A Prayer of Listening

Portland Buddhist Priory Posted on by

(Follow this link to see the July 2020 Priory Newsletter where this was originally published.)

The Cosmos Have Started!

One of my fellow monks, when talking with people of other faiths, will often describe our mediation as a prayer of listening. When we sit, we attempt to let go and in this letting go (not pushing away, just letting what is there be there and change as it will) we can learn to not get caught up in our fears and worries, patterns from the past and ideas and opinions about the way things are. In this quiet place of meditation, which is below the turmoil of our minds, we have the opportunity to deeply hear the voice of our own suffering; hear what it has to say to us and give it an opportunity to find peace.

In the world of audio engineering, there is a term: signal to noise ratio. In the electronic audio world this means the clarity of the sound transmitted across a circuit (for example from a microphone to a set of speakers) versus the amount of noise (from static or electronic distortion) introduced by the circuit. I am sure we have all heard an audio recording where Continue reading →

Just As It Comes

Portland Buddhist Priory Posted on by

(Follow this link to see the June 2020 Priory Newsletter where this was originally published.)

Our backyard Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva turns his gaze within.

Every now and then, Shasta Abbey will be the host for a yearly conference of western Buddhist monastics; at these conferences the community has the opportunity to spend time with monastics from other traditions. One year, when I lived at Shasta, that conference came around and I had the opportunity to serve food to a senior monastic in the Theravadin Buddhist tradition. (Theravada Buddhism is the form of Buddhism commonly practiced in southeast Asia and, while this monk was a westerner living and practicing mainly in Canada, his tradition came from Thailand.) At this one meal that I am remembering, since it is the practice of the monastics in this form of Buddhism to not serve food for themselves, I was asked to serve him and I was trying Continue reading →

What Is Good To Do?

Portland Buddhist Priory Posted on by

(Follow this link to see the May 2020 Priory Newsletter where this was originally published.)

Our experiments with container gardening have been yielding some nice produce! (Plus, way over on the right side you can see our new mason bee house.)

When I was a novice of maybe two years, there was a time when one of the senior monks was having a very difficult time and he was causing a great deal of turbulence and difficulty in the monastery. We were having a meeting of the community to discuss what was happening and I asked Rev. Master Jiyu to explain something that she said. She basically ignored my question and asked me if I could handle the Three Pure Precepts. I thought about it and said I didn’t know and she replied that when I did, we could talk about the question.

In retrospect, my asking her this question was a bit cheeky since, to a moderate degree, novices were to be seen and not heard at that time and I am grateful that she Continue reading →