March In this Issue

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1 March 2018 HAPPINESS IS HOMEMADE It is a cold winter morning; the outside temperature is -28 Celsius without considering the wind chill factor. Looking out my living room window I am drawn to the beauty of how the snow is neatly draped on the branches of spruce trees. At the same time a sense of gratitude is acknowledged for the warmth and protection from the extreme weather conditions that a home provides. My attention is soon redirected from the spruce trees to a baking dish on the kitchen counter. What has caught my eye is the inscribed words on the inside bottom of the baking dish happiness is homemade. The meaning of words can be powerful; words can lift our spirits and can inflict emotional suffering. Sometimes the meaning of a word can grab our attention, we start to reflect and become mindful for a brief moment. Such is the case with the inscribed words on the baking dish that caught my attention. The words on the baking dish happiness is homemade reminded me of how the love that we put into preparing food at home always tastes better and provides more nourishment and satisfaction for our wellbeing. I am reminded of this when placing food in the baking dish to be cooked and when food is being served from the dish; I am also reminded of this when washing the baking dish and putting it away until needed again. My reflection on the words happiness is homemade lead me to the following contemplation: happiness is homemade, happiness is made at home, happiness is made in the home of our minds. Happiness referring to a state of being that is free from suffering. Home referring to a place of refuge found in our mind. So often we look to obtain happiness from external sources, only to experience a happiness that does not last. Śākyamuni taught that all conditioned existence is impermanent. Happiness can be found in external sources but because of impermanence this happiness must be understood to be just a moment in time. If we want to truly experience happiness we have to look within and start to be the observer and listener of the thoughts wandering in our mind. If we are In this Issue at odds with impermanence, the Four Noble Truths, and nonself we will continue to experience the large swings between Sensei Message P.1 happiness and sadness. Women s Federation Information P.2 Announcements Upcoming Special s P.3 P.3 In our search for happiness in this life let us reflect on the words of Śākyamuni Buddha: Volunteers Upcoming Events Ongoing Groups, Clubs & Events P.3 P.4 P.4 Therefore, be a lamp unto yourself; be a refuge to yourself. Take yourself to no external refuge. Hold fast to the Truth as a lamp; hold fast to the Truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone beside yourself. Article: Buddhism of the Heart P.5 Temple Calendar P.6 Donations P.7 Buddhaful Day T-Shirt P.7 CBT Membership Drive P.7 The disciplined mind brings happiness ; The watched mind brings happiness May we all find inner peace in this life to help us ease the suffering associated with greed, anger, and delusion. Namu-amida-butsu -- Sensei Robert

2 Women s Federation (WF) Dana Day March 25 The Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada (JSBTC) Women s Federation or WF is the Canadian National women s organization. The WF Dana Day is the result of a resolution made in 1965 at the second World Buddhist Women s Convention held in New York City, New York. It was decided that proceeds from the annual designated Dana Day will go towards social welfare projects and related activities. Since then, funds have been raised through the efforts of the women s groups at Jodo Shinshu temples throughout the world to aid in numerous social welfare activities. Nationally, the JSBTCWF have used Dana Day funds to support global projects such as assisting with the building of a hospital in Kenya, Africa; helping a village, also in Africa, with purchasing water purifying systems; and supporting the Hongwanji temple in Nepal establish itself. Contributions have been made for numerous natural disasters such as the Earthquake and Tsunami relief funds for the Sumatra Earthquake, the Hanshin Great Earthquake as well as the East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and more recently, funds have been given to the Canadian Red Cross, Medics Without Borders, the Food Banks of Canada, and the Children s Wish Foundation. All donations made on March 25 will be gratefully collected and sent to our National office so that the WF can continue to support social welfare initiatives. Thank you for your generous support of Dana giving without thought of receiving something in return. Women s Federation and World Buddhist Women s Convention in 2019 After the service on Sunday, March 25, please meet downstairs for tea and learn about the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada Women s Federation. Find out what the organization does and get the scoop on the next World Buddhist Women s Convention! August 30 September 1, 2019, the Buddhist Churches of America Federation of Buddhist Women s Associations (BCA FBWA) will host the 16th World Buddhist Women s Convention at the San Francisco Marriott Grand Marquis in San Francisco, California. The Convention is an opportunity for Jodo Shinshu followers to gather together on an international level; meet new people, learn together, share experiences, and spread the circle of Dharma followers today and for generations to come. Originally, the Convention was held for women only; however, over the years, it has welcomed all, men and women, in the Jodo Shinshu Sangha or spiritual community. Calgary Buddhist Temple Page 02

3 Announcements Marshall Hironaka The Sangha was very saddened by the sudden passing of Marshall Hironaka on Sunday January 14th, right after the Ho-Onko service, in the temple parking lot. He died of a fatal heart attack, but he was in poor health at the time and so the family was happy the way he went. He was able to have lunch after Ho-onko with his friends and was able to attend Temple service. Marshall was a devoted member of our Sangha. He served on the Board for many years, holding the position of President, Vice-President, and, for a long time, Treasurer. He was involved in the purchase of our current building in 1980/81, and he was always very active in organizing the Upcoming Special s famous Chicken Teriyaki dinner fundraisers. He and Sally were our mein makers, and when we began making mein again several years ago, he supervised the cooking. Marshall attended Sunday regularly for fifty years, and we will miss his kind and gentle presence there. The Sangha sends its deepest sympathies to Sally, Doug and Russell. Marshall at Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto, Japan on a pilgrimage to Japan in October 2003 Mark your calendar for a special service March 11th! Sunday March 11th will not be a traditional service as we will be holding a Stations service. Join us and, with your group, spend about 15 minutes at each off the first four stations. Experience and participate in a meditation, a chanting, the Naijin (altar), and the Kansho (large bell) stations. distraction is an exercise that brings our full attention to what we are eating, increasing our appreciation and gratitude. To finish off the service we will have a button making station where you can craft your own name button and proudly wear it whenever you come to temple. The fifth station will be a silent lunch station - Mindfully eating your own prepared sandwich without We expect to finish between 11:30 and 12:00 so plan your day accordingly! Volunteers Special Thank-you If you are a newer member of our Sangha, you may not know his name, but you have very likely seen him, camera or broom in hand, at our special s, lunches and gatherings. Lloyd Tsukushima very quietly goes about sweeping up after gatherings or helps record the history of our Temple through his beautiful photographs. He has also become an adept gyoza and mein maker. For his many years of selfless service, we recognize him with gratitude and thanks. Page 03

4 Upcoming Events Ikebana Classes Japanese Flower Arrangement Five classes are being offered by Rika Saruwatari, who trained under Ms.Takato Yokoyama. Rika became a certified Shihan (teacher) in Classes will be held Saturday mornings 10:00am - 12:30pm April 14, May 12 and 26, June 16 and 30 at the temple. Cost is $175 included tax. Students must supply their own containers (please ask Rika for suitable size and shape), scissors and kenzan (frog). Ask Rika if you need help selecting your items but these are not supplied as part of the lesson. Sorry, no refunds for missed lessons. Class size is limited so register early! Contact Rika at rikaandshiro@gmail.com or call Ongoing Groups, Clubs & Events Dharma Time4KIDS A goal for Dharma Time this year is to host an activity for the kids every Sunday. Lessons will be approximately every-other week, and informal play time/social time for the kids with games and puzzles will be on the other Sundays. Please check the Temple website as it will post more specific information as planning progresses. Temple Library Come for tea, stay for a book! The library will be open the third Sunday of every month. After service on March 18 th, come downstairs to browse through our Temple library while you have a cup of tea. We also invite you to sit and talk about a Buddhist book you ve read. NEW additions to the library: The Dharma of the Princess Bride: What the Coolest Fairy Tale of Our Time can Teach Us About Buddhism and Relationships - By Ethan Nichtern Buddhism of the Heart: Reflections on Shin Buddhism and Inner Togetherness - By Jeff Wilson Calgary Buddhist Temple Page 04

5 ARTICLE: Buddhism of the Heart It is said that we only use 10% of our Brains. This is actually a misunderstanding: we may only use 10% at any given time, but we use different parts of our brains for different thoughts or actions. For example: we don t need to use the Catch the Ball parts much when we are instead Reading a Book. But we do use all parts of our Brains eventually. 100%. What may actually be true, however, is that we only use about 10% of our Hearts. What is our Heart? It is that part of us that feels, that is connected to others, that extends past the thought processes of our brains into areas that are so much harder to define: our human experience. Our Heart is part of what is known in neuroscience as The Hard Problem of human existence: what turns the mere sense impressions of a slice of brownie into an experience of a nummy snack food? Our tongues relay the correct chemical composition of the brownie to our Brains, but there is more to it than that: there is an experience. And further, how do we then know and better enjoy Grandma s brownie? It might be said I can t really define my Heart, but I know it when I see it! and that is good enough for us for now. Are we only using 10% of our Hearts though? Well, rather than a direct measurement, which is hard as we can t even properly define what our Hearts are, I would ask a question. There are of course, several aspects to our human experience, but I will use the idea of kindness as a positive one to bring into focus. Question: I am sure we all live lives filled with kindnesses, but if we give even more loving kindness away to others, is there ever a limit? My (partial) Answer: Well, sort of. There really is no limit to our Hearts except what we impose upon ourselves: the limit depends upon how much practice we have, how much capacity we have. You can literally decide in each circumstance the amount of kindness your Heart has the capacity for; what you can put forth. So we set the limit of how much of our Heart we use or express. So if we set the limit, is there a way to increase that, to be better expressers, to develop our Hearts? Yes, there is. Explicitly. We can work with our Minds, to develop our Hearts. How? First, there is a connection between our physical Brains, where our Minds reside, and that which we call our Hearts. It is taught that an emotion is the Body s Reaction to a Thought. For example, when we get angry, a thought occurs that our Minds habitually reacts to by releasing anger hormones into our Bodies. The same for Love: a thought, then our Minds habitually react by releasing the appropriate Body reaction hormones. All emotions are like this actually: examine this. But these are unskilled habits; instinctual. Resulting from unskilled thoughts. But we can give direction to our thoughts. We can make some thoughts more likely to arise than others, by practice. What if we concentrate on building skilled thoughts: what is the result? There is a usable, explicit and helpful process. For example: what if we spend time clearing our minds, to first examine the thoughts that arise? Then, as thoughts can result in emotions, we can then become aware of our emotions also. Then we can know our Body s reactions: It is a chain of events that we initiate, at first in unskillful ways. is the practice that can show us these thoughts. It is the foundational practice to build awareness of our thoughts, our unskilled habits, the emotions that then arise. Once we become aware of our thoughts, that is the first step in encouraging thoughts that we choose to have arise. There is no way to force a thought, but we can choose to make various thought patterns more likely. When we practice to become aware of our thoughts, our emotions, our unskilled habits, we can practice in other ways to make skillful habits that we choose, that we want! There are many aspects of our Hearts that we may want to make stronger: skillful habits that we may choose to build. Some of these are skillful habits of Compassion, Kindness, Joy in other people, seeing others as equals to ourselves, and gratitude. We can build these habits skillfully, to improve this life for ourselves and for the world around us. This building of skillful habits to strengthen our Hearts is the basis of the Temple Refuge Circle on Tuesday evenings at the Temple. A gentle, easy set of practices for people of any tradition or none at all to improve & know your Heart for yourself and our world. Let us together build the skillful habits that allow our Hearts to be more than the 10% we normally use. None of these practices take the place of knowing Amida s Vow. There, there is no practice required; we completely Accept that our True Nature and path forward is already determined for us. However, this does not mean that we cannot practice to improve our own Hearts and thereby to contribute to a better world. Jodo Shinshu is the Buddhism of the Heart. Peace to all - Sensei Ken Calgary Buddhist Temple Page 05

6 Temple Calendar Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday MARCH :00-11:00 Shotsuki 10:00-11:00 Sunday Stations 10:00-11:00 Higanye Following - Library 10:00-11:00 Morning WF Dana Day APRIL 01 10:00-11:00 Shotsuki 10:00-11:00 Hannamatsuri 10:00-11:00 Morning Following - Library 10:00-11:00 Morning NO SERIVICE JSBTC Annual General Meeting JSBTC Annual General Meeting :00-11:30 Tsuito Hoyo Memorial & AGM Closing 30 Calgary Buddhist Temple Page 06

7 January Donations Apologies for any errors or omissions Regular Donations Anonymous Robert Alexander Belle Auld Lora Bucsis Yuri Delisle Darlene Dodds Lee Dumont Russ Hironaka Susan Huntley Terrie Ikuta Fumiko Kamizuri Yunjae Kim Alice Kimura Angela Kolkott Lido Kondo Dixie Miquelon Kiyoko Miyanishi & Ed Johnson Yoshimi Odagaki Fumi Ota Barrie & Jackie Robb Tobie Sakamoto June Tajiri Masaye Tanaka Simone Vuia Calgary Buddhist Temple Avenue N.E. Phone: Mailing Address: Street NE Calgary, AB Canada T2E 3Y1 Canada Helps Donations Kyle Araki Melanie Giggs Laura Sugimoto James Martin Ken Madden Matthew Stewart Gassho Web: calgary-buddhist.ab.ca Purchase a Have a Buddhaful Day T-Shirt Contact Mickey at mhkuta@outlook.com to purchase yours today! Cost: $ CBT Membership Drive Our 2018 membership drive will begin in early January with forms being available both on the website and at the Temple. Please note that of the $100 membership fee, $80 goes towards supporting our national organization, the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada. The JSBTC provides funding for the Bishop (Socho), the Ministerial Association Group Benefit Plan and ministerial assistant training. Please consider taking out a membership to help ensure that everyone in our community has the opportunity to hear the teachings of the Buddha. Support Our Temple It is the Calgary Buddhist Temple s hope to continue living & teaching a life of dharma for many years but we can only do so through the support & generosity of our membership. Calgary Buddhist Temple Page 07