Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte ,and#8221;Going Through the Motions,and#8221; is a thoughtful description of the fetter and#8216;silavrataparamarshaand#8217; and#8211; reliance on rites and rituals and#8211; by Sangharakshita. How do we do things with our whole hearts? From the talk and#8220;Entering the Sanghaand#8221; given on Sangharakshitaand#8217;s first visit to Buddhafield in 2007.
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Going Through the Motions
(upbeat music) Dharma Bites is brought to you by Free Buddhist Audio, the Dharma for your life. Our work is funded entirely by donations from our generous listeners. If you would like to help us keep this free, make a contribution at freebuddhistaudio.com/donate. Thank you and happy listening. Well, that's only the first of the fetters, but the others and well, I don't know if you mentioned two more. That's quite enough for what you've got the time being. And the next one is, the original word is Sila Vrahta Paravasa, which is a bit of a mouthful. But it's sticking to, it's usually translated as attachment to rules and observances. But the real meaning is, perhaps, paraphrased best as just going through the motions. You all know how it is, or most of you I'm sure know how it is. Maybe you take up a religious practice, you take up the practice of a portrait or of meditation, and maybe you do it every day for the while. You go on doing it every day. But perhaps you then become conscious that you're not really doing it. You're just going through the motions. And you think it's a good thing just to do it in that way, just to go through the motions. But that is a fetter. That is something that holds you back. No religious practice, no religious observance will do you any good unless you can do it with your whole heart and your whole soul. So this is what this second fetter is all about. It's the fetter of doing things just half heartedly, especially any religious practice or meditation or project, doing it not whole heartedly, not putting the hold of yourself into it. There's a verse I remember in the Bible. I do sometimes quote the Bible. Whatever your hand finds it to do, do it with all your might. And I think that's very important. That's a secret of success and also of the fields, including of course the spiritual field. If you take up meditation, put your whole heart into it. If you take up the study of the Dharma, put your whole heart into it. It doesn't necessarily mean that you devote a lot of time to it, but whatever time you do devote to it, during that time, you just do it whole heartedly. You really believe in it. So you do it with the whole of yourself and it's only that sort of practice that can affect change. That can break this fetter of sealer, brata or a Marsha. So that's the second one. We hope you enjoyed today's Dharma Bite. Please help us keep this screen. Make a contribution at freebuddhistaudio.com/donny. And thank you. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] You [BLANK_AUDIO]