Yesterday members of my Soto Zen sangha took a field trip to the beautiful Chuang Yen Monastery in Carmel, New York. The monastery is Chinese Pure Land, and we Japanese-lineage zennies went there to hear a talk by the Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, a Brooklyn-born Theravada teacher ordained in Sri Lanka.
The Venerable Bhikkhu spoke on the Devadaha Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 101), which has some interesting things to say about karma and the value of meditation. I'll write some more about that this week. Right now I just want to say that the day reassured me Buddhism in the West hasn't (yet) been entirely taken over by dilettantes and posers, as recent comment threads might have indicated.
One group of young men had driven to Chuang Yen from Temple University in Philadelphia, and they seemed happy to be there and eager to learn, in spite of the 90 degree plus heat. There is hope for the future.
Chuang Yen is both a learning center for Buddhism and a cultural center for the local Chinese-American community. The Great Buddha Hall houses the largest indoor Buddha in the western hemisphere. My photograph doesn't do it justice, but you can get an idea of the Great Buddha's size from the person in the lower left-hand corner.
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