eMirror Vol 22, No. 1 (2018-01-05)
Photograph of front porch at Dainen-ji by Ryoshin Comeau
eMirror Vol 22, No. 1
Friday, January 5th, 2018
Edited by Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho
The White Wind Zen Community:
An international community practising and teaching Dogen’s Zen since 1985.
Quotes from teisho are run sequentially in the eMirror
Old Stonehead tries to clarify this. He says:
Banmotsu onozukara kō ari.
Masani yō to sho to o yubeshi.
All things have their own value
and are related each to the other in action and place.
Banmotsu means "myriad" or "many things", "the myriad things." Onozukara is the word that we must be silent about: it means "naturally" or "spontaneously", so sshhh…. Kō means "virtue, ability": that which makes something what it is because it is this activity. Ari means "has". Masani actually means "actually". Yō means "function". Sho is "this place". Yubeshi means "you should". So, it implies that you really should know that right here everything is working spontaneously, naturally, without effort – and you must TRY to understand this, you must KATSU [Roshi shouts] to understand this; you must exert yourself to release yourself. And in releasing yourself you release yourself as the exertion of reality.
Now the term kō means "virtue or ability" and the term yo means "function". The word yō goes together with the word ri which means "principle, context, knowing". And kō, or "virtue", goes together with ji, which means "thing, appearance, content or knowns". And so everything moves as kōyō – "functioning virtue": the activity of that which never moves.
Right here and right now are themselves this kōyō. You, yourself, ARE this kōyō. Waking Up is not a matter of good or bad, up or down, going someplace else in order to be enlightened. It is not a matter of turning things inside out or upside down. It is feeling the foot, breathing the breath, and living as that which lives as you.
Please, this morning, Wake Up!
-Anzan Hoshin roshi, continuing teisho 3: "Waking Up is Not a Matter of 'Up'," August 24th, 1996 in "Studying the Mystery," Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's Commentaries on Shitou Xiqian's "Sandōkai"
Upcoming Events
https://wwzc.org/upcoming-events
Fusatsu: January 17th and 31st
Hermitage
The Roshi began a period of hermitage on Wednesday, January 3rd, which will end at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, January 7th, when he leads Monastics in Acalanatha Sadhana.
Introduction to Zen Workshop
The next Introduction to Zen Workshop will take place at Dainen-ji on Saturday, January 6th. For more information please see: http://www.wwzc.org/content/introduction-zen-workshop-ottawa
For information concerning our Long-distance Training Program, please visit this Web Page: http://www.wwzc.org/long-distance-training-program
January two-day Sesshin
The January 2-day sesshin begins at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, January 12th and will end at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 14th.
On Saturday, January 13th, associate and general students may attend a sitting held in the Zendo. Arrival time is 9:15 a.m. (in time for First Bell). The sitting ends at 11:30 a.m. Students attending are reminded to remain on the first floor.
Daiji-ki
January 22nd is the memorial of the date of death of Daiji Tenku daiosho, who was the Teacher of Joshu Dainen daiosho, both of whom Anzan Hoshin roshi studied with.
Retreats
Louis Radakir sat a four-day retreat from Thursday, December 28th to the evening of Sunday, December 31st, before attended Joya. Endai shramon sat a two-day retreat on Friday, December 29th and Saturday, December 30th. Leonardo Nobrega began a seven-day period of residential training which will end with a two-day retreat next weekend. Sarah Goul sat a three-day retreat from Tuesday, January 2nd to the end of Thursday, January 4th. Beth Buerkle sat a one-day retreat on Tuesday, January 2nd at her home in Chamcook, New Brunswick.
To Schedule a Retreat
Please visit this Web page for information about scheduling a retreat and an explanation of the different kinds of retreat (duration and timing) you can sit: https://wwzc.org/retreats. Please note that retreats should be scheduled one week in advance.
Public students sitting retreats should send an email to schedule@wwzc.org to confirm they sat a retreat so that notice of it can be included in the eMirror. Please include the location of the retreat and the duration.
Teisho
Recorded Teachings Schedule
- Saturday, January 6th general sitting: “The Primordially Awakened Way”: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's Commentaries on Eihei Dogen zenji's "Kobutsu-shin": “The Buddha ‘Old’” (5 of 8)
- Sunday, January 7th formal sitting: SAkN “Root Cycle Two” by Ven. Anzan Hoshin: “Locatedness and Framing” (teisho 2 of 3)
- Monday, January 8th general sitting: “Bodhidharma’s Eyes” by Ven. Anzan Hoshin: “Drop by Drop” (6 of 13)
- Thursday, January 11th associate sitting: “Monkey in the House of Six Windows” by Zen Master Anzan Hoshin (teisho 1 of 1)
- Saturday, January 13th associate and general sitting: “Every Breath You Take”: Ven. Shikai Zuiko o-sensei’s Comments on “The Practice of Purity”: “At Home” (Dharma Talk 1)
Missed Sittings and Teisho
If associate students are unable to attend the Thursday evening associate sitting, they may attend one of the general sittings to make up for the sitting they missed. General sittings are held on Monday evenings at 7:30 p.m. (first Bell is at 7:15) and Saturday mornings at 9:30 a.m. (first Bell at 9:15 a.m.). Please send an email to request permission to attend one of these sittings.
Teisho presented at general and associate sittings which are part of a series need to be listened to in the correct order and with none missed out. If you miss a sitting please borrow a copy of the missed teisho from the library or download it from the WWZC Media Site as soon as possible, so that the continuity of what is being presented is not disrupted. The weekly list of recorded teisho played at sittings is posted on the web site at:
https://wwzc.org/recorded-teachings-schedule
Online Access to Recorded Teachings
Students can access the password-protected online Recorded Teachings library on the WWZC website at https://wwzc.org/recorded-teachings or through the streaming site at http://app.wwzc.org. The custom-built media streaming site allows students to live stream recordings from the WWZC Recorded Teachings collection. It is optimized for use on smartphones and tablets, and works with most modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. It can also be used on desktops.
Congratulations
Congratulations and deep gassho to James Wood of Ottawa, who has been accepted as an associate student by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi.
WWZC Website www.wwzc.org
Recorded Teachings for Public Access
While most of the online Recorded Teachings library is password-protected and only accessible to students of Zen Master Anzan Hoshin, a small selection of MP3 recordings of teisho are accessible to the public at https://wwzc.org/recorded-teachings. Additional recordings will be uploaded periodically.
MP3 recordings of five teisho are currently available:
- Dharma Position https://wwzc.org/dharma-position
- Eyes See, Ears Hear https://wwzc.org/eyes-see-ears-hear
- Embarrassment https://wwzc.org/embarrassment
- Yaza 2007: Sit Through the Night, the Night is Bright Right Through https://wwzc.org/yaza-2007
- Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi's reading of his translation of Eihei Dogen zenji's “Bendowa: A Talk on Exerting the Way” https://wwzc.org/bendowa-talk-exerting-way
Samu on Sundays
Each Sunday afternoon (except during O-sesshin and Sesshin), Caretaking Council (Saigyo tando, Fushin shramon and Endai shramon) do samu from 1:30p.m to 4:30p.m. on the various small projects required around the monastery. There are always a great many tasks that need to be done and so any students are welcome and encouraged to come to Dainen-ji to join the monastics in caretaking practice. If you would like to partake in the samu practice on Sundays please write to Saigyo tando at saigyo.cross@gmail.com.
Painted Cakes
(do not satisfy hunger)
by Shikai Zuiko sensei
Continuing on with “Painted Cakes: A Zen Dictionary” a limited edition text written by Anzan Hoshin roshi in 1994.
Omamaori(J); A talismanic object empowered by the teacher as a reminder of practice and an access point for transmission
Questions can be sent to me, Shikai sensei, at shikai.sensei@gmail.com.
Office of the Tenzo
Dogen zenji taught in the Tenzokyokun that the work of preparing and serving meals is "a matter for realized monks who have the mind of the Way or by senior disciples who have roused the Way-seeking mind." In alignment with this, part of Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's samu for the Community involves personally overseeing the activities of the ancient office of tenzo. Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho serves as tenzo and Mishin ino and Saigyo tando offer assistance as tenzo-anja.
Monday Yakuseki:
Mixed grain fried rice (basmati white and brown rice, and Chinese short-grain brown rice), with sauteed onions, corn, butter, shoyu; mushroom soup (cremini, eryengi, shitake and porchini mushrooms, chopped white onion, garlic, shoyu, thyme, rosemary, with deep-fried tofu triangles; fruilano cheese with sweet gherkins and lemon zest.
Tuesday Yakuseki:
Curry of halved small eryngii mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, mung bean sprouts, faux "pork" mein jin, rectangles of firm Panda tofu, atsuage tofu triangles, braised with tamarind curry paste, Xiaoxing wine, coconut milk; stir-fried spinach and pea greens; brown and white Thai jasmine rice.
Thursday Yakuseki:
Mashed Yukon gold potatoes; Deep-fried tofu triangles braised in chili sauce; Chinese cauliflower drenched in a sauce made from garlic, butter and lime juice, baked with a Parmesan crust; sauteed green cabbage and Spanish onion, mixed with baby green peas.
Thank You
If you would like to thank someone for a contribution they have made, please feel free to send an email to Jinmyo osho at rengezo at Gmail dot com, but be sure to type "eMirror" in the subject line.
From Jinmyo osho:
Thank you to Chunen angya for sending out the eMirror each week for many years, and thank you to David Gallant for assuming responsibility for this task. Thank you to Saigyo tando for overseeing work done in different areas of the monastery, including renovations to the Osho-ryo; to all of the monastics for the efforts they make to ensure the smooth running of the monastery. Thank you to Sarah Goul for a beautiful multi-coloured stone from Petra; to Shannon Morphew for a selection of Vegan Christmas cookies.
From Mishin ino:
Thank you to the Roshi for the Joya teisho presented in 2011, the recording of which we listened to during this year's Joya celebration. Thank you to Jinmyo osho for leading Joya and for the post-Joya meal of delicious noodles with an assortment of kimchi and other toppings.
From Endai shramon:
Thank you to Jinmyo osho for leading Joya, the new year's celebration at Dainen-ji, and for preparing a delicious noodle dish complemented by three different types of kimchi, which she also made. Thank you to the monks who are taking care of various tasks in my absence.
From Michael Nisch:
First of all I would like to thank very much Anzan roshi for his tireless teaching activity. A heartfelt thank you to Jinmyo osho and Mishin ino for their guidance over the past year. Thank you to everybody who help to keep Dainen-ji running.
From Sarah Goul:
Thanks to the Office of the tenzo for acknowledging my birthday with a cheesecake, for Thursday dinners, which are always delicious, and for those crazy long Joya noodles. I am thankful to the Sensei, the Osho, Chunen angya, the Ino and the Tando for all of the clarifying daisan and practice interviews in the past few months. Also to Osho for dental floss, leading the Joya, and for the best spicy kimchi. To the Ino for the best eggs on Saturdays and during my recent retreat and for continuing to lead kata, despite a busted shoulder. To the Ino and the Tando for setting up teisho etc during my retreat and for being available to answer questions. To the Tando for making space for my mustang, including moving the cars around several times and for sharing knowledge during Sunday Caretaking Council samu, which I always look forward to and is always very enjoyable.
From the Office of the Treasurer:
Thank you to George Donovan, Jean-Francois St. Louis, and Michael Horgan for donations.
What to do if you arrive late for a sitting
You don't need to turn around and go home. Ring the bell once and then sit on the bench on the front porch. If possible, we will come and unlock the door for you right away. If we are in the middle of the chants or listening to a teisho, we will come to let you in as soon as the teisho finishes.
Ongoing Project: "All is Change"
Dainen-ji, being a 140-year-old building, is continuously in need of maintenance and the costs associated with this can be astronomical when such things as porch repairs or exterior painting are needed. This is something that we cannot afford to do, yet must do and so the "All is Change" project has been created. The "All is Change" project is very simple. Most of us have a bowl or a jar or some other kind of container that we keep somewhere at home and fill up with loose change because it's too heavy to carry around. Several hundred dollars has been collected so far both in loose change and Canadian tire money which has been put towards the building maintenance fund. If anyone would like to contribute to this fund, each penny will be appreciated. The “All is Change” container is on the wooden wall shelf under the Sangha Board in the cloak room.