With Stillness, Simplicity and Contentment

Hi companions in the good life,

I am writing this from Adhisthana where I am attending the Anagarika Convention. 23 of us are gathered to share our experiences, meditate and do puja together and to reflect upon our lives as anagarikas. Our theme for this convention is Creating a Living Anagarika Sangha and we explored that in small groups over the first couple of days. Today we are having a silent, meditative day followed by a couple of days of study. On the first day, we reported in, sharing a bit about how long we have practised as anagarikas and what our lives currently look like. I do enjoy the opportunity to chant the abrahmacharya precept with 22 others. For me, being an Anagarika is about freedom and working with my preferences. It is not just about the 3rd precept for me but also - perhaps even mainly - about working with the mind precepts. 

It is, for me, a strengthening of my working with the positive counterpart of the third precept: with stillness, simplicity and contentment I purify my body. Obviously practicing celibacy is one aspect of that but not, by any means, the only aspect. I see it also as trying to live in a simple way, not being caught up in the drive to possess. Contentment is something that I think society works against. By that I mean there is a constant message to get more (of whatever), to have a bigger, better, more modern whatever. I also see this as something I have worked with in 12 step programmes - I find the serenity prayer a great reminder: 

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, 

the courage to change the things I can 

and (CRUCIALLY) the wisdom to know the difference. 

Santideva tells us something similar in the Patience chapter of the Bodhicaryavatara: (Stephen Batchelor translation) 

Why be unhappy about something

If it can be remedied?

And what is the use of being unhappy about

something

if it cannot be remedied?

A good reminder of how to live my life. Of course all of us who consider ourselves Buddhists will try to live by the Precepts, including the third. For me, this is partly why I want to live as an Anagarika - to deepen my understanding and personal practice of contentment. I have the tendency to want to make things better but I realise that I cannot always do that. Samsara is endless and vicious as we are told in the Pali Canon and I cannot fight Samsara, I cannot stop suffering in the world but I can do my best not to be a cause of suffering and to alleviate it where I can in my own small circle of influence.

Just before coming here to Adhisthana, I was reminded of the suffering caused to humankind by other humans. I attended a holocaust memorial concert in the Royal Scottish Conservatoire. It was organised by Interfaith Scotland and the performers were mainly students and some teachers. There were also students from fellow institutions in Turin and in Nuremberg, both cities that are twinned with Glasgow. (Fun fact: Glasgow is also twinned with Havana, Dalian, Marseilles, Mykolaiv in Ukraine, Lahore and Bethlehem). The music was beautiful and varied, closing with a piece which was a premiere of a new work by Oleg Ponomarev, a Russian gypsy violinist and composer, currently living in Dublin, Ireland. The piece had influences from many different cultures and was stunning. I had not heard of him but have been listening to and enjoying some of his pieces since. 

After the concert and some words from the director of Interfaith Scotland 2 candles were lit: one by a young Jewish woman in memory of the Jewish Holocaust and one by a young woman who is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. We then sat in darkness with only the candlelight for a minute's silence. I found the whole evening very moving. 

One of the things I found poignant was how young most of the performers were. In some ways this seemed especially important in terms of keeping something alive. So many deaths, so much cruelty and it seems to go on and on. I felt the only response is metta and the next morning, when leading the online meditation I felt moved to read from the Dhammapada:

Hatred never ceases through hatred in this world; through love alone does it cease. This is an eternal law

For now, as always,

May all beings be well, may all beings find true happiness and its causes and may all beings be free from suffering.

Where the Bodhichitta has not yet arisen

May it arise

Where it has arisen

May it flourish

Where it flourishes

May it never die