Reflections on a mountain lake a western nun talks on practical Buddhism

Abstract

THIS BOOK GREW out of a series of talks that I gave in the United States in 1996/97 and in Australia in 1998, which were recorded and later transcribed and edited for publication. When I am invited to speak I often prefer that the hosts select a subject, on which I then speak extemporaneously. I usually don't know precisely what I am going to say or just where the talk is heading. This open-endedness allows me to respond to the particular audience at hand, and also makes the discussions more lively. However, as a result, these talks do not present an exhaustive analysis of the subject under discussion, but merely what seemed important at the time. Inevitably there is also some overlap and duplication, which has been edited out in some cases and allowed to remain in others where it seemed that the point needed emphasis or that the repetition formed a part of the whole explanation. In the East and West, the nature of the audiences hearing Dharma teachings is very different. In the East, monks and nuns, who are the professionals so to say, make up the bulk of hearers at any Dharma discourse. But in the West the vast majority of the audience are lay people who often have a sincere interest in the Dharma but relatively little time for formal practice. In each case the perspective of the discourse must accommodate the needs of the listeners. In this book I have tried to present things in a way which would be both useful and relevant, not of merely academic interest or too remote to be applied to our everyday situations. So I mostly use everyday language and try to make the teachings accessible to any person of average intelligence. The Lord Buddha himself used the common speech of his day to express technical meanings. For instance the word "skandha," translated as "aggregate" or ,`psycho-physical component," literally means a "heap" of something. He also made use of everyday examples and stories to elucidate his meaning. So there is no need for the Dharma to seem obscure and difficult to penetrate. This book would never have come into being if not for the devoted effort of many friends and helpers. The easiest part was mine, who merely had to chatter away before friendly audiences. Then came the tedious and demanding task of transcribing those endless hours of talk and putting it all into some sort of order and coherence. It took weeks and months of dedicated labor to complete that task and my gratitude and amazement are both immense. In particular I must thank Venerable Tenzin Wangmo for organizing the transcription of the Australian tapes, which was faithfully undertaken by Sonia Davies, Christina Peebles, Jennie Beswick and Wangmo (Whitethom). The American tapes were transcribed with great diligence and devotion by Arya Aham (Francesca Jenkins). My sincere thanks are also due to the editors at Snow Lion, who went through the whole manuscript and made many valuable suggestions. Above all I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Pauline Westwood, who not only helped transcribe the tapes but also took on the onerous task of selection and editing. This book is due as much to their work as to my words. To all of the above and the others whose names have not been mentioned, I say thank you from my heart.