BUDDHIST DAY A BIG SUCCESS - READ ABOUT IT HERE!

Saturday March 22, 2008
 
To The Noble Sangha:

Saturday, March 21, 2008, was the very first International celebration
of Buddhist Day. Born from the great vision of the Dzogchen Ponlop
Rinpoche, it was one month short of a year in the planning. Rinpoche
proclaimed Buddhist Day to be an International Day of recognition,
identity and appreciation in practicing the teachings and example of
Shakyamuni Buddha. Surprisingly though, the day here in New York City,
turned out to be quite a surprise. Many of the people who came to The
Shambhala Meditation Center Of New York yesterday were not Buddhists at
all, but were looking for a place to go so they could share their
concerns about the recent events in China and India concerning the
plight of the Tibetan people. There have been demonstrations in front
of the Chinese Mission for weeks now and New Yorkers were so grateful
to have a way of sharing their grief over the situation. We were very
grateful to the Directors of the Shambhala Center who were generous
enough to offer the center so we could have Buddhist Day there. We
treated the event like a one day retreat and had four sessions of
practice, but it turned out to be not only a retreat but a safe haven
for all who entered the center. March 21 itself was a very powerful day
-- The first day of Spring, Good Friday, Purim, Persian New Year, a
full moon and the Buddha's enlightenment day. The energy of the day was
charged, but the atmosphere inside the Shambhala Center was very
relaxed and gentle.

At 6:00 AM we opened the shrine, recited morning chants, meditation
practice and then chanted the Sadhana of Mahamudra. The Dzogchen Ponlop
Rinpoche requested we recite In Praise of the Twelve Deeds of the
Buddha and sing His Holiness the 17th Karmapa's song An Aspiration For
The World, which we did.It was so moving for many of us who had never
read the Buddha's Twelve Deeds before and if anyone would like an
electronic copy, we can send you one. We then broke for breakfast in
the community room at 8:00 AM. While we ate we shared our stories and
inspiration of what led us to the practice of dharma. Some people left
to go to work while others arrived for the second session at 9:00 AM.

Again we sat, recited In Praise of The Twelve Deeds of The Buddha, sang
His Holiness's song( www.prayer4peace.net ) then formed a circle to
share stories and inspiration.

At 11:00 AM we were joined by Shri Lankan monks from the Staten Island
Buddhist Vihara.We offered them tea in the community room while they
shared stories of why and how they became monastics in their home land.
More people arrived with their children and the monks engaged with them
in a very sweet way. At around 11:15, the monks led a meditation
practice in the main shrineroom. The breakfast food was cleared away
and the Shambhala Hall was prepared for lunch. Cushions had been placed
in a circle the night before and tables were set up for food.  At 11:30
Chinese food was delivered from a local restaurant where the manager,
Steve, is a devout Buddhist and very sensitive to the monastic sangha
having to begin their meal before noon. The beautiful vegetarian meal
was set out and we invited everyone to join in for the traditional Dana
offering. We all took turns serving the monastics and it was so
poignant to see the mindful way in which they approached their meal --
first by offering chants, eating in silence and then taking delight in
answering our questions about how this tradition was started.The Buddha
wanted monastics to practice and so to free them up from domestic life,
suggested they might beg for food before the sun rose high in the sky.
In return they gave dharma teachings. And so it was in our Buddhist Day
gathering. Fortune cookies were past out and everyone read their
fortune aloud and added the words  In The Dharma after each one. We
then recited  In Praise Of The Twelve Noble Deeds Of The Buddha again
and sang His Holiness's song. The monks were very moved and touched.

The afternoon session brought more people and again practice in the
main shrineroom. We sang Milarepa songs, formed a circle of sharing. We
read the story about the life of the Buddha from Meditation In Action
by Trungpa Rinpoche, in which Rinpoche movingly describes the Buddha's
early life in the forest as an ascetic. Everyone took turns reading a
paragraph, especially the children. We all composed a doha.

At 5:00 PM we recited the evening chants, practiced and then broke for
dinner at 6:00 PM. Many people brought food offerings throughout the
day  and we heated up the leftover Chinese food for dinner. At 7:00 PM
we went back into the shrineroom and sang His Holiness's song again led
by Justin from Nalandhabodhi. Jack Niland gave a wonderfully magical
dharma art talk. So many people kept coming into the shrineroom who had
never heard of dharma art before, but sat mesmerized by Jacks
presentation and stories of his encounters with Trungpa Rinpoche and
how Rinpoche trained his students to  see art in everything they do.
The talk was followed by a lively discussion. After the dedication of
merit we again sang His Holiness's song and then went into the
community room for a wonderful reception at 9:00 PM. All in all
everyone expressed gratitude for having an opportunity to be able to
practice and share in a very relaxed and joyful way.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who helped make Buddhist
Day happen and who posted on the web site. Please write to us and let
us know how your day went so we can post on the web site and send us
photos as well for the site.

Let us make an aspiration prayer that from this day forth, Buddhist Day
will become a tradition for many years to come and let us dedicate the
merit of the day for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Yours in the dharma,

The Buddhist Day Committee
New York City



Buddhist Day Doha
March 21, 2008
Shambhala Meditation Center Of New York

Smiling in this moment, we celebrate Buddhist Day
We sing & we dance, we chant & we pray
Smiling here on Buddhist Day.

Lotus of pure presence, its petals are time
Its pistils are space
It runs like a stream finding Suchness.

I feel like a fish, I feel confused  not knowing what
to say,
but I feel alive

I'm just joyful to be here & observe the energy & love
Good food, good heart, good earth,
Let us know our worth.

Blossoms fall from the trees,
But white snow falls from the sky.
I feel very good about myself
Peaceful
Tranquil
Feels good, the experiences of my life,
The wind sings while the trees dance to its hymn.

A year in the planning
The fruition is utterly AMAZING!!!




Letter from Mayor Michael Bloomberg
New York City

Dear Buddhist Day Committee,

Thank you so much for all your hard work for Buddhist Day. The City of New York needs more events based on loving kindness. I so appreciate the good heart of all the Buddhists living in this great city.

Best regards,
Michael Bloomberg, Mayor
New York City




Letter from Renfreu
Nalandabodhi NYC

Such(ness) a tranquil, soft afternoon.

I think you've germinated a really spontaneous,
unadorned tradition that Western practitioners of
Buddhism can relate to & enjoy.  Much as we love our
teachers & want to be with them as much as we can,
sometimes it's good to be on our own - like a class
when the teacher leaves the room - & see how
beautifully we get on socially despite/because of  all
our free-floating baggage. I think it's rare
occasions like this when sangha members really get to
know one another in a casual & open way.

As I write this I'm listening to the soundtrack of
I'M NOT THERE, & it occurs to me that Dylan is a
Western doha master.

But as I was saying before I so rudely interrupted
myself, it was quite an accomplishment.

Thank you,
Renfreu



Letter from Carlos Ferreyros
Co-Director, Nalandabodhi NYC

Thank you on behalf of our NBNY sangha and our teacher for putting together such an honorable first year of Buddhist Day. Many students have commented that they enjoyed stopping by and having a place and people to relate as Buddhist.

I personally had a lovely morning and my day was full of joy.
 
Happy Birthday
Carlos




Letter from Andrew Libby
Nalandabodhi NYC

What a wonderful event. What a wonderful message to send to the world at
precisely this time!
 
Would you like to contribute a short description of the event for our
newsletter? We'd like to send it to Rinpoche, too.
 
It seems that NBNY people were there virtually all day! And Khenpo
students! And all the women this evening! What riches, what offerings!
Feels like mandala mind.
 
Thanks again for organizing this!

Love,
Andrew Libby



Letter from Terra Williams
Shambhala Center, Boulder, CO

Dear Sangha Friend  ~

I don't know your first name, but want to thank you for this vivid picture of your center's Buddhist Day celebration.  Not only have you all shown what's possible, but even though I wasn't able to participate in a comparable way, just by reading your vivid report, the energy of Great Eastern Sun comes shining through!

Terra Williams




Letter from Cathy Allen
Padmasambhava Center, New York City

Thank you so much for sharing the beauty  of this auspious and noble event.. A day of mindful manifestation is  like balm for our worldy wounds....

Best,
Cathy Allen




Letter from Anne Boiteux
Shambhala Center, Paris, France

Hi,

I am very interested by what you said about this celebration; Thanks alot.

Yours in the GES
Anne Boiteux



Letter from Steve Seely
Shambhala Center, Halifax

Congratulations!

All the best,
Steve






Letter from Yukiko Tsukamoto
Japan

Thank you for the e-mails.  I’m very happy to hear from you about the Buddhist day!  I was thinking of you on 21st March, wishing I could have been there…  I was studying Art History of Japan last two weeks, especially sculptures and paintings.  Surprisingly, all sculptures in the past here concerns Buddhism! 

I hope to go there for the Vesak Day, but there might be classes in Kyoto on 27th April. I’m wondering if I have time to go there in April.  I’ll be very busy since May again.  The schedule is coming soon.  Miss you!!

Love,
Yukiko