A visual and contemplative treat for today: an exploration of Unitarian Universalist labyrinths.

Many Unitarian Universalists find the practice of walking a labyrinth to be extremely fulfilling, and many of our congregations have permanent labyrinths in or near their buildings.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff in Dallas, Texas, has a beautiful setting for theirs:

“Though circular in design, the four directions have been consulted. The opening is to the east, it also is the exit. Here is the place to pause, to wait, to think or empty out your thoughts. Then step within and let the pathway guide your feet while your mind is elsewhere occupied. There is no must or should, as your experience will be unique.”

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Elgin, Illinois hosts the Earth-Wisdom Labyrinth, modeled after the famous 11-circuit design laid into the floor of the medieval cathedral at Chartres, France:

Rev. Dan Brosier says, “The labyrinth is here to keep the spiritual dialogue open—to be a reminder that there are a number of paths to the sacred.”

This one was spotted at the Unitarian Church in Princes Street, Cork, Ireland:

Other congregations have come up with not so permanent ways to enjoy the spiritual benefits of a labyrinth, such as the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, Virginia, who have reproduced the Chartres pattern on canvas:

When we lived in Milwaukee, I had a chance to walk either this canvas labyrinth on loan or one exactly like it. It was set up in the upper chapel, and provided a wonderful, although needfully temporary, experience.

This morning, a sermon about Buddhist practice in a Unitarian Universalist context, from the Rev. Wayne Arnason. There has been a recent buzz around UUs exploring Buddhism, including much of the Summer 2007 issue of the UUWorld Magazine, and the much respected work of Rev. James Ishmael Ford, who blogs at Monkey Mind.

What strikes me about this sermon is how Rev. Arnason describes his everyday practice in very real terms, in such an accessible manner as to demystify this very spiritual mindset, while at the same time deepening my understanding of it. Rev. Arnason serves as co-minister at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Rocky River, Ohio.

Four Impossible Things Before Breakfast

by The Rev. Wayne B. Arnason

Every morning after I do my Zen meditation practice, I vow to do four impossible things before going on to exercise and breakfast. The four impossible things include saving all beings, extinguishing all desires, mastering all opportunities to realize Buddhist teachings, and attaining enlightenment. The way I make these promises is through chanting the Great Vows, which in different languages and in different translations within different languages are chanted around the world in Buddhist communities and monasteries at least once in every day.

In the version used at my sangha at Zen Mountain Monastery in New York, they are chanted at the end of each day in the monotone style that is part of Japanese Zen liturgy. They sound like this:

“Sentient beings are numberless, I vow to save them,

“Desires are inexhaustible, I vow to put an end to them,

“The dharmas are boundless, I vow to master them,

“The Buddha Way is unattainable, I vow to attain it.”

Now, is this goofy or what??

(Read on … )