Good morning. Happy New Year 2016.
I suppose I could end my greeting here and have said perhaps the most important thing I could say. Somehow though it doesn’t seem enough. So I’ll just keep going.
I received an email New Years message from a Sangha member today. In the email, the individual shared with me their feeling of being in the right place in their life. Being in the right place is a profound experience.
I’ve often felt that I too was in the right place in my life. I will say for the past three years have that feeling has been much more continuous and even deeper. A sense of peace and calm permeates my life. I attribute it to nothing other than my Buddhist practice, chanting the Odaimoku, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, and reciting the Lotus Sutra.
I would like to share with you some of what I wrote in reply if you do not mind. As I was writing, I was aware my response was something I wanted to share with you.
“I am glad to hear that your spirit has found the decision of the mind and heart to be good. Many people don’t pay much attention to the deeper message our spirit-self sends. They are soft signals and quiet space needs to be created within one’s life to listen.” (quoting myself)
The mind, yes that’s easy to listen to, and we can hear that loud and clear, even if it is confusing. It is also often the least important and most distracting. The mind is tricky, it is creative, and all too often unskillful in choices. The heart is deeper than the mind, yet it too gets confused. Where the mind becomes sidetracked with information and data, the heart is distracted by emotions and immediate reactions, and the mind usually doesn’t resist either. So the mind and the heart often work in harmony and not always in ways that serve us well. It isn’t all bad all the time, yet it frequently does go awry.
The spirit, however, is the quiet presence. It is easy to ignore; some even aren’t aware it exists. The spirit sometimes peeks its head out when we experience those moments we refer to as intuition. To the notion of intuition, many say hogwash. The spirit is not distracted by data and facts or emotions and reactions. I say it isn’t distracted by data, yet it does have unique sets of data. The data of the soul comes from the data of the universe. The mind and heart know nothing of this.
I believe when we can create space for our spirit to express itself when the spirit has space to speak, and we are listening we can live in greater harmony with all things, all events, all situations, all of everything. The mind then has an anchor point on which to evaluate the information it uses. The mind has at its disposal for decisions larger set of data and facts than it would on its own. The data of spirit then helps the mind form a well rounded and whole course of action. The heart also benefits for many of the same reasons. The heart will listen to the spirit-self, and the mind listens to the heart. When space is made in our lives for the spirit to enter then, all three inform each other, and our lives are more peaceful and at ease.
When things go wrong, although wrong isn’t the best of words. Let’s say when things do not go as we planned or hoped then with the awareness of spirit things are different from when it is the brain leading our decisions.
The mind is disappointed when things don’t go as it planned. The heart is hurt or sad, or afraid when things happen in unexpected ways. The spirit, though, I find gets excited and curious. The spirit sees the unexpected as an opportunity it had not had before. The strength of the spirit-self gives us the strength to face the unexpected.
It is true that often the unexpected simply sucks, and sometimes it sucks to the extreme. When the suckiness is manifest, when things are terrible, the brain freezes, it has no data to provide. It may operate on an autopilot while it searches for logical reasons and predictable reactions. The heart, when broken, is barely able to function. In fact, it may hurt so bad the heart can’t see any future at all. Again the brain merely goes along. The spirit, now that is a remarkable thing indeed. The spirit is in touch with all things, and it knows a deeper truth than the mind or heart could ever know. The spirit is the connection in our lives to the greater truth of the universe. When we speak of Eternal Buddha, this is what I believe we are often referring to, well maybe.
I would say that when I wish each of you a Happy New Year, what I include in that hope is the greater awareness of the spirit-self that resides within. It is my hope your essential Buddha nature is strengthened and becomes ever more manifest in your lives. I wish for each of you a greater congruence of Buddha nature with your daily living. I’m trying to use congruence as much as I can as one of my new favorite words, for those of you who don’t see my Twitter feed or keep up with my blog.
I will close with a feeling or sense that I have. I’ve listened to many conversations and listened to some interesting presentations this past year. While I don’t consume commercial media, I do catch bits and pieces as part of the general conversation of the culture. I do have some concerns for the future. I feel it is especially important for each of us to strengthen our practice to have greater congruency in our lives with our Buddhist beliefs and our Buddha nature (I hope I’ve been using the word correctly – my wordsmithy people will correct me if I am wrong).
I say this not only for you and your family. I also express it for your friends and society in general. I feel it is important for us to be a calming presence in people’s lives as our societies, our economy, and our environment undergoes changes. Some of these changes will cause people to be afraid and maybe even react in ways that are not wise. It will be crucial at times when people may panic or even become aggressive for us to have the strength of Buddha self to give comfort and even peace. I’m not speaking of anything specific, yet in times of change, it is important that calm and wisdom emerge. I pray for each of us to have the kind of life which can help people in their time of fear or stress or grief.
I’m hoping that doesn’t sound too glum on such an important day. We’ve always needed that kind of strength, so this isn’t anything new. It is what we Buddhist are sometimes most prepared and able to do. Our practice gives us the tools to support others. I hope you know this and do not take it lightly. You are all important in the societies you live in, even if you don’t think so. If you don’t think you are, and you would like for me to give you some concrete examples as proof hit me up and I’ll tell you. Trust me I can do that.
Alrighty, it’s been a good year, made especially so by your presence in my life. I am excited to see what this new year will present us. I hope you all are too.
With that let me again wish you a Happy New Year, one of good health, good fortune, and abundant joy.
With Gassho,
Ryusho Jeffus, Shonin
January 1, 2016
