2010 December « Rev. Danny Fisher

A Gift of Dharma for 12.29.10

Today’s quote comes to us from Shunryu Suzuki Roshi(1904-1971), whom I previously quoted and wrote a little biography for here. This is it:

Hell is not punishment, it’s training.

Angry Asian Buddhist Has More on the Plight of Buddhists in Bangladesh

Arun at Angry Asian Buddhist continues his watch on the situation in Bangladesh. You should make sure to keep an eye on his blog for more on this matter. Here’s an important part of his latest post:

Bangladesh’s [embattled] Chittagong division is home to a large number of Buddhists, including the meditation masters Dipa Ma and Anagarika Munindra. These teachers in particular had a profound impact on Buddhism both in the West and elsewhere in Asia far beyond their native Chittagong. The Buddhists of Bangladesh, however, have no Dalai Lama or Aung San Suu Kyi to direct the world’s attention to their plight. They pursue their quest for liberty and justice largely in the shadow of the world’s attention.

Mark Oppenheimer Responds to Eido Shimano Roshi’s Letter to The New York Times

Mark Oppenheimer, author of the New York Times‘s August 20th, 2010, piece “Sex Scandal Has U.S. Buddhists Looking Within”, responds today to Eido Shimano Roshi’s letter to the “Grey Lady” about it (which I blogged about earlier in the week). Take a look at his blog Bloggenheimer.

You can read all my previous posts about the “Shimano Archives” here.

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December 28, 2010

Check Out My Latest Shambhala Sun Space Post — A Conversation with Joseph Goldstein!

Please check out my conversation with the great insight meditation teacher Joseph Goldstein over at Shambhala Sun Space. Joseph is one of the best-known teachers of Vipassana meditation in the United States; the co-founder (along with Jack Kornfield and Sharon Salzberg) of the Insight Meditation Society and Barre Center for Buddhist Studies; and the author of such books as A Heart Full of Peace, One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism, and The Experience of Insight. Here’s a snippet:

…You recently wrote the forward for Mirka Knaster’s Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra, which is about Anagarika Munindra, your first teacher. That’s something you and I have in common, actually: Munindra-ji was the first person who ever taught me meditation.

Oh, really? Where were you with him?

I was a student on Antioch Education Abroad’s Buddhist Studies in India program in 1999, and he was one of our teachers.

Ah. Yes.

In writing the forward and looking back on your time with Munindra-ji, did new thoughts or observations come up for you?

I wouldn’t say new thoughts so much—more reminders of so many of the qualities that I appreciated in him. In looking back now, one of the qualities I most appreciated—especially since he was my first teacher—was his extremely open mind with regards to different kinds of meditation practices. He always encouraged us to explore different methods. That’s sometimes unusual in teachers.

I always thought it was kind of perfect that he should be so connected with the AEA program, since [director] Robert Pryor’s vision for it is to be able to offer as wide a spectrum of Buddhist teachings for students to explore as possible.

Exactly. Munindra was an excellent example of that kind of open-mindedness.

Read the rest here.

As I mention in the post, Joseph will inaugurate an exciting new lecture series for InsightLA with a benefit event at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center’s Eli and Edythe Broad Stage on January 4th. Tickets are still available, and can be purchased here.