Sangha Resource Page

Look here for resources from Sangha events. Looking for something you can’t find, email us at info@nottinghambuddhistcentre.org

'How finding mistakes can make us happy' | Sangha Night 10.3.21

Here is the handout from Viryanaya’s Sangha night looking at fallacies and clear thinking.

Action’s have consequences | Sangha Night 3.3.21

Here is a link to Dhanapriya’s book from sangha night:

https://www.windhorsepublications.com/product/its-not-out-there-paperback-2/

Building the buddha-land Quotes | Sangha Retreat 15.1.21

Sangharakshita  

“If the beings living in a great universe are fortunate, they may -  whether they know it or not - also be living in a Buddha-land. A  Buddha-land is the sphere of influence of one particular Buddha,  one supremely, perfectly Enlightened being who is responsible for  the welfare of all beings in all the world systems within that great  universe…..A Buddha - land is also known as a ‘Buddha -  field’ (buddha-ksetra in Sanskrit). A field is, of course, something in  which seeds are planted and grow, so the suggestion is that living  beings, the inhabitants of the ksetra, are like plants to be cultivated,  and that the Buddha is, so to speak, a great cosmic gardener.” 

The Samgrahavastus…means of unification…means of  building sangha:

generosity 

loving speech 

beneficial activity  

exemplification

Dana…generosity:  

from Shantideva’s ‘Bodhicaryavatara’: 

“May I be an inexhaustible treasure for impoverished beings,   May I wait upon them with various forms of offerings.” “I am the protector of the unprotected and the caravan-leader for   travellers. I have become the boat, the causeway, and the bridge   for those who long to reach the further shore.” 

“May I be a light for those in need of light. May I be a bed for those   in need of rest. May I be a servant for those in need of service, for   all embodied beings” 

“Just as the earth and other elements are profitable in many ways   to immeasurable beings dwelling throughout space,  So may I be sustenance of many kinds for the realm of beings   throughout space, until all have attained release.” 

Pryavadita…loving speech: 

“Loving kind speech is based on metta, on dharmic principles”

Arthacarya…beneficial activity…doing good: 

from the Dhammapada: 

“The not doing of anything evil, 

 undertaking to do what is skilful, 

 and complete purification of the mind, 

 this is the teaching of the Enlightened Ones” 

Samanartharta…exemplification 

Sangharakshita: ‘exemplification does not mean embodying a  particular static point in the process of spiritual development,  however high that point may be. It means embodying the process  of spiritual development itself, to however limited an extent.’  

Tara Brach: ‘We spend most of our moments when someone is  speaking, planning what we’re going to say, evaluating it, trying to  come up with our presentation of our self, or controlling the  situation.  

Pure listening is a letting go of control. It’s not easy and takes  training. And yet it’s only when we can let go of that controlling that  we open up to the real purity of loving. We can’t see or understand  someone in the moment that we are trying to control what they are  saying or trying to impress them with what we are saying. There’s  no space for that person to just unfold and be who they are.  Listening and unconditionally receiving what another expresses, is  an expression of love. 

The bottom line is when we are listened to, we feel connected.  When we’re not listened to, we feel separate. So whether it’s the  communication between different tribes or religions, ethnicities,  racial groups or different generations, we need to listen. The more  we understand, the less we fear, the less we fear, the more we trust  and the more we trust, the more love can flow.  

Isn’t it true that to get to know the beauty and majesty of a tree you  have to be quiet and rest in the shade of the tree? Don’t you have  to stand under the tree? To understand anyone, you need to stand  under them for a little while. What does that mean? It means you  have to listen to them and be quiet and take in who they are. As if  from under, as if from inside out.’ 

Pema Chodron, Wisdom of No Escape

‘We see how beautiful and wonderful and amazing things are, and we see how caught up we are. It isn’t that one is the bad part and one is the good part, but that its a kind of interesting, smelly, rich, fertile mess of stuff. When its all mixed up together, its us: humanness. This is what we are here to see for ourselves. Both the brilliance and the suffering are here all the time.’ …………………..‘ Life’s work is to wake up, to let the things that enter into the circle wake you up rather than put you to sleep. The only way to do this is to open, be curious, and develop some sense of sympathy for everything that comes along, to get to know its nature and let it teach you what it will. It’s going to stick around until you learn your lesson, at any rate…..you can manipulate your world until you are blue in the face to try to make it always smooth, but the same old demons will always come up until finally you have learned the lesson…then those same demons will appear as friendly, warm hearted companions on the path’