"On Hallowing One's Diminishments"

 

"One might say with the Buddhists, that this is an important form of "mindfulness" and try and cultivate the inner posture in which such consciousness can be relatively sustained. Consulting the dictionary I find that for the word "hallowing" the following definitions are offered: 'make holy or set apart for holy use, consecrate; to respect greatly; venerate." It was a new and most encouraging idea to me - that one's diminishments could be "made holy," "consecrated," "respected greatly," even "venerated."

I saw that the first step for me in learning to "hallow" the progressive diminishments in store for me was deep-going acceptance. But the acceptance would have to be positive, not a negative one, if it were to be a real hallowing. I must learn to do something creative with it." *

On her blog “Casaubon’s Book,” Sharon Astyk writes:

“[W]e can come to recognize that sometimes, the point is not whether we can alter events, but how we face them. We can find meaning, even when we cannot change things, in our ability to shape the meaning of things - to do right, even when the right thing is not enough, to face even very hard times with courage and honor, even though it won't make the hard times go away to do so.

Yungblut was writing about Parkinson’s.

Sharon is writing about peak oil, water depletion, and climate change.

We can fight and rail against the things in life that feel so unfair. We can slip into pretending they don’t exist. We can give up in despair. Or we can turn around to face that horror and work to understand why it is so terrifying and how we can face it with honor.

What we are facing are the consequences of our own past actions and decisions. Initially we were unaware of what was happening, but now we know. We have been using up our natural resources and now they are running out. We have exported our style of living through movies, television, and other media. Now people around the world want to live like Americans do. But the reality is that Americans can no longer live as Americans do. The longer we delay making the necessary changes, the harder it will be to face them.

Previously, we did not think of what we were doing. Now we have come up against the reality of our actions. We can postpone what needs to be done or just make token efforts at making some changes. If we fail to make the big changes—the challenging changes—our children and grandchildren will have to try to inhabit a world terribly different from the one we were so privileged to enjoy.

If we can hallow our diminishments, we will find some benefits—a sense of community, a sense of family, a sense of having tried to do the best thing when we realized we had done some of the worst.

If anything in what I have written here strikes a cord, please read Sharon's blog entry "On Hallowing One's Diminishments." She speaks the truth with humanity and eloquence.

* “On Hallowing One's Diminishments,” by Quaker writer John Yungblut

True Benefit, Part One

We want to emulate Buddhas. We should ask ourselves if we are constantly thinking of or observing Sakyamuni Buddha or Amitabha Buddha. Neither Buddha is in this world. How do we observe them? We study the sutras, which have very clear descriptions of them. We can observe their behavior by studying the sutras.

What were the mindsets, attitudes, and behavior of Sakyamuni Buddha and Amitabha Buddha when they were interacting with the people they met; with heavenly and earthly spirits, ghosts, and deities; and with all beings? All beings include the environment, plants, minerals, and natural phenomena, which are formed when many conditions meet. We should learn from these two Buddhas, because their mindsets, their attitudes, and their behavior are pure and correct. They hold correct views, not deviated ones. They are awakened, not deluded. And they maintain a pure mind, not a polluted one.

We chant the sutras every day, but we usually do so with our mouths only, so we do not benefit from our chanting. The ancient sages often taught that when we chant a sutra, our minds should focus on the sutra and absorb the words to truly benefit.

~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra

To Touch Our Wisdom

 

One of the most basic precepts in Buddhism is to not harm any living being. The Buddha showed us how. Once we begin to rein ourselves in by living morally, we will commit fewer wrongdoings. In this way, we will be less plagued by guilt. We will react less from emotions and more from reason. Harming others less will result in our worrying less. By not wasting time worrying, our minds will be more at ease, and we will be better able to focus on what we wish to: perhaps on our spiritual practice or simply on what we are doing.

As we progressively become calmer, our concentra­tion will enable us to touch our innate wisdom. This is the wisdom that the Buddha experi­enced and then spoke of. It already lies deep within each of us. But we have yet to enter, much less function from, this clear, intuitive wisdom.

As caring members of society, it is our responsibility to practice the virtues of harmlessness, compassion, and equanimity. These virtues lie deep within us, within our true nature. This true nature is the same as that of all Buddhas. The true nature of Buddhas—their very essence—is loving-kindness, altruism, and tranquility. These qualities lie at the core of their being, and ours.

Only Changing Postures

Don't think that only sitting with the eyes closed is practice. If you do think this way, then quickly change your thinking. Steady practice is keeping mindful in every posture, whether sitting, walking, standing or lying down. When coming out of sitting, don't think that you're coming out of meditation, but that you are only changing postures. If you reflect in this way, you will have peace. Wherever you are, you will have this attitude of practice with you constantly. You will have a steady awareness within yourself.

~ Ajahn Chah

Not Different from One Another

The sutras teach that ordinary people, sages and saints are all equal. There is no difference [in their intrinsic nature]. Only the defilement or purity of mind is different. For this reason, it is said that “Mind, Buddhas and sentient beings are no different from one another.” A Pure Mind is Buddha, a defiled mind is sentient being. Buddhas and sentient beings differ only in the extinction or non-extinction of defilements of the mind.

The mind is inherently clean and pure, but it is obstructed by greed, hatred, stupidity, arrogance, the five desires and many kinds of delusions. Therefore, those with such minds are called sentient beings. If defilements are discarded and the mind becomes pure, that is Buddhahood. It is not necessary to depend on others.

However, all sentient beings bear heavy karma and stubborn afflictions from time immemorial, and these are very difficult to purify. To do so requires cultivation, such as [serene, reflective] meditation, working on a hua-t’ou [koan] or Buddha Recitation. So you see, there are many expedient ways to practice, but all are medicines to treat the diseases of the mind. For example, a mirror, intrinsically bright, cannot reflect anything if it is covered with dust. To restore its brightness, a cleaning agent (remedy) is required. Yet the cleanser itself is also dust, though it can rid other things of dust. Once the mirror is bright, there is no further need for the cleanser. This is like gold in its ore, covered with the dirt and dust of sand and stone. After it is smelted and pure gold appears, there is no need to smelt it again.

It is difficult to rid oneself of the defiled mind characteristic of sentient beings. However, it can be done through diligent practice. When this is accomplished, the bright and undefiled mind appears. It is in this sense that all sentient beings are said to be inherently Buddhas.

~ Master Han-Shan’s Dream Roamings, Trans. by Master Lok To