We can only experience ease and “suchness,” the way things truly are, in moments of not wanting, of moments when we are not trying to control things. This is the backward step into this moment, where freedom is always available.

If you have been practicing for a year or longer and wish to formally reflect your commitment to the dharma path, I will be offering this opportunity through One Dharma. It will culminate in a ceremony at One Dharma, which we will plan for a time this summer that works for all involved. If you are interested, please email ernst.lisa@gmail.com by March 26. If you have already taken refuge and the precepts and wish to refresh your vows, you are also welcome and encouraged to participate.

About the Refuge Ceremony
Taking refuge means relying wholeheartedly on the Three Jewels of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha to inspire and guide us toward a constructive and beneficial direction in our lives. The real taking of refuge occurs deep in our hearts and isn’t dependent on doing or saying anything. Nevertheless, we may wish to participate in the refuge ceremony by requesting a dharma teacher to formally give us refuge. The refuge ceremony is simple: we repeat the passages after the teacher and open our hearts to make a strong connection with the Three Jewels.

About Taking Precepts
Precepts are a joy, not a burden. They aren’t designed to keep us from having a good time and to make us feel deprived. The purpose of taking precepts is to give us internal strength so that we won’t act in ways that we don’t want to. Having understood that killing, stealing, selfishness and so forth only lead us to harm ourselves and others now and in the future, we’ll want to avoid these. Taking precepts give us energy and strength to do so. Therefore, it’s said that precepts are the ornaments of the wise.

To help people overcome their disturbing attitudes and stop committing harmful actions, the Buddha set out five precepts. During the refuge ceremony, in addition to taking refuge in the Three Jewels, we can take any or all of the five precepts, and become a lay Buddhist.

The five precepts
1. I observe the precept of abstaining from the destruction of life.
2. I observe the precept of abstaining from taking that which is not given.
3. I observe the precept of abstaining from sexual misconduct.
4. I observe the precept of abstaining from falsehood.
5. I observe the precept of abstaining from intoxicants that cloud the mind and cause carelessness.

The refrain “I observe the precept of abstaining from …” which begins every precept clearly shows that these are not commandments. They are instead codes of conduct that lay Buddhists undertake out of clear understanding and conviction that they are good for both themselves and for the world. If you have any questions about these precepts and what they mean to your everyday life, please inquire. (You aren’t expected to become a vegetarian unless you are already inclined in that direction. However, reflecting on and taking actions to reduce harm is at the heart of the first precept.)

This is from Brad Stroup, a long time meditator who sits with us in Nashville and who has helped many in India. Archana is the wife of his adopted grandson in Bodhgaya:

Archana Kumari urgently needs surgery to remove her gallbladder, which is now enlarged and very painful. Estimated costs for the surgery and after-care will run over 300,000 rupees or, at current exchange rate of 75 Indian rupees to a $1, about $4000. Her husband has been able to raise about $200. Such an operation in rural India is challenging.

Archana is 34 years old and her husband is Bablu Kumar, 35, is my adopted grandson. I found him, and he found me, in the village of Bodhgaya in 1998 while I was on a pilgrimage. Siddhartha Gautama became enlightened as the Buddha (5th c. BCE) in Bodhgaya and is the most sacred site on earth for Buddhists.

Archana and Bablu are Buddhists living in Bodhgaya in the poorest state (Bihar) in India. They have two children, 8 and 6 years old, and when Archana became ill, Bablu became full time caretaker while continuing to work. They have operated the JBS School Welfare Trust (see Facebook), a private school for impoverished children, in Bodhgaya for many years.

Bablu urgently needs funds to cover Archana’s operation and recovery, which may take several weeks. While India claims to have medical insurance for citizens, most Indians end up paying for costs out of their own pockets.

You may give directly by going to www.xoom.com to sign up, a secure site operated by PayPal. This site converts dollars into rupees at current rates. Bablu’s complete address there is:

Bablu Kumar
NEW TARI DIH BODHGAYA
POST BODHGAYA, DISTT, GAYA
DISTT, GAYA, PIN CODE 824231, Bihar
India

Bablu can be contacted on cell phone +91-8507693838 or by email bbluraj@yahoo.co.in. or jbgrandsonstroup@gmail.com.

If you hold loving kindness and compassion for sentient beings everywhere, please help Archana with $5, $10, $20 or more. Any donation will help.

May you be well, may you be happy, may you be at peace. – Brad Stroup