Hi everyone,
The following is actually just a report on what I am doing lately as well as a shameless bid at self-promotion. You have been warned.
Well, my Marin Co. "group" is on a hiatus for the moment. In the meantime my Faithful Fools meetings have become very interesting. I have about four people who show up semi-regularly. None of them are Nichiren Buddhists, but all of them have been good sports about chanting with me for the last half hour. The conversations have ranged from the ten worlds in our daily lives, to Zen koans that people ask me about (thankfully I am familiar with koan literature and can put them in some perspective though I don't have "answers" for anybody and am not qualified to instruct or lead koan practice - for that I will refer people elsewhere), to the meaning of the prayers and dedictions in the Sacred Services of Nichiren Shu. Oftentimes, after the 40 minutes of silent sitting (bookended by Odaimoku Sansho) which starts these sessions I will just give people a chance to check in. I usually don't have a particular talk prepared because I am more interested in seeing where people are at (or if there will be any people) and then addressing any particular Dharmic comments, observations or teachings to whatever is brought up. I like this kind of organic approach to Dharma discussion. I like the surprises and the way the conversation will go in unexpectedly illuminating directions. And then there are times when ideas or teachings I try to relate will just crash and burn when they hit up against the hard core realities that people bring to these sessions. And that is good too. From the airy fairy heights of abstraction the Dharma needs to be brought down to where the rubber hits the road - as it was intended by the Buddha and all the great teaches who have passed on the Dharma since then.
Over the past few years I have also had chances to visit other Sanghas. I have spoken at several Zen centers and groups in order to present Nichiren Buddhism's approach to the Lotus Sutra and/or Shodaigyo practice. I have had a chance to run a weekend retreat in Denmark, a one day workshop in Tokyo, various presentations in bookstores, and it looks like I will probably be the guest teacher at a weekend sesshin at another Zen Center on the East Coast in October (I will not say more until I have my tickets in hand - I don't want to jinx anything). I really enjoy these opportunities to teach, not because I get to be in the spotlight (which actually I hardly ever feel ready for), but mostly because it is a joy to have a chance to practice and discuss Buddhism with large established groups of enthusiastic Buddhists. Retreats I especially enjoy because it gives me a chance to do some sustained practice - whether I am leading it or not.
Unfortunately for me, between work and family and other obligations I don't have the time or the money to go on any long retreats (say longer than a day and certainly not anywhere farther than a couple of hours drive from where I live), though I hope someday I will be able to. So I always look at requests to teach or lead a workshop or retreat here or abroad as a chance to do what I can't normally justify doing - taking some time out from home and work to delve a bit deeper into practice with fellow Buddhists.
Anyway, all this is my way of saying - Hey! Let's get together and practice. If anyone is in the San Francisco or North Bay area - please come over to the Faithful Fools Meditation Hall on Sunday from 3 -5 pm and check us out. If you don't show up, don't think other people are going to keep it going and that someday you can come by. The Marin Co. group has ended because no one was really into it. I got several people who said they were interested, but they always had better things to do So now the option is no longer there. The Sangha can only come about if people take some time out to show up and give the Dharma a try. If you don't show up - it fades away.
Now as for outside the Bay Area, I am also available to journey just about anywhere in the world to lead a workshop or retreat (well, downtown Baghdad or Kabul would be outside my purview). I would love to do so, and it is what I have been trained by Nichiren Shu and many other people to do. However, I need your support to do that - I can't do it for free. When it comes to this I can only quote my own favorite Dharma Teacher (well - my favorite among those I don't know personally) Brad Warner. The following is from Brad Warner's Blog:
NOTE: I'm not trying to do this Buddhist teaching thing for a living, nor do I aspire to make any money from it. I have a job that I like & that pays my bills. However, I am not wealthy, so I try to lose as little money as possible when travelling to these gigs. I can only do them if either the person doing the inviting pays my way to & from the place and provides a place to stay (I've done floors and peoples' kids' bedrooms, so I'm flexible), or if I just happen to be in the neighborhood for another reason. I'll try & post when that happens (see note regarding Boston above). Also, I don't wanna try and set up the out of town gigs myself. So, while I appreciate e-mails saying, "I live in Hooperville, Louisiana and there's a place here called Trucker's Hallow, which I'm sure would love to have you talk on a Saturday night if you don't mind shouting over the pool players and the jukebox," I really can't do much with information like that.
So if you are out there and are interested in Buddhism and live in the Bay Area, contact me and let's get together and practice. Think of it as Samsara Anonymous - let's work the eightfold path together. And if you are outside the Bay Area - contact me and let's see if there is a way to create a workshop or retreat in your area (assuming you have a group that can support such a thing). In the meantime, I will keep doing my thing at Faithful Fools (230 Hyde Street 3-5 pm on Sundays), assisting at the San Jose Temple, facilitating the Sutra Salon (which I seem to have fallen into the position of doing again), and being the guest Nichiren Shu minister at Taigen's Mt. Source Sangha. And if I am travelling on some other business, I'll try to let people know so that I can perhaps visit a Sangha near you.
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei
What Would Buddha Do if someone were to make cartoon of him or even to go so far as to mock him or the Dharma or the Sangha? Would he call for people to burn flags, or building, or assassinate infidels?
Fortunately there is no need to guess. Here is what the Buddha taught his followers:
"Monks, if anyone should speak in disparagement of me, of the Dhamma, or of the Sangha, you should not be angry, resentful or upset on that account. If you were to be angry or displeased at such disparagement, that would only be a hindrance to you. For if others disparage me, the Dhamma or the Sangha, and you were angry or displeased, can you recognize whether what they say is right or not?"
"No, Lord"
"If others disparage me, the Dhamma or the Sangha, then you must explain what is incorrect as being incorrect, saying: 'That is incorrect, that is false, that is not our way, that is not found among us.'
"But, monks, if others should speak in praise of me, of the Dhamma or of the Sangha, you should not on that account be pleased, happy or elated. If you were to be pleased, happy or elated at such praise, that would be a hindrance to you. If others praise me, the Dhamma or the Sangha, you should acknowledge that truth of what is true, saying: 'That is correct, that is right, that is our way, that is found among us.'"
(p. 68, The Long Discourses of the Buddha)
And so you don't often see masses of Buddhist bludgeoning and gashing themselves into a bloody frenzy over something that happened more than a thousand years ago, nor will you see Buddhist crying for blood and vengeance and killing each other over an unflattering cartoon. Buddhists do get into fights and misbehave (even the monastics) but generally this is something of an aberration and not business as usual.
When I look to the teachings and example of Shakyamuni Buddha, I find that they provide a very high standard of maturity, that even many in first world countries would be hard put to live up to. The Buddha, however, asserted that all of us have it in us to do so.
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei