Our Good Heart

by Rev. Kinrei Bassis 

One way of describing the Buddhist spiritual path is that we are seeking to find the Bodhicitta, the Heart of Buddha. Buddhism points us to the fundamental spiritual truth that we can find something that is much deeper and more real than just our small limited self. We can find that we are already possess that which is boundless, which embraces everything with unlimited goodness and compassion, the Buddha Heart. Yet Buddhist training begins with the effort to gain a better understanding of ourselves, of why we are the way we are. As our insight into ourselves deepens, this understanding provides us with more and more wisdom, which helps develop our faith so we can open our hearts to the fundamental truth that an all-embracing goodness, the Bodhicitta, can be found both within our own hearts and within everything. 

Spiritual progress will not happen unless we start cultivating doing that which is good in our own lives. The Buddha actually emphasized the cultivation of good thoughts, speech and actions rather than just the elimination of bad thoughts, speech and actions. Spiritual life will not progress if we just concentrate only on what we have done wrong and then just try to avoid all wrong behavior. Guilt is damaging because whenever we blame ourselves with guilt, this deluded reaction only leads to more suffering for ourselves. We need to have compassionate under- standing for our mistakes rather than harsh and critical judgements. We need to be cultivating a positive and good intention within our thoughts and actions and this will lead to having more good results appearing in our lives and in the world. Our lives and the world around us can seem dark and depressing but the effort of doing good is the main way we can gain necessary spiritual insight so that we can see through the seeming darkness that often envelops our life. It is actually impossible to fully embrace ourselves if we are not trying to do good in our lives. Deep spiritual transformation requires us to cultivate our good intentions and to make the effort to do that which will make our life better and help to make the world better. 

We all have the wish to do good for ourselves but often we see through a very narrow perspective, just trying to do what comes easily to us. This is what laziness is. We need to do something but we put it off to do what we find more pleasant in the present. For instance, rather than dealing with my taxes, I will have another cup of coffee and look at something on the internet. Being greedy with food means we are choosing the benefit of the immediate feeling of pleasure from a food rather than taking the broader view of doing what creates a better future in our lives by acting in a way which will help us to be healthier and feel better about ourselves. I have been teaching meditation for a long time and I have never had any- one come up to me with the difficulty that they are meditating too much. Yet the reverse situation is one of the most frequent problems that people bring to me: they are having difficulty in maintaining their meditation practice even though they believe it to be beneficial. Yet the reason is obvious. People most often find that meditation takes a fair amount of effort and it is easier not to meditate. And in our present life, we often do not feel and experience the positive benefits from the meditation. 

In life, most of us are willing to do that which is good for us and others when the consequences of not doing the right action are clear and unmistakable. Parents generally will find a way to feed and provide the basic care for their children no matter how difficult they find it because the consequences of neglecting their children are immediate and obvious. Taking care of our long-term health is an example where people often do not do what is right action because in our present and immediate future, we generally do not see the consequences of our wrong behavior. A good example of this is why people find it difficult to stop smoking. And it’s the same when we are angry and irritable with someone. It can feel good in the present to vent our emotions but then, we are generally insensitive to the harm we are inflicting on others and also the harm we are inflicting on ourselves. Rather than following just what makes us feel better and more comfortable in the pres-ent, the Dharma is directing us to take a deeper refuge and look as deeply as possible at what thoughts, words, and action will bring about a better future. This is often hard since we may not have the immediate feedback in the present that these actions will have a good result or make us feel better. That is why faith is necessary. If whenever we meditated or chanted scriptures we felt better, it would be like eating a good dessert; it would require no effort. 

One of the basic problems we face is that we all have both good and bad within our hearts and minds. We all, at times, are trying to do that which is good but at other times, we do not have the best of intentions and we avoid doing that which we know is right. Our fears and strong desires can drive us to choose what we know is wrong. After many years of Buddhist training, I can still find myself, at times, being selfish, greedy and angry. Does this mean I do not have a good heart? The ground of spiritual liberation in Buddhism is that we all possess the same boundless good heart, we all possess the Buddha Heart. So why is it so hard to find the Buddha Heart? How do I relate to the fact that I still have difficulties and that I am still dealing with my own wrong thoughts, wrong speech and wrong actions? Buddhist training is taking all aspects of our selfishness, our many varied and burning desires, all our painful fears, and all our deluded ways of thinking and then, by applying the Buddhist teaching and our ongoing practice, we can gradually see through the darkness of our misguided desires and see that none of them have any more substance than a dream. In fact, rather than our difficulties creating a problem for our spiritual life, transforming our difficulties into doing that which is good is the very ground of Buddhist practice. Instead of being driven by our selfish desires, we can learn to have compassion for all our selfish delusions and free ourselves from our deluded desires in order to find the place within our hearts where we can find unshakable peace and joy. 

To live from that sacred place in which we are only doing good is not the beginning or middle part of Buddhist training. To be doing only good is the culmination of our spiritual journey and to be doing only good means we have reached full enlightenment, Buddhahood. So it is not surprising that we are still making mistakes and, at times, we still behave badly. The Buddhist path of transforming our minds and hearts is often hard and difficult. It is a normal aspect of spiritual life, that when we try to generate more good in our lives, we are then confronted with our deluded heart and mind. Although we are sincere Buddhists, we can still often find that we are filled with the darkness of our negative karma, finding ourselves consumed with guilt, with fear, with worry, and with despair. For instance, when I try to help someone suffering with depression, the darkness in their lives can be overwhelming and this can cause them to have trouble with normal human functioning. Depression can cause them to stop many of the normal ways that we have of taking care of ourselves: not eating properly, not bathing, not getting out of bed. This means they have stopped much of their behavior which will create good conditions for themselves. And this pattern of behavior will actually make them feel even worse. Often, the solution for depression is to start grasping our will and trying to do what is good for ourselves, despite feeling terrible and hopeless. The main way to alleviate the darkness in the depression is to make the effort to do that which is good: thus making an effort to eat properly, exercise and take care of whatever really needs doing in their lives. By trying to keep functioning and to be doing that which is good, they help to create something more good and positive in their future. Doing good is what allows some light to start piercing the darkness of the depression. While most of us are not clinically depressed, we can still be absorbed in the dark and unhealthy aspects of our life and generate more suffering for ourselves by not doing what is good to do. The solution for all of us is the same as the depressed person, try to grasp our will and do what will bring forth good, despite all our strong negative feelings, desires and fears. 

It is hard to sit still and meditate if we feel there is some- thing fundamentally wrong with ourselves. In Zen Buddhism, there is usually a strong emphasis on practicing meditation. Meditation helps point us to the real source of goodness by helping us to see through the mass of confusion and delusion so that we can get in touch with our good heart. Yet meditation, by itself, will not be enough to clear the delusion from our eyes. We need to actualize the Dharma teachings within our life by bringing a steady stream of acts of kindness, generosity, and compassion into our life. Caring and doing something for others can help us to diminish our sense of our self-importance. This helps us to feel connected to others and help us to recognize the innate goodness that is within our hearts and the hearts of others. 

Personal relationships are a place in which the karmic consequences of our behavior can often be more easily seen. If we treat others well, it will generally help create a better relationship. Doing good helps us to look at ourselves with a more positive attitude since we know we had good intentions in our heart when dealing with others. When we behave selfishly with someone, when we are critical and angry, then, not surprisingly, others will frequently respond in kind and treat us poorly. If I have been very generous and kind to someone and then I behaved poorly, that person will be much more likely to overlook or minimize their upset reaction to my wrong behavior. Taking refuge in our heart’s intention to do what is good, in a way, creates a field of merit which allows us to see all the mistakes in their proper perspective and not harshly judge ourselves. 

The goal of Buddhist training is learning to trust our pure intention to do good and not be lost in the myriad of difficulties that we need to deal with. We have all had many experiences of being filled with worry or being absorbed in some problem and not being able to see beyond it. The pressures of life often cause us to feel that it is impossible for us to find any stillness and acceptance. Yet Buddhist training is process of growing the trust that allows us to be in touch with our pure intention to do good. This same trust helps us to see beyond our desires and fears so that we can experience the fundamental goodness that is always flowing through our lives. 

Trusting in the truth of the law of karma means we are trusting that all our good deeds and intentions are creating a better future. The Buddhist path requires us to trust ourselves; to trust that within the unfolding of all the good and bad karma in our lives and in the world, we can find the place that is completely whole and untouched by all these difficulties. The verse we use in our tradition to end a meal gives a teaching that points us to this deep intention of Buddhist training. 

The universe is as the boundless sky. 

As lotus blossoms above unclean water, 

Pure and beyond the world is

the Buddha Nature of the trainee.

O Holy Buddha, We take Refuge in Thee. 

The lotus blossom is the symbol on enlightenment, a flower growing up through the darkness of the muddy water. The muddy water symbolizes the darkness of all our delusions and the darkness of all the delusions filling the world. Yet we are seeking that boundless Buddha Heart which embraces the whole world and all good and bad conditions that fills the world. Whenever we do wrong, we are choosing to live in the mud. The pure intention to do that which is good lifts us to see beyond the mud and points us to the boundless sky of the Buddha Heart. Let us all look beyond the darkness and live a life with a pure intention to do good for ourselves and to do good for others. 

Priory News 

by Rev. Kinrei 

Our longtime Sangha member, Sally Schmidt, died on December 21, after several years of serious and disabling health problems. Sally first started coming to the Priory in the early 1970’s when the temple had just been established. Sally had the unique karma of choosing to be a Buddhist as a child despite having Christian parents. She had a very deep faith in Buddhism and her enthusiasm and spiritual commitment was a help to many in our Sangha. Her presence at the Priory will be missed.

We will hold a Buddhist funeral for Sally on Thursday, January 16, at 11am, at the Priory.

With Gratitude

Charity is one of the four wisdoms and demonstrates the Bodhisattva’s aspiration. The generosity of the entire Priory Sangha is what makes it possible for the Priory to exist and for the Dharma to be freely offered to whomever is interested.

In recent months, we have been given many generous gifts, including flowers, books, tools, plants and paper goods. During the past few months we have been given food donations of pies, cakes, soups, salads, various vegetables and fruit, soy milk, coconut milk, tofu, breakfast cereal, vegetarian burgers, vegetarian meats, coffee, teas, nuts, various chips, peanut but- ter, eggs, and fruit preserves. You are always welcome to check with the Priory on what foods are currently needed.

Introductory Meditation Retreat
January 25 & March 29 (10 am–5 pm) 

This introductory meditation retreat will provide an intro- duction to the sitting meditation and the basic teachings of the Soto Zen tradition. It will include meditation instruc- tion, several period of meditation and a Dharma talks on how to practice meditation and integrate Buddhist teaching with our lives. A vegan lunch is included with the retreat. 

Priory Meditation Retreats
January 11 February 15 March 15 April 12

Retreats are an excellent way to deepen our meditation and training. The retreat is 8am to 5pm and the day is a mixture of meditation, Dharma talks, spiritual reading and Buddhist services. 

Meditation Instruction 

Meditation instruction and an orientation to the practice at the Priory are offered each Thursday at 6:45 pm. Please arrive a few minutes early so that we can begin promptly at 6:45. The instruction is followed by a 7:30-8:05 pm meditation period.
We ask all people new to our practice to attend this instruction. The meditation instruction is free, as are all the activities at the Priory. If your schedule will not allow you to come on Thursday evening, you are welcome to call the Priory to try to arrange a different time for the instruction.