The Poetry Of Mindfulness

I love mindfulness, partly for its promise of liberation, but also for the ways it helps me on a very practical level, to navigate through life. The lists and aspirations are a huge support, and a kind of blessing, especially right now.
There’s another way to explore mindfulness, though, and that’s through a poetic lens. That lens isn’t more or less supportive, or more or less of a blessing. It’s just a different way of looking. The poetry I’m most interested in is the Dhammapada, a collection of verses that offers all of the teachings in 26 chapters.

I guess what I’m also saying is that right now, poetry feels like a refuge. Please join me on the Wake Up Call if it’s like that for you, too, or if you’re simply looking for refuge. Or stay tuned here, for some snippets.

And stay safe out there.

Transcript

Hello, Hi everybody. This is Judy and it is Wake Up Call 523. And I hope everybody is safe and resourced or as resourced as you can be. So we've been talking about the path of mindfulness, The Noble Eightfold Path. And it's one of the lists, If you will, You know, The lists of mindfulness, Which I love, Including, You know, The Noble Eightfold Path, The Four Noble Truths and so many other lists. And they, They're great for me because they help me to remember or, You know, To be mindful. So if it's the Eightfold Path, I know I have to remember eight things. And so they have helped me to be mindful about all of the elements on the list, But also of the whole of the teachings, The whole of what I can understand of the teachings. And they're a lot like the way that I learned the law, Right? Offer acceptance consideration, You know, Harm causation damages. So they work as a learning device. And my guess is that's, That was the intention that this formulation of mindfulness as elements of lists is, Is this particular way of offering the teachings and emerge to help us remember help us understand. And, You know, Just looking at some of the primary texts, Some lists seem obvious in the ways they're extracted, And then others seem like compilations. And I have so much gratitude and love to for the teachers, Ancient teachers and modern teachers for having created these lists for us. And many of the primary texts that I've looked at, I've certainly not looked at them all, The, Which are the written words and also the stories of Gautama, Who became the Buddha, And all of them were written down centuries after his death. Many of them are poetic as well. So they use rhetorical devices like repetition. And they emerge from stories of the Buddha and his experiences with his students. So they're like object lessons for us. And, You know, Some are very brief, And then some are long and involved. And all of the ones that I've read, Are, They're very compelling, They're full of wisdom. And I think there are as many versions of the teachings as there are cultures to which they've spread and teachers who've interpreted and written about them. Of course, There's some big categories, But, You know, On a micro level, And one version, Which is a kind of a compilation of the whole of the teachings is written in short verse. And as far as I can tell, It's studied across many traditions, Or maybe even all traditions, And it's called the Dhammapada. And Gil Fronsdale calls the Dhammapada by far the most popular text teaching how to walk this path. He says some of the verses may have been adopted from poetry, Songs, And teachings already current in ancient India before and during the Buddha's time. But although the Buddha described it as an ancient pathway, Hidden and forgotten until he rediscovered it, The path remains as relevant today as it was in his time 2, 500 years ago. And I'm guessing we agree since we're here together studying it. So I've gotten interested in the verses of the Dhammapada. And I've heard a bunch of people as I've started to talk to people say that they were the very first teachings that they studied. They were not for me. I'm only just starting to study them now. And what I love about them is they have this combination of brevity and power. So I read a verse and it gives me something to like, Let wander around in this mind body, Right, Something to contemplate, Or to reorient towards, And always to learn from, And always a new way of seeing and being in the world. So I wanted to say a little bit more about the Dhammapada and what it is, What I'm discovering about what it is, And then start to look at it. So the verses point at formal meditation, They point at our practice, But they also point at study and reflection. And what I'm always calling portable practices, But which are really just the ways that our practice on the cushion and off the cushion isn't separate, Isn't different. The verses are offered as a way to calm and settle the mind-heart-nervous system, To relieve personal suffering, To locate and increase happiness. And they do this by suggesting that we engage in what Gill calls radical personal change. Purification, Often described forcefully in the verses as the elimination or destruction of one's mental defilements, Attachments, And hindrances. So that's a high aspiration. And then they offer a path to liberation. So I've been looking at Acharya Buddharakita's preface to his own translation of the Dhammapada. And Bhattabhantaji, As he was sometimes called Bhattabhantaji, Explains that for the simple and unsophisticated, The Dhammapada is a sympathetic counselor. So I'm going to start right there. For the intellectually overburdened, We could all start there too, Right? Its clear and direct teachings inspire humility and reflection. And then for the earnest seeker, Which is also all of us, It is a perennial source of inspiration and practical instruction. Insights that flashed into the heart of the Buddha. This is still a quote. Insights that flashed into the heart of the Buddha have crystallized into these luminous verses of pure wisdom. As profound expressions of practical spirituality, Each verse is a guideline to right living. The Buddha unambiguously pointed out that whoever earnestly practices the teachings found in the Dhammapada will taste the bliss of emancipation. So that's a pretty good advertisement for reading it. And in his introduction to Bhattabhantaji's translation, Bhikkhu Bodhi says, The most general counsel the Dhammapada gives is to avoid all evil, To cultivate good, And to cleanse one's mind. He says, The sterling qualities distinguishing the superior person who does this are generosity, Truthfulness, Patience, And compassion. By developing and mastering these qualities within ourselves we can live in harmony with our own conscience and at peace with our fellow beings. So the Dhammapada is comprised of 26 chapters and each is a group of verses and some point towards lay people directly in how to live our lives and then some point at people who take robes and become monastics. But they can be read for all of us. So in a forward to Gil Fronsdale's translation, Jack Coinfield, Which I'm going to be working with, I'm going to be working with Gil's translation. I'll say more about that in a minute. So Jack says, You hold in your hands the most beloved of all Buddhist texts, Both poetic and profound. The Dhammapada's elegant verses, Many spoken by the Buddha over the long years of his teaching, Were assembled by his senior monks and nuns to express his essential wisdom. Indeed, Had you been there, Seated under the canopy of a banyan tree, Listening closely to the Buddha as he directly pointed the way for you to live a compassionate, Wise, And totally free life, You might have realized enlightenment then and there. But it's not too late. The teachings in the Dhammapada are as true now as the moment they were offered. From the Buddha's own lips, One page, One verse alone has the power to change your life. Do not merely read these words, But take them in slowly. Savor them. Let them touch your heart's deepest wisdom. So I need to take things slowly anyway to try to understand. So Jack's advice resonates for me. So over the next however long, Let's unpack the poetry of the Dhammapada, And it might even be verse by verse, And see what emerges and also what the practical implications and applications are, Especially in this moment in time for us. And as I said, I'll probably work with the two translations I've mentioned. And I've also asked a couple of teachers and Dharma buddies which ones they like best. So maybe there'll be others too. James, If you're there, I sent you a note asking about your version. And anyway, So I hope it'll be a fun several weeks or months or however long it is. Okay, So let's sit. Okay, So today maybe just a breath awareness meditation, Just collecting the mind. So collecting the heart and mind. So finding your posture for this sit. And maybe taking a couple of deep breaths to settle in. Feeling the body sitting in the chair or lying down, If you're lying down or sitting in your car, If you're sitting in your car or standing. And then just inviting the attention to the breath, The physical sensation of the breath. And following each breath from the very beginning to the very end, In breath, Out breath. And whenever the mind wanders, It's just that really kind invitation to come back to the breath. The kindness is as important as the attention. Maybe it's more important. Just a very simple practice of following the breath and kindness towards the wandering mind. Thanks, Everybody for being here. It was really nice to sit with you. Have a have a safe week.