News from Melbourne Buddhist Centre

Issue #3 Volume #3

July 2008

Mudita is designed to keep you in touch with Melbourne Buddhist Centre events and the activities of our Sangha.

Welcome to this winter edition of our newsletter; we look forward to your feedback on the variety of contributions.

Poem

Dharma Light

If you want to

Extend the light

Of the Dharma,

Let it first illumine

Your own heart.

written by Rengetsu

From Lotus Moon: The Poetry of the Buddhist Nun Rengetsu, translated and introduced by John Stevens (Weatherhill, Inc., first edition 1994)

What's On

Sunday 24th August sees a new opportunity for Order Members and Mitras to come together to practice. This will be the first of several Sunday programmes, facilitated by Padmasiddhi, focused on meditation and puja. They will run from 10am to 6pm.

Wednesday the 27th August is Sangharakshita's birthday. A special puja will be dedicated to him on that evening at the MBC; all welcome.

On Sunday 31st August there will be a day retreat to teach newcomers our meditation practices. Both Mindfulness of Breathing and Metta Bhavana will be taught, and a light vegetarian lunch provided.

Moving into September, on Saturday 6th, Shantidevi will lead a day festival to celebrate Padmasambhava from 11am to 4pm.

The next six week courses begin in early October, and there are open men's and women's long weekend retreats at the end of October.

Remember to check our website for all up-to-date event information.

News

Publications Team

Coming soon &mdash a new look!

A small team has been working together to refresh the design of our publicity material. A designer has been engaged to provide the MBC with a logo; with templates for advertising materials integrated with a new look for our website. Airstrip are a young design outfit based in St Kilda and are very keen to help revitalise our image. Over the next couple of months look out for changes in the website, this newsletter and all our advertising material.

Festivals

The Buddha Day festival took place on Saturday May 3rd.

See below in this newsletter for an extract from the beautiful texts that were read during the day.

July 5th saw the celebration of Dharma Day.

This year two special events were part of the celebrations. The role of Chair of the Centre was graciously handed over from Siladasa to Sudaya, and, later in the afternoon Cynthia Troup and John Fleming became Mitras.

Dharma Day, a report by Talia Eilon

For Dharma Day the shrine was beautifully done in blue, and the centre decorated with Tibetan Prayer Flags and blue drapery. We began the day with meditation before a lavish lunch, and then it was straight into a panel discussion, facilitated by Jivita. The question presented to the panel was "Is the Dharma Still Relevant Today?" There was some discussion as to whether the question itself was relevant &mdash weren't those gathered just preaching to the converted? But Jivita replied that it's not a bad thing to review one's motivations and understanding from time to time. Linda Williams, Vidyatara, David Spotswood and Padmasiddhi had each prepared a response, and the discussion was wide-ranging. There was time at the end for some reflective questions posed by Jivita, for example, "we live in an era of 'time poverty' &mdash what impact does that have on our practice? How can we make our work life relevant to our practice? Do material wealth and possessions hinder or help us advance on the spiritual path?"

After this introspective interlude, it was time to celebrate the nine-and-a-half years of service that Siladasa has given to the Centre, by rejoicing in his merits. The numbers of those present had swelled considerably by this time, and it was clear that many people had come along particularly to pay tribute to Siladasa. Over 20 people had prepared something to say, with others offering their words spontaneously. There were so many smiles, but also tears of joy, as we reflected on Siladasa's talents and all he'd undertaken for the centre over the years.

Afterwards, we celebrated the handing over of the position of Chair from Siladasa to Sudaya. This took the form of a threefold puja that Siladasa began leading. During the ritual Siladasa handed to Sudaya a vajra and a vajra-bell, and Sudaya then led the puja to completion. This was a significant event in the history of the Melbourne Buddhist Centre which I was glad to have witnessed. The day closed with a seven-fold puja which included carefully chosen Dharma readings. As part of this puja Cynthia and John had their Mitra ceremonies, performed by Siladasa. Altogether Dharma Day was a really joyous occasion, full of celebration of our Chairs both past and present, new Mitras and the Dharma itself.

Thanka Purchase

The centre was very fortunate recently to have for sale some beautiful thankas from Nepal. These artworks are meticulously painted at the Gauri Guri Thanka centre which supports artists from the poor Kavre district in east Nepal. The paintings were much admired by people attending our Centre, and it was pleasing to know that a significant percentage of the money from those sold will be used for community development in the Kavre area. The MBC will be receiving a fresh selection for sale in November.

It was decided to buy for our centre the beautful thanka pictured, and fund-raising commenced. People have been very generous in their response and the thanka has been bought. Moreover enough funds were raised to pay for good quality framing. Warmest thanks to all who generously donated to this project. Make sure you look out for the picture when you next come in to the Centre.

Women's Long Retreat in July

Here are comments from some of the retreatants, written on the final day of the retreat:

Winter: 9 days, meditation, silence, the company of a wonderful group of Dharma practitioners&mdash what an amazing opportunity to practice! Delving into the symbolism of the vajra and the bell has been an experieince to warm and transform the cold places in the heart - truly a mythical journey. (Lisa)

Being on retreat near Wesburn over the last 9 days has been a wonderful experience to enable me to take time to think of Dad's recent death in a safe and supportive environment. Vajrasattva was very present for me during my Dad's dying and death. It was a very powerful experience during the retreat to feel his presence so strongly. The evening pujas to Vajrasattva were inspirational. (Sue)

What bliss; what a great opportunity to escape the Melbourne concrete jungle and reload on oxygen and energy in vajra woods. Last year it was vegetarian haggis and Highland cows for me. This year it has been yummy dhal and an echidna. I know I have to listen to Akshobya and like the echidna, get my hands and feet more often into vajra soil. (Anke)

Very friendly supportive group, lots of harmony and working together. Great good fortune a 1:2 Order:non-Order member ratio. Sangharakshita talks a little dry. Pujas positively dripping wet. Remembered lots, learnt lots, vajra reteat. (Caitlin)

And they were all there &mdash 'just look beyond the veils'; compassion, wisdom, a great amount of joy and mirth. From Vajrayana with more than a splash of Mahayana. Centre stage Vajrasattva, the mantra of Padmasambhava and other Bodhisattva delights calling the five lantern-lit Buddhas in the final puja: 'this is your life'. Amongst all of this, on the road of kangaroos and gums there was warmth of the metta heart, mindful silence, the usual laughs at yourself, hiccups and an enormous amount of time and energy given by Order Members and willingness of all to hold to their heart the vajra and call into the transcendental with their vajra bell. (Ainslie)

The 5 wisdoms of the vajra came alive and seem such a practical and profound way to view life. To hold these to my heart has given me another confidence on which to stand in amongst the ever-unfolding changes and complexities of day to day life. All is unique, all is equal, don't let things stick to your mirror mind, let go of things holding you back and you will see reality, luminous and clear before you. (Shantidevi)

Vajras, vajra bells, sublime and boisterous music, the ringing of bells in the shrineroom, vivid colourful imagery full of Akshobya's Pure Land, Ratnasambhava's horses and jewels flowing forth &mdash their infinite abundance, Amoghasiddhi's chariot flying into the midnight sky, his garudas clashing their cymbals... And the Microsoft Word jungle entering the silence, as well as these well-known demons in my mental states: irritation, annoyance. Warm, loving, enriching hugs, smiles&mdash it was all there, it's all here, in amongst the Three Jewels and our Going for Refuge. (Anne)

From our Buddha Day Festival

Ethics, meditation, when boundaries start to blur, by Thomas McCrossan

On 'Buddha Day' in April I read from the Udana and the Dhammapada certain passages that relate to ethics and meditation.

The more we can allow these teachings to filter into our everyday life, the more we may begin to see that ethics and meditation are really aspects of the same thing, an ongoing purification of the mind/heart. Meditation has been described by Sangarakshita as 'a continuous stream of skillful mental states'. Ethics could then be described as the acting-out of these skillful mental states in the world we live in.

Purifying the mind/heart through the practice of ethics and meditation is an ongoing journey. As we go about our daily lives and its inevitable challenges and business, it becomes more and more important to remind ourselves of the moments when we dipped into 'the ocean of skilful ways'.

As meditation takes hold in our lives, the more aware we become of our actions, and the more choices we can develop to act skilfully until, off the cushions, on the cushions, the difference gets less and less. The mind/heart slowly over days, months, years, becomes more and more purified.

Dharma Talks Extract

A Synopsis of Siladasa's 5 Talks on the Developments of Buddhist Doctrine

by Siladasa

The tenets of Buddhism determined, along with different cultural and historical conditions, the forms of various Buddhist schools and their practices. We began with examination of the attitude one needs to make such a survey. This attitude must include a desire to be affected by the Buddha's example and teachings. We need an open and positive skepticism but not cynicism and a willingness to try things for ourselves. It may be most helpful to start with original texts translated by Buddhists then study interpretations and commentaries written by Buddhists, as those who practice the teachings best understand them.

We were reminded that language has limitations, which applies to both our native tongue and translations from traditional languages. We saw that doctrine, or the 'systematised conceptions that indicate the transcendental, or Reality', all arose from the Buddha's Enlightenment experience. The formulation of conditioned co-production (pratitya samutpada) was an articulation of that experience which underpins all subsequent Buddhist philosophy. The human mind's tendency to lend a permanent essence or irreducible substance to the names of things ('reification') stimulated the recurring search for different means of communication. Methods would ossify over time to end up at either pole of nihilism or eternalism, neither of which can indicate Reality. Over millenia, poetry, ritual, devotion and mantra, the paradox of koan in Ch'an & Zen, gesture, the martial arts, fine arts and crafts and so on all became media for communicating the liberated mind, and then in turn, the means and methods of liberation.

The Perfection of Wisdom literature (the Heart and Diamond Sutras and so on) directly opposed any hint of reification, underlining the anatman aspect of Buddhist philosophy; there is no fixed self, only the transitory product of interacting conditions that are in turn conditioned. The Mahayana (Great Vehicle) was a response to the error of self-concern when aspirants believed that they would attain some thing for themselves. It re-stated the altruistic dimension of the Buddha's Way, encouraged the Bodhisattva's Ideal of a mind concerned with the Enlightenment of everyone and employed all symbols, figures and devices in myriad and magical ways to open as many minds as possible, free from the constraints of common time and space.

The interdependence of all phenonema, an implication of the principle of conditionality, gave birth to the doctrine of immanence, whereby the transcendental principle is to be found in everything (Tathagatagharba), and that in turn supported the Pure Land approach of relying on Other power for change rather than purely oneself. The massive Avatamsaka Sutra was a key text that drew all of these thoughts and directions together. The series concluded with the reiteration that Enlightenment is an experience, not a formula.

News from the Bookshop

The bookshop shelves are regularly replenished with favourites, old and new. One noteworthy new book is Touching Enlightenment &mdash Finding Realisation in the Body by Reginald Ray. (Sounds True Inc., 2008). In this book Ray invites readers to explore what it means to 'meditate with the body'. Until you answer this question, meditation may be no more than a mental gymnastic &mdash something you can practice for years without fruitful results.

Just in is a two audio CD set: Heart's Wisdom &mdash Four Meditations for Cultivating Love, Compassion, Joy and Equinimity by Bodhipaksa. These four Brahmavihara meditations are progressive practices to help arouse the heart's wisdom.

by Jivita

Letting Go and Holding On, or The Transcendental Trapeze

I know what you are thinking. What is he on about now? Trust me &mdash stick with me on this one &mdash there is a point to it.

Imagine the trapeze artist swinging through the air. The band is playing and the spotlights are panning back and forth as the audience oohs and aahs. On the other side of the big top is the 'catcher', hanging valiantly by his knees. Just at the right moment the trapeze artist lets go. Amid a flurry of sequins she reaches out into the gap and she and the 'catcher' clasp hands as the cymbals crash and the crowd applauses. She has made it &mdash phew! &mdash she has reached the other side.

Now, what if she held on at the same time as she let go? She would be stuck in the middle, legs dangling over the safety net; one hand on her own rope and the other clasping the 'catcher'. The band would not know what to do. They would not have practised any 'dangling' music!

So here is my point. Our practice of the Dharma is all about letting go of the impediments that stop us from seeing reality as it really is. It is not about holding on to the very things and habits that have so far impeded our progress.

So how often do we play the transcendental trapeze? We try to let go of the impediments with one hand while holding on to them with the other. These impediments can be in our minds, or in the way we interact with the 'things' of the world: money, sex, relationships, careers, habits, egos, iPods, computers, pets, cars, bikes, clothes, and on and on. The list is endless. We don't let go because we're afraid of falling while the band keeps playing.

So, as the first step, how about just loosening your grip a little on your metaphorical trapeze? Like an artist loosening his grip on his paintbrush and learning to paint in a new way &mdash letting it come from his heart and flow down his arm to the canvas.

That's all I have time for in this edition, since I have to don my sequinned tights and get some trapeze practice in. See you at the big top!

Send any news items or images you can offer to news@melbournebuddhistcentre.org by October 15th for inclusion in the next newsletter.

Don't forget to visit our website

Copyright Melbourne Buddhist Centre, 1 Pitt St, Brunswick, VIC 3056. July 2008

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