Buddha For You

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Buddha For You is an antique Buddhist statuary store and gift shop in San Diego, California. The store offers a collection of existing and custom Buddhist statuary items and has been operating free meditation classes since 2009. The gift shop is best known for its role in the development of the first Buddhist college fraternity in the United States, Delta Beta Tau, at San Diego State University (SDSU).

San Diego City in California, United States

San Diego is a city in the U.S. state of California on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 120 miles (190 km) south of Los Angeles and immediately adjacent to the border with Mexico. With an estimated population of 1,419,516 as of July 1, 2017, San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest in California. It is part of the San Diego–Tijuana conurbation, the second-largest transborder agglomeration between the U.S. and a bordering country after Detroit–Windsor, with a population of 4,922,723 people. The city is known for its mild year-round climate, natural deep-water harbor, extensive beaches, long association with the United States Navy, and recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development center.

California U.S. state in the United States

California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents across a total area of about 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 9.7 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second-most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.

Delta Beta Tau Buddhist college fraternity

Delta Beta Tau (ΔΒΤ), is an American co-ed Buddhist college fraternity founded at San Diego State University (SDSU). The fraternity was founded on September 9, 2015 by ten SDSU students as the first Buddhist college fraternity in the United States. Although the fraternity was founded on Buddhist principles, the fraternity accepts people of any religious background and also accepts members who are already members of other college fraternities.

Contents

History

The store was founded in 1998 by an elderly couple in the Campus Plaza Shopping center near San Diego State University (SDSU), in the same plaza as a Thai restaurant also owned by the couple. [1] When the original owners planned on retiring in 2009, they asked the founders of Dharma Bum Temple to take over Buddha For You. The founders were reluctant to take on running the store, but agreed hoping it would assist with their temple work and create revenue for the temple. [2] [1] After Buddha For You was acquired by Dharma Bum Temple, the temple set up free meditation classes at the shop. [2] [1] The shop was not profitable but its free meditation classes became popular among college students from the nearby college campus of SDSU, with students eventually starting a meditation club on campus as a result. [3] [4] [5] [2] In 2011, the store moved to another building in the same plaza, which was done in the style of a pilgrimage. Over 150 people joined the move, which was led a Tibetan lama chanting Om mani padme hum as volunteers carried the store inventory into location by foot. [6] [1]

San Diego State University public research university in San Diego, USA

San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU has a Fall 2018 student body of 34,828 and an alumni base of more than 280,000.

Dharma Bum Temple Buddhist temple in the United States

Dharma Bum Temple is an American Buddhist temple in San Diego, California. The temple was founded on New Year's Eve in 2006 by a group of three people. The temple was originally called the Dharma Bum Center, officially changing its name to Dharma Bum Temple in September 2008. It has its roots in Taiwanese Buddhism but identifies with ecumenical Buddhism, or interdenominational Buddhism.

Om mani padme hum Six-syllable Pali matra hum

Auṃ maṇi padme hūṃ is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It first appeared in the Mahayana Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra where it is also referred to as the sadaksara and the paramahrdaya, or “innermost heart” of Avalokiteshvara. In this text the mantra is seen as condensed form of all the Buddhist teachings.

In September 2015, SDSU students who regularly attended the meditation classes at Buddha For You began a Buddhist college fraternity at the suggestion of store co-owner Jeffrey Zlotnik. [3] [4] [5] The co-ed fraternity, Delta Beta Tau, became the first Buddhist college fraternity in the United States. [7] [8] In 2017, the gift shop moved again, consolidating into the first floor of Dharma Bum Temple, which had moved locations, and transferred its status to a non-profit. [1]

Fraternities and sororities, or Greek letter organizations (GLOs), are social organizations at colleges and universities. A form of the social fraternity, they are prominent in the United States and the Philippines, with much smaller numbers existing in France, Canada, and elsewhere. Similar organizations exist in other countries as well, including the Studentenverbindungen of German-speaking countries or the Goliardia in Italy.

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Buddhism in the West The history and demographics of Buddhism in the West

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Alpha Xi Delta

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Butler, Sarah (2018-12-14). "Buddha for everyone". San Diego Uptown News. Archived from the original on 2019-02-04. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  2. 1 2 3 "Jewish Buddhist Creates a Community | L'CHAIM MAGAZINE". Archived from the original on 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  3. 1 2 Leary, Caitlynne (2015-09-08). "Buddhist Greek Life Comes to SDSU Campus". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  4. 1 2 Warth, Gary. "SDSU could get first Buddhist frat, sorority". The San Diego Union-Tribune . Archived from the original on 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  5. 1 2 Trageser, Claire. "San Diego State's Buddhist Fraternity, Sorority Aim To Bring Mindfulness To Mixers". KPBS Public Media. Archived from the original on 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  6. ↑ News, Buddhist (2011-02-18). "Buddha For You: Pilgrimage in San Diego". Lion's Roar. Archived from the original on 2018-03-29. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  7. ↑ Trageser, Claire. "Buddhist Fraternity Gaining Pledges At San Diego State". KPBS Public Media. Archived from the original on 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  8. ↑ "Delta Beta Tau". www.deltabetatau.org. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-03-26.

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