Tag Archives: chaplaincy

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a mandala of precepts

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from my notes on the talk on precepts by Roshi Joan Halifax:

In the practice of Buddhism, the context of moral authority is  transmitted through a dharma mandala of Theravada, Mahayana, and Buddhayana.  The Theravada teachings provide a literal perspective that connects action to consequences, cause and effect.  The Mahayana lens enters the realm of interconnectedness.  Suffering is shared and therefore compassion is generated for the liberation of all beings.  The Buddhayana lens is the boundless mind, encompassing not just all beings but all concepts and visions of the path, lifting desire away from outcome.  Thus, moral authority resides in the integration of action, interconnection, and casting the net of compassion wide.

The guiding principles of such moral authority are manifested in three dimensions: inner, outer, and interactive.  The inner source of moral authority arises from a singular precept: regulation of one’s mental continuum.  This coolness and peacefulness prepares the ground to “pull aside the curtain that makes our ethos less visible to us.”  That is, a solid stance taken on stable ground increases the likelihood of seeing what is present, unclouded by preferences, conditioning and cultural bias.  By taking on the precepts, we clarify our intentions, direct our motivation and center our aspiration.  It makes conscious our intention and holds up to scrutiny the rationale for doing what we are doing.  These are also ego-taming precepts that regulate the psychological domain and mitigate the effects of anger, addictive behaviours, and preferential judgments.

The external source of moral authority is evident in the behavioural manifestation of what it means to be a good person within our social order and the congruence with cultural expectations of gender, age, and faith.  These behaviours do not and cannot exist in a vacuum, free of the changing expectations of women, men, and children of any generation.  It is within this crucible that the precepts of realization form and generate our awakening.

The practical source of our moral authority arises from the interaction with the world.  Like the external source of our development, they are consequentially-based and context-driven.  Actions congruent with one community may be incongruent or misperceived in another.  The demands of living this precept requires a relinquishing of fixed knowledge and entering a “not-knowing.”  Within this context, bearing witness provides that context-based way of engaging and compassionate action can be sensitive to the sacred language of the community.

The world as I experience it remains cold to the concept of practice that arises from precepts.  It is enamored of situational ethics and moral ambiguity.  As I reflect on the many scenarios of my personal and professional life, I am suddenly aware that we spend a lot of time negotiating around and from that place of outer and practical precepts but rarely spend time learning of the other’s inner precepts.  Yet, it is these inner precepts that allow us the flexibility and clarity to develop the other two and engage wisely with our community.

Thank you for practicing,

Genju

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raising one foot

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I am of the firm belief that any place with the word “Mexico” in its address is forbidden to include snow on its list of tourist attractions.  The universe, however, is persistent in disregarding my wishes.  Over the two weeks in Santa Fe NM, we had the opportunity to practice “weather equanimity” which is not much different from practicing “equanimity of the expressive emotions of others.”  Living in the second or third coldest national capital in the world, I am quite the expert at weather equanimity.  Sun, rain, sleet, freezing rain, hail, snow (all 10,000 varieties), and a mix of some or all of the above don’t deter me from my daily outings.  The practice of equanimity in the face of overt and subtle emotional leakage of others, however, is one of my lifelong challenges.

I often wonder if I was born pre-wired to feel pierced deeply by the emotional ebb and flow of interactions.  The sensitivity to these waves of deep expression comes in handy as a professional – but that’s likely because I am protected by the mantle of the Professional Observer.  Without that cloak, however, I find myself dragged raw from the powerful surges of attachments and detachments that go along with the early stages of group dynamics.

Somewhere in the process, I learn to step back – not into Observer mode because that is not possible nor is it honest.  I step into Participant-Observer watching the moments when past reactivities would have de-railed potential connections and then moments when effort realizes new responses that foster relationship.

In dokusan, I comment that this is like High School except that I have access to several decades of skill.  Not that I’m more skillful; I just have access to more skills.

It’s a beginning.  And it helps that Dogen and I spend a lot of time in my room rehearsing the implications of nonself – a concept that would have made my High School years a hell of a lot easier.

Indeed, when you understand discontinuity, the notion of self does not come into being, ideas of name and gain do not arise.  Fearing the swift passage of the sunlight, practice the way as though saving your head from fire.  Reflecting on this ephemeral life, make endeavor in the manner of Buddha raising his foot.*

Dogen on Guidelines for Studying the Way from Moon in a Dewdrop edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi

*from the footnotes: According to the Sutra of Bodhisattva’s Former Deeds, in one of his previous lives the Buddha Shakyamuni raised one foot for seven days and nights out of respect and admiration for the Buddha Pushya.

What will it be like to go through this day acknowledging the ebb and flow of relationships by willingly “standing on one foot?”  Right here, pushing the edge of my balance between respect and disregard.

Thank you for practicing,

Genju