Buddhist Church of San Francisco

BCSF VIRTUAL SPRING OHIGAN SERVICE Please join us this morning for our Spring Ohigan service on YouTube with a Dharma Talk by BCSF Minister's Assistant Leo J. Sensei. Namo Amida Butsuu

May we together awaken the Bodhi mind and be born in the realm of serenity and joy. (Shandao)

The lotus flower (Sanskrit: Padma), which grows out of the muddy waters of attachment, aversion and ignorance, represents the full blossoming of blissful liberation of body, speech, and mind. (calligraphy below by Thich Nhat Hanh)

Love and compassion are natural aspects of the mind rather than anomalies in our experience.

BCSF VIRTUAL NEW YEAR'S DAY SERVICE Deep gratitude to BCA Bishop Rev, Marvin Harada for sharing his wonderful New Year's Day Dharma Talk with the BCSF sangha. If you missed this special Zoom service, please click below to watch. It's a lovely way to welcome in 2021... Namo Amida Butsu

My eyes being hindered by blind passions, Cannot perceive the light that grasps me; Yet great compassion, without tiring, Illumines me always. ... (Shinran)

What a joy it is that I place my mind in the soil of the Primal Vow and I let my thoughts flow into the sea of the inconceivable Dharma. (Shinran)

What is past is left behind. The future is as yet unreached. Whatever quality is present you clearly see right there, right there. ... (Bhaddekaratta Sutra)

My humanity is bound up in yours for we can only be human together. (Desmond Tutu)

We sow the seeds of our future hells or happiness by the way we open or close our minds right now. (Pema Chödrön)

It’s when we lose the illusion of controlwhen we’re most vulnerable and exposedthat we can discover the dynamic potential of our lives. (Pema Khandro Rinpoche)

Without the mud the lotus flowers cannot grow. You cannot separate lotus flowers from the mud. It is the same with understanding and love. These are two kinds of flowers that grow on the ground of suffering. (Thich Nhat Hanh)

BCSF SUNDAY EITAIKYO YOUTUBE SERVICE Please join us for our online Sunday Eitaikyo service with a Dharma Talk by guest speaker Rev. Blayne Higa of the Kona Hongwanji Buddhist Temple. Eitaikyo is a tradition that started in Japan’s Edo Period, hundreds of years ago. Literally it means perpetually chanting Buddhist sutras and it has become an annual service at our temples. By reflecting on all of our connections, past and present, we can see our lives as part of a greater whole. Please join us this morning. Namo Amida Butsu

The more I reflect, the more difficult it is to draw the line between my life and the life of others: family, friends, dogs, cats, birds, the sky, the moon, and the stars. In each moment, the deep interconnections between my life and that of all other beings come to life. (Mark Unno)

Somehow, in the process of trying to deny that things are always changing, we lose our sense of the sacredness of life. We tend to forget that we are part of the natural scheme of things. (Pema Chödrön)

Our wheel in samsara turns and turns; While turning, our core remains unstained. (Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro)

Compassion does not allow us to see happiness as an individual accomplishment, because our experience is so intimately interconnected with all living beings. (Judith Lief)