Amy Koop
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I would love to share space with Thich Nhat Hanh. I phrase it that way because I’m not sure it would be necessary for words to be exchanged. As Susan has described about the time spent with her Teacher, much of it had been in silence and yet – or maybe because of that? – so impactful and precious.
In this meeting, this sharing of space I wonder if he might see my buddha nature and me, his. I wonder if he might feel my suffering and me, his. I wonder if I might feel the patience of a man who spent many years in exile, away from his family and homeland, and maybe he could feel my desire to be patient when I sometimes cannot see to what purpose this life is pointing. I wonder if I might feel the joyful mind he has cultivated, one that can hold so much suffering in its spaciousness. And maybe he could feel my yearning to create a mind so supple, so vast.
I have one question I would ask out loud, which is “do you feel hopeful”? I cannot now imagine his answer to that question, yet I imagine his eyes holding mine with so much compassion, sensing from where that question arose. I might imagine that his eyes say, “sweet one, you are held by all that came before you and all that is now and will ever be.”
I am so grateful to have learned through this class a way to connect to making offerings that feels…relatable and important. I’ve been aware of this practice for many years but never participated. Hearing Susan’s thoughts, seeing the example of her shrine combined with the Emerald podcast’s deep-dive into context and relationality, made something click into place for me. I’m putting that into action by lighting a candle before my morning sits and putting fresh flowers on the shrine that I’ve recently created (for the first time!). It feels like a lovely container for a renewed practice that has more depth and connection it.
Requesting blessings felt inaccessible and unimportant to me for many years because it seemed too much like a Christian tradition and I never felt connected with that lineage. Also, I asked myself, “from whom am I requesting blessings?”, and I couldn’t answer. When Marisa, my kalyanamitre, introduced me to the Four Dharmas of Gampopa and I read the background of it in the following Shambhala Times article on it (https://shambhalatimes.org/2016/09/15/the-four-dharmas-of-gampopa/), it finally felt… accessible, relatable and important with the explanation of the “to whom” question I’ve had:
“Each line of the Four Dharmas of Gampopa begins with the phrase “Grant your blessings…” It isn’t clear who is being asked to grant their blessings, but a good rule of thumb in buddhadharma is that, even if there is a guru nearby, that teacher’s mind is ultimately the same as yours in its basic buddha nature. However, since we don’t experience ourselves as buddhas, we seem to need to experience enlightened mind as though it is external to us. So we supplicate enlightened mind as though it is outside.”
I’ve started many of my meditations over the last month by reciting the Four Dharmas of Gampopa:
Grant your blessings so that my mind may be one with the dharma.
Grant your blessings so that dharma may progress along the path.
Grant your blessings so that the path may clarify confusion.
Grant your blessings so that confusion may dawn as wisdom.It feels a bit less natural and meaningful than the making of offerings at this point, but I plan to continue and allow it to percolate and evolve. Ooooh maybe if I do it in front of the shrine that will pull it together, I’ll try that!
Thanks for reading :-).
How lovely and lively your reflections are, Pam! I was struck by your saying “the creation of shrines is a manifestation of me cherishing my life”. YES for me too!
Oh how beautiful all of your special items feel through your description, Jeffrey! Thank you for the detailed descriptions of both of your shrines. They’ve inspired me to add some simple items from each of the elements to mine. Also your reminder of the ritual of asking for protection at dusk is appreciated.
Ric, it seems lovely to me that you use the word *drawn* to gathering and displaying photos of people who’ve impacted you, it feels very organic and natural and easeful. I also enjoy your reflection of each of these people are part of you, evokes interdependence in a very very real way. I think because I have the honor and joy of knowing you a bit through our Saturday small group I can feel the metta in what you’ve written!
In my personal meditation practice, the Hinayana feels very present: I have relatively strong habit energy around discipline and I find the idea of – and usually the practice of – container and ritual very comforting. I’m highly imperfect of course and I actually find that imperfection in myself fascinating now that I’ve had even (only!) a few years of observing it through the lens of the dharma. Where I struggle the most is self-compassion. I guess that means, cue the Mahayana..?
The Mayahana is my growth edge in my current practice. I know that the only time I ever really feel at peace is when I am connecting with other human beings, and yet it’s difficult and not historically my go-to. Strange, isn’t it. With the support of my kalyanamitra Marisa Viola, I feel much closer to this yana, and yet lifetimes to go!
The Vajryana feels very mysterious, and like it isn’t part of my current practice except as part of my aspiration to wake up. I occasionally notice a gap in my conceptual thinking, is that waking up?
Hello! I’m Amy Koop, an Open Heart Project Member since 2019. I signed up after stumbling upon Susan’s book Start Here Now, which changed my life in the way it made meditation accessible for me for the first time in my life. I love the way Susan’s approach to teaching stretches my comfort zone. And being in community with this wonderful sangha is a gift. Excited to meet all of you on this BBB journey!