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Long Beach "The answer to Why we Live? in Buddhism" Meetup cover photo

Long Beach "The answer to Why we Live? in Buddhism" Meetup

Long Beach, CA, US

477 members · Public group

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What we’re about

Are you searching for meaning in your life?

Have you ever felt happiness in your life... ...never lasts?

This Buddhist group has a great positive, multi-cultural atmosphere that helps people search for the answer to life's biggest questions.

Through the teachings of Buddha and historical Pure Land Buddhist teachers we understand better the direction our life needs to take in order to find the purpose of life.

We offer video lectures and have meetings to discuss how to obtain an absolute form of happiness.

I hope you'll stop by and attend a meeting when you have a chance!

Below, you'll find some more information about what Buddhism is all about as well as our contact info and location.

In Buddhism, we learn that there are two kinds of joy.

Relative Happiness All the happiness we know is called Relative Happiness.

Money, status, fame, wealth, family, friends, and our loved ones are all included in this category.

Politics, economics, medicine, and the arts also try to provide us with Relative happiness.

We seek for this type of happiness day in, day out hoping we can attain true satisfaction from it.

Absolute Happiness:

We are all seeking for a happiness which will truly last.

This kind of happiness is called Absolute Happiness.

The purpose of life is to attain it as quickly as possible while still alive.

Learn more at our meetups and check out some of our topics:

The Law of Cause and Effect

Six Good Deeds that Bring Happiness

Mirror of Truth

Dark Mind is the Root Cause of Suffering

Hope you’re not discouraged by the few RSVPs on the meetup. We usually get about 10-20 participants each time. Take good care and hope to have you with us soon! Bita

Upcoming events (4+)

Sun, Apr 20, 2025, 2:00 PM UTCABCs of Buddhism for Newbies
Link visible for attendees
Hi our Dharma friends,

A good Dharma friend is going to share the teachings with people new to Buddhism. Once our life is transformed through the Dharma, we can't keep it to ourselves. Hopefully other Dharma friends too will volunteer to share their wisdom too!
Join us and study together! We will have Q&As at the end of the presentation too!

The password for zoom is 426646.

We will record this session and upload to YouTube for access by our premium Right View YouTube channel members. Thank you for your understanding.
If you're interested in learning Buddhism but have a schedule conflict, please email Bita at bitadharma22@gmail.com

Below is the self-introduction of one of our presenter:

My name is Pam and I am from Nepal. I have been listening to Buddhist teachings, reading books about Buddhism from the sources of what ever was available in my country , I used to listen to Buddhist monks , gurus . In the beginning of 2020 my husband met one sensei through facebook who was teaching Buddhism online so from there we started listening to Buddhism . We listened in daily basis , we had at least one hour session every day where we learned much more than what we had just learned within my country. Listening to dharma has motivated me in many ways specifically if I could share then it would be being a better person every day . no matter what the world throws at you , no matter how people treat you , no matter what you go through but you make sure that you become a better person . and listening to dharma /Buddhism has really helped me a lot , understanding life, relationships and more. It is just the beginning I feel there’s much more to go , so the best thing is you listen to dharma and feel more deep. Be kind have compassion.
And one more best thing you can do is sharing it. So that many people can benefit in many ways.

Before I was just growing by age but after listening to dharma I am sincerely grown up now , I have learned how to communicate, apologize, be truthful and accept accountability of my deeds / karma without blaming someone else. I'll be happy if I can share that with you too.
2 attendees
Tue, Apr 22, 2025, 3:00 AM UTCBuddhism 101: What is the path of Right View?
Link visible for attendees
Hi, our Dharma friends!
Welcome to the gateway to Buddhism 101 for all! Our Right View Lab meeting is a friendly get-together of like-minded people to learn about unbiased thinking in Buddhism.
Our weekly “intro to Buddhism” meetup group is open to all! No experience in Buddhism is necessary. Each week we prepare a Dharma presentation for you all on that week’s Buddhism topic, followed by Q&A. We kick off each meeting with some introductions and short ice-breaking so that you get to know the other members of our sangha community! We have a good mix of regulars and newbies each meeting.
The first 20 minutes I'd like to get to know who is joining our zoom session so please have your camera on. After that, we will record our presentation and Q&A and upload to YouTube for the public. Thank you for your understanding.
Our classes are free but our classes & sangha are sustained completely by the dana gratitude contributions of people like you! Dana gratitude donations for our classes are gratefully accepted at https://donorbox.org/purelandschooldonation. Suggested donation for the event is $5 - $20.
Check out our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@right-view-lab!
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To better explain the philosophy behind Right View Lab (our weekly Monday events, focusing on unbiased thinking):
Finding the “Right View” means trying to find an objective and impartial view of the world – and to remove the biases that we all have when viewing the world. We are unable to see anything except through the prism of thought and emotion. When it comes to examining ourselves in particular, it is impossible to take off the tinted glasses of partiality and self seeking. Egoism clouds our vision.
Here’s a story to illustrate this. One day a princess in the legendary Dragon Palace under the sea held up a jewel and told all the fishes, “I will give a prize to anyone who can tell me what color this is.” Each of them named a different color: the black porgy said it was black, the bluefish said it was blue, and the white-fish said it was silver. Then they asked the princess, “Which one is right?” She replied, “The jewel has no color of its own. It is transparent, and simply reflects each of your colors.”
In regards to how we view life, it's beneficial to remind ourselves that our minds are like an iceberg. There's some of it poking through above the water level, and there's a vast amount of it below which is unseen. Let me give an example of how a young couple moves into an apartment building. Each Saturday the wife would shout to her husband, "Look at our neighbors laundry hanging over there. It looks so dirty! They must be using the wrong detergent!" This went on each week for quite some time. Then one Saturday, the wife woke up and said, "Today they look beautiful and clean." Then the husband said, "I woke up early this morning and cleaned the window."
If you're interested in learning Buddhism but have a schedule conflict, please write to me for a one on one session.

Also please note that we're going to livestream this zoom session on YouTube for later access by our premium members. There will be an announcement from the Zoom app when it starts.

We would appreciate it if you use the same name as your Meetup account so that the host of the meeting will easily recognize the participants.

Please make sure you RSVP 30 minutes prior to the start of the meeting.

Our classes are free but our classes & sangha are sustained completely by the dana gratitude contributions of people like you! Dana gratitude donations for our classes are gratefully accepted at https://donorbox.org/purelandschooldonation . Suggested donation for the event is $5 - $20.

The Zoom meeting passcode is 426646. We have about 10-20 people join us each week, including the regulars, so hope you don't get discouraged by seeing the few RSVPs here on this page. See you soon too!!!
We are looking forward to meeting fellow truth-seekers such as yourself, interested in the path to the Right View!
Bita and Yuichi Asakura
2 attendees
Thu, Apr 24, 2025, 12:00 AM UTCBuddhism 101: How can we create good karma?
Link visible for attendees
# Hi, our Dharma friends!

Welcome to the gateway to Buddhism 101 for all! Our Karma Lab meeting is a friendly get-together of like-minded people to learn about karma in Buddhism.
Our weekly “intro to Buddhism” meetup group is open to all! No experience in Buddhism is necessary. Each week we prepare a Dharma presentation for you all on that week’s Buddhism topic, followed by Q&A. We kick off each meeting with some introductions and short ice-breaking so that you get to know the other members of our sangha community! We have a good mix of regulars and newbies each meeting.
The first 20 minutes I'd like to get to know who is joining our zoom session so please have your camera on. Please note we’re planning to record our zoom session and upload to YouTube for access by our YouTube Premium Members. There will be a notification from Zoom about recording. Thank you for your understanding.
Our classes are free but our classes & sangha are sustained completely by the dana gratitude contributions of people like you! Dana gratitude donations for our classes are gratefully accepted at https://donorbox.org/purelandschooldonation. Suggested donation for the event is $5 - $20.
Check out our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@right-view-lab !
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To better explain the philosophy behind Karma Lab (our weekly Wednesday events, focusing on Karma):
It is not unusual for people to ask themselves;

Why do bad things happen to me?

Or simply, "why me?"

Often these questions come up when things are not going well, or when they fall apart. In these moments we may feel like we're confined to a small bubble, and it feels like there's no solution to our problems.
Buddhism does not state that there's some supernatural being that causes bad things to happen or some ancestral curse that shapes it. Rather Buddhism says to practice good deeds and refrain from bad. This does seem like common sense but there's a difference there.
There are two reasons why this applies to our lives.
One reason is that karma has energy. Not only is it invisible, somewhat like a virus which can't be seen, but it also has strength, and it shapes our future. This strength or power has an influence on our daily lives. Buddha said: "Bad karma creates bad consequences and good karma creates good consequences."
Also, when bad things are happening to us, it's an opportunity for us to practice self-reflection and make extra effort to practice simple good deeds such as cleaning, showing a smile to people, and giving gifts to our friends and family.
It's human nature for most people to blame others at times for our unfavorable outcomes or difficulties in life. It's harder to stop and look more closely at ourselves.
So, it is therefore important to regulate our minds because they are the parent, our speech and actions being the children. That is why the Buddha taught us about the Six Paramitas – six types of daily practices.
With patience and practice of these teachings, we will undergo a complete transformation. In addition, our lives will improve. We are all encouraged to practice kindness and compassion, the act of which is always at the top of the list.
Stay well and let's go forward towards the light of unconditional goodness together! We have about 10-20 people join us each week, including the regulars, so hope you don't get discouraged by seeing the few RSVPs here on this page. See you soon too!!!
If you're interested in learning Buddhism but have a schedule conflict, please write to me for a one on one session!

Also please note that we're going to livestream this zoom session on YouTube for later access by our premium members. There will be an announcement from the Zoom app when it starts.

We would appreciate it if you use the same name as your Meetup account so that the host of the meeting will easily recognize the participants.

Please make sure you RSVP 30 minutes prior to the start of the meeting.

Our classes are free but our classes & sangha are sustained completely by the dana gratitude contributions of people like you! Dana gratitude donations for our classes are gratefully accepted at https://donorbox.org/purelandschooldonation . Suggested donation for the event is $5 - $20.

Last but not least– the Zoom passcode is 426646.
We’re looking forward to meeting you!
Bita and Yuichi Asakura
2 attendees
Thu, Apr 24, 2025, 11:00 PM UTCPurpose of Life & The Vow-ship of Great Compassion (Advanced Themes)
Link visible for attendees
Hi our Dharma friends,
Due to popular request, we're starting a new class on Pure Land Buddhism teachings (explanations on the next paragraph); however, this class is advanced so to join us, you need to have completed our basic course and be a contributing sustaining member of our sangha on a monthly basis. Thank you for your understanding.
There are many different routes to climb a high mountain, from the beginner’s level to the advanced-level. Climbers can choose whichever routes based on their ability. Likewise, there are many ways for us to achieve a high stage of spiritual awakening as the Buddha’s. We want to experience true happiness while we’re here on Earth. So we want to know which path is good for us.
Let’s listen to the advice of great masters.
Seven hundred years after the historical Buddha passed away, the great Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna taught there is an easy path and a difficult path; he clarified it’s extremely difficult to achieve true happiness through the difficult path. He became the first advocate of the easy path after he had experienced the highest possible enlightenment for a human being to achieve.
Nagarjuna is one of the most outstanding Buddhist scholars throughout the whole history of Buddhism. There is no one who doesn’t acknowledge his scholarly achievement. Two hundred years after Nagarjuna’s death, Vasbandhu, who was also a great scholar and writer of Buddhism, followed his footsteps. More masters followed one after another until it reached Shinran in Japan.
To put it simply, the easy path is the Vow-ship of great compassion, which we're going to expound upon. This is going to be the main topic of this Thursday meeting from now on. We hope you enjoy it.
To our regular members: feel free to submit any questions you have on the Vow-ship of great compassion to Bita or Yuichi.
1 attendee

Past events (1324)

Thu, Apr 17, 2025, 12:00 AM UTCBuddhism 101: How can we create good karma?
This event has passed
3 attendees

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