Namo amida bu!
WHO ARE WE?
The people of our Amida-sangha (in Flanders, Belgium) meet montly to meditate and share experiences from our private lives. For every single one of us, Buddhism and the Sangha carries a different meaning in her or his life. Following witnesses can be an example for this:
For me, the Sangha is a club where I can be myself and where I can give the best of myself; where the others can accept me as I am and I can learn to accept myself, the others and the world like they are. This works liberating and it gives me new energy again and again.
- Ludo
As a small child I was intrigued by the world and I wanted to give meaning to it. This search (for meaning) has led me to many Buddhist and other paths. I feel at home in Amida buddhism because this school touches my mind as it touches my heart. Amida is for me like an unmeasurable space that carries me through ups and downs, a place of faith. The essence of my practice is to continually return to this place, and to surrender myself to it. It is a place where I can taste the bittersweet essence of my life in a better way. In this place, I experience rest and essence, all redundant luggage disappear, as do all forms of polarisation, all have-to's and all must-be's, and all sorts of keeping up appeareances. Amida offers me an essence of pure intention, of the naivety of a "foolish being". The Sangha, our meeting, is for me an in between space, where the listening to and telling of stories carry me closer to myself, the world and the Amida space.
- Karin
"I have found the veins of the earth", was a remarkable sentence of which I thought after my first meeting with Amida-buddhism. This feeling stays, even though I cannot give a mental explanation for this thought. It has to do with the feeling of being connected, earthedness, depth, simple humanity that is anchored with and in the earth, embedded in the surrounding cosmos, an unmeasurable space that is not black and empty: the Amida-space which carries us and gives us possibilities.
Amida-buddhism includes, connects and exceeds for me the boundaries of heaven and earth, light and darkness, good and evil, love and hate, willpower and surrendering, self power and other power, dependance and autonomy, egoïsm and altruïsm... No everlasting battle between this OR that... but the realisation that you, as a human begin, can make choices. You can take limited responsability within this complete totality: the right word, the right action on the right moment, without having the pretention that it will then be totally right or perfect. We are and stay but human, a 'foolish' being, who will always long for something, who will always do something 'bad', who will fail, despite good intentions and good will. We can look at this and feel it, with gentleness, within ourself and at the other: that's what being human is all about! Perfection is not necessary. To do everything ourself is not necessary! To do what is possible within your own responsability and the faith that everything else 'happens', from within the unmeasurable space which is populated by nature, people and love, in a way that is good, even though I do not always understand it or even though I cannot always accept it. To be aware of yourself and to stay true with yourself, faith, connection and surrendering to the Other are crucial to me. In concrete this happens in the sangha. This provides me with a place of nourishment, a warm home, a place of support for my normal daily life.
- Katrien
Listening attentively and lovingly, concentration, embracing what is, also anger and pain, are for me the most important exercises. Ceasing the fight. Living now, facing the challenge now, not simply shying away from chimera's - creaeting oppurtunities. Following my heart. Exercising compassion for others and also for myself while not falling back into defence and also not always being the understanding loving heart. Ceasing to hurt. Meditation learns me that my breath can always be a present place to rest in. I descend, arrive in the now, can begin with a fresh start, can feel connection again, spontaneously a smile arises. I use this exercise to stay out of chimera’s. I can always make this choice again, I feel the power, which makes me happy. The awareness that the other also suffers, and consequently acts, talks to my gentleness. If I do not strive and do not run away, it all seems so simple. I keep on practicing.
-Marjan
In therapy and in an education for therapist, I let myself be shaken. In moments of utter confusion and despair, I started taking strange attitudes, to breathe differently and making weird sounds. I calmed down, and finally had the feeling of landing back on earth. Afterwards, this seemed to have been my first experiences with meditation. When I read about meditation and Buddhism, I finally came home to my soulmates. Through Tantra, I learned not only to be aware on a cushion used for meditation, but also in relation with other people. And almost self-evidently, I ended up with Amida Buddhism. I am as well a small, naïve person as well as a unique part of the cosmos. There is a spot for all my urges to be allone and my desire for connectedness. It’s ok to want to understand everything with my mind and then to descend to surrendering to the heart. I can be critical and live with a great desire for beauty. Some time, it will all come together.
- Ksaf
What connects us all in these witnesses, is the interest in a Buddhist attitude. This attitude is: trusting in our own experience, openness, respect and connection with the other human beings and living creatures. This brought us in touch with the books and the “live”-meetings with David and Caroline Brazier.
David Brazier is a spiritual teacher in the Order of Amida Buddha. He is also a recognized psycho-therapist and doctor in Buddhist psychology. He wrote many books, of which ‘Zen Therapy’, ‘the new Buddhism’ and recently ‘who loves, dies well’ are bestsellers.
Caroline Brazier is a psychologist/psychotherapist and writer about Buddhist psychology. Previously, she wrote ‘Buddhist psychology’ (issued by Robinson, GB) and recently ‘The other buddhism’ (issued by O-Press, GB).
Both are members of the Amida Trust in Leicester, GB, devoted to socially engaged Buddhism with members and projects around the world. They have compartments in France, Zambia, Bosnia and India. They attend to trainings in Buddhist psychology for many years and perform actions about peace, refugees, animal rights,….