eMirror Vol 22, No. 10 (2018-03-09)
Roshi's footprints in snow,
Photograph by Ven. Fushin Comeau shramon
eMirror Vol 22, No. 10
Friday, March 9th, 2018
Edited by Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho
The White Wind Zen Community:
An international community practising and teaching Dogen’s Zen since 1985.
Wandering on my way
from here to there,
foot stops, eyes turn, hand lifts
falling feather.
Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi,
Zazen-ji, 1995
Upcoming Events
https://wwzc.org/upcoming-events
Fusatsu: March 14th and 28th
March Two-day Sesshin
The March two-day sesshin begins at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, March 9th, and will end at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 11th.
On Saturday, March 10th, 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.
Keizan Ki
March 21st is the memorial for Keizan Jokin zenji.
Samu Weekend
The next Samu Weekend is scheduled to take place on Saturday and Sunday, March 24th and 25th. Please pencil these dates into your schedule so that you will be able to attend some or all of this weekend of samu practice. Saigyo tando will be writing soon to students with more details about the activities taking place over the weekend. To register please send an email to Saigyo tando at saigyo dot cross at gmail.com or leave a message on the Zen Centre office answering machine at 613-562-1568.
Retreats
Sarah Goul sat a one day retreat on Saturday, March 3rd.
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, March 10th associate and general sitting: “Every Breath You Take” by Ven. Shikai Zuiko o-sensei: “Spouses and Children” (Dharma Talk 3)
- Monday, March 12th general sitting: “Flowers and Clouds” by Ven. Anzan Hoshin: Reading of “Kuge” by Eihei Dogen zenji
- Thursday, March 15th associate sitting: “The Circle” by Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho-ajari
- Saturday, March 17th general sitting: “Zen Arts: The Flowering of the Senses” by Zen Master Anzan Hoshin: “Touching the Sensations of the World” (teisho 4 of 6)
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.
Charitable Tax Receipts for Dana Contributions
Thank you to all who have offered monthly dana and special gifts over the past year to support the activities of the monastery, maintenance and renovation projects. Charitable tax receipts for donations made during 2017 were mailed out before the end of February. If you have made your donations to WWZC through CanadaHelps.org, you can access your charitable receipt for those donations through your account on the CanadaHelps.org website.
WWZC Website www.wwzc.org
Newly Posted Recordings for Students
"Surpassing the Teacher", Memorial of Keizan Jokin zenji, by Ven Anzan Hoshin roshi (April 17, 1988, Daijozan). Direct link: https://wwzc.org/recorded-teachings/surpassing-teacher
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.
Opening the Eyes; Kaigen (J) A transmission ceremony by the teacher of empowering a rupa or statue.
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:
Leftover assorted grain, mixed together and sauteed with cubed sweet potato; deep-fried tofu and vegetables in a spicy peanut sauce (cubed deep-fried tofu, dai gay choy, poblano and red bell peppers, ginger, peanut butter, chili sauce, garam masala; leftover coleslaw mixed with lime pickle and toasted sunflower seeds.
Tuesday Yakuseki:
Fish chowder (haddock, sole, shrimp and lobster meat with chopped Spanish onion, chopped scallions and potatoes, pureed and whole corn, chicken stock, shrimp paste, lots of black pepper, Old Bay seasoning), served with baguettes and a pickle of tomatoes and celery mixed with baechu kimchi.
Thursday Yakuseki:
Lundberg Farms short-grain brown rice with peas and butter; cream of butternut squash soup (cooked, pureed butternut squash and white onion, thyme, black pepper, small amount of cream); deep-fried tofu, mushrooms and baby bok choy seasoned with chipotle adobo, cumin, garlic honey.
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 System 76 Support for excellent customer service, and the time they spent trying to resolve a computer issue from a distance; to David Gallant for finding a solution to the problem.
From Mishin ino:
Thank you to Jinmyo osho for review and instruction for my replies to students practising Maitri Bhavana. Thank you to David Gallant for setting up the tablet now being used to for Zendo playback of recorded teisho.
From Endai shramon:
Thank you to Jinmyo osho for twice-weekly shopping trips to purchase food and supplies for the monastery, and for preparing yakuseki meals on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights, as well as a delicious brunch on Sunday mornings. Thank you to Mishin ino and Saigyo tando for assisting with meal preparation in their role of tenzo-anja (assistant to the Tenzo).
From David Gallant:
Thank you to the Roshi for creating Dainen-ji, a wonderful and rich environment for practice. Thank you also to the Roshi for the lovely gift of a fountain pen and carrying case, a sample of Aurora Black ink, and a Field Notes reporter's notebook. Thank you to Shikai sensei for a very enjoyable informal chat recently. Thank you to Jinmyo osho for regular instruction in daisan and for her continual efforts as Tenzo. Thank you to Mishin ino for many hours of administrative work to produce this year's charitable tax receipts for students. Thank you to Saigyo tando for regularly leading the general sitting on Monday evenings.
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.
