Are you singing in the rain?

Are you smiling through your tears?

Well yes, I'm trying to, but it ain't easy.

Attended Byrd's memorial service this morning at the SGI Community Center on Nordhoff, it was good getting a "byrd's" eye view of a side of her life that I didnt know about. For instance, I never knew that the 50s classic "Singing in the Rain" was one of her favorite movies and that she always saw it with her good friend Kevin whenever it was shown in town. Town being LA, you know the city of dreams, as in broken, deferred, fulfilled, impossible, come true and otherwise.

I wish I had known the special things about her like that her favorite movie was "Singing in the Rain.” Or that she spent a year in Africa or the fact that she had been motivated to become a lawyer after seeing a friend lose in court. Or even that she used to be a voiceover actor. There were other things that I would like to have known more about, stories and remembrances, some funny, some poignant; all were told with emotion.

And although it was fine finding out about Byrd from others who loved her, when all is said and done I still want to be selfish. Yes, I can believe she is resting and will be reborn when the energy is right. And yes I know I can connect with her when I'm chanting. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to see her again and say something, like "Hey Byrd, I heard from Kevin that your favorite movie is "Singing in the Rain," that's one of my favorites too, so what do you think about "A Clockwork Orange"?

Wishful thinking I know, just a different kind of dream. So instead I will try to keep smiling through my tears.

Jean Anker

I'm opening up this new thread for everyone who knew her, online or in person, to express your feelings about the passing of our dear friend Byrd.

Michele

OK...You may be wondering about the title of this entry. "What," I hear you cry, "is Bento Box Buddhism?" Well, if you look below, you can see a Japanese bento box - it's a style of serving food. Each dish is in a completely separate compartment, walled off from all the other foods -- gastronomic apartheid raised to the level of art:

It's awful pretty, isn't it?

On our plates, the beans and the dressing shove each other aside and complete for which one gets to cover up the turkey. If the butter actually lands on your roll, you've done well for yourself, and the gravy could pretty much soak anything except the apple pie - but that's only because dessert is a separate course. Regional tastes come into play, too -- seafood gumbo in Louisiana and tamales and salsa near the Mexican border.

So, what does this have to do with Buddhism? Well, for some of us, Buddhism is all about keeping ourselves and our practice walled off in a separate compartment, unpolluted by interaction with Buddhists who do not belong to our group. Others of us feel compelled to pour gravy on everything, and mix up our beans and dressing. If, as Mom always said, "it all ends up in the same place", then what difference does it make how our nourishment is served up?

My tummy is growling in anticipation of your thoughts, dear readers...

Byrd in LA

We know each other pretty well by now, and he knew there was something wrong.

HIM: You OK? What's up?

ME: I haven't been sleeping too well. I'm just kind of tired and bummed out, I guess.

HIM: What's the matter?

ME: Well, I think I'm in the process of getting kicked out of my church.

HIM: Is that the group you wanted to take me to?

ME: Uh.....yeah....but the Buddhism part is OK, it's just the group that's acting kind of weird.

HIM: Well, if the Buddhism part is OK, I mean, if it helps you be a better person like you say, then why are they acting so weird?

ME: Good question, Gilbert. I can't help you with that one.

I kind of stared silently out of the truck for awhile, while the scenic cement of Panorama City rolled past my window. I felt as desolate as one of those cracked, empty parking lots. Gilbert decided to break the silence.

ME: Huh?

HIM: What'd you do to get kicked out?

ME: They don't like things I wrote on the internet. I don't agree with some stuff that the church has done, and I started asking questions they didn't like, so they're kicking me out. They say it has something to do with the leader in Japan - that I have to be more respectful to him.

HIM: You mean like you said "goddamn the Pope", or something?

ME: Well, I didn't actually say "goddamn" anybody. It was more like I was just hoping people would think for themselves and talk about ideas without only having to talk about his ideas. I thought I was just sort of throwing stuff out there for people to think about and talk about. You know, basic free speech stuff.

HIM: And now they're kicking you out?

ME: Looks that way.

HIM: That's why I won't go to no damn churches! It's that kind of crap! I'm not going to that damn church! You better not ask me again.

ME: No, I won't ask you again, Gilbert, I'm so sorry I ever did. I would never take you anyplace where anyone would try to shut you up or shut you down. I'm sorry...I dunno....I'm just so bummed. I've been with them for 24 years, that's all. That's a long time - like a marriage, or something. And then to just get a phone call saying "you're not welcome anymore". It's kind of a weird feeling.

HIM: You got friends in that church?

ME: Oh, yeah - a lot of them. I thought so, at least.

HIM: Did they have a vote or something? To kick you out?

ME: The gal who called me said they did, but I don't know. If there was a vote, I wasn't invited.

HIM: That's why I don't go to no damn churches! You know, one time I had a preacher tell me that if I didn't bring in my whole family, that he'd kick me out.

ME: What'd you say?

HIM: I said "goodbye". Besides, he didn't know what he was asking for. He don't know my whole family. Those churches are always telling you who you can hang out with. And Jesus hung out with everybody. Nope, you won't catch me going to no damn church.

ME: Gilbert, some day I'm going to collect all your sayings and put them in a book, and I'm going to call it "The Wisdom of Gilbert".

HIM: And then we can read it together.

ME: You got that right. Then we can read it together.

I was startled, therefore, to receive a telephone call on Saturday night at about 8:00 from a woman's division leader who was "assigned" to my district about a year and a half ago. She informed me that she and a men's division leader wanted to come by to my home immediately in order to chant with me and "have a talk."

I declined their request to drop by, and asked what it was that they wanted to talk about. Although I took some notes, the content of the "message" was rather jumbled. I asked if we could discuss the matter the next day at the activity, but was told in no uncertain terms that I was being made persona non grata at my friend's home the next day, as a reaction to the contents of this blog.

"No!" I was told me sternly in response to my request to discuss the issues the next day at the potluck. "You are not welcome!"

"Was a vote taken on this?" I asked

"Well...uh...yeah!" she replied. There was a hesitant gap between the "uh" and the "yeah", so I'm not actually sure who the jury was on this vote. I was too startled to press the issue of whether or not the hostess had been consulted on the issue of who was and who was not "welcome" in her home. Of course, if I had been invited to my own trial, I would have made the following,obvious point:

Fer cryin' out loud, guys! Chill out! It's a freakin' blog! Do you know how many blogs there are out there? Like, about fifty gazillion. I'm not promoting this page on Larry King, I'm not taking out ads in the LA Times, I'm not doing anything but but writing out my thoughts, guys. Take a chill pill. Get a grip.

1. I have written of Soka Gakkai International President Daisaku Ikeda in an irreverent fashion, sometimes referring to him by the common online moniker "PI" (for "President Ikeda"), and I have failed to embrace the SGI's current focus on the Mentor/Disciple relationship, specifically as it requires the adoption of Daisaku Ikeda as a Mentor in Life.

I admit that both of these points are true. However, as I pointed out to my caller, I have never been anything but polite and well-mannered at SGI meetings. I asked my caller whether she could name a single instance where I had comported myself at an SGI activity with anything but good manners. Had I contradicted any speakers? "Promoted" any other denominations to any member in our district or chapter, to her knowledge? Denigrated PI to the membership of the district, or to any guest? This provoked the outraged second charge:

2. My completely faultless, cheerful good manners at SGI activities has been "incredibly deceitful"

Apparently, if I were honest about my true identity as an enemy of the SGI, I would be barging about the Community Center Gohonzon room, bellowing obscenities, flecking the guests with sputum, and singeing the eyebrows of an amazed leadership with the match-lit blasts of my streaming garlic-farts. Instead, I have behaved graciously toward the guests and affectionately toward the members, even going so far as to engage in such "deceitful" conduct as:

Coming early to Buddhist memorial services in order to help set up and greet the guests;

Bringing up to 75 pieces of fried chicken at a time to pot-luck gatherings;

Attending daimoku tosos to chant for the health of cancer-stricken members, adults and children alike;

And other, similar examples of "deceitful", secretly harbored ill-will towards the SGI and its members too numerous to list.

There were a few other offenses hurled at me (including the always-problematic issue of my tone), but one of the most important appeared to be:

3. I have failed to "talk to my leaders" about the issues discussed on this page before posting my opinions. In other words, I have failed to submit my speech to an implied censorship process (at least that is as clear as I can be about the charge - if the leaders who want to be "talked to" before I post can clarify this complaint, I would be most grateful).

Actually, I acknowledged this potential issue in my very first post on this site.

"Have you ever talked to your leaders about these things?" The caller sharply demanded.

"Well, yeah. I just talked to (some leaders) a month or so ago," I pointed out.

"Yes, but they had to call you!" came the retort.

Huh. Apparently, chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to the Gohonzon is supposed to result in some sort of naturally occurring Buddha insight that I'm not competent to express my own thoughts and observations about my religious community without submitting my ideas to an intellectual supervisor first. Actually, I did enjoy that earlier meeting quite a lot, much more than I enjoyed last Saturday's phone call. Interestingly, that other leader also characterized my good manners at SGI activities as "duplicitous," a problem which I attempted to address in another entry.

I will try to answer this "why don' t I talk to my leaders before writing" question in brief by saying that I don't have any real reason to talk to my "leaders" and not talk to the general membership. Since I have essentially vowed not to "disturb the unity and faith" of the general membership, I don't raise unauthorized issues with them, and there is really no logical reason (other than a purely arbitrary administrative hierarchy) why I should be discussing with people "up the line" and not "down the line". I don't have any reason to believe that the people up the line are better informed, more intelligent, stronger Buddhist practitioners, or anything else. They're certainly not my elected or chosen representatives. So, since I am effectively restrained from initiating discussions of non-SGI books, denominations, and interpretations of Buddhism with the general membership, I am identically restrained from initiating such conversations with the leadership. Unless someone can prove to me that SGI leaders, (athough generally wonderful, hard-working volunteers), are any better-read, better-informed, more articulate, or more intelligent than the general membership, I have no reason to prefer their opinion over that of the "little guys".

I will talk about this issue more at a later date.

But for now, here is my current dilemma: I am trying to hit an August 8 deadline for a screenplay writing contest. This whole issue of whether or not my writing has rendered me persona non grata in my church is tending to be a bit of a distraction for me, and I'm sure the SGI wouldn't want to sabotage their memberships' pursuit of their dreams. Even deceitful, evil people like me. Therefore, I am going to continue on behaving as though Saturday evening's bizarre telephone conversation did not occur. I will attend the same activities I have always attended (such as district discussion meetings, etc.) and will comport myself courteously. I look forward (as always) to seeing my friends and chanting with them.

I also hope that the SGI-USA leadership will seriously consider that since the SGI's Mentor Daisaku Ikeda is the founder of a university here in the United States, a documented campaign by the SGI-USA to enforce reverence for him by prosecuting blogsites might not make him look too good, particularly since we spend so much time promoting his work as an international advocate of human rights. Remember, guys....that's all it this is...a blog.

If anyone wishes to contact me to discuss any matter, they can certainly give me a call. I will not, however, open my home to people who are coming there to restrict what I believe to be my rights, however "heartfelt" and "sincere" their tone may be in doing so. I also prefer not to submit my writing to the supervision of anyone who is employed as a criminal prosecutor. I'm just uncomfortable with anyone who puts people in jail (or to death) for a living "cracking down" on dissident speech in his or her spare time. It's a power thing, and I hope you can all work with me on that. Otherwise, I am always available for a coffee at McDonald's, where we can discuss these bizarre matters under the happy eye of a real clown.

Stay happy, stay enlightened, stay cool - Byrd in LA

P.S. If you really feel angry with me, and don't know what else to do except crack down on my blog, the Buddha did leave a remedy for the painful emotion of anger: lovingkindness. It's really a great antidote.

I think we Americans puzzle our Buddhist mentors in Japan. Why, if we in the US have such a diverse population, and so many people here who can benefit from the Nichiren Buddhist practice, is the SGI-USA organization not growing by leaps and bounds? I can see the earnest souls in Tokyo scratching their heads and wondering, "What's wrong with the Americans?"

I think I can answer that question (or at least kick off a discussion), and I hope I can do so in a way which will aid in our mutual understanding.

So, starting today, I will be writing on the question of why the SGI-USA is stalling, and what, if anything, can be done about it? In other words, "What's wrong with the Americans?"

One simple way of approaching the issue (and it's easy to remember because it rhymes!) is to keep in mind that Americans like to have CHOICES, and we like to have VOICES.

That's just the landscape of this country - it's not rhetorical or ceremonial. It's a part of how we see ourselves, and who we are. We don't surrender our choices and our voices without resistance, and this, I think, is where the SGI-USA has run into trouble.

The entire governance structure of the SGI-USA is built on the principle that world peace (or "kosen-rufu") can best be achieved by depriving individuals of meaningful choice. This approach will not have long-term success in the United States. For example: we have no voice or choice in who our "leaders" are. We have no voice or choice as far as what we can read or discuss in a group (our "study materials" are assigned on a national level every month). We have no choice or voice as to whether we can pursue any program of higher learning or advancement in the church. We have no choice or voice as to acquiring property for the members to use. We have no choice or voice in how our donations are spent. The organization reacts with alarm and disciplinary action when people exercise their choice to worship with members of other Nichiren denominations. We have no choice or voice in anything, really. I suppose we might have a choice or a voice as to what the theme for this month's discussion meeting will be, but that's not a very substantive choice or voice.

The organization typically responds to this kind of observation ("we don't have a choice or a voice") by crying, "Don't complain!! Be the change you want to see!" Actually, I don't think it's complaining so much as it's observing, and yes, I am being the change I want to see -- that's why I've been cultivating interdenominational gatherings of Nichiren Buddhists and supporting them in whatever way I can. Of course, if I do that (being "the change I want to see"), I'm "breaking unity", but that's another blog entry.

Another example of this issue (choices and voices) is the SGI-USA's recent push to have the organization's leaders sign off on a mandatory code of conduct form, a push which has met with some grass roots resistance. This has to be confusing to the Japanese...the SGI-USA general membership has been complaining for years about leadership misconduct on various levels, so why are Americans resisting a set of rules? It's simple....the leaders who were being asked to sign didn't have a choice, and they didn't have a voice. It's also possible that these Americans (both as individuals and as a group) simply went without choice or voice in the SGI-USA for so long that they decided to put their feet down and say "this far and no further" to any more directives from above. Not being a leader myself, and therefore not being privy to what is discussed at leaders' meeting, I can only speculate, of course.

Some people in the SGI-USA have criticized me for worshipping with members of the Nichiren Shu and for advocating some traditional Nichiren practices, such as copying the sutra, chanting the sutra in my native language, or chanting to the beat of a taiko drum. In my defense, I must point out that having these kind of choices keeps my practice fresh and interesting. It keeps my prayers from becoming mechanical. After almost 24 years of chanting, I appreciate that.

As long as Americans have to surrender their choices and their voices in order to practice "united" Buddhism within the SGI, our organization will have an extremely limited appeal in this country. Of course, that doesn't mean that Nichiren Buddhism needs to have a limited appeal - not at all.

Thanks for reading, everybody. For those of you scratching your heads on the other side of the Pacific, my next entry will discuss the differences between UNITY and UNIFORMITY.

Stay smart, stay happy, stay cool,

Byrd in LA

The Vatican is "disappointed" that the Anglican church is considering the ordination of women bishops. How sad it is that the English are drifting away from enforcing the sacred and traditional second-class status of women. This regrettable development may even act as an "obstacle" to future cooperation between the churches.

Don't hurt yourself trying to build a fire, guys.

Bye for now, Byrd in LA

I have had the opportunity to participate in the practice of Shakyo a couple of times, now, and I find it a very meditative, and yet engrossing practice. This traditional nichiren practice of copying the sutra involves actually tracing the calligraphy characters of Namu-Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo. Here is a Shakyo copy sheet, which has two rows (top and bottom) of the daimoku characters, and five rows across as well (this makes ten chances to copy the daimoku calligraphy on each page):

http://tinyurl.com/6gmev9

You're not supposed to talk while you're doing this, as it is a meditative practice (that includes no cellphones, no TV chatter, and no iPod). I'm not sure what the procedure is if your cat decides to lie down on the copying sheet and take a nap. I assume you are supposed to quietly but firmly remove the cat before continuing.

Doing this practice made me much more appreciative of Nichiren's artistic skill in inscribing the mandala Gohonzon. My daimoku looked childish and scribbly in comparison with his.

At any event, this is a practice which I very much enjoyed, and I look forward to doing it again at another retreat. And, according to the Japan times, it will also keep me from becoming senile (I'm already a bit demented)!

Stay cool, Byrd in LA

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...

http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/index.htm

I had fun re-reading this document. It's also fun to look around this site and read about the men (and yes, Abigail, they were all men) who signed it. And not just any men, either -- all white men with real property holdings.

Most of them were also quite young by our standards today. And some of them had absolutely fabulous names. Names like:

Button Gwinnett (sounds like a haberdashery tool -- sorry, Button) Anyway, good old Button died at the age of 42 after being shot by his political rival in a duel (something they seem to have done a lot of in those days), but not until after Button had led an unsuccessful attempt to invade Florida!
http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/signers/gwinnett.htm

and:

Charles Carroll of Carollton (I guess he didn't want to be confused with that other Charles Carroll of Schenectady):
http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/signers/carroll.htm

I really am enjoying reading about these signers - I honestly had no idea about any of them (except maybe Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, and Samuel Adams - the beer guy).

They had some interesting complaints about the British, too -- and they were none too gentle about their tone (there I go with the tone issue again). Wow! Those Founding Fathers really let their rhetoric fly! You gotta love it.

Anyway, have a fabulous 4th, everybody -- stay cool, don't drink and drive, and enjoy the fireworks.

Your fellow American, overcome with a red, white and blue fit of fabulous rhetorical flourishes (oops, and, uh, bowing deeply with palms together),

Byrd in LA

Ryuei Discussing the Dharma
(Note Boom-able Jumbo Taiko Drum)

Terri Warms Us Up For Kundalini Yoga

A Beautiful, Clear Day With Hardly Anyone At the Beach!

One feature of the retreat which has gotten generally rave reviews was the experience of reciting the Lotus Sutra together with a group of people in English. We did a service twice a day (as usual), but sometimes we recited the sutra in Shindoku (the way it's normally done in SGI), and sometimes we recited together in English. Apparently, reciting the sutra together in the native language of believers is a common practice outside Nichiren Shoshu and the SGI.

I remember when I first joined the SGI (back then it was NSA) in 1984. One of the first things I did was find an English version of the Lotus Sutra and write the English translation into my old burnt-orange prayer book (remember those?) That way, I knew what I was chanting while I did gongyo. But until I started hanging out with members of the more traditional Nichiren Shu, I never said the prayers aloud in English. And I certainly had little experience reciting the sutra in English with a group.

One of the retreatants wrote to me of this aspect of the program (reciting the sutra together in English):

I think that we chanted so much in English is interesting. And how easy that was when we used the particular intonation and rhythm that we followed. And how faith-deepening that was, being in our native language, so that we could understand the sutra's meaning. Quite different from chanting it in Shindoku and then later going back and reading the translation from a book. It's more immediate and visceral (am I using the right word here?) when you chant it in English. Not that I don't love Shindoku. I like chanting that way, too.

VISCERAL.....yeah, you're using the right word. That's a very good word for the feeling I got from this practice.

Won-der-ful Dhar-ma Lo-tus Flow-er Su-tra
The Du-ra-tion of the Life of the Ta-tha-ga-ta
Chap-ter Six-teen

It is man-y hun-dreds of thou-sands
Of bil-lions of tril-lions
Of a-sam-khyas of kal-pas
Since I be-came the Bud-dha

*For the past in-nu-mer-a-ble kal-pas
I have al-ways been ex-pound-ing the Dhar-ma
To man-y hun-dreds of mil-lions of liv-ing be-ings
In or-der to lead them in-to the Way to Bud-dha-hood.

*In or-der to save the con-trar-y peo-ple,
I skill-ful-ly show my nir-va-na to them.
In re-al-i-ty I shall ne-ver pass a-way.
I al-ways live here and ex-pound the Dhar-ma.

*Al-though I al-ways live here
With the con-trar-y peo-ple,
I dis-ap-pear from their eyes
By my su-per-nat-u-ral pow-ers.

When they see me seem-ing-ly pass a-way,
And make of-fer-ings to my sha-ri-ras,
And a-dore me, ad-mi-re me,
And be-come de-vout, up-right and gen-tle,
And wish to see me
With all their hearts
At the cost of their lives,
I re-ap-pear on Vul-ture Peak
With my San-gha,
And say to them:
“I al-ways live here.
I shall ne-ver be ex-tinct.
I show my ex-tinc-tion to you skill-ful-ly
Al-though I ne-ver pass a-way.
I al-so ex-pound the un-sur-passed Dhar-ma
To the liv-ing be-ings of the o-ther worlds
If they re-spect me, be-lieve me,
And wish to see me.
You have ne-ver heard this;
There-fore, you thought that I pass a-way.”

I see the con-trar-y peo-ple sink-ing
In an o-cean of suf-fer-ing.
There-fore, I dis-ap-pear from their eyes
And cause them to ad-mi-re me.
When they a-dore me,
I ap-pear and ex-pound the Dhar-ma to them.

I can do all this by my su-per-nat-u-ral pow-ers.
I live on Vul-ture Peak
And al-so in the o-ther a-bodes
For a-sam-khya kal-pas.

The con-trar-y peo-ple think:
“This world is in a great fi-re.
The end of the kal-pa of de-struc-tion is com-ing.”
In re-al-i-ty this world of mine is peace-ful.
It is filled with gods and hu-mans.
The gar-dens, for-ests, and state-ly build-ings
Are a-dorned with var-i-ous trea-sures;
The jew-eled trees have man-y flow-ers and fruits;
The liv-ing be-ings are en-joy-ing them-selves;
And the gods are beat-ing heav-en-ly drums,
Mak-ing var-i-ous kinds of mu-sic,
And rain-ing man-da-ra-va flow-ers on the great mul-ti-tude and me.

This pure world of mine is in-de-struc-ti-ble.
But the con-trar-y peo-ple think:
“It is full of sor-row, fear, and o-ther suf-fer-ings.
It will soon burn a-way.”

Be-cause of their evil kar-mas,
These sin-ful peo-ple will not be a-ble
To hear e-ven the names of the Three Trea-sures
Dur-ing a-sam-khya kal-pas.

To those who have ac-cum-u-la-ted mer-its,
And who are gen-tle and up-right,
And who see me liv-ing here,
Ex-pound-ing the Dhar-ma,
I say:
“The du-ra-tion of my life is im-mea-sur-a-ble.”
To those who see me aft-er a long time,
I say, “It is dif-fi-cult to see a Bud-dha.”

I can do all this by the pow-er of my wis-dom.
The light of my wis-dom knows no bound.
The du-ra-tion of my life is in-num-er-a-ble kal-pas.
I ob-tained this lon-ge-vi-ty by a-ges of prac-ti-ces.

All of you, wise men!
Have no doubts a-bout this!
Re-move your doubts, have no more!
My words are true, not false.

The phy-si-cian, who sent a man skill-ful-ly
To tell his con-trar-y sons
Of the death of their fa-ther in or-der to cure them,
Was not ac-cused of false-hood al-though he was still a-live.

In the same man-ner, I am the fa-ther of the world.
I am sav-ing all liv-ing be-ings from suf-fer-ing.
Be-cause they are con-trar-y,
I say that I shall pass a-way al-though I shall not.
If they al-ways see me,
They will be-come ar-ro-gant and li-cen-tious,
And cling to the five de-si-res,
So much that they will fall in-to the e-vil re-gions.

I know who is prac-tic-ing the Way and who is not.
There-fore, I ex-pound var-i-ous teach-ings
To all liv-ing be-ings
Ac-cord-ing to their ca-pa-ci-ties.

*I am al-ways think-ing:
“How shall I cause all liv-ing be-ings
To en-ter in-to the un-sur-passed Way
*And quick-ly be-come Bud-dhas?”

SGI-USA members who chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo at SGI community centers and culture centers generally stay in rhythm with each other by relying on a "fukudoshi", or a leader who chants into a microphone. Before the invention of microphones, Nichiren Buddhists stayed in rhythm with each other by following the beat of taiko drums. Some of these drums are pretty big, and quite loud - their pounding sound is intended to fill up large rooms full of people.

The traditional Nichiren Shu still uses taiko drums to drive the beat of the daimoku, and Ryuei Michael McCormick brought down several drums with him to Port Hueneme this past weekend. One jumbo taiko drum, one large hand-held drum, and two smaller fan-style drums. Those drums brought out the kindergartner in me, and I happily banged away to my heart's content. It's always fun to have a good excuse to make a lot of noise...but there were a few occasions this weekend when I wondered what the neighbors were thinking of our little band, boom-boom-booming away with our daimoku and a set of drums to boot.

Namu-Myo-HO-Ren-GE-KYO
Namu-Myo-HO-Ren-GE-KYO
Namu-Myo-HO-Ren-GE-KYO
Namu-Myo-HO-Ren-GE-KYO
Namu-Myo-HO-Ren-GE-KYO

When doing the Shodaigyo meditation, or when chanting daimoku after gongyo, we would start out s-l-o-w-l-y...and then get a little faster, then a little faster, then finally, we would be driving ahead full steam with the drum leading the way, Namu-Myo-HO-Ren GE-KYO!

Of course, the small-ish Gohonzon room at the Ankers' beach home was not a huge temple sanctuary - not by a long shot - and the drums boomed quite loudly in the little space. One poor fellow had to take out his hearing aids, and I felt bad about that.

The drums not only gave me a rhythm to follow with my chanting, they also gave me a sense of being "in rhythm" with the history of Nichiren Buddhism. I liked that. We were connecting up with a centuries-old drumbeat of the Wonderful Dharma. Right here in the good old USA. How cool is that?

I will post some photos of us and our fabulous drums as soon as I get some.

Stay well and happy, Byrd in LA

Right now, I am waiting to get some photos to post, so that you-all can get a look at what went down at this fabulous event, and see all the "players" in their element.

The weekend itself, I must say, was quite luxurious. If the Gathering of Friends Buddhist Retreat were listed on Trip Advisor, there is no doubt that it would earn five stars!

We started off Friday night with evening gongyo and a Shodaigyo meditation.

http://nichirenscoffeehouse.net/Ryuei/Shodaigyo.html

This is a meditation where the chanting of Nam(u) Myoho Renge Kyo is sort of "framed" by two sessions of silent meditation. I really enjoy this approach to chanting, and use it in my private practice.

After we finished the Friday evening services, we all went to bed. My room-mate was a wonderful gal who led our Kundalini yoga on the beach session on Saturday. I drove back to LA with her on Sunday, and feel like I made a new friend.

The weather in Port Hueneme was fabulous - warm and sunny, but not too hot.

....and let's not forget the fabulous, fabulous food which we were able to eat at this wonderful event. No poor Buddhists with their begging bowls here, no sir-ee. Our dinner on Saturday evening was a delicious buffet of oregano baked chicken, multi-colored pesto fettuccini, an abundant green garden salad, and sides of tabouleh, hummus, sushi, Thai pasta salad, and a dessert of fresh strawberry shortcake. Honest to God, if the Four Seasons luxury hotel chain were to hold a Buddhist retreat, it might be something like this one.

So, anyway, my next entry will be dealing with the actual content of the retreat (dharma talks, discussions, etc.). I just had to rave about the digs and the food. It was a wonderful weekend in every way - I needed that.

More tomorrow....

Byrd in LA

The retreat kicks off tonight with gongyo and chanting daimoku. Some of us are staying at our hosts' vacation home, and others are staying in nearby motels. Tomorrow (Saturday) morning, we will kick off at 9:00 am with gongyo and a dharma talk by Ryuei Michael McCormick. Then, we will have a day full of various activities, including a beach barbecue, more chanting and walking meditation, and the practice of "shakyo".

Then, tomorrow night, we will watch a movie ("Little Buddha") together and stay over for another night.

On Sunday, we will have morning gongyo, another dharma talk, some more daimoku, and a lovely brunch. I am in charge of slicing up the fruit for everyone, so I'm bringing along some of my own knives for the job.

I'm taking the train up there from Los Angeles after work tonight, and I am so very excited! I will definitely blog about the experience next week - stay tuned! I might even have some photos!

Enjoy your weekend (I hear "Wall-E" is good). I know I'm going to enjoy my weekend a lot!

Be earnest, be adventurous, be cool.

Byrd in LA