buddhadharma.com
The site I created and launched in on Dec.26, 1998 disappeared sometime in May
2005 (approximately.) The site was hosted by aaahawk and I have thus far been
unable to contact them to find out what has happened to the site. Moreover I have
no downloaded copies of the site or its database. The site developers may have a
copy of the initial architecture of the site, but thus far this has not been confirmed.
The initial idea to develop buddhadharma.com came to me after I had missed a
lecture of HH Dali Lama. I thought that I would not have missed the teaching if a
site such as moviefone (which list movies in one's area based on zip codes) existed
for dharma teachings. I contacted some programmers and $5,000 of my personal
funds and about three months later buddhadharma.com was launched.
Whether it will be back again or not I do not know; but in the meantime I will offer
some dharma related news from my life and photos to share with you. I just want
those of you who may be wondering what has happened to our site to know the
situation and offer you my apologies for any inconvenience it may have caused.
Although buddhadharma.com was not as widely used as I would have liked, I am
deeply appreciative of those of you who did share your event info on the site thus
making the dharma more available to others.
2005 (approximately.) The site was hosted by aaahawk and I have thus far been
unable to contact them to find out what has happened to the site. Moreover I have
no downloaded copies of the site or its database. The site developers may have a
copy of the initial architecture of the site, but thus far this has not been confirmed.
The initial idea to develop buddhadharma.com came to me after I had missed a
lecture of HH Dali Lama. I thought that I would not have missed the teaching if a
site such as moviefone (which list movies in one's area based on zip codes) existed
for dharma teachings. I contacted some programmers and $5,000 of my personal
funds and about three months later buddhadharma.com was launched.
Whether it will be back again or not I do not know; but in the meantime I will offer
some dharma related news from my life and photos to share with you. I just want
those of you who may be wondering what has happened to our site to know the
situation and offer you my apologies for any inconvenience it may have caused.
Although buddhadharma.com was not as widely used as I would have liked, I am
deeply appreciative of those of you who did share your event info on the site thus
making the dharma more available to others.
Lost in the World Wide Web
About Us
buddhadharma.com
Sincerely,
Richard Josephson
Richard Josephson
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I established this website to share with others my own insight as a practitioner still very
much in the heart of the struggle with no accomplishment to speak of. I have made a
commitment to keep my suggestions in accord with the spoken word of the Buddha. I also
view this website as an exercise to help me clarify my own thoughts.
The most important years of my life were the ten years that I lived as a fully ordained
bhikshu under the guidance of Master Hsuan Hua. Almost all of the masters close disciples
took a vow never to lie down and eat only one meal a day; and I was no exception. During
my ten years there I never laid down, and ate one meal a day at noon. I fasted for world
peace, once for eighteen days, twice for thirty-six days, and once for sixty-eight days. The
first seven days of two of these fasts were without water and thereafter only twelve ounces
a day. I took a vow with a fellow monk to eat only a coconut bowl of food per day. We kept
it well over a year. I sat in meditation at least eight hours a day, in addition to sutra lectures
and ceremonies. I rarely spoke. I never viewed my life as austere because i was constantly
being pushed by the Master to see beyond the form of my practice. Moreover, my fellow
monks and nuns were working equally hard and were a constant encouragement. During
the years at Gold Mountain Monastery in San Francisco and the City of Ten Thousand
Buddhas, in Ukiah, I rarely left the monastery grounds.
Our schedule was also austere. Morning boards woke everyone at 3:40 AM. Morning
recitation began at 4:AM, followed by 2 hours of meditation. Then work until the noon meal
offering followed by lunch. Lunch was followed by a brief free time, followed by afternoon
work until late afternoon meditation and the evening recitation and sutra lectures. Lights
out at 10:00PM. My teachers sutra lectures in the evening were the highlight of the day.
During these sutra lectures an extensive commentary unraveled their meaning. Personal
instructions were woven into these enlightened discourses, often hidden except for those
whom they were aimed. Although the austerities and our daily schedule may seem difficult,
far more difficult was the inner struggle that the Master always kept in the forefront of each
of his disciple's mind, as he forced them to constantly face their afflictions and
shortcomings. Everyone worked hard in order to move through their obstructions and
overcome them rather than break under the pressure. Those unwilling or unable to do the
work left and they far outnumbered those who stayed. The Master had a well deserved
reputation as a being the most austere teacher in the West.
The Master lectured every evening and twice on weekends. The Avatamsaka, the
Diamond Sutra, The Heart Sutra, The Shurnagama Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, and others,
were recited and commented on. Listening to his enlightened discourse brought the
meaning deep within my heart; as if he was watering my mind with his understanding. He
could recite page after page from memory and often did, occasionally challenging his
audience (who had texts) to point out a mistake.
I am very grateful today to have had this background in sutra study. Much of modern
Buddhism tends to ignore these teachings, which is a pity because they are an essential
foundation for understanding Buddhism.
I had a very close relationship with my teacher. For a couple of years my room was next to
his and he would often come into my room while I was meditating to guide me. Most of the
time at Gold Mountain and the City of ten Thousand Buddhas i was in charge of the
meditation hall. I was appointed abbot (when the master was absent) for a time, but was
not interested in the task and another abbot was appointed
Prior to arriving at Gold Mountain, I had been in India and Nepal for two years; a year of
which I lived in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery on the Mt.Everest trail. From here I went to
India for a year. This stay ended abruptly. I had been living in a cave for six months in a
South Indian desert when on a trip to the village for food a policeman found that I had
been over a year without a visa. Discovering that I had been visiting his guru, however, he
ordered I leave the cave rather than put me in jail. I was sent to new Delhi where
immigration officers escorted me on a plane. Within a month of arriving in the US I found
my teacher.
I left the Master to return to Nepal and study with Tibetan teachers. Although I got married
to a Nepalese girl and we had children, I continued my practice and managed to call on
many great Tibetan masters, always dragging my kids along, and as a layman continued
my practice. I spent ten years in Nepal, during which time my family and I called on
wonderful teachers, most notably, HH Trulshik Rinpoche, whom I met even before my own
teacher and continue to see, and others that included HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, HH
Kalu Rinpoche, HH Urgyen Turlku, HH Dobsong Rinpoche, HH Chokling Rinpoche and HH
Chokyi Nyima and many others (easy to do in Nepal.) I now live in Maui, Hawaii, am
married, and return every year or two to India and Nepal.
I continue to spend much of my days in meditation, yoga and study.
much in the heart of the struggle with no accomplishment to speak of. I have made a
commitment to keep my suggestions in accord with the spoken word of the Buddha. I also
view this website as an exercise to help me clarify my own thoughts.
The most important years of my life were the ten years that I lived as a fully ordained
bhikshu under the guidance of Master Hsuan Hua. Almost all of the masters close disciples
took a vow never to lie down and eat only one meal a day; and I was no exception. During
my ten years there I never laid down, and ate one meal a day at noon. I fasted for world
peace, once for eighteen days, twice for thirty-six days, and once for sixty-eight days. The
first seven days of two of these fasts were without water and thereafter only twelve ounces
a day. I took a vow with a fellow monk to eat only a coconut bowl of food per day. We kept
it well over a year. I sat in meditation at least eight hours a day, in addition to sutra lectures
and ceremonies. I rarely spoke. I never viewed my life as austere because i was constantly
being pushed by the Master to see beyond the form of my practice. Moreover, my fellow
monks and nuns were working equally hard and were a constant encouragement. During
the years at Gold Mountain Monastery in San Francisco and the City of Ten Thousand
Buddhas, in Ukiah, I rarely left the monastery grounds.
Our schedule was also austere. Morning boards woke everyone at 3:40 AM. Morning
recitation began at 4:AM, followed by 2 hours of meditation. Then work until the noon meal
offering followed by lunch. Lunch was followed by a brief free time, followed by afternoon
work until late afternoon meditation and the evening recitation and sutra lectures. Lights
out at 10:00PM. My teachers sutra lectures in the evening were the highlight of the day.
During these sutra lectures an extensive commentary unraveled their meaning. Personal
instructions were woven into these enlightened discourses, often hidden except for those
whom they were aimed. Although the austerities and our daily schedule may seem difficult,
far more difficult was the inner struggle that the Master always kept in the forefront of each
of his disciple's mind, as he forced them to constantly face their afflictions and
shortcomings. Everyone worked hard in order to move through their obstructions and
overcome them rather than break under the pressure. Those unwilling or unable to do the
work left and they far outnumbered those who stayed. The Master had a well deserved
reputation as a being the most austere teacher in the West.
The Master lectured every evening and twice on weekends. The Avatamsaka, the
Diamond Sutra, The Heart Sutra, The Shurnagama Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, and others,
were recited and commented on. Listening to his enlightened discourse brought the
meaning deep within my heart; as if he was watering my mind with his understanding. He
could recite page after page from memory and often did, occasionally challenging his
audience (who had texts) to point out a mistake.
I am very grateful today to have had this background in sutra study. Much of modern
Buddhism tends to ignore these teachings, which is a pity because they are an essential
foundation for understanding Buddhism.
I had a very close relationship with my teacher. For a couple of years my room was next to
his and he would often come into my room while I was meditating to guide me. Most of the
time at Gold Mountain and the City of ten Thousand Buddhas i was in charge of the
meditation hall. I was appointed abbot (when the master was absent) for a time, but was
not interested in the task and another abbot was appointed
Prior to arriving at Gold Mountain, I had been in India and Nepal for two years; a year of
which I lived in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery on the Mt.Everest trail. From here I went to
India for a year. This stay ended abruptly. I had been living in a cave for six months in a
South Indian desert when on a trip to the village for food a policeman found that I had
been over a year without a visa. Discovering that I had been visiting his guru, however, he
ordered I leave the cave rather than put me in jail. I was sent to new Delhi where
immigration officers escorted me on a plane. Within a month of arriving in the US I found
my teacher.
I left the Master to return to Nepal and study with Tibetan teachers. Although I got married
to a Nepalese girl and we had children, I continued my practice and managed to call on
many great Tibetan masters, always dragging my kids along, and as a layman continued
my practice. I spent ten years in Nepal, during which time my family and I called on
wonderful teachers, most notably, HH Trulshik Rinpoche, whom I met even before my own
teacher and continue to see, and others that included HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, HH
Kalu Rinpoche, HH Urgyen Turlku, HH Dobsong Rinpoche, HH Chokling Rinpoche and HH
Chokyi Nyima and many others (easy to do in Nepal.) I now live in Maui, Hawaii, am
married, and return every year or two to India and Nepal.
I continue to spend much of my days in meditation, yoga and study.