Buddha's Birthday Celebration

On Sunday, May 24, members of Soshima Zen Center assembled to honor the anniversary of the birth of the Buddha, said to be in the area of modern-day Nepal or India about 2,500 years ago.

The service included the Six Offerings (Yook Gong-Yang), corresponding to the Six Perfections (Yook Baramil). Each offering was led by a woman of the Center wearing traditional Korean dress called Han-Bok.

The offering of fruit included a mandala of blueberries, strawberries, grapes and oranges that had been created by the children. The Lotus Buds, or youngsters, sang a happy birthday to the Buddha. Afterwards, the congregation walked in a circular procession, pausing to bathe the statue of the Buddha as a baby, and reciting the name of the Buddha.

Following the service, a repast of a variety of food was available, as colorful and diverse as is the Soshimsa Sangha.

Founder's Day 2023 (Abbot's Address)

I have, from time to time, on the rarest of occasions, been accused of being...verbose. I know! I was as shocked then as you are now. So, we are in imminent danger of the lunch getting cold. Yet, I don’t have the words (imagine that!) to express how fortunate we are to be in the mere presence of a Dosa. This is the stuff we each have to stick our head through the mystical curtain of mystery to glimpse. So, we won’t go there now. I thought to myself… if I absolutely had to, choose a single quality of IlCho Dosanim that I would want to highlight. What would that be? And of course, we go through the usual list: wisdom, compassion, knowledge, patience, etc. Yet, as much as all of these are true, today they won’t do. And so, I went on, sifting through and I think I found it. So here it is, the single most impressive quality of Il-Cho Dosanim, for me….expressed in a single word… succinct. Succinct. Never have I met someone who can distill the esoteric and the complexities of our human condit...

Headwaters of Social Issues

Many people work in different ways towards resolving issues surrounding civil rights, racism, LGBTQ+ issues, violence, pollution, etc.. How does the Zen Center address these issues? It happens that there are many, many lakes which are polluted. Many are poisoned, making them either unsuitable or impossible for life to continue to exist in them. Many inhabitants of the lakes are sick and struggling because the waters are polluted or poisoned. The task of providing a healthy environment for the life of these lakes seems nearly impossible. We cannot seem to remedy the situation quickly enough. These polluted waters further flow into the one great ocean and it, too, becomes polluted. The way we, at the Zen Center, approach the hardships and suffering of the lakes—and ultimately the one great ocean—is by making sure the sources of water are pure. We address pollution by addressing the source. The source waters of the problems facing the LGBTQ+ community, social justice, women’s rights, raci...

Happy New...

Why do we celebrate the New Year? It is a celebration. Happy celebration isn't it? New year... 365 days for our planet to take a lap. 365 to circulate back to here. Neptune takes the equivalent of 165 earth years to take its lap. Imagine you have a big jar. You add happiness to your jar. It’s your jar of happy. If you only add happy once a year, how much happy do you have. How much happiness is there in your jar? How happy is your life? It takes one minute for the blood in the body to circulate its full lap. Why not celebrate that? Why not, in addition to a new year celebration, celebrate new minute? Happy New Minute to you! Happy New Hour to you! Happy New Day to you! No, it’s not a cute idea. It’s not a bumper sticker. Do it! Use the teachings! Use this teaching, especially when you’re having a tough month. If you’re having a tough month celebrate Happy New Weeks. If you’re having a difficult week, celebrate Happy New Day. If you’re having a hard day, celebrate Happy New Hour. If...

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