Meditation and Mindfulness in Milwaukee

We had a wonderful Solstice Retreat this past weekend as we gathered to give thanks and reset intentions. Beginning the day by reflecting on our good fortune to be alive; that this life will end in death; that our only true possessions are our actions of body, speech and mind; that there will always be challenges and opportunities to learn, no matter how far along the path one attains; and to engage the world with compassionate action balanced with equanimity, we set the stage for a day of practice and insight.

Some simple physical exercises followed the reflection, then alternating periods of silent sitting and silent walking, all of which prepared those gathered to take part in the Precepts Recitation Ceremony. The ceremony is a beautiful way to remember the ancestors; to honor and give thanks to those who started the wheel of Dharma turning and have kept it turning across the millennia; and for we present beings to reset our intentions to do the same.

After a silent lunch, we returned to the Zendo for small and large group discussions on what we’ve accomplished and what we’ve left undone related to our spiritual paths; and our intentions for moving forward into the next solar year. Reflecting like this reminded us of this short story in 5 chapters:

1) I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost… I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

2) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place.
But, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes me a long time to get out.

3) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in. It’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault. I get out immediately.

4) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

5) I walk down another street.

Looking back over the past year can inspire us to practice in two ways: by appreciating the healthy growth we clearly see if we look (walking down another street), and by recollecting insights into what remains to be done (still falling into other holes in other sidewalks). This type of reflection brings both energy and understanding: some things are working, and there’s more work to do.

Our spiritual practice also has larger implications. Santikaro’s teacher, Ajahn Buddhadasa, encouraged Dharma students to see beyond their own practice to the greater world. As each of us takes a few more steps of progress along the path, we also contribute to the Dharmic evolution of our species. Whether we become awakened or reach the goal is not so important. Rather, do we do our part in moving humanity forward? At a time with so many profound questions about the long-term well-being of economies, democracy, and the climate, such a great vehicle perspective is vital for our health and sanity. It lessens our attachment to the individual view.

Our work tends to the ending of dukkha wherever possible. As we look for signs of lessening dukkha – outside and in – satisfaction and joy are fostered, study-practice is fueled, and service to the diversity of beings expands. From a different view, as we ponder the meaning of the numerous and ominous crises facing the planet and her children – where dukkha can seem to be ever increasing – we are urged to begin sooner, rather than later to gain sobriety in the face of such a view. Now, more than ever, the cultivation of calm, bright awareness; clarity and compassion are necessary in order to step forth into every moment with an appropriate response.

May we all live our lives in a way so that a future may be possible.

Santikaro will be in town from Liberation Park on Saturday May 19 for a day-long workshop, and Sunday May 20 for a morning Sangha session.

For more information, email ordinarydharma@sbcglobal.net.

In the Dvedhavitakka Sutta the Buddha speaks of how he practiced while still a bodhisattva, near to, but not yet realizing the path, the truth of Dharma. Focusing his immense ability to concentrate on the unfolding of the present moment, he noticed that he was able to divide his thoughts into 2 categories: wholesome and unwholesome. He further saw that he was able to cultivate, nurture and sustain wholesome thinking; and let go, dissolve and eradicate unwholesome thinking. This was a pivotal moment in his awakening, he saw that there can be choice when it comes to thinking, that thinking was a conditioned, impermanent phenomena. Even with the past habits of unwholesomeness still lying in wait to rise, it is possible to not be effected by them when they manifest if we muster up enough concentration to see what’s unfolding in the present and respond with skill and wholesomeness. This truth was articulated in the second spoke of the Noble Eight Fold Path as Right Thought. Sometimes this is translated as Right Intention or Right Aspiration. Our teacher Santikaro likes to speak of it as Aiming the Mind.

As we turn our mind to what’s unfolding in our world, as we come together in communities of peace, solidarity and fellowship, this aiming of the mind is crucial as we traverse the path of societal change and renewal.

For roughly 5,000 to 7,000 years now, the western mind of humanity has been focused on a culture of domination and conquest, mainly using the technologies of earth and mind for the machines of war. Setting people apart from one another, man over woman, freed over slave, white over dark, north over south, we who are alive today in North America are inheritors of that point of view. We were born into a culture of mind that has a very deep groove of domination. When we come to our own practice of watching the inner life, are we aware of patriarchal and dominator tendencies that we carry around with us? Are we thinking about solutions of peace from a point of view of a human society that has never known peace?

The good news is that there is another part of our human story, of our shared cultural make-up, that we can tap into, one that has laid dormant for some time. In the 5,000 years or so of pre-history that preceded the onset of our dominator society, the Neolithic Age, there were many flowering cultures based on partnership. In this time, our human ancestors looked to the earth and nature as the source of spirituality and economy. The feminine was honored, not at the expense of the masculine, rather as the life-giving source that it is, living in partnership with all things. As with the tribe that Siddhartha Gautama,the future Buddha, was born into, culture and society was based on Dana, on the generous spirit of partnership, of sharing and caring.

As we sit in meditation, as we move about our day, can we aim mind towards dana and partnership? For a future to be possible, what types of systems will serve all beings? When we sit in the spaciousness of concentration and letting go, dive into the depth of human knowledge, reach far back into the Neolithic age of the goddess and partnership, to the tribal times of sharing and caring, and allow these ancient ways of being to arise in heart and mind to remember, to reclaim, old/new ways of planting seeds of partnership in our daily lives. Even if there is absolutely no support from the dominant culture to act in this way, let’s do it anyway! Let’s honor all of life, the feminine, the masculine, the sentient, the non-sentient as a way to be the peace we want to see in the world, to reclaim our interconnection with the earth. Let us say, life in the flesh is ok, there’s no need to pine for heaven, or remove mind from the wheel of life. Let us stay in the body, on the earth, and reclaim the loving, caring, sharing, joyful way of being that is part of our human history.

The Dharma of the Buddha is a path of letting go and living the Middle Way. To understand the path, one is instructed to cultivate mindfulness and tranquility. With this stable mind, one is asked to look in order see the truth of how things are. When one looks deeply enough to see clearly the habits and choices that bring suffering and happiness, one sees the skillful way to be in the world.

The Buddha taught that viewing physical and mental phenomena as separate, independent entities is the root disease that gives rise to all our problems. The twin truths of impermanence and radical interdependence teach us that there is no separation between oneself and the world, between oneself and the other, between this and that. What this means in a practical sense is that everything we do matters, that every thought, word and deed has an effect on the individual and the collective. We are the change we want to see in the world, and that change begins in the heart of each of us. As we let go of the mind-made boundaries of the heart and open to the exquisite truth of interdependence, a tender quality of mind dawns and one sees clearly that loving, compassionate action is the wise answer in any situation.

The Full Moon waxed strong and commingled with the sun cycle energy of the Winter Solstice to create fertile ground for awareness to dawn, mindfulness practice to strengthen, and the wonder of being alive to burst forth in joyous song and dance, as we celebrated the co-creation of a society based on sharing and caring while gathered for the Solstice.

This past weekend we marked the Winter Solstice, and reflected on those that came before us, our place in the flow of time, and the future generations to come. This time of the year has held special sway in the hearts and minds of humans since way, way, way before the time of Saturnalia and the coming of Jesus of Nazareth. As the light fades, and some living things go to sleep or slough off the year’s growth, others continue as they are: the evergreen, dumpster diving geese (our now constant year-round urban companions) and we humans, to name a few. In the greater flow of the cause and effect of our planet and solar system, something wonderful and mysterious happens this time of year. And so over time, in different ways and means across the face of the Earth, folks have decided to pause and reflect on where we’ve come from, where we are, where we’re going and to celebrate moving through to the next cycle of earth and light.

It’s some 4 & 1/4 billion years ago that our first sentient ancestors appeared on Earth. Single-celled organisms that over vast periods of time and space have coalesced into forms, come into contact, made love, become ever more complex and somehow, miraculously, resulted in you – the wonderfully unique individual that you are. As this vast amount of past action comes to fruition as our life, we act today as ancestors of future generations. What an opportunity we have, to plant seeds of skillful action so that a future may be possible.

The truth of Dharma, of the way things are, of Nature itself, shines clearly: all things are impermanent, all things are interconnected, cause and effect weaves it all together, everything we do matters. The alchemy inherent in that truth is astounding, humbling, liberating. Our life is not fixed, not individually or collectively, not solidly pre-ordained. Even though the causes and conditions of karma are ultimately so vast as to be unknowable in their entirety, still we feel, we know, that each moment is an opportunity to transform unskillful habits, to continue wholesome habits, to allow the heart to let go so we can be gardeners of wisdom and compassion, planting seeds of generosity and love for future generations to stand on. This is what Siddhartha woke up to: it’s all a flow through, man, nothing’s solid, what you’re holding on to as real happened the other day, is gone and faded away; right here, right now is where the action is; look, you are the heir to your actions, they are the ground upon which you stand.

For a future to be possible depends on what we do today. It’s all about our present moment actions of body, speech and mind. There is no escaping this truth. What a wonderful feeling, what a profound responsibility, what a joy it is to be living for the benefit of others!

As the classic, daily practice reflection goes: I am fortunate to be alive as a human being, with a self-reflective heart and mind, able to see the coming and going of things; and this body of mine will certainly die, while the time of my passing is unknown. Reflecting in this way, we know that there is no time save the present moment to generate some energy and set the heart on Dharma, to be at one with breath and body, feelings and mind, to smile and rock on for the benefit of all beings, for tomorrow one never knows.

May unconditional love, compassion, joy and serenity bloom in your life and in the lives of all beings.

Peace