September 5th 2021. A few dharma friends gathered for dharma discussions, Chinese tea tasting and food offerings to the Sangha in Santa Monastery, Denver. After lunch, questions were put forward to Acariya Kaiyin one after another, from the key to enlightenment to the way to turn knowledge of the dharma into experience. Acariya Kaiyin’s responses left everyone with much food for thought, thus drawing the bountiful feast to an end.
14th of July. The morning saw a warm sunshine with pleasant breezes. Acariya Kaiyin went visiting the Denver Temple with residents of Santa Monastery in order to partake in a Chinese calligraphy gathering. Due to the pandemic, the participants include but Thera Jiejing, Abbot of the Denver Temple, Acariya Kaiyin from Santa Monastery, and the other two calligraphers, Zhiping Zhang and Chuanhai Zheng.
White Tea from Fujian Province, home town of Thera Jiejing, was made to welcome all visitors, while Alishan Tea from Taiwan was also brought by Zhiping Zhang to share among all. During the tea time, calligraphers exchanged their works as gifts to one another. What followed was the live calligraphy writing in the front bower. The whole event drew to an end with a Zen sentence written by Thera Jiejing: “Snow flakes fall upon nowhere else each and every.” All look forward to the next gathering for more sharing.
“Acariya Kaiyin emphasized the importance of recollecting not just the name, but also the meaning behind each of the merits. He presented related discourses, commentaries and sub-commentaries with great care and thoroughness to shed light on ancient Pali texts on each epithet, such that participants could get through to the meaning of the merits.”
Earlier this year, Acariya Kaiyin led two online Introduction to Meditation sessions, in which he outlined two different meditation subjects. During the session-Recollection of the Buddha, Acariya Kaiyin briefly presented the merits of the Buddha embodied in Buddha’s ten epithets. The warm reception of these introductory meditation sessions prompted the Santa Monastery to consider leading a more structured meditation class dedicated to an in-depth explanation of the Buddha’s merits. Since February this year, a coordinating group for such a purpose was formed. Group members met regularly over the ensuing weeks to plan and prepare the content and format of the class. Transforming restrictions on in-person meetings into an opportunity, they conceived turning participants’ living rooms and studies into one vast online meditation hall, over the internet. Utilizing modern technology, they organized Santa Monastery’s first online mediation class on the Recollection of the Buddha.
Over each of the six weekly sessions of the Recollection of the Buddha Meditation, every Friday afternoon from mid-April, Acariya Kaiyin explained in detail on average two different merits of the Buddha each week. They are, namely, Arahant in session 1, Perfectly Enlightened and Accomplished in True Knowledge and Conduct in session 2, Fortunate and Knower of the World in session 3, Unsurpassed Leader of Persons to be Tamed and Teacher of Devas and Humans in session 4, The Enlightened One and the Blessed One in session 5, culminating in Tatāgatha in the final session. Acariya Kaiyin emphasized the importance of recollecting not just the name, but also the meaning behind each of the merits. He presented related discourses, commentaries and sub-commentaries with great care and thoroughness to shed light on ancient Pali texts on each epithet, such that participants could get through to the meaning of the merits. These PowerPoint slides were then shared with participants for revision after each session.
What is also remarkable about this online meditation class is its practical aspect. Each weekly session began with Venerable Chanzhen leading participants to sit for around 15 minutes to collect the scattered mind. From sitting posture, breathing, letting go of tensions, to how to emerge from meditation, Venerable Chanzhen shared all sorts of tips on how to establish good meditation techniques and how to focus on meditation subjects using mindfulness of the body. When participants practiced every day as part of the class activities, both novice and seasoned meditation practitioners alike found these reminders greatly helpful. They practiced recollecting the merits of the Buddha for at least 30 minutes per day, noting their experience, challenges, concerns and progress, and shared with Acariya through an online portal. Acariya set aside half an hour each week to address such challenges and concerns and made recommendations. Such an intensive 6-week training proves to be greatly beneficial and inspirational to practitioners in cultivating mindfulness in their daily rituals.
Over 200 individuals registered for this online Recollection of the Buddha meditation class. Every Friday, around 170 participants logged in from various parts of Asia, Europe and North America. The successful organization and hosting of this online class could not be completed without the active coordination and support of many volunteers from the United States, Canada, China and Singapore. To all of them, and to all monastics and lay followers who participated in this online class, we extend our heartfelt thanks for your contribution and support. May your wholesome deeds be deposited in your stream of consciousness leading to the path of enlightenment.
菩提長老著作、編譯、編輯上聲譽卓著，出版過許多重要作品，包括上座部佛教四部阿含尼柯耶，《經集》及其注釋等等。其在翻譯佛教經典（巴利文翻英文）著作上的成就，被許多佛教信徒尊稱為「西方的玄奘法師」。菩提長老亦是全球佛教救濟會（Buddhist Global Relief）的創始人，和他的學生及其他熱心人士一起在社會公益事業上默默耕耘。
Date ： 11 June 2021 Venue ：Santa Monastery Speaker ：Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi No. of session：1
The 2021 Summer Sutta Class of Santa Monastery is very hornoured to have Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi to give us a special talk in our first class on June 11, 2021, with the subject “The Importance of Pāli Commentaries”. In this short 1h talk, Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi introduced the development stages of Pāli Commentaries, its important interpretation functions as well as its distinct features.
Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi is very well known as an author, translator and editor, having many important publications such as the translating and/or editing the translation of the Four Nikayas， the Suttanipāta and its commentaries. Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi is regarded by many Buddhists as the Master Xuan-Zang in the West. Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi is also the founder of the Buddhist Global Relief, together with his students and others, devoting their time and skills to various social causes.
美國寂靜禪舍冬季共修會昨日圓滿結束。最後一堂課幾位學員分享了其學習心得，阿闍梨也與學員線上合影，以作留念。感謝大家這個冬季一起共修，大家雖不相見卻保持同行。我們下個冬季再見！ Our winter weekly online class has ended yesterday. Here is a group picture of Acariya and our Dhamma friends, a beautiful memory for all. Grateful to have all of you joining us in the group practice, without each other in sight, we have each other by side. See you next winter!
