effort, and a willingness to accomplish the task without letting up. Not being afraid to challenge the root causes which may be the most difficult. Unrelenting adherence to the Six perfections, the Eightfold Path even when it seems most difficult or most discouraging.

Mindfulness - Generation of a mind that is able to see what is based upon reality and what is based on our interpretation. A mind that is aware that there are noble acts and acts that are to be avoided. Develop a mind that is free from the outflowsof impurity. Being awake in the moment and aware.

Discernment - Discrimination of action based on mindfulness. To make critical judgments about what is wise. Assessments of value and achievements against what will be lost or unattainable by acting a certain way. It isn't always a case of clear-cut choices, sometimes there is only choices between two unpleasant courses, which will yield the greatest potential for future better choices.

Single-Mindedness - Achieving a focus that prohibits us from being distracted and side-tracked. Making a single-minded effort to cultivate one's mind so that no thing can interfere with our efforts.

Photo: Geese at night with their young in Obihiro Hokkaido Japan 2006

While written specifically about the Lotus Sutra, the questions posed here would be applicable to any endeavor, Buddhism included.

This chapter opens with the Buddha seated in meditation. As I think about this, I am reminded that we all began our practice of Buddhism from some place in our lives. Before our first exposure or our first acceptance, we were living in various ways. We had different approaches and understandings of life. We possibly had different emotional feelings about life in general.

Perhaps we were unhappy, or discouraged, or maybe depressed. Maybe everything was hunky-dory, simply peachy and all that. The point is what was your life like before Buddhism? Try to be as objective as you possibly can be at whatever distance you are from that point in time. Be honest, at least, be honest with yourself, even if not with everyone else.

None of us were blank slates with no prior history, no previous ways of processing life, no prior anything. We each began at a certain point.

The importance of this is to understand better the many ways in which your life has changed. The better you are at articulating this, the better you understand this at a fundamental level in your life. The clearer this is for you to explain the clearer it is at the core of your being. A thing not named is often not understood or considered.

For example, I came to Buddhism in a concrete way while I was in the Marine Corps. The military was the physical environment where I began my practice. The condition of my life, which is more important, was not so good. I was unhappy, I would say miserable. I will not claim I was suicidal; thoughts of suicide had entered my mind, and I entertained them seriously. I felt hopeless. I saw no possible happiness at any point in the near or distant future. I also felt helpless because I had no control over much in my life. I felt the victim. I was 19 and had lived independently for two years. I had been responsible for my food, clothing, shelter, and college education expenses. It wasn’t like I was away from home or family for the first time in my life, as so many in my environment were.

The broad view of my state of being when first introduced to a formal practice of Buddhism was not pleasant. I had studied as much as I could find about Buddhism before this and always felt there was more. What I could not articulate was that the missing pieces were the community of practitioners and the structure of practice. So I am using my first exposure to formal practice and sangha as my beginning point.

If I were to tell my story of the Lotus Sutra, the above would lead up to the opening or introduction chapter of my Lotus Sutra. It would be the first of the Threefold Lotus Sutra of Ryusho’s Life if you wish to call it so.

I can quickly identify these things because I have been working on this intently for a couple of years as well as writing about it in various books. Please take your time. Do not rush into or about this. Hopefully, over time, your story and understanding will evolve. What you identify now may not be the entire picture so be open to further insights and awareness.

Besides the insight this gives you, it also will enable you to articulate clearly to yourself and others where you began and how much you have grown, learned, changed, and benefited due to your faith and practice of the Lotus Sutra.

Sample Questions - in case you’re stuck
What were you doing in your life before?
What was your basic way of responding to events in your life? (Angry, complacent, confrontational, following, leading, directionless)
What were your dreams, aspirations, goals?
What was your frame of mind or emotional condition?
Give a general idea of what the week was like before you ever heard anything about Buddhism, or before you heard about the Lotus Sutra.</blockquote>

The illustration posted in this opening post for this series is an expression of some thoughts and feelings on my pre-Lotus Sutra life. The phrase from the Sutra of Infinite Meanings Sutra about how we can not hear without doing something hooked me. If I had remained in the barracks and never gone to my first sangha meeting, then today would not exist. If I had not been willing to make a commitment to the Lotus Sutra on that first day and on numerous days since then none of this would have happened. In our lives, in our Buddhist practice, in everything we do, something needs to be done, or else nothing happens. Obvious of course, yet is is profound if considered from various perspectives. The Buddha had existed before I was born, and Buddhism has been around longer than I have. The first contact between Buddhism and myself provided me an opportunity to do something to hear the teachings of the Lotus Sutra.

Another phrase that hooked me was "as the thunder sounds". Having lived in various places in my life, I have been able to experience the different sounds of thunder. For the many years, I lived in Hawaii, I missed the thunder, something that is rarely heard on the islands. Growing up in New Orleans we had thunder, it was without echoes and seemed to simply show up and then leave. Here in western North Carolina, the sounds of thunder roll around, returning again and again as if never quite willing to depart. Old tales have used the imagery of bolling-alleys, a not wholly inaccurate description.

The thunder of the Buddha's enlightenment or his first teaching was louder and as expansive as the universe. We might normally be afraid of thunder. The thunder of Buddhism and especially of the Lotus Sutra though is a sweet sound, it is pleasing to hear. It is a sound I have benefited from continually and without measure.

Life can be chaotic and is certainly unpredictable often if not always. Sometimes it repeats endlessly, the same things happen over and over. There are times we wish it would go away, wish it to be different, wish it to be anything other than what it is. The troubles and challenges even at times obscure our ability to see our own lives or the Dharma in our lives. In a way, that is what is going on with all the random weird stuff in this small piece. Or maybe it is simply that right now patterns and doodles are of interest to me. Who knows?

As we work our way along on this project, I may not always show you what I've done. It will depend on what I am inclined to do at that moment. I do envision highlighting or sharing what you all or doing. You don't have to share with me what you've done. I hope you do. If you do, I will not share details about something unless you have given me your permission. Remember it does not need to be just drawing or painting. How about a quilt with one panel for each chapter, or maybe you could knit a pair of crazy socks for each chapter. It can be anything that is your expression of the Lotus in your life.

Irritated

My breakfast is still going on when David starts to talk about the Summary of Faith and Practice .

I react a bit irritated because I want to eat my toast and suddenly I have to look for my notebook. I try to make as many notes as possible during David's Dharma talks, not only to memorise as much as possible, but also to improve my English.

Impossible

My irritation has also something to do with the fact that I am not good at doing two things at the same time. Since my life is happening in the English language my capacity to multitask seems to have completely disappeared. When I want to understand a conversation, or express myself in English, it asks for complete concentration. Listening and writing while preparing and eating toast seems to be an impossible exercise.

Muddled up

Language is a strange something... Language is dominating the thinking. Without language no thinking... I am thinking in Dutch and Enlish all muddled up. Even writing in Dutch is strange now. Especially about Pureland Buddhism, because everything I have learned about it, I have learned in English. My english vocabulary is limited, but my Dutch words seems also not available to express myself.

David quotes the part of the Summary of Faith and Practice where we stopped last lesson.

“Nor is it (practice of Nembutsu) based on study, understanding and wisdom or the revelation of deep meaning”

Wandering Holy Man

To illustrate the meaning of this sentence David tells us the story about Pureland Teacher Ippen (c. 1200 DC). Ippen was one the early followers of Honen and the founder of the Ji Shu.

He had his own way of spreading the dharma and practising. He was a wandering holy man. He travelled with his group of disciples from place to place to spread the Dharma. While he was travelling he asked everyone he met to say Nembutsu and when you did he gave you a 'Fuda' a little piece of paper with “Namo Amida Bu” written on it. You can put the Fuda on your home shrine. In this way Ippen gave you something concrete as a sign of being accepted by Amida.

No Faith

'One day Ippen met a man who did not want to say Nembutsu', David tells us. Ippen asked the man why he did not want to say it. “Because I don't have faith,” was his answer. Ippen asked the man to say Nembutsu anyway and the man did. Ippen gave him his Fuda.

Crises

Ippen could not forget this meeting with this man and it kept him preoccupied. What is the meaning of reciting Namo Amida Bu when you don't have faith in it? Or don't believe in it? It became a kind of religious crisis for Ippen himself.

David told that after this crisis Ippen came to the conclusion that it is not about personal experience, but it is about the Nembutsu itself. The words “Namo Amida Bu” are wholesome and perfect.

While David refers to the sentence of Summary of Faith and Practice” I am still thinking of the story and Ippen and his conclusion, and especially the question, what is the essence of practising Nembutsu? And what if you don't believe in it? The conclusion of the story came to quick for me.

Amida and Jesus

As a beginner in Pureland practise I still feel a kind of unfamiliarity with Amida Buddha. Chanting Namo Amida Bu can give me a calm feeling and sometimes the experience of a prayer.

The religious aspect, the devotion and the stories about salvation around Amida Buddha remind me of the stories about Jesus. I was brought up as a Christian and I have a lot of positive memories of my Christian background and I still feel connected to my Christian roots.

After a few years of Zen practice I am suddenly in touch in a quite intensive way with Pureland Buddhism and Amida Buddha.

Mysterious Spell

The words Namo Amida Bu sound sometimes as a mysterious spell in my ears and at these moments I can feel some resistance. After God, Jesus and Buddha, Amdia appears into my life... Why don't I feel connection with Amida, I wonder.

Questions

I tell David that I still have questions about the conclusion of Ippen and ask about the essence of practising, even if you don't have faith. Instead of giving me an answer David stand up to leave the kitchen. He returns with a book about the life and work of Ippen. He starts to read out loud the story of Ippen and his meeting with the man who didn't want to say Nembutsu. It is a beautiful story with a lot of details worth telling:

Sincere

Ippen meets a monk. The monk comes from a disciplined tradition in which it is very important to live according the vows in a very sincere way. When the monk refuses to say Nembutsu Yppen asked the monk why he refused. The monk tells Ippen that he does not experience faith himself. He explains that he can't accept the fuda of Ippen, because that will be like lying for him and he can't practise nembutsu in a sincere way.

After hearing this part of the story I understand better why Ippen himself went through a crisis. The monk gives him a beautiful koan about his own religion practice.

Vision

David is reading further and Ippen seems to have serious doubt about his own practice and the way he is teaching the Dharma. He is asking himself if he should go on with sharing the fudas and getting people to say the Nembutsu. Ippen visits a temple and prays for guidance. In the temple he gets an answer to his prayer in a vision. In this vision he is asked:

“Why are you doing this the wrong way? It is not by your own effort that all sentient beings are to attain birth in the Pure Land.”

Self-power and Other-power

What a beautiful question - a question that is speaking to me. A question about 'self-power' and 'other-power'. It is an answer to the question, what is the meaning of Nembutsu if you don't believe in it.

It does not depend of my personal way of chanting Nembutsu. The message is: Also with a heart full of doubt or feelings of discomfort you can say Nembutsu and reach the Pure Land. Your Nembutsu is perfect even if you can't do it sincerely.

It is easy to write, but hard to believe 'my Nembutsu is perfect'...

But maybe this is the essence of 'self-power and other-power'.

I WANT to believe that my Nembutsu is good

I WANT to feel faith

I WANT

It is quite difficult to get past “I want”.

Slowly on I get a clear picture of the meaning of 'self-power'.

Many times I attribute to myself a great power and influence. I know how to make myself important in my life. I can mourn as a broken weeping willow about the things I could have done better in my life. I can work very hard to improve myself. I can worry a lot about the things I may have done wrong. I always want to understand, what I am learning. I want to know why... and I want everything to be confirmed by personal experience...

All beautiful examples of self-power.

But what about the 'other-power'?

I believe it is there...somewhere...

Lets start with chanting Nembutsu without understanding and any expectation of a revelation of deep meaning.

This is my artist daughter's web site... http://www.lizzydickie.com/

On 6 February, when I was still in hospital, a good friend in Spain sent me this lovely mail...

Yesterday I felt very worried and sad when I read the bad news, so today reading your own words and seeing your photo with your laptop and that healthy looking, made me feel a great relief and very happy for you. Besides, having your friends and family with you will be the best pill of all.

I usually go to my bedroom and sit there to do my meditation, As you know I am Christian, but my practice is very personal, a sort of contemplation, I would say that is like a combination of Nei Quan and Chi quan meditation...I think.

But yesterday I wanted to make some offering to you and I practised my first Nembutsu. I do not know if it is like that: I did some walking meditation and with each step and exhalation I repeated to myself "Namo Amida Bu", understanding these words like" I surrender  my bombu nature to you (Amida) while I feel your total and eternal embracement, acceptance, compassion and love supporting us in each step"

It was a great experience,though maybe this is not the proper way of doing it....(.Anyway I am used to create my own practices or do my own version of them...). The words were not familiar to me but I really recognized the feelings and the connection, so concepts were falling apart.

Of course this is not important at all, but I wanted to share it with you. I think that  the main thing now is faith...and that you are feeling better.

With her permission, I am sharing it here as it gives such a wonderful sense of the spirit of nembutsu practice.

I have been asked to talk tomorrow at 11am EST on the subject of Meditation as Writing and Writing as Meditation. 

Taking stock of the progress of the Amida Shu sangha at the end of 2015 it is hard to find words sufficient to praise the achievement of Kaspalita and Satyavani and all those involved in the establishment of the Amida Mandala Temple in Malvern. This was itself the culmination of several years of dedication which began with them holding Pureland religious services in the tiny front room of their original accommodation in Malvern, doing walking recitation in a room hardly big enough to swing one’s arms, sometimes with one or two other visitors, sometimes alone. Over the years I have many times heard it said that presenting a blatantly religious approach to Buddhism could never work in England, that the Pureland message is particularly difficult to promote, and that in order to spread the word you have to go with the general secularising trend, yet here we have a temple run unashamedly as a Buddhist church in a quintessentially English provincial town flourishing and deeply appreciated by local people. Nobody who enters the front door with even a half open mind can help but be swept up in the spirit of love that pervades.

This is not to say that this is a group of super-human people. They make no bones of their bombu nature. I’m sure that there are days when they feel out of sorts. We know that there have been some disputes and some people have left. However, as somebody who has had much experience with communities over the years, I can say that there has actually been a good deal less trouble of this kind than could be considered to be par for the course, and the positives far, far outweigh the cost. There has to be room in any venture of this kind for enough space and flexibility to accommodate actual human nature and we should not be ashamed of that. The great genius of the Pureland approach is, in fact, the recognition of such human nature and the consequent avoidance of paralysing perfectionism on the one hand and hypocritical posing on the other. We are not a community that seeks to impose a taxing discipline, but rather one where experienced practitioners, complete new-comers and little children can all take part and  enjoy the Dharma in their different ways..

So it was a great pleasure to stay at the temple for a week before and another week during the Bodhi Retreat. Since then I have heard from several participants what an inspiring event they found it to be and how they have gone away full of renewed spiritual energy. Now, however, of course, comes the test. Where is this energy to go now? What will emerge in local sanghas in different parts of the world, among those who attended and those who were not able to? A wave has been set in motion. Back in France we shall be developing La Ville au Roi (Eleusis). Our model will be quite different to that in Malvern because our situation is completely different. As a remote, rural retreat we shall not be catering to a local congregation. However, our own unique development can certainly be complementary to that in England and I expect a fair bit of traffic of persons coming and going between the two (and other) locations. Each place must develop in its own way, but the salience of the religious spirit, of common humanity in its relation to greater powers that bridge the relation to eternity, expressed through simple prayer, will be common ground.

I remember long ago my Zen teacher Kennett Roshi saying to me that i should try to get a group of practitioners together to do zazen and, years later,  Achaan Viradhammo telling me to “get a sangha around me.” I had several tries and some successes but also failures. Groups started and fell apart again. I learnt. Too much leadership. Too little leadership. Too tightly defined. Not defined enough. Clashes of personality. Unbalanced people. There are many hazards. I know how difficult it can be. Thus, the evolution of Amida Shu as a spiritual communion that now has a robustness, depth, and sense of mutual love is a great satisfaction and I feel enormous gratitude to all my companions on this path, scattered around the world as we are and to the inspiring light of Amitabha Buddha which really does seem to penetrate through all obstacles.

On the Bodhi Retreat 7-13 December In Amida Mandala Malvern, I was ordained as Amita Vajrapala, a Gankonin in the Amida Order, vocation as a disciple to the service of the Buddhas and budhisattvas to help and serve all sentient beings.

The transmission of Amida's light was transmitted to me by the precepts I discided to take, by the kind love, care and wisdom off Dharmavidaya David Brazier, by Sujatin and Jnanamati  - who helped, supported and assisted me - and by the support and longing of the assembled Amida Sangha.

This step deepened my joyful faith in indescribable ways. A deep bow for all the ancestors, all Amida Sangha, all friends. May the light of Amida always guide my steps and shrine through me to all sentient beings. Namo Amida Bu.

Friends,

Yesterday,  the Amida Mosaic Sangha celebrated Bodhi Day.  Our day included morning service, sitting meditation and chanting.  Additionally, James led us on a mindful nature walk and Nancy led us in sacred movement. We also enjoyed two Dharma talks by Dharmavidya (Bodhi Day 2014 and this years first talk).  Also, Stephen, our guest from Connecticut, shared a few words prompting a lively discussion about Honen, Shinran, other-power and self-power. It was a very rich and full day!

The highlight of the day was the Vow ceremony.  The vows offered were:  Refuge ~ Nina Grigg,    Amida-Shu ~ Stephen Greenberg and Jennifer Adam and,  Lay Order membership (Mitra's) ~ Nancy DePutter and Sally Mackenzie. Unable to join us due to distance is Staci Noble who will join Amida-shu this summer when I visit the west coast.

Love to you all!

Prajnatara IMG_2649_2.jpeg.pdf

After Charlie's attack, Lama Wangmo wrote a practice, based on Tonglen to help keeping an open heart while assaulted by the madness of violence, terrorism and the answer people adopt.

It has been translated to English and can be freely used in any groups of :

Practising in face of horror

Breathe in suffering and breathe out, opening your heart

To all of you, men, women and children, anywhere in the world,

who lose their lives in violence, just as I utter these words,

I vow not to abandon you, in my thoughts, words and deeds.

You, who now wander, terrified and confused,

in the realms of death,

I share, from the depths of my powerless and rebellious heart,

all forms of your suffering.

In offer, I send you, as best as I can, love and peace and

vow to apply myself in this sense.

I breathe in, feeling inside your pain,

indissoluble from mine, and

I breathe out, in your direction, and give you

space for the refuge in peace and love.

For all those who witness the horror, I share that you are stunned

in dread and indescribable states of shock.

May I take some of your despair,

your unfathomable sadness and your rage

in my own heart, so as to relieve you.

In return, I send you strength, support and protection.

I breathe in, feeling inside your pain,

indissoluble from mine, and

I breathe out, in your direction, the force and power

of an indestructible support.

To all our brothers and sisters in humanity,

here and around the world,

undergoing intolerable pressures, tortures and massacres,

who have lost the meaning of their life

and found no refuge for their pains,

I share your confusion and utter dejection.

May I take in that which is inconsolable, your fear and

the nightmares that are haunting you.

In return, I offer you the space of my humility

and of my sincere heart.

I breathe in, feeling inside your pain,

indissoluble from mine, and

I breathe out, in your direction, a genuine ability

to be really capable of helping.

For all politicians, for all persons of responsibility and good will,

for all women and men engaged on the ground,

the helpers and the peace-keeping forces,

who have to act in urgency,

I share your helplessness and the pressures you undergo.

May I take your confusion and uncertainties.

In return, I send you clarity, confidence and gratitude.

I breathe in, feeling inside your pain,

indissoluble from mine, and

I breathe out, in your direction,

warmth and gratitude.

For all those who, under the influence of hatred, idleness and enslavement,

commit extreme acts against all forms of life,

may I take your darkness, your obscurity, your dementia,

and offer you the gift of hope and belief in

the fundamental goodness of all beings.

I send you the absolute silence

in which you may lay your heart bare and open it again

to the forces of love, peace and reconciliation.

I breathe in, feeling inside your pain,

indissoluble from mine, and

I breathe out, in your direction,

the infinite compassion which frees from all obscurity.

For all the sincere and pacific people who suffer in this chaotic time,

who are taken for what they are not and who suffer

distrust, rejection and isolation,

may I take your tears, your distress,

your difficulty to be understood and listened to.

In return, I send you the capacity to be heard and understood

with the respect and equanimity to which everyone is entitled.

I breathe in, feeling inside your pain,

indissoluble from mine, and

I breathe out, in your direction, my sincere wish not to abandon any being and

remain connected to all,

in accordance with the values of freedom, justice and goodness

which sustain me.

May the penetrating force of the heart

never leave the best of my thoughts and

guide my actions for the benefit of all,

without any exception.

(Lama Wangmo, january 2015)

The French original version can be found on this website.

PractisingInFaceOfHorror.pdf.

May this practice help sentient being to open their heart