Zen Buddhism and Martial Arts
Home » Literature Archives » A few words - our final buddhist service for 2009
A few words - our final buddhist service for 2009
by
I take refuge in the Buddha.
I take refuge in the Dharma.
I take refuge in the Sangha.
I take refuge in the Dharma.
I take refuge in the Sangha.
During the year of 2009, as usually we do, we offered Buddhist services at our little Dharma Center in Brazil. Our focus is mindfulness and zazen, the seated meditation at the core of Buddhist practice that aims to cultivate awareness and cut through delusion, awakening practitioners to the reality of the here and now. For newcomers, a brief orientation (by appointment) takes place before the services. At the zendo orientation, we offer instruction in how to sit, how to breathe, how to handle thoughts and how to do walking meditation. We always remember that Zen cannot be practiced or fully appreciated through reading or intellectual activity alone. So, zazen, mindfulness and other practices that actively engage the body and mind are essential. Each Wednesday we have a Dharma Talk, too. We have many Dharma brothers and sisters, who attend to these public open meetings - 17 the medium number of them, for each Wednesday night.
When we were going to the end of this year, we had to set the date to our final service in 2009, just before the beginning of 2010, the Year of the Tiger, according to the Chinese (to them, it begins on February 14th, 2010). The last Wednesday just before Christmas was chosen: December, 23th. At that point, I remember to think with myself: "Well, only a few people will attend this final service of 2009. Most of them are busy with their Holydays Christmas and New Year parties". And then, I thought: "No problems at all. I shall be there to sit in zazen and to address the Dharma talk."
Just to show the scenario, here in Brazil it's summer now. Well, it's just the beginning of summer, which began on December 21. We have nice, bright and sunny days and slow and hot northeast winds, high temperatures (30-33 Celsius degrees), high rates of humidity in the air and hot nights, too! The traffic jam is heavy at the metropolitan area of our city. Why am I saying this? Well, our Dharma Center is located at the metropolitan area of the city, in one of the most important avenues. Our meeting is at 7:30PM - rush hour! And... it's Christmas and it's very hot. Then, I am saying that December 23 is not an easy day to people get there at 7:00PM or 7:10PM, 20-30 minutes before we start the service, as recommended.
Well, it's quite common that I'm at the Dharma Center about 6:00PM. This December 23, I was there at 4:00PM. I went early to sit in zazen for a time, before this last meeting of 2009. And doing this, I avoided the rush hour, too.
In the night before, I had this idea to have a short meeting and a brief Dharma Talk. Not too much words, not too much time... nothing too much -a very simple "finale".
And so it was: yesterday we had our final meeting of 2009, in our Dharma Center. Surprisingly (or not?), 19 people attend to the service. Slowly, calm and smiling they entered the zendo, one by one, step by st... the zen way.
Then, we had a shared silence and presence; together we heard the sounds of the bell; we had The Three Refuges, zazen and, after zazen, the Dharma talk and the Final Offering.
To the Dharma talk of the night, I started asking a dharma fellow to turn off all the lights - one by one, the electric lights and the two candles on the table. Silently, we were sitting in the dark. After a minute or two, I asked our dharma fellows to close their eyes. Then, I rang the bell three times, as in the beginning of the zazen. So, I asked our companions to look on the healing practices the Dharma brought us along 2009. Pause... After some minutes, we started a little practice (as a Dharma talk without words): a candle was lit and then, one by one (in the beginning of the meeting each person had received a candle and a container to the candle), the flame was passing by, candle by candle until each candle was lit. The last person (the one who lit the first candle) lit one more candle, representing all our physically absent brothers and sisters. Finally, we have heard the Buddha's words: "Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."
Then, we could talk a little about our feelings and emotions, about what this little practice means for each one of us and for our lives and the lives around us.
It was quite interesting to see how carefully each one of us has received the flame -the candle was lit and then the person holding it put it closer to another candle, another person. The flames wavered and flickered. It was necessary to use slow movements to sustain the flame and to fix the candle in the container. Then, more slow and mindfulness movements were needed to pass the flame ahead. Gradually, the dark room was being illuminated by people sharing their light. The flames wavered and the full light was soft. We could see better the faces of each one: too much dark and we cannot see; too much light, the glare, and we cannot see, too. Soft lights, moving shadows, and silently we gave our real, mindfulness presence to each one.
Then, after some minutes, slowly and with soft voices, people started to express their feelings, emotions and thoughts - one person at a time, no interruptions, a real Dharma talk. There were deep expressions. A simple practice led us to some "fundamentals" of Buddhism: Annica, impermanence (Some candles burned to the end and had to be replaced -one of them, for two times. So to say, everything is in a constant state of change, everything changes. In nature, a seed grows into a plant. This plant perhaps creates a fruit, which eventually dies and falls to the ground to become part of the earth that grows a new seed. This is true for all compound phenomena ("beings, things and experiences"), including our own bodies. All things conditioned by causes are impermanent. And anicca is also seen in our inner life, in our "internal landscapes", in our feelings, emotions, senses and thoughts - if we truly observe our mind we see that it is in a constant state of movement and change and we can often hardly remember the emotions or thoughts we experienced so vividly at a prior time. Both pleasure and pain, and everything in between, are transient, changing "events"); Annata, no-self (nothing has an immutable, core essence -this points to the lack of a permanent, unchanging, substantial Self in "beings and things"); Dukkha, suffering, "unsatisfactoriness" (Dukkha does not just refer to painful and difficult experiences - due to anicca, no single attainment, possession or "life situation" can ultimately bring us lasting happiness. "Whatever is impermanent is subject to change. Whatever is subject to change is subject to suffering" (Buddha). We might experience periods of joy based on these things, but because that joy is dependent on external phenomena, it will eventually end. True lasting happiness is only found through the realization of nirvana, which is not subject to the three marks of existence -annica, annata and dukkha).
Many more I could say... Many more I deeply heard, I learned and I experienced coming from my Dharma brothers and sisters, but no words could substitute the real experience of that night of December 23, 2009. I feel it was an illuminated night (by the candles, of course!).
I think that what I was trying to describe here it's beyond words but I gave it a try. When I started to write the title above, "a few words", I realized that I would fail in two ways: I should use too many words here (so, no "few words"!) and after all, none of them could give us the real "taste". It is like the menu and the meal: We can always talk about the menu, but to taste we have to eat the meal. And no one can do it for us. I think it is by realizing (not merely understanding intellectually, but making real in one's mindfulness experience) we could touch the prajna in everyday life.
Thank you for your patience and kindness heart.
I wish you a Happy New Year. May the strength of the Tiger bless you during the year of 2010 and may peace reign on Earth.
