Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte takes us back to the first Triratna International Urban Retreat held in 2009. Shantidevi shares and#8220;A Day in My Lifeand#8221; one of a series of short talks where Order Members from around the world speak about their life and practice.
Shantidevi speaks about a day in her life in Melbourne, Australia as part of the 2009 International Urban Retreat.
For more information on this years Urban Retreat see: www.theurbanretreat.org
[Music] Dharma Vites is brought to you by Free Buddhist Audio, the Dharma for real life. Our work is funded entirely by donations from our generous listeners. If you would like to help us keep this free, come and join us at freebuddhistaudio.com/community. Thank you, and happy listening. [Music] So the day in the life of Shanti Devi, this was a day off I had, and I saw it particularly as practicing mindfulness, mindfulness of things, mindfulness of self, which includes body, feelings, and mental states and my tendencies, mindfulness of others, and mindfulness of reality. So thinking about mindfulness, I thought it is a very powerful, transforming tool. However, as long as I remember to do it with meta, so meta being gentle, kindliness, and perhaps openness is a flavour of meta. And I respond quite well to the idea of softening, to my experience as a metaphor approach. So in the end you have wisdom and compassion, and they are the same thing. So in waking up this morning, I hear chains rattling. And I'm reminded that it's the builders next door who are building some new flats. So I decide this morning that yoga is a preference rather than meditation because I can concentrate a little bit better with the noise. And I see yoga as a mindfulness practice, and not only of the body. I still need to work with the pushes and pulls of my body, mind, and heart, and find the middle way, just like in meditation and life. So I need to look at and attend to my motivation, so especially if I feel resistant. I can ask myself, is my approach helping or hindering, and what would help me become more motivated? I need to look at my effort and explore if I need to put in a bit more, if I'm feeling a little bit slothful, and careful not to overdo it and stress my body. I also need to be aware of how much discipline I'm expecting of myself. Am I being too harsh, and do I need a little bit more gentleness in there? And particularly being in the moment with my yoga practice, I sometimes wish the practice was over. So the other thing is the distractions. Is my mind getting too attached to things like the noise of the builders? And that's wanting it to be different. So I sometimes find it helpful to remind myself things will change. The builders need the work and attempt to let it all come and go. So once I've finished my yoga practice, I'm heading out to the city, and it's a lovely day and I'm on a tram. And I begin to be aware that there's an offensive odour, and I feel immediately aversion. However, in the spirit of matter, I coax myself to perhaps have a different way, a different response. And I remind myself that this is someone's suffering, and can I connect more to their humanity? I also remind myself of the wider tram experience, and looking out the windows, there's some beautiful bottom leaves. A girl on the phone and catches my attention next. She's engaged very loudly, talking to a friend. And I reflect, instead of judging this, I reflect on my own self-consciousness and her lack of it. So being curious can help me in situations like these. So I get off at the city square, and I'm waiting for a friend. There's lots of school girls with a survey, and in the moment, I don't really take them in and say no to their request. As they walk away, I begin to regret my lack of generosity. My response to being in this city public place, perhaps feeling a little bit constricted. However, if I gently be with my limitations, I begin to think, well, next time, I would really like to engage with the girls with their survey. So I'm heading off to an art exhibition, Howard Arkley, who's an enlivening and bright artist, reminiscent of the work reminds me of my youth. And he paints a lot of the insides of houses. So his later works have floors in them, which are painted as galaxies, and lots of universes and patterns are in the carpet and walls. So his floors have become insubstantial, and there's nothing fixed and permanent about them anymore. And it symbolises and resonates with my interpretation of the dharmic truth of insubstantiality. So chatting to my friend afterwards, I was really glad she'd suggested art, because I tend to forget to go to art galleries. And we chat about the exhibition, and I find it really helpful to meet with someone who's also self-reflective and wanting to explore the truth of things. We've also studied a little bit of another study, and we talk a little bit about that. On my way home, as I'm walking from the tram stop, I see a tree with two bowels pruned, and it's got a big gap in between. I'm aware of how open it seems, and I really realise I want to be more open-hearted towards my life and life in general. So I'm realising the effects of art and my friend has had on my imagination, creativity and awareness. As I'm going past the shops, there's big tat-slotto signs saying, "You can win lots of money if you buy a ticket." However, I remember that I don't have much money at the moment, and move on. There are houses and flats for sale in the next shop, and I'm reminded of the future of my flat being sold, and that I need to move out. However, not wanting to get too caught up in that particular mental state, I remind myself that yes, I can take personal responsibility for my future, but grasping and worrying will not lead me anywhere. So I remind myself to hold things lightly, and to have realistic goals and make my decisions step by step. Remembering that in the end all the housing and money fluctuates, they are not 100% secure. So I'm home, and it's quieter, so I can possibly meditate later. I look at my Padma Samba, the tanker, and I see him sitting so relaxed, clear, and surrounded by abundance, holding on to the centre of the Vadra. He holds to nothing whatsoever but the truth. The truth being the Dharma, and that things change, and that nothing is fixed. We hope you enjoyed the talk. Please come and help us keep this free at freebuddhistaudio.com/community, and thank you. [music fades out] [music fades out] [music fades out] [BLANK_AUDIO]
