Kinrei Bassis, Rev. Master

This article is based on a lecture I gave at Shasta Abbey in August 2012 as part of a week-long retreat. This lecture was based on An Outline of Practice by Bodhidharma. This describes four practices that encompass all of Buddhist training: suffering injustice, adapting to conditions, seeking nothing, and practicing the Dharma. This article is based on the lecture on the second practice—adapting to conditions. The talk has been edited and some sections expanded and originally appeared in Berkeley Buddhist Priory newsletter.

Adapting to conditions: As mortals, we’re ruled by conditions, not by ourselves. All the suffering and joy we experience depend on conditions. If we should be blessed by some great reward, such as fame or fortune, it’s the fruit of a seed planted by us in the past. When conditions change, it ends. Why delight in Its existence? But while success and failure depend on conditions, the mind neither waxes nor wanes. Those who remain unmoved by the wind of joy silently follow the Path. (From Bodhidharma)

Issue: only available as part of Journal, Winter 2014 Journal

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