Times of crisis are when the strength of Sangha, spiritual community, often becomes apparent. If at a given moment we have no refuge in the Buddha, or clear awareness; no sense of the truth or Dhamma, then we can turn to our refuge in Sangha. This can be all we have. Right now in the monastery the whole community are cut off from their families due to border closures, we have only each other and the extended family of the lay community, we are thrown together as brothers and sisters in the Dhamma and find a way to get by. Our refuge in Sangha can also mean contacting a spiritual friend for help or advice. It can mean chanting or bowing to a shrine, many things. There were many times in my early days of practice where I felt lost, not seeing anything that could be done. Then to light a candle or chant a familiar chant could be a refuge.
This was not empty consolation but to feel part of something greater, or a reminder of better times. It was to continue the practice in some form and not give up, to connect with the good practice-karma made in the past. To smell the incense burned on that special retreat or from the favourite monastery can take us right back there… These are the kinds of things we can do no matter what may be happening. This is the strength of such a refuge in Sangha. I offer this for your reflection Ajahn Kalyāno http://www.openthesky.co.uk We cannot trust the proliferating mind or follow it even at the best of times, but even more so in times of crisis. Proliferation will get us lost in ourselves, losing the outer awareness we need to handle the situation. Worse than this, what we can notice is how the proliferating mind will always take us only in one direction or the other. If we hear news that is worse than we thought, then the proliferation will be negative, dragging us into fear or depression. If the news are better than our current perception, then the proliferation will go the opposite way and we can get over-confident and lose our proper caution.
So we must try to keep establishing our mindfulness which does not believe in the proliferation but continues to remain aware of the outside world. Then clear thinking in the present as well as meditation will override the proliferating mind. And what might be the ideal response to a time when our very lives may be threatened? The Buddha teaches us that if we can see death with a peaceful mind we can let go and see the deathless, that which goes beyond. This is the highest practice that we can be working towards by making our mindfulness more and more solid and directing this bright mind towards the body. Then we will see this brightness as separate from the body. If we can reach this level there will be no fear of death. Many great monks and nuns, very much in the public eye in Thailand, have faced death with such a lack of distress or concern. Knowing this can give us faith in the practice to help us at such a time. If at a time of crisis our whole practice seems to be falling apart we need to be able to accept this too and try to keep going. The Buddha taught us to be able to let go and start again. If we make a mistake we need to acknowledge it and then make a determination to try not to repeat it in the future. We can need to recognise our limits while at the same time work towards correcting these if possible. We can say to ourselves,
“Never mind, next time.” We can need to get in quickly with this one before our self-critical minds get going and drag us down, even hold it as a mantra! I offer this for your reflection Ajahn Kalyāno http://www.openthesky.co.uk It is natural, even healthy, to worry at a time of crisis, but if we let our proliferating mind do the worrying it will never end. Instead we have to be willing to pick up the issues with our conscious present moment mind. Then our worry can become caring. In order to do this there has to be some acceptance of the situation. We have to accept that it is our karma as human beings to have to face such times. The world is bigger than we are.
And this caring or caution need not feel bad, like a straight-jacket. Caution can feel good. To feel in control of ourselves is to feel outwardly calm and composed, dignified. As monastics we keep very many rules. If our attitude is right this does not make us feel oppressed but free; we gain an inner freedom, freedom where we really are, where we really live. We gain freedom from desire. It is desire and its resultant attachment that really enslaves us, not benevolent rules. At times of emergency, medical and other resources are often limited. In this situation the society must do its best to provide the highest possible standard of care but on the receiving end we need to be able to accept whatever care is offered. This is an example of the Buddhist attitude to life that we do our best and accept that whatever happens, happens. If we start to fight with others for resources we can be outside our precepts, taking that which is not given. To keep to our precepts in such a situation is a very noble stance to take. This sense of nobility is our refuge. I offer this for your reflection Ajahn Kalyāno http://www.openthesky.co.uk Times of crisis can be a test of our faith. The commonest mistake at such a time can be to change our practice either out of doubt or thinking that a new situation needs something different. Actually for a good practitioner the most relevant practice, the contemplation of the uncertainty of life, should be business-as-usual. If not then to keep going with whatever practice we have can be the best way to keep on a steady track.
Times of crisis can also be when we really want to believe in something. It is good to acknowledge this and to consciously hope for something rather than grasping at the kinds of half-formed dreams this desire may be creating for us. This is an example of the universal principle in practice of replacing reflex reactions with conscious responses. Times of crisis can also be when the fruits of the practice finally come. Many years ago at Amaravati Monastery we had a visit from the Abbess of a Christian monastery. She told us how many of the sisters were plagued with doubt all their lives to be finally visited by a host of angels on their deathbed. There are many similar stories in the suttas of people realising the Dhamma in their last moments. There is hope for us all. It is when we are threatened with loss that we see our attachments arise. This can be very valuable. We are given the chance to see what it is we are holding on to. Often as we examine like this it is hard to find exactly what aspect is key. This kind of examination can even be enough to let go. As we go through all the details the object as a whole loses its charm over us. If we can begin to recognise the symptoms of attachment we can begin to examine straight away. It is also important to recognise what attachment feels like: If someone is truly dedicated to Dhamma, to simply see attachment for what it is can already be a breakthrough. An elderly Sri Lankan Buddhist once told me the story of driving his dream car out for the very first time. He braked at a traffic light and the man behind, not seeing the red light failed to brake and piled into the back of his brand new car. He climbed out unhurt but when he saw that the car was a wreck he felt a tremendous rage rising up. Then his long history of practice and reflection made him think simply, ‘Gosh, this is attachment.’ Thinking only that and feeling the terrible anger inside him, he let go and began to laugh. His anger disappeared and he could only think of the time he could tell his fellow Buddhists of the joy he felt at letting go. I offer this for your reflection Ajahn Kalyāno http://www.openthesky.co.uk At times of crisis we can gain a whole new perspective on life. This can be very positive. Suddenly our petty concerns or grudges vanish. We develop gratitude for all the things we usually take for granted, our boredom with life vanishes and we wake up. These are all the kind of spiritual qualities the Buddha encourages us to develop. This is why the Buddha trains us to reflect on the uncertainty of life. To keep us awake and resourceful, humble and grateful – to keep us truly alive. Also at such times human beings can become incredibly resourceful. This is a way in which the pressure of the crisis develops our minds. There is both ingenuity in this and also humility – the breakthrough in our problem solving can be letting go of our usual high standards and accepting a compromise. This can be very liberating – we realise we have been the slave to standards which have gone beyond what is really needed. This is discovering the renunciant option (which finds its fullest expression in monasticism.) I offer this for your reflection Ajahn Kalyāno http://www.openthesky.co.uk In the modern world it is often only when the crisis comes that the Dhamma becomes apparent. We are lulled into a false sense of security by our wealth and knowledge, our ability to control the world. It is only when conditions get beyond control that we really wake up. Then we can find ourselves unprepared and in a panic. Actually our control had always been temporary and limited. The Buddha encourages us to reflect on this in a very deep way – that nothing is really me or mine, that there is no self-in-control, that ultimately there is no control. We still do our best to act in a wise and compassionate way, but we bear such limitations in mind to avoid frustration and wasted energy. The most intimate and potentially the most powerful way that we see this truth of not-self is in relation to our own bodies. If the first time we see this is when the life-threatening disease comes along this will be very frightening. We need to train to see this in other ways before this happens in order to protect ourselves. Look at a toddler just learning how to walk, for example, the head drifting along with a complete chaos of arms and legs miraculously holding it up. In reality we can be learning how to use this body and mind most of our lives. I ended up writing a book about how this thing works, it’s good to know. But more than this, observing life in such a way gives us the distance and clarity of objectivity and this distance can become a refuge. We find ourselves looking on at a situation from the outside. Furthermore, we do not need to believe in anything at all for this to be the case. |
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