dharmatalks

Today, we continue our look at the stories from the Christian tradition, and explore some of the hidden Dharma teachings that can be found during this period of Lenten reflection.

Within the oldest institutional sect of Christians, in the Catholic tradition, the principal scriptural reading for the Third Sunday of Lent is taken from the gospel attributed to John (Jn. 2.13-25).

It’s a story I really enjoy, because it quickly dispels the absurd idea of Jesus as some kind of perfect supernatural being, who was above human emotions. In this narrative, Jesus enters Jerusalem with his disciples for the start of the Passover celebration.

The centre of activity for the Passover would have been the Great Temple, and every Jew would be required to pay their Temple Tax upon entering. Because many Jews would have been travelling from Alexandria, Rome and Persia, they would not be carrying the currency of the Palestinian region — the shekel. So there were money changers — the equivalent of today’s bankers — on-hand at the entrance to the Temple.

Now the Temple Tax was half a shekel, or roughly the equivalent of two-days’ wages… so it wasn’t cheap; but to make matters worse, the money changers would charge unthinkable amounts to convert the currency. There was no need for a bail-out in Jesus’ time, because the money changers and tax collectors were largely a band of sanctioned crooks.

Upon witnessing these money changers and vendors taking advantage of those coming to the Temple, Jesus becomes enraged. The story says that he overturns the money changers’ tables, throwing them out, "My Father’s house should be a house of prayer, but you have made it into a den of thieves!"

If we recall the earlier story of Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan, we find the first words (according to the Gospel of John) Jesus speaks in that text. Two disciples of John the Baptist come up to Jesus and ask him, "Rabbi, where to you dwell?" And Jesus replies, "Come, and you will see."

And so through the rest of the narrative Jesus is showing them "where he dwells" — not in the physical, geographical sense — but in the way that most matters. Jesus shows them that he dwells in love. He explains, as his beloved disciple would later elucidate, that the concept the ancients called "god" was actually Love, and that one who dwells in love, dwells in god, and god in them. In other words, the sacred path is the path of love… and love is the Eternal Dwelling Place.

Love sometimes requires us to be raw with our emotions, and that includes taking a stand against injustice. In the mythical stories about Jesus, we have the story of the money changers, but one can easily imagine that if Jesus were here today, he would confront domestic violence, child abuse, hunger, homelessness, homophobia, religious intolerance, wars and the illicit occupation of places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Tibet and Darfur. He would speak out angrily against the abuses of big corporations, against the bail-out of banks and automakers, against fundamentalism, sexism, elder abuse, drug abuse and commercialism. And none of that would make him a "bad guy", because his actions would remain rooted in his dwelling place — Love.

During Lent, we are challenged to think of the people in our lives whom we may have harmed, hurt or marginalised, and to make amends for those offenses. Beyond the somewhat ridiculous practice of "giving up" something for Lent, like sweets, beer, porn or what have you… none of which have any spiritual merit whatsoever… perhaps we might consider giving up those grudges, those fears, those hostilities that keep us from forgiving ourselves and others. Perhaps we can reach out to someone we might otherwise ignore. Perhaps we can take a stand against injustice, instead of justifying our lack of involvement in such things.

There are crises going on all around us today… in Tibet… in Iraq… in Palestine and Israel… in Darfur… in the United States… in Mexico… in the Eastern Europe… In the Buddhist Jatakamala, we are admonished: "Throw away your pitiful apathy and act boldly in this crisis! A wise person shows energy and resolve; success is in her power, no matter what." (Jatakamala 14.11)

And so our challenge, this Third Week in Lent, regardless of our personal spiritual or religious traditions, is to wake-up! To recognise the crises and social injustices before us… and to take action.

When we commit ourselves to alleviating the suffering of others, our own suffering naturally diminishes, and love flows where it was previously obstructed.

Namasté!

– dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

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Copyright ©2008, Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato). All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

We continue, this week, our look at the observance of Lent from a Dharma perspective, and contemplate ways in which each of us can ascend the mountains of spiritual practice, so that we can become transfigured, and do our part to alleviate the suffering of all beings.

Lent invites us to deepen our spiritual practice, to make amends for the things that have gone off-track, and prepare the way for the Indwelling Christ to "be raised up" in our hearts and consciousnesses.

In the Gospel reading for this Second Sunday in Lent, we read the account of the Transfiguration upon Mt. Tabor. The story of Transfiguration (Mk 9:2-10) intends to paint a picture of the elevated status of Rav Yeshua (Jesus), as a prophet, teacher and spiritual leader. It is a story that can be found in the Hindu, Egyptian, Persian and other traditions as well; often used as a motif for expressing the exalted place among the people that a particular teacher is held in primitive cultures.

The readings, especially the selection from Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Rom 8.31-34), demonstrates the idea that their God’s ineffable plan, involving his Suffering Servant-Son, is marked with utter benevolence. The text tells us that Rav Yeshua "intercedes for us". But more striking, I think, is the idea that "if God is for us, who can be against us?"

As many well know, my ideology and philosophy do not include a belief in a personal god. I don’t often find much value in the stories borrowed from even more primitive cultures that are found in the codex we know as the Bible. Still, I believe that if we look with respect and open-mindedness, we can find something to think about in any spiritual text.

For me, this Second Week of Lent is about learning to recognise the willingness we see in the stories of Yeshua and his Blessed Mother, who both, according to the narrative and traditions, knew that the work Yeshua was about would ultimately result in great suffering and loss for him. It’s rather easy, especially for those who accept the whole saviour-concept, to imagine that somehow Yeshua was already sure of the whole rising from the dead thing, so he didn’t mind suffering. I find such a perspective to be unfortunate, and missing the importance of Jesus’ own journey and example; but think that we must look to his Mother — a "mere mortal" according to the mythos — who must have seen the suffering coming her son’s way, and yet surrendered to the fact that such suffering exists, and was all part of the unfolding plan.

In one of the very few passages in the canonical Christian scriptures that deal with Mary, we are told she is "charitoo" — full of grace. Grace is defined as moral strength, and is often equated with the embodiment of genuine love for all beings. And so we see an example in the Mother of the Christ, who surrendered herself to the recognition that, as we see in the First Noble Truth, "Suffering exists."

Perhaps she understood that life requires sacrifices, and the where one moves through the experience of pain, there is ultimately no suffering. Perhaps that is why we don’t read about her screaming out, at the sight of her son being beaten and tortured.

Of course, we realise that these stories never really occurred, and that they were adapted from the ancient superstitions and myths, as something of a "legend" to be superimposed upon the revolutionary teachings of the real Jesus — Rav Yeshua ben Yosef. But just because something is revealed to be a myth doesn’t mean there isn’t something in the story of value for us.

This week is also a week when Christians read the legend of Abraham, the Patriarch of the Jewish people. In the story, Abraham makes a covenant — a commitment — to the mythical god, YHVH (Yahweh, or as sometimes illiterately and erroneously translated, "Jehovah"). When I read the story, found in the 22nd chapter of Genesis (Gen 22: 1-18), I can’t help but think about times, as a little kid, when I would make a deal to be home by a certain time… but when the time came, it wasn’t always so easy to live up to my part of the deal. Abraham made a commitment too… and according to the legend, when the time came to keep his end of the deal, Abraham was willing to do what he promised.

When we take refuge, we make a commitment to take the principles of the Dharma seriously. And in the daily grind, there are times that it might seem easier to take the path of least resistance, and fall back into our old ways and delusions. But when we realise what the Great Teachers knew and taught — regardless of whether our own spiritual path includes personal gods or not — that Love is the Eternal Law… the only thing that’s REAL… then it doesn’t matter what challenges we face. We’ll remember that compassion is always the answer… that not grasping for things or people or ideas as a means of gaining happiness or avoiding pain will alleviate our suffering… that seemingly "bad things" will happen, as will seemingly "good" ones.

This week, we can celebrate one fragment of truth found in the traditions of our Christian friends, as found in the writings of Paul of Tarsus, who said: "Nothing," St. Paul says, "can keep us from the Sacred Love.” To paraphrase Romans 8:35-39, neither persecution, nor pain; suffering nor psychological conditions; chemical dependency nor bad relationships, can destroy our true nature as Love Expressing Itself.  Happiness comes from within.  Happiness comes from recognising that beyond the world of appearances, there is a Sacred Groundlessness, which some have called God, and others Emptiness… an inexpressible Void that is, at the end of the day, Love.

Make this week a week of continued mindfulness, and find in each moment the chance to do random acts of kindness for yourselves and for one another.

Namasté!

– dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

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Copyright ©2008, Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato). All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Emerson suggested that bad times posses a scientific value. From a Buddhist perspective, strictly speaking, we know that such labels as "bad" or "good" are themselves the cause of suffering. However, recognising that unpleasant things do occur, it is more useful to develop the skills to deal with them, and with the labels we consign to them. At the same time, we know, as Nagarjuna points out that "Since unpleasant does not exist, how can aversion exist?"

Emerson’s point was that what we perceive as bad can be used as a learning experience, "grist for the mill," as Ram Das puts it. As an example, last month, we were $800 short of our necessary funds for bills. I was able to borrow the $800, with the promise of paying back $200/month for the next four months. The day I deposited the borrowed funds, a cheque for $600, written to us by someone who borrowed that money a month earlier for his own rent, bounced, and in so doing, triggered $225 in additional bounced cheque charges. At the end of that day, the account was $125 overdrawn, and the entire $800 I borrowed to pay these bills was eaten by the irresponsibility of that individual.

For the past two weeks, we’ve gone without any food in the house. Our sole source of sustenance has been a protein shake every other day, which has created medical issues for both of us. It’s difficult taking medications on an empty stomach, but it’s not impossible.

My point is not to illicit pity at all, because through it all, we are not suffering. Our discomfort, aggravation, frustration and concern over covering the bills continues to be present, but we do not allow it to cause suffering. Instead, we’ve chosen to see it as a learning experience. We look at the irresponsibility of the young man, who intentionally wrote a cheque on a closed account, as a reflection of the times we might try to get out of our own responsibilities: maybe sleeping in, when others are counting on us… or saying we cannot help a friend, just because we’re "not in the mood for their drama". We look at the situation as evidence of the fact that when you help those in need, sometimes you get burned, and that cannot cause you to regret helping them, or prevent you from helping someone else again.

Some have emailed me and suggested that I look at their "get rich quick" deals, or MLM programs. They know in their hearts that the simple idea that anyone would logically spend hundreds of dollars to join a program, and commit to spending $100-$300/month thereafter (for overpriced products I don’t really want anyway) is irresponsible; and to further suggest that one will get rich by doing something so stupid is insulting. Oh, don’t get me wrong… I was a top income-earner in the field of network marketing for close to 29 years… there are one or two companies out there, which offer legitimate opportunities to get started for nearly nothing, and operate a real business. But most of these deals are patently absurd.

Am I hungry? Yes. Was that a bad experience. No. The past two weeks have been an amazing opportunity for me to begin the observance of the Great Lent with a more acute awareness of the way the homeless, poor and hungry feel every single day… for decades at a time! Might we end up homeless? Absolutely. The landlord is probably going to evict us, and is right for doing so, therefore, how is that situation bad? It’s all simply cause and effect.

I will continue to meet my obligation to pay that $800 back… $200/month. And by meeting my obligation, I will accumulate the merit for knowing that this too shall pass.

If the Dharma is truly about awakening, then at times of apparent crisis, we need to wake up! If I apply myself to the current situation, and do all I can, then what need have I for feeling bad? "Throw away your pitiful apathy," we read in the Jatakamala (14.11), "and act boldly in this crisis! A wise person shows energy and resolve; success is in one’s power, no matter what."

This is not a time for useless emotions and thoughts, such as the delusion of hope. In fact, it is a time when we can learn to become friends with hopelessness or groundlessness, and learn the key to non-judgment of circumstances, events, people… phenomena. In the face of hopelessness, most people become fearful and paralysed. The Dharma tells us that we must act… and then let go.

I’m doing all I can to resolve my circumstances. How about you? What circumstances are challenging you right now? What are you doing about them? Have you allowed fear or frustration to immobilise you? If so, it’s OK… just decide right NOW to choose action.

In the Epistle of James, in the Christian scriptures, we are reminded to "(D)raw near the Sacred, and the sacred will draw near you." In other words, by aligning oneself with compassion and truth, we realise our oneness with compassion and truth. Or as Dr. Ernest Holmes writes, in The Science of Mind, "New thoughts create new conditions."

Whatever you might now be facing… choose wisely. Act with resolve. And then let go of the idea of labelling such experiences as "good" or "bad"… they’re all lessons… and they’re all neutral. We simply have to let them be so.

Namasté!

– dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

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Copyright ©2008, Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato). All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission. Photograph copyright SmallRaffaela – http://www.flickr.com/photos/smallraffaela/

The purpose of our spiritual practice is to return again and again to the moment, realising that all phenomena are impermanent. In my experience, when we return to the moment, we begin to taste sacred awareness… the mindfulness, compassion, and calm abiding that arise from beginning to see that moment more clearly. There is no struggle to be perfect, because all we have to work with is this moment… not the past… not the future. This moment. As we taste that sacred awareness of the moment, we experience a more complete joy than we’ve ever experienced before. And we can then begin to bring that joy with us, transforming the lives of those we touch.

The Dharma compels us toward a mindfulness that nothing is ever gained in our conflicts with others. The ego may be fooled into believing that we gain esteem and recognition by “being right” or “winning the battle”, but the path of conflict is one strewn with the effects of fear: anxiety, unbalance, hostility and pain.

When one becomes mindful of the call for compassion, loving-kindness, non-violence and respect for all beings, then the desire for peace outweighs the need to be “right”. Seeing our interactions with others as an opportunity to gain insight into the perspective of another manifestation of the Beloved allows the healing energy of love to replace those spaces in which fear crept. And when we encounter someone who is caught up in the ego-drama of needing to be right themselves, we can gently walk away from the conflict. A fire without oxygen soon flickers-out. So too does the desire for conflict without opposition.

The Missionary Sisters of Charity begin each day by reciting the well-known “Prayer of St. Francis”, written by an anonymous Franciscan friar in 1912. I close today’s reflection by offering a translation of the prayer, as found in “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions”, a book published by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA Services), in Chapter 11 of that book:

(M)ake me a channel of thy peace;
that where there is hatred, I may bring love;
that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
that where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
that where there is error, I may bring truth;
that where there is doubt, I may bring faith;
that where there is despair, I may bring hope;
that where there are shadows, I may bring light;
that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

(G)rant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted;
to understand, than to be understood;
to love, than to be loved.

For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.

I once read something that Aung San Suu Kyi — the leader of the Burmese democracy movement — said upon winning the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize:

“You know, I am a Buddhist. As a Buddhist the answer is very simple and clear. That is compassion and mercy is the real panacea. I am sure that, when we have compassion and mercy in our hearts, we can overcome not only terrorism, but many other evil things that are plaguing the world.”

May we start this new day mindful of that wonderful admonishment. And may we be instruments of compassion.

Namasté!
– dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

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“Did you see that ridiculous post by So-and-So,” my student asked, “He’s trying to make you look bad.”

“Yes, I read his posts,” I assured her.

“But he’s an asshole… he claimed that love wasn’t real… and…” she protested.

I cut her off (I’m her guru, we do that sometimes, sue me). “Tell me,” I asked, “what is the Buddha-dhātu?”

“The Buddha-nature or Buddha Principle…” she responded, “the real, but obscured immortal potency within the purest depths of the Mind, present in all sentient beings, for awakening and becoming a Buddha.”

“If that potency exists in one person, must it likewise exist in all persons?” I challenged.

Silence. “Yes,” came the unhappy reply.

“Then that is why I must read everything he has to write… because I value the opportunity to learn from a Buddha.”

I further explained that especially in cases where we find some gross error or misrepresentation of the Dharma, the potential for teaching exists. We are not only taught by what is written, but sometimes, our own Buddha dhātu serves as our instruction, recognising the folly and delusion in the things another has suggested. This reinforces our own understanding, and allows us to grow in wisdom. But it also affords us the unique opportunity to learn patience and compassion. Instead of firing off a reply, telling the other person that he or she would be better off shutting up, and not pretending to know what they’re talking about, we choose the more compassionate response… perhaps not replying at all.

Concerning this writer, I know that over time, if he continues to pursue his practice, the veils of egocentricity tend to begin to drop away, and reveal an unobstructed Awareness. I am also keenly aware tht his assertions that some of what I teach is inconsistent with Buddhism actually means that it appears to be inconsistent with his own limited understanding of Buddhism, based on his understanding of various teachers. He has no formal teacher, and as such, is not qualified to teach the Dharma. he is meely sharing his opinions, based on what he’s read. I see nothing wrong with that.

Disagreements about all things in life will exist.

But we must remember that if the concept of a Buddha nature is held to be true about Sakyamuni, it must hold true about all beings. And therefore, each person represents the potential for us to encounter a Buddha in our lifetime. We should, therefore, treat even the most seemingly "out to lunch" with compassion, respect and love.

Namasté!

– dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

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Copyright ©2008, Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato). All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.