2010 October Announcements

2010 October Announcements Dae Yen Sa International Buddhist Temple and Meditation Center Memory Ceremony Feast Every year a feast is prepared to honor ancestors passed and to assist them along in their journey. Some food is returned to the earth for the ancestors and other food is shared among the participants. Contents: 1. Events and Announcements 2. Dharma School Series 3. Buddha Thought 4. Schedule Reminders 5. Dae Yen Sa Video 6. Volunteers Events and Announcements Fall Retreat, Saturday, November 6, 2010! Dae Yen Sa will be hosting its fall retreat from 9AM - 5PM. The theme is Overcoming Hindrances: Practical Wisdom on the Path Toward Freedom. Please see the linked flier for details and registration info. Please spread the word to your family and friends. Click this link for Fall Retreat Brochure. Wednesday evening dharma school! This 20-week "Introduction to Buddhism" dharma study series is designed to provide a broad overview of Buddhism and Zen. The program is flexible: Participants determine for themselves how deeply they wish to study each topic. Required readings will generally be short overviews; recommended readings will be more in depth and support active participation in discussions; and suggestions will be made for optional more extensive reading. This can be as rich and rigorous as a college course or as relaxed as a series of mindful discussions between friends. Active participation is encouraged. Please invite your friends! While this course is provided for free, donations in support of temple efforts are welcome and appreciated. Check the schedule of classes and share the brochure with your friends! Click this link to see the online form. Buddha Tour! The Buddha brochures, describing each Buddha and their hand gestures are now available online. Print one out for your next visit to the temple and visit each Buddha! Brochure Front Brochure Back The Dharma School Series Chanting & Meditation 7 pm - 7:45 pm Dae Yen Sa Dharma School 7:45 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. The dharma study topic on Wednesday, October 13th is Purification Practices. Please read according to how deeply you wish to study: Purification practices are used to mitigate unbeneficial karma and generate wholesome karma to strengthen and steady our overall practice. This fosters the development of bodhichitta, which assists us on the path to awakening. Purification practices vary by tradition and there is no one size that fits all: each individual needs to find what works for them. This class will provide an overview, but participants are encouraged to study further and seek the guidance of an ordained teacher to determine the practices that best meet their needs. Required Reading: Please read according to how deeply you wish to study: "Purification of Mind," by Bhikkhu Bodhi www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/bps-essay_04.html "Purifying the Mind," by Nonin Chowaney www.prairiewindzen.org/purifying_the_mind.html The Diamond Sutra www.diamond-sutra.com/diamond_sutra_translation.html [This text is not as long as it appears; it can be printed on 14 pages if you copy and paste each chapter into a single document.] The Diamond Sutra is considered by many to be ideally suited to purification practice. Its title derives from the idea that the sutra is capable of cutting through all obstacles to enlightenment.] The Path to Purification: Visudhimagga, by Buddhaghosa, trans by Bhikkhu Nanamoli. Pariyatti publishing 2003, ISBN 978-1928706007, 950 pages. If you want to take purification to the next level, read this book. Namu! Buddhist Thought Emptiness, The Heart Sutra The perfection of wisdom refers to the wisdom that directly and intuitively understands the ultimate nature of phenomena. Sariputra answers with the profound words, "Emptiness is form; form is emptiness," and proceeds to state the emptiness of the five aggregates (skandhas), the emptiness of the teachings (dharmas), and the emptiness of all phenomena. The sutra ends with the celebrated mantra "gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha" which can be translated with "Homage to the awakened mind which has gone over to the other shore." The one who has gone over means: the enlightened one, who has done away with views, ideas, and perceptions and who looks upon reality without any obstructions of mind. To read more visit http://thebigview.com/buddhism/emptiness.html Schedule Reminders! Wednesday Dharma School 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM Meditation and Dharma Study Thursday Night Yoga 7:00 PM to 8:15 PM Saturday Temple Regular Schedule: 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM Yoga or Qi Gong 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 Dae Yen Sa offers retreat days throughout the year. Contact the temple to find out about upcoming retreat days, schedules, and activities for those days. Watch the newsletter for announcements! Dae Yen Sa Video Scene from "Little Buddha". Part 13 of the film. "Form is empty; Emptiness is form. Emptiness is not other than Form; Form is not other than Emptiness." ... In emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no discrimination, no conditioning factors, no consciousness, no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind, no form, no sound, no odor, no taste, no object of touch, no phenomenon, no eye constituent up to and including no mental consciousness constituent, no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, no aging and death up to and including no extinction of aging and death. ---Excerpts from THE HEART SUTRA from http://www.pcddallas.org/Heart_Sutra.htm Support your local temple and meditation center! A special thanks goes out to volunteers and supporters of the temple! There are many ways to support your temple including donations. If you have something special to contribute, please let us know! Volunteer Your Skills! 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. Thank you to all the people who make the wonderful experience at the temple possible for everyone! Help build a lending library. The East gives us thousands upon thousands of Buddhist sacred texts. 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! Offer a talk or workshop! 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. Buy a special book! Aerim Kim, the author of this lovely book of poetry is a frequent visitor at Dae Yen Sa Temple. Her poetry style is free, fresh, heartfelt, and full of a joyful sparkle of emotion. The late Zen Master Seung Shang described Aerim's poetry as "zen poems". The Kim's have supplied the temple with many copies of this book in order to help support the printing needs of the temple. Please contact Sue Yen Sunim to purchase copies of the book for your personal library. You can help build an important network! Please let the temple and the Kim's know of any valuable networking connections to continue keeping this wonderful book in the public's eyes and hearts! Dae Yen Sa plans on binding several of their prayer books together into one volume for members to use during prayer and ceremonies. Special Mentions! A very special thanks goes out to Ms. Grace Kim of Blooming Ridgefield who provides many of the beautiful flower arrangements at the temple. Please visit her site at http://bloomingridgefield.com/ A big thank you to Eduardo and Aaron leading the Dharma talks every Wednesday at Dae Yen Sa. Please consider donating to the temple! Your assistance, no matter what amount, is greatly appreciated! 19 Kinsey Road New Hartford, CT 06057 Telephone: (860) 489-3254 Cell: (860) 459-6255 Fax: (860) 489-5760 daeyensatemple@gmail.com Donations greatly appreciated! VISIT DAE YEN SA ON FACEBOOK! Mission Statement: Dae Yen Sa International Buddhist Temple and Meditation Center is a non-profit religious organization serving the spiritual needs of a diverse and dedicated community of lay practitioners. We offer instruction and participation in Buddhist religion, meditation forms, devotional chanting and worship, dharma principles and practices, yoga and other relevant programs. We welcome all who seek enlightenment of mind and freedom from suffering caused by human greed, hatred and delusion. Dae Yen Sa International Buddhist Temple and Meditation Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3) religious organization. Charitable contributions are tax exempt. Thank you in advance for your generosity. Namu.