Hi everyone,
This is to let everyone here know that I will be conducting an intensive practice retreat this coming May in Atlanta, Georgia. It will be held at the Nipponzan Myohoji temple. There is limited lodging available at the temple on a first come first serve basis. The cost for the retreat is $50 for all four days to cover food, but one may also wish to offer dana to the staff (which would be myself and the Tenzo or head cook). It is $15/day if you can only come to some of it. Though people are encouraged to come on Wed. night, the retreat will begin in earnest on Thursday morning and continue until Sunday at noon (though lunch will be offered on Sunday). This is a rare opportunity to participate in a rigorous form of Nichiren Buddhist practice for a four day period and to get more in-depth instruction in the meaning of the Three Jewels and the Three Great Hidden Dharmas according to the writings of Nichiren Shonin and the Lotus Sutra. This is open to those interested in Nichiren Buddhist practice anywhere in the world. All you have to do is come to Atlanta.
Contact me at ryuei2000@yahoo.com for more info. The tentative schedule is below:
Wednesday, May 9th.
· 8:00 PM orientation, light dinner
· 9:00 PM - lights out.
Thursday May 10th - Sunday, May 13th 1:00 PM
Mornings:
· Sunrise Nipponzan Myohoji Morning Prayer (Optional)
· 6:00 -7:00 Wake-up, Rise, Shine
· 7:00 - 7:30 Morning Service
· 7:30 - 9:00 Breakfast & Clean Up
· 9:00 - 9:20 Odaimoku Chanting
· 9:20 -10:00 Dharma Talk, Q&A
· 10:00 – 10:40 Silent Sitting Meditation
· 10:40 -10:50 Walking Meditation w/Odaimoku
· 10:50 -11:30 Shodaigyo Meditation
· 11:30 – 1:00 Lunch & Clean Up
Afternoons:
· 1:00 -1:40 Sutra Recitation
· 1:40 -1:50 Walking Meditation w/Odaimoku
· 1:50 - 2:30 Silent Sitting Meditation
· 2:30 - 3:00 Break
· 3:00 - 4:00 Dharma Talk, Q&A
· 4:00 - 4:40 Shodaigyo Meditation
· 4:40- 4:50 Walking Meditation w/Odaimoku
· 4:50 - 5:30 Shodaigyo Meditation
· 5:30 - 6:00 Evening Service
· 6:00 – 7:10 Nipponzan Myohoji Evening Prayer
· 7:10 – 8:30 Dinner & Clean Up
· 10:00 Lights out
Sunday May 13th (Morning schedule only)
The topics for each day will be as follows:
Thursday: Taking refuge in the Buddha as Gohonzon
Friday: Taking refuge in the Dharma as Odaimoku
Saturday: Taking refuge in the Sangha as Bodhisattvas of the Earth
Sunday: Bodhisattva Activity in the World
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei
Many many years ago my friend Peaux put together a compilation tape (this was in the days before CDs and Ipods) for me, and I have been following up on it here and there ever since. One song really haunted me, but I didn't know the actual name of it and I only vaguely remembered that the singer was someone named Tim Buckley. Well recently I came across the song, "No Man Can Find the War" and I downloaded it from here:
http://music.allofmp3.com/site_map.shtml
The song is really amazing, you really have to hear it. As with most songs the lyrics can't really convey the full feeling of it, and Tim Buckley's voice is amazing. I actually downloaded the whole album it is from "Goodbye and Hello" and its so good I may actually have to stop listening to PJ Harvey for awhile to let this stuff sink in fully. But anyway, back to "No Man Can Find the War", I think that even though the lyrics alone can't convey the whole feeling of it, nevertheless they might convey how timely such a song is and I hope people will be intrigued enough to hear it for themselves. Here are the lyrics:
Photographs of guns and flame
Scarlet skull and distant game
Bayonet and jungle grin
Nightmares dreamed by bleeding men
Lookouts tremble on the shore
But no man can find the war
Tape recorders echo scream
Orders fly like bullet stream
Drums and cannons laugh aloud
Whistles come from ashen shroud
Leaders damn the world and roar
But no man can find the war
Is the war across the sea?
Is the war behind the sky?
Have you each and all gone blind:
Is the war inside your mind?
Humans weep at human death
All the talkers lose their breath
Movies paint a chaos tale
Singers see and poets wail
All the world kows the score
But no man can find the war
Here, I'll share something else that I connect with this song. They are verses 103-105 of the Dhammapada as translated by my good friend (kalyanamitra) Glenn Wallis:
Though one might conquer in battle
a thousand times a thousand men,
the one who conquers himself alone
is supreme in battle.
It is better indeed to conquer yourself
rather than other people
For a person who tames himself
acting consciously always,
neither a radiant one nor an aerial spirit,
nor Mara together with Brahma
could turn into defeat the victory
of a person such as that.
(The Dhammapada: Verses on the Way, pp. 23-24)
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei