9-11 Buddhism and Terrorism – Dharma Talk 9/10/2006

Today is September 10, 2006 and tomorrow will be the 11th and the 5th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, DC and the crashing of a jet in Pennsylvania. Since that day, for the past five years, our country and many others have reacted in various ways to those events. This reminds me of the story of one of the Buddha’s disciples, Ahimsaka, the…

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Hero of the World Dharma Talk 11/01/2008

Today I would like to talk about the 5 practices of the Bodhisattva -, gogyo in Japanese. Also I want to tie this into a phenomenon that we as humans are all too skillful at but it is a skill that hinders us and causes us suffering. That skill is making comparisons, in particular comparisons to other. Earlier this year I gave a Dharma talk on the concept of wining and loosing versus victory and…

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Protecting Place of Practice – Dharma Talk 2/21/2010

Dharma Talk 2/21/10 Dojojin Shugo – Protective Deities for the Place of Practicing Buddhism This is a short letter written by Nichiren Shonin to Toki Jonin a lay follower who had donated 5 kammon of coins. This letter was written on the 13th of December though the year isn’t given, however Nichiren was living at Mt. Minobu at the time. In the first paragraph Nichiren relates how his hermitage in the mountains is far from…

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Lotus Sutra Chapter I Dharma Talk – 1/10/2010

Today I would like to begin a series of Dharma talks given occasionally that highlight certain sections of the Lotus Sutra and deal with them in a more detailed way and also talk about various interpretations. This is a bit of a departure from the manner in which I give the Lotus Sutra lectures which generally avoid offering specific interpretations and trying for a more scholarly approach. In the study classes my intent is to…

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