SINGA SPEAKS ROAR 14 | SINGAPORE | SATURDAY | 23 JULY 2016 A PERIODIC NEWSLETTER FROM THE RAMAKRISHNA MISSION, SINGAPORE
Satsanga in Japan by Swami Satyalokananda I left for Japan for my annual lecture tour on 2 June 2016. Seasons of cherry blossom and even azalea are already over and flowers like hydrangea and iris welcomed me. It was the rainy season in Japan called “Tsuyu - Rain of
Gita Class at Coco Plaza at Osaka Japanese plum”, so called because plum fruits ripen due to the rain of this period. It was a joy to see many flowers and plants during my morning walk. My first engagement was a two-day “Gita class” at Coco Plaza, Osaka from 4 June to 5 June. We have been studying the Gita since 2012. This year we studied “Sthitaprajna Lakshana” of 2nd chapter. I am happy to note that more people are taking an interest in the study of the Gita. On 4 June, 50 people and on 5 June, 42 people joined the class.
On 7 June, I had a privilege to address 24 religious preachers of one of the Bhakti schools of Buddhism, called Seizan Pure Land Buddhism at Koumyouji temple, their HQ in Nagaoka city near Kyoto. Ven. Seizan was a
Talk on at Koumyouji Temple direct disciple of Ven. Honen, a very famous and highly respected 12-13th century monk, who founded the Bhakti School of Buddhism in Japan for the first time. I spoke on "Hinduism and the Ramakrishna Order of Monks" but due to time shortage I could not talk much about our Mission. On 8 June, I was invited by Suita city Yoga Federation to talk on the "Law of Karma & Karma Yoga" at the Senri Citizen's Center Auditorium. Though it was a weekday about 200 of their members attended the talk. This group
Talk organized by Suita city Yoga Federation at Senri Citizen's Center Auditorium
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Satsanga in Japan…continued
SATURDAY, 23 JULY 2016
glad to notice many young people joining this talk and seriously taking notes. On 12 June morning I had a chance to visit one of the most famous Japanese temples known to the world for its Zen garden, namely Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto. The garden consists of simple rocks and small pebbles. There are 15 rocks but we cannot see one rock from any angle; some may interpret it as the eternal existence of the Invisible One.
Talk on Vedanta at Daishin-in temple has been spreading Hatha Yoga to promote healthy life style since 1983 and now they have around 800 members serving the public in Suita city, near Osaka. Some of the members have been attending my classes on Vedanta and last year they approached me to speak to their members this year. It seems that those who have been practising Hatha Yoga, are now interested in studing the philosophy behind the Yoga. On 10 June, I left for Kyoto, the old capital of Japan, the seat of thousands of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. I was invited by the Union Yoga Japan to speak on “Vedanta” on 11 June at Daishin-in, one of the small temples in famous Myoshinji, HQ of Rinzai Zen sect which has 3500 temples all over Japan. A total of 55 people joined for this Satsanga; some of them coming from faraway places like Nagoya and Fukui. I was
I could also visit Taizou-in one of the temples in Myousinji, which has a few gardens; some small ones and one big one called Yoko-en (garden) which is a stark contrast to Ryoanji's garden with many trees, plants and hills offering changing seasonal beauty of nature. I had a cup of traditional Japanese tea at their rest house. Unfortunately I could not have a satsanga on Sri Ramakrishna till then. Therefore, I talked with a few people who had not taken initiation but have read or heard about Sri Ramakrishna, and asked them to find the feasibility of having a satsanga on Sri Ramakrishna. As Thakur said, one hempsmoker feels very happy to meet another, so I was seeking such people in this part of Japan.
Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto
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SATURDAY, 23 JULY 2016
Satsanga in Japan…continued This was a sudden decision and we did not have much time to inform people. In spite of the short notice 39 people joined this satsanga. I was really happy to talk to them about Sri Ramakrishna. Many of them knew very little about Him, so first I spoke about his life, then read from the Gospel and explained it. We had a two hour session but time flew very fast and all of them felt it was too short. Next year we may have a longer session. Luckily we could use Saikyouji Temple’s hall known as "Light of Divine Grace". The atmosphere was excellent.
Talk on Karma at Ryouunji temple, Tokyo
"Meditation'. It seems next year we may require a bigger room as the room was full. Unfortunately they did not take photos during my talk. We could take a group photo only after the talk, that too half of the participants had already left. My last engagement in Japan was at a famous Zen temple called Nozawa Ryounji in Tokyo. I had two talks; on 25 June I spoke on "Law of Karma & Karma Yoga" at the main hall, for which 51 people attended and on 26 June I had Satsanga on Sri Ramakrishna at Saikyoji temple
This temple was built around the 10th century AD and is the HQ of Tendai-shinsei school of Buddhism. It has more than 400 branches all over Japan. The temple is situated in a calm and quiet place at the foot of beautiful green hills. On 18 June, I had the 7th talk at Will-Aichi in Nagoya. This is my third visit to the Nagoya area and the second time in Nagoya city proper for satsanga organized by the Yoga Information Station. 22 people attended the talk on
Katha Upanishad Class at Ryouunji temple
"Katha Upanishad“ class, for which 39 people attended. I started Katha Upanishad class last year. Among them was a devotee from Sydney who attended last year's talk also.
Talk at Will-Aichi in Nagoya
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It was quite heartening to observe that many senior people asked questions after the talks. People of Tokyo seem to be quite frank and open; some of the participants were devotees of this temple. After completing 9 public talks in Japan I returned Singapore on 27 June 2016.
PH: +65 6288 9077 | FAX: 6288 5798
singapore@rkmm.org
PERIODIC NEWSLETTER
PAGE FOUR
SATURDAY, 23 JULY 2016
JULY-SEPTEMBER 2016 | Issue No. 90 | MCI(P) 009/09/2015 | ISSN 18-7183
RAMAKRISHNA MISSION | 179 BARTLEY ROAD | SINGAPORE 539784
179 BARTLEY ROAD | SINGAPORE 539784
PH: +65 6288 9077 | FAX: 6288 5798
singapore@rkmm.org