#1 SWEET HOME ALABAMA

 ALABAMA!   

How to choose a Buddhist group in a state far away?  I scrolled through the internet, open to the varieties of sect and flavor, and yet I scrolled past Shambala Alabama for now; they are really huge, just about everywhere... so looking a bit further I came upon the Meditation Center of Alabama which looked inviting.   I come from a lay Sangha, the wonderful Buddhist Sangha of Bucks County, which has had various teachers come through over the years but retains an open heart for various traditions within Buddhism.  

Looking through the 'about' section the group is founded and supported by teachers in the Dhammakaya tradition, a sort of revivalist Theravada practice from Thailand.  From Wikipedia: The tradition was started by Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro in the early twentieth century.^[24] In 1916, after three hours of meditating on the mantra sammā araham,^{[note 2]} a Dhammakaya Foundation publication states "his mind [suddenly] became still and firmly established at the very centre of his body," and he experienced "a bright and shining sphere of Dhamma at the centre of his body, followed by new spheres, each "brighter and clearer."^[25] 

I decided to go to 'Reflections on ethical living for the New Year'.   I'm glad I did!  

I was stressed about introducing myself; but it wasn't an issue as we began right away with a half hour of light yoga with Ashley, including cat, cow, and ending with massaging our heads with our fingers.  Following that,  Cay and Kent, a pair of psychologists and fine lay teachers, began their session with a half hour of guided meditation.  

Kent, with repeated exhortations to relax, and a soothing deep southern "that's right", led us from the top of the scalp to the toes, pausing particularly at the point in the belly where the breath turns, where we imagine a bright light or glowing ball, or the mantra Samma Araham.  That is, Kent noted, the 'seat of the mind', from which flows energy and understanding.  I felt very much in touch with the body throughout the exercise; there was a flowing warmth I did not typically feel in the Jon Kabat Zinn type 'Body Scan' exercises I have done. 

Upon feeling completely relaxed, I became especially enriched by the second hour of presentation by Cay and Kent on New Year's resolutions.  They focused on identifying our 'why' values rather than negatives we felt compelled to correct; as they put it 'don't pick a change you are already beating yourself up over'. 

They focused on the five precepts of the Buddha, as interpreted by Thich Nhat Hanh, the Five Mindfulness Trainings.  Listing on a slide the typical 'eat less, exercise more' type of resolutions, the pair asked us to consider our goals for the New Year in light of these trainings.  Do our goals line up with our internal values?  I found myself particularly drawn to the second training, which in part says: "I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy."  I have enough.   Considering the 'seat of the mind' already within me, perhaps I have enough there also.  I am always looking for the light when instead, I can let my obstructions move away and let my light shine.  As the Buddha said, "when your light shines, without impurity or desire, you have reached the boundless country."

I think all of us on the zoom could not help but reflect on our current political situation in light of the five mindfulness trainings.  Have our leaders not heard or practiced any of these values, let alone the golden rule or anything remotely spiritual in any tradition?   David, one of the participants, said "These values are lost on America.".  'Perhaps', I thought, but then again, aren't we America also?