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Thursday, November 26, 2015

Practicing Dan Sha Ri

Aloha Everyone,

J.J. and I practice non-attachment. Learning to let go and accepting impermanence of everything is how we try to live our lives.

A similar practice in Japan is called the spirit of Dan Sha Ri.


The first Kanji character, Dan means to refuse or decline. Refuse to collect more stuffs in your life. By refusing, one opens up and unblock the flow of one's life.

The second Kanji character, Sha means to discard, to get rid of unnecessary stuff from your life.

The third Kanji character, Ri means to separate. To separate important things from unimportant from one's life.  

In another words, live your life simply, live your life honestly and fully.

Namaste -- Cathi

Rengein-Tanjyöji Temple, Japan

Aloha Everyone,

Located in Tamana City, Kumamoto prefecture, Japan, the Rengein-Tanjyöji Temple is sect of Buddhism (esoteric Buddhism) and is dedicated to Buddhist St. Kōan. 


Daibutsusama - great statue of St. Kōan with a merciful mien.


Shōrō-dō, bell tower houses the biggest temple bell in the world.  


Sumō-dōjyō, Japanese wrestling ring. Each year, on November 3, Yokozunas or grand champions perform the Dohyōiri ceremony.


Gojyūnotō, five-stories pagoda is the main hall of this temple and a major symbol of Buddhist belief.  Among 43 five-storied pagodas in Japan this is the largest and only one that allows worshipers to do religious practices within the building. 

Personally, I would be most curious to see the 4th story hall as this is the training hall for zazen. Zazen is one of the most simple yet difficult forms of meditation. When doing Zazen, the practitioner sits in correct posture, focuses on breathe and abandons worldly thoughts. Mushin, meaning clearing of mind, It is a way of training one's mind to attain spiritual enlightenment.

This temple also attracts believers because of its miraculous power spot. In Western concept, one might say that this is a vortex, a place of power.


Namaste -- Cathi

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Gampo Abbey

Aloha Everyone,

Gampo Abbey is a Western Buddhist monastery. It is in the hills of Pleasant Bay, north of Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia.


Chogyan Trungpa Rinpiche founded in 1983. The abbey is a lineage institution of Shambhala.


Acharya Pema Chodron, who I consider as my spiritual teacher, is the Principal Teacher of the Abbey.

My son calls it my pilgrimage. Perhaps it is. As from the moment I found about Pema Chodron through her books and started to follow her teachings, I have gained clarity in the purpose of my life. It broaden my horizon and helped me live my life fully. Here are tablets with some of the teachings:









Namaste -- Cathi