The Heart Of The Buddha's Teaching - Episode 8

This is a live recording from episode eight of BookClub with Sarah Sati. During this session, Sarah reads and discusses chapters 21 and 22 of Thich Nhat Hanh's Heart of the Buddha's Teaching. These teachings focus on the three jewels and the four immeasurable minds. After reading and discussion, Sarah guides a contemplation exercise before offering a practice to help you deepen your ability to take the teachings of the Buddha to heart.

Transcript

So I'll briefly introduce myself.

My name is Sarah Sati.

This is Book Club with me,

Sarah Sati.

Every week we come together,

Usually once a week,

But now we're doing twice a week,

Hopefully in these next few weeks as we wrap up this first book in our series,

And it is the book by Thich Nhat Hanh,

The Heart of the Buddha's Teachings,

And it explores all of these rich teachings of the Buddha.

We began with the Four Noble Truths,

The Noble Eightfold Path,

And these last few sessions we've been diving deeper into truths or teachings that work with truth at the absolute level.

So one of the teachings recently was about the two truths,

And now we're really starting to see that in action,

And I think we're really starting to see an interplay between the absolute truth and the relative truth,

And I think that's something important that I'll touch on today.

Today we're going to be reading from chapters 21 and 22.

Again,

You don't need to own the book.

I will be reading after each chapter a brief discussion,

And then we close with a practice,

A shared practice,

And I give you homework for the week.

Hopefully some of you had a chance to either mentally explore the homework from last week or to actually do the homework from last week,

Which was to practice aimlessness,

A really challenging practice to encourage ourselves to recognize that even if we make no plans,

Life still unfolds for us,

And in fact sometimes when we allow ourselves to let go of the striving,

Purposeful feeling that comes from the Western developed world,

We recognize that more joy and more ease naturally moves through us,

And so that was the point of the homework for last week.

I also just want to point out that these teachings,

As we get deeper in the book,

They are much more complex concepts to work with for the mind,

So I encourage you to relax if some of the concepts don't quite make sense.

If I read them and I talk about them and still there's something uncertain in the mind,

We're planting seeds in the garden,

But the truth is you already have flowers that are ready to bloom,

And those may be earlier teachings,

Those may be concepts that you've learned already that we've reiterated in our time together.

I encourage you to let what's already blooming bloom,

And then just trust,

Develop trust that these seeds are being watered in these ways that you may not understand just yet,

And at some point in time as you allow yourself to sit and contemplate them more and more,

Those seeds will also develop roots and then over time slowly begin to grow,

And then if we're lucky in this lifetime also bloom.

So please as always sit today,

Listen to these teachings with a relaxed,

Compassionate,

Open,

Loving mind,

Thinking in terms of transforming yourself,

Your heart for the benefit not just of you but for all of humanity.

Let that be the primary aim as you sit and listen to these readings today,

And don't allow stress to dominate.

If something doesn't make sense,

Develop this feeling of trust that what doesn't make sense is not meant to make sense right now,

And that later that puzzle will be solved.

Okay,

We're going to start with chapter 21.

Chapter 21,

The Three Jewels.

I take refuge in the Buddha,

The one who shows me the way in this life.

I take refuge in the Dharma,

The way of understanding and love.

I take refuge in the Sangha,

The community that lives in harmony and awareness.

Taking refuge in Buddha,

Dharma,

And Sangha is a fundamental practice in Buddhism.

These are universal values that transcend sectarian and cultural boundaries.

When we were in our mother's womb,

We felt secure,

Protected from heat,

Cold,

Hunger,

And other difficulties.

To seek for refuge means to look for a place like that that is safe,

A place we can rely on.

Faith in Buddhism does not mean accepting a theory that we have not personally verified.

The Buddha encouraged us to see for ourselves.

Taking refuge in the Three Jewels is not blind faith,

It is the fruit of our practice.

At first,

Our Buddha may be a book we've read,

Our Dharma a few encouraging words we've heard,

And our Sangha a community we visited once or twice.

But as we continue to practice,

The Buddha,

The Dharma,

And the Sangha reveal themselves to us more fully.

Faith is important for all religions.

Some people say if we believe in God,

And it turns out that he does exist,

We'll be safe,

And if he doesn't,

We won't have lost anything.

Theologians speak of a leap of faith,

Like a child jumping off the table into the arms of his father.

The child is not 100% sure his father will catch him,

But he has enough faith to jump.

In Buddhism,

Our faith is concrete,

Not blind,

Not a leap.

It is formed by our own insight and experience.

When we take refuge in the Buddha,

We express trust in our capacity to walk in the direction of beauty,

Truth,

And deep understanding based on our experience of the efficacy of the practice.

When we take refuge in the Dharma,

We enter the path of transformation,

The path to end suffering.

When we take refuge in the Sangha,

We focus our energies on building a community that dwells in mindfulness,

Harmony,

And peace.

When we touch these three jewels directly and experience their capacity to bring about transformation and peace,

Our faith is strengthened even further.

The three jewels are not notions,

They are our life.

In Chinese and Vietnamese,

Practitioners always say,

I go back and rely on the Buddha in myself.

Adding in myself makes it clear that we ourselves are the Buddha.

When we take refuge in Buddha,

We must also understand,

The Buddha takes refuge in me.

Without the second part,

The first is not complete.

There is a verse we can recite when planting trees and other plants.

I entrust myself to earth.

Earth entrusts herself to me.

I entrust myself to Buddha.

Buddha entrusts herself to me.

To plant a seed or a seedling is to entrust it to the earth.

The plant will live or die because of the earth,

But the earth also entrusts herself to the plant.

Each leaf that falls down and decomposes will help the soil be alive.

When we take refuge in the Buddha,

We entrust ourselves to the soil of understanding,

And the Buddha entrusts himself or herself to us for understanding,

Love,

And compassion to be alive in the world.

Whenever I hear someone recite,

I take refuge in the Buddha,

I also hear the Buddha takes refuge in me.

Going back,

Taking refuge in the Buddha in myself,

I vow,

Together with all beings,

To realize the great way in order to give rise to the highest mind.

Going back,

Taking refuge in the Dharma in myself,

I vow,

Together with all beings,

To realize understanding and wisdom as immense as the ocean.

Going back,

Taking refuge in the Sangha in myself,

I vow together with all beings to help build a Sangha without obstacles.

During the Buddha's last months,

He always taught,

Take refuge in yourselves,

Not in anything else.

In you are Buddha,

Dharma,

And Sangha.

Don't look for things that are far away.

Everything is in your own heart.

Be an island unto yourself.

Whenever you feel confused,

Angry,

Or lost,

If you practice mindful breathing and return to your island of self,

You will be in a place filled with warm sunlight,

Cool shade trees,

And beautiful birds and flowers.

Buddha is our mindfulness.

Dharma is our conscious breathing.

Sangha is our five aggregates working in harmony.

If I am ever in an airplane and the pilot announces the plane is about to crash,

I will practice mindful breathing while reciting the three refuges.

When you receive bad news,

I hope you will do the same,

But don't wait until a critical moment to go back to your island of self.

Go back each day by living mindfully.

If the practice becomes a habit,

When difficulties arise,

It will be easy for you to touch the three jewels in yourself.

Walking,

Breathing,

Sitting,

And eating mindfully are all ways to take refuge.

This is not blind faith.

It is faith based on your real experience.

Dharma books and tapes are valuable,

But the true dharma is revealed through our life and our practice.

Whenever the four noble truths and the noble eightfold path are practiced,

The living dharma is there.

There are said to be 84,

000 dharma doors.

Sitting meditation is one door and walking meditation is another.

To take refuge in the dharma is to choose the doors that are most appropriate for us.

Dharma is great compassion,

Understanding,

And love.

To realize these qualities,

We need a sangha.

Sangha is the fourfold community of monks,

Nuns,

Laymen,

And laywomen,

As well as the other elements that support our practice,

Our cushion,

Our walking meditation path,

The trees,

The sky,

And the flowers.

In my country,

We say that when a tiger leaves his mountain and goes to the lowlands,

He will be caught by humans and killed.

When a practitioner leaves her sangha,

She may abandon her practice and die as a practitioner.

Practicing with a sangha is essential.

Even if we have a deep appreciation for the practice,

It can be difficult to continue without the support of friends.

It is well worth investing in a sangha.

If you sow seeds in arid land,

Few seeds will sprout,

But if you select a fertile field and invest your wonderful seeds in it,

The harvest will be bountiful.

Building a sangha,

Supporting a sangha,

Being with a sangha,

Receiving the support and guidance of a sangha is the practice.

We have individual eyes and sangha eyes.

When a sangha shines its light on our personal views,

We see more clearly.

In the sangha,

We won't fall into negative habit patterns.

Stick to your sangha,

Take refuge in the sangha,

And you'll have the wisdom and support you need.

When members of a sangha live in harmony,

Their sangha is holy.

Don't think that holiness is only for the Pope or the Dalai Lama.

Holiness is also within you and within your sangha.

When a community sits,

Breathes,

Walks,

And eats together in mindfulness,

Holiness is there.

When you build a sangha that has happiness,

Joy,

And peace,

You'll see the element of holiness in the sangha.

King Prasenajit,

A close friend and disciple of the Buddha,

Told the Lord,

When I look at the sangha,

I have faith in the Buddha and the Dharma.

Looking at the monks and nuns who were calm,

Peaceful,

Joyful,

And free,

Who walked,

Stood,

And sat in mindfulness,

He saw the Buddha and the Dharma in them.

Dharma and sangha are the doors through which we enter the heart of the Buddha.

One day the Buddha went to Ananda to a monastery in Kosala.

All the monks had gone out on alms round,

Except one monk who had dysentery.

He was lying exhausted,

His robes and bedding covered in filth.

When the Buddha saw this,

He asked,

Where have the other monks gone?

Why is no one looking after you?

The unwell monk replied,

Lord,

All my brothers have gone out on alms round.

At first they looked after me,

But when I was getting no better,

I told them I would look after myself.

The Buddha and Ananda bathed the monk,

Cleaned his room,

Washed his robes,

And gave him a fresh robe to wear.

When the monks returned,

The Buddha said,

Friends,

If we do not look after each other,

Who will look after us?

When you look after each other,

You are looking after the Tathagata.

There are three,

There are true jewels and jewels that are not authentic.

If someone gives us spiritual teachings that contradict the three seals of impermanence,

Non-self,

And nirvana,

That is not authentic Dharma.

When a community has mindfulness,

Peace,

Joy,

And liberation,

It is a true Sangha.

A Sangha that does not practice mindfulness and is not free,

Peaceful,

Or joyful,

Cannot be called a true Sangha.

The Buddha also can be true or false.

In the Diamond Sutra,

The Buddha says,

If you look for me in forms and sounds,

You will never see the Tathagata.

Looking into any of the three jewels,

You see the other two,

Buddha,

Dharma,

And Sangha inter-are.

If you look after the Sangha,

You are looking after the Buddha.

When your Sangha is happy and advancing in the practice,

The holiness of the Sangha increases,

And the presence of the true Buddha and true Dharma become clearer.

When you walk in mindfulness,

You are taking good care of the Dharma.

When you make peace with another member of your Sangha,

You are looking after the Buddha.

Going into the meditation hall,

Offering incense,

And tidying the altar are not the only ways to look after the Buddha.

Taking someone's hand or comforting someone who suffers is also to look after the Buddha.

When you touch the true Sangha,

You touch the Buddha and the Dharma.

The Dharma cannot exist without a Buddha and a Sangha.

How could the Dharma exist if there were no practitioners?

A Buddha is a Buddha when the Dharma is in him or her.

Each jewel contains the other two.

When you take refuge in one jewel,

You take refuge in all three.

This can be realized in every moment of our life.

Traditionally,

We chant the three refuges three times.

During the first recitation,

We turn in the direction of greater mindfulness,

Understanding,

And love.

During the second recitation,

We begin to embody the three jewels.

When we recite the third time,

We vow to help others realize the way of understanding and love and become a source of peace.

Our problems today are no longer as simple as those encountered by the Buddha.

In the 21st century,

We will have to practice meditation collectively as a family,

A city,

A nation,

And a community of nations.

The Buddha of the 21st century,

Maitreya,

The Buddha of love,

May well be a community rather than an individual.

Sanghas that practice loving kindness and compassion are the Buddha we need.

We can prepare the ground for bringing that Buddha to life for our sake and for the sake of countless others.

By transforming our own suffering and cultivating the art of Sangha building,

It is the most important work we can do.

Quote,

Buddha is the teacher showing the way,

The perfectly awakened one,

Beautifully seated,

Peaceful,

And smiling,

The living source of understanding and compassion.

Dharma is the clear path leading us out of ignorance,

Bringing us back to an awakened life.

Sangha is the beautiful community that practices joy,

Realizing liberation,

Bringing peace and happiness to life.

I take refuge in the Buddha,

The one who shows me the way in this life.

I take refuge in the Dharma,

The way of understanding and of love.

I take refuge in the Sangha,

The community that lives in harmony and awareness.

Dwelling in the refuge of Buddha,

I see clearly the path of light and beauty in the world.

Dwelling in the refuge of Dharma,

I learn to open many doors on the path of transformation.

Dwelling in the refuge of Sangha,

I am supported by its shining light that keeps my practice free of obstacles.

Taking refuge in the Buddha in myself,

I aspire to help all people recognize their own awakened nature and realize the mind of love.

Taking refuge in the Dharma in myself,

I aspire to help all people grasp the way of practice and walk together on the path of liberation.

Taking refuge in the Sangha in myself,

I aspire to help all people build fourfold communities and encourage the transformation of all beings.

So I think this chapter is really a great way for us to start looking at how absolute truth and relative truth are coexisting.

Of course Thich Nhat Hanh has said before,

We know a teaching because it embodies all other teachings within it.

And so at this point,

If you've been with me up until now,

Maybe you're able to start seeing the echoes of other teachings in each new teaching.

So here we can see the three kayas,

The three buddha bodies.

We can see some of these other threes appear inside this three.

So that's more on the absolute level.

On the relative level,

What are we doing when we take refuge?

Well the first thing we're doing is we are stopping,

Searching,

Looking,

And asking outside of the buddha's teachings.

So essentially it's like looking at a menu and rather than continuing to look at the spiritual menu and wonder what to order,

We order something and we develop qualities like basic trust and faith that what we've ordered will provide us with the nutrients that we need.

And this is a very important step on the path in buddhism because we start to cultivate these qualities in us that help us be better members of our sangha.

I had a friend over the weekend say something to me,

So I guess it was Friday,

Said something to me really interesting.

In the community that I'm in right now,

Which I'm here temporarily but I actually grew up here,

There is a lot of homelessness,

Tons and tons of homelessness.

It's a startling amount.

When I first came back to the community after being gone a long time,

I was really shocked and that continues to perpetuate.

There's just a serious homelessness.

So my friend said,

It's funny,

Nobody looks around and thinks this is my community and if one member of the community is sick,

The whole community is sick.

So again,

I think that really illustrates the sangha teaching.

On the relative level,

We may initially need to look for a community that helps us uphold our values,

Our morals and these kinds of things.

But as we start to look deeper and understand the sangha on a deeper level,

Externally it begins to grow and we see that actually all people are our community.

And if we do not help and care for them,

Then our community maintains being sick over long periods of time.

We cannot distinguish me,

Homeless person.

It has to be seen that everybody in my community is contributing to the health of my community.

And so if I just let one go,

If I say one is not me,

If I say one is separate from me,

Then I actually leave my community vulnerable to ongoing illness.

So that's my responsibility.

A few teachings past,

We talked about letting go of blame,

That some of these teachings help us release blame.

Well,

What steps in in the place of blame?

In the place of blame steps in personal responsibility.

And these teachings help us to recognize the island inside.

I have a personal responsibility to uphold these teachings on an external relative level,

As well as to recognize them on a deeper internal absolute level.

And I think the three jewels really do that.

They also are the commitment that we take when we first step onto the path of Buddhism.

And like I said,

We say I'm going to stop looking around.

I'm going to trust what's here and then I'm going to investigate it deeply.

I'm not just going to keep digging shallow holes.

I'm going to dig one deep well.

So the three jewels help us develop things like faith,

Trust,

Courage.

At the same time,

They help us diminish negative characteristics that cause us suffering,

Like loneliness and indecision.

Those are deep ones for people.

When we eliminate loneliness and indecision,

We start to step into a more compassionate,

Loving,

Open self.

And right away,

We start to improve the health of our community that we live within,

Even if it's not this idealistic community on a hill where everybody's practicing mindfulness all day long.

Because at least where I've been living in the world,

That's not necessarily possible.

Maybe you can go to Portugal and live in a cool,

Mindful community.

But if that's not realistic for you,

You have to find a core group of people you can continue to practice with,

And then you want to recognize that actually,

The Sangha is much bigger than that.

The Dharma is much bigger than that.

The Buddha is much bigger than that.

Okay,

Chapter 22 on the four immeasurable minds.

During the Buddha's lifetime,

Those of the Brahamic faith prayed that after death,

They would go to heaven to dwell eternally with Brahma,

The universal God.

One day,

A Brahmin man asked the Buddha,

What can I do to be sure that I will be with Brahma after I die?

And the Buddha replied,

As Brahma is the source of love,

To dwell with him,

You must practice the Brahma abodes,

Or four immeasurable minds,

Love,

Compassion,

Joy,

And equanimity.

Love in Sanskrit is maitri.

In Pali,

It is metta.

Compassion is karuna in both languages.

Joy is mudita.

Equanimity is upeksha in Sanskrit and upekha in Pali.

A vihara is an abode or a dwelling place.

The four Brahma viharas are the abodes of true love.

This address is much greater than a four-star hotel.

It is a 1,

000-star dwelling.

The four Brahma viharas are called immeasurable because if you practice them,

They will grow in you every day until they embrace the whole world.

You will become happier,

And everyone around you will become happier also.

The Buddha respected people's desire to practice their own faith,

So that is why he encouraged the Brahmin man in his own language.

If you enjoy walking meditation,

Practice walking meditation.

If you enjoy sitting meditation,

Practice sitting meditation.

But preserve your Jewish,

Christian,

Or Muslim roots.

That is the best way to realize the Buddha's spirit.

If you are cut off from your roots,

You cannot be happy.

If you learn to practice love,

Compassion,

Joy,

And equanimity,

You will know how to heal the illnesses of anger,

Sorrow,

Insecurity,

Sadness,

Hatred,

Loneliness,

And unhealthy attachments.

Some sutra commentators have said that the Brahma viharas are not the highest teaching of the Buddha,

That they cannot put an end to all suffering and afflictions,

But that is not correct.

One time the Buddha said to Ananda,

Teach these four immeasurable minds to the young monks,

And they will feel secure,

Strong,

And joyful without afflictions of body or mind.

For the whole of their lives,

They will be well equipped to practice the pure way of a monk.

On another occasion,

A group of the Buddha's disciples visited the monastery of a nearby sect,

And the monks were there asked,

We've heard that your teacher Gautama teaches the four immeasurable minds of love,

Compassion,

Joy,

And equanimity.

Our master teaches this also.

What is the difference?

The Buddha's disciples did not know how to respond.

When they returned to their monastery,

The Buddha told them,

Whoever practices the four immeasurable minds,

Together with the seven factors of awakening,

The four noble truths,

And the noble eightfold path,

Will arrive deeply at enlightenment.

Love,

Compassion,

Joy,

And equanimity are the very nature of an enlightened person.

They are the four aspects of true love within ourselves and within everyone and everything.

The first aspect of true love is maitri,

The intention and capacity to offer joy and happiness.

To develop that capacity,

We have to practice looking and listening deeply,

So that we know what to do and what not to do to make others happy.

If you offer your beloved something she does not need,

That is not maitri.

You have to see her real situation,

Or what you offer might bring her unhappiness.

In Southeast Asia,

Many people are extremely fond of a large thorny fruit called durian.

You can even say that they are addicted to it.

Its smell is extremely strong,

And when some people finish eating the fruit,

They put the skin under their bed so they can continue to smell it.

To me,

The smell of durian is horrible.

One day when I was practicing chanting in my temple in Vietnam,

There was a durian on the altar that had been offered to the Buddha.

I was trying to recite the Lotus Sutra,

Using a wooden drum and a large bowl-shaped bell for accompaniment,

But I could not concentrate at all.

I finally carried the bell to the altar and turned it upside down to imprison the durian,

So I could chant the sutra.

After I finished,

I bowed to the Buddha and liberated the durian.

If you were to say to me,

Te,

I love you so much,

I would like you to eat some of this durian,

I would suffer.

You love me,

You want me to be happy,

But you force me to eat durian?

That is an example of love without understanding.

Your intention is good,

But you don't have the correct understanding.

Without understanding,

Your love is not true love.

You must look deeply in order to see and understand the needs,

Aspirations,

And suffering of the one you love.

We all need love.

Love brings us joy and well-being.

It is as natural as the air.

We are loved by the air.

We need fresh air to be happy and well.

We are loved by trees.

We need trees to be healthy.

In order to be loved,

We have to love,

Which means we have to understand.

For our love to continue,

We have to take the appropriate action or non-action to protect the air,

The trees,

And our beloved.

Maitri can be translated as love or loving-kindness.

Some Buddhist teachers prefer loving-kindness as they find the word love too dangerous,

But I prefer love.

Words sometimes get sick and we have to heal them.

We've been using the word love to mean appetite or desire,

As in,

I love hamburgers.

We have to use language more carefully.

Love is a beautiful word.

We have to restore its meaning.

The word maitri has roots in the word mitra,

Which means friend.

In Buddhism,

The primary meaning of love is friendship.

We all have the seeds of love in us.

We can develop this wonderful source of energy,

Nurturing the unconditional love that does not expect anything in return.

When we understand someone deeply,

Even someone who has done us harm,

We cannot resist loving him or her.

Shakyamuni Buddha declared that the Buddha of the next eon will be named Maitriya,

The Buddha of Love.

The second aspect of true love is karuna,

The intention and capacity to relieve and transform suffering,

Enlighten sorrows.

Karuna is usually translated as compassion,

But that is not exactly correct.

Compassion is composed of calm,

Together with,

And passion to suffer.

But we do not need to suffer to remove suffering from another person.

Doctors,

For instance,

Can relieve their patient's suffering without experiencing the same disease in themselves.

If we suffer too much,

We may be crushed and unable to help.

Still,

Until we find a better word,

Let us use compassion to translate karuna.

To develop compassion in ourselves,

We need to practice mindful breathing,

Deep listening,

And deep looking.

The Lotus Sutra describes Avalokiteshvara as the bodhisattva who practices looking with the eyes of compassion and listening deeply to the cries of the world.

Compassion contains deep concern.

You know the other person is suffering,

So you sit close to her.

You look and listen deeply to her to be able to touch her pain.

You are in deep communication,

Deep communion with her,

And that alone brings some relief.

Our compassionate word,

Action,

Or thought can reduce another person's suffering and bring him joy.

One word can give comfort and confidence,

Destroy doubt,

Help someone avoid a mistake,

Reconcile a conflict,

Or open the door to liberation.

One action can save a person's life or help him take advantage of a rare opportunity.

One thought can do the same because thoughts always lead to words and actions.

With compassion in our heart,

Every thought,

Word,

And deed can bring about a miracle.

When I was a novice,

I could not understand why,

If the world is filled with suffering,

The Buddha has such a beautiful smile.

Why isn't he disturbed by all the suffering?

Later,

I discovered that the Buddha has enough understanding,

Calmness,

And strength.

That is why the suffering does not overwhelm him.

He is able to smile to suffering because he knows how to take care of it and to help transform it.

We need to be aware of the suffering but retain our clarity,

Calmness,

And strength so we can help transform the situation.

The ocean of tears cannot drown us if Karuna is there.

That is why the Buddha's smile is possible.

The third element of true love is mudita,

Joy.

True love always brings joy to ourselves and to the one that we love.

If our love does not bring joy to both of us,

It is not true love.

Commentators explain that happiness relates to both body and mind,

Whereas joy relates primarily to mind.

This example is often given.

Someone traveling in the desert sees a stream of cool water and experiences joy.

On drinking the water,

He experiences happiness.

Dhrishtadharma Sukha Viharin means dwelling happily in the present moment.

We don't rush to the future.

We know that everything is here in the present moment.

Many small things can bring us tremendous joy,

Such as the awareness that we have eyes in good condition.

We just have to open our eyes and we can see the blue sky,

The violet flowers,

The children,

The trees,

And so many other kinds of forms and colors.

Dwelling in mindfulness,

We can touch these wondrous and refreshing things and our mind of joy arises naturally.

Joy contains happiness and happiness contains joy.

Some commentators have said that mudita means sympathetic joy or altruistic joy.

The happiness we feel when others are happy,

But that is too limited.

It discriminates between self and others.

A deeper definition of mudita is a joy that is filled with peace and contentment.

We rejoice when we see others happy,

But we rejoice in our own well-being as well.

How can we feel joy for another person when we do not feel joy for ourselves?

Joy is for everyone.

The fourth element of true love is upeksha,

Which means equanimity,

Non-attachment,

Non-discrimination,

Even-mindedness,

Or letting go.

Upa means over and iksh means to look.

You climb the mountain to be able to look over the whole situation,

Not bound by one side or the other.

If your love has attachment,

Discrimination,

Prejudice,

Or clinging in it,

It is not true love.

People who do not understand Buddhism sometimes think upeksha means indifference,

But true equanimity is neither cold nor indifferent.

If you have more than one child,

They are all your children.

Upeksha does not mean that you don't love.

You love in a way that all of your children receive your love,

Without discrimination.

Upeksha has the mark called samatayana,

The wisdom of equality,

The ability to see everyone as equal,

Not discriminating between ourselves and others.

In a conflict,

Even though we are deeply concerned,

We remain impartial,

Able to love and to understand both sides.

We shed all discrimination and prejudice and remove all boundaries between ourselves and others.

As long as we see ourselves as the one who loves and the other as the one who is loved,

As long as we value ourselves more than others or see ourselves as different from others,

We do not have true equanimity.

We have to put ourselves into the other person's skin and become one with him if we want to understand and truly love him.

When that happens,

There is no self and no other.

Without upeksha,

Our love may become possessive.

A summer breeze can be very refreshing,

But if we try to put it in a tin can so we can have it entirely for ourselves,

The breeze will die.

Our beloved is the same.

He is like a cloud,

A breeze,

A flower.

If you imprison him in a tin can,

He will die,

Yet many people do just that.

They rob their loved one of his liberty until he can no longer be himself.

They live to satisfy themselves and use their loved one to help them fulfill that.

That is not loving.

It is destroying.

You say you love him,

But if you do not understand his aspirations,

His needs,

His difficulties,

He is in a prison called love.

True love allows you to preserve your freedom and the freedom of your beloved.

That is upeksha.

For love to be true love,

It must contain compassion,

Joy,

And equanimity.

For compassion to be true compassion,

It has to have love,

Joy,

And equanimity in it.

True joy has to contain love,

Compassion,

And equanimity,

And true equanimity has to have love,

Compassion,

And joy in it.

This is the interbeing nature of the four immeasurable minds.

When the Buddha told the Brahman man to practice the four immeasurable minds,

He was offering all of us a very important teaching,

But we must look deeply and practice them for ourselves to bring these four aspects of love into our own lives and into the lives of those we love.

In many sutras,

The Buddha says that if you practice the four immeasurable minds along with the four noble truths and the noble eightfold path,

You will never again descend into the realm of suffering.

I think in this chapter,

Again,

We're seeing the interrelated nature of all of the teachings,

And I think it's really important to mention again,

And I've said this before,

That it's not just about understanding concepts or reading or discussing.

It is about practicing and testing them for yourself.

So if we first are willing to take refuge,

And that means we give up searching,

It doesn't mean that we become complacent,

And it doesn't mean that we become closed-minded.

It means actually that we have faith that developing our positive qualities,

Focusing 100% on developing our positive qualities,

Is the way to liberation,

Not just for ourselves but for all of humanity.

And that does not mean renouncing our other religions.

It does not mean renouncing our other friendships,

Our other loves.

I had this conversation with my dad actually also over the weekend,

So another example,

And I was talking about the taking refuge and talking about,

You know,

Making that choice to stop looking around,

And he said,

Well to me that sounds like you just become really closed-minded.

I said,

You know,

There's no argument against that.

For someone who isn't practicing,

There's no argument against that,

And I think that in itself is an important element of the Buddha's teachings.

We aren't here to argue each other out of their beliefs.

That's not our role and our job,

And in fact if we see ourselves doing that,

We can definitely admit that it leads to more suffering,

Not less.

Trying to argue someone out of their beliefs is not the way to help them see a new perspective.

Rather,

We can accept that someone has beliefs,

And we can stay focused on our own beliefs,

And that in itself is an act of compassionate love.

And I think that's something that Thich Nhat Hanh says in this chapter in particular is extremely important for many people that I know,

Myself included,

And that is that we want to look at the person in front of us.

We want to see the person in front of us,

And we want to attend to that person in particular.

So for instance,

In this situation with my dad,

He says,

Oh well that sounds to me like taking refuge would make you very closed-minded,

And I said to him,

You know,

I don't have any argument for that.

I can't say you're wrong.

I totally see what you're saying,

And also I would say that once I started really practicing the path of Buddhism,

I recognized that it definitely doesn't make me more closed-minded.

If anything,

It expanded and opened not only my mind but my heart to every single being on this planet.

But again,

I can't argue your point.

I can just say if you're curious,

I invite you to check it out.

Check out some of these practices.

And that is the way that we help people open their hearts and minds to understanding and new perspectives,

Not by fighting them.

What we really want to develop in ourselves is the releasing of our internal battle,

And when we can stop fighting with ourselves,

And the Buddhist path helps us do this,

When we take refuge,

We end the war,

The war of indecision,

The war of loneliness.

We end that war inside of ourselves,

And when we can end a war inside of ourselves,

It's much easier to help others end a war between us or between themselves.

And so these are again just ways that we take these teachings into our own hearts and our own minds,

And by developing these positive qualities in ourselves,

We become valuable members of our Sangha.

And that doesn't mean we have to change anyone's mind about anything.

That is our personal responsibility.

And so today for our practice,

I want to take refuge,

And I want to do the work with the four immeasurables.

And so that's what we're going to do today.

In this practice,

It is like a seated meditation,

But I'm going to be saying phrases and asking you to repeat them.

You can choose to repeat them out loud,

Or you can choose to repeat them inside your own mind.

You can also choose not to repeat them,

And just listen and allow yourself to explore what it's like to hear the refuge,

Taking refuge,

And to hear these phrases that relate to developing the four immeasurables.

And just be very curious and explorative today.

Doing these readings doesn't mean you're a Buddhist,

And doing these practices doesn't mean you're a Buddhist.

It doesn't take you away,

Like Thich Nhat Hanh says,

From your roots.

It's important to keep your roots intact.

So whether you're ready today to say,

Yeah,

I'm going to recite the taking refuge with Sarah,

And I'm going to work with the four immeasurables with Sarah,

And you're ready for that,

Or you say,

You know,

I'm curious.

I'm just curious.

Be Buddhist curious,

And just open your mind to see how these things inter-are.

Buddhism inter-is with your already existing religion.

Buddhism inter-is with your already existing morals and values.

And so I invite you to be curious.

And again,

I'll be repeating,

I'll be saying phrases,

And I will be asking you to repeat them if that's good for you inside of your practice today.

And then after our practice together,

Excuse me,

My nose is itchy.

After our practice together,

I will offer some homework.

Very easy homework for the,

It's actually a homework that I want you to continue for the rest of the book club,

This first session of the book club.

Okay,

Go ahead,

Wherever you are,

Maybe you're sitting up,

And that's great.

Maybe you're lying down,

That is also okay.

Extend yourself in such a way that your spine lengthens,

And these energy channels open.

They have more space for free flow between the brain and the rest of the body.

The nervous system can open in this way.

Lengthen the spine,

And relax the arms.

Relax the limbs of the body.

Eyes can be open.

This is okay.

If they're open,

Maybe visualization is great for you.

If they're closed,

Also okay.

Nothing is wrong here.

Nothing is wrong here.

So allow yourself to choose,

Make a decision,

Stick to it.

Sitting down,

Lying down,

Eyes open,

Eyes closed.

Make that choice,

And then relax into that choice.

Let the energy of the body and mind settle,

Begin to settle downward,

Downward,

Coming out of the thinking self and relaxing into the feeling body.

Be with the experience of yourself breathing in this moment,

Riding the waves of your breath,

This rocking ocean that is always there to soothe you.

Just settle into the sensation.

No changes need to be made.

Just feeling that in and out movement,

And allowing your mind to rest and expand inside of that as you come to this relaxed state.

Just listen.

Take a moment now to imagine that you make a choice to stop looking at the menu of spiritual practices and experiences and teachings,

And you choose to order and accept the teachings of the Buddha into your life.

By making this choice,

You open yourself to faith that these teachings have all of the nutrients that you need to last a lifetime.

As you accept this decision that you're making,

Let your mind's Let your mind's eye become aware of your heart and the space around your heart,

Keeping your attention there,

Feeling the gentle rhythm of your breath as it moves you.

Perhaps it feels nice to place your hands over your heart as we take refuge together.

Repeat the phrases after me.

I take refuge in the Buddha,

The one who shows me the way in this life.

I take refuge in the Dharma,

The way of understanding and love.

I take refuge in the I take refuge in the Sangha,

The community that lives in harmony and awareness.

Dwelling in the refuge of the Buddha,

I see clearly the path of light and beauty in this world.

Dwelling in the refuge of the Dharma,

I learn to open many doors to transformation.

On the path,

Dwelling in the refuge of the Sangha,

I am supported by its shining light.

It keeps my practice free of obstacles.

Taking refuge in the Buddha in myself,

I aspire to help all people recognize their own awakened nature and realize the mind of love.

Taking refuge in the Dharma in myself,

I aspire to help all people grasp the way of practice.

Taking refuge in the change in myself,

I aspire to help all people build healthy communities and encourage the transformation of all beings.

If you're holding your heart,

Relax your hands now on your lap or down by your sides,

Whichever is comfortable for you,

And allow yourself to breathe here a few moments in silence.

Just allow yourself to experience the echo of taking refuge.

Keeping the mind tuned to the space around your heart and this gentle experience of the rocking waves of your breath.

Imagine now inside of your mind someone or a few people,

Many people who you love dearly,

Who you love dearly.

Try to see these people or this person as clearly as possible.

Really touch them with the attention of your mind.

Thinking about these people or this person,

Repeat after me.

May my loved ones experience happiness and the causes of happiness.

May my loved ones be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

May my loved ones rejoice in the well-being of others.

May my loved ones live in peace,

Free from hatred and anger.

Now expand your attention to include someone or people that are relatively neutral in your life,

Like a co-worker or a neighbor,

Someone you see in line at the grocery store,

Someone who you have neither a positive or negative relationship with.

Try to see these people or this person as clearly as possible.

Repeat after me.

May the people I have met experience happiness and the causes of happiness.

May the people I have met be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

May the people I have met rejoice in the well-being of others.

May the people I have met live in peace,

Free from hatred and anger.

Expand your attention even more now to include someone or a group of people,

Other people who have wronged you in some way,

Someone or someones who have hurt you in some way.

Try to see them as clearly as possible,

Even if this is challenging for you,

Even if it feels uncomfortable.

Know we're here together,

There's nothing to fear.

Allow yourself to see this person or these people and be with that image very clearly.

Repeat after me.

May my enemies experience happiness and the causes of happiness.

May my enemies be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

May my enemies rejoice in the well-being of others.

May my enemies live in peace,

Free from hatred and anger.

Look into the heart of your enemies with understanding and love.

Now bring your attention back to yourself.

Feel yourself breathing and be with yourself fully.

Repeat after me.

May I experience happiness and the causes of happiness.

May I be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

May I rejoice in the well-being of others.

May I live in peace,

Free from hatred and anger.

Look into your own heart with understanding and love.

Now expand your heart.

Expand your mind.

Attempt to see the entire planet and all humans and all beings that reside on it.

Rather than seeing them as different from you,

See that they also have hearts that are beating,

Lungs that are breathing,

Just like you.

Work to see the sameness between you and others.

Work to see the entire planet in your mind's eye and repeat after me.

May all beings experience happiness and the causes of happiness.

May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

May all beings rejoice in the well-being of others.

May all beings live in peace,

Free from hatred and anger.

Bring your awareness back to the space around your heart if it's left you and rest your mind here,

Feeling the rhythmic beating,

Thump,

Thump,

And the rhythmic movement of the lungs in and out.

May you find refuge in the Buddha,

The Dharma,

And the Sangha.

May you experience happiness and the causes of happiness and be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

May you find joy in the well-being of others and live a life of peace,

Free from hatred and anger.

You're such a beautiful human being.

You're so important and valuable.

Your contribution to the world is so necessary.

Your presence with yourself and others is so transformational.

What's the homework?

What's the homework?

The homework is to practice taking refuge and work with the four immeasurable minds in every seated practice you do from now until we finish book club,

Book club one,

Book club one because I'll do a second book but this is our first installment.

That's pretty easy homework.

It doesn't have to take as long as this session took although I will post this recording so you could listen to this again.

I actually tried to record a meditation for this earlier and put it on insight timer so I could refer to that and maybe I will do that tomorrow if I get a chance.

It's my daughter's birthday but maybe I'll get a chance and then I can post that but it's also very easy to just do in your own practice in your own mind.

Very easy.

I take refuge in the Buddha,

The Dharma and the Sangha.

There are many little little refuge gathas or verses that you can find online.

I encourage you to look.

I have a particular one that I use that's from my teacher that I recite in the morning before my practices but maybe you find a few and you find one that speaks more to you.

It also can be very general.

Something very cool to do is to visualize as you're taking refuge.

Try to see the Buddha,

The Dharma and the Sangha inside of your mind's eye and let the mind linger there as it explores what these concepts mean on this absolute level.

The four immeasurable minds can also be quite easy and very short in your practice.

You can just at the very beginning of your practice,

You sit down preliminarily before you start your meditation practice,

Whatever that may look like.

You take refuge.

I take refuge in the Buddha,

The Dharma and the Sangha.

Mine is I take refuge in the Buddha,

The Dharma and the Supreme Sangha until I reach enlightenment by the merit of practicing the Paramitas.

May I attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings.

You say something like that.

Really saying it and being with the words that you say.

So not just wrote memorization repetition and then after that you can say a very general may all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.

The four immeasurables that I use are a little bit different than what I shared with you today.

These are from the book,

A little bit different.

A few words I left out or changed on actually on accident but still maintaining the same meaning.

So these are from the book that we're reading but of course if you don't have the book you can also look it up online.

Just a very brief may all beings have happiness,

The cause of happiness,

Be free from suffering.

Find a little gata and then repeat it.

Maybe in your heart hands in prayer,

Maybe with your hands over your heart,

Visualizing your heart expanding,

Widening and growing.

There is no fear in growing your heart to encompass,

Encompass every being on this planet.

There is nothing that can go wrong from that but don't just believe me.

Really practice it.

There is nothing that can go wrong from loving your enemy.

There is nothing that can go wrong from loving and understanding the people in the world that you believe do bad or do wrong.

There is nothing that can harm you from doing that.

The Buddha taught this.

I know it.

Not that I'm trying to convince you.

I know it for myself on the deepest level that I can know it at this point in time but I also trust that my knowing is going to expand as I grow and age and my practice also grows and ages with me.

Just try and see and see what it's like and meet me back here.

Hopefully on Thursday,

Granted there will be no internet issues.

I'm sure there won't.

It was a fluke that the power went out.

So I will be practicing on Thursday morning and then again on Sunday and we'll be finishing up.

Please feel free to connect if you can figure out how.

It's sometimes hard through the Insight Timer platform to connect with people but I know some of you have been coming every week and I would love to just connect more if that feels right for you or not.

Again,

I record these both a screen recording and an audio recording and it will be up on Insight Timer and also on my personal YouTube channel which is just YouTube backslash Simple Yogi.

Simple S-I-M-P-L-E Yogi,

Y-O-G-I.

Elena,

Thank you so much for being here as always and for those of you that may be new,

Thank you for joining.

I hope to see you or spend,

I don't actually get to see you,

But spend some time with you later this week on Thursday and then again on Sunday and until next time,

Live mindfully,

Be well.