SHARE:  
Join Our Email List
Sakyadhita Canada
NEWSLETTER 
   FEBRUARY, 2017

SAKYADHITA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
June 22-28, 2017
HONG KONG
 
The Sakyadhita International Conference is being held in Hong Kong from June 22 - 28, 2017.  Check it out   HERE
and see preliminary information on panels, workshops, etc., under the theme of  " Contemporary Buddhist Women: Contemplation, Cultural Exchange & Social Action". The biennial event promises to offer a rich opportunity to connect with Buddhist women (and men) and exchange experiences and ideas. We are excited as there will be three Sakyadhita Canada board members presenting papers/workshops.
 
Sakyadhita Canada has a limited amount of scholarship funds available to help offset the costs of a monastic or layperson to attend the conference. Any interested persons are invited to contact info@sakyadhitacanada.org for further information.  


"Food for Thought" 
Wabi-Sabi
The Japanese art of impermanent, imperfect, and incomplete
 
Have you ever looked at something, and your first thought is that it's unfinished or aged, perhaps useless, lacking in some way. And then on closer observation, a beauty and ease arises in its incompleteness. Can we welcome the imperfections and see the beauty in them? This is the true meaning of wabi-sabi.
In todays world of mass-produced consumerism, and a seemingly constant striving for perfection it is perhaps hard to embrace and understand the concept of wabi-sabi.
The words do not translate easily, and there doesn't seem to be a western equivalent.
Good to keep in mind Bhante Punnaji's words, " We must remember that the success of a translation depends on the ability to comprehend the "meaning" more than understanding the words."

 The origin goes far back in Zen Buddhism, and is sometimes referred to in relation to suffering, or unsatisfactoriness. Loosely translated, Wabi describes beauty though the inclusion of imperfection. A tree that hangs sideways from extreme weather. A colorless bleak winter hillside. Sabi reflects beauty that develops with age. The lines on your grandmother's (or your) face, an old chair worn and rusted with time.
Andrew Juniper notes " If an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi"
For Richard Powell, " wabi-sabi nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect."
Wabi-sabi invoked an acceptance for all things being transient, and imperfect. The cracked wood, the worn sweater, the greying hairs. The natural cycle of decay, and change and the beauty within that change.

Japanese raku pottery is a good example of wabi-sabi. Things being made 'intentionally' without an expectation of perfect symmetry, and balance. The edges are sometimes frayed and asymmetrical, and the colour is unregulated. Often going against what we traditionally and culturally believe to be perfect and acceptable. 
 
How freeing to be ok with, and see the beauty in things just the way they are. Making peace with the constantly changing, imperfect nature of all things.

So perhaps I don't need to fix, change or update my dining room table? All those marks and scratches have a grace of shared meals and time. Can I embrace the wabi-sabi,  beauty in it being perfectly imperfect?

Susan


Sakyadhita Canada would like you to know that you can enjoy our Facebook page without having Facebook yourself,
or joining ours.
Click on the icon below to view a wide range of comments and articles.
Enjoy!


VISIT US ON Facebook.
 Facebook






"Buddhism, Neuroscience and Mental Health: Making a Mindful Connection"

We are living in a society that is becoming increasingly aware of acts of violence and hatred bred by intolerance. How can we build a less violent and more compassionate society for our children and their children in the future? How does the practice of mindfulness improve physical and mental health?
 
Our experts in both the Buddhist and the scientific communities will make a collaborative effort to explore this question deeply, and to find common ground on how we can strive to alleviate human suffering. Please join us for this important conversation. 

DONATIONS, ( Memberships) 2017
A time to renew & support Sakyadhita Canada

Welcome 2017!
Thank-you so much for your support over the last year, and it is now time to renew your Sakyadhita Canada membership for the upcoming year (2017)   CLICK HERE
If you would like take part in Sakyadhita Canada, volunteers are very welcome and SC would appreciate your ideas, suggestions and talents - we would be happy to hear from you! Please contact: 
Take a look at our website:
 www.sakyadhitacanada.org      S tay in touch through the Sakyadhita Canada net letter, which is emailed to members & supporters on a regular basis.
Check out SC on Facebook - updated daily. Like us on Facebook
Find out about Buddhist women (and men) in Canada: what are their traditions, forms of practice, needs and concerns. Your generosity and kindness will help to nurture and encourage Dhamma (the teachings of the Buddha) in our day-to-day lives.

Anger is Conquered by Love

Hatreds never cease through 
hatred in this world;
Through love alone they cease.
This is an eternal law.
Dhp. 5

We are living in interesting times. It can seem like there are two opposing forces at work in the world, but if we are able to tweak our perception a little, we can see that whatever is happening is an opportunity to see where fear and anger are hidden away within the mind. With mindfulness we can determine where we are retaining, and often acting upon, a lack of love. With Right Mindfulness we can train our mind to see how the concept of self and other, is at the root of all fear and distress. If hatred, in the form of fear or anxiety, or in any of its many guises, rises in the mind, we can choose to not claim it. We can feel what it feels like in the body; we can watch how it proliferates in the mind; we can become aware of how it leads to emotional responses and the desire to act upon them; but most importantly of all, we can see how it is of no benefit to us or to anyone at all. We can choose to not buy into it. The Buddha said, "This body is not yours or another's, it is past action determined and chosen that must be experienced to be seen."* It is pretty certain that if we are here, in this world, at this time, we have in the past chosen to act in non-loving ways in thought, speech, and action. Right now, we have the opportunity to not only change the present moment, but future moments, by choosing love. We can use these interesting times to learn to always go to the Buddha's Dhamma --- the Dhamma that teaches us to cultivate loving kindness and compassion for all Beings. We can be grateful that we are living in such interesting times.
*S35.145

Sārani

To view more pictures, please visit our web site...
About Us
If you are interested in more information regarding Sakyadhita Canada, or would be interested in contributing to our newsletter please go to :  i nfo@sakyadhitacanada.org
or you can also access our website at
Thank-you
.....AGM....
Our Annual General meeting is coming up at the end of April, and will be held in Calgary. There will be another notice in our next newsletter, but if you are interested to attend, help, or even partake via Skype, and would like more information. Please contact:
info@sakyadhitacanada.org