How Does Buddhism Impact Those Around Us?
Introduction by Cole Goodwin
Welcome to The Spiritual Roundtable, an interfaith roundtable featuring a diverse range of spiritual belief systems in the Gorge Community.
Each week, spiritual leaders and learners share their take on some of humanity's biggest questions, starting with: What does your spirituality mean to you? And ramping up into discussions about the nature of existence, the soul, the divine, and of course…a question as old as time itself: why are we here?
Roundtable writings will be published each Saturday and Sunday morning of the month.
Now take a deep breath… Meditate for a moment…And when you’re ready…keep reading to explore one of the many diverse faiths, belief systems, and philosophies that exist in our communities.
This Month's Question: How does your spirituality (faith, practice, belief system, philosophy) impact those around you? How does your (faith, practice, belief system, philosophy) encourage healthy relationships with other people, animals, and the earth? (Platonic, romantic, etc) What is love? How can we be more loving?
Why this question was chosen: This question asks us to examine how choosing to live a spiritual life can impact those around us.
About Scott See: Scott first became curious about Buddhism in 1983 in Ladakh, India where he met people living in primitive and challenging conditions whose smiles shone so bright that Scott wanted to learn more about this Buddhist culture. Fast forward to 2015, Scott approached Thay Kozen at the Mt. Adams Buddhist Temple with an offer to barter website services for Buddhist teachings. Scott was ordained as a student of the Lay Novice Buddhist Ministerial program at Mt. Adams Buddhist Temple in April of 2019 and was given the Dharma name, Minh Tự. (Pronounced: min-dun — with the final n very muffled.) Scott also maintains a personal blog that reflects on his journey on the Path.
How Does Buddhism Impact Those Around Us?
by Scott See
In our meditation services, we at Mt. Adams Buddhist Temple often begin with a Chant of Compassion which starts with, “May we surround all forms of life with infinite love and compassion.” And we end with a Dedication of Merit which includes, “May the merit of this penetrate into each thing in all places so that we and every sentient being can realize the Buddha’s way.” These beginning and ending phrases set the intention of our practice–to become the best version of ourselves so that we can be better able to serve others. Those last two words are key–”serve others.” The teachings at Mt. Adams Buddhist Temple emphasize that, all our efforts, while they are directed at our own spiritual health, ultimately is to benefit all people. I should say, to benefit all people, all sentient beings, and the world we live in including our environment. Buddhism teaches us to let go of the differences between our self and others. If we do something to help ourselves, we are indirectly doing something to help others. If we do something to help others, we are indirectly doing something to help ourselves.
A Buddhist meditates by the water in Trout Lake, WA
Not 2
Human beings are very good at categorizing and labeling things. I am American/German/Chinese/etc. I am Buddhist/Christian/Jewish/Muslim/etc.. I am Caucasian, Hispanic/Asian/Black/etc. The lists go on and on. And yet every label to which we become attached puts us in harms way of disharmony with everything around us. Think of any of the big crimes against humanity and you’ll find that the crime began with a single thought: I am [fill in the blank] and they are [fill in the blank]. Perhaps no war would ever begin if world leaders focused on how we’re all the same and how we all have the same wants and needs for wellness, happiness, love, and peace. It’s not that labels don’t exist. It’s just that when we become too attached to them, harmony suffers. The world of “we vs. them” is fraught with conflict. The world of “we’re all in this together” has none of this conflict. It’s interesting to note that when the Dalai Lama gives a presentation to a large crowd, he will often begin by introducing himself as a simple monk, who, though he hasn’t met most of the people in the audience, still feels a connection; a sameness with everyone in the audience. This humility and this focus on the sameness leads to harmony and peace in the world.
A statue at Mt. Adams Buddhist Temple.
Metta, or Loving Kindness
May you be well;
May you be happy;
May you know love;
May you know peace.
This is called the Metta Mantra. Metta is a Pali word that means loving kindness. And a mantra is a word or phrase that is repeated to help us concentrate on the message of the mantra. This mantra is one of the Metta practices that are an important part of our path. We repeat this mantra five times. In the first repetition, we dedicate the mantra to ourselves; in the second, we dedicate it to someone easy to love; in the third we dedicate it to someone we don’t know; in the fourth, to someone difficult to love; and lastly, we dedicate the mantra to ourselves again. Including ourselves in our Metta practice speaks to the idea that we shy away from focusing on differences between ourselves and others. As Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche said, we strive “to practice a friendliness towards ourselves that is so strong it radiates out to all people.” In other words, we work on our own stuff so we can be in a better position to help other people with their stuff.
Many gather at Mt. Adams Buddhist Temple in Trout Lake, WA.
Relationships
As the song by The J. Geils Band goes, “Love Stinks.” Romantic love often leads to heartbreak. The same can be said for the love between family members, or any strong attachment. The idea that love leads to pain is as controversial now as it was at the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, our historical teacher. This is not to say that Buddhists avoid relationships. Far from it. Rather, as Thích Nhất Hạnh, the Vietnamese Buddhist teacher, tells us that true love comes from understanding. And when a relationship does lead to heartbreak, we don’t avoid it. We embrace the pain and look at it closely. And in observing the pain, the pain loses its strength. We can’t necessarily eliminate it, but we can soften the pain by contemplating the impermanent nature of everything. As our fourth precept says, “I resolve not to engage in improper sexuality, - but to lead a life of purity and self-restraint.” (The precepts are guidelines that, for the most part, deal with relationships with other people.)
The Ten Cardinal Precepts
I resolve not to kill
- but to cherish all life.
I resolve not to take what is not given
- but to respect the things of others.
I resolve not to engage in improper sexuality
- but to lead a life of purity and self-restraint.
I resolve not to lie
- but to speak the truth.
I resolve not to cause others to take substances that impair the mind, nor to do so myself
- but to keep the mind clear.
I resolve not to speak of the faults of others
- but to be understanding and sympathetic.
I resolve not to praise myself and disparage others
- but to overcome my own shortcomings.
I resolve not to withhold spiritual or material aid
- but to give them freely where needed.
I resolve not to indulge in anger
- but to exercise restraint.
I resolve not to revile the three treasures (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha)
- but to cherish and uphold them.
Interbeing
Thích Nhất Hạnh teaches about interbeing, a word he coined to mean the interdependence of all people and all things. When you think of it, we’re all here due to an infinite number of factors. There are all the people involved with the mere fact of your existence. Your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on. There are all the environmental factors. The sun, the rain, the earth itself, all were necessary for you to be. In fact, our simple existence and what we’ve become are inextricably linked to other people, places, and things. We can live in harmony with the world if we acknowledge that we depend on a multitude of things for our very existence. It’s when we think of ourselves as separate or independent, that we begin to feel special and entitled. This entitlement leads to attachment which often leads to suffering.
Sangha
The Sangha, or Buddhist community, is one of the Three Refuges of Buddhism. Early on in our Buddhist practice, one has the opportunity to take a vow of the Three Refuges or 1. Taking refuge in the Buddha (the historical teacher), 2. The Dharma (the teachings of the Buddha), and 3, The Sangha (Buddhist community.) So from the very beginning of one’s experience with Buddhism, you will be immersed in a community of members who are well practiced in Metta and equanimity. This makes for a very loving and non-judgmental community.
Equanimity
As briefly mentioned before, when we do Metta practice, we include those who are challenging to love. It’s common to offer well wishing prayers to those who cause suffering. That does not mean Buddhist condone behavior that causes suffering, but rather we acknowledge that all people want to be well, to be happy, to know love, and to know peace. It is in this spirit of well wishing for all that promotes harmony.
In Summary
Buddhist practice serves to reduce suffering for ourselves so that we are better equipped to help reduce suffering for all. As the Dalai Lama says, “My religion is kindness.” Many Buddhists take a Bodhisattva vow, the first of which is as follows:
“Sentient beings are innumerable, I vow to free them all.”
Free them all from suffering, from attachments that cause suffering and from delusions or ignorance that cause suffering. So in answer to the question, “How does Buddhist practice impact others?” I might be flattering myself if I thought that I am helping all sentient beings, but I can say for sure that this is my intention with every breath I take.
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