Itand#8217;s a really good thing to be born a human being. Todayand#8217;s Dharmabyte by Padmavajra, Every Moment Favourable is an extract from the talk and#8220;Initiation into the Alchemy of Loveand#8221;.
Talk given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2004
Todayand#8217;s Dharmabyte is from the talk and#8220;The Initiation into the Alchemy of Love,and#8221; the first in a great three-part series titled and#8220;The Alchemy of Love.and#8221;
[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] Then he says in verse 4, this lovely expression, "This favorable moment so hard to obtain had arrived leading to the welfare of mankind. If this moment is not utilized advantageously now, when will the opportunity come again?" This right now is a favorable moment. Actually, every moment is a favorable moment. According to Buddhist tradition, every moment is a favorable moment. We might not feel that it's a favorable moment, but in reality, every moment is a favorable moment. It's a unique moment. Shanti Deva himself means many things by this phrase, this favorable moment, so hard to obtain. He means, first of all, being born as a human being. Being born as a human being is regarded in Buddhist tradition as something really special, really very, very special indeed. There's lots and lots of reflections on will. You could have been born in all sorts of conditions, but the fact is you've been born a human being, and that's a really wonderful thing. It's a really good thing to be a human being. We don't often remember this. We often forget this. We often even sort of trash our own humanity. But it really is a remarkable thing to be a human being with senses, able to think and feel and reason, able to imagine, able to communicate, able to dream. That's an amazing thing. That's a really wonderful thing, a very precious thing indeed. So he's saying, well, let's not waste our humanity. Let's not waste our life in trivial pursuits. And this moment right now is very special. As I speak, this moment right now is very special. A unique moment. Maybe you don't feel that right now. Maybe you're a bit jaded and tired after travelling so far, after a hard week, maybe a hard month, maybe a hard year. And you're just waiting to go to bed. But in fact, yes, this moment is a unique, a special moment. It's a moment unlike any other moment. In fact, if we were able to wake up right now, we would see how fresh, how alive, how special this moment, this time really is. The great Zen master, Dogan, the great Soto Zen master, has a lovely saying, very simple saying, that says so much. You are only alive right now. You are only alive right now, tremendous insight in that phrase. So often we spend our time wondering, reflecting about, worrying about the future, brooding over the past. We're only alive right now. The past has gone, the future hasn't come. Speculating about it, brooding about it, is a waste of time. It's gone. We are only alive right now. The past has vanished like the water rushing past, and the future has not arrived. So we don't need to think about those things. There's just this time, this place, this moment, this moment so rich, so brimming with life and possibility. It's this time, and this place, and this moment that is our opportunity, our precious opportunity. So this weekend is a precious opportunity. It's like, as he says in the next verse, like a flash of lightning that brightens the darkness of a clouded night, just for a moment, that brightens the darkness through the inspiration of the Buddha. So we've come here to this time and this place and this moment through the inspiration of the Buddha. We've come together because in some way or other we're moved by the Buddha or intrigued by the Buddha. To some degree we're intrigued or moved by the example of the teaching of the Buddha. Somehow, somewhere we feel the preciousness of human existence. We feel that we have a unique opportunity to work out life's meaning. Life isn't simply about earning money, about eating and sleeping and making love and being busy and all the rest of it. There's something else that we've been called to, some deeper work, some deeper task to perform some greater work, the great work. We hope you enjoyed the talk. Please come and help us keep this free at freeBuddhistaudio.com/community. And thank you. [music] [music] [music] [music] [BLANK_AUDIO]
