GLOBAL SANGHA NEWSLETTER 125
Wednesday 7th September 2022


All times in this Newsletter are Rome time zone
Para artículos en español, desplácese hacia abajo, por favor.
PODCASTS GS74 & GS75 & previous

UPAVASTHA
This Saturday 10th September 2022
From 14:00 (Rome)

Upavastha is the full moon time when, according to Buddhist tradition, the gods come to visit and Dharma practitioners renew their faith commitment.
We celebrate by chanting, by holding puja, by reading the texts, by mondo and by personal sharing. Events will go on from 14:00 until well into the evening with some short breaks for refreshment and you can do the whole thing or join in any time. If you log in and there is nobody there, you have hit a break and people will be back in due course. If you log in and somethiing is going on, just observe or join in as appropriate. Puja is a Buddhist religious service with devotional texts. Mondo is brief encounter with the teacher to ask questions about faith and practice or to discuss one's spiritual life. 

On other Saturdays at 14:00 there is a Puja lasting one hour. For join code, see the calendar at the end of the newsletter. Attending puja and Upavastha sustains us in our practice and brings together the sangha community to help one another. Practice is not an individual matter: it takes one beyond self into communion.

Upavastha: https://bit.ly/3qjLR3a -:-   Meeting ID: 879 5343 9118  -:-  Passcode: 804176



READINGS FROM THE COMMENTARY
ON SUMMARY OF FAITH & PRACTICE
Priti Vaishnav & Dharmavidya

These reading recommence weekly on Thursdays from 8th September at 16:30. Summary of Faith & Practice is a text by Dharmavidya based on the Ishimai Kishomon of Honen Shonin. The Commentary is an extensive explanation of this short text providing insight into the whole range of Pureland Dharma. Each week we study a short section. 
New code: https://bit.ly/3T9tX0x
Meeting ID: 871 8967 0352  -:-  Passcode: 732590


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BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY DIPLOMA

EXISTING STUDENTS: Register now for autumn semester
If you are a student already on the programme and have completed the first semester, please now get your ticket for Semester Two, Classrooms 5 to 7.
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/globalsangha

NEW INTAKE: Register now for February 2023
The next intake is for 1st February 2023. You can register now for the programme running 1st February 2023 to 30th April 2025 
If you register now, you can attend seminars through this autumn from the date of registration. The course proper commences 1st February 2023

Information: Jisshas <jisshas@googlegroups.com>  
To book: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/globalsangha

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Picture
Temple at Gongju, Korea  -:-  Photo by Sunsook Park


FUTURE PROGRAMME

22-23rd October 2022
"ENCOUNTER & PATH"
OCTOBER BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY WEEKEND
Online

Theme: Therapy as a Spiritual Path for Client & for Therapist.  A presentation of the application of Buddhist psychology in a  number of dimensions; a forum in which to reflect upon the spiritual path from a psychological point of view and the psychological work from a spiritual perspective. 
Content: talks, seminars, master class demonstration, groupwork, "Dharma à Deux", case presentation and discussion.  Theoretical material will be presented and there will also be experiential workshops so participants should be willing to share material about personal life and agree to respect the confidentiality of others.  
Suitable for: The weekend is open to anybody interested both in understanding their own life and relationships better and in the therapeutic process and how this relates to the spiritual path in a Buddhist approach.
Students enrolled on the BP Diploma programme will be invited free of charge. 
Tickets <https://www.tickettailor.com/events/globalsangha>


8-11th December 2022
"HEALING THE HEART"
SHAKYAMUNI ENLIGHTENMENT RETREAT
Online

On 8th December we celebrate the enlightenment of Shakyamuni Buddha. On the three days following we shall have periods of practice and presentations of applications of Dharma faith and practice. The theme of "Healing the Heart" invites us to consider both the transformation of the practitioner on the bodhisattva path and also the need for healing of our world and our planet.


21-22nd January 2023
JANUARY BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY WEEKEND
Online

Details to be announced. A good preparation for new students planning to join the Buddhist Psychology Diploma programme on 1st February and a valuable experience for students already on the programme. Also open to all.

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OUR WORLD


AUSTERITY

President Macron of France said, last week: "I believe that we are in the process of living through a tipping point or great upheaval... (that) ... could seem like the end of abundance ...  The moment we are living ... may seem to be structured by a series of crises, each more serious than the previous," Macron said, referring to the drought, fires and storms that have hit France during the summer as well as climate disasters elsewhere, the Ukraine war and disruptions to global trade.
Reuters reports: International aid agencies struggling to help hundreds of thousands of people displaced by deadly floods in Pakistan have asked for the loosening of restrictions on imports of food from Pakistan's old rival India. Unusually heavy monsoon rains have triggered floods that have submerged a third of Pakistan and killed more than 1,100 people, including 380 children.

France and Pakistan are by no means alone in going through such a transition to harder times. Governments in many countries are trying to soften the blow to their citizens, but palliative measures, such a capping fuel prices, can only be sustained for so long. Tax rises or mounting debt to pay for them have limits. The tidal wave cannot be held back for long.

Of course, the austerity that affects rich countries is not yet likely to bring them to the level of the poorer nations who face a much harsher prospect. Each country is trying to defend its own. When times get tough, the division of the world into nations ensures that inequalities are maintained. The countries that shout loudest about equality are among those who do most to prevent any evening up of national wealths.

The greatest danger is that as times get more and more difficult, conflicts will multiply, making the overall situation worse and worse. We pray for peace, yet must prepare for difficult times. We do what we can to establish pockets of harmony in the world, while around us fires burn.

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BOOKS


NEW BOOKS

Two books are on the verge of publication

It Is As It Is: Poems by David Brazier and art by Ruby Lee is to be published by Les Arts de l'Esprit. 149 poems and 33 gorgeous paintings.

Gentili parole di saggezza: 108 insegnamenti buddhisti, is to be published by Edizioni Mille 2022. It is a collection of the first 108 podcasts in the time of pandemic translated into Italian and edited by Angela Romani.

Sarà pubblicato da Edizioni Mille 2022. Si tratta di una raccolta dei primi 108 podcast al tempo della pandemia tradotta in italiano e curata da Angela Romani.

Both books should be available this year. When they are available there will be an announcement in the Newsletter.
DHARMA

PRACTICE FOR ALL TIMES

The Dharma practised by Global Sangha is broadly within the Zen-Pure Land tradition of oriental Buddhism. This is possibly the most popular form of Buddhism in Asia, especially East Asia, though not so well known in the West. It is also, probably, close to the original Buddhism practised by lay followers of Shakyamuni Buddha who were not intent upon renouncing the world, so much as receiving the blessing of the Dharma, the gentle spirit of Buddha, in their ordinary daily lives and were sometimes inspired by the philanthropic spirit of the bodhisattva ideal, but had a modest sense of their own virtue and spiritual capacity. As ordinary people in the ordinary world we are subject to many conditions, but we can still always turn our minds toward the unconditioned, the Light of the Tathagatas, the grace-full presence of Buddha. We can call the Buddha's name. We can pray and invoke. We can bring that precious spirit into out lives. We can do this even today, just like those first Buddhists who would congregate at the stupa and remember the great being who had lived in their midst.

El Dharma practicado por Global Sangha está ampliamente dentro de la tradición Zen-Tierra Pura del budismo oriental. Esta es posiblemente la forma de budismo más popular en Asia, especialmente en el este de Asia, aunque no tan conocida en Occidente. También es, probablemente, cercano al budismo original practicado por los seguidores laicos del buda Shakyamuni que no tenían la intención de renunciar al mundo, sino más bien de recibir la bendición del Dharma, el gentil espíritu de Buda, en su vida diaria ordinaria y estaban a veces inspirado por el espíritu filantrópico del ideal del bodhisattva, pero tenía un modesto sentido de su propia virtud y capacidad espiritual. Como personas ordinarias en el mundo ordinario, estamos sujetos a muchas condiciones, pero siempre podemos volver nuestras mentes hacia lo incondicionado, la Luz de los Tathagatas, la presencia llena de gracia de Buda. Podemos llamar el nombre de Buda. Podemos orar e invocar. Podemos traer ese precioso espíritu a nuestras vidas. Podemos hacer esto incluso hoy, como aquellos primeros budistas que se congregaban en la estupa y recordaban al gran ser que había vivido entre ellos.


WORDS OF HONEN SHONIN

“Other Buddhist teachings such as meditation on the ultimate truth, the cultivation of Bodhicitta, the recitation of Mahayana Sutras, mantra chanting and samatha-vipassana meditation should be revered, instead of being disregarded. All of these teachings were designed to detach oneself from the transmigration of birth-and-death in order to attain enlightenment. However, these teachings cannot manifest their power in this period of the Decline of the Dharma. Practitioners also cannot complete the practice of the teachings because they cannot observe the precepts of Buddhism.”
Buddhism tells us the ideal way, the way things appear to the enlightened, but we who are not enlightened, living in the time of Mappo, cannot realise such ideals by choice and effort. We need the help of the Tathagatas and  Nembutsu is the way to open that channel. 
Namo Amida Bu.

“Otras enseñanzas budistas como la meditación sobre la verdad última, el cultivo de Bodhicitta, la recitación de Mahayana Sutras, el canto de mantras y la meditación samatha-vipassana deben ser reverenciadas, en lugar de ser ignoradas. Todas estas enseñanzas fueron diseñadas para desprenderse de la transmigración del nacimiento y la muerte para alcanzar la iluminación. Sin embargo, estas enseñanzas no pueden manifestar su poder en este período de Decadencia del Dharma. Los practicantes tampoco pueden completar la práctica de las enseñanzas porque no pueden observar los preceptos del budismo”.
El budismo nos dice la forma ideal, la forma en que las cosas aparecen para los iluminados, pero nosotros, que no somos iluminados, que vivimos en la época de Mappo, no podemos realizar tales ideales por elección y esfuerzo. Necesitamos la ayuda de los Tathagatas y Nembutsu es la forma de abrir ese canal.
Namo Amida Bu


HARA: A NEW PRACTICE PROJECT


ELEUSIS  NEWS
 
David: I am here alone at the moment. Perhaps I will make a trip to Spain, South of France and Italy later in the year to see sangha and friends. What is practice except friendship and devotion? The Buddha is our best friend and we serve Buddha best by being friends to one another.

Physical work is also a good practice. Here at La Ville au Roi, I am engaged in some heavy labour. The ground level on the east side of the house is higher than the floor level inside. In order to have a door on that side of the house it is necessary to dig the soil and rock away. Many barrow loads have already been dug out and moved. The stone goes to fill in a no-longer needed trench and the soil to make a new vegetable bed for next year.

Some of the water saving measures from the period of drought are still in place. I no longer use mains water to flush the toilet nor to water the garden. Apart from the exigencies of the present world crisis, frugality with resources is a good Zen principle.

I have been doing some revamping of the web site eleusis.ning.com making it simpler to understand and navigate. Thus all 183 podcasts issued so far can now be found at https://bit.ly/3TMFUt7. If you notice any links that do not work, let me know. 

David: Estoy aquí solo en este momento. Tal vez haga un viaje a España, el sur de Francia e Italia más adelante en el año para ver a la sangha y amigos. ¿Qué es la práctica sino la amistad y la devoción? El Buda es nuestro mejor amigo y servimos mejor a Buda siendo amigos entre nosotros.
El trabajo físico también es una buena práctica. Aquí en La Ville au Roi, estoy ocupado en un trabajo pesado. El nivel del suelo en el lado este de la casa es más alto que el nivel del piso interior. Para tener una puerta en ese lado de la casa, es necesario excavar la tierra y quitar rocas. Ya se han excavado y movido muchas cargas de carretillas. La piedra va a llenar una zanja que ya no se necesita y la tierra para hacer una nueva cama de vegetales para el próximo año.
Algunas de las medidas de ahorro de agua del período de sequía todavía están vigentes. Ya no uso agua corriente para descargar el inodoro ni para regar el jardín. Aparte de las exigencias de la actual crisis mundial, la frugalidad con los recursos es un buen principio zen.
He estado renovando un poco el sitio web eleusis.ning.com para que sea más fácil de entender y navegar. Por lo tanto, los 183 podcasts emitidos hasta ahora, ahora se pueden encontrar en https://bit.ly/3TMFUt7. Si nota algún enlace que no funciona, hágamelo saber.

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DIARY  
All times are Rome time zone

Every day 06:30-06:50
Nembutsu Chanting
- Geeta Chari
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84702079106?pwd=bGxZbGF4c2hTU2xUbTdNWjZoRFNMUT09

Thursday  14:30, 8th September & every two weeks
IBAP Group / BP Diploma Tutors Meeting *

Thursday  19:00-20:30, 25th August & every two weeks
ITZI Supervision Group **
- Iris Dotan Katz
For presentation, review and discussion of counselling/psychotherapy casework from a Buddhist psychology perspective.

Thursdays 16:30 from 8th September
Readings from the Commentary on Summary of Faith & Practice
New code: https://bit.ly/3T9tX0x
Meeting ID: 871 8967 0352  -:-  Passcode: 732590

Fridays  19:30 from 9th September
Amitabha Service For the West 
- Vajrapala & Angela Romani
https://bit.ly/3dUEoVu
Meeting ID: 894 8069 9209   -:-   Passcode: 137836

Saturday 10:00 & 20:00, 3rd September, 1st October, 12th November, 3rd December
Buddhist Psychology Seminars *
For students on BP course

Saturdays 14:00
Refuge Group Puja
A group for those who have taken refuge**.
Puja, Dharma Talk, Sharing, Discussion,
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83365263186?pwd=cURmOW5FNGJvdTd2SG1qVWtPSDJrZz09
Meeting ID: 833 6526 3186  -:-  Passcode: 353386

Saturday 10th September
Upavastha: Full Moon Practice Renewal
Programme of puja, readings, meditation, & chanting until evening
https://bit.ly/3OhYJ3r  -:-  Meeting ID: 833 6526 3186  -:-  Passcode: 353386

Sabado 16:30
Encuentro de la Sangha en español y servicio.
Guiado por Ganendra.
Por zoom. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81138990223?pwd=dmNZU3VmRTRhUjBobVdnMjhuV3NYUT09
Para asistir, escribir por whatsapp a +34 620265962.

Sundays 10:30,
Global Sangha Interest Group
- Liz Allmark
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88974912642?pwd=N2VyQnc0MUM4WUU0YTFTdCt0QWVmQT09
Meeting ID: 889 7491 2642  -:-  Passcode: 537296

Sundays 20:00
GS Friendship Group
An informal meeting for all
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87394084532?pwd=eEY3eUhHcjN0b0xLanZXcTNqVmVzdz09
Meeting ID: 873 9408 4532  -:-  Passcode: 519784

Weekend 22-23 October
"Encounter & Path" 
A weekend of Buddhist Psychology
David Brazier, Iris Dotan Katz, Kimiko Nita, Yaya de Andrade & Natividad Menendez 

* Codes separately notified
** Details from Jisshas <jisshas@googlegroups.com>

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GENERAL

Jisshas <jisshas@googlegroups.com> - for all general enquiries
Tickets <https://www.tickettailor.com/events/globalsangha> - to book courses


DONATE

If you would like to support my work of facilitating the sangha and especially of assisting people to come to Eleusis in France for teachings,  the simplest way is to make a donation via Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/feelingbuddha
You will also find a wealth of interesting articles there curated by Geeta Chari.


USEFUL LINKS

Global Sangha Web Site: https://www.globalsangha.net/
Recent Audio Podcasts: https://eleusis.ning.com/notes/LATEST_PODCAST_AUDIO 
Dharma Ocean Buddhist Studies Programme <jisshas@googlegroups.com>,
The Feeling Buddha on KoFi: https://ko-fi.com/feelingbuddha
Tickets for Events: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/globalsangha
Spain: Ahora, Centro de Psicologia y Consciencia Plena: formacion@ahoramindfulness.es Teléfono: 945120948 y 620265962

IBAP & Buddhist Psychology Programme
(English) Dharmavidya <dharmavidya&fastmail.fm>,
(Español) Nati Menendez <natim.luna@gmail.com>,

GS on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710544479619937
GS at Eleusis: https://eleusis.ning.com/group/global-sangha
Dharmavidya: dharmavidya@fastmail.fm
Dharmavidya on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidbrazierauthor/
Dharmavidya website: http://eleusis.ning.com
Zen & Now - the musical https://www.zenow.net/
Books: https://shepherd.com/best-books/spirit-japanese-buddhism
Donations: https://ko-fi.com/feelingbuddha


GLOBAL SANGHA CONTACT PEOPLE BY REGION

Worldwide: Jisshas <jisshas@googlegroups.com>,  
United Kingdom: Geeta Chari <charige@googlemail.com>,
France: Dharmavidya <dharmavidya@fastmail.fm>,
Spain Pais Vasco: Ganendra <omzcoaching@gmail.com>,
Spain Pais Vasco: Sonia Gobbato <songobbato@gmail.com>
Spain: Nati Menendez <natim.luna@gmail.com>,
Italy: Angela Romani <ange.romani.2017@gmail.com>
Latin America: Maya Choi <gallerychakana@gmail.com>,
USA: Carol Corey <carolcore@gmail.com>
Africa: Juline Smit <julinesmit@googlemail.com>,
Israel: Iris Dotan Katz <irisdo@netvision.net.il>,
India: Priti Vaishnav <pritivaishnav@gmail.com>,
Hong Kong: Nando Maril <nandomaril@gmail.com>,
Japan: Nita Kimiko <knloveandpeace64@gmail.com>,


You can see other Global Sangha materials, past podcasts and articles via : https://eleusis.ning.com/notes/GLOBAL_SANGHA_INDEX

You received this mail as you were previously in receipt of Global Sangha Newsletters or David's podcasts  or you bought a ticket for a GS event  or you are subscribed to the Eleusis website.  If you do not wish to receive these newsletters in the future please unsubscribe from the Octopus list (below).  Thank you.

Thank you very much
Namo Amida Bu
Global Sangha at Eleusis
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