Hello friends,
We will meet again this Wednesday, September 2 at 5;30 in the Quilt Museum.
This week, we’ll talk about (and practice) spiritual farming. What?
The Buddha lived in an agrarian society (as we do out here in Fayette and surrounding counties!). When he addressed his monks and lay people, he called what he did and taught others to do as bhavana, which translates as “to cultivate or tend.” He described the heart and mind like a garden that needs to be actively planted, weeded and grown, rather than just passively observed.
There’s a famous sutta where a wealthy brahmin farmer, Bhāradvāja, accuses the Buddha of being idle. He tells the Buddha that he should plant and plow the fields for his food instead of begging for alms from the community, a practice of ascetics in India and Asia to this day. The Buddha responded, “I too plow and sow, brahmin, and then I eat.” He then breaks down the steps on the spiritual path he taught as farming equipment.
The seed: Confidence, or faith (saddha)
The rain: Regular practice or discipline
The yoke and plow: wisdom
The pole: conscience (hiri)
The strap: mind
The plowshare and goad: mindfulness (sati)
The weeding: truthfulness
The ox: persistent effort
The harvest; nirvana
I’ve found this simile helpful to my practice this week (and my gardening). Let’s discuss this more on Wednesday night.