Mt. Adams Buddhist Temple
Tuyết Sơn Thiền Tự. 雪山禅寺
P.O. Box 487, Trout Lake WA 98650 https://mtadamsbuddhisttemple.org/
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2022 New Year Celebrations
Happy Gregorian Calendar New Year January 1, 2022
The Lunar New Year (Spring Festival) for the year 2022 is celebrated on February 1
Losar (Tibetan New Year) is celebrated March 3
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ZOOM Temple Services
Monday - Friday at 6:30 am and 5:30pm ZOOM 5093952030
Saturday 8:30 am - service + meditation ZOOM 5093952030
Thich Nhat Hanh study group on the 2nd & 4th Wednesdays at 6:30 pm
You may attend temple services in person, masks are required, limited to 10 people at an in person service. Please call ahead to confirm your space.
Taking Refuge and Taking Precepts classes will begin in February via Zoom
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Dear Ones,
As 2020 ends and the New Year begins, let us wish all beings to find peace, health and joy in the New Year.
Lots of snow here this year, the new temple building is covered in snow, ZOOM meetings are ongoing and life is ongoing. I find myself living in gratitude more and more. The old saying of "An Attitude Of Gratitude" seems to have become manifest in my life. I am grateful!
The sufferings of old age, sickness, and death surround us. May our hearts open to the sufferings of others and may we be activists for peace and kindness.
The New year, Solar or Lunar, is a time when we traditionally think of making a change in our current thoughts or behaviors, a new beginning. May your New Year be one of peace, harmony, and health.
Nam Mo Bon Su Thich Ca Mau Ni Phat! Namo Shakyamuni Buddha!!
in Metta.....Thay Kozen
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The Great Bell Rings in
the New Year
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On Dec 31, 2021 we will be ringing the great bell 108 times at midnight
We will welcome in the new year. This is an outdoors activity, dress warmly, wear a mask and social distance. The roads are open and our driveway is cleared of snow.
Sadly we do not have accommodations for overnight stays and the roads are unsafe so local folks only please.
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Thich Minh Thien, (Thay Z) Abbot of Budding Dharma
Arlington, Texas thayzzen@gmail.com
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New Beginnings
The Earth and all of the residents on this planet will have concluded another rotation around the sun and what was 2021 has passed into history one minute after midnight on December 31st. All the joys, the fears, the sadness, the worry, the efforts that we devoted our energies to in the past year now become mostly memories. Of course some of the karmic results of previous actions will linger and drift into the New Year. Our planet and most of its’ residents will continue to suffer the consequences of global warming because of the way some neglect to care for our precious home. Hate, greed and division will still create the barricades that separate the haves from the have-nots. Ignorance and delusion will continue to drive some away from the logic and the very science that could save lives. So as the calendar turns towards 2022, not all becomes memories and some of our struggles will continue.
But the power of new beginnings is continually with us and we don’t have to wait for the one day each year when the clock ticks into a new journey around the sun. New beginnings fall right in line with our Buddhist teachings. The Buddha taught that seeing beginnings and endings — the arising and passing away of all conditioned forms — is a vital step in developing the understanding that nothing exists apart from interdependent, cause-and-effect relationships. New beginnings surround us be it a new birth, a new job, a new love, or a new day. These new beginnings fill us with hope, with anticipation, with possibility. We see life in a different light. We realize that life at every moment is a new beginning. Every end is a new beginning; every moment is fresh and new.
What new beginnings are you looking forward to? A new job, a new relationship, better health and fitness, new adventures? Whatever it is, whole heartedly giving energy to whatever new beginnings you choose can be the impetus to success. Again, the Buddha gives us clear direction to find happiness. The Buddha said, “We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” And again, our practice gives us so many opportunities to understand more clearly who we are. We have the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, The Precepts and Meditation as guideposts to living our best life. How blessed we are to have discovered this practice. As it says in the Metta Sutra, “…Standing or walking, sitting or lying down, in each moment may we remain mindful of this heart and this way of living that is the best in all the world.”
Wishing all sentient beings a Happy New Year, may we all be well and happy and know love and peace.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
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Poetry from Venerable Fa Hsing
(Thich Tâm Minh) mountainwayzen@yahoo.com
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Worn and weary
after wandering all night,
my tired thoughts
finally take a rest
and I wake with a smile
just before dawn.
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In the heart of the night
when there's no spoken word
a sound most divine
can clearly be heard.
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Building a New Temple
Due to the Covid Pandemic, work force issues, and supply chain problems the first phase of our new temple has been delayed. We may finish the first phase by February 2022 and will start on phase 2 in the Spring of 2022.
The first phase is a covered patio with a heated floor and walls that open up. We did this type of structure so that we could be in the open air, still warm, and safer in a group due to Covid.
We have a $100,000 matching grant offer so that
every dollar that is donated is actually worth two dollars.
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What is Buddhism?
Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true nature of reality. Buddhist practices like meditation are means of changing yourself in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom. The experience developed within the Buddhist tradition over thousands of years has created an incomparable resource for all those who wish to follow a path — a path which ultimately culminates in Enlightenment or Buddhahood.
An enlightened being sees the nature of reality absolutely clearly (thusness), just as it is, and lives fully and naturally in accordance with that vision. This is the goal of the Buddhist spiritual life, representing the end of suffering for anyone who attains it.
Because Buddhism does not include the idea of worshiping a creator god, some people do not see it as a religion in the normal, Western sense. The basic tenets of Buddhist teaching are straightforward and practical: nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have consequences; change is possible. So Buddhism addresses itself to all people irrespective of race, nationality, caste, sexuality, or gender. It teaches practical methods which enable people to realize and use its teachings in order to transform their experience, to be fully responsible for their lives. Mind is Buddha, Buddha is mind.
There are 3 components of this spiritual journey:
The first is some type of meditation.
Serene reflection meditation, vipassana (or clear seeing) and guided meditation are all types of meditation practices.
The second is some form of devotion.
Devotion can take many forms. For some it is respecting the Buddhist temples and statues, for others it is offering food or supplies or dana (money) to monks and temples. For others it may be protecting animals or the environment, or working in hospice or a warming shelter. For others it might be chanting, bowing, or making a journey.
And the third is some form of metta practice.
Metta is Loving Kindness. There is a Buddhist teaching (the Metta Sutra) which describes loving all beings, regardless of cast, color, religion on any other factor. It also includes extending loving kindness to ourselves.
Thank you Siddhartha Gautama, Sage of the Shakya clan (Shakyamuni),
for your life and teachings.
Thank you all Buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout space and time.
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Recovery Dharma by Dick Withers
is a peer-led movement using Buddhist practices and principles to overcome addiction through meditation, personal inquiry, and community.
Recovery Dharma (RD) was founded in the summer of 2019 and, following the publication of the book Recovery Dharma in August 2019, local RD meetings were quickly organized throughout North America and around the globe. RD meetings include meditation, dharma study and sharing. Most participants have a history of substance or alcohol addictions. Many participants also seek recovery from process addictions such as overeating or obsessive use of media/technology.
Two weekly RD meetings were established in the Mid-Columbia Gorge. A third meeting was organized following a weekend “OctSoberFest” gathering sponsored by the Mt. Adams Buddhist Temple in the Fall of 2019. This third meeting has been meeting monthly (2nd Saturdays) at The Abbey and was organized as an RD “Inquiry” meeting. An Inquiry meeting provides an opportunity for personal journaling, sharing insights and answering questions drawn from the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path.
Beginning in March of 2020, all three Columbia Gorge RD meetings have been conducted virtually…in addition to local organizers, participants have included individuals from as far away as Europe and Australia as well as patients in rehabilitation centers in Canada and the U.S.
The 2nd Saturday Inquiry meetings were originally scheduled to allow participants to gather at the Trout Lake Abbey. The day and time were kept the same in hopes that the Covid Pandemic would allow for a return to in-person gatherings. We have decided that the monthly Inquiry meeting will be suspended for now as we plan for hybrid in-person and virtual meetings in the future. We will also be announcing additional Gorge Recovery Dharma online resources especially for Inquiry activities. Some of these resources are already available at the Gorge Recovery Dharma Facebook Group site.
We extend our very great appreciation and thanks to the Mt. Adams Buddhist Temple and to Thay Kozen for sponsoring and supporting Recovery Dharma in the Mid-Columbia Region. We look forward to organizing further events to support the recovery community at The Abbey as we emerge from pandemic constraints in 2022.
Meanwhile, if you -or someone you know - “could use a meeting,” please check us out:
Gorge Recovery Dharma (Pacific Time)
Sundays, 6:15pm and
Wednesdays 7:00pm at:
Meeting ID: 658 513 8476
Password: 516313
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A great book that Venerable Jeff shared with us at out Spring Retreat 6 years ago. The author wants us to reclaim the Swastika from the evil of Hitler to the peace of the Dharma. Available on Amazon
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We feed the small wild birds when the snow covers the ground |
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Avalokiteśvara in a winter wonderland |
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Thay Kozen and his dog,Ven |
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Holiday lights celebrate the season |
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Snow covers the path to the temple |
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Ted Fontaine became a novice monk, Sa Di Minh Tam in December 2021 |
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Avalokiteśvara and a snow covered Mt Adams |
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May the Infinite Light of Wisdom and Compassion so shine within us
that the errors and vanities of self may be dispelled;
so shall we understand the changing nature of existence and awaken into spiritual peace.
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Mt Adams Zen Buddhist Temple 46 Stoller Rd., Trout Lake WA 98650 509.395.2030 www.Mtadamszen.org
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