Sangha Day Festival: four
Welcome back to our sangha day
Theme how do we make deep changes
By practice of sangha
Deep changes mean a turning about in the deepest seat of consciousness
A moment when the most profound change takes place
An unalterable change in the direct of life
A new destiny
Free of the sufferings of everyday life
Of impermanence even
The dharma calls this profound change
entering the stream to enlightenment
Stream entry for short
It a profound insight
Or penetrate our first into the true nature of things
We understand the state of a Buddha from the inside
It happens when we break three fetters
Fetters that bind us to samsara
To ordinary worldly life
To our usual destiny
How do we break the fetters
Very important question
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
Silabbata paramasha
Dependence on rites and rituals,
And as ends in themselves
Maybe dependence on ethical observances and rituals
Firstly important to say
Ethics is important
Rituals, puja and refuges and precepts are important
But they become a fetter if the become an end in themselves
What does this mean?
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
We expect them to work automatically
Maybe we are proud of ourselves because of our practice
For example for meditating a lot
Or living like a monk
Maybe we wear a social mask
Difference between how we present ourselves
And how we really are
Maybe we have a guilty secret
In any case 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 does he do this?
He saw the deeper meaning of the fetter
The principle
The universal law
And he could translate it
And understand this fetter means superficiality
Superficial practice or anything else
Good question for us
Why are we doing this practice
How will it help our spiritual development
What does it really mean
Why do we act superficiality?
Stop and think
Because we’re divided
How are we 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, wholeness
When we know how we are divided
We will also know how to break this fetter
So how do we break this fetter?
Sangharakshita says by commitment
Commitment is a hard word to translate
Not обязательство
Something we must do
For the sake of someone else
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?
We have such a great opportunity
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 international conflict from one point of view
Some see it from the other point of view
Commitment in the sangha means
1/ discussing not arguing
2/ not stopping trying to communicate
We can say communication is the essence of sangha
No communication means no sangha
If we stop trying to communicate we leave the sangha
So how do we do this?
How do we manage to commit ourselves to communication?
We need to be whole to commit ourselves
We need to be integrated
Vessantara = a universe within
How can we become a universe within
We do so by being in communication with the universe without
How do we do that?
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
They were all led to part of an elephant
And the king asked them to say
What is 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
And human nature being such
Then they began fighting with their fists
What do we need to do to discuss not argue?
To stop being blind
To communicate in the sangha?
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
See the multi dimensional reality of elephant
In this way
Become whole
Become integrated
Become a universe within
Because we are in communication with the universe without
All of it
Become capable to commit ourselves fully
Stop being superficial
Stop being weak, spiritually weak
Stop being split, stop being divided
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
We’ll be whole
We’ll be strong
And we will break the fetter and fetters
Holding us back from what is most valuable in life
Welcome back to our sangha day
Theme how do we make deep changes
By practice of sangha
Deep changes mean a turning about in the deepest seat of consciousness
A moment when the most profound change takes place
An unalterable change in the direct of life
A new destiny
Free of the sufferings of everyday life
Of impermanence even
The dharma calls this profound change
entering the stream to enlightenment
Stream entry for short
It a profound insight
Or penetrate our first into the true nature of things
We understand the state of a Buddha from the inside
It happens when we break three fetters
Fetters that bind us to samsara
To ordinary worldly life
To our usual destiny
How do we break the fetters
Very important question
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
Silabbata paramasha
Dependence on rites and rituals,
And as ends in themselves
Maybe dependence on ethical observances and rituals
Firstly important to say
Ethics is important
Rituals, puja and refuges and precepts are important
But they become a fetter if the become an end in themselves
What does this mean?
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
We expect them to work automatically
Maybe we are proud of ourselves because of our practice
For example for meditating a lot
Or living like a monk
Maybe we wear a social mask
Difference between how we present ourselves
And how we really are
Maybe we have a guilty secret
In any case 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 does he do this?
He saw the deeper meaning of the fetter
The principle
The universal law
And he could translate it
And understand this fetter means superficiality
Superficial practice or anything else
Good question for us
Why are we doing this practice
How will it help our spiritual development
What does it really mean
Why do we act superficiality?
Stop and think
Because we’re divided
How are we 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, wholeness
When we know how we are divided
We will also know how to break this fetter
So how do we break this fetter?
Sangharakshita says by commitment
Commitment is a hard word to translate
Not обязательство
Something we must do
For the sake of someone else
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?
We have such a great opportunity
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 international conflict from one point of view
Some see it from the other point of view
Commitment in the sangha means
1/ discussing not arguing
2/ not stopping trying to communicate
We can say communication is the essence of sangha
No communication means no sangha
If we stop trying to communicate we leave the sangha
So how do we do this?
How do we manage to commit ourselves to communication?
We need to be whole to commit ourselves
We need to be integrated
Vessantara = a universe within
How can we become a universe within
We do so by being in communication with the universe without
How do we do that?
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
They were all led to part of an elephant
And the king asked them to say
What is 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
And human nature being such
Then they began fighting with their fists
What do we need to do to discuss not argue?
To stop being blind
To communicate in the sangha?
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
See the multi dimensional reality of elephant
In this way
Become whole
Become integrated
Become a universe within
Because we are in communication with the universe without
All of it
Become capable to commit ourselves fully
Stop being superficial
Stop being weak, spiritually weak
Stop being split, stop being divided
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
We’ll be whole
We’ll be strong
And we will break the fetter and fetters
Holding us back from what is most valuable in life
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