This is an AI-generated transcript from auto-generated subtitles for the video Guided Meditation: Courageous Presence; Non-Violence (5 of 5) Courage to Act. It likely contains inaccuracies, especially with speaker attribution if there are multiple speakers.
Guided Meditation: Courageous Presence; Dharmette: Non-Violence (5 of 5) Courage to Engage - Gil Fronsdal
The following talk was given by Gil Fronsdal at Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA on October 27, 2023. Please visit the website www.audiodharma.org for more information.
Guided Meditation: Courageous Presence
Good morning, good day. Buddhist meditation is often associated with relaxation, with becoming calm. And maybe for good reason, because many people in the modern world are stressed. I would propose that in the ancient world, in the time of the Buddha, the association with calm and relaxation was less prominent than the association with being courageous.
The people who really set out to do this Buddhist practice in a dedicated way were often seen as going against the stream, against the current of popular culture and against the expectations of what family and society wanted of them. It was also against the current of their own attachments and clinging. To go against the current, to do what was maybe unpopular, to really stand up and not give in to attachments of all kinds, to fears of all kinds—this took courage. And so the word for effort in practice could be translated as "courageous effort." I think when it was translated into Tibetan, it became "heroic effort."
This calls a lot on us. Relaxation is almost like it doesn't call much on us; it's more like giving up or relaxing or not needing to do anything. In a life where people are so busy and have to do, do, do, it's a medicine to be able to relax and feel comfortable with oneself, at ease with oneself, and at home with oneself, without having to prove oneself or apologize for oneself. So there's good reason to emphasize this letting go and relaxing and just being. But at the most, it's half of what this practice is about. The other half is to actually act courageously—to act on the path of liberation with courage, with confidence, with conviction, with assurance. To make choices of what to let go of and what to engage in, so that we can engage in the path of practice, so we can engage in this world in a caring way for others.
So, I'd like to suggest for this sitting that we sit—and I don't think we've really done this these years now of doing YouTube—so at least for today, I'd like to call upon you to sit with courage, or sit with strength. As if you're sitting upright and you're engaging actively, rather than simply settling back and letting go, and letting go. There's a way of engaging, sitting upright or laying down, in such a way that there's a real kind of engagement, a strength: "Yes, I'm here. Yes, I'm showing up."
And then with that strength, with the metaphor of standing upright or sitting upright, letting all kinds of things that are unneeded fall away. Like raindrops are said to just wash right off the edges of the lotus blossom, the lotus leaves. You might end up with parts of you as relaxed as other ways, but with a certain kind of alertness, clarity, and definitiveness: "Yes, here I am, clearly, purposefully, intently." It is almost as if the mind can then relax deeply, maybe even deeper. The mind can maybe become quieter than ever because something inside of you knows that you're showing up and being present courageously for something which is important. And that is to be alive now, and now, without fear, without attachments, without clinging, without resistance, but really showing up for this moment.
So, assume a meditation posture that for you is the right posture. But give some care to the posture, so that it's a posture that certainly allows you to be at ease in your body, at ease in your posture, but also a posture that gives expression or taps into your capacity for being here and now in a strong way, in a confident way. For people sitting in a chair or on a cushion, maybe sitting up a little straighter, or a lot straighter. Maybe allowing the chest to be a little bit open and expanded. And then lowering your eyes, your gaze, or if it's comfortable for you, to close your eyes.
And see, in this sitting here quietly with your eyes closed, your gaze down, see inside of you: Is there a place where confidence resides? Courage? And if it's not available now, where in your body do you associate—what part of your body do you associate with being confident, strong, and courageous in showing up and really being here? Maybe offering some energy, intentionality, into this place of strength.
Perhaps a courageous strength, a courageous willingness to show up and be here, that can infuse the deep inhale with strength, and a reassuring, confident relaxing as you exhale.
And letting your breathing return to normal. Is there a way of breathing in gently but firmly, clearly, through the places of holding and tension you might have? That doesn't relax them—you're not trying to relax anything—but as you breathe in through everything confidently, it's almost as if you're breaking through the tension.
Almost like you're walking through snow which has a crisp, frozen top, and each time you step, the ice breaks and you settle into the soft snow. With every inhale, the inhale begins and arises and expresses confidence, courage with the inhale, where you can face anything, be with anything. As if the inhale moves through, breaks through whatever tension there might be, resistance there might be. And the exhale is landing back into the softness within.
If you find yourself thinking a lot or preoccupied, rather than letting go of that, become bigger than that. Stand up—metaphorically stand up for yourself—and be stronger, more courageous. Let your awareness and your dedication be more powerful than the distractions. Show up in a strong way: "Here I am to be present, present with the breathing, with the body. To be here and aware. Awake."
If you are calmer now, more settled than you were at the beginning of the sitting, in the midst of that calmness, can you arouse a quiet confidence, a courage? A way of being courageously here, present for whatever is here with you, with strength, with a kind of standing up, showing up for yourself, for the situation. Courageously present with a calm, quiet mind.
And as we come to the end of this sitting, do once again touch into where inside of you is a place of confidence and courage. Maybe not present now, but where would it be present when that's true for you? And maybe settle into that place, open yourself to that place. Appreciate whatever capacity, however small, you have of courage, courageous effort.
And imagine yourself standing maybe on a small hilltop overlooking a vast multitude of people. And standing there confidently, courageously, clearly, unapologetically, wishing everyone well: "May all people be happy. May all people be free of strife and war. May all people be safe, far away from violence. May all people be peaceful, untroubled with animosity, hostility, or the hatred of other people. And may all people be free. Free of oppression, free of discrimination, free of hostility, and free of being suppressed, held back."
Confidently, let's wish everyone well. Confidently, let our well-wishing, our care for the world, be stronger than our fear, our hate, our delusion, our greed, and conceit. Let this practice awaken a confident, courageous way of being in this world.
Thank you.
Dharmette: Non-Violence (5 of 5) Courage to Engage
So we come to the fifth talk on non-violence. I think most of you clearly know that this is a maybe understated way of responding to the horrific violence that's happening in the Middle East, but also, in my heart, the horrific violence in Ukraine, Syria, Sudan, Burma, all over the world.
This last meditation I led, it might not have been the most popular guided meditation I've given, maybe because many people associate Buddhist meditation with acceptance, with relaxation, with allowing, with just settling back and being no one, going nowhere, nothing to do. I would like to propose that that's only half the picture. In fact, to make that the full picture of what Buddhist practice is, is to shortchange oneself. It is to not really step up to really live in this world in a completely free way.
The Buddha did not avoid the world after he was enlightened. He engaged in the world. He intentionally went into places where people were. One of the first things he did was go back to his hometown and visit his people. And so, half of the practice may be considered relaxation; the other half of practice is to awaken an energy, a capacity to act. To not be held in check by fear, not be held in check by resistance, not be held in check by diminishing ourselves or making ourselves artificially little. There's a way of letting go of self-conceit, letting go of fear, that allows us to show up more fully. In fact, to practice mindfulness, to really be present in such a way that we're no longer limited by our fear—there's nothing that limits us from acting wisely, well, and compassionately in this world.
Buddhist practice is about going forth, connecting, and living for the welfare and happiness of everyone. I quoted it earlier in the week, but one of the very important quotes for me in the Buddhist discourses is the one that says a wise person does not intend harm to self, to others, to self and others, and to the whole world. Rather, a wise person intends welfare for self, intends welfare for others, intends welfare for self and others, and intends welfare for the whole world. And it's not just intending, but it's also showing up.
I would like to give a couple of quotes and then make what, for me, is a very important statement. On this idea of showing up courageously, the Buddha uses metaphors that are not so popular to use in modern Western Buddhist circles. There's a very strong ethos against anything that is excessively assertive or masculine or macho or warrior-like. So there's been a strong movement of backing down from these kinds of metaphors, but the Buddha uses a lot of warrior kinds of metaphors. I've been avoiding them mostly because if I use them, people would be critical and surprised, whereas when women teachers are allowed to use it, hearing it was really inspiring to come from women.
But here is one: "Compared to a person who conquers a thousand times a thousand people, is the person who conquers oneself. The person who conquers oneself is supreme in battle." So the greatest battle we fight is the one with ourselves. We fight all the ways that we limit ourselves, hold ourselves in check, get attached, live in fear. That is the battle, that's where we show up, and that's what we have courage to do in this practice.
Certainly, relaxing takes courage. To really relax deeply, to settle back and allow our experience to go through us, takes courage. But these two elements—letting go and courageous action—go hand in hand. In some situations, one predominates over the other, but it's not all about letting go. It's also about action and courageous action. And this battle with oneself doesn't mean that we're hostile towards ourselves, or aggressive to ourselves, or hating ourselves. It means that we actually love ourselves, because we want to stop the ways in which we limit ourselves.
And then: "The person who day and night delights in harmlessness and has loving-kindness towards all beings is the one who has no hate for anyone." So here we get again the Buddha's idea of harmlessness. "Delights in living a harmless life" comes with loving-kindness, free of hatred or hostility towards anyone. These are some of the key and most important teachings the Buddha gives. Over and over again, we see this emphasis on living a harmless life, but living with mettā1, with loving-kindness, with no hate for anyone. But this does not mean that we're passive.
The Buddha's example of his life is not one of a passive person; he was engaged with people and the situations of his time. Here's a small quote that I kind of like. The Buddha, speaking to Ananda, his main attendant: "Is it possible, Ananda, that you can look on with indifference at an elder monastic, a senior monastic, being offended? Truly, Ananda, care does not grow from being still and unreactive when a senior monastic is being offended." So, if someone's being offended, stand up. Get involved. Don't just do nothing, is the teaching here.
The Buddha even said to his monastics, even if your teacher does something which is unethical, speak up. Talk to the person. Speak up, don't let them get away with it. The reason I want to emphasize action today and end this week with us stepping up and doing something is that the more we're troubled, the more we're distressed by events in the world, the more important it is for us to act, to do something, to live differently. To simply sit back and be angry, upset, and afraid, and expect someone else to do everything, to have opinions about what should have happened and who's wrong, is not helpful for this world. The world needs people who step up, who courageously act in the world.
There are many ways of doing this. Each person has to find what's appropriate for them, their life, their situation, and the doors that are opening for what they can do. If the San Andreas fault ruptures here on the Peninsula where I live, and there's a massive earthquake like there was in San Francisco in 1906—the fault is only a mile or two away—I bet we would see heroic efforts by the survivors, tireless efforts to really help and step forward and do something. People are not going to say, "Well, I'm going to go meditate now." We step up and do. Otherwise, we're actually harming ourselves.
In my situation, when 9/11 happened, I had this strong understanding that I had to do something different. The first thing I did differently was a small thing: two weeks later, I was supposed to give a daylong workshop on the Buddhist teachings on mindfulness. I decided I can't do that, not right after 9/11. So I changed the workshop to be a workshop on the Buddhist teachings on peace. But that was a small thing; it wasn't enough. The last thing I wanted to do was to go back to business as usual. That happens over and over again in so many times in our life. We read some horrible thing in the news, and we're changed for a while, but then things go back to usual.
The murdering of George Floyd was horrendous and had a big impact on so many people, and highlighted the racism in the United States in a way that hadn't really been highlighted before, I believe. Many people were alarmed, and there were movements to change. But now, some years later, how much has changed? How many people have stopped their focus on this issue and concern? So many things kind of pass much more quickly. But with 9/11, I said, "I have to be changed by this. If I'm not changed by this, I haven't really taken it in."
And also, one of the institutions I'm involved with, the Sati Center, is a Buddhist study center. I said, "We have to do more than just study the suttas2, study the Buddhist teachings. We have to do something for our society." So from that, we decided to do the Buddhist chaplaincy program. Now, for over twenty years, we've been teaching a year-long introduction to Buddhist chaplaincy that's trained many, many people in the skills and the orientation to Buddhist chaplaincy. It has opened doors for people into this very significant way of offering spiritual care. People have become hospital chaplains, prison chaplains; people have been involved in politics and in chaplaincy kinds of ways. In all kinds of places, people have stepped up and offered care.
That chaplaincy program that started because of 9/11 has now spawned two other similar programs in chaplaincy. So a big part of my life the last twenty years has been oriented around the impact—how I was changed by 9/11. With the situation now for a couple of years in Ukraine, the amount of violence we're seeing is huge. And what's happening now in Gaza and Israel is huge. It's impacted many of us for many decades, the endless cycles of violence there, but there's something qualitatively different now, more powerful. What's happening now, with so many children being killed, teens being shot down, innocent people being murdered, and people living a life that's worse than... I go often to San Quentin, the state prison here in California, and the pictures and reports I get of how people live in Gaza sound like it's worse than what it's like in prison here in the United States.
Now there's a lot of opinions, a lot of ideas about all kinds of things. But free of opinions, are we willing to be changed by this? What I would like to suggest is the more deeply we are impacted, we do ourselves harm if we don't allow ourselves to change and do something different. It might not be that we do something for the people in Gaza and Israel—how much can we do there from our distance? But maybe we are now motivated to do something else better. Many times when I read horrific things in the newspaper that impact me, it motivates me to be a better Buddhist teacher, to give myself more to this teaching and this work. Because I believe this work is peacemaking; this work is helping so many people become free of suffering. But sometimes that doesn't feel like enough.
So now, for me, I've been impacted a lot by these last couple of weeks with Israel and Gaza. The question is, at my age, at my point in my life, what do I do? How do I do things that are different? I don't know yet what's possible, what I can do, and what doors will open up that are appropriate to step through. But, like I created the chaplaincy program many years ago, I've wondered about training in the Sati Center. Maybe creating a program or facilitating a program in non-violence—training in non-violence, the strategies of it, the wisdom of it, the philosophy of it, and the inner work that has to happen in order to be able to be a non-violent warrior, in a sense, for peace.
I have also been interested for many years in Buddhist peace studies, a little bit more toward social justice and politics having to do with peace. But I've devoted my life to other things these years as a Buddhist teacher, and my time is limited. What can I create at this point in my life? I'm reflecting on this. I'm not just giving this as an example; I'm reflecting on this, thinking about, how do I be different because of this? It's not enough just to sit back and have opinions.
So I offer that to you as something to think about. The more deeply you've been impacted by tragedies of this world that we live in—and your own personal ones, or the ones around you or near you, or the ones in other places in the world—maybe you'll do yourself a disservice if you just hope to relax, chill out, and get back to life as usual. Maybe you do yourself a tremendous service by evoking a degree of courage and strength that, yes, you will step forward and be different, act differently, and contribute to this world in a different way. And to do it in your way, in the way that's appropriate for you, so it's not a source of stress. It's not a source of exhaustion; it's a source of inspiration, enlightening and meaningful for you.
The Buddhist dedication to non-harming includes not harming oneself, benefiting oneself. And so this courageous way of being in the world for the welfare of everyone includes yourself. So that it's not stressful, it's not causing more harm to yourself, it's not putting yourself in greater danger to feel even more distressed. It's the opposite: you step forward into the world to meet the suffering of the world in such a way that you are a better person because of it. Nourished by it, freed by it, even. This is possible. Courageous action in the world can be transformative.
Thank you very much. I hope this week has given you things to think about and consider in a serious way. Certainly, this teaching, for all its shortcomings in terms of really actively addressing things more specifically, is for me a very important teaching. I share with you something that's been at the center of my life for many years, and I'm glad to be able to speak about it. Thank you very much.