The way is perfect, like vast space,
With nothing lacking and nothing in excess.
Verses on the Faith Mind
Greetings Three Treasures Sangha Members & Friends, December, 2018
It has been an incredibly beautiful fall with breathtaking views of the mountains and pristine beach scenes. At times, perfection does seem to be everywhere, everything OK just as it is. However, as we all know and feel in our bodies, suffering and pain is pervasive around the globe. Climate change, war, famine, creeping fascism, homelessness, racism and hate fill our world. Our spaceship earth quite often seems a mess beyond repair. Despair, anger and doubt arise. Where do we find the motivation to help make changes? How do we engage with the world in ways that will start healing this battered planet?
These days I find myself outside on my bike as often as possible. At moments, as I settle onto the saddle, I find myself less tethered to thoughts and concepts as my bike pedals itself along a glorious rainbow carpet of leaves. I smile remembering once again who I am. Czeslaw Milosz’s poem “Gift” resonates:
A day so happy
Fog lifted early, I worked in the garden
Hummingbirds were stopping over honeysuckle flowers
There was nothing on earth I wanted to possess.
I knew no one worth my envying him.
Whatever evil I had suffered, I forgot.
To think that once I was the same man did not embarrass me.
In my body I felt no pain.
When straightening up, I saw the blue sea and sails.
Moments when we see clearly what is right in front of us can turn our world upside down. When we realize we are not separate from anything and forget our self-serving ideas and distractions, we can accept full responsibility for the way things are and go forward with resolve to make necessary changes.
It is the mission of TTS to cultivate the conditions where we can forget both our good fortune and the evils we have suffered, let go of the stories we tell ourselves and recognize who we are beyond categories and conditions. This is a space where the clouds, rocks and leaves come forth and realize themselves, making clear the mysterious path on which we walk—nothing lacking, nothing in excess, not one speck to be dismissed. In this space compassion, integrity, and truth find a home in our actions as we live our daily lives. This practice of remembering who we are, again and again, is the ground from which we step forward into uncertainty and chaos. Acting from this ground is the only chance I see that we have of reducing harm and making deep and lasting changes. Our practice and our sangha are precious gifts for us and the world—gifts needed now more than ever.
It’s that time of year, once again, when I ask for your financial help. Your contributions help cover stipends to teachers, costs involved in maintaining our buildings and garden, and other costs of keeping an organization running smoothly. Please give what you can to help the sangha pay the expenses needed to keep this touchstone of reality alive and vital in these confounding times.
With love, Larry for the TTS board.
Please send donations to: Three Treasures Sangha, P.O. Box 12542, Seattle, WA, 98111 or donate online using Pay Pal.