What if everyone in the world was enlightened but you, and you were the last to know? What if everyone was your teacher, playing a part for the sole purpose of waking you up? What if instead of reacting, you took a moment to ask yourself, “What’s really going on here? What am I supposed to learn?” Your life would change in an instant.
Turn it another way. Everyone is going through something. Everybody, without exception, is fighting a battle we know nothing about. Every being on this planet is only struggling to find happiness and to avoid suffering. When we understand this, we can relate to everyone. We will treat them differently, paying attention without fear or judgment.
When we pay full attention to someone, no matter how casual the encounter, they feel seen. They have no idea what happened, just that something did. It’s called awareness, and they feel noticed. Noticed, they feel valued. Valued, they feel respected. Respected, they feel satisfied. Satisfied, they feel happy. The greatest gift we can give anyone is our fully awakened presence. That is the point of Buddhist practice.
Practicing meditation is a powerful antidote to anger, fear and sadness. We practice with safe, abstract visualization, which involves no judgment or storytelling, only the acknowledgment of suffering and the active intention to remove that suffering and bring peace. We do this for people we like, for those we don’t and for those to whom we are indifferent. With practice, we learn to be comfortable bringing the same focused attention to every encounter. It’s transformative.
All are welcome on Sunday, Jan. 5, at 10:30 a.m. for our Sunday service with the theme of “Meditation as Social Justice” given by Dan Dempster, who states you do not need to be Buddhist to benefit from these beautiful, authentic practices. Just bring a kind heart and an open mind. We can even help you to find those. Join us.
Dempster is a certified meditation instructor and Buddhist teacher, authorized by Lama Migmar, Harvard Buddhist chaplain and his teacher for more than 18 years.
Beginning Sunday, Jan. 12, we will offer weekly meditation practice from 9 to 9:40 a.m. every Sunday, with additional Dharma talks at 10:15 a.m. on the second and fourth Sundays of the month.
The Pagosa Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is located at Unit B-15 of the Greenbriar Plaza 301 N. Pagosa Blvd., on the north side facing the Pagosa Peak. You can also join us in person or through our offered Zoom services. Visit our website, www.pagosauu.org, to find our current newsletter and a link to join the online service.
Our motto is to “Grow Your Spirit – Make Friends – Do Good Works,” and we invite you to join us on this journey.
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