Upcoming Events

Toledo Meditation Group welcomes Mountains & Rivers Sensei this weekend

The Toledo Meditation Group is hosting three events with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Sensei of the Mountains & Rivers Order. Shugen Sensei is a Zen teacher who has received transmission from John Daido Loori, Roshi, Abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery.

The events will be at Shobu Aikido of Ohio, 6537 Angola Rd., Holland, OH. Directions available at: www.toledoaikido.com. For more information, contact Jay Chikyo Weik, M.R.O. or Karen Zuihan Weik, M.R.O. at (419) 861-1163 or chikyo@toledozen.org.

Jewel Heart of Cleveland holds Open House Sunday, Sept. 28

Jewel Heart of Cleveland holds an Open House Sunday, Sept. 28 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM There will be information about Gehlek Rimpoche, Jewel Heart centers throughout the world and the new Jewel Heart Study Program, as well as a chance to ask questions, enjoy tea and cookies and get to know Jewel Heart members. For more information, call (216) 687-1617 or (440) 576-1190 and ask for Anne.

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Mandala Dance weekend workshop scheduled for October 3-5

Jewel Heart of Cleveland and the Wisdom Moon Circle (a Northeast Ohio Tara dance practice group) announce a Mandala Dance weekend workshop, October 3 to 5, 2003.

Kris Kiko-Cozy, a student and teacher of the Mandala Dance of the 21 Praises of Tara, will welcome as facilitators her teachers: Prema Dasara and Anahata Iradah.

There will be an introduction Friday evening. Participants will learn and perform the Mandala Dance. Participants and audience will offer a few Dances of Universal Peace after the evening performance. For more information, contact Kris Kiko-Cozy.

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Palyul Ohio hosts two eminent teachers in October

Palyul Changchub Dargyeling Ohio will bring H.E. Gyangkhang Tulku and Khenpo Tenzin Norgay to Cleveland October 3-5. A weekend seminar will be at The Quaker Meeting House in University Circle.

The teaching program will include teachings on the Four Thoughts, as well as the 1000 armed Chenrezig Empowerment. Gyangkhang Tulku will also give the transmission and teachings for the 1000 armed Chenrezig practice as well as the Red Chenrezig practice which we received from Khenpo Guru. There will also be an Event Sponsor dinner. For more information, including a bio of H.E. Gyangkhang Tulku, visit www.palyul.org.

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Chinese Zen poetry and music at CloudWater Zendo on Oct. 12

On Oct. 12 at CloudWater Zendo, Larry Smith, a poet and faculty emeritus of Bowling Green State University’s Firelands College, will present readings from a new CD called “Songs of the Woodcutter: Zen Poems of Wang-Wei and Taigu Ryokan.” Wang-Wei was a noted poet, musician and calligrapher of China's T'ang Dynasty, and Taigu Ryokan was a famous 18th century poet and Buddhist monk.

Smith will be accompanied by musician Monte Page. Smith and Page have performed at the Toledo Museum of Art, the Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, and at universities around the state of Ohio. Admission is free. Donations appreciated.

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Shambala hosts meditation and cooking weekend in October

The Shambala Meditation Group of Cleveland will host Ed Brown for a weekend of meditation and vegetarian cooking October 17-19.

Edward Espe Brown has been practicing Buddhism since 1965 and was ordained by Suzuki Roshi in 1971. Since then he has been teaching Zen Buddhism and meditation using his easygoing manner and lighthearted humor as valuable teaching tools.

Cooking classes are limited to 10 participants. Reservations or more information: Matt McMullen; phone: (216) 939-9117.

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New York City Yogi, Cyndi Lee, visits Beachwood Nov. 1-2

November 1-2, Evolution Yoga in Beachwood hosts Cyndi Lee, director of OM Yoga in New York City. Lee is the author of the OM Yoga in a Box series and OM Yoga: A guide to daily practice. She also practices in the Shambala Buddhist lineage.

For more info, contact Jennie McMullen; phone: (216) 939/9117.

Local News

CloudWater Zendo announces new Akron affiliate and Basics of Buddhism course

CloudWater Zendo announced the formation of the Dhyana Sangha in Akron Ohio. The new sangha’s first session was Sept. 18. For directions, contact CloudWater at at (440) 331-8374; e-mail: yingfa@cloudwater.org. CloudWater's regular weekly events:

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CBT announces fall schedule

The Cleveland Buddhist Temple (CBT) recently released its September/October schedule. There are two Toban (temple cleaning) dates coming up: Saturday, Sept. 20 and Friday, Oct. 17. CBT invites the participation of the Dharma community in caring for this venerable facility which, in one way or another, nurtures several area sanghas. CBT will hold a Rummage Sale and Food Sale on Saturday, Oct. 4. Finally, the Rev. Ogui will be at CBT Sunday, Oct. 19 and Monday, Oct. 20.

Jewel Heart announces fall/winter schedule

Jewel Heart Cleveland recently announced its upcoming events schedule. All events held at the Jewel Heart location, 2670 W14th Street, Cleveland, 44113. For more information call (216) 687/1617 or (440) 576-1190 and ask for Anne.

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Cleveland Zen Group fall schedule

The Cleveland Zen Group (a Soto Zen sangha affiliated with Chicago’s Udumbara Zen Center) holds regular Thursday evening sittings at the Cleveland Buddhist Temple (CBT) at 7:00 PM. Fee: voluntary donation of $5 or more to the CBT.

CZG’s Saturday meditation and study classes continue September 27 at CBT. This fall’s program will follow a series of tapes on the Noble Eightfold Path by Steve Hagen of Dharma Field Zen Center in Minneapolis. Class begins at 9:00 AM. For more information, contact Dean Williams; phone: (440) 446-1142. Fee: voluntary donation of $5 or more to the CBT.

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Ani Palmo offers Tibetan Buddhism course starting Sept. 25

Ani Palmo plans to give two courses on Buddhism this fall. "What is Buddhism," an introductory course, will begin Thursday, Sept. 25 and run for 12 weeks.

Palmo's Buddhism Intensive is open to students who have completed this summer's "What is Buddhism" class, or are already familiar with basic concepts. Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 23 and running 12 weeks, the course will have four sessions each on the following topics:

Compassion

Death and Dying

Women and Buddhism

Palmo, an American, has been a Tibetan Buddhist nun for the past nine years.

Both courses will be held at the Mary Rybicki Building, next door to Rybicki and Son Funeral Home in Garfield Hts. Cost is $105.00 for early registration and $120.00 for registration on or after the first class. To register, call Palmo at (440) 526-6577 or e-mailpalmoska@yahoo.com.

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Regional News

Monks of Drepung Loseling visit Columbus in October

The Monks of Drepung Loseling will appear at the Universal Light Expo in Columbus, Oct. 11-12th. For more details:www.universeexpo.com The Expo runs from 9-8 on Saturday and 10-6 on Sunday at the Veterans Memorial Hall.

The monks will also celebrate the Lama Chopa at Unity Church of Christianity in Chesterland on Monday, October 13 at 7 PM The address is 7887 Chalet Drive, Chesterland, Ohio 44026. The phone number is (440) 729-7027. Donations will be accepted.

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Chicago's Udumbara Zen Center plans two-day sesshin for October

Val Szymanski of Bamboo in the Wind Zen Practice Group (Cupertino, California), will lead a two-day sesshin at the Udumbara Zen Center in Evanston, Ill. (near Chicago) from October 11-12, 2003. For more details, contact Dean Williams or call UZC in Chicago: (847) 475-3264.

Szymanski is an ordained Buddhist priest in the Soto Zen lineage. He received ordination from UZC’s Diane Martin in December 2002. There is an illustrated diary and scrapbook of Szymanski’s formal ordination experience on the Bamboo in the Wind Web site.

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Gehlek Rimpoche will teach at New York retreat in October

Thursday, Oct. 9 to Monday, Oct. 13, Jewel Heart's Gehlek Rimpoche will give a complete transmission teaching on Je Tsongkhapa’s Song of Spiritual Experience at the Garrison Institute on the Hudson River in Garrison, NY. For more information, check the "What's New" link at www.jewelheart.org or call (734) 994-3387, ext. 1.

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Pittsburgh’s Stillpoint holds weekend retreat Oct. 31 to Nov. 2

Stillpoint, a Soto Zen Practice community based in Pittsburgh, announced a weekend retreat with Shohaku Okumura Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. The retreat will be at Kearns Spirituality Center, in Pittsburgh’s North Hills. Contact Don Orr at (412) 366-4268 for information.

Shohaku Okumura was ordained as a Soto Zen priest under Kosho Uchiyama Roshi in 1970. He trained at Antaiji in Kyoto, Japan and continued his practice at Pioneer Valley Zendo in Massachusetts from 1975 to 1981. He is currently Director of the Soto Zen Education Center in San Francisco, CA as well as Head Teacher with the Sanshin Zen Community.

In related news, Sanshin Zen Community is building a new zendo in Bloomington, Indiana and it appears Rev. Okumura will be based there.

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Ann Arbor Jewel Heart winter retreat dates changed

Jewel Heart announced it's Winter Retreat, previously scheduled for the Christmas holidays, has been rescheduled. It will be Sunday, Feb. 8 to Sunday, Feb. 15, 2004 at the Jewel Heart Center in Ann Arbor, MI. The subject of the retreat will be Chittamani Tara. A previous Mahanutarayoga tantra initiation is required for attendance. Visit www.jewelheart.org for more details.

National News

Dalai Lama's visit sets the media machine grinding

The Ven. Dalai Lama's trip to the United States began Sept. 5 and there has been quite a bit of positive press surrounding his visit. Here are a few of the more significant headlines:

"Is Buddhism Good for Your Health?," New York Times, Sept. 14, 2003.
An account of the Dalai Lama's collaboration with a researcher from the University of Wisconsin at Madison to document the neural characteristics of the Buddhist mind in meditation.

"The Buddha of suburbia; The Dalai Lama's American religion," The Boston Globe, Sept. 14, 2003.
"How, in a mere generation, did we get from Tibetan Buddhism's near-extinction in its homeland to its remarkable flowering in America? ... The veneration that Chinese culture elicited for centuries has been supplanted by an international admiration for Tibetan religion."

Reuters Photo
"The Dalai Lama is assisted by Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research Director Eric Lander (R) as he prepares mouse DNA for sequencing with a syringe and pipet, September 13, 2003 during a visit to the center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader is participating in a two-day 'Mind and Life' conference on science, spirituality and human biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology."

"Dalai Lama Assesses Iraq, Afghan Wars," Associated Press, Sept. 11, 2003.

"At Dalai Lama's Former Palace, Reverence," Associated Press, Sept. 11, 2003.

"Buddhism: The new Prozac?" AFP, Sept. 16, 2003.
More on the MIT conference.

International News

International Photo Roundup: Sept. 11 remembrance; Colorful Buddhist fall festivals

Reuters Photo
A Buddhist statue is readied for a lantern gala to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on September 11 this year, in Wuhan, the capital of China's central province of Hubei, September 5, 2003.

Reuters Photo
Buddhist monk Takao Takeda prays for victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America, outside the U.S. embassy in Tokyo, September 11, 2003.

Reuters Photo
Traditional Buddhist folk dancers perform during a festival in Leh, 434 Kms (270 miles) northeast of Srinagar, summer capital of the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Sept. 12, 2003.

Cleveland Buddhist Temple

Cleveland Shambala Meditation Group

Cleveland Zen Group

Cleveland Zen Society - Cloudwater Zendo

Insight Meditation of Cleveland

Jewel Heart Cleveland

Wild Goose Pureland Sangha

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