MY GUIDE ON THE BODHISATTVA PATH

By Gwo Syin Newell

When you first came into my life

It was not like ordinary people

Who suddenly appear,

But it was as if you had always been there

Sitting just on the other side

Of a drawing room, reading,

And had merely glanced up.

How quietly you accord yourself to others,

As when children come

While you are lecturing on the Sutras

You do not impose too difficult rules

"Children sit there stiff-starched"

But you have a bookcase of toys

In the back of the Buddha hall

All set up

Where they can play

And perhaps out of the corner of their attention

Naturally absorb some of the teaching

And with such gentle precision

Your life has accorded with these modern times:

Just now when we have raised the question

Of our Grandparents shunted off

To retirement hotels

And sparsely nursed convalescent homes,

Looking back on your life

He found that when you were young

You used to bow respectfully to your mother

And after her death

Sat beside her grave for three years,

Braving the cold winter in a make-shift hut,

Quietly meditating and reading Sutras.

And just now when the limits of our world

Have broken in upon our awarenesses

So that we must contemplate scarcity

We found that many years ago

You collected potato peels

Being thrown out to eat

To teach not-being-wasteful.

What kind of a being can you be

Who so accords with all of us

And with all conditions?

Unworthy and with so many faults

What good fortune it has been

That I could meet you.

DHARMA REALM BUDDHIST UNIVERSITY
SPONSORS SUMMER SESSIONS

   The second session, RETREAT II, will commence July 24th, following a week of intensive Ch'an at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. The schedule is as follows:

July 24th........check in and orientation.
July 25th........first day of retreat.
August 19th......last day of retreat.
August 21st pm...begin Ch'an Meditation
August 28th......end second retreat

Classes in beginning Chinese, and fundamentals of Chinese calligraphy will convene and daily review of the evening Sutra Lecture will provide time for questions and answers about Avatamsaka principles. English as a second language is a daily part of the schedule for trainees who wish it, and everyone attending the retreats may write to the University at Box 217, Talmage, California, 95481.

MEMBERSHIP IN THE SINO-AMERICAN
BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION

There are three tiers: annual, term, and lifetime.

And nine grades: student member, member, active member; sustaining, contributing, supporting; donor, sponsor, and founding patron.

Membership entitles one to:

-Voting rights in the Association, including the right to cast ballots for the board of Directors, and to qualify to serve on the Board.

-Membership in Gold Mountain and the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas.

-Free attendance at Sutra lectures, ceremonies, holiday celebrations, and other events.

-purchase of any of the Association's publications at half price.

-Attendance at intensive sessions at half price.

-A free subscription to Vajra Bodhi Sea.

-Receipt of all announcements of special events.

-A membership card or pin.

All memberships, gifts, and contributions to the Sino-American Buddhist Association are fully tax-deductible.

SINO-AMERICAN BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION

GOLD MOUNTAIN MONASTERY

1731 FIFTEENTH STREET

SAN FRANCISCO, CA.94103

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