2010 October 23 « Rev. Danny Fisher

October 23, 2010

A Gift of Dharma for 10.23.10

Today’s quote is from the great Taigen Dan Leighton, “an author, scholar, and translator, as well as a fully authorized teacher in Shunryu Suzuki Roshi’s Soto Zen lineage and a Dharma heir of Tenshin Reb Anderson” who serves as Guiding Dharma Teacher at Chicago’s Ancient Dragon Zen Gate. This is it:

The bodhisattva vows are guides to our expression of deepest reality. Vowing is the practice of sustaining our beneficial expressions. Such commitment is the fruit of recognizing the truth and the potentialities of our personal place in reality. Thus we enter a dynamic situation in which we meet the problems of our lives and the world with upright noble faith, confirmed in the aim toward the direction of universal awakening. The power of this bodhisattva commitment allows us gentle flexibility and subtlety in the conduct of our lives.

October 23, 2010

The 98th Annual Legislative Assembly of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai’i Unanimously Passes Resolution in Support of Equal Rights for Same-Gender Couples

Arun at Angry Asian Buddhist points us to this praiseworthy news from the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai’i:

On Friday, February 12, 2010, the 98th Annual Legislative Assembly of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii approved a resolution in support of equal rights for same-gender couples.

“Members of our Sangha (congregation) believe we should share our perspective on this important issue,” said President Alton Miyamoto. “We want to share our Buddhist values of Universal Compassion, Equality and Interdependence with the larger community. We believe this issue is a matter of civil rights. We affirm the human dignity and worth of all people and that everyone deserves equal treatment within our society.”

Over 100 delegates and observers from 36 temples across the State of Hawaii convened at the state headquarters located at 1727 Pali Highway. The Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii is a Shin Buddhist community which celebrated its 120th Anniversary in Hawaii in 2009. The Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii is the largest Buddhist denomination in Hawaii.

“Our primary goal as Buddhists is to awaken to the spiritual truth of interdependence and equality,” said Bishop Thomas R. Okano. “To truly realize interdependence we need to become aware of the inherent interconnectedness with others and develop a profound sense of compassion and responsibility for the welfare of all beings. In Buddhism, the ideal is Universal Compassion. If it’s good for one person, it must be good for another. Equality is of prime importance.”

Read the resolution itself here. The Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii has also produced an important fact sheet as well, which you can read here.

October 23, 2010

Thanissaro Bhikkhu Coming to University of the West on November 20th!

Be there or be square, Angelenos!

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October 23, 2010

“You Speak, Bhante…” – My Latest Interview with the Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi for MahaSangha News

Please check out a recap of Buddhist Global Relief’s participation at the latest Center for Interfaith Action on Global Poverty (CIFA) by the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi — the well-known and prodigious translator of Pali Buddhist texts into English, and founder of Buddhist Global Relief — for MahaSangha News. Here’s a snippet:

The first part of the meeting was devoted to an overview of the draft, followed by a lengthy discussion of the document among the participants. Kim and I kept silent during the early part of the discussion, regarding this as an opportunity to listen and learn. But after most members had spoken, the executive director of CIFA, Jean Duff, looked up at Kim and me and said: “I would like to hear what our representatives from Buddhist Global Relief have to say.” Kim turned to me and said to me: “You speak, bhante.” I rose to my feet, a bit apprehensive about speaking before people who knew much more about this field than I do. But, screwing up my courage, I called attention to something I could not find in the draft but which I know from our BGR work is critical in helping impoverished communities emerge from poverty.

Read the whole thing here.

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