Aspiration for 2023
Sojong Reminder from Anam Thubten
Dear Dharma friends,
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It has been around two weeks since the year 2023 began. Even though the sound of fireworks is long gone and the excitement of a year just beginning has almost subsided, it still feels like it is not too late to set an intention for the entire year. In the space of a moment, we could make any conscious choices we want, much like appreciating the potential for rich, untilled soil within which we can plant any seed we choose.
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This is a pivotal time for each of us to make a personal commitment, and to hold an aspiration in our mind, or proclaim it to others who can bear witness. In the Buddhist tradition, people often make commitments in front of a witness: either a living person, a statue, or Buddhas and Bodhisattvas visualized in one’s mind. Still sometimes, we’re our most powerful witness and it’s not necessary to have another witness beside ourselves. The questions is, what sort of aspiration might I like to set?
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Naturally, people wish that the new year will be benevolent and filled with good luck, happiness, and positive circumstances. Such wishes can sometimes be regarded as mundane. There is also the noble aspiration that one will have more time to meditate or bring more awareness into everyday life. As a Dharma practitioner, we can have our own noble aspiration, as well as a collective one.
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Very recently, our Dharmata sangha held a weekend retreat for the new year where we spent a good amount of time in silence, resolving to just be in awareness. Perhaps many of you attended it. During those two days, we paused here and there and asked ourselves, what is happening in my mind and body? This inquiry can help us to immediately step away from our thinking mind and to gain an awareness that is no longer ruled by our habitual patterns. Practicing this simple inquiry in everyday life can support us in having awareness in all situations, especially when we’re no longer sitting on the mediation cushion and we need it most.
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During this sojong, let me invite everyone to join in setting a collective aspiration for our fellowship. Let’s hold the intention to practice awareness every day in this new year. Each member of the fellowship can be our witness for this noble intention.
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With palms joined,
Anam Thubten
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