Three Bodies of the Buddha (# 1527)

I missed writing yesterday and and having trouble doing it today. We are in a hot spell but we did get out to walk yesterday. I have a little portable seat and rested a few times in the shade and listened to the sounds of summer: birds and insects. There were so many varieties of bird calls. I did spot a goldfinch. There is a place we can go and see many of them but normally I do not see them. It always is a special sighting. We haven’t encountered many people on our walks but it is awkward. It is a reminder that the pandemic is still active in our country, in our world.

In response to the previous post, Pema reminded me of the three bodies of the Buddha.

“In Mahayana Buddhism the Trikaya (Sanskrit for three bodies), roughly corresponds to the Trinity in Christianity. God/Dharmakaya is formless; Christ/Nirmanakaya is what we see, the world we think we live in; and the Holy Spirit/Sambhogakaya is the body of Light/Enjoyment/Bliss. When seen in heart sutra terms: Sambhogakaya is the Heavenly aspect of the rupakaya, or form body (comprising both Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya), whereas Nirmanakaya is the Earthly aspect of rupakaya.”

I am spending some time thinking about this and do not pretend to understand it fully. Just thinking about it is powerful even when one starts to look at other religions. I am limited at what I have in the house but the Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism sums up the three as: Dharma Body; Bliss Body; Transformation Body. My book on female Buddhas repeats that Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya can be considered together as rupakaya, i.e. form body. It also suggests that Dharmakaya can be split into two (Radiance and infinity) to make four bodies. The female Buddha book also identifies the Dharmakaya with the Buddha of the ultimate world; the Sambhogakaya with the celestial Buddhas like Amitabha and the Nirmanakaya with the Buddhas of the world like Shakyamuni.

I have not had a chance to research the Trinity in the house; I am surprised how little I know for starters. I am thinking about it.

Two thoughts:

If God is formless than God can not have a gender and so the “Father” stuff is right out. It has led us to patriarchy.

I have understood the Holy Spirit as that part of the Trinity that enters us and inspires and uplifts. In the Annunciation the hold spirit undertook a more physical role. It is the Holy Spirit that “calls” priests and ministers and nuns. In that sense the Holy Spirit can lead one to God in Christian tradition. I wonder if the writer’s “muse” is related.

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A little later: A quick look at the article on The Trinity in the Catholic Encyclopedia tells me I do not want to get bogged down in the theology. The Buddhist pointers to what the Trinity might mean to our lives seems enough to me for now.

Remembering to be grateful for the gift of this day. May I find a way to be useful to others in this next part of the day.

 

Let There Be Light (# 1526)

It was a busy day and it is evening now. I do want to mention last night. I looked over a Tara “empowerment”. The key part seemed to be that all exterior and interior phenomena turned to light. I remember that all phenomena are empty from the Heart Sutra.

I wonder how all this fits into all the metaphors.

I remember to be grateful for this day.

Thinking it Out (# 1525)

Last night while waiting for sleep I was thinking out the metaphors and came up with the following organization.

Devil is untamed mind
– habitual thinking/habitual action/habitual reaction
– ignorance
– dualism
– distraction
– seeking pleasures including temporary pleasures

God/Paradise
– non-dualism
– looking outward/helping others
– Love
– peace
– appreciation/gratitude/praise
– pausing and thinking before reacting
– knowledge including that of the limitation of senses
– Tilopa’s six words:
Don’t recall.
Don’t imagine.
Don’t think.
Don’t examine.
Don’t control.
Rest

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There are two little gems from Thomas a Kempis to relate. Both are from Book II, Chapter 12.

“The more a man dies to himself, the more he begins to live with God”

The first fits in well with the above but, in fairness, it is out of context. The chapter is mostly about taking up Christ’s cross and following him. I am not relating to the cross, partly because I can not separate it from James Cone’s teachings about the cross as a metaphor for the lynching tree. I do see the connection between the ketaphorical cross and the following:

“We cannot enter the kingdom of heaven with out many trials.”

Suffering gives birth to empathy and helps us see our connections. It helps us see how our valued pleasures and attachments are meaningless. Pema Chodron has a wonderful phrase that she made into a book title “welcome the unwelcome”.

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Curve Ball (# 1524)

My mind surprised me. Instead of keeping me up with anxious thoughts, it distracted me with lovely temptations and I had a very restful sleep. My mind can be a friendly devil.

I was having a very good day until I read deeply into my social media feeds. I have many toxic acquaintances. The newspapers were no better. We have toxic politicians. Funny thing though. While watching a youtube video in which our daughter was interviewed, it was followed with a description of the presidential inauguration of 2008. It was full of hope and joy. There were real crowds too.

No Rest for the Devil (# 1523)

This morning I woke up with a prayer. L— help me to be a better person today. Help me to help others.  Help me to think of you.

It all started last night in Book 2 , Chapter 9 of Thomas a Kempis’ Imitation of Christ.

“There is no great comfort in doing without human comfort, as long as we have the comfort of God behind us; what is difficult, immensely so, is the ability to do both…”

Then a reminder for when we are feeling “stuck”:

“When [spiritual] comfort is taken away from you, don’t immediately give up hope; be humble and patient about it, and wait for the heavenly coming.”

Thomas goes on to say that he knew of no saint who did not succumb from temptation of the devil. Buddhists might shrug and say, try not to do that anymore.

Then this popped out at me:

“The devil takes no sleep.”

I thought about this. Why have our minds evolved to keep firing 24/7? If we are breathing, we are alive. There is a second way to know we are alive. If our “devil” is speaking to us, we are alive. Our “devil” is faithful, staying with us night and day, doing its best to distract us, tempting us:

to eat that bar of chocolate,
read one more story in the online newspaper,
feel sorry for ourselves over some childhood slight,
worry about whether we are liked,
eat another bar of chocolate,
get angry,
procrastinate,
chase our thoughts round and round,
doubt,
think about politics,
criticize someone,
crave a bowl of ice cream,
compare oneself to others,
be proud,
be jealous,
get depressed,
develop wrong views,
do something reckless,
and/or
hate those who disagree with us.

That devil mind is very busy. My devil is tempting me to sit here and try to figure out “why” the devil is trying to distract me. I resist the temptation to pursue that line knowing I will not find a reason. So shhhhh now you little mind devil. Be still.

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1.BrM. Mid afternoon. Taking a break from historical database project. It has been a quiet day. While I was taking my morning bicycle ride I realized I never wrote anything about the weekly walk in the woods yesterday. We went to a local woods that is a northern outlier of the Pine Barrens. It has a sandy base so the water from the heavy rains had mostly drained. On the other hand it was hot and steamy. It is interesting how adverse conditions can affect how one sees. I mostly concentrated on the exercise and was relieved when I could return to the car. When I got home my photographs showed the beauty of the forest. I still miss our restaurants stops after the weekly walk. It was a time of warm conversation. It will be a while until we can feel it is safe to do that.

2. Evening now. Work done. I made good progress today. The devil is going to be very busy tonight with finding ways to relive the database as well as producing anxiety in various ways. I will have to try to get my mind focused before turning in.

I am grateful for this beautiful day for living.

 

Fay Day (# 1522)

(Note: Somehow this did not get published for Friday)

1.We are awaiting a tropical storm to pass through today. It is creeping slowly up the coast at ten miles per hour. Big storms are a break in the routine. They introduce a different measure of time – waiting, weathering, taking stock.

2.The last few days I have been focusing on habitual thinking which leads to habitual speech. The latter often produces negative results. I can’t say I am making much progress but I am more aware when I do it. It is hard work to learn to speak wisely.

3.Early afternoon. The sound of the rain is all around. The rain is heavy but not hard. It seems gentler than it is. Water is rushing down the driveway and down the street. Various sounds of dripping, some deep, some high, coming from all directions. There is the gurgling of drains. Surprisingly there is not much definition in the sky. It is all gray. Some of the windows have fogged up although it is not that hot outside. The wind off the ocean is moderating the tropical temperatures associated with a storm coming from the south.

It’s Not the Gift, Stupid (# 1521)

It is too easy to concentrate on the physical things around us even if we are grateful for all these gifts. It is the Love of the giver. Switch your focus, you ignorant, distracted traveler.

Sunday Morning (# 1520)

It is Sunday morning and I am in a rush. I have to get my little chores done and get ready for a remote room painting event for an expected new arrival.

The coronavirus has me thinking about death again. One person leaves the scene and life goes on. One person’s death is not the way of life. A play ends, the actors take their bows, the theater empties, and a new play moves in.

It only reminds me more that this day is a gift. I am here to witness a death but also the continuance of life.

Friday (# 1519)

Struggling through the sunny heat of mid day, I finally reach home and I am still breathing. I am alive. Some challenging tasks the next few days. Thou art with me.

I gave up the Gospels for now because my reaction to them is counterproductive right now.

Waiting in the office for my turn for a blood test, Thomas a Kempis reminds me that I “try to find other consolations, delighting….in so many external things” (Book III, Chapter 30). Crimey, how did he know. The Beloved says:

“When it happens that nothing helps you out, you remember that I am the One who saves those who trust in me. Other than me you will find no power, not profitable advice, nor lasting remedy.

“Now that you have survived the storm and recovered your spirit, try to grow strong again in the light of my tender mercy. I am here to lend a healing hand, to offer abundant, overflowing help beyond measure”.

Last night I pulled out two introductions to Meister Eckhart out of my bookcase. Both are by Michael Wood. If I remember it correctly, Eckhart warns against practices that try to connect to to God on a personal level and also against meditation. I will have to try to find that quote and get it right. It seemed to me his approach was the opposite to that of Thomas a Kempis.

Thomas a Kempis warns that we need to remain humble. That is not a problem for me. I feel like the dumbest person in the room. Please help me Lord.

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Our town lost one of our beloved council people to the virus today.

Still Quiet (# 1518)

It was another night without much to do except that, like the night before, I was having uncomfortable dreams involving awkward social situations.

I started the Gospel of John last night. The language in the Phillips version was beautifully poetic like the other translations, even in German (Im Anfang war das Wort…). My understanding is that God had an active aspect that John calls the “Word” (Logos, of course). The Word manifested itself among men in order to save them because God so loved the world.

Three thoughts:

1.I thought of the Hindu gods and goddesses that all are considered aspects of God. One is free to worship the one who fits best.

2.WHO appeared to Moses and others in the Hebrew Bible? WHO talked to Adam and Eve?

3.Thinking out loud: There is God or Being on the absolute level. Because it is so difficult for human beings with limited senses to experience that God, we can follow God on the closer relative level. In the era of social media I realize I need to use better wording there. I was thinking of “follow” as in drop your fishing nets follow me. We can walk with God.

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Feeling gratitude for this day given to me and others. May I use it to love.