Category: Buddhism
Right Effort – Dharma Talk November 24th
Right Effort Dharma Talk by Christopher Leibow November 24th 2o13
Our Sangha is growing!
Our Sangha is growing! and how lovely it is. We are growing and sharing more of the Dharma, more of the joy, light and compassion that is symbolized by Amida Buddha. It is amazing to see the fellowship deepen with each passing week as we share our practice and start to truley wake up the the Oneness of Life and Compassion that calls out us each day.
Over the past few weeks we have been learning about the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, and this coming week we will be going over the Five Precepts. The Discussions have been open, free and full of caring and insight as we learn the practice together. I am astonished at how each member of our fellowship is willing to be open, and share fully and willing to invest in our gathering. Here is a great quote about the Pure Land and the Sangha by Rev Rijin Yasuda
“People say various things about birth in the Pure Land. But could there be any greater ‘birth in the Pure Land’ than the fact that we are now sitting and learning sitting and learning the Dharma together? This place where we are listening to the Dharma together is the Pure Land. Our being allowed to be part of this place, of this Sangha, is ‘birth in the Pure Land.’
Together we are working to make the Pure Land here and now. We look forward to see you at any one of our Sunday Gatherings.
Related articles
- The Pure Land a Place or a Symbol or Both? (saltlakecitybuddhistfellowship.wordpress.com)
- ‘Going for Refuge’ as Idiom and Metaphor (dhivanthomasjones.wordpress.com)
- The Color Gold (saltlakecitybuddhistfellowship.wordpress.com)
- How to recite the Buddha’s name – An Introduction to Pure Land Buddhism (essenceofbuddhism.wordpress.com)
The sea is just full of water: Asahara Saichi Poem
The sea is just full of water;
there is the seabed that sustains it.
Saiich is just full of evil karma;
there is Amida that sustains it.
How happy I am!
Namu-amida-butsu, Namu-amida-butsu.
(Myokonin Saichi no Uta Vol.1, p.188)
Dharma Talk 10.13.13 Right Intention.
Dharma Talk October 6th 2013
Transformation
This transformation expresses the boundless compassion, nonjudgmental and all-inclusive, that is the moving force in the Buddhist tradition. It is not, however, a simple, naive optimism, for the starting point of Buddhism is a recognition of the universal fact of human suffering, born of both personal and collective karma. In fact, it is a realistic appraisal of life as it is, not merely on the surface of things but at its most profound depth. In this depth, abundant with the accumulated pain and sorrow of humanity, is also found the capacity of the human spirit to achieve its fullest potential, no matter the obstacles, through awakening to the working of boundless compassion deep within our life.
From
Shin Buddhism
From “Shin Buddhism: Bits of Rubble Turn into Gold” by Taitetsu Unno
The Metta Karuna Prayer
Oneness of Life and Light, Entrusting in your Great Compassion,
May you shed the foolishness in myself, Transforming me into a conduit of Love.
May I be a medicine for the sick and weary, Nursing their afflictions until they are cured;
May I become food and drink,During time of famine,
May I protect the helpless and the poor,
May I be a lamp,For those who need your Light,
May I be a bed for those who need rest, and guide all seekers to the Other Shore.
May all find happiness through my actions, and let no one suffer because of me. Whether they love or hate me, Whether they hurt or wrong me,
May they all realize true entrusting, Through Other Power, and realize Supreme Nirvana.
Namo Amida Buddha
Grasping
Grasping is the source of all our problems. Since impermanence to us spells anguish, we grasp onto things desperately, even though all things change. We are terrified of letting go, terrified, in fact, of living at all, since learning to live is learning to let go. And this is the tragedy and the irony of our struggle to hold on: Not only is it impossible, but it brings us the very pain we are seeking to avoid. The intention behind grasping may not in itself be bad; there’s nothing wrong with the desire to be happy, but what we try to grasp onto is by nature ungraspable.
Sogyal Rinpoche.
You are….
You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.
.
Alan Watts