Dharma Drink: the hangout for Buddhists (& like minded)

 
 
 

Dear Dharma Drink friends,

Join us for a walk in the Riverside park on May 20th (Saturday) followed by dinner at Le Botaniste.

Details:
2:30 pm – We meet at Starbucks that is located at 2525 Broadway (near 94th street)
3:15 pm – We will start to walk in the Riverside park (entering at 96th Street). We will walk all the way to the end of the park at 72nd street. We may take a few breaks in between to relax, chat and enjoy the natural scenery.
5:00 pm – We will head to a plant-based restaurant, Le Botaniste, located at 156 Columbus Avenue (near 67th street).

Hope you will join us.

From the NYC Parks Administration website:
“Riverside Park is widely regarded as Manhattan's most spectacular waterfront park. As one of only eight officially designated scenic landmarks in the City of New York, it has a long and storied history.
Since 1875, the landscapes of Frederick Law Olmsted have offered escape from the city and opportunities for people of all incomes to relax, play, and socialize in tranquil settings. These landscapes contain rocky precipices, sylvan lawns, and groves of mature elm trees. From Riverside Drive, the land terraces down steeply in three levels to a manmade shoreline and promenade, constructed between 1937 and 1941 under the administration of Robert Moses. The designers, Gilmore D. Clarke and Clinton Lloyd, added 134 acres to the park and twenty-two modern recreational facilities. They wove through this extraordinary collection of active recreation and scenic areas a vital north-south automobile artery and a railroad running in a tunnel under the entire park.”

Please note: The riverside park stretches four miles from 158th street to 72nd street along the Hudson River, but we will only be walking between 96th street and 72nd street.

From the Le Botaniste restaurant website:
“Le Botaniste is the only organic, plant-based, and carbon-neutral restaurant in New York City.

Alain Coumont, our founder, is a globetrotter. During his travels, he would often miss places to eat good, simple, organic, plant-based food. In fact, anyone looking to find a convenient plant-based meal outside their own kitchen was in for a challenge. Years before the trend, he started dreaming of opening a 100% plant-based, organic restaurant and began experimenting with innovative, flavorful recipes.
His goal was to surprise guests with delicious, satisfying, plant-powered organic meals that are good for the body and sustainable for our planet—and this was the inspiration for Le Botaniste.

“I’ve always been conscious of how our diets affect our
health and environment,” says Alain. “Le Botaniste grew from a desire to offer a health-focused, eco-friendly, organic menu that is above all else delicious.””

Websites:

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/riverside-park/

https://lebotaniste.us/our-story/

 
 
 

Dear Dharma Drink Friends,

We're about to embark on another book adventure, this time on Tibetan Buddhism. Wouldn't it be great to have an instruction book for Dummies on this topic? Well well, that's what the author of this book Bruce Newman had wanted to call this book, Trantra for Dummies, but the author couldn't use the trademarked name...

This is our last of 11 sessions to finish this book.

From the author: "This is a ground-level, practice-oriented presentation of Tibetan Buddhism—personal and very accessible. The book begins with the awakening of students’ interest in spirituality and the initial encounter with Tibetan Buddhism, then leads us through all the steps necessary for successful practice in the West. Included is succinct counsel on finding an appropriate teacher, receiving empowerments, becoming active in a center, and launching and sustaining a Vajrayana practice. Special emphasis is placed on the potential pitfalls, and the marvelous benefits, of the guru-disciple relationship."

READING:
Ch 18 - The Path of Liberation
Ch 19 - Fruition

Find Book

1. Amazon
2. B&N
3. Thrift
4. Apple

NOTE: that we are here to read, exchange and help each other. We’re not here to expound. If you need deeper learning, please go visit a Buddhist teaching center. We will be adhering to the contents of the book. We will not have any inter-religious discussions. If you like to discuss any topics with anyone not pertaining to the book, we advise you to initiate a conversation with whomever on another zoom at another time, not during the book club discussion. Thank you for understanding.

Intro video to book club

*/|*

Eddie

- - - - -
Tentative Schedule
1 - Intro thru Ch 2 - completed
2 - Ch 3 thru 4 - completed
3 - Ch 5 thru 6 - completed
4 - Ch 7 thru 8 - completed
5 - Ch 8 thru 9 - completed
6 - Ch 10 thru 11 - completed
7 - Ch 12 thru 13 - completed
8 - Ch 14 thru (15) - completed
9 - Ch 15 - completed
10 - Ch 16 thru 17 - completed
11 - Ch 18 thru 19

 
 
 

Dear Dharma Drink friends,

Join us for a drink on a nice summer evening at ART SoHo rooftop bar on June 9th (Friday) at 6:00 pm. We will drink, chat and connect with friendly folks from our group between 6 pm - 8 pm.

***From the ART SoHo website: "***Get closer to the city skyline at ART SoHo, where drinks are paired with gorgeous views of the Hudson River, the Freedom Tower, our downtown neighborhood and beyond. A spacious year-round setting for work drinks, date nights, and casual hangs with the crew, ART has both indoor and outdoor seating, and a curated menu of craft beer and cocktails, wine and small plates."

 
 
 

Dear Dharma Drink Friends,

Our next book club will be back on The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha, Majjhima Nikāya.

Please read/skim through the introduction as Bhikkhu Bodhi helps us understand the background and basics. For our discussions, we will cover the following chapters:

Read Chapters
MN 81 - Ghatikara Sutta: Ghatikara the Potter
MN 91 - Brahmayau Sutta: Brahmayu
MN 123 - Acchariya-abbhuta Sutta: Wonderful and Marvelous

Discussion Preparation:
Please prepare 3-5 points of interests or questions per chapter.

Optional:
Audio Teachings by Bhikkhu Bodhi - https://bodhimonastery.org/a-systematic-study-of-the-majjhima-nikaya.html

NOTE - each book discussion is independent of others, so you can join any meeting without having attended previous ones.

Per Bodhi Monastery: "The Majjhima Nikaya, or 'Middle-length Discourses' of the Buddha, is the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Tipitaka. This nikaya consists of 152 discourses by the Buddha and his chief disciples, which together constitute a comprehensive body of teaching concerning all aspects of the Buddha Dharma."

Per Bhikkhu Bodhi: “If the Majjhima Nikāya were to be characterized by a single phrase to distinguish it from among the other books of the Pali Canon, this might be done by describing it as the collection that combines the richest variety of contextual settings with the deepest and most comprehensive assortment of teachings.”

The translation we plan to use is by Bhikkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi. This is a BIG book, so we plan to do the following:

• We will cover only select nikayas, chapters.
• Every meet will cover select nakyas, (each stands on its own)
• Will try to meet regularly, either weekly or every two to three weeks.

Since each chapter or nakaya is independent on its own, you can join at any session provided you have read the material for the discussion.

The book is available in many different formats, from free downloads to ($) hard copies, please see the links below.

ALSO NOTE: that we are here to read, exchange and help each other. We’re not here to expound. If you need deeper learnings, please go visit a Buddhist teaching center.

Intro video to Dharma Book Club (of NY)

*/|*
Eddie

--- Where to get this book (Price as of write up of event) - - -
Free PDF: http://promienie.net/blog/philosophy-spirituality/buddhism/dharma-collection/item/172-middle-length-discourses-of-the-buddha

Free PFD: http://lirs.ru/lib/sutra/The_Middle_Length_Discourses(Majjhima_Nikaya),Nanamoli,Bodhi,1995.pdf

Hardcopy ($75) or Ebook ($30) by Wisdomexperience.org - https://wisdomexperience.org/product/middle-length-discourses-buddha/

Kindle ($38) or Hard Copy ($50), you can find it on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/086171072X?ie=UTF8&tag=bodhimonas-20&link_code=wql&camp=212361&creative=380601