Way of Oneness: A Sangha Podcast Christopher Kakuyo Leibow

Excerpt:
At the heart of the teaching of impermanence is conditioned existence but what is conditioned existence?
Conditioned existence is the reality that all phenomena, all things that exist  arise in dependence upon other phenomena: "if this exists, that exists; if this ceases to exist, that also ceases to exist" 
This is the heart of impermanence of all - because all things all phenomena arise out of conditions and when the condition causes it to arise, cease then, that which arose, vanishes or transforms into something different.   That is way the Buddha says,
“All conditioned things have the nature of vanishing,”
Let that sink in 
Everything by its nature vanishes.
In Japanese the heartbreak, the melancholy of the impermanence of all things is summed up in the phrase Mono no Aware. 
Mono-no-aware can’t truly be translated. Any one who speaks another language understands this but it can be literally translated to “the ahhness of things” The isness of things or “the bittersweet poignancy of things.”
 
I remember some years ago reading the introduction to one of my favorite poets Eugenio de Andrade.   The poet writes from his love of the world and the grief and praise that come from its transience. 
Something that I am learning as of late is that Grief and Praise are intertwined, as Martin Prechtel teaches us in his book, The Smell of Rain on Dust. 
So too are impermanence and gratitude. 
Now the concept of mono-no-aware is born from the teachings of shinto and Buddhism, and was first used to explain Japanese aesthetics to explain uch traditions as cherry-blossom viewing and haiku.  But this insight is much more than simply aesthetics. 
Mono No Aware is at the heart of a meaningful everyday Buddhism.

In this talk we explore the idea of bonbu - of each of us being "foolish beings" and who this informs our community and practice.
Excerpt
"It is our studentship that we share, not our specialness or holiness. It is with humility being aware of our limitations. As I have said time and time again,  I too will be disappointed, and that I do not nor have I ever claimed to be a guru or a master, just a foolish being. 
This idea of the foolish or ordinary being is the foundation to what we do.  And I want to continue our translation of the Shin Tradition. Today it is an idea that is very central in the Shin Tradition - called bonbu."

EXCERPT
"Breathing in I am aware that I am breathing in, breathing out, I am aware that I am breathing out.  To really live life we can touch this simple reality with deep awareness – underneath my  stories, religion, ideas and philosophy – 
I appreciate this so much,  
At the time Akegarasu Sensei began teaching he was rather revolutionary, looking for a way to take the teachings of Buddha into people’s everyday lives. His language is different, more direct, less dogmatic and more personal
Rev Akegarasu goes on to write in Shout of Buddha. 
"Besides my own living I don't need religion, philosophy, and morality.  Religion, philosophy, morality, and art and politics, are not in the world of my living beside my living. Beside my being alive there is no God or Buddha. When I die God and Buddha will also die. Look at me. 
What do you think his point is in these lines? For me it is the realization of Being Alive in the flow of now is more important the ideas of being alive – Life is more elemental, life is process, to live is a verb, it is the state of simply being.  
 

Excerpt
"That aside, here I am driving to work or home from work, like I do every day and the reality that I want, the reality that I EXPECT  is the following:
      no red lights,
      goodly speeds,
      graceful lane changes,
      blinkers, yes blinkers. 
I expect traffic to be light and if it is heavy, still moving efficiently.  
 
But what happens when these expectations are dashed after the first right hand turn? Anger? rage?  We, I mean I become frustrated, my pulse races, my vision narrows.  I am assigning all kinds of character traits to people I don’t know. I transform into an enemy, one of Mara's henchmen. I have also noticed that since the pandemic it has gotten worse. I even noticed during the week as I was preparing this dharma talk, that as it says in the Dharma Highway Sutra,
 
“Even the virtuous follower can find themselves overcome  by blind passions when someone invades their lane of traffic  or crowds their rear bumper at high speeds.

Excerpt
"The fellowship is our training ground in our practice.  It is where we come as we are and that means there is lots of opportunities to practice the virtues of patience, humility, compassion, deep listening, letting go of views and expectations 
The practice of sangha can be very difficult because your come as you are is really screwing with my come as I am are right now.  
The spirit of come as you are or sonomama in Japanese keeps us steadfast and open. 
Over the years you have heard me compare the Sangha to a Rock Polisher, it is one of my favorite analogies.  The practice of Sangha is like an old rock polisher where all our sharp edges are crashed against one another until we both become smooth and shiny.  Come as you are opens our practice up to all within the sangha within the fellowship family, accepting each other as we are means we are taking responsibility for our own shit."
Christopher Kakuyo Sensei

Here is the first of Eight Foundational Dharma Talks that share the teachings that make our community what it is and our tradition’s expression of the Buddha Dharma and Everyday Buddhism.

This is a dharma talk that shares what we mean when we translate Namu Amida Butsu as ”come as you are.” What does that mean in a contemporary context?  I also share how the mythic Buddha Amida fits into it all and how this Buddha is relevant today, even for the more secular minded of the West.