eMirror Vol 22, No. 39 (2018-09-28)

 

Rain basin at Eihei-ji, Photograph by Ven. Shikai Zuiko sensei
Rain basin at Eihei-ji, Photograph by Ven. Shikai Zuiko sensei

eMirror Vol 22, No. 39

Friday, September 28th, 2018
Edited by Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho

The White Wind Zen Community:
An international community practising and teaching Dogen’s Zen since 1985.



Gleaming snowflakes fall upward on warmer and colder currents of February’s blue sky. Through the branches of trees, the snow crystals turn and shine, shine and turn, now falling upwards, now falling down.

This moment falls away as the past and falls forward into the future, turning and shining, shining and turning. This coming and going gives us our lives and will take it from us just as the snowflakes are lit by the sun, are carried on air warmed by the sun’s radiance and yet still cold because of its distance from the earth. This blue and green earth on which we live is turning and shining, half in daylight and half in the darkness of unlit space. All worlds and suns, all asteroids and quasars, all stones and pebbles and sand are turning and shining, shining and turning.

When we turn towards what presences in all directions as all things then we see how each thing that is known shows in its shining the luminosity of Knowing in itself. All students of the Buddha study not just “the margins of the meaning of coming and going” but live within its core. The heart of this moment is the luminosity which turns and shines as all beings and places and times. Our lives which rise and fall away through coming and going and birth and death are not really ours to be received or taken away. And yet there is still this generosity and beauty and dignity even along with sore knees or aging hips or the strange cells bubbling profusely in our lymph nodes.

What we turn to when we turn towards what turns and shines as us is present as birth and death but it is also and always, as the Buddha said, unborn and deathless. Sitting up straight here in the heart of this moment we can let the misunderstandings and gestures and twitches of self-image fall away into what arises all around them. In this way the Dharma Transmits itself to us as us.

-Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi, beginning teisho 3: "Turning and Shining," Sunday, February 15, 2004 in the tesho series "The Thread of the Buddhas," commentaries on Eihei Dogen zenji's Bukkyo. 
 


Upcoming Events


Fusatsu: October 10th and 24th.

Hermitage
The Roshi began a period of hermitage on Wednesday, September 26th, which will end at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 30th, when he leads monastics in Acalanatha Sadhana. 

Daruma-ki O-sesshin
The Daruma-ki O-sesshin will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, October 5th, and will end at noon on Friday, October 12th at noon. Formal students are reminded to send their schedules to schedule at wwzc dot org as soon as is possible.
For associate and general students: Please note that there are no sittings on Monday and Thursday evening during the week of O-sesshin. Instead you may attend a morning sitting on Saturday October 6th. The sitting begins at 9:30 a.m. (please arrive by 9:15 in time for first Bell) and ends at 11:30 a.m. Students are reminded to remain on the first floor.

A Note to Preliminary and Public Students Concerning O-sesshin
During an O-sesshin the schedule is such that there is no time to meet face to face with preliminary students or to reply to email correspondence sent by public students. Public students are asked to send their weekly practice journals, as they will be reviewed. But unless there is something that needs an immediate reply, you will not receive an email reply until the week following the O-sesshin.

Cancelled Sitting October 8th
The general sitting that would normally take place on the evening of October 8th is cancelled as O-sesshin will be in progress.

Cancelled sitting October 11th
The associate sitting that would normally take place on the evening of October 11th is cancelled as O-sesshin will be in progress. 

Samu Weekend
The next Samu Weekend is scheduled to take place on Saturday and Sunday, October 27th and 28th. 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.
 


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.
 


Congratulations



Congratulations and deep gassho to Jesse Steinberg of Ottawa who has been accepted as a general student by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi.
 


Retreats



Leonardo Nobrega sat a two-day retreat on Saturday, September 15th and Sunday, September 16th. Shannon Morphew sat a partial retreat on Friday, September 21st prior to attending the Dharma Assembly. Ceri Behar sat a one-day retreat on Saturday, September 22nd in his home in Istanbul, Turkey. Michael Nisch sat a 1/2 day retreat on Saturday, September 22nd at his home in Ulm, Germany.

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.
 


Fundraising for roof repair



Fundraising goal: The estimates we have received for this roof work total $30,653.63 for replacement of all three roofs. We hope to engage the contractor to do the work in spring 2019, but this will depend on whether sufficient funds have been collected.

Three roofs at Dainen-ji are in need of replacement in the next twelve months: the roof of the Osho-ryo at the rear of the building, and the roofs of the bay windows in the first floor library and the covered balcony on the west side.

The roof above the Osho-ryo is currently covered in tar and gravel, an old roofing system that is in need of replacement with a modern membrane. UV light has (dried and) damaged quite a bit of the tar, especially at the edges of the roof, creating a danger of leaks. A leak into the Osho-ryo via the chimney flashing was patched recently. Due to sagging of the roof structure over time, water is pooling in a low spot that is no longer draining properly. This will be remedied with the installation of a new membrane. The old flashing has pulled away from the building and has been repaired many times, as you can see from the photos. Old wires and other fittings need to be removed safely or secured properly.

osho-ryo roof

Detail of Osho-ryo roof showing flashing in poor repair,
unsecured wires, and the deterioration of the old tar and gravel covering

 

Detail of Osho-ryo roof showing failing flashing and past patching; green is moss growing on gravel roof surface

Detail of Osho-ryo roof showing failing flashing
and past patching; green is moss growing on gravel roof surface

 

The roofs of the bay window of the first-floor library and the covered balcony are made of metal and are very old. They are rusty, and the leaking joints and flashing have been patched with tar many times over the years. These roofs will be replaced with modern shingles or a membrane as suitable. Both roofs have sprouted leaks numerous times in recent years, damaging materials for the suiseki arrangements stored there and putting books and other materials at risk in the first floor library.

Roof of covered balcony on west side of building showing rusting metal surface and patched seams

Roof of covered balcony on west side of building
showing rusting metal surface and patched seams

 

Roof of first-floor library bay window showing past patching and rusting metal surface

Roof of first-floor library bay window showing past patching and rusting metal surface

 


Teisho



Recorded Teachings Schedule

  • Saturday, September 29th: "All Around, All At Once": part 2 "The Whole World is Already Ready" by Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho-ajari
  • Sunday, September 30th: SAkN "The Anatomy of Awakening" by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi: "The Matter of Consciousness" (6 of 9) 
  • Monday, October 1st: “Every Breath You Take” by Ven. Shikai Zuiko o-sensei: “When Giving Something Away” (Dharma Talk 10)
  • Thursday, October 4th: “The Four Great Vows” by Ven. Shikai Zuiko o-sensei: “Limitless Awakening” (Dharma Talk 4 of 4)

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.
 


WWZC Website


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.

 

image3.gif


Painted Cakes
(do not satisfy hunger)

by Ven. Shikai Zuiko sensei



Continuing on with “Painted Cakes: A Zen Dictionary” a limited edition text written by Anzan Hoshin roshi in the 1980s and last revised in 1994.

Saijojo (J); Ati (S); Perfect practice, the practise of realization. Of the Goshuzen or Five Styles of Zen as described by Zongmi, the highest.

Questions can be sent to me, Shikai sensei, at shikai.sensei@gmail.

 

Sengai spoon


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:
White and brown basmati rice mixed with sona masoori rice; buttered naan; dhal (red lentils, chickpeas, tomato paste, cubed potatoes, diced carrots, chopped Spanish onions, garam masala, chipotle adobo, chopped coriander stems); raita (chopped cucumber and tomatoes, plain yogurt, cardamom and coriander, salt, lots of black pepper). 

Tuesday Yakuseki:
Fried rice (leftover white and brown basmati rice mixed with sona masoori rice, chopped Spanish onion, chopped jalapeno peppers, cubanelle and red bell peppers, small amount of hoisin and vegetarian oyster sauce; stir-fried thinly sliced pork tenderloin with garlic, ginger, chilies, vegetarian oyster sauce, small amount of fish sauce; sauteed pieces of tonkatsu pork and sliced pork; vegetarian option: General tso’s tofu (firm tofu coated in cornstarch and then fried, served with a sauce made from black vinegar, chili sauce, garlic, ginger, shaoxing, shoyu, garnished with toasted sesame seeds); baechu kimchi. 

Thursday Yakuseki:
Colcannon (sauteed green cabbage, onion and poblano peppers, mixed with Yukon gold mashed potatoes, vegan margarine, salt, black pepper, and Dijon mustard); sauteed tofu (cut firm tofu tossed in a mixture of Dijon mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, black pepper); baby peas and carrots with butter, salt and lots of black pepper.
 

 

Gassho (palm to palm image)


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 Endai shramon:
Thank you to the Roshi for presenting instruction on the practice of "shikan taza" ("just sitting") in the teisho series "The Person and World of Zazen, Part 1", to which Jinmyo osho referred during her Dharma Talk. Thank you to Jinmyo osho for leading the Dharma Assembly this past weekend and for presenting the second Dharma Talk in the series "All Around, All at Once". Thank you to Jinmyo osho and Mishin ino for preparing the delicious meals that were served during the Dharma Assembly, and to Saigyo tando and Fushin shramon for serving them.

From Hannah Kent:
Thank you to Jinmyo osho for leading the recent Dharma Assembly and for instruction during daisan; to Mishin ino and Saigyo tando for instruction on working with states during practice interviews, and to all the monastics for holding the Dharma Assembly last weekend. 
 


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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