2011 March Announcements

2011 March Announcements Dae Yen Sa International Buddhist Temple and Meditation Center Temple Buddha in the Snow 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! Thank you to everyone attending Buddha's Nirvana Day Celebration on Saturday, March 19, 2011! Temple merchandise is now available including the WHO ARE YOU t-shirt! Special Request 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 DHARMA SCHOOL SERIES Wednesday evening dharma school! Please come on Wednesdays, at 7PM for meditation, tonglen practice, shared reading and discussion (plus a 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. Chanting & Meditation 7 pm - 7:45 pm Dae Yen Sa Dharma School 7:45 pm - 8:30 pm This week we are studying Chapter 7 of Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living, by Pema Chodron. The chapter is titled "Drive All Blames into One." "'Drive all blames into one' is saying, instead of always blaming the other, own the feeling of blame, own the anger, own the loneliness, and make friends with it. Use the tonglen practice to see how you can place the anger or the fear or the loneliness in a cradle of loving-kindness; use tonglen to learn how to be gentle to all that stuff. In order to be gentle and create an atmosphere of compassion for yourself, it's necessary to stop talking to yourself about how wrong everything is -- or how right everything is, for that matter." 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 also watch for email announcements for cancellations due to weather and enjoy your snow shoveling meditations. Thanks and Namu! Much Metta. BUDDHIST THOUGHT: A BAG OF NAILS Once upon a time there was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he should hammer a nail in the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. But gradually, the number of daily nails dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the first day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He proudly told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out, it won't matter how many times you say 'I'm sorry', the wound is still there." Read more on anger here: http://www.viewonbuddhism.org/anger.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 Pema Chodron "Smile at Fear" Pema Chodron speaks about seeing our lives as full of potential no matter what is happening and to keep our hearts and minds open. VOLUNTEERS! 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.