Shantideva And Right Action

The short talk and guided meditations recorded during a "Saturday meditation and conversation" session for Buddhist Recovery Circle. The teachings of Shantideva have to do with the way of the Bodhisattva. The talk and meditation consider the practice of precepts as a tool for aiding the well-being and awakening of others.
The recording begins a little abruptly but settles down quickly.

Transcript

So anyway,

I was saying that I think a lot about precepts,

The five that we use in Buddhist Oriented Recovery,

A broader system of eight that I use in my own practice in a Zen context.

And in talking with a lot of people in Buddhist recovery,

I understand that people see the precepts as a path toward better living to further our own development,

To further our own sobriety.

And there is a real usefulness of the precepts in guiding our own behavior in that way.

I also,

As a Zen Buddhist,

I consider precepts from a slightly different perspective,

Certainly related.

And that is,

How is it that our actions in a precept-led life directly affect others?

And looking at my path as a Buddhist,

Looking at my path as someone in recovery,

As not only having the role of taking care of my own shit,

But how can I further the recovery of others?

How can I further the awakening of others?

And not by conscious choice,

But by my life,

By the way that I interact with them,

What it is that I bring to them.

You know,

I think a lot about the five hindrances,

Doubt,

Worry,

Fear,

And that sort of thing.

And everybody has these,

Everybody wrestles with these.

But do I,

In my own living,

In the way that I interact with people,

Do I cause people to experience hindrances such as that in the relationship to me,

In the reaction to me?

Or do I bring myself to them in such a way that they are able to live without those hindrances,

That they don't experience doubt,

That they don't experience fear or worry,

You know,

Whatever it is,

Because of me.

And the way I can do that is by leading a precept-led life,

Not so much for my own development,

But in how I affect others.

And when I'm living in a way that brings others to a deeper state of sobriety,

Brings others further along their own path to awakening,

Then I'm going to be living right for myself.

You see what I'm saying?

So that's kind of how I view precepts.

I'm a big fan of a fellow named Shanti Deva.

I don't know if you've ever heard of him.

He was like a sixth century or eighth century Buddhist monk in India.

He was a student at one of the large Buddhist universities there.

Apparently,

He wasn't a very good student.

He didn't go to classes.

He didn't keep up with the studies of the sutras and this sort of thing.

And the other students there came to resent him,

And they wanted to get rid of him.

And so what they concocted that they would do,

Every now and again,

There was an opportunity for one of the senior students to give a teaching to the rest of the,

To assembly the rest of the students.

And he asked for Shanti Deva to give the teachings.

And what they assumed was that he would either leave the university because he knew he couldn't pull it off,

Or he'd get up there and make a complete fool of himself and have to leave.

So Shanti Deva gets up on the hot seat there,

And he says to the assembly,

He says,

Well,

What would you like to hear?

Would you like to talk about something that we've already studied and already discussed,

Or would you like to hear something new?

And the other students are like,

Oh,

Please,

Something new,

By all means,

Go for it.

So apparently the story goes,

Shanti Deva proceeds to lay out this teaching that just blew the roof off the joint.

And it became a very well-known sutra called the Way of the Bodhisattva.

The word Bodhisattva means,

Bodhi comes from the same root word,

Buddha,

Which simply means awakened.

Bodhi is to be awakened,

And sattva is a being,

A person.

So bodhisattva,

An awakened being or an awakening being,

Someone who approaches precepts in the way that I was discussing earlier as a method of really reaching out to aid others.

So that was the context of what he said.

And of course,

It's a long sutra,

But there is a part of it that I'd like to read to you.

It's written in verse form,

It is six or seven,

Five line stanzas.

And the section of the teaching is called May I Be.

I'd like to just read this to you.

For sentient beings,

Poor and destitute,

May I become a treasure ever plentiful and lie before them closely in their reach,

A varied source of all that they might need.

May I be a guardian for those without protection,

A guide for those who journey on the road.

For those who wish to cross the water,

May I be a boat,

A raft,

A bridge.

May I be an aisle for those who yearn for landfall and a lamp for those who long for light.

For those who need a resting place,

A bed.

For all who need a servant,

May I be their slave.

May I be the wishing jewel,

The vase of plenty,

A word of power and supreme healing.

May I be the tree of miracles and for every being the abundant cow.

Like the earth and the pervading elements,

Enduring as the sky itself endures,

For boundless multitudes of living beings,

May I be their ground and sustenance.

And thus for everything that lives,

As far as are the limits of the sky,

May I provide their livelihood and nourishment until they pass beyond the bounds of suffering.

I encourage you to sit upright with strength and dignity and for a moment just imagine the string that's attached to your sternum pulling outward just very gently.

The idea that the flow of your breath is free and smooth,

Not obstructed by slouching nor sitting rigidly.

Just take a few moments and root yourself down into your posture.

Feel a sense of mindful awareness begin to generate itself to rise.

Feel your body in space,

Your body as it connects to the chair or the cushion or the floor.

And as your mindfulness builds,

Bring your attention to your breath.

Be aware of each inhalation,

Each exhalation.

And come to know the nature of your breathing.

Remember in meditation your breath doesn't have to be any particular way,

It doesn't have to be long,

It doesn't have to be deep.

It's just your own.

Your breath.

This moment.

I want to encourage you to bring some attention to your diaphragm just above your navel.

See if you can bring the depth of your breath from up in your chest to down into the further reaches of your lungs.

We do this with the diaphragm.

As you inhale,

Feel your diaphragm expand.

As you exhale,

Feel it contract.

As it contracts,

You might even consciously draw it in very slightly.

This not only deepens our breath,

But deepens our awareness and presence.

We do this with the diaphragm.

And as we breathe in this way,

We find our way into the Buddhist's most basic instructions for meditation.

They were quite simple.

Breathing in,

I know that I'm breathing in.

Breathing out,

I know that I'm breathing out.

Breathing in,

I know that I'm breathing out.

Breathing out,

I know that I'm breathing out.

Breathing out from this more calm state,

I'd like you to consider right action,

That portion of the eightfold path.

It's here where we find the precepts within the fold of the path we call right action.

I'd like you to consider your own actions within the last few days,

Your speech,

Your thoughts.

When you identify times when your speech,

Your thinking,

Your actions were upright,

Wholesome,

Kind,

Appropriate,

And consider now the reactions that you encountered,

Those around you as you engaged in wholesome behaviors.

When you see how your actions,

Your speech,

Even the nature of your thinking,

Your thoughts,

How these were helpful to others in those moments.

How does your recognition of those reactions encourage you toward ethical uprightness?

Wise and helpful thinking,

Speaking and doing.

How does your recognition of those reactions encourage you toward ethical uprightness?

Wise and helpful thinking.

As you consider these things,

I invite you to continue with conscious breathing,

Engaging your abdomen.

And see now if the positivity that you're considering in your mind,

If the energy of that can sink,

Flow down into a general presence in the body.

As you breathe,

Bring your awareness to your body.

Feel the presence of your body and breath as tools,

Tools for goodness,

Tools for kindness,

Honesty,

Courage.

Hold an awareness of breath and body as we continue to sit for just a few more minutes.

And as you breathe,

Bring your awareness to your body.

And as you breathe,

Bring your awareness to your body.

And as you breathe,

Bring your awareness to your body.

And as you breathe,

Bring your awareness to your body.

Reviews

Right thoughts lead to correct actions heal the world.

Always such great talk and practices only had time for a short sit. Perfect. ☮️💖🙏🖖