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Practice in lay life Discourse to the White-clad disciple. 20101218 e-talk Plum Blossom Sangha Austin, Honey Locust Sangha Omaha, Blue Ocean Sangha Miami, Heartland Sangha KansasCity. Introduction. The 4 th e-talk of the 1 st of 4 year training program of the OI Breathe Now
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Practice in lay life Discourse to the White-clad disciple 20101218 e-talk Plum Blossom Sangha Austin, Honey Locust Sangha Omaha, Blue Ocean Sangha Miami, Heartland SanghaKansasCity
Introduction • The 4th e-talk of the 1st of 4 year training program of the OI • Breathe • Now • How (today’s talk)
The sutra opening • The Buddha teaching to: • Shariputra • Anathapindika and • 500 lay men and women • “….if they study and practice the Five Mindfulness Trainings and the Four recollections, they will realize without hardship the capacity to abide happily in the present moment” • Buddhism is an art, a way of life • Happiness for self and others • In the here and the now • Faith in something true, good and beautiful
Contemplation of Buddha 1 of 2My mindfulness shining near and far • 10 characteristics of the Buddha • 36 beauties; visualization • Recitations • Art works, statues, prostrations • Reading • Old path white clouds
Contemplation of Buddha 2 of 2 • Awakening, enlightenment, understanding and love are very concrete: you can touch it and taste it • Faith born from the results of the practice (daily food): the mother of all realizations • Bodhicitta: faith in something True, Good and Beautiful (energy) • Aspiration for a more meaningful life • Faith in Buddha and self: protection and shining light – wisdom • Evoking the name, contemplating: reading, talking, singing … about his life, his actions, his love, his wisdom • A refuge • “As a result, their thoughts are clear, they feel joy, and the arrive at the first of the 4 contemplations, abiding happily in the present moment with ease and without any hardships”
Contemplation of Dharmamy breathing, guarding body and mind • the teachings, the practices, which bring about mindfulness, serenity, understanding, love and emancipation • it is subtle, deep and lovely • reciting the sutras, practicing the way of awareness • good for all walks of life (the ocean: deep and shallow; the taste of liberation) • you can taste it for yourself, here and now • relief of suffering: transform and liberate • timelessness, universal • selective watering • prajna, maitri and karuna are fruits of the practice, not concepts to discuss and to study
Contemplation of the Sangha my 5 skandhas, working in harmony • the community that practices the dharma under the guidance of the Buddha • four-fold sangha; manifestation of the dharma and the Buddha • on the way of liberation and awakening; understanding and love • living the dharma; making it alive • living according to the 5 Mindfulness Trainings, realizing samadhi, prajna, vimukti (liberation) • no coming, no going, no being, no non-being • an inspiration, a consolation and a refuge • its qualities: harmony and awareness • individual practice makes us become better elements of the sangha; quality of sangha improves • sangha building is a practice
Contemplation of the Mindfulness Trainings • the Mindfulness Trainings: • 3 parts: the essence, the form and its effects • faith and belief: it is possible • practice, experience and understand, taste the results • they become essential if we do not want to fall into the realms of sufferings • peace and happiness • guiding light • a refuge • True, Good and Beautiful • Living in mindfulness, living in accord with the Mindfulness Trainings • Not imposed on us • A protection and a practice tool • Mindfulness brings about understanding and love: NOT blind faith but a practice that is born out of Mindfulness of suffering • Keep us in the land of the Buddha; protection and refuge; in the realms of the 4 immeasurable minds and out of the realms of animals, hungry ghosts • Interbeing nature with Dharma and Buddha • Necessary for the successful practice of mindfulness meditation
Interdependence • True Buddha: • mindfulness, understanding and love • True Dharma: • impermanence, non-self and nirvana • True Sangha = manifestation of the Buddha and the Dharma • sila, smrti, prajna; openness, freshness and happiness • Mindfulness trainings: • Each one contains the 3 Jewels • Each contains the 4 other ones
Practice in daily life • Wake up Austin • Tricycle: your life is your practice