3 / 108 ​Gates of Dharma Illumination

[Shokai]

7 Quaint gate.jpg
一百八法明門
IPPYAKUHACHI-HOMYOMON

[3] Delight is a gate of Dharma illumination; for it is the mind of peace and tranquility.

In Buddhism, "delight" primarily refers to the profound, lasting joy derived from spiritual practice, virtuous actions, and renunciation, which surpasses fleeting sensual pleasures. It represents a state of contentment and mental satisfaction, often contrasted with craving. While worldly pleasure is temporary and nourishes craving, spiritual delight is stable and does not lead to dissatisfaction.

How does this make you feel and how do you manage it in your daily experience??

One poetic response to this question in 2022 was:

Delight in the Buddha way Is a wellspring of peace;
As the waters of mind flow clear and bright

合掌,生開
gassho, Shokai
stlah
仁道 生開 / Jindo Shokai
"Open to life in a benevolent way"

[Seikan]

This Gate has always been a bit more elusive for me. I spent many years believing that spiritual practice would grant me the perfect happiness that I craved. However, I eventually realized that while our practice can have the side effect of causing fleeting states of "happiness", it is not the goal nor purpose. The "delight" found in our practice is a more subtle quality of mind and less emotional than what we might call "happiness". It is a steadiness, a calmness, a place of refuge from suffering. Does that always make me "happy"? No, but it does provide a warm and dry place to ride out the passing storms of life, and that is certainly "delightful" in its own way.

Gassho,
Seikan
stlah

[Choujou]

I think I will let Bobby sing it for me This is what this gate makes me feel…

Day to day, I try my best to always look at a half full glass in every situation, and to delight and take joy in all moments. It’s all Buddha!

Gassho,
Choujou

sat/lah today

[Tai Do]

The delight of practice is subtle and profound. It brings a kind of peace and tranquility, a deep perception that even though our life can be chaotic, there is a place of return, a home where we can always return, even in the middle of stress and anxiety.
Gassho,
Tai Do
Satlah

[SethC]

This Gate is elusive for me as well and while I can work on my practice and strive to act virtuously in order to foster delight, there's a limit to renunciation as a lay practitioner. Even though I can't fully renounce the lay life, perhaps a little renunciation in the right areas of life could be beneficial with developing that steady feeling of delight.

Gassho
Seth
sat/lah

[dorgan]

I sometimes find myself caught in feelings and reactions to events and encounters with others that stem from "lessons learned" from experience, from attitudes formed years ago, from a worldview I am only dimly aware of possessing. But when I get caught up by these, temporarily lost in them, they keep me from being truly present, here and now, unencumbered by the judgments and opinions that shape my reactions. When I notice my feelings and thoughts as passing shadows of an illusory, impermanent self, I can let go of what I am thinking and feeling, return mindfully to the present, and find peace in observing, without attachment, my thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. I cannot say I never fall victim to rumination or being lost within my reactions; I can say that zazen and mindfulness practice dispel these attachments, returning me to peace and contentment. The lessons I have learned can be appreciated, but need not bind me or prevent me from being creatively present, allowing me the compassion and awareness that naturally spring from calmness and contentment. This gate is a portal to a deeper understanding that naturally develops without being forced or sought. Peace is awakening. This gate is a constant reminder to take a step back from whatever I am feeling or thinking, take a deep breath, and return to non-attachment.

As a case in point, while writing these words, I lost track of time and missed my 7:05 am EST morning meditation with Chojou and all those who join online. I felt regret, embarrassment, and shame, foolish for letting a task absorb me so much that I missed a gathering I find so wonderful. But I stopped myself from these reactions, took a deep breath, and said to myself, "I forgive myself for losing track of time, and I wish everyone a good day," and now I will meditate in zazen and return to peace. Have a wonderful day, dear reader, and be at peace!

gassho,
david

[Hosui]

Thanks everyone for your posts here, for helping me to put stuff into words.

For me, delight feels deeper than an injunction to not worry and be happy, deeper than the comforting utility of a stoic attitude towards strife, and more fundamental than a refuge from chaos and mindlessness, but instead a feeling of intimacy with something that these effects are themselves caused by—our oneness with the nature of infinite reality.

Almost inadequate to the task of gauging my joy, the readout of ‘delight’ seems like just one of a million maxed-out dials spread across the infinite body of Dharmakaya, the joyful intimacy with which is beyond measurement. As zen master Scotty of the old Enterprise exclaims, “Captain, she’s gonna blow!”

Gassho
Hosui
sat/lah

[Choujou]

I sometimes find myself caught in feelings and reactions to events and encounters with others that stem from "lessons learned" from experience, from attitudes formed years ago, from a worldview I am only dimly aware of possessing. But when I get caught up by these, temporarily lost in them, they keep me from being truly present, here and now, unencumbered by the judgments and opinions that shape my reactions. When I notice my feelings and thoughts as passing shadows of an illusory, impermanent self, I can let go of what I am thinking and feeling, return mindfully to the present, and find peace in observing, without attachment, my thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. I cannot say I never fall victim to rumination or being lost within my reactions; I can say that zazen and mindfulness practice dispel these attachments, returning me to peace and contentment. The lessons I have learned can be appreciated, but need not bind me or prevent me from being creatively present, allowing me the compassion and awareness that naturally spring from calmness and contentment. This gate is a portal to a deeper understanding that naturally develops without being forced or sought. Peace is awakening. This gate is a constant reminder to take a step back from whatever I am feeling or thinking, take a deep breath, and return to non-attachment.

As a case in point, while writing these words, I lost track of time and missed my 7:05 am EST morning meditation with Chojou and all those who join online. I felt regret, embarrassment, and shame, foolish for letting a task absorb me so much that I missed a gathering I find so wonderful. But I stopped myself from these reactions, took a deep breath, and said to myself, "I forgive myself for losing track of time, and I wish everyone a good day," and now I will meditate in zazen and return to peace. Have a wonderful day, dear reader, and be at peace!

gassho,
david

Hi David,
This was wonderful, thank you! I hope you have a wonderful and peaceful day as well. … and absolutely no worries about missing the sit, I know that all are with us in spirit when not physically present, and I’m glad that you used the time to write such beautiful insights into this gate! Thank you brother!

You make a great point, It is all emptiness after all! Illusory, deluded, impermanent…
nothing to worry about at all! (And yet…)

Gassho,
Choujou

sat/lah today

[Tenryu]

When I read delight, I think of a quiet joy in the middle of samsara rather than a special high. Since recovering from depression, there’s a steady warmth and gratitude that’s almost always present. Difficult emotions still arise, but they’re more like small disturbances that settle again.

What surprises me is a kind of cautious or even unbelieving gratitude — as if part of me is still learning to trust this stability. I don’t try to manage it much; I mostly try not to turn it into something to grasp or protect.

In that sense, delight feels less like something I cultivate and more like something that functions when grasping has eased.

Gasshō,
Patrick
ST LaH

[Tairin]

Thank you Shokai


I think a lot of the dissatisfaction we see today, maybe in particular evident in the so called First World, is the search for some anchor. Many of the anchors of old (religion, community, family) have fallen aside as many people now try to fill that gap with material and experiential things.

It has brought calm and peace to my life since I have adopted this Practice and been able to distance myself from some of the afflictions. Material and experiential things are like candy. Not filling in a satisfying way.

At least that’s how I see it.


Tairin
sat today and lah

[Jinjitsu]

When I think about delight, I think of the look on my son’s face when the lamp is turned on. I think it’s more than a sensory pleasure; maybe I’m projecting onto him but it looks like wonder at an insight into the nature of things as it is. I feel like when approaching practice-life with beginner’s mind there is delight as the universe perceives itself in new ways moment to moment through us and our practice.

Gassho,
Josh
Satlah

[Tensei]

This gate reminds me of the feeling I had during last Saturday's precept meeting. A group of people navigating different-yet-similar paths coming together to share their understanding brought a sense of fortification and that elusive joy that I think this gate alludes to.

Gassho,
Tegan
satlah

[Furyu]

I understand this gate to mean something like : spiritual practice eases the mind and opens us to view the world in a more peaceful way. We can then view the world and be in it with more ease, or delight. I think this gate can be helpful to me on days when getting myself to the zafu feels like a chore rather than a sacred practice. Remembering the delight of practice, I can overcome the temporary reluctance.

Gasshō
sat-lah
Fūryū