Buddhist Education Committee
Dharma Discussion: Pet and Plant Memorial (October 4, 2020)
Discussion Questions
- If you are you remembering a Pet or Plant today, how did that relationship give you new insight on life or support you through a difficult time?
- How has living with a pet helped you to learn compassion for animals?
Dharma Discussion: Suffering from Birth (September 27, 2020)
Consider your own birth, including the following factors:
- Your family relationships (parents, grandparents, siblings, etc.)
- Your family’s circumstances when you were born. This could include race, ethnicity, economic status, etc.
- Where you were born (country, city, local community, etc.)
- Time: what were some important events in the world around you that have shaped your life since you were born.
Discussion Questions
- What challenges and difficulties have arisen in your life as a result of the circumstances of your birth?
- How did the circumstance of your birth create the conditions for you to seek the Dharma hear the Nembutsu?
Shōshinge: Hymn of True Shinjin and the Nembutsu
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
We welcome you to join us via Zoom Meeting from the comfort and safety of your own home on Wednesday, September 9 for this free Dharma Study Class.
6:00 p.m. Shōshinge Sōfu Chanting
The chanting of Shōshinge embodies the heart of daily Nembutsu practice in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. Join us to experience the settling of the mind through focused breathing and meditative listening.
7:00 p.m. Reading and Discussion
We will continue to explore the meaning of the Shōshinge and how it applies to our daily lives, focused on the verses:
Bodhisattva Dharmakara, in his causal stage,
Under the guidance of Lokesvararaja Buddha,
Searched into the origins of the Buddhas’ pure lands,
And the qualities of those lands and their men and devas;
Full text of Shōshinge
PowerPoint Slides
To join us for this online Dharma Session, CLICK HERE and sign up for “Study Classes and Seminars”.
What is Essential? Finding the Nembutsu in COVID-19
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
7:00 p.m.
John Mullins
Ministerial Aspirant
Institute of Buddhist Studies
We welcome you to join us via Zoom Meeting from the comfort and safety of your own home on Wednesday, October 7 for this free Dharma session.
To join us for this online Dharma Session, CLICK HERE and sign up for “Study Classes and Seminars”.
Shōshinge: Hymn of True Shinjin and the Nembutsu, Session 01
In this first session in the Shōshinge Study Class Series, we explore the meaning of the Shōshinge and how it applies to our daily lives, beginning with the opening verse: I take refuge in the Tathagata of Immeasurable Life!
I entrust myself to the Buddha of Inconceivable Light!
PowerPoint Slides
Dharma Talk Audio
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS
Dharma Discussion: Monkey Mind (September 6, 2020)
Discussion Questions
- What sights, sounds, smells, flavors, feelings or thoughts rile up your monkey mind?
- Do you have any techniques that help you bring the monkey mind to rest?
Dharma Discussion: Incense (August 30, 2020)
Click here to read about incense offering etiquette in the Jodo Shinshu school, as well as other schools of Japanese Buddhism
Discussion Questions
- What is a fragrance that brings you peace of mind?
- Have you ever encountered someone who you felt was “adorned with the fragrance of light”?
Dharma Discussion: Wisdom/Prajñā (August 23, 2020)
Click here to read about the Buddhist Virtue of Wisdom
Discussion Questions
- What is a difficult situation that Buddhist wisdom has enabled you to accept with peace of mind?
- What is a difficult situation that Buddhist wisdom has given you to courage to work to change?
Dharma Discussion: Concentration/Dhyāna (August 16, 2020)
Click here to read about the Buddhist Virtue of Concentration
Discussion Questions
- Have you ever experience a state of deep concentration that enabled to you do an activity skillfully and without distraction, sometimes described as a “flow state” or being “in the zone”? What gave rise to that state of mind? Were you able to replicate it on more than one occasion?
- Has Buddhist practice in general, and the Nembutsu specifically, helped you to cultivate a concentrated mind at times?
- What the greatest obstacles you face in maintain mental concentration?