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Christmas Practice The wintry nip is already in the air. By mid-November, the shops will herald in the shopping season. From the first sighting of tinsel in the high street, commercial Xmas will be rolling on with Xmas cards, Xmas shopping, carols , the Xmas hit single, Xmas lights, turkeys, food, and more food, alcohol I dont have to go on; we know what the Xmas frenzy can be like. Its difficult not to get swept by the infectious euphoria of the Xmas tide or, if as Buddhists, we feel that Xmas is not for us to celebrate, we can easily become cynical Scrooges or merely join in for the sake of family and tradition. Can this mass midwinter celebration of the Christian world hold anything for Buddhist practitioners? A Buddhist practitioner is a full-time "reflecter". As such, we can use this opportunity to reflect on the many aspects of Christmas. The midwinter solstice heralds the birth of Spring; daylight gradually overtakes the long nights of winter. The hope and joy of the birth of another year coincides with the celebration of the birth of the Christian prophet. Remembering in this manner the birth of a wise, compassionate teacher we can reflect on the ever-present potential for goodness and truth to manifest through the human heart and mind. All religious traditions celebrate the birth of their prophet or teacher. This is a time of showing gratitude for their life, their example and their teachings. What I like about the significance of Wesak, the Buddhist equivalent of Christmas, is that it incorporates not only the birth, but also the enlightenment and the "parinibbana" of the Buddha. A Buddhist contemplating birth also reflects on "death", as any conditioned phenomena, be it thoughts, feelings, or actions, that arise will also cease. However, in between birth and cessation exists the potential for transformation the potential to go beyond birth and death. That is the significance of the Buddhas enlightenment on Wesak full moon day and Jesuss transfiguration at Easter. For those who follow the teachings of the wise, every birth of a new day, a new year, a new thought, emotion or activity, is an opportunity to transcend the conditioned realm of birth and death. The Buddha outlined what needs to be done to break free from the darkness of our ignorance. Isnt it significant that lamps, lanterns and lights feature in festivals that celebrate the birth of a great teacher? It is symbolic of how their teaching brings the light of wisdom which dispels the gloom of ignorance. In Sri Lanka, people celebrate Wesak by lighting hundreds of patiently hand-crafted paper lanterns. So, as those lights are switched on in Regent Street this year, we can renew our commitment to the Noble Eightfold Path which enables the practitioner to embody the luminescence of wisdom by dispelling the darkness of ignorance. We can regard this season for giving and receiving gifts as an intensified practice of dana and we can remind ourselves that generosity does not only consist of giving material things, but also of our time, labour and love. Dana, hangs together with sila (Xmas festivities provide a good opportunity to be mindful of the fifth precept!) and bhavana (less TV on Boxing Day?). We can send out messages of metta and mudita. We can practice karuna towards those for whom Xmas is a time of hardship and trauma the homeless, the elderly and the millions of turkeys going to slaughter. And, we can experience Xmas with equanimity by not slinking away from it with aversion and cynicism or getting caught up in the mindless commercial euphoria but with the knowing that as with all such events, Xmas festivities will arise and cease but what is going to be of value are the changes that may have taken place in us in the space between. Happy Christmas! Santoshni Perara |
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