2010 December Announcements

2010 December Announcements Dae Yen Sa International Buddhist Temple and Meditation Center 2010 Dharma Class See more photos from the class by clicking this link! 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 Compassionate Communication: Creating Communities of Good Karma Saturday, January 15, 2011 from 12:30 - 5:30 PM. There is no cost to attend this workshop; donations to support temple efforts are welcome and appreciated. Dae Yen Sa International Buddhist Temple is happy to welcome back Joe Brummer to present an expanded intensive workshop, open to the public: Many remember Joe's engaging and interactive workshop from last January, which introduced the principles and practices of communicating compassionately and empathetically in honor of Martin Luther King Jr's legacy of non-violence. This workshop again takes place in close proximity to MLK Day and so will serve the same dual-purpose. Joe is now the Associate Executive Director of Community Mediation, Inc. of New Haven (http://www.community-mediation.org/). He is fortunate to have made his job match his passion for peacemaking, and we are grateful to be able to share in the wisdom he brings. Whether you took part in the last workshop or not, you won't want to miss this return engagement, expanded to 5 intensive hours. If you come for regularly scheduled yoga/meditation in the morning (see schedule below and on the flier), you can make a full day of mindful practice and learning including this workshop. This is an extremely rare opportunity! Please forward this invitation and distribute the flyer to family and friends; the more people who practice mindful listening and speaking, the more peaceful and caring our home and communities will be. Visit the link, to print or share the brochure! Yoga Announcement Saturday morning Yoga and Qi Gong is available at the temple 9:00 AM every Saturday, followed by meditation, chanting and Korean vegetarian lunch. Namu! 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. 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, December 29 at 7 PM 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 topic is Korean Buddhism. Earlier we learned how Buddhism spread from its roots in northern India, integrating into and shaping the cultures of the places that adopted it. Buddhism took a unique turn when it was introduced to Korea, whose cultures and kingdoms until then revolved around Shamanic and Animist beliefs and practices. The early Korean traditions of Shamanism and Animism were rooted in a deep reverence for nature -- not dogma or coercive beliefs -- so Buddhism had no conflict with them. In fact, the Mahayana Buddhist practices of deep observation and compassion for all beings integrated well and complemented (and were complemented by) them. So the old and new wisdom traditions shaped each other until they melded into a modern, unique form of Buddhism. While indisputably part of the Chan-Shin-Seon-Zen lineage, Buddhism in Korea was arguably more deeply influenced by its earlier spiritual traditions than it was in other regions where Buddhism, conversely, tended to replace the previous dominant spiritual practices. This week's reading is a short introduction (1.5 pages if printed): http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/korea-txt.htm Please also watch a 9-minute video about the history of Buddhism in Korea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBFqBC89hG4. [It's not a highly-polished documentary; it's more like a video term paper. Although not seductive in its presentation, it provides an excellent and concise historical overview.] Wishing you abundant blessings, peace and joy this holiday season. Thanks and Namu! Much Metta. Buddhist Thought: The Mountain God (Sanshin, in Korean) Every Korean temple has a place for Sanshin, the Mountain God, whether it be a painting and small altar set up in one of the larger halls, or, as is most often the case, a small separate building off in one corner of the compound. Sanshin is not depicted in statue form, but instead is always painted. As belief in mountain spirits preceded Buddhism's entry into Korea, Sanshin is not of Buddhist origin but was absorbed into Buddhism. Little by little it came to be suggested that Sanshin had been a Bodhisattva all along. Sanshin is particularly popular among women hoping for sons. However, visitors to most temples pay their respects to Sanshin. The paintings of the Mountain God all follow the same basic pattern. Pictured is an old man seated with, or sometimes on, a tiger. Because tigers were a constant threat in mountainous areas, their ferocity came to be associated with powerful spirits. The Mountain God is not exclusively the old man or the tiger, rather he is both. Perhaps the tiger's presence also suggests the close relationship in geomancy between mountains and tigers. Commonly the old man and tiger are pictured in a deep valley with a stone cliff on the right. Excerpt from the link: http://buddhapia.com/eng/extensive/index.html Schedule Reminders! Wednesday Dharma School 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM Meditation and Dharma Study 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 The life of the Buddha - 6. Enlightenment Subtitles and music. 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.