IOBT Meditation Marathon

THEME

Yono Naka Annon Nare:
May Peace and Tranquility Prevail Throughout the World

This is the chosen theme of the 750th memorial observance for Shinran Shonin, the founder of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. Shinran Shonin lived from 1173 to 1262. Temple-level observances will begin this year throughout the Buddhist Churches of America, culminating with worldwide observances in 2011 and 2012. The world events will center in Kyoto, Japan at Hongwanji, the home temple of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism.

WHAT

750th Shinran Shonin Memorial

This year in March, the Idaho-Oregon Buddhist Temple is going to host a special event to commemorate the 750th Memorial for Shinran Shonin, the founder of Jodo-Shinshu Buddhism. This event will be hosted by the Idaho-Oregon Buddhist Temple and by the IOBT Young Buddhist Association. We will host a Meditation Marathon of 26.2 hours from 9:00 AM March 15 to 11:15 AM March 16 to conclude during our Ohigan Family Service on the 16th. This will be a Nembutsu recitation circumambulation walking meditation relay. Participants will be primarily IOBT members and friends, but will include open invitation to the general public. All temple groups and members will be invited and encouraged to participate. Churches of other faiths in our community as well as the general public are invited to participate under the theme: May Peace and Tranquility Prevail Throughout the World.

This is a Meditation Relay, where we take turns in walking meditation while reciting the Nembutsu. A Meditation Marathon for 26.2 hours. The meditation will begin Saturday morning at 9 AM, and end Sunday morning at 11:15 AM. At the beginning of our family Ohigan Service, everyone in attendance will walk the final 15 minutes of the Meditation Marathon.

Ohigan is a Japanese Buddhist observance held twice a year during the spring and fall equinox. This is a time of year when the length of time of day and night are in harmonic balance. The weather is generally at a peaceful and serene calm. This peaceful harmony in the natural world around us is conducive to fruitful meditation where we grow our awareness of our own conditions of human existence.

During 2008, each temple within the Buddhist Churches of America has been encouraged to hold a special program or service for the 750th Memorial. In 2009, each of the 8 districts is to hold special events. In 2010, the national level of BCA will host special events. In 2011 and 2012, world events will be held in Japan, centered from Kyoto, Japan.

The purpose of the IOBT event is three-fold:

1. To commemorate the 750 Memorial for Shinran Shonin through recognition of the theme of �Yononaka Annon Nare�, �May Peace and Tranquility Prevail Throughout the World�.

2. To activate recognition of our own connectedness by dedicating our participation to family members and friends that we have lost. For example, we can dedicate 20 minutes or one hour of walking meditation to a spouse or relative that we have lost.

3. To utilize this event as a vehicle to educate about the life of our founder Shinran Shonin, the efforts and struggles he endured, and through this to gain insight into the Jodo Shinshu teachings.

During the course of this event, there will be 5 Services with emphasis on the chanting traditions of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism:

8:30 Opening Service Saturday morning Shi Shin Rai, Shoshinge (Sofu), Nembutsu, Ekoku

5:00 Saturday Evening Service Ojoraisan (Shoyaraisan), Nembutsu, Ekoku

10:00 Saturday Night Service Jusan, Sanbutsuge, Nembustu, Ekoku

5:00 Sunday Early Morning Service Zensho Kada, Amida Kyo, Nembutsu, Ekoku

11:00 Ohigan Family Service Sanbujo, Shoshinge (Gyofu) w/Wasan, Nembutsu, Ekoku

Service is open to the general public. The meditation walk will continue during the final four services. No one is expected to participate in everything. There will be signup sheets to participate, and everyone comes when their schedule permits. Signups will be to participate in the meditation walk. Please contact Rev. Fujimoto at (208) 707-2021 to schedule participation.

WHEN

March 15-16, 2008

WHERE

Idaho-Oregon Buddhist Temple
286 SE 4th Street
Ontario, Oregon 97914

SHINRAN's LEGACY

Shinran Shonin was part of the Pure Land Tradition of Mahayana Buddhism. Before Shinran, the Buddhist Tradition was one of meditative practice and mindful discipline in effort to perfect the self in incremental steps leading one to Enlightenment. The Buddhist teachings had been available primarily to the monastics who had denounced the life of the householder, or to individuals of royalty who had the academic training and the leisure time to study. Shinran�s reinterpretation of the Buddhist Teachings opened its doors to the peasants, farmers, and illiterate common people of Japan who had previously not had access to the Dharma. His own failures during 20 years of intense monastic practice on Mt. Hiei became the foundation for fresh, new insight into the Buddhist teachings.

WHY CIRCUMAMBULATION

After the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, passed away and entered Nirvana, his body was cremated. His remains were divided into eight, and then ten portions. These portions were buried, becoming reliquary mounds. Later still, the remains were further divided and distributed. A small portion of his remains are kept in the Stupa above the San Francisco Buddhist Temple. These were a gift from the King of Siam, signifying the planting of the Dharma into the North American continent.

The original mounds became places where followers would gather to recognize and honor the life of the Buddha. An early practice was to circumambulate these mounds. Followers would walk around these mounds in mindful meditation, reflecting upon the life of the Buddha and the gift of the Dharma that we have each received through him. This is the origin of the walking meditation � circumambulation, that is the basis of the Idaho-Oregon Buddhist Temple Meditation Marathon.

The model of walking meditation with recitation of the Nembutsu (Namo Amida Butsu) comes from Shinran�s own experience on Mt. Hiei. Shinran had undertaken a 100-day walking meditation with Nembutsu recitation as a meditative practice. Still today this practice is taken on by a determined few, as mindful and focused meditative effort.

Our effort at the Meditation Marathon Relay at IOBT is to share in the experience and to gain insight into the effort and struggle of Shinran. In tasting a bit of his life, we will better be able to see into our own lives and recognize the relevance of the Shin Buddhist Teachings to our lives today.

WHY MEDITATION

One key to being healthy may be in sitting down! The Jodo Shinshu tradition doesn�t rely on meditation to achieve Buddhahood. We emphasize quiet sitting � just sitting. What results is awareness and attentiveness whereby one can better hear the teachings. Reports from various sources point out that individuals may want to use meditation to stay healthy and boost brain function.

In the past, both Time and Newsweek have carried various articles on the positive health benefits of meditation. Studies have been conducted on how consistent meditation can lower stress, reduce unhealthy hormones & free radicals in the body. Also participants who meditate reported that they felt younger and more alert in their daily lives. As one doctor put it, anything to decrease stress is great, Stress = faster aging!

In the Nov. 05 issue of USA Today a study from Harvard was cited about how meditation can improve memory and concentration. People who meditated for 20 minutes everyday under went an MRI. The results were that in areas of the brain that typically shrink in individuals as they age, the group of meditators had a thickening that warded off the shrinking. This indicates that regular meditation may help improve the memory and attention to details. This type of meditation generally involved in sitting quietly and focusing on the breath.

Another study at the University of Kentucky indicated that meditation may increase the ability to attend to boring task in the afternoon, a time when most peoples attention lags. It was found that people who meditated for 40 minutes did better on a test of attention compared to those who took the test after casually reading for 40 minutes.

In a study of Buddhist monks, neuroscientists found that meditation produced a jump in brain waves associated with vigilance as well as in the parts of the brain that involved attention. The results would vary since most of the monks were ordained as children and often spent several hours a day in meditation. Still the research is prevalent that just 20 minutes a day can help the average person.

In addition to quiet sitting, Zazen, and Vipassana techniques, other practices such as yoga and Tai Chi have been reported to have beneficial results on both mind and body. [Taken from the Seattle Betsuin newsletter]. You can try quiet sitting and walking meditation at the Buddhist temple. For more information, contact Rev. Fujimoto, (208) 707-2021.