Buddhas in my pocket

He seemed very pleased when I commented positively on his hat. It looked like it was a print of a painting by one of the Masters.
We started chatting and I told him about the Buddhas I had been given and asked if he wanted one. He was really attracted to the beautiful glass Kuan Yin. I told him that Kuan Yin was associated with the qualities of compassion and kindness.
I asked him if there was anyone in his life who epitomised kindness.
His face lit up and he beamed, “My mum !”
It was so lovely hearing him talk about his mum. She had obviously helped him out during very tough times. I got the sense she was the most important person in his life, the person who provided a stable safety net in a tumultuous world.
He explained that his mum was currently looking after his own two young children and also his sister’s three children as she was too unwell to look after them.
He had been living on the streets himself in the past but was on his way to an appointment that very day to Human Services where they were trying to sort out a house and furniture for him.
He needed to have his own stable accommodation before he could get his children back living with him.
But meanwhile his mum looked after her 5 grandchildren to save them from going into foster care.
In my time working in Welfare in school settings I met numerous grandparents who had taken on the same selfless responsibility. Love and big open hearts gave them the energy to go beyond what they thought they were capable of.
As this young man readied himself to go off to his appointment he sincerely thanked me for the gift of the little Buddha and he spontaneously gave me a warm hug.
As I walked away, I could well imagine the beautiful hugs he must give his mum.

Buddha donated by Lynne

Port Fairy Australia 

‘Call forth as much as you can of love, of respect and of faith!

Remove the obstructing defilements and clear away all your taints!

Listen to the Perfect Wisdom of the gentle Buddhas,

Taught for the weal of the world,

for heroic spirits intended!’

from Ratnagunasamchayagatha sutta

This morning I was reflecting on how one event could trigger such a range of emotional responses around the world. Some people would be waking up this morning feeling deep joy, excitement and a potential for freedom from their suffering and others are burdened with a gut wrenching sense of despair, worry and fear. And of course there exists the whole a range of emotions in between. Same event- different personal experience. All responses coming from the same human wish to be happy and avoid suffering.

That wish is what all human beings have in common and its where we can find connection.

When I open myself up to the perfect wisdom of the gentle Buddhas at times like this the Dhammapada provides the balm.

 ‘For hatred can never put an end to hatred; love alone can.

This is an unalterable law.’

And then the poet Auden reminds me …

All I have is a voice


To undo the folded lie,


The romantic lie in the brain

Of the sensual man-in-the-street


And the lie of Authority


Whose buildings grope the sky:


There is no such thing as the State


And no one exists alone;

Hunger allows no choice


To the citizen or the police;


We must love one another or die.

Defenceless under the night


Our world in stupor lies;


Yet, dotted everywhere,


Ironic points of light

Flash out wherever the Just


Exchange their messages:


May I, composed like them


Of Eros and of dust,


Beleaguered by the same


Negation and despair,


Show an affirming flame.

–Wystan Hugh Auden, September 1, 1939 (excerpt)

There is the inner voice, the outer voice and the voice that goes on even after one’s death.

I know I need to pay attention to my inner voice, listen compassionately to what it is saying, what it needs, turn towards it with kindness, and then let it have its expression in the world.

And perhaps then its outwardly expression has more chance of being in line with the advice from the Dhammapada…let love conquer hatred.

And of course that is a way for the voice and wisdom of the gentle Buddhas be heard long after we ourselves are gone.

Sometimes in the West we can be uncomfortable talking about and acknowledging babies who die just before birth or during birth. There is very little in our culture that creates a space for these tender relationships to continue to be acknowledged.

However, in Japan, Ksitigarbha, known as Jizō, or Ojizō-sama as he is respectfully known, is one of the most loved of all Japanese divinities. His statues are a common sight, especially by roadsides and in graveyards. Traditionally, he is seen as the guardian of children, and in particular, children who died before their parents.

The statues can sometimes be seen wearing tiny children’s clothing or bibs, or with toys, put there by grieving parents to help their lost ones and hoping that Jizō would specially protect them.

Thus each time you see a Jizo statue, adorned with these clothes or bibs, you witness the pain of a parent.

I was given one of these little buddhas for my pilgrimage recently.

I knew I had to pass it on to someone who would deeply understand the poignant sense of connection gained by knowing others understand and are willing to be visible with such tender loss.

As this lovely young woman held this little buddha in her hand she said,

“Seeing these pictures of all the Jizos at the Japanese temples reminds me how confronting it can be for many people even to go to the children’s sections of our cemeteries.

Now I visit one regularly to honour my daughter’s place in our family.  It was only when I started going  that I realised so many people have gone through the same deep sadness that my family and I have experienced.  And in a way its comforting …knowing that you’re are not alone.

Talking to other women who had experienced losing their child was also really helpful. I could see that even though they naturally still carried the grief, their futures had unfolded and they had survived.  It allowed me to glimpse that possibility for myself.”