Finding a temple/study center/sangha

Jainarayan

Central NJ is pretty much culturally bankrupt. I find only a few Buddhist centers in the area. The two closest to me, midway between home and work are these:

1. Mahayana Sutra & Tantra Center (Tibetan) http://www.mstp.us/mstc/
2. Lincroft Zen Sangha http://lincroftzen.org/

Being drawn to Pure Land, I am wondering if either of those locations would be a good fit for me.

BhikkhuJayasara

I live in south central jersey, although we have differing traditions. There is a mongolian mahayana temple in howell nj.

You may also find bodhi monastery up in lafayette nj to be beneficial. They are Chinese ch'an, but are considered a multi-sect monastery since bhikkhu bodhi teaches there. This may be your best bet for pure land other then going into the nyc or philly.

You can also try the world buddhist directory- http://www.buddhanet.info/wbd/

Chaz

Jainarayan said:

Being drawn to Pure Land, I am wondering if either of those locations would be a good fit for me.

There is a Pure Land component in Tibetan Buddhist traditions, but different from the Japanese traditions. There are practices that involve Amithaba, Avalokiteshvara and Guru Rinpoche, all of which include the Pure Lands associated with those Buddhas/Bodhisattvas. The Amithaba practices of the Japanese Pure land traditions aren't used.

I doubt you'd find any Pure Land practices within the Zen group you're looking at.

That said, I'd think that being in NJ, there must be something of a Japanese community around, and if there is there's bound be Jodo Shinshu and/or Nichiren temples somewhere. There should be a Japanese cultral attache' nearby. Contact their offices, or perhaps the embassy in Washington DC.

Jainarayan

Jayantha said:

I live in south central jersey, although we have differing traditions. There is a mongolian mahayana temple in howell nj. ...
You can also try the world buddhist directory- http://www.buddhanet.info/wbd/

Thanks for the buddhanet link. I think I've seen it, but I'll check it. I also thought there might be another temple in Howell, different from the MTSP.

Edit: Yep, I got the Lincroft Zen site from the buddhanet directory.

Chaz

I think there's an SGI center in East Orange. How's that?

Jainarayan

Chaz said:

Jainarayan said:

Being drawn to Pure Land, I am wondering if either of those locations would be a good fit for me.

There is a Pure Land component in Tibetan Buddhist traditions, but different from the Japanese traditions. There are practices that involve Amithaba, Avalokiteshvara and Guru Rinpoche, all of which include the Pure Lands associated with those Buddhas/Bodhisattvas. The Amithaba practices of the Japanese Pure land traditions aren't used.

Interesting that you mention it because I seem to have an affinity for Tibetan influence. Especially if you remember my thread about the prayer wheel, which I learned is pretty much Tibetan.

I doubt you'd find any Pure Land practices within the Zen group you're looking at.

Agreed, that's why I mentioned it. The Lincroft Zen website says they welcome other traditions. I think the practice would be limited to meditation in my case, which is fine also. It's making contact with a sangha that's probably most important.

That said, I'd think that being in NJ, there must be something of a Japanese community around, and if there is there's bound be Jodo Shinshu and/or Nichiren temples somewhere. There should be a Japanese cultral attache' nearby. Contact their offices, or perhaps the embassy in Washington DC.

I didn't think of Nichiren or Jodo Shinshu/Shin.

Jainarayan

Chaz said:

I think there's an SGI center in East Orange. How's that?

Pretty far away. I'm limited pretty much to the Monmouth/northern Ocean/Middlesex counties area, not being able to drive or ride much more than 45-50 minutes due to a problem with my back and leg.

Chaz

Jainarayan said:

Interesting that you mention it because I seem to have an affinity for Tibetan influence. Especially if you remember my thread about the prayer wheel, which I learned is pretty much Tibetan.

Then go check it out! I was a little stand-offish about Tibetan Buddhism at first, but then I went to a Shambhala center, and found I liked it. From there I gravitated to a Kagyu teacher.

Wouldn't hurt to try it out and nothing says you have to toe the whole Tibetan line anyway. It'll give you a sangha to work with, meditation help and group practice opportunities.

matthewmartin

I recently did the exercise of tracking down every Buddhist organization near me (in Washington, DC)

You main tools will be

Dharmanet http://www.dharmanet.org/listings/ (may the server be up when you try it, it has the largest directory of Dharma Centers world wide)

Next, the national/international websites for specific schools will list resources that you might otherwise miss.

For PureLand, do you want Japanese Style or Chinese Style? In Chinese Style PL, there isn't a sharp distinction between Chan (Chinese Zen) and Pure Land and they are practices along side each other. So to find Chinese PL, you may need to google Chan, Chinese Buddhism, etc. Just to clarify, AFAIK, it is not the norm for Americanized, Japanese lineage Zen groups to do much PL stuff (so zen <>chan as far as PL practices go)

http://buddhistchurchesofamerica.org <-- Lots of essentially PL, mostly Japanese lineage organizations.

SGI of course. According to "The Star Spangled Buddhist," they are less aggressive about hoovering up new members, so if you found that off putting in the past, the story is they're better. The one SGI guy I know at the moment, is pretty sincere and a nice guy, for what that sample size of 1 is worth. If you can't find an SGI group you like, then check for Nichiren Shoshu-- unless you're asking SGI, it's the same thing. But SGI (and Nichiren Shoshu) are in competition with Shin Buddhism and from my outsider perspective, seem to de-emphasize the practice of Nembutsu (i.e. the central practice of Shin)

If that fails, then create a Meetup group. I run a Buddhist Book club because that is the format of Buddhist social practice I prefer and AFAIK, nothing else existed like that around me. At least not in walking distance.

Oh, and the Unitarians. They often harbor sleeper cells of Buddhists of one variety or another. :-)

Jainarayan

Thanks @Chaz. A little secret to tell is that I've come to Buddhism by way of a suggestion by someone about practicing yidam yoga within Hinduism. That didn't work; little did I realize I was becoming unhappy with Hindu practice and beliefs. So I then explored Vajrayana but it didn't click either, though some aspects of Tibetan Buddhism have stuck with me. So here I am.

Jainarayan

matthewmartin said:

I recently did the exercise of tracking down every Buddhist organization near me (in Washington, DC)

You main tools will be

Dharmanet http://www.dharmanet.org/listings/ (may the server be up when you try it, it has the largest directory of Dharma Centers world wide)

Next, the national/international websites for specific schools will list resources that you might otherwise miss.

For PureLand, do you want Japanese Style or Chinese Style? In Chinese Style PL, there isn't a sharp distinction between Chan (Chinese Zen) and Pure Land and they are practices along side each other. So to find Chinese PL, you may need to google Chan, Chinese Buddhism, etc. Just to clarify, AFAIK, it is not the norm for Americanized, Japanese lineage Zen groups to do much PL stuff (so zen <>chan as far as PL practices go)

http://buddhistchurchesofamerica.org <-- Lots of essentially PL, mostly Japanese lineage organizations.

SGI of course. According to "The Star Spangled Buddhist," they are less aggressive about hoovering up new members, so if you found that off putting in the past, the story is they're better. The one SGI guy I know at the moment, is pretty sincere and a nice guy, for what that sample size of 1 is worth. If you can't find an SGI group you like, then check for Nichiren Shoshu-- unless you're asking SGI, it's the same thing. But SGI (and Nichiren Shoshu) are in competition with Shin Buddhism and from my outsider perspective, seem to de-emphasize the practice of Nembutsu (i.e. the central practice of Shin)

If that fails, then create a Meetup group. I run a Buddhist Book club because that is the format of Buddhist social practice I prefer and AFAIK, nothing else existed like that around me. At least not in walking distance.

Oh, and the Unitarians. They often harbor sleeper cells of Buddhists of one variety or another. :-)</p>

Outstanding, thanks! See, these are all things that come with experience.

I'll check the links.

As far as Chinese or Japanese PL, I don't quite know the differences yet, but a little reading will go a long way... I'm a quick study.

I heard about SGI's previous ways, kind of like Jehovah's Witnesses's or ISKCON's, of proselytizing. I think there are a few Unitarian centers around also... never thought of that.

Jainarayan

Thus I have heard, seek and ye shall find (hey, Christianity and Buddhism are not totally incompatible ):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_Land_Buddhism#Variance_between_traditions

Chinese Buddhism
In Chinese Buddhism, Pure Land practice never became a sect of Buddhism separate from general Mahāyāna practice. In particular, Pure Land and Zen practice are often seen as being mutually compatible, and no strong distinctions are made. Chinese Buddhists have traditionally viewed the practice of meditation and the practice of reciting Amitābha Buddha's name, as complementary and even analogous methods for achieving enlightenment.

Japanese Buddhism
In Japanese Buddhism, Pure Land practice exists independently as four sects: Jōdo-shū, Jōdo Shinshū, Yūzū-nembutsu-shū, and Ji-shū.
Strong institutional boundaries exist between sects which serve to clearly separate the Japanese Pure Land schools from the Japanese Zen schools.

Since I do nianfo as well as the refuge and vows, of course, it seems Chinese PL is what I am "instinctively" doing. So that's what I should probably focus my search on.

lobster

Jainarayan said:

1. Mahayana Sutra & Tantra Center (Tibetan) http://www.mstp.us/mstc/
2. Lincroft Zen Sangha http://lincroftzen.org/

Being drawn to Pure Land, I am wondering if either of those locations would be a good fit for me.

One way to find out. Give both a visit at least.
Some Chinese Chan teachers combined Pureland with their Zen, you could ask about this. Personally I feel that is a good mix.
Like many centres in the West, the Tantrists will offer meditation as an important group practice. The Mantrayanists of Tantra have an abundance of bells and whistles, Yidams and sensory indulgence. You should feel right at home.
It depends on how you connect and how your practice develops. Your needs, perception and focus is likely to change. For example I practiced a very Hindu orientated devotion to Ganesh as I felt he was 'ye olde god', had an excellent belly, was mouse and hopefully cructacean friendly and to my amazement his mantra was as good to focus on as any other . . .

A sadhana and focus is just a way in. The centres you go to connect you to lineage, 'blessing', advanced and inspirational directives etc. I would attend both with more frequent visits to my preference. Bring Indian sweets on your visits if available and blame Ganesh . . .

Om gam ganapataye namaha

MaryAnne

All the places you NJ people mentioned are a little too far from me. I'm in the Toms River area, which may not sound so far away - but I don't travel well, because of my joint pain.
However you DID inspire me to snoop around a bit, and guess what?

I found a very local meditation / Buddhism discussion group - In my very own community! (I'm shocked, really) But there it is.

They meet every other Monday evening in the U U church's meeting room at my local mini-mall. They do a 40 minute meditation session, then a brief tea and cookie break, and then an hour of discussion taken from several different "modern" books on Buddhism.
OK, it's not a traditional temple or anything, but hey.... This sounds like it might work for me and my secular/modern Buddhism preferrences.

I think right after the craziness of the holidays I'm going to drop in for a few meetings and see how I like it. Who knows, it might encourage me to start up a regular (at home) meditation routine again...???

Thanks for the inspiration to search once again!

sova

Serendipitously, a UU church popped up in my hometown and does guided meditation via tara brach recordings and simple sits on Mondays. It is truly refreshing and wonderful. Go try it out and see how it can help bolster your own personal routine (:

BhikkhuJayasara

oh yeah @maryanne I forgot we live in the same town. which mini-mall is that?

MaryAnne

@Jayantha
It's the Holiday mini-mall: 734 Rt 37 - (heading) west.
Here's the website:

http://www.uuocc.org/

and on the left side of that page there is a link to their calendar.
This is where I saw that they have the meditation/buddhist discussion meetings.
Once you get to the monthly calendars, you can click on the event for more information....

Maybe I'll see you there one evening! I don't think I'm going to get the time to go until January... but if you go first, please let me know what you think.

PS: Originally, I thought it was actually IN Holiday City, but when I went to look it up again for you, I saw that it's not where I thought it was.... different mini mall. But that's OK, it's still only 'down the road' from my neighborhood.

Jainarayan

lobster said:

One way to find out. Give both a visit at least.
Some Chinese Chan teachers combined Pureland with their Zen, you could ask about this. Personally I feel that is a good mix.
Like many centres in the West, the Tantrists will offer meditation as an important group practice. The Mantrayanists of Tantra have an abundance of bells and whistles, Yidams and sensory indulgence. You should feel right at home.

This is what I am thinking too. It can't hurt to visit. In fact, they have e-mail addresses I could drop a note to giving a quick background of myself. A meditation session would be nice, to learn how to do it properly. I know there really is no "proper" way, and meditation means something different to everyone, but you get the idea.

It depends on how you connect and how your practice develops. Your needs, perception and focus is likely to change. For example I practiced a very Hindu orientated devotion to Ganesh as I felt he was 'ye olde god', had an excellent belly, was mouse and hopefully cructacean friendly and to my amazement his mantra was as good to focus on as any other . . .

I am pretty eclectic in my practices, as may be apparent from my posts. I still recite slokas to the Hindu deities, and I have murthis of them on my altar, as well as buddhas and bodhisattvas. I think they are all facets of one reality. Someone said somewhere all the buddhas are really the same... there's only one Buddhadhātu, after all. It's just the deity, bodhisattva or buddha, iṣṭa-devatā one is drawn to: Jāki rahi bhāvanā jaisi prabhu mūrat dekhi tin taisi (everyone sees [God/deity] in his own way; I theistically lean towards the idea of Adi-Buddha.. oh OK, so I'm a theist ).

A sadhana and focus is just a way in. The centres you go to connect you to lineage, 'blessing', advanced and inspirational directives etc. I would attend both with more frequent visits to my preference. Bring Indian sweets on your visits if available and blame Ganesh . . .

Om gam ganapataye namaha

Yeah, I probably would not go empty handed. Maybe modak if I can find them.

Jainarayan

MaryAnne said:

@Jayantha
It's the Holiday mini-mall: 734 Rt 37 - (heading) west.
Here's the website:

http://www.uuocc.org/

and on the left side of that page there is a link to their calendar.
This is where I saw that they have the meditation/buddhist discussion meetings.
Once you get to the monthly calendars, you can click on the event for more information....

Maybe I'll see you there one evening! I don't think I'm going to get the time to go until January... but if you go first, please let me know what you think.

PS: Originally, I thought it was actually IN Holiday City, but when I went to look it up again for you, I saw that it's not where I thought it was.... different mini mall. But that's OK, it's still only 'down the road' from my neighborhood.

Ohmigosh, I know exactly where that is! I used to live in Brick and went to Toms River Tech aka Hooper High aka Ocean County College. I spent more time at Ocean County Mall and tooling around TR than I probably did at home.

Now I officially hate you and @Jayantha (of course I'm just kidding ).