New Moon Foundation

We warmly invite you to join us for the second in our series of TALK STORY events.

A "Buddhist-Hawaiian Talk Story" will be held on Sunday, January 7, 2007, from 2:00-3:30pm in the Dining Hall of NMF's Contemplative Education Center (at the historic Kohala Girls' School.)

Together, we will explore and discuss how "Aloha" and "Nembutsu" reflect a way of life that is based on Compassion and Love. Facilitating this conversation will be the Reverends Dharmavidya and Prasada Brazier, and Elizabeth Lindsey, Ph.D.

Sunday, January 7, 2007
2:00PM - 3:30PM
Contemplative Education Center Dining Hall

Reverend Dharmavidya (David Brazier), head of the Order of Amida Buddha, is a Buddhist teacher noted for clarity and compassion. He holds a doctorate in Buddhist psychology and is author of five books, including Zen Therapy, The Feeling Buddha, and The New Buddhism.

Reverend Prasada (Caroline Brazier) holds an M.Phil degree in counseling and author of Buddhism on the Couch. She regularly teaches both psychological and religious topics, plays an important role in the training of chaplains and ministers in the Order, and helps to supervise the various engaged Buddhist projects that Amida Trust has given birth to.

Elizabeth Kapu`uwailani Lindsey, Ph.D. is an award-winning film-maker, speaker, author, actress, and holds a doctorate in Cultural Anthropology. Raised by her Hawaiian elders, this former Miss Hawaii serves as an advisor to prominent organizations which advance education and culture including Kamehameha Schools, University of Hawai`i at Hilo, `Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai`i as well as a board member of PBS Hawaii. She has brought the teachings of her ancestors to Capitol Hill, the Smithsonian Institute, and Oxford University. We are honored to have her as our newest member of the Board of Directors of New Moon Foundation.

TALK STORY at New Moon Foundation is free of charge and all are welcomed!

For more information about the New Moon Foundation TALK STORY series, please contact Susan Lofton at 889-0615 or at susan@newmoonfoundation.org. For directions to the Contemplative Education Center, please see this website.

For more information about all the events and opportunities to be with Reverends Dharmavidya and prasada during their January, 2007, Hawai`i visit, please visit the Amida Hawaii website at http://amidatrust.typepad.com/hawaii

For more information about the partnership between NMF and Amida Hawaii, please visit our Programs and Partnerships page.

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We wish to thank everyone for your enthusiastic support and presence at our recent Open House held November 19, 2006. Please check back for photos of this celebratory event.

Sunday, November 19, 2006 - OPEN HOUSE AT NEW MOON!

We are honored to invite the community to join us in celebrating our gratitude through offering a variety of unique and joyful events. Everyone is welcome to attend!

Celebration Blessing: 11:00-11:30am. Join us at the NMF Administrative Offices as Kumu Raylene Lancaster leads us in expressing our gratitude for the land, the community, and each other.

Open House: 11:30-2:30pm. See the exciting programs happening at NMF and world-wide through our partnerships!

Walking Tour of the Contemplative Education Center Dining Hall: 12:45-1:30pm. Gather outside NMF Administrative Offices for this gentle walking tour that takes us from the NMF Administrative Offices to the former Kohala Girls' School. Share in the vision for what will soon become the Contemplative Education Center (expected to open in 2008!)

Guided Hike of Ancient Gulch Trail: 1:00-2:00pm. Gather outside NMF Administrative Offices to meet Richard Stevens, professor of history and trail-blazer, who will guide us through this unique opportunity. Remember to bring your gulch shoes!

Guided Tour of Hawaiian Native Plants Nursery: 1:00-2:00pm. Gather outside NMF Administratives Offices to meet Michael Lancaster who will guide us on a tour of the native plants nursery being cultivated by Nahuapala O`Hawai`i. The nursery plants will be reintroduced on NMF's Sweetwater lands as we continue our project of elminating invasive species and creating a welcoming environment for native flora and fauna.

Guided Tour of Community Green Waste Composting Project: 1:00-2:30pm. Located across Akoni Pule Highway opposite Iole Road, Island Harvest manages a project to recyle community yard waste into compost. Learn more about the importance of this project for our community! There will be guides on site to welcome your questions and suggestions.

Guided Hike of NMF Upper Lands: 1:30-2:30pm. Gather at the mauka end of Iole Road outside NMF's upper land access gate. This is a sweet and moderate trail hike that is easily accessible to the community through contacting NMF. With Suzanna Gratz as your guide, you will be sure to enjoy the many beautiful views and points of interest along the path. Remember to bring your walking shoes and water!

Gathering at Amida Hawaii Temple: 1:00-2:30pm. Everyone is welcome to visit the Pureland Buddhist Temple for a chance to meet Sister Susthama who will introduce Amida and Pureland Buddhism. Amida Hawaii occupies a part of New Moon Foundation lands located on the mauka side of Akoni Pule Highway between the Statue of King Kamehameha and Iole Road. To enter the property, turn into the grassy road that is marked by two dark purple flags and park next to their garden area. We feel fortunate that the Temple, located at the upper end of the property, survived the structural damage that was visited upon both Amida residential buildings. During your visit to Amida Hawaii, you will have an opportunity to experience its peaceful atmosphere and uplifting practice.

Talk Story Gathering: 3:00-4:00pm. Our final event takes place at the Contemplative Education Center Dining Hall. This Talk Story Gathering is the first of a series that will be offered at NMF. Leading us will be our newest Board Member, Elizabeth Kapu'uwailani Lindsey, Ph.D. Elizabeth holds great love and respect for the cultural wisdoms of Hawai`i and the world. She has experienced that open discussion is a vehicle for healing and learning. With her guidance, we will have an opportunity to share our stories, and explore the underlying values that shape our interior landscapes and illuminate our understanding of right relationship. We invite everyone to participate in this metaphorical campfire gathering and contribute to our collective wisdom.

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August 2006 - Inauguration of the Amida Island Project and Amida Buddhism Practice

Through an association between Amida_Trust and New Moon Foundation, a center for Pureland Buddhist practice has been established on the Sweet Water lands on the Big Island of Hawai'i.

Dharmavidya Brazier, Head of the Amida Order from the United Kingdom, will arrive in Hawaii in August, 2006, to offer a series of teachings and lectures to the public. In anticipation of his arrival, members of the Amida community have established a center for weekly services. To find out more, or to become involved, please contact them directly at 808-889-1215 or logon to http://amidatrust.typepad.com/hawaii

The Amida School (Amida-shu) is a Buddhist sangha following the Pureland tradition. This tradition derives from the insights, practice, dedication and faith of such great masters as Nagarjuna (1st century) and Vasubandhu (4th century) in India, Hui Yuan (334-416) and Shan Tao (613-681) in China, and Honen Shonin (1133-1212) and his many disciples in Japan.

The Buddhist practice in the Amida Order is primarily focused on chanting and the principle form of chanting is nembutsu. Nembutsu is the invocation of the Buddha of eternal life. Major features of this approach to spirituality are a sense of the bitter-sweetness of life, of the smallness of human existence in the scheme of things, appreciation of beauty and naturalness, personal humility and faith, and a reliance upon community. Central are reverence for the sacred and fellow feeling for one another. The Amida Order has a substantial involvement in engaged Buddhism.

The Buddhist Pureland practice, being called the 'Amida Island Project' (AIP) will be located on the western area of Sweet Water lands and easily accessible from all areas of the Island. Throughout the AIP property are areas of unbounded natural beauty which will be offered as walking meditation paths with plenty of space for private contemplation. We anticipate the Amida Order will maintain a presence on the island, working from two houses on the property that have an extensive garden and access to all Sweet Water lands. This will provide a base from which to test out what is possible. There will be:

The Inaugural Date for the Amida Island Project will be celebrated on 15 August 2006, with teachings by Dharmavidya on the Amida tradition including the "Sukha Vati Byuha Sutra: The Pureland Manifesto." These teachings are found in the Larger Pureland Sutra, called the Sukhavativyuha, or "Making the Pureland Manifest".

Associated with these teachings will be other workshops and events yet to be announced. For more information on these programs including how to register and attend, or if you would like to assist in the Amida Island Project, please call 808-889-1215 or logon to http://amidatrust.typepad.com/hawaii

Teachers

Dharmavidya David Brazier is a spiritual leader of the Amida community. A Buddhist for more than 35 years, he is author of five books, including Zen Therapy, The Feeling Buddha and The New Buddhism. He has studied extensively with eminent teachers from all the main Buddhist traditions and was originally ordained as a Soto Zen monk. In addition to this he has worked in many fields, including as a social worker and psychotherapist. In 1996 he was involved, with his wife Caroline and a group of others, in setting up Amida Trust, from which the Amida Order grew two years later. The Amida Order is a socially engaged Pureland foundation based in UK, which includes a full time Buddhist training community.

Prasada Caroline Brazier is a full time member of the Amida Order, and a practicing psychotherapist for fifteen years. She is author of Buddhist Psychology (published as Buddhism on the Couch in the US) that is based on the models taught on the psychotherapy training program which she co-ordinates for Amida Trust and runs with her husband, David. Her understanding of therapy in the context of life conditions, and her interest in other aspects of engaged work come from her therapeutic practice, her life in the spiritual community, and many years of working in community development and women's health activism.

2006 Programs & Events

We wish to thank everyone for your enthusiastic support and presence at our recent Open House held November 19, 2006. Please check back for photos of this celebratory event.

Sunday, November 19, 2006 - OPEN HOUSE AT NEW MOON!

We are honored to invite the community to join us in celebrating our gratitude through offering a variety of unique and joyful events. Everyone is welcome to attend!

Teachers