Monday, March 17 we will meet online.
Dear friends,
This week, we will meet Monday evening, March 17th, from 7-8:30PM EST online; Wednesday morning, March 19th, from 7-8AM EST in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); and Friday, March 21st, 12-1PM EST online.
On Monday, Marie and Camille will introduce the Buddhist sutra The Eight Realizations of Great Beings and explore the first realization, which is the awareness that the world is impermanent.
The Eight Realizations is an important teaching of the Buddha and may even be considered by some people to represent the entire path of Mahayana Buddhism.
According to the podcast, The Way Out is In, the Eight Realizations were important to Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) and were some of the first teachings he shared. Later, when teaching to the Vietnamese boat people, Thay said that we can use these realizations as practical tools in our daily life to generate more understanding and compassion in our bodies, thoughts, perceptions, minds, and motivations.
With all that is going on in the world and in this country and also in many of our personal lives, Marie and Camille have been drawn to what they call “deep dish Dharma,” which is defined as Dharma teachings that are deep, practical, and can support us right now.
We are invited to begin with this First Realization about impermanence, and to explore how we can apply this teaching to our everyday lives: “The awareness that the world is impermanent. Everything within us and around us is constantly in a state of change, and political regimes are subject to fall.”
Camille shares:
I have been practicing lately with impermanence in my personal and community life. Knowing that all things will eventually change has been both a challenge and a blessing. When things feel like they are falling apart and the ground under my feet feels unsteady and rocky, I am constantly searching to make things better.
My habit energy goes in two directions. The first is thinking that I don’t want any change, particularly if something is going well and I want to hold onto things, or when I fear change will be hurtful. The second is thinking that I can personally change people, situations, and events for the outcome that I think is best rather than allowing the natural flow of each moment to occur and change as it will. I tend to be impatient and constantly searching after something, and this causes suffering in me and around me.
Thay shares this story: he was walking in the woods under the autumn trees and enjoying a leaf falling down from a tree to the earth. The leaf, which started out green on the tree, had turned a golden color, and then it fell to the ground and settled into the earth. Thay contemplated on whether the leaf was scared and worried about what would become of it, but of course the leaf could dry up and become part of the soil and could grow up as another leaf or a tree. Whatever it may become, it is constantly changing beautifully and meaningfully. The change happens naturally. This can be the insight of impermanence.
This reminds me that I don’t have to worry and strive to change something outside of me or even inside of me. This story and contemplating the First Realization helps me to come back to my body and breath, to settle into the present moment and to face change with more openness and courage, and remembering that this moment will never come again. The reality of impermanence is still very difficult for me, but reflecting on teachings like the Eight Realizations of Great Beings gives me much comfort. I hope to explore and meditate on them much more in the future.
Marie shares:
Like Camille, when I care about something my habit energies pull me in the same two directions that she describes. The insight of impermanence, along with the other Eight Realizations, creates a strong foundation that helps me to steady my habit energies and find (sometimes:) solid ground on which to stand, breathe, and then decide how to respond.
Recent changes in global norms that I took to be truths are causing widespread uncertainty and suffering throughout the world, and this is just the beginning. The people who can least afford these changes will suffer the most. Each of us will respond to this in our own way, and remembering the insight of impermanence helps me to find compassion for my tendency to grasp, capacity with which to let go, and groundedness from which to act or not act—depending on the circumstances of the moment.
On Monday night, we invite you to share your experience with the First Realization: the awareness that the world is impermanent, and in the coming months, we hope to continue to explore the other seven realizations.
If you’d like to learn more about the Eight Realizations of Great Beings, here are some resources that we’ve enjoyed:
From the podcast, “The Way Out Is In”, two episodes on the Eight Realizations with guest Sr. True Dedication;
Youtube video of Br. Phap Hai sharing about the Eight Realizations (he also wrote a book by the same name)
Healing songs from Plum Village, including a song about the Eight Realizations
We look forward to seeing you online on Monday night.
In love and light,
Marie and Camille