In the wonderful book A Guide to the Buddhist Path Sangharakshita writes about peace in such a beautiful way. In Pali there is a word “Upeksa which is tranquility or, more simply, peace.” He writes:
“We usually think of peace as something negative, as just the absence of noise or disturbance, as when we say, ‘I wish they would leave me in peace.’ But really peace is a very positive thing. It is no less positive than love, compassion, or joy—indeed even more so, according to Buddhist tradition, Upeksa, is not simply the absence of something else, but a quality and a state of its own right. It is a positive, vibrant state which is much nearer to the state of bliss than it is to our usual conception of peace (page 162).”[1]
And yet most of us have never experienced “bliss” itself. Sometimes we can feel something similar with help from drugs or alcohol but that is not the Buddhist idea of “bliss” for sure. But we all have experienced the idea of peace. What would the world be like if every morning every person on the planet woke up filled with peace, joy, and compassion for self and all others? No one would go hungry because if we had one piece of bread–we’d share it with someone who had none. There is a very powerful saying, “I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.” I cried because I had no peace until I met a family who lived in a war zone, or walked thousands of miles with their children to leave gangs and death, rape, and poverty.
The author goes on to write, “We shall have to regard ourselves as citizens of the world in a more concrete sense than before, and rid ourselves of even the faintest vestige of nationalism. We shall have to identify ourselves more closely with all living things and love them with a more ardent and selfless love. We shall have to be a louder and clearer voice of sanity and compassion in the world (page 132).”[2]
If it’s to be it’s up to me! I must be it, live it, and honor it in all that I do, and think, and say. I must be the example of peace and love and not to just the nice lady down the street, or the kind man who held the door for me when my hands were full of packages. Not just when the person agrees with me. There is a great story attributed to Mahatma Gandhi and told by Chuan Zhi in 2003.
“When we achieve true restorative balance within ourselves, we are happy and content and can live without regret, remorse, or guilt. We are at peace. The enlightened approach is to always be vigilant, to guard against committing sins—those violations of our Buddhist Precepts. But when we slip and fall into error, we must go that extra mile into positive areas and not only make restitution and correct the damage, but we must also correct ourselves.”
Chuan Zhi goes on to write:
Gandhi is near death from starvation when a crazed man, a Hindu, arrives with food that he insists Gandhi must eat. He demands, “Here! Eat! Eat! Eat! I’m going to hell—but not with your death on my soul!” Gandhi replies, “Only God decides who goes to hell.” “I killed a child!” the man confesses. “I smashed his head again a wall!” Gandhi asks, “Why?”
“Because they killed our son…my boy! The Muslims killed my son!” Gandhi sees the man’s unbearable grief and remorse. He gently tells him, “I know a way out of hell. Find a child, a child whose mother and father have been killed—a little boy- and raise him as your own. Only be sure that he is a Muslim…”
And thus, came peace in the heart of the man and the child that he raised. What do you need to do to find peace in your heart? Now go do it….
[1] Sangharakshita, A Guide to the Buddhist Path, Windhorse Publications: Birmingham England
[2] Ibid.
Today as I was looking on my bookshelf for another great book on peace I came across The Kwan Um School of Zen’s Chanting and Temple Rules workbook. Near the back of the book on page 52 there is a section entitled “On Conduct.” After reading it I realized that if I just followed these rules each and every day I would definitely end up with a peaceful life and positive relationships with everyone I meet and especially with my family and friends. Below is what they have written.
In the introduction chapter of the book Cleary talks about the influence that conventional religions had on Buddhism. “On a deeper level, Zen masters sought to restore and express the living meaning of religion and philosophy; the Zen teaching was to ‘study the living word, not the dead word.’ Not only did Zen reawaken Buddhism in this way, but it also revitalized Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, and Shamanism bringing out their higher spiritual dimensions (page xiv).”
Students! Do not practice buddha-dharma [teachings] for your own sake. Do not practice buddha-dharma for name and gain. Do not practice buddha-dharma to attain blissful reward. Do not practice buddha-dharma to attain miraculous effects. Practice buddha-dharma solely for the sake of buddha-dharma. This is the way (page 13). [1]
A young mother lived in a cabin in the woods. When she journeyed to town she would take different paths so her views might be varied. One day she walked down a path she hadn’t traveled on before and there in the middle of the road was a large boulder. This bothered her and seemed out of place. So she tried hard to move it. But it was too large. So she walked around it and went on her way. Some time later she came down that trail again where the boulder was. This time she brought some colorful chalks with her and tried to disguise the rock with bright colors. It looked better, but it was still there. One summer many years later she happened down that road again, where the disturbing bolder lay. The years of rain and sun had washed away the chalk. A fine layer of dust coated the surface now. As she looked down into its depth more closely, she noticed it had both smooth and rough places. It was actually not an unattractive object. She brushed the dust from it with her hands and noticed some glints of quartz. She sat down on it and rested in silence and realized she really didn’t need to do anything about it. It was and so was she. There was just being with it and that was, or it should be.
The poem is written by Flose Boursiquot and taken from her incredible book Close Your Eyes, Now Breathe.” The picture was taken on July 30th in Delray Beach, FL at the “Families Belong Together” rally sponsored by 
The Secret to a More Fulfilling Life: Part 5 Atonement
Posted in attachment, birth, BUddhism, cause and effect, chant, Christianity, death, enlightenment, fears, happiness, hate speech, human race, Kazuaki Tanahashi, love, prayer, religion, self-help, sickness, suffering, Uncategorized, wisdom, Zen, tagged anger, atonement, faith, greed, ignorance, inspiration, karma, learning, Living by Vow A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Text., Living by Vow A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and texts, relationships, sitting, thoughts, thoughts are things, Truth, Zen Chants Thirty-Five Essential Texts with Commentary on June 19, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Atonement has been defined in many ways such as reparation for a wrong doing or making amends for your actions, words, and/or deeds. Or even read as “at one meant.” In, Buddhism we have a gatha or chant that we recite at the end of our sitting period. It is simple yet powerful.
All harmful karma ever committed by me since of old
On account of my beginingless greed, anger, and ignorance,
Born of my body, mouth, and thought,
Now I atone for it all…
Kaz Tanahashi in his book Zen Chants reminds us that “We are in the midst of changeable and unchangeable karma in each moment. We are bound by cause and effect, but at the same time we are partly free of cause and effect. This is the case during meditation, when we can be completely free from the chain of causation. At this time, we can be anybody and anywhere. We are what we meditate. We are also the source of cause and effect (page 146).[1]
Each time I recite this chant I feel like I’ve been given a new life, and a new opportunity to get something right! To have a “do over” as we might say today. I may not be able to have a “do over” with someone who has passed away or no longer will take my calls, texts, or emails, but atone I must—to forgive myself for my behavior or words or deeds that harmed or hurt another. Regardless of whether the person is someone you know or a total stranger if we have harmed then atonement is the best action to take. If we decide not to take that action it doesn’t mean that we’re done with it anyway!
I once worked with a congregant of mine who had a very bad relationship with his brother. Upon his brother’s untimely death, he went into a great depression for how he had left their relationship. It came to me when we were together one day for him to simply meditate on the love that he had held back from his brother and ask an imaginary angel to deliver him a message of repentance, love, and compassion. Not long after he said that his brother had come to him in a dream and they hugged and forgave each other, and his pain and suffering was relieved. His love for his brother was evident in his countenance he was smiling joyfully.
He was freed from the chain of causation through atonement! How chained are you? What will you do about it? Will you atone and be released from those thoughts and emotions? Or do you choose to live with the pain, anger, and animosity? The choice is yours—which will it be.
[1]Tanahashi, K. (2015) Zen Chants Thirty-Five Essential Texts with Commentary. Shambhala: Boston and London
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