Sunday Sermon "Bad Buddhist, No Nirvana!"

As I watched my friends in the Baha'i community work through the odd sleep schedules and hunger that their yearly fast entails, I was moved to examine my own spiritual path. I've thought, written, read, and meditated on the subject. It was pretty depressing, to be honest.

When I lived in Fort Collins a few years ago, just a few blocks down the road there was the Laporte Avenue Zendo. I used to sit there every morning with a small group of dedicated practitioners, and as Abra would say, "It was good." We were done by 07:00, and I would then approach my dreadful job as a customer service representative ("complaint taker") for AT&T with a clearer mind and greater compassion.

Today, I stumble through my morning and drag myself to class. I try to remember to say a gatha for breakfast, but often there's no time for breakfast, let alone time to be thankful. My hair is no longer on fire. Unlike the Baha'i crowd, I have no Zen community around here, so I have become slack. Bad Buddhist - no Nirvana.

There is an old Zen proverb about practicing like your hair is on fire - that you should try to maintain an urgency in your practice. Reverend Master Jiyu-Kinnet preached, "Time flies as an arrow from a bow..." I can still hear her crisp British accent admonishing all of us to work as hard as we could. The Buddha told his disciples that discipline, effort, and a certain tautness were essential to following the Middle Way.

Now I know that my loyal readers (all 3 of you) are wondering when the Reverend is going to get around to the moral of this story. You all know that the part where I draw this all together and make some attempt at profundity is just around the corner.

Not today.

Today, I'll simply say this; I'll be meditating regularly, first thing in the morning, starting tomorrow. If you want to come over and join in, drop me a line and let me know. If you want to meditate in your PJs at home, that's great too - just drop me a line and we'll acknowledge that we are sitting together at different places. Time is in short supply; there's so much to do. Start now!

Bringing Art to Inner City Kids

March 4th - My birthday. Dinner out with friends. So now I'm older and stuff. Then I went home to work on a paper that I could have finished at any time in the last two weeks but didn't. I went to bed at about 02:00, with the paper partly done.

March 5th - Got up at 04:00. I went to A.&R.'s to make breakfast. Eggs with salsa and cheese. Playing with hot things on two hours of sleep; cool. Then home to make breakfast for my roomie and myself. I worked on the paper some more, and turned it in electronically around 10:30. Nap time.

Today - up at 4:30. Over to A.&R.'s to make breakfast for many people. Burned a huge pot of rice; threw it out. Started more rice. Made eggs again. Made fried rice towards the end. Then home for a nap.

My observations during these days:

1) Sleep is better when you really need it. I know they say you are supposed to get 8 hours a day, but when you get only two hours or so, the next time you get to sleep is heavenly. It's not unlike a drug addiction; it's all you can think of, and so wonderful when you finally get your fix.

2) At 05:30, hot food is miraculous. ANY hot food. The Baha'i kids are so thankful to not have to cook themselves, that even hastily fried rice is like manna to them. A. likened it to bringing art to inner city kids; any art is better than no art.

3) Community is more important than ideology. I'm not Baha'i, but they have been kind to me from the very beginning. I have some strongly-held, angrily-defended positions on theology, and yet they are kind and accepting of me. They are vaguely aware that my personal history is a littany of sins that would curl their hair, and yet they are kind to me. Perhaps it's because I will get up at 04:00 to scramble eggs for them, but I have come to believe that they are just genuinely kind and accepting people.

Tomorrow we are bringing breakfast burritos to the inner city kids...

Renewal

This afternoon, the sun poured through the windows in the front room. I lit a candle, offered incense to the Buddha, and meditated. The simplicity of the practice was what drew me to the Buddha's Eightfold path to begin with - well, that and the hats. Catholics have the best architechture, Southern Protestants have awesome gospel singers, and the Jews have the best food, but Buddhists have the best hats by far. Even the Pope can't top those fluffy yellow mohawk things that the Tibettans wear...

So I sat, calmed my mind, and counted my breaths. The sun moved across my back, and I felt a hint of peace returning to me; the calm knowledge that you, I, and the lamp post are one. Though I took to my cushions alone this afternoon, I am never truly alone. I am always sitting with the world.

My friends of the Baha'i faith have just begun their annual fast. For 19 days, they will take no food or drink between sunrise and sunset. It is difficult, and hard on those with blood sugar problems, but they use the time to reflect and renew their commitment. Inspired by my friend Rachel's devotion to her path, and Abra's devotion to Rachel, I have volunteered to help by cooking breakfast for them on a couple mornings during the fast. While I will not participate in the fast, I feel the need for a time of spiritual renewal as well. My excesses and mistakes have left me with so much karma to work off...

I will use these early mornings as an exercise in mindfulness. Serving others provides a training ground for the virtue known to Buddhists as "metta" (usually translated from the Sanskrit as "loving-kindness") and these are my brothers and sisters, regardless of their beliefs. The fact is, their beliefs are not too far from mine; I found this very Buddhist-sounding quote on Rachel's site:

Do not be content with showing friendship in words alone. Let your heart burn with loving-kindness for all who may cross your path.
-Abdu'l-Baha

Anyone who believes in that wants what I want, regardless of labels. I hope they like rice...

Nothing Special...

Two groups of monks were travelling with their masters on pilgrimage. They met near sundown on opposite sides of a narrow, but swift-running river. The bridge had been washed away by heavy rains, so the two groups decided to camp for the night, then head downstream at dawn in search of a safe ford. After the fires were built and the rice was boiling, two of the monks began to visit across the chasm. When the introductions were done, they began to discuss their masters.

"Do you follow a true master?" asked the younger monk, who studied with Master Ling Po.
"Yes, I guess I do. Is your master enlightened also?" asked the older monk, who studied with Master Wu Chou.
"Oh yes! Master Ling Po does amazing things!" exclaimed the youth. "When he is in deep meditation, he levitates off his cushions. He can speak with animals, and command fire from his fingertips. Everyday, he recites 100 sutras and does 1000 prostrations before the Buddha. He is a great holy man, and I am lucky to learn from him." Realizing that this outburst about his master might seem rude, the young monk asked, "What does your master do?"
"Wu Chou? Nothing special, really. He eats when he is hungry, and sleeps when he is tired," said the older monk.
"That's it?"
"Yup."

The youth was puzzled. He went to his master, who was doing zazen on a rock some distance away from the water.

"What troubles you?" his master asked.
"The monks across the river are mislead."
"How are they mislead?"
"They follow a false master. Wu Chou is a fake."
"How is he false?
"He is nothing special. He eats when hungry, and sleeps when tired."

Immediately, Ling Po sprang to his feet. "Get my cloak, and find my hat. Tell the others that we must press on tonight," he said, as he began to repack his travelling bag.
"But Master, where are we going?" the young monk asked.
"Downstream to find a shallow ford. We must cross and speak to this Wu Chou at once - he is a true master."

"To pray is to ask that the laws of the universe be annulled on behalf of a single practitioner confessedly unworthy."
-Ambrose Bierce

A few basic rules for life...

1) Don’t kill stuff unless it’s going to kill you if you don’t.
I don’t mean like, “we had to attack Iraq ‘cuz they might have weapons of mass destruction, and a whole lotta' oil...” I mean more like, “look out Bob, that bear is coming fast and he wants your burrito supreme...”

2) Don't adhere blindly to religions that tell you to lop off body parts, or sacrifice your children.
Genesis 17:10-14, and Genesis 22:1-3. 'Nuff said.

3) Don’t fry wontons in the nude.
No examples here - just take my word for it; I have a scar. It's hard to explain the first time you're naked with a new lover.

4) Trust the judgement of your animal companions.
My dog Tobi only ever bit two people - my ex-wife, and her father. She was right, on both counts.

5) Do not attempt to ski/skate on snow-covered grass while wearing a kilt.
I left "ass angels" (something akin to snow angels, but much colder) on the hill in front of Hoyt Hall today...

6) Don't seek your spiritual path on the internet.
They let anybody post here.

Here endeth the lesson. Go in Peace.

Sextant and Backstaff

Sometimes, up above us,
as our souls rush away
from the burst of coming to be,
making for the edge of this plane,
we pass over another and become entwined.
Our paths bend and sway together;
influenced, but intrinsically free.
Crossing the arc of the other,
we curve in their gravity
and new constellations are formed.
Down below, we unfurl the sails,
set sextant and backstaff,
then navigate by them for a time,
until they no longer point to our destination.