First Teaching to the Quan Am Group at Tam Bao Temple by the Venerable Abbot, Thic Duc Tri

Quan Am Group

Quan Am is the Vietnamese name of Quan Yin, the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion. Quan Am is described as “She who hears the cries of the world.” Buddhism is centered around compassion, to help others and oneself. This is why Thay has named our group the Quan Am Group. Thay means teacher in Vietnamese. Our Thay, the Venerable Abbot Thich Duc Tri, teaches at the Tam Bao Temple in Tulsa, OK. This talk was given on the first occasion of his teaching to the English half of the Sangha’s people who had taken the Five Mindfulness Trainings with him

Before he began his talk on Buddhism, Thay kindly described to us the proper ways to observe the etiquette of Buddhism. He explained that we should bow to a monk or nun, rather than shake hands. We place our hands, palms together, at our heart level. The shape is that of a lotus bud and the heart is the seat of our Buddha-nature. Not only to the monk, nun, but we can greet each other with a lotus bud joining hand, we bow to each other as if we are saying: "A lotus for you, a Buddha to be".

He told us it is best to bow to the ground three times when we enter the temple for study and also when we are ready to leave. The bows represent homage to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. Our hands join to form a lotus bud and we gently lower ourselves to the ground so that all four limbs and our forehead are resting comfortably on the floor. While we are Touching the Earth we turn our palms face up, showing our openness to the three jewels, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. We touch the earth to let go of the idea that we are separate and to remind us that we are the Earth and part of Life. When we touch the Earth, we breathe in all the strength and stability of the Earth, and breathe out our suffering- our feelings of anger, hatred, fear, inadequacy and grief.

He also told us that we should acquire a grey robe so that we could see ourselves as a unified group. The grey robes show that we are Buddhists and that they will help us remember who we are and also show our respect to the Buddha. This is important so that we can learn to work together and to encourage each other.

Thay made a special point to tell us to ask questions if something he says doesn’t seem clear to us.

Then Thay began his talk and told us that Buddhism is very broad and there is no way to learn everything about it. Buddhism is right in front of our eyes. He told us that there are three practices that will help us:

1)      Following the Five Precepts: No killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying, and no taking intoxicants.

2)      Developing Concentration: through the practice of meditation to be mindfulness of whatever you are doing.

3)      Leading to Wisdom: be able to see the true nature of things.

In America there are many ways to approach Buddhism and sometimes this is confusing. Some people follow the Tibetan ways, and some follow Zen. Buddha gave us many ways to practice. Don’t limit yourself. Make sure you have a strong foundation. Learn directly from the sutras. That way you will understand the many practices better.

No matter what practice you decide on you should still follow the Five Precepts. It you don’t do this you will not be authentic, no matter how much you practice. The Five Precepts allow you to develop a strong foundation. In Buddhism we should not feel overly proud of your own practice and thus judge others’ practice. There are many way to practice.

Happiness is what Buddhism teaches. It also teaches us not to be greedy or attached to things or persons. What it teaches is simple.

We practice meditation so we can look deeply into ourselves and understand ourselves. Unless you understand yourself, you cannot understand others. We may make many mistakes, but Buddhism helps us clarify our minds.

It is as if people are sick with greed and attachment. We can look at Buddha as the doctor who can cure this problem. The teachings are his prescription for us. When someone has great desire, great attachment it is as if they are sick and don’t know it. Unless they can see that they have this problem they cannot detach from it.

The mind creates action. We must love ourselves to love others. Anger and jealousy make us unhappy and prevents us from helping others. When you say, I, I, I, you cannot practice Buddhism rightly. Detaching from the ego helps your practice.

It is said that you can read 1,000 sutras but if you do not practice you will not reach enlightenment. On the other hand, if you were to practice on just one sentence of a sutra, understand it fully, you will reach enlightenment. It is practice that makes the difference.

Concentrate on your breath. This is a very powerful tool. When you observe your breath you don’t have time to think about other things. Don’t be surprised if you have trouble concentrating. It happens to almost everybody. Just bring your mind back to the breath. Our breathing is a stable solid ground that we can take refuge in. Regardless of our internal weather- our thoughts, emotions and perceptions- our breathing is always with us like a faithful friend. Whenever we feel carried away, or sunken in a deep emotion, or scattered in worries and projects, we return to our breathing to collect and anchor our mind.

Chanting a mantra, like Om mani padme hum, can help. The Dalai Lama has said, "It is very good to recite the mantra Om mani padme hum, but while you are doing it, you should be thinking on its meaning, for the meaning of the six syllables is great and vast... The first, Om [...] symbolizes the practitioner's impure body, speech, and mind; it also symbolizes the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha[...]"

"The path is indicated by the next four syllables. Mani, meaning jewel, symbolizes the factors of method: (the) altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassion, and love.[...]"

"The two syllables, padme, meaning lotus, symbolize wisdom[...]"

"Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolized by the final syllable hum, which indicates indivisibility[...]"

"Thus the six syllables, om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha[...]"

When you sit you might like to use the traditional mudra (hand position). In this mudra you lay your left hand in your right hand, both palms up. The thumbs touch lightly, as though they were gently holding a piece of paper. If this is hard, do not force yourself. Do a little at a time and you will get better as time goes on.

When Buddhists bow to Buddha, we are bowing to ourselves as a Buddha-to-be. Bowing will help our practice.

Even the Dalai Lama still practices a daily routine.

Zen Masters meditate, but also recite Buddha’s name. All Buddhists can choose different way of practice, can choose one or in combinations.

Thay told us that he sees a lot of people who can bow down to Buddha 108 times. So, when we practice we should bow down to Buddha. In the past there was a Vietnamese monk who bowed down at every step. There is great importance to bowing.

When we respect Buddha it gives us more power in our practice. 

A lot of people want to be wonderful at this right away. But we must start small and then get big. A novice monk starts by learning to sweep the floor. He will learn simple things over a long time. These simple things are right in front of our eyes.

A Zen student might want to know everything all at once. Her Master gives her a simple task. This helps us learn to concentrate, because we must concentrate to do better.

This is a great dish. You might want to add chick peas for additional protein.

Vegetables Braised in a Spicy Lemon-Coconut Broth

Ingredients:

Green Beans (whole bag frozen)

Edamame (whole bag frozen)

Carrots (one small bag frozen)
Oyster Mushrooms (at least 4 oz. fresh)
1 C. thinly sliced onion
4 C.s sliced green cabbage (1/2” slices)
¼ C. finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 TBS freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
2 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS minced ginger
1 TBS turmeric
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp caraway seeds
2 tsp coarse sea salt
4 TBS light sesame oil
1 TBS maple syrup
2 TBS Soy Sauce
2 TBS Mirrin
1 (14oz) can Coconut Milk (full fat is best)

Preparation:

 1)      Add 1-2 TBS of sesame oil and 1 tsp salt to pan and sauté onion for 5 min. or until onion softens.

2)      Add more oil if necessary and sauté beans, edamame, and carrots.

3)      Add garlic, ginger, coriander, turmeric, paprika, maple syrup, caraway seeds. Saute for 3 minutes.

4)      Sauté mushrooms

5)      Add mirrin, soy sauce, lemon juice and zest. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer gently for 15 minutes.

6)      Place cabbage on top and sprinkle on 1 tsp salt. Cover pan and let simmer for 10 minutes.

7)      Add Coconut milk.

8)      Uncover and gently turn cabbage over several times, stir in cilantro.

Serve over rice or noodles. Takes about 10 minutes of preparation time. Feeds 8 people easily.

Laser Notes in a Hall of Mirrors

It never was about the musician or the instrument - it was about the laser notes in a hall of mirrors, the music itself. It was going to change the world for the better and it has. Maybe not as fast or as much as we wanted, but it has and it still will. Whether your name is Mozart, or Django Reinhardt, or Robert Johnson, or Jimi Hendrix, or whoever is next; who you are doesn't matter so long as you can open that conduit and let the music come through. It is the burning edge, whatever it sounds like and whoever is playing it. It is the noisy, messy, silly, invincible voice of life that comes through the LP on the turn-table, the transistor radio, or the Bose in your new Lexus that makes you want to get up out of whatever you are stuck in and dance. It is Dionysus and the Maenads all over again. No one can control it and I pity whoever tries. I am old now and only a house cat sunning herself in the window - but I was a tigress once, and I remember. I still remember.

A Duck in the Hen Yard

I have always kind of been the duck in the hen yard. I sure came as a surprise to my mother and her mother. They were both later day southern belles and I was a tomboy from the very start. My biodad's father always swore that the first word I said wasn't 'mama' or 'dada', it was 'horse.' And I began having adventures almost from the start. One of my earliest memories, or perhaps it only seems like a memory because I heard it told so often as a child, is of sitting between the forefeet of a Clysdale at the Kay County Free Fair over in Blackwell. Apparently I had wandered away from my parents and found the horses by myself.

Wandering away has always been both a blessing and a curse for me. I have gone down a lot of paths that are "less traveled by" over the years. Some of them seemed to take me very far afield. But now, as I find myself in the opening years of my sixth decade, it seems they are all coming together and coming back around to lead me home.

My writing has had such a weird history! I am not even sure about the title "writer." I have a book I have worked on sporadically for over 30 years. When I sent the first draft to my agent back then, she said, literally, that it was books like mine that would be the end of Western Civilization itself. She so intimidated me that I put the book in a box and didn’t touch it for nearly a decade.

Yes, I have written other things in that time. And read voraciously. But that book, Bird of Paradise, has cast its long shadow over everything else I do. It is as if, until I can get it finally “finished,” I cannot move on completely to other things. I can, and have, written rough drafts of other stories. They languish unfinished in drawers and on disks, not brought to full birth because of their older sibling.

When I started Bird of Paradise it was a contemporary story and right on the burning edge. The idea that two lovers of the same sex could have, let alone deserved to have, a story in which neither died and were relatively happy at the end, was startling and avant-garde. There were other people that I knew were writing m/m fiction, mostly fan-fiction, and mostly Kirk/Spock. It was almost as if it was okay for them – because Spock was an alien, who knew what he might do, or want, or need?

In fact, at first, BoP was meant to be fan-fic, too. The plot wasn’t, but I added them in to appeal to that readership. The main characters in my novel are fictional musicians, not characters from a television show or a movie, drawn from friends and acquaintances. Oh yeah, Starsky and Hutch were in there, mostly to lure readers from fandom into taking a look at it. In those benighted years, long before personal computers – not to mention the internet, I didn’t know who else would read it.

Now, all these years later, it is at least a “retro” story, if not all the way to “historical.” The two cops in the book don’t resemble Starsky or Hutch in the slightest. They are just two guys who have had an experience and are trying to figure out if it was just the alcohol after a party or if it is something more. The musicians have changed and grown and flourished as they have gotten farther and farther from their original inspiration. And now I think I am producing a much more nuanced and taut, maybe even more mature, story.

Today there are loads of gay light fiction* books being written, published, and extensively read by a vast readership. Instead of being a front runner, Bird of Paradise will just be one more among many. But the message will still be the same: love has no gender, everyone is worthy of love, and everyone deserves to find love in their lives in whatever way it manifests for them.

Do I wish that Bird of Paradise was all behind me, published back then as fan-fic so that I could have gone on and written so much more, so much that I might really be an “author” by now? Yes, sometimes I do. It was written and re-written during a huge transition period in my own life. Maybe if I had done it that way the door on that past could have been closed long ago.

But honestly, no. No, I am glad it has taken this long. I think both of us have benefited from the years between.

It is being finished now, during another big transition in my life. So it comes full circle, and there is something almost fated in that. No, it really is better now. It’s a better book, and I am a better writer because of it. And its message, that love is for everyone, has not gotten old and will not. No matter how much time passes.

*Gay Light Fiction: as opposed to works of “literature.” The moniker includes a wide ranging group of genres, from Romance to Westerns, from Mysteries to Sci-fi.