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Monthly Calendar & Special EventsMay 2011
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Sunday Chant Service.................................................................10 to 11 AM Dharma Circle.............................................................11 to 12 noon Niwano event planning committee....................................June 5 BoardMeeting ......................................................................June 19
Monday Night Dharma Circle.....................................7:00 PM
Wednesday Night: The Basic Buddhism Class will be taking a break for the Summer. The ten week class will resume on Wednesday, September 7. Thursday Night: Meditation................................................7 PM Special Events - Mark your calendars! President Designate Kosho Niwano will visit the Dharma Center on Saturday June 25th - Information on the event is in committee planning and will be sent out later this month. * see side panal for more information Lotus Sutra Study - Friday June 3...................... 7 PM
Understanding Hoza Practice (Dharma Circle)
 Buddhism is a way of living: It is a teaching that shows us how to live. It is a way to sharpen & purify our hearts and minds so that we can act with true wisdom and compassion. By virtue of our Buddhist practice, we can see through our suffering, mistakes and the wrong-headed thinking to our Buddha Nature.
While our Buddhist practice can happen anywhere, anytime, the Sangha is the community of those who come together with the special intention, understanding and support for each other in the process of living the Dharma. To practice Hoza is to create a circle of compassion and reflection. In Japanese, Ho – means teaching (Dharma), and Za – is a place of gathering.
So again, Hoza is a place where we talk about and apply the Dharma to our lives. While the goal seems similar to counseling or therapy (that is to transform our suffering and unskilled ways), hoza it is not therapy.
When we come together in Hoza, we need to know we are fundamentally equal. What differs among us is practice and experience with the Dharma. We are all equal with regard to Buddha Nature. I like using martial arts as an example to demonstrate this idea. When you join a dojo to begin learning a martial art, you come as a beginner: you have yet to learn all the kata (these are systems of training exercises for practitioners of martial arts) and to incorporate these teachings into your body, mind, and spirit. However, you do have the fundamental equipment, the potential to becoming a master. We all have certain strengths and challenges that will influence our progress, of course. For example, I started Aikido at the age of 50 so have some physical challenges that may not be experienced by someone who begins at the age of 20. But, in this example, the basic difference between others and myself on the dojo mat is experience, study and practice.
This is true of Hoza practice as well. Fundamentally we all have the basic equipment: Buddha Nature. When we come as beginners we have yet to fully learn the Dharma and to incorporate it into lives: body, mind and spirit. So we gather together in the Hoza Circle to assist one another in clarifying the obstacles of our lives. The more we study and practice outside the circle, the more understanding and clarity we have to bring to .
Seeing a person’s Buddha Nature is seeing their potential for awakening and becoming true to that nature. Buddha’s wisdom and compassion is one that fully understands the context of greed, anger and ignorance in which our suffering, conflict and misguided behaviors occur. We strive in our practice to become the ones who see. With understanding comes the means with which to skillfully meet our highest needs and guide one another in transforming the delusion into clear seeing.
Jan Rose Dharma Center Instructor
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From Rissho Kosei-kai International
 President-designate Kosho Niwano, the first daughter of President Nichiko Niwano, was born in Tokyo. After receiving a law degree from Gakushuin University in Tokyo, she studied at Rissho Kosei-kai's Gakurin seminary.
She is currently devoted to studying the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and shares the teachings with members who visit the Great Sacred Hall for worship services and special events. She also actively promotes interreligious cooperation, and in her capacity as president-designate of Rissho Kosei-kai attends interfaith congresses such as the Asian Conference of Religions for Peace.
Her first book in Japanese is Kaiso-sama ni naraite (In the Footsteps of the Founder), which is being serialized in Shan Zai, a multilingual newsletter published and distributed by Rissho Kosei- the following link begins the series:
The May edition of Shan Zai has an interview with President-designate Kosho Niwano who had recently toured the devastated areas of Northeastern Japan.
Traditional Japanese Hoza consists of a facilitator, usually the Reverend or Shubucho of the center, a participant seeking clarity, and participants who observe. 1.) The facilitator’s role is to deeply listen to the person asking for clarity because s(he) is striving to “cultivate the ability to see the Buddha Nature of the person before them…and also see the Buddha’s compassion in the problem of the person…”. The facilitator is in the process of profoundly understanding the wisdom of the Buddha, the Dharma. 2.) The participant seeking clarity presents a problem in their life that causes confusion or suffering. Sometimes just speaking the problem out loud is enough to bring clarity. 3.) The observers or other participants’ role is also to listen deeply to develop their ability to see with the “Buddha’s mind” and listen with the “Buddha’s heart”. Each Hoza participant experiences each role. The process, regardless of the role you take in Hoza, is to the benefit of all.
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