Pureland Buddhism in South Yorkshire
We had a day of Pureland Practice at 118 today. We were joined by Marie, Mark and Paul and the day included a shared lunch and a discussion around nembutsu practice. It was a relaxed time and we are hoping that we will be able to to offer further weekend events in the coming months. Do let us know if you would be interested in attending!
Meanwhile, our regular monday evening services continue. See the diary page.
Amida Buddhism is a religion of light and love. It is life affirming without being complacent about basic human nature; respectful of universal spirituality but not dependent upon ideas of divine creation or divine judgement. It honours and appreciates the bitter-sweetness of the spiritual struggles of ordinary folk who are attempting to be truly human. It allows for a life of full time devotion without setting up an over-privileged priestly class. It is an engaged spirituality, centred on the prospect of the Pure Land paradise. It is suitable for all people, having a basic practice that is accessible to anybody. It is a path of sudden awakening centred uncompromisingly upon faith. It derives from the very earliest Buddhism and from a direct encounter with the Buddha of all time. It is grounded in the doctrines common to all Buddhist schools, yet offers a unique perspective on them, and, furthermore, does not require the mastery of those doctrines as a condition of awakening. It emphatically asserts that the practice that matters is the utterance of nembutsu in simple faith and that alone. Understanding of the doctrinal framework and support may be satisfying, but it is ancillary to the main spiritual project, which is eminently simple. It does not stand in opposition to other faiths, but reveals the generic nature of faith itself as the wellspring of eternal life. It holds that no religion can be ultimate since even revelation must pass through the medium of human nature. We are foolish beings of blind passion, living, knowingly or unknowingly, in the presence of infinite light, that reflects in us as faith. That gift of faith we either squander or gather in. We express it through ceaseless nembutsu expressing a contrite heart and a mind that is sincere, deep and unconditional. Such is Pureland.
Who loves dies well - Dharmavidya
Ray writes -
Through January we have been meeting regularly on monday evenings for a meal and practice together. Tonight though, instead of a service, we chose to attend the candlelit memorial ceremony held at the Winter Garden as part of Holocaust Memorial Day.
I was conscious of just how busy we all are. Sundari with a deadline for the completion of her book manuscript; Bhaktika not present because he was working late; Stuart about to begin a night shift at the hospital; Sally just starting a new job; Sue also in the early days of her new career as a housing officer; and me, with a head full of planning for people’s alcohol detoxifications! The line of our liturgy that reads “Wishing to practise a religious life in truly simple faith” has become almost a koan for us as we explore what it means to live a buddhist life very much amidst life in the world.
The memorial was moving. There were some readings given by students from the King Edward VII Secondary School, including Benjamin Zephaniah’s powerful poem - We Refugees
Khun Saing spoke of his experiences fleeing from Burma and the home he has found in the UK.
But it was the words of Dr Otto Jakubovic that will stay with me. He started by saying he had been asked to speak for five or six minutes about his experiences as a child in the concentration camps during WWII. An impossible task and he spoke for much longer. He spoke with great dignity and the image that remains is that of a 14 year old boy, arriving at a death camp after an unimaginable train journey in a cramped carriage, walking in a line that seemed to be being segregated into two streams. Puffing out his chest, saying he was 18 and a gardener rather than a just a school boy, he was thus spared the wavering of a thumb that meant he avoided being immediately sent to to the gas chambers and instead was led to the camp. ”You had to have luck to survive” he said.
The event ended with the lighting of candles and affirmations about what people could do right now to address discrimination in our own city and how we can all be a part of being a welcoming, inclusive community.
Ray writes -
Last night, rather than having a sangha evening at 118, we met at the Sheffield Faiths Forum/City of Sanctuary event Sanctuary, Hospitality & Refuge - Sharing our stories - an event for faith communities, held at the Methodist Victoria Hall in the city centre. It was a bitterly cold night but there were fifty plus people in attendance.
Bhaktika helped to facitate the evening which began with some personal reflections from two asylum seekers. Levan, from Chechnya (which he described as “the dark side of Russia”) said that he arrived in Barnsley about five years ago. He is a Christian who found support from a local church. He described how life was initially very difficult, feeling isolated, spending time between college and church. But eventually things began to improve, he began to ply the piano again, he made contacts in Sheffield and improved his English in the supportive environment of conversation clubs. He spoke warmly of the work of ASSIST who he said supported up to 800 destitute asylum seekers in the area. He closed by recounting how he’d attended a carol service recently at Christ Church were there were many faiths gathered together singing. “Many faiths, but One World”.
Ibtisam spoke of how she had grown up in Yemen, a muslim country and had never met people of other faiths whilst there. She spoke of the difficulties of being a young woman and a muslim, travelling alone and becoming a refugee.
She came to this country in 2004. She was fortunate in that she did not have some of the difficulties other people have experienced in obtaining refugee status. Her english was poor, and she initially lived in an arabic community in the Pitsmoor area. it was only when she began venturing further afield, eg attending Castle college did she begin to really meet other people of different faiths. She recounted how when she was initially doing some voluntary work for ASSIST she was reluctant and embarrassed to tell people where she was working, because it was situated in an office in an christian church! She is currently studying for a degree, and despite her protestations, her English is wonderful!
There were then several readings from various faith communities. Sundari spoke of the Second Mindfulness Training of the Community of Interbeing and then quoted Dharmakara’s fourth vow, from the Larger Pure Land Sutra.
There was a musical interlude from the Zeela Liberian Gospel Choir - which had everyone tapping and swaying!
Food was provided and people then gathered around tables to discuss a broad range of topics, including some questions identified by the organisers. There was then feedback to the larger group.
There were also contributions from Inderjit, Craig and Gordon concerning the roles of the Faith Forum, City of Sanctuary and Sheffield Interfaith, respectively.
The Menu of conversation provided is worth further reflection -
Sundari, Bhaktika and Ray were able to attend Gareth’s ordination during the Bodhi Retreat. Gareth received the Buddhist name - Kaspalita and becomes a novice amitarya. The picture above shows - Susthama, Prasada, Modgala, Dharmavidya & Kaspalita. It is lovely to be a part of these ceremonies that take place during this winter retreat. It is very moving to hear the vows taken by the amitaryas.
