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| Satori |
| " Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."... His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet |
Because Buddhism is one of the world’s oldest religions, it would be impossible to fully describe the practice and religion on a few web pages. Moreover, there are different traditions. The traditions are: Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Non-sectarian/Mixed. At this website, I will list what is meaningful to me as a lay Buddhist. Also, I want to gently steer the reader away from teachers and groups that are questionable and exploit the Dharma solely for monetary gain or ego driven selfish interests. An interesting article entitled, How to Spot a Buddhist Cult describes what to look for.
In the west, a sangha is loosely defined as a group or community of Buddhists. We don't have to have a sangha in order to live mindful lives. Some find insight in solitude. Walking deep inside a quiet forest or looking at the clouds in the sky can give us clarity and purpose. In nature and solitude, we can have quick glimpses of enlightenment. However, the sangha or group can give us support and direction. It can be our anchor. Here we can discuss the dharma or teachings with others. Below are some ways to find a sangha.
+Buddha.net has an excellent list of Buddhist centers and retreats on its website. Their World Buddhist Directory is extensive. Click on the link: World Buddhist Directory. Lesbian Satori is not associated with buddha.net.
+ For Buddhist lesbians seeking lesbian friendly sanghas and retreats, click on some of the links listed at this website or use a search engine such as google or mamma.com. Yes, they are out there, but somtimes difficult to find.
If a person says he or she knows everything about meditation, he or she is misguided and delusional. Do not listen to him or her. To me, meditation is an intensely personal thing. Although kind and wise teachers can guide us along the way, we find our own path. Because the actual experience of meditation is personal, there are few adjectives that properly explain what goes on inside a person’s mind. It’s kind of like uncluttering the mind, but it goes deeper than this. It’s been called emptiness, but that doesn’t fully describe it. The purpose of meditation is not bliss or escapism. It’s a purity or clarity of mind devoid of everything that comes with attachment and ego. There is no judgment or analysis. Everything seems exactly as it should be. How do we begin? We can meditate with others or by ourselves. I’ve discovered that there is a different energy that can be sensed when meditating with others.
In Zen, the traditional posture for Zen meditation is called the Lotus Position. We all have seen this. People sit cross-legged with the left foot on top of the right thigh and the right foot on top of the left thigh. There are other ways to sit for meditation, including using chairs, sitting astride cushions, using a bench, and various ways of sitting cross-legged from the simple tailor position to the full lotus. If a person is new to meditating with others, I urge the reader to call ahead to learn the practices of the particular center and instructor.
This website is not an authority on meditation. Below I list some advice and tips that have helped me the most with sitting meditation.
Bowing In: If one is meditating with others, it’s custom to bow to the shrine or teacher before the start of sitting meditation.
The Bell: Most traditions start with the ring of the bell. If one is meditating with others, this is common practice. The ring of the bell brings us into the room. Please be considerate of how each center operates. These aren’t large noisy bells. They are special bells that have a low ringing sound that resonates throughout the room.
(1.) My instructor used to say, “Have a straight back and soft front.” It’s all about balance and being able to breathe freely deep from the diaphragm. Feel firmly planted like a tree. It’s important to feel securely placed on our cushion or chair. The spine should be upright and not tilted to one side. If our back is tilted to one side, it’s difficult to take slow full breaths. Don’t tense the muscles in the back. Instead, use the spine as the foundation. It plants us firmly.
(2.) The head should be balanced evenly on the shoulders. Keep the head straight and inline with the spine. The chin should be slightly tucked in.
(3.) The shoulders should be completely relaxed and slightly curved forward. Let the arms and shoulders feel like limp noodles.
(4.) The chest and stomach are soft and relaxed. Breathe deeply from the diaphragm.
(5.) There are different positions for the hands. The hands can be gently placed on the thighs with palms facing down or resting on the lap with palms facing up. Some people choose particular hand positions or “mudras”. It all depends on what feels right for the particular individual.
(6.) There shouldn’t be any tension in the face. Let the tension in the face and head slowly melt away. The face should feel completely relaxed. Relax the eyes, eyebrows, and jaw.
(7.) Every person who has meditated long enough knows that the mind wanders. Each person finds his or her own way of gently working with it. If we find our mind wandering, we can always come back to the breath. Let the rambling thoughts slowly flow past us like clouds. If we find ourselves distracted, don’t fight it, but recognize it. Mentally label it then gently let it go. If we find ourselves trying to mentally balance our checkbook while meditating, silently say some special word like “thinking” then come back to the breath. With eyes closed or slightly apart, some focus the mind’s eye or energy on a particular spot or object.
The Bell: If meditating with others, the teacher usually rings the bell three times to signify the end of the session.
Bowing Out: At the end of sitting meditation, we follow the lead of the teacher and bow to each other out of respect. Teacher bows to student and student bows to teacher.
Meditating Alone: In order to relieve stress and anxiety, silently meditating at home twenty minutes in the morning or twenty minutes at night is a healthy habit to develop. At home, pick a quiet room and a soft cushion or chair. The key is keeping a schedule and being consistent. If a person has meditated for years, he or she can often sneak five or ten minutes of meditation into his or her daily activities at work or school.
"We must not be attached to a view or a doctrine, even a Buddhist one. .. . The Buddha said that if in a certain moment or place you adopt something as the absolute truth, and you attach to that, then you will no longer have any chance to reach the truth. Even when the truth comes and knocks on your door, and asks you to open the door, you won't recognize it. So you must not be too attached to dogma--to what you believe, and to what you perceive." [in an interview with Diane Wolkstein featured in Parabola Vol 30 No 4]...Thich Nhat Hahn
"In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher."...Dalai Lama
"Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of Universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life."...Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama (who generally speaks from the point of view of the Prasangika Madhyamaka) (2005: p. 46) states that:
"One of the most important philosophical insights in Buddhism comes from what is known as the theory of emptiness. At its heart is the deep recognition that there is a fundamental disparity between the way we perceive the world, including our own experience in it, and the way things actually are. In our day-to-day experience, we tend to relate to the world and to ourselves as if these entities possessed self-enclosed, definable, discrete and enduring reality. For instance, if we examine our own conception of selfhood, we will find that we tend to believe in the presence of an essential core to our being, which characterises our individuality and identity as a discrete ego, independent of the physical and mental elements that constitute our existence. The philosophy of emptiness reveals that this is not only a fundamental error but also the basis for attachment, clinging and the development of our numerous prejudices. According to the theory of emptiness, any belief in an objective reality grounded in the assumption of intrinsic, independent existence is simply untenable. All things and events, whether ‘material’, mental or even abstract concepts like time, are devoid of objective, independent existence. To intrinsically possess such independent existence would imply that all things and events are somehow complete unto themselves and are therefore entirely self-contained. This would mean that nothing has the capacity to interact with or exert influence on any other phenomena. But we know that there is cause and effect – turn a key in a car, the starter motor turns the engine over, spark plugs ignite and fuel begins to burn… Yet in a universe of self-contained, inherently existing things, these events could never occur! So effectively, the notion of intrinsic existence is incompatible with causation; this is because causation implies contingency and dependence, while anything that inherently existed would be immutable and self-enclosed. In the theory of emptiness, everything is argued as merely being composed of dependently related events; of continuously interacting phenomena with no fixed, immutable essence, which are themselves in dynamic and constantly changing relations. Thus, things and events are 'empty' in that they can never possess any immutable essence, intrinsic reality or absolute ‘being’ that affords independence."
Whether one is gay, straight, or bisexual, we can all have a joyful and mindful life. Whether one is old or young, we can all live mindful lives. All sentient beings matter. Race, age, and social position do not matter. All life is sacred. The Five Mindfulness Trainings below are Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's translation of the five basic precepts as taught by the Buddha Shakyamuni. The Five Precepts could be described as the basic ethical code of Buddhism. The Buddha offered these five precepts to both his ordained and lay followers as a pathway to mindful lives and awakening. Thich Nhat Hanh has offered new insight into the five precepts by updating and elaborating on them in a way that makes more sense in the modern industrialized world.
- Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life.
- Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am committed to cultivating loving kindness and learning ways to work for the well-being of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I will practice generosity by sharing my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in real need. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others. I will respect the property of others, but I will prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.
- Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I am committed to cultivating responsibility and learning ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society. I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without love and a long-term commitment. To preserve the happiness of myself and others, I am determined to respect my commitments and the commitments of others. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct.
- Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relive others of their suffering. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am determined to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self confidence, joy, and hope. I will not spread news that I do not know to be certain and will not criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or the community to break. I am determined to make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.
- Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I will ingest only items that preserve peace, well-being, and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society. I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest foods or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs, magazines, books, films, and conversations. I am aware that to damage my body or my consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society, and future generations. I will work to transform violence, fear, anger, and confusion in myself and in society by practicing a diet for myself and for society. I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self-transformation of society.