Dharma in the Desert

A short Dharma talk about the ordination process and some of the lessons that come from becoming a Buddhist monk. Sometimes its the small things, the things we take for granted, from which the most important lessons can be found.

Suffering is part of our shared human experience, and while that can be alienating, it can also be an opportunity to come together. The fact that we are not alone in these experiences is an opportunity for gratitude and joy. In this talk, Sensei Vonn Magnin discusses some of the perspectives that we can adopt during times of stress and strife. Simply put, there are always lessons we can derive deep within our own caves.

Today’s topic is extinction! When we think about this word we usually associate it with dinosaurs, animals, but in a Buddhist sense, nothing lasts forever and not even the Dharma is impervious to this truth. Today Rev. Lynn discusses our ideas of extinction and impermanence, especially as they pertain to the last dharma age. The last dharma age is a period of time that Buddhist scholars predicted would see the end of Buddhism as a whole, prior to its rebirth. There is a lot of debate as to what age we are in –it's a fascinating topic that can’t be covered in a single talk, but Sensei Lynn provides a great introduction to it.

Sensei Vonn is a currently a tokudo minister at the Arizona Buddhist Temple, where he has been serving for the past two years. As a former military man he brings a lot of really different insights that many of us don’t get to see on a daily basis and therefore brings a really unique and interesting perspective to his interpretations of Buddhism. He’s also one of the most knowledgeable star wars fans that I know, which I’m sure will come up in subsequent talks and episodes. In today’s discussion, Sensei Von discusses the role of traditions and rituals in our daily lives and also delves into what these mean in the context of Jodoshinshu and Buddhism as a whole. He gets at the idea that rituals and routines serve as a way to bring people together, but also offer opportunities to reflect on our lives and share these moments with others.

There is that old Buddhist saying that “you can’t step into the same river twice.” A simple saying, but still a profound one, while we might call it the same river, while we might give it a name that does not change, it’s never the same water, and more than that, the causes and conditions surrounding the river are always different from moment to moment. In this sense, it’s only the same river in our minds, but never in reality. Everything is always changing and constantly in a state of flux and this is a realization that can bring us great pain, but I think also profound joy as well. That’s kind of at the heart of today’s talk, which focuses on the traditional Buddhist idea of changes and impermanence, both in our lives and in a larger perspective of community. Today’s speaker is Sensei Lynn Sugiyama, who has served as the Kyoshi minister at our temple for the last five years.