After today's discussion on what topics we might want to discuss at future meetings, we came up with the following list. We were hoping that everyone who was unable to come today will add any ideas they have (you can just email me, and I'll add it to the final list) and hopefully at the next meeting we will come up with a tentative schedule for the rest of the year and a rough idea of the direction that BSG will take over the following school year.

so, the *LIST*:

• different schools of buddhism
  
• the 4 noble truths
  
• the 5 (laymen's) precepts and the 8 (hardcore) precepts
  
• the life of the Buddha
  
• the history of buddhism
  
• the 5 aggregates
  
• the 3 characteristics of existence
  
• the 4 sublime mental states
  
• buddhist symbols
  
• different buddhist traditions (diversity between cultures)
  
• the Dalai Lama and other important contemporary and historical
  buddhist figures
  
• what makes a person buddhist/what is central to buddhism
  
• sutras
  
• meditiation
  
• death and buddhism/karma/rebirth
  
• buddhism and commercialism/buddhism in american pop culture
  

Next week, Ambrose will be leading a discussion on the 4 noble truths. We will also be discussing the future of BSG, including our mission statement, leadership system for next year, outreach, organization, goals and tons of other exciting stuff. *yay*

Three Breaths, Three Jewels

When time is short, Rev. Koyo S. Kubose of Bright Dawn Institute for American Buddhism shows us how to take in three mindful breaths, representing Buddhism's three jewels, in lieu of a longer meditative session.