By Khenmo Drolma
June is the month of Sagadawa, the most significant of the four major Buddhist holidays in the Tibetan tradition. It combines Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and paranirvana* into one. It is considered both a specific holy day (June 17) and a holy month. During this month, major teachings are given. On the day, prayers and vitreous deeds are nonstop as every action is considered greatly magnified.
All the world is on fireAll the world is burningAll the world is ablazeAll the world is quaking
That which does not quake or blazeThat to which worldlings** do not resortWhere there is no place for Mara***That is where my mind delights.
—Bhikkunisamyutta Sutra
The Enlightened Buddhist Nun, Cala, wrote this in the 5th century BCE. It is a pithy and fresh description of anxiety and stress, just as evocative of our time as hers. It feels like our world is quaking some days. She then inspires us to look at our minds closely; there is unshakable peace within it and we can delight in it.
Often, in our day to day existence, we are caught up in chaos, in hope and fear. Thoughts, a claustrophobic barrage of illusory information, entrap us. What if? What did? Living in the past or future consumes our present. We do not see what is actually here, in this moment.
Joy opens with the barest shift of perspective. Now, the present fleeting awareness of life as it is, unadorned by elaboration, is always available. We remember to gaze at the sky. Vastness and clarity open as a vista, an expanse. This spaciousness of now is accompanied by peace and a tickle of joy, like a mental smile. The mind has peace and it is accompanied by heart’s delight. Rising joy, an eternal spring, independent of thoughts or senses, it simply is.
We may not have had direct experience of this treasure yet or we may have forgotten a rare fleeting taste, but it awaits us. Steadfastly, we begin again and again, calming distracting conceptuality. Trusting, because as Cala reminds us, in our quaking, blazing world, peace also is present. Meditation is our mind simply coming home to now and that home is joy.
* Paranirvana is entering the state of Nirvana after death.** Worldlings refers to those with no spiritual training.***Mara is a personification of worldly ignorance.
Abbess of Vajra Dakini Nunnery, Ven. Khenmo Konchog Nyima Drolma has studied with the foremost Buddhist teachers of our time. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1997 after a distinguished career at the Maine College of Art as a professor of sculpture. After completing philosophy studies and solitary retreats, she was given the responsibility of abbess. She teaches the Buddha Dharma internationally, with an emphasis in the practical application in daily life. In addition, she has created a Tibetan Nun Leadership Program and is the International Chair of a historic monastic gathering in India in 2020. www.VajraDakiniNunnery.org
Photo of tree by Christine Racine.
