Do Budhhas cry?

Enter a new era of peacemaking     Same inspiration, new website, new approach

Auschwitz Bearing Witness Retreat Nov 5-9, 2012 Do Buddhas Cry? By Ari Setsudo Pliskin  Cartoon by Greg Perry      Today’s article reflects themes that I explored in Was the Buddha a Social Activist?—almost two years ago.  Zen Peacemakers January pilgrimage in the Buddha’s footsteps to India and Bernie's teachings reignited in me reflections on the role of the founder of Buddhism in my Buddhist practice. READ FULL ARTICLE.    The Buddha says, Don’t Cry. The Buddha’s response to his father’s death as portrayed in Thich Nhat Hanh’s biography of the Buddha, Old Path White Clouds, didn’t quite jive with my understanding of my Buddhist practice with regards to death: The king smiled weakly, but his eyes radiated peace. He closed his eyes and passed from this life. Queen Gotmai and Yasodhara began to cry. The ministers sobbed in grief. The Buddha folded the king’s hands on his chest and then motioned for everyone to stop crying. He told them to follow their breathing… [At the funeral, the Buddha said] “A person who has attained the Way looks on birth, old age, sickness and death with equanimity.” Becoming Suffering This seems different from what my teachers teach.  From What is Bearing Witness? by Bernie Glassman: It is the role of the Bodhisattva to bear witness. The Buddha can stay in the realm of not-knowing, the ream of blissful non-attachment. The Bodhisattva vows to save the world, and therefore to live in the world of attachment, for that is also the world of empathy, passion, and compassion. At a workshop at Rowe Camp, a participant once asked Bernie if he cries...

PO Box 460   |   Sunderland, MA   |   admin@zenpeacemakers.com www.zenpeacemakers.org

El koan "MU"

'Un monje le pregunta al maestro Josshu:
- ¿El perro tiene la naturaleza de Buda?
Josshu respondió: 'no'.
En chino: 'mu'.

¿Cómo respondes?

Si respondes "SÍ", te equivocas.

Si respondes "NO". también te equivocas.

Entonces no tiene respuesta...o quizás sí la tenga.

La única forma de encontarla es consultando con tu naturaleza original en zazen...

¡¡¡Hacer que la pregunta se vuelva una masa candente que no puedas escupir ni tragar!!!

Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Earth Day

Organize and synchronize a Chenrezik puja for the safeguarding of the Earth.
Please notify the Hartford Connecticut KTC organizers to participate in this groundbreaking Chenrezik practice-for-the-planet, on Earth Day, April 22: 
            (860) 461-8922         or e-mail: aaronmasciotra2009@yahoo.com
DENSAL
Densal Dalai Lama    Traveling the Path    Densal Karmapa with Kehnpo and Bardor Rinpoche    Densal Karmapa
New Articles Online Soon

His Holiness the sixteenth Karmapa entitled Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Monastery's newsletter Densal because it is the work of KTD, to bring the truth to people through the dharma with the greatest possible clarity.

 The Densal tradition continues this spring with:

Volume 20, Number 1

    Primordial Experience of Mahaudra, Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche
    Benefits of Buddhist Practice, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche
    Eliminating Economic Hardship and Difficult Circumstances, Khenpo Urgyen Tenzin
    2010-2011 in Review

Densal: Nine Back-Issue Gift Packets
Suggested Donation: $54
DONATE ONLINE    |  DONATE BY MAIL



More information:             (845) 679-5906       ex: 1121  |  ktd.development.pbs@gmail.com
Bodhi Kids & Family Corner

We all have an extremely special opportunity to support a growing Sangha which includes many families!  Incorporating the Dharma into our lives can sometimes be challenging in a Western country where values often seem to be at odds with Buddhist practice.

    How might we:

        introduce the teachings of the Buddha to our children?
        model compassion and kindness within our family?
        encourage practice in the context of busy lifestyles filled with distractions?  
        support the Western Sangha so that Buddhism can flourish

We need your help to raise $3,000 for the Bodhi Kids and Family Corner which will include books for parents, picture books for young children, and readings for teenagers as they explore growing up with Buddhism in the West!  

Librarian Susan Sayre sees this as a wonderful cozy nook where families can spend time reading or checking out books.  She hopes that the family corner will bring young people into the library, and will support their parents as well. Susan says, "I can't wait to see those little chairs in that corner!" 

Our goal is to have the Bodhi Kids and Family Corner ready for the KTD Family Weekend May 18-20 during which Lama Dudjom Dorjee will teach on "Living in Harmony."

More information: maryruth.coleman@unc.edu

DONATE ONLINE  |  DONATE BY MAIL
Putting up Flags on the Dharma Path   

Prayer Flags   

Prayer flags spread good will and compassion into all pervading space. As breezes pass over the surface of the flags which are sensitive to the slightest movement of the wind, the air is purified and sanctified by the mantras which carry the blessings depicted on the flags to all sentient beings.

Shower blessings on your home, community and beyond.

Suggested Donation: $25 per string of prayer flags DONATE ONLINE |  DONATE BY MAIL
Stupa Partnership
Kalachakra Mandala Sand Blessing

Green Monastery sustainable development of the KTD campus will pave the way for Ven. Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche's long awaited heart project: the Stupa of the Whole-Body Relic Treasure Chest Seal Dharani: The Heart Secret of all Tathagatas.

The Green Monastery - Stupa Partnership brings together a Friends of KTD Kalachakra Sand Mandala Fundraiser to support stupa installation, and Khoryug Sustainable Development Projects which lay the groundwork. .

His Hoiness Dalai Lama

KTD and Friends of KTD are offering a priceless packet of sacred sand blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his Holiness the Karmapa at the July 2011 and January 2012 Kalachakra ceremonies in Washington DC and India respectively. 
Suggested donation: $108.

ZEN RETREAT

Dear Sangha,

On Saturday March 24, 2012 we will hold an all-day meditation retreat at The New Dawn Foundation in New Rochelle, New York.  It is a beautiful retreat property on Long Island Sound.  We sit in the teahouse on the water's edge with expansive sea views, tides, birds, beach, tide pools and a beautiful park.  For more information regarding The New Dawn Foundation, go to:   www.theoaksndf.org

The day’s retreat will start at 6:00am and end at 4:00pm.  Please bring a bottle of your liquid of choice, something for a light breakfast and a bag lunch.  Meditation will be interspersed with walking meditation, private interviews, liturgy, an outside morning work period, a talk, lunch and a mid-day break.   Please feel free to join us for all or part of the day.   And please dress for the weather, as the teahouse is not heated.  If the daytime temperature is in the 30s or below, we will sit indoors.

The requested donation for the day is $40.  Any donation at all is acceptable. 

If you have questions or concerns, please contact us by email.

However you do your spiritual practice – now is a good time to renew it and practice it daily.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend: ggauntt@gmail.com

Blessings for you and yours for all you do and for all you serve,

Roshi Grover Genro Gauntt
Sensei Paco Lugovina
Sensei Sally Kealy
Hudson River Zen Center

Directions to the New Dawn Foundation:  Please go to:  www.theoaksndf.org

If you wish to be deleted from this list, please just type Remove in the Subject space of your reply.  Thank you.

--

Hudson River Zen Center

23 Park Avenue

Yonkers, New York

Open Mondays and Wednesdays 7pm to 8:30pm

Regularly scheduled all day meditations and sesshins

Please ask to be included on the mailing list

Mailing Address:

Hudson River Zen Center

C/O Grover Genro Gauntt

5443 Palisade Avenue

Bronx, NY 10471

Upcoming Schedule:

Saturday March 24, All Day Sitting at New Dawn Foundation
Bearing Witness in Rwanda, April 4 - 14, 2012

Bernie & Genro's New York Street Retreat: April 27 - 29, 2012

Zurich Street Retreat:  May 17 - 20, 2012

Swiss Alps Sesshin:  May 24 - 28, 2012

June 13 - 16:  Sesshin at the New Dawn Foundation

Black Hills Native American Black Bearing Witness Retreat: August 13 - 17, 2012

Sao Paulo Streeet Retreat, September 6 - 9, 2012

Auschwitz-Birkenau Bearing Witness Retreat Nov. 5 - 9, 2012

Hudson River Zen Center:  www.hudsonriverzencenter.org

Peacemaker Institute:  www.peacemakerinstitute.org

KARMA TRIYANA DHARMAKAYA

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EARTH DAY AT KTD Sunday, April 22, 2012  Awakening the Dreamer Symposium ......A profound inquiry into a bold vision: to bring forth an environmentally sustainable spiritually   fulfilling and socially just human presence on Earth. Help create a new future. Sacred Music of the World Series: Kirtan Concert Date:   Earth Day - Sunday, April 22, 2012 Symposium:   10:00 AM -  4:30 PM Kirtan  Concert:   1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Location:   KTD Monastery 335 Meads Mountain Road Woodstock, NY, 12498 Suggested Donation:   $10.00 lunch   More information:               (845) 679-5906      , ex: 1121 ktd.development.pbs@gmail.com Through dynamic group interactions, leading edge information & inspiring multimedia, explore the current ecological state of our planet from a new perspective  & connect with a powerful global environmental movement to reclaim our future.  www.awakeningthedreamer.org Chenrezik Puja-for-the-Earth  2012 Nationwide KTC Earth Day Invitation   KTCs Pick up the Baton: Inspired to action by the environmental advocacy of His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, the Hartford, Connecticut KTC demonstrated compassion for the Earth by dedicating its first annual Chenrezik "Puja in the Park," to our planetary home on Earth Day 2011. The Hartford KTC synchronized its 2011 puja for the Earth with the environmental group 350.org's World Day of Climate Change Awareness. The Hartford KTC extends an enthusiastic Earth Day 2012 Puja invitation to ALL KTCs and Buddhist practitioners nationwide. Extend your compassion wherever you or your group may be this Earth Day, Sunday, April 22. Organize and synchronize a Chenrezik puja for the safeguarding of the Earth. Please notify the Hartford Connecticut KTC organizers to participate in this groundbreaking Chenrezik practice-for-the-planet, on Earth Day, April 22:              (860) 461-8922      , or e-mail: aaronmasciotra2009@yahoo.com The Seventeenth Gyalwang Karmapa's Environmental Advocacy The Karmapa officially declared himself an environmentalist as he delivered the inaugural address at the Global Buddhist Congregation's section on "Environment and the Natural World" at which he stated: We have access to an abundance of information on the environmental impact of our current lifestyle." "Our task now is to turn information into an awareness that we feel in our hearts, and that can inspire us to live according to environmentally wise and compassionate principles." Years earlier His Holiness the Karmapa formed the Khoryug (Tib.-environment) network of monasteries throughout the Himalayas which proactively works to safeguard the environment in the region. (See www.khoryug.com) His Holiness the Seventeenth Gyalwang Karmapa invites us all to actively engage with the reality of climate change. Participate in the nationwide Earth Day 2012 Chenrezik, "Puja-for-the-Earth," and in so doing join His Holiness' initiative to safeguard our planet.

Green Monastery    Sustainable Development & Stupa Project     Fundraising Goal: $195,000 Funds Raised to Date: $  65,000 Funds Needed - KTD Community Challenge: $130,000 Infrastructure & Sustainable Development Permaculture Projects:       The time has come! KTD's Green Monastery Project is off to an auspicious start with $65,000 already donated towards the sustainable development of the monastery campus.               The environmentally sustainable framework for all of the screen and ornamental trees, garden benches, dedicated garden wall stones, planters, etc. graciously donated in 2011 by KTD community members is just around the corner. Your donations this spring will directly and tangibly implement the environmental mandate of His Holiness the Karmapa as KTD sustainably develops the monastery property. Periphery screen trees: On Earth Day 2011 KTD augmented the number of screening trees on the Meads Mountain roadside border of the monastery property. This spring KTD will continue to plant these majestic evergreens until a total of 71 trees grace the campus perimeter.  DONATE BY MAIL     DONATE ONLINE   Rain gardens: are both beautiful and functional. Situated on the lower end of the sloped property below the kitchen area, rain gardens will incorporate native plants and soil in a shallow bowl shape to collect and manage storm water run off and filter out pollutants.  DONATE BY MAIL     DONATE ONLINE   Raised cement and stone garden beds: filled with healthy organic soil adjacent to shrine building will produce herbs, lettuces and other greens for the KTD kitchen. DONATE BY MAIL     DONATE ONLINE   Donor recognition garden wall with ornamental berry hedges on the west end of the parking area and in front of the main building entrance will offer beautiful, edible greenery.  DONATE BY MAIL     DONATE ONLINE   A Three-bay Compost & Recycling Center near the kitchen area will reduce KTD's waste by 23% and help produce the healthy soil to nourish monastery gardens.  DONATE BY MAIL     DONATE ONLINE   Terraced gardens built of dry laid native stones below the parking area on the east side of the new building will incorporate edibles and ornamental plants.  DONATE BY MAIL     DONATE ONLINE   An orchard & arboretum of ornamental and fruit trees near the pond front-roadside will be an annual source of nourishing organic fruit.  DONATE BY MAIL     DONATE ONLINE   A Wildflower field (a 4-yr process) seeded twice annually with clover and wildflower mix will support biodiversity and encourage beneficial insects and pollination.  DONATE BY MAIL     DONATE ONLINE     Environmental education sites & nature trails will proceed from the "Dharma Path," looping around the pond area, meandering through the forest and wetlands. Plants and trees will be identified.  DONATE BY MAIL     DONATE ONLINE

Auschwitz

Enter a new era of peacemaking     Same inspiration, new website, new approach

Auschwitz Bearing Witness Retreat Nov 5-9, 2012 Street Retreat April 27 – 29, 2012   Auschwitz Bearing Witness Retreat Nov 5-9, 2012 READ MORE/REGISTER   Bernie Glassman and the Zen Peacemakers are returning for the 16th year to the old site of the concentration camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, in Oświęcim, Poland, for a Bearing Witness Retreat in November 2012.   Bernie Glassman began the annual Bearing Witness Retreats in 1996, with help from Eve Marko and Andzej Krajewski. They have taken place annually every year since.   "I so connect with last year's (2010) experience in Oswiecm [the original Polish name for Auschwitz], I so long to go again, at least part of me does.  My parents never went back to Poland and in some ways something about that feels like how I can align with them in a deep way, my yearning to go back."-Estelle Hackermann, USA     Most of each day is spent sitting by the train tracks at Birkenau, both in silence and in chanting the names of the dead. There is time to walk through the vast camps, do vigils inside women’s and children’s barracks, and memorial services. Prayer Services from various religious traditions are offered daily. Participants meet daily in small Council groups designed to create a safe place for people to share their inner experiences. The whole group meets in the evenings to bear witness to oneness in diversity.   Auschwitz Bearing Witness Retreat Nov 5-9, 2012 READ MORE/REGISTER Just My Opinion, Man! ~Bernie Glassman     I have started a new webpage as a way to discuss issues that you, the reader, would like to discuss. I have started off with some questions that I frequently am asked. I will provide my thoughts on these questions, once per week. Please email me with questions you would like my opinions on and remember that the thoughts I have are just my opinions, man! What is Bearing Witness?     Read the answer here!     Bernie Glassman and the Zen Peacemakers are frequently on the road working to bear witness, wage peace and inspire hope in the corners of the globe touched by war, poverty and genocide.  Support this work by becoming a Friend of Bernie today.

PO Box 460   |   Sunderland, MA   |   admin@zenpeacemakers.com www.zenpeacemakers.com