Of Grace

Devine Intervention

GFAJ-1

Part loving satire, part plain loving.
Echoes of teachings and insights in the form of chants and song that came through in a 6 week intensive practice period in the Theravada/Insight Buddhist tradition.
Please use and share as is useful to your practice and communities. Forget the rest.

Photo: (catawiki) Oxcart wheel and shadow referencing first verse of the dhammapada: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.01.than.html

(some) Lyrics:
First Foundation

Where is the Body? Here!
When is it here? Now!

Can you feel...
On/in the...?

G-R-OW-T-H (Vedana)

You can’t spell growth without Owe!
I’m stretching to include it all

This Mind, Heart, Body Continuum
Is getting pretty tired of the same humdrum
It used to think the way to deal with pain was to turn away
It’s doing a 180, staring it straight in the face

I’m not here to improve
I’m here to make room
For all as it arises, ceases and abides
And some of it is pleasant
Some of it is unpleasant
Most of it is neither pleasant nor unpleasant
Which turns out to be unpleasant cuz we’re hooked on that dram drama
But can be quite calm when we’re hip to that kamma kamma

Metta=Awareness

Each breath is the Air loving me
Each step is the Earth loving me

Give It To God
(A useful practice in dis-identifying with unwholesome states. Replace God with Dhamma, Earth, or whatever you want!)

Give your worry to God
So she can carry it or she can bury it

She can throw it to the sea
Feed it to the trees
Give it to the breeze
Let it thaw or freeze
Do whatever she please, she’s God!

I See You Mara
(Sometimes we need a little chant to counter in the inner-voices of deprecation)

I/you have a right to be here
A right to take up space
I/you have take my/your time
A right to make mistakes

I/you right to know what’s best for me/you
A right to be myself/yourself
I/you have a right to feel
And a right to ask for help

I have a right to yes
I have a right to no
I have a right to hold on 
And a right to let go
I have a right to receive 
And to give love
I have a right to pass
On all of the above

I/You have a right
My/you body knows what’s right

I Remember In This Moment

When I took the vow to do no harm
I forgot myself
When I aspired to love everyone...
When I said I’d be omitting none...

But I remember, I remember in this moment
[I surrender, I surrender to this moment]
[I surrender, I surrender to my love]

Oh Sangha
(“Sangha” is contemporarily translated from Pali to mean “community.”
“Kalyanamitta” is translated as “spiritual friend” and literally means "beautiful friend".)

Oh sangha, prop me up
Help me to be with this moment
Oh, sangha humble me down
Help keep my feet in this moment

I feel your hand on my back
I feel you here witnessing my tears
Of gratitude, I have for you
Kalyanamitta
Beautiful friend

Ode To The Vipassana Vendetta

No one wears their Dharma the same
Everyone’s gotta be different
Cuz each one is a continuum of causes and conditions

So if you gotta walk fast, walk fast
If you gotta walk slow, walk slow
No one wears their Dharma the same
And it’s all good don’t you know

So if you gotta laugh, laugh
If you gotta cry, cry
No one wears their dharma the same
So why would you even try?

So if you gotta shave your head, 
Dress in white, or stay in bed
If you fawn over everything
If furl your brow and look real mean

If you get all temperamental
Or if you get all sentimental
I see you aversion 
But you can’t steal the show

Natural Process (Anatta)

I am a natural process
You are a natural process
We are a natural process
Expressing itself distinctively
...
All is one natural process 
Expressing itself just perfectly

The Seed Bears The Fruit (Kamma)

Greed just wants to want
And hate just wants to hate
Before we give them what they want
Let’s just take a breath and wait
And ask

Is this useful?
Is this kind?
Is this agreeable to the wise?
What happiness lies beyond feeding insatiable habits of mind?
What flowers might blossom when we water what is generous and kind?

adhamh roland

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