Love and Light
by Rev. Kinrei Bassis

(This is a revised version of an article from the
May-June 1985 Journal of Shasta Abbey.)

There is a widespread spiritual delusion that can be described as “Love and Light.” It has appeared throughout history and, at times, has troubled most religions. A blatant lie is easy to spot, but when lies are mixed with truth, it’s easy to be misled. The problem isn’t the words “love” and “light” themselves, but whether they’re used in a way that points to the Truth.

The error of “Love and Light” can range from a simple lapse of emphasis to an extreme form of delusion. Every teacher uses different language, so we can’t judge a teaching’s validity from a superficial glance at its terms. To say that all beings possess the Divine Light is another way of stating the Buddhist teaching that all beings possess the Buddha Nature. To say that nothing lies outside Divine Love does not disagree with the Buddhist teaching that everything is enfolded within the compassion and love of the Buddha. But the real question for anyone on a spiritual path is not whether the Divine Light exists, but how we bring our mundane, everyday lives into union with the Eternal Light. A path that doesn’t lead to its promised end squanders the seeker’s sincere effort and may leave them despairing of ever reaching their true goal.

“Love and Light” teachings are usually inspirational because they focus on the wonders spiritual practice can offer. In a world where fame, power, wealth, and sensual pleasure are the common goals, even a simple pointing
toward something deeper can awaken our longing to find this deeper Truth. It is this darkness—the often empty, unsatisfactory nature of our lives—that pushes us to search for it. The problem is not that Love and Light don’t exist; the problem is how we deal with the darkness we all inevitably face. “Love and Light” tries to escape this darkness by claiming it isn’t real, and can therefore be ignored. Buddhism teaches that it is by facing and working through the darkness that we come to fully realize there is nothing to fear in life or death. A path that avoids our darkness can never bring us to true freedom or full knowledge of our immaculate Buddha Nature.

It’s a normal human desire to want to avoid suffering and the hard work of spiritual training, and to dwell purely in the Light instead. But no matter what is proclaimed, there is no quick fix that transforms a life from darkness to light. It may seem appealing to go through life thinking and saying, “Everything is wonderful,” “Everything is love,” “I love everyone”—yet this is self-deception unless we’re equally willing to see the Divine Light and Love within the darkness. A fixed smile and a gloss of positivity can be a way of avoiding the hard aspects of life by pretending not to see them. But will that smile hold if our spouse leaves us, if our newborn is gravely disabled, or we face a painful illness and major disability? “Love and Light” tries to escape pain by calling it unreal, an illusion—yet suffering only deepens when we pretend not to see it or treat it as though it doesn’t matter. The appeal of “Love and Light” lies in offering an alternative to a world that often clings to the opposite delusion: that there is only darkness, and the Divine Light doesn’t exist. The key to training is to see both Darkness and Light, and to understand that one does not stand against the other.

When we experience the world without simultaneously experiencing the Eternal Light of the Buddha, we see life as a meaningless scattering of pieces. The old folk tale of the blind men and the elephant illustrates this. One feels the elephant’s side and says it resembles a wall. Another touches its legs and says an elephant is like a pillar. A third feels the trunk and says it resembles a snake. Each accurately describes a piece of the elephant, but none grasps the whole. Most of us are like these blind men, unable to see that everything is bound into a coherent whole within the Eternal life of the Buddha. A blind man can’t form a true sense of an elephant without examining every part of it. The misery within ourselves and the world is part of that whole, and we can never see the Truth unless we’re willing to see all of it. The gateway to seeing the Buddha is through seeing and accepting the endless, varied forms of our inner and outer world.

The koan that Great Master Dogen wrestled with for years, and which drove him to travel to China in search of an answer, was this: “If all beings possess the Buddha Nature and original enlightenment, why do all the Buddhas of the three worlds arouse the Buddha-seeking mind and search for enlightenment through practice?” He was asking why the “Love and Light” solution is not the Buddhist way. Dogen later stated his koan and its answer in this passage from his Rules for Meditation:

Why are training and enlightenment differentiated, since the Truth is universal? Why study the means of attaining it since the supreme teaching is free? Since Truth is seen to be clearly apart from that which is unclean, why cling to the means of cleansing it? Since Truth is not separate from training, training is unnecessary—the separation will be as that between heaven and earth if even the slightest gap exists, FOR, WHEN THE OPPOSITES ARISE, THE BUDDHA MIND IS LOST.

“The opposites” means living in the world as though heaven and earth, light and darkness, were two separate spheres. Training bridges this duality by leading us to live the truth that everything possesses the Buddha Nature. When we show reverence, gratitude, and compassion to all things—including all that we dislike—we bridge the opposites and treat everything as part of the body of the Buddha. It is not enough to say Divine Light exists; we must meet the darkness as though experiencing the Divine Light within it, and only then can the opposites become One. Most people want to experience the Buddha Nature without making this effort, but it is precisely this willingness that clears our vision to see the ever-present radiance of the Light of the Buddha.

A problem everyone faces is our very human discomfort when we experience all the dark and difficult aspects of life. People immersed in the world try to illuminate the darkness in their lives with all kinds of worldly lights. When their hearts are cold and empty, the love and affection of others can help to fill the void for a while. Those frightened by their own insignificance can bolster themselves by seeking the praise and respect of others. When we feel miserable, we can distract ourselves with one of the countless forms of worldly entertainment. All of these may relieve our discomfort somewhat, but striving after worldly lights leads us away from finding and experience the True Light. The Divine Light is always within the heart. Worldly lights are weak and flickering, easily extinguished by the endless changes of the world, and death inevitably puts them out for good. By making our deep spiritual longing our refuge, and not letting the flickering of worldly light and darkness deter us from our goal, we can transcend our aversion and fear of the darkness and find the Divine Light within everything.

Training is the willingness to experience whatever comes, knowing that nothing lies outside this Divine Light. We must learn to take each experience of darkness—every aspect of ourselves that causes pain, every form of suffering we encounter in ourselves and in the world—and openly face and embrace it. The Buddha Heart is actually our real heart and is the true essence of ourselves and true essense all beings. It is this Truth that allows us find the unconquerable Iron Being amidst our fears, the bright, full heart amidst our despair. It lets us see the purity in a drunken derelict and the sincere heart within someone outwardly twisted and cruel. There is nothing outside the Divine Light of the Buddha, but we can only see this once we stop cutting the body of the Buddha into pieces by clinging to our judgments and opinions. What converts darkness into light is the mind of meditation. Meditation is simply the willingness to let go of our thoughts and desires, be still and this practice helps us to see clearly. When we see what is in front of us without the distorting coloration of our opinions, judgments, and preferences, we allowing ourselves to be open to experiencing the Divine Light that is filling everything. We don’t need to do anything special to see the light within darkness; it comes from simply seeing what’s there, without pushing it away with fear, hate, or revulsion, or grasping after it with greed and desire. When we gloss over the dark aspects of our life, we lose the chance to see the flow of immaculacy within the situation. Finding the Divine Light is what gives us true freedom; but when we look away from our suffering, fear shapes our lives instead. Without faith in deeper reality of the boundless Buddha Heart, our suffering is filled with despair, because we can believe that suffering is inescapable. In the midst of darkness, if we can look up with faith that the light of the Buddha is ever-present, we can always find a glimmer of the True Light and know that the darkness is transient and will eventually be dispelled.

“Love and Light” tends to treat outward warmth, intimacy, and affection as signs of deep spirituality. Its adherents urge us to love more as the solution to all problems, yet they are not pointing to True Love. To experience True Love in Buddhism is to experience the Buddha Heart. We show love to others not by hugging them, but by accepting and embracing them for who they are, without judgment. Our outward appearances and actions differ, yet when we “look with the mind of a Buddha, we will see the heart of a Buddha.” Some of us, through delusion and ignorance, are clothed in greed and hate, while others wear the clothes of enlightenment more visibly because of their spiritual development—yet we must always know there is no fundamental difference between the two. In Buddhism there are no fundamentally good people and bad people, no spiritual people and worldly people; there are only different people at different points on the Way. True Love in Buddhism means not letting a person’s outward “clothes” diminish our respect for their Buddha Nature. Buddhism teaches that we must bow endlessly—that our willingness to show reverence and gratitude to all beings and all things is itself the practice. A heart that bows is a heart that loves; you cannot have one without the other.

Practitioners of “Love and Light” are out of touch with the greatest and most intimate of gifts—the Buddha Heart that embraces everything—so they instead work at filling the void in their hearts with the warmth and affection of others. In a world where so many people are cold and uncaring, encountering a group that is warm and friendly can lift one’s spirits. But focusing on this form of love is fragile, because it embraces everyone without fully seeing them. It shares this flaw with romantic love, where the desire to love and be loved is so strong that it distorts our vision and keeps us from seeing the other person fully. If we love only the good in someone’s heart, will that love survive once their selfish qualities come into view? Great Master Tendo Nyojo said, “The Buddhist brotherhood possesses greater intimacy than most people have with themselves.” Most people don’t know themselves that well, and they fear what they might find if they looked into the depths of their own hearts. What we reject in ourselves, we will not want to see in another; what we cannot love in ourselves, we will find almost impossible to love in someone else. Buddhist training frees us from this difficulty by cultivating a compassionate, all-accepting eye. It frees us from fear, so that we may see ourselves and others clearly, knowing there is nothing outside the Buddha Heart.

Love in Buddhism is expressed through the mind of all-acceptance—the understanding that all beings possess the Buddha Nature and are, in a way, doing the best they can. So much suffering and cruelty in this world arise not because people are innately evil, but because they act out of the blindness of ignorance and delusion. People go looking for happiness and contentment in the wrong direction, unaware that they already possess the Buddha Nature and already have everything they truly need. Meditation and training let us see that people may act in misguided ways without our respect for their True Self—their Buddha Nature—ever wavering. This acceptance is not merely the passive recognition that all is within the Buddha; it also means accepting our role in the world, doing whatever is needed to minimize evil and suffering, and doing whatever we can to promote the well-being of all things, including ourselves. Acceptance includes asking, on the deepest level we know, what the best action is in a given situation, and then having the willingness to do what seems right. A parent may discipline a child playing in the road so the child no longer endangers his life—yet the parent can be speaking harshly out of love, not hate. If we employ someone who is careless and lazy in their work, it may be right to let them go. That doesn’t mean we treat them with disrespect or see them as incapable of change. Still, shielding someone from the consequences of their actions is not always wise. True Love in Buddhism is shown by living from a place deeper than our emotional likes and dislikes. Seeing all beings without judgment is what allows us to experience and embody the truth that we are all part of the body of the Buddha.

Another problem with the worldly love of “Love and Light” teachings is that it rests on the frail, tenuous ground of mutual benefit—people telling each other how wonderful and significant they are, mutually propping up their small selves. The sign of True Love is that it asks for nothing. Spiritually, we already have everything we truly need, and when we act from that certainty, we can give endlessly and still find our hands and hearts full. Loving others is not a great accomplishment but our natural state, once our small selves stop coloring and distorting our experience of the world.

Great Master Keizan said, “Even should there be a great fire my heart is always safe and calm and filled with angels.” This is a true promise: a heart that is always full, that fears and lacks nothing. But the key question is how we realize this Truth amid the difficulties of daily life. The answer is continual effort to accept exactly where we find ourselves. No matter how insurmountable the difficulties appear, no matter how dark our lives or the world seems, the Light of Buddha is always there to be found. Training is the bringing together of Darkness and Light. The Buddhist Way is the willingness to take the endless, incremental steps needed to experience Nirvana and Samsara as One. Let us all take the next step, and the countless steps after it, never doubting that our True Heart is “safe and calm and filled with angels.”

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 books, gongs, statues, soil. fertilizer, plants, and cleaning supplies.

Providing monks with food is the traditional offering given when coming to a Buddhist temple, and we appreciate all the generous food offerings we have been given. During the past few months we have been given food donations of pies, salsa, various vegetables and fruit, cheese, soy milk, coconut milk, tofu, breakfast cereal, oats, vegetarian burgers, vegetarian meats, coffee, teas, nuts, various chips and fruit preserves. You are always welcome to check with the Priory on what foods are currently needed.

Introductory Meditation Retreat
July 25 and October 24 (10 am–5 pm)

This introductory meditation retreat will provide an introduction to the sitting meditation and the basic teachings of the Soto Zen tradition. It will include meditation instruction, 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
July 11 August 15 September 5 October 10

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.

Spiritual Counseling

Rev. Kinrei is available to discuss your spiritual practice and to help you to better apply the Dharma to your life. Taking refuge in a senior member of the Sangha is an important aid in gaining a better perspective and deeper insight into our spiritual life. It is also helpful in learning to cultivate openness and trust. You are welcome to contact the Priory and arrange a time to talk, either by phone, via Zoom, or in person.

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.

Shasta Abbey Retreats

Attending a retreat at Shasta Abbey is an excellent way to deepen one’s Buddhist life by living and practicing together with a large community of monastic and lay members of the Sangha. The introductory retreats are the recommended first step in practicing at the Abbey. For more information, you can go to their website at www.shastaabbey.org or
contact the Guestmaster at (530) 926-4208 or
guestmaster@shastaabbey.org.

Introductory Retreat July 10–12 August 7–9 Oct. 2–4
Continuing Practice Retreats July 23-26 September 3-6
Scripture of the Buddha’s Last Teachings–Aug.16-23

Priory Support and Membership

There are no fees for participating in meditation, Dharma talks, Buddhist services, retreats, spiritual counseling or any other services the Priory offers. We are supported by the donations of our congregation and friends. All gifts of any kind, whether money or materials or labor, are deeply appreciated. One of the best ways to help the Priory is to make the commitment to be a Priory Member. What this involves is making a pledge to contribute a certain amount of money to the Priory each month. There is no set or recommended amount as we leave it up to each individual to offer what he or she feels is appropriate. This commitment is a tremendous help to the Priory because it gives us a stable financial base. More importantly, deciding to become a member has deep spiritual significance. It means you are choosing to help take responsibility for the continued existence of the Priory. The most important help members bring to the Priory and the Sangha is not their donations but their Buddhist training. By being willing to come to the Priory and train with others, we help make the Priory a true refuge of the Sangha.

However, we are not suggesting that everyone who occasionally attends the Priory or gives us donations should become a member. For many people, it is not appropriate to make such a commitment, and we welcome them to join us whenever they wish, to help us in the manner they feel appropriate, and to be valued friends of the Priory.

Helping the Priory

Buddhist training is based not just on receiving the spiritual benefits that Dharma practice provides, but also our own willingness to cultivate gratitude and find ways to make offerings. Giving our valuable time to help with the work of the Priory is very much needed if the Priory is to flourish. During the past few months, Sangha members came by the Priory and helped with many different tasks such as painting, yard work, gardening, cleaning, cooking, construction, computer work and bookkeeping. Please contact the Priory if you wish to help; we always have plenty of work that needs doing.