English Buddhist Monk live from Asia

(English Buddhist Monk) English Buddhist Monk is LIVE

Dogma or Freedom?

Meditate w/Bhikkhu Bodhi, Vesak, sutra study

CLASS INFO: Wednesdays 7:00–8:00 pm (EDT) with Bhikkhu Bodhi

Our Theravada JuBu teacher Bhikkhu Bodhi

Dear Dharma Students, please join us tonight (May 6, 2026) at 7:00 pm for a meditation session over Zoom by clicking here.

Each Wednesday evening, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm, Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi leads a meditation session over Zoom. The session consists of a 15-minute vandana (chanting Pali verses of homage) followed by a 45-minute guided meditation.

All are welcome to join. The texts for recitation are attached separately. Please see class page on website (BAUS.org/en) for chanting text. Miss it? Don't worry. This is a recurring meeting from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm (EDT, New York time), Wednesdays.

With metta,

Chuang Yen Monastery/BAUS

• Join Zoom Meeting us02web.zoom.us/s/83540900862?pwd=V1VkL0NhVEVnbGU4RnByNVJGRUhNUT09
• Meeting ID: 835 4090 0862
• Passcode: 368764
• Subscribe to eNews from BAUS
• One tap mobile +16468769923,,83540900862#,,,,*368764#
• US (New York) +13017158592,,83540900862#,,,,*368764#
• US (Washington DC) Dial by location +1 646 876 9923
• US (New York) +1 301 715 8592
• US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799
• US (Chicago) +1 253 215 8782
• US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799
• US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833
• US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 835 4090 0862, Passcode: 368764
• Find local number: us02web.zoom.us/u/kcYniDdmfU
• DONATION
• BAUS (The Buddhist Association of the U.S.)
• 美國佛教會, 2020 Route 301 Carmel, NY 10512
• contact@baus.org

More activities at Chuang Yen Monastery (BAUS)­ for May 2026

Dates: Saturdays, May 2, 9, and 23. Time: 6:30 am to 8:30 am (PT) - 9:30 am to 11:30 am (ET) On Saturdays, Bhikkhu Bodhi leads a full morning program of meditation and sutra study.

May 2nd and 9th is a "hybrid" program in-person and online. The May 23rd class online only this month. The online class can be accessed through Zoom. Please note: To participate in this class, one must register with BAUS ahead of time: Sign up for class with Bhikkhu Bodhi

The Sanctuary Within with Ven. Youmin

Instructor: Ven. Youmin Date: May 10th, time: 10:00 am-11:30 am and 1:30-3:00 pm. Place: Woo Ju Memorial Library. Lead by Ven. Youmin, we will explore the ancient mechanics of the mind through the art of breath, deconstruct the filters of our perception, and gain a definitive framework for stress management. This is more than a lecture, it is a mental operating system upgrade. THE SANCTUARY WITHIN with Ven. Youmin 4/19 & 5/10

VESAK 2026: "Buddhist Christmas" in New York: the Buddha’s Birthday Celebration

Date: Sunday, May 17, 2026, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Place: The Great Buddha Hall at Chuang Yen Monastery. All are invited to celebrate Vesak, commemorating the birth of the historical Gautama Buddha (Shakyamuni). We will recite the Sutra on the Merit of Bathing the Baby Buddha and make a Grand Meal Offering to all the Buddhas. BAUS invites everyone to sponsor the lighting of a blessing lamp or other blessing or memorial services.

• Vesak: The Buddha's Birthday Celebration • May 17, 2026

Group meditation Wednesdays on Zoom

Group Meditation on Zoom w/Bhikkhu Bodhi

Group Meditation over Zoom, Wednesdays, 7:00 pm-8:00 pm. Platform: Zoom. Every Wednesday evening, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm, Bhikkhu Bodhi leads online group meditation. The session consists of a 15-minute vandana (chanting verses of homage), followed by a 45-minute guided meditation, either on loving-kindness or on mindfulness of breathing.

Temple of Enlightenment (TOE)

• 3070 Albany Cresent Bronx, NY 10463
• TOE Meditation Class and Dharma Talk with Ven. Subodha

Instructor: Ven. Subodha, Sundays, 10:00 am to 11:30 am on Zoom and in person at TOE on Tuesdays from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Location: Temple of Enlightenment Meditation Program. In person only at the Temple of Enlightenment in the Bronx.

Children's Dhamma Class at Temple of Enlightenment in the Bronx, NY

• Bhikkhu Bodhi (BAUS); Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

New Zen Meditation Community, Pasadena

All things are as empty as the enso

For years, Zen came to Pasadena through PasaDharma under the auspices of Founder Roshi Jeff Albrizze (Rev. Lotus Peace), successor Meditation Guide Seven, and PasaDharma's friends at:

• Neighborhood UU Church
• Pasadena Library (Rose Bowl)
• Ahiah Center for Spiritual Living
• Mindfulness Meditation Center
• Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara
• Vipassana Meditation Center (Tha Bar Wa) until the Panda from Wuhan stopped our weekly sangha ("spiritual community") from meeting in person.

Art by Rev. Seigaku Amato

But there's a new Zen Sangha in Pasadena, a practice community affiliated with a teacher who also works and/or meditates at Long Beach Buddhist Church, Yokoji Zen Mountain Center of Idyllwild to serve the Los Angeles Foothills of the Angeles National Forest and all of the San Gabriel Valley:

• Weekly Zen Meditation
• Pasadena Zen Sangha (free/dana)
• Every Thursday from 7:00-9:00 pm
• Orange Grove Friends Meeting House
• 520 E. Orange Grove Bl., Pasadena, 91104

The Bodhisattva of Compassion: Kanzeon

TEACHER: Sensei Seigaku Amato

Seigaku Amato, Hossenshiki ceremony, Japan

Sensei or Reverend Seigaku Amato, who was educated in a Sōtō-Rinzai Zen blend, leads us every Thursday in:

• shikantaza or "just sitting" (zazen),
• mindful walking (kinhin),
• perplexing riddles to help us overcome rigid and limiting habits of mind and get us thinking outside the box (koans),
• questions and answers, and
• an open group discussion.

Sensei completed his Hossenshiki ceremony in Japan, a necessary step for a Sotoshu novice to take toward becoming a full-fledged Zen Buddhist priest, as he became Zagen (pictured above), then Osho. He is also the author of a very helpful Guide to Zen:

• PHOTO GALLERY (Facebook)

BOOK: Complete Illustrated Guide to Zen

The Complete Illustrated Guide to Zen

With 4.3 out of 5 stars (38 reviews), this 2021 Simon & Schuster introduction to Zen is unlike any readers have ever seen — inspired by manga and graphic novels. It offers a comprehensive overview of Soto Zen Buddhism in a delightfully captivating way.

Complete with dynamic, detailed illustrations, American Soto Zen Priest Seigaku Amato uses a semi-narrative style to take readers on a visual tour of Buddhism and, using specifics to illuminate universals, dives deeply into the practices and forms of Soto Zen.

In honor of our teacher the Buddha Shakyamuni

Whether we are just taking our first step or have been practicing Zen for years, this creative and profound book can serve as a constant companion and guide on the journey as it explores topics such as:

• a brief history of Buddhism
• an iconographic overview of various buddhas and bodhisattvas
• an introduction to the various practices of Zen, including
• meditation (zazen)
• work practice (samu)
• meditative eating (oryoki)
• a what’s-what of:
• holidays
• ceremonies
• temple instruments
• religious vestments
• a how-to guide for setting up a home altar.
• BOOK: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Zen (Simon & Schuster)
• Seigaku Amato's ART — Pasadena Zen Sangha

OTHER LOCAL PRACTICE OPPORTUNITIES

• Zenshuji Soto Misson, in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, the first Soto Zen temple in North America, established in 1922
• Taichi (Calendar - Neighborhood UU Church) Feb. 7, 2026, 8:00- 9:15 am
• (Japanese) Pasadena Buddhist Temple (of Altadena)
• New Science of Spirituality Meditation Center opens in Pasadena (former home of the LA Buddhist Vihara)| Science of Spirituality
• Buddhist groups increasingly taking root in Latinx communities | Lion’s Roar
• Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Jen Bradshaw, Wisdom Quarterly

Alan Watts: Get out of the mind once a day

(Simply Art- Inspire) Go out of the mind once a day: Alan Watts on Buddhist meditation

• Alan Watts every week on Buddhist Radio Los Angeles (Something's Happening honoring Roy of Hollywood Tuckman), Sundays at 8:00 am (PT) and Thursdays at midnight with Speech Impediment Buzz and Nurse Diane. FREE worldwide live online (kpfk.org) and in the archives for the following 90 days
• AlanWatts.org via Simply Art- Inspire (YouTube); Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

What 'God' do nontheistic Buddhists pray to?

SEE VIDEO: (Buddha's Wisdom) If Buddhism has no God... who are they praying to?

If Buddhism has no God, who are Buddhists praying to?

(Buddha's Wisdom) 🔍 IF THERE'S NO BUDDHIST GOD, WHO GETS ALL THESE PRAYERS?

The Buddha with gods Sakka and Brahma

Buddhism famously teaches that there is no "creator God." Yet, Buddhist temples across Asia overflow with [what sounds like] prayers, chants, offerings, and devotion.

From bodhisattvas and buddhas to spirits, protectors, and ancestors, this video explores whom Buddhists are actually praying to—if anyone—and why [petitionary] prayer never disappeared from Buddhism.

Discover how Buddhist "prayer" works in the absence of a supreme deity and why this "godless" religion created one of the most elaborate spiritual support systems ever conceived.

• [NOTE: Theists are sure there's a God; atheists are sure there is not; agnostics say they do not know and remain on the fence. But nontheists are different. They say, "Whether there is a God or is not a God, we must still concern ourselves with our own enlightenment and liberation/salvation." No one else, not even "God," can do it for us. We must develop calm and insight, study and practice, to awaken from this illusory samsara or Wheel of Suffering and Rebirth.]

DISCOVER:

• Why Buddhism rejected [an all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent] creator God but preserved devotion
• Why [Mahayana] Buddhism has multiple buddhas instead of one God...and what each one specializes in
• The bodhisattvas who postponed enlightenment just to help all living beings (and millions pray to them daily)
• The terrifying wrathful protectors (guardian deities) who guard Buddhism with fangs and flames
• How Buddhism absorbed local spirits, gods, and ancestors without losing its core philosophy
• Why the three Buddhist schools (Theravāda, Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna) solve this paradox differently
• How this ancient system still explains modern meditation, ritual, and faith

📿 If this changed understanding of Buddhist devotion, subscribe to Buddha's Wisdom for more deep explorations into Buddhism's most fascinating mysteries and apparent contradictions.

TIMESTAMPS

• 00:00 If Buddhism has no God
• 01:31 The core confusion: No God yet prayer everywhere
• 06:50 Chapter 1: The Buddha specialists (Shakyamuni, Amitābha, Medicine Buddha, Guanyin)
• 14:55 Chapter 2: The Bodhisattva Help Desk—compassion incarnate
• 21:53 Chapter 3: Protectors, Gods, and spiritual security
• 27:40 Chapter 4: Where Buddhism meets local spirits and ancestors
• 34:48 Chapter 5: Human bridges—the power of dead masters
• 41:48 Chapter 6: Theravāda, Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna Buddhism — three different solutions
• 50:12 Chapter 7: How all the layers work together
• 54:45 Chapter 8: Why this still matters today
• 56:17 What 'prayer' really cultivates

📚 SOURCES AND FURTHER READING:

Primary Buddhist texts:

• The Pāli canon (Tipiṭaka) - the Buddha's final words on self-reliance
• Lotus Sutra (Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra) - foundation of bodhisattva devotion
• Pure Land Sutras (Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtras) - Amitābha Buddha and rebirth in [his western] Pure Land
• Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thödol) - death and intermediate states between lifetimes
• Platform Sutra - Zen Buddhism's approach to "sudden enlightenment"

Scholarly resources:

• Buddhism Without Beliefs by Stephen Batchelor
• The Bodhisattva Ideal in Buddhism by Sangharakshita  
• Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations by Paul Williams
• Tantric Buddhism in East Asia by Richard Payne
• The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism by Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr.
• Popular Buddhism in Sri Lanka by Michael Ames (folk religion integration)
• The Cult of the Book of the Dead in Tibet by Bryan J. Cuevas

Academic articles:

• "The Concept of the Bodhisattva in Early Buddhism" - Buddhist Studies Review
• "Wrathful Deities in Vajrayana Buddhism" - Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies
• "Pure Land Buddhism in China" - Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies

Historical context:

• The Buddhist Conquest of China by Erik Zürcher (syncretism examples)
• Buddhism and Society in Thailand by Tambiah (spirit house integration)
• The Making of Buddhist Modernism by David McMahan

📱 Join community: Instagram (buddhaswizdom), Facebook (buddhaswizdom), X (BuddhasWizdom), Spotify (open.spotify.com...), TikTok (buddhas.wisdom)

☕ Support the channel: buymeacoffee.com/buddhaswisdom

#Buddhism #BuddhistPrayer #NoGod #Buddha #Bodhisattva #PureLand #Meditation #Spirituality #ReligionExplained #BuddhasWisdom #BuddhismExplained #MahayānaBuddhism #TheravādaBuddhism #VajrayānaBuddhism #Avalokiteśvara #GreenTara #BuddhistDeities #ComparativeReligion

• Buddha's Wisdom, Jan. 8, 2026; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

How to go on a drug TRIP (without drugs)

How to trip without psychedelics (entheogenic substances)

Use of mandala/yantra art for visualization

(Juliana Garces Art) Nov. 29, 2025: Can we trip without external psychedelic drugs? Yes. Our own body is capable of creating mystical, visionary, DMT-like states completely on its own.

This video share ten of the most powerful natural ways to access expanded consciousness without using any substances. The final one is considered the most intense of all.

These methods have shaped my spiritual journey, my art, and my understanding of the mind. Some come from ancient traditions, some from modern science, and some from the hidden corners of consciousness itself.

Enjoy exploring mystical states, inner worlds, and the nature of reality?  Make sure to subscribe for more videos like this. Thanks for watching.

Anjali mudra, Thai wai (devi)

Sending love and blessings on the journey. Namaste.

ABOUT: I am [Juliana Garces is] a visionary artist and poet on a mission to raise our collective consciousness through art. I create artworks, poems, and videos about mystical subjects to help inspire people to find the divine within themselves. Resonate with my work? Please check out these links:

• Prints: 🖼️ julianagarcesart.com/prod...
• Original art: 🎨 julianagarcesart.com/prod...
• Apparel: 👕 julianagarcesart.com/prod...
• Online Visionary Art Classes: 📔 julianagarcesart.com/priv...
• Instagram: 💓 julianagarcesart
• Facebook: 💙 Juliigarces
• Juliana Garces, YouTube; Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jen B., Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

'Buddhist Lent' ends w/ Kathina (10/25-26)

FREE. All welcome. (N. Hollywood)

For the entire month following the Rains Retreat or Vassa, the super meritorious Kathina ceremony is performed at Theravada Buddhist temples (viharas) across Buddhist countries. Los Angeles has countless Buddhist temples from all parts of the world -- on par with the most concentrated number of different Buddhist temples on earth, Bodh Gaya ("Enlightenment Grove"), Bihar, India. But that is an anomaly with spiritual embassies sent from around the Buddhist world (Buddhadom) and only tiny communities to look after them or receive visitors during the high season when weather allows. Los Angeles, however, has Buddhist communities from all over the world and not all of them with their own temples yet built. This week, beginning Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, the Sarathchandra Buddhist Vihara of North Hollywood, has all night paritta chanting. This is with its Mexican American monk (bhikkhu), Ven. Los Angeles Sanatha Vihari Bhikkhu. Their larger Kathina ceremony is on Sunday, with hundreds in attendance, providing free food and dana (charitable support) to the resident and visiting Theravada Buddhist monks. FREE. Wear white as is the Sri Lankan island custom. Lunch and refreshments served. There is also a big Burmese celebration in the San Gabriel Valley on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025:

Burmese Theravada tradition: Pa Auk Tawya, L.A.

The most meritorious giving for lay Buddhists

Buddhism and dana made it to ancient Greece in Gandhara, Bactria, and other outposts.

.

Kathina is a Theravada Buddhist festival that comes at the end of the Rains Retreat or "Buddhist Lent" (Vas or Vassa), the three-month rainy season intensive practice period for Theravada Buddhists in South and Southeast Asia:

• Burma (Myanmar)
• Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
• Thailand (Siam)
• India
• Bangladesh (where it is known as Kaṭhina Cībar Dān)
• Cambodia
• Laos
• Vietnam
• Malaysia
• Singapore [2][3].

The Rainy Season during which a monastery may hold its culminating Kathina ceremony is one month long, beginning after the full moon of the 11th month on the Lunar calendar (usually October).

(DIMC) Kathina Chairperson Joy Muriel, Dhammakaya, Thailand

It is a time of practicing letting go, generosity, giving, sharing (dana, donating), a time for lay Buddhists to express gratitude and support to Buddhist monastics (bhikkhus and bhikkhunis) [4][5].

Lay practitioners bring donations (requisites such as robes, food, medicines, necessities) to Buddhist monasteries, nunneries, and temples, especially premade new robes or cotton cloth and dyes for monastics to sew new patchwork robes.

(Global Buddhist Stories) Kathina: A Story About Buddhist Robes

The gift of the Eight Requisites [6] (aṭṭha parikkhārā or atapirikara in Sri Lanka) is also part of the offerings [2][4][5].

Origins at the time of the Buddha

Kaṭhina (also Kaṭina) is a Pali word referring to the sturdy wooden frame used to measure the length and width by which Buddhist monastic robes are cut [7].

(Sravasti Abbey) The significance of the Kathina ceremony, 2016

As the legend goes, 30 monks were journeying with the intention of spending the Rains (Vassa) with the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) [2]. However, the Rains began before they reached their destination and they had to stop at Saketa [2][8].

According to the Buddha's guidelines for Vassa, mendicant (wandering ascetic) monastics should not travel during the rainy season, as this may cause unintentionally harm to crops and insects during the journey [9]. This is an ancient custom that preceded the Buddha but to which the Buddha agreed.

(Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary) Westerner Ven. Ariyadhammika

SBS: Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary, Taiping, Perak, Malaysia

Rains Retreat schedule 2025 (LABV)

As such, wandering Buddhist monastics had to stop [2][8]. They passed their time together without conflict, intensively practicing the Dhamma (the Buddha's Teachings). So afterwards, the Buddha rewarded them by demonstrating a way to practice sharing and generosity.

A lay Buddhist disciple had previously donated pieces of cotton cloth to the Buddha, so he gave these pieces to the group of monks and told them to make it into a sturdy outer robe then offer it as a gift to the one of them who had practiced most in line with the monastic rules.

The frame, called the Kathina, was used to hold those pieces while they were being made into one robe [2][8]. This ancient tradition continues to this day in Theravada monasteries and nunneries around the world. More

• Kathina Ceremony Oct. 18-19, 2025
• All-night paritta chanting on 18th
• Food, festivities, and procession on 19th
• Mindfulness Meditation Center
• (626) 731-8105
• Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara (LABV)
• 1023 N. Glendora Ave., Covina, CA 91724

• The Kathina Ceremony 2010: Scoop (DMC TV, Thailand)
• Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Bangkok, Thailand
• Lễ đón nhận y Kathina do Nhà vua Thái Lan dâng cúng| Giác Ngộ Online (Vietnam)
• Buddhism Reflections; DIMC; Buddhist Global Stories; Sravasti Abbey; Bhante, Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jen B. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Kneecap releases new song ft. Mozey

KNEECAP feat MOZEY - THE RECAP (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

Best Kept Secret (EU festival)

Rumpelstiltskin secrets revealed

Meditate with Bhikkhu Bodhi: Zoom (6/4)

Dear Dharma Students,

Please join us tonight at 7:00 pm Wednesday (June 4th) for a meditation session over Zoom by clicking HERE. Each Wednesday evening, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm, Bhikkhu Bodhi leads a meditation session on Zoom.

• CLASS INFORMATION
• Wednesday 7:00–8:00 pm (EDT)
• Meditate with Bhikkhu Bodhi

The session consists of a 15-minute chanting verses of homage (vandana), followed by a 45-minute guided meditation (bhavana). All are welcome to join.

The texts for recitation are attached separately. Please see class page on web site for chanting text.

With metta,

• Chuang Yen Monastery/BAUS
• Buddhist Association of the United States
• ZOOM Passcode: 368764

NOTE: This is a recurring meeting from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm Wednesdays.

• Join Zoom Meeting us02web.zoom.us/s/83540900862?pwd=V1VkL0NhVEVnbGU4RnByNVJGRUhNUT09#success
• Meeting ID: 835 4090 0862
• Passcode: 368764
• One tap mobile +16468769923,,83540900862#,,,,*368764#
• US (New York) +13017158592,,83540900862#,,,,*368764#
• US (Washington DC) Dial by location +1 646 876 9923
• US (New York) +1 301 715 8592
• US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799
• US (Chicago) +1 253 215 8782
• US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799
• US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833
• US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 835 4090 0862
• Passcode: 368764
• Find local number: us02web.zoom.us/u/kcYniDdmfU
• Donation: BAUS
• Bhikkhu Bodhi (BAUS), June 4, 2025; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

What happened at Peace Mandala 2025?

An amazing Buddhist spectacle unfolded at the World Peace Gathering in a fancy hotel across from Disneyland in downtown Anaheim on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025. From 4:00 to 9:00 pm floors of the Anaheim Convention Center were transformed into a kind of Mahayana Buddhist Pure Land, with 300 monastics from all traditions and countries in the Southland and 1,700 or so lay participants.

We filed into a color filled hall in the diagonal, our bodies forming a mandala (sacred geometrical pattern in the Mahayana/Vedic Hindu sense) for a kind of Catholic-style repentance ceremony, inviting peace and countless light beings (devas, brahmas, bodhisattvas, mahasattvas, and buddhas).

No photography or video footage was allowed by participants, though there were official cameras on the perimeter and some people couldn't help but pull out their cellphones for a quick snap or two. However, here is old footage of this event from 2013 and 2018 before it evolved into the spectacle we experienced for Earth Day 2025.

World Peace Gathering 2013: Mandala Ceremony (2 of 4)

(CompaSS) Jan. 6, 2014: This Mandala Ceremony was held on Dec. 22nd, 2013, at the Long Beach Convention Center during Compassionate Service Society's 5th Annual World Peace Gathering. Approximately 1,500 people attended this mandala.

What happened in 2025?

Wisdom Quarterly 2025

It started off as a normal convention of Buddhists at a convention center in OC. But it became profound with Vedic/Brahminical magic -- mantras and mudras, intentions and emotions. It made an impression.

First, everything was color coded. There are Sanskrit letter, bija mantras or "seed sounds" we were uttering once in formation. When 1,700 get in a room with 300 monastics, whatever happens is bound to be special.

• There is the Soka Gakkai Buddhist cult, and they have that chant for material manifestation that may encourage greed in the name of "spirituality." One could understand how nice it might be to chant a repetitive set of meaningful sounds one doesn't know the meaning of. Somethings are only meant to be vibrational utterances, not sensible concepts. But there were translations, too. It was not mindless.

One would have wished to be videotaping the goings on so the outside world could see it. Once, at the Lu Mountain Chan Monastery in Rosemead, San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles County, California, there was the ordinary sermon by Chan Master, as he had us call him. Then a short meditation. Then a great vegan meal of homemade Vietnamese delicacies by elderly expert cooks in the temple kitchen. Then socializing and talking, people hanging around and eventually dispersing.

Wanting to get some real meditation in, something silent and unguided, free of visualizations and interruptions, I went into the empty meditation hall and took a seat. To my surprise, people came back in dressed in robes, the same people from the morning sit. But there was no special occasion announced.

They began to chant and do hand movements (mudras) with a secret book they had, turning the pages. It went on and on. I remained still and silent, going unnoticed. That was their mistake, which they tried to play off when I began to ask questions afterward. I had seen the secret ceremony, the ritual Hindu-influenced Mahayana practices that really aided their Chan ("Zen") and samadhi, surrounded by countless alleged sariras (sacred relic beads and crematory remains). This was like that, and it may go on in every Vietnamese Zen temple in the county. The OC is full of them, particularly in the small city of Westminster.

I picked up a color diagram explaining the five elemental colors (white at the perimeter, yellow, blue, red, green, and white at the center). There is a siddham or character that looks like a four (4) in Japanese/Chinese script interpreting Sanskrit. A Vietnamese speaker is needed to decipher the explanation:  Quan he giua pham tru ca the va tap the khi tu tap phap Lien Hoa Thu Nhan va Mandala Lien Hoa, which may not make sense without the diacritical marks.

The magic spells (mantras)

A color booklet with pictures of lotuses titled So tay Lien Hoa Bo Tat ("Lotus Bodhisattva Handbook"), Ban Cap Nhat 2025, on the cover also came to hand.

Meditate w/ Bhikkhu Bodhi Zoom (Weds)

Virtual meditation over Zoom (BAUS)

Dharma Students, join us tonight at 4:00 pm (LA time, 7:00 pm NY time) for a guided meditation session over Zoom with the great Bhikkhu Bodhi.

Recorded instructions by Bhante (Venerable) each Wednesday evening as Bhikkhu Bodhi leads a meditation session on Zoom.

American scholar-monk Bhikkhu Bodhi

The session consists of a 15-minute vandana (chanting verses of homage), followed by a 45-minute guided meditation. All are welcome to join. For the texts recited, see class page on web: chanting text.

• BAUS at Chuang Yen Monastery
• CLASS INFORMATION:
• TONIGHT Wednesday, March 5, first day of Lent
• 7:00–8:00 pm ET (New York time)
• Bhikkhu Bodhi, English translator of texts

With metta

美國佛教會

Chuang Yen Monastery

BAUS (Buddhist Association of the United States)

• ZOOM Passcode: 368764
• Launch Meeting - Zoom
• Donation - BAUS

NOTE: This is a recurring meeting: from 7:00pm to 8:00pm Wednesdays

• Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/s/83540900862?pwd=V1VkL0NhVEVnbGU4RnByNVJGRUhNUT09#success
• Meeting ID: 835 4090 0862
• Passcode: 368764
• One tap mobile +16468769923,,83540900862#,,,,*368764#
• US (New York) +13017158592,,83540900862#,,,,*368764#
• US (Washington DC) Dial by your location +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
• Meeting ID: 835 4090 0862
• Passcode: 368764 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcYniDdmfU

• The Buddhist Association of the US (BAUS.org)
• 美國佛教會 2020 Route 301 Carmel, NY 10512
• RSVP (FREE): Guided meditation, chanting with Bhikkhu Bodhi (Zoom), Wed, Mar 5, 2025, 4:00 PM | Meetup
• To donate to Bhikkhu Bodhi or BAUS
• Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly