Calgary Buddhist Temple Blog

Alzheimer’s: Prevention Instead of Life Sentence

Sunday, November 15, 2020
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On Sunday, January 24, 2021, from 1:00 – 2:30 pm MST, register to attend this online workshop that’s open to all!

The threat of developing Alzheimer’s is often one of our greatest fears as we age. While traditional views of Alzheimer’s see it as a disease that can afflict anyone at random, new research is showing us that there are numerous ways to prevent this devastating illness or minimize its impact. In this seminar, we will be exploring some of the major risk factors for Alzheimer’s and the key health practices that can counteract these risks. The focus will be on effective, inexpensive steps that we can take immediately to start creating better health for our future.

The presenter, Trudy Gahlinger, a long-time member of the Calgary Buddhist Temple, is a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach. Unlike conventional medicine which tends to treat symptoms, functional medicine seeks the root cause of symptoms so that better health can be restored. A key feature of functional medicine is its basis in evidence-based research which provides a scientific foundation for health practices and strategies.

Register in advance for this workshop: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvc-Curj8vHtZu5obrovlCS9oxEkYrkGVE

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Women’s Centre 2020 Toy Drive

Thursday, November 05, 2020
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The Holiday Season is near and we are all starting to feel the isolation associated with not being able to gather with family and friends in celebrating long standing traditions. In the tradition of helping others, The Calgary Buddhist Temple have once again agreed to support The Women’s Centre 2020 Toy Drive in making the holidays brighter for families in our community.
 
If you would like to donate a toy, please check out the links below to find out how you can participate.
 
Thank you for considering making the holidays brighter for families in our community. 🙏
 
 
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Kampai – Uniting People with Sake

Sunday, October 25, 2020
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On Saturday, December 12th at 2:00 pm Mountain Time, come join the members of the Calgary Buddhist Temple for a fascinating look into the world of Japan’s national drink with Yasuhiro Washiyama, Co-Managing Director of Sake Gami in Calgary.  Everyone is welcome to attend this FREE online workshop and you need not be a consumer of alcohol to be able to enjoy an intriguing look into sake!

Topics covered will be: what is sake, sake from different regions, pairing ideas, how to keep it in-house, best glassware for sake, how to enjoy sake and more. 

It is suggested that participants purchase these 3 types of sake, prior to the workshop, so that we are able to do online taste testing together!

  1. Kaiun Junmai Ginjo 300ml
  2. Masumi Junmai Ginjo Shiro 300ml
  3. Fukucho Seaside Junmai 300ml

For those who live in or around the city of Calgary, to make things even sweeter, the Mission Wine & Liquor Merchants, has kindly offered a special price for those who register for this workshop! Normally, to purchase the 3 bottles of sake, the retail value is almost $65 however, when people sign up for this event, they will receive a barcode/voucher to be able to take to Mission Liquor to receive a special, reduced price!  This is a one-time offer from this merchant for our event so please take advantage and support local!

This is going to be an interesting workshop and a great way to engage and unite people with sake!  Register in advance for this online, Zoom workshop by going to:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEvceyqpjkvHtxYUT63-ZaB6BG4Cxq6QFwK 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting, and a separate email with the barcode/voucher (good until Dec 12/20) to take to Mission Wine & Liquor Merchants located at 2100 4th Street S.W., Calgary, AB T2S 1W7.

Hope to see many of you there!

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Kaikyoshi Ordination

Monday, September 28, 2020
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The Calgary Buddhist Temple would like to congratulate Sensei Robert Gubenco on his achievement of being appointed by the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha Buddhist organization as a Kaikyoshi minister to Canada on December 01, 2019 AND assignment to the Calgary Buddhist Temple. The certificate of achievement was presented by Bishop Tatsuya Aoki on Saturday, September 26, 2020 during a virtual meeting. To be a resident minister in Japan requires Kyoshi ordination, which permits them to teach doctrine, and Kaikyoshi permits them to teach outside mainland Japan. The propagation of the Nembutsu teaching outside of Japan started in 1879.

The Temple is honored and fortunate to have Sensei Robert be our guiding minister and generously share the Dharma with us all.

Namu Amida Butsu, Namu Amida Butsu, Namu Amida Butsu

Sensei Robert

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Living with the Pandemic from a Buddhist Perspective

Friday, August 14, 2020
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Watch – Live from Tokyo! The Temple Sangha Engagement was honored and thrilled to have Rev Ken Tanaka speak to us on “Living with the Pandemic from a Buddhist Perspective“.
 
You can watch the recording on: https://youtu.be/dPiKQOpX11k
 
Tanaka Sensei is the renowned author of “Ocean: An Introduction to Jodo Shinshu Buddhism” and recently published “Jewels: An Introduction to American Buddhism for Youth, Scouts and the Young at Heart”.

This online presentation was held on Sunday, Nov 1 from 3-4:30pm MST.

Published by BDK America or the Society for the Promotion of Buddhism, hardcopies of Jewels: An Introduction to American Buddhism for Youth, Scouts and the Young at Heart will be available from the Temple Library (when it opens) or you can download his book, free of charge by visiting: https://www.bdkamerica.org/book/jewels-introduction-buddhism-youth-scouts-and-young-heart

Words from the Author

For me, it was not easy growing up a young Buddhist in the early 1960s. Fortunately, things have changed enormously since then. Buddhism is today much more well known, and, as I will show in this book, it is now an “American religion” and no longer just a religion of Asia. Further, there are now far more “famous” Buddhists, great books on Buddhism, and information available on the Internet.

Despite this, I feel there are still very few introductory books for American (or Canadian) youths and young adults on Buddhism. That motivated me to work on an easy to understand introductory book for this audience. I feel I can accomplish this because of my own background of having been an American Buddhist youth. Plus, I have raised three Buddhist young adults.

It is my strong wish to contribute to the well-being of youth who are Buddhists or interested in Buddhism. Despite the growth of Buddhism in this country, there are still many challenges of living in a society dominated by Christian values and customs. 

It’s my dream that this book can help Buddhist youth to gain greater confidence in their religion, and give any younger persons (whether they are Buddhist or not) a chance to take interest in Buddhism. It’s good for adults too, which is why the title includes “for the Young at Heart.”

Rev. Dr. Kenneth Kenshin Tanaka

Author, Ocean: An Introduction to Jodo Shinshu Buddhism

Professor Emeritus, Musashino University, Tokyo

Former BCA minister and IBS Associate Professor

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Fall Workshops

Friday, August 14, 2020
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The following workshops are open to everyone and will be held online using Zoom. Please register early and support the continued coordination of these workshops. There’s no fee to attend and donations to the temple are appreciated.

An Hour of Laughter, Joy and Peace

Join the Calgary Buddhist Temple on Sunday Sept. 20, 2020 from 1pm – 2pm as Candice Macpherson will be leading a 1hr online/ZOOM Laughter Yoga workshop. 

Laughter yoga consists of: Deep breathing exercises, clapping, chanting, tapping, gentle stretches, laughter sounds and laughter exercises followed by a relaxing meditation at the end. 

Candice will share the many physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health benefits along with how you can use laughter breathing and meditation throughout your day to create more health, love, joy and peace.

Laughter Yoga is for all ages and abilities. For this online workshop, we will do all exercises from a chair.

Click here to register for Laughter Yoga

Finding Inner Peace – Introduction to Tension Releasing Exercises (TRE®) for Stress Management  By Sara Clark (MSW, RSW, REAT and TRE®-CP)

Sara is a TRE® Certified Provider (TRE®-CP) and on Thursday, Oct 15 from 7:00-8:00pm, the Calgary Buddhist Temple is pleased to have her presenting on Tension Releasing Exercises (TRE®). TRE® is a complimentary, integrated health practice that can be used by almost anyone regardless of age or ability. It is self-empowering, self-initiating and self-regulating. In this online workshop, you will learn about: 

  • What is Stress
  • What is Trauma
  • Our bodies response to stress or trauma
  • What is TRE
  • Who created it and why
  • How it can be used to improve your well being

Click here to register for TRE/Stress Mgmt

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