Buddhist wisdom, its lessons, and its stories have found their way into Western culture. Buddhist wisdom spread from the East to the Mediterranean along the Silk Road before the birth of Jesus. It is the teachings of compassion, wisdom, non-judgment, of not responding to violence with violence that have become embedded and are now considered part of many Christian denominations. One such teaching has its roots in the ancient ‘Master Hakuin’s Chant in Praise of Zazen “and teaches us:
…How near the truth
Yet how far we seek,
Like one in freshwater crying ‘I thirst!’…
‘I thirst’ and yet, the fresh clean water is there, free and easy to drink. I die of thirst every day because I do not see what I already have. Like the hungry donkey story retold in The Nightstand Buddhist below, I die every day because I do not see that I already have what I need to live a life free of suffering from the blindness of my greed, anger and ignorance.
The wisdom we want to gain from what the Buddha taught is not something we can do by reading bits of it here and there in books. It is a start, a start to realizing how logical and rational Buddhist thinking works. It is the third jewel in the three treasures, the Sangha that, for many of us, is the steppingstone that takes us from thinking and reading about a life free from suffering to an actual achieving of it.
In the Sangha we can see others standing in the fresh clean cold water and begin to understand why they don’t see it. In the Sangha we can see that either pile of hay will feed and nourish us to the wisdom we seek. It is in the Sangha we see ourselves reflected as we are and learn it is possible to subdue the dukkha of our own doing.
The Cleveland Buddhist Temple is free, open and welcomes you to be who you are – to come as you are. To listen to the teachings, to understand what it is to practice gratitude, to grasp how we are connected and dependent upon all beings for our very existence. It is these bits and pieces that eventually come together, to the understanding in our bones, of what the teachings mean.
Are there people who come to the Sangha you don’t like? Of course. Are there times you’ll question the teachings? Of course. Are there times you’ll just want to walk out in the middle of a gathering and service for whatever is eating away at you? Of course. We don’t have to like everyone, but we learn to be respectful of their being as integral to our being. We don’t have to accept the teachings unless we put them to the test for ourselves. If they work, fine, if they don’t, perhaps another path to explore is needed.
We can thirst and go hungry of body. But we have a choice on how we live this life. We have the Three Treasures: the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha to nourish us in this life for a life of inner peace with ourselves and others, if we choose. Our Sangha is our stepping stone.
Namo Amida Buddha
Namo Amida Buddha
Namo Amida Buddha
Rev. Anita
rev.anita.cbt@outlook.com
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