Buddha bums san diego

This building Dharma Bum Temple was built in and the local historian has said it used to sleep chinese workers, since this was old Chinatown. In , a couple of young western guys met in a zen monastery in Taiwan and talked about a place in America that people could learn Buddhism and practice meditation, but feel comfortable in their own culture. After many causes and conditions, in the end of , the Dharma Bum Temple was opened.

It was initially called the Dharma Bum Center, which seemed to be a fitting name. There were 3 of us, we all thought Buddhism was cool, we practiced, studied, lived and worked around Buddhism. We had romantic fantasies about being a monk or traveling the world in Buddhist monasteries, but we knew our karma had us born here in the USA, and so this is where we would begin our path of propagating the dharma. We had very traditional views about Buddhism, but also saw that as Buddhism always had historically, that as it enters a new culture, it adapts to that new culture.

People find us and when they do, it seems to be a special place. We had our official opening New Years Eve heading into There was tea and sake and many joyous people. We were heading into a journey that we knew would change our lives forever. As midnight came near, we all piled into the 2nd floor zendo, and were lead in a meditation by Eddie Santiago, officially welcoming in the Dharma Bum Center to San Diego. We started off the year with some Buddhist classes, some meditation and that was it.

People showed up, we added more classes. More people showed up, we added more classes. The founders began their journey at this latter temple, and monks from the Taiwan temple frequently visit the San Diego temple to teach Buddhist practice. Fo Guang Shan itself is an international Chinese Buddhist movement which promotes Humanistic Buddhism — a human-centric rather than deist-centric approach to Buddhism.

The Dharma Bum Temple has a no-charge policy, and does not advertise — people find the temple, and if they find it a special place as they often do , they keep coming back. Individual views and choices are respected at the temple, and constituents are encouraged to develop their own understanding and practice of Buddhism.

The temple is open to everyone, even those who practice other religions. Primarily the temple seems to attract young people, in their 20s and 30s, as well as families with young kids, although there are some older people. Ethnically speaking, there is no demographic breakdown listed for the Dharma Bum Temple, on their website or elsewhere. The temple frequently hosts guest speakers, who are primarily Asian or of Asian descent, including a number of guest teachers from the affiliated Taiwanese temple Zlotnik.

The Dharma bums are in the process of propagating a co-ed fraternity, Delta Beta Tau, founded on the six perfections.

The goal is to foster an accepting and tolerant space where students from all walks of life can come together to build friendships and learn about Buddhism in daily life and practice. Fraternity activities will include guest speakers, informal discussions, retreats, and volunteer work. In a piece posted on KPCC, Jeff stresses that the fraternity is meant to be cultural organization rather than a religious one; he envisions offering classes in Buddhism and meditation meant to help college students cope with stress, anxiety, and depression.

Currently, no such Buddhist fraternities exist in the United States, but students at San Diego State University many of whom already participate in a Buddhist meditation club seem eager to join.

The Dharma Bum Temple offers a number of free programs, including: introductory meditation and Buddhism classes, dharma talks, homeless outreach, prison outreach, dharma bum kids, dharma bum teens, residential dharma bum life program, visiting monks, nuns, and Buddhist scholars, silent retreats, Buddhist step programs for people in recovery, Aztec Dharma bums, college meditation groups, and more.

Service work includes food redistribution, temple cleaning, prison outreach, and Buddha badges sellable badges whose proceeds go to charity. I want…. Ajaan Geoff is a world renown Buddhist scholar and teacher see more complete biography at bottom of post …. A Buddhist Shrine is built to foster a peaceful environment allowing one to abide in presence, while cultivating compassion and wisdom. Shrines are created to evoke calm and clear states of mind brought on by the….

Join us on Saturday May 4th at 11am for a special ceremony blessing the new statues at the Dharma Bum Temple. This is very auspicious…. Dear Friends,. It has been an amazing start to here at the Dharma Bum Temple! Each week we see people who come thru these…. We are now hosting weekly meditation and Dharma Talks…. Calling all book lovers!!!

We have been graciously tasked with filling the empty shelves in the DBT library with more Buddhist goodness.

Monday March 11, our precious gifts arrived from Taiwan! This has been a year long journey and the statues are finally home. The handmade and hand painted statues took about 8 months to make. We are now blessed with…. Newsletter Sign up. Dear Friends, This past year has been unlike anything we could have ever imagined!

Lives have been lost and hearts have been… Read more. It was so touching to see all the people who returned to the Temple and… Read more. As we reopen… Read more.

I first want to take a moment to recognize and remember those in our community who have lost loved ones due… Read more. Last April however as the pandemic hit us all hard, it did not feel right to ask for support… Read more. Dear Friends, Here we sit in crazy times, yet one thing that is constant is the heart of this community. I am reaching out and asking for donations so we can secure much-needed funds as we close out… Read more.