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PRACTICE |
SEVA Seva integrates the essence of meditation
practice with the activities of our daily life. Seva, which means service,
is any action in which we selflessly give of ourselves to promote the highest
best interest of everyone involved. It is achieved by cultivating discrimination
and learning to act in ways that support our spiritual growth. Seva, in
other words, is the natural extension of our energy once we’ve released
our own tensions. The act of extending ourselves facilitates the release
of tensions in whatever situation we serve.
ACTION AND INTERACTION Seva is conscious action. For a spiritual person, the question is whether our actions support our spiritual growth or limit it. It takes work to surrender our desires, limited ideas and tensions. The work required is to surrender and take in the energy, absorbing the nourishment and letting the tensions fall away. We do not always know how best to serve a situation. At times, the service required is clear, such as when a friend asks for help in completing a task, or when seva is a planned event, such as a volunteer activity. By surrendering our attachments and extending the energy to connect with others, the appropriate action will become clear from the depth of our openness. DOING WHAT’S NEEDED Service does not mean accepting only the tasks for which we’re trained or facing only the situations that are easy. Service means doing what’s needed, even if it’s difficult or unfamiliar. We grow when we approach things we know nothing about with an open heart. If the results aren’t what we had hoped, as long as we stay open, we still come out ahead. Requests that challenge us represent opportunities to make big advances in the practice. When we face difficult tasks with the same joy and enthusiasm with which we face easy ones, we have the opportunity to grow a lot. WAYS TO SERVE Living a life of service guides and directs our interactions. We can serve by bringing the principles of genuine love and respect to all our encounters with friends, family, neighbors and those with whom we spend a good deal of our day. Acts of seva arise through our efforts to promote a flow in our interactions with others. While the results of our efforts may appear to be an act of kindness towards another, our intention is to act with an open heart, without desire for reward or recognition. Another way to serve is to participate in our spiritual community, which exists to support our spiritual growth. Spending part of a day helping at the Institute is one way to give back to that which serves us. Service days are held twice a month at the Institute, and there are a wide variety of projects in which you may participate. “Service is the attitude we take toward every activity and field of interaction within our life. This attitude of service will support the extension of our creative energy in the process of refinement that is the essence of our spiritual work.”
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n e w s THIS SITE WILL NO LONGER BE UPDATED AS OF SEPTEMBER 15, 2008. VISIT THE NEW MOVEMENT CENTER SITE Four Elements of Meditation Course Begins Wednesday, September 17 E-mail Archive c a l e n d a r Monthly Program Schedule Weekly Program Schedule Programs with Lama Wangdu Rinpoche Next Queen Of Great Bliss Puja: 9/21/08 Next Service Day: 9/06/08 Winter Retreat: December 27 through January 31, 2008 a r t i c l e s NEW! The Heart of the Matter by Swami Chetanananda (from a talk given January 22, 2008, Portland) NEW! Living in Our Real Life by Swami Chetanananda (from a talk given November 19, 2007, Portland) Updated September 5, 2008 |
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