Introduction to Buddhism in America Today a Survey of the Three Main Styles: Mindfulness, Compassion, and Mantra

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Introduction to Buddhism in America Today A Survey of the Three Main Styles: Mindfulness, Compassion, and Mantra

Class Schedule and Readings

November 2015

Ecumenical Buddhist Society of Little Rock 1516 W. 3rd Street Little Rock, AR

Introduction to Buddhism in America Today A Survey of the Three Main Styles: Mindfulness, Compassion, and Mantra

Schedule and Readings (Page number)

November 2: Introduction to Buddhism, overview of the Buddha’s basic teachings and a survey of the three main practice styles.

No readings for the first class. Schedule and Readings (P1) Styles Overview (P2)

November 9: Foundation practices: mindfulness/awareness and loving kindness

Overview of Foundation Style (P3) A Dependable Mind, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (P4) Virtue: The Five Precepts, by Gil Fronsdal (P11) Cultivate a Metta Mind, by Sylvia Boorstein (P14)

November 16: Compassion practices: Bodhisattva training

Overview of Compassion Style (P18) Nirvana, the Waterfall, by Shunryu Suzuki (P19) Paying Homage: The Bodhisattva Vow, by Reb Anderson (P21) A Bodhicitta Practice, by Pema Chodron (P29) Shantideva’s Prayer, by Shantideva (P32)

November 23: Mantra practices: Tantra/Vajrayana techniques

Overview of Mantra Style (P33) Heart Jewel of the Fortunate, by Dudjom Rinpoche (P34) Awakening to Our True Nature, by Anam Thubten (P38) Prayer of the Three Kayas, Traditional (P46) Seven Line Prayer to Guru Rinpoche, Traditional (P47)

1 Three Styles of Buddhism

Hinayana Mahayana Vajrayana Translation Foundation Path Great Path of Awakening "Indestructible" Diamond Path

Main Theme FREE FROM SUFFERING EMPTINESS/SKILLFUL MEANS ONE TASTE

Practices Discipline/Virtue Discipline/Virtue Discipline/Virtue Mindfulness/Awareness Mindfulness/Awareness Mindfulness/Awareness Loving Kindness Loving Kindness Loving Kindness Zazen, Mind Training Mindfulness/Awareness Skillful means of a Bodhisattva Mind Training Lineage Skillful means of a Bodhisattva Lineage Being a Buddha/Sadhana

Vows Refuge, Precepts Refuge, Precepts Refuge, Precepts Bodhisattva Bodhisattva Samaya

Natural Capacities Staying present Staying present Staying present Eagerness to Learn Eagerness to Learn Eagerness to Learn Warmth Warmth Warmth Compassion Compassion Symbolism Devotion

Fruition A Dependable Mind Big Mind, Awakened Heart Confidence in Buddha Mind

EBS Groups Vipassana: Sun evening Rinzai Zen: Tue evening Sakya/Nyingma: Wed evening Silent Sitting: Daily Soto Zen: Thur evening Nyingma/Dharmata: Sat morning Community Meditation: Wed Thich Nhat Hanh Zen: Sun evening Nyingma: Sun morning

Readings: A Dependable Mind Nirvana, the Waterfall Awakening to Our True Nature Virtue Paying Homage Heart Jewel Metta A Bodhicitta Practice Prayers (2) Shantideva's Prayer

2 Class Two: Foundation Style, Hinayana

Goals: Peace. Becoming familiar with our own distress so that we can free ourselves. Using our natural abilities to stay present, focus our minds, and relax.

Tools: Discipline, Meditation, Prajna

Readings: A Dependable Mind, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu Thanissaro Bhikkhu is a teacher of the Thai Forest Tradition, an American who spent 22 years in Thailand studying with the masters there, became an important translator of Buddhist teachings into modern English, and is currently the abbot of the Metta Forest Monastery in California, www.watmetta.org. In this talk, Ajahn Geoff explains how we get to know our mind through meditation, allowing it to settle down and feel at home in the present moment.

Virtue: The Five Precepts, by Gil Fronsdal Gil Fronsdal is another American who took ordination as a Theravada monk in Burma and also trained with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and he currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center www.insightmeditationcenter.org in northern California. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center www.spiritrock.org where he is part of its Teachers Council. He is the author of several wonderful books and you can listen to Gil’s talks at AudioDharma.org. In this article, Gil explains how discipline supports meditation practice and provides a kind of protection so that we have permission to freely examine our minds in a new way.

Cultivate a Metta Mind, by Sylvia Boorstein Trained as a senior Vispassana teacher, Sylvia Boorstein has been teaching meditation since 1985. She authored several popular books about Buddhism and currently teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center www.spiritrock.org. In this article, she describes a loving kindness meditation we can use to help us face our own suffering, and the suffering of other people, with love and gentleness.

EBS Foundation Groups: Vipassana – sitting, walking, and group discussion Sun 7-8 Silent – ½ hour of silent meditation Mon 6 pm, Tue 6:30 pm, Fri 6 pm, lunchtimes, M-F 11:30 to noon, Sun morning 9 am. Meditation Workshop – instruction, meditation and discussion Wed 7-8 pm

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Virtue: The Five Precepts

As a merchant carrying great wealth In a small caravan avoids a dangerous road: As someone who loves life Avoids poison: So should you avoid evil deeds.

– Dhammapada 123

Buddhist spiritual practice falls into three general categories known in Pali as sila, samadhi and pañña, which can be translated into English as virtue, meditation and wisdom, respectively. They function like three legs of a tripod; it is essential to cultivate all three. Wisdom and meditation will not develop without virtue. Developing virtue and understanding to the full depths of its possibility requires wisdom and meditation.

No single English word adequately translates sila. Sometimes, in its etymological origins, sila is said to come from the word for “bed”. Certainly we can see it as the bedrock or foundation upon which the rest of our spiritual practice is built. Sooner or later, anyone who begins to develop some sensitivity through mindfulness practice will discover that without the foundation of virtue, the depths of sensitivity are hard to develop.

Sila is usually translated as “virtue” or “ethics,” but we need to be careful not to confuse it with Western ideas of virtue and ethics. A traditional foundation of Western ethics is commandments and values often handed down from a god. These values include ideas about right and wrong, good and evil, and absolute rules that we have to live by. This approach to ethics leads easily to guilt, an emotion that is pervasive in the West, but which is considered unnecessary and counterproductive in Buddhism.

Buddhism understands virtue and ethics pragmatically, based not on ideas of good and bad, but rather on the observation that some actions lead to suffering and some actions lead to happiness and freedom. A Buddhist asks, “Does this action lead to increased suffering or increased happiness, for myself and others?” This pragmatic approach is more conducive to investigation than to guilt.

As guidelines for virtue and ethical behavior, the Buddha formulated precepts for us to follow. For lay people, there are five basic guidelines. These are 1) to abstain from killing, 2) to abstain from stealing, 3) to abstain from sexual misconduct, 4) to abstain from lying, and 5) to abstain from intoxicants such as drugs or alcohol.

The Buddha referred to these five in different ways, giving us different perspectives from which to understand them. Sometimes he called them the “five training rules” (pancasikkha), sometimes “five virtues” (pancasila), and sometimes simply as “the five things” or the “five truths” (pancadhamma). The expression “the five things” might seem odd, but perhaps it helps to free us from fixed ideas about what these “things” are, and how they function.

There are three ways of understanding these “five things.” The first is as rules of behavior. These are not considered commandments; rather the Buddha called them “training rules.” We voluntarily take on the training precepts as a discipline for the support of our spiritual training. Following them promotes the development of meditation, wisdom and compassion.

As training rules, the precepts are understood as rules of restraint. They are phrased as “For the sake of my training, I vow not to kill, not to steal,” and so forth. We agree to hold back on certain impulses. Instead of following our inclination to kill a mosquito or steal pencils from work, we hold back and try to bring mindfulness to the discomfort we are impulsively reacting to. Rather than focusing on whether the actions are bad or immoral, we use these restraints as mirrors to study ourselves, to understand our reactions and motivations, and to reflect on the consequences of our actions.

Following the training rules offers us a powerful form of protection. Primarily, the precepts protect us from ourselves, from the suffering we cause others and ourselves when we act unskillfully.

The second way the Buddha talked about the precepts was as principles of virtue. The fundamental principles that underlie all five precepts are compassion, not causing harm, and generosity. We follow the precepts out of compassion, out of a sense of the suffering

12 of others, and out of the possibility that others can be free of suffering. We also live by the precepts out of compassion for ourselves. We want to be careful about our intentional actions, how we act, how we speak, even the kinds of thoughts we pursue.

So that the precepts do not become a rigid ideal that we live by, we practice them together with the principle of non-harming. We can keep in check any tendency to create harm through narrow minded or callous use of the precepts by asking ourselves, “Is this action causing harm to myself or others?” The understanding of what causes harm brings humanity to the precepts.

Living by the precepts is itself an act of generosity; we give a wonderful gift of protection to ourselves and to others. Indeed, one pragmatic reason to follow the precepts as rules of restraint is to bring joy to our lives. Many people meditate because they feel they are lacking joy and happiness. According to the Buddha, one of the best ways to cultivate and appreciate joy is to live a virtuous life.

The third way the Buddha talked about the precepts was as qualities of a person’s character. The Buddha described someone who was spiritually well developed as endowed with the five virtues. The Buddha said that once you reach a certain level of awakening, it is simply not possible to break the precepts. Following the precepts is a direct by-product of having discovered freedom.

In summary, these five things can be understood as rules of training, as principles to guide our actions, and as a description of how an awakened person acts. The world needs more people with the intention, sensitivity and purity of heart represented by the five precepts.

May the precepts be a source of joy for everyone.

Excerpted from the book The Issue at Hand by Gil Fronsdal

13 Cultivate a Metta Mind: Lovingkindness Meditation

BY SYLVIA BOORSTEIN | AUG 28, 2007 Yoga Journal

Lovingkindness, listed ninth in the traditional list of the 10 Perfections of the Heart (also known as the paramitas) is described as the heart fully awake in friendliness, compassion, and empathic joy. The Perfections are the 10 particular permutations of goodness and kindness that the Buddha was said to have developed in his many lifetimes before the one in which he was acknowledged as fully enlightened and venerated as the Buddha.

Lovingkindness seems to me to be the requisite substrate that supports all of the other Perfections: generosity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, determination, and equanimity.

The Metta Sutta (the Sermon on Lovingkindness) is part of the Pali canon. It gives instructions for lovingkindness practice and promises that liberation is its reward. I imagine that if the Buddha preached the Metta Sutta today, the newspaper reporting the event would say: “Three discoveries Ensure Lasting Peace”: 1.Wholesome living is the cause of happiness; 2. Personal happiness cultivates the insight “Everyone wants this!”; 3. Human beings have the capacity in gladness and in safety to wish unconditionally, “May all beings be happy!”

Commentators would point out that the Metta Sutta has no special instructions for “What Wish to Make for People You Don’t Like.” It doesn’t need them. It assumes that one’s own boundlessly safe and happy heart has no walls with hooks on them on which to hang old animosities, no filing systems filled with fear stories that get in the way of forgiving. In lovingkindness meditation, steadfast well-wishing concentrates the mind, dispelling any barrier to benevolence. My colleague Guy Armstrong says, “The metta mind is like frozen orange juice. Everything extra is squeezed out of it. What remains is the essential goodness, only sweeter.”

A Student’s Lessons One of the stories told about the origin of lovingkindness practice says that the Buddha taught it as a protection to monks who were frightened

14 because they were about to go off by themselves into the jungle to meditate. Perhaps those monks were comforted, having heard the legend of how a rampaging elephant stampeding into the Buddha’s path was brought to his knees by the force of metta that surrounded the Buddha. I imagine they believed the same force would ward off tigers and snakes and every other fearful thing they might encounter on their own. I also think metta is a protection. But I don’t think it’s an amulet. Tigers and snakes and fearsome things are wherever they are, doing whatever they do. The miracle protection is the spontaneous lovingkindness response of the heart to fearsome things seen clearly and fully understood in a mind awakened by mindful attention.

My metta practice – when it is not the saying of structured phrases – has been informed by teachings from Chagdud Rinpoche, a venerable teacher in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and Jo, a regular member of the Wednesday morning class at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California. I think of both teachings as the lovingkindness point of view.

I met with Chagdud Rinpoche only once. I arranged to see him because I’d begun to feel – as part of my meditation practice – very strong and unusual energies in my body, and my friends told me that Tibetan teachers were especially knowledgeable about esoteric energies. I told him, slowly and carefully, because we spoke through an interpreter, the details of my experience. I expected him to give me instructions in a new meditation technique. Instead, he said, “How much compassion practice do you do every day?” I didn’t know how to answer. Then he said, “Go out in the street every day and see the suffering.” I thought, “How will I know who is suffering? Does he mean everybody? Probably he does. But then what? And what about my energies?” The interview was over, so I didn’t ask. His instruction though, “Go out in the street every day and see the suffering,” was valuable. At the very least, paying attention to other people is probably a modulator of concentration energies. At the very most, it builds compassion.

Jo’s teaching was a comment she offered in a class at Spirit Rock. I had been teaching about lovingkindness and said, “It’s easy to wish well to people you love. It’s hard to do this with people you don’t like. And we usually overlook ‘neutral’ people, people that we have no opinions

15 about. Anyway, there are few neutral people. I think we make instant decisions, usually based on little data, about whether or not we like people. It’s hard not to be partial.”

Jo, who has been a flight attendant for United Airlines for more than 40 years, said, “No, it isn’t. When I look out at the passengers in an airplane and say, ‘Fasten your seatbelts,’ I mean it equally for everyone. They are all in the same airplane, and we all need to make this trip together. They all look the same to me.”

I think about Chagdud Rinpoche when I remember, standing in line at the supermarket checkout stand, to wonder about the person in front of me: “What is the biggest difficulty in her life right now?” When I remember, I wish, “May you be happy. May your pain – whatever it is – be lessened.”

And I think about Jo as I look around and realize that all of us in line - at the supermarket, bank, post office, ticket window - are moving through this line and that line, day after day, and year after year, this difficulty after that, making this trip of life together. And everyone still looks different to me, but I know that we all have to fasten our seatbelts, just the same, for the trip.

A Song of Love

The everyday lovingkindness practice – good wishes for everyone you pass – can happen on its own as you carry on with the rest of your life. When I decided on the metta phrases I would use, I set them to a melody that has a special, private meaning for me and practiced them over and over as a chant. I encourage students to do the same. I tell them, “If you do, you’ll find that your chant will become like a song about which you will say, ‘I can’t get that tune out of my mind.’ It will be stuck there, playing in every spare moment, and it will make you happy.” I invite you to do the same.

Try It

Choose phrases you like to say, or a melody – one that touches your heart - and see if you can “scan” your words so they fit. The phrases I

16 say fit three melodies that are dear to me. Once you’ve written your song, sing it to yourself always. After you’ve done this, you will feel different and the people around you will also feel different. Begin now.

Step 1 Make yourself comfortable. Take a deep breath. Relax. Try to smile. The Buddha taught that there is no other person in the whole world more worthy of your well-wishing than yourself. I love that teaching! It’s so kind and it makes so much sense. When I am unhappy, tense, frightened, tired, or irritable, I think, “Of course! Who else could I possibly wish well to? I can’t see past myself. I need to feel better first.”

Step 2 Say what you want. These are the words I am saying these days. Until you find others more resonant for you, I invite you to try them. Say them out loud if you’re alone; otherwise, think them. Begin with yourself. May I feel protected and safe . May I feel content and pleased . May my physical body provide me with strength . May my life unfold smoothly with ease.

Step 3 Now say the phrases again. This time, stop after each phrase and take a deep breath in and out. Close your eyes as you take the breath and feel how that wish feels in your body. Then make the next wish and feel how that one feels.

Step 4 Feel it. When you know the wishes by heart, close your eyes and say them over and over. Pay attention to how good it feels to wish yourself well. Later, you’ll send your wishes to others. For now, just yourself for as long as you like. And really do try to smile.

This column is excerpted from Pay Attention, For Goodness’ Sake: The Buddhist Path of Kindness by Sylvia Boorstein. Copyright © 2002 by Sylvia Boorstein. Reprinted by arrangement with Ballantine Books, a division of Random House. Inc. Sylvia Boorstein resides in Santa Rosa, California.

17 Class Three: Compassion/Mahayana

Goals: Using our natural warmth and compassion (and emotions) to experience and appreciate emptiness. Becoming more and more familiar with emptiness so that we can address suffering even more deeply.

Tools: Same as Foundation, plus Lineage, Bodhicitta training, Paramitas

Readings: Nirvana, the Waterfall, by Shunryu Suzuki A chapter from a famous Zen book, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind from the Japanese teacher Suzuki Roshi who came to America in 1959 and founded the San Francisco Zen center. Many American-born Zen teachers got their training from Suzuki Roshi or his close students. In this chapter, Roshi explains “Big Mind” which is the Zen name for our natural brilliance and unconditioned awareness.

Paying Homage: The Bodhisattva Vow, by Reb Anderson Reb Anderson, Tenshin Roshi is a lineage-holder in the Soto Zen tradition. He received dharma transmission in 1983 and served as abbot of San Francisco Zen Center's three training centers from 1986 to 1995. He continues to teach at Zen Center, living with his family at Green Gulch Farm. He is author of "Warm Smiles from Cold Mountains: Dharma Talks on Zen Meditation" and "Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts." www.RebAnderson.org In this chapter, we consider how the vow helps to align ourselves with the great tradition of Bodhisattvas, to join their family, so to speak.

A Bodhicitta Practice, by Pema Chodron An American school teacher who trained under Tibetan teachers and was ordained as a nun in 1974. Pema currently serves as resident teacher at Gampo Abbey Monastery in Nova Scotia. Author of countless books and audio teachings, you can find all of Pema’s work at pemachodronfoundation.org. In this article, Pema teaches a method for opening our hearts and cultivating an unbiased attitude that brings us closer to the natural mind of a bodhisattva.

EBS Mahayana Groups: Kwan Um Zen - prostrations, chanting, and meditation, Tue 6-7 pm Soto Zen – chanting, discussion and meditation Thu 6 to 7:30 pm Zen in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh – chanting, discussion and meditation Sun 5:30 to 6:30 pm

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A Bodhicitta Practice

BY PEMA CHÖDRÖN| MARCH 24, 2015

     6K+ 160 102 Pema Chödrön offers a method for generating love and compassion for all human beings.

The best way to begin this practice is by thinking of a person whose suffering you feel strongly and whose happiness is very important to you. This could be someone you know or have known, or someone you’ve seen on the street or read about in the newspaper.

The thought of certain people naturally and easily Photo by Andy Karr. awakens bodhicitta in us: we care about them and we don’t want them to suffer. Think of such a person and, whether you feel love, gratitude or compassion for them, say, “May they be free of suffering and the root of suffering; may they enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.”

There are two aspects of working with bodhicitta, both of equal importance: one is connecting with the flow of bodhicitta we already feel, and the other is being awake to where that flow is blocked. So you can do this practice not only thinking of people you care about, but also visualizing people you don’t like. It’s important to have an unbiased, compassionate attitude toward whatever is arising.

29 Think, now, of an area of the world that’s in great turmoil—an area where you know people and animals are suffering a lot. When you’ve chosen the place, think of the men there, and say, “May all the men in that place be free of suffering and the root of suffering; may they enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.” Give yourself time. Take a few minutes.

Then think of all the women in that place, and wish that they too could be free of suffering and the root of suffering, and that they could enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.

Then think of all of the children in that place and wish that they be free of suffering and the root of suffering, and that they might enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.

Finally, think of all the animals in that place—the mammals, the birds, the fish, the insects and all the other animals—and wish that they be free of suffering and the root of suffering; that they might enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.

Imagine, then, all the men in the world who are starving to death right now, and wish that they could be free of suffering and the root of suffering; that they could enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.

Then imagine all the women in the world who are starving, and wish that every one of them—starving all over the world at this very moment—could be free of suffering and the root of suffering, and that they could enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.

Imagine all the children who are starving at this very moment all over the earth, and wish that they, too, could be free of suffering and the root of suffering; that they could enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.

Then imagine all the animals in the world who are starving to death right now, and wish that every one of them, all over the planet, could be free of suffering and the root of suffering; that they could enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.

Then bring to mind all the men on this planet—whether you respect them, feel neutral toward them or consider them bad people—and wish that they could be free of suffering and the root of suffering. Wish that they could enjoy happiness and the root of happiness. Because if all of the men on this planet could be free of the root of suffering and could enjoy the root of happiness—if they could be free of all the self- absorption that causes so much pain—we would be at peace.

Do the same with all the women on the earth—whether you like them or dislike them or feel neutral about them—and wish that they too could all be free of suffering. If all the women on the earth could be free of the root of suffering and enjoy the root of happiness, the world would be at peace.

30 Now do the same with all the children on the earth—whether you like them, dislike them or feel neutral about them. Wish that they could all be free of suffering. Because if all the children on the earth could be free of the root of suffering and could enjoy the root of happiness, the world would be at peace.

Finally, do the same with all the animals on the earth—whether you like them, don’t like them or feel neutral about them—and wish that they too could all be free of suffering. If all the animals on the earth could be free of the root of suffering and enjoy the root of happiness, the world would be at peace.

Sometimes when we do this kind of bodhicitta practice, we touch on people who immediately awaken warm feelings in us. Other times, though, we just feel numb. And then there are the times when we contact the hardness of our heart. Noticing this is very good, because it shows us when we’re open and when we’re closed. We should notice all of these things with compassion and lovingkindness towards ourselves, because the more we’re able to feel tenderness towards ourselves, the more easily it flows to others.

     6K+ 160 102

ABOUT PEMA CHÖDRÖN With her powerful teachings, bestselling books, and retreats attended by thousands, Pema Chödrön is today’s most popular American-born teacher of Buddhism. In The Wisdom of No Escape, The Places that Scare You, and other important books, she has helped us discover how diﬃculty and uncertainty can be opportunities for awakening. Her book Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better: Wise Advice for Leaning into the Unknown will be published in September, 2015. She serves as resident teacher at Gampo Abbey Monastery in Nova Scotia and is a student of Dzigar Kongtrul, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, and the late Chögyam Trungpa. For more, visit pemachodronfoundation.org.

TOPICS: Bodhichitta, Pema Chödrön, Practice, Shambhala Sun - May '04, Suﬀering