June
2001
108 Bows Ceremony
During the three months of monk’s training, we will be performing
the 108 Bows ceremony every Sunday morning from 9:30-10:30. We invite
you to join us. The brothers and sisters will take turns leading
it. On June 3 the ceremony will be led by Sr. Hanasi Abhaya Karuna.
Ven. Sakya Bodhi to lead a weekend Intensive Zen
Retreat
Ven. Sakya Bodhi will lead an intensive Zen retreat from 6 pm Friday,
June 29, through noon, Sunday, July 1. The retreat will consist
primarily of zazen, sitting meditation, interspersed with kinhin,
walking meditation. Retreatants will be expected to sleep at the
Center, so they need to bring a sleeping roll and their personal
necessities. The meals will be ample, but simple vegetarian. The
fee is $95, but there are some work/study programs available.
Reservations are necessary, so please let Ven. Saklya Bodhi know
no later than 6/26 if you plan to attend. You may call him for more
information at 213 387-9264 or 714 775-1350.
Bro. Sunya to lead
Father’s Day Ceremony
On Father’s Day, June17, Please bring a photo of your father
to place on the altar that day, regardless of whether he is living
or dead. That day we honor all of our fathers and father figures.
The Buddha stated that even if we were to carry our parents on our
backs for our entire life, we still could never repay them for all
they have done for us. So, please join us for this ceremony. You
will be given the opportunity to share something about your Dad.
Following the service we will hold a potluck picnic in the Zendo
garden, so bring a vegetarian dish to share.
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IBMC’s Residence Program
IBMC has one opening in its residence program, which includes a
very large unfurnished room, the third floor of the Zendo, with
shared kitchen and bathroom facilities, unlimited access to the
Zendo and its teachers, and substantial discounts on its seminars,
retreats, and classes. The fee for this room is $470 a month,
The IBMC grounds feature a large garden area, a koi pond and outdoor
aviary. One does not realize that we are only 2 1/2 miles away from
the Civic Center, the grounds are so quiet. So, if you are a spiritual
seeker and willing to give 8 hours a month to samu, Work meditation,
we are the place for you, particularly if you are a non-smoker and
a vegetarian, since preparing meats and smoking are not allowed
in the Zendo building.
We seek people who are quiet, interested in living in comunity and
committed to spending at least a year. IBMC has a long history of
providing instruction in Buddhism from all schools. Our monks are
Theravadan, Zen and Pure Land, who are quite willing to spend time
with you.
Call Amrit at 213 384-0850 if you are interested.
Song of Zazen
by Zen Master Hakuin Zenji
Sentient beings are primarily all Buddhas:
It is like ice and water,
Apart from water no ice can exist;
Outside sentient beings,
where do we find the Buddhas?
Not knowing how near the Truth is,
We seek it far away-what a pity!
We are like him who, in the midst of water,
Cries in thirst so imploringly;
We are like the son of a rich man
Who wandered away among the poor.
The reason why we transmigrate through the six worlds
Is because we are lost in the darkness of ignorance;
Going astray further and further in the darkness,
When are we able to be free from birth-and-death?
As for Zazen practice in the Mahayana,
We have no words to praise it fully:
The virtues of perfection such as charity, ,morality,
And the invocation of the Buddha's name, confession, and ascetic
discipline,
And many other good deeds of merit
All these issue from the practice of Zazen.
Even those who have practiced it for just one sitting
Will see all their evil karma erased;
Nowhere will they find evil paths,
But the Pure Land will be near at hand.
With a reverential heart, if we listen to this Truth even once,
And praise it, and gladly embrace it,
We will surely be blessed most infinitely.
But, if we concentrate within
And testify to the truth that Self-Nature is no-nature,
We have really gone beyond foolish talk.
The gate of the oneness of cause and effect is opened;
The path of non-duality and non-trinity runs straight ahead.
To regard the form of no-form as form,
Whether going or returning, we cannot be any place else;
To regard the thought of no-thought as thought;
Whether singing or dancing, we are the voice of the Dharma.
How boundless the cleared sky of Samadhi!
How transparent the perfect moonlight of the Fourfold Wisdom!
June Events
Sunday Talks
6/3 Emptiness:the Opposite of 11am Fullness?
Ven. Dr. Karuna Dharma
6/10 The Origin of the Bhikkhu/
11am Bhikkhuni Sangha
Rev. Vajra Karuna
6/17 Fathers
11am Bro. Sunya Karuna
6/24 It Doesn’t Pay to Be Late
11am Sr. Maitridasi Karuna
Classes at IBMC
Mon History of Zen Buddhism
6:30 Rev. Vajra Karuna
Wed. Applied Buddhism
7:00 Rev. Kusala
Wed Lotus Sutra & Monks’ Training
7:00 Ven. Dr. Karuna Dharma
Thur Basic Tenets of Buddhism
6:30 Dr. Warnisurya
Fri Certificate Course in Buddhism
6:30 Dr. Warnisurya, Dr. Karuna Dharma
Special Events
6/3 108 Bows Ceremony, 9:30-10:30
Sr. Hanasi Abhaya
6/17 Fathers Day Remembrance, followed by potluck picnic lunch
6/29-7/1 Intensive Weekend Zen Retreat with Ven. Sakya Bodhi
Meditation times
Mon, Sun evenings from 5:00-7:00 pm, led by Rev. Sakya Bodhi
Wed evening: 7-9 pm, led by Rev. Kusala
Fri evening: 7:30-9 pm, led by Rev. Kusala
Talks by our new Brothers and Sisters
As you are all aware, we now have four Brothers and two sisters
at IBMC, as well as three Brothers who are currrently doing prison
time in Ohio, Indiana and Arkansas. It is now time to give them
experience in delivering talks. Therefore, we have given up the
tradition of using the fifth Sunday of a month as mornings of meditation
and chanting, in order to include more speakers. These are the first
talks of two of our Brothers: Ksanti and Sraddha.
Zen and the Art of Dishwashing
by Bro. Ksanti Karuna (Tom O’Connor)
My talk is about Zen and the Art of Washing Dishes. But like most
things in Zen it's not really about washing dishes, but then it
really is about washing dishes. So bear with me, please. And I give
many thanks to Thich Nhat Hanh and Chogyam Trungpa whom I quote
freely and often in today's talk.
Shortly after his enlightenment the Buddha passed a man on the road
who was so struck by the Buddha's radiant presence that he asked
if he were a god.
"No." was the Buddha's reply.
"Are you a genie or a magician?"
"No."
"Are you a man?"
"No."
"Then what are you?"
"I am awake."
The word buddha means, "one who is awake."
Every Sunday we chant Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhasa.
“I honor you most noble, most holy, fully awakened one.”
With the Buddha's awakening two great powers were engaged -- great
wisdom and great compassion. Being awake to the reality of this
moment causes the heart to open to the suffering of others. With
the knowledge of this suffering one must act. And act with wisdom
and compassion. In Mahayana Buddhism we believe that everyone has
in them the Buddha nature, that we each possess the ability to be
awake. Some describe it as the sun behind clouds. It is there and
has always been there. The clouds just have to clear. That clearing
comes with awakening. With that awakening comes the compassion and
wisdom that then leads us to the path of the Bodhisattva.
So we practice to become awake. We start with mindfulness. We count
our breaths. One to Ten. And if we only get to three before we get
distracted we just start again. It is the 7th part of the Eightfold
Path. Samma Sati (samyak smriti) Right Mindfulness. Right Awareness.
We strive to live in the NOW. In the present. And for someone like
me it also means reading stuff and studying and worrying about doing
it "the right way." So you find yourself in the middle
of the Mahasatipatthana Sutta -- The Foundation of Mindfulness Sutra,
which starts with mindfulness of the body. Ok, breathing. Doing
that. But then goes on to mindfulness of skin, fingernails, blood,
urine, organs. OK. Soon you're into graveyards thinking about death
and decay. I’ve spent too much time in hospitals watching young
men, friends, turn into walking skeletons. Death and dying are real.
I'd seen it and I didn't feel I needed to spend more time "thinking"
about it. So I skip over that and go on to feelings, mindfulness
of the mind, mindfulness of "mental objects" -- which
I had a tough time defining, let alone meditating on. So I jumped
over to the Anapanasati Sutta --The Discourse on Mindfulness of
Breathing. Same thing only you have to keep breathing. And so I
just made it too intellectual, too complicated for me to do. My
ego kicked in. Afraid of losing its place it showed me just how
difficult it all was, that I'd never become awake because I just
didn't understand how complicated waking up was. Or if I did figure
something out -- wasn't I special. I was using it like a Boy Scout
merit badge and not as a tool. I was avoiding dealing with me, with
now. But basically it is very simple.
In 1647 Bankei achieved enlightenment and his message was: "Abide
in the Unborn!" "The Buddha Mind is Unborn and marvelously
illuminating, and with the Unborn everything is perfectly managed."
If you hear a bird or a dog during this talk, you hear them and
know what they are. You don't need to think about hearing them.
If you take Santa Monica Blvd west you will reach the ocean; you
don't have to think about reaching the ocean. It's taken care of.
It's perfectly managed. Zen is really about simple things. Accepting
simple things -- rain, sun, that grass is green, that hot is hot,
cold is cold.
When Thich Nhat Hanh entered the monastery he was given a book:
The Essential Discipline for Daily Use. It is a short book filled
with simple exercises like, “Just awakened, I hope that every
person will attain great awareness and see in complete clarity"
or "Washing my hands, I hope that every person will have pure
hands to receive reality." It taught him to take hold of his
own consciousness. We need to accept what we have and who we are
and to treat that as something precious. It is the concept of Basic
Goodness. And that concept is connected to bodhicitta. Bodhi - awake,
citta - heart. Awakened Heart. Willing to face your state of mind.
It starts with just sitting, just putting your butt on the ground
with the sky above. You begin to feel that just by sitting there,
doing nothing, expecting nothing, that life can work out and you
can be happy. In the beginning of his enlightenment, someone asked
the Buddha, "What are your credentials? How do you know you
are enlightened?" He touched his hand to the ground. "This
solid earth is my witness. This solid earth, this sane earth, is
my witness." Sane, solid, definite, no concepts, no emotions,
just being what it is.
But out of human perversity we try to make more of it. We think
we shouldn't think, that the mind should just shut down, that feelings
should disappear. And we get tied up in the process. On one retreat
after sitting for forever, Rev. Vajra suggested we do a walking
meditation. Simple, Right? I kept falling over. Walking into people.
I couldn't just put one foot in front of the other. There was some
trick I was missing. In The Path is the Goal, Chogyam Trungpa discusses
the Samadhiraja Sutra and the four wheels of the chariot, the aspects
of mindfulness. When you focus too intently on something you become
stupid, you make mistakes. You don't leave any room to be open.
The Buddha advised that you put only tentative attention of your
technique. Keep on the verge of it with 25% of your attention, 25%
is relaxing, 25% is making friends with yourself, and 25% is keeping
your mind open to the possibility of something happening. And guess
what? I could walk again.
Which brings me to washing dishes. When Victor came home from the
hospital I suddenly was very busy. I was the care partner but I
was also "chief cook and bottle washer". Every hour there
were tasks -- helping with the breathing exercises, getting stuff,
the walking exercises. I found I didn't have time for my practice,
to sit and meditate. Or I didn't think I had time. But I found if
I just focused on giving Victor what he needed that I had all the
time in the world. That when we did the breathing exercises if I
paused, relaxed and focused I didn't feel "put upon",
or "taken advantage of", or some variation on "the
poor little match girl." Which sounded awfully familiar. And
on a bookshelf I found Thich Nhat Hanh's The Miracle of Mindfulness.
I was living chapter one. The new father finding time by making
the time with his son his time as well. I had read it ages ago but
I guess now it was time to start living it. Or realize that I was
living it. He includes a parable by Tolstoy. Again it was one of
those things I'd read in college but then it was just an intellectual
grace note.
A king has three questions: What is the best time to do each thing?
Who are the most important people to be with? What is the most important
thing to do at all times? His advisors give the usual corporate
answers. Make lists. Prioritize. Trust experts. Priests. Science.
Armies. But nothing satisfied him. So he sought out a hermit who
was said to be very wise.
The hermit was busy with his garden when the king arrived and asked
his questions. The king waited and finally, taking pity on the old
man, offered to help. So he finished the gardening. But still no
answer. Suddenly from the woods a wounded man came running toward
them. He collapsed. Together the king and the hermit dressed his
wounds. The next morning the man awoke and on seeing the king begged
his forgiveness.He was a defeated enemy who had lost everything
to the king. He'd plotted to kill the king when he returned from
the hermit. But it had taken so long that he came out of his hiding
place to investigate, stumbled on the king's guards who attacked
him, wounded him and he fled. Now the very man he'd wanted to kill
had saved him. If the king forgave him he would be his most trusted
servant. The king prepared to leave but wanted to ask his three
questions one more time.
But the hermit said: "You already have your answers."
"How?"
"Yesterday, if you hadn't taken pity on my age and helped me
with the garden, you would have been attacked by that man on the
way home. Therefore the most important time was the time you were
digging weeds, the most important person was me, and the most important
pursuit was to help me. Later, when the wounded man ran up, the
most important time was the time you spent dressing his wounds,
for if you hadn't he would have died and you would have lost the
chance to reconcile with him. Likewise, he was the most important
person, and the most important pursuit was taking care of his wound."
It's a parable, so: There is only one important time and that is
now. The most important person is the one you are with. The most
important pursuit is making the person standing by your side happy
- for that alone is the pursuit of life.And that carries over to
everything we do. When we wash dishes are we washing them to get
them clean? Or am I washing the dishes to wash the dishes. Am I
washing them to get back to the news on TV? Am I wasting this moment,
throwing it away by wanting to get somewhere else, wasting it by
not living it - not being mindful of this moment, this instant.
Or am I washing them to be completely aware of myself, to follow
my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts,
my actions. To appreciate this wondrous reality.
It's such a simple thing -- just like Zen.
Test of Faith
by Bro. Sraddha Karuna, (Victor Bumbalo )
First of all I'd like to share with you how thick I am, a bit tuned
out. When I chose the topic---TEST OF FAITH---it was not until a
day later that I remembered that my Buddhist name means "faith."
Sraddha. What does Sraddha really mean? Well, according to The Dictionary
of Buddhism and Zen, in Mahayana Buddhism sraddha is regarded "as
a virtue out of which all the others develop and which opens the
door of liberation to even those who do not have the self-discipline
to tread the path of meditation.” However, this kind of faith
is not like Christianity's "pure faith." Sraddha consists
rather in the conviction that grows in students through their own
direct experience with the teaching." Blind faith goes against
the spirit of Buddhism. In What the Buddha Taught, it talks about
sraddha being a confidence born out of wisdom. And it states that,
"However you put it, faith or belief as understood by most
religions has little to do with Buddhism."
TEST OF FAITH---How can my faith be tested when one of the great
beliefs in Buddhism is “great doubt." It's difficult to
test a faith where you are allowed and challenged to doubt. So what
am I testing? Of course, only myself .Everyone knows Tom. We have
been lovers, partners, whatever the Politically Correct term of
the moment might be, for over thirty years. And this has been an
awful year for us. We had a similar year, about ten years ago when
we both lost our best friends and our entire circle of friends.It
was an avalanche of death. We were either in hospitals or funeral
parlors. And the killer was AIDS. And this year. . . In less than
a year, I lost my mother, my father, a dear close friend, and was
shocked to find out, at a routine exam, that I might need bypass
surgery. I've always been healthy. I was the care giver. I was the
one who took care of people. Now, I would be the one that needed
the care. Now, I was not frightened for others. I was the one who
was frightened. Fear of pain. (I'm a bit of a sissy.) Fear of death.
These were no longer abstractions. They were a reality.
I got this news, about the blockage in my major heart vessel, a
few days before Christmas. First, I was to have an angiogram. A
horrible and somewhat dangerous procedure. They stick a tube from
your groin area through your stomach into your heart. This allows
them to see how your heart is functioning and whether they can solve
the problem by putting in a stint or a balloon, or whether or not
they have to do bypass surgery. If bypass surgery was necessary,
they would do it the next day. They give you drugs, but you are
awake during the angiogram procedure. In fact there are television
monitors in the room, and the doctors invite you to watch the procedure
as they are performing it. I declined. They legally have to tell
you that this procedure can be risky...you can have a stroke...you
can die... which further fuels the flames of fear. This was to happen
two days after Christmas. I was depressed and scared. Feeling very
negative. And I began to wonder what role would my chosen religion
play in all of this? When Sakya Bodhi, one of our monks here, heard
about what I was going through, he said he would come to my house
and meditate with me. Which he did.
I told him how frightened I was. He asked me what I was afraid of?
I told him I was afraid I might die. A statement you might not want
to make to a Buddhist monk...because he said, "So what?"
Not exactly the answer I wanted to hear. But a kind of Buddhist
response. As we got beyond this, I told him about the angiogram
I was to have, and how I was frightened of pain, and I was depressed,
and everyone was telling me I should be more positive about the
procedure. People were making it sound like I was about to have
my teeth cleaned. He disagreed about being positive. And gave me
some incredible advice. He said being in my position being positive
or negative takes too much energy. When I faced the test, I should
be blank. I should try to rest my mind. I should meditate. In other
words---surrender. I took this mala with me, did some chanting and
did my best to go blank. To rest my mind. To meditate. And the meditation,
and the drugs, got me through the procedure. It worked in a way
I found astounding. But the news was not what I wanted to hear.
I would need bypass surgery. But that day I came down with the flu,
and I would have to wait three awful weeks and a day before I could
have the operation.
What part, if any, in all this would Buddhism play? If I were Catholic,
I could turn everything over to God and ask him to take care of
it. But I wasn't any more. Perhaps, I never really was. The concept
of an all knowing God as defined in Christianity always eluded me.
Even as a child. It actually frightened me. They, the priests and
nuns, were always telling me I should have faith. But I couldn't.
Because if there was a God and he was good, why were people suffering?
At seventeen I came upon these lines by the poet Archiblad MacLeish...I
just smiled and nodded....They are from his play JB..."I heard
upon a dry dung heap...that man cries out who cannot sleep...if
God is God, he is not good...if God is good he is not God."
For a while I became an existentialist. But now, waiting for the
operation, in my fear and depression, what could I do as a Buddhist?
Since I couldn't rely on the guy in the sky. what was left for me
to do? And was I a real Buddhist? And what is a real Buddhist? Did
I call myself a Buddhist because I liked the idea of coming to IBMC,
because I liked studying Buddhism, because I respected and am enamored
with Reverend Karuna? Because I liked the idea of someday, when
I retire, of becoming a monk?
These were my questions and themes as I waited for surgery. The
waiting was endless. Plenty of time to cultivate fear. Plenty of
time to review and question my life. I was having a hard time meditating.
My mind definitely became the ultimate monkey mind. Never still.
Reverend Karuna suggested that I chant. Chanting was an activity
I could do. It was active and helped relax my mind and body which
had reached a very agitated state. The day before the operation
you go to the hospital for endless amounts of tests: Blood, x-rays,
etc. Then you meet your surgeon...the guy who was going to split
me open like a chicken. Some stranger was about to have my life
in his hands. And my heart. Literally. After I met him, they sent
me home with a sleeping pill, telling me to get a good night's sleep,
but be at the hospital by five in the morning. Good night's sleep...likehello?!?
The morning of the operation was surreal to me. All I kept saying
was "I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this."
But I had my mala in my hand while they checked me in, while they
shaved me, while they drugged me. I kept chanting. They took it
away from me when they wheeled me into the operating room. And Tom
placed it into my hand once I came out of the operation. I was more
than pleased to find out that during my operation Reverend Karuna,
who had arrived at the hospital, took Tom down to the chapel; and
they chanted while I was being operated on. The idea delights me
that Tom and Reverend Karuna were doing Buddhist chants in this
Catholic hospital. (And by the way the chapel is on television throughout
the hospital.)
While I was in surgery there was a darkness beyond sleep. No white
light. No familiar dead friends and relatives greeting me. There
was nothing. Then I was awakened. Over the next four days, while
awake I chanted. Namo Kwan Yin Bodhisattva...I must have said it
thousands of times. But what was I feeling about being a Buddhist?
First of all, there was no one to blame for what was happening to
me, and I was no victim. Buddhism doesn't victimize people. And
also, strange as it may seem, I was feeling lucky. I was alive,
and that's what I wanted. But I was also feeling an enormous amount
of compassion for those who were suffering more than I was. And
look outside. There's a universe of people suffering. But did I
have faith? What did I believe in? Belief in the Buddha nature.
I saw that nature in so many faces in that hospital. These doctors
and nurses. And you're talking to someone who is not enamored with
the medical profession. But I surrendered to the Buddha nature in
them. And in others. I also saw it in Tom, Reverend Karuna, and
some of my dear friends. Also I was thinking about Shunryu Suzuki.
A student once asked him if he could reduce Buddhism to a phrase.
The other students laughed at the question. Buddhism for them was
way too complex to be put into a phrase. But Suzuki was able to
put it into two words...EVERYTHING CHANGES. And it does...every
second.
The physical suffering and fear I was experiencing three months
ago is gone. Suffering, like life and joy, changes every second.
Has my practice helped me through these times? YES. We, as Buddhists,
know that everything changes. And I, and we, know that all we really
have is right here...now. This moment is the only real one. And
I have faith in this moment. And I have great faith and great belief
in our Three Jewels.
I take refuge in the Buddha. I respect and believe in this man who
went on a quest...not just for himself, but one for all humanity,
who wanted to answer the question why we suffer...and he changed
the world.
I take refuge in the Dharma. the teachings of the Buddha. He led
us to a path that will bring us to enlightenment. And the journey
is one filled with light and life.
I take refuge in the Sangha. Our community of monks. Right here
at IBMC. Look around. Each is different, each is unique, but they
all have a compassionate nature and have something to teach us.
I thank you for listening.
International Buddhist Meditation Center
928 S. New Hampshire Avenue
LosAngeles,CA90006
phone:213 384-0850
IBMC web page is found at:
InternationalBuddhistMeditationCtr.org
You can email us at: IBMC@InternationalBuddhistMeditationCtr.
Rev. Karuna’s email address is: Karunadh@earthlink.net
Karuna’s web page is:
www. home.earthlink.net/~karunadh
Rev. Kusala’s email: Kusala@kusala.org
Rev. Kusala’s web page: www.kusala.org
Rev. Shanti’s email: Hshanti@earthlink.net
Rev. Prabuddhi’s email is: Prabuddhi@yahoo.com
Rev. Vajra’s email: Madmonk88@aol.com
Bro. Sunya’s email: Sunya2@Earthlink.net
Bro. Ksanti and Bro. Sraddha’s email:
VictorTom@aol.com
