Welcome back.
I want to say thank you for showing up in this practice once again.
As you arrive today,
I invite you to take a deep breath with intention.
Let it open something.
Let it soften something.
Inhaling deeply through the nose,
And releasing slowly through the mouth.
Each time we return to this practice,
We return to ourselves.
And that,
Too,
Is part of the vow.
The third bodhisattva vow says,
Dharma gates are boundless.
I vow to enter them.
The word Dharma has deep roots in Buddhist tradition.
It first referred to the teachings of the Buddha.
Truths about suffering,
Impermanence,
The nature of the mind,
And the path to freedom.
Over time,
The meaning of Dharma deepened.
It came to reflect not just the teachings,
But the deeper truth those teachings reveal.
The way things are beneath our conditioning,
Beneath our illusions.
The nature of reality itself.
In Mahayana Buddhism,
The tradition where these vows come from,
There's a concept of Dharma gates,
Doorways into deeper understanding.
Not gates that you walk through once and leave behind,
But openings that appear again and again throughout life.
There are Dharma gates in stillness,
In practice,
In silence,
Moments of insight.
And there are Dharma gates in discomfort,
In grief,
Failure,
In the way we respond to stress or conflict or change.
Any experience,
When entered fully,
Becomes a teacher.
This vow reminds us that the path of awakening doesn't unfold in linear steps.
It arises in moments.
Moments that surprise us,
Challenge us,
Invite us to pay closer attention.
You don't have to be in a monastery to walk this path.
You can enter a Dharma gate while doing the dishes,
Caring for a child,
Or sitting with someone you love.
You can enter it in the middle of sorrow or laughter.
Each experience holds something.
Not because everything is enjoyable,
But because everything is alive.
The vow to enter these gates is a vow to remain open.
Let life teach you to stay available to the present moment,
Even when it would be easier to turn away.
From the book Waking Up to What You Do,
Diane Eshen Risotto writes,
Each moment of life is a gate into the Dharma if we are present enough to enter.
This vow is an act of trust.
You trust that truth is not far away.
You trust that what you're going through has meaning.
You trust that wisdom is not locked behind one single door.
It lives in the unfolding of your life,
Moment by moment.
And every time you pause,
Every time you bring your full attention to what is here,
You are stepping through the Dharma gate.
Let's sit with this vow together.
Close your eyes or soften your gaze.
Take a deep breath in through the nose and release through the mouth.
Breathing in,
I soften.
Breathing out,
I allow.
Breathing out,
Letting the body settle.
Deepening in,
Feeling the nervous system release.
There's nothing here you need to push away,
Nothing you need to chase.
I invite you now to bring to mind a recent moment that may have challenged you.
Could be something small,
An irritation,
Disappointment,
A moment of tension.
Whatever arises,
Hold it lightly in your awareness.
Not reliving,
Just noticing it and listening.
Ask inwardly,
What was this moment trying to show me?
No need to force an answer,
Just allow the moment to speak.
Now bring to mind an ordinary part of your day.
Something you rush through or overlook.
Might be brushing your teeth,
Walking from one room to the other,
Waiting in line,
Making a meal.
Something small,
Ordinary.
Can you imagine that ordinary moment as a dharmagate?
A place where awareness can enter,
Where presence might deepen.
Offer yourself this quiet intention.
May I remain open to the teachings of my life.
May I meet each moment as an invitation.
May I walk through what is already here.
Now bring to mind someone else.
Someone who is also learning in their own way,
Through their own life.
Now bring to mind someone who is also learning in their own way,
Through their own life.
Quietly offer.
May your path reveal its meaning.
May you be met with insight and care.
May each moment support your growth.
I invite you to send the field of compassion you have created here out into the world,
Beyond the imaginable.
Noticing the breath once more,
Inhaling through the nose deeply,
And release slowly through the mouth.
Now let's take a moment to honor the time you spent here,
The attention you gave,
The willingness to listen.
When you feel ready,
Opening the eyes,
Coming back to your surroundings.
If you feel moved to journal,
Here's a prompt to explore.
What recent experience has felt like a dharma gate for me?
What opened,
Even if it was hard?
What recent experience has felt like a dharma gate for me?
What opened,
Even if it was hard?
Let's close with our third bodhisattva vow.
Dharma gates are boundless.
I vow to enter them.
May this vow move through me and ripple out into the world.
In our next session,
We'll arrive at our fourth bodhisattva vow.
The Buddha way is unsurpassable.
I vow to embody it.
We'll reflect on what it means to walk the path of awakening,
Not as a final destination,
But to live every day in alignment with truth,
Humility,
And heart.
I'll meet you there.
Namaste.
