GLOBAL SANGHA NEWSLETTER 110 6th April 2022
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"There is no good or bad in life, except what is good according to its own season [then] life can be lived like a poem." - Lin Yutang ============================================================ THIS WEEKENDTHIS WEEKEND
Saturday 14:00 Refuge Group: Meeting for people who have taken refuge. Codes circulated separately. Enquiries: Jisshas <[email protected]>Saturday 17:00 Dharma Ocean Seminar: "The Great Chinese Pureland Masters"https://bit.ly/3r54IQtMeeting ID: 874 1226 4048 -:- Passcode: 652668 Sunday 10:30 Interest GroupAn informal meeting for all. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88974912642?pwd=N2VyQnc0MUM4WUU0YTFTdCt0QWVmQT09Meeting ID: 889 7491 2642 -:- Passcode: 537296 Sunday 12:30 Golden Chain Meeting: A gathering to review the life of Global Sangha Codes circulated separately. Enquiries: Jisshas < [email protected]> Sunday 20:00, GS Friendship GroupAn informal meeting for all https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87394084532?pwd=eEY3eUhHcjN0b0xLanZXcTNqVmVzdz09Meeting ID: 873 9408 4532 -:- Passcode: 519784 NEXT WEEKENDSATURDAY 16th APRIL 14:30 Upavastha Full Moon Celebration of Faith & Practice. Meetings with Sharing, Guided Meditation, Readings and Chanting until evening. https://bit.ly/38lgJKYMeeting ID: 841 3055 4018 -:- Passcode: 122936 ALSO IN APRILFri, Apr 22, 2022, 6:30 PM – Sun, Apr 24, 2022, 3:30 PM CEST EUROPEAN BUDDHIST UNION CONFERENCE The EBU Team: Dear friends, we are delighted that in April our annual conference will again take place! This time the topic will be Unity and Diversity in European Buddhism. The conference will provide insights and practices so we may create a peaceful society - today this seems to be more relevant than ever. Host will be the Center for Spiritual Friendship Buddhism, Reiyukai in Nantes. You can attend either in person or remote via video conferencing! (all sessions accept the workshops will be recorded and provided afterwards as video files). Make sure to get your ticket and all details about the event here. Also please forward this mail to everyone who might be interested to attend! Thank you very much for your support! Information: [email protected]============================================================ |
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Tara on the Front Path amidst Daisies and Cherry Blossom -:- Photo by Ruby Lee
============================================================ A disciple asked his old master,
“Master, how did you obtain such faith?”
After a little while of silence, the master replied.
“At first I was suspicious while chanting Nembutsu. ‘Are these teachings the truth?’”
“A decade later, I felt that the road to the Pure Land became visible while chanting Nembutsu.”
“Still another decade later, I felt that Amida Buddha and Honen Shonin were near me while chanting Nembutsu.”
“Another decade later, I felt that Amida Buddha and Honen Shonin were working through myself.”
The disciple said,
“That is very, very wonderful! Can I be like you?”
The master said,
“Well, I’m not sure…but you can forget all I said, because even a complete beginner can be born in the Pure Land insofar as he/she chants Nembutsu.”
Namu Amida Butsu.
============================================================ ELEUSIS NEWS After the balmy spring weather of the previous week, suddenly, on Thursday and on into the weekend, we had biting winds, heavy cloud and flurries of snow. The tiny snow flakes looked just like the cherry blossom, except that they melted in one's hand.
Thursday morning I went into town for a medical check-up, which was all positive. The doctor asked if I got exercise and I said "Gardening," "When did you last have a tetanus vaccine?" I got jabbed an hour later. In France, you take a prescription to the chemist to buy the vaccine and then take it to the nurse station and the nurse puts it into your arm.
Since then, the weather has continued cold, although there has been a bit more sunshine. We are waiting for the arrival of warmer weather. Nonetheless, the tulips bloom and the hedges are full of white blossom, also rather matching that of the cherry trees.
Ruby Lee, an artist from California is visiting. SUMMER SCHOOL IN FRANCE 8-12th August 2022 POETIC WEEK At Eleusis, Central France - In person only As last summer, a time for relaxed living in good company, sharing poems and other writings over brunch, going for walks, good conversation, community, communing with nature in the adjoining 35 acres of meadow and woodland. Full board: 30€ per day 13-14th August 2022 OBON: CELEBRATION OF FAMILY & ANCESTORS At Eleusis, Central France - In person & Online This year Global Sangha will celebrate Obon on the second weekend of August, which is also full moon, so this will incorporate the August Upavastha. Some of the event will be online. A more full and comprehensive event will take place at Eleusis, including a visit to the nearby community at Oasis. Nambutsu; chanting; readings; meditation; offerings to the ancestors and spirits; odori dancing and other celebratory activities. In person participants may stay longer if they wish to have some time for relaxation and to enjoy the area. Full board: 30€ per day Online: 25€ for the event 15-20th August 2022 BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY SUMMER SCHOOL At Eleusis, Central France - In person only
Of particular interest to those already on or hoping in the future to join the Buddhist Psychology Diploma Programme, but open to all who are interested, the Summer School will include seminars, workshops, experiential groups, demonstrations and discussions. There is no better way to deepen one's understanding and learn and refine skills. The event will be at David Brazier's house in France. Accommodation is limited so this will be a first come, first served, booking. Full board: 30€ per day Book now: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/globalsangha/677962/Info: Jisshas < [email protected]> Please note that Eleusis France has limited accommodation space: Eight people maximum including host. There is plenty of outdoor space if you prefer to camp. Life here is simple and rustic. Informal visits may also be possible at some other times than for the scheduled programmes. |
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Spring in North Chicago -:- Artwork by Robert Althouse SPRING LANDSCAPES ART SERIES Robert Althouse: I have worked on paintings in this series for four or five years. They reflect my love of Australian aboriginal art and many of the values I share with indigenous cultural traditions. I believe dreamtime was originally used to reference the religion of Australian aboriginal culture. I do not use it in this way, because I have no direct experience of that religion. For me the term simply implies a liminal experience that is not fully conscious nor unconscious. It something in the middle. I experience this as a place of active imagination and many possibilities not necessarily accessible to me through conventional reality. Continue Reading >>Thanks for reading! =========================================================== OUR WORLD The world's worst humanitarian disaster continues to slide into ever greater misery. Destruction of schools, hospitals, and civilian dwellings intensifies the catastrophe. The invading forces, belonging to one of the most autocratic countries in the world, seem intent on pursuing war to the bitter end. More than four million prople have been driven from their homes. Approaching 400,000 have been killed by military action, disease and starvation, a large proportion of them children. However, in this case - we are here talking about the war in Yemen - there is no mention of sanctions and very little press coverage presumably because the West who control the media is the supplier of virtually all of the arms to the invading forces. In fact, Saudi Arabia is the best customer for the arms industries in both UK and USA. The countries that are most vociferous in their condemnation of one war are simultaneously profiting mightily from the massacre of children in another one which must not, of course, be mentioned.
It is increasingly difficult to get clear perspective from 'news' reports these days. They seem more and more to be stories telling one what one should think rather than reports of data that leave one to make up one's own mind. Instead of news, we have 'information warfare' - what our side says is to be believed and what the other side says is propaganda, whether 'our side' is the West or China or wherever. This is a sad state of affairs. We are at a juncture in human history when, in the face of an unprecedented risk of ecological collapse, we urgently need international cooperation on a global scale. Instead, what seems to be happening is a fall back into Cold War stances and attitudes as the US-NATO Alliance struggles to retain its hegemony against the rise of China, the resistance of Russia and the efforts of neutral countries (the 'BRICS' & others) to extricate themselves from the dollar based international financial system which has led to so much so-called 'sanctioning' - the use of financial control as a weapon. We cannot afford a new Cold War at a time like this when the biosphere upon which our species depends is in peril. Nor can we afford an international financial system that permits a country like Sri Lanka to go bankrupt, as happened this week, again with hardly any press coverage. There is only one story in town and the plight of people in poorer countries is no longer of interest.
The collapse of Sri Lanka's economy is very largely attributable to the effects of the pandemic which killed the tourist trade which was one of the country's most important sources of income. Yet while India is trying to assist, the USA is assessing whether to put sanctions on India for not voting with the USA at the UN on the Ukraine issue and China has refused to renew loans as it is struggling with its own COVID related problems. The pandemic is not a local South Asian problem, it is an international challenge. In the face of threats to the whole human race, nationalism and competing hegemonies are hopelessly outdated and inefficient principles. We need cooperation, not power struggles.
The world seriously needs a new settlement. The arrangements that were made at the end of WWII and are substantially still in place were not designed to help us combat pandemics, extinctions, rising sea levels and increasing numbers of climate related disasters. Something new is needed, but we are unlikely to arrive at it while we continue to have our attention fixed on east-west rivalries. Like the children in the Lotus Sutra, we fight each other while our house is burning down.
THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING Many of us are currently engaged in the online Buddhist Psychology Diploma Programme. Buddhist Psychology is a wonderful vahicle through which to develop the bodhisattva spirit in a practical way that can actually be applied to helping people to deepen their lives. Students on the programme learn the principles of Buddhist Psychology as set out in the earliest texts and as developed in subsequent commentarial literature which is not limited to one school of Buddhism. This is a treasure house of spiritual and psychological insight.
Learning the theory is useful. It is important to have skilful ways of thinking and understanding. However, it is also vital to put such knowledge into practice and this means learning how to discern the processes of the psyche in depth, not merely apply judgements or rationality, but understand and intuitively sense the flows and dynamics of deeper human process and passion. This means learning to truly listen: to listen without one's own ego getting in the way.
Every client, every seeker, every person travelling along the spiritual path of life, encounters obstacles. This is the first truth - there is the travail of birth, growth, aging, disease, and death; there are losses, failures, responsibilities, conflicts and unanticipated changes of circumstance. This is life. Thus, there is a need to deeply understand and accept the human condition in all its seasons and circumstances and to acquire the skill to appreciate the individual case in all its uniqueness. Each life is a koan: an instance of the human condition playing out in a unique manner.
So we learn to listen. We listen as to something never heard before, yet we do so with a faith and confidence born of experience. We flow with the other in the depths of his or her soul while simultaneously having a grounding in a sense of the greater life that encompasses us all. We discern the rising and falling according to one's deeds and we resonate with the universal plight and glory of what it is to be a person. True listening is a precious art. Talk on Psychotherapy Audio https://bit.ly/3JhWhYa |
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End of the Day, Eleusis, France -:- Photo by Ruby Lee |
DHARMA OCEAN COURSE A small group are studying the history of the tradition. Last autumn we studied the transmission in India in the early centuries following the life of the Buddha. In the semester that is just starting there are study units covering the transmission of the teaching in China from the beginning of the common era up to the medieval period (13th century). This is a good course for gaining a deeper understanding of the way that the Dharma has spread and adapted to changing historical and social conditions. You can This Saturday we shall have a seminar about the great Pureland Masters Tan Luan, Tao Cho and Shan Tao. Open to all. Do join. This Saturday 17:00 Dharma Ocean Seminar: "The Great Chinese Pureland Masters"https://bit.ly/3r54IQtMeeting ID: 874 1226 4048 -:- Passcode: 652668 ========================================================== |
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Daffodils at the Well
Photo by Ruby Lee
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DIARY All times are Rome time zone Tuesday 17:00-18:00, 19th April & every two weeks Italian Class - Angela Romani https://bit.ly/3yxLd3Z -:- Meeting ID: 889 9850 0278 -:- Passcode: 515887 Tuesday 18:00-19:00, 12th April & every two weeks Italian Meeting - Incontro Italiano- Angela Romani Incontro di pratica e condivisione Dettagli da Jisshas < [email protected]> Wednesday 21:00, 20th April & every two weeks Dharma Bud: Peer learning and Dharma discussion - Geeta Chari https://bit.ly/3i5PhTS -:- Meeting ID: 858 9773 3604 -:- Passcode: 108108 Thursdays 16:30, Readings from the Commentary on the Summary of Faith & Practice- Dharmavidya & Priti Vaishnav https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86563620686?pwd=OUh4L25zbHl6SEpFWW9LT3o5YnVVZz09Meeting ID: 865 6362 0686 -:- Passcode: 274590 Thursday 14:30, 7th April & every two weeks IBAP Group / BP Diploma Tutors MeetingCodes separately notified Thursday 19:00-20:30, 14th April & every two weeks ITZI Supervision Group- Iris Dotan KatzFor presentation, review and discussion of counselling/psychotherapy casework from a Buddhist psychology perspective. Jisshas < [email protected]> Fridays 19:30 Amitabha Service For the West - Vajrapala & Angela Romani https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89480699209?pwd=enBHS3RYWVZxN1FyUGthZ1o0cVdFZz09Meeting ID: 894 8069 9209 -:- Passcode: 137836 Saturday 10:00 & 20:00, 23rd April Buddhist Psychology SeminarsFor students on BP course: codes separately notified Saturday 14:00, 9th April Refuge GroupA group for those who have taken refuge. To join, please enquire via jisshas. Codes separately notified. Sabado 16:30
Encuentro de la Sangha en español y servicio. Guiado por Ganendra. Por zoom. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81138990223?pwd=dmNZU3VmRTRhUjBobVdnMjhuV3NYUT09Para asistir, escribir por whatsapp a +34 620265962. Saturday 16th April Uposattha Sangha DayIncluding 12:00 Dharma Ocean Seminar. 14:30-20:00 Upavastha: readings, sharing, puja, meditation & chanting. Review of the month past and renewal of practice resolution for the month ahead. Tickets < https://www.tickettailor.com/events/globalsangha> Free to students on BP & DO courses. Sundays 10:30, Global Sangha Interest Group- Liz Allmark An informal meeting for all. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88974912642?pwd=N2VyQnc0MUM4WUU0YTFTdCt0QWVmQT09Meeting ID: 889 7491 2642 -:- Passcode: 537296 Sundays 20:00 GS Friendship GroupAn informal meeting for all https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87394084532?pwd=eEY3eUhHcjN0b0xLanZXcTNqVmVzdz09Meeting ID: 873 9408 4532 -:- Passcode: 519784 23 y 24 de abril de 2022 Retiro urbano presencial en Bilbao (Bizkaia) Sesiones de mañana, de 9,30 a 14h. Existe la posibilidad de asistir parcialmente al retiro, uno de los dos días. Info: https://bit.ly/347EtAv=========================================================== |
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