|
Dear Dharma Friends,
Well summer is here and again we are basking in warmth. Many of our friends in the east have had an abundance of rain, many in the west are dry and conserving water, others of us are somewhere in between. It seems that we often "don't know what we've lost till it's gone" (
Joni Mitchell).
Mindfulness practices can help us live in gratitude and awareness of the here - right now. In mindfulness we are present, really present...living in this very moment.
Our brothers and sisters are going through changes. Our GLBT friends have a new freedom, our Muslim friends have a great holiday ongoing, our Episcopal friends have a new leader, Pope Francis has redefined ecology as a moral issue, John has had a stroke, and people were murdered due to the color of their skin in South Carolina.
To all we send our love and warmest heart wishes, as we say the
Buddhist Prayer of Blessings:
We surround all forms of life with infinite love and compassion.
Especially, do we send out compassionate thoughts to those in suffering and sorrow,
to those in doubt and ignorance, to all who are striving to attain truth,
and to those whose feet stand close to the great change called death,
we send forth all wisdom, mercy and love.
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.
in Metta, Kozen
|
ONE DAY RETREAT - ULLAMBANA
Join us for an 8 hour retreat on Saturday July 25
The story of the festival dates back to the time of the Buddha. Maudgalyayana, a disciple of the Buddha, meditated and much to his misery, found that his mother was suffering greatly in hell. He sought the Buddha's advice in this matter since he wanted his mother to get rid of all the sufferings. The Buddha advised him to offer food to the dead. This proved fruitful as Maudgalyayana succeeded not only in relieving his mother's suffering but also a number of other souls. On successful completion of his work, Maudgalyayana was elated and danced with joy.
To commemorate the incident, the festival of the Ullambana or Ancestors day is celebrated. It is time to honor one's ancestors and also relieve the suffering of
souls.
Remembering Our Deceased Loved Ones ...
Ksitigarbha Practice
Walking Meditation....Sitting Meditation...Mindfulness Practices
Mindful Eating...Work Meditation...Metta
8am - 4:30 pm
What to expect at a day-long retreat
Ksitigarbha Practice - Meditation instruction - how to deal with body, breath, and mind
Sitting and walking meditation.
Discussions of some of the lectures and sutras from great teachers
Chanting and reading sutras
Wear loose clothing - suitable for summer
A vegetarian lunch (eating as mindful practice)
Private time to work on your personal meditation practice
Work as mindful practice
Please plan on attending.
$30.00 suggested donation
We'd rather have you here than your money - Don't let finances stop you from attending.
|
It All Started With A Buddha Statue
from - http://www.theplaidzebra.com/a-non-religious-man-virtually-eliminates-local-crime-with-nothing-more-than-a-buddha-statue/#ixzz3buJJvnYM BY: TJ MOREY It is common knowledge that a person's surroundings play a vital role in sculpting the mind, ideologies, and thought process of an individual. A stunning example of this is found in the case of the Buddha statue of Oakland, California. 11th Avenue and East 19th Street was a rough part of town, riddled with an assortment of criminal activities ranging from garbage dumping and vandalization to drug dealing, robberies, prostitution and assaults. Sick of the dystopian environment of the area where he lived-particularly the trash-Dan Stevenson and his wife Lu purchased a stone Buddha statue from a hardware and placed it on the corner. The two hoped that the presence of the statue would bring a sense of serenity to the wretched neighborhood, or at least that its panoptic gaze would dissuade the garbage dumpers. Little did they know that this miniscule gesture would bring about a ripple effect resulting in a complete transformation of the neighborhood? 11th Avenue and East 19th Street was a rough part of town, riddled with criminal activities ranging from prostitution to drug dealing, until Dan Stevenson and his wife Lu purchased a stone Buddha statue from a hardware store and placed it on the corner. First, the dumping stopped, and citizens made an effort to clean up the junk that was present. Then peddlers stopped dealing drugs in the area and the prostitutes left; walls were no longer vandalized with graffiti. Eventually, Vietnamese immigrants living in the vicinity started flocking to the Buddha statue and offering fruits, garlands, and incense sticks. When the word got out that Stevenson was the man behind this beautiful gesture, offerings of fruit, candies, and a variety of Vietnamese specialty food appeared at his doorstep. Since the statue was erected, the overall crime-rate in the area had dropped by 82%. Official 2012 police statistics as reported by SFGate explain that "robbery reports went from 14 to three, aggravated assaults from five to zero, burglaries from eight to four, narcotics from three to zero, and prostitution from three to zero." The Buddha has faced quite a few hurdles of its own. There have been two attempts to remove the statue, but neither were met with success. Soon after installation, a thief tried to steal the statue but failed miserably after realizing that the statue was reinforced with iron bar and a strong epoxy. Then in 2012, the local Public Works Department tried to remove it after a resident in the neighbourhood complained. The department received a zealous backlash for trying to have the statue removed, eventually resulting in the officials' forfeiting. Since the statue was erected, the overall crime-rate in the area had dropped by 82%. As of today, the statue, now cradled amidst an elaborate and beautiful 10 foot tall shrine, sees a throng of Vietnamese immigrants flocking every day for ritualistic prayers and offerings. The shrine-which is primarily looked after by a short, middle-aged Vietnamese woman named Vina Vo-is adorned with two flags, one American and the other Buddhist, while chants are played on a tiny tape recorder. Truly remarkable is the fact that the Stevensons are not Buddhists, nor particularly strong followers of any other religion. All they wanted was to make their community better; it turns out that just one simple positive act was needed to bring forth astounding change. |
Meditation & Dharma Talk
Sun. July 5 3:00~4:30
Location: 17808 NE 18th St. Vancouver WA (Buu Hung Monastery)
All Are Welcome
Ven. Kozen Sampson (Thich Minh Tinh), is Abbot of the Mt. Adams Zen Buddhist Temple (46 Stoller Rd. Trout Lake, WA) www.mtadamszen.org leads Meditation and give Dharma talk. He is an American monk in the Vietnamese tradition. Tea gathering with teachers after meditation.
|
June One-Day Retreat
walking meditation in the labyrinth gratitude mindfulness meditation
socializing prior to starting group discussion
We had people join us for our June retreat. It was a time of exploring different forms of meditation, chanting, metta, Dharma talks, and discussion. Join us in July for our next retreat.
|
One Year Anniversary of the Labyrinth
It was a year ago this month that our Labyrinth was laid out and the first gravel and stones were laid down. Since then we have had over 1000 people come to The Abbey to walk this ancient path. People of all faiths have been walking. Our thanks again to The White Salmon Methodist Church and our neighbor Jack Fee for their efforts in laying out the circle.
|
I recently spoke to Kathleen Nolan, MD, MSL Executive Director, who is the coordinator for the sponsorship and aid programs. Per her Tibet Aid needs our donations to help run their programs as well as help needy children and clergy
Our temple has decided to sponsor a 37 year-old Tibetan monk Lobsang Nyima (HN-303), whose parents died when he was very young. He has two brothers, but he came to India on his own a few years ago, and he does not have any family with him in India. Our support will help him to pursue his studies in Tibetan Buddhism at Sera Jhe Monastery in southern India. May he remain free from oppression. We are sponsoring him by sending $30.00 US per month ($360) for 1 year
.
Please contact Tibet Aid and sponsor a child or clergy or donate directly to the organization. They need our help now.
Tibet Aid, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY 12498 Email: sponsor@tibetaid.org
Telephone & Fax: +1 845-679-6973 Toll Free 1-877-842-3824 (1-877-TIBETAID)
|
Qigong Sensory Training (Qigong massage)
Pam Tindall and her June 2015 class at the Abbey
Qigong Sensory Training is a parent-delivered massage intervention for autism based on principles of Chinese Medicine.
The treatment works on the sensory and autonomic nervous system, returning sensory hyper- and hypo-reactivity towards normal in all five senses. Sleep, digestion and mood improve, transitions become easier, meltdowns decrease, and attention improves. Parenting stress decreased an average of 44% in controlled studies.
Trained therapists partner with parents to teach them to give their child a daily 15-minute massage and provide coaching and support for five months. Therapists are trained to read and understand the child's responses to the massage, modifying the technique as the child changes and improves.
Research has demonstrated an average of 32% reduction in autism behaviors, 38% reduction in sensory problems, and 49% improvement in problems with touch in children who receive the treatment compared to children in control groups. In addition, parenting stress was reduced by 44%.
To learn about Qigong massage for young children with autism, go to http://www.qsti.org.
In the words of one parent, "QST not only handed me the key, but swung the door wide open to the little boy locked away inside, and let him out."
Pamela Tindall
POSSIBILITIES Consulting, LLC
199 Oak Ridge Road
White Salmon, WA 98672
509-493-1035
pamtindall@gmail.com
|
Sadi Minh Thien's Column
One of the things that the Buddha realized when he became enlightened is that all things are impermanent. I have recently undertaken a practice that the Buddha and my Teacher recommended -- reciting the
Five Remembrances every day.
I find that reciting these remembrances has begun to help me stay in touch with impermanence and not get so lost in thinking that there is really any security in my life. They help to ground me and my practice in truth. I have begun to separate aspects of my life into what I refer to as the big
"T's"and the small
"t's". The big
"T's" are the irrefutable things in this existence called Life.The small
"t's" seem to have some wiggle room or interpretations that make expressions like
"...that's not my truth..." have some sort of validity. The Five Remembrances definitely fall into the category of big
"T's"and they are:
I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old. I am of the nature to have ill-health. There is no way to escape having ill-health I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death. All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them. My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand. Our natural aversion to impermanence, and the suffering that this brings us is something that I believe we all struggle with as we move along the path of living in a mindful way. We know that all is impermanent and that everything wears out. Although I can buy-in to this truth intellectually, emotionally I have, as I suspect we all have, a deep-rooted aversion to it. Our human self wants permanence; we expend much energy in our careers, relationships and in collecting all sorts of material things, with the expectation of permanence. Our natural tendency is to believe that we can seek security in things and people and we believe we can find it. But through our practice and the Dharma we know that life without awakening is filled with suffering. This suffering occurs when we resist the noble and irrefutable Truth of impermanence and death. We expect and hope that what is always changing should be graspable and predictable. We are born with a craving for resolution and security that governs our thoughts, words, and actions. I like how one teacher envisioned it which is... we are like people in a boat that is falling apart, trying to hold on to the water. So by adding the Five Remembrances in our daily practice, we hopefully are reminded of the impermanence of all things and learn to have Gratitude in understanding the value of impermanence. If we are in good health and are aware of impermanence, we will take better care of ourselves. When we know that the person we love and care for is impermanent, we will cherish them all the more. Impermanence teaches us to respect and value every moment and all the precious things around us and inside of us. It deepens and adds to our practice of living in Gratitude for the Three Treasures - Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. May we and all beings be happy and free. |
|
We are a small Thien (Zen) Buddhist Temple practicing "laughing farmer zen" - living our practice, sitting zazen, being here - right now!
|
JULY
4 Independance Day
5 Buu Hung Monastery
11 Dharma Day
26 one day retreat - Ullambana
AUGUST
1-2 Precepts retreat
4 CRCC
10-12 Kozen Private Retreat
22 Ksitigarbha Day
29 Celebrating our 6th anniversary
SEPTEMBER
6 Buu Hung Monastery 29 CRCC
|
Is your group part of the Northwest Dharma Association?
if not, it is time to join! If you are a solitary practitioner or without a sanga you can still donate dana (money). The are a clearing house for Buddhist Activity in the Northwest and need our support.
read more about the NWDA at http://www.northwestdharma.org/
|
|
Eleanor Roosevelt
To my way of thinking, one of the brightest women of the 20th century was Eleanor Roosevelt. Here are some of my favorite quotes from her via http://www.brainyquote.com/
"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people".
"When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it"?
"With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts".
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' "
"In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility".
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
"You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give".
Much of what Mrs Roosevelt said is very much in accord with Buddhist Concepts. The "natural" process of awakening seems to come up again and again as we look into the lives of self-actualizing individuals. Kozen
|
The path of the Bodhisattva
Beings are numberless, I vow to save them Desires are inexhaustible, I vow to end them Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them Buddha's way is unsurpassable, I vow to become it. |
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts." Mark Twain
Episcopal Diversity
The Episcopal Church elected its first African-American presiding bishop, choosing Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina during the denomination's national assembly Saturday.
Ramadan
Good Ramadan to our Muslim brothers and sisters.
Marriage
May love within a family be a joy. Good life to our GLBT friends.
|
|
|
|
|
PO Box 487, Trout Lake WA 98650 www.MtAdamsZen.org
509.395.2030 (e-mail -put in the @ sign) kozen1 at embarqmail.com
|
|
|
|