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| Desert Zen Center - Chùa Thiên Ân |
| a Zen Buddhist temple dedicated to teaching meditation to everyone |
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10 a.m.
Meditation
Dharma Talk
Chanting
October
2 - Roshi
9 - Thay Minh Nhat
16 - Roshi
23 - Tâm Hu'o'ng
30 - Roshi
Renewing the Precepts Lunch & Music
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Service is followed by fellowship and light refreshments
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Can't make Sunday Service?
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Visit the Dharma Talk Archive at DesertZenCenter.org
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Meditation & Dharma Class
Thursday Nights
7 p.m.
Every Thursday night, we gather in the Zendo for meditation, followed by training practice and, then, fellowship & Dharma class in the Sangha Hall.
Current topic is An Overview of Buddhism in America vs. the Attempt to Define American Buddhism. Please join us. |
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Plan Ahead
2011 Event Schedule
Life is uncertain... Everything changes
October
7-9 Sesshin/Retreat
November
12 Day at Temple
December 8 Bodhi Day- One night Retreat: Practice Meditation throughout the night 9-11 Rohatsu Sesshin/Retreat Note: DZC plans various events on the second Saturday of every month.
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Weekend Retreat
October 7th, 8th & 9th
Arrive early Friday evening to be ready to begin at 8:00 p.m. with the opening ceremony and instruction in the Dharma Hall. Plan to stay at DZC on Friday and Saturday nights. Retreat ends on Sunday after our regular Service, which is followed by a potluck luncheon.
What to Bring: sleeping bag/bedding, towels and personal toiletries, loose comfortable clothes (including work clothes, hat and gloves). Avoid jeans, hoodies or attention-catching clothing. Weather is variable in the desert; it's been quite warm, but the pass can be very windy, so breathable layers are a good choice. Please do not bring alcohol, non-prescription drugs, reading material or electronic devices (Cell phones, watches, etc., may be left in your car -- plan to concentrate on the retreat, rather than the wide, wide world). Formal, ample vegetarian meals are provided. Please advise in advance of dietary restrictions. Unless there are medical issues, do not bring snacks or treats. Cost: DZC does not charge for retreats. That said, while our tenzo is talented, thrifty and inspired,
-- we eat very well, thank you --retreats do incur expenses. Donations are most gratefully received.
___________________________ Please RSVP to Roshi or Su Co - ASAP ___________________________ Speaking of Retreats:
November 12th: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Day at the Temple December 8th: overnight sitting begins 9:30 p.m. Celebrate Bodhi Day with a pre-retreat December 9th: 9:30 a.m. Temple Community Work Day 8:00 p.m. Rohatsu Retreat begins,
thru December 11th
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Introducing
Sa di Thích Tâm Hỷ
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Best Wishes and a Very Warm Welcome
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Sa di Thich Tam Hy, Thich An Giao Roshi, Su co Thich Tam Huong
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Portrait photos by Eric Reed.
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"All I teach is Loving Kindness."
--Thây Thích Minh Nhât
As a prison chaplain, I have been asked if I can really have Loving Kindness for those convicted of committing crimes causing suffering to others. This question includes other questions: Do I really think that anything I do or say will have a positive effect or simply continue that pattern of suffering. Do I think that my words, presence, or Loving Kindness might help convicts to turn their lives around?
Interesting, challenging questions. My only answer is I don't know.
But I do think of a quote from a Zen Master who observed, "The seed never sees the flower." We are all meant to begin things that will only come to fullness of fruit after us.
Loving Kindness can only be given freely, without strings attached. If anyone has expectations -- great or otherwise -- about what the results of giving Loving Kindness will be, it is neither a gift nor truly Loving Kindness. Loving Kindness is the right thing to do in this moment. That solves the question for me.
However, I will be honest and admit that I sometimes wonder about the harvest from my work. I wonder what the fruit of their practice will look like.
Give yourself permission to imagine what your "fruit" will be like in full ripeness. Imagine who will harvest the results of your actions, your words, your practice. |
Makyo*: the "roach motel" of meditation
--Sư cô's musings
Everyone visits -- it's part of the tour. But don't make it your home...
You're sitting and you notice something (checking in at the front desk): peculiar sensations, visceral memories, visions, overwhelming mental or emotional itches, questions and their answers, small insights or earth-shattering answers (you have the key!). If you think you've had an enlightenment experience... if you think you've had an enlightenment experience...
Just sit. (let the key go)
Just sit. (no need to check out)
Be here now.
Don't rest in the past, don't look to the future, don't dwell in movies your mind throws on the wall, entertain memories of triumph or defeat, or wallow in sensations that torment or delight.
This very moment passes while you think about it.
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*from our friends at Wikipedia:
The term makyo (魔境 makyō) means "ghost cave" or "devil's cave." It is employed in Zen as figurative reference to the kind of self-delusion that results from clinging to an experience and making a conceptual "nest" out of it for oneself. Makyo is, in other words, essentially synonymous with illusion, but the word is used especially in reference to experiences that can occur within meditation practice.
In Philip Kapleau's The Three Pillars of Zen,Yasutani Roshi explained the term as the combination of ma meaning devil and kyo meaning the objective world. This character for "devil" can also refer to Mara, the Buddhist "tempter" figure; and the character kyo can mean simply region, condition or place. Makyo refers to the hallucinations and perceptual distortions that can arise during the course of meditation and can be mistaken by the practitioner as "seeing the true nature" or kensho.
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