Welcome to Our New Sangha Leader

It is with open joy that the Board of Directors of the Great River Tendai Sangha welcomes our new Sangha Leader, Rev. Junsen Chris Nettles, PhD.  On January 10, 2016, the Board of Directors convened a special meeting to ratify the appointment of Junsen Chris Nettles by the Tendai Buddhist Institute as the new Sangha Leader. Monshin and Shumon Naamon, of the Tendai Buddhist Institute in Caanan, NY, also attended the special meeting via conference call. 

The Great River Tendai Sangha Board wishes to give Jikan Daniel Anderson, the former Sangha Leader, our sincerest gratitude for providing our sangha with gentle leadership and wise counsel.  His efforts have provided us with good direction and inspiration to our community’s practice.  The Board also recognizes the strong partnership between Jikan and Junsen, who, along with our active lay community, have built a firm foundation for this sangha.  We look forward to our future, with new and continued opportunities for growth and practice under Junsen’s leadership.  Please join us in welcoming Junsen as our new Sangha Leader!

The Great River Tendai Sangha Board of Directors:

Hoshu Anne Christoffel                                                
Jishin Michael Buck
Kosen Bill Pugh
Monshin Paul Naamon
Yusei Lan Van

Second Weekly Meditation Meeting Added: Alexandria, VA

I am delighted to announce that our sangha is adding a second weekly meeting to our regular schedule of practices.

We will continue to meet on Tuesday evenings at 7:30pm at the UUCA, as has been our custom for years. 

In addition, we will meet on Sunday mornings at 9:30am at Yoga in Daily Life in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria.  This meeting will develop into a regular sutra service and meditation as we gather the necessary accoutrements and more of us learn the basics of participating in the service.  The first few weeks will be of the nature of an orientation and introduction to practice; more and more elements of the service will be introduced as we progress and grow.  So, this meeting is particularly appropriate for beginners to Buddhism generally, or experienced practitioners who are interested in learning more about Tendai Buddhist practice in particular.  We are meeting in the upstairs shrine area. 

Find us at:
2402 Mt. Vernon Avenue,
Alexandria, VA 22301

The Tuesday evening meditation meeting will be led primarily by Junsen Chris Nettles.  The Sunday morning service and meditation will be led primarily by Jikan Daniel Anderson.  We are one sangha, one branch of the Tendai Buddhist Institute, meeting twice weekly. 

Everyone is welcome.  We hope to see you there.

The Lotus Sutra: An Overview

In the coming weeks, we will study and discuss the Lotus Sutra after our meetings for meditation.  The Lotus Sutra gives the central, fundamental teaching of our school, Tendai.  It is among the most popular Buddhist texts in the world, particularly in East Asia; it is surely the most popular sutra in Japanese history.  Why so?  Likely because it offers a comprehensive vision of the teachings in language that is accessible; it is structured in such a way as to provoke critical thought, the imagination, and emotional response.  Put differently, there is something for everyone in the Lotus Sutra. 

All you really need in order to participate is an open mind, a little bit of time each week to read and reflect, and a copy of the Lotus Sutra.  Here is some further background that may be of benefit, in order to set the table for the great feast.

Our approach to this sutra will be influenced by the traditional TienTai Ekayana view, as well as the innovative approach taken by the contemporary Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh in his commentary Opening the Heart of the Cosmos.  Most valuable among Thich Nhat Hanh's contributions in this respect is his division of the Lotus Sutra into three dimensions:  concerning the world of historical experience, the ultimate view of spiritual reality, and the "action dimension."  Here, "historical" refers to this world of action in time, the samsaric world of everyday life.  The "ultimate" describes the spiritual reality at work in and of the historical world, accessible to those who put their faith in their practice of Dharma.  The "action" dimension is that of the bodhisattva working in the world of historical action, the world of shortcoming and dissatisfaction, but from the point of view of the ultimate.  The action dimension is the bodhisattva's work, in this world but not of it.

I think this three-dimension approach makes a great deal of sense, particularly from the point of view of TienTai thought.  The great master Zhiyi (Chih-i) taught that there are essentially three truths:  the truth of the samsaric world, or the experience conventional reality by ordinary perception; the truth of emptiness, which reveals the truth of the samsaric world; and the truth of enlightenment, which encompasses both.  Thich Nhat Hanh's three dimensions of the Lotus Sutra seem to map onto these three truths in an interesting way.  (If anyone is interested in learning more about the three truths, Paul Swanson's book T'ien-T'ai Philosophy is recommended.  It is a challenging read, but very much worthwhile.  But I digress.)

We will read and discuss one chapter of the Lotus Sutra each week.  Each chapter, in Thich Nhat Hanh's scheme, primarily articulates one of these three dimensions, as follows:

The Historical Dimension:  Lotus Sutra chapters 1-10, and 12-14

The Ultimate Dimension:  Lotus Sutra chapters 11, 15-19, and 22

The Action Dimension:  Lotus Sutra chapters 20 and 23-28

At night as I recite the Lotus Sutra
The sound moves the galaxies
The earth below wakes up
In her lap suddenly flowers appear

At night as I recite the Lotus Sutra
A jeweled stupa appears resplendent
All over the sky bodhisattvas are seen
And Buddha's hand is in mine.

--Thich Nhat Hanh

***

The Lotus Sutra has been translated into English at least seven times.  I recommend one of three translations as offering a good balance among readability, accuracy, and affordability (in order of preference):

*Kato, The Threefold Lotus Sutra
*Reeves, The Lotus Sutra
*Murano, The Lotus Sutra

The Burton Watson translation is not recommended.  The BDK edition is of great value, but is very expensive indeed.

About Our Sangha: Re-Beginnings

After about two years of meeting at the Cherrydale Fire Hall, conditions and contingencies led Rev. Lissabet to move the local Tendai sangha to the Walden Room of the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Arlington.

This move was an auspicious one in many respects: for starters, many of our regular sangha members became involved on a walking-down-the-hall basis. Our association with the UUCA has been fruitful for us, and I hope mutually beneficial. We still meet at the UUCA, down the hall from the Walden Room.

I was asked to assume leadership of the Tendai sangha in Washington in the summer of 2010. Although I was not a regular attendee of sangha functions, I had maintained an affiliation with the group since its days in Cherrydale.

The rest of the beginning is here for you to see. Beginnings take time and energy. I invite you to join in an help us advance this story past the introduction.

About Our Sangha: Beginnings

Great River Ekayana Sangha began as Washington Tendai Sangha, under the leadership of Chion Ernest Lissabet. Washington Tendai initially met at the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department hall in Arlington, Virginia. This is where the sangha was first consecrated by Monshin Paul Naamon of Tendai Buddhist Institute on December 8, 2006: Rohatsu or Bodhi Day.

In addition to regular meetings at the fire hall for services and meditation, the sangha convened for occasional conversations about Buddhism and Buddhist practice over breakfast at a nearby diner. This was an ambitious itinerary, especially for a small group in its infancy.

Great River Ekayana Sangha

Our community of Tendai Buddhists and friends of the path here in the Washington, DC and Northern Virginia metro area has decided to call itself the Great River Ekayana Sangha. We used to be called Washington Tendai Sangha, but resolved on changing the name to avoid confusion with the other "Washington _____ Sanghas" in the neighborhood.

Just think of all streams returning to the source as one: that's our mission and our identity from here forward. That is who we are, Great River Ekayana Sangha.

Introductions...

Best to start at the beginning, yes? So, please allow me to introduce myself, this blog, and the work we are trying to accomplish with it.

Me? My name is Jikan. I am a doshu priest in the Tendai tradition of Mahayana Buddhism. I live in the ring of suburbs that surround Washington DC, and in no strict sense out of choice: I attend graduate school in the area (ask me later if you care) and this is a convenient spot to put a desk. So here I am.

And? I have been asked to assume leadership of the Washington Tendai Sangha. This group was founded several years ago by a priest named Ernest Lissabet. He continues to teach in the area, but is no longer affiliated with Tendai in any way (of which more in a moment). I would like to thank Ernest Lissabet for his years of effort in starting this sangha and keeping it going as it developed. My intention is to build on the foundation Ernie established for this group. Babies and bathwater sort themselves out over time.

Tendai? Tendai Buddhism is a unique tradition of Japanese Buddhism with a long and variegated history, and a very broad compass of practices. Our headquarters in North America is established at the Tendai Buddhist Institute in Canaan, New York. If one is practicing Tendai Buddhism in North America, one is doing so at minimum under the administrative oversight of Monshin Paul Naamon, the head of the Institute. Monshin is also my teacher. He asked me to take over here in Washington.

Sangha? Buddhists know what "sangha" means, but for those who are new to the lingo, the term "sangha" in this context refers to a group of people who practice Buddhism together with a common purpose. It implies a continuity of relationships, of intentions--it demands long-term commitment and authentic friendship. In this transition, there will be much continuity but some changes, primarily in logistics (meeting times and meeting frequency). Please check here for further announcements in this regard.

Buddhism? Big one. I will have more to say on this, specifically on the topic of how we practice Buddhism here at the Washington Tendai Sangha. I am defining Buddhism in terms of practice because it is, in the end, very practical. It is something we do, and we do it with purpose.

Introductions? Come and gone already. The beginning is past. Thank you for your time; I look forward to sharing this thing with you.