Adventures in Church: Mindfulness Center

The ancient uposatha and the Buddha

The big blue supermoon outside, becoming full tomorrow night on Moonday, had us thinking about the Buddhist lunar observance day (uposatha).

It stands to reason and it used to be that the "fasting day" would be held on the Sunday closest to the full moon. (This month was different due to other events like the great benefactor's birthday, Sri Lanka Day, and an odd cultural ceremony).

Dancers from island of Sri Lanka

Rushing off at 8:00 am Sunday morning, with Alan Watts on the Buddhist Radio (KPFK 90.7 FM, Los Angeles), arriving at the temple after a crowd had gathered.

Everyone was dressed like an islander, reminiscent of Indian garb. The boys had their shirts off like Māori warrior-trainees. The monks were sitting silently to the left of the giant Buddha statue.

Lunar observance Day, Aug. 2024

Eight girls and three boys were bowing to their parents then dancing in the style of kathak or tarian/saman to giant bongo drums as many looked on, including a multimillionaire guest donor, Dr. Walter Jayasinghe. This was the strangest all-day meditation retreat ever. When everyone broke for lunch, it became clear that the lunar observance was last week. This was a Sri Lankan cultural event from an academy Dr. J set up nine years ago.

This is the Rains Retreat ("Lent") period, so every Sunday at 5:00 pm there are two Dharma talks, one in English in the Dhamma Classroom and one in Sinhalese in the main hall. Today's topic was the cultivation of loving-kindness as a meditation subject. The discussion included chanting and culminated with delicious Sri Lankan island-cuisine on the patio. It is a giant center the size and feel of a small hospital.

• Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Jen B., Crystal Q., Wisdom Quarterly

First gay marriages in Buddhist Church of SF

Jeff Wilson (Tricycle.com, June 27, 2015 ); Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly

Do we support gay marriage, Bruno?

Buddhist same-sex marriage was born in the USA.

That’s a little-known but significant fact to reflect on now, just after the Supreme Court has declared legal marriage equality throughout the country. Appropriately enough, it all started in San Francisco and was conceived as an act of love not activism.

 

The first known Buddhist same-sex marriages took place in the early 1970s, at the Buddhist Church of San Francisco. Founded in 1899, it’s the oldest surviving temple in the mainland United States.

Rainbow flag of unity now a gay symbol.

It’s also part of the oldest Buddhist organization outside Hawaii: the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA), part of the Shin tradition of Pure Land Buddhism.

 

During the Nixon years, the LGBTQ rights movement was picking up, and San Francisco was one of the primary centers of both activism and community building.

Rise of Political Buddhism in Burma

Located not far from the famously gay Castro District, the Buddhist Church of San Francisco (BCSF) was attended by singles and couples, gay and straight. As consciousness rose, people began to seek the same services that heterosexuals already enjoyed in American society.

 

A male couple in the congregation eventually asked Rev. Koshin Ogui, then assigned to BCSF, to perform their marriage. He readily agreed, and the ceremony was held in the main hall -- identical to other marriages at the temple, except for the dropping of gender-based pronouns in the service. Without fanfare, history was made.

 

Lost in Capitulation

Soon other BCA temples were also conducting same-sex marriages, and by the time of my research into the subject in the early 2010s, I couldn’t find a single minister in the scores of BCA temples who was unwilling to preside over same-sex weddings.

Legislating Love

Indeed, BCA ministers had already performed marriages for gay and lesbian couples, bisexuals, transgender people, and polyamorous groups. Many of these were interracial marriages, or carried out for non-Buddhists who had nowhere else to go, though most were for members of local BCA temples. More

The first gay U.S. president
RantPolitical.com

U.S. President James Buchanan (wiki)

Skeletons in our American closet: Pres. James Buchanan was a "bachelor" as president and might have been the first gay president. Not that being gay is a scandal, but when you think about America in the mid-19th century you can bet it would be a skeleton that a person would want kept in the closet. For 15 years, Buchanan lived with William Rufus King. The two were called “Miss Nancy” and “Aunt Fancy” by U.S. Pres. Andrew Jackson.

The first gay first couple, Barry and Michael

Pres. Buchanan even referred to King as his wife in a letter to James K. Polk’s wife. While none of this had an effect on his presidency, it did on his immediate legacy. To make matters worse, Pres. Buchanan is often [listed] among the worst presidents in history for his role in kicking the can down the road to our disastrous Civil War. More

• Pres. B.S. Obama is a homosexual (rense.com)
• VIDEO: Michelle (Michael) Obama is a man
• Pres. Obama's "gay lover" gets revenge
• Pres. Obama caught up in gay murder probe: Larry Sinclair had gay sex with president

Obon: Utah Buddhists observe festival

Pamela Manson

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - For almost 100 years, Buddhism has been a part of Utah life. And on [7/11/09], the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple commemorated followers who have gone before with its annual Obon festival.

The temple, a Jodo Shinshu sect affiliated with the Buddhist Churches of America, displayed a small plaque for each member who had died in the past year. Flowers decorated the altar and incense was burned as an offering. The festival also included a Taiko drum performance, dancing, and food. The teachings of the sect, whose main temple is in Japan, are designed to help practitioners achieve enlightenment... More>>

Obon named plaques of the deceased displayed in a place of reverence near the "Onaijin" during the period of praying for the repose of the spirits of one's ancestors, 7/11/09 (Scott Sommerdorf/The Salt Lake Tribune).