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Transforming Breath, Awakening Sangha
Every morning, lighting incense and turning the calendar page to count each day until the year 2000 reminds us that time passes swiftly. In every chanting ceremony, there is a gatha on impermanence, reminding us to cherish the present moment. When the mind is clouded by sorrow or anger, we practice in two steps:
- Maintain mindful breathing, transforming the mind from suffering to positive conditions.
- Use faith—reciting “there is Buddha nature in me” with each in-breath and out-breath—to remind ourselves that in every cell there is still the capacity to understand, to love, and to forgive.
Living in the sangha requires openness and sharing: holding Dharma discussions to speak honestly about joys and difficulties, establishing a five-year continuation plan (three years of self-reliance, two years with the Teacher’s support), and electing an “executive committee” responsible for:
- Practice (managing schedules and discipline)
- Guest reception (welcoming practitioners and lay friends)
- Education (guiding study and attendant duties)
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Finance (budgeting and organizing retreats)
All important decisions are approved according to the Sanghakarman method (the collective receiving of the great precepts).
Each monastic must be proactive in the role of elder brother or elder sister: wholeheartedly caring for practice and study, guiding the younger ones, maintaining the etiquette of walking meditation, meals, and Dharma talks; regarding lay friends as “fields” to cultivate, not as customers. When each person finds happiness and inner energy, the Buddha nature within will be nurtured, spreading throughout the great assembly and offering itself to the world.