eMirror Vol 21, No. 52 (2017-12-29)

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Photograph by Ven. Fushin Comeau shramon

eMirror Vol 21, No. 52

Friday, December 29th, 2017
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         

        Then Old Stonehead goes on to say:

        Right in light is dark but it cannot be known as such.
        Right in dark is light but cannot be seen.
        Light is with dark as foot follows walking foot.

        So, mei is "the moon or sun, bright, radiance, light", and means the radiance of Aware Space – the context in which all contexts and contents arise. Meichū ni atatte an ari. Ansō o motte ō koto nakare. So, mei is "bright"; chū means "between, within, middle". Atatte actually means "actually". An is "dark". Which means: the unknowability of knowing in itself, that it can never be made into an object: you cannot stand apart from who and what you are to know yourself: because there are no selves, and you are only Knowing. Ari is a verb meaning "is". Ansō o motte ō koto nakare. An again is "dark", sō means "characteristic", something recognizable, motte is "with", ō here means "to meet" or "encounter" or "recognize". Nakare means: "do not".
        So: you cannot meet, encounter or recognize Knowing in itself by grasping at the characteristics of knowns. But the very presencing of knowns displays the richness of Knowing and the fact that it can be stone, flower, child, cat, birth, death – means that it is traceless: it is not the same as anything.
        And so our understanding of the relationship between Knowing and knowns; our understanding of who we are and what our world is – cannot happen by attempting to fix anything in place so that we can know it. It is by moving into Unknowability, moving into the process of understanding, and then misunderstanding, releasing our misunderstandings into understandings, and then understanding when we have misunderstood – this is the process of practice in which light is with dark as foot follows walking foot: Meian ono ono aitai shite. Hisuru ni zengo no ayumi no gotoshi. Mei is "bright", an is "dark"; ono ono means "each each", "each other", ai means "with each other"; tai means "stand", hisuru ni is "like", zen is "forward", go is "behind", ayumi no gotoshi: "foot like".
        And so there is this movement into Unknowability; this movement into how Knowing moves and presents itself as knowns.

-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

Joya (New Year’s Celebration)
On Sunday, December 31st at 10 p.m. until Monday, January 1st at 12:00 a.m., we will celebrate Joya or New Year's. Join Zen Master Anzan Hoshin and Ven. Shikai Zuiko sensei  and Ven. Jinmyo osho and the monastics of the Northern Mountain Order in ringing 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. All students are welcome to attend. There is no better way to begin the year. Dana is $25. Please register by sending an email to schedule at WWZC dot org, or telephone the Zen Centre office (613) 562-1568.

Hermitage
The Roshi will begin 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


Ceri Behar sat a one-day retreat on Saturday, December 16th at his home in Istanbul, Turkey. Michael Nisch sat a half-day retreat on Sunday, December 17th at his home in Ulm, Germany. Tarik Kaya sat a one-day retreat on Saturday, December 23rd. Rodney Gallant completed his 15 day period of Residential Training on Thursday, December 28th.

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, December 30th general sitting: “The Primordially Awakened Way”: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's Commentaries on Eihei Dogen zenji's "Kobutsu-shin": “Subtle and Mysterious Mind” (4 of 8)
  • Sunday, December 31st formal sitting: SAkN “Root Cycle Two” by Ven. Anzan Hoshin: “Understanding, Misunderstanding” (teisho 1 of 3)
  • Monday, January 1st, 2018 general sitting: “Bodhidharma’s Eyes” by Ven. Anzan Hoshin: “A Fine Blend of Teas” (5 of 13)
  • Thursday, January 4th associate sitting: “Sitting Up Straight”: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's Commentaries on Keizan Jokin zenji's "Zazen Yojinki": “Inexhaustible Field of Zazen” (18 of 18)
  • 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)

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:


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.

 

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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.

 

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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:
Cantonese noodles, fried with white onion, poblano peppers, thin strips of green cabbage, chopped scallions, roasted scallion paste, roasted chili paste, shoyu, mirin, garlic; stir-fried leek, cremini, and shitake mushrooms, atsuage tofu slices and aburage puffed tofu triangles, with soy sauce, monastery chile sauce, Xiaoxing wine;  baek kimchi.

Tuesday Yakuseki:
Slow cooked pork ribs (poached, then marinated with garlic, gochugaru chile powder, soy sauce, HP sauce, kalbi sauce, mustard and slow roasted); macaroni with a nut cheese sauce (nut cheeses made from fermented cashews, rejuvelac, shiro miso), lemon juice, Dijon mustard; slaw of green cabbage, white onion, carrots, with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, horseradish, and lime juice.  

Thursday Yakuseki:
Minestrone with white and red onions, garlic, carrots, celery, cremini and porcini mushrooms, red wine, stewed San Marzano tomatoes and passata, oregano and thyme, grated parmesan, fresh chopped Italian parsley; haricot verts, blanched, shocked, fried with garlic; white and brown basmati rice cooked with saffron, topped with peanuts.

 

Gassho (bowing monk)


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 Rodney Gallant:
Thank you to all that make practice at Dainen-ji possible. Thank you to Anzan Roshi for making such a space possible, where I can learn to follow the path that allows me to simply and clearly attend to things as they are. Thank you to the Office of the Tenzo, for both planning and preparation of delicious meals for my retreat and for yakuseki. With deep gassho to Jinmyo osho for accommodating me, and for  the wonderful nut cheeses - especially the macaroni and nut cheese. Thank you to both Mishin ino and Saigyo tando for the humour and making my stay comfortable, for practice direction on showing me how to openly question states where I can sometimes find myself,  and for direction on how to sit up straight. Thank you to Fushin shramon and Endai shramon  for direction in attending to the daily activities required at Dianen-ji. Thank you  to other members of the Sanga, Hannah Kent, Chiso  anagarika,  Alexander  Tzelnic, Leonardo Nobrega and Peter McRae who I  encountered,  Thank  you for answering my questions.

 


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.

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