New Buddha Statue in Cemetery

Shao Shan Temple's Cemetery's lightweight Buddha statue made of resin has been decomposing - bits of the shoulders, knees and head falling off.  We have been looking for nearly a year for a replacement genuine stone Buddha Statue that could stand up to Vermont's cold winters.  And here it is: ~27" tall, with a serene expression, hand carved in Indonesia of lava stone.

The new statue is on the west side of the Cemetery's central oval in the "Priests' Garden".  This area will also be developed with benches and bushes creating a small place for reflection similar to the "Communal Shrine" on the east side of the central oval.

 

Day of meditation and teachings

In the face of global pandemic, political unrest, and natural disasters, the question of how to respond naturally arises.  Sunday, October 18th, Shao Shan Temple hosted an online 1/2 day program on the topic of "Universal Teachings as applied to October 2020".  The program included sitting and walking meditation,  teachings, ceremony and discussion.

Dharma Talks

Meditation

Discussion

Annual Remembrance Ceremony

 

Every year in October we have a special ceremony to remember those who are buried in the Shao Shan Temple cemetery, our ancestors, spiritual ancestors, and deceased loved ones.  The evening included chanting, cymbals, bells and several readings done by sangha members.  This year the ceremony was online instead of in-person in the Cemetery, so a video was made the previous evening of the priests chanting in the cemetery and the video played as part of the ceremony. 

“Like a tiny drop of dew,

 or a bubble floating in a stream;
Like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
Or a flickering lamp,

an illusion,

a phantom,

or a dream.”

 

“So is all conditioned existence to be seen.”

- Diamond Sutra

Falling leaves - children's program

 The theme of this month's Children's Program was leaves and autumn. First we shared some cool things in nature that we've been noticing as signs of fall, including colorful leaves, making leaf piles, shorter days, cooler temperatures, and birds flying south. We then checked on the sunflower that we started back in April, which is now dried up and in the process of turning back into soil. 

For our story we read The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia, Ph.D., about a leaf named Freddie, who learns a lot of important life lessons from his wise leaf friend, Daniel. Daniel and Freddie discuss what it means to have a purpose in life, how we are all similar and also different, and how to let go and fall gracefully from the tree when the time finally comes. We ended with a resounding OM!

  

Dharma Medicine - chanting/teaching series

 

This week, October 5-9, Shao Shan Temple offered a daily midday chanting/teaching series on the sutra, Vaiśālī­praveśa­mahā­sūtra.  This "Mahasutra on entering the city of Vashali" is an account of the Buddha's instructions to Ananda for ending an epidemic that was afflicting the city of Vaishali.  It has traditionally been recited “during times of personal or collective illness, bereavement, and other difficulties” and seems especially appropriate for our current time of pandemic, natural disasters and political upheaval.  Those who participated found coming together daily(virtually) and the sutra itself to be supportive.

The beautiful chant version of the sutra that we used can be heard here: 

https://vajrasound.com/entering-the-city-of-vaisali/ 

(we listened to only the first half during the daily program)

The translation of the sutra and notes can be found here: 

https://read.84000.co/translation/toh312.html