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English retreat day 4
The Buddha is a fully human being who suffered and determined to practice to transform that suffering. A drawing of the Buddha sitting peacefully on the grass and a childhood encounter with a mountain hermit, found in the form of a clear natural well, illustrate the deep satisfaction and stability found in the spiritual path. The Five Mindfulness Trainings serve as a teacher and a guide for protection, transformation, and healing. These trainings are a non-religious proposal for a way out of difficult global situations, transcending boundaries of traditions, races, and cultures.
Taking refuge in a Sangha is a concrete practice of living in an environment where everyone follows the mindfulness trainings, providing safety from the toxins of the world. This involves the four recollections:
- The reality of the Buddha
- The reality of the Dharma
- The reality of the Sangha
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The reality of the Mindfulness Trainings
The practice of Selective Watering involves nourishing wholesome seeds while refraining from watering negative seeds like anger, fear, and despair. Store consciousness contains the seeds of fifty-one categories of mental formations, including the five divisions: Form, Feelings, Perceptions, Mental Formations, and Consciousness.
Suffering and happiness are of an organic nature; like a flower and compost, one can be transformed into the other. To restore communication and defuse the bombs of anger, we practice Deep Listening and Loving Speech. The story of a young couple and a shadow illustrates how wrong perceptions and pride can lead to tragedy if communication is not restored. The Third Mantra, Darling, I know you suffer. That is why I am here for you, is used when we are aware of another’s pain. When suffering is caused by a loved one, the Fourth Mantra is used:
- I am angry, I suffer, and I want you to know it.
- I am doing my best.
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Please help me.
During a storm of strong emotion, we move our attention from the head down to the abdomen. By taking refuge in the trunk of the tree rather than the swaying branches, we realize an emotion is only an emotion and will soon go away.
