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

 
 
 

THIS WILL BE A VIRTUAL HANGOUT
LINK WILL BE SENT OUT PARTICIPANTS
TOPIC OF DISCUSSION WILL BE POSTED IN THE COMMENT SECTION

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A great way to get Dharma connected in New York!

For people interested in Buddhism or meditation or just leading a kinder life who are up for meeting like minded people.

Dharma Drink is now Self Service!

Look for the “Dharma Drink” sign or ask the staff, we are generally at the same spot next to the stairs but sometime we are at other locations due to special museum activities.

Just show up and see what happens - just like if you were hanging out meeting other Buddhists randomly in Kathamandu or India. And don't take the RSVP too seriously - people are coming now who don't RSVP. The word is getting out....

Everyone is invited! Dharma Drink is all about building community amongst the Buddhist and like minded crowd in New York City. Greg the founder of Dharma Drink: "I was inspired to start Dharma Drink by hanging out with all of the great students of all of the different lamas in Kathmandu - Kagyu, Nyingma, Sakya, Gelugpa - totally Rimey (also Zen, Thai, Theravadan, yoga travelers, and the curious - just about everyone!). We all became great friends and learned from each other." We're there every Friday night - see you there.

Motivation: To make the Rubin Museum Lounge on Friday night the Buddhist and like minded hang-out spot in New York.

Who: ALL ARE INVITED. Feel free to spread the word. The more, the merrier.

Time: 6:30-?pm
Date: Every Friday - like clockwork
Place: Rubin Museum Lounge, 17th Street and 7th Avenue
How to find us: Look for a table with the small sign "Dharma Drink" + Lounge staff will know where we are.

http://www.dharmadrink.com

• picture - - - - -
  Avalokiteshvara, Ming Dynasty[masked], from National Palace Museum at Taipei, Taiwan

 
 
 

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 delicious dinner at Vegetarian Dim Sum House (VDSH). This restaurant is practically fully vegan, just check with the staff.

If you've never had dim sum, you're missing out! Dim sum, like tapas, is very sharable with each small dish consisting of three or four pieces. This type of cuisine is from Guandong of Southern China and is traditionally served during the early part of the day with tea. At VDSH it is served all day.

Per VDSH: "Vegetarian Dim Sum House is a cornerstone in the New York community and has been recognized for its outstanding Chinese cuisine, excellent service and friendly staff. ... Our Chinese restaurant is known for its modern interpretation of classic dishes and its insistence on only using high quality fresh ingredients."

 
 
 

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

 
 
 

Dear Dharma Drink Friends,

"The practice Zen Mind is beginners mind. The innocence of the first inquiry--what am I?--is needed throughout Zen practice. The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities. It is the kind of mind to see things as they are, which step by step and in a flash, can realize the nature of everything." Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind.

Join us for a Dharma book discussion on Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki. This Meetup encompasses the ENTIRETY of the book.
For this book club event, while we prefer that you've read the book, if you just didn't get to finish or barely started, you're welcome to join.

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind is considered one of the most beloved of all American Zen books. Per Shambhala.com: "In the thirty years since its original publication, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind has become one of the great modern Zen classics, much beloved, much re-read, and much recommended as the best first book to read on Zen. Suzuki Roshi presents the basics—from the details of posture and breathing in zazen to the perception of nonduality—in a way that is not only remarkably clear, but that also resonates with the joy of insight from the first to the last page. It's a book to come back to time and time again as an inspiration to practice."

WHERE TO GET THE BOOK:

1. Amazon Link
2. Shambhala Link
3. Thriftbooks Link

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 Dharma Book Club (of NY)

- - - About the Author
https://www.lionsroar.com/the-enduring-teachings-of-suzuki-roshi/

Lion's Roar: "Over a period of just twelve years, from his arrival in the United States in 1959 until his death in 1971, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi made a profound and enduring mark on the practice of Zen in the West. Through him, Americans came to know the approach of the Soto tradition, with its quiet emphasis on zazen and sitting as buddha, beyond goals. With his students, he founded San Francisco Zen Center and Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, one of the first Buddhist monasteries outside Asia. But with the publication of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, he established a conversation with the culture at large, one that continues to this day."

 
 
 

Dharma Drink Friends,

Join us for a Dharma book discussion on Awakening Wisdom: Heart Advice on the Fundamental Practices of Vajrayana Buddhism by Pima Wangyal.

NOTE: This Meetup encompasses the ENTIRETY of the book.
For this book club event, while we prefer that you've read the book, if you just didn't get to finish or barely started, you're welcome to join. Note that for the this Meetup we will be basing our discussion from the entirety of book.

Shambhala Description: "If you are new to Tibetan Buddhism, this short work will help you get started with your practice; and if you are well steeped in these teachings, it will inspire and motivate you to practice them. Originally delivered in the form of advice to retreatants, Pema Wangyal’s teachings cover developing a proper motivation, settling the mind, mantra recitation, and relating to the suffering of others..."

WHERE TO GET THE BOOK:

1. Amazon Link
2. Shambhala Link

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 Dharma Book Club (of NY)

- - - About the Author
https://www.shambhala.com/authors/u-z/pema-wangyal.html