Sangha Talk

Unit One
Dialogue Where does the bus leave from?
Practice Points
1. "And how much is it?"
2."(Oh), and where does the bus leave from?"
3."Excuse me, do you have any books on Madhyamika?"
4."I'd rather this one because it has a Tibetan-English glossary at the back."
Comprehension Parable retold by Sogyal Rinpoche

Unit Two
Dialogue I woke up this morning feeling terrible
Practice Points
1. "Certainly. Are you registered with us?"
2. "Well, I woke up this morning feeling terrible."
3. "I almost felt too weak to get out of bed."
4. "Keep warm, drink lots of fluids, and get plenty of rest."
Comprehension A Buddhist story

Unit Three
Dialogue What is a Bodhisattva
Practice Points
1. Find words and phrases.
2. "It's a little like clothing."
3. "It's a little like clothing."
4. "It can be the title given to a being who has attained realization."
Comprehension A teaching by H.H. Sakya Trizin

Unit Four
Dialogue I'd like to ask you about the Four Noble Truths."

Practice Points
1.Find words and phrases
2."I was reading a book on world religions.
3."It is because we see and experience things incorrectly that we have
4."And they are taken by lay people as a support."
Comprehension A teaching by Sogyal Rinpoche

Unit Five
Dialogue Suffering exists because of delusion and ignorance.
Practice Points
1. Find words and phrases.
2. "Buddhism states that life is suffering, and because of this some people in the West criticize Buddhism."
3. "If it were me, I wouldn't know whether to run or stand still."
4. "The king was very unhappy about this, but the Buddha said to him,
*O king of men, a female child may prove an even better offspring than a male.'"
Comprehension A teaching by Zen Master Bankei

Unit Six
Dialogue "Karma" literally means action.
Practice Points
1. Find words and phrases.
2. Find two kinds of questions.
3. "I follow your logic, but I can't accept this way of thinking."
4. "I think the idea of karma has been used for centuries to suppress and exploit people"
Comprehension A teaching by Zen Master Huang Po

Unit Seven
Dialogue Bodhicitta actually has two aspects: relative and absolute.
Practice Points
1. Find words and phrases.
2."When we practice like this, we do whatever we can to help sentient beings."
3."Imagine that your left hand accidentally bangs against a table and hurts itself."
4."So in this case, the right hand neither thinks it should nor tries to help."
Comprehension A teaching by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi

Unit Eight
Dialogue All phenomena are merely elements that temporarily bind together.
Practice Points
1. Find words or phrases.
2. "O.K. I'll give you an example. Look at this cup. What is it made of?"
3. "Wouldn't it be better to go to these places and help these people rather than sitting on a mountain meditating and chanting sutras?"
4. "Exploitation and corruption are only symptoms of a much deeper problem."
Comprehension A teaching by Tarthang Tulku

Unit Nine
Dialogue We should deeply understand the principle of impermanence.
Practice Points
1. Find words and phrases.
2. "I find this subject very interesting."
3. "I'm not saying that we should neglect our health or possessions. In fact, we ought to keep our things neat and clean."
4. "We would just let ourselves get sick."
Comprehension A teaching by Sogyal Rinpoche

Unit Ten
Dialogue My teacher passed away last night.
Practice Points
1. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."
2. "It's not worth it, and anyway I'll be needed at the temple."
3. "No, I'm sorry the next flight to Sendai isn't until the day after tomorrow."
4. Letter writing practice.
Comprehension A teaching by Zen Master Bankei

Unit Eleven
Dialogue Please keep in touch.
Practice Points
1. "Well, take care of yourself and keep in touch."
2. "I'll definitely write once I get the chance."
3. "Could you put your luggage on the scale please."
4. "Here's your boarding pass. Have a nice flight."
Comprehension A teaching by Shakar Tsogdruk Rangdrol

Unit Twelve
Dialogue I know he was looking forward to going there some day.
Practice Points
1. "Well, this is the last week of term. Before you leave Taiwan, would you like to go anywhere?"
2. "Well, unless a typhoon comes, why don't we go on a pilgrimage to Jin Fwo Mountain?"
3. "I know he was looking forward to going there some day."
4. "Yes, if only we had known that he would have to return to Japan early, we could have gone during the spring holidays."
Comprehension A teaching by Zen Master Huang Po

Verb Forms (Present, past and present perfect tense)