2010 November Announcements

2010 November Announcements Dae Yen Sa International Buddhist Temple and Meditation Center Chou-chou's picture at the podium of the Temple. 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 View a few photos from the Fall Retreat, November 6, 2010! Click this link to view the slideshow! Wednesday evening dharma school! This 20-week "Introduction to Buddhism" dharma study series is designed to provide a broad overview of Buddhism and Zen. 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 Please join us on Wednesday, November 10 at 7PM for meditation, dharma study, tea and fruit party. Individuals of all paths and beliefs are welcome; the only requirement is an open heart and mind. Dharma study is free; donations supporting temple efforts are appreciated. This week's study topic is Zen. Zen is a school of Buddhism that traces its roots and lineage of masters all the way back to the Buddha, but it has evolved along the way. It is said that Zen was first formally established when an Indian monk named Bodhidharma brought the Buddha's teachings to China. His own lineage and training was derived from the Buddha's famous Flower Sermon, in which the Buddha said nothing but simply held up a flower for all to see. The audience was perplexed with the exception of a monk named Mahakasyapa, who saw this and smiled in understanding and enlightenment, and Buddha recognized him as the heir to dharma transmission outside scriptures and not founded on words or letters. The term "Zen" itself evolved from the Sanskrit root "dhyana," which means "meditation" or "meditative state." Dhyana (pronounced "djanna") became "Chan" in China, "Son" in Korea and "Zen" in Japan, but it's all part of the same lineage with cultural influences imparted in each region. The main practice in Zen is zazen, or sitting meditation. While sitting meditation is honored and practiced in all Buddhist traditions, Zen arguably emphasizes its importance to a higher degree, respecting that the Buddha himself became enlightened through its practice. Zen is about practice, attitude and understanding (more than scriptures or study of concepts). Probably the most widely read English text on Zen is Shunryu Suzuki's masterpiece, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. This week's recommended reading is pages 99-110, which are the first twelve pages of Part 3, Right Understanding. While the whole book is well worth buying in print and reading over and over, a PDF file is available free online, so please read according to how deeply you wish to study: http://storage.worldispnetwork.com/books/zen_mind_beginners_mind.pdf You can also buy used copies at Amazon for around $1 + shipping http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0834800799/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&qid=1289547663&sr=8-1&condition=used Namu! Buddhist Thought Chao-chou A monk once asked master Chao-chou, "Does a dog have Buddha-nature?" Chao-chou answered, "Mu" To read more about this koan, visit the link: http://sped2work.tripod.com/chao-chou.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 Life of Buddha Part 5 of the BBC documentary. Buddhism has come home to the Bodhi tree. 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 on Wednesday night at Dae Yen Sa. Also thanks to Robin for the Thursday night Yoga class! 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.