The Resource Page
Monday evening zazen and workshops
6:30 - 8:30 pm. We're joining the regular 30-minute zazen period offered in partnership with the IU Buddhist Study Association, so we'll need to reconvene at 7 pm on a different link for our Sanshin workshop. First quarter: Offering Workshops: Jan 25, Feb 22, Mar 22 Second quarter: Loving speech Workshops: Apr 26, May 24, June 28 Third quarter: Beneficial action Workshops: Jul 26, Aug 23, Sep 27 Fourth quarter: Identity action Workshops: Oct 25, Nov 22, Dec 27 Our discussion page
The conversation continues here beyond the workshops, with weekly questions for reflection and discussion. Post your response, offer comments in response to others and contribute to the conversation. You can also post your resource recommendations here if you wish; we'll get them transferred to the section below. Fugen (Samantabhadra) BodhisattvaThe Great Conduct Bodhisattva, representing the activity of practice (teachings in action)
Fugen's 10 great vows
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EVENTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
Beneficial action is the creation of skillful means to benefit living beings, both oneself and others.
Skillful means are those that move ourselves and others toward deeply understanding two related things: interconnectedness and cause and effect. Of course, the overall project of the bodhisattva is to liberate beings from the suffering caused by craving and aversion. We do this by cultivating the clarity to see how suffering and delusion arise and how we perpetuate them. We include all beings, all elements of our lives and the entirety of this one unified reality in that activity of liberation. We see one reality from two sides and express two sides in one action. Beneficial action within the Sanshin style The role of the temple The role of the individual Sustainable Development Goals
Sotoshu essays on SDGs Sotoshu has taken up the UN's 17 sustainable development goals and offers some ideas for simple individual action United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Here's complete information from the UN on the 17 goals Two translations of Shobogenzo Bodaisatta-Shishobo
We'll be using this text as a framework for our exploration of beneficial action and skillful community engagement. Here is a translation by Okumura Roshi and Taigen Leighton and another by Okumura Roshi's dharma brother, Daitsu Ton Wright. |
GUIDELINES FOR THE VIRTUAL ZENDO
• We remain mindful of the effect our words and actions have on others, and that those effects may seem magnified in a virtual setting.
• We enter and leave the virtual zendo with the same care and attention as we would use in entering and leaving the physical zendo, minimizing distraction for others.
• We practice right speech by refraining from lying, divisive speech, abusive speech and idle chatter.
• We listen respectfully, without talking over each other.
• We listen actively and practice with the aspiration to understand others' views. We don’t just think about what we're going to say while someone else is talking.
• We may disagree, but we do it respectfully. We do not engage in personal attacks.
• We are committed to dharma exploration and inquiry, not debating. We comment in order to share information, not to persuade.
• We avoid blame, speculation, and inflammatory language.
• We allow everyone the chance to speak, and when it's our turn we speak briefly and succinctly without rambling or filibuster.
• We enter and leave the virtual zendo with the same care and attention as we would use in entering and leaving the physical zendo, minimizing distraction for others.
• We practice right speech by refraining from lying, divisive speech, abusive speech and idle chatter.
• We listen respectfully, without talking over each other.
• We listen actively and practice with the aspiration to understand others' views. We don’t just think about what we're going to say while someone else is talking.
• We may disagree, but we do it respectfully. We do not engage in personal attacks.
• We are committed to dharma exploration and inquiry, not debating. We comment in order to share information, not to persuade.
• We avoid blame, speculation, and inflammatory language.
• We allow everyone the chance to speak, and when it's our turn we speak briefly and succinctly without rambling or filibuster.
GENERAL RESOURCES ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Mark Fraley's contact list for lawmakers:
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RESOURCES SUGGESTED BY PARTICIPANTS
Recommended by Shodo Spring:
Mountains and Waters Alliance - that's my website Honor the Earth is a basic connecting place for protecting land and water in northern Minnesota, along with indigenous rights. Lakota People's Law Project - general indigenous rights including pipelines. Climate Direct Action - perhaps the most heroic of all the climate groups Indiana: Interfaith Power and Light Indiana Forest Alliance Good starting place: Resilience - beautiful essays and extensive information, a good place to start. Also search it for the "What could possibly go right?" interviews - encouragement! Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center David Loy - and his latest book Ecodharma.. Recommended by Doju
(from his 24 Jan 2021 dharma talk) Pali Texts Aggañña-Sutta ("The Origin of the World"; DN 27) [Includes world-origin story, culminating in the creation of government and caste; the Buddha rejects the notion that low caste individuals are less likely to behave morally and that high caste individuals are more likely to behave morally] Cakkavatti-Sīhanāda Sutta ("The Lion's Roar on the Turning of the Wheel"; DN 26) [Includes a cyclical story of the first enlightened monarchy (of a "wheel turning king") gradually descending into chaos and crime over the course of many generations. When life-spans are reduced to only 10 years and murder is rampant, the people decide to take a seven-day "break, after which they decide to do good, and gradually, after many generations, a wheel turning king takes the throne again.] Mahāparinibbāna Sutta ("Great Parinirvana"; DN 16) [At the beginning of the Sutta, The Buddha explains the political advice he gave to the Vajjis, a people with some form of representative government, which sangha governance is then modeled on. It is a long text that explores many other topics and culminates in the Buddha's death (i.e. Parinirvana)] Rājja Sutta ("Rulership"; SN 4.20) [The Buddha considers the good he could do as a ruler; Māra tries to convince him to go this route; the Buddha decides it would be a distraction from his practice] Secondary Texts Moore, Matthew J., Buddhism and Political Theory. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2016. [Argues that Buddhist political theory centers on no-self, limited participation in politics, and a moral system that is not categorically imperative; provides comparisons with thinkers in the Western tradition with similar views on each point; examines a variety of Buddhist textual sources]. Cheah, Joseph. Race and Religion In American Buddhism: White Supremacy and Immigrant Adaptation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. [Centers on Burmese Buddhist sanghas in the US; basic premise is that when primarily white American convert sanghas are dismissive of "ethnic Buddhism," this is a form of subtle white supremacy] Available for review
These items haven't been reviewed but may be of interest. If you explore one of these resources and can recommend it, please let us know so we can share your thoughts with the group.
Recommended by Mark Hotoku Howell
Karma: What it is, what it isn’t, and why it matters by Traleg Kyabgon Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World by Marcia Bjornerud. An essay on time from the viewpoint of a geologist. Unlike Dogen’s teachings, Bjornerud notes that geologic time moves decidedly in one direction. Interesting views on 7 Generations planning, and also the importance of an individual’s confidence in their own observation and analysis. Recommended by Ryan Murphy
Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet by Joan Halifax Recommended by Apriel Fusatsu Jessup-Searcy
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram Kendi Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul by Eddie Glaude Just as I Am by Cicely Tyson Begin Again: James Baldwin's America by Eddie Glaude Toni Morrison : The Last Interview. How to be an ally 101 Resource list from the Equal Justice Initiative:
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Recommended by Mark Fraley
Sensei Alex Kakuyo, a young non-denominational Black buddhist minister, on "Should Buddhists Engage in Politics?"
Housing/Homelessness Beacon (formerly Shalom) New Hope for Families: A Friend’s Place Interfaith Winter Shelter Middle Way House Stepping Stones Wheeler Mission Food Security Community Kitchen Hoosier Hills Food Bank Monroe County United Ministries Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard Pantry 279 Recommended by Hoko
The Black Church: a four hour PBS series hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and tracing the 400-year-old story of the Black church in America. Episode 1 Episode 2 The Minimalists: website, podcasts, videos, etc. about letting go of consumerism and our attachment to stuff. The underlying theme is the danger of clinging in many areas of our lives. Mental Health First Aid: Several of us at Sanshin have taken the certification training. Site also offers tips and strategies for coping and self-care. Recommended by Sawyer Jisho Hitchcock
Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library 2021 calendar: Kurt Vonnegut was a writer from the 50s through the early 2000s, born in Indianapolis. Deep heart for the suffering of beings and a keen mind for exposing some of its societal causes... not without laughs and quirky science fiction imagination. The library's theme for (likely online) events this year is "The Good Earth: Vonnegut and the Environment." "Mountains Hidden in Mountains: Dogen Zenji and the Mind of Ecology" -- A 1999 paper by poet and Zen practitioner Gary Snyder, on the possibility of viewing Dogen as, "An ecologist, not just a Buddhist priest who had a deep sensibility for nature, but a proto-ecologist, a thinker who had remarkable insight into the way that wild nature works." (It's a Appendix 2 in Hojo-san's book The Mountains and Waters Sutra; I also found it online above. "In This Climate" Podcast -- The IU Environmental Resilience Institute sponsors a good up-to-date podcast exploring topics relating to our climate crisis, with what feels like right awareness of environmental justice contexts throughout. Can also be found on major podcast services. IU Environmental Resilience Institute News and Events Hoosier Environmental Council's "Bill Watch 2021" -- Summaries and views of environment/conservation related bills active right now in Indiana General Assembly's 2021 legislative session Indiana Forest Alliance "Forest Defender" Summer 2020 -- The IFA's most recent newsletter about current research, issues, threats involving Indiana forests -- including articles about current "logging/burning as management" and roadbuilding proposals that would impact the Salt Creek/Lake Monroe watershed and Hoosier National Forest near Bloomington. Recommended by Russ Skiba
How to Cook Your Life (Tenzo Kyokun) by Dogen-Zenji and Uchiyama Roshi. Dogen’s instructions to the tenzo, and Uchiyama Roshi’s commentary on bringing our practice into our daily lives. How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi. An engaging and insightful read from the writer who may be America’s leading voice on racism today. White Fragility: Why Its So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo. Thoughtfully deconstructs our racial delusions. Not about Buddhist practice per se, but very complementary. When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Cullors. Powerful memoir by one of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter. It may well change your perceptions about BLM. The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities through Mindfulness by Rhonda V. Magee. A Zen practitioner and law professor describes how racism affects us all, and offers exercises to confront it with compassion and mindfulness. Online: San Francisco Dharma Collective. Racial Justice Resources. An excellent source pointing to abundant resources at the intersection of Buddhism and racial justice, including Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, the Blue Cliff Monastery and others. Waking Up to Racism: Dharma, Diversity, and Race by bell hooks. A classic critique of American Buddhism and race. SZBA statement on capitol attack |