The Dharma Drum Beat Newsletter of the Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association—Chicago Chapter March/April 2012 Upcoming Events in 2012 Many exciting and rewarding events have been planned for 2012! All events are held at our 1234 N. River Road, Mount Prospect location, unless specified otherwise, and all are free unless noted. We are a bi-lingual organization, welcoming both English and Chinese speakers. Please check the Future Events page on our website for late-breaking news at: http://www.ddmbachicago.org/futureevents Chanting Weekend with Venerable Guo Xing Buddha’s Birthday, Dharma Lectures and Spring April 12-15, 2012 Fundraising Dinner May 11—14 (Times tentative) Thursday, April 12 Venerables Guo Sheng and Chang Hua to visit. 7:00pm—9:00pm Intro to Chanting: A lecture in English on the purpose Friday, May 11 and methods of chanting. This lecture is mainly for 7:00pm—9:00pm Westerners - but also anyone who is new to chanting. Spring fundraising dinner Friday, April 13 Saturday, May 12 7:00pm—9:00pm 10:00am—12:00pm Chanting Sutras: Come to learn the proper way to Buddha’s Birthday Ceremony chant sutras, via lecture and practice. (Mandarin) 12:00pm—1:00pm Saturday, April 14 Vegetarian Potluck Lunch 10:00am—12:00pm 1:00pm—3:30pm Chanting: Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Repentance Cere- Dharma Talk: The Noble Eight-Fold Path (Mandarin) mony. Ceremony in Mandarin, followed by a Potluck Vegetarian Lunch Sunday, May 13 1:30pm—3:30pm 1:00pm—3:30pm The Role and Methods of Chanting Ceremonies in Dharma Talk: Earth Store Bodhisattva (English) Chan Practice. This lecture will be in Mandarin Chi- nese, mainly for experienced chanting practioners. Gilbert Gutierrez: The Nature of Mind June 29—July 1 Sunday, April 15 Lectures—Mind-Work: Illuminating the Environment 8:30am— 10:30am Amitabha Chanting: Both Mandarin and English speak- Sutra Talk with Venerable Guo Guang August 2—13 ers are welcome to this chanting ceremony. The Sutra of Hui-neng in Mandarin on Saturday and 10:30am—11:30am Sunday lecture in English. Who is Amitabha and Why Chant His Name? Mostly-English Lecture/Discussion followed by Potluck Visit with Venerable Guo Xing Vegetarian Lunch. Attendees may ask questions in October 19—22 Mandarin. Lectures in Chinese and English. 1:00pm—3:30pm Introduction to the Surangama Sutra. Halloween Fundraising Dinner An introductory lecture on this important Sutra. October 19—22 (English) Come join us for a wonderful vegetarian fest! Come dressed for Halloween - or just come to watch the fun! Page 2 DDMBA Vacations for Summer 2012 This summer offers a number of DDMBA retreats for every practice type, meditation interest, age group, language, and experience level. Most events below are held in New York at the beautiful Pine Bush retreat center, unless specified The Dharma Drum Beat otherwise. Hopefully, we will see you at one! May/June 2012 May 4 - 14 Michigan: Ven. Guo Xing 7-day Retreat & Dedication Ceremony of Buddha Statue This event will unveil and dedicate the new Buddha statue in Michigan. May 11 - 20 10-Day Intensive Silent Illumination Retreat with Western Dharma Heir Zarko Andricevic This advanced retreat using the Silent Illumination method has a pre-requisite of a previous intensive retreat. Jun 15 - 24 10-Day Intensive Huatou Retreat with Dharma Heir Guo Ru Fashi This advanced retreat using the Huatou method has a pre-requisite of a previous intensive retreat. March/April 2012 Jun 30 - Jul 7 DDMBA 7-Day Buddha's Name Retreat July/August 2012 Jul 21 - 28 7-Day Intensive Chan Retreat with First Dharma Heir Chi Chern Fashi. This retreat will cover both techniques: Silent Illumination and Huatou. You may choose to meditate using either technique. Talks will be in Mandarin with English translation. Pre-requisite: 3-day meditation retreat. Aug 1 - 5 DDMBA Family Chan Camp Aug 6 -12 DDMBA Surangama Dharma Camp Aug 17-19 Young People's Workshop with Guo Chan Fashi & Chang Ji Fash. An introductory workshop especially for people 18-35 years old. Aug 24 - 26 Young People's Retreat with Chang Wen Fashi. An introductory retreat especially for people 18-35 years old. Sept 7 - 16 Michigan: 10-day Retreat (& double 3-day Retreats) by Ven. Chi Chern (tentative) Ven. Chi-Chern is flexible about participation. The retreat will have 3 segments: first weekend, practice during week, second weekend. Yogis may attend any one or combination of these, including evening lectures. Included above are longer-term, full-time events, during the May-August 2012 timeframe. Unless specified other- wise, all events will occur at Dharma Drum Retreat Center (DDRC), in Pine Bush NY. Also included are summer (here including September) events, sponsored by Lansing MI DDMBA local chapter. The third sponsor is the New York City DDMBA chapter, but these events are held at DDRC. For more information on DDRC-planned retreats, see: http://www.dharmadrumretreat.org/calendar.php. For more information on DDMBA retreats, see: http://chancenter.org/cmc/events-activities/?keyword=major Michigan Lansing Buddhist Association website is: http://lansingbuddhist.org. Page 3 The Dharma Drum Beat March/April 2012 DDMBA Vacations for Summer 2012 Page 4 Creativity: The Seed of Success On Sunday, February 12, Iris Wang who is the Creative Designer for Brentano, Inc. gave a talk about The Dharma Drum Beat creativity and art. A number of people enjoyed understanding artists and art better through Iris's photo- graphs and explanations. Later, some people stayed to learn how well they distinguish colors, by lining up colors according to their hue. Both aspects were very enlightening and enjoyable. We sincerely thank Iris for this presentation! March/April 2012 Page 5 Dharma Drum Mountain The DDMBA Chicago is part of the International Cultural and Chicago Chapter Educational Foundation of Dharma Drum Mountain, DDM, founded in Taiwan by Venerable Sheng Yen. DDM is dedicated to the spiritual and educational needs of people at all stages of 1234 N. River Road their lives. Mt. Prospect, IL 60056 Phone: (847) 824-6882 or The regular activities that take place at our Center comprise (773) 428-3680 of two main groups: practice activities and social/caring activities . Practice activities include Chinese Dharma Study Group, English Dharma Study Group, Meditation, Chanting, Sutra Prostration, and Monthly Gatherings. In addition, the meditation hall is open to the public for self meditation every Sunday morning. Currently our English programs include monthly book discussion, weekly meditation, and other special events. New programs are added often. In addition to our English newsletter, the Chicago Chapter publishes a monthly newsletter in Chinese. Both the English and Uplifting the Character of Humanity and Building a Pure Land on Earth Chinese newsletters are archived in the newsletters section of Visit us on the web: the DDMBA Chicago website. http://www.ddmbachicago.org/ Beginner’s Meditation Class Saturday, May 5, 9:00am-1:30pm If you are new or would like to learn more about basic meditation techniques, this class covers correct postures, breathing, and practices of beginner meditation, and discusses the benefits and the stages of meditation from beginner to advanced. The class includes a vegetarian lunch. Please register on the DDMBA website. .