The Garret Hermitage, Bristol, Thursday 2 July 2009, 7.20 am

I sent the following text to Sangha friends in my phone address book:

“Dear Friends, this is a bit mad, but I’m having a day of playing creatively with the struggle of life and had the idea of texting all the Sangha friends in my phone to see what yr current favourite pith Dharma teaching is? I think mine is “I do not have, I do not understand, I do not know.” Love, Satyalila

And they replied:

“’How can the precepts of the Buddha ever deceive?’ (Life and Lib) and ‘The most important thing for a spiritual practitioner is to guard the sources of inspiration.’ (Dhammarati)
From V in London (7.35 am)

“Today I am struggling to keep metta at the heart of my relationship with my daughter.”
From S in Bristol (7.41 am)

“Blimey, bit random for 7.30 in the morning; good for you. Mine is ‘holding to nothing whatever.’”
From T in Bristol (7.45 am)

“Ditto! But also “Ascend with the conduct Descent with the view.” Thank you for making me smile. Metta.”
From P in Bristol (7.47 am)

“Dearest Satyalila thank you for your question. How about this. ‘My barn having burned to the ground I can now see the moon.’ This hits the spot this morning. Xxx”

From V in Cambridge (7.51 am)

“I love Stephen Batchelor’s teaching 2 live life as question using the Korean zen koan or phrase ‘what is this?’ xx
From S in Bristol (7.53 am)

“Buddha is a shitty stick” – Ummon.
From S in Somerset (7.58 am)

“I’ve been reflecting on the nature of mind and that the true nature of mind & reality are the same. x “
From C in Bristol (8.08 am)

“Mine’s ‘with mindfulness strive on!’
From P in Bristol (8.10 am)

“Animosity does not still animosity, only by loving-kindness are the seeds of hatred eradicated. This law is ancient and eternal. Love”
From J in Bristol (8.14 am)

“Hiya. All the best with that. I’m on move to Newcastle today! Exciting and nervous. Not sure what my fav pith teaching is right now but where would be b without friendship. X “
From S in transit (10.17 am)

“’Call forth as much as you can of love of respect and of faith.’ Thanks for giving me the opportunity to think this.”
From V in London (10.18 am)

“Dhammasena says ‘The holy life is not practiced to get out of difficulties in controversy nor that one be known as such and such by others. It is practiced for the controlling of body and speech, the cleansing of corruptions; the detachment from and the cessation of craving.’ Anguttara Nikaya. Phew.”

From V in London (10.18 am)

“In the seen, only the seen.”
From K in Bristol (10.18 am)

“’Even monkeys fall out of trees’ – a Japanese proverb.”

From S in Wales (10.18 am)

“It is the thought that thinks, there is no thinker behind the thought. Love..”

From M in Bristol (10.19 am)

“Only love dispels hatred. X”
From S in Bristol (10.20 am)

“Not sure I have a pith teaching – yours comes close 2 part of it, another might be ‘all beings are from very beginning Buddhas!’”
From D in Croydon (10.21 am)

“Three images: wheel, spiral, Buddha. Hope that helps,”

From J in Bristol (10.22 am)

“Hatred does not cease through hatred, hatred ceases through love. This law is eternal.  “
From P in Bristol (10.22 am)

“Mine is ‘I am free when I am within myself’ – not strictly Dharma, it’s Hegel but so relevant to being mindful.”
From C in Bristol (10.22 am)

“No, that’s not mad, should happen more often! Erm, it’s ‘Poor Tu Fu, must be the poetry…’ X “
From R in Scotland (10.22 am)

“Whatever grounds there are for making merit… All these do not equal a sixteenth part of the liberation of mind that is loving kindness.X”

From K in Bristol (10.23 am)

“Naturally mine is, ‘In the seen, only the seen. Etc’ “

From B in Spain (10.23 am)

“Hello Satyalila. ‘Don’t live in the past or long for the future. What’s past is gone and the future’s not here. Look into just this truth of what is dependently arisen. Knowing it practice it steadfast unshaken.’ Love “

From D in Cambridge (10.24 am)

“If Dharma means – The Way to Liberation. Here’s something Larry said @ Dhanakosa: ‘Enlightenment is not perfection – many calls to adventure, none are perfect!’ X “
From M in Bristol (10.24 am)

“Hi Satyalila, bit difficult to choose but I think it may be something to do with renunciation…. Maybe the other key teaching for me is from Pema Chodron that where the most painful bits are is where the Bodhicitta lies too, yep, that’s the one, bit relevant right now as it always is….”
From L in the French Alps (10.24 am)

“’All is aflame’ xxx”
From L in Bristol (10.25 am)

“I appreciate the spontaneity! One comes to mind ‘Everything’s going for refuge’ xx”

From R in Bristol (10.30 am)

“’Good though passive forbearance may be, the patience we are looking to develop is not a stolid indifference but a dynamic force, powered by loving kindness.’ Vessantara”
From K in Newcastle (10.47 am)

“I keep in mind 2 favourite poems that might not be strictly dharmic. ‘The human body at peace with itself is more precious than the rarest gem, it is yours this one time only’ and Rumi’s Guest House ‘greet them all at the door laughing’ about one’s moods. And I loved a talk given by Ram Dass where he spoke of how awareness helps you to clean up your act.”
From J in Bristol (11.15 am)

“Letting go… all is impermanent.”
From M in Bristol (11.16 am)

“’Form is only emptiness, emptiness only form.’x”
From D in Saltford (11.24 am)

“How do we know what we do is the Dharma? Because is always has the same taste: Freedom.”
From A in Leicester (11.25 am)

“Mine is ‘Don’t try to fix Samsara’ ”

From S in Bristol (11.33 am)

“Hi Hun, Sounds interesting. I have two at the moment my current practices. ‘I’m okay I just need to deal with what comes up’ and ‘Can I relax around this, whatever this is at the time!’ love…”
From I in Devon (11.38 am)

“That’s a lovely thing to do, Satyalila. I am currently trying more to be a ‘being’ rather than my habitual kind of ‘doing’ kind of person. Go well, and with joy.”

From K in Bristol (11.45 am)

“When I think about communicating the Dharma the four right efforts always come to mind.”

From R in Bristol (11.45 am)

“Hi Lovely x Favourite Dharma thing at moment is Bhante saying we need to find middle way between individualism and authoritarianism. I see this can be applied to current stuff around his recent letter.x”
From V on train from Clacton (11.54 am)

“Awakening is not far away, it is nearer than near.”

From K in Bristol (12.46 pm)

“Blue sky.”

From P in Bristol (2.01 pm)

“Nothing is certain.”
From S in Bristol (2.04 pm)

“Hmm – tricky – quite into Bhante’s ‘the activity of emptiness is compassion’ at the mo…’”
From D in Somerset (2.14 pm)

“’Those who do not live in the single Way fail in both activity and passivity.’ Xx”
From K in Penzance (3.19 pm)

“Hi me dear! I tink mine would be: ‘let present experience be your teabag.’ Sorry. I meant teacher. (If that doesn’t sound too pompous.). Much love…”

From A in Bristol (5.19 pm)

“Something I just came across, from private preceptors retreat: ‘great need for dialogue in conflict situations… Take the initiative and initiate without polarizing.’”

From A in Bristol (5.33 pm)

“By living in company with the spiritually immature one grieves for a long time.”

From J in Bristol (5.45 pm)

“Ooh you got me thinking… on the training reading about embodiment…..’look, feel, let life live through you.’ Hokusai.”
From A in Bristol, 2 July

“Hi Satyalila. Thank you for adding some Dharma magic to my morning! I’ve been thinking what teaching appeals to me at the moment – probably something like seeing my difficulties as my practice. Difficult people as precious jewels!”

From B in Bristol, 2 July

“Hello u. I have absolutely no idea BUT your one grabbed me so if you don’t mind I’ll hang on to the tail of that one for a while.”
From P in Bristol, 2 July

“Hi Satyalila. Lovely idea and a nice text to start me day this morning  Hope you got some interesting and inspiring replies. No exactly a specific teaching but just the act of noticing the thoughts that lead me to disconnection from people and the practice of letting them go is a strong and inspiring practice for me at the mo.”

From S in Bristol, 2 July

“I notice that I often don’t want to be with my experience. So I’ve been dropping in the question ‘Do I want to be here?’ every now and then. (Interesting to be with resistance and also discover potential for contentment in every moment even uncomfortable ones).”
From P in Sussex, 3 July

“ Fav pith teaching from Canto 37(?) {103?} of L & L of P, probably misquoted ‘Again and yet again lay bare that which gets in the way of meditation.’

From K in Bristol, 3 July

“Hello, you! ‘Abandon all hope of fruition.’ Lojong. Happy Dharma Day… and Bristol Festival.”
From S in Norwich, 3 July

“’The firm earth patiently bearing the weight of both good and bad..’ But my most helpful is yours!”
From N in Bristol, 3 July

“’There is in fact only one need of one’s own that has to be fulfilled before one can preoccupy oneself effectively with the needs of others, and it is not a physical or material need, but simply a matter of emotional positivity and security. We need to appreciate our own worth and feel that it is appreciated by others, to love ourselves and feel that we are loved by others.’ This is the Bhante quote for you if you want to add it to your website, which if I may say is great, having all those quotes on it. Well done!”
From S in Bristol, 6 July

“Virtue and kindness may be unfashionable, practice them anyway. The path to enlightenment may be far and difficult, start walking towards it anyway. Human beings are selfish and self-centred, love them anyway. People are often ungrateful, help them anyway. Society may be bigoted and ignorant, educate them anyway.”

From S in Bristol, 6 July