Quick Scan - This Month's Headlines

Stop the Presses

Hope you didn't have plans for May or June... Get ready for: The Buddha Project

Upcoming Local Events

CloudWater Zendo holds Pure Land service April 21

CloudWater's fifth annual Animal Release Service at Edgewater on Sunday May 2

Jewel Heart Cleveland kicks off "The Buddha Project" with art exhibit May 14

Shambala teacher Eric Spiegel visits Cleveland May 21-23

Udumbara's Diane Martin visits Cleveland June 19 for one-day retreat with Jijuyu-ji at Cleveland Buddhist Temple

Local News

Jennie McMullen updates her Peaceful Warrior Yoga class schedule

Jijuyu-ji continues Soto Zen lay ordination classes

CloudWater Zendo holds spring meditation intensive June 1-4

NEO Soto Zen Group and Pittsburgh's Stillpoint cosponsor Reb Anderson retreat in June at Cuyahoga Valley Center

Palyul Ohio wins IRS nonprofit status; plans June garage sale; and announces visit of its spiritual director in July

Jijuyu-ji Zen Group welcomes Taigen Dan Leighton August 13-15

Regional News

Udumbara (Chicago) plans three-day May sesshin with Taigen Dan Leighton

National News

San Francisco Zen Center celebrates Suzuki Roshi's 100th birthday with a reunion May 21-23

International News

Ven. Dalai Lama begins a visit to the West Coast and Canada

Stop the Presses

Hope you didn't have plans for May or June... Get ready for: The Buddha Project

I've been hearing rumors about CSU's The Buddha Project (TBP) since last winter. The schedule was finalized last week and I received a copy just in time for this issue of NEO Sangham. After glancing through the five typewritten pages, all I could think was, "Wow!"

TBP is a series of interwoven lectures, art exhibits, musical recitals, films, discussion panels and practice sessions that will take place between May 14 and July 3. Local and regional teachers will lead practice focus days on Zen, Pure Land, Insight Meditation and Tibetan schools of Buddhism.

Many of the events will take place at the CSU Art Gallery, 2307 Chester Ave.. But the festivities will be happening (sometimes simultaneously) on both sides of town. This includes this year's community Visakha (Wesak) celebration on May 23, which will be held at CSU instead of the traditional Cleveland Buddhist Temple.

Perhaps the highest profile event on the schedule is the visit June 15-16 of John Daido Loori, Roshi, spiritual director and abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery, in Mt. Tremper, NY. On June 15 at 7:00 pm, Loori Roshi will attend a book signing for his new book: The Zen of Creativity (Ballantine). The book signing will be at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Legacy Village On June 16 at 7:00 PM he will give a public talk at the CSU Art Gallery on "Creativity and Zen."

There are simply dozens of interesting events planned for the two-month celebration of Buddhism in Cleveland. To try to get a handle on the schedule, I've set up two charts, one for May events and one for June events.

You can also find the latest information on TBP at the Web site: www.buddhaproject.net or call the CSU Art Gallery office at 216/ 687-2103.

The Buddha Project is curated by Jeanne Grossetti and Robert Thurmer and Cosponsored by Cleveland State University's Center for Sacred Landmarks. Project partners include: Arts Collinwood, The Cleveland Buddhist Temple, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Shambhala Meditation Group, Cleveland Zazen Group, CloudWater Zendo, Gallery U, Insight Meditation of Cleveland, Jewel Heart Cleveland, Jijuyu-ji Zen Group of Cleveland, Performers and Artists for Nuclear Disarmament, Thrive: An Artspace, and West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church.

Upcoming Local Events

CloudWater Zendo holds Pure Land service April 21

CloudWater Zendo's monthly Pure Land Buddhist Service will be Wednesday, April 21 at 7:00 PM Pure Land practitioners and those who would like to learn more about the PureLand teachings are welcome to attend. For more information, check the CloudWater Calendar.

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CloudWater's fifth annual Animal Release Service at Edgewater on Sunday May 2

CloudWater Zendo will hold its fifth annual Animal Release Service at noon on Sunday May 2 at the west beach of Edgewater Park. The ceremony will include a general blessing of all animals who have enriched our lives, the administration of the Buddhist Vows of Refuge so that all living and deceased animals may have fortunate rebirths, and a release of living creatures back into the waters of Lake Erie. All are welcome to bring their current pets, pictures and mementos of past animal companions, and a potluck dish to be shared following the ceremony.

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Jewel Heart Cleveland kicks off "The Buddha Project" with art exhibit May 14

On May 14, 6-9 PM, Jewel Heart Cleveland opens its "Inspired by the Dhamma" multimedia exploration with a reception from 6-9 PM at its Tremont location, 2670 W. 14th St., Cleveland. The art was created by artists affiliated with Jewel Heart. The show is curated by Claire Ackerman and is part of Cleveland State University's "The Buddha Project." The exhibit runs through June 30.

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Shambala teacher Eric Spiegel visits Cleveland May 21-23

Cleveland Shambhala welcomes Shambhala Mediation Center of New York's Acharya Eric Spiegel in May. May 21 there will be a public talk; May 22 a seminar; refuge vows May 23. For more information, e-mail Richard Weiner.

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Udumbara's Diane Martin visits Cleveland June 19 for one-day retreat with Jijuyu-ji at Cleveland Buddhist Temple

On June 19, Sojun Diane Martin, founder of the Udumbara Zen Center in Chicago, will hold a one-day retreat at the Cleveland Buddhist Temple for the Jijuyu-ji Zen Group of Cleveland (formerly Cleveland Zen Group). Jijuyu-ji , an Udumbara affiliate sangha led by Dean Williams who recently obtained priest ordination from Sojun Martin.

For more information, e-mail Dean Williams for more information.

Local News

Jennie McMullen updates her Peaceful Warrior Yoga class schedule

Jennie McMullen, a member of the Cleveland Shambhala and NEO Ohio Soto Zen groups, recently updated her Peaceful Warrior Yoga class schedule.

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

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Jijuyu-ji continues Soto Zen lay ordination classes

Dean Williams announced the April through June schedule for the Jijuyu-ji Zen Group's Saturday morning Soto Zen lay ordination classes. These classes are open to everyone, not just those who are preparing for jukai (lay ordination).

• May 1, Cleveland Buddhist Temple (CBT)
• May 15, member's home, Lakewood
• June 5, CBT
• June 26, member's home, Lakewood

Classes begin at 10:00 am with 30 minutes of zazen, followed by a 90 minute Dharma talk/ discussion on the day's topic.

The classes will follow the transcript of six talks given by Taitaku Pat Phelan to her students preparing for lay ordination at Chapel Hill Zen Center in North Carolina several years ago.

Whether or not you attend the classes, the six talks are an excellent reference link for your Bookmarks/Favorites file.

The Jijuyu-ji group also sits for zazen every Thursday evening at 7:00 PM at the CBT. Contact Dean Williams for more information.

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CloudWater Zendo holds spring meditation intensive June 1-4

CloudWater Zendo will hold its spring meditation intensive practice from Tuesday, June 1 through Friday, June 4. Morning sessions will be 6-7:30 am. Evening sessions will be 7-8:50 PM Check the CloudWater calendar for more info.

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NEO Soto Zen Group and Pittsburgh's Stillpoint cosponsor Reb Anderson retreat in June at Cuyahoga Valley Center

The Dharma community welcomes a newly formed Soto Zen sangha to the region: the Northeast Ohio Soto Zen Group (NEO SZG) and Pittsburgh's Stillpoint Zen Practice Community are cosponsoring Reb Anderson's next visit to the region. Reb will lead a five-day Sesshin, Saturday, June 5 to Wednesday, June 9, 2004 at the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Educational Center. The center is located at 3675 Oak Hill Road, Peninsula, OH; phone: 330/657-2796.

Nancy Wolf (buddhagirl54@hotmail.com) & Jennie McMullen (Jennie@PeacefulWarriorYoga.com) are serving as coordinators for this retreat and will answer any questions. They are holding an organizing session for volunteers on Sunday, May 2.

Short bio from Reb's Web site: Reb Anderson, Tenshin Roshi is a lineage-holder in the Soto Zen tradition. Born in Mississippi, he grew up in Minnesota and left advanced study in mathematics and Western psychology to come to the San Francisco Zen Center in 1967. He practiced with Suzuki Roshi, who ordained him as a priest in 1970 and gave him the name Tenshin Zenki ("Naturally Real, The Whole Works"). He received Dharma transmission in 1983 and served as abbot of San Francisco Zen Center's three training centers (City Center, Green Gulch Farm and Tassajara Zen Mountain Center) from 1986 to 1995. Tenshin Roshi continues to teach at Zen Center, living with his family at Green Gulch Farm. He is author of Warm Smiles from Cold Mountains: Dharma Talks on Zen Meditation and Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts.

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Palyul Ohio wins IRS nonprofit status; plans June garage sale; and announces visit of its spiritual director in July

Congratulations to Palyul Changchub Dargyeling Ohio (Palyul Ohio) which recently received notice from the IRS that it has been recognized as a 501(c)3 Buddhist Church, retroactive to its incorporation in 2002.

Palyul Ohio will be holding a garage sale Friday, June 11 and Saturday June 12 from 9-4 PM in Richmond Heights.

In additional good news, Palyul's spiritual director, Khenpo Tsewang Gyatso Rinpoche will be coming to Ohio July 15-26, 2004. They are planning a busy program for his visit and more details will be available soon.

In addition, there will be a summer retreat in upstate New York with His Holiness Penor Rinpoche August 25 - September 24. Visit www.palyul.org for details and mailing list sign up.

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Jijuyu-ji Zen Group welcomes Taigen Dan Leighton August 13-15

The Jijuyu-ji Zen Group of Cleveland (JZGC) (formerly the Cleveland Zen Group) has confirmed the visit of Taigen Dan Leighton August 13-15. Taigen founded the Mountain Source Sangha meditation groups in California in 1994. He received Dharma Transmission in 2000 from Reb Anderson, a direct student of San Francisco Zen Center's Suzuki Roshi.

Tentative plans call for Taigen to give the Dharma talk at JZGC's regular Thursday sitting on August 12. On Friday, August 13 he will give a public talk. An all-day retreat on Saturday, August 14 will be followed by a half-day seminar on Sunday, August 15.

E-mail Dean Williams for more information.

Regional News

Udumbara (Chicago) plans three-day May sesshin with Taigen Dan Leighton

Udumbara Zen Center in Evanston, IL near Chicago will hold a three-day sesshin May 28-30. The sesshin will be led by Taigen Dan Leighton who will also hold a half-day seminar on May 31. For more information and news about car pooling, e-mail Dean Williams for more information.

National News

San Francisco Zen Center celebrates Suzuki Roshi's 100th birthday with a reunion May 21-23

Suzuki Roshi, who founded the San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC) in the 1960s, would have been 100 in May. To celebrate, SFZC is holding a three-day celebration and reunion May 21-23. Hoitsu Suzuki, Suzuki Roshi's son, will join a gathering of representatives from groups in the master's lineage.

In Northeast Ohio we are very fortunate to have two groups from Suzuki Roshi's lineage in our area (Jijyu-ji Zen Group of Cleveland and NEO Soto Zen Group). In addition, Reb Anderson, a senior Dharma teacher and former abbot of SFZC who was ordained by Suzuki Roshi will be in the region in June for a retreat (see below).

f you're lucky enough to have a trip to San Francisco or environs in that time, check out the tentative schedule for the reunion. If you're not so lucky, contact me about some tentative plans for a little zazen and a pot luck picnic in Suzuki Roshi's honor on Saturday, May 22.

International News

Ven. Dalai Lama has begun a visit to the West Coast and Canada

After visiting the East Coast in September 2003, the Ven. Dalai Lama is on the road again.

This month, the apparently tireless Dalai Lama is visiting the West Coast, Vancouver and Ottawa and the media machine is up and cranking at full speed. Here's just a glance at a few of the headlines his visit is generating:

"Dalai Lama starts Canadian visit," BBC, April 18, 2004.

"Dalai Lama speaks to Vancouver crowd," The Star, April 18, 2004.

Photo: The Dalai Lama greets South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Vancouver, British Columbia April 18, 2004.

"Dalai Fever Hits Canada," CanadianChristianity.com, April 15, 2004.

"Buddhism's guru, part one";
and
"Buddhism's guru, part two," by James A. Beverley, CanadianChristianity.com, April 17, 18, 2004.

"International man of mystery," The Globe and Mail, April 10, 2004.

"Dalai Lama begins visit to US and Canada," AFP/Yahoo News, April 13, 2004.

"Dalai Lama a hit before setting foot here," CanadianPress via Buddhist News Network, March 25, 2004.