Sangha Day Festival: three
Welcome back to our sangha day
Theme how do we make deep changes
By practice of sangha
Spiritual community
Spiritual friendship
Communication
Deep changes mean a turning about in the deepest seat of consciousness
An unalterable change in the direct of life
A new destiny
The dharma calls this entering the stream to enlightenment
Stream entry for short
It happens when we gain insight
Or penetrate our first into the true nature of things
Our first penetration to the state of a Buddha
It happens when we break three fetters
Fetters that bind us to samsara
To ordinary worldly life
We usually think about breaking the fetters by practising the dharma
Sangharakshita’s great contribution to Buddhism
Is teaching we can break the fetters by practising sangha.
By spiritual friendship
By communication
Already looked at first fetter
Now second fetter
Silavrata paramartha
Dependence on rites and rituals as ends in themselves
Maybe dependence on ethical observances and rituals
Ethics is important
Rituals, puja and refuges and precepts are important
But they become a fetter if the become an end in themselves
How do they become ends in themselves?
When no attention give to the state of mind we do them in
Maybe we chant mantras mechanically
Maybe we are proud of ourselves living like a monk
Maybe we wear a social mask
There is a split between our appearance and our internal world
Our spiritual life exists only on the surface
Only on the outside
On the psychological level sangharakshita calls this fetter the fetter of superficiality
Why do we act superficiality?
Because we’re divided
Between our surface and our depths
Between outer and inner
Often divided between reason and emotion
Divided between what others expect of us and what we really want
Maybe we don’t know what we really want
One part takes a step forward
Another part takes a step back
Always feel a sense of weakness
Never feel a sense of strength
So how do we break this fetter?
Sangharakshita says by commitment
Commitment is a hard word to translate
Not обязательство
Dictionary: state or quality of being dedicated to a cause or activity.
Our cause or activity is spiritual development.
So in this context what happens when we’re committed to
Spiritual friendship,
to communication?
First to point out Triratna is an international community
So all sorts of different people
Some we feel close and others who are totally different
Some who support mr trump
Others Madame Harris
Some agree with reverend paisley
Others agree with Gerry adams
Some see a war from one side’s point of view
Some see it from the other side’s point of view
Commitment in the sangha means
1/ discussing not arguing
2/ not falling out, not stopping trying to communicate
We can say communication is the essence of sangha
No communication means no sangha
We need to be whole to commit ourselves
We need to be integrated
Vessantara = a universe within
How can we become a Vessantara?
What does it mean to be whole?
It means being bigger than our limited self
Than our ego
Our limited self feels really close to some people
Doesn’t feel close to others
How do we discuss not argue?
How do we avoid falling out
Parable of the blind men and the elephant
From the Pali canon
Probably taught by Buddha himself
Some blind men were asked to describe an elephant
Some were by his head
His ears, His trunk, His legs, His stomach, His bottom, His tail
All touched the elephant somewhere and described the elephant differently
Then they began fighting with their fists
What do we need to do to discuss not argue?
We need to go to another part of the elephant
A second part of the elephant
Touch another part of the elephant
To be prepared to feel things from another point of view
We need to touch every part of the elephant
And to feel the elephant from all the points of view
We will expand our point of view
Become whole
Become integrated
Become a universe within
Become capable to commit ourselves fully
Stop being superficial
Stop being weak, spiritually weak
Stop being split
Surface and depths
Inner and outer
Between reason and emotion
Between what we think others want from us and who we really are
Our actions
Whether ethical observances
Or rituals or anything else
Will become one with the state of mind we do them in
And we will break the fetter and fetters
Holding us back from making the deepest and most meaningful changes in life
Holding us back from having the most meaningful life
Welcome back to our sangha day
Theme how do we make deep changes
By practice of sangha
Spiritual community
Spiritual friendship
Communication
Deep changes mean a turning about in the deepest seat of consciousness
An unalterable change in the direct of life
A new destiny
The dharma calls this entering the stream to enlightenment
Stream entry for short
It happens when we gain insight
Or penetrate our first into the true nature of things
Our first penetration to the state of a Buddha
It happens when we break three fetters
Fetters that bind us to samsara
To ordinary worldly life
We usually think about breaking the fetters by practising the dharma
Sangharakshita’s great contribution to Buddhism
Is teaching we can break the fetters by practising sangha.
By spiritual friendship
By communication
Already looked at first fetter
Now second fetter
Silavrata paramartha
Dependence on rites and rituals as ends in themselves
Maybe dependence on ethical observances and rituals
Ethics is important
Rituals, puja and refuges and precepts are important
But they become a fetter if the become an end in themselves
How do they become ends in themselves?
When no attention give to the state of mind we do them in
Maybe we chant mantras mechanically
Maybe we are proud of ourselves living like a monk
Maybe we wear a social mask
There is a split between our appearance and our internal world
Our spiritual life exists only on the surface
Only on the outside
On the psychological level sangharakshita calls this fetter the fetter of superficiality
Why do we act superficiality?
Because we’re divided
Between our surface and our depths
Between outer and inner
Often divided between reason and emotion
Divided between what others expect of us and what we really want
Maybe we don’t know what we really want
One part takes a step forward
Another part takes a step back
Always feel a sense of weakness
Never feel a sense of strength
So how do we break this fetter?
Sangharakshita says by commitment
Commitment is a hard word to translate
Not обязательство
Dictionary: state or quality of being dedicated to a cause or activity.
Our cause or activity is spiritual development.
So in this context what happens when we’re committed to
Spiritual friendship,
to communication?
First to point out Triratna is an international community
So all sorts of different people
Some we feel close and others who are totally different
Some who support mr trump
Others Madame Harris
Some agree with reverend paisley
Others agree with Gerry adams
Some see a war from one side’s point of view
Some see it from the other side’s point of view
Commitment in the sangha means
1/ discussing not arguing
2/ not falling out, not stopping trying to communicate
We can say communication is the essence of sangha
No communication means no sangha
We need to be whole to commit ourselves
We need to be integrated
Vessantara = a universe within
How can we become a Vessantara?
What does it mean to be whole?
It means being bigger than our limited self
Than our ego
Our limited self feels really close to some people
Doesn’t feel close to others
How do we discuss not argue?
How do we avoid falling out
Parable of the blind men and the elephant
From the Pali canon
Probably taught by Buddha himself
Some blind men were asked to describe an elephant
Some were by his head
His ears, His trunk, His legs, His stomach, His bottom, His tail
All touched the elephant somewhere and described the elephant differently
Then they began fighting with their fists
What do we need to do to discuss not argue?
We need to go to another part of the elephant
A second part of the elephant
Touch another part of the elephant
To be prepared to feel things from another point of view
We need to touch every part of the elephant
And to feel the elephant from all the points of view
We will expand our point of view
Become whole
Become integrated
Become a universe within
Become capable to commit ourselves fully
Stop being superficial
Stop being weak, spiritually weak
Stop being split
Surface and depths
Inner and outer
Between reason and emotion
Between what we think others want from us and who we really are
Our actions
Whether ethical observances
Or rituals or anything else
Will become one with the state of mind we do them in
And we will break the fetter and fetters
Holding us back from making the deepest and most meaningful changes in life
Holding us back from having the most meaningful life
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