eMirror Vol 22, No. 7 (2018-02-16)
The Butsudan at the Zendo of the Harrow Zazenkai, UK
eMirror Vol 22, No. 7
Friday, February 16th, 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 says, "If you are deluded, mountains and rivers obstruct your way":
Mayōte senga no kō hedātsu.
Senga: sen is "mountain", ga is "river". Like sansue, "mountains and rivers": senga. And kō means a difficulty or obstruction. Although each step, each breath, each moment, opens as an endlessly opening horizon, as the landscape of reality – unless we realize this, everything obstructs us, because we believe that everything is other than us. If we believe that everything is us, we still don't understand. That which is as us is as everything, and there is no one and nothing at all other than that.
-Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi, continuing teisho 4: "The Root of Your Life," September 16th, 1996 in "Studying the Mystery: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's Commentaries on Shitou Xiqian's Sandōkai"
This Year’s Flu Season is Nasty and Getting Worse
A Few Things You Can do to Prevent Contagion:
Prevention
We have provided paper hand towels for each washroom and in the Dining Hall to prevent the spread of infection through using cloth towels. In addition, hand sanitizer has been placed at each sink and on the shelf next to the coat rack. Please use it. As part of daily samu, handrails, door knobs and other surfaces are disinfected before each sitting. As monastics already clean the practice rooms during this time, assistance from associate or general students would be appreciated. Please contact Mishin ino at schedule@wwzc.org to arrive for sittings a few minutes early.
Hand Washing
The simple act of hand washing is the single most important means of preventing the spread of viral and bacterial infections. But hand washing requires more than a quick rinse under the tap. You need to work the soap over both hands, between your fingers and up the wrist for 15 seconds (count it out) for it to be effective. Or you can use the hand sanitizer placed at sink areas if you don't want to use soap and water. But please, clean your hands frequently.
Coughing
If you really need to cough you can do so. But to avoid spreading a cold or flu or spraying the wall, it is better to bring one hand out of the mudra, raise and then turn it so that you cough against the back of the hand rather than into the palm as we use the palm to turn door knobs, handle water glasses and so forth. When practicing in a group situation, it is helpful to be mindful of such details.
Nose Blowing
If you need to blow your nose, please feel free to blow it while sitting in zazen. You do not need to use the forms we use for changing posture in order to blow your nose. Just do it with as little muss and fuss as possible so that there is a minimum of distraction for you and for others. The only exception to this would be, for instance, during a bowing round, or during the chants while holding the chanting text. But these are brief activities and you should be able to “work it out” so that you can blow your nose before or after.
Sniffing
Sniffing should be avoided as it is very distracting to others and does not help anything. The reason the nose runs is because the bodymind is trying to expel mucus and so sniffing it back into the nose or down the throat will only cause further irritation to the mucous membranes. It is simpler to just blow the nose.
Throat Clearing
Continuous throat clearing is possibly one of the greatest sources of irritation both for the person who does it and anyone within earshot. Constantly clearing the throat will irritate it and that will lead to even more throat clearing. Once in a while it may be necessary to do this, or it may happen spontaneously, but it should not be repetitive. It is something that can become habitual, just as sniffing can. It is advisable to perhaps cough to clear the throat if it is that congested, and balance and equalize the sensations by opening attention around them to the rest of the sensations of the body.
Missed Sittings
Associate students who need to miss a sitting because they are too ill to attend can make up the sitting they’ve missed by attending one of the two general sittings held each week (Monday evening, 7:15 to 9:10 or Saturday morning, 9:15 to 11:40) Please send an email to schedule@wwzc.org requesting permission to do so. If you are unable to attend your scheduled sitting, please send an email in advance to notify us of that as we will worry about you if you don’t arrive.
Upcoming Events
https://wwzc.org/upcoming-events
Fusatsu: February 28th, March 14th and 28th
Hermitage
The Roshi will begin a period of hermitage on Wednesday, February 28th, which will end at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 4th, 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, March 3rd. For more information please see:
https://wwzc.org/introduction-zen-workshop-ottawa
For information concerning our Long-distance Training Program, please visit this Web Page: https://wwzc.org/long-distance-training-program
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
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, February 17th general sitting: “Zen Arts: The Flowering of the Senses” by Zen Master Anzan Hoshin: “Flowering of the Senses” (teisho 1 of 6)
- Sunday, February 18th formal sitting: SAkN “Root Cycle Three” by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi: “Frames of Time and Space” (teisho 2 of 8)
- Monday, February 19th general sitting: “Bodhidharma’s Eyes” by Ven. Anzan Hoshin: “Losing” (11 of 13)
- Thursday, February 22nd associate sitting: “Simple Minded” by Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho-ajari (Dharma Talk 1 of 1)
- Saturday, February 24th general sitting: “Zen Arts: The Flowering of the Senses” by Zen Master Anzan Hoshin: “Both Eyes Open” (teisho 2 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
Charitable tax receipts for all donations made during 2017 will be mailed out before the end of February. If you have moved in the last year or are unsure whether we have your current address on file please confirm your mailing address with Mishin ino (mishin at gmail dot com) to ensure that you receive your tax receipt. If you have made your donations to WWZC through CanadaHelps.org, tax receipts for those donations are issued directly by CanadaHelps. 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.
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.
Dharma in Prison
By Shikai Zuiko sensei
On Wednesday, January 31st, at 830a.m. Peter McRae, Ryoshin, and I, met at Dainen-ji for the trip to Bath Institution, a medium security federal prison and treatment centre. This would be our first visit with the inmate Sangha since November as healing of the cracked and fractured pelvis I incurred December 9th had kept me lying down for six weeks and this was the first “road trip” since then. The sun was out and the temperature was rising as we turned on to the Queensway encouraged by weather reports indicating that there would be flurries only later in the day. Surprisingly there was very little bird activity along 417. A parliament of ravens was spotted in a dead tree by Peter. I saw only one raptor, flying low over the median where a road crew was removing a dead deer. A lone crow was watching the activity maybe hoping there’d be a venison lunch.
After lunch in the town of Bath the flurries were stronger and there was a strong wind gusting. We turned off the highway into the road to Bath Institution just as the flurries were becoming denser and we determined that if, it did not stop snowing in an hour or so, we would head back to Ottawa early.
Bath Institution has been undergoing a major transition and, even though extremely busy security personnel went out of their way to contact Chaplin Sue Beare to make sure we passed through security in a timely fashion. In the chapel of the Spiritual Centre one member of the original group, Scott, who six years ago as part of the original group, had asked Chaplin Regina Lannon to find some texts and eventually a Dharma teacher, was waiting. Chaplin Lannon has just retired and we thank her for her help over the years. Another regularly attending student was already sitting zazen. The men had recently been given a “license” to have incense in their rooms for home practice. Incense, however, is a little hard to come by.
The practitioners expressed appreciation to all at Dainen-ji, especially the Roshi, who have provided texts, CD’s, and hard copies of the eMirror for study and practice. Scott, an artist, told us that he uses photos from the eMirror as inspiration for drawings and paintings. Thank you to contributing photographers.
As snowflakes swirled the practitioners expressed concern for our safety on the return trip. We all decided it was better for us to leave an hour and a half before our usual time. We did. And we're glad we did. There were a number of incidents on the 401 including several pile-ups of cars and eight 18 wheelers in the ditch and the median. Nearly six hours later we arrived safely at Dainen-Ji.
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.
Oryoki (J) A set of nested bowls and cloths used for mindful eating practice that evolved in Japanese Zen monasteries from the begging bowls used by the Buddha and his students.
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.
Meals Served During the Week of O-Sesshin
Saturday
Breakfast: Lo mein noodles, strips of Spanish onion, poblano and red bell pepper, ginger, garlic, shoyu, roasted chili paste; scrambled eggs.
Lunch: Calrose and arborio rice garnished with sesame seeds; miso shiru with reconstituted shitake mushrooms, baby bok choy and silken tofu; takuan and ginger.
Supper: Farfalle pasta with a mushroom/goat cheese sauce (sliced sauteed cremini mushrooms, garlic, white onion, goat cheese, small amount of cream; sauteed gai lan (Chinese broccoli with Spanish onion, garlic, red balsamic vinegar; olives and artichoke hearts.
Sunday
Breakfast: Scallion congee with cubed deep-fried tofu.
Lunch: Thai white and brown long-grain rice garnished with cubed daikon braised in chili sauce; spicy wakame seaweed soup (wakame, bonito, ginger, shoyu, roasted chili paste and sesame oil), with silken tofu; Baechu kimchi.
Supper: roasted Yukon gold potatoes; tomato soup with cremini mushrooms, diced white onion and puffed deep-fried tofu; fruilano and sweet gherkins.
Monday:
Breakfast: Fried pasta from Monday evening; scrambled eggs.
Lunch: Mixed grain (calrose, basmati and Thai) garnished with sesame seeds; hot and sour soup (Chinese dried black mushrooms, dried tree ear mushrooms, dried lily buds, cooked lotus root, water chestnuts, Chinese dried white fungus, dark shoyu, black vinegar, light shoyu, brown sugar, sesame oil, lots of white pepper, chopped scallions, chopped fresh coriander, thickened with cornstarch); white kimchi.
Supper: Lundberg Farms short-grain brown rice with butter and baby peas; cream of cauliflower and butternut squash soup (pureed cooked cauliflower, butternut squash and white onion with added thinly sliced cooked potato and diced white onion, seasoned with Dijon mustard, thyme, lots of black pepper and a small amount of cream; seared haricot verts with butter and garlic and toasted walnuts.
Tuesday:
Breakfast: Fried rice (leftover brown rice with peas, and Thai rice, mixed with chopped Baechu kimchi, and chopped garlic greenbeans, mixed with roasted peanuts.
Lunch: Calrose and arborio rice garnished with sesame seeds; miso shiru with reconstituted shitake mushrooms, baby bok choy and silken tofu; takuan and ginger.
Supper: Thai white and brown Jasmine rice cooked in coconut milk, garnished with scallions; tamarind curry (cubed potatoes, chopped red, green and poblano peppers, chopped Spanish onion, red onion, galangal, tamarind, chili, salt, turmeric, garnished with cashews; Asian pear with lime juice and red chili flakes.
Wednesday
Breakfast: Fried leftover mixed rice; scrambled eggs.
Lunch: Thai white and brown long-grain rice garnished with cubed daikon braised in chili sauce; spicy wakame seaweed soup (wakame, bonito, ginger, shoyu, roasted chili paste and sesame oil), with silken tofu; Baechu kimchi.
Supper: Chinese long grain rice cooked with chopped scallions and ginger and minced garlic; Dai gai choy soup (chopped dai-gai choy, chopped white onion and celery, bean sprouts, sliced age tofu, shoyu, shiao shing, garlic, lots of white pepper; sauteed cremini and shitake mushrooms with shoyu and chili oil.
Thursday
Breakfast: Lo mein noodles with beansprouts, thinly sliced red bell pepper and poblano pepper, garlic, ginger, roasted chili paste, shoyu, mirin, lime juice; scrambled eggs.
Lunch: Calrose and arborio rice garnished with sesame seeds; miso shiru with reconstituted shitake mushrooms, baby bok choy and silken tofu; takuan and ginger.
Supper: Biryani (basmati rice with cubed fried potato, onion, carrots, green lentils, cumin, coriander, cayenne, cardamom, turmeric, with black currants; curried (leftover) butternut squash/cauliflower soup with fresh coriander; slaw of green cabbage mixed with mayonnaise, lime juice and chopped lime pickle.
Friday
Breakfast: fried rice (from the previous evening meal); scrambled eggs.
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 Shikai sensei:
Thank you: to Leonardo for a cake from Brazil served as refreshment on the Sunday of the O-sesshin;
From Jinmyo osho:
Thank you to the Roshi for the teisho, “Tiantong Zongjue's Before the Bubble Forms”, for the reading of “Denkoroku 50: Xuedou Zhijian” and for O-sesshin instruction and menu design; to the Sensei for help with food preparation; to David Gallant for transferring files to a new computer and for designing a solution for our file servers; to Fushin shramon for installing a curved curtain track in the Osho-ryo prior to O-sesshin.
From Mishin ino:
Thank you to the Roshi for presenting the next teisho and reading in the Lineage of Luminosity series despite being ill, and for the many wonderful teisho and readings presented in this series so far (77 about our Lineage Ancestors in India and 122 to date about our Lineage Ancestors in China). Thank you for to Shikai sensei for arranging afternoon refreshments. Thank you to Jinmyo osho for leading the O-sesshin and for instruction and encouragement, and for the preparing wonderful meals for practitioners throughout the O-sesshin to nourish our practice.
From Endai shramon:
Thank you to the Roshi for presenting further teisho in the series "The Lineage of Luminosity, Part 2: The Lineage in China", this time on our Lineage Ancestors Tiantong Zongjue and Xuedou Zhijian. Thank you to Jinmyo osho for leading many of the sittings during Nehan O-sesshin, for preparing three oryoki meals per day as Tenzo, and for instruction in daisan. Thank you to Mishin ino and Saigyo tando for leading oryoki practice and for fulfilling the role of head server.
From Isshin:
Thank you to the Roshi for providing students a safe and beautiful space in which to practice; Shikai sensei for carrying the Dharma to Bath penitentiary in spite of mobility and health issues; Jinmyo osho for leading Nehan O-sesshin, for daisan, for the loan of a Chromebook and for delicious meals; Mishin Ino for loading the Chromebook with teisho which has made it so much easier for me to access; Saigyo tando for looking after the details of my retreat and for freshly brewed coffee every morning; Fushin sharmon and Endai sharmon for facilitating kitchen duties; finally, thank you to everyone who took on extra tasks so I could rest, especially Senbo and David.
From David Gallant:
Thank you to the Roshi for presenting further teisho in the series "The Lineage of Luminosity, Part 2: The Lineage in China". Thank you to Jinmyo osho for daisan throughout Nehan O-sesshin, for preparing many delicious and well balanced oryoki meals, and for words of encouragement when needed. Thank you to Jinmyo osho for suggesting a new office setup for me at Dainen-ji, and to Mishin ino for making the necessary arrangements. Thank you to Mishin ino and Saigyo tando for leading oryoki practice during Nehan O-sesshin and for continued instruction on oryoki forms.
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.
