Talk Notes:
If you’ve been here for our Sunday morning program, you already know that our theme this year is the Six Paramitas. I’ll be continuing on the journey Hannah started us on last week of exploring the paramita of ethical conduct. Thank you, Hannah, for reminding us in your talk that ultimately ethical conduct is not for ourselves, but for everyone. She asked us to consider, “How will this action affect my/our/the world’s future?”
At the heart of paramita of ethical conduct is, of course, our 16 bodhisattva precepts. I realize many of you are already familiar with the precepts, but let’s take a look at them with fresh eyes. I’ve been listening to Norman Fischer’s early talks on the precepts (from 2000). He reminds us again that these precepts are not a set of rules, nor or they simply a set of guidelines to live by. He says:
“The life blood that runs through the veins of the Buddhas and ancestors is the lifeblood of sixteen bodhisattva precepts. This is the essence that flows through the bodies of these Buddhas, and is passed down, one to another, to the present. So the precepts are the actual blood lineage of the Buddhas.”
Let’s recite them together (call and response manner). Close or bring your eyes to a soft gaze and notice how you feel as you connect with the life blood that flows through your veins:
THE THREE REFUGES:
I take refuge in Buddha.
I take refuge in dharma.
I take refuge in sangha.
THREE PURE PRECEPTS:
I vow to refrain from harmful conduct.
I vow to cultivate beneficial conduct.
I vow to benefit all beings.
TEN CLEAR MIND PRECEPTS:
I vow to protect life, not to kill.
I vow to receive gifts, not to steal.
I vow to respect others, not to misuse sexuality.
I vow to be truthful, not to lie.
I vow to remain clear, not to intoxicate self or others.
I vow to speak kindly, not to speak ill of others.
I vow to practice modesty, not to praise self at the expense of others.
I vow to practice generosity, not to be possessive.
I vow to practice loving-kindness, not to harbor ill will.
I vow to cherish and polish the three treasures.
I’m going to draw attention now to the Three Pure Precepts: I vow to refrain from harmful conduct, I vow to cultivate beneficial action; I vow to benefit all beings. Sometimes the 3rd line is written, “I vow to live for and with all beings.” I am focusing on these 3, because they include all the others. The 10 Clear Mind Precepts that follow, are the specifics that fall under the umbrella (so-to-speak) of the Pure Precepts. To protect life, not to kill, for example, is one specific way to refrain from harmful conduct, cultivate beneficial conduct, and live for and with all beings. You could say the same thing about the other 9.
But I think we could distill the precepts down yet further. I think the 3 Pure Precepts could be expressed in one sentence: I vow to loving-kindness. That’s my distillation. As Hannah reminded us, ethical living requires going beyond the self-centeredness of our ego. Practicing with the precepts reminds us of the interconnected nature of life. When we know that, kindness, care and love naturally emerge through our speech and activity. So, you could say that practicing the 16 bodhisattva precepts is the practice of Metta, translated as loving-kindness.
If you studied the precepts, you may know that traditionally, there are 3 levels of practicing with the precepts:
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Literal level. You vow not to lie, so you always tell the truth. Quite literally.
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Compassionate level. Compassion comes from the heart, it’s rooted in kindness, and includes empathy for others. So, if for example, you are living in Nazi Germany and hiding a Jew in your attic, and a Nazi soldier shows up at your door, you might lie: “There are no Jews here.”
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The Ultimate level Norman describes in this way (this is from the same Dharma talk I quoted earlier): “At this ultimate level the sixteen Bodhisattva precepts disappear. Buddha’s life is shining everywhere and is all there is. We are easily and joyfully living our life as Buddha’s life, with unimpeded kindness welling up.”
That sounds like Metta practice.
And precept practice with these 3 levels (literal, compassionate and ultimate) is not a linear progression from one to the next. We are always practicing with the precepts on all levels. And all levels of practice, ethical conduct shows us how to live as a kind, caring person - to cultivate beneficial action and refrain from harm.
I am drawn here to the word “cultivate.” We often use this word in speaking of gardening: we cultivate the soil - add compost and water - to cultivate a fertile ground for growth. In the practice of ethical conduct, we are cultivating the heart, creating a fertile ground for kindness, care, compassion - the qualities of the heart.
It’s interesting to me that in the earlier version of the paramitas, prior to Mahayana Buddhism, there were 10 paramitas, and among the 4 that were dropped by the Mahayana school, was the paramita of Metta: loving-kindness. I am not sure why, but I would speculate that maybe the early Mahayanas didn’t feel the need to point us to Metta practice, since the whole of the bodhisattva path is Metta. Here is a definition of the bodhisattva path, as written by Jack Kornfield: “Bodhisattva is the Sanskrit word for a being who is devoted to awakening and to acting for the benefit of all that lives. It states that the deep fulfillment of happiness comes from serving the welfare of others, as well as ourself. Our highest happiness is connected with the wellbeing of others.” (on the homepage of his website)
So, if we are already living for and with all beings, why would we need Metta practice?
Well, I don’t know about you, but I need Metta practice. I need explicit practices to cultivate my heart and to grow my capacity for loving-kindness. I am really grateful that my teachers have introduced me to heart-centered practices from other schools of Buddhism. The two practices that have most influenced me are:
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The Metta, loving-kindness, practice of the Theravada tradition and
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The Tonglen practice of the Tibetan tradition
I thought it would be a worthwhile use of our time this morning to learn, and if there is time, actually practice them
METTA PRACTICE
This practice involves both visualization of self or others, in conjunction with setting intention to offer kindness, and send love from your heart. This includes reciting phrases that reflect your loving intentions. The phrases could be as simple as:
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May you be happy.
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May you feel safe.
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May you live with ease.
These are standard phrases used. Sometimes they are expounded upon and may sound more like this:
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May you be happy and joyful.
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May you be safe and peaceful.
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May you meet life’s challenges with strength and wisdom.
When I did a day of Metta practice at Spirit Rock, which is a Theravada Buddhist temple in California, I wrote my own Metta phrases, resonant with my heart:
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May you be safe and protected
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May you have health and vitality
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May you feel content and happy
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May you know peace and well-being
It’s important, if you continue with this practice on your own, to find words that come from your heart, and that you personally resonate with. And I’ll give you a tip, if you search on the Mindfulness Northwest website, under “Practices,” you will find a whole section on guided Metta practices. And our teacher here, Nomon Tim, offers a guided meditation there that will guide you in finding the words from your heart.
But for today, for the sake of time and simplicity, we will use the simple, traditional language:
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May you be happy.
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May you feel safe.
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May you live with ease.
Settle in body and breath, maybe place a hand on your heart. Send Metta to:
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Another person who you love or care about.
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Self
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Another person you know but may feel neutral toward (like the barista who serves you your morning coffee or someone you see regularly on your dog-walking route)
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Someone who is thorn in your side, someone who challenges you but in small way - they might irritate your but don’t set off your rage
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Let’s extend this loving kindness to the whole world
TONGLEN PRACTICE
Another practice that has been helpful to me is Tonglen practice. We may not have time to actually do it today, but I wanted to at least introduce you to it. Tonglen is a Tibetan word that means “sending and taking.” This practice involves imagining sending out light and compassion as you exhale, and taking in suffering and negativity as you inhale. To do this practice, choose an object of compassion - possibly a person, an animal, or group whose situation touches your heart.
I’ll give an example of when and how I used this practice in my own life. When I was going through my divorce from my first husband, there were ways I felt betrayed by him. During our divorce process, he lived in a separate bedroom in my house for 6 months, and we made some agreements and set some parameters around behavior to support our co-habitation at that time. He was unable to keep those agreements, or be honest with me about not keeping them. I felt that my trust was betrayed. I remember clearly the feeling of being stabbed in my heart by his betrayal.
I practiced with Tonglen. I thought of all the women, presently or historically who have felt betrayed by their husbands - and this included myself. I breathed in the darkness, pain and disillusionment of betrayed women; and sent out from my heart loving, healing light. This was a warm, loving light that could embrace us in our pain and support us in our healing.
Tonglen may sound like an uncomfortable practice to you. We all feel the urge at times to escape from pain or discomfort. We may find escape routes with distraction, denial, or simply turning a “blind eye” at it. But we may also find that rejecting discomfort may actually add to the pain.
Take a moment now to think of a person or animal that you know is suffering. We won’t do a group right now, because it may feel overwhelming to start large. Someone you know who is in pain. For example, I have a friend in CA who is a single mom with a high-need daughter - and she often feels stressed, alone, burdened, and strained in her relationship to her daughter. I could choose to hold her in my mind’s eye and in my heart - and then breathe in her pain, distress, even anguish, and breathe out love, care, compassion and holding.
