Soccer ball reclaimed by moss, Bon Portage Island, N.S.
eMirror Vol 27, No. 28
Friday, July 14th, 2023
Edited by the Practice Council
The White Wind Zen Community:
An international community practising and teaching Dogen’s Zen since 1985.
The sutta goes on: “One practises, ‘I breathe out calming the tendencies of the body.’ One practises, ‘I breathe in, calming the tendencies of the body.’ One practises, ‘I breathe in, experiencing joy.’ One practises, ‘I breathe out, experiencing joy.” Isn’t that nice.
“One practises, ‘I breathe in, experiencing happiness.’ One practises, ‘I breathe out experiencing happiness.” Oh! That’s even nicer.
“One practises, ‘I breathe in, experiencing habitual states of the mind.’” Oh no! “One practises, ‘I breathe out, experiencing habitual states of the mind.’ One practises, I breathe in, calming habitual patterns of mind.’” Well, that’s better. “One practises, ‘I breathe out calming habitual states of the mind.’
One practises, ‘I breathe in experiencing mind.’ One practises, ‘I breathe out experiencing mind.’ One practises, ‘With contentment of mind I breathe in.’ One practises, ‘With contentment of mind I breathe out.’ One practises, ‘With a harmonious mind I breathe in.’ One practises, ‘With a harmonious mind I breathe out.’” And so on and so on.
Well, in Zen we like to stay at the beginning of the beginning rather then getting into all of these other kinds of things. At some point it may seem to lead to what we call the “soother” approach to anapanasati, to sucking the breath in and out as if it were a baby’s teething soother. Trying to calm ourselves, trying to make ourselves feel better. Talking to ourselves: “I breathe in experiencing joy, I breathe out experiencing joy.” Now this is very nice, but we can get far too clever if we start to talk to ourselves like that. And so the whole value of anapanasati, gets lost. It starts to become very conceptual. It starts to become very clever. We start to become very sticky. We try to set out our web to trap some happiness with it, trap some joy with it. And when habitual states begin to come up we immediately begin to calm them down. “Shhlp, shhlp, shhlp. Go away! You are disturbing me!” And we suck on our soother a little bit more frantically. “SHHLP! SHHHLP! SHHHLPPP!” We suck the breath in and out, trying to subdue our unruly states, to vent the energy of them, because they frighten us.
But practice is not about being a baby with our little soother like that. Practice, to me, seems about growing up. About learning how to relate intelligently with ourselves and our world. So instead, we use anapanasati as a way of beginning at the beginning, of just being very basic with our experience. And learning how to be intelligent about the breath and about our toes. About our finger tips, about our hair, about our ears. About seeing and hearing. About touching and tasting. About how to eat our food and chew it, thoroughly and properly, and swallowing it all the way down. Learn how to taste that mouthful of food. Learn how to integrate all of the various elements of your life by relating to them thoroughly and properly.
-Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi, continuing Teisho Six: "Beginning at the Beginning" 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): July 19th and August 2nd.
Introduction to Zen Workshop Ottawa:
The next Introduction to Zen Workshop will take place on Saturday, August 5th at 1:45 p.m. To register: https://IntroductionToZenWorkshop.eventbrite.ca; for more information please see https://wwzc.org/introduction-zen-workshop-ottawa
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
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
Rev. Chiso anagarika sat her weekly semi-retreat on Tuesday, July 11th in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During his month-long period of residential training, public general student Julien Jefferson sat a two and a half-day retreat from Saturday, July 8th to Monday, July 10th which included attending Yaza. He also sat a one-day retreat on Wednesday, July 13th. Rodney Gallant sat a half-day retreat on Tuesday, July 11th at his home in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
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, July 15th to Saturday, July 22nd, 2023
Saturday, July 15th general sitting: “Wandering on Medicine Mountain”: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's commentaries on "Medicine Mountain": The Recorded Sayings and Doings of Zen Master Yaoshan Weiyan: “Planting Flowers on a Stone” (teisho 2 of 22, 23 minutes)
Sunday, July 16th formal sitting: SAkN: Infinite Infinities by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi: "Bright Darkness" (7 of 7, 19 minutes)
Monday, July 17th associate sitting: “Before Thinking: Foundations of Zen Practice” by Zen Master Anzan Hoshin: “The Rabbit-Killing Tree” (14 of 71, 18 minutes)
Thursday, July 20th associate sitting: “Before Thinking: Foundations of Zen Practice” by Zen Master Anzan Hoshin: “The Rabbit-Killing Tree” (14 of 71, 18 minutes)
Saturday, July 22nd general sitting: “Wandering on Medicine Mountain”: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's commentaries on "Medicine Mountain": The Recorded Sayings and Doings of Zen Master Yaoshan Weiyan: “Try to Lift It” (teisho 3 of 22, 17 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.
White Wind Zen Community Website Update
“Cultivation of the Ground of Mind”: transcript of a teisho Presented by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi at Zazen-ji, on June 4, 1989
https://wwzc.org/dharma-text/cultivation-ground-mind
The Practice of Boards and Stones” teisho presented by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi at Zazen-ji, on June 18, 1989
https://wwzc.org/dharma-text/practice-boards-and-stones
"Difficulty, Strangeness, Beauty": transcript of a Dharma Talk presented by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi at Zazen-ji, December 13, 1988: https://wwzc.org/dharma-text/difficulty-strangeness-beauty
"Standing in the Rain (Tangaryo)": transcript of Dharma Talk presented by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi at Zazen-ji, December 15th, 1988: https://wwzc.org/dharma-text/standing-rain-tangaryo
"Snow": transcript of Dharma Talk presented by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi at Zazen-ji, November 18, 1989: https://wwzc.org/dharma-text/snow
Painted Cakes
(do not satisfy hunger)
Begun by Ven. Shikai Zuiko o-sensei
Finished by Ven. Fushin Comeau shuso following her death
Zazen-ji (J): ”Zen Sitting Temple” — former main practice centre of White Wind Zen Community from 1988 to 1996
Posted July 7th, 2023. New entries are posted every two weeks.
Fundraising 2023: Roofs
Total donated to date: $4,650.00
After receiving several estimates for the repairs to the remaining areas of the roof, we now know that the total cost will be between $30,000 and $35,000 (depending on when the work begins, as estimates are only good for three to six months and costs keep increasing). All of the other (grey) sections of roof have already been taken care of. We have needed to redo the roofs a section at a time because the costs of replacing them, given the size and extreme angle of our roofs is very high.
Any contribution that you can make will be gratefully received.
Thank you and Gassho
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. 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 Yakuseki:
Frittata (caramelized onions, thinly sliced potatoes, minced garlic, eggs, basil, topped with sliced tomatoes and grated friulano cheese), baked until golden brown; tomato soup (diced onion, carrots, celery, minced garlic, San Marzano tomatoes, red wine, tomato juice, lots of black pepper, basil, oregano, rosemary, a drop of cream added just before serving); olives and artichoke hearts.
Tuesday Yakuseki:
Vegetarian option: white and brown Thai rice; Thai curry (chopped leeks, carrots, poblano and cubanelle peppers, bamboo shoots, red Thai curry paste, lime juice, fresh coriander and basil leaves; semi-firm tofu sauteed until golden brown and then added to the curry; chopped fresh pineapple.
For those who wished to supplement their diet with fish or meat, the above curry was served with baked basa fillets.
Thursday Yakuseki:
Farfalle pasta with a sauce made from broiled cherry tomatoes, chopped caramelised Spanish onions, baby peas and grilled zucchini with thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary and red pepper flakes; carrot-miso soup (garlic, ginger, chopped carrots, apple, leeks, tomato, cumin, cayenne, sweet paprika, turmeric, coconut cream, shiro miso, crushed chilli flakes); a pickle of sliced gherkins and cubed friulano cheese with lemon zest.
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 Saigyo ino:
Thank you to Mario Delilse for painting the radiator in the first-floor guest room. Thank you to Sam MacFarlane for a donation of hostas for the hedge border and for painting the antique blackboard we are currently restoring. Thank you to Greg Parker for sanding and staining the wooden frame the blackboard sits on. Thank you to Stacey Loyer for garden work and for research on native species so we can pay closer attention to the plants we put in the grounds moving forward. Thank you to Jesse Steinburg for a donation of custom colour wood stain and for ordering and picking it up. Thank you Challian Christ for researching how to apply mudding compound for future projects and for painting samu. Thank you to Sydnee Burgess for watering the hedge and for cleaning samu inside the building.
From Ian Richard:
Thank you to the monastics for all the work involved in running Yaza 2023. Many thanks to the Roshi for the recorded teisho that was played, to Jinmyo sensei for daisan and for a delicious breakfast, to Mishin godo for refreshing mint tea made using fresh mint from the rooftop garden, to Saigyo ino for leading kata in the middle of the night.
From Julien Jefferson:
Thank you to Anzan Hoshin roshi for "Morning Star'', a recording of which was played during Yaza last Saturday. Thank you to Jinmyo Renge sensei for late-night daisan and a very helpful explanation of mental factors. Thank you to Mishin godo for a morning practice interview, for instructions in cat-care, and for a particularly tasty pineapple served on Tuesday. Thank you to Saigyo ino for a morning practice interview and instruction in many important forms.
From Jeffrey Wilkins:
With much gratitude and deep gassho to the Roshi for brushing a beautiful sho for me. Thank you to Mishin godo for all her time and guidance.
From David Alexander:
Thank you to Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi for recently accepting me as an associate student, and for all the teisho recordings and publications. Thank you to Fushin shuso for your help and guidance during the recent Samu Weekend. Thank you to Saigyo Ino for the practice interviews, emails, for showing me the forms for associate sittings, and for the painting advice and telling me about the beautiful fish upstairs during the recent Samu Weekend. Thank you to Mishin godo for the practice interviews, emails, suggestions for reading material, and for ringing First Bell last Thursday as I walked down the hall which made sure I was very wide awake and ready for practice. Thank you to Jinmyo Renge sensei for including this message in the Emirror.
From the Office of the Treasurer:
Thank you to Ian Richard, Sam MacFarlane and Brennan Beall for donations to the Roof Repair Fund.
