For those who may have missed it, Shinren Mark Stone’s talk about zen practice and technology was recently profiled by NPR. It’s an excellent write up.
For those who may have missed it, Shinren Mark Stone’s talk about zen practice and technology was recently profiled by NPR. It’s an excellent write up.
The All Beings Zen Sangha welcomes and affirms all who come here to seek the Way, and who will work toward respectful acceptance of others across our many differences, harmonizing the one and the many.
Using the button or QR code below, you can make a one-time donation or set up a recurring monthly donation.
We now accept donations through Venmo. Get the app and search for “All Beings Zen Sangha.”
Checks can be mailed to:
All Beings Zen Sangha
27290 Woodburn Hill Road
Mechanicsville, MD 20659
or to:
All Beings Zen Sangha
C/O Rev. Inryū Ponce-Barger,
2801 Adams Mill Road NW 402
Washington DC 20009
Asian Americans and the Zen Boom Saturday, February 5, 8:00-9:30pm EST Email webmaster@zenshuji.org for the Event’s Zoom Link. This event is free and donations to Zenshuji are welcome. |
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Here is the link to join us via the cloud zendo at 7PM for the All Beings Zen Sangha evening program. Tonight we will have short service followed by two periods of Zazen. We will close by chanting the Refuges.
If you are asked for a password please use this 641260
Please put your zoom in gallery mode, and keep your video link on while muting your mic until the end of the service – Feel welcome to face away from your device camera while keeping your presence visible in the frame for others in attendance to see and know you are there. Please refrain from moving your device around while others are sitting zazen with you.
Order of Service
Greeting by the Kokyo
Enmei Jukko Kannon Gyo
Heart Sutra in English
All Buddhas Chant
25 Minute Zazen Period
5 minute Kinhin (slow walking) or stretch
25 Minute Zazen Period
Four Great Vows
Refuges in Pali
THE FOUR GREAT VOWS
Beings are numberless; I vow to save them.
Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow to end them.
Dharma Gates are boundless; I vow to enter them.
Buddha’s way is unsurpassable; I vow to become it.
Enmei Jukko Kannon Gyo
KAN ZEON
NA MU BUTSU
YO BUTSU U IN
YO BUTSU U EN
BUP PO SO EN
JO RAKU GA JO
CHO NEN KANZEON
BO NEN KANZEON
NEN NEN JU SHIN KI
NEN NEN FU RI SHIN
Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,
when deeply practicing prajña paramita,⨀
clearly saw that all five aggregates are empty
and thus relieved all suffering.
Shariputra,
form does not differ from emptiness,
emptiness does not differ from form.
Form itself is emptiness,
emptiness itself form.
Sensations, perceptions, formations,
and consciousness are also like this.
Shariputra,
all dharmas are marked by emptiness;
they neither arise nor cease,
are neither defiled nor pure,
neither increase nor decrease.
Therefore, given emptiness, there is
no form, no sensation, no perception,
no formation no consciousness;
no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue,
no body, no mind;
no sight, no sound, no smell, no taste,
no touch, no object of mind;
no realm of sight… no realm of mind consciousness
There is neither ignorance nor extinction of ignorance…
neither old age and death,
nor extinction of old age and death;
no suffering, no cause, no cessation, no path;
no knowledge and no attainment.
With nothing to attain,
a bodhisattva relies on prajña paramita,⨀
and thus the mind is without hindrance.
Without hindrance, there is no fear.
Far beyond all inverted views, one realizes nirvana.
All buddhas of past, present, and future
rely on prajña paramita ⨀ and thereby attain
unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.
Therefore, know the prajña paramita ⨀ as
the great miraculous mantra,
the great bright mantra,
the supreme mantra,
the incomparable mantra,
which removes all suffering
and is true, not false.
Therefore we proclaim the prajña paramita ⨀ mantra,,
the mantra that says:
“Gate Gate ⨀ Paragate ⨀ Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha.” ∅
All Buddhas
All Buddhas, ten directions, Three times
All Honored Ones, Bodhisattvas-Mahasattvas
Wisdom beyond wisdom
Maha Prajna Paramita
Refuges in Pali (Call and Response)
Accapella, inflections as follows:
➞Buddham Saranam Ga➚cha➘mi➞iii
BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI
DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI
SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI
DUTIYAMPI BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI
DUTIYAMPI DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI
DUTIYAMPI SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI
TATIYAMPI BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI
TATIYAMPI DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI
TATIYAMPI SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI
Offered with permission from www.morethanlupus.com and the author
Believed to have originated in India thousands of years ago, meditation has become increasingly popular in the U.S. at a time when the impact of technology on work has meant an increase in the rate of production and the speed at which we get things done, even despite the challenges of an almost crippling pandemic—maybe, especially so.
People want ways to relieve stress they haven’t tried. They want to feel well.
The use of meditation and mindfulness as an adjunct to conventional medical therapies for conditions such as depression, anxiety, and chronic pain, as well as in some patients’ fight against cancer, has also been on the rise.
Quoting data from the National Health Interview Survey in an article for the LA Times in 2018, Science and Medicine Editor Karen Kaplan notes that
“The proportion of adults who at least tried meditation more than tripled over five years, while the proportion of children who meditated at least once increased by a factor of nine.”
The National Health Interview Survey is a long-running study of the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As far as the types of meditation practice themselves, the study included “transcendental meditation or other forms of mantra meditation; mindfulness meditation, such as Zen Buddhist meditation or mindfulness-based cognitive therapy; and spiritual meditation based on prayer.”
While meditation is central to some religions, you don’t have to change your beliefs (agnostics and atheists included) or the way you worship to reap the benefits. And there can be many benefits. Meditation can help to:
But where to start? Meditation styles, preferences, and practices vary widely. Some people find it best to focus on their breath and others to chant a mantra. Some prefer listening to guided meditations while others prefer to stare quietly at a point on a wall. Some like to stand, others to sit, and some turn to walking meditation. Others are driven by their chronic health conditions to lie down.
However you choose to meditate, the more often you practice, the more comfortable you’ll become at doing it and the more benefits you’ll reap.
Here are some tips to help you get started:
Above all, start small and be consistent. Pat yourself on the back for showing up, even if it’s for a single minute. And, of course, don’t give up. You’ve got this.
Written By:
Naomi Ayala
Naomi Ayala has published three books of poetry. Her most recent, Calling Home: Praise Songs and Incantations, was published by Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe. Meditation is a part of Naomi’s everyday life. In 2018, she took her precepts as a lay practitioner in the Soto Zen lineage.
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Sources:
Small Business Chronicle. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/technology-affect-work-environment-today-27299.html
Accessed January 20, 2022.
“A Lot More Americans are Meditating Now Than Five Years Ago,” LA Times. Karen Kaplan [November 8, 2018] https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-americans-meditating-more-20181108-story.html
Accessed January 20, 2022.
“Use of Yoga, Meditation, and Chiropractors Among U.S. Adults Aged 18 and Over,” National Center for Health Statistics (Data Brief No. 325, November 2018). https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db325.htm
Accessed January 20, 2022
*All resources provided by this blog are for informational purposes only, not to replace the advice of a medical professional. MTL encourage you to always contact your medical provider with any specific questions or concerns regarding your illness. All intellectual property and content on this site is owned by morethanlupus.com. This includes materials protected by copyright, trademark, or patent laws. Copyright, More Than Lupus 2022.
**The author has protection under these copyrights; however, the words belong to the author and can be used for other creative purposes or for personal archive’s.
January 2022
Tuesday Dharma Tea 2pm, This discussion will be led by our Abiding and resident teacher, Inryū Poncé-Barger on the topic of “Tea as Medicine”. We will begin with 5 minutes of silent tea drinking. Inryu Sensei will play a short interview which was recently recorded for an upcoming exhibit at the Freer Museum to launch our conversation . Use this link to join. If asked use this password 784873
Zenshji 100th Anniversary: A Series of Lectures and Conversations is a series to commemorate Zenshuji Soto Mission’s 100th Anniversary, which is the 100th anniversary of Soto Zen in North America. The temple was founded in 1922 as the first official branch of Soto Zen in North America. Events in the series explore the diverse and emerging story of American Zen, and Zenshuji’s contribution to it. There will be one lecture or conversation a month till November 2022.
The first lecture in the series will begin Saturday, January 22, 2022, at 8pm Eastern Time offered by Prof. Duncan Ryuken Williams titled “Zen at the Half-Century: Zenshuji Temple and the WWII Incarceration of Japanese Americans.”
Please visit Zenshuji.org for more information about the lecture series which will be offered by Zoom and hybrid Zoom/in-person for those in the Los Angeles, CA, area. Email the Zenshuji webmaster to receive a Zoom link for the lectures (email information is available on the lecture series flyer on the website).
“The International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism announces that our beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has passed away peacefully at Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, Vietnam, at 00:00hrs on 22nd January, 2022, at the age of 95.
We invite our global spiritual family to take a few moments to be still, to come back to our mindful breathing, as we together hold Thay in our hearts in peace and loving gratitude for all he has offered the world.”
Saturday January 22, 2022 – 2:30pm : Rev. Seigaku Amato will lead an online workshop on carving a “chop” (hanks) or name seal. Use this link to join. If asked for a password use 412621
Practice carving can be done with vegetables such as a carrot or potato!
Rev. Amata says “I have 2 links that I’ll share for materials that can be purchased for the hanko carving .https://www.dickblick.com/items/sculpture-house-point-chisel-with-14-small-tip-small-tip/https://www.asianbrushpainter.com/collections/sealstones/products/kunlun-translucent-seal-stone The first link is for the type of chisel to use and the second link is where a stone can be purchased for carving. The stone from this link is the cheapest, but individuals can buy whichever they like best, but I would advise practicing before purchasing an expensive stone.
Tuesday, January 18: Dharma Tea at 2pm led by our most recent former Shuso, Shōryū Christopher Leader on the topic of “Act in the Moment”. Shōryū will I’ll discuss acting now rather than trying to schedule one’s kindness/compassion/generosity. Use this link to join. If asked use this password 784873. As the norm we will begin with 5 minutes of silent tea drinking. All are welcome
Tuesday, January 11th: Dharma Tea at 2pm led by Myōshin Annie Markovich on the topic of “Bearing witness in Auschwitz”. In the late fall of 2021 Myōshin joined in an in-person and outdoor Sesshin (Zen Retreat) on the site of the former internment camp. This is one of many retreats of this type that Myōshin has participated in during of the years of her zen practice. Join us to learn about her profound experiences and insights. To join use this link. If asked for a password use 784873
January 8, 2022 – 2pm : Rev. Seigaku Amato joins ABZS for a discussion about his graphic book, The Complete Illustrated Guide to Zen. Use this link to join if asked for a password use 810749.