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 Monday, June 22 nd Soshima Zen Center presented “Life, Death, Bardo, Next... a Meditative Journey Cloaked in Music”, a dramatic representation of the universal human journey as reflected in Mahayana Buddhist teachings. Attendees entered a darkened room to encounter a circle of cushions surrounded by a ring of electric candles. As they lay supine in the silent hall, the reverberation of the meditation bell signaled the beginning of the journey. Then, a dramatic narration began, accompanied by musical selections chosen to inspire the listener to imagine each stage of the process. The narrative told the story of a person transitioning from living mundane everyday life, unmindful of death, through sudden diagnosis of serious illness, struggle with disease, gradual acceptance of death, passing away of the body, the migration of the spirit, wandering in the bardo, liberation from the wheel of samsara, and the attainment of the Bodhisattva ideal. The conclusion of the prog...