The Yogabliss on-line Moving into Meditation class met this morning.  We explored how we meet the world during a time when it feels like the ground is crumbling beneath us.  We reflected on how The Three Tenets of the Zen Peacemakers inform our practice and how they can help us respond to the world with more open mindedness and heartedness.  The Peacemakers are a worldwide movement people who practice meditation, embody and do social action as a path of awakening and service. You can learn more about their fascinating story and work at Zen Peacemakers International.

We also drew inspiration from, Small Practices for Uncertain Times, by  Zen priest and poet Bonnie Myotai Treace.   We ended with Joy Harjo’s magical poem from her latest collection An American Sunrise.  Joy is member of the Mvskoke Nation.  She is the current Poet Laureate of the U.S. and was reappointed to a second term on April 30, 2020

Relaxed Reflection

Let’s continue our practice – Not-Knowing . . . Bearing Witness . . . Taking Action . . . “Letting go of fixed ideas about yourself, others, and the universe”  even for just right now . . . for just this breath . . . living from our center . . . even as we live through the most difficult times . . . Right now we can reflect on the experience of this dropping away of things we’ve relied on for stability, familiar ways of living we’ve taken for granted . . . How do we respond to the unsettling forces of our times?  Right now we are taking shelter as described by the Abbot of the Zen Center of Los Angeles, Wendy Egyoku Nakao Roshi:

 . . . shelter in the place before anything arises . . . a place of the deepest rest where self-interest has not yet entered.  . . . You yourself can go to the darkness and become like an empty vessel, empty of points of view and preferences. An empty vessel refuses nothing and receives everything that is coming at it from all directions. By practicing in this way, you can create more space to accommodate your own reactivity and the points of view of others.

Right now we can reflect on how we meet the world.  Do we seek to understand beyond our understanding?  Do our assumptions and beliefs blanket our experience?  What do we choose to let in and what do we try to exclude from the world?  How do we find our center in this great constellation of interconnected life?  These are questions we can live with every day, in every exchange, in every experience.  What am I opening to?  How am I meeting this person?  Am I sure what I know is true?

In practice we strengthen our awareness of thoughts, feelings and sensations as they arise and pass.  We train in creating the inner spaciousness and stability that gives us a choice in how we respond to what arises.   We bring a curiousity and compassion to our experience.  We stay vitally alive to the truth of our humanness – our inner and outer struggles.  We choose what to cultivate – how we grow. 

In outline of the Zen Peacemakers Three Tenets Roshi Wendy writes:

Bearing witness can allow you to eventually come to terms with the most difficult life circumstances. The practice is always available to you regardless of the time, place, situation, or people involved. . . .  In bearing witness, you are actively engaged and embodied, even struggling, with whatever is arising. . . . To hold to the center is not about becoming a spiritual zombie; it is about living the fullness of your own humanity. You are alive, so be fully alive.

Right now you might recall the last bit of unexpected news you had about yourself, a family member a friend, your community and beyond?  How did you react?  How did you respond?  Did you lose your center?  How did it change your heart, your mind?

We practice so that our actions are caring – caring enough to serve – the whole situation nothing left out.  Sometimes this means simply dropping our fixed ideas and staying present – truly present with what might be the discomfort, the anxiety of not knowing what to do. We stay.  We stay open eyed, open earred, open hearted.  From this engaged openness caring action can arise.

Even while we social distance we can stay engaged.  Zen Priest and poet Bonnie Myotai Treace offers Small Practices for Uncertain Times.  Here is:

One Small Practice: Gassho Mind

Someone approaches and you need them not to get closer.
There will be a flicker of fear or anxiety. Exhale.
Say, “Please stop there” and bring your hands palm-to-palm
into gassho, the mudra of intimacy.
Step back a bit if you need to.
Smile and meet their eyes warmly.
Let yourself feel their vulnerability, along with your own.
It is okay to take care of yourself in this and other ways.
Even more important: don’t let fear close your heart.

From An American Sunrise poet Joy Harjo offers:

Directions To You

Follow them, stop, turn around
Go the other way.
Left, right,
Mine, yours.
We become lost,
Unsteady.
Take a deep breath,
Pray.
You will not always be lost.
You are right here,
In your time,
In your place.

1. North

Star, guidance as we look up
To the brightest white
Hoping it leads you to where you want to go,
Hoping that it knows where you should be.
We find our peace here in the white,
Gather our strength, our breath, and learn how to be.

2.East

The sun rises,
Red,
Morning heat on our face even on the coldest morning.
The sun creates life,
Energy,
Nourishment.
Gather strength, pull it in
Be right where you are.

3.South

Butterfly flits
Spreads yellow beauty.
We have come to this moment in time
Step by step,
We don’t always listen to directions,
We let the current carry us,
Push us,
Force us along the path.
We stumble,
Get up and keep moving.

4.West

Sunsets, brings
Darkness,
Brings black.
We find solitude,
Time to take in breath and
Pray.
Even in darkness you
Can be found.
Call out even in a whisper
Or whimper,
You will be heard.
To find,
To be found,
To be understood,
To be seen,
Heard, felt.
You are,
Breath.
You are,
Memory.
You are,
Touch.
You are,
Right here.