Old-Time
Buddhist Gospel Hour
Delivered by
Calen Rayne, February 26, 2006
At the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, New Bern, NC
While
poets, writers and musicians have waxed eloquent throughout the ages about
oceans and lakes and streams, there is no doubt that what is most often
considered synonymous with the perpetual flow of our myriad of experiences
is a river.
My fondest memories of childhood are
weekends spent with my father and brothers and uncles on the Huron River
in Ohio running trotlines to catch catfish. When I was eight years old, a
57 pounder got my dad named
Ohio
fisherman of the year. Throughout high school my friends and I discussed
poetry, philosophy and politics deep into the night while fishing for carp
on the three rivers in
Fort Wayne
,
Indiana
. And though I was a fishing guide on West Lake for two summers in
Wellington, Ontario, all my clients were taken to a six mile course of
water meandering between 10 foot tall cattails until no wider than a canoe
known affectionately as “the river.”
In
Bhaktapur, near Kathmandhu in
Nepal
, I sat in meditation many days as family after family cremated their
loved ones’ remains on a makeshift ghat. Their ashes were carefully
directed to a small ditch to join a trickle of water that would eventually
wind its way to
India
and the
Ganges
River
. Though so narrow that to refer to this small stream as a creek would be
an exaggeration, one elderly Hindu man explained that his wife’s ashes
must be “placed in the holy waters of this river” so she might one day
be reborn again to continue her journey. Allen Ginsberg once told me that
“the universe begins with a rain drop…” and Dylan Thomas
believed…
My
birthday begins with the water.
It
is not surprising that most Unitarian Universalist congregations begin
their year with a water ceremony, to symbolize the oneness of our
seemingly individual journeys by creating a vessel of drops of that very
liquid which comprises most of our planet and most of our bodies… water.
When we join our drops of water, we acknowledge our Unitarian Universalist
heritage, and all our names become one…
All
the great rivers on reaching the great ocean lose their former names and
identities and are reckoned simply as the great ocean…
The
Buddha
Is
it possible we may be oblivious to the existence of a maker, a controller
of fates, what might be referred to as “an essence”—who wields us
very deftly? And could that entity be water itself? Tom Robbins has
posited that human beings were created by water as a means of transporting
itself from one place to another.
You
probably have realized by now that each order of service has a different
brushstroke painting of “a river” on it.
We
gather in this sanctuary each week to worship together even though our
paths are different, the “rivers” we encounter which may have had an
influence on our lives are not necessarily the same even though their
foundation or “essence” as it were are of this wonderful element of
water.
And
this congregation has it’s own “river” that you are all a part of,
and as it continues to flow, it will bring about life-altering changes to
the people it touches..In my 40 year journey along a number of Buddhist
and spiritual paths since high school, I believe I always encounter rivers
because ancient masters speak of our Buddha-nature flowing like a river,
without pause. And on this seemingly seamless journey, I am continually
reminded of life’s most urgent question, “what
are you doing for others?”
All
religions are similar in that they have some powerful system of advice, a
“golden rule" as it were, with respect to the practice of
compassion. In the words of Jesus from Luke 6:31, “Do to others as
you would have them do to you.”
And
the Buddha from Dhammapada, 10:1, “Consider
others as yourself.”
Just
as Christianity has a holy trinity comprised of Father, Son and Holy
Ghost, Buddhism has the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The
chief quality of a Buddha is great compassion, Buddhist doctrines, or the
dharma, are rooted in compassion, and the sangha, or virtuous community,
follows these teachings on compassion. We must understand that we are a
lot like those with whom we surround ourselves, and that our environment
is stronger than we are. Here we understand each other’s struggles and
disappointments, our hardships and inadequacies, and we open our hearts.
From time to time someone or some thing may “break
our heart,” but it is possible that God may keep breaking our heart
until it remains open.
Then
we will learn to judge no one, but to cradle all of humanity in our heart,
acknowledging the inherent worth and dignity of everyone. There are days
we may feel like strangers, but when our hearts remain open, we will
realize that in this moment we belong right here.
When the heart is open, it’s easier for the mind to be turned
toward God.
Ram Dass
And when we turn our mind toward God, our individual rivers flow
with three particular attributes, our faith in the process, the love each
one of us brings to this process, and our shared willingness to submit to
this journey.
Creatures
never rest until they have gotten into human nature; therein do they
attain to their original form, God namely…
Meister Eckhart
To
make this life what it should be, we must encourage a hopeful disposition,
for with such a disposition heart and mind are set to work in synch, and a
person can do his or her best. Life is a journey, and it is important that
we do our utmost to make our journey a journey of compassion.
We
are in this world to make it better, to lift it to a higher levelof
enjoyment and progress, and there is indeed a certain amount of
responsibility resting upon each one of us from the least to the greatest.
Florence
Spearing
Randolph
In
Mahayana Buddhism in particular great emphasis is placed on realizing the
union of wisdom and compassionate action.
So may we all have the wisdom to become an integral part of this
nurturing “river of compassion.”
For wisdom is not worth having, unless in each moment it is applied
in acts of compassion, nor compassion useful unless directed by a wisdom
that knows what to do.
Share
your love, your wisdom, and your wealth and serve each other as much as
possible. Live in harmony with one another and be an example of peace,
love, compassion and wisdom.
Lama Thubten Yeshe
With each passing moment we are given an opportunity
to create joy in this life, and must continually ask only this one
question, “what is the best way of
helping other people.” Do not doubt your ability to create joy in
this life.
“I am larger and better than I thought…I did not
think I held so much goodness.”
Walt Whitman
It’s
all about simple, clear parameters. You can’t think big anymore so you
think small, and then suddenly everything seems important. There’s no
such thing as an insignificant moment, each moment is a gift and not to be
wasted.
Sometimes
I would almost rather have people take away years of my life than take
away a moment.
Pearl
Bailey
When we feel love and kindness towards others, it not only makes others
feel loved and cared for, it helps us to develop inner peace and happiness
as well. Through acts of kindness our
world softens. With each compassionate act, we enter the sacred realm of
Buddhahood.
In
the Sutra Ch’o Yang-dag-par Du-pa, it is said:
One
who desires to attain Buddhahood need not learn many Dharmas; only one
Dharma should be learned. What that is, is Great Compassion. One who has Great Compassion is like one who has all the
Buddha’s dharmas in his palm.
Practice
this Dharma, for merely having knowledge of the Dharma will not help. It
must be put into practice. Opportunities for compassionate gestures will
come to you
like
ripples on still waters, they will arrive one after another, and you must
be in the moment to both acknowledge and respond to their presence. For if
you do not care for others, who then will care for you?
Without
deep reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other
people, and only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.
Albert Einstein
While I was
at Naropa, I had the privilege of studying with Allen Ginsberg for two
years. He had recently been diagnosed with cancer and had switched to a
macrobiotic diet. Jini and I had a long background in natural foods, and
on occasion, after a full day at Naropa, we would assist Allen with food
preparation.And while preparing a meal, we often discussed Japanese and
Chinese poetry, haiku in particular, a common passion we shared. One
evening Allen burned a lentil and rice dish while we were debating
positioning of a single word in one of Buson’s haiku. And Allen
said:
“you
know, it is the quality of attention that makes things sacred.”
“It is
the quality of attention that makes things sacred.”
And one must bring such mindful
attention to this sacred place, for once one has developed “quality
of attention,” one needs to
“pay
attention to what one pays attention to.”
As we gather again each September in
our Unitarian Universalist sanctuaries for our water services, not only
our spirits, but those of all who came before us will be represented. In
Concord
, New Hampshire, we entered our sanctuary by passing a communion set given
to the church by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s wife, who was
a member there. That church is nearing its 185thanniversary,
and that communion set, used by Emerson when he preached there, is still
in use today for a “people’s” communion.
This congregation, may not have that
much history yet but some day you will. As you worship here, listen to the
voices. They are the voices of all who have spent time with this
congregation and in this church on their religious journey, and they are
thanking you for compassionate and gentle spirits that you bring to this
sacred space. These voices remind you to bring new and meaningful and
life-changing stories to these walls. You have the ability to impact
lives of generations to come in a positive manner with work you do within
AND beyond these walls. Just imagine…
The chief limitations of humanity are
in its vision, not in its power of achievement. Arthur
E. Morgan
There’s a story about the Rabii of
Minsk, a very wise man and beloved teacher in a seminary for many years.
When he was near death, his students gather around his bed to pay their
respects and possibly hear his parting words of wisdom. His room was
small, so the students filled the room, then stood near the door and down
the hall.One of his students asked, “Rabii,
after all
your years of teaching and
praying and studying the scriptures,
tell
us… what is the meaning of life.”
The Rabii opened his eyes, took a
deep breath, and said, “life is like
a river.”The student relayed the message to the next student, and it was
passed down the hall to the last student. He pondered the words carefully,
then said, “So what does this
mean, life is like a river?” His
question was relayed back up the line until the first
student gently asked, “Rabii, what
does this mean, life is like a river?”
The Rabii
thought for awhile, took a deep breath, and then he said, “Well…
so maybe life isn’t like a river.” This Rabii was indeed a wise
man, wise enough to know what he did not know.
Time passes
in moments, moments which rushing past define the path of
our life, just as surely as they lead towards its end…When the Big Ivy
River, little more than a bubbling brook most days, flooded it’s banks
during Hurricane Ivan in 2004, Jini and I were trapped in our home at
100am when a tree fell and redirected the waters. Jini had lost a shoe and
was stuck in rushing, muddy water to her waist, kept from being swept down
the river by our aging lab Yosa, who had swam to the road, pulling his
leash tight. I managed to get out of the building amidst crashing
furniture as the walls buckled. I pushed her from the hole she was stuck
in toward the bank, and then was spun around when a tree limb hit my leg.
I fell toward the bank, grabbing her hand. Ironically,a variation of this
very service floated by on my first trip back in to our home to salvage
what we could, and was delivered in Black Mountain two days later for
their “water service.”
Each one of us needs to do the best
we can and maintain a “quiet faith,” because we are truly in the midst
of a journey whose conclusion is uncertain. How
to make our lives an embodiment
of wisdom and compassion is indeed the greatest challenge spiritual
seekers face. We must dedicate ourselves to be of service to others,
honoring our Unitarian Universalist heritage.
Maybe the Rabii of Minsk was right, Life is like a
river. We dip into the river for a time, become part of the river, and
it becomes part of us. We are connected to one another, no matter where we
are, by the Unitarian Universalist community of faith to which we
belong.
We are connected in our separate
lives by the life we share in this community. And as Unitarian
Universalists, we must step forwardin faith and work to make our world a better place, for as John reminds us in Chapter 8 verse
44 of the Bible :
“our own lack of faith is our
limitation.”
And
as noted in Buddhist scripture..
Even
if it is a small amount of merit,
Don’t scoff at it, thinking that it won’t help.
By collecting drops of water, large vessels are filled.
Here is an instance of art as healing and of what William
James called the “moral equivalent of war.”
Our so-called defense departments, so creative at building
sadistic weaponry, lack imagination when it comes to moral equivalents of
war.
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