|
HEALING THE HEART
Newsletter Editor - David Brazier
number 178 - 29th November 2023
|
All times in this Newsletter are Rome time zone
|
|
Photo by Richard
3rd December 13:00 NAIKAN WITH KIMIKO
The next one hour Naikan Session. Naikan, literally "inward reflection" is a Japanese approach to life review and Dharma practice. It leads to a sense of gratitude and a healing and enhancing of relationships. Naikan is both a spiritual practice and a personal therapy. Join zoom meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88992070497?pwd=M3pDRG9LT3BpMnFwR1BSY0I3Vi9QUT09ID: 889 9207 0497 -:- passcode: 999175
5th December 19:30 TREE OF LIFE SANGHA WITH SUJATIN
The next open meeting of the ToL sangha, guided by Sujatin, will be on Tuesday 5th December at 19:30. Meeting ID: 447 192 6002 -:- Passcode: 153670 Friday 8th December 10:30 GLOBAL SANGHA BODHI DAY Angela, Liz and Sujatin invite you to a puja to celebrate the anniversary of the enlightenment of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Meeting ID: 447 192 6002 -:- Passcode: 153670 Saturday 9th December 10:00 & 18:00 BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY SEMINARS For current and intending students of Buddhist Psychology. Topic to be announced. Codes separately circulated. Enquiries via Jisshas < jisshas@googlegroups.com> Sunday 3rd & weekly 10:00 SUNDAY SERVICE
Dharmavidya, Liz & Sujatin are now holding a short service on Sunday mornings at 10:00. If you would like to join this group, please come along to a meeting. This is a good way to practise together. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84734198325?pwd=eDU5Z0dBUmVuVmFyZktab3dIeHNmQT09Meeting ID: 847 3419 8325 -:- Passcode: 536609 Monday 4th & weekly 09:15
QI GONG WITH ANGELA
Angela is offering Qi Gong on Mondays at 9.15 am Rome time.. If you are interested, please contact her via Jisshas < jisshas@googlegroups.com>
Comment by an attender: "I just want to say thank you for the lovely and warm welcoming to your morning Qi Gong experience. I feel very grateful for it. A new way to start the week."
|
|
23rd-27th October 2024 I'VE BOUGHT MY TICKET ITZI CONFERENCE "COLLOQUIUM ON BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY" Ten presenters already lined up - how about you? We are aiming to bring together fifty people with an interest in Buddhist psychology, its nature, development & application. I' bought one of the first tickets. Come and join me, attend, participate & present your work & ideas. We would like to hear from you now as this will assist us in planning the event. It will be a residential colloquium held in northern Spain in an excellent venue, secluded in the mountains, that we have used before and know well. This is a good place for a colloquium. Previous conferences in this series have been very enjoyable gatherings and have included a wide variety of presentations on aspects of Buddhist psychology and its applications in various forms of therapy, personal development, spiritual practice and social life & organisation. The event will be limited to fifty places, so early booking is advisable. The cost for early booking is 320€ fully residential. Information: Sonia via 2024itzi@googlegroups.com, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ITZIconference/Booking: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/globalsangha/1067240#Monday to Friday 06:30 DAILY NEMBUTSU Geeta Chari: Let’s do some Nembutsu every weekday morning at 6:30 am Rome time. We begin to chant straightaway, without social talk, for 20 minutes, in chain-style. There is a bell rung at the end. People who wish to stay and talk afterwards are welcome to do so. Saturdays and Sundays are rest days. Namo Amida Bu Every Thursday there is a half-hour reading and discussion of the Summary of Faith and Practice from 06:00 to 06:30, followed by Nembutsu as usual. ESPAÑOL Practicamos Nembutsu todas las mañanas (excepto fines de semana) a las 6:30 hora de Roma. La práctica consiste en recitar el nembutsu en cadena durante veinte minutos. Al finalizar se escuchará el sonido de la campana, y posteriormente, los que lo deseen podrán conversar. Namo Amida Bu Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/84997972011?pwd=NFVGZDhBTy95NTJlalJYWHZaYVJtUT09WhatsAppThere is now a WhatsApp group for those who would like to attend Daily Nembutsu. Please contact jisshas@googlegroups.com to be added.
A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HONEN & SHINRAN Honen was the founder of the Jodo School in Japan. His successor was Bencho. Later, there emerged the Jodoshin School, often called Shin Buddhism, which claimed Shinran as its founder. Jodo and Jodoshin are two of the three most popular forms of Buddhism in Japan, the third being Nichiran. Shinran was, in fact, a disciple of Honen, but in some ways his teaching differs a little from that of his master. For instance, Shinran taught that the Pure Land of Amitabha is identical to nirvana, whereas Honen followed the great Chinese teacher Shan Tao who said that “Reaching there (the Pure Land), our lotus flower will open and we can listen to the 妙 (graceful, marvelous, wondrous) dharma (that Amida preaches). Then the ten (bodhisattva) stages of vows and practices will naturally reveal themselves clearly.” Shan Tao saw the Pure Land as a place where one hears the Dharma more clearly and can practise it more easily and so be assured of not falling back, but not as the same as the ultimate goal of nirvana. A Buddhist prays for rebirth in a life in the presence of a Buddha - in Pureland, the Buddha Amitabha - where the conditions for practice will be optimum. Karma is inexorable, so cannot be wiped out in a magical way, but conditions can make a big difference. Even within this life, we pray to be in conditions where there is support for faith & practice, which is why we take refuge in a teacher, a sangha and the great love that has been transmitted from the time of Shakyamuni. Many Japanese do believe that in the next life everybody automatically becomes a Buddha, but this is somewhat at variance with traditional Buddhist teaching. I do not want to become embroiled in a debate between these two great teachers, but reflecting upon their different views can help us to clarify our sense of the Dharma. As a Pureland practitioner, I hope to enter Sukhavati, but I also have a deep sense that it is important to be willing to go wherever and to receive and accept whatever comes. It is all Namo Amida Bu in the end.
|
|
GLOBAL SANGHA
DB: Global Sangha consists of both committed practitioners (shravakas) and attenders who all meet together without distinctions of rank in a variety of over-lapping groups formed around different studies (Buddhist Psychology, Faith & Practice, etc.), practices (Naikan, Qi-Gong, morning Nembutsu, etc), interests (Dante, Italian language, etc) or functions (the Golden Chain, planning the Conference & other activities, etc), All this diverse activity orbits around a core of Dharma faith & practice. We meet, we say nembutsu, and we share both testimony and personal news. In this, we follow in the tradition of Shan Tao & Honen, but we are also open to the whole range of Dharma teaching and texts and I am currently issuing podcasts on the Pali suttas in the Majjhima Nikaya. The important thing is refuge. Buddhism is the religion of refuge. The aim is to help one another along the path and practise "harmony in the community" in the midst of a world that seems to be increasingly lost in conflict and difficulty. Each sangha group seeks to transmit the "great peace" not only to its members, but to the world at large and each practitioner seeks to actualise this in her or his own life, drawing upon the grace of the buddhas & ancestors.
OBITUARY: DAISAKU IKEDA Daisaku Ikeda, Honorary President of the Soka Gakkai and President of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), passed away from natural causes at his residence in Shinjuku, Tokyo, on the evening of November 15. He was ninety-five. A funeral has been held with members of his immediate family; the time and date of commemorative services will be announced shortly. (Soka Gakkai) Born in Tokyo in 1928, Ikeda was the fifth of eight children. His experiences in Japan during World War Two would play a pivotal role in Ikeda’s view of violence and conflict and his lifelong commitment to peace. In 1947, aged 19, Ikeda met Josei Toda (1900–58), educator and leader of the Soka Gakkai. He was inspired by Toda’s conviction and gift for explaining profound Buddhist concepts to embrace Nichiren Buddhism, taking Toda as his mentor. At the age of 32, Ikeda succeeded Toda as the third president of the Soka Gakkai in 1960, heralding a period of innovation and dynamic growth, including overseas expansion. Ikeda dedicated himself to developing initiatives in the areas of peace, culture, and education based on Buddhist ideals. The Soka Gakkai International (SGI) was founded in 1975 as an umbrella organization for the growing network of Soka Gakkai member organizations around the world, and Ikeda became its president. In the subsequent years, Ikeda traveled widely, visiting more than 50 countries and meeting world leaders such as China’s former premier Zhou Enlai and former president of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev. “The central tenet of Ikeda’s thought, and of Buddhism, is the fundamental dignity of life, a value which he sees as the key to lasting peace and human happiness,” the Soka Gakkai noted on their website. “In his view, global peace relies ultimately on a self-directed transformation within the life of the individual, rather than on societal or structural reforms alone. This idea is expressed most succinctly in a passage in his work The Human Revolution, Ikeda’s novelized account of the Soka Gakkai’s history and ideals: ‘A great human revolution in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and, further, will enable a change in the destiny of all humankind.’” (Soka Gakkai)
Read the whole article on Buddhist Door at https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/socially-engaged-buddhist-and-soka-gakkai-leader-daisaku-ikeda-dies-aged-95/
|
|
NEWS FROM ELEUSIS
We have entered the time of frost here in central France. Outdoor work has more or less stopped, apart from gathering and cutting wood for the fires. This means that there is a bit more time for writing and I shall gradually retreat more into this activity over the coming month as I have several projects on the go that need attention so don't be too surprised if the Newsletter becomes a little less frequent as Christmas approaches. Namo Amida Bu ==========================================================
|
DIARY All times are Rome time zone Every weekday (Monday-Friday) 06:30-06:50 Nembutsu Chanting - Geeta Chari https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84997972011?pwd=NFVGZDhBTy95NTJlalJYWHZaYVJtUT09Mondays 09:15-10:00. Qi Gong Information: Angela via Jisshas Lunedì 4 dicembre dalle 19.00 alle 19:45 - ogni due settimane Gruppo ItalianoInformation: Angela via Jisshas Tuesday 5th December and every first Tuesday of the month Tree of Life SanghaLed by Sujatin, based in Perth, Scotland Thursday 14:30, 30th November & every two weeks BP Diploma Tutors Meeting Thursday 19:00-20:30, 30th November & every two weeks Supervision Group - Iris Dotan KatzFor presentation, review and discussion of counselling/psychotherapy casework from a Buddhist psychology perspective. Information: Iris via Jisshas Los jueves, del 16 de noviembre al 21 de diciembre de 2023, de 17, 30 a 19h Curso Breve de Mindfulness y Auto-CompassionInfo: Oscar via Jisshas < jisshas@googlegroups.com>
Fridays 19:30-20:10 Amitabha Service Angela & friends https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89480699209?pwd=enBHS3RYWVZxN1FyUGthZ1o0cVdFZz09Meeting ID: 894 8069 9209 -:- Passcode: 137836 Viernes 18:00 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 9th December 10:00 & 18:00 Buddhist Psychology SeminarsContact jisshas for information Saturday 20th January 14:00 Golden Chain MeetingSunday 13:00 3rd December and every 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month Naikan - Kimiko Nita ID: 889 9207 0497 -:- passcode: 999175 Sundays 10:00 Puja: Sunday service with chanting, readings, & sharing - coordinator Liz Almark https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84734198325?pwd=eDU5Z0dBUmVuVmFyZktab3dIeHNmQT09Meeting ID: 847 3419 8325 -:- Passcode: 536609 ===========================================================
|
|
|
|
|