Dharma Talk by Dr.Reeves - The Place of Awakened Practice

"The Place of Awakened Practice"
October 28, 2001

Dr. Gene Reeves, International Advisor to the IBC, gave a Dharma Talk entitled "The Place of Awakened Practice." He began by referring to a verse which is chanted at the beginning of the sutra recitation in the IBC service.

We should know that this place is the place of awakened practice.
Here the Buddhas reach supreme awakening.
Here the Buddhas roll the Dharma wheel.
Here the Buddhas enter complete nirvana.

Then he explained that the verse is found in Chapter 21 of the Lotus Sutra, and introduced the whole passage.

"…after the extinction of the Tathagata, you should all wholeheartedly embrace, read and recite, explain and copy, and practice it as you have been taught. In any land, wherever any one accepts and embraces, reads and recites, explains and copies, and practices it as taught or wherever a volume of a sutra is kept, whether in a garden, or a woods, or under a tree, or in a monk's cell, or a layman's house, or a palace or in a mountain valley or an open field, in all these places you should put up a stupa and make offerings. Why? You should understand that all such places are places of awakened practice. They are where the Buddhas attain supreme awakening; they are where the Buddhas turn the Dharma-wheel; they are where the Buddhas reach complete nirvana?"

To "reach supreme awakening," he said, means be born in the dharma or enter the Buddha way in order to become a bodhisattva. "Roll the Dharma wheel" is a kind of standard phrase in Buddhism meaning teaching the dharma to others. "Enter complete nirvana" means to die in a completely peaceful state.

"This place" means that wherever we are is the place of practicing the dharma. Not only places such as temples, churches or shrines, but also the work place, the home, the ball park or even the bus or train are places where we can learn and practice the dharma.

What is meaning of "awakened"? We are reminded of the simile of the cloud and rain in the Chapter 5, "The Parable of the Plants" of the Lotus Sutra. The cloud covers the whole world which has the great variety of plants--big trees, middle-size trees, small plants and so on. Rain from the cloud nourishes all of the plants whether big or small equally according to their needs.

The dharma is like the rain. It seeks the lowest points--where people are suffering or in need of nourishment. Although some seek the mountain top, some great, ultimate truth, the Buddha-dharma always flows to lower places like water. The dharma seeks places where people living ordinary lives are suffering.

This image of the dharma as rain along with the image of "this place" remind us that as followers of the teaching of the Lotus Sutra we belong, not on the mountain tops, but in the low places where the way of bodhisattva practice can be followed.

We should notice that the passage says that in this place, "the Buddhas reach supreme awakening, the Buddhas roll the dharma wheel and the Buddhas enter complete nirvana." Shakyamuni was and is the Buddha, but here we can also see that each of us practicing the Dharma becomes the Buddha. The life of the Buddha depends on each of us, and our own awakened practice wherever we are.

Dr. Reeves concluded his talk sharing a somewhat shortened version a story by a Delta Airlines crew member which he had received from a friend in the United States. Here is the full original story:

"We were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt flying over the North Atlantic and I was in my crew rest seat taking my scheduled rest break. All of a sudden the curtains parted violently and I was told to go to the cockpit, right now, to see the captain. As soon as I got there I noticed that the crew had one of those "All Business" looks on their faces. The captain handed me a printed message. I quickly read the message and realized the importance of it. The message was from Atlanta, addressed to our flight, and simply said, "All airways over the Continental US are closed. Land ASAP at the nearest airport, advise your destination."

Now, when a dispatcher tells you to land immediately without suggesting which airport, one can assume that the dispatcher has reluctantly given up control of the flight to the captain. We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. It was quickly decided that the nearest airport was 400 miles away, behind our right shoulder, in Gander, on the island of New Foundland. A quick request was made to the Canadian traffic controller and a right turn, directly to Gander, was approved immediately. We found out later why there was no hesitation by the Canadian controller approving our request. We, the in-flight crew, were told to get the airplane ready for an immediate landing.

While this was going on another message arrived from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York area. We briefed the in-flight crew about going to Gander and we went about our business 'closing down' the airplane for a landing. A few minutes later I went back to the cockpit to find out that some airplanes had been hijacked and were being flown into buildings all over the US. We decided to make an announcement and LIE to the passengers for the time being. We told them that an instrument problem had arisen on the airplane and that we needed to land at Gander, to have it checked. We promised to give more information after landing in Gander. There were many unhappy passengers but that is par for the course. We landed in Gander about 40 minutes after the start of this episode.

There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world. After we parked on the ramp the captain made the following announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. But the reality is that we are here for a good reason." Then he went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the US. There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. Local time at Gander was 12:30 pm. (11:00 AM EST) Gander control told us to stay put. No one was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the ground was allowed to come near the aircrafts.

Only a car from the airport police would come around once in a while, look us over and go on to the next airplane. In the next hour or so all the airways over the North Atlantic were vacated and Gander alone ended up with 53 airplanes from all over the world, out of which 27 were flying US flags.

We were told that each and every plane was to be offloaded, one at a time, with the foreign carriers given the priority. We were No.14 in the US category. We were further told that we would be given a tentative time to deplane at 6 pm. Meanwhile bits of news started to come in over the aircraft radio and for the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC. People were trying to use their cell phones but were unable to connect due to a different cell system in Canada. Some did get through but were only able to get to the Canadian operator who would tell them that the lines to the US were either blocked or jammed and to try again. Some time late in the evening the news filtered to us that the World Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had resulted in a crash.Now the passengers were totally bewildered and emotionally exhausted but stayed calm as we kept reminding them to look around to see that we were not the only ones in this predicament. There were 52 other planes with people on them in the same situation. We also told them that the Canadian Government was in charge and we were at their mercy. True to their word, at 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane would come at 11 AM, the next morning. That took the last wind out of the passengers and they simply resigned and accepted this news without much noise and really started to get into a mode of spending the night on the airplane. Gander had promised us any and all medical attention if needed; medicine, water, and lavatory servicing. And they were true to their word.

Fortunately we had no medical situation during the night. We did have a young lady who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy. We took REALLY good care of her. The night passed without any further complications on our airplane despite the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements. About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th we were told to get ready to leave the aircraft. A convoy of school buses showed up at the side of the airplane, the stairway was hooked up and the passengers were taken to the terminal for "processing" We, the crew, were taken to the same terminal but were told to go to a different section, where we were processed through Immigration and customs and then had to register with the Red Cross.

After that we were isolated from our passengers and were taken in a caravan of vans to a very small hotel in the town of Gander. We had no idea where our passengers were going. The town of Gander has a population of 10,400 people. Red Cross told us that they were going to process about 10,500 passengers from all the airplanes that were forced into Gander. We were told to just relax at the hotel and wait for a call to go back to the airport, but not to expect that call for a while. We found out the total scope of the terror back home only after getting to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24 hours after it all started. Meanwhile we enjoyed ourselves going around town discovering things and enjoying the hospitality. The people were so friendly and they just knew that we were the "Plane people".

We all had a great time until we got that call, 2 days later, on the 14th at 7AM. We made it to the airport by 8:30AM and left for Atlanta at 12:30 PM arriving in Atlanta at about 4:30PM. (Gander is 1 hour and 30 minutes ahead of EST, yes!, 1 hour and 30 minutes.)

But that's not what I wanted to tell you. What passengers told us was so uplifting and incredible and the timing couldn't have been better. We found out that Gander and the surrounding small communities, within a 75 Kilometer radius, had closed all the high schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places. They converted all these facilities to a mass lodging area. Some had cots set up, some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set up. ALL the high school students HAD to volunteer taking care of the "GUESTS".

Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, about 45 Kilometers from Gander. There they were put in a high school. If any women wanted to be in a women only facility, that was arranged. Families were kept together. All the elderly passengers were given no choice and were taken to private homes. Remember that young pregnant lady, she was put up in a private home right across the street from a 24 hour Urgent Care type facility. There were DDS on call and they had both male and female nurses available and stayed with the crowd for the duration. Phone calls and emails to US and Europe were available for every one once a day. During the days the passengers were given a choice of "Excursion" trips. Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors. Some went to see the local forests. Local bakeries stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests. Food was prepared by all the residents and brought to the school for those who elected to stay put. Others were driven to the eatery of their choice and fed. They were given tokens to go to the local Laundromat to wash their clothes, since their luggage was still on the aircraft.

In other words every single need was met for those unfortunate travelers. Passengers were crying while telling us these stories. After all that, they were delivered to the airport right on time and without a single one missing or late. All because the local Red Cross had all the information about the goings on back at Gander and knew which group needed to leave for the airport at what time. Absolutely incredible. When passengers came on board, it was like they had been on a cruise.

Everybody knew everybody else by their name. They were swapping stories of their stay, impressing each other with who had the better time. It was mind boggling. Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a party flight. We simply stayed out of their way. The passengers had totally bonded and they were calling each other by their first names, exchanging phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses. And then a strange thing happened. One of our business class passengers approached me and asked if he could speak over the PA to his fellow passengers. We never, never, allow that. But something told me to get out of his way. I said "of course". The gentleman picked up the PA and reminded everyone about what they had just gone through in the last few days. He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers. He further stated that he would like to do something in return for the good folks of the town of Lewisporte. He said he was going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide a scholarship for high school student(s) of Lewisporte to help them go to college. He asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers. When the paper with donations got back to us with the amounts, names, phone numbers and addresses, it totaled to $14.5K or about $20K Canadian. The gentleman who started all this turned out to be an MD from Virginia. He promised to match the donations and to start the administrative work on the scholarship. He also said that he would forward this proposal to Delta Corporate and ask them to donate as well.

Why, all of this? Just because some people in far away places were kind to some strangers, who happened to literallydrop in among them? WHY NOT?"

We should know, Reeves concluded, that this place is the place of awakened practice!

"Wanting you to be in comfort and able to satisfy the five desires , a long time ago?, I sewed a precious jewel into the lining of your robe. It should still be there. In your ignorance you are slaving and worrying to keep yourself alive. How dumb! Go and exchange that jewel for whatever you need. Then you can be free to have whatever you want, and be free from all poverty and want."

After hearing parable, the monks who were in the assembly said to the Buddha as;

"…World-honored One, now we understand that we are really bodhisattvas, assured of attaining supreme awakening. For this we are filled with joy…" This story tells us what the Buddha is trying to do. It is to make us happy and joyous.

Then Dr. Reeves told the story of "The Fantastic Castle" in Chapter 7. It also provides an image of the Buddha's skillful means in guiding human beings to be happy. He concluded his talk by referring to the "Twelve similes" in Chapter 23, "Former Lives of Medicine King."

May all those who are thirsty find cool, clear water.
May those who are cold find a warm fire.
May those who are naked find clothing.
May those who are without leadership find a lead.
May children find their mothers.
May those who need a ferry find a boat.
May those who are sick find a doctor.
May those who are in the dark find a lamp.
May those who are poor find riches.
May those who in need of one find a ruler.
May those who want to trade find the sea.
May those who are in dark find the light.

All of these are images of happiness, of being satisfied and of being rewarded in life. That is what Buddhism is finally about. What is basic to Buddhism finally is the goal of happiness. In Sanskrit this is called "Sukhavarti," which is the goal of happiness, of well-being, even of "salvation" for all.It is a goal which:

always stands before us, never completed
never requires doctrines, but benefits enormously from them
always recognizes our utter interdependence
never requires obedience, but loves faithfulness
always seeks the best that is possible from what is given to us
never requires more of us than we can give
always balances fantastic vision with rootedness in the world
never insists on more than we can do.

"Are your ailments and troubles few? Is your daily life and practice going smoothly? ... Are the affairs of the
world tolerable? Are the living beings easy to save? Are they not excessively greedy, angry, foolish, jealous
and arrogant? .... Don't they have wrong views and inadequate goodness? Are they not unrestrained in their
five emotions?"

Dr. Reeves concluded this talk by suggesting four things Buddhists can do now in response to this tragedy.

First of all, we can express sympathy-sympathy for the victims, their friends and loved ones; sympathy for those who have worked so hard to rescue or treat or comfort victims; and sympathy, too, for those who are now and will suffer from acts of vengeful retaliation.

Second, we can reflect on what contributed to the Tuesday's tragedy. We might ask ourselves, for example, whether by blindly supporting American policies on the Middle East Japan has also contributed to Tuesday's tragedy?

Third, we need to work to spread the dharma. Too few Buddhist voices are being heard in America today. Buddhism is becoming more and more popular in the West, but this week I haven't heard a single Buddhist voice on American television or radio.

Finally, we might cooperate with those who seek peace. Many Christians, Muslims, and Jews are, in a sense, practicing Buddha-dharma without knowing it. Through a variety of international agencies we can try to support them, encourage them in many ways. The same Bible that says, "an eye for an eye" also says, "turn the other cheek." We need to join the peacemakers of every religious tradition, promoting interfaith cooperation and encouraging them to work together to build a more peaceful world.

"Bodhisattva" means one who seeks to be enlightened by working for others. But another meaning of "bodhisattva" is one from whom we can learn, just as Shakyamuni learned from Devadatta. May Tuesday's tragedy be Tuesday's bodhisattva for all of us?