by Tamu Hoyo Sensei, My eldest son and I volunteered at the community Organic Garden that one of my local friends championed. We were there to pluck up the thick over growth and prepare a neglected plot for future use. Afterwards we stopped by the grocery store to fill up on reverse osmosis water and…
Category: buddhism
The Buddha Has no Voice
by Levi Shinyo Sensei, I’m an avid reader, both fiction or nonfiction. And ever since I was young I’ve had an enormous imagination, one which I’ve been lucky enough to retain in part as I’ve aged. Ever since I was able to read by myself I’ve been able to create vivid movies and scenes in…
invisible cemetery
by Michelle Jouyo Sensei My husband and I love to hike. It is one of our favorite activities, and we enjoy finding new places to explore. Several years ago, we decided to go hiking at a trail called Rock Springs Run inside Park. As we were hiking, we came out of a pine hammock…
Ignorance and Greed
by Morris Seiyo Sensei In the essay, “A Stone,” in Rev. Koyo Kubose’s Everyday Suchness, there is this passage: A wise and alert person is not deceived. Those who are gullible or greedy are easily deceived. When I read this passage, it reminded me of a teaching I once accidentally received as a result of…
Starling
By Marilyn Chiyo I will confess to you that I have a history of difficulty holding my hands together in gassho. To gassho, by putting the palms of both hands together in front of one’s heart, is the highest form of respect symbolizing Oneness. For me, the gesture never felt authentic, like I was…
An Incense Offering
Dharma Glimpse – Rob Kanyo Sensei An incense offering is a very simple thing. It’s a very simple procedure. Approach the incense burner. As you stand a few steps in front of it, bow. Step forward. Take a pinch of granulated incense in your right hand and gently sprinkle it across the smouldering charcoal….
Sacred Space
by Shirleen Soyo What makes a space sacred? Religious use? Blessings? Dedication? Perhaps it’s just a flip of a mind switch. The words about sacred space in Chögyam Trungpa’s Shambala this week spoke to me. I thought, “What if every space was sacred? Home? Everywhere would be filled with peace, unconditional love, and fun. Causes and conditions this past week allowed…
Offering to the Buddhas
Christopher Kakuyo Sensei In his commentary of the Tan Butsu Ge or the Song of the Buddha; a section from the Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra, Gyomay Sensei writes, “ Ku Yo, of offering is a very important virtue in the Buddha’s Way…Ku Yo is done in relation to someone who is more worthy than oneself…to do Ku…
Gratitude
by Seiyo Thomas Sensei Gratitude has always been a shortcoming of mine. Recently, however, this has begun to change slowly. With this in mind, I have started to have thoughts of things that I need to be grateful for as I travel on my current path. Shakyamuni Buddha tells a story of how lucky one…
Acknowledging Limitation
Niko Byoyo Sensei Recently, our group has been exploring the topic of realizing enlightenment through any means we have. As a group, humans tend towards the dramatic and glamorous so sometimes we think we will get to enlightenment by a grand gesture or event. I have been exploring the concept of enlightenment through acknowledging limitations over…
A Bright Dawn 