Anzan Hoshin roshi at 4th Chute Falls, 1987,
Photograph by Ven. Shikai Zuiko osho
eMirror Vol 27, No. 10
Friday, March 10th, 2023
Edited by the Practice Council
The White Wind Zen Community:
An international community practising and teaching Dogen’s Zen since 1985.
You can yell at the water, hit it with sticks, put it in a golden bowl, but water is just water. It always stands beyond liking and disliking and confusion. And so it has a kind of grandeur, a kind of majesty.
The body is earth, fire, air, water, space. Can the mind become like that? "Become" like that? When the mind loosens its grasping towards the body and the world and sees them as they are, releases its aggression against the body and the world, clarifies its ignorance about the body and the world, then instead of just being a mass of contraction and confusion it begins to unfold itself as everything. It begins to become an expression of the richness of all things everywhere, of earth, air, water, fire, space. It begins to realize that the richness of earth, water, fire, air, and space are and have always been the display of its own richness.
When the mind sees the body and the world as they are, then the mind becomes like the earth, becomes like water, becomes like fire, becomes like air. It has a firmness, an unshakeabilty, like earth. It has a flexibility, stances and assumptions are washed away like water. It passes over and through any confusion freely like air. It always burns up any obstacles like fire. And, like space, it isn’t located anywhere, it isn’t located in the thoughts, in the feelings, it isn’t identified with anything. It doesn’t need to be. Mind and body and world are just aspects of each other and aspects of Awareness arising within Awareness. Everything is arising within Awareness.
-Ven Anzan Hoshin roshi, continuing Teisho Three: "The Worm" in the series "Flowers and Worms", Hanamatsuri sesshin, April 11th to 14th, 1991, Zazen-ji.
Upcoming Events
Fusatsu: March 22nd.
Introduction to Zen Workshop Ottawa
The next Introduction to Zen Workshop will take place on Saturday, April 1st, at 1:45 p.m. To register: https://IntroductionToZenWorkshop.eventbrite.ca; for more information please see https://wwzc.org/introduction-zen-workshop-ottawa
March Two-day Sesshin:
The March two-day sesshin will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, March 10th and will end at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 12th.
Keizan-ki
March 21st is the memorial for Keizan Jokin zenji.
Hermitage:
The Roshi is continuing an extended period of "self-isolation" due to underlying health issues until the COVID-19 situation clarifies.
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
White Wind Zen Community Website Update
“River of Memory”: transcript of teisho presented by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi at Zazen-ji, on March 21st, 1991:
https://wwzc.org/dharma-text/river-memory
Retreats
Rev. Chiso anagarika sat her weekly semi-retreat on Tuesday, March 7th at her home in the Berkshires. Aaron Ford sat a two-day retreat on Saturday, March 4th and Sunday, March 5th at his home in Calgary, Alberta. Thach Hoang sat a one and a half-day retreat from Saturday, March 4th to Sunday, March 5th at his home in Laval, Quebec. Tracey Parker sat a half-day retreat on Sunday, March 5th at her home in Perth, Ontario.
If you are a student of Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi and would like to sit a retreat at Dainen-ji,, please email schedule@wwzc.org to register a week in advance. For further information please visit this page: https://wwzc.org/retreats
If you would like to sit a retreat at home please follow the schedule outlined in this page:
https://wwzc.org/retreat-schedule-public-students. After your retreat, please send an email to schedule@wwzc.org to confirm that you sat a retreat and include the duration and location.
Recorded Teachings Schedule
Saturday, March 11th to Saturday, March 18th
Saturday, March 11th combined sitting: “The Touchstone" by Ven. Jinmyo Renge sensei: "The Touchstone 18, Vastness" (teisho 18 of 22, 15 minutes)
Monday, March 13th associate sitting: “The Touchstone" by Ven. Jinmyo Renge sensei: "The Touchstone 19, Fudo Myo-o Part 1" (teisho 19 of 22, 12 minutes)
Thursday, March 16th associate sitting: “The Touchstone" by Ven. Jinmyo Renge sensei: "The Touchstone 19, Fudo Myo-o Part 1" (teisho 19 of 22, 12 minutes)
Saturday, March 18th general sitting: “Bowing and Receiving”: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's Commentaries on Dogen zenji's "Raihai Tokuzui: Bowing and Acquiring the Essence": "Reading of Dogen zenji's Raihai Tokuzui"(1 of 13)
Listening to Teisho and Dharma Talks
Associate and general students should continue to follow the recorded Teachings schedule for the sitting you were attending at the monastery, and listen to that during your home practice.
You can access the online Recorded Teachings Library at wwzc.org/recorded-teachings-schedule.
You can also use the streaming site at app.wwzc.org to live stream recordings from the online Library. If you have forgotten your password or need assistance with accessing the recorded Teachings, please email schedule@wwzc.org.
Please note that teisho should be listened to in the correct order and with none missed out as themes, metaphors, questions raised and answered evolve in spirals throughout the series.
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 https://wwzc.org/dharma-position
Eyes See, Ears Hear https://wwzc.org/eyes-see-ears-hear
Embarrassment https://wwzc.org/embarrassment
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
Translations and Texts
Photograph of Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi at Daijozan, mid-1980s,
by Ven. Shikai Zuiko sensei
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 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 ongoing.
Roshi is also finishing 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.
Painted Cakes
(do not satisfy hunger)
Begun by Ven. Shikai Zuiko o-sensei
Finished by Ven. Fushin Comeau shuso following her death
UMPAN (J) —”cloud shaped” gong hanging outside of dokusan room
Posted March 10th, 2023. New entries are posted every two weeks.
Office of the Tenzo
Dogen zenji taught in the 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 following meals were prepared on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
Monday Yakuseki:
Fried rice (steamed Thai jasmine rice, sauteed diced carrots, chopped onion, minced garlic and ginger, finely chopped scallions, chopped kimchi, chopped poblano peppers, finely chopped jalapeno peppers, Chinese chili-garlic sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, black vinegar, white pepper, and red kidney beans; soup with greens (mushroom stock, vegetable stock, shoyu, shaoxing cooking wine, slivered ginger, shoyu, white pepper, chopped Shanghai bok choy; kimchi.
Tuesday Yakuseki:
Mashed Yukon gold potatoes (potatoes, butter, stock, Dijon mustard, salt, lots of black pepper); peas, carrots and corn with butter, salt and pepper.
Vegetarian option: Beyond Burgers.
For those who wished to supplement their diet with meat: miso braised beef (sirloin beef seasoned with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper, seared and then braised in vegetable stock, sauteed onions, shitake mushrooms, shiro miso, tomato paste, rice wine vinegar, minced red chillies, thinly sliced green onions).
Thursday Yakuseki:
Cavatappi pasta with garlic-butter sauce and baby green peas; mushroom soup (sauteed chopped onion, sliced cremini mushrooms, minced garlic, mushroom stock, thyme, parsley, smoked paprika, shoyu, a little apple cider vinegar and lots of black pepper; cubed friulano cheese with black olives.

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 David Gallant:
Thank you to Jinmyo sensei for the many Indian dishes prepared for residents recently. Thank you to Saigyo ino for organizing the residents' Samu Day last Sunday. Thank you to Fushin shuso for bringing in the garbage bins on Tuesday this week while I was in Toronto. Thank you to Leonardo Nobrega for his daily efforts in laundering the monastery's cleaning and kitchen cloth supply.
From Ian Richard:
Thank you to monastics and residents for the morning formal sittings and for all the early morning samu involved in preparing for them. They are such an ideal start to the day, and I am particularly grateful for them during a difficult week. Thanks as well to all the students who attend those sittings. As the Vow of Samantabhadra says, "May I always be in the company of those who are practising the practice together with me." Each and every one of you is an inspiration. Thank you.
From the Office of the Treasurer:
Thank you to Jinen and Charlane Bishop for donations.
