Sunday, August 18, 2024

Rains Retreat: Sunday Dharma talks, LA


The Mexican monk of NoHo, LA
The Vas or Buddhist Rains Retreat period ("Lent") for monastics has begun. In Southern California, although the weather is good and anything but rainy, Theravada monastics remain on a Southeast Asian seasonal calendar. This is the time when it is frequently raining due to the annual monsoon. The roads are muddy. The fields are flooded.

The Buddha planned for this in ancient Proto-India. Wandering ascetics would be blamed for walking around on alms or on journeys without considering the massive number of frogs, insects, fishes, bugs, crawlies, snakes, and others writhing on the renourished ground as water finally starts coming down after a dry spell.
  • Is it possible to learn Buddhism in English translation? Yes.
  • The Buddha spoke Pali (Magadhi, Prakrit, his Scythian/Gandharan language, and understood Sanskrit, an exclusively Brahmin liturgical language at that time), but Buddhism has spread in many other Asian languages over the centuries, into English and European languages due to British imperial scholarship. Now it is available in many tongues all around cosmopolitan LA.
  • ‘Buddhism in Spanish is here’: the Latino monks building unique community | Los Angeles | The Guardian
Fully ordained American Theravada Buddhist nuns in Los Angeles. The tradition lives.

What would the Buddha do?
The Buddha called for wanderers to choose a lodging, a vihara if available or some suitable natural residence like a cave or shelter, and stay there until the rains pass. That might be four months. This, then, becomes the ideal time for intensive meditation practice, study of the sacred texts, and helping lay practitioners to understand and apply the Dharma (Dhamma).

Monks read the Pali canon, present sutras, sermons, and question and answer periods. They chant to distribute blessings, engage in the development of loving-kindness, and attend to the needs of the abbey, monastery, convent, nunnery, temple, pagoda, or monastic center.

The tradition lives on in the megalopolis that is Los Angeles and around the country in Theravada temples from all countries.
City of Los Angeles
Dharma Vijaya Meditation Hall, Los Angeles
Closer to central Los Angeles (rather than deep in the suburbs of the SGV) another big Sri Lankan Buddhist temple exists with many services in English:

"The Theravada [Buddhist] tradition is the oldest and most authentic version of the Buddha's teachings now surviving." More

SERVICES: Monks begin the day at 6:00 am with services in the shrine room. First, there are offerings to the Buddha, then a recitation of a sutta to invoke blessings for the world, and finally a meditation on loving-kindness that extends good will and harmony to all beings.

MEDITATION: On Tuesdays and Fridays, 7:00 to 8:00 pm, instruction in meditation is given to beginners as well as those with more experience. Meditation is followed by a Dharma talk based on the teachings of the historical Buddha. From time to time, weekend intensive retreats are organized. On the first Sunday of each month, a one-day retreat is held. More
Rains Retreat English Dharma topics
Sundays from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm. Meditation and Buddhist talks, perfect for those looking to deepen their spiritual practice. Weekly meditation classes and practice.
  • July 28: Candlelight Ceremony for World Peace and Meditation Session on the Buddha
  • Aug. 4: Introuction to Mindfulness Meditation
  • Aug. 11: Mindfulness of Breathing (Anapanasati)
  • Anger is punishment and also leads to misdeeds
    Aug. 18: Lovingkindness Meditation to Overcome Anger     (Mettanussati) with Ven. Makadure Dhammapeethi Thero
  • Aug. 25: Witness the Truth for Sustainable Peace and Happiness (The Four Noble Truths and Three Characteristics of All States of Existence) with Ven. Unaleye Sirinanda Thero
  • Sept. 1: Mindfulness of Feelings (Vedananupassana)
  • Sept. 8: Mindfulness of Thoughts (Cittanupassana)
  • Sept. 15: Embodiment of Qualities of the Triple Gem and Divine Beings (Buddhanussati, Dhammanussati, Sanghanussati, and Devatanussati)
  • Sept. 22: Contemplation on Letting Go (Caganussati)
  • Sept. 29: Overcoming Barriers; Five Hindrances (Panca Nivarana) for Meditation
  • Oct. 6: Seven Pillars to Empower Meditation (Satta Bojjhanga, the Seven Factors of Enlightenment)
  • Oct. 13: The Five Aggregates (Pancakkhandha) Comprehensive Understanding of Human Life with Ven. Usgoda Dhammagaru Thero
  • Oct. 20: Dare at the End of Life (Maranussati or Mindfulness of Death) with Ven. Nepalaye Suwanna Thero
Monthly Lunar Observance Day
This month was celebrated Aug. 11
The Mindfulness Meditation Center is a Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist monastery inside the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara (in Covina, SGV). The four months between July and October is the Rains Retreat or Buddhist "Lent," a period of nonwandering, intensive meditation and teaching, so every Sunday from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm features a Dharma talk and mindfulness meditation:
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