Dear friends –
We have been practicing “Taking refuge” in all its many forms over the last few months. Today, I received the e-newsletter from Mountain Lamp in Washington State and the front page article was an excerpt from a Dharma talk delivered during the recent three-week retreat. I have included information about Mountain Lamp Community at the end of the excerpt and you may want to contact them to become part of their e-mail list.
Bethan, smiling
Mountain Lamp was conceived as a place of refuge where people come to touch the stillness of nature, and to rest in their body and mind. At Mountain Lamp, we find a place to stop in our bodies. We sit still and pay attention to our breath. We sit still and pay attention to the rising mountains. We sit still and see the ever-changing clouds. We sit still so that we can hear the hermit thrush singing. The stability of place, of sitting still, becomes a reflection of our mind, and we learn to embrace that refuge that is always within us.
When we have touched refuge, we can stay stable and solid in the center of whatever is happening. Our mind might be saying right or wrong, our mind might be saying “I want to be here” or “I want to be there” but we come right to the center where the thrush is singing, the mountains rising, our breath breathing.
When the Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree, it is said he was tempted three times by Mara. The first watch of the night, Mara tempted him with lust, desire and wanting in the form of beautiful dancing girls. He smiled at the beautiful dancing girls and came back to his breath and body quietly resting beneath the sheltering branches. He was totally undisturbed, not chasing after anything, and also not pushing anything away. He didn’t see the women as evil temptresses or as objects of desire, but remained unmoved at his core.
At the second watch Mara tempted him with repulsion and disgust. Shakyamuni saw thousands of snakes writhing, biting each other and bloodied, but he was able to look into the heart of what was in front of him without being repelled by the sight.
In the third watch of the night Mara tempted him with self-doubt, and the Buddha reached down and touched the earth. He looked at Mara and said, “I sit here with the purest intention to see through all dualities, and the earth is my witness that I am here as goodness and light.” Mara was defeated and slunk away. The earth was the Buddha’s witness and refuge.
When the morning star rose in the East, the Buddha looked up at the star and immediately knew all beings as none other than himself. All things were reflected in his being, and he reflected all things. He saw into his True Self, One that continues endlessly, even in our day. It is our True Self, as well. Our grandfather in the dharma, Yamada Roshi, called it empty/oneness and drew a large circle in the air when he spoke these words. The circle he drew contained all things. Nothing was left out. All the dualities, all perceptions, all the places our mind gets caught are contained there. Suffering and enlightenment are contained there, and right and wrong are contained as well. The lotus flower and the mud only exist because they are both here together.
It is here that we find our True Home, our true place of refuge. We go to places of refuge to find within the stillness of our heart and mind, our True Refuge is always here, wherever we go. We find it with the great earth, the rising mountains, the drifting clouds and the song of the thrush. It is as close as our body, our breath.
– Excerpt from a Dharma talk, Spring 2012
Mountain Lamp Community
PO Box 512
Deming, Washington 98244
360-592-0600
