New trees planted at Amidaji, construction plan for 2017 and a memorial for the donor of the temple's land

Poems and sayings:

Thanks to Amida Buddha

By common consent

Among the Buddhas of the Multiverse

Amida Buddha

Is the greatest Buddha of all

For He has guaranteed the Great Gift

Of Salvation and Buddhahood

For all who suffer and long for release

From the Chains of Karma

And birth-and-death in Samsara.

Truly all the Buddhas

Praise the Holy Name of Amida!

I have given over

My entire karmic destiny

To the compassionate care

Of my beloved Savior

Great Amida Buddha.

To Him I offer my unending Praise

And deepest Gratitude

For the knowledge to a certainty

That rebirth in His Pure Land

Awaits me at this life's end.

The world we live in on Earth

Is saddening to behold:

So much suffering

And so few know of

Amida Buddha and His Pure Land.

But Amida has assured

That their time will come

When their karma has ripened

And they are finally ready

To receive Amida Buddha's

Great Gift of Shinjin

And rebirth at long last

In His Land of Peace and Bliss!

O Great Amida Buddha

Let One and All

Sing the Praises

Of Your Boundless Compassion,

And for the Inconceivable Gift

Of Your Primal Vow

That has secured the Salvation

Of Every Living Being!

To You I sing:

Thank You, Amida Buddha!

Thank You, Amida Buddha

Namu Amida Butsu

Shaku Egen (Richard St Clair)

click here to download Egen's new book of poems - To Amida Buddha, Songs of True Entrusting

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Friday, March 17, 2017

New trees planted at Amidaji, construction plan for 2017 and a memorial for the donor of the temple's land

click here for the Romanian version

planting a sycamore tree and a
maples tree in front of the Hondo
(Dharma Hall)

These days I planted the following trees, fruits and flowers in Amidaji courtyard:

2 sour-cherry trees, 3 hazel trees, 1 almond tree, 1 peach tree, 2 birch trees, 1 maple tree, 1 ash tree, 1 sycamore tree, as well as five blackberries, five raspberries, three blackcurrant, three redcurrant, seeds of blue morning glory on the west side of the land in the hope that they will quickly cover that fence. I hope all of them will go well. The whole courtyard of the temple will look better when the trees will make leaves.

Sycamore tree and maple tree
with the library in the back

This is the first activity in the new year. The plan for 2017 is as follows:

- to strenghten the walls of Amidaji library and add a good roof like the one on the Hondo (Dharma Hall). This is extremely important especially after it was affected by that storm last year.
- make a gate for Amidaji courtyard (near the Hondo),
- clear more land of grapevine for future buildings,
- make stone alleys,
- build a winter bathroom and a kitchen, etc.

Doshu, the dog, and two trees
in front of the Hondo

Of course, all depends on the funds I am able to raise from selling my books (free online editions are also available!), and from donations.

If you can afford to, please consider a small donation to help Amidaji temple. Link for DONATION is here (click here). Amidaji has NO fees for attending its activities, so it depends on your generosity.

MEMORIAL:

My father (Yokusho),
the donor of the land for Amidaji

The planting activities were done after my father (Gheorghe Cirlea), who donated the land on which Amidaji temple is located, died on March 6th due to a heart attack. His body was placed in the Hondo (Dharma Hall) of Amidaji where I made a religious service for him; then he was burried in one of his most favorite places in the mountains.

His contribution to Amidaji temple will never be forgotten. Besides donating the land on which Amidaji is built, he guarded the temple when I was not present, taking care of various things which I could not do, and he supervised some of the building/repairment works (the little Hondo, the library, the fence surrounding the land, etc). So, I can say that Amidaji exists also because of him. During the service I gave him the posthumous Buddhist name, Yokusho, meaning, "wishing to be born in the Pure Land". The mourning period of 49 days will last until April 23rd, during which I continue with various works for the temple, services and teaching activities. Here are a few photos showing him at work for the temple: