Buddhas in my pocket

Budai given by Tegan in Perth Australia to L.

As I set off for my second pilgrimage walk to the city I still hadn’t heard how Julie and Itir had gone with sharing their buddhas and I was keen to see the reflections they had promised to write.

But on this day I was travelling alone with  10 little buddhas. When I got to the city square I I was engulfed by the loud music of a Christian rock band on stage and worshippers filling the steps ….then it dawned on me that it was Good Friday!

So instead I headed to the art gallery nearby to see the beautiful, ancient Chinese Kuan Yin that was is intrinsically linked for me to faith.  I stayed transfixed on her form for so long the security guard started to swing by regularly. Did the kesa around my neck make me someone to keep an eye on? This time there was no mystical experience like I had on my first viewing 20 years ago but just a deep knowing that she was still guiding me.

Where would my little buddha end up today?

I am already noticing it is a subtle process that involves putting down any gross act of choosing and listening to the world in way whereby someone chooses you.

So I started heading off to another part of the central city to see if I could find a Chinese temple I had heard about where you could get a meal and have the opportunity to sit in a lovely shrine room to meditate. Many people were out enjoying the Easter holiday but for the homeless it was another day as usual trying to make ends meet. I passed about 4 people with their cardboard signs out but wasn’t drawn to stop.

Then I saw a young man setting up his blanket, a crate of few possessions and some beautiful woven bracelets that he makes to sell. As I passed by I noticed his sign said something like ‘I don’t have many things but I do have hope.’

My step slowed but I didn’t stop until a couple of hundred metres up the footpath. I turned and watched him for some time. I was reflecting on why I drawn to him and had yet walked past the others. I  just knew I had to go back.

Maybe this sense of ‘knowing’ comes from the beautifully simple act of giving time to walking out into the world with just the wish to connect with kindness.

As I approached him I knelt down and  unwrapped my bag of 10 Buddhas saying,

‘I have something to give you but I am not sure if you will want it.’

As his eyes took in that they were Buddhas he gave the biggest smile saying ,’Wow this is a sign.  A lovely lady gave me a Buddha just days ago. ”

I asked, ‘ Was her name Julie or Itir?’

‘Yes, Julie! ‘ He told me what a lovely person she was and how they had a great conversation which he really enjoyed.

He happily chose his buddha from my pocket- a green laughing buddha Budai/Hotei, a figure based on a Chinese monk believed to be an incarnation of Maitreyi, the Buddha of the future. We talked about the cloth sack at Budai’s feet, a symbol of abundance ,and the ball in his hand a symbol of playfulness and delight. He seemed very happy with his choice.

We chatted a little more and he told me he had just been moved on from doorway where he usually slept. He knew it was because his presence didn’t do that businesses’ image any favours. He said it was sometimes hard for people to see him as a human being. In the new place he found to sleep he had been robbed of the bag his possessions were carried in so instead a crate was doing the job for now.  He never once asked for anything from me but he appreciated the small amount I gave him to go towards a new bag.

And then he wanted to know more about the Akshobya and Budai and what their qualities were.

As I left this lovely young man I had a strong sense that our paths would cross again.

What are the chances in a city of 4 million people that two Buddhas would find their way into the hands of this hopeful young man?

Two buddhas given by generous hands in the UK and Perth ended up just where they needed to be.

Alongside being engaged in the busy life of a Buddhist Centre, there is an inner preparation underway ready for the launch of the Buddhas in my Pocket pilgrimage next week.

17th March 2016.

I know that on this pilgrimage  Kuan Yin, a bodhisattva of compassion will be a pivotal support.

I find the royal ease pose of these statues very beautiful and evocative.

Kuan Yin came into my life in a  mysterious and magical way a few years before I was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order. I had gone to the Melbourne Art Gallery with the intention of seeing another buddhist statue- Ksitigarbha. However as I walked past a life size, ancient, wooden Kuan Yin I was transfixed. I am not sure how long I stood staring at this beautiful form in the glass case.

You can never really explain these experiences satisfactorily in words so I have rarely shared what happened next on that day. But something did happen that had a huge effect on my life.

An amazing, expansive light emanated from the statue and the glass case and walls of the art gallery ceased to exist. I can’t remember a sense of sound or smell, only expansive light and a deep profound peace.

This had been, up until that moment, an very ordinary day.  I had just been to the bank next to the art gallery to renegotiate my mortgage! I hadn’t been meditating or in a particularly open state.

Although I felt deeply affected by the experience I was totally unprepared to know what to do with it.

So I went on with my life and didn’t think about overtly very often.

It believe it did however stimulate an ongoing momentum to take an exploration of the Buddhist teachings further. I now knew things were not as they often seem and there was a strong flavour of freedom in that knowledge.

Sometime later I went up to a Buddhist retreat centre in Bendigo to do a solitary retreat in a nun’s hut.The young man who was the caretaker was walking me to the hut when somehow we began to talk about Kuan Yin.

I can’t remember why that discussion started and I can’t be accurate as to whether he mentioned the Kuan Yin in the art gallery first or if it was me.

But the extraordinary thing was that this man went on to describe an intense experience he and his girlfriend had in front of that statue.  And it  was exactly as I had experienced it.

He told me that as they both stood there the walls disappeared and amazing light emitted from the statue. His girlfriend was so disturbed that she was reluctant to talk about further.  But he said he felt compelled to find out more. Their relationship ended and he went off explore Buddhism further.  It had changed the course of his life.

I learnt at the time that this man was also negotiating with the art gallery to perform a puja\buddhist ritual in front of Kuan Yin. When permission was granted he invited myself and a few friends to join him. It was a delight to be able to do this.  At that time there was no magical light or unexplained experiences.

When I was ordained in 1999 I took up the practice of daily contemplation of Kuan Yin, bringing to mind her qualities of compassion and action in response to the cries of world.

So now in 2016 I am back in Melbourne and will do pilgrimage walks into the centre of the city to hand out buddhas from my pockets.  I feel very happy that I will be able to easily visit the Kuan Yin statue that generated a momentum in my life that I am deeply grateful for.

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I am about to  engage full-time in Dharma work in Australia by setting out on a teaching pilgrimage that will cover Triratna Buddhist Centres along the east coast from March 2016- April 2017.

I need your help to raise funds to cover some of my living expenses.

This money is needed to help with costs for food, internet and phone, travelling – petrol, train, car upkeep costs and retreat costs.

I’d really appreciate you considering supporting me in reaching my goal so I can hand out little Buddhas where they are needed and share the profound teachings of the Buddha that bring freedom and release from suffering.

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