Dharma talk by Mr.Nick Ozuna - Seeing the Buddha

Dharma Talk by Mr.Clayton Wellwood

Dharma talk by Mr. Clayton Welwood at IBC on July 20, 2008

“GRATITUDE VS. CONSCIOUSNESS OF LACK”

Gratitude, simply defined, is being thankful, and expressing this thankfulness to others. But gratitude can also be much deeper, and can act as a guiding principle for us in our spiritual practice.

Full text of the Dharma talk is here


Audio 20mins

Dr. Reeves' translation of the Lotus Sutra

I am happy to announce that IBC's Dr. Reeves' translation of the Lotus Sutra will be published by Wisdom, and has a release date of December 1st of this year.
It can be seen at Amazon here.
I am personally very glad that Wisdom is the publisher, because they have a good relationship with Google and they will likely offer it online in Google books as you can see from the video below.

This should be in the same manner that The Lotus Sutra by Burton Watson 1993
is viewable in Google books, and will make it possible to search for passages in the sutra that you are interested in.

Dharma talk by Dr.Ziporyn - Chapter 3 of the Lotus Sutra

Chapter 3 of the Lotus Sutra - How not to get what you want
by Dr. Brook Ziporyn, 2008-06-08 at IBC

Dr. Brook Ziporyn's lecture - Buddhism and Ecology

"Buddhism and Ecology"
Saturday evening, May 24, 2008

Video, 60 mins
(apologies for the unflattering(?) still capture! - its the software's random choice)

Audio, 60 mins, download mp3



You can also read Dr.Ziporyn's Lecture notes (Japanese and English)

Dharma talk by Dr.Ziporyn - Chapter 2 of the Lotus Sutra

Chapter 2 of the Lotus Sutra - Dwelling in the Great Vehicle
by Dr. Brook Ziporyn, 2008-05-18 at IBC

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News on Burma

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Dharma talk by Dr.Ziporyn - Chapter 2 of the Lotus Sutra

"Chapter 2 of the Lotus Sutra, The ultimate reality of all things"
2008-05-11 at IBC (30mins)

Audio 30mins (recording quality is not so great, sorry! )

Dharma talk by Mrs.Yasuyo Suzuki “Application of Right View to Life”

Audio 20mins

IBC Sunday service on May 4, 2008

Good morning, friends. I appreciate having this opportunity given by the Buddha.

I’ll talk about “Right View” from the Eightfold Path, focusing on its practical application to my own life.

Right View is the first practice of the Eightfold Path which teaches us how to live our daily lives rightly based on the Buddha’s wisdom. And this doctrine consists of the eight practices starting with “Right View.”


As for the meaning of the word “right”, Founder Niwano explains it in this way.

The word “right” means to be in accord with the truth or to match the truth.

So, when our way of looking at things is in accord with the universal truth, in harmony with the truth, we can say the view is right.

In contrast, if we look at things from a narrow egoistic viewpoint, we cannot see the real state of things, and our judgments or thoughts will not consist with the universal truth.


In reality, we often bring our own notions, preconceptions, experiences, personal bias and fixed ideas to our decisions and thoughts.

When we see things with such a self-centered mind, we are likely to fall into mistaken ideas that are not in accord with the truth or are even directly opposed to the truth.


So, if we want to see and understand the real state of things, we need to get rid of our self-centered mind such as egoistic viewpoint or prejudice or preconceived ideas, and we need to look at things as they are with a clear mind because our judgments are easily influenced by those delusions.


Recently I had an experience through which I reflected on my self-centered, distorted viewpoint.

About two months ago, I was interested in my weight control.

One day when I was with my 5 year-old granddaughter, I got on the scale to check my weight. When I was standing on the scale, she said, “It’s useless to weigh yourself that way.” (“Sonna fuuni hakattatte damedayo” in Japanese.)


At first, when I heard her saying “It’s useless to weigh yourself that way”, I suspected that she meant “You cannot lose your weight just by stepping on the scale and weighing yourself that way.”

This assumption of my own made me feel a little uncomfortable. At least I was not happy when I heard her words.


Then I noticed that my assumption might be mistaken and ridiculous because she even didn’t know that I wanted to lose my weight. So I was curious to know why she made that comment.

I asked her, “Why do you think that it’s useless for me to weigh myself this way?”

Can you guess her answer? Putting yourself in her age, what do you think she was thinking?


She said, “You must take off all your clothes when you weigh yourself on the scale.”

(“Hakaru toki wa hadakanbo ni narundayo.” in Japanese.)

I said, “I see.” She lives upstairs as a member of an independent family, and I guess perhaps she weighs herself after or before taking a bath.

For her, it’s only natural that she has no clothes on when weighing herself on the scale. And, from her own experience and knowledge, she gave me this warning.

I was relieved to hear her answer. And her answer was, of course, scientifically correct.


Because of my distorted view, I misunderstood what she said.


While preparing for this Dharma talk, I found one more important thing I should learn from this interaction with her. I think my reply to her, “I see” was not so appropriate or not sufficient. Why was my reply not sufficient? She taught me the correct way of weighing oneself from her experience and knowledge, which, she must have thought, was useful and helpful for me. Her words came out of her kindness. Her kindness made her say these words.


They were seemingly blunt words. But, if I had heard those words without any prejudice, or if I had heard them with the ears of the Buddha, I would have been able to catch her words as the expression of her Buddha nature.

I should have found her shining Buddha nature in her words more quickly and clearly and let her know of the Buddha nature in herself so that she could consciously develop it more. To her kindness, what words should I have given to her?


Yes, I should have said to her, “Thank you for teaching me.”

By being given thankful words, we, especially children, usually feel pleasure of being helpful to others and are encouraged to do more. Because of my misunderstanding, I missed a chance for education. But through my failure I learned something important, so nothing is useless in the Dharma world.


Our delusions such as preconceptions, bias and inferiority complex often prevent us from seeing things as they are and hearing words as they are.

In human relations, when we are put into such a situation as we cannot accept someone’s words or feel uncomfortable, one of the effective ways to solve the problem is to ask the person about it and know the real intention of those words before jumping to a hasty self-centered conclusion full of delusions.


In my case, I asked her why she said so, and I got the true meaning of her words. I was able to understand her more correctly.

Asking is an attitude of a learner. And I hope to be a lifetime learner or as Founder Niwano mentioned, a lifetime beginner in seeking the Buddha Way. Here and now is the place of awakening to Buddhahood.


Let me share another example from which I reflected on my lack of flexibility in seeing things. I learned that one picture could produce a wide variety of interpretations and associations, depending on the person who sees it.


In my thirties, I was the leader of the young wives’ group in my local church. Several times a year, we had “Home Education” seminars for young mothers and gave them chances to learn how to raise their children based on the Buddha’s teachings.


. We organized a steering committee and shared the roles in order to attract as many young mothers as possible to the seminar. One of the committee members, Ms. A was in charge of designing the information flyer of this seminar.

She made a draft and showed it to me. The moment I saw it, I was surprised to see the illustrations she drew. They were “Teruteru-bozu.”


(This is a real Teruteru-bozu. Teruteru-bozu or a fine weather doll, is a very simple doll made of white paper or cloth. This doll is popularly believed to have a magic power to bring fine weather. Children hang it from the eaves or on the outside of the window on the previous day of an important event like their school excursion or sports day.)


When I saw the draft with the Teruteru-bozu in it, I had a feeling of rejection and thought in my mind, “Using Teruteru-bozu in the flyer can be a sign of bad luck. It gives an impression that it will rain on the day of the seminar. Anyway I don’t want to use the flyer which has something associated with rain. I’d prefer her inserting the picture of the smiling sun, for example.”


There was a reason for my refusal.

Any event planned for young mothers who have small children is seriously influenced by the weather. They tend to avoid going out with their children on rainy days. So, if we are blessed with fine weather on the day of an event, we can say it’s already more than half successful.


I said to Ms. A, “The text part is very good. But this Teruteru-bozu is out of the question. It seems to suggest that there will be rain on the event day. “

After hearing my opinion, she looked dissatisfied and disobedient. She said, ”I showed this draft to one of the members, who said, ‘Oh, they’re cute.’”

I thought, “How stubborn she is! Why doesn’t she understand this simple thing?”


But then, I decided to listen to what she was thinking about the Teruteru-bozu because I felt that my image and her image of Teruteru-bozu seemed to be different from each other.


She said, “Before a big event like a school excursion or trip, we make Teruteru-bozu with our prayer for the next day’s fine weather, don’t we? First, this picture expresses my strong prayer for fine weather by using Teruteru-bozu. And please look at these Teruteru-bozu dolls. They are not just ordinary Teruteru-bozu. They are a mother and her children going together to the seminar. I tried to make the flyer have an atmosphere of the home education seminar and also to give a friendly impression to non-RKK members.”


While listening to her explanation, I looked at the flyer more carefully. Yes, they were mother and four children, one on her back and three on her sides. It was a heart-warming illustration and also made me feel their strength of thinking nothing of rain.


My original fixed image of the Teruteru-bozu in the rain was a sad and miserable one symbolizing failure and an unanswered prayer.

But I noticed that the same Teruteru-bozu picture, if expressed differently, could give people different images, messages and associations, perhaps innumerable interpretations were possible depending on each person’s background and sensitivity.

I first rejected the picture as soon as I saw it just because they were Teruteru-bozu.


I was not sensitive enough to perceive her deep prayer for fine weather and the strength in the face of rain.

After I listened to her thoughts and aims with which she drew the picture, the same picture appealed to me with a different impression and meaning. So I decided to adopt the flyer. I said, “OK. They are cute. Let’s use this picture. Thank you.”

By asking for her explanation, I got a deeper understanding of the picture. There was much more to it than I saw it first.


Do you want to know how the weather was on that day? It was May 22 more than 20 years ago. The weather forecast said that the rain from the previous night would continue until noon. But the forecast proved wrong. Early in the morning, it stopped raining.


In the morning, Ms. A called me in a cheerful voice and said, “Ms. Suzuki, it’s cleared up.” And we were very happy.

My lesson from this experience is that we should free ourselves from fixed ideas and open ourselves to any unfamiliar concept if we want to see things as the Buddha does. It’s a condition to practice “Right View.”


Incidentally, when we make a decision as a group, I think the majority decision rule in democracy is the best possible way because it can reflect as many people’s opinions as possible. This fair system is human wisdom. In the same way, I agree with Bentham’s phrase, “It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.”


Speaking of rain and preparation for an event, I learned something important from this year’s Hanamatsuri too. As some of you may remember, the weather was unstable on Sunday April 13.

The weather forecast said that it would rain only in the morning but actually a light rain continued falling though it sometimes stopped.

According to our original plan, we were supposed to have a social time in the garden

as usual, but because of the continuing rain we changed our plan and held it in the Kosei Library’s Audio-Visual Hall.

This change could be called a blessing given by the Buddha because it was very cold outside like a day in winter.

The inside of the Library Hall was warm and comfortable. The hall was big enough to hold all of us. We enjoyed socializing and felt a sense of unity more strongly.

Besides, when moving from the Worship Hall to the Library Hall, the rain stopped.

So we moved very smoothly without using our umbrellas. I felt we were protected by the Buddha in that way.


But there is one thing which could be avoided if I had had courage to face and accept

any situation by believing it as an opportunity given by the Buddha for our spiritual improvement. It has something to do with rain.

I remember, when preparing for the Hanamatsuri information flyer, Ms. Ichihashi proposed to me. “How about inserting the information that in case of rain a social time is to be held in the Kosei Library Hall?”


But I turned down her proposal because I was afraid that such a statement would invite bad luck, thinking about the doctrine of Three Thousand Realms in One Mind.

For your reference, IBC’s Hanamatsuri had been blessed with fine weather since it started in 2001 until last year. We had the first rainy Hanamatsuri this year.


So, like all the past flyers, this year’s flyer has no statement about the case of rain. (showing a flyer)


I’m not sure, but there might have been some people who didn’t know whether the social time would be held or not in case of rain. Anyway this flyer was not sufficient in that it didn’t cover all the necessary information. This lack of information might have caused misunderstanding to some people and discouraged someone from attending on a rainy day, though I hope not.


What was lacking was my belief in the Buddha

I was lacking in the belief that rain or shine the Buddha is always protecting us, as shown in Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra “I am always thinking: How can I lead all the living to enter the supreme way and quickly perfect their Buddha-bodies?


Fears and unnecessary worries sometimes prevent us from making a right decision with a clear mind. What I learned is the importance of making all humanly possible preparations with a calm, clear mind for the event participants and then leaving the rest, I mean, something beyond human capacity, to the Buddha.


The Buddha has given me various opportunities through which I’ve learned how to apply the virtue of Right View to my life. For example, first, “to ask with humility about what I cannot understand”, even a small child can be my teacher. Second, “to free myself from delusions such as self-centered interpretations, fixed ideas, inferiority complex, and unnecessary fears.” Third, “to have a firm faith in the Buddha.”

Right View is the way with which the Buddha sees us. I’ll keep walking the Bodhisattva way following the Buddha. Thank you for your kind attention.

News on Tibet

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Dharma talk Dr.Ziporyn, Hanamatsuri

Dharma talk at 2008 International Hana-matsuri

In Buddhism, all beings are born with a past.

The Buddha too was born, on this day, with a past.

In early Buddhism, the Buddha's past was thought to be many lifetimes of being a Bodhisattva.

Even as a Bodhisattva, he had been born with a past.

His past then, prior to being a Bodhisattva, was many lives as a deluded and suffering sentient being.

In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha reveals that this was not the whole story. He tells us he has been a Buddha already for a long time - an incalculably, immeasurably long time.

All those past lives in which he was apparently a deluded and suffering sentient being, or a Bodhisattva working towards Buddhahood, were actually already the lives of the Buddha. That was what life after attaining Buddhahood was like.

He also says of his stories about his own and other people's past lives: "In all my teachings hitherto I have, in order to liberate sentient beings, sometimes spoken of my own person, and sometimes of other persons; I have sometimes presented myself in my own person, and sometimes in other persons (bodies); I have sometimes presented stories about myself and sometimes stories about others. And all were true and not false. And why? Because the Tathagata's knowledge of the characteristics of the Threefold World as it really is sees that it is without life or death, without withdrawal or emergence but also without presence in the world or cessation from the world." (Ch.16)

Such is what we sometimes call, loosely, the Buddha's "eternal life."
All his past lives, as beings other than a Buddha, were "true and not false." But on the other hand, all of them were told in just this way as aspects of his endeavor to liberate sentient beings now, in his already achieved Buddhahood.

Buddhahood means seeing that, although all of us are born with a past, and that we always have a past, that past changes depending on what we are now. Although each of us is finite in space too―I am myself, not another―what others are to me is changed by what I am now.

The Buddha, upon attaining Buddhahood, saw that all those other beings he had formerly been were also Buddhas, aspects and expressions of his present Buddhahood. He saw that he had been alive as a Buddha even when he was alive as a Bodhisattva, or as a deluded sentient being. The Buddha's life is "eternal" because the lives of sentient beings are innumerable, immeasurable.

The Buddha's life is present as and in our lives, not outside them. To see the Buddha's eternal life is to see the Buddhahood of our own lives. The Buddha is not eternal as God is sometimes thought to be eternal in monotheistic traditions.

He is not independent of sentient beings, and he does not exist with a certain fixed identity within a linear type of time that moves from the past to the present to the future through a series of isolated and determinate moments. Nor is he outside time, atemporal.

To see in what sense this is "eternal," even though Buddhism holds firmly to its founding principle that "all conditioned states are impermanent," we must learn to see time differently, which is to say, to see our lives differently.

To aspire to future Buddhahood changes the past that you presently embody. It is to see the Buddha's life present in all your own pasts, presents and futures. That is the Buddha's eternal life.

2008 International Hana-matsuri

The IBC observed "International Hanamatsuri" or the Buddha's birthday celebration at RKK's former headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday April 13.
This festival is known as "Flower Festival" suggesting the flower-filled Lumbini Garden, where Shakyamuni was born in the foothills of the Himalayas more than 2.500 years ago.

Worshippers poured amacha (sweet herb tea) over a small image of the infant Buddha standing in a miniature temple decorated with flowers.
According to an ancient legend, sweet dew rained down from the sky to bathe the new-born prince.

About 300 people of 19 different nationalities attended this event.
The ceremony started at 11:00 a.m. with the ritual offering to the Buddha, followed by the children's praising words to the Buddha, Dr. Brook Ziporyn's Dharma talk titled "Buddha's Eternal Life", the performance of the woodwind quintet from Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra (TKWO), introduction of 15 distinguished guests, and the closing address by Rev. Yasutaka Watanabe, chairman of RKK board.

After the ceremony, they enjoyed socializing with refreshments, koto performance, tea ceremony, sutra calligraphy, and flower arrangement demonstration in the Shichokaku (Audio-Visual) Hall of Kosei Library.


You can also see the video for 2007 Hana-matusuri here

Testimonials by Tim and Kristen - 2

What I Learned from my Gakurin seminary course in Japan!
by Timothy Wong

IBC Sunday service, March 9, 2008

Tim's Testimonial, audio, 10mins

Dharma Talk by Nick Ozuna - Entrusting and Being Entrusted"

Mr. Nick Ozuna, IBC Dharma teacher
Sunday Mar. 9, 2008
Audio, 20 mins, download mp3

Testimonials by Tim and Kristen - 1

What I Learned from my Gakurin seminary course in Japan!
by Kristen Serrano
IBC Sunday service, March 9, 2008

Kristen's video that she created herself! (IBC exclusive!), 24 mins

Krinsten's Testimonial, audio, 10mins

Dharma talk by Dr.Ziporyn - Not the Same, Not Different:

"Not the Same, Not Different: Chapter Two of the Opening Sutra"
Sunday Mar. 2, 2008 at IBC (42mins)

Dr. Brook Ziporyn's lecture - What Is Buddha-Nature?

"What Is Buddha-Nature?"　「仏性とは何か？」
Saturday evening, March 1, 2008

Partial video, 45mins

Audio, 67 mins, download mp3



Short summary:
According to Mahayana Buddhism - All sentient beings have Buddha-nature

Dr. Ziporyn offered 5 interpretations of Buddha-Nature, from shallow to profoud:

#1. There is POTENTIAL of Buddha within you.

#2. There is assurance that you will IN FACT become Buddhas.
All beings are bodhisattvas who will succeed sooner of later.

#3. There is PRE-EXISTING Buddha-nature hiden within you.
It is not something that has to be developed.

Metaphor: "The Mirror and its Images" or "Wetness and Waves"

An aspect, always whole and complete, of all experience, rather than a part hidden inside or beneath experience.

Buddhahood=pure AWARENESS.

Buddha-nature is the awareness that is always already present in any experience, like wetness in every wave, or light in every visual image in the mirror.
Not "obstructed" by particular objects, but manifested by them.
But we are attached to the particular objects, rather than the fact of awareness, of manifestation itself.

#4. All beings ARE the Buddha-nature.
The entirety of what you are is Buddha-nature.

Metaphor:
Buddha as the melody, poem, center, whole, Or: the composer.
You as the note, word, periphery, part, Or: the listener.

Context is everything
"Emptiness" means here the fact of being interconnected, of getting its identity from contextualization and relation.

Not just part of you, but all your thoughts and actions are always already part of the life of the Buddha, but you were not aware of the larger contextualization.

Deluded sentient beings, whatever you are doing right now, is PART of the total career of Buddhahood, the total being of a Buddha, what makes a Buddha a Buddha.

#5. You are Buddha - the melody, the whole, precisely by being only the note.

You are both.
If all the notes were present, there would be no melody.
And yet, only if all the notes are present is there melody.
It HAS to be one part to be the whole.

Metaphor:　You, the single note as the entire melody.　

The music needs the listener.
When you hear the music, you are also the music.
You make that music. Your "music nature" manifests.

From the Lotus sutra:
Only between a Buddha TOGETHER with a Buddha is the ultimate reality of all things known.

Dharma talk by Dr. Ziporyn - The Buddha's Bodies and Ours

"The Buddha's Bodies and Ours: Beginning the Opening Sutra"
2008-02-17 at IBC (50mins)

Dharma talk by Dr. Ziporyn - Beginning the Opening Sutra

"The Buddha's Bodies and Ours: Beginning the Opening Sutra"
2008-02-17 at IBC (50mins)

Dharma talk by Nick Ozuna -Applying the Four Noble Truths

"Applying the Four Noble Truths"
2008-02-10 at IBC (35mins)

Dharma talk by Dr. Ziporyn - Purity and Impurity

Purity and Impurity
2008-02-03, Setsubun (Chineese newyear) at IBC

Dharma talk by Dr.Ziporyn - Innumerable Meanings of the Lotus Flower

"Innumerable Meanings of the Lotus Flower"
Sunday Jan. 20, 2008 at IBC a

Albums

I am hoping that all churches and individuals too, will contribute to making this collection grow! Please let me know if you want help uploading photos to google's picassa

(Links will goto the full album)

Nick Ozuna and World Youth



Meguro church, Tokyo



Hawaii church

LA church

NY church

San Antonio church

Dharma Center of Oklahoma

Map

Calenders

Calender for RKK main events and IBC



The IBC holds regular Buddhist services on Sundays except the 5th Sunday of the month. There are no services during the month of August.

The services (including Hoza meeting, Sutra Recitation and Dharma Talk) are held in Fumon-kan Hall. For a newcomer, a sutra (excerpts from the Three-fold Lotus Sutra) is available for free.

After the service, there is a social time for about 30 minutes with some refreshments.

There is no charge for your participation.


Hoping to add calenders for others churches here too.

WORLD WIDE SANGHA PODCAST

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FEEDBACK

Please feel free to give your feedback, comments, questions, requests, suggestions, complaints, etc. etc. about the site here.

Buddha Statues

ABOUT

IBC started in 2001 based on the teachings of the Lotus Sutra.
The purposes of the organization is;

1) To share the Buddha's teachings in English with people of any nationality, especially non-Japanese people living in Japan.

2) To offer a warm Buddhist community in which we can learn and practice the Buddha's wisdom in our daily lives.

3) To enrich our spirituality toward perfecting ourselves through participating in IBC Sunday Service and activities.


This blog grew out of talks between Nori Takahashi and Nick Ozuna.
We thought about ways to get people interested and communicate, and have an international online sangha. We talked in Jan 2008, and Takahashi started work on it in Feb.

This has grown into a rearrangement of the IBC homepage to make it more interactive.
We hope to create a better understanding of the Dharma through this site.


COMMENTING ON POSTS
Please feel free to make comments and questions on the posts. You only need to enter a handle name if you wish. There are more personalized and useful features if you create an ID/account.

Map to IBC - International Buddhist Congregation

View Larger Map

By Bus

Bus route map (pdf)

1. From JR Shinjuku Station (West Exit).
Take Keio bus No. 32 (中31) for Kosei-kai Seido Fumon-kan mae.
From bus stop No. 17 of JR Shinjuku Station

2. From JR Nakano Station (South Exit)
Take Keio bus No. 71 (宿71) for Eifukucho - to Kosei-kai Seido Fumon-kan mae.
From bus stop No.3 of JR Nakano Station

*The bus stop is under a pedestrian bridge and Fumonkan Hall is on your left.

By Subway

Subway map in english (pdf)

1. Nakano Fujimicho Station on the Marunouchi line - 12-13 minute walk
Outside the station, turn left and walk to the 5th traffic light (about 600 meters). The Fumon-kan Hall is on your left.

2. Honancho Station on the Marunouchi line - 10 minute walk north (route #1)
Outside the west exit, turn left (north) and walk along Kannana Dori
Avenue to the first traffic light (300 meters). Turn right and you will see the Fumonkan Hall on your right. The approach to its west entrance is under the pedestrian bridge ahead.

360 View of the location

View Larger Map

The International Buddhist Congregation of Rissho Kosei-kai (IBC)
Fumonkan Hall 5th Floor
2-6-1 Wada, Suginami-ku,
Tokyo 166-0012, Japan

Tel: 03-5341-1230
Fax: 03-5341-1224