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"Samu", photograph by Ven. Shikai Zuiko osho
eMirror Vol. 12, No. 20 Friday, May 16th, 2008 Edited by Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho
Quotes from teisho are run sequentially in the eMirror
Dogen zenji says,
The ten directions, the whole world, luminosity, Sakyamuni Buddha, Dogen zenji, and each and every moment of each and every day are all different ways of speaking of the same thing and are the expressions of space. We often call it the face you had before your mother and father were ever born, your Original Face, honrai no memmuku. That which is before forms, before colours, before sounds, before the mountains and rivers is here as the mountains and rivers, the colours and forms and sounds. But it is still wholly itself and is without form or quality. And it is never anything other than what it is even when it is completely actualized as skin, meat, bones, and marrow. Although it is the Face before your mother and father were born, let alone you, your mother and father are completely it. You are completely it. Dogen speaks of the nostrils of this Original Face because he wants to indicate its particularity, its actuality. It is this breathing in and breathing out completely. So when you breathe in, breathe in completely. When you breathe out, breathe out completely. When you bow, bow completely. A bow has a beginning, middle, and end. Do not finish the bow before it is over. Do not try to slide past the vivid leaping forth and leaping out of this moment by trying to put yourself in another time, another place. The being-time or uji which leaps forth and leaps out is always here and now. This moment is completely this moment, is completely the ten directions, and is completely the Original Face.
Upcoming Events Fusatsu and the Vow of Samantabhadra Chanting of the Precepts will take place on May 21st, June 4th and June 18th. The Vow of Samantabhadra will be chanted on May 28th, and on June 11th and 25th.
Sogaku-ki O-sesshin The Sogaku-ki O-sesshin will begin at 8:00 p.m. This evening (Friday, May 16th) and will end at noon on Friday, May 23rd. Formal students are reminded to send their schedules to schedule at wwzc dot org as soon as possible. During the O-sesshin, there will be two sittings held in the Zendo on Saturday, May 17th which associate and general students may attend. The first sitting begins at 9:30 a.m. (please arrive by 9:15 in time for first Bell); the sitting ends at 11:30. The second sitting begins at 3:00 (please arrive by 2:45 in time for first Bell); the sitting ends at 5:00. Students attending either of these sittings 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.
Sogaku-ki May 18th is the memorial for the death of Sogaku Myoshin Hakukaze daiosho.
Oryoki On Saturday, May 24th, general students who attend the 6:00 a.m. formal sitting may participate in oryoki practice led by Jinmyo osho. Associate or visiting public students who are in retreat at the monastery on that day may also participate in oryoki. Dana is $10.00. You do not need previous experience of oryoki to attend. For more information or to register please send an email to schedule at wwzc dot org.
Hermitage On Wednesday, June 4th, the Roshi will begin a period of hermitage which will end on Sunday, June 8th at 10:00 a.m.
Introduction to Zen Workshop Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho will present the next Introduction to Zen Workshop at Dainen-ji on Saturday, June 7th. For more information please see: http://www.wwzc.org/programs/Introduction_To_Zen_Workshop_Ottawa.htm. For information concerning our Long-distance Training Program, please visit this Web Page: http://www.wwzc.org/programs/longDistance.htm.
Dharma Assembly On Saturday, June 14th, Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho will lead a Dharma Assembly which will begin at 9:30 a.m. (please arrive by 9:15, in time for first Bell) and will end at 9:10 p.m. Dana is $40.00 and includes two meals: lunch and supper. Participants are asked to bring clothing and shoes appropriate for samu practice. To register, please send an email to schedule at wwzc dot org or leave a message on the office answering machine at 613-562-1568. Dharma Assemblies are open to all students. The general sitting that would ordinarily take place from 9:30 to 11:40 on Saturday morning will be cancelled due to the Dharma Assembly.
Two-day Sesshin The June two-day sesshin will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, June 20th and will end at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 22nd. On Saturday, June 21st, 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.
Oryoki On Saturday, June 28th, general students who attend the 6:00 a.m. formal sitting may participate in oryoki practice led by Jinmyo osho. Associate or visiting public students who are in retreat at the monastery on that day may also participate in oryoki. Dana is $10.00. You do not need previous experience of oryoki to attend. For more information or to register please send an email to schedule at wwzc dot org.
Recorded Teisho Schedule Saturday, May 17th associate sittings - Immo: Suchness: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's commentaries on Eihei Dogen zenji's Immo: "Activity of Reality" (teisho 10 of 18).
Saturday, May 24th general sitting - Turning the Wheel of the Way: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's commentaries on Eihei Dogen zenji's "Gyoji: Continuous Practice": "Bodhidharma's Transmission, Part 1" (teisho 26 of 44).
Current Dharma Talk On Thursday, May 15th, Ven. Shikai Zuiko osho presented the 23rd Dharma Talk in the series "Every Breath You Take", entitled "On Receiving Novice Precepts". Media Site The media site is back online. If you have any problem accessing it, please send an e-mail to chunen at gmail dot com.
Retreats and Training Sessions Curtis Cheslock sat a one-day retreat on Friday. Deshi Isshin sat a three-day retreat on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
To Schedule a Retreat Please email schedule at wwzc dot org to schedule a retreat, even if you have made verbal arrangements with a practice advisor or a Dharma Teacher. Emails sent to that address are routed to all members of the Practice Council who will need this information for the purposes of meal planning, preparing tapes for your retreat and planning samu assignments. Retreats are defined in the following way:
Half-day Retreat (you would need to arrive 15 minutes before the actual starting time) Begin at 6:00 a.m., end at noon. Or begin at 9:30 a.m., end at 6:00. Or begin at 3:00 p.m., end at 9:10. Partial Retreat (You would need to arrive 15 minutes before the actual starting time) Begin at 6:00 a.m., end at 6:00 p.m. Or begin at 9:30 a.m., end at 9:10 p.m. Full retreat (you would need to arrive by 5:45) Begin at 6:00 a.m., end at 9:10 p.m. Please remember to bring a change of clothes suitable for samu (caretaking practice). If staying overnight, please remember to bring a sleeping bag, a towel and other such necessities. If you have been diagnosed by a medical doctor as having allergies to specific foods, please contact the tenzo, Jinmyo osho at rengezo at vianet dot ca, a week in advance of your retreat to inform her of dietary restrictions as this affects food purchases and meal planning. The suggested dana for retreats is $40 a day, which covers the basic cost of food and other materials. Donations above this figure are very welcome and all donations are tax deductible. There is also a retreat schedule for public students posted on our Website at: http://www.wwzc.org/Resources/Public.student.retreat.schedule.htm Public Students’ Retreats For retreats to be mentioned in the eMirror, public students are asked to send an email to schedule at wwzc dot org after they sit a retreat mentioning the date of their retreat and whether it is a partial, half-day or full retreat. Please also include the name of the city in which you live.
Training Sessions For Students Living in Ottawa: There are a number of options available to associate and general students who wish to practice more intensively, such as sitting a full or partial retreat for one or several days, or extending their practice at home to include two or three rounds. In addition, associate or general students may register for a "training session". This requires making a commitment to a one-week, month-long, or three month period during which they would attend all of the formal sittings at the monastery, morning and evening with the exception of Tuesday evening and Sunday morning (which are reserved for formal students and monastics) while continuing to live at home. The training sessions are intended to allow students to experience what it is like to participate in the monastery’s full schedule. Formal sittings are led by Roshi and include chanting practice and more extensive use of the forms. Students engaging in a training session would also have more opportunities to meet with Dharma Teachers or practice advisors to discuss their practice. At the end of a training session, students would return to their normal schedule. There would be no extra dana involved in practising a training session. With the Undo serving as a dormitory space students can register for periods of residential training at Dainen-ji for anywhere from overnight to several weeks. This involves attending the practice schedule, evening meals, participation in regular soji (cleaning the practice halls) and samu (care-taking). During the days one would go to one’s job or could do extra sitting and study outside of a retreat schedule. The dana for this is $40 a day; work scholarships can also be arranged. To register for a training session or residential training, please send an email to schedule at wwzc dot org or telephone the Zen Centre office at (613) 562-1568 and leave a message. When scheduling a training session, please remember not to include dates that fall within a sesshin or an O-sesshin. For Public Students: This requires making a commitment to a one-week, month-long, or three-month period during which public students sit zazen according to the following schedule: Monday morning: 6:00 a.m. to 7:25 a.m.; Monday evening: 7:30 to 9:10 p.m. Tuesday morning: 6:00 a.m. to 7:25 a.m. Wednesday morning: 6:00 a.m. to 7:25 a.m. Thursday morning: 6:00 a.m. to 7:25 a.m.; Tuesday evening: 7:30 to 9:10 p.m. Friday morning 6:00 a.m. to 7:25 a.m. (Friday is Hossan and there are no scheduled sittings at the monastery, but students are expected to sit at home). Saturday morning: 6:00 a.m. to 7:25 a.m. Sunday morning: 6:00 a.m. to 7:25 a.m. Public students who wish to do a Training Session should send an email to schedule at wwzc dot org to state their intention and specify the duration and schedule of their Training Session. After completing the Training Session, please send an email to Jinmyo osho at rengezo at gmail dot com to confirm that you have fulfilled your commitment and notice of it will be included in the eMirror.
May Samu Weekend Report The second samu weekend of 2008 took place over the 10th and 11th of May. 23 students attended over the two days and completed a huge amount of work to maintain and improve the environment of practice. The main project over the two days was to re-build the rear porch roof which was in poor condition and structurally unsound. This also gave us the opportunity to extend the roof over the kitchen door and in doing so cover the back decking making this area much more usable, especially in winter months. As well as numerous small tasks completed over the weekend other projects included: a great deal of work in the grounds to water, mulch, condition the soil using the remainder of last years compost dirt, plant and weed; the windows of most of the public areas of the building were washed; the rain barrels were taken out of storage, modified and installed. Thank you to the Roshi and Jinmyo osho for the wonderful midday meals designed and created for the participants of the samu weekend. Than you to the following students for their samu over the two days: Chunen ino, Mishin tando, Senbo shuso, Jido anagarika, Muryo, Isshin, David Clawson, Jennifer Comeau, Guillaume Albert, Gillian Higenbottam, Nathan Comeau, Rob McBride, Bill Windover, Paul Kadziora, Elizabeth Katz, Samantha Drouin, Francois Fournier, Bruce Libman, Charles Enman, Alexis Fiset, Neil Porter and Tracy Hutton. Gassho, Saigyo chiden, shissui
Spring Garden Work With the arrival of spring there is a great deal of work to do in the grounds over the coming weeks. If anyone would like to assist with garden work and with the many projects planned for the grounds please let the Chiden know by sending an email to saigyo at telecomottawa dot com or by leaving a message on the Zen Centre office answering machine (613-562-1568). Any amount of time you can offer will be welcome.
Office of the Tenzo Dogen zenji taught that the work of preparing and serving meals was "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. Jinmyo Renge osho serves as tenzo and Mishin tando and Saigyo chiden offer assistance as tenzo-anja. The following meals were prepared durng the Samu Weekend and on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, prior to evening sittings:
Samu Weekend Saturday Lunch: Samu Weekend Sunday Lunch: Stir-fried bok choy sum, gai lan, Shanghai bok choy sum, yellow and red bell peppers with lime, Xiao xing cooking wine, and slivered ginger; roasted small cremini, torn oyster, and sliced shitake mushrooms with shoyu and sesame oil and Sichuan peppercorns; atsuage tofu squares with a chile sesame sauce; mixed grains (Korean and Thai sticky white rice, Sona Masoori rice, Basmati white rice, barley, Thai long-grain white rice, Arborio rice, Bae an mi [Korean special white rice], gohan, and Lundberg Farm short-grain brown rice); abaechu kimchi.
Monday Yakuseki Hiyayaku tofu (cold block of silken tofu) atop a bed of abaechu kimchi (young green cabbage) and topped with enoki mushrooms; dai gai choy (mustard greens) and thick sliced shitake mushrooms in tamarind soup with ngoc mam, mirin, shoyu and kefir lime leaves; fried rice with yellow and orange bell peppers, Spanish onion, garlic, ginger, roasted Vietnamese chile oil and shoyu. Tuesday Yakuseki Larb-loaf (meat loaf in the style of South-East Asian larb made with minced pork, beef, lamb, and chicken, minced red and green chiles, garlic, lemongrass hearts, coriander stems, leeks, eggs, mirin, ngoc mam, panko, toasted rice powder with a panko and rice powder crust); roasted huge white mushrooms rubbed with Thai red curry paste and coconut milk; wedges of Korean cabbages and leeks braised in a coconut milk Thai green curry; mixed grain (Lundberg Farms short-grain brown rice, Thai long-grain brown rice, Basmati brown rice, Korean and Thai sticky brown rice, pearled wheat and barley); salad of carrot and daikon "noodles" dressed with mirin, ngoc mam, gari juice, and lime zest and juice. Thursday Yakuseki Baked polenta with halved Indus eggplants, quartered field tomatoes, tinned diced tomatoes, whole enormous black olives (pitted) seasoned with oregano and cumin and extra virgin olive oil and topped with squares of mozzarella and panko and garnished with bail leaves; three kinds of tofu sauteed with halved tiny orange and yellow bell peppers and chopped purple bell peppers, thick rounds of jalapeno (easy to remove), and sweet onion; very green slaw of shaved fennel dressed with mayonnaise blended with fennel fronds and lime juice.
Students attending sittings on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings may make arrangements to join residents for meals prepared by the Office of the Tenzo. Please email schedule at wwzc dot org at least one day in advance; Contribution is $10.
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 vianet dot ca, but be sure to type "eMirror" in the subject line.
From Anzan roshi: My thanks to Saigyo chiden for organzing and to all who participated in the recent Samu Weekend. Much was done and done well. From Chunen ino: Thank you to the Roshi for many books on a range of Linux topics; to Shikai osho for reminders on how to notice and let go of usualness; to Jinmyo osho for the beautiful meals during the samu weekend; to Mishin tando for many hundreds of administrative tasks; to Saigyo chiden for organizing the samu weekend tasks; to Senbo shuso for purchase of a replacement microwave; to David Clawson on how to use some very interesting computer tools. From Mishin tando: Thank you to the Roshi and Jinmyo osho for the delicious meals designed and prepared for students during the Samu Weekend; to Chunen ino and David Clawson for ongoing work to improve the Media Site and the web site; to Saigyo chiden for organizing and overseeing the numerous improvements to the grounds and the building that were accomplished during the Samu Weekend. From David Clawson: Thank you to Roshi for Dokusan and for further instruction on great bows, which offer opportunities to align with reality, to Shikai osho for a fun and interesting Friday exploring Ottawa via OC Transpo, to Jinmyo osho for explanations of aspects of practice, for taking the time to follow up with further clarification, and for ensuring that the eMirror is available to students every week, to Chunen ino for his work on the main web site, for his answers to many of the questions that I had while doing development on the new media site, which enabled me to cut through much speculation, and for organizing the "sick bay" (where sick computers are repaired), to Mishin tando for leading kata in a very clear manner that reminds students that the forms are very specific and intentional, to Saigyo chiden for the amazing work he has done, not just on the new roof over the porch, but in coordinating and overseeing a very productive samu weekend, to Senbo shuso for procuring a new microwave for residents, and to Isshin, whose sincerity sets an example for the rest of us, through frequently traveling a long distance to Dainen-ji to sit O-sesshin and retreats. From Gillian Higenbottam: Thank you to the Roshi for liberating the trapped Buddha in the hatto, in such a surprising and joyful way.
Ongoing Samu Request for Assistance, Office of the Treasurer As part of clarifying and streamlining the financial processes of White Wind Zen Community, we would like to have pairs of students rotate to help process dana contributions on a weekly basis. To date, most of this work has been done by Mishin tando with the assistance of one or two other students, but it is time to restructure the system so that the work of the Office of the Treasurer becomes more manageable and more students are helping with this responsibility. If you would be available on Saturdays prior to the General Sitting for about a hour (from 8:15-9:15 a.m.), your help will be appreciated. Please email Mishin at trytel dot com. Training will be provided. No special financial skills are needed other than an eye for detail and accuracy.
Archiving Samu Since 2002 the teisho presented by the Roshi and the Dharma Talks given by the Dharma Teachers have been recorded directly onto CD and copies made available to students. Prior to this time all of the recordings were made on cassette tape. Over the last years the monastics, with the help of several students, have worked to transfer the taped material onto CD, not only because cassette tape technology is fast becoming outdated but because the early tape recordings are deteriorating quickly and may soon become unplayable. To lose these teaching would be disastrous. We are presently making direct CD copies of all of the early tapes so that there is a back-up copy available should anything happen to the master tape which makes it unplayable but there is much work to be done. There are still over 100 tapes from the 1980’s and 1990’s that need to be re-mastered, relabeled and copied and this constitutes many hundreds of hours of work. If you are able to commit to a regular weekly schedule of two or three hours samu to continue this vital work, please let us know by writing to tapes at wwzc dot org. Full training will be given.
Daily Samu Samu each day to prepare the monastery for the arrival of the students is a very important practice for the monastics. Any help to assist the monks with brightening and clarifying the practice environment is very much appreciated. If you are able to come early before a sitting to do samu, please consult the samu notice board situated between the side entrance doors to find a task which has not been done recently. If you have any questions about the task please ask any monastic.
Improvements to the Second Floor Washroom A project that has been on the high priory list for a number of years is the renovation of the second floor washroom. Even though this is the most frequently used washroom in the building it has never had any substantial improvements apart from being painted last year. Work on this washroom, which was scheduled to be taking place late in 2007, was again delayed due to the necessity of a urgent roof repair to the west side of the roof. This repair cost in the region of $13,000 and as this is considerably higher than our available budget we have had to cut back on other important work. Because of this, we have decided to fund raise in order to gather sufficient money to make the improvements to the washroom. The work to be done will include a new sink and cabinet and a new ceiling light, fan and exhaust. This will cost in the region of $1000 to complete. Students are encouraged to donate towards this project so that it can be scheduled some time in the spring and the improved facilities will be available in early 2008. Improvements to this room will benefit every student that comes to the monastery for sittings. Thank you for your generosity to help with this project. Gassho, Saigyo chiden, shissui.
CDs Available to the Public A selection of CDs of teisho and Dharma Talks is available on our web-site. The page is found at http://wwzc.org/CDWebSales/CDWebSales.htm or follow the link for Dharma Texts and CDs on the home page. Over time more teisho and Dharma Talks from the over 2500 presentations made by the Roshi, Shikai osho and Jinmyo osho will be made available for purchase.
Ongoing Project: "All is Change" Dainen-ji, being a 135-year-old building, is continuously in need of maintenance and the costs associated with this can be astronomical when such things as roof repairs or 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. Many hundreds of 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.
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