Nembutsu Practice

Let's say you've learned enough about Buddhism that you are now eager to begin practicing but you find yourself isolated and without a chance to learn how to practice. Many beginners are in this situation: where can I find someone who will teach me, down in the West Texas town of El Paso, or in Klamath Falls, or in Harrisonburg?

What you need in this situation is a practice you can do now that will bring real benefit, one that will help you create the causes and conditions that will put you next to an authentic teacher of Dharma. Nembutsu is a practice like this: open to the public and very profound. Here is how to do it:

Nembutsu is the mindful repetition of the name of Amitabha Buddha. You will need to be mindful of three aspects in this practice: your body, your speech, and your mind.

With your body, move mindfully with the understanding that the Buddha Amitabha is present and that your surroundings are ultimately a pure land, that you inhabit a sacred place where realization comes easily and all beings are blessed. During formal practice periods, we do nembutsu while walking mindfully. It is quite alright to do nembutsu while washing dishes, cooking, cleaning, or carrying on your other ordinary tasks so long as you can maintain the pure view of your location as being in essence inseparable from Amitabha's pure land. Do not fidget or fuss with extraneous things.  Turn off the television, the radio, the blackberry, the internet; cut away extraneous distractions and focus on the essential. Keep an upright posture and relax: not too loose, not too tight.

With your speech, gently repeat the name of Amitabha Buddha again and again like a flowing river. It need not be loud. If necessary, say the nembutsu with "the tongue of the mind," which is to say, in your imagination only. In Tendai, we recite it as Namu Amidabu, and this sounds like Nah Moo Ah Mee Dah Boo (you know the sound of "a" in "apple"? don't use that sound. Use the "ah" sound as in "open up and say 'ah'". If the pronunciation is difficult, send me an email and we can work on it.) It is possible to say this a million or two million times over and not exhaust the benefit of it. Just keep going.

With your mind, be very aware that Amidabha Buddha is near you. You can visualize Amitabha above your head as a standing Buddha emanating very bright clear light. Wherever this light touches and penetrates becomes purified of all negative past karma, and what is more, the seeds of bodhicitta are planted in the minds of all beings touched by it. As your practice strengthens, extend this Buddha-power to all corners of all worlds until Amitabha's pure light touches and blesses all without exception (your neighborhood, your town, your region, your nation, the continent where you live, the planet Earth, the cosmos) with no exceptions: the people who have helped you and the ones that have hurt you, the ones you like or don't like, all the beings from the cancer ward to the pigs in the slaughter to your daughter's classroom. All of them.

Studying images of Amitabha can help you get started and get inspired. If you put yourself into this practice one hundred percent, it begins to take on a life of its own and becomes more real than a heartbreak or a toothache. Too see this, however, you must try and not hold back.

The great Ch'an master Hsuan Hua made some profound comments on recitation practice. I'll repeat them here for your consideration:

Your goal is to dispense with all extraneous thoughts and to consolidate your thoughts into one mindful thought of the Buddha. If you don't have extraneous thoughts, you won't have any evil thoughts, and when nothing evil is arising in your mind, you're on the road to goodness.

(Surangama Sutra commentary, p. 231)

Finally, I would like to dispel a concern many beginners express when introduced to nembutsu practice: how do I know Amitabha Buddha is real and not just another bit of make-believe? My answer: Earnestly put it into practice and see which is more real, the body of Amitabha or your own aging body; your everyday distracted mind or Amitabha's enlightened mind; your everyday contradictory and not-always-perfectly-honest speech or the pure teaching of Amitabha Buddha.

In reality, your nature is no different from Amitabha's, and with practice, all the enlightened characteristics we associate with Amitabha arise in you. This is a method for accomplishing it, and it is free for you to try. I encourage you to do just that, to realize the nature of mind and be of real and lasting help to all who suffer.

Contemplation: Tendai Daishi's Endonsho

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

The perfect and sudden calming and contemplation from the very beginning takes ultimate reality as its object. No matter what the object of contemplation might be, it is seen to be identical to the middle. There is nothing that is not true reality. When one fixes the mind on the dharmadhatu as object and unifies one’s mindfulness with the dharmadhatu as it is, then there is not a single sight nor smell that is not the middle way. The same goes for the realm of self, the realm of Buddha, and the realm of living beings. Since all aggregates and sense-accesses of body and mind are thusness, there is no suffering to be cast away. Since nescience and the afflictions are themselves identical with enlightenment, there is no origin of suffering to be eradicated. Since the two extreme views are the middle way and false views are the right way, there is no path to be cultivated. Since samsara is identical with nirvana, there is no cessation to be achieved. Because of the intrinsic inexistence of suffering and its origin, the mundane does not exist; because of the inexistence of the path and its cessation, the supramundane does not exist. A single, unalloyed reality is all there is – no entities whatever exists outside of it. That all entities are by nature quiescent is called “calming”; that this nature, though quiescent, is ever luminous, is called “contemplation”. Though a verbal distinction is made between earlier and later stages of practice, there is no ultimate duality, no distinction between them. This is what is called “the perfect and sudden calming and contemplation.

Donner, N. and Stevenson, D (1993) The Great Calming and Contemplation: A study and annotated translation of Chih-i’s mo-ho chih-kuan. Honolulu; A Kuroda Institute Book: 112-114.

Ennin's Diary: Full Text Available Online

Ennin, also known as Jikaku Daishi, is an important historical figure and a great bodhisattva.  He was a direct disciple of the founder of Tendai Buddhism in Japan, Saicho, and also spent a significant amount of time in China mastering the esoteric teachings known as Vajrayana in Tibet and as mikkyo in Japan.  He made great sacrifices along the way; his commitment to the teachings and to the benefit of all beings is exemplary. 

A translation of Ennin's diary has been made available free online.  I strongly encourage anyone with an interest in Buddhism, and especially those who are sangha members, to give it a read.  It is a record of one person's travels in a very turbulent time in Chinese history, and also of his spiritual training.  Find it here:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

(the scanning work was done by committee, which is why we have six files instead of one).

May all beings benefit!

Surangama Sutra Study Questions, part 9

back to the heart of the matter...


Part 9, "Levels of Being," pages 313-388

*How is Ananda doing at this point?  Is he beginning to ask better questions?

*This section describes two phenomena:  the stages one passes through in the Buddhist path, and the trajectories of individuals' lives according to their habits of body, speech, and mind (samsara).  Some basic questions follow from this:

*How does one develop through these stages?

*Considering the experiences of hells and ghosts worlds and god realms described here:  how do these arise?  Are these real in any way, and if so, in what way?

*Why do you suppose these two topics, the path and the characteristics of samsaric life, described together?  What kind of relation is there between the two descriptions?

Surangama Sutra Study Questions, part 8

 "The Surangama Mantra," pages 279-307.

In this passage, the sutra turns once again:  from exhortations on ethical purity, to the essentially esoteric matters of establishing a ritually pure space, and the recitatin of the Surangama dharani (also called a mantra). 

*Rather than attempting to probe these matters of faith analytically, I would invite you to consider them as means to an end.  These practices, particularly the recitation of mantra and dharani, have a long history as spiritual practices, which is to say, as methods, as means.  The  best way to find out how such practices work is to give them a good-faith try.  How?

*The Order of Buddhist Contemplatives, a soto Zen group, has prepared an English translation of the dharani.  It is chantable and elegant, although some of the word choices are unconventional (what exactly is a "daemon" and what has it to do with Buddhism?).  If you are interested, you can find it here.  I have recited and copied this translation myself, and found it beneficial.

Surangama Study Questions, part 7

Back to the heart of the matter...

"Four Clear and Definitive Instructions on Purity," pages 263-276

*How would you characterize the Buddha's ethical teachings in this section?  What is emphasized?  Is there anything one might expect to find here that is not definitely indicated?

*For whom are these teachings given (i.e., monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen...)?  For anyone and everyone under all circumstances?

Surangama Study Questions, part 6

Back to the heart of the matter...

Surangama Sutra, part 6:  "Twenty-Five Sages," pages 205-259

*This section opens with another of Ananda's particularities.  What is Ananda after here; what is he trying for?  How does the Buddha respond?

*Once again, Buddha Shakyamuni adjusts his teaching method to suit the needs of his students.  What does he do in this chapter?

*There is a certain symmetry or correspondence  between Part 6 and Part 3, "The Matrix of the Thus-Come One."  How does this later section develop, or reinforce, or recontextualize (choose the verb you like) that earlier section's teachings?

*What are the unique capacities and practices of "the Bodhisattva who Hears the Cries of the World," Avalokiteshvara (also known as Kanzeon, Kannon, Guan Yin, Kwanseum)?  Why does Manjushri recommend this path for Ananda, and for beings in "the Dharma's ending-time"?

*We will discuss what is meant by the Dharma-ending age, and its relevance to this Sutra and our tradition of Buddhism, Tuesday evening.

Surangama Study Questions, 5

Back to the heart of the matter...

On Part 5:  "Instructions for Practice," pages 169-201.

*Here, the Buddha seems to shift tactics in teaching the Sangha.  He relies less on elaborate logic than in previous sections, and more on concrete analogies:  objects such as a scarf or the sound of a bell that can be experienced with the senses of those present.  Why do you suppose the Buddha takes this approach at this point?

*What are some of the Buddha's specific instructions for the practice of the Path?  How do these emerge from or relate to the material presented previously?

*This may be a good time to consider the elements of the supernatural that are described in the sutra.  The Buddha's hands are webbed and his skin appears as purple-toned gold; at one point, the light of all the Buddhas in all directions floods the hall.  How does this impact you as a reader?  How do your values, preconceptions, and expectations interact with this spectacle?  By contrast, how might the members of a Chinese farming village in the year 1000 respond to hearing it, do you imagine?

Surangama Study Questions, 4

Back to the heart of the matter...


On Part 4, "The Coming into Being of the World of Illusion," pp. 141-166

*Here, in an exchange with Purna and (again) Ananda, the Buddha resolves many of the outstanding issues from the previous sections.  To do this, he describes the way n which the world that ordinary beings like us experience seems to arise.

*What is meant by "adding understanding to understanding"?

*What is the difference between a Buddha (one who "gets it") and an ordinary being?

*How does experience arise for an ordinary being?

*Ananda gets scolded again:  for what?  What is the Buddha trying to teach him at this point?

PS:  The chapter "The Interfusing of the Primary Elements" (pages 153-158) may make for difficult reading at first, but diligence is rewarded because in this section the teaching of Buddha nature is presented directly in clearly.  All it takes is some patience with the unfamiliar and, to some American readers, seemingly high-flown language.  Enjoy!

Engaged Practice: Arlington Food Assistance Center

Members of our sangha have a longstanding relationship to the Arlington Food Assistance Center.  This is an organization that provides food to many families in Arlington who would not eat otherwise.  You can participate by contacting them directly, donating as appropriate, and in particular volunteering your time.

I strongly encourage anyone who is involved in our local sangha to participate, and for those who are at a distance to find a similar project in your neighborhood and join in.  This is an opportunity to make a meaningful connection in our community, to put the teachings into practice very directly, and quite simply to do the right thing.

Surangama Sutra Study Questions, 3

With the intention of getting to the heart of the Great Matter, another installment of Surangama Sutra study questions:  "The Matrix of the Thus-Come One," pages 89-137

*Context:  "Matrix of the Thus-Come One" in this text translates the Sanskrit term Tathagatagarbha (Tathagata means "Thus Come One" and garbha means something like "matrix," but there are other translations available).  This concept is also translated as Buddha-nature or Buddha-potential in contemporary discourse, and is a familiar doctrine in other materials we have read together such as the Awakening of Faith or the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment.

*The Buddha categorically reviews each part of the known world through several classification systems (the five aggregates and so on).  He argues in each case that nothing apparent comes into being on its own, nor by causes and conditions.  This appears to contradict the Buddhist teaching of dependent origination, according to which everything comes into being and falls away by causes and conditions, so it is important to consider this bold claim carefully.   How is it that the Buddha rejects the idea that things arise and have their being (such as it is) due to causes and conditions?  What is he getting at here?

*Meanwhile, the sutra also claims that all these categories are in themselves the Matrix of the Thus-Come One.  Is there anything that is not so, according to the Sutra?  What does it mean in practical to consider consciousness and objects of consciousness as the space or mind or potential of the Buddha?

*Checking in on Ananda:  by p. 137, he seems to be coming around to the Buddha's way of thinking and practicing.  What has he learned so far, and what does he have left to learn in your view?

A little bit on vipashyana...

A few weeks ago, I posted a gatha from the Vajrasamadhi Sutra here and elsewhere online.  This brief verse opens onto many different kinds of meaning.  One of them has to do with the practice of seated meditation.

There are two aspects to meditation in our school:  shamatha and vipashyana, or "calming the mind" and "discerning the real" respectively.  Calming the mind is just that, you take up an object and concentrate on it until the mind is stilled.  Much of the contemporary discourse around "mindfulness" is actually about this kind of calming function.  The point of calming the mind is to come to some understanding of the nature of mind, which is to say, you calm the mind in order to discern the real:  to recognize one's real condition.  I think this gatha gives excellent advice on vipashyana:

Objects that are produced by causes and conditions,
Those objects are extinguished and unproduced.

 Take thoughts for example.  Thoughts are objects of mind that are produced by causes and conditions.  If you recognize them as empty in their nature, then they resolve into emptiness without effort.  You do not have to force it or get involved in it.  Simple recognition is all it takes.  Even scary or painful thoughts and feelings arise and resolve, and there is no problem at all.  And this is so for all objects (objects of sight, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching too), any kind of life situation, not merely objects of thought.  What happens when you do get mixed up in it, trying to actively put out the fire?  The second half of the gatha tells you:

Extinguish all objects subject to production and extinction,
And those objects will be produced and unextinguished.

If you take the phantasmagoria of emotions and thoughts in your mindstream as real and actively engage with them, pushing them away for instance, then all you do is create problems for yourself.  The point is not to negate or deny or transcend somehow the world of the senses, thoughts, and feelings.  The point is to understand their nature as the movement of mind.  To do that, it really helps to relax.  That is why we have calming the mind in tandem with discerning the real. 

A Gatha from the Vajrasamadhi Sutra

I hope this brief verse (gatha) makes the same impression on you as it does for me:

Objects that are produced by causes and conditions,
Those objects are extinguished and unproduced.
Extinguish all objects subject to production and extinction,
And those objects will be produced and unextinguished.

This is from the Vajrasamadhi-Sutra (published as Cultivating Original Enlightenment, by Robert Buswell, which includes a brilliant exposition of the text by the great Korean master Wonhyo).

At this link, you can find a version of this gatha that you can print, cut down to size, and pin to your cubicle wall or the space just above the kitchen sink, for reflecting at regular intervals.

Yes, Your Posture Matters.

Ideally, one should practice meditation in all activities at all times. Even in sleep: Here, Donnie the Dharma cat demonstrates the traditional Lion Posture for meditation during rest:




He mostly gets it anyway: if your body is configured as a male this time around, you should lie down on your right side, with your torso slightly curved, right hand supporting the head and left arm resting gently on your left side. If you inhabit a female body, the principle remains the same but the directions are reversed from Donnie's demonstration above: lie on your left side instead. This is a traditional approach; try it and you may see the value in it over time. It may or may not help to snuggle with a stuffed animal as Donnie is doing.

The need to attend to your posture is more immediately obvious in seated, standing, and walking meditation for most of us. As you meditate, you become increasingly aware of your breathing. If your posture is poor, then your breath is stopped up or shortened and the circulation of blood and energy through the body is restricted. Worse, you put a strain on some of your joints and muscles, and that kind of fatigue gets tiresome fast. These outcomes are not conducive to helpful mental states. What you want is an upright posture that supports the breathing and the internal flow, and that more or less supports itself: not too loose, not too tight.

This is something that is impossible to teach yourself properly, even with a mirror. Find a friend to help you settle into a posture where your knees are lower than your hips (put something under your rump like a cushion to lift the hips up), your shoulders are directly over your hips, your navel is in line with your nose, and your chin is slightly pointed down. Lift your heart a bit. If you can, find that sweet spot where the bones are doing most of the structural work of holding you upright, so you can relax more of the muscles. Ah! It helps for some to visualize a thread from the heavens supporting your head like a puppet on a cable and lifting you up, so you can release any tension in your hips.

The same principles apply when standing or walking: upright but not rigid, relaxed but not lax. When you stand or walk, really stand and really walk: don't fidget and fuss with things, just get settled and be present. Also when it is time for rest: be like Donnie and put aside the day's mouse-chasings and really rest with all your energy. (Funny how that can be a lot more difficult than it should be, no?)

Just Keep Going.

This is the message of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva: Just Keep Going, in all your travels, in all your transitions, in the wind and the rain.

You can do it.

Ideas on How to Work With Sutras

Let's start at the beginning.

The Buddhist teachings are recorded in documents called sutras. Depending on the tradition and the school, you will find a variety of attitudes and approaches to the sutras: some devotional, some analytical, and in a small number of cases, downright dismissive. In Tendai, we have a longstanding history of careful study of the sutras and debate over their real meaning and purpose, especially the Lotus Sutra; one might say this is an analytical or hermeneutic approach, trying to get at the real intention of the Buddha.

There are also devotional practices centered around the sutras. These are meditations: you read the text mindfully and contemplate it (not the same as analyzing it); you recite the text with the understanding that you are proclaiming the Dharma to all beings, giving voice to the Buddha-nature that is closer to you than your breath right now; and respecting the physical copy of the text by keeping it clean, generally protecting it as you would protect your eyes, and taking up the practice of copying the text longhand.

If you are interested in using the sutras directly in your meditation in this way, you can start like this:

Begin by reading it, but not as you would read a novel or the sports page. First gather your attention and your intention to practice, just as you would begin a session of seated meditation. Attend to your posture: you should be seated upright, not slouching or lying down, with clean hands. Breathe carefully and read mindfully with an open heart. It doesn't matter if you believe it or not; don't worry about the meaning; read for the impact the text has on your emotions and your mental state. Continue for a period of time, just as you would for any other kind of meditation, and then stop, breathe for several moments, and dedicate the merits. Do this at a regular time until you finish the sutra. Of the three gates, this practice of mindful reading corresponds to your mind; the next two deal with your speech and body respectively.

Next, start over from the beginning but read the text out loud. Keep your posture and your attitude the same as before, when you were silently reading, but now recite the text as though you were trying to get the essential meaning through a bad telephone connection: not soft, not loud, but steady and clear and purposive. Use your natural voice; this is not a time to be dramatic or to perform, so instead just read from the heart. When you complete a section of the text, breathe silently and mindfully for a spell, and dedicate your merits. Keep going like this in regular sessions until you complete the text.

At this point you will need to prepare a space for yourself to copy the sutra by hand. You will need a clean and well-lighted table or desk. If possible, set up a table in your meditation space and only use it for this purpose of copying sutra. If that is not possible, simply clear away everything that is not necessary to the task of copying and wipe the table clean before each practice session. You may also wish to set aside a particular tablecloth or other covering for the table so that it feels to you like you have a particular place just for this practice. You will also need a quality pen to write with, one that feels good in your hand and writes well on the page. For paper, use a bound notebook that you only use for copying sutra. I like to use Moleskine notebooks for this purpose; some may prefer fancier or thicker paper depending on your aesthetic and your penmanship. The idea is to use a book that is pleasing to the eyes, durable, and feels appropriate to the job.

When you sit down to copy, again gather yourself into a state of mindful concentration, as you would for seated meditation. Arrange your sutra text, your pen, and your notebook in such a way that you can write comfortably in an upright and relaxed posture. And copy slowly, one word at a time. Slowly. Gently. Word by word. Write as clearly as you can, but do not try to write in a way that is unnatural to you; do it in your own "voice." This practice takes time. I copy only two pages per practice session. The goal is not to conquer the text, but to take it into your body, to make the sutra inhabit you physically. Again, when you finish a session, close the books and cap the pen, tidy the space, and finish with a few moments of silent meditation. Dedicate your merits and come back to it tomorrow.

Your voice is very personal. Your handwriting is also very personal. No one can copy your voice or your writing style exactly. These things are yours. By reciting and copying this text, you are resonating the sutra and your own personality, planting the seeds of the sutra deep in the storehouse of your mind. You may notice this when you practice seated meditation, when you are washing the dishes alone, when your roommate's cat startles you at midnight.

To get started, I recommend getting a feel for the practice by starting with a short sutra, specifically the Heart Sutra (full text here). If you would like to develop this practice further, you may wish to continue with medium-length sutras such as the Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of the Past Vows of Ksitigharbha Bodhisattva before attempting the challenge of copying the Lotus Sutra or the Sutra of Golden Light.

One last guideline on analytic sutra study (as distinct from sutra recitation and copying): strive for a balanced diet of study, practice, and mindful life in the world. A good ratio is one part Dharma study, two parts meditation practice. If you spend an hour in the library, spend two hours on your meditation cushion or practicing nembutsu or whatever your practice may be.

Now would be a good time to turn off the computer and get to work, friends.

Nembutsu: A Beneficial Practice Anyone Can Do

Let's say you've learned enough about Buddhism that you are now eager to begin practicing but you find yourself isolated and without a chance to learn how to practice. Many beginners are in this situation: where can I find someone who will teach me mikkyo near me, down in the West Texas town of El Paso, or in Klamath Falls, or in Harrisonburg?

What you need in this situation is a practice you can do now that will bring real benefit, one that will help you create the causes and conditions that will put you next to an authentic teacher of Dharma. Nembutsu is a practice like this: open to the public and very profound. Here is how to do it:

Nembutsu is the mindful repetition of the name of Amitabha Buddha. You will need to be mindful of three aspects in this practice: your body, your speech, and your mind.

With your body, move mindfully with the understanding that the Buddha Amitabha is present and that your surroundings are ultimately a pure land, that you inhabit a sacred place where realization comes easily and all beings are blessed. During formal practice periods, we do nembutsu while walking mindfully. It is quite alright to do nembutsu while washing dishes, cooking, cleaning, or carrying on your other ordinary tasks so long as you can maintain the pure view of your location as being in essence inseparable from Amitabha's pure land. Do not fidget or fuss with extraneous things. Turn off the television, the radio, the blackberry, the internet; cut away extraneous distractions and focus on the essential. Keep an upright posture and relax: not too loose, not too tight.

With your speech, gently repeat the name of Amitabha Buddha again and again like a flowing river. It need not be loud. If necessary, say the nembutsu with "the tongue of the mind," which is to say, in your imagination only. In Tendai, we recite it as Namu Amidabu, and this sounds like Nah Moo Ah Mee Dah Boo (you know the sound of "a" in "apple"? don't use that sound. Use the "ah" sound as in "open up and say 'ah'". If the pronunciation is difficult, send me an email and we can work on it.) It is possible to say this a million or two million times over and not exhaust the benefit of it. Just keep going.

With your mind, be very aware that Amidabha Buddha is near you. You can visualize Amitabha above your head as a standing Buddha emanating very bright clear light. Wherever this light touches and penetrates becomes purified of all negative past karma, and what is more, the seeds of bodhicitta are planted in the minds of all beings touched by it. As your practice strengthens, extend this Buddha-power to all corners of all worlds until Amitabha's pure light touches and blesses all without exception (your neighborhood, your town, your region, your nation, the continent where you live, the planet Earth, the cosmos) with no exceptions: the people who have helped you and the ones that have hurt you, the ones you like or don't like, all the beings from the cancer ward to the pigs in the slaughter to your daughter's classroom. All of them.

Studying images of Amitabha can help you get started and get inspired. If you put yourself into this practice one hundred percent, it begins to take on a life of its own and becomes more real than a heartbreak or a toothache. Too see this, however, you must try and not hold back.

The great Ch'an master Hsuan Hua made some profound comments on recitation practice. I'll repeat them here for your consideration:

Your goal is to dispense with all extraneous thoughts and to consolidate your thoughts into one mindful thought of the Buddha. If you don't have extraneous thoughts, you won't have any evil thoughts, and when nothing evil is arising in your mind, you're on the road to goodness.

(Surangama Sutra commentary, p. 231)

Finally, I would like to dispel a concern many beginners express when introduced to nembutsu practice: how do I know Amitabha Buddha is real and not just another bit of make-believe? My answer: Earnestly put it into practice and see which is more real, the body of Amitabha or your own aging body; your everyday distracted mind or Amitabha's enlightened mind; your everyday contradictory and not-always-perfectly-honest speech or the pure teaching of Amitabha Buddha.

In reality, your nature is no different from Amitabha's, and with practice, all the enlightened characteristics we associate with Amitabha arise in you. This is a method for accomplishing it, and it is free for you to try. I encourage you to do just that, to realize the nature of mind and be of real and lasting help to all who suffer.

Fundamental Guidance on Practice: Taking the Goal as the Path

This is from the 2009 Buddhist Text Society translation of the Surangama Sutra. Shakyamuni Buddha is speaking to Ananda, who has asked for advice on how to transform everyday experience into the stuff of enlightenment:

you must pull out the root of death and rebirth and rely on that pure and perfect nature that neither comes into being nor ceases to be. Use the purity of your true nature to make disappear the distinction between your original state of enlightenment and the illusory state of what comes into being and ceases to be. The original enlightened understanding, which neither comes into being nor ceases to be, must be the basis of your practice. Then you will attain the awakening that will be the result of your practice.

When you hear me use the phrase "taking the goal as the path," this is what I am referring to: this practice of recognizing and trusting the enlightened potential within ourselves as a path. The goal of enlightenment and the practice of enlightenment are of the same nature, and according to this understanding, identical in function. The Buddha continues his explanation with an analogy:

The process may be compared to the settling of turbid water. If you keep it undisturbed in a container so that it is completely still and quiet, the sand and silt in it will settle naturally, and the water will become clear. This may be compared to the initial stage of subduing the afflictions that arise from transitory perceptions of objects. When the sand and silt have been removed so that only clear water remains, then fundamental ignorance has been eliminated forever. When the water is quite pure and clear, nothing that may happen will be a cause of affliction. All will be in accord with the pure and wondrous attributes of nirvana.

(pages 174-175)

Our meditation routine here at Great River Ekayana Sangha mirrors this two part process: we begin with Shamatha, which calms and settles the mind into clarity, and then proceed with Vipashyana or the discernment of the real, intended to clear away the nonsense.

With effort in practice, confidence builds; with confidence in our practice, our practice gains in power. This is a path of trust in that we must learn to trust the only thing about ourselves that is absolutely trustworthy, and then trust it absolutely. Let us direct our efforts accordingly.

Meditation is Not an Anaesthetic

Returning again to the theme of so-called Western Buddhism:

One provocative criticism made of it (most famously by Slavoj Zizek) holds that Western Buddhism is not a systematic practice designed to bring about meaningful change in people or in cultures (Aloha Amigo!), but is instead a gimmick for reducing stress so that suffering individuals can accomodate themselves better to untenable situations at home, at work, and in society at large.

Now, if a situation is uncomfortable and stressful, that may be a sign that it is in need of bodhisattva activity: perhaps it is unkind, unjust, or unwise. It may also be that one is the author of one's own stress, or that one's hangups or habits are in fact introducing problems into an otherwise a-okay situation. This, also, is a call for rigorous practice. This is why some take it be a problem: a practice intended to tackle in a systematic way the complex of one's problems from the root of their causes through their expression in the world of sentient beings becomes instead a kind of avoidance strategy, a squirt of subjective novocaine to get you through your shitty office job or your husband's hurtful incompetence or whatever is troubling you that you cannot bear to deal with.

So, if I understand Zizek's argument properly, it may be at least more honest and productive to fully face the discomfort of an uncomfortable situation than to imagine it to be the manifestation of evolving Spirit or the endless march of Providence, especially if this moment of exposure motivates one to authentic transformational practice.

I would like to make a related point: meditation makes a direct perception of any situation possible, which is a precondition for wise activity. A sad situation is sad; in an unfair situation, one sees directly the injustice and its consequences for all involved. You see it for what it is, like it or not. And you feel it diamond hard; this is anything but an avoidance strategy or a peaceful at-one-ness with the sufferings of others. To borrow one of Trungpa Rinpoche's words, it is indeed very "tender."

But through this tenderness, the unacceptable thing becomes workable. Because it also makes the mind broader, clearer, and less disruptive, proper meditation prepares one to work with the situation perceived from a position of wisdom and compassion rather than habit, emotional reaction, prejudice, or personal gain (will-to-power). Through active meditation, one becomes increasingly capable of independent and creative action (independent of habitual training and emotional baggage). In this sense, authentic Buddhist meditation should be understood as an engaged Buddhist practice (a situational engagement) in teh sense Ken Jones describes in his book The Social Face of Buddhism.

A question for the gallery: If your practice is motivated by a desire to reduce stress, is this a desire to make your own situation less uncomfortable (avoidance) or as a means to be more useful to the world at large, or at least to introduce less of your own stress into the world?

What makes a good student a good student?

There are many ways to be a good student. People bring a great diversity of strengths and aspirations to the path with them, and the different kinds of obstacles people face as they undergo the path lead them to cultivate new ones. While my comments here may seem a bit scattershot, they are intended to reflect the spectrum of "good" in the phrase "good student." Some themes come back, like a reprise. My hope is that at least one or two these comments will resonate with anyone and will encourage stronger practice. So, a good student should:

Commit to practice completely in thought, word, and deed. When you do something, do it as a part of your practice and once committed do not hold back, just jump in without reservation and go for it one hundred percent. Heard the one about the guy who practices like his hair is on fire? Be like that dude in everything you do, focused and active. This is no time for half measures.

Don't be evasive. Don't avoid praise or criticism, don't sneak around your teacher or your mistakes, don't imagine you can hide. [Avoidance strategies like this just postpone the inevitable. You'll have to deal with your karma sooner or later, so you might as well just rip the band-aid off the fast way instead of making yourself and others suffer more by playing make-believe.] It is said that one should practice in every moment as though the Buddhas of past present and future are watching your every word, deed, and thought. This is a helpful attitude to cultivate. It feels like complete exposure. It takes courage. Find the courage in yourself. It's there, you know.

Don't pick and choose. When you come to the teaching, you come to learn; Buddhism is not a fashion statement or a career choice but a learning situation. This means you recognize that you have something to learn: you begin to face your own shortcomings and seek guidance on how to amend them. You begin to face the possibility that you have something real and good and helpful to offer the world. In this context, your teacher's job is a bit like a physician's, since he or she needs to prescribe specific medicines to help seal the cracks, pull the bolts, and knock the crazy out of you. Your prescription may surprise or even nauseate you at first, depending on your karma. Again, don't pick and choose. Example: Prostrations can be an antidote to excessive pride. So do not, in your excessive pride, assume that prostrations cannot be of use to you. Practice is difficult anyway, but it is most difficult at that point where it most effectively cuts the knots of your accumulated karma. Whatever you most dislike in practice is likely the place to start digging in and drilling down. [In my own case, I found it very very challenging to overcome my fear of performing before others to become a competent leader, specifically to sing the service and lead the chants: my preference is to be Ringo instead of John or Paul, but here I am...]

Remember that the most important teachings are often the first ones you hear, the most fundamental ones. Attend the the basics (bodhicitta!) again and again to keep the knife sharp and your aim in sight.

Put yet another way, have a positive attitude. Be game to try new things, especially things that seem to be out of your range or foreign to your experience so far. You might even like green eggs and ham. Endeavor to do a good job without a fuss, be willing to learn. Be curious and inquire. Have an "active edge."

Be prepared to travel and put some time and energy into it if you really want to learn. Ask me about gyo sometime for an object lesson in this.

Finally, it helps a lot to practice with others, for dozens of reasons [of which more later]. Foremost as an antidote to self-delusion and the gaps-in-education all autodidacts experience. If you want to be a well-rounded student, expose yourself to all the teachings and all the sangha.

This is all a tall order, obviously. "It don't come easy." Be prepared to fall, dust yourself off, apologize as appropriate, and get back to work. Learning from mistakes and persevering through to the end is all part of the practice too.

I hope everyone becomes a good student of the path and accomplishes it quickly.