Chapter Study On 27 Oct 04

We had a great study meeting on Wednesday evening at Mr Shirke's Home. The place was packed and suspect we had 25 or more folk on hand. At least 6 guest.

I must confess that I had totally forgotten that I was supposed to be MC. For that I apologize and will try and insure that it doesn't happen again. Well, it turned out okay anyway.

It was great to see Sam, his wonderful wife (I am horrible with names), and Joanne, at our meeting. I don't believe we ever have greater inspiration than that which we get from Sam. His explanation of the similarities between the Gohonzon and copiers sure helps put things in perspective. Maybe that is what we all need to do. Consider our lives and our jobs and then design our lives around this Buddhism that seems as interconnected as Sams.

After we broke into groups, things became a little lively. I think I still talk to much. I need to be quiet and listen. Everyone in our group participated and that is the goal of our new study program. Whatever your ideas are we want to hear them.

The #1 Picnic Site At West Point Lake

The Picnic area. Note poor Doug working hard. I really appreciated his help in getting things ready.

See Doug Work For Your Happiness and Health. I'm the lazy one behind the camera. Can't see me, Ha Ha! 

More Folks getting ready for a fun day. 

Looking out across the water.

This is the view from the Picnic area to boat launch. In the morning it was overcast and chilly, but later Mr Sun came out and burned all those clouds away. It was a nice day. As you can see the lake was down a couple of feet..

What A GREAT Picnic

WOW, that is all I can say. Sunday's Chapter Picnic was wonderful. We had between 45 and 50 folks attend and participate. You really could not ask for a better turn out. Doug and I arrived at the site around 0830 in the morning. It was overcast and a might chilly but we never thought about canceling. We knew the sun would burn off the clouds and make a nice day.

While I goofed off, Doug swept and cleaned off the cement pad and tables to make for a sanitary site. We would not want anyone to get sick or think it was a dirty place. I was really surprised that no one else had driven by to claim the site because it is the best site at West Point Lake, at least I think so.

I want to think everyone for the food, drinks, and great attitude.

We did get a lot of folks out on the lake and I enjoyed that. I did get sunburned a little and that was not good. Yuko spread some kind of cream all over my face and I felt better.

50 people, can you believe it?

We had a lot of friends who were not members and that says something about us. We are making friends and our actions will cause those around us to join us.

If anyone has photos please email them to me and I will put them on the blog. I was to busy cooking the bad hamburgers, were they really beef or what? Remember, never buy Flander's Beef Patties. I don't believe they consisted of real beef.

I only had a couple of photos that I took early on. There were so many folks who showed up that I did not have time to other photos. I will post the ones I have in a couple of days.

OK, y'all have a good day.

World Peace Gongyo 3 Oct 04

Today we had a wonderful Kosen Rufu Gongyo Meeting, sponsored by Sunflower District and held at Maxine's home. There were a number of guest and although I did not count, I believe we had over 40 folks in attendance. That is great.

Esther Hall was our MC and did an excellent job. After doing Gongyo, Doug Gash read daily guidance for all us. This was immediately followed by a Gohonzon Conferral by Mr Shirke to Delilah Caruthers. She is from Clayton, Alabama. Congratulations Delilah. I am sure that if you will practice with faith and sincerity, every prayer you have will be answered.

Pauline provided a very good Theme Presentation. This month is the 725th Birthday of the Gohonzon, which Nichiren Daishonin inscribed, on Oct 12, 1279, so all people could attainment enlightenment in this life time. Other birthdays this month are Tatusko, Yuko, Sonya, and Kiesha. We sang happy birthday to all.

Mrs Ando gave us a great experience in English, which showed a profound effort on her part and it was obvious that put a lot of time and thought in her preparation. Our experiences guide others and proves to everyone the validity of our practice.

Carol provided a Gosho Passage Presentation on the Gohonzon and explained with three separate passages the greatness of the Gohonzon and this Buddhist practice of ours. One of the most important things was her reiteration that Nichiren taught " The Real Gohonzon is Within". The passage she provided also indicated one main point about the Gohonzon, which is the fact that the Gohonzon does not bestow benefits. Rather, benefits arise as a natural result of a believer's faith and practice.

SURPRISE, Mieko-san always does this to us. We sang a wonderful song that she and Pat wrote together. I recognized the tune but could not tell you the name of the original song. The song composed by Pat and Mieko was named " Chant A lot " or something very close.

We had announcements, followed by final words from Mr Shirke.

All in all, it was a great meeting. How about a big thank-you to Sunflower District for all their efforts and a really big thank-you for all the members and guest, whether present or not.

We closed the meeting with Sansho and had time to meet and talk with one another in our Buddhist family. What a great day.

First Post

Thanks to all who visit. Please leave comments to helps us improve our site. I have decided to try and use a blog format to document our activities. Columbus Chapter has three districts which are: Lighthouse, Sunflower, and Victory District. With all the districts activities , you are able to find activities almost every week and sometimes several times a week. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to send an email.

Links: These will be kept here always as long as the blog will let it. I will make sure to check this on a regular basis.

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