20070701

This is so difficult to put into words - that Jay's visit was planned before my human revolution at SMCC. That before I saw Jay I had a wonderful lunch with Steven and his cousin Cuca. That after I saw Jay I watched a wonderfully profound movie about life and death called "Stranger than Fiction". It's all so terribly profound and I find myself incredibly depressed and joyful at the same time. These are the times that try men's souls. This is the time I deepen my faith and love of life.

20070421 Visit with Steven Chang

Steven and I got together this morning to chant an hour and compare notes about astrology, careers, cars, aspirations, and, goals. We also talked about Steven's new shakubuku and the meetings coming up this week. Steven is chanting to achieve a career breakthrough -- he wants to move up to the next level in his current career path.

20070407 Visit With Steven Chang

Steven and I got together this morning to chant one hour and do morning Gongyo together. We exchanged notes about tea and women and agreed to initiate a one million daimoku campaign based on President Ikeda's and Nichiren Daishonin's guidance contained in the 20070325 TMF.

You can find our campaign blog at http://onemilliondaimoku.blogspot.com.

20070317 Chatting, Chanting, and, Study with Harvey Cowen

Today was a real treat. I went over to Harvey's house where Harvey and I chatted over coffee and tea in his kitchen for about 1/2 hour. We talked about all sorts of things and both felt very encouraged. Next, we chanted for an hour and did morning Gongyo. We followed with a reading out loud of the Real Aspect of the Gohonzon gosho by Nichiren Daishonin. Both of us felt a renewed determination to advance with the spirit of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo shining forth from the depths of our being.

20070303 Visit with Ron and Steven

Ron and Steven popped over this morning and we chanted, did morning Gongyo, and, studied "Understanding the Meaning of 'The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind'" from WNDII. Some lively and thought-provoking discussion ensued. After Ron left, Steven and I enjoyed some green tea (Le Palais Gourmet - Sencha Fruit Rouges - Japanese Sencha blended with Cranberry and Red Berries).

20070224 Visit with my MDR District Homies

From l to r: Ron Culver, Harvey Cowen, Gary Mark, and, Steven Chang. We gathered at my house for some great tea and daimoku from 10am to noon. This picture was taken after we had finished chanting a good hour of Daimoku with morning Gongyo. Don't we look happy?

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It's amazing to me how fortunate we are that we can congregate without fear of persecution in a beautiful environment and chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to our hearts' content...

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We come from different backgrounds and have different life histories and struggles - yet, we are able to get together and share this wonderful Buddhism with each other and others... My heart overflows with joy... I am so deeply and profoundly encouraged...

Superbowl XLI Party at Allen's House

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91_wF1jxDls

20070203 Visit with Steven Chang

Although I've been attending meetings with MDR Group, and Steven, for the last year or two, I visited Steven for the first time today, 20070203, Sat, 10am.

Steven lives on Earldon St at the top of a beautiful hill in Playa Del Rey. His "bachelor pad" on the third floor of a multiple residence commands a panoramic view of the Marina.

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Steven has been practicing since his college days when he was a roommate with David Williams, George M. Williams' son. He obtained his BS in Business Administration from UC Berkley and currently sells retirement annuities for Pacific Life.

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Steven's parents live in the greater Los Angeles area where Steven and his older brother, who now lives in San Francisco have spent their entire lives. We chatted and chanted from 1030am till about 12:30pm and shared our experiences and challenges with each other.

20070115 Visit With Gloria Kalb

Gloria has been a member of MDR Group for about a year or so and recently underwent surgery to repair a hip fracture. I visited her to encourage her (and, by extension, myself).

We had a wonderful chat in her living room during which we shared our life histories and how we came to be where we are today. I learned a lot about Gloria and feel closer to her as a result.

She grew up in a conservative Italian family in Brooklyn NY, the first of several siblings. As the oldest she was responsible to care for her younger ones. After graduating high school Gloria joined the Arthur Murray dance studio as an instructor and continued "caring for people" through dance. In 1951 she moved to Los Angeles CA to open an Arthur Murray dance studio here and met her first husband to whom she remained married for four years. During those four years she took some courses that certified her to teach nursery school.

Gloria loves learning and caring for people and has taken courses all of her life. Emblematic of her love for learning; when she was a young girl she envied her friends who went to religious school after school.

While teaching nursery school she met her second husband, a medical doctor, to whom she remained married for 40 years. He already had a "brood of four children" and they adopted a fifth together. Soon after their wedding Gloria went to UCLA and obtained her degrees in psychology - after which she opened her clinical practice - continuing her legacy of caring for and helping others.


Gloria is a passionate, lively and genuine 82 year young woman and a "true bodhissatva of the earth". She's intelligent, thoughtful and considerate. Gloria has a lot to offer many many people and has much life to live ahead of her.

We concluded our brief time together with the evening recitation of the sutra, chanting of daimoku and reading of the gosho passage from the The Three Tripitaka Masters' Prayer for Rain. Her voice is sonorous and deep, reflecting a strong connection to Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.

Gloria was full of color and life and looked positively splendid. I would never have known she had just had surgery...