Buddhism is one of the world's oldest religions. At its core are the quests to understand life and to help people overcome their basic sufferings. It emerged from the teachings of Shakyamuni, who is said to have lived some 2,500 years ago. Known as Siddhartha Gautama in his youth, at age 19, he was a royal heir in India. His palace life was far removed from the everyday life of common people, and when he discovered how people suffered outside the palace walls, he set out to find out how to overcome the roots of basic human suffering and find solutions to the inescapable sufferings of life. He sought the foremost teachers of his day and practiced the extreme forms of asceticism they advocated as the means to realize the ultimate reality of life. After several years, and on the point of death from fasting, Shakyamuni realized their path was too extreme. He awakened to the wisdom of the "middle way," neither the extreme of austerity nor of indulgence. After accepting food from a young girl, he sat down under the "Bodhi" (a pipal) tree. There he entered a profound meditation and finally attained enlightenment.

For some 40 years following his awakening at age 30, Shakyamuni imparted to others portions of his own enlightenment. Following Shakyamuni's passing, various schools of Buddhism spread throughout Asia, following the various teachings (sutras) of the Buddha. It was only natural that a broad range of interpretive schools should emerge, since in his 50-year teaching career he had employed a wide variety of means by which to transmit his enlightenment to people of various capacities and circumstances.

13111 Crossburn Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44135
(216) 265-0974
http://www.sgi-usa.org/
ground level entrance

Soka Gakkai International (SGI)-USA is an American Buddhist association that promotes world peace and individual happiness based on the teachings of the Nichiren school of Mahayana Buddhism. Our members reflect a cross section of our diverse American society, representing a broad range of ethnic and social backgrounds.

During the final eight years of Shakyamuni's life, he expounded his ultimate teachings, later compiled as the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra is unique because it affirms that enlightenment is possible for all people without distinction of race, gender, social standing or education. Buddhism, as epitomized in the Lotus Sutra, is a powerful, life-affirming, egalitarian and humanistic teaching. Nichiren Daishonin in Japan (who lived from 1222-82) transformed profound theory into a simple practice, thereby enabling ordinary people to reveal their highest state of life in the midst of day-to-day realities.

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944), a Japanese educator, was passionately dedicated to educational reform and strove to develop ways to unleash individual potential. He realized Nichiren Daishonin's teachings could provide the philosophical foundation for value-creating education, and committed himself to practicing this Buddhism. In 1930, along with a young teacher, Josei Toda (1900-1958), he founded the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, or "Value-Creation Education Society." During World War II, the militarist Japanese government cracked down on dissidence. Mr. Makiguchi and Toda refused to violate the Buddhist reverence for life; their resistance led to imprisonment as "thought criminals" in 1943. Mr. Makiguchi, at 72, endured brutality and privation in prison, refusing to compromise his convictions until he died in November 1944. Mr. Toda survived and was released on July 3, 1945. The Society had all but disintegrated under wartime persecution. Though physically ravaged, he immediately began rebuilding the organization and renamed it the Soka Gakkai (Value-Creation Society). He expanded the mission for the betterment of society as a whole. The Soka Gakkai rapidly grew to more than 750,000 households by his death in 1958.

Daisaku Ikeda assumed Mr. Toda's responsibilities when he became the third president on May 3, 1960. Mr. Ikeda had met Mr. Toda at age 19 and committed himself to practicing the Buddhist ideals of the Soka Gakkai. Mr. Ikeda has dedicated himself to fulfilling his mentor's vision in the areas of peace, culture and education, based on Nichiren Daishonin's teachings. Through his international travels beginning in 1960, Mr. Ikeda has contributed greatly to Buddhism becoming a truly global religion and to world peace. In 1975, the Soka Gakkai International was formed, and today, Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism is being practiced by more than 18 million people in 163 countries under the auspices of the SGI.

[Description taken from website.]

14436 Puritas Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44135
(216) 889-1393
http://www.cloudwater.org/

Operated by the Zen Society of Cleveland, CloudWater Zendo is a Buddhist meditation center dedicated to Ch'an meditation, Pure Land Buddhism, the combined practice of Ch'an and Pure Land meditation, the practice of meditative arts and the study of Buddhist teachings for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Participants learn about the Buddhist and Taoist teachings which combined to create the Ch'an school of ancient China. Pure Land Buddhism, a 2,000-year-old Buddhist practice with profound implications for our modern world, is also studied. For those who choose to join the Nien-Fo Ch'an order, the Ch'an Leadership Training Program is an opportunity to deepen their practice and realization through individualized instruction and mindful participation in Zendo activities.

Ch'an and Pure Land Buddhism are but two paths to Enlightenment. It is the purpose of the Zen Society of Cleveland to give all who desire it the opportunity to realize their true nature through practice and teaching, and to encourage them to allow their understanding to be actualized into daily existence for the benefit of all beings.

The Pure Land service allows us to enjoy the practices and teachings of the Pure Land Dharma in an accessible, communal way. Services will be held at 7:00 p.m. on January 14th, February 18th, March17th, April 21st, May 19th, June 16th, July 21st, August 18th, September 15th, October 14th, November 18th and December 15th. We hope that those of you who are benefitting from the Pure Land teachings as well as those who are curious about them will join us as we become one with the Boundless Compassion and Wisdom of Amitabha Buddha.

[Description taken from website.]

2670 West 14th Street
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 687-1617
http://www.jewelheart.org/

Jewel Heart is a spiritual, cultural, and humanitarian organization that translates the ancient wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism into contemporary life.

In the seventh century, Buddhism began to take root in the remote Himalayan region of Tibet. During the next several hundred years, many Indian masters made the journey to teach in Tibet. There, Buddhist texts were translated into Tibetan and great masters such as Je Tsonkhapa composed new commentaries. Thousands of monasteries were founded, unique artistic and literary traditions were inspired, and extraordinary yogic practitioners flourished outside the monasteries, many of them in solitary retreat. Buddhism so radically transformed the culture over the next thousand years that Tibet has become a world symbol of spiritual mastery.

In recent decades, Buddhist principles and wisdom have begun to penetrate Western thinking in diverse disciplines such as science, psychology, medicine, metaphysics, and the arts. Jewel Heart seeks to serve as vehicle and witness to this process of personal and cultural transformation by translating the principles of Tibetan Buddhism into contemporary life, so that all may benefit from this living tradition.

[Description taken from website.]