The Buddhist teacher, Ajahn Jotipālo writes:

Ajahn Sucitto once said that we often think of patience as waiting for change. I will endure this situation, gritting my teeth, until it changes. Certainly, we might want a painful situation to change, but with true patience, according to Ajahn Sucitto, it’s more like thinking, I will be with this situation, period. In other words, there’s no expectation that the situation will change or get better.

By learning to turn toward our suffering and simply be with it, we are staying at the level of feeling. We are not getting into the story, the proliferation, or creating a self around it. If someone says something to us and we become angry or feel uncomfortable, instead of going outward, as we typically do with mettā, we can go inward. (https://www.abhayagiri.org/reflections/692-turning-inward-with-patience)

This Sunday, we pause to honor Bodhi Day, the Annual Day on which many Buddhists reflect on the Buddha’s gaining enlightenment.  We will explore one of the essential dynamics of this process which is our relationship to all that tries and challenges us as we seek to be ouir best selves in a world that is often bruised and hurting.  Join us for this special service. We are delighted to welcome Flutist Marcia Yates this week as our Guest Musician.