Nancy Gilmour, WON (Women of Neighborhood), UU Neighborhood Church
(Buddha at Seokbulsa Temple, Busan, Korea (Anosteen/Flickr.com)
Neighborhood Church is a Buddhist sanctuary in Pasadena, the "Benares of the West."
There Unitarian Universalists and American Buddhists mix like coconut water and sweetness.
PasaDharma Zen Group, Insight Meditation, Tibetan (New Kadampa Tradition) Buddhist meditation, yoga classes, social action groups, and WON (Women of Neighborhood) all meet at this Unitarian church regularly.
A man was recently invited into the female sanctuary on behalf of Wisdom Quarterly as WON meditated with a Theravada Buddhist teacher in the traditions of Vipassana and Shinzen Young.
WOMEN: Wednesday, and we'll meet at 7:00 - 8:30 in Room 23 at Neighborhood Church, 301 North Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena. For any newcomers, as you face the church from the parking lot, walk to the right and back and take the stairs up to Room 23 at the northeast corner of the building.
WON may use the "Echo Talk" technique, which helps slow down the otherwise ubiquitous mind chatter. The 10-Minute Chill and a relaxing Body Scan are other easy meditations usually done, in addition to a walking meditation.
These are short (5-10 minute) guided periods designed to ease us into meditation. There is no charge for the class, but participants may donate if they wish to offer support. Dana is a Pali Buddhist word that means "generosity freely offered." Bring a yoga mat to stretch out for the body scan.
Buddha at Mattara, Sri Lanka (DurbanBay/Flickr.com)WHEN THINGS FALL APART
When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chodron ("Opinions," pp. 112-113)
The key is to realize the difference between opinions and clear-seeing intelligence. Intelligence is like seeing thoughts as thinking, not having opinions about whether those thoughts are right or wrong.
In the context of social action, we can see that what a government or corporation or individual is doing is clearly causing rivers to be polluted or people and animals to be harmed.
We can take photographs of it; we can document it. We can see that suffering is real. That is because of our intelligence, and because we don't let ourselves be swept away by opinions of good and evil or hope and fear.
Just as the Buddha taught, it's important to see suffering as suffering. We are not talking about ignoring or keeping quiet. When we don't buy into our opinions and solidify the sense of enemy, we will accomplish something.
If we don't get swept away by our outrage, then we will see the cause of suffering more clearly. That is how the cessation of suffering evolves.
This process requires enormous patience. It's important to remember, when we're out there non-aggressively working for reform, that, even if our particular issue doesn't get resolved, we are adding peace to the world.
We have to do our best and at the same time give up all hope of fruition. One piece of advice that Don Juan gave to Carlos Casteneda was to do everything as if it were the only thing in the world that mattered, while all the time knowing that is doesn't matter at all.
That attitude leads to more appreciation and less burnout, because we do the job wholeheartedly and we care. On the other hand, each day is a new day; we're not too future oriented. Although we are going in a direction, and the direction is to help diminish suffering, we have to realize that part of helping is keeping our clarity of mind, keeping our hearts and our minds open.
When circumstances make us feel like closing our eyes and shutting our ears and making other people into the enemy, social action can be the most advanced practice. How to continue to speak and act without aggression is an enormous challenge. The way to start is to begin to notice our opinions.
There is nobody on the planet, neither those whom we see as the oppressed nor those whom we see as the oppressor, who doesn't have what it takes to wake up.
We all need support and encouragement to be aware of what we think, what we say, and what we do. Notice your opinions. If you find yourself becoming aggressive about your opinions, notice that. If you find yourself being nonaggressive, notice that.
Cultivating a mind that does not grasp at right and wrong, you will find a fresh state of being. The ultimate cessation of suffering comes from that. Finally, never give up on yourself. Then you will never give up on others.
Wholeheartedly do what it takes to awaken your clear-seeing intelligence, but one day at a time, one moment at a time. If we live that way, we will benefit this Earth.
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