Dharma Talk Salt Lake Buddhist FellowshipChristopher Kakuyo Sensei + As I am working on the content for our certified dharma teacher course, I have been thinking about what makes our fellowship unique. First, we are different because the Pure Land tradition and its teachers inspire many of us, but we are not a Shin Buddhist…
Category: Everyday Buddhism
Thank you, Jesus!
Dharma Glimpse by Gretchen Seiyo Sensei Given the title of this Dharma Glimpse, you may think I’ve gone completely off the rails. But, stay with me. I’m going to tell you about something people do that I really don’t like, and something I also don’t like about myself. Here’s what gripes me; have you ever…
In Praise of Failure
Dharma Talk – Christopher Kakuyo Leibow For today’s dharma talk, I want to start with a personal story. Let me paint you a picture. I’m about 43. I am sitting on the floor in a small room in a stranger’s house with my back against a wall. It’s late. I am watching reruns of Perry…
Being Buddhist is Easy
Dharma Glimpse shared by Rachel Becker Growing up in western culture has its challenges. The religious side can be patriarchal and the rules can be heavy. The 10 commandments carry the “thou shall” and “thou shall not” messages. The dogma is dualistic. There is a god, he is a he, and what he says goes….
What are you carrying?
For today’s dharma talk, I want to ask first a question, and then I want to share a story. Now I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to think about the question for a few moments and think about it – What are you still carrying? What are you…
Violence as Entertainment?
Today’s dharma talk has been retitled Violence as Entertainment? The seeds of this talk were first planted that moment, some of you know that moment when your kid becomes interested in some violence he sees on the TV screen. That moment when you grab him quick to avert his eyes. Of course, the only thing…
In Praise of Boredom
Good morning everyone, For today’s Dharma talk I would like to talk about boredom. As a matter of fact, I want to talk in praise of boredom. The title for this talk was inspired by a great book about Chinese philosophy regarding life called “In Praise of Blandness”. A fascinating and rather subversive book in…
The Gray Parrot & The Bodhisattva Vows
For today’s dharma talk I want to start with a story from a collection of stories from early Buddhism, called the Jataka tales. These tales consist of numerous anecdotes and fables that depict the Buddha in previous lives sometimes as an animal, sometimes as a human. The tales were written to give insight into the…
Freed from knowing.
I would like to start today’s Dharma talk with one of the most famous of the Zen Koans – Attention! Master Dizang asks Fayan, “Where have you come from?” Fayan replies “I pilgrimage aimlessly,” “What is the purpose of your pilgrimage?” asks Dizang. “I don’t know,” replies Fayan. “Not knowing is the most intimate,” remarked…
The Limits of Outrage.
This Dharma talk was given by Christopher Kakuyo Sensei at the Salt Lake Buddhist Fellowship November 4th, 2018 Today I want to share some remarks regarding what seems like an ever deepening polarization of our country and communities – and as of late, an increase of not just polarization but of fearmongering and violence. This…
Everyday Nembutsu 