On Saturday, May 9, members of Soshimsa Zen Center traveled through weather that was misty and just a bit chilly to the 2015 International Peace Day Celebration at the New Jersey Buddhist Society Vihara and Meditation Center in Princeton, which was established in 2003. The event was sponsored by a host of civic and faith organizations including, but not limited to, the Rotary Clubs of Branchburg and Plainsboro, the Somerset County Cultural Diversity Coalition, and Friends Of Nepal New Jersey (FONNJ). As the event began, the attendees were welcomed; there was a moment of silence for the victims of the recent earthquake in Nepal, followed by brief proclamations from local political authorities. Sunims Myong-Ahn and Duhk-Song led the attendees in a walking meditation along an asphalt path through the shady, wooded grounds, circling an imposing 28-foot statue of the Buddha in samadhi meditation posture. As the weather gradually turned clear and semi-tropical, there were...
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On Tuesday April 28 th , the South Plainfield Public Library was transformed into a tranquil setting and the backdrop for a traditional Korean Zen Buddhist tea ceremony. Ven. Myong Ahn Sunim spoke on the history of tea and how it is cultivated and has evolved over centuries in the Korean culture. He also performed a traditional tea ceremony to demonstrate how the simple act of mindfulness can transform each and every moment and action in an ordinary day into something extraordinary and bursting with life. Participants were able to sample tea from the beautiful JeJu Island in South Korea and were invited to participate in a tea workshop at So Shim Sa to deepen their experience.
On Thursday January 22 nd Ven Myong Ahn Sunim provided a lecture at the South Plainfield Public Library about meditation from the Zen Buddhist perspective. The talk focused on how our thoughts influence our daily experience and how meditation can help us restore the balance between our mind, body and spirit. Ven Myong Ahn’s thoughtful stories helped illustrate how each individual already holds the power within to lead peaceful, happy lives. Bob Davey was also on hand, and helped answer the audience’s questions about his own experience with meditation.
Ven. Duhk-Song Sunim accompanied by Buhk-Chon Rodriguez represented Soshimsa Zen Center at the 13th Annual Somerset County Cultural Diversity Coalition Interfaith Thanksgiving Dinner and Diversity Awards Ceremony on November 22, 2014. Ven. Duhk-Song led those gathered in a Mealtime Prayer, along with a representative prayers offered by respected representatives of the Bahai, Christian, Hinduism, Islamic, Jain Naitive American and Sikh traditions. The event, organized by Dr. Tulsi Maharjan, was a wonderful gathering of hearts set on an unified goal of respect for all traditions, ours as well as those of others.
On Dec 17, 2013 Wilkes University's Hindu Spirituality Club visited Soshimsa, for a presentation on Methods of Alleviating Stress according to Buddhist Philosophy. The club braved the snow to get to the Zen Center, from their Pennsylvania home. The students, enjoyed the interwoven aspect of philosophy, Buddhism and the intimate knowledge of self-understanding and how the mind, body and spirit can be used to alleviate stress in today's fast paced society. The group was introduced to the basics of meditation practice as well as a 10 minute self-administered revitalizing acupressure routine. The visit concluded with a wonderful Q & A session, where the students voiced some of their concerns about application of spiritual ideals in the daily college life. The session ended with tea before the group embarked on their home bound journey. We hope to meet again.
On June 23, 2013 Soshimsa Zen Center celebrated its 4 Year Anniversary. Although with the new location it felt a bit like a Grand Opening. As usual we had a video collage of the past events, presentations and speeches by Ven. Myong-Ahn, Mooh-Sang and Duhk-Song Sunim as well as Mrs. Kelley Shim-Choi and Prof. Tracey Shors. We talked about our future plans and the work that Soshimsa Fellowship is doing at Rutgers University. Dr. Shors, who heads our meditation research study spoke of the impact of the Fellowship's and Soshimsa's work on the lives of students as well as the women at the battered women's center where Dr. Shors teaches meditation as part of the research. Ven. Duhk-Song, who serves as the Director of the 1000 Hands Outreach, had words of encouragement for the current participants of our Volunteer Program. He also congratulated past recipients of the President's Volunteer Award of which Soshimsa is a Certifying Organization ( www.presidentialserviceawards...
On June 15, 2013 we took a late season-opening hiking trip to Lord Stirling Park. After an onslaught of rain over the past few days certain areas of the swamp overflowed and regions of the boardwalk were closed off. However, we managed just fine and even found lovely area for meditation (see picture on left) . It was a gorgeous day with plenty of sunshine, bird songs, and luscious greenery invigorated by the latest rains. We all took a piece of the vast, unbounded, limitless sky with us for those rainy and gloomy days we all have now and then (see picture on right) . This was an overall good hike to break us in for whats to come. Hope to see you all you nature lovers out next month. July's Toughing Earth is planning to be a kayaking trip down in Princeton.
On Sunday, May 18 Soshimsa Zen Center held its first ceremony since the long journey of finding and renovating its new location at 1112 North Avenue in Plainfield NJ. It was truly a pleasure seeing familiar faces and the ceremony became one of celebrating new beginnings (for the fish, for all those graduating school and for the new Soshimsa location) as well as the old friendships. Thank you all for attending and thank you all who mailed in their prayers and best wishes.
On April 16, 2013, Soshimsa Zen Center was once again invited to Richard Hall Community Mental Health Center to give a presentation. The presentation was entitled Spirituality and Culture from the Korean Zen Tradition. There was a wonderful exchange of questions and answers and plans were made for more future collaborations between Richard Hall and the Zen Center.
On Monday March 25 2013, Soshimsa Zen Center was once again invited to Drew University to do a presentation. The Zen Center and Drew University A.S.I.A. Club have had a collaborative relationship since 2011 when the Zen Center was invited to give a presentation on the tradition of Tea Ceremony. The March 25th presentation took place immediately following the Drew finals and was intended to equip the students with simple stress relief techniques anyone can use. Diaphragmatic breathing meditation and self-administered "10 Minute Revitalizing Routine" were very popular with the students.
Soshimsa Fellowship RUTGERS UNIVERSITY CHAPTER Schedule Change Effective November 6, 2012 Due to some logistical complications related to our ongoing meditation research study the Tuesday Meditation Classes will be suspended until further notice. If you are interested in scheduling a workshop or a lecture we will still be actively operating on campus. However the current classes will only be open to the participants of the study. TO SCHEDULE A WORKSHOP, LECTURE OR FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT US AT: INFO@SOSHIMSAFELLOWSHIP.ORG INFO@SOSHIMSA.ORG or 908 377-9803
Rutgers University Chapter and NYC Chapter of the So Shim Sa Fellowship are launching the new semester of Meditation classes. Beginning Sep. 13, 2012 the NYC Chapter will hold classes every Thursday 4:15-5:15PM at the Sacred Sound Yoga Studio in New York City ( NYC Chapter Web page ). The Rutgers Chapter classes will begin on Sep. 25, 2012 and are to be held every Tuesday 6:30-7:30PM at the Cook Campus Center in room 202B. ( Rutgers Univ. Chapter Web page ). The Rutgers Chapter is considering more programs and activities such as monthly on-campus Sunday Service and volunteer opportunities for students. We will also continue to push forwards with our meditation research study.
On Tuesday, August 7, 2012 The Somerset County Cultural Diversity Coalition held a memorial candlelight vigil at the Gurudwara Sikh Temple in Bridgwater. So Shim Sa was only one among the many representatives form the interfaith community who were present to show their support to victims of the Oak Creek shootings. A spokesperson for the Somerset County Cultural Diversity Coalition stated that the victims “and Central New Jersey must know that the New Jersey community people have them in their thoughts and prayers, and our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who were killed and wounded. Please keep our Sikh community members in your prayers.”
Those of you who follow our activities know of our community outreach efforts and just how much we emphasize giving back. As a monk one does not possess much of material goods but sharing the teachings is one of the primary task of a monastic life. To this extent we make the best effort to accept all invitations from the community to provide teachings via lectures, workshops and presentations. One of our presentations initially given at Drew University seems to have struck a note with the public library circuit. On July 24, So Shim Sa gave a presentation at the Sparta Public Library entitled Get to Know Yourself; Mind, Body and Soul. The 1.5 hour presentation received a thunderous ovation and plans for more programs were discussed. Piscataway Public Library has scheduled a four-part Stress Reduction training workshop to be held in Nov. If you or your organization is interested in any of the programs we offer feel free to contact the Zen Center at 908 377-9803 or via email at info@so...
On May 6, 2012 So Shim Sa was invited to participate in Vesak and Peace Day Celebration. The event was organized by Somerset County Cultural Diversity Coalition and took place at the Princeton Buddhist Vihara. The Ceremony combined a number of wonderful elements. It opened with walking meditation let by Ven. Duhk-Song, followed by a Pali blessing chant by the resident monks of the Vihara. Ven. Myong-Ahn delivered a brief speech on Buddha's teachings on peace as on of many addresses from the representatives of participating organizations. There was a parade of flags from countries around the world and a Peace Pole dedication led by the World Peace Prayer Society. The event closed with prayers from all religious traditions present, including Jewish, Hindu, Muslim and native African. Ven. Mooh-Sang offered the Buddhist prayer in English. All in all, it was a beautiful sunny day and a wonderful ceremony. Thank all of you who came out to participate and support the Zen ...
A Rutgers University Dean's Grant has funded a research study on the effects of meditation and exercise on depression. This study is a collaborative work between So Shim Sa and Rutgers University. So Shim Sa created the curriculum for meditation education to be used in the study, while the University's Recreation Department provided the exercise curriculum. Also involved are the Psychology Dept., Dept. of Alcohol Studies and CAPS Health Services. The projected length of the study is 3 years. We hope that the collected data will help reinforce the therapeutic effects of meditation and that our program of meditation and exercise can become standardized as an intervention to alleviate the suffering of people with depression.
When a correspondent from New York's Korea Daily (중앙일보) found out that there was an American Zen Monk auditing Korean language classes at Rutgers University she contacted Ven. Myong-Ahn for an interview.The article was published on page 4 of the January 30, 2012 edition of Korea Daily (중앙일보)under the heading "예불 위해 한국어 배워요". An Internet version is available at: http://www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp?art_id=1346886. (Only Korean language version is available.)
During the 2012 Lunar New Year celebration So Shim Sa Zen Center launched Deer Park Academy. The Academy serves as the educational branch of the Zen Center and will offer a variety of courses and workshops. Currently the courses are divided into three categories: Dharma Courses, So Shim Sa Fellowship Certification Courses and Enrichment Courses. The very first course to be offered soon is the CPR & AED Certification. A valid CPR certification is required of all So Shim Sa Sunim (Monks) as well as Chapter Presidents and Meditation Class Facilitators of So Shim Sa Fellowship chapters. The mission of Deer Park Academy is to help children, youth and first-generation adult Buddhists establish a working knowledge of Buddhism and develop a healthy spiritual life. To learn more about Deer Park Academy, its logo and the meaning of the name go to: http://soshimsa.org/index/Deer_Park_Academy.html
On Sunday Jan 15, 2012 So Shim Sa Fellowship issued its first Meditation Class Facilitator Certificate to Dr. Tracey Shors. Tracey has been a member of the Zen Center for over two years. She will lead additional classes at our Rutgers Chapter. Dr. Tracey Shors is Professor II in the Department of Psychology and Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University. The Fellowship and the Zen Center have been working closely with Dr. Shors on developing therapeutic applications of meditation as well as a number of research studies.
We would like to thank all of our members and friends who have contributed to last month's Toy Drive. Your donated toys and gift cards have put a smile on many young faces. Thank You. Special thanks to Genevieve and her Girl Scout troop for their generous support as well as Aimee for serving as the coordinator between So Shim Sa Toy Drive and Goryeb Children's Hospital. With Joined Palms, Ven Duhk-Song Sunim Director of 1000 Hands Outreach So Shim Sa Zen Center
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...
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 (...
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 ...
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 le...
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.