Tag Archives: Buddhism

03/26, 03/31 Spirituality in a Time of Crisis — FB Live Interfaith Panel Series

COVID-19 has affected all of us in ways that we would not have imagined just a few months ago. As we all work to cope with this challenge, we are offering a three-part series titled Spirituality in a Time of Crisis. This interfaith series, featuring female religious leaders as panelists in recognition of Women’s History Month, will discuss how to take a step back, reflect, and understand not only our current situation and the world outside but also ourselves and those we love. Join us in reflection on March 24th, March 26th, and March 31st on the ING Facebook page. To receive updates on the series, register below!

Thursday, March 26th 7:30 – 8:30 PM PST: Building and Inspiring Fellowship and Community in a Time of Crisis

In times of crisis, news reports are full of stories about neighbors and strangers going out of their way to share food, rescue pets, locate loved ones, and help rebuild what has been lost. In our second panel, we seek to understand how religious traditions contribute to the displays of compassion, altruism, and creative solution-seeking that blossom when disaster strikes communities.

Speakers: ING Executive Director Maha Elgenaidi (Muslim), Rabbi Amy Eilberg (Jewish), Lakshmi Subramanian (Hindu), Reverend George Anne McDonnell (Christian), and Venerable Tenzin Chogkyi (Buddhist). Facilitator: ING Bay Area Director Ishaq Pathan.

Tuesday, March 31st 5:00-6:00 PM PST: Reflecting on Gratitude and Faith in a Time of Crisis

Religious traditions can teach us a lot about the importance of gratitude as a foundation of our life, even—or perhaps especially—in times of crisis. By funneling our emotions into positive action, we grow our empathy with others. In our third and final installment of this series, we learn helpful techniques that allow us to slow down and recognize and give thanks for all the blessings in our lives.

Speakers: ING Content Manager Ameena Jandali (Muslim), Rabbi Melanie Aron (Jewish), Sheila Mohan (Hindu), Dianne Muller (Christian), and Venerable Tenzin Chogkyi (Buddhist). Facilitator: ING Bay Area Director Ishaq Pathan.

06/09/19 Green Action Day ChungTai Zen Center

Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale is proud to present Green Action Day on Sunday, 06/09/2019  from 10am to 4:30pm.

This event promotes an eco-friendly approach to ‘green’ living by providing practical information and easy-action steps. There are also programs of Seed and Plant Exchange, American Master Composter and an introduction to many edible garden plants. We will serve with a vegetarian lunch, video shows, take home samples, and souvenirs.

The Zen Center has long been promoting sustainable living with the “Pure Mind, Pure Land” philosophy. The Center has installed 223 solar panels for its electricity use, advocates plant-based diet in communities, and teaches meditation and mindfulness to the public.

This event will also explore sustainability from a spiritual point of view. A panel discussion, co-sponsored by SiVIC (Silicon Valley Religious Council), will present five spiritual traditions on “Sustainability and Spiritual Practice”. Another panel discussion will focus on sustainability from the view of different schools of Buddhism.

Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale is located at 750 E. Arques Ave., Sunnyvale, CA. 94085. This event is open to the public and free of charge. Mark your calendars and visit our website for more information and updates: http://ctzen.org/sunnyvale/  Tel: (408) 733-0750.

SiVIC Interreligious Leaders Forum – February 2018

 SiVIC Forum February 2018:
Mindfulness: Buddhist Psychology

February 11, 2018, 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Chung Tai Zen Center
750 E. Arques Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 95125 

Join us for a discussion with Abbot Jian Hu of the Chung Tai Zen Center and Caroline C. Fleck, Ph.D. on Mindfulness in Modern Psychology and the Buddhist Analysis of the Mind.​

Buddhist mindfulness concepts and meditation techniques have become an important part of certain western psychology disciplines. Therapies developed with mindfulness at the core are found to be quite effective over traditional methods. In this interreligious forum we first invite Dr. Caroline Fleck, a clinical psychologist and Stanford instructor, to give an introduction to how mindfulness is applied in modern clinical psychology. Ven. Jianhu will then give an overview of the Yogacara School in Buddhism, which analyzes consciousness in detail and form a “Buddhist psychology” that is completely independent of western psychology. We hope that this type of exploration can help all of us gain a broader perspective on how our mind works.

PLEASE RSVP: rsvp@sivicouncil.org

Empowering All: Charity Art Performance

Please come and witness the spectacular artistry of the world-renowned China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe as they present their famous “My Dream,” an extraordinary dance honoring the Buddhist One-Thousand-Hands Bodhisattva who aids all who suffer. These messengers of beauty and humanity, named “UNESCO Artist for Peace” by the UN, have performed at the Paralympic Games 2004. Every audience is mesmerized and moved by their flawlessly synchronized and emotionally engaging performances. As visually or hearing impaired artists, they are a testament to how any challenge can be transformed, in this case becoming a powerful work of art. Performing for Tzu Chi’s fundraising this time has particularly profound significance.

After completing renovation of the San Jose campus, Tzu Chi Northwest Region has been focusing on expanding charitable and medical services. Especially the need to help the under-privileged families, low-income students, homeless people, isolated seniors, and disaster survivors has been ever-increasing year by year. We cordially invite you to join the support by join this meaningful fundraising event also tell your friends about this event.

SiVIC Forum: The Ways of Compassion

The Ways of Compassion:  Method to Practice Forgiveness and Loving-kindness

Goal: Turn “compassion” from a concept into an actual spiritual practice.

Abbot Jian Hu Shi will give 15-20 minutes presentation on the various methods in Buddhism to help us practice unconditioned compassion, to cope with people who have hurt us, and to develop patience and tolerance.

Participants are invited to share on ways, anecdotes, contemplation, and meditations from their respective traditions so we can learn from each other.

RSVP to rsvp@sivicouncil.org

 

Exploring the Shadow

Exploring the Shadow with Rob Preece
The shadow, according to Carl Jung, grows as we learn to suppress into the unconscious what is not acceptable in ourselves. He recognised that the degree to which we try to be “good” so that we are acceptable determines the depth of the shadow. How do we reconcile this psychological reality in the process of trying to become “good” Buddhists where we are taught to abandon what is unwholesome and cultivate what is wholesome?
Rob Preece has been a practicing Tibetan Buddhist for the past 40 years. He was a founding member of Manjushri Institute in the UK and lived there until 1980 when he went into retreat above Dharamsala on the guidance of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Returning to the west in 1985 he began to train as a Psychotherapist at the Centre for Transpersonal Psychology in London, a Jungian based psychotherapy. Since that time he has had a busy psychotherapy practice and has taught many workshops on comparative Jungian and Buddhist Psychology. More recently his work has shifted from psychotherapy to spiritual mentoring.

Understanding Islam: Buddhist-Muslim Dialogue

On a daily basis, we read and hear conflicting information about Muslims and Islam in the media.  Muslim culture often isn’t very well understood and there are many misconceptions about it.

To help sort out fact from fiction, please join the Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale on Sunday, January 31, 2016 for a unique opportunity to increase our understanding about the Islamic faith, tradition, and practice, past and present and Muslim culture.

Ismael Nass and Aisha Morgan from the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Islamic Networks Group (ING) and Abbot Jian Hu Shifu of the Zen Center will engage in a conversation to promote a greater appreciation and understanding of each other’s religion and traditions and their relationship to one another.

Ismael Nass is a lifelong student of Islamic Theology and Jurisprudence. Aisha Morgan is the Principal of the Islamic School at the Islamic Society of Santa Rosa. Both are longtime speakers with Islamic Networks Group.

Islamic Networks Group (ING) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to counter prejudice and discrimination against American Muslims by teaching about their traditions and contributions in the context of America’s history and cultural diversity, while building relations between American Muslims and other groups.

Location:        Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale

Date:               Sunday, January 31, 2016

Time:              2:00 – 4:30 pm

1:45pm (Check-in)

Learning About Other Traditions

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interfaith symbolsIn Commemoration of The 50th Anniversary of Vatican II’s Nostra Aetate (The Church and Other Religions), Santa Teresa Parish presents a five part series about non-­Christian traditions. Promoting mutual respect and understanding to create a more peaceful world characterized by tolerance and good will. Featured speakers come from Muslim, Hindu, Zen Buddhist, Jain, and Jewish traditions. All are welcome! The series begins on Wednesday, November 18, 2015, 7:00 – 8:30 pm at Santa Teresa Parish, 794 Calero Ave, SJ 95123. See the Events Calendar for additional sessions.

“The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.” Nostra Aetate, Vatican II

Download a flyer: Santa Teresa Interfaith Poster