2011 March Announcements

2011 March Announcements Dae Yen Sa International Buddhist Temple and Meditation Center One of Sue Yen Sunim's spiritual paintings of Kwan Yin. Paintings of Kwan Yin depict her in many forms, each revealing a unique aspect of her merciful and compassionate being. Temple merchandise is now available including the WHO ARE YOU t-shirt! 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! March Event again this weekend! YOU ARE INVITED! DAE YEN SAINTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST TEMPLE AND MEDITATION CENTER Buddha's Nirvana Day Celebration Saturday, March 19, 2011 Nirvana Day is a Mahayana Buddhist Holiday celebrating the day in which Buddha is said to have achieved complete nirvana upon death of his body. The celebration is a time for considering one's own mortality, as well as, that others and is a reflection on impermanence. 9-10am Qi Gong 10-10:10am Tea Break 10:10-11am Meditation 11-11:30am Chanting 11:30am Vegetarian Lunch Thank you to everyone who attended Buddhist Practices for Practicing Christians presented by Sue Yen Sunim and Eduardo Barrios last weekend! Congratulations to Sangha member Aerim Kim, chosen as a semifinalist for Brides Magazine's competition called Operation Dream Dress! http://www.facebook.com/l/4e6e1SjEX2EwfacTRXYoinZpthQ/www.operationdreamdress.com/aerim-kim Click the link to see her dress design! You can vote once everyday until Monday, March 21st to help her make it into the top ten! www.operationdreamdress.com Cast your vote for America's Most Beautiful Wedding Dress! Special Request Please help Dae Yen Sa Temple! The temple needs help from sangha members and friends to pay their tax bill. Please make a donation, no matter how small or large, to Dae Yen Sa. Your donations will be a great assistance! Make checks to mail or bring to: Dae Yen Sa International Buddhist Temple 19 Kinsey Road New Hartford, CT 06057 Contact: Sue Yen Sunim Wednesday evening dharma school! This course is provided for free, donations in support of temple efforts are welcome and appreciated. Chanting & Meditation 7 pm - 7:45 pm Dae Yen Sa Dharma School 7:45 pm - 8:30 pm 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. Last week we learned how viewing our poisons as medicine can actually help awaken our heart. An awakened heart is the source of real compassion. If our tender heart is buried under our cravings, fears and ignorance, we cannot ignite true healing compassion for ourselves and others. This week Pema teaches that beyond viewing our poisons as medicines, we should view all the messy stuff in our lives and psyches the stuff we might be tempted to use as excuses for not starting a serious practice of compassion as the ideal fodder for starting such a practice. Start where you are, says Pema, in both the title of the book and the chapter heading. This is very important. Tonglen practice (and all meditation practice) is not about later, when you get it all together and you're this person you really respect. You may be the most violent person in the world that's a fine place to start. That's a very rich place to start juicy, smelly. You might be the most depressed person in the world, the most addicted person in the world, the most jealous person in the world. You might think that there are no others on the planet who hate themselves as much as you do. All of that is a good place to start. Just where you are that's the place to start. Of course, if you feel pretty sure you have things in good shape and have more or less vanquished your poisons long ago, this too is a good place to start. Feel your reaction when you imagine surviving a tsunami, but losing everything you own your home, your whole town, your car and perhaps even a loved one. What are our attachments? What are the things we resist? How do those things hold us back from real compassionate action? When we embrace deep looking we may find things we have long refused to see. We need to put in real effort, but gentle effort. Then we can put ourselves on the path of the bodhisattva, opening our hearts in service to all beings. Please come this Wednesday, March 14th at 7PM for meditation, tonglen practice, shared reading and discussion (plus a fruit party!). Note: A few brand-new copies of the book are available at the temple for the same price you would pay at a major online bookseller (around $11), or used copies can be found at online booksellers for as little as $2 or less (plus shipping): Please bring a friend or family member as the group and topic are suited to bringing us closer together -- in our humanity and our community. We are so fortunate to be able to share in this wisdom together. Please also watch for email announcements for cancellations due to weather and enjoy your snow shoveling meditations. Thanks and Namu! Much Metta. Buddhist Thought: Tonglen is a Practice and a Way of Life Traditionally, we begin by doing Tonglen for someone we care about. However, we can use this practice at any time, either for ourselves or others. Tonglen can be done for those who are ill, those who are dying or have just died, or for those that are in pain of any kind. Tonglen can be done either as a formal meditation practice or right on the spot at any time. For example, if we encounter someone in pain, right on the spot we can begin to breathe in their pain and send out some relief. At any time, when we encounter our own emotional discomfort or suffering, or that of others, we open our heart and fully embrace what we are encountering on our in-breath. Breathing out, we offer the heartfelt radiance of acceptance, loving-kindness, and compassion. This is a practice and a way of life. Read more: http://www.naljorprisondharmaservice.org/pdf/Tonglen.htm 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 Pema Chodron "Tong Lin" Pema Chodron speaks about how she became a Buddhist. "I hated my husband..." Watch this great clip to hear her entire explanation. 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 preparations 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! Participate in beneficial shopping! The temple now has available a selection of great merchandise! Please stop by to purchase a temple t-shirt or the favorite "WHO AM I?" koan t-shirt 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,