OC Buddhism For Beginners Meetup

Hi our Dharma friends!
Welcome to Buddhism for our advanced members! Our Happiness Lab meeting is a friendly get-together of like-minded people to learn about happiness in Buddhism.
If you're new to Buddhism, please check out our Sundays 7 AM class for beginners to Buddhism.
Our weekly “Advanced” meetup group is open to those who have completed our basic course and are a contributing, sustaining member of our Sangha community. Each week we prepare a Dharma presentation for you on that week’s Buddhism topic, followed by Q&A. We kick off each meeting with some introductions and short ice-breaking to encourage one another to take our Dharma practice to the next level!
Check our our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@right-view-lab !
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To better explain the philosophy behind Happiness Lab (our weekly Saturday events, focusing on happiness):
The ultimate goal of Buddhism is experiencing true happiness. But if we don't know what it is, we won't know how to go about it. There's a goal, or the finishing point of experiencing happiness that does not abandon us, Buddha teaches us. That is lasting peace of mind and satisfaction.
Buddha teaches us what lasting happiness is in contrast to our fleeting sense of it.
A great master of Buddhism expressed his own experience of attaining such happiness as follows:
"Swiftly receiving the wisdom of Buddha, gaining perfect and flawless satisfaction."
Just visualize the beautiful image of a full moon in the night sky. The full moon has a perfectly circular shape, which is symbolic of something perfect in Buddhism.
How can we experience perfect happiness? It's when darkness of mind or avidya in Sanskrit will get lifted. It takes no time. When the light comes, our dark mind will be instantly gone. That's the moment we achieve true happiness.
Dark mind is like a spiritual illness of not knowing why we suffer, why we're born, why we live. It's the ignorance about our true self as well.
Why do we feel pain when we say goodbye to our loved ones? Why is separation always painful? A popular Japanese singer once said, "Human beings are immersed in pain from the beginning but while we have our loved ones around us, we can forget about our pain. But when we say goodbye to them, the pain comes to the surface. In a sense, our loved ones work like a painkiller." There are all these forms of “painkillers.” – social media, playing games on your phone, drinking, binging Netflix, etc.
Why do we lack energy to move forward? Is it because we feel we're stuck in a circular marathon? When do I reach the finishing line? How long should I continue doing this?
The following are the lines from a popular song of Japan.
Over this hill, happiness lies waiting:
Clinging to that hope,
seven hills have I crossed so far,
this my fiftieth year.
We want to reach a point of completion. Seeking is tiring, you know.
Artists seek perfection in their artwork. But it's difficult to find a point of perfection. One popular singer said this:
"I always focus really hard on an album or a tour, and at the time I'll think, “This is the greatest!" But when it's over, somehow I’m always like “Nope, I still have a long way to go.”
Don't we look for lasting joy through our work/hobbies/relationships? But each time, we feel disillusioned.
The original pain comes from our dark minds. Listening to the Dharma illuminates this pain and eliminates it.
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1. Also please note that we're going to livestream this zoom session on YouTube for later access by our premium members. There will be an announcement from the Zoom app when it starts.
2. We would appreciate it if you use the same name as your Meetup account so that the host of the meeting will easily recognize the contributing, sustaining participants. Your camera must be on when you enter the zoom just to greet the hosts.
3. Our classes & sangha are sustained completely by the dana gratitude contributions of people like you! Dana gratitude donations for our classes are gratefully accepted at https://donorbox.org/purelandschooldonation Suggested donation for the event is $5 - $20.

Last but not least– the Zoom passcode is 426646.
Stay well and let's go forward towards the light of unconditional goodness together!
We’re looking forward to meeting you!
Bita and Yuichi

Our classes are free but our classes & sangha are sustained completely by the dana gratitude contributions of people like you! Dana gratitude donations for our classes are gratefully accepted at https://donorbox.org/purelandschooldonation. Suggested donation for the event is $5 - $20.

Once you finish this basic course, if you'd like to be part of our sangha (community of like-minded friends who are contributing, sustaining members), you're welcome to join our advanced course.

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Below is the self-introduction of one of our presenters:

My name is Pam and I am from Nepal. I have been listening to Buddhist teachings, reading books about Buddhism from the sources of what ever was available in my country , I used to listen to Buddhist monks , gurus . In the beginning of 2020 my husband met one sensei through facebook who was teaching Buddhism online so from there we started listening to Buddhism . We listened in daily basis , we had at least one hour session every day where we learned much more than what we had just learned within my country.

Listening to dharma has motivated me in many ways specifically if I could share then it would be being a better person every day. No matter what the world throws at you, no matter how people treat you, no matter what you go through but you make sure that you become a better person.

And listening to dharma /Buddhism has really helped me a lot, understanding life, relationships and more. It is just the beginning I feel there’s much more to go, so the best thing is you listen to dharma and feel more deep.

Be kind have compassion. And one more best thing you can do is sharing it. So that many people can benefit in many ways.

Before I was just growing by age but after listening to dharma I am sincerely grown up now, I have learned how to communicate, apologize, be truthful and accept accountability of my deeds / karma without blaming someone else. I'll be happy if I can share that with you too.

Suggested donation for the event is $5 - $20.
Check out our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@right-view-lab!
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To better explain the philosophy behind Right View Lab (our weekly Monday events, focusing on unbiased thinking):
Finding the “Right View” means trying to find an objective and impartial view of the world – and to remove the biases that we all have when viewing the world. We are unable to see anything except through the prism of thought and emotion. When it comes to examining ourselves in particular, it is impossible to take off the tinted glasses of partiality and self seeking. Egoism clouds our vision.
Here’s a story to illustrate this. One day a princess in the legendary Dragon Palace under the sea held up a jewel and told all the fishes, “I will give a prize to anyone who can tell me what color this is.” Each of them named a different color: the black porgy said it was black, the bluefish said it was blue, and the white-fish said it was silver. Then they asked the princess, “Which one is right?” She replied, “The jewel has no color of its own. It is transparent, and simply reflects each of your colors.”
In regards to how we view life, it's beneficial to remind ourselves that our minds are like an iceberg. There's some of it poking through above the water level, and there's a vast amount of it below which is unseen. Let me give an example of how a young couple moves into an apartment building. Each Saturday the wife would shout to her husband, "Look at our neighbors laundry hanging over there. It looks so dirty! They must be using the wrong detergent!" This went on each week for quite some time. Then one Saturday, the wife woke up and said, "Today they look beautiful and clean." Then the husband said, "I woke up early this morning and cleaned the window."
If you're interested in learning Buddhism but have a schedule conflict, please write to me for a one on one session.

Also please make sure you RSVP 30 minutes prior to the start of the meeting to ensure your RSVP is processed and you can be admitted. If your camera is not on when you come in, you might not be admitted.

The Zoom meeting passcode is 426646.

We have about 10-20 people join us each week, including the regulars, so hope you don't get discouraged by seeing the few RSVPs here on this page. See you soon too!!!
We are looking forward to meeting fellow truth-seekers such as yourself, interested in the path to the Right View!
Bita and Yuichi Asakura

Our classes are free but our classes & sangha are sustained completely by the dana gratitude contributions of people like you! Dana gratitude donations for our classes are gratefully accepted at https://donorbox.org/purelandschooldonation. Suggested donation for the event is $5 - $20.

Check out our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@right-view-lab!

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To better explain the philosophy behind Karma Lab (our weekly Wednesday events, focusing on Karma):

It is not unusual for people to ask themselves;

• Why do bad things happen to me?
• Or simply, "why me?"

Often these questions come up when things are not going well, or when they fall apart. In these moments we may feel like we're confined to a small bubble, and it feels like there's no solution to our problems.

Buddhism does not state that there's some supernatural being that causes bad things to happen or some ancestral curse that shapes it. Rather Buddhism says to practice good deeds and refrain from bad. This does seem like common sense but there's a difference there.
There are two reasons why this applies to our lives.

One reason is that karma has energy. Not only is it invisible, somewhat like a virus which can't be seen, but it also has strength, and it shapes our future. This strength or power has an influence on our daily lives. Buddha said: "Bad karma creates bad consequences and good karma creates good consequences."

Also, when bad things are happening to us, it's an opportunity for us to practice self-reflection and make extra effort to practice simple good deeds such as cleaning, showing a smile to people, and giving gifts to our friends and family.

It's human nature for most people to blame others at times for our unfavorable outcomes or difficulties in life. It's harder to stop and look more closely at ourselves.

So, it is therefore important to regulate our minds because they are the parent, our speech and actions being the children. That is why the Buddha taught us about the Six Paramitas – six types of daily practices.

With patience and practice of these teachings, we will undergo a complete transformation. In addition, our lives will improve. We are all encouraged to practice kindness and compassion, the act of which is always at the top of the list.

Stay well and let's go forward towards the light of unconditional goodness together! We have about 10-20 people join us each week, including the regulars, so hope you don't get discouraged by seeing the few RSVPs here on this page. See you soon too!!!

If you're interested in learning Buddhism but have a schedule conflict, please write to me for a one on one session!

1. Also please note that we're going to livestream this zoom session on YouTube for later access by our premium members. There will be an announcement from the Zoom app when it starts.
2. We would appreciate it if you use the same name as your Meetup account so that the host of the meeting will easily recognize the participants.
3. Please make sure you RSVP 30 minutes prior to the start of the meeting.
4. Our classes are free but our classes & sangha are sustained completely by the dana gratitude contributions of people like you! Dana gratitude donations for our classes are gratefully accepted at https://donorbox.org/purelandschooldonation . Suggested donation for the event is $5 - $20.

Last but not least– the Zoom passcode is 426646.

We’re looking forward to meeting you!

Bita and Yuichi Asakura