eMirror Vol 29, No. 51 (2025-12-19)

Uji (Being-Time, Prescencing)
By Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi
eMirror Vol 29, No. 51
Friday, December 19th, 2025
Edited by the Practice Council
The White Wind Zen Community:
An international community practising and teaching Dogen’s Zen since 1985.
People spend a great deal of their time talking. They talk to each other with their voices and they talk to themselves with their illusory internalized discursive thoughts. These discursive thoughts not only seem to have a voice but often several different voices saying many different and often contradictory things. People cajole and argue with each other, they bargain and bait, they lie and they promise.
Teachers of the Buddha Dharma also spend a great deal of time talking. They talk to people with their voices but also through their actions; their gestures and demeanor. They speak of facts that most people talk around or use talk to shield themselves from such as impermanence and the emptiness of words and concepts. They provide instruction on how to recognize the actuality of life, the truth about our own experiences and of the nature of experiencing.
However, hearing such Dharma talk, most people take it as just something else to think about, to talk to themselves about in the ghostly words of their illusory internal voices. Sometimes they argue against the Dharma, sometimes they grasp after only a few of the words taken out of context, sometimes they generalize the point so that it does not point directly to them, sometimes they try rephrasing it in a way that sounds like what they usually say to themselves. Even some of the sutras and the sastras or commentaries literature that was composed over time became not only the subject of such nattering but were even composed out of it.
Teachers often use the words of other Teachers because although we are saying the same thing we can have different ways of saying it. Many of the words and phrases that Shikai osho or Jinmyo osho use are entangled with my own and mine are entangled with those of Joshu Dainen daiosho and his with Daiji Tenku daiosho’s and so on back through Eihei Dogen zenji to Yaoshan and Huineng and Sakyamuni. And we often pick up texts and comment on them and our commentaries are woven from threads of discourse from many people over thousands of years. For example, of course, this series of teisho on Medicine Mountain. These are called the “katto” or entwining vines of the many koan and phrases of Zen Teaching.
-Continuing teisho 7: Yaoshan Sits Down and Gets Up,Saturday, 18 June 2005, in the series "Wandering on Medicine Mountain" presented by Zen Master Anzan Hoshin at Dainen-ji

The Hatto (for formal sittings)

The Zendo (for associate and general sittings)
Practice Schedule and Upcoming Events
Fusatsu (Renewal of Vows): December 31st, January 21st
Joya (New Year’s Celebration)
On Wednesday, December 31st at 10 p.m. until Thursday, January 1st at 12:00 a.m., we will celebrate Joya or New Year with 108 recitations of the Mahaprajnaparamita Hridaya sutra mantra at midnight. Join Ven. Jinmyo Renge sensei and the monastics of the Northern Mountain Order to ring in the New Year with 108 recitations of the Mahaprajnaparamita Hridaya sutra mantra. Following the sitting there will be an array of shojin-ryori (Zen vegetarian cuisine) dishes for an informal feast. There is no better way to begin the year. Dana is $25. Seating is limited and registration is required. Registration is open to those who are formal students, general and associate students in this Lineage. Register for Joya 2025
Introduction to Zen Workshop Ottawa:
The next Introduction to Zen Workshop will take place on Saturday, January 3rd at 1:45 p.m.
To register: https://IntroductionToZenWorkshop.eventbrite.ca ; for more information please see https://wwzc.org/introduction-zen-workshop-ottawa
January Two-day Sesshin:
The January two-day sesshin will begin on Friday, January 16th at 8:00 p.m. and will end on Sunday, January 18th at 6:00 p.m. Probationary formal students and formal students attending are asked to send their schedules as soon as possible.
General Sitting On January 17th:
On Saturday, January 17th, there will be a general sitting in the Zendo. The sitting will begin at 9:30 a.m. (please arrive by 9:15, in time for First Bell) and will end 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.
Hermitage:
The Roshi is continuing an extended period of hermitage due to underlying health issues.
Weekly Practice Schedule
Formal Sittings for WWZC Students: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday Mornings. The formal sittings begin at 6:00 a.m. You would need to arrive by 5:45 in time for First Bell. The sitting ends at 7:25 with the Chants. Following that there is a Daruma-kata Aiki review which ends at about 7:50. If you need to leave before the kata, please let us know that in advance by sending an email to schedule@wwzc.org.
Saturday Morning General Sitting for WWZC Students: The general sitting begins at 9:30 a.m. You would need to arrive by 9:15 a.m., in time for First Bell. The sitting ends at 11:45 a.m. Some general students attend the 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning formal sitting, stay for breakfast and then attend the general sitting. If you stay for breakfast, there is a $5 contribution which can be made through Eventbrite: Register for Saturday Breakfast Proceeds from meals go to White Wind Zen Community.
Monday and Thursday Evening Associate Sittings for WWZC Students: The associate sitting begins at 7:30 p.m. You would need to arrive by 7:15 p.m., in time for First Bell. The sitting ends at 9:10 p.m.
Friday (Hosan): There are no formal sittings scheduled at the monastery on Fridays, but you are expected to sit at home if you have committed to sitting zazen daily. Retreats may be scheduled on Fridays.
Sunday Formal Sitting: The Sunday morning formal sittings are reserved for monastics, formal students, and probationary formal students. It starts at 7:00 a.m. and ends at 10:10 a.m. with the chants. Following that there is a Daruma-kata Aiki which ends at about 10:30 a.m.
Long Distance Training Program
For students living an hour or more commuting distance from the monastery in Ottawa, please visit this Web Page: https://wwzc.org/long-distance-training-program
What to do if you Arrive After the Sitting Begins
If you arrive after the sitting starts and the door is locked, 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.
Retreats and Training Sessions
Information About Scheduling Retreats or Training Sessions
Rev. Chiso anagarika sat her weekly semi-retreat on Tuesday, December 16th in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Associate student Onur Onder sat a seven-day retreat from Tuesday, December 9th to Monday, December 15th at Dainen-ji. General public student Elizabeth Eve arrived at Dainen-ji on Thursday, December 11th and sat two periods of retreats during her stay, leaving on Wednesday, December 17th. General public student Sarah Goul sat a three-day retreat from the evening of Tuesday, December 9th which concluded on Friday, December 12th at Dainen-ji.
Recorded Teachings Schedule
Listening to Recorded Teisho and Dharma Talks
December 20th to December 27th:
General sitting Saturday, December 20th: The Primordially Awakened Way: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's Commentaries on Eihei Dogen zenji's "Kobutsu-shin": Reading of the text "Kobutsu-shin" (14 minutes)
Formal sitting Sunday, December 21st: SAkN Root Cycle Five: The Field of Open Knowing: Teisho 5: Just This (13 minutes)
Associate sittings Monday, December 22nd and Thursday, December 25th: "Mind the Gap" by Ven. Shikai Zuiko o-sensei (15 minutes)
General sitting Saturday, December 27th: The Primordially Awakened Way: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's Commentaries on Eihei Dogen zenji's "Kobutsu-shin": Teisho 1: Buddhas Loose in the World (30 minutes)
Recorded Teachings for Public Access
While most of the online Recorded Teachings library is password-protected and only accessible to students of the Lineage of Zen Master Anzan Hoshin, a small selection of MP3 recordings of teisho are accessible to the public at wwzc.org/recorded-teachings Additional recordings will be uploaded periodically. MP3 recordings of four recorded teisho by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi are currently available:
Dharma Position http://wwzc.org/dharma-position
Eyes See, Ears Hear http://wwzc.org/eyes-see-ears-hear
Embarrassment http://wwzc.org/embarrassment
Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi's reading of his translation of Eihei Dogen zenji's “Bendowa: A Talk on Exerting the Way”: http://wwzc.org/bendowa-talk-exerting-way
Translations and Texts

Photograph of Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi at Daijozan, mid-1980s, by Ven. Shikai Zuiko osho
Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi has recently completed translation work on some shorter texts by Eihei Dogen zenji from the Shobogenzo. The work on these particular texts is based upon the literal translations that he worked on with Joshu Dainen roshi at Hakukaze-ji around 1977-78 followed by many years of putting them down, picking them up, and polishing. Naturally, more essential texts such as Uji, Genjokoan, Shinjin Gakudo and some 40 others were completed first and have been given extensive commentaries by the Roshi. This batch of texts includes Keisei Sanshoku: Sounds of Streams, Forms of Mountains, Baike: Plum Blossoms, Ryugin: Howling Dragon, and Udonge: The Udumbara Blossoming and many others are nearing completion. Annotation details and successfully conveying them across various document formats are the issue at this point.
Work on Bussho: Buddha Nature, a very long and nuanced text by Dogen zenji, is still ongoing.
Roshi also finished an update to the “Saijo Shingi: The Deportment of Radiance”, our manual of monastic training standards which is a supplement to the ancient Eihei Shingi and Keizan Shingi.
White Wind Zen Community Website Update
Dharma Talk: “Embarrassment”
Dharma Talk presented by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi on August 25th, 1990.
https://wwzc.org/embarrassment-0/
Teisho: “Practising Without an Edge”
Teisho presented by Ven. Jinmyo Renge sensei on February 19th, 2025
https://wwzc.org/practising-without-an-edge/
Teisho: “I Know Who You Are!”
Teisho presented by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi, presented at Dainen-ji on March 13th, 1999
https://wwzc.org/teisho-i-know-who-you-are/
Dharma Assembly: On Karma
Mondo by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi, Presented in April of 1986, River Road Zendo.
https://wwzc.org/dharma-assembly-karma/
Request for Help to Maintain the Grounds
If you would like to offer time to help with maintenance in the grounds your help will be appreciated. You can offer a regular period of samu or make arrangements with the shissui to come for a single period of caretaking practice. Please write to info@wwzc.org or directly to Saigyo ino at saigyo.cross@gmail.com if you can assist with this work. Thank you.
Wooden Practice Materials for Sale in Myomaku

Saigyo ino has made a selection of wooden practice materials which are now for sale in Myomaku. These include boxes for storing incense, incense bowls, kneeling benches and kaishaku. He is donating a portion of the proceeds to WWZC. You are welcome to go into myomaku before or after sittings to see what’s available.
Alternate parking for sittings near Dainen-ji
If you need alternate parking near the monastery due to snow parking bans or lack of parking spots you can use the Loblaws car park located at 363 Rideau Street - Parking - Loblaws.
The car park is open until 10:00 p.m and charges $4 per hour. A full day 6:00a.m. to 6:00 p.m. is $10.

Office of the Tenzo
Dogen zenji taught in the Tenzo Kyokun: Instructions for the Tenzo (Tenzo kyokun: Instructions for the Tenzo https://wwzc.org/dharma-text/tenzo-kyokun-instructions-tenzo) 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 sensei serves as Tenzo and Mishin godo and Saigyo ino offer assistance as tenzo-anja.
The WWZC does not advocate any particular diet. However all meals prepared during practice events, such as Dharma Assemblies, sesshin, or retreats are vegetarian or vegan as most people can eat this. On Tuesday evenings there is an optional meat dish, as some people find that a purely vegetarian diet, especially as they get older, is not sufficient for their health. If you are adhering to a strictly vegan diet, you can write to the tenzo, Jinmyo Renge sensei, at jinmyo.renge@wwzc.org a week prior to attending an event to request vegan foods. If you are lactose intolerant or have allergies to foods, you should write to the tenzo about dietary restrictions a week before attending events.
The following meals were prepared on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings:
Monday:
Calrose short-grain white rice and arborio rice garnished with roasted, salted, peanuts; seaweed soup (water, shoyu, sesame oil, chilli paste, mushroom stock, wakame seaweed, slivered ginger, silken tofu); chopped yu choy, dai gai choy, and Shanghai bok choy mixed with sauteed strips of Spanish onions and a sauce made from sake, shoyu, mirin, ginger, garlic and white pepper.
Tuesday:
Calrose short grain white rice, arborio rice, pearled barley, basmati rice; tsukune (ground chicken, diced chicken breasts, finely chopped onion, egg yolks, grated ginger, katakuriko (potato starch) served in a sauce made from shoyu, mirin, sake, ginger, minced red pencil chillies, diluted with water and then thickened with potato starch; salad of chopped green leaf lettuce, romaine, and radicchio with thinly sliced red onion, celery, and halved cherry tomatoes with a dressing made from blended raw carrot, Asian pear, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, bran oil, and rice vinegar.
Thursday:
Mixed grain (arborio rice, sushi rice, Chinese white rice, Thai brown jasmine rice); tofu bulgogi (seared chopped poblano and red bell peppers, sliced daikon and carrot, puffed tofu, bulgogi sauce, minced garlic and ginger, shoyu, black pepper); baechu kimchi mixed with halved cherry tomatoes

Thank You
If you would like to thank someone for a contribution they have made, please feel free to send an email to Jinmyo sensei at rengezo@gmail dot com, but be sure to type "eMirror” in the subject line.
From Mishin godo:
Thank you to Jinmyo sensei for following up repeatedly with the City of Ottawa to ensure that an abandoned car parked too close to the monastery driveway was removed. Thank you to Myocho for regular bookkeeping samu. Thank you to Yujin for creating AirSonic accounts for new students to access the recorded Teachings.
From Saigyo ino:
Thank you to the Roshi for the wonderful teisho series "Without Difficulty: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin’s Commentaries on “Xinxin Ming: Words on Trusting Awareness” by Jianzhi Sengcan" which we concluded this week at the general sittings. Thank you to Jinmyo sensei for many phone calls to the city to have an abandoned car removed from near our driveway. Thank you to Mishin godo for always excellent Sunday evening meals prepared each week for Dainen-ji residents. Thank you to Fushin shuso for preparing coffee each morning for residents and to Yujin for keeping track of milk quantities in the building. Thank you David Alexander, An Nguyen, Tarik Kaya and Ian Reynolds for samu on Sunday afternoon to work on a variety of projects around the building.
From Yujin:
Thank you to Saigyo ino for making a very nice festive fruit cake for the residents of Dainen-ji.
From Sarah Goul:
Thank you to Roshi for establishing the monastery and making the Dharma accessible. Thank you to Sensei for Dharma Talks, especially those that were played during my retreat and helped me understand more clearly; to the Office of the Tenzo for great meals, especially a surprisingly delicious congee on Friday; to Mishin Godo for seeing me off and wishing me well; to Saigyo Ino for much useful insight in response to my journals and in recent practice interviews, also for availability to provide direction during my retreat. Thank you to Fushin for directions to the Sando, in a pinch. Thank you to the Office of the Shissui (Caretaking Council) for the Zendo ceiling speaker system which makes it so much easier to hear Teisho. Thank you to Yujin for assistance with my WWZC account password.
From Shannon Craig:
Thank you to Anzan roshi for creating and recording the “Without difficulty” teisho series and making it available to students; to Jinmyo sensei for creating and recording “The Touchstone” series and for everything you do for students and for the hours spent with me in daisan that still benefits my practice; to Mishin godo for the hours spent with me in practice interviews and the guidance that has helped my practice; to Saigyo ino for spending hours helping with me in practice interviews and the many things you’ve taught me during samu practice; to Fushin shuso for the many hours spent helping students and the practice environment.
From Mario Delisle:
Thank you to Anzan Hoshin Roshi for establishing Dainen-ji, for his vast work through numberless recorded Teachings, through calligraphy that we encounter in many places in the monastery. Thank you to Jinmyo Sensei for her recorded Dharma Talk played during last Monday’s evening sitting. It has been helping for the rest of my 2 day retreat. Thank you to Mishin godo for being available and patient explaining to me during practice interview or in the Dining Hall to be mindful and open to details; to Saigyo ino for a recent practice interview that, through how you sit, speak and listen, are showing me how to practice; to Fushin shuso for all of the details you are attending to during the sittings. Thank you to the office of the Tenzo for the delicious and nutritious meals that were served during my retreat