                       BHAVANA SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 
                               (excerpts)
                                          
                             Vol. 9, No. 3
                          July-September, 1993
                                          
                                          
                     Copyright 1993 Bhavana Society
                                          
                            Bhavana Society
                            Rt. 1 Box 218-3
                          High View, WV 26808
                          Tel: (304) 856-3241
                          Fax: (304) 856-2111
                                          
                                          
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                            * * * * * * * *
  
  
                                CONTENTS
  
  
  "The Declaration of a Global Ethic" - 1993 Parliament of the World's 
                               Religions
                                          
      "The Four Divine Abodes, Death, And Me" by Patrick Hamilton
  
                "A Ponderable Point" by Petr-Karel Ontl
                                          
                             Notes and News
                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
                            * * * * * * * *
                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
                   THE DECLARATION OF A GLOBAL ETHIC
                                          
                1993 Parliament of the World's Religions
        August 28 - September 5, 1993 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
  
  
  [We are pleased to enclose in this newsletter the following Global 
  Ethic declaration signed by most of us.]
  
  
       We affirm that this truth is already known, but yet to be lived 
  in heart and action.
  
       We affirm that there is an irrevocable, unconditional norm for 
  all areas of life, for families and communities, for races, nations, 
  and religions. There already exist ancient guidelines for human 
  behavior which are found in the teachings of the religions of the 
  world and which are the condition for a sustainable world order.
       
       The world is in agony. The agony is so pervasive and urgent that 
  we are compelled to name its manifestations so that the depth of this 
  pain may be made clear.
       
       Peace eludes us ... the planet is being destroyed ... neighbors 
  live in fear... women and men are estranged from each other... 
  children die!
  
                           This is abhorrent!
                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
       We condemn the abuses of Earth's ecosystems.
       
       We condemn the poverty that stifles life's potential; the hunger 
  that weakens the human body; the economic disparities that threaten so 
  many families with ruin. We condemn the social disarray of the 
  nations; the disregard for justice which pushes citizens to the 
  margin; the anarchy overtaking our communities; and the insane death 
  of children from violence. In particular we condemn aggression and 
  hatred in the name of religion.
  
                      But this agony need not be.
                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
  
       It need not be because the basis for an ethic already exists. 
  This ethic offers the possibility of a better individual and global 
  order, and leads individuals away from despair and societies away from 
  chaos.
       
       We are women and men who have embraced the precepts and practices 
  of the world's religions. We affirm that a common set of core values 
  is found in the teachings of the religions, and that these form the 
  basis of a global ethic.
       
       We affirm that this truth is already known, but yet to be lived 
  in heart and action.
       
       We affirm that there is an irrevocably, unconditional norm for 
  all areas of life, for families and communities, for races, nations, 
  and religions. There already exist ancient guidelines for human 
  behavior which are found in the teachings of the religions of the 
  world and which are the condition for a sustainable world order.
  
                              We Declare:
                              ~~~~~~~~~~~
  
       We are interdependent. Each of us depends on the well-being of 
  the whole, and so we have respect for the community of living beings, 
  for people, animals, and plants, and for the preservation of Earth, 
  the air, water and soil.
  
       We take individual responsibility for all we do. All our 
  decisions, actions, and failures to act have consequences.
       
       We must treat others as we wish others to treat us. We make a 
  commitment to respect life and dignity, individuality and diversity, 
  so that every person is treated humanely, without exception. We must 
  have patience and acceptance. We must be able to forgive, learning 
  from the past but never allowing ourselves to be enslaved by memories 
  of hate. Opening our hearts to one another, we must sink our narrow 
  differences for the cause of the world community, practicing a culture 
  of solidarity and relatedness.
       
       We consider humankind our family. We must strive to be kind and 
  generous. We must not live for ourselves alone, but should also serve 
  others, never forgetting the children, the aged, the poor, the 
  suffering, the disabled, the refugees, and the lonely. No person 
  should ever be considered or treated as a second-class citizen, or be 
  exploited in any way whatsoever. There should be equal partnership 
  between men and women. We must not commit any kind of sexual 
  immorality. We must put behind us all forms of domination or abuse.
       
       We commit ourselves to a culture of nonviolence, respect, 
  justice, and peace. We shall not oppress, injure, torture, or kill 
  other human beings, forsaking violence as a means of settling 
  differences.
       
       We must strive for a just social and economic order, in which 
  everyone has an equal chance to reach full potential as a human being. 
  We must speak and act truthfully and with compassion, dealing fairly 
  with all, and avoiding prejudice and hatred. We must not steal. We 
  must move beyond the dominance of greed for power, prestige, money, 
  and consumption to make a just and peaceful world.
       
       Earth cannot be changed for the better unless the consciousness 
  of individuals is changed first. We pledge to increase our awareness 
  by disciplining our minds, by meditation, by prayer, or by positive 
  thinking. Without risk and a readiness to sacrifice there can be no 
  fundamental change in our situation. Therefore we commit ourselves to 
  this global ethic, to understanding one another, and to socially 
  beneficial, peace-fostering, and nature-friendly ways of life.
       
       We invite all people, whether religious or not, to do the same.
  
  
  
                            * * * * * * * *
                                          
                                          
                 THE FOUR DIVINE ABODES, DEATH, AND ME
                                          
                          by Patrick Hamilton
  
  
       "When your fear touches someone's pain, it becomes pity.
       When your love touches someone's pain, it becomes compassion."
  
                                                    Stephen Levine
  
  
  
       In several suttas of the Pali Tipitaka the Lord Buddha refers to 
  the Four Divine Abodes (Catur Brahma Vihara). He repeatedly encourages 
  his listeners to practice rousing and maintaining these positive 
  mental states--Loving Kindness, Sympathetic Joy, Equanimity, and 
  Compassion. Now, 2500 years after these instructions were first laid 
  down, we American householders can still benefit greatly from learning 
  the practice of controlling our everyday monkey mind with the 
  discipline of the Four Divine Abodes. In our complicated and difficult 
  lives we will come to see that developing this practice can become a 
  powerful adjunct to our often irregular practice of more disciplined 
  techniques, such as formal sitting Vipassana sessions.
  
  
  
  Modern Life Versus the Four Divine Abodes
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       We live in a complex and conflicted time. Setting aside time for 
  formal Dhamma practice is difficult in a life crowded with family, 
  work, and social duties. Even making time for the relatively simple 
  practice of mentally recalling the Four Divine Abodes and trying to 
  teach the mind to dwell in these special states of peace and joy is a 
  challenge.
       
       Moreover, contemporary American society as most of us experience 
  it has little in common with Lord Buddha's India of two and one half 
  millennia ago. Our awareness of the differences in the two societies 
  sometimes sows a seed of doubt in our minds that the ancient teachings 
  of the Buddha-sasana can still contain useful, applicable meanings for 
  us today. We often doubt that as lay people we can properly 
  disentangle the transcendent meaning of the Buddha's message, conveyed 
  in such seemingly simple parables and stories, from the dense cultural 
  context it is imbedded in.
       
       When we read modern English translations of the Pali Tipitaka and 
  seek to apply the lessons of the ancient suttas to our lives we need 
  to take time and perform a mental cultural translation as well. This 
  socio-cultural interpretation is necessary to set the Buddha's words 
  clearly against the social context of his audience and to adjust his 
  message, to the realities and idioms of our lives.
       
       The Buddha's teachings are timeless, believe, and their value 
  extends beyond linguistic and cultural boundaries. However, we need to 
  remember that his audience was composed largely of farmers, petty 
  merchants, and the few urban elites--artisans, masons, minor 
  government officials--that composed the relatively simple social 
  structures of his day. A Master Teacher, Lord Buddha cast his message 
  in terms his audience would readily understand and find easy to apply. 
  Today, we need to be sure we are aware of the cultural context assumed 
  by the compilers of the Pali Tipitaka as the background of the 
  Buddha's message. Our first step in applying the teachings of the 
       
       Buddha-Dhamma, therefore, is to fully grasp the essence of a 
  lesson--such as the teachings on the Four Divine Abidings--and clearly 
  recognize the timeless content from the cultural context of the 
  lesson.
  
  
  Finding the Four Divine Abodes in Daily Life
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       As lay people studying the Buddha-sasana, I believe we must each 
  make a conscious daily effort to discover the timely message of Dhamma 
  practice in our own lives. Techniques like the teachings on the Four 
  Divine Abodes, provide a valuable, practical, and immediately 
  applicable opportunity to experience the deeper insights of the 
  Buddha's teachings. For us, modern householders seeking to uncover and 
  demonstrate the validity of the Buddha-sasana in the daily reality of 
  20th century America, it can be a life's work to realize the truths of 
  Metta, Mudita, Upekkha, and Karuna (Loving Kindness, Sympathetic Joy, 
  Equanimity, and Compassion).
       
       In my life, I search for opportunities to experience each of the 
  Four Divine Abodes in my mind as I move through my day. It is a 
  natural and unfettered process. The truth of the practice is 
  self-evident and I can readily recognize the mental shift from anger 
  to love in a business telephone call when I take a moment to become 
  aware of the pain I cause myself and my listener by holding to a 
  selfish view. I can easily see the relief l provide even in something 
  as simple as paying for my lunch in the cafeteria line when I give the 
  check-out woman a split second of equanimity and relaxation by taking 
  the time to say "thank-you" in a heart-felt manner. When I take an 
  extra moment to congratulate a co-worker on his recent promotion and 
  he senses the sincerity and lack of guile in my voice I can see that 
  he is moved and happy. Similarly, when I break my work long enough to 
  share my secretary's grief after hearing that her daughter's medical 
  condition has worsened, she gains a bit of comfort from hearing the 
  depth of my very real concern, unmasked by the bureaucratic formulae 
  that characterize so many personal interactions in a government 
  office.
  
  
  Making a Social Solace for the Practice
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       Although we can see the value of developing the Four Divine 
  Abodes by watching our daily interactions with an open and accepting 
  mind, we can make them more real by finding a place in our lives where 
  we can practice them in greater depth in a more structured manner. The 
  Pali Tipitaka recommends a number of formalized practices designed to 
  rouse the mind's experience of Metta, Mudita, Upekkha, and Karuna. 
  These techniques are valuable and treasured practices for lay-people 
  and monks alike. I am recommending, however, that each student of the 
  Dhamma enhance his understanding of the traditional teachings by 
  adapting these practices to his own life.
       
       In my life I have found that my work as a Hospice volunteer once 
  a week provides me with a valuable structured environment to practice 
  the Four Divine Abodes. For four hours a week my life is not my own. I 
  give it to the terminally ill patients who spend their last days at 
  the Hospice where I volunteer as a patient-care assistant. While I am 
  with the patients, I have no time to indulge the petty mental 
  practices that otherwise consume much of my waking hours. The patients 
  do not need a volunteer who is full of his own concerns. There is not 
  room in that environment for conflicting opinions and emotions. I have 
  to actively suppress the negative mental states that I too often allow 
  myself during regular times. My need to focus on the very immediate 
  concerns of patient care means I have to retrain my mind to avoid lazy 
  and pointless mental traps. Because the work is difficult and calls on 
  uncommon skills, I have to pay strong, bare-bones attention to each 
  detail.
       
       Working with the dying provides me an excellent opportunity to 
  gain insight into the Buddha-sasana and to apply the insights gained 
  from the practice of the Four Divine Abodes. My volunteer evening is 
  often the one occasion during the week when my every action could' 
  potentially--have life-or-death outcomes for someone else. The work is 
  very immediate as patients move rapidly through the last stages of the 
  death process. As a volunteer, I have no authority for a dying 
  person's care, yet I may find myself the last person to speak to a 
  patient before the final moment of death. I feel a great 
  responsibility to be there with each patient, to reflect their mental 
  state accurately, to help them maintain their calm understanding of 
  what is happening to them, yet never to interfere with these last 
  moments. It is a marvelous burden. I am honored to be so close to 
  people as they make their final transition.
  
  
  Death and the Four Divine Abodes
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       For me, sharing the death experience with so many people, their 
  families and friends, and the professional staff of the Hospice has 
  been a weekly experience of the core teachings of the Buddha-sasana. 
  Beyond the demonstration of the reality of suffering, the fact of 
  impermanence, and the truth of no-self, it has given me the unequaled 
  opportunity to practice the Four Divine Abodes.
       
       Hospice work for me has meant developing the four positive mental 
  states in a setting of real and immediate need. When I seek to rouse 
  Karuna in this environment, it must be real, applicable compassion. 
  There is no place or time here for an intellectual, academic sense of 
  compassion. I need to demonstrate a compassion based on the patient's 
  often unstated demand for clear and present relief of his suffering. I 
  do not have the leisure to ponder the metaphysical and personally 
  redemptive value of a disembodied Karuna. I have no time to consider 
  the meditative nature of Karuna devoid of subject. Hospice compassion 
  must be focused and responsive to patient concerns, not mine.
       
       Similarly, I need to place my mind in equanimity when I leave the 
  patient's bedside to work with the family. Spouses, parents, and 
  children facing the immediate separation from a loved one need the 
  support of a calm, accepting, and warm volunteer. I have no time to 
  reflect how this flow of emotional energy is affecting my mental 
  state--my Upekkha must be unquestioned to provide them the strength 
  and support they need as they face life's greatest challenge.
       
       Metta (love without clinging or desire) is a staple in Hospice 
  work. I was surprised to find that by cultivating Metta in dealing 
  with patients and their families I was better able to reduce their 
  anxiety as they faced the unknown in a strange place. Both the patient 
  and his family are often unsure of what to expect when they come to 
  Hospice. "Doesn't everyone just come here to die?" is a common 
  question. "People come here to live with comfort and dignity for as 
  long as their life span will last," I answer. "Many go home to enjoy a 
  period of quiet and sharing with their families that would have been 
  unthinkable in a hospital situation." But beyond the words--which they 
  had probably already read in the Hospice pamphlet anyway, I believe my 
  positive energy, my expression of Metta as love and acceptance, can be 
  the start of the process that heals their anxiety and prepares them 
  for whatever changes they are going to face. Surprisingly, I have 
  found occasions when Mudita (Sympathetic Joy) was the proper mental 
  state called for as a patient and his family prepared for those last 
  hours together. Some people have lived their lives so fully and in 
  such expectation of a warm and welcoming reward that they project a 
  special joy as they prepare to make the transition to what they feel 
  assured will be a blissful state. Rejoicing with them as I keep them 
  physically comfortable is the only appropriate response and has 
  revealed whole layers of new meaning of the word Mudita to me.
  
  
  Back in the Marketplace
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       In the famous allegorical Oxherding Pictures, the Chinese Zen 
  artist closes his series of stages of mental development with the 
  realization of Nirvana as Picture number 8. Later artists often added 
  Pictures 9 and 10 to bring the herdsman back to the busy marketplace 
  and to place the parable of religious growth strongly into focus 
  against the background of human experience. The trained meditator who 
  has realized the insights of the Buddha-sasana returns to the workaday 
  world of a crowded market to share his enlightenment with the people 
  he meets there. I feel I understand what the artist is pointing to 
  with his visual parable. In my limited experience of the truths of the 
  Buddha-sasana it has been only when I could take the personal insights 
  gained through my meditation practice "back into the marketplace" and 
  see them reflected against the reality of my daily life that I could 
  grasp their deeper meaning. I know I have misinterpreted or failed to 
  grasp an insight when I try to see it in the harsh light of my 
  everyday life and it wiggles, blanches, or slips out of my grasp.
       
       I recommend that American students of the Buddha-sasana find 
  occasions to test the strength of their realization in their everyday 
  lives. Especially those of us who practice Vipassana here in the West 
  need to test our insights against the realities of American culture to 
  insure that our new learnings are rooted in our cultural and social 
  environment. After all, the Buddha himself was firm on this point: "Do 
  not believe something because I have told it to you. Believe it only 
  after you have tested it in the crucible of your own experience and 
  found it to be true." We can ask for no better guidance.
  
       "The water of Compassion courses
       Through the canal of Loving-Kindness." 
       
       Bodhisattva Maitreya to Asanga Mahayana Sutras
                                          
                                          
                                          
                            * * * * * * * *
  
  
                           A PONDERABLE POINT
                                          
                           by Petr-Karel Ontl
                                          
                                          
       SEVERAL YEARS AGO my mother and I were living in rural northern 
  Vermont, in a rambling old farmhouse. A very dear friend, an American 
  Buddhist lady, came to visit and to do a Vipassana retreat. After 
  spending a day with us and catching up on things, she went upstairs, 
  chose a small, Spartan-bare room with but a chair and a bed, and 
  settled in with her tiny satchel of belongings, not to be seen nor 
  heard from for a week.
       
       WHEN THE VISIT was over, this devout lady warmly thanked us for 
  the hospitality and the opportunity to do the retreat. Then, just as 
  she was leaving, she turned to bow solemnly three times in the living 
  room... apparently to nothing in particular. I was a little surprised, 
  as my shrine was in another part of the house, and there was nothing 
  overtly Buddhist in sight.
  
       SENSING MY PUZZLEMENT, this wise lady taught me a valuable 
  lesson. "I have lived in this house for over a week," she said. "It 
  has kept me warm, safe, and sound throughout my stay. As the Buddha 
  showed gratitude and appreciation to the Bodhi Tree for the shelter it 
  provided Him, so do I thank this house for,, the shelter it has given 
  me.
       
       THANKING A HOUSE? The concept is one which would seem thoroughly 
  alien, even ridiculous, to most Westerners, especially today when the 
  prevailing culture glorifies crudeness, arrogance, and insensitivity, 
  and openly mocks those who still abide by manners, politeness, and 
  restraint as wimps, nerds, and weaklings. Can you just see the field 
  day the late night TV' comedians ' , who unfortunately are anything 
  but funny, would have with the idea of showing gratitude to animals, 
  plants, or inanimate objects? 
       
       SADLY, IT HAS gone out of fashion for people to show common 
  courtesy, consideration, and respect even to each other. Those who ask 
  with a "Please," and acknowledge with a "Thank you," seem fewer by the 
  day. Gone are the times when folks smiled at strangers, nodded, and 
  greeted, "Good morning !" or, "Fine day!" Today we hurry coldly about 
  our business with sour, frowning faces, ignoring whom we can, and all 
  too often rudely snarling at those we can not avoid. Oh, I'm not 
  saying that you and I specifically do it, but the general trend is 
  undeniably there, and growing fast. Just last week a TV reporter 
  observed that in New York City rudeness has "attained the level of a 
  high art." What a comment on our society!
       
       IN CONTRAST, AT certain Zen temples, I am given to understand, 
  the retreatants customarily bow to the Buddharupa, to the monk or 
  teacher, and to each other. And then, just before they meditate, they 
  bow yet again to the cushion upon which they are to sit. If we see 
  this as honoring a mere cloth bag stuffed with kapok, yes, it does 
  seem bizarre. But if we see the symbolism of the act, as well as what 
  the cushion symbolizes, the beauty and meaning of the bow become 
  immediately obvious.
       
       OF COURSE I am not advocating that we go about bowing publicly to 
  every chair we sit on, every building, car, or bus we enter, and every 
  utensil that we have occasion to use. That would indeed cumbersome and 
  a bit silly-looking, and understandably would raise eyebrows 
  everywhere. We would however do well to relearn to respect ourselves, 
  one another, and the other beings and things with which we share 
  existence, and on special occasions outwardly, and unceasingly 
  inwardly, it would be good to acknowledge, and be mindful of, our 
  indebtedness to all on which we depend in our everyday lives, for 
  where would we be without them?
       
       AN ANECDOTE COMES to mind: Some time ago, when the latest wave of 
  feminism began to wash over America, legend has it that a man was 
  about to enter a building, and, noticing that a young woman was right 
  behind him, he swung the door open, and held it so that she could also 
  pass. The young woman, a militant feminist, commented stridently to 
  the poor fellow: "Y'know, there's nothing wrong with me. I'm perfectly 
  capable of opening doors for myself. You don't have to do that for me 
  just because I'm a lady!" To this he cheerfully replied, "Miss, I am 
  not holding the door because you are a lady. I am doing so because I 
  am a gentleman, and because it is the proper and polite thing to do 
  -for anyone. Good day !"IT IS EASY to be friendly, grateful, and kind 
  to those who are friendly and kind to us. (Not that we always are... ) 
  But the same consideration and goodwill should be extended to the 
  strangers, and the enemies we meet. And to animals as well.
       
       IN OUR BEGINNINGLESS wanderings through Samsara, throughout the 
  innumerable lives we have lived, whether here on the human plane, in 
  our evolutions to the heavenly realms or in our devolutions to the 
  animal and hell-realms, we all have met before, and been related one 
  to another, in many different ways, over and over again. Today ' s 
  stranger or enemy was someone dear to you in some past life. One 
  traditional Tibetan story has it that every being, at some point in 
  the endless past, was our mother, giving us life, nurture, protection, 
  and love, and thus is even now deserving of our gratitude.
  
       BUT WHAT OF those who hurt us in the distant past, or here and 
  now, often badly and willfully so? Well, have we ALWAYS been perfectly 
  kind and fair to others? If so, what are we still doing here in 
  Samsara? Let us recall the Buddha's word in the Dhammapada, "Not by 
  hatred does hatred cease in this world, but by love alone. This is the 
  law eternal."
       
       BE THEY REMEMBERED or forgotten, for past and present kindnesses 
  let us always be grateful, and for past and present hurts, let us 
  always be forgiving. We do not know the harm and pain we ourselves may 
  have done to others in past lives. It is conceivable, even probable, 
  that in our beginningless sojourn in Samsara, each and every one of us 
  more than once has risen to levels kindness, generosity, and wisdom, 
  and just as surely, every one of us must also have fallen to the level 
  of the Pol Pots, the Saddam Husseins, and the Idi Amins.
       
       IT IS GOOD to admire and respect the great benefactors among us, 
  but the villains are the ones who need our forgiveness, and our metta 
  the most. Let us not forget the compassion, forgiveness, and love the 
  Buddha extended to His enemies and detractors, among them Devadatta 
  and Angulimala!
       
       EVEN TO THOSE WHO hate us and seek to do us harm let us show 
  gratitude, because they too are teaching us valuable lessons, lessons 
  on HOW NOT TO BE. Moreover, they deserve our pity too, for they hurt 
  themselves far more than they can ever hope to hurt us.
       
       WE IN THE WEST neglect the non-human world completely. We laugh 
  at the Hindu, who venerates the cow. We dismiss narrow-mindedly "the 
  primitive savage" and his "animistic superstition" of regarding all 
  things in nature as sacred. But the Hindu holds the cow as 'sacred' 
  because it is in fact the foster mother of India. It has for millennia 
  provided milk and butter for sustenance, it has been a willing bearer 
  of burdens, and pulled the plough of the farmer as well. It has turned 
  the grinding stone, and the water wheel. It has fertilized the soil, 
  and its fresh dung, mixed with straw and mud has supplied the poor 
  with excellent building material, while its dried dung provides, even 
  today, fuel for their warmth and cooking. Hindus, out of gratitude for 
  these and other services, hold the gentle cow in high esteem. And most 
  Hindus, respecting life in general, are vegetarians THE AFRICAN, 
  ASIAN, and Native American forest dwellers know well that the forest 
  is a fragile place, and are careful in selecting what they take to 
  fill their needs. The ceremonial seeking of permission to disrupt the 
  forest even minimally, proceeds from a deep awareness of, and respect 
  for, the interconnectedness of all things.
       
       THE NATIVE FARMER, too, is instinctively aware that the earth 
  will sustain him so long as he does not abuse, damage, and waste its 
  generous gifts. The native peoples understood far better than we, the 
  complex interplay, or as the Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh now puts it, the 
  INTERBEING of all phenomena.
       
       WE IN OUR modern sophistication laugh at the myths, the religious 
  symbolism of the so-called "primitive peoples," not bothering to seek 
  the deep wisdom and meaning within. And it is we who, in less than two 
  centuries, have so widely and brutally savaged the life-giving purity, 
  and the aesthetic beauty of this wondrous planet that has sustained 
  life for four billions of years. Who is the fool? Who is the wise?
       
       IN OUR SELFISHNESS, in our self-centeredness, in our greed and 
  ignorance, we forget what binds us all together -man, woman, and 
  child, beast and bug, plant and stone. We bring unnecessary suffering 
  to ourselves and to each other.
       
       WE TAKE SO much for granted. Everything really. We need to 
  realize how much we all owe to each other, how indispensable we all 
  are to each other quite apart from our encounters for better or worse 
  in past existences.
       
       SOMEONE MAY SAY, "I am a self-made man," or "I earned my fortune 
  all by myself, no one helped me, I owe nothing to anyone!" Another 
  will say, "Just give me enough money, and I ' 11 show you I need 
  nothing and nobody." Not so, Mr. Big-Businessman. Were it not for your 
  parents, you ' d never have been born when and where you were. Your 
  past kamma-vipaka certainly has much to do with your inborn talents, 
  but innumerable teachers and individuals taught you to walk and talk, 
  to read and write, to count and to manage your money, to invest it. 
  Others helped you over the hard spots giving you a place to sleep, 
  lending you a twenty when you were broke, steering you to a part-time 
  job, or a 'dynamite' interview, and they gave you your 'lucky breaks'. 
  You may have worked like a horse, but still, you did not do it all 
  alone.
       
       NOT SO, MISS Meager-Star Entertainer, you of the great singing 
  voice. Where would you be if Edison hadn't invented the phonograph? If 
  hundreds of strangers since hadn't perfected his invention into 
  today's tape and CD players? If other hundreds of people hadn't 
  evolved Radio, Television, and the whole music-video industry, which 
  today brings you to the attention of a vast international public that, 
  one person at a time, spends a few dollars each to buy your 
  recordings, and so make you a multimillionaire? Realize that without 
  them all you might well be serenading a herd of goats fifty miles 
  north of nowhere.
       
       WHAT GOOD WOULD it do us if we had millions or even billions of 
  dollars at our disposal? We would be paupers still, or even worse, 
  were it not for others who through their labors provide all the things 
  and services we need and want. And each of them in turn is supported 
  by ever-branching networks of people and things and conditions complex 
  beyond imagining.
       
       FLICK A SWITCH, and a light comes on. Now, think -really think in 
  depth- of all that is involved to make this possible. Now look at your 
  dinner plate. Take just one item. That tomato, or this lettuce leaf. 
  Some one had to plant it and tend it. Someone had to pick it, sort it, 
  pack it, transport it, and get it to the market shelf for you to 
  purchase. All of the people involved, all of the machines, tools, 
  boxes, pencils, scraps of paper involved have their own histories of 
  who and what created, supported, and maintained them.
  
       THE HEART MEDICINE that your mother takes may come from a 
  non-descript plant. The cancer drug that saved Uncle Lee came from the 
  bark of a jungle tree. No bees -no honey. And while we are at it, no 
  bees -no pollination, no pollination -no crops, no crops: famine ! The 
  rain forests are the lungs of the planet, providing us with fresh air, 
  the plant world provides fruits and vegetables, lumber and paper, and 
  sadly the flesh of animals is still eaten, too. The list is endless.
       
       EVERY LIVING AND inanimate thing has its place in the economy and 
  ecology of life on the planet. Be grateful even to the fly and the 
  maggot, for without them the earth would have vanished under a blanket 
  of corpses. The rocks and the winds and the tides and shifting sands 
  perform their part in sustaining life in general, yours in particular. 
  LET US LIBERALLY show gratitude and appreciation to others. We know 
  how to communicate these to people. Show them to animals through 
  kindness and gentleness, harmlessness and non-killing. And to 
  inanimate objects by wise use, gentle handling, proper care, and 
  appropriate disposal when at last they wear out, or break. Waste 
  nothing ! And every so often you might bow mindfully, humbly to 
  'nothing in particular.'
                                          
                                          
                                          
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                             NOTES AND NEWS
                                          
                                          
                                          
  Bhante Gunaratana's Travels
  
       Bhante Gunaratana left on the European trip on the 28th of April, 
  1993. He visited Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Czech 
  Republic, Slavakai Republic, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Denmark, 
  Norway [North Cape where sun does not set from mid-April to 
  mid-August], Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Belgium and England. During 
  this trip he conducted several retreats and gave many Dhamma talks and 
  returned on the 11th of August.
       
       Soon after that he went to Cambridge Insight Meditation Center to 
  teach a weekend meditation course. Returning from there he conducted a 
  part of the ten day meditation retreat at the Bhavana Center, started 
  on the 20th of August, and left on the 27th of August to attend the 
  1993 Parliament of the World's Religions held in Chicago between 
  August 28 and September 4. Then he conducted a post parliament 
  meditation retreat for some of the people who attended that historic 
  gathering which was attended by more than 6000 people including His 
  Holiness Dalai Lama. 
  
  
  Bhante Rahula' retreat:
  
       Bhante Rahula will lead a retreat at the Southern Dhamma Retreat 
  Center in North Carolina from November 4th-7th 
       
       Bhante Rahula' would like to than all those persons who 
  generously offered their time and skill to type parts of One Night's 
  Shelter.
       
  
  Memo: To All Who Attended Youth Retreat 1993
  
       Everyone at The Bhavana Society in High View, West Virginia would 
  like to thank all of you who came here to participate in our Youth 
  Retreat 1993.
       
       We hope that you received enough information and teaching of 
  meditation and Buddhism to continue practicing on your own. You may 
  find that this practice can help you find peace and tranquillity in 
  your every day struggle to carry on.
  
       You will start receiving our quarterly newsletter if you are 
  currently not getting it. You may find many articles answering some 
  questions you may have thought of after you left the retreat.
       
       The receipt for donation to Bhavana Society will be mailed out at 
  tax time next year. Please inform us of any change of address. Once 
  again, thank you for helping our retreat be as successful as we had 
  hoped. We hope to see many of you next year.
       
       With Metta;
       
       The Bhavana Society Meditation Center
  
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