September Guide 2002

108 Bows Ceremony

The first Sunday of the month, Starting in September, we will hold the 108
Bows Ceremony, from 10 to 10:30, honoring all the Buddhas that we know of who have existed. As we chant each of the 88 names we bow to each one in reverence. It is a good way of beginning the Sunday service. We invite you to join us on September 1 for the ceremony.

Visit to Thien-An’s Crypt

September 7 we will visit Dr. Thien-An’s crypt at 2 pm at Rose Hills,
Whittier. If you are interested in joining us, call Rev. Karuna at 213
382-9972 to let her know.

September 8... Founders’ Day Luncheon

Every year near Thien-An’s birthday, we celebrate Founders’ Day with a
backyard luncheon. So, please join us for our potluck luncheon by bringing
either drinks or vegetarian food to share. The lunch will be served around
12:15 following the Sunday service.

Workshop on Four Noble Truths

September 14 will be a seminar workshop led by Rev. Kusala from 9 to 12.
This workshop will; be concerned with the Four Noble Truths, the first
sermon that the Buddha gave. The fee is a suggested $15 donation. email Rev. Kusala at Kusala@kusala.org to sign up.

Fall classes begin at College of Buddhist Studies

Mondays Pali Chanting; Ven. Havanpola Shanti; 7-9 pm, Zendo

This class comcentrates upon chanting in Pali, the canonical language of
Theravada Buddhism. The Metta Sutta in its original Pali will be among the
chants learned.

Wednesdays Applied Buddhism; Rev. Kusala Ratna Karuna; 7-9 pm, Zendo

An on-going class of discussion on applying Buddhist principles to modern
living situations, along with a half hour of sitting meditation.

Thursdays Basic Buddhism; Dr. Warnisuriya; 6-8 pm, Library

This course covers all of the basic concepts of Buddhism: the Four Noble
Truths and Eightfold Path; three marks of existence: anicca, anatta, dukkha;
the arahant vs. the Bodhisattva, etc.

Fridays Certificate in Buddhist Studies; Ven. Dr. Karuna Dharma, 6-8 pm. Library

The third quarter of a year long class, this course is sructured for the
student who wants to know the basic philosophy and histpry of Buddhism from pre-Buddhist India through today’s complex of Buddhist schools. This quarter focuses upon the rise and development of Mahayana Buddhism, including the basic teachings and practices of today’s Buddhist traditions.

To Be Arranged Elementary Sanskrit; Dr. Warnisuriya

This course includes reading and writing in Devanagari script

September Events

Sunday Talks

9/1 What It Means to Be a Monk
11am Ven. Dr. Karuna Dharma

9/8 Buddha’s Daily Routine
11am Ven. Havanpola Shanti

9/15 Profound Acceptance
11am Rev. Kusala Ratana Karuna

9/22 One Day at a Time
11 m Ven. Dr. Karuna Dharma

9/29 Start Living Like a Bodhisattva
11am Sr. Hanasi Karuna

Classes at IBMC

Mon Pali Chanting
6pm Ven. Shanti, Zendo

Wed Applied Buddhism
7pm Rev. Kusala Ratna Karuna

Thur Basic Buddhism
6pm Dr. Warnisuriya

Fri Buddhist Certificate Course
6pm Ven. Dr. Karuna Dharma

TBA Sanskrit
Dr. Warnisuriya

Special Events

9/1 Ordination of Monks & Dharma Teachers
11:30am led by Ven. Dr. Karuna Dharma

9/8 Founders’ Day Luncheon
12:15 following Sunday service

9/14 Workshop on Four Noble Truths
9-12 Rev. Kusala Karuna

Meditation Times
Wednesdays: 7- 9 pm
Fridays: 7:30 - 9 pm

Bridging the Gap with Interreligious Dialogue
given by Ven. Dr. Karuna Dharma at the Sakyadhita Conference in Taiwan

Interreligious dialogue is rather new; it began only about 100 years ago in
the United States, when the World’s Parliament of Religions met in Chicago
in 1893. This was the first time that Americans became exposed to religions
other that Christianity and Judaism. Actually, 50 years earlier Ralph Waldo
Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were reading Indian religions, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism, and leading that group of writers called the Transcendentalists in examining alternative worlds of reality. But only a
few members of the intellegensia read their works then.

In 1893 when the World Parliament of Religions was held in Chicago, many
more Americans became exposed to other world views. The conference did not end as its organizers hoped, with the Asians recognizing the superiority of Christianity. In fact, the opposite came true. Famous Buddhist monks came
from Thailand. Also there came a group of scholars from Japan, including the
young D.T. Suzuki, the great Zen scholar who later introduced many Americans to Zen, and the great Anagarika Dharmapala from Sri Lanka, who, in particular, made a great hit, especially among the ladies. He was very
articulate and handsome. A short time later the first American took refuge,
thus beginning the movement of Americans toward Buddhism.

I do not believe that there were any women who presented papers at that
conference, although many women did attend.

About the sametime, Sri Lanka had become primarily Christian, because of 450 years of colonial rule.  Col. Henry Steele Olcott, an American civil war
hero, had been traveling through India and Sri Lanka with Madame Blavatsky, when he converted to Buddhism in public. This act emboldened the Singhalese so much that they threw off their “rice bowl” Christianity and reconstructed Buddhism. For those of you who do not know this period of Buddhist history, Col. Olcott wrote the First Buddhist catechism,and the Twelve Principles common to all Buddhists, and is credited with designing the Buddhist flag that we use today. In fact, he is so important to the Singhalese that his birthday is a national holiday in Sri Lanka.

Now I will get to the main thesis of my talk, interreligious dialogue today
in the United States, particularly Los Angeles, as seen from my perspective.

Buddhist participation in interreligious dialogue began in 1980 with the
establishment of the Buddhist Sangha Council, which is comprised of
Bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, sramaneras, srama-nerikas, and ministers. Everyone has an equal vote. Since there are many more male clerics, only about one-fifth of the Sangha Council consists of women. 

The Sangha Council began when Ven. Dr. Havanpola Ratanasara called all Los Angeles Sangha members together to find a solution to a serious problem that was occurring in the Singhalese community. From this initial meeting it was decided to form the Sangha Council. I wrote its constitution, registered it in California, and established its tax-exempt status. I was immediately elected secretary, not because of my expertise in non-profit legal matters, but because of my skill as a native English speaker and my good notes. In California the secretarial position is second only to the presidency in importance. This threw Dr. Ratanasara and me together frequently in planning and carrying out the Council’s programs.

From these frequent meetings an unusual friendship flourished. Dr.
Ratanasara was Sri Lankan, a male of the Theravada tradition and twenty
years older than me. I was American born, a woman, a Mahayana bhikkhuni, and considerably younger.

At the same time the College of Buddhist Studies was established under the
auspices of the Sangha Council and I was made secretary of it also. Dr.
Ratanasara and I began team teaching a year long class called Buddhist
History and Development which traced its history from pre-Buddhist India to
the present day, showing how all of various traditions developed and their
relationship to each other. The last several weeks focused on interreligious
dialogue and concerns. It soon became the college’s most popular course.

In Los Angeles we have large numbers of many different ethnic communities.
In 1970 three very far seeing individuals, Msgr. Royal Vadakin of the
ecumenical Office of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, Rabbi Alfred Wolf of
the Board of Rabbis, and Dr. George Cole, a Protestant minister, founded the Interreligious Council of Southern California. They soon discovered,
however, that they had an ecumenical group of Christians and Jews, rather
than an interreligious council. So they began to systematically seek out
faith groups other than the Abrahamic religions. First they invited the
Muslims to join, then the Sikhs, Bah’ai, Christian Orthodox, Hindus, and
Buddhists.  The Los Angeles Buddhist churches, comprised totally of the
Japanese Buddghist temples, was made a member. Then In 1982 Msgr. Vadakin spoke to Dr. Ratanasara, the eldest Theravadan Bhikkhu in Los Angeles whom he used to see occasionally in the local bank, and invited him to join the Council. He called me and asked my opinion on their invitation. By that time Bhante Ratanasara and I had become good friends. We discussed the idea and agreed. Then we sought out two other friends to join with us. We chose Ven. Setthakic Samahito from Wat Thai and Ven. Yin Hai, a Chinese elder. The four of us became the representatives from the broader based Sangha Council on the Interreligious Council.  The I.R.C. consists of four representatives from each faith community: the Catholic Archdiocese, the Board of Rabbis, the Orthodox Christian community, the Ecumenical Council, the Bah’ais, Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists, and finally the Mormons. IRC meets monthly, sharing important ideas about their faith traditions  and occasionally making statements to the press on important subjects, such as access to health care, crime, religious intolerance, and the like. For any statement to be made by the IRC every group that belongs to it must agree upon the specific terminology.

By late 1985 Msgr. Vadakin called me and asked if I would be the Buddhist
representative on a small committee to plan the inter-religious aspect of
Pope John Paul II’s visit to Los Angeles in 1987. I agreed and helped the
Archdiocese determine how they would celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Nostra Aetate, an important encyclical of Pope John 23rd.

We agreed to have a discussion between the Pope and the representatives of the four non-Christian traditions that Nostra Aetate addressed. Nostra
Aetate was the document that opened Catholic attitudes toward other
religions and removed statements that these religions were false or
misleading. In it John 23rd stated that the Church recognized its roots as
coming from Judaism, stressed its brotherhood with Islam, admitted its
kinship with Hindu concepts of God, and praised Buddhism for its concepts of wisdom and compassion. The document ended by stating that the Church found much to be admired in these religions and encouraged all Catholics to enter into dialogue with them.

At the meeting with the Holy Father , the five men sat in exactly the same
chairs and he on the same level as the Jew, the Muslim, the Hindu and the
Buddhist, a first for any Pope. The Sangha Council decided that Dr.
Ratanasara should be the spokesman for the Buddhists and I should present
His Holiness with gifts from the Buddhist community. There were 150
representatives from each of the four communities at the meeting that took
place as the Pope was ushered onto the stage hand in hand with the
Jodo-Shinshu Bishop, Bishop Saito. Bishop Saito introduced the Pope and
ended by saying, “Each of us has a mother, but my mother is best.”

The four men each addressed the Pope and he answered their concerns. After the program, the drama continued backstage, where only the Pope, two
cardinals from Rome, Msgr. Vadakin, a Catholic monk, numerous secret service men and four representatives of the I.R.C. were standing. After we presented our gifts and received gifts in exchange, we were waiting for the Pope’s limousine to drive in. At that time the Hindu representative started to make small talk with the Pope.

I thought, “Maybe I should carry out the task I have been given.”   There
had already been an assassination attempt on the Pope’s life, so security
was very tight. Those of us who were to meet directly with the Pope were
kept in a separate room, but I would stand there at the door, waving to all
of the Buddhists as they came in. A number of them came to me and handed me rosaries, asking me to get the Pope to bless them.

I thought there was no way I could ask that of him, so I slipped them into my
sleeve. Now as I stood there face to face with him, I said, “Holy father, as
ou know many of our Vietnamese and Sri Lankan Buddhist families have
Catholics in them as well. Some of these people wanted me to ask you to
bless their rosaries.” He said. “Give them to me.” So, I reached into my
sleeve (I was wearing a yellow robe with ceremonial sleeves) and pulled them out, just as six secret servicemen reached into their belts to pull out
their guns. They looked to Msgr. Vadakin who motioned to them to put their
guns away. The Pope ook the rosaries and blessed them and returned them to me, which I again secreted in my sleeve. I did not know until Msgr. Vadakin
told me the story that that had happened. I believe that John Paul and I
were the only ones who were unaware of what was happening, we were looking into each other’s eyes so intently.

In 1988 the Buddhist Catholic dialogue was initiated. An ongoing group meets every six weeks, with the same eight Buddhist and eight Catholic
representatives. After Dr. Ratana-sara’s dearth in 2000, I became the
Buddhist co-chair.  Mike Kerze, a scholar, is the Catholic co-chair. We had
already coauthored a booklet called “A Beginning Journey” about our first
year of dialogue. We have been meeting consistently now for thirteen years.

The role of women’s participation in interreligious concerns cannot be
overemphasized. From the very beginning 3 of our 8 members of the dialogue were women, whereas the Catholics only had one woman. Today each side now has half of their members as women. If you are recognized as a Buddhist leader many opportunities will come to you. Last month I spoke at gathering at a Jewish temple on the topicof “What We Believe: from Birth to Bereavement.”

I am frequently asked to participate in many interreligious activities and
am now on the local planning committee of the Society of Christian Buddhist
Studies to be held in 2004 at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

As Buddhist Women we must make ourselves known through our good works. If you make yourself indispensible you will be invited to serve on more commitees than you can possibly serve. I am fortunate because I have always had the support of the Bhikkhu  Sangha. Whenever a conservative Theravadan Monk would visit, Venerable Ratananasara would introduce me, saying, “This entire center belongs to her. “ Then he would send him out to Hai Lai Temple, Saying, “Go visit this Chinese temple, it cost $26 million to build and all of the work was done by Bhikkhunis, Not Bhikkhus, and they raised the money and oversaw the building and landscaping”

In fact, my support among the Bhikkhus is so strong that in 1994 I held my
first Grand Ordination, splitting the traditional ceremony in half, Dr
Ratanasara as the eldest Bhisku played the role of Uppajaya, splitting it
with me. We had 6 ordination  masters, male and female, and 30 witnesses
masters at that ceremony we ordained 7 women into the Tibetan tradition, 2
Vietnamese Bhikkhunis, 1 Theravadan Vietnamese Bhikkh-uni,1 Vietnamese 
Bhikkhu and 1 Vietnamese Sramanera, 1 American Bhikkhu, 2 American Dharma Teachers, 1 American and 1 Vietnamese sramanera, 2 Vietnamese Sramanerikas, 4 Anagarika, and 8 Upasakas, all American.

In my letter to all Sangha members in L.A. inviting them as witness or as
Ordination masters, I explainied that we would hold the traditional ceremony
in English, but placing female masters on the same level as males. I
received no answers of “I disagree with what you are doing”; everyone
responded with  “ yes I will attend” or “ yes, I approve of what you are
doing, but cannot attend.” I had full participation from Theravadan Bhikkhus
of both Sri Lanka and Thailand. They were following Dr. Ratanasara’s lead,
for which I thank him. In 1997 we held our second Grand Ordination. At that
three hour ceremony representatives from Buddhist/Christian Dialogue and the Inter-religious Council attended.

There is nothing that a woman cannot do, especially if she has the approval
of the Bhikkhu Sangha. To achieve that end, you must use every Upaya you can think of. Make yourself known and be persistent. They do pay off.

 
Zen as a Philosophy or Zen as a religion
by Rev. Vajra Karuna (Thich Tam-Thi )

Many Westerners have been attracted to Zen because they are looking for some coherent spiritual system by which to live, but for any number of reasons they have been turned off to Western religion, if not to religion as a
whole. These individuals rather consistently state that Zen is a philosophy
not a religion. This view has been encouraged by the writings of such
prominent Western authors as Alan Watts, but also by Asian authors such as
D.T. Suzuki and Sohaku Ogata. For example, in the Ogata's book the author
says that since Zen is not based on the idea of holiness, which he claims
implies pantheism, polytheism or monotheism, Zen can not be a religion. This
suggests that Zen is just a non-religious philosophy. But is this a true
reflection of Zen or is it more of a catering to some of the author's
Western readership's anti-religious attitudes? Of course, with some
embarrassment later in his book Ogata acknowledges that there are images in Zen temples and that Zen monks pray. He says that this may seem strange to some since this is what is done in theistic religions.

There is no question that there is a philosophy of Zen. This philosophy
consists of those elements of Zen that support its claim to teach a truth
which will give meaning to its followers. These elements are:

(I) There is a relative and absolute reality and truth.
(II) Relative reality gives all the appearance of being pluralistic or
dualistic. The absolute reality is non-dual. This non-duality manifests
itself in three ways. First, in that all phenomena are interconnected into
an indivisible whole. In other words, everything is lacking (empty of)
independent or autonomous being. Second, in that the so-called sacred and
profane of reality are identical. Third, in that experiencing of this
non-dual nature of reality must be done all at once or suddenly, not little
by little or gradually.
(III) The past and future are far less real than the present or now
which alone should be lived in fully.
(IV) The truth is found more by focusing within oneself than in
doctrinal writings.
(V) A profound understanding or internalization of I through IV may lead
to an experience of great peace and an even greater sense of the
unconditional worthiness of self, others and the world. This peace and sense
of worthiness is called enlighten-ment (satori). These philosophical
elements provide the minimum requirements for those who view Zen as either just a religion or just a philosophy. If all that a person needs is to
simply tellectually acknowledge these this is fine; but this Minimal or
Philosophical Zen alone does not seem to be what attracts most Westerners to Zen.

It has been my experience that what attracts most Westerners to Zen is the
hope of attaining enlightenment. This is where the anti-religious attitude
becomes problematic. There are certain forms of enlightenment that are
exclusively intellectual, but Zen satori is not one of them. Satori is
grounded in the absolute conviction that there is no duality to ultimate
reality, therefore, the profane and

Zen:Religion or Philosophy? continued from page 3.

the sacred are identical. What this more specifically means is that there is
no fundamental difference between the most defiled person and the Buddha
because everyone has identical unconditionally worthy Buddha-nature. This
may not seem to be an illogical concept until it is translated into such an
absolutely concrete statement as, “Some one who brutally murders an innocent child is as worthy of being a Buddha as is the noblest of saints.” It is at this point that our dualistic thinking finds this statement not only
morally offensive, but intellectually absurd. Yet, if we can not accept this
absurdity then we can not hope to experience satori because the ultimate
function of satori is to allow us to accept the even more logically
offensive, and most absurd of all facts: our own death. Philosophy can give
meaning to life and even to death, but only in the abstract. To say that all
people must sooner or later die is an abstract statement and can be accepted with a minimum of emotional distress. However, to say that I must die is not only an absolutely concrete statement, but an emotionally loaded one. Most human beings have never been able to accept their own death with logical objectivity. The very survival of religion in an age of science proves this. In Zen the allowing of us to experience that our lives are unconditionally worthy of Buddhahood gives us unconditional value or meaning, and such lives can not be devalued or made meaningless by death.

Thus satori permits us to face death with perfect equanimity. To experience
the non-duality of the sacred and the profane, the saint and the sinner,
life and death, therefore, requires us to leave behind doubt and its child,
philosophy, for faith and its child, religion. As long as anyone is
completely open to a logical challenge to (doubt about) the Zen teachings on non-duality that person can consider his or her commitment to Zen as
strictly philosophical and the benefits from it as limited. However, the
moment that person rejects any logical challenge to that non-duality by
declaring these teachings to simply be true he or she has become a religious person or person of faith. This faith is what takes us to the threshold of satori. Just because one must have religious faith in order to access
satori, however, does not mean one has to buy completely into Zen as
Standard Buddhist Zen. What I mean by Standard Buddhist Zen is Zen that more or less acknowledges standard Buddhist supernaturalism. Such Zen accepts the reality of celestial Buddhas and bodhisattvas, metaphysical karma and rebirth, and even some belief in psychic powers. None of this is a necessary part of the religious faith required to attain satori. Instead, the most one has to subscribe to is Non-theistic or Minimally Religious Zen. This is a
form of Non-theistic Religious Humanism in that it rejects any belief in
divine or supernatural assistance. At the same time this Zen acknow-ledges
that there is a level of reality that is beyond, or deeper than, that which
can be comprehended by reason or logical thinking alone. This non-logical
element is an essential ingredient to human fulfillment. In other words, it
says that humankind needs "faith" in something more than its own
rationality. To a Zen practitioner this is none other than faith in the
unconditional worth or sacredness of oneself, others, and the world.

IBMC web page is found at: www.IBMC.info

Ven. Karuna’s email: Karunadh@earthlink.net
Ven.Karuna’s web page: www.karunadharma.org
Ven. Shanti’s email: Hshanti@earthlink.net
Rev. Kusala’s email: Kusala@kusala.org
Rev. Kusala’s web pages: www.kusala.org and
www.Urbandharma.org
Rev. Vajra’s email: Madmonk88@aol.com
Rev. Jñana’s email: Lsipe@usc.ed
Bro. Sunya’s email: Heartlandzen@Yahoo.com
Bro. Ksanti and Bro.Sraddha’s email: VictorTom@aol.com
Sr. Hanasi’s email: Hasanakaruna@aol.com
Bro. Sangha Mitra’s email: Djhollen@ix.netcom.com
Colllege of Buddhist Studies on the Net:
www.Kusala.org/ratanasara/college.html
CBS email:Hshanti@earthlink.net