Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

I30

Suhhumr

Bzrrzaghi

Bringing

the

practice

home

TheBuddhist

teachings

onrenunciationand

theabandonmentofdesirehave

been

centraltothe

path

of

enlightenment.

Due

tothis

emphasis.

there

were

very

few

practic

s

specifically

focusedon

bringing

thedharmaintointimate

relationships.

sexual and

family

life.In

fact,

pursuing

the

family

lifeas

opposed

tothe

holy

lifeis tillconsidered

by

theconservative

andmonastic

aspects

ofthetradition

tohetheantithesis

ofthetrue

teachings

oftheBuddha.

Allseriottsseekersand

practitioners

were

eventuallyexpected

totake

up

therobes.

In

my

firstdecadeof

practice.

|

anguished

overthedilemma

ofwhetherto

join

the

monastery

or

forge

a

path

in

theworld.Theresolution

ofthisdilemmacame

afterahriel iV

months

of

living

asanovicenuninSri

Lankaand

India,

where

IrealizedIdidnot

wantto

retreat

fromtheworldbut

engage

withit.

My

chosen

path

wasto

try

and

livean

awakened

life

among

thetrials

andtribulationsof

loveandwork.

l‘he

symbolic

Zen

ox.herding

seriesof

pictures

originally

created

by

Chinese

Zen

masterJitoku

Eki,graphicallydepict

a

joumey

of

seeking

and

taming

the

mind,cttltivating

and

concentrating

themind.

awakening

tothe

empty-one

ground

ofthe

mindandinthefinal

picture

weseetheman

abreasttheox

peacefully

riding

it

hometothe

marketplace

with‘hliss

bestowing

hands'

(I970:

IvaZOB),

This

last

imagecrystallircd

formethat

bringing

the

practice

homefrom

the

temple

to

one's

daily

lifewasthe

ultimate

task,

forwhich

allelsewas

merelypreparation.

The

application

ofthis

ultimatetaskcontinues

tobe

challenging

for

me,

juggling

familyresponsibilities

and

thenet:

sity

tocom

anincome

throughpsychotherapy.

on

onehand.

andjuggling

the

growingresponsibilities

ot‘the

teaching

roleandthe

love

ofthe

dhanna,

onthe

other.

Ihavecometorealize

thatwisdomisnot

a

given.

butahard

earned

practice

ofembodied truthful

living,

acontinual

process

of

awakening

tothismoment

andthenextandthe

next.Ihavealsorealized

that

stopping

and

taking

careofall

thesedifi‘icult

familydynamics

andsituations

isthe

practice,

that

thisi.rthe

path

of

compassion

andwisdom.

Practiceisnot

just

sittingsilently

on

acushion.but

an

orientationto

every

actand

every

moment

to

wholeheartedly

hold

theintention

towake

up

tothe

intimacy

thatlifeofi‘ers.

Lay

Zen

practiceemphasizes

bringing

mindfulnesstothe

ordinary

activitiesofone‘s

daily

lifeandwith

mindfitlnessthese

act ttiesaretransformed

intothe

sacred,

andthesacredbecomes

expressed

asthis

very

natural,ordinary

and

yetexquisite

lifeof

grace.

Zenand

Australian

indigenous

traditions

Another

unique

newavenueof

exploration

hasbeenthe

discovery

ofresonances

betweenZen

andAustralian

indigenous

wisdomtraditions.

SincetheI9805the

Sydney

ZenCentre

hasinvited

Aboriginal

elders,

Maureen

Smith

(Minmia)

and

UncleMax

(Dulumunmun)

to

give

talks,

lead

workshops

inthebushandshare

knowledge

of

indigenousspirituality,

songs

andstories.

In 2006 a

symposium

washeldatthe

Sydney

ZenCentre

on‘Zen

Approaches

to

Indigenous

Traditions‘.

Remembering

thatWesatin

Eora

country.

tribal

elder,

Uncle

Maxanelderofthe

_———.———’

Thejum'ney

Ufalayfemrl/e

Zenteacher I]

l

Yuirr

nationofthefarsouthcoastof

NewSouth

Wales,

sharedthe

symposium

with

Zen

students,

ProfessorAllanMarrett(Professor

Emeritus

in

ethnomusicology),

DrMari

Rhydwen(Zen

teacher,linguist

and

Aboriginallanguages

consultant)

and

DrCaroline

Josephs(whose

l’hDdissenation

onsacred

oral

storytelling

included

both

Zenand

Yolnguindigenous

Australian

storytelling).

[inchof

the

presenters

has

spent

decadesinthe

companyofAboriginal

people

and

equally

asmuchtime

sitting

onthecushionandtheirunderstanding

of

eachtradition

has

increasingly

beeninformed

by

theother.

ProfessorMarrettstudiedthe

songs

andrituals

ofthe

Mart-ivtjevin

people

of

the

Daly

River

region

ofNorthemAustralia,

whichis

documentedin

hisacclaimedbook.

Songs,Dreamingx

andGnarls

(2005),

Asan

expression

ofthis

evolving

relationship,

Allan was

given permission

by

Frank Dumoo.

the senior

custodian for

the

Walakandha

wangga

traditionto

sing

a

wanggusong.

called)i'ndili

Yendili

(‘Ancient

Ground'),

whichisabout

looking

alter

country.

This

song

wasfirst

sungpublicly

at

the

openingceremony

ofthe

Sydney

ZenCentre

retreatcentre

Kodat/‘i

(

temple

of

theAncient

Ground)

in2001.

The

song,

Ancient

(jmuml.has

nowbecome

pan

ofthe

ZenCentre's

liturgy

andisinscribed

inthe

Sydney

ZenCentre's

sutmbooks.

Oneofthe

important

insights

andanarea

ofcommon

ground

that

indigenous

spirituality

shareswithZen

Buddhismisthe

wisdomofinterconnectedness.

We

canlearnanimmenseamount

fromthewisdom

ofindigenous

Australiansand

their

spiritualrelationship

totheland

andsense

Ui‘placc.

Asan

example

ol’tltc

wisdom

of

interconnectedness,

asmall.

keen

group

of

peoplespent

Mother‘s

Day

inthe

southem

Royal

NationalPark

with

aboriginal

elder,

Uncle

Max Dulumunmun.

While

my

husbandand l

were

driving

down

tothesouthem

highlands.

lwas

thinking

about

ringing

my

mother and

daughter

on Mother's

Day,

When

we

gathered

inthecar

park,

beforeheading

into

thebush.Uncle

Maxaddressed

the

groupbystamping

hisfooton

theearthandsaid,

‘Thtsisour

mother‘,attd

just

at

thatmoment.asifwithorchestrated

synchronicity.

a

large

flock

ofwhitecockatoos

rose

up

outofthe

nearby

trees

andflewacross

theriver.The

cockatcos'

screeching

chorus

amplified

themoment;

Iwas

jolted

awake,

UncleMax'swords,

‘This

isour

mother',

permeated

theentire

day.

aswe

satonthe

rocky

outcrop

investigating

theancientlinesetchedinto

stoneandlistened

tothe

dugong

and

“hale—dreaming

stories. ‘Thisisourmother‘.

wasechoed

at

every

turn,

aswerested

underan

angephoragum,

the

kurrawongs

sang

it,

the

grove

ofbrilliant

crimson

waratahs

celebratedit.

Zenmaster

Dogenchji,

a

thirteenth-centuryJapanesepriest

said:

‘Theentire

worldandthetendirections

is

nothing

butthetruehuman

body‘

(Tanahashi

1985:

91).Dogen

is

pointing

totheawakened

mindthat

recognizes

itstrue

intimacy

with

thetrees.rocks.clouds,insects,

animals

andeach

other,

whereeach

thing

confirms

ourtrueBuddhanature.

Wethinkin

terms

ofseparate

divisionsbetweenself,

other.

natureandtheworld

at

large,

but

Buddhist

teachings

considerthis

anillusion

of

the

separateego.

Zen

practice

points

totherealization.

thatthere

isnodivision

in

reality;

lifeis

experienced

asaseamless

totality.

The

implications

oftheresonances

between

indigenousspirituality

and

Zen

practice

arethatUncleMax

Dulumunmun

hasconductednumerousworkshops.