Chairs Homily – November 2025
This time of year is suffused with a Golden Light. I was struck by how beautiful the quality of the light is now. The leaves have turned to their autumn hues, with browns, reds and gold colours abounding. Yesterday I was stopped in my tracks, I was out for a blustery walk, when I saw this golden tunnel of light. I have tried to capture it in a photo but like all such images it doesn’t show the state of my mind, the processing of past Autumns, the associations that the term Gold has for me, and many other ideas and conditions that I am privy to, at that unique moment.
My mind filled with the words from the Sutra of Golden Light. A Mahayana Sutra dating from the 3rd Century. The title of the Sutra comes from a description within the Sutra of a Golden drum that gives out a Golden light, the light of the Dharma. As I stood still, captivated by the beauty of the scene before me, I saw that the Dharma is spreading around the world. The light of the Dharma isn’t really about the teachings, books or even Sutras or Suttas. It is about the great achievement of individual people in obtaining human Enlightenment and not forgetting those that are moving, however slowly, towards that goal, like you and I. These days, I don’t often look closely at Mahayana Sutras, but that is changing. They are texts that although purported to be spoken by the historical Buddha, are more likely to have been composed a few hundred years after his Parinivana or death. However, that view hinges on whether you see Buddha in the singular or the multiple. So do you include all those that have achieved Enlightenment before and after Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni that we know?
Mahayana Sutras have a very different style to the Pali Suttas, texts we believe come directly from Sakyamuni. The Mahayana Sutras are more imaginary, more like their authors are trying to get us, the reader, to understand how an enlightened being thinks. You can read them as a door into the mind-scape of the Buddha. We, if we are not Enlightened, can find the words and imagery difficult to comprehend. But that does not mean that just reading those words will not have an effect on us. We will not be able to understand the words conceptually. They are not written to be understood, by our samsaric, normal consciousness. But just reading the words will have a re-alignment effect on our brains, in a similar way that meditation does. Meditation, deep meditation as in the four Dhyanas, is one of the closest ways we can get to appreciating how an enlightened person thinks. This Sutra works in a similar way, bypassing our conceptual and logical sensibilities and talks directly to the Enlightenment potential within us all. The Sutra of Golden Light, is also a guide book. It tells us how to use the Sutra. It tells us to just read the Sutra, as many times as we can. Because that on each reading, on each hearing of its words an effect, a positive karmic effect will happen to us and those listening. One of the legendary qualities of the Sutra is that it protects and helps people, and nations remove strife and obtain peace. The belief in this power was so strong that in Japan, in the 8th Century, during a time of many wars and turbulence, the Emperor set up monasteries all around the country just devoted to reading the Sutra of Golden light. The monasteries were called: Temples for Protection of the State by the Four Heavenly Kings Golden Light Sutra. The four heavenly kings are the outer Buddhas from the Five Buddha Mandala, which we are lucky to have, depicted by Trisha, in the Buddhist Centre above the tea counter. Just as an aside, this sutra is the beginnings of that important image of the coalescing of Buddhas and Mandalas.
By the excellent drum of Golden Light let the woes in the universe be suppressed, the woes in the evil states, the woes in the world of Yama [lord of Death] and the woes of poverty here in the three fold world. (The Sutra of Golden Light – R.E. Emmerick).
Whatever world leaders may profess, world peace has not been achieved, not by negotiation and diplomacy and certainly not by strength of arms and warfare. It was the same in the Buddhas day, and it is the same now. A different approach is required. It is hard for us to comprehend how just reading a book, or some words can lead to peace, even world peace. However, the starting point for world peace is not very far away, that point is ourselves. Whatever we do to improve ourselves, and move closer to Enlightenment will have a big effect on the world around us. So just by reading aloud the Dharma, even if we don’t fully comprehend it, can make a difference to us and thereby the world. We can see that the Buddha Shakyamuni had a big effect, and that effect is still ongoing. It is an effect that we can feel and still take advantage of in our present time and place. We may not be so far advanced, but the closer we get to Enlightenment in our spiritual lives, the more effect we will have on the world. Becoming a Mitra, becoming an Order Member are all waymarkers that may make us realise that we too can spread that Golden light to lighten, what can sometimes seem a very dark world.
The Sutra doesn’t leave us in the Dark. It does give us a way to allow the Golden light to have its greatest effect on us. I am now getting to the main theme of the Sutra. This theme is one of confession, specifically the use of confession to enable spiritual progress towards Enlightenment. You will have noticed that when you hear or read some of the Buddhas teachings, the Dharma, you may feel a resistance to a particular teaching, a resistance to the Golden Light. This is were the Dharma is coming up against your previous conditioning, even against some of the bad actions you have done in the past, or maybe are even continuing to do. Some of these blocks are very deep indeed, part of the patterning of our lives, the behaviours that we have accumulated over the years and have formed us. These dark corners of our psyche, can take up a lot of energy. Energy used, and maybe wasted, in keeping them in the dark and out of the reach of the Golden Light. It is interesting that much hasn’t changed in the world of humans in the hundreds of years since this Sutra was compiled. Confession has been a large part of Buddhist practice since the Buddhas days, 2,500 years ago. However, One needs to be careful about any previous use you have heard of the word ‘confession’. In Buddhism confession is a strong spiritual practice; its not just about owning up to a few misdemeanours. By spiritual practice I mean that which pertains and leads us to higher states of consciousness. These states are referred to as the Dhyanas that we may experience in our meditation. It is working in our meditations that allow us to find those dark pockets in our mind, and gently open them up to the Golden Light.
Progress towards becoming an Order Member is helped by spiritual confession. We do this in our ordination groups, often referred to as GFR groups. And importantly we have confession kulas or groups on our Ordination courses, ensuring that those who are entering the Order are in the best state possible, even purified, before taking on the commitment to be an active part of the Triratna Buddhist Order.
However, you may not have asked for ordination, but you still may have had a little experience of confession in a ritual context, as in the seven fold puja that we often chanton festivals and on other occasions. The fourth section in the Puja is called ‘confession of faults’.
The evil which I have heaped up
Through my ignorance and foolishness –
Evil in the world of everyday experience,
As well as evil in understanding and intelligence –
All that I acknowledge to the Protectors.
Standing before them
With hands raised in reverence,
And terrified of suffering,
I pay salutations again and again.
May the leaders receive this kindly,
Just as it is, with its many faults!
What is not good, O Protectors,
I shall not do again.
Last month we said goodbye to two of our Sangha, Lisa and Sue, who left for their ordination course. This month we can welcome them back, with their shiny new Buddhistnames, as Bodhināṭā (which means: she who dances in awakening) and Jvālasārā (which means: she who has a blazing, radiant strength). Their welcome back event is on Saturday afternoon, right at the beginning of this month, 1st November. All are welcome to come along and hear about their experience of being Ordained.
As Autumn is a good time to settle down, in the warmth, and read a good book. I would recommend exploring the themes from the Sutra of Golden light. Urgyen Sangharakshita’s book “Transforming Self and World” which delves into the Sutra is a great starting point.
Even better, you could listen to Sangharakshita delivering the original talks upon which the book is based.https://www.freebuddhistaudio.com/series/details?num=X15 .
Of course you can always read the Sutra itself, there are various translations now available in book form and online. You would then be following directly the advice from within the Sutra, gaining merits for yourself and ultimately the world.
