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GLOBAL HEALING THE HEART SANGHA NEWSLETTER 139
Wednesday 28th December 2022
All times in this Newsletter are Rome time zone
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NEW YEAR MESSAGE We are sometimes told to live entirely in the present moment, but Buddha looked back and forward. He looked back to a lineage of past Buddhas all the way back to Lokes-vara-raja and his disciple Dharmakara, who became Amida Buddha. He looked forward seeing the rising and falling of persons according to their deeds and predicting future Buddhahood. To receive the prediction of Buddhahood is to receive the grace of Amida. When we turn to Amida and say Namo Amida Bu, we are saying "Thank you for the prediction of Buddhahood". In fact, all of Buddha's teaching is for the future and we are practising for the future, for eko-hotsu-gan-shin. It is not that by the power of our practice we can appropriate the future - nobody can do so - but to deeply realise and accept that nobody can do so is also to accept and receive the prediction of Buddhahood. To bow and to offer incense is to receive it. Every bow and every offering is a love token and love is the body of Maitreya. Where does this love go? Who receives it? Whoever receives it receives the prediction. Sometimes we know and sometimes we do not know. We see things that we do not possess and we possess things that we do not see. If we can trust what we cannot see and honour things that we do not possess, we shall be living within the prediction, whether we know it or not. If one truly sees another, she is passing on the prediction.
This bag of skin and bones that walks and speaks may feel unworthy, but even dust receives its prediction. It does not matter if I am well or sick, if my lungs work or fail, if my legs walk or fall off. It matters that there is Dharma and the nature of Dharma is the prediction. Nor is the prediction earned. It is not a reward for virtue. It is not a ladder you could climb. Dharmakara kept his vows because he could not help it. To realise that one cannot help it is to receive the prediction, because one cannot help receiving it.
Each Buddha predicts the next Buddha. This prediction is not always in words. Generally it is by action. The action may seem trivial to the untrained eye. It could be the wielding of a stick or the filling of a bowl. It could be random acts of unselfconscious kindness. It is without contrivance and, therefore, it is a flower falling from the sky. Imitation is pointless. You cannot reach it by manipulation, nor by conventional logic. In the prediction, it commonly says that so and so will become a Buddha after so many aeons. Yet, in a moment of the silence of the mind, several aeons slip by.
As we go into the new year, we do not know what awaits, but whatever, it will affect future generations. In response to the dreams of King Pasenadi, the Buddha predicted the degeneration of the human race. Yet it is even these degenerate humans who receive the prediction of Buddhahood. Therefore, never despise. Although the world fall apart, let your faith not fall apart. Though there be wars, do not take one side against the others. Though there be disease, do not succumb to malady of the spirit. Though there be cheating and theft, remember there is nothing to steal, yet do not lose respect for those who are merely acting according to karma and conditions. See how this is also true in one's own case, if you can. Whatever the new year brings, let it bring the peace of Buddha into our hearts. Let us support one another in faith by living the faith by thanking the Buddhas. If we act in such innocence, The prediction of Buddhahood will reach innumerable beings. Namo Amida Bu. I have not had time to translate this message into Spanish or Italian (or other languages) but if anybody would like to do so and send it to me I shall print it in the next issue.
FRANÇAIS: Je n'ai pas eu le temps de traduire ce message en français, espagnol ou italien (ou d'autres langues) mais si quelqu'un souhaite le faire et me l'envoyer, je l'imprimerai dans le prochain numéro.
ESPAÑOL: No he tenido tiempo de traducir este mensaje al francés, español o italiano (u otros idiomas) pero si alguien quiere hacerlo y enviármelo lo imprimiré en el próximo número.
ITALIANO: Non ho avuto il tempo di tradurre questo messaggio in francese, spagnolo o italiano (o altre lingue) ma se qualcuno volesse farlo e inviarmelo lo stamperò nel prossimo numero.
Do pass the Newsletter on to other members of your sangha and if they are interested, ask them to subscribe.
ESPAÑOL: Siéntase libre de reenviar el Newsletter a otros miembros de su sangha
y, si están interesados, pueden apuntarse. En los próximos números del Newsletter, habrá más artículos en italiano y español.
Intentemos ampliar la lista de correo a amigos italianos y españoles.
ITALIANO: Sentiti libero di trasmettere la newsletter ad altri membri del tuo sangha
e, se sono interessati, possono iscriversi. Nei prossimi numeri della Newsletter, ci saranno più articoli in italiano e spagnolo. Proviamo ad espandere la mailing list agli amici italiani e spagnoli.
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Photo by Helen Evenfé Monday to Friday from 9th January 06:30 DAILY NEMBUTSU Geeta Chari: Starting 9th January, let’s do some Nembutsu every weekday morning at 6:30 am Rome time. We begin to chant straightaway, without social talk, for 20 minutes, in chain-style. There is a bell rung at the end. People who wish to stay and talk afterwards are welcome to do so. Saturdays and Sundays are rest days. Namo Amida Bu
ESPAÑOL Practicamos Nembutsu todas las mañanas (excepto fines de semana) a las 6:30 hora de Roma. La práctica consiste en recitar el nembutsu en cadena durante veinte minutos. Al finalizar se escuchará el sonido de la campana, y posteriormente, los que lo deseen podrán conversar. Namo Amida Bu Code Updated: Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84997972011?pwd=NFVGZDhBTy95NTJlalJYWHZaYVJtUT09Saturday 7th January 2022 JANUARY UPAVASTHA
ONLINE GATHERING TO RENEW & REFRESH FAITH & PRACTICE CELEBRATING THE MANY SIDED HEALING POWER OF THE DHARMA
Guest Speaker: Richard Laubly
Programme (approximate times) 11:00 Dharma Talk - Dharmavidya 11:45 Qi Gong - Angela Romani 12:00 Guided Nei Quan Meditation 12:45 Break 14:00 Sangha News & Sharing 14:20 Puja with readings, meditation & chanting 15:00 Reading of Mahayana Precepts 15:15 Mondo Dialogues "Discerning the Deeper Question" 16:00 Break 16:30 Guest Speaker Richard Laubley Discussion 17:45 Qi Gong - Angela Romani 18:00 Reading of Summary of Faith & Practice - Helen Evanfé 18:15 Nembutsu Chanting 20:00 End UpavasthaThroughout the history of Buddhism, sangha members have met at the time of the full moon to renew their faith and practice, share experience with one another and learn. In Indian tradition, this is also the time when the gods visit one's home, so one can welcome and praise them. Puja & MeditationThese sessions include chanting, readings from traditional and other texts, guided or silent meditations and times for sharing MondoDirect encounter with the teacher: a time to search the heart in order to discern the fundamental koan (spiritual question) in one's life. In mondo each member has a short conversation with the teacher in which any topic relevant to spiritual practice can be raised. Dharma is transmitted through encounter. Healing is inter-personal. Dialogues bring out the questions we all wrestle with and stimulate us to deeper thought. ProgrammeThe full moon meeting for renewal of faith and practice is the backbone of Buddhist observance. We plan to hold upavastha on the following dates in the coming year. The upavastha of 1st August will be part of Obon and that of November will be part of the Healing the Heart Retreat. Enjoy the silence of the mind and when it is not silent: Namo Amida Bu !
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Pompeii -:- Photo by Sunsook Park POETRY THE GRAIL
There come impulses hard to check and so
there are so many doctrines of restraint.
I have practised hard and so I know
how to go on when body makes complaint.
For many years I laboured at such toil.
My hope - attainment of great mastery,
but Nature has her ways to thwart and foil
the best laid plans of proud humanity.
In many battles one can be the victor,
but never can one hope to win the war;
ascetic practice may expose the trickster
and make one wonder then what he is for.
At last one sees he is the real saviour
who comes to show that everything we’ve tried
is merely artifice and odd behaviour:
attachment to the vicious bane of pride.
The wake up comes through some small act of kindness
that comes from heaven when one meets defeat
to bring cool wisdom that expels the sadness,
and penetrates one’s wall of self conceit.
Thus does one hear the bell of Heaven ring.
A good life may be following a star,
but is it not a far and greater thing
to be at perfect peace with what you are?
After struggle come back to the natural.
Don’t attempt to make oneself a god.
Life is what it is - organic, factual,
growing of itself up from the sod.
And one can be content upon the earth
with all that one has haply yet received.
Is this not the real second birth
that all the saints and sages have conceived?
The days go by and I have served my time
and soon I’ll know that it is time to go
for I have done enough for now and I’m
content to leave the meadows here below.
Struggle all you can toward perfection
as long as it’s the thing that you still must
attempt as you seek for divine protection,
but in the end the real grail is trust.
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BUYING THE ITALIAN BOOK ACQUISTO DEL LIBRO ITALIANO People have asked how to obtain the new Italian book: Gentili Parole di Saggezza: 108 Insegnamenti Buddisti. It can be obtained from from Libreria Setsu Bun - scroll down for link. dalla Libreria Setsu Bun - scorri verso il basso per il collegamento. or directly from the publisher. Potete acquistare il libro direttamente dall'editore: info@edizionimille.eu www.edizionimille.euFacebook: www.facebook.com/edizioni mille ============================================================ ELEUSIS NEWS David: My current travel is nearing an end. I am already back in France and shall reach my home in Cher tomorrow night. I expect my cat Tara will be pleased to see me. During my voyage I have met and spent time with many people in person, which is a big difference from seeing people on-line. The two modes reinforce each other. Because I stay in touch on-line, it is all the richer when we actually meet in person. With those I meet in person, it is good to stay in touch, when possible, and zoom and skype make this possible. Along the way I have written poems and sent newsletters. I have visited new places and met new people. I conceived this trip both as outreach and also as a kind of pilgrimage. I do feel that I have been somewhat changed by it, though it is not easy to put into words. I am in good spirits and, I believe, better prepared for the new year to come. It is facile, of course, to say that every single person is different and unique, but this truth is borne in on one as one meets people in the context of the Dharma. There is not just one way for all. Each person is on a path and expresses it in a special way. Each person has her or his koan to wrestle with and this plays out through physical and social circumstances with their many challenges. People with similar problems meet them differently. It all forces a kind of humility upon me. Who am I to know what this or that person should be doing? or what should or should not be happening in the world? Some people have a strongly developed sense of right and wrong; some have none. Which is better? Some meet illness, financial hardship, or social disruption with resolution, some with acquiescence, some with despair, some with anger, some with a devil-may-care attitude, and there are many others - who is to say which is best? They all arise from conditions - the working out of this or that koan. I marvel at it all and at the spirit of each person. All this deepens my faith that there is a place for everybody, a way for each, and a grace that encompasses all. Namo Amida Bu. ESPAÑOL: Mi viaje actual está llegando a su fin. Ya estoy de vuelta en Francia y llegaré a mi casa en Cher mañana por la noche. Espero que mi gata Tara esté contenta de verme. Durante mi viaje, conocí y pasé tiempo con muchas personas en persona, lo cual es una gran diferencia con respecto a ver personas en línea. Los dos modos se refuerzan mutuamente. Debido a que me mantengo en contacto en línea, es mucho más rico cuando nos encontramos en persona. Con los que conozco en persona, es bueno mantenerse en contacto, cuando sea posible, y zoom y skype lo hacen posible. En el camino he escrito poemas y enviado boletines. He visitado nuevos lugares y he conocido gente nueva. Concebí este viaje como una extensión y también como una especie de peregrinación. Siento que me ha cambiado un poco, aunque no es fácil expresarlo con palabras. Estoy de buen humor y, creo, mejor preparado para el nuevo año que viene. Es fácil, por supuesto, decir que cada persona es diferente y única, pero esta verdad se transmite a medida que uno se encuentra con personas en el contexto del Dharma. No hay un solo camino para todos. Cada persona está en un camino y lo expresa de una manera especial. Cada persona tiene su koan con el que luchar y esto se desarrolla a través de circunstancias físicas y sociales con sus muchos desafíos. Las personas con problemas similares los enfrentan de manera diferente. Todo me obliga a una especie de humildad. ¿Quién soy yo para saber lo que esta o aquella persona debería estar haciendo? o ¿qué debería o no debería estar pasando en el mundo? Algunas personas tienen un sentido muy desarrollado del bien y del mal; algunos no tienen ninguno. ¿Cual es mejor? Algunos enfrentan la enfermedad, las dificultades financieras o los trastornos sociales con resolución, algunos con aquiescencia, algunos con desesperación, algunos con ira, algunos con una actitud despreocupada, y hay muchos otros, ¿quién puede decir cuál es el mejor? Todos ellos surgen de las condiciones: la elaboración de este o aquel koan. Me maravillo de todo y del espíritu de cada uno. Todo esto profundiza mi fe en que hay un lugar para cada uno, un camino para cada uno y una gracia que lo abarca todo. Namo Amida Bu.
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DIARY All times are Rome time zone Every day from 9th January 06:30-06:50 Nembutsu Chanting - note new code- Geeta Chari https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84997972011?pwd=NFVGZDhBTy95NTJlalJYWHZaYVJtUT09Thursday 14:30-15:45, 19th January, then every two weeks Naikan PracticeKimiko Nita
Zoom link: https://bit.ly/3r1gVFj -:- ID: 889 9207 0497 -:- Passcode : 999175 Thursday 14:30, 12th January & every two weeks IBAP Group / BP Diploma Tutors Meeting *Thursday 19:00-20:30, 29th December & every two weeks ITZI Supervision Group **- Iris Dotan KatzFor presentation, review and discussion of counselling/psychotherapy casework from a Buddhist psychology perspective. Thursdays 16:30, 5th January, then weekly. Readings from the Commentary on Summary of Faith & Practicehttps://bit.ly/3T9tX0x Meeting ID: 871 8967 0352 -:- Passcode: 732590 Saturdays 14:00 Refuge Group PujaPuja, Dharma Talk, Sharing, Discussion, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83365263186?pwd=cURmOW5FNGJvdTd2SG1qVWtPSDJrZz09Meeting ID: 833 6526 3186 -:- Passcode: 353386 Saturday 7th January 14:00-20:00 Upavastha: Full Moon Practice RenewalProgramme of puja, readings, meditation, & chanting until evening Guest speaker: Richard Laubly https://bit.ly/3OhYJ3r -:- Meeting ID: 833 6526 3186 -:- Passcode: 353386 Sabado 16:30 Encuentro de la Sangha en español y servicio. Guiado por Ganendra. Por zoom. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81138990223?pwd=dmNZU3VmRTRhUjBobVdnMjhuV3NYUT09Para asistir, escribir por whatsapp a +34 620265962. Sundays 10:30 Global Topical Forum- Liz Allmark https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88974912642?pwd=N2VyQnc0MUM4WUU0YTFTdCt0QWVmQT09Meeting ID: 889 7491 2642 -:- Passcode: 537296 Sundays 20:00 GS Friendship GroupAn informal meeting for all https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87394084532?pwd=eEY3eUhHcjN0b0xLanZXcTNqVmVzdz09Meeting ID: 873 9408 4532 -:- Passcode: 519784 * Codes separately notified ** Details from Jisshas < jisshas@googlegroups.com>
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