eMirror Vol 27, No. 13
Friday, March 31st, 2023
Edited by the Practice Council
The White Wind Zen Community:
An international community practising and teaching Dogen’s Zen since 1985.
In the Sandokai it says,
“The four elements return to their own nature, like a child to its mother. In all things, leaves spread out from the root.”
Zen is not a matter of getting entangled in the branches and leaves but finding the root, the root of experience, the place in which all worlds and all beings arise.
Hearing this, we might rear our little worm mouths up toward our idea of that and want to consume it like so much cotton candy. Mmmm. It would be so sweet, this “place in which all beings and worlds arise,” wouldn’t it? Such a treat. Not like the usual beans and toast of work, driving on the expressway, or doing the dishes. Instead it would be something special for us to consume, to put into the wormy maw of our minds, to munch up and snack on. Mmmm. Buddhahood. Reality. Dharma. Such a sweet, sweet little treat. But we can’t realize the Dharma at all unless we first actually relate with our wormhood, our air, earth, fire, water and spacehood, unless we relate with the actual elements of our experience and how they actually function. Realizing Reality in its vastness is not something special, not some little treat for us to consume. It is just Reality. And that includes everything.
-Ven Anzan Hoshin roshi, beginning Teisho Four: "The Functioning of the Elements" in the series "Flowers and Worms", Hanamatsuri sesshin, April 11th to 14th, 1991, Zazen-ji.
The Hatto (for formal sittings)
The Zendo (for associate and general sittings)
Practice Schedule and Upcoming Events
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 you will need to make a $5.00 dana contribution for the meal. 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.
Sunday Formal Sitting: The Sunday morning formal sittings are reserved for monastics, formal students, and probationary formal students.
Fusatsu (Renewal of Vows): April 5th and April 19th.
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
Hanamatsuri Two-day Sesshin:
The April Hannamatsuri two-day sesshin will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, April 7th, and will end at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 9th.
Hermitage:
The Roshi is continuing an extended period of hermitage 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
Deshi Isshin sat a one-day retreat on Sunday, March 26th at her home in Saint John, New Brunswick. Sarah Goul arrived at Dainen-ji on Wednesday, March 29th from her home in Winnepeg, Manitoba and is sitting a retreat until Sunday, April 2nd.
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, April 1st to Saturday, April 8th
Saturday, April 1st general sitting: “Bowing and Receiving”: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's Commentaries on Dogen zenji's "Raihai Tokuzui: Bowing and Acquiring the Essence": "The Right Teacher" (3 of 13, 26 minutes)
Sunday, April 2nd formal sitting: SAkN: "Tathagatagarbha" by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi: "The Flash of Knowing"
(teisho 2 of 4)
Monday, April 3rd associate sitting: “The Touchstone" by Ven. Jinmyo Renge sensei: "The Touchstone 20, Mahavairocana part 1" (teisho 21 of 22, 12 minutes)
Thursday, April 6th associate sitting: “The Touchstone" by Ven. Jinmyo Renge sensei: "The Touchstone 20, Mahavairocana part 1" (teisho 21 of 22, 12 minutes)
Saturday, April 8th general sitting: “Bowing and Receiving”: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's Commentaries on Dogen zenji's "Raihai Tokuzui: Bowing and Acquiring the Essence": "Sincerity and the 'Worldly'" (4 of 13, 21 minutes)
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
UNSUI (J) —”cloud and water” —monk or novice
Posted March 24th, 2023. New entries are posted every two weeks.
Samu Weekend report
by Saigyo ino
Over the weekend of Saturday, March 25th and Sunday, March 26th we held our first Samu Weekend of 2023 and a total of 24 students attended over the two days. A great deal of work was completed inside the building and here are some of the "highlights".
In the unfinished room next to the Shuryo a plywood floor was installed and painted ‘heron blue’. On the third floor work continued on building a new guest room by dividing the common room in half. The walls were sanded and painted and the baseboards and door casing were made and painted. Once the trim is installed this project will be complete. On the back stairs the handrails were sanded, primed and painted. A lot of reorganisation was completed in the furnace room including adding additional storage and clarifying the supplies cupboards. Cataloguing of the CD collection of the recorded teisho and Dharma Talks was completed and the final hard copies of the eMirror archives were printed and added. A repair was made to the floor outside the Hatto entrance and some work was done to continue sanding and preparing the window trim from the first floor guest room which is under construction. A new set of kaishaku for the Zendo was completed, the black ceiling in the basement was cleaned, the electrical room window was insulated, a grounds watering plan drawn up for use in the spring and summer, a new samu notice board was created and hung, the oven cleaned and new hashi cleaned of tenacious sticky labels.
Thank you to Jinmyo sensei for designing and preparing two fabulous meals for those students who stayed through each day of samu.
Thank you to the following students for samu over the two days to assist the monastics in maintaining and improving Dainen-ji its resources for students:
Deshi Senbo, David Gallant, Chantal Maheu, Shigemi Ichino, Ian Richard, Rowan Russell, Matt Broda, Loïc-Alexandre Ouellette, Shannon Morphew, Robert Carew, Sam MacFarlane, Mario Delisle, Jean-Francois St-Louis, Greg Parker, Hannah Kent, Christian Hansen, Kathleen Johnson, Don Charette, Artik Chauhan, Stacey Loyer and Challian Christ.
Office of the Tenzo
Dogen zenji taught in the Tenzo Kyokun: Instructions for the Tenzo (Tenzo kyokun: Instructions for the Tenzo | White Wind Zen Community) 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 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.
The following meals were prepared on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings:
Monday Yakuseki:
Vegetable soup (chopped leaks, zucchini, thinly sliced carrots, yellow onion, minced garlic, vegetable stock, thyme, black pepper, apple cider vinegar;
Tuesday Yakuseki:
Mixed grain (white and brown Calrose, white basmati, arborio, barley, Thai sticky rice); gailan (Chinese broccoli cooked with lime juice, salt and pepper).
Choice of tofu or tsukune (finely chopped onion, egg yolks, grated ginger, katakuriko (potato starch), ground chicken; sauce made from shoyu, mirin, ginger, thickened with potato starch).
Thursday Yakuseki:
Brown and white basmati rice; chickpea curry (chopped onion and diced tomatoes cooked until they become a paste; minced ginger, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, fennel seeds, black mustard seeds, cinnamon, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, cardamom, turmeric, chopped jalapenos, poblanos and red bell peppers, chopped fresh coriander stems, chickpeas); salad of leaf lettuce, Romaine lettuce, cucumber and tomato with a dressing made from lime pickle, mango, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, mixed with toasted yellow mustard seeds and cumin seeds.

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 the Roshi for the sho and zenga that he has brushed, and the suiseki (arrangements of stones and branches) that appear on walls and spaces all over the monastery. Thank you to Jinmyo sensei for "The Touchstone" series of Dharma Talks which is so useful to so many students. Saigyo ino for organizing the tasks for all the students who participated in the Samu Weekend. Thank you to Leonardo Nobrega for emailing me a fix for my cell phone that was not unable to charge.
From George Donovan:
Thank you to Mishin godo for sending me the videos of the morning Daruma-Kata aiki so that I could learn the movements and incorporate them into my daily routine. I want to thank godo and Saigyo ino for taking the time to have regular telephone practice interviews with me. It is truly appreciated.
From Stacey Loyer:
Thank you to Saigyo ino for organizing the recent Samu Weekend. Thank you to everyone who participated in the Samu Weekend, and to students who regularly offer samu which helps keep Dainen-ji clean and available for practice.
From the Office of the Treasurer:
Thank you to the following for donations towards the Samu Weekend: Ian Richard, Jesse Steinberg, Brennan Beall, and Challian Christ.
