2010 January Announcements

2010 January Announcements Dae Yen Sa International Buddhist Temple and Meditation Center Elephant The elephant is a powerful symbol in Buddhism. Buddha Shakyamuni was born as elephant in some of his previous incarnations. The Bodhisattva was conceived on the full moon night. That night his mother, Maya, dreamt that a white elephant carrying a white lotus in its trunk entered her womb Contents: 1. Upcoming Events 2. Dharma School Series 3. Buddha Thought 4. Volunteer! 5. Saturday Schedule Reminder 6. Dae Yen Sa Video Upcoming Events Nonviolent Communication Workshop Learn how to live more peacefully and compassionately practicing Right Speech and Right Action. Scheduled for January 18, 2010, 6:30 - 9:30 PM in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The snow date is January 19, 2010. Teachings presented with guest NVC teacher Joe Brummer! Joe spent years exploring why people commit acts of violence against others. He studied nonviolence, conflict resolution and worked with the Institute for Study and Practice of Nonviolence to bring teaching to schools, and serves on the Community Mediation Center of Rhode Islands Juvenile Restorative Justice Advisory Board. He has recently attended International Intensive Training on Nonviolent Communication. Joe is the Connecticut representative for New England NVC. Visit the link http://www.cnvc.org for more information on the course. In this course you will learn how to: Express yourself in ways that can be heard. Truly hear what others are expressing regardless of the words used. Connect with the universal needs driving all human behavior. Express gratitude without the use of praise and moral judgments. Use language as a tool of connection rather than control. This important course is free to the general public. Please share the information with your friends! The Dharma School Series Chanting & Meditation 7 pm - 7:30 pm Dae Yen Sa Dharma School & Tea 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm We welcome individuals of all paths and understandings to participate in weekly gatherings consisting of meditation, meditative reading and review along with group reflection on Buddhist principles and practices or Dharma. The only requirement is an open mind and open heart. Study Topic for Wednesday 01/13/10: The Dhammapada, Chapter 14 - The Buddha For those with Books please read Chapter 14: The Buddha For those without books please read Chapter 14: The Buddha The Buddha Did you know the word Temptation comes from the Latin, "Temptare" which means to "handle, test, try". Each day, and in fact with each fleeting thought, we are "tested", tempted. Many faith traditions have images of tempters. These are powerful and sometimes evil energies that seem to manipulate humanity into delusion and destruction. In Christianity is the image of Satan. In Buddhism is the image of Mara. This week's chapter of scripture, entitled The Buddha is about a sage's struggle and victory over Mara and his army of temptations. The Buddha becomes conquers his own afflictive passions, rooted in lust, hatred, and delusion and become enlightened and free. This chapter honors that victory and challenges us to meditate deeply on our own places of epic-like temptations. Sex, power, money, food, influence, control and even comfort may all have perceived "feel good" benefits - but we must ask ourselves if we have really tested our individual passions, have we really meditated looking deeply at them in order to be as free as a Buddha? This Chapter can also be called "The Awakened One" since this is the definition of Buddha. How awake are we to our afflictive passions? We all seek refuge from the storms of our temptations, but sometimes we run away from the real work. The Buddha teaches that at the end of the day our temptation is ever-present, whether we run away to the forest or to the monastery. The Buddha instructs taking refuge in the Buddha(our own capacity to be free) The Dharma (meditation on truth and wisdom to be free) and the Sangha (community of practice supporting us in our diligent practice). Namu. Nobody is condemned in Buddhism, for greatness is latent even in the seemingly lowliest, just as lotuses spring from muddy ponds. Invite someone new to experience the warmth of the sangha. Buddha Thought 5 Ways to Start your Day Like a Buddhist Monk Excerpt from THE DAILY MIND 1. Set your motivation. The first thing the monks do when they wake up is sit up slowly in their bed, cross their legs and spend 10 minutes meditating on their motivation.The traditional buddhist motivation is called “bodhicitta” and it is the wish that all sentient beings be free from suffering... Setting your motivation like this is very powerful. Instead of jumping out of bed, smashing the alarm and walking out the door the monks settle down and bring compassion and love in to their mind. This sets and awesome tone to the day... Volunteer Requests Assistance with preparation for special events, weekends and teaching nights is always greatly appreciated. This includes assistance in the kitchen, setting up, taking down and any other donation of talent or effort that can assist the temple. You are always greatly appreciated! The temple does have some special requests from time to time as well. Sati Meditation Recently, a small group from Dae Yen Sa enjoyed a field trip to Chuang Yen Temple in Carmel, NY. We participated in a retreat day, where we learned a new form of meditation practice called Sati. In Sati Meditation the practitioner uses mindful movements of the hands to bring about greater awareness.This practice was introduced by Luangpor Teean Jittasubho (1911-1988) of Thailand and taught to us by Dr. Dwight Chien. It is our intention to make Sati meditation sessions available at DaeYen Sa. If any member who participated in our Sati retreat in NY is interested in leading Sati meditation please see Eduardo. For those wishing to experience the Sati retreat day at Chuang Yen, the next session is December 12, 2009. Calling all TV Techies! The temple is seeking a volunteer(s) to help us find or purchase a big screen TV for the Main Temple that we could also connect to a computer. There are so many great teachings and wisdom available in multimedia now that would add to study experiences. In addition the temple is considering offering occasional "movie nights" for families. Maybe our first Movie night could be "MULAN" in honor of dear little Sasha! Of course, we are also seeking donations for the purchase of the TV, or, of a TV itself. Thank you in advance for your kindness in achieving this goal for the benefit of the sangha. Please see Su Yen Sunim to help with this endeavor. Lending Library The East gives us thousands upon thousands of Buddhist sacred texts. And here in the West we have access to many books and articles from teachers like Jack Kornfield, Pema Chodron and other well-known teachers. It is our goal to begin a small lending library of Buddhist texts that would be open to Sangha members. The idea has been approved by Su Yen Sunim and Master, so we'll keep you posted on the logistics. In the meantime consider donating your books of wisdom to the temple. Make it a practice in letting go! Talks and Workshops While we have the Wisdom of the Triple Gem we also recognize the network of members and friends with wisdom to share with Dae Yen Sa. If you, or anyone you know, has an interest in presenting a workshop/lecture/training that is relevant and appropriate to Buddhist principles and practice, please speak with Eduardo. At present, the Temple does not have funds for lecturers. Any presentation would be considered a donation would be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance. SPECIAL MENTION! Nirvana Juice Bar, Torrington One of our Sangha members, Rosie, invites us to visit her juice bar in Downtown Torrington. Rosie offers many wonderful health and energy drinks and foods as well as aromatic incenses and products sangha members would appreciate. In addition Rosie hosts guest lectures and open mike nights. Visit her website for more information and then visit her store for some "chill" time. http://nirvanahealthbar.com/ Nirvana is a healthy, fun and informative place to visit! Saturday Temple Regular Schedule: 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM Yoga 10:00 AM to 10:20 AM Tea Break 10:20 AM to 11:00 AM Silent Meditation 11:00 AM to 11:10 AM Walking Meditation 11:10 AM to 11:30 AM Chanting 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM Korean Vegetarian Lunch The first Saturday of each month, Dae Yen Sa has a retreat day with a revised schedule. Call or contact the temple for the schedule and activities for that day. Buddha with a Thousand Hands Incredible choreography by The China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe. All of the performers featured in the video are deaf. 19 Kinsey Road New Hartford, CT 06057 Telephone: (860) 489-3254 Cell: (860) 459-6255 Fax: (860) 489-5760 Donations greatly appreciated! VISIT DAE YEN SA ON FACEBOOK!