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Every Wednesday

Weekly Meditation Services (WMS) are on Wednesday evenings. They begin at 6 PM with a discussion or talk (see below for this month's discussion topics). At about 7 PM there is a meditation service followed at 8 PM by a potluck dinner. All of Wednesday evening's events are open to the public. There is no fee and reservations are not required.

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July Events

July Wednesday Meditations and Discussions

7th     The Buddhist Path and the Natural World. The Buddhist perspective is that between sentient beings, of which humans are one type, and the environments we occupy.  How does this play out in our post-modern approach to how we treat people, animals and organizational entities?

14th     Sacred Places. Virtually all universal religions identify specific places as sacred. This is true in Buddhism as well. What are sacred places? Where are they found? Should they be treated differently from more mundane locations? Bring an example of a sacred place you recognize. Join a wide ranging discussion.

21st     Chapter  7 "The Buddhist Path: The Way of Calm and Insight." This Chapter provides a good introduction to the reason for and the basic methods used in meditation. From Foundations of Buddhism  by  Rupert Gethin (1998 - Oxford University Press).Please read this chapter for discussion on Wednesday. This is an ongoing series of monthly classes on essential Buddhism.

28th     Give and You Shall Receive by Reginald A. Ray "This same logic of giving is found at the heart of later Buddhism. In both the Mahayana and the Vajrayana, the major themes of the earlier tradition are taken as a foundation and the practice of giving is developed in some interesting directions." A discussion of this article in the Spring 2005 of Issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioners Quarterly. The article can be found online.

Other Events

3rd     Morning Service and Sutra Class, 8:30 - 10:30 AM - We continue investigating the Sutra of Brahma's Net. This work has had a profound influence on East Asian Buddhist thought and practice. The ramifications of that effect influence the ways we look at and practice Buddhism in the west. This week we will examine the first volume of the translation, pages 40-84 of The Very Mahayana Buddhist Ethics: Introduction and Translation of the Fan-wang-ching by Shigeru Osuka. We will make these books available to those attending the class for a small donation.

Note - Great thanks to the sangha for all your support and assistance during the recent gyo (training period) for Doshu and Soryo.  Thank you for joining us in the mornings from 7 - 8 AM for meditation, the fresh vegetables, flowers, and treats you provided, and especially, for your support on an ongoing basis.  Both the Jiunzan Tendai-ji sangha and the participants from North America and Europe benefitted from the period of intense practices, teachings and study. Sangha is extremely important to Buddhist endeavors. The next stage in the development at Tendai Buddhist Institute is a lay leadership series and more one day advanced retreats. The Doshu/Soryo program provides insight into the best way to proceed with these programs. 

   
Dana (Generosity ) - Please commit to on-going support for our Dharma Center.  Many people support the Center in different ways, but we are always in need of your financial support for our on-going programs and the maintenance of our buildings and grounds.  We do not take a collection during the service, but there is a box for giving in the entryway of the hondo (temple). Giving what you can--every week or every month--helps our sangha remain a vital part of many lives.  --Gassho . . . Shoshin

Jushokus Thoughts

When a Buddhist [1] refers to the 'sacred' what is being described? 
The term 'sacred' is oft used in religion and spiritual contexts. The meaning varies from numinous  (the specific presence or power of the divine, often associated with God or deity) to the idea that all is sacred, undifferentiated and without bounds.


In this sense I am not speaking for all Buddhist this writing is a reflection of Tendai Buddhism and my views.The commonality that exists between these ends of the spectrum is a sense of something that defies a precise explanation.  Virtually every society holds something as sacred, which suggests that there is something in human experience that evokes feelings of reverence, awe, and ultimate respect, often that which is beyond known physical existence.

Vernacular definitions of 'sacred' include, but are not restricted to that which is:  1) set apart, consecrated to or dedicated to a deity, 2a) worthy of religious veneration; holy, 2b) entitled to reverence and respect, 3) of or relating to religion; not secular or profane. Certain Buddhists would eschew the first meaning while embracing the latter two. Other Buddhist would accept all three.  

In a Buddhist sense the sacred is both transcendent (lying beyond the limits of ordinary experience) and immanent (a force that pervades and influences all that exists). The sacred can be a place or object, such as the Bodhi tree, Bodh Gaya, India; pilgrimage sites; temples and shrines. The writings are also considered sacred. Buddhist sacred texts are thought of as guides on the path to truth, not truth itself. Nonetheless, the inspiration and wisdom found within the canonical works are sacred.  Specific ceremonies may be sacred, such as tokudo (ordination) and the goma (fire) ceremony. 

What is important in all this is that we recognize that the limits to the human experience and means of knowing are not the limits of the cosmos. The sacred, as veneration and respect, and perhaps as consecration, acknowledges the boundary of our Skandha or Five Aggregates[2]  We should seek to know both the physical world around and within us, as well as the absolute or sacred, around and within us.




[1] In this sense I am not speaking for all Buddhists. This writing is a reflection of Tendai Buddhism and my views.

[2] 1.  Form - external and internal matter, 2. Sensation  or feeling,  3. Perception conception, cognition, 4. Mental formations, impulses, volition,  5. Consciousness  or  discernment.





Gassho . . .  Monshin




Photo credit Onyou Susan Bues