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http://www.UrbanDharma.org ...Buddhism for Urban America

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The Urban Dharma Newsletter... July 8, 2003

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In This Issue:

1. How to Find a Buddhist Temple ...by George Klima and Chris Ng
2. California Buddhist Centers and Temples
3. Buddhist Teachers ...Sarlo's Guru Rating Service
4. ZEN (Roshis, Senseis and the like) ...Sarlo's Guru Rating Service
5. TIBETAN (Rinpoches, Lamas etc) ...Sarlo's Guru Rating Service
6. Temple/Center/Website- of the Week: ThubtenChodron.org
7. Book/Movie Review: Meetings With Remarkable Women: Buddhist Teachers in America ...by Lenore Friedman

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1. How to Find a Buddhist Temple ...by George Klima and Chris Ng

http://buddhismcanada.com/text/find.html

Many Canadian people every year become curious about Buddhist teachings and decide to visit a temple. They want to find out first-hand what it's all about.  But which one should they visit?  There is no Consumer Reports for Buddhist Temples to show them which are the best and no Lemon Aid guide to show them the worst. Does that mean every Buddhist sect is suitable for every person? Are all Buddhist temples consistently pure? Are all Buddhist monks and nuns virtuous? No. The simple answer is that Buddhist practitioners are people like everybody else.

Objectives

Although Buddhist practice begins with yourself, you need a temple to find a teacher. The community of people at a temple can also help you to share Buddhist values and to encourage you in your practice. You need a teacher to help you to learn Dharma (the Buddha's way) and to meditate. These are the two key things that a temple should be able to provide.

By "meditation" we mean the whole variety of sitting, visualizing, and chanting practices, and the integration of the underlying principles of meditation practice to all aspects of life as expressed in the present moment.

Most temples also have regular services, which are typically comprised of some combinations of teachings, meditation, chanting, and socializing. Such services are familiar to us coming from other backgrounds. They are useful for those of us leading lives that have routine jobs and schedules. But they are neither necessary nor sufficient.

Some groups make meditation available for beginners, but do not teach Dharma to beginners. This is fine, as long as you know that dharma classes are also available as you establish some basic discipline. However, keep in mind that meditation alone, with no teachings is a little like travelling without a destination: amusing but pointless.

Some groups provide Dharma teachings, perhaps in the form of lectures, regardless of the students' background. These are quite popular among "dharma hopping" students, who travel the lecture circuit. Perhaps such groups rely on students to develop their own meditation practice. However, to make sense of Dharma it is necessary to still the mind; to meditate. And meditation requires the guidance of an experienced meditator. Dharma class with no practice is interesting and intellectually enjoyable, but it is a little like studying cooking without ever having a meal.

Is the Teacher a Good Teacher

The Buddha himself left quite explicit instructions on how we can judge. We expect ordained monks to have sufficient practice that they develop beyond where we lay people have developed. And they should have developed in three areas: freedom from ignorance, freedom from greed, and freedom from anger.

Firstly, a good teacher has made progress in attaining freedom from ignorance. This means the teacher has arrived at some understanding about the nature of existence, and is able to show a genuine compassion. You should not hear a teacher quoting from a New Age bookshelf.

Freedom from ignorance also means a sufficient grasp of the teachings to be able to answer your questions. In fact, the Buddha was very clear that all followers should test all his teachings against their experience. The Buddha very much encouraged all visitors to ask questions. You should be able to get straight answers to your questions. Do be respectful, do be truthful with yourself, do focus on what matters to you, but do not be shy to ask, even the same question over and over. And do listen closely to the answers you hear. A good teacher will find a way to give you an answer that speaks to you, at your level of understanding.

Secondly, a good teacher is largely free from greed and lust. How can you tell? One way is to stay sensitive to an undue focus on your generosity. Be cognizant that your generosity benefits the community rather than accruing to specific individuals. Also look for signs of attachment to things and to people. What might be some signs that there is some funny business going on? Perhaps the teacher lives a fine and comfortable lifestyle. Perhaps there are too many women around who praise the teacher excessively and uncritically.

Thirdly, a good teacher is advanced in developing freedom from anger. Such a teacher might have a "lightness" in style and would not be trapped in his own "likes" and "dislikes", exhibiting kindness towards others, even very ignorant and difficult students. You would not find an authoritarian attitude where something is so because it's written here or there, or because the Buddha said so. In fact, any display of anger for any reason is a seriously unwholesome act. So-called "skillful" anger is no different from plain anger; it is therefore a dangerous concept.

Practicalities

It's helpful if the temple is nearby to where you live. Why make things needlessly difficult? It's far more sound to work towards a situation where the teachings and your visits to the temple become part of your everyday life, rather than being some kind of retreat from it.

Visting temples is a most pleasant activity. No doubt you will find that the people running them are an amazing collection of cheerful, courteous, and kind people. To ensure that you arrive at a convenient time, it's good to phone beforehand. It may be good to bring some fruit or a cash donation--think of it as a show of your sincerity.

In fact, the cheerfulness and focus of the people at a temple are a good indication of the general health of the place. One of our practical goals is surely that we should become more happy, more at peace with ourselves, more free from fear and worries, as a result of our association with Buddhism. Take some time to meet a few people. Do they seem physically and mentally healthy? Sit quietly in a corner for a while. Do you feel comfortable enough that you could spend an entire weekend sitting quietly with this group of people?

Note also whether the place is clean. Is the bathroom clean? A committed group of people will keep their temple spotlessly clean. There should be no shirking over toilet duties.

You may be more comfortable having studied some basics about Buddhism. There are many helpful introductions that you can start with, such as, "What the Buddha taught" by Walpola Rahula.

The Web site buddhismcanada.com consists of directories of temples and groups you could consult with if you decide to visit a Buddhist temple. It also contains a listing of special events taking place in Southwestern Ontario. Best wishes for your Buddhist journey.

(Southern) California

(Northern) California

(Bay Area) California

* Buddhist Centers in North America

3. Buddhist Teachers ...From - Sarlo's Guru Rating Service

http://www.globalserve.net/~sarlo/RatingsB.htm

"Buddhist Teachers"

The teachers in this group for the most part do not claim to be enlightened. Less flashy and exotic, with fewer friends in Hollywood than the zen and Tibetan gangs, they toil on unglamourously. This is not to say they are drudges, just that the ideas of gradual enlightenment, compassion, service and loving kindness have a strong hold in the "straight" Buddhist traditions. If any of them turns out to be the next Avatar or Messiah, please let me know.
 
I have also started listing some of them under the orgs of which they are important teachers, since as individuals they do not always stand out, though they have tons of experience in meditation. The head or founder is underlined.

Some descriptive information is included. An asterisk (*) indicates they don't really have their own sites, just an interview or short description on someone else's site. And a yellow asterisk (*) = suggested or located by visitor, thank you.

4. ZEN (Roshis, Senseis and the like) ...From - Sarlo's Guru Rating Service

http://www.globalserve.net/~sarlo/RatingsZ.htm

The teachers in this category for the most part do not claim to be enlightened. Their approach, on the face of it, is matter-of-fact, and goes down easily. In the privacy of their sanghas they may display more weirdness and/or esoteric tendencies. The apparent product is techniques and tools for becoming more aware – zazen or sitting meditation, martial arts, koans or habit-disrupting "nonsensical" questions and many others. Zen masters have historically been considered very dangerous people, outrageous and provocative, dating back to the original wild man of zen, Bodhidharma.

There is quite the bumper crop of western zen masters, with little groups all over. One way they demonstrate their respect for the zen tradition is by honouring the lineage and promotion protocols. Each must be designated and certified as a certain rank – titles vary – by their masters. And each has been in training with the master for years. So though there are many, some aspect of quality control remains.

Zen is usually thought of as a Japanese product, but there are some lineages – especially a rather large Korean contingent, mainly through Seung Sahn – whose origins are in other Asian countries. About Seung Sahn btw, his site lists so many "JDPSNs" that i have stopped listing them all and only henceforth will add the more "senior" ZMs

Most of these guys – actually there are a fair number of women – do not have a large public profile or website, so there may not be much to say about them. Besides, there are so many of them. So i will just give a minimum of info and the links to their sites. If any of them turns out to be the next Avatar or Messiah, please let me know Feedback.

An asterisk (*) indicates they do not have their own sites, but just an interview or short descriptive piece on another site. A yellow asterisk (*) indicates suggested or located by a visitor, thank you. A "‡" (what do you call these things?) indicates an important lineage master to whom many in the biz trace their heritage. If a big zen master is not listed here, try the (rated) Middle Path listings.

Jargon:   Roshi = ZM = Zen Master
Zenji = Sensei = Ji Do Poep Sa Nim = JDPSN = Authorized Teacher

5. TIBETAN (Rinpoches, Lamas etc) ...From - Sarlo's Guru Rating Service

http://www.globalserve.net/~sarlo/RatingsT.htm

The teachers in this group for the most part do not claim to be enlightened. Tibetans, and their derivatives, are currently the most popular Buddhist line after zen, thanks to the Dalai Lama, and to the Chinese, who drove them out of Tibet. The Tibetan form(s) of Buddhism arose from the felicitous intermingling – similar to what happened in China when Buddhism travelled there and created a hybrid with Taoism – of Buddhism and the native, mainly animist religions.

Tibet's former isolation has been shattered, so now the whole world, even China, can benefit from their experience. If any of them turns out to be the next Avatar or Messiah, please let me know Feedback.

Some descriptive information is included. (There is often not much.) All are of Tibetan origin unless otherwise indicated. An asterisk (*) indicates they don't really have their own sites, just an interview or short description on someone else's site. A yellow asterisk (*) indicates suggested or located by a visitor, thank you.

I am experimenting with a new page, Dead Tibetans, where previous incarnations and some recently departeds documented with their own pages will get a listing and a link. It is a brand new kind of sub-category, which because of the intermingling lineages and recycling peculiar to this tradition may apply uniquely here. It is intended to keep this page from getting too crowded with not-really-availables, while still listing them for aficionados.

____(The above ratings are from -  "Sarlo's Guru Rating Service" - Site Map)____ 

6. ThubtenChodron.org

http://thubtenchodron.org/

This website was first created by the Buddhist Action Team in 1999 and presented to Ven. Chodron as a birthday gift to assist her in her Dharma propagation activities. The young, dynamic members of the team, comprising Bro. Lim Choon Fah, Bro. Lim Ah Kwee and Bro. Lim Eng Kiang, received their Dharma education from Ven. Chodron during their campus days as members of the Singapore Polytechnic Buddhist Society. With Ven Chodron's permission, her teaching schedule, activites, articles and teachings were posted here.

Since then, more people have chipped in, putting in many hours duplicating audio tapes of teachings, converting the audio files, transcribing and editing the transcripts, providing technical advice and support, maintaining the website, etc. In 2001, the website was given a new look by Bro. Mark Tan, who met Ven. Chodron during her visit in Singapore and was inspired by her teachings.

We owe much gratitude to Ven. Chodron, for the precious teachings and for all the effort involved in organizing the articles and Dharma materials before they could be posted to the website.

Ven. Chodron is known for her clear, humorous and practical teachings and teaches the Dharma tirelessly in the US and many places worldwide. It is the hope of everyone involved that this rich resource of Dharma materials and teachings be accessible to her students and interested people in different corners of the world, and bring benefit to all.

May all beings be well and happy!

7. Meetings With Remarkable Women: Buddhist Teachers in America ...by Lenore Friedman

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570624747/wwwkusalaorg-20/

Amazon.com- reader from Orange County, Ca USA ...Kudos to Lenore Friedman for recognizing the birth of Buddhism among American women twenty years ago - and for keeping us up to date in this revision. She introduced us to Toni Packer, to Pema Chodron, to Joko Beck. This book is an important contribution for women (for all) spritual seekers. With her meticulous insights and her obvious devotion to the material, one imagines that meeting Ms. Friedman would be remarkable, too.

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