Refuge in the Bodhisattva Way
What is this for us, right now?
We’ll explore together this Monday
and
A Refuge Group is forming:
First Meeting Thursday, June 11th
via Zoom, 6:30 PM
| Dear Springs Mountain Sangha and friends, Each time we meet as a community, as a whole or in smaller groups, we say or sing together the Four Boundless Vows. I vow to wake the beings of the world. I vow to set endless heartache to rest. I vow to walk through every wisdom gate. I vow to live the great Buddha Way. This morning, during a group meditation where I found I was singing these not with my own voice, but through the voice of another person and his guitar, I discovered an aspect of them I’d never noticed. Rather than a daunting set of promises I could never keep, or great aspirations, or even pledges, even vows, really, they emerged in sound as the expression of the deepest longings of my heart. And I realized that the words, whether we say them alone or sing them together, actually give permission for me to give voice to this most intimate, embarrassing even, reality of being human. This yearning. This resolve of the heart. In this way the Boundless Vows themselves are a vast refuge. A place where we can speak openly what we might not dare to speak anywhere else. A home for the heart. In fact, then, I might see all of the 16 Bodhisattva Vows this way: as the unfolding of a territory where we are allowed, invited, to ask the real, the deep questions that emerge from this resolve of the heart. This is where I’m going with this rant: Tomorrow, this Monday: 5:00 discussion will focus on the question: What’s the power of our Bodhisattva Vows to support your expression of “the actual body”—-the big body of what is most essential right now—in this particular moment? How do they encourage and influence your response? AND very importantly, of our response as a community? 6:10 time will include a period of meditation with reciting of the 10 Grave or “Heavy” vows, and then a time for discussion. How is it for you right now? How do you hear these, how do they help in this exact moment of your life, of our common lives, as we grieve and respond? Thursday, June 11, 6:30 PM: Anyone who is interested is invited to come (via Zoom) to form a refuge group. Some members of the group (5 right now) have said they would like to formally take refuge in the Bodhisattva Way (see link to a pamphlet about that process here). But others will be coming to join in the richness of exploring the precepts together, in this particular time. The series will altogether include 14 Thursday evenings, consecutive as much as possible. If you have questions about this, feel free to write to me sembender@gmail.com. Next Monday, June 18: During the 6:10 gathering, we’ll be holding a Jizo ceremony. Jizo (pictured above) is an embodiment of protection of children, travelers, and those in the underworld. The ceremony will continue this period of opening our heart to the grieving that wants expression, that comes forth and develops transformative power. Power to respond. Watch for more information on the ceremony soon. In this time of overwhelming difficulty, still, the green grass grows, the trees with their full, moist leaves speak gently to us. The little house wrens who live in the house on my laundry line post sing away, sing away, and the wind sweeps the great sky. We are large enough to let all of this be us, come through us, respond with our hands. Sending you love and gratitude, Sarah We are each other’s harvest: we are each other’s business: we are each other’s magnitude and bond. —Gwendolyn Brooks |