…and I will admit, I enjoyed it. Then I went to Twitter and Facebook; it’s as if no one actually listens to what is trying to be said. So, rather than sitting here making partisan comments, I offer something said by a great man;
To develop oneself,
One must endure any challenge.
To resolve conflict,
One must bear any responsibility.
- Venerable Master Hsing Yun
I’ll leave you to reflect on that as you see fit.
…joining palms
Visited Hsi Lai on Sunday and they were putting at the lanterns in preparations for Chinese New Year. Looking forward to attending this years celebrations.
Tonight as I was making dinner with my son we were listening to streaming radio over the iPhone. He looks at it and says:
son: (reading the screen) “mindonly’s streaming radio. Daddy, what does mindonly mean?” me: “Well, I essentially got it from a Ch’an story. You see there were these two young monks…….” son: <interrupting me> “Daddy, can I have milk?” me: “don’t you want to hear the story?” (kind of hoping he would say yes) son: “No, can I have milk?” me: “sure” Guess it was my mind that was still moving; he just wanted some milk. I smile at how I am consistently taught by him.Thankful for those around us, and the experiences we have. Thankful.
And I think of these words from Master Dogen;
There is a simple way
To become a buddha:
When you refrain
From unwholesome actions,
… Are not attached
To birth or death,
And are compassionate
Toward all sentient beings;
Respectful to seniors
And kind to juniors;
Not excluding or
Desiring anything,
With no designing
Thoughts or worries,
You will be called a buddha.
Do not seek anything else.– Dogen (1200 –1253)
The journal is directly linked to the annual Conference on Humanistic Buddhism which is conducted in January. Keynote addresses of plenary sessions will be available to participants in the journal. Proceedings of the previous conference along with selected papers presented to panels will also be published.
Great collection of articles (PDF) from 2007
Having a great time!
On Wednesday, I went to the gym in the morning, only to find out they weren’t going to open until a couple hours later. Not exactly excited about this, I drove home. When I got home, the little man was already awake so I thought we’d start the day with an adventure.
Here he is, acting like Godzilla destroying a mud town. We made an animated version of this as well, you can see it over on his website.
He thought this was funny, X marks the Ian.
then we were able to spot a giant spider hanging out on the bridge. We knew Momma wasn’t going to like it, but had to get a good picture to show her. 
Next, we headed on over to the little lake and he made friends with the geese and duck. He would make their sound and then get very excited when they answered back. A large group of them even swam over to the side of the lake we were on.
on the way back, he drew me a bunch of great Super Mario characters in the mud, then we threw his drawing stick into the little river; he’ll pick a new one next time
then we just had a great time walking back.
it was a good way to start the morning.
(I wrote this as an article for the upcoming issue of Buddha’s Light Magazine (available at Hsi Lai temple), but since we’re still working on that website, I thought I would post it here for anyone interested in reading.)
Historically, the term Sangha was once reserved for only referring to the monastic community. Over time it has gone on to be expanded into also including a group of Buddhist practitioners.
As Buddhists, we are each responsible for our own practice. No one can practice for us and we must make worthwhile decisions allowing us to practice. From a lay practitioner point of view this means different things for each of us, depending on our situation in life. For some, it means attending services at temple, meditation retreats, group study, and many other things. All are great ways to practice together and offer the practitioner time to work through their practice with others. In an increasingly busy world, time with your Sangha can be difficult to come by. Our family, jobs, and multiple responsibilities in life always take our attention, and for most of us, become our practice. This is where the connected world can help. We now have tools to keep us within a Sangha of some sorts with the use of email, blogs, and even social networks. My own sitting practice had been lacking for some time. I would always feel too busy, or have some other reason not to sit. In retrospect, these were all just excuses, and a great group of people on Twitter (a popular ‘social network’ site) has helped one another to sit more often. We call the group the ‘Online Meditation Crew’ and speak to one another throughout the day. People will ‘check in’ when they are about to sit, inviting others to sit with them. This is exactly what I needed. I don’t need to be a specific place when I sit, just find a somewhat quiet place and get to work. The sits are usually about 15 minutes, but really, the point is to develop consistency. Most of the time I find a quiet conference room at work and sit. Many different Buddhist traditions are represented, and there are people all over the world participating. Fo Guang Shan – Hsi Lai will always be my Dharma home, and I recommend everyone who is able to meet with their Sangha in person as much as they can. But, in my busy world I feel very fortunate to be able to sit with my friends in this global Sangha we are all a part of. …joining palms
Since 1997, the Buddhism in Every Step series of booklets has sought to teach the Dharma of Humanistic Buddhism: not only by explaining the Buddhist teachings in clear, accessible language, but by showing how Buddhism can be applied to all aspects of life. Supported through the generous donations of readers, Buddhism in Every Step booklets are available at Buddhist temples and meditation centers around the world.
