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| Marching in front of the temple grounds at the LA consecration (srilankafoundation.org) |
.
Just as the Abrahamic faiths keep the "Lord's Day" (which had always been Saturday not Sunday, given the very word
Sabbath means "Saturday," like the pagan, pre-Christian, Wiccan, Jewish
Shabbat, the holy or rest day for spiritual stuff.
The Buddha could see back in time that this custom was very good and should be continued. He gave it a Buddhist spin -- like previous
buddhas, observing the
Eight Precepts rather than the ordinary daily
Five Precepts, fasting (eating only between dawn and noon), practicing intensive meditation, hearing and studying the Dharma and Discipline, the path to liberation pointed out by the Buddha.
He taught a path-of-practice that includes calm and insight meditation (
shamatha, the
jhanas,
satipatthana, and
vipassana). These are the practices of:
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Rains Retreat (Vassa) schedule lists weekly Dharma
talks and monthly Poya or Lunar Observance Days. |
One need not be a wandering ascetic, an austere monastic, a celibate (
anagarika), nor a "little nun or monk" (
samaneri/samanera) to practice for insight.
It would be nice and could be very helpful to speed things up to fruition, but it is not necessary. That means a normal, ordinary
householder (workaday family person with possessions and worldly obligations) can practice what the Buddha taught and advance in this very life. There's no need to wait.
The lunar observance day (
Uposatha) is the day to find out. It is observed in Los Angeles at many Theravada Buddhist temples of Southeast Asia. One in particular is the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara. Instead of practicing weekly, it does so monthly on the full moon day or an approximation of it.
Due to scheduling constraints, September's lunar observance day is being conducted today, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, beginning at 8:00 am with a day of scheduled sitting and walking meditations, Dharma talks, lunch, and question and answer periods.
Lunar observances during the three-month Rains Retreat period
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| We're spiritual seekers in LA looking for Truth |
The
Rains Retreat continues in Los Angeles, so we trekked over to visit the
Mindfulness Meditation Center of the
Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara in the suburbs of LA's San Gabriel Valley:
The Center has a vision. It is to bring people to a depth of realization of the Buddha’s path to liberation through direct experience.
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| Why would anyone be a monk? We should ask. |
The Mindfulness Meditation Center – Covina (LABV) is a Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist spiritual center dedicated to the study and practice of Buddhist teachings (Dharma) and meditation (
bhavana) and is committed to the possibility of liberation for all beings from pain, disappointment, and unsatisfactoriness (collectively called
dukkha or "suffering").
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| American Col. Henry Olcott in old Sri Lanka |
The Center welcomes diverse populations. It supports and encourages the development of compassionate action towards everyone for a community based on the ideals, teachings, and practices in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism.
Mission
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The Citadel of Sigiriya atop a massive rock in Sri Lanka, once a Buddhist monastery
|
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| Maha Moggallana̞, Sri Lanka |
Its mission is to provide practitioners with Buddhist teachings to manifest wisdom and compassion in all aspects of life for the benefit of all beings.
It is a spiritual center and a sanctuary dedicated to the study and practice of mindfulness meditation according to the Theravada Buddhist lineage. It provides Los Angeles and neighboring communities with opportunities to practice meditation, study Buddhist teachings, and apply those teachings in the context of daily life.
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| August's lunar daylong retreat |
There are weekly sitting groups, monthly (lunar observance) daylong retreats, and weekly study courses. Invited guest speakers from other Buddhist centers in the United States and around the world supplement the offerings of dedicated local teachers.
The Center supports and encourages compassionate actions locally and globally to help people who are in need of support materially and spiritually around the globe.
mindfulnessmeditationcenter.org
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