Recently in Nichiren Shu Category

Richard sets up our table at Thursday Night on the Square

Every summer, the City of Palmdale hosts a festival called "Thursday Night on the Square," which takes place in downtown Palmdale's Poncitlan Square across from City Hall. For eight Thursday nights, there are different bands playing in the gazebo and different activities for both adults and children. For example, an upcoming Thursday night's theme will be "Fairy Tail Doggies." People will bring their dogs and have a doggie parade.

In preparation for our first Thursday night making others aware of the Nichiren Shu Sangha, we made a new sign saying, "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo: The Sound of Awakening." Reverend Ryuei Michael McCormick gave us three big boxes filled with pamphlets and copies of the Nichiren Shu News for us to pass out. We printed cards with the Odaimoku on them and another set of cards with contact information.

We were excited about our first night at the festival this year and we were not disappointed by the reception we received from the people who came by the booth.

A young man who is interested in theology and in learning about different religions came by and recounted his spiritual adventures. He asked to be on our email list.

A woman who is a healer and was passing out flyers for her practice of the healing arts told us that she used to practice Buddhism with another organization and that she missed chanting the daimoku.

Sarge and I have just returned from a Buddhist Retreat weekend in Port Hueneme.

Bill and Jean Anker are the folks who host the nondenominational Gathering of Friends once a month at their home in Granada Hills. They recently built a second home in Port Hueneme, near the beach, and offered their new home as a place to have Buddhist retreats.

The retreat started on Friday night, but because Sarge didn't get off work until late, we decided to leave at 4:00 am Saturday morning. It's about a 2-hour drive from Palmdale to Port Hueneme, through Santa Clarita, Piru, Fillmore, Santa Paula, and Oxnard.

We arrived a little bit before 6 am and since we didn't need to be to the Anker's for breakfast until 8 am, we went running (Sarge ran; I rode my folding bike) along a bike path that went through a park called Bubbling Springs Green Belt. It was calm, peaceful, lovely, and very, very green. Lots of ducks, geese, and seagulls gathering along the stream.

After an hour of that, we headed over to the house, and talked with Jean and Bill, trying not to wake those who were still sleeping. There was lots of good, healthy stuff to eat for breakfast. One-by-one, the other attendees got up and came to breakfast.

I posted photos from our trip to San Jose, San Francisco, and Alcatraz on Flickr.

After 6 months of study with Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick, I took the precepts of Nichiren Shu in the jukai ceremony. The ceremony was held at Faithful Fools in San Francisco on Sunday afternoon.

Yvette, Sunnie, Kris, and I became new members of Nichiren Shu. Yvette lives in Marin County and Sunnie lives in Oakland. My husband and I flew up from Palmdale in Southern California. Kris came the longest way, coming all the way from Alaska for the ceremony. (In the photo, Sunnie is the first person on the left in the back row and Yvette is behind Rev. Ryuei on the right. I'm in red holding the lotus flower and Kris is to my right.)

Other Nichiren Shu members and friends were in attendance to show their support, including my husband Richard, who drummed on a hand drum as we chanted Odaimoku. Rocky, who was there to support, gave each of us a long-stemmed silk lotus flower.

First, we did Shodaigyo meditation, then chanted Odaimoku, then meditated again, feeling the daimoku within. We also recited chapters of the sutra in Shindoku and English.