SOSHIMSA ZEN CENTER - BLOG

Every year according to Korean temple tradition, we at So Shim Sa hold our Kim Jang Kimchi (김장 김치) Making Fest. Kim Chi is a most common side dish in Korean diet made by fermenting Korean napa cabbage, ginger, garlic, radish and of course plenty of red pepper flakes in a large clay pot. We bury the pot in the ground over the winter and visit it only to get a fresh batch of kim chi. The 2012 Kim Jang will be held on Sun, Jan 8 after our usual communal lunch. According to the Korean Tourism Organization website (http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/intro.html) Kimchi has the following health benefits:Well-fermented kimchi has numerous anti-biotic functions. Perhaps the most significant is the presence of lactic acid bacteria. It is in large part due to the process of fermentation that this powerful agent helps build resistance in the body by suppressing the growth of harmful bacteria.This bacteria not only gives a sourish flavor to matured kimchi but also prevents excessive fermentation by restra

2012 So Shim Sa Calendars are now available for pre-order. Get your orders in soon in order to speed along the process. Priced at $25 each, the calendars are printed in beautifully vivid colors on 11x17 gloss paper. This year's theme is "Taego Order- The Keepers of Tradition" and features beautiful photographs of some of Teago Order's traditional arts such as the Seung Mooh Dance, the Butterfly Dance, and the Bara Dance; 1600 year-old traditions kept alive only by the Taego Order. Also included in the calendar is health related information (Seasonal Health Tea Guide and Vegetarian Days Guide) as well as Daily Observances. The Calendar features Gregorian as well as Lunar dates. A must for any member of the Zen Center. Makes a wonderful gift.   

On Nov. 23, 2011 Ven. Myong-Ahn along with Ven. Hae-In from Washington received the Bhikkhu Precepts at the Bop Ryun Sa Headquarter Temple of the Taego Order in Seoul South Korea. The training and, lectures and the ceremony itself began on the 21st and culminated on the 23rd. The Ceremony was presided over by Supreme Patriarch Most Ven. Hae-Cho, President of the Order Most Ven. In-Gong, Most Ven. Prof. Oun-Gok. Ven. Myong-Ahn was honored to have his UnsaNim (Ven. Il-Cho), his Ordination UnsaNim (Ven. Sang-Muk Sunim) and Yeon-Hwa Bosal attended the Ordination in a show of support. Total of 95 male and 32 female monks took the Bodhisattva Precepts that day. An excerpt of an interview with Ven. Myong-Ahn can be found in Korean on http://www.bulgyofocus.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=64386. Ven. Myong-Ahn is quoted saying that" It is a great honor to be a part of this traditional ceremony in which we become inducted into the long historical lineage of the Taego Order. The feeling can

On Nov 19, 2011 Somerset County Cultural Diversity Coalition awarded the 2011 Faith Community Diversity Award to So Shim Sa Zen Center. During a formal Interfaith Thanksgiving Dinner the president of the Coalition Dr. Tulsi Maharjan also presented Ven. Myong-Ahn and the Zen Center with  citations from both the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders as well as The State of New Jersey. The Diversity Award and the citations were issued  as a recognition of So Shim Sa's activities of "promoting the grater understanding and civility, tolerance, diversity, collaboration and cooperation". We are honored to receive this recognition from all three agencies. 

Last month So Shim Sa enjoyed a visit from Cristina Pinzon a freelance writer for the Fox News Latino. Fox News Latino featured the attached article in their  Nov 6, 2011 Lifestyle web column under the heading "More Latinos Choose a Less Traveled Road to Spirituality". Article Source:  Written by Cristina Pinzon, "More Latinos Choose a Less Traveled Road to Spirituality" Published Nov 06,2011, 2011 Fox News Latino,  http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2011/11/06/more-latinos-choose-less-travelled-road-to-spirituality/  retrieved on Nov 08, 2011.   "More Latinos Choose a Less Traveled Road to Spirituality" Ruben Lambert was educated in Catholic schools and grew up as a faithful Roman Catholic. As he grew older, the first generation Cuban-American decided to adopt a religion more rooted in meditation and enlightenment. Now he follows the practices of Zen  Buddhism  and has assumed the name Venerable Mooh-Sang Sunim. Like Lambert, many Latinos are

On Saturday Oct 15 Ven. Myong-Ahn had a casual meeting with one of the pioneers of Buddhism in the West, Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American ordained in 1973 in the Theravadin Tradition of Buddhism. In 2000 he gave a keynote address before the United Nations at the first official United Nation's celebration of Vesak. President of Buddhist Publication Society, Bhikkhu Bodhi has translated many of the Sutras of the Theravda Tradition into English. The brief conversation between Bhikkhu Bodhi and Ven. Myong-Ahn revolved around the world hunger relief efforts of the Buddhist Global Relief of which Bhikkhu Bodhi is the founder. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi's relentless efforts to make Buddhism available to the Westerners deserve recognition and hope to inspire the many generations of American Buddhist still to come.  

On Sunday August 7th, So Shim Sa was honored to receive a delegation of a group of Dongguk University students led by Professor Cho Il Hwan. The group consisted of seven Buddhist monks and two students who are currently completing their degrees in Buddhist Studies at Dongguk University in Gyeonju, South Korea. The group was made up of those select few who qualified for the 2011 scholarship program.  The scholarship prorgram, sponsored by Prof. Cho was an 8-week intensive English language course conducted at Columbia University interspersed with weekly trips to 10 Buddhist Temples. One of the 10 temples visited was So Shim Sa. Upon return to Korea the scholarship students were required to compile a 60 page booklet about their most impressive experience. So Shim Sa clearly left a lasting impression and was given 13 pages  complete with a transcript of an interview with Ven. Il-Cho Bobsanim, the Ven. Monks of So Shim Sa and the scholarship group. The article entitled 소심사의 미국스님들 (So Shim S

Our Fundraiser Dinner Party was a great success. Mother nature supported our October Luau Party with a beautiful weather. Luau music, great food, the scent and sound of a crackling fire pit. And of course great company of over 40 participants, made this a memorable Saturday evening.  Both young and the young at heart among us had a good time.  A big thanks go out to those who helped with the set-up, cooking and the clean-up. 

Releasing Life Ceremony (Bang-Seng)   is a Buddhist tradition of releasing, improving or extending life of living beings. It is usually carried out in a ceremony where living things such as birds, animals, or fish that are destined for slaughter are released into the wild and given another chance for life. This ceremony teaches us that all life is precious and inspires us to be more compassionate, gentle, and kind towards others.  The Releasing Life Ceremony consists of a prayer service where the merit of this compassionate deed is transferred to the participants who get to release their very own fish or release one on behalf of a ailing friend, a newborn child, a deceased loved one, or for other personal reasons. Included were prayers for one our member's mother who just recently suffered a stroke as well as a new addition to our extended family baby Blake. May you all be well.

With an invitation from Richard Hall Community Mental Health Center, and as a part of our Educational Outreach, So Shim Sa was invited to give an interactive presentation at Richard Hall on September 27. Richard Hall is a " Comprehensive community mental health center dedicated to the prevention, early detection and treatment of mental illness and serious emotional and behavioral problems."  Ven. Myong-Ahn's talk entitled "Happiness Here and Now" was followed by a meditation session led by Ven. Mooh-Sang. The presentation concluded with a wonderful Q&A session with a very interactive and receptive audience of over 30 participants.We hope to foster an ongoing relationship with Richard Hall Center and So Shim Sa's 1000 Hands Outreach.

On Sep 25, 2011 Ven. Myong-Ahn and Ven. Mooh-Sang in collaboration with Somerset County Cultural Diversity Coalition participated in the International Peace Day. The celebration took place at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Somerville and featured representatives from various religious traditions.  Ven. Myong-Ahn's address was followed by guided loving kindness meditation led by Ven. Mooh-Sang. The following is the transcript of Ven. Myong-Ahn's address: The Whole World is a Single Flower There is a famous calligraphy by Zen Master Man Gong that reads  “The whole world is a single flower”.  The statement is short and simple yet points to a deep, deep truth, namely: that we are each indeed a part of a whole. In fact each one of us can make a statement the “I am the most important person in the world”. It is said that when the Buddha was born he pointed one finger up and another down and declared: “Heaven and below, earth and above I am only one”. For it is up to you to car

A group of Master Alfaro's Tae Kwon Do students from Shim Martial Arts Academy participated in our Taste of Zen Program. The children learned about Buddhist and Korean culture by observing a  traditional Morning Service... ...learned about meditation and practiced focus and concentration with a chopstick challenge game.  Everyone enjoyed Question and Answer and had overall good time. So Shim Sa was invited to conduct a Tong-Gong Health Seminar at the Academy in the future.

Start off the school year with a right mindset. S o Shim Sa Buddhist Fellowship is a lay Buddhist movement with an emphasis on the dynamic practicality of Buddhist philosophy in daily life. Encouraging  members to draw from the innate source of wisdom, compassion and courage, we strive to empower each individual to overcome life’s challenges and lead happy and fulfilling lives. MEDITATION CLASSES Tuesdays 7:00 - 8:00pm College Ave. Student Center Rm 402 

FALL SEMESTER REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FALL SEMESTER (SEP 29 - DEC 15) SCHEDULE- THURSDAYS 6:30PM - 8:00PM  Founded by Bodhidharma, a 5th century Indian Buddhist monk, Tong-Gong is considered the root of all modern martial arts. Tong-Gong has been employed and developed as a method for curing illness and strengthening the body. Its main therapeutic properties lie in its regulation of the activity of the cerebral cortex, the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system. Furthermore, the therapeutic effects also help correct abnormal reactions of the organism and have a massaging effect on the organs of the body. Tong-Gong is based Oriental medicine. The exercises put pressure on a combination of specific acupuncture points which elicit desired physiological responses. Since the movements are combined with breathing, Tong-Gong delivers freshly oxygenated blood to the muscle tissue and internal organs. The harmonization of Nae-Gong (internal) and Wae-Gong (external) exercises leads

Dinair Santana recieved a charter and will be the President of the Brazil Chapter of the So Shim Sa Buddhist Fellowship. Andrea Prados will be the treasurer for this first international chapter.  Dinair has been studying Buddhism under Ven. Myong Ahn Sunim for 7 years and has completed the Chapter President Course. We look forward to supporting her in this expansion and watching our Sangha grow.

On Sunday August 7th, several new visitors participated in the Traditional Sunday Service. Afterwards the Sangha ate together and exchanged pleasant conversation. The feedback from the visitors was good and they were impressed with the progress of So Shim Sa and the support from its members.

Beginning in September we will hold EXTENDED SIT classes. These classes will be held every LAST Monday and Wednesday of EACH month. Extended Sits are intended to deepen you meditation practice and prepare you for longer meditation retreats. Extended Sit schedule: 6:00 pm   Evening Service 6:30pm   Extended Sit instructions 6:40pm   1st period of sitting meditation (30 min) 7:10pm   Walking meditation 7:20pm   2nd period of sitting meditation (30min) 7:50pm   Self administered acupressure massage and harmonizing health exercises 8:00pm   Class end Note: Prior meditation class attendance is required          The Extended Sit is conducted in SILENCE.