Contemplation: Clear Observation 1

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take this as your object of contemplation:

He who practices 'clear observation' should observe that all conditioned phenomena in the world are unstationary and are subject to instantaneous transformation and destruction; that all activities of the mind arise and are extinguished from moment or moment; and that, therefore, all of these induce suffering. He should observe that all that had been conceived in the past was as hazy as a dream, that all that is being conceived in the future will be like clouds that rise up suddenly. He should also observe that the physical existences of all living beings in the world are impure and that among these various filthy things there is not a single one that can be sought after with joy.

Asvaghosa, The Awakening of Faith, p. 100

**this is the first in a series of contemplations in Clear Observation from The Awakening of Faith**

Come on up to the Mothership...

Great River Ekayana Sangha is an affiliate of the Tendai Buddhist Institute of Canaan, New York, USA. One of my intentions for the future of our group as we continue to grow is to deepen the relationship of our individual members with the activities of our main temple. I am encouraging our Washington-area participants, our friends in Richmond and Harrisonburg, and anyone else with some connection to this work to get involved in some capacity with the activities at TBI. This can happen most straightforwardly through attending retreats (contact me by email about this), or through material and financial support of the organization.

Jikan's Office Hour: Back to Cherrydale

I am hosting an Office Hour near our sangha's original home in Cherrydale, Arlington, Virginia. Meet me at the Starbucks near the Italian Store in Lyon Village, 10 December, starting around 2pm. Find out more at our meetup page. All are welcome.

Contemplation: Always Beyond Thoughts

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take this as your object of contemplation:

What is called the essential nature of Mind is always beyond thoughts. It is, therefore, defined as 'immutable.'

The Awakening of Faith, p. 50

Contemplation: A Sense of Humor

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Q: Is sense of humor related in any way to the experience of instant enlightenment, satori?

A: Certainly. There is the story of a person who died laughing. He was a simple village person who asked a teacher the color of Amitabha which, traditionally, iconographically,is red. Somehow, by mistake, he thought the teacher said Amitabha's color was the color of ash in a fire. And this influenced his whole meditation practice; because when he practiced visualizing Amitabha, it was a grey Amitabha.

Finally the man was dying. As he lay on his deathbed he wanted to make sure, so he asked another teacher the color of Amitabha. The teacher said Amitabha's color was red and the man suddenly burst into laughter: "Well, I used to think him the color of ash, and now you tell me he is red." He burst into laughter and died laughing. So it is a question of overcoming a kind of seriousness.

There are many stories of people who were actually able to see the awakened state by breaking into laughter--seeing the contrast, the irony of polar situations.

Chogyam Trungpa, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, p. 117.

Contemplation: Intrinsic Qualities

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take this as your object of contemplation:

[I]f such men allowed their minds to hold on to anything they would be cherishing the idea of an ego entity, a personality, a being, or a separated individuality; and if they grasped and held on to the notion of things as having intrinsic qualities they would be cherishing the idea of an ego entity, a personality, a being, or a separated individuality. Likewise, if they grasped and held on to the notion of things as devoid of intrinsic qualities they would be cherishing the idea of an ego entity, a personality, a being, or a separated individuality. So you should not be attached to things as being possessed of, or devoid of, intrinsic qualities.

from The Diamond Sutra, chapter 6