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.
The next Mindfulness Meditation class series starts Tuesday, April 17. Select Classes & Retreats for more information.
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.
Folks in Milwaukee and the Upper Midwest are so fortunate to have come in contact with Mindfulness Meditation and the Dharma of Siddhartha Gautama. It shows us how we can stop our habitual clinging and aversion to sensory stimuli, and how to look deeply at our body, feelings, mind and the world. When we do that, we begin to see the patterns in our lives that bind us to stress and unsatisfactoriness, and the patterns that liberate us from those very bonds. These methods of mental development that we foster through the practices of sitting, walking and reflective meditations also help us see the patterns of unskillfulness that drive our community, country and the world.
Looking deeply at the social, political and environmental health of our city, state, country and world, can sometimes be a difficult exercise. We see injustices of racial profiling, redlining, and urban blight as businesses choose not to serve people because of the color of their skin or the spelling of their names; we see the injustices of big business getting a helping hand without a concern for the common citizen, clean water and clean air; we see the injustices of multinational corporations buying political favors to further their greed and profit, unconcerned with the cost to our families, social structures and environment; and we see the injustices of government policy that does not take into account the sovereign rights of peoples and nations. We are asked to bear witness and breathe through it all, and to not hate the actors behind the actions. While it can be a difficult practice, it results in an understanding of how we can help shift the unskillful patterns of our world into more skillful means of social, political and environmental engagement.
The techniques of mental development also show us how we can face the injustices and unskillful actions without being overwhelmed by rage, anger or despair. We learn to open our hearts to those unpleasant feelings, to not push them away. We then begin to understand their true nature – they are impermanent, co-dependently arisen and without a lasting abiding self – and their power to sway our mind this way and that lessons. This is one of the gifts of the practice – to see that we have a choice when we respond to whatever stimuli our body and mind comes into contact with. Seeing clearly like this, we learn about the basic situation of being alive – we all face myriad types of pleasant, unpleasant and neutral feelings, we are all subject to birth, aging, sickness and death, and all sentient beings, at their core, have the same wish to be happy and avoid stress and unsatisfactoriness. We learn that the most skillful answer to whatever rises in body, mind and the world is understanding and love.
Feeling compassion flower like this, we begin to develop a deeper intention to continue the practice of mental development for ourselves and all sentient beings. To choose that the reason we are alive is to cultivate peace within and offer love without. That each day we wake is another chance to develop awareness, to enjoy the sunshine, rain, warmth, wind and cold, to smile with a baby child, to be fully present with whatever rises in body and mind. To be the calm person amidst the unsettled storms of our times. What a gift, what a path, letting go, easing into the flow of the present moment of mind.
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.
Recently, we were invited to open a Christmas Mass with some thoughts on Seeking, the theme of the gathering. Here’s what we shared:
In Buddhism, seeking is an interior journey to the truth of Dharma, the truth of the way things are, the truth of conditioned co-arising, Nature itself. The seeker is encouraged to look deeply into things in order to see clearly the unfolding of their experience, and how their life deeply interconnects with all of the creation.
There’s a saying in Buddhism that goes like this: Don’t Strive / Strive Hard. It’s a good one b/c it makes you laugh, and it points the mind towards a wonderful truth – it’s not through grasping that the goal is won, rather it’s through letting go that all things are revealed and known. It’s good to have a general idea of what you’re seeking, whether it be the truth, god, a grant from the Helen Bader Foundation, a poem, a melody, it’s good to have a vision. That vision though is just that, a vision, a thought in the head, and the results of your striving/seeking may not end up being what you originally had in mind. That’s not to say that you don’t want to have that vision. Vision is good, it is, however, the diligent application of daily work where the vision manifests. It’s all done right here, right now, in the present moment.
Seeking is an individual journey and, for most people, a supportive community of seekers is key for guidance, for reassurance, for righting the ship of the heart, to stay centered. Ultimately, though, it is an individual journey that one needs a bit of courage to embark on and continue to pursue. Courage b/c when one begins, it’s usually accompanied by feelings of bliss and euphoria with the excitement of setting out on the quest, and as the outer shell of the self begins to dissolve. Then, the reality of things as they are sets in, and that truth can sometimes be a bit daunting, and here is where the individual courage comes in, where community support is invaluable.
Sometimes you might not “like” what you find: your prickly side, unskillful habits of body, speech and mind, the truth of one’s community, city, country and culture. Yet seeing this also provides the necessary knowledge for the way through – for the transformation of unskillful to skillful, of unwholesome to wholesome. And, through continued striving/seeking, these new wonders are seen as blessings, be they good or bad.
Looking for something that is indescribable, the Truth of Ultimate Reality, the True Nature of God, is a humbling and liberating experience. When one sees the need to let go, a light enters the heart, the ego that wants everything its way diminishes a bit, and the wider world, inside and out, begins to shine. The poet Hafiz wrote:
I
Have
Learned
So much from God
That I can no longer
Call
Myself
A Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim,
A Buddhist, a Jew.
The Truth has shared so much of Itself
With me
That I can no longer call myself
A man, a woman, an angel
Or even pure
Soul.
Love has
Befriended Hafiz so completely
It has turned to ash
And freed
Me
Of every concept and image
my mind has ever known.
Unconditional Love burns all to ash: preconceived ideas, opposites, dichotomies, conflicts. Yet, we’re still in the body, still unique individuals, still alive on the Earth with all the ups and downs that come with that, and the seeking for balance, for truth, for god continues. The journey is a constant movement of joy and wonder, until the body finally fades to dust.
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
Next retreat coming up on Saturday, December 18. Join us for a day of reflection and renewal, silence and celebration, as we set our intentions for the coming year.
Solstice Retreat
Saturday, December 18, 2010
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Lunch will be offered
For more information on this retreat, please call 414-921-1977 or email ordinarydharma@sbcglobal.net.
Death and Dying Retreat
Saturday, October 30, 2010
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Lunch will be provided
This is our annual day to reflect on Impermanence. The day will consist of silent sitting and walking, guided meditations on death and dying, and dialogue.
For more information, call 414-921-1577 or email ordinarydharma@sbcglobal.net.
Meditation and Mindfulness in Milwaukee
Interested in bringing stress relief and ease into the workplace? Rodney has been bringing mindfulness meditation daily to his job, and is available to come to your organization to provide basic, easy to apply instructions on how to reduce stress while on the job.
To explore the possibility of bringing mindfulness meditation to your place of work, please call 414-921-1577.
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