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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
November 4 - Roshi 11 - Roshi Giving the Five Precepts 18 - Roshi 25 - Su Co Tam Huong Reaffirming the Precepts December
2 - Roshi 9 - Roshi 16 - Roshi Bodhi Day Celebration Novice Monk Ordination 23 - Su Co Tam Huong 30 - Roshi Reaffirming the Precepts
Service is followed by fellowship and light refreshments
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Can't make Sunday Service?
Visit the Dharma Talk Archive at DesertZenCenter.org
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Meditation & Dharma Class
Thursday Nights
NO Class 11/22
Happy Thanksgiving! Currently studying
The Brahma Net Sutra. Please join us. |
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We told you so! Everything changes...
November
2 - Renunciation Day (Anniversary of the day Avalokitesvara took Bodhisattva Precepts)
10 - Special Bodhisattva Teaching Day at the Temple
11 - Ceremony of Giving the Five Precepts
22 - Thanksgiving
No Dharma Class
25 - Roshi - Dharma Talk on Lotus Sutra at White Lotus Dharma Center,
December 7-9 - Rohatsu Sesshin
8 - Saturday
Bodhi Day (Anniversary of Buddha's Enlightenment)
Also Bodhisattva Precepts
16 - Bodhi Day Celebration and Novice Ordination
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| Dharma Talks at
International Buddhist Education Center
White Lotus Dharma Center
13071 Brookhurst Street, Garden Grove, CA 92843
Roshi will be giving Dharma talks on the Lotus Sutra in English with Vietnamese translation at 2:30 p.m. on the fourth Sundays of each month (11/25 & 12-23).
Su Co will be giving a Dharma talk at 2:30 p.m. on the the fifth Sunday of December (12/30).
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Sesshin/Retreats RSVP required
November 10: Day at the Temple, Saturday 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
A special teaching Day at the Temple, focusing on the Bodhisattva Precepts. Laypeople will have the opportunity to take these precepts during our weekend Rohatsu Sesshin in December. The Day at the Temple experience is designed to give a taste of temple life. The focus is on meditation, but with Dharma talks in place of some sitting periods. An ample, formal, vegetarian lunch is provided.
December 7-9: Rohatsu Sesshin
Sesshin is a silent meditation weekend retreat, lasting from
8 p.m. Friday through the end of Service/lunch on Sunday (about 1 or 2 p.m.). Plan to stay at the temple overnight on Friday and Saturday. During this Sesshin, Roshi will be giving the Bodhisattva Precepts to laypeople in a formal, public, twilight ceremony on Saturday, December 8th.
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DZC does not charge for retreats;
donations are most gratefully received.
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Save the Dates
December 8th: Bodhisattva Precepts
Support our Sangha members who are sitting the Rohatsu Sesshin and taking the Bodhisattva Precepts. Plan to witness the formal Precept Ceremony on Saturday, December 8th, at dusk (approx 5 or 5:30 p.m., time to be announced).
December 16th: Bodhi Day Celebration
Bring friends and family to our year-end festivities in honor of the Buddha's Enlightenment. We anticipate holding a Novice Ordination for Anagarika Ananda Muktika (Jorge Infante) at this event. Service begins at 10:00 a.m., followed by good fellowship, luncheon and entertainment (bring instruments!).
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Sangha Stuff Bulletin Board
What we're up to
(never mind the grammar!)
Facilities Fundraisers:
We need your good stuff!
Looking forward to several projects for the New Year, we're planning to set up a booth at the Golden West Swap Meet in Huntington Beach and organize a car wash in Orange County, We'll provide details as soon as we know what and when.
While we're making these plans, we are seeking donations of "good stuff" in gently-used condition* for the swap meet. Items needed include books/media, knick-knacks, household & kitchen items, costume jewelry, collectables, toys, small appliances -- you know, _____________ (fill in the blank). Please contact Su Co with questions/suggestions at 818-535-7286.
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*Paraphrasing what a dear friend and bookseller used to say regarding used items, "If it looks like an elephant stepped on it, please offer it to the elephant!"
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It's All About Precepts
by Su CoThích NuTâm Hu'o'ng
During this 2012 Rains Season Training Period, our Abbot, The Most Venerable
Thích Ân Giáo Roshi, has given/will be giving Precepts to a number of people at Desert Zen Center. In September, he gave the Eight Precepts of an Anagarika. In November and December, he will give several different sets of Precepts: the Five Lay Precepts (November 10th), the Bodhisattva Precepts (December 8th), and the 10 Precepts of a Novice Monk (December 16th). And that has brought up a few questions.
What are they? Within Buddhism, Precepts are aspirations. Some Precepts are - at least at first glance - improbable, if not clearly impossible. Not to worry; when I took Lay Precepts, one of the Masters told us we would break a Precept before we managed to leave the building. As Buddhists, we take Precepts to declare our intentions - to others and to ourselves, because we know we will have difficulty fulfilling those intentions. Even those which seem clear, maybe even easy, reveal layers of understanding and challenge when we practice. We are all works in progress, knowing that the only constant is change. Taking Precepts, we resolve to keep watch, examining our missteps and successes, cultivating Precept practice, modeling the ideal to the best (or best of the moment) of our ability. As Roshi says, "You are defeated only if you give up."
Buddhist Precepts are expressed in the negative, although some Western-influenced schools have tried to put them into more familiar, commandment-style form. But Precepts are guidelines, not prohibitions and, while there are consequences for breaking Precepts, they are results of cause-effect rather than punishment. The negative form partially derives from language and culture during the time of the Buddha. Another factor is human nature: Buddha's first followers were simply accepted as his Disciples. We are told the various Precepts were spoken as remedies for unskillful actions, when someone acted out or tried to hedge the intent of an existing Precept. We keep Precepts as negatives, in large part, because the construction is easier to understand. "Not to take life," while subject to questions and interpretation, is more specific than, for example, "To encourage life."
The Five Precepts Or How to Become a Buddhist
Sometimes called the Five Moral Precepts or the Five Lay Precepts, these are foundational and generally accepted by all Buddhists (included within other sets of Precepts), although different schools and sects may disagree on specific wording or how the Precepts are implemented.
When a layperson is given these Precepts and takes Refuge, he or she formally becomes a Buddhist and is given a Dharma name. At DZC, Roshi chooses a name in Sanskrit, following the tradition started by his Vietnamese teacher, The Most Venerable H.T. Thích Thiên Ân.
The Five Lay Precepts are:
1. Not to take life. 2. Not take that which is not given. 3. Not to speak that which may harm others. 4. Not to commit adultery. 5. Not to become intoxicated. Roshi has given many Dharma talks on the Five Precepts (for example: click here).
Taking the Five Precepts is the first full step onto the Path.
The Bodhisattva Precepts or Keep Coming Back!
Due to special requests, our Thursday night Dharma class and retreat day in November have been dedicated to teachings on The Bodhisattva Precepts as found in the Mahayana Brahma-Net Sutra (Sanskrit: Brahmajala Sutra, Vietnamese: Kinh Phạm Vơng), which you may read online here. Our study prepares us for December 8th, when The Most Venerable Thích Ân Giáo Roshi will conduct an evening ceremony giving these Precepts to lay people at Desert Zen Center.
The Bodhisattva Precepts are particularly good examples of Precepts-as-intentions. The very idea of actualizing these objectives borders on the inconceivable; only the mind and heart of a Bodhisattva would even try. The Bodhisattva ideal is to selflessly help others and is characterized by a vow not to develop one's personal awakening in the highest sense, until all beings have achieved awakening. At every Service at DZC, we resolutely chant the Bodhisattva Vows, defining the impossible with each line:
Sentient beings are numberless, I vow to save them all. Deluding passions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them all. Dharma gates are limitless, I vow to master them all. Buddha's Way is Supreme, I vow to attain it. That's the big definition; that's the fully-awakened Bodhisattva. There's also a more mundane way of looking at the ideal, a way that makes these Precepts a possibility: acts that do not consider self and other, kindnesses done spontaneously, every instance of compassion tempered by wisdom -- that's a Bodhisattva in action -- even if just for that moment. Bodhisattvas are as Bodhisattvas act. The Bodhisattva Precepts are our field guide to learning skills, internalizing the intent and, ultimately, acting as the Bodhisattvas we have been all along. There are Ten Major and 48 Secondary Bodhisattva Precepts. A listing of the subjects of the Ten Major Bodhisattva Precepts, sometimes known as the Mahayana Precepts (or the Zen Precepts), follows:
1. On Killing 2. On Stealing 3. On Sexual Misconduct 4. On Lying and False Speech 5. On Selling Alcoholic Beverages 6. On Broadcasting the Faults of the Assembly 7. On Praising Oneself and Disparaging Others 8. On Stinginess and Abuse 9. On Anger and Resentment In the Brahma-Net Sutra, the subject of each Precept is given, followed by a paragraph of specifics as to what this means: the acts and intentions that must not be done if the Precept is to be kept. For example:
1. First Major Precept: On KillingA disciple of the Buddha shall not himself kill, encourage others to kill, kill by expedient means, praise killing, rejoice at witnessing killing, or kill through incantation or deviant mantras. He must not create the causes, conditions, methods, or karma of killing, and shall not intentionally kill any living creature. ...
Reading about these Precepts can be difficult. How does one manage Sanskrit words, different cultural assumptions, sectarian bias and statements that may not make a lot of sense to the modern Zen student (killing through "deviant mantras"!)? We're all works in progress and each reading/study reveals more about the text and about ourselves. Our Dharma class is benefiting from the discussion. Last week, we explored the implications of this First Major Precept, which has enough "meat" to have been the subject of a number of full-length books. The Ten Major Bodhisattva Precepts were brought to America by Japanese Zen Masters, because they were adopted by the clergy of various Japanese schools in the 7th/8th century C.E. in lieu of the lengthy Monks' Vinaya Precepts: As you can see, the first five Major Bodhisattva Precepts reiterate the Five Precepts (with a change in focus on number 5 to "Not Selling." "Not Using" is covered in #2 of the 48 Secondary Precepts). The 48 Secondary Precepts are not as well known, but can be read online as part of the Brahma-Net Sutra (see links above... there are notes and a glossary). Happy reading!
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Our December newsletter will consider Angarika Precepts and those of a Novice Monk.
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Call for Recipes
We've been talking about putting together a cook booklet for over a year, so it must be time to put out the call for all those toothsome recipes we've savored at potluck lunches and enjoyed at retreats (or perhaps only dreamed when the cushion wasn't cooperating).
(Florence Metta Macy, all by her lonesome, ought to be able
to fill a booklet of sweet treats.)
First, we want your recipes:
Electronic is nice, but 3x5 card (even scribbled on a napkin) will be just fine.
Your name, ingredients (measured would be nice), instructions,
Caloric counts, pithy comments and funny stories welcome.
Second, we want testers.
Third, we want tasters for the testers! 'nuff said?
Then, we'll talk about putting this into print. (Do we hear any volunteers????)
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**Free**
Parking
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Special Visitor Coupon
Entitles the bearer to free parking (1-3 vehicles) in South Public Parking Lot #1,
in order to attend any class, retreat, ceremony, private party or public event.
**And that's the joke. There's always free parking at Desert Zen Center/Chùa Thiên Ân. Roshi planned well and far in advance. Come see us!
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Desert Zen Center / Chùa Thiên Ân, 10989 Buena Vista Rd, Lucerne Valley, CA 92356
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