Saturday Meditation Service, Tai Chi and Discussion

14th March 2009

A group of twenty-four people gathered on a fresh Saturday morning for the Saturday Service. The motive meditation had been to focus on the conditions we need to cultivate ourselves spiritually.

During the Dharma discussion time the Guiding Reverend, Venerable Miaoyu, spoke of these conditions saying that when they present themselves we must be open to take full advantage to grow and develop emphasising that this something we need to do throughout our lives as there is no such thing as perfection. Our quest for self enlightenment needs certain conditions in order to be successful, these conditions include: an environment conducive to good practice, good fellowship, activities that reflect Buddhist beliefs, and possessing the six roots of consciousness, i.e. eyes, ears, nose, mouth, touch and body. Good fellowship not only means that we cultivate healthy relationships but that we practice and develop with others on the same journey in order to know that what we are doing is correct.

We also discussed the importance of valuing and looking after our human form as according to the law of karma, being re -born in the human allows us to spiritually improve ourselves unlike other forms of life. It is therefore important that we take responsibility for our own karma (actions) and this responsibility extends to our actions, speech and thought. It is also important that our actions speech and thought reflect what we learn through the Dharma and that that we are active practitioners of Buddhism rather than passive participants. We should take the middle path guided by compassion with wisdom.