A Store for Zen Buddhists
By Patte Purcell
Trancendental meditation and Zen Buddism are at the heart of a small store called Buddha by the Sea, tucked away at 73540 Hwy 111 in Palm Desert (next to Randy’s Cafe).
There you’ll find a serene atmosphere to purchase Tibetian Buddhist artwork, pictures, prayer flags, clothing and ritual items. A small sitting area features a tranquil fountain and comfy chairs to sit and enjoy a moment of peace or one of their classes on mediation.
Owners Jim Hobson and Susan Dissette joined with Manager Bonnie Gilgallon (also a well-known radio host and actress) in honoring their friend Carol Irene Newell who passed from cancer. The idea had come to her in a meditation. After she passed they started a store to honor her memory.
The store also hosts events including the singing Tibetan Bowls. Twice a month psychic Patricia De Joseph, a clairvoyant also teaches classes on communication with the other side.
On October 4-7 they are hosting members of Tibetian Medicine and Astrological Institute (Men-Tee-Khang) into America as part of an outreach. There will be consultations in Tibetan medicine and astrology in conjunction with numerous classes of the day. There will be lectures in the evening. It will be capped off with a fundraiser dinner and silent auction.
Buddha by the Sea donates a percentage of their revenues to the Tibetan community in exhale. For information or to book tickets contact them at 760-341-0548, you can also visit their website at BuddhabytheSea.com. Summer hours: Tuesday -Fri, 9am to 3pm, Sat. 9-4.
For those that don’t know much about Buddhism (count me in that group) here is what it’s about. Buddhism is a religion indigenous to the Indian subcontinent that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the Buddha, meaning “the awakened one”. The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.[1] He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end their suffering (dukkha) through the elimination of ignorance (avidyā) by way of understanding and the seeing of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda) and the elimination of craving (taṇhā), and thus the attainment of the cessation of all suffering, known as the sublime state of nirvāņa.
