Meet Laamie Young, the artist behind the creative line of unique baubles, blankVerse jewelry. Music: Jahzzar • Avientu Avientu (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 4.0

• published: 05 May 2014
• views: 0

Vast is the robe of liberation, A formless field of benefaction. Wearing the universal teaching I realize the one True Nature, Thus harmonizing all being. Each morning in Zen temples and monasteries, as the bell rings to signal the end of zazen, the practitioners remain in their seats and those who have taken precepts or priest ordination place their precisely folded robes on their heads and chant the verse above. The chant precedes putting on the kesa (formal priest's patchwork robe) or the rakusu (less formal bib-like robe). At one level the chant and ritual are statements about the significance of these religious garments and their meaning. These are Buddha's robes and represent the very body of the Buddha and also the community or practitioners which represent the living body of Buddha. The many strips of cloth sewn together in a beautiful pattern suggests this interweaving of lives, causes, and conditions which manifest as life - our lives - life as it is. But the chant is also invoking more than a statement about the fabric of a robe or its symbolic meaning in Buddhist ritual. These lines are also calling us to include the teachings and practices as the very fabric of our lives. When I would sew with my ordination teacher, Zenkei Blanche Hartman, she would tell me wonderful stories about Joshin-san, the Japanese woman and devoted student of Kodo Sawaki Roshi who taught her how to sew the robes. These were Buddha's robes. In fact, Joshin-san would say that each robe was "the whole body of the Buddha" and therefore should be treated as such. Maybe our lives are, in fact, the whole body of the Buddha and should be treated as such. Let's take a look at this chant and this embodiment. Buddha Nature - Human Nature In the traditional story of the Buddha’s enlightenment, the young Guatma was sitting under the bodhi tree deep in contemplation. There comes a time in the story when Mara, the tempter, has nearly exhausted his many strategies to move the young monk from his steadfast seat. In his frustration, Mara gathers his energy one last time and confronts Guatama by asking him on what basis he could possibly verify his liberation or confirm his enlightenment. In response, the Buddha says nothing. He does not implore the heavens for protection, nor does he does mount an intellectual or theological challenge to defeat Mara. He performs a very simple act. He touches the earth. In this story we are offered a powerfully elegant symbol which can be seen as the newly enlightened Buddha’s very first teaching. By touching the earth he counters Mara and demonstrates clearly that enlightenment is not a special state of mind, a sophisticated concept, a holy event, a new philosophy, or core belief. It is a reality closer to the earth, to our bodies, to what is ordinary, whole, and simple. Liberation is freedom from all that we habitually use to define ourselves as separate and special and therefore opens us to the vast, interconnected, impermanent world we live in. And this liberation is found right in the middle of this mysterious, never-ending dance we call life and death. It is no other than nature – Buddha Nature, human nature - our nature. Like many of you, I am sure, I spend an inordinate amount of time indoors. I sit at a desk, work in front of a computer, speak with clients and students, or teach in classrooms and retreat centers. I sit in a zendo, which is climate controlled (thank goodness!) and sleep protected from the elements (for which I am deeply grateful). However, in our conventional, comfortable, protected world, we easily become entranced and forget that we are vulnerable animals living on a planet that does not consult us about its changes. Most of the time we imagine we are safe and secure from the randomness and violence of nature’s impersonal movement until something like a hurricane, earthquake or tsunami reminds us that we are not in charge. The teachings we are exploring on the path of Zen express the reality of nature. They are not abstract concepts to ponder. They must be touched and known intimately, just as the Buddha reached down and touched the earth on that clear morning. Stephen Mitchell, commenting on the path of awakening said, “On this journey, going means letting go. It’s not all that hard to get enlightened; what is difficult is to keep giving up our sense of the world so that the world can come to us on its own terms, with its vast, pitiless, loving intelligence. At the end of the journey, we return to the simplest things with an immense recognition and gratitude...” (p. ) It is much easier to become entranced by the possibility of gaining something special, called enlightenment, and enjoying exotic states of consciousness which we fantasize must accompany such a radical transformation. But actually, we are called to relinquish everything, not gain anything. Our challenge is to "give up our sense of the world so the world can some to us on its own term

• published: 10 May 2011
• views: 1880

Meet Laamie Young, the artist behind the creative line of unique baubles, blankVerse jewelry. Music: Jahzzar • Avientu Avientu (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 4.0

• published: 05 May 2014
• views: 0

Vast is the robe of liberation, A formless field of benefaction. Wearing the universal teaching I realize the one True Nature, Thus harmonizing all being. Each morning in Zen temples and monasteries, as the bell rings to signal the end of zazen, the practitioners remain in their seats and those who have taken precepts or priest ordination place their precisely folded robes on their heads and chant the verse above. The chant precedes putting on the kesa (formal priest's patchwork robe) or the rakusu (less formal bib-like robe). At one level the chant and ritual are statements about the significance of these religious garments and their meaning. These are Buddha's robes and represent the very body of the Buddha and also the community or practitioners which represent the living body of Buddha. The many strips of cloth sewn together in a beautiful pattern suggests this interweaving of lives, causes, and conditions which manifest as life - our lives - life as it is. But the chant is also invoking more than a statement about the fabric of a robe or its symbolic meaning in Buddhist ritual. These lines are also calling us to include the teachings and practices as the very fabric of our lives. When I would sew with my ordination teacher, Zenkei Blanche Hartman, she would tell me wonderful stories about Joshin-san, the Japanese woman and devoted student of Kodo Sawaki Roshi who taught her how to sew the robes. These were Buddha's robes. In fact, Joshin-san would say that each robe was "the whole body of the Buddha" and therefore should be treated as such. Maybe our lives are, in fact, the whole body of the Buddha and should be treated as such. Let's take a look at this chant and this embodiment. Buddha Nature - Human Nature In the traditional story of the Buddha’s enlightenment, the young Guatma was sitting under the bodhi tree deep in contemplation. There comes a time in the story when Mara, the tempter, has nearly exhausted his many strategies to move the young monk from his steadfast seat. In his frustration, Mara gathers his energy one last time and confronts Guatama by asking him on what basis he could possibly verify his liberation or confirm his enlightenment. In response, the Buddha says nothing. He does not implore the heavens for protection, nor does he does mount an intellectual or theological challenge to defeat Mara. He performs a very simple act. He touches the earth. In this story we are offered a powerfully elegant symbol which can be seen as the newly enlightened Buddha’s very first teaching. By touching the earth he counters Mara and demonstrates clearly that enlightenment is not a special state of mind, a sophisticated concept, a holy event, a new philosophy, or core belief. It is a reality closer to the earth, to our bodies, to what is ordinary, whole, and simple. Liberation is freedom from all that we habitually use to define ourselves as separate and special and therefore opens us to the vast, interconnected, impermanent world we live in. And this liberation is found right in the middle of this mysterious, never-ending dance we call life and death. It is no other than nature – Buddha Nature, human nature - our nature. Like many of you, I am sure, I spend an inordinate amount of time indoors. I sit at a desk, work in front of a computer, speak with clients and students, or teach in classrooms and retreat centers. I sit in a zendo, which is climate controlled (thank goodness!) and sleep protected from the elements (for which I am deeply grateful). However, in our conventional, comfortable, protected world, we easily become entranced and forget that we are vulnerable animals living on a planet that does not consult us about its changes. Most of the time we imagine we are safe and secure from the randomness and violence of nature’s impersonal movement until something like a hurricane, earthquake or tsunami reminds us that we are not in charge. The teachings we are exploring on the path of Zen express the reality of nature. They are not abstract concepts to ponder. They must be touched and known intimately, just as the Buddha reached down and touched the earth on that clear morning. Stephen Mitchell, commenting on the path of awakening said, “On this journey, going means letting go. It’s not all that hard to get enlightened; what is difficult is to keep giving up our sense of the world so that the world can come to us on its own terms, with its vast, pitiless, loving intelligence. At the end of the journey, we return to the simplest things with an immense recognition and gratitude...” (p. ) It is much easier to become entranced by the possibility of gaining something special, called enlightenment, and enjoying exotic states of consciousness which we fantasize must accompany such a radical transformation. But actually, we are called to relinquish everything, not gain anything. Our challenge is to "give up our sense of the world so the world can some to us on its own term

• published: 10 May 2011
• views: 1880