2012 February Announcements

2012 February Announcements Dae Yen Sa International Buddhist Temple and Meditation Center Tea ...tea inspires a quality of wakefulness with tranquility, but also just in terms of its physiologic effect, it helps the chi, the life force, to flow more smoothly. In fact, tea, as you know, is green colored. ---Kenneth Cohen, a well-known qi-gong master. 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! Honoring Our Dear Friend Anita. Please join in a special memory ceremony Sunday, February 26, 2012, 12 pm to 3 pm. February 26th, 2012 Will mark the completion of 49 days of memorial chanting and prayer for the repose of Anita Chadha in the Pure Land Realm of Amitabul,the Buddha of Infinite Light. Share or view the announcement. New Course Beginning ! NEXT STUDY...5 PRECEPTS: A PATH OF TRANSFORMATION Beginning on Wednesday 1/11/12 at 7pm we begin a study on the 5 Wonderful Precepts. The 5 precepts are the fundamental teachings of Buddhist morality and are guidelines from which we can live. Thich Nhat Hanh refers to these precepts as the 5 Mindfulness Trainings, since personal transformation is an ongoing event that requires continuous practice. One need not take formal 5 precept vows in order to practice these virtuous principles. In addition, by practicing the 5 precepts, one is not joining a religious order or converting from one religion to another, but rather committing, with honest intention and right action, to live mindfully eliminating suffering, engendering compassion, and sharing happiness. This study is offered at the beginning of the new year to help us realign ourselves with virtue principles and practices that lead to transformation. Study text used is "For a Future to be Possible: Buddhist Ethics for Everyday Life" by Thich Nhat Hanh. For all seeking to make positive life changes in 2012, we invite you to attend this Dharma study course and to take refuge in a welcoming and supportive sangha. A Syllabus/Order of Practice is attached. Read and print syllabus here! (Any questions, please email us along with your contact information. Please make subject line "Bo Gak - 5 Precepts"). A freewill donation for the 6-week course is greatly appreciated. Special Event! PLUS A SURPRISE VISIT! Seven Tsawa [Tibetan] Monks,including a Geshe, are visiting Dae Yen Sa Temple as part of their "World Peace Cultural Tour" and will take part in the retreat on February 4, 2012! RSVP ability also available on Facebook. Visit the monks website. Retreat Schedule: Day of Mindfulness Retreats! Every First Saturday of the month, 9am-5pm Give yourself time to rest and reflect. Life can get busy and stressful. It's so easy for each of us to lose perspective as we juggle it all. That's why it's so important to make time specifically for you. A mindful- ness retreat allows you to unplug from distractions and recharge your spiritual batteries. All are welcomed. Full-day retreat donation is $45, which includes vegetarian lunch and tea. FREE for Seniors and Students Saturday Dates: 2/4/12 retreat brochure here! Future dates: 3/3/12, 4/7/12, 5/5/12, 6/2/12, 7/7/12, 8/4/12, 9/1/12, 10/6/12, 11/3/12, 12/1/12. 9-10:00 am...Yoga/Qi Gong 10:15...Tea Break and Introduction 10:15-11...Meditation Session 11-11:45...Recitation & Chanting 12-1pm...Vegetarian Lunch 1-1:45...Walking Meditation 2-3:15...Dharma Talk/ Recitation/Q&a 3:30-4:30...Yoga/Qi Gong and/or Group Activity 4:30-5:00 Meditation, Closing Recitation Sutra of Loving-Kindness and Om Amoga chant Print and share the brochure at this link. Special Request WINTER APPEAL. PLEASE HELP. A Buddhist Parable of the Lady and the Lamp One day on the street the old woman encountered a long procession of carts carrying a large quantity of flax oil. Upon asking, she learned that the oil was a donation which the king of the country, was sending to the Buddha. Deeply moved, the old woman also longed to make an offering, but she had no money whatsoever. She decided to cut off her own hair and sell it. With that money she bought a small amount of flax oil and went to offer it to the Buddha. She thought: With so little oil a lamp will only burn half a night. However, if the Buddha recognizes my faith and feels compassion for me, then the lamp will burn throughout the night. Her wish was fulfilled and the lamp continued to burn throughout the night, while all the other lamps went out in the strong winds which blew from the direction of Mount Sumeru. When day broke, people tried to blow it out, but, on the contrary, her lamp continued to glow all the more, so brightly as to almost illuminate the entire world. We are reaching out to you to ask for financial support to keep our Temple "lamps" on throughout the winter. The operating costs for Dae Yen Sa Temple, especially heat, electricity and food are considerable. The Temple does not charge membership fees. Programs such as Saturday Yoga/QiGong, Meditation, Vegetarian Lunch; Wednesday Dharma School; Movie Nights and other special events are led by volunteers and depend entirely on individual contributions. Dae Yen Sa's mission is to welcome all, and in order to keep these programs alive, the Temple is counting on your financial support. While we are mindful that the present economy has affected many, we hope you will make a contribution today that is right for you. Like the story of the Lady and the Lamp, even modest offerings are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. Dae Yen Sa is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit religious organization as such, your donation is tax deductible. Please make your check payable to: Dae Yen Sa International Buddhist Temple You may hand your offering directly to Su Yen Sunim at the Temple or mail to: Dae Yen Sa International Buddhist Temple c/o Su Yen Sunim 19 Kinsey Road, New Hartford Connecticut, 06057 Thank you in advance for your generosity and care. May you be Peaceful, Happy and Well. Namu. Bo Gak (eduardo) ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME HISTORIC EVENT. Enlightened Seon (Zen) Master Jinje , the 79th Patriarch in the Korean lineage of the Buddha, traveled to the West for the first, and perhaps only, time. For those that were not able to see the event in person, a film of the event is available online. www.jinje.us/Jinje.us/Home.html Go to the link above and click LIVE to watch! Temple merchandise is now available including the WHO ARE YOU t-shirt! BUDDHIST THOUGHT: Exceprt From Episode 142: Buddha in a Cup of Tea So, the challenge of tea, like the challenge of anything in life, whether you're sitting and watching your breath or preparing a delicious dinner for your family, the challenge of tea is how to do everything with our whole being, undivided. So, we're not going over the shopping list while we're whisking up the green tea so that our whole body, mind, and spirit participates and savors the beauty of that moment. That’s a lifetime of training, and it doesn’t matter how we get there. You can get there through just sitting and watching your breath. You can get there through chanting. You can get there through watching clouds passing over the mountain-top, through writing poetry, through improvising music. But the essence of it is that presence, that state of being. Read more of the transcript at this link. You can also listen and subscribe to Buddhists Geeks at the link! 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 Tea with Norwood: Rediscovering Ancient Realities San Francisco author and tea luminary James Norwood Pratt tells Samovar Tea Lounge owner Jesse Jacobs about -The Buddhist and Taoist connections to tea -Tea cultures around the world -How Americans are discovering to drink tea in traditional ways -5000+ years of tea history May our family, friends and other loved ones that are further away from us for awhile, travel well knowing they are always in our hearts. VOLUNTEERS! Thanks for supporting your local temple and meditation center! There are many ways to support your temple including donations. If you have something special to contribute, please let us know! Please volunteer your skills. Offer a talk or workshop, 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! A big thank you to Eduardo and Aaron leading the Dharma talks on Wednesday night at Dae Yen Sa and so many others that volunteer their time and attention. There are many reasons to visit the temple! Here are just a few: 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. Your shopping benefits the temple! 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 generously 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. 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.