Dongshan daiosho

 

eMirror Vol. 11, No. 15

Friday, April 13 th , 2007

Edited by Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho

 


 

Quotes from teisho are run sequentially in the eMirror

 

Continuing with the text of Hossho, Dogen zenji says,

  When we drink water we know if it is hot or cold but the principle of the Great Way is not like that. All the Buddhas and all those open to openness, and all living beings realize and clarify the Great Way of dharmata through the power of natural wisdom. Following the sutras or masters and clarifying the Great Way of dharmata is the actualization of one's own dharmata. The sutras are dharmata, they are one's self. Masters are also dharmata, and are one's self. Dharmata is masters, dharmata is our self. Since it is dharmata that is one's self, it is not the mistaken presumptions of a “self” of those outside of the Way or demons. In dharmata there are none outside of the Way or demons; there is just eating congee when it is served, receiving rice when it is served, and drinking tea when it is offered.

  As the cold of winter blows, we can feel its chill. When we hold a bowl of hot soup in our hand we can feel the warmth. When our name is called we know to answer. This is the natural wisdom of the bodymind and, as we have seen, even this we have had to learn and to develop and enlarge and open. Each of these activities is the samadhi of dharmata if we use each of them to open to the total activity of the whole moment in which they arise through mindfulness and insight. The prajna paramita, the radical insight that recognizes the emptiness and openness of all dharmas is the ability to know cold from hot. But simply avoiding the cold and moving towards the heat is not the same as prajna paramita.

      This phrase “know if it is hot or cold” is reflected in the Hokyo-ki, Dogen’s record of his time in China studying with Tiantong Rujing. In section 4 it says,

    Dogen said, “Good teachers, old and new say, ‘just as fish drinking water knows if it is cold or hot, so a person with self-knowledge achieves awakening. Knowing one’s nature is the realization of Awakened Mind.’” Criticizing this, Dogen asked, “If this self-knowledge is authentic awakening, do all sentient beings have self-knowledge, and if so, can they be considered to be authentically awakened tathagatas? Some say, “Yes. From the beginningless beginning all sentient beings are the tathagatas.’ Others say, ‘Not all sentient beings are necessarily tathagatas.’ But how is this so? If only those who believe that they are inherently awakened are tathagatas then those who do not think they are inherently awake are not tathagatas. Can such a theory be of the Buddha Dharma or not?”

    Rujing answered, “Claiming that sentient beings are originally Buddhas is the same as believing the wrong view of spontaneous origination. We cannot condone those who compare ‘I’ and ‘mine’ with the Buddhas and take the unattained as the attained and the unexperienced as the experience.”

      As a Tendai novice monk Dogen had been trained in hongaku or the thought of “original awakening”.       Although there are many complex doctrinal and textual matters concerned with hongaku shiso it basically comes down to this: The Mahaparanirvana sutra and other sutras and sastras say that all beings have Buddhata or Buddha Nature. Hongaku shiso says that simply by believing that one is a Buddha then one is a Buddha. That’s it. The young Dogen thought that if this were true, then why did the Buddha and other great masters need to seek the way and engage in practice with their bodyminds? He brought this question to his master Koin who said that he couldn’t answer him and suggested he study with Master Yosai who had returned from China with the seal of Awakening of Bodhidharma. As we know, Dogen then went to Kennin-ji to study with the aged Yosai and then his Dharma-heir Myozen and eventually received Myozen’s Dharma Transmission. Following this both Myozen and Dogen travelled to China where both studied with Rujing and Myozen died at Tiantong shan. Dogen received from Rujing the practice of shikan-taza, of just sitting; and shinjin-gakudo, or how to study the Way through the bodymind; and realized shinjin-datsaruku, or falling through the bodymind.

 

-Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi, continuing teisho 3: “This is the Samadhi of Dharmata,” Sunday, December 5, 2004, in the series “Essentially Real, commentaries on Eihei Dogen zenji’s Hossho: Dharmata”

 

Upcoming Events

 

Fusatsu and the Vow of Samantabhadra

Chanting of the Precepts will take place on April 18 th . The Vow of Samantabhadra will be chanted on April 25 th .

Hanamatsuri Two-day Sesshin

The Hanamatsuri two-day sesshin will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, April 13 th , and will end on Sunday, April 15 th , at 6:00 p.m. The Roshi will continue the teisho series “Doing Not-Doing: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's Commentaries on Eihei Dogen zenji's ‘Shoaku Makusa’ and the Three Pure Precepts”.

On Saturday, April 14 th , associate and general students may attend a sitting held in the Zendo, which will begin at 9:30 a.m. (please arrive by 9:15 in time for first Bell) and will end at 11:30 a.m.

Oryoki for General Students

On Saturday, April 21 st , 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 .

Dharma Assembly

On Saturday, April 28 th , 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, which 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 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.

Introduction to Zen Workshop

Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho will present the next Introduction to Zen Workshop at Dainen-ji on Saturday, May 5th. 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.

Samu Weekend

The next Samu Weekend is scheduled to take place on May 26 th and 27 th . Please pencil these dates into your calendar so that you will be able to attend some or all these two days of caretaking practice, and help with the maintenance and improvement of Dainen-ji.

 

Recorded Teisho Schedule

Saturday April 14th associate sitting - Eight Awarenesses: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin’s Commentaries on Eihei Dogen zenji’s “Hachi Dainin-gaku”: “Cultivating Wisdom” (teisho 7 of 8).

Monday, April 16th general sitting – Without Difficulty: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin’s commentaries on “Xinxin Ming: Words on Trusting Awareness” by Jianzhi Sengcan: “The Practice of Entrusting” (teisho 16 of 25).

Tuesday, April 17th formal sitting – Mikkyo-zo: Monastic Jishu: “Releasing Poverty, Accepting Richness” (Class 9 of 15).

Thursday, April 19th associate sitting – Eight Awarenesses: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin’s Commentaries on Eihei Dogen zenji’s “Hachi Dainin-gaku”: “Avoiding Idle Talk” (teisho 8 of 8).

Saturday April 21st general sitting – This World of Ten Directions: “Depths and Heights” (teisho 1 of 10).



Congratulations

Congratulations and deep gassho to Pierre Trahan on being accepted as an associate student by the Roshi. Welcome back and congratulations to Henry Dawe on being accepted as a general student by the Roshi.

 

Retreats

Denise Murphy sat a half-day retreat in her home in Toronto on Saturday, April 7 th . Marina MacLean sat a half-day retreat in her home in Peterborough on Tuesday, April 4 th . Dan Moulton sat a full-day retreat on Monday, April 9 th , in his home in Val Caron.

 

To Schedule a Retreat

Please email schedules at wwzc.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 Jinmyo at trytel dot com 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@wwzc.org mentioning the date of their retreat and whether it is a partial, half-day or full retreat.  

 

Current and Upcoming Work at Dainen-ji

 

Improvements to the second floor washroom :

Donations from students have provided the necessary funds to begin work on the first stages of renovation to the second floor washroom. The first project will be to install a new and more powerful ventilion fan and rewire the lighting. This will require alterations to the ceiling and exterior brick to accommodate the vent pipe. The second stage will be to install a new cabinet, sink and faucet. Each of these projects are being designed to take in account a possible major renovation in the future, which will be done if the budget becomes available. The major renovation will open up the space and improve considerably the functionality of the washroom and of entrance to the Hatto. Saigyo chiden will begin on work in the washroom soon.

Installation of gates in the grounds:

With the recent theft of such items as the Buddha rupa and stone lantern from the monastery grounds we have decided to build gates for the front entrance and a gated fence at the side of the building. Saigyo chiden will begin construction of these shortly, using western red cedar, following a design by the Roshi.

Spring Garden work :

With the arrival of spring much work needs to be done in the grounds. If you are able to offer any time to assist with garden samu please contact Saigyo chiden at saigyo@telecomottawa.net . Your help will be appreciated. Thank you.

 



Zenga by Sengai

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 is a list of meals served prior to the evening sittings on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday:

Monday yakuseki :

Ziti, Napa cabbage, red bell pepper spears with slivered ginger and dan dan sauce; tiny Indus eggplants and halved large button mushrooms roasted with Vietnamese roasted chile oil; maka atsuage tofu with almond butter, sesame oil, and shoyu; large Brussels sprouts with mint and shiso leaves and kimchi juices.

Tuesday Yakuseki

Lundberg Farm short grain brown rice; chipotle chili with Spanish onion, San Marzano tomatoes, toasted cumin seeds, oregano, ground beef, red kidney beans, black beans, and soy beans; labney and Mediterranean yogurt; miniature cornbread "muffins"; roasted strips of red bell peppers and cubanelle peppers; salad of scallions, ginger, diced Chinese lettuce stem and Lebanese cucumbers with lemon.

Thursday Yakuseki

Roasted root vegetables (green daikon, rutabaga, turnips, parsnip) with black mustard seeds and ajwain seeds; three kinds of tofu (maka-atsuage, pillow, and puffed) braised in chile miso with leeks, dai gai choy, and Napa cabbage); roasted eryingi mushrooms with garlic; quick tsukemono of Chinese celery stem and baby turnip greens.

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@wwzc.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 jinmyo at trytel dot com. (Owing to the volume of mail I receive, please note that an email sent to me containing a thank you intended for the eMirror should specify that it is to be included. Otherwise I will likely assume that you are just sending me an email, will think, "Thank you very much," and that will be the end of it).

From Mishin tando, “Thank you to the Roshi for leading monastics in Acalanatha Sadhana after coming out of Hermitage each month; to Ian Hepburn for dana processing samu; to Charles Enman for assisting with soji before the Thursday evening sitting; to a student who wishes to remain anonymous for the donation of funds for a new stone rupa and stone lantern to replace the ones that were recently stolen from the monastery grounds.”

From Saigyo chiden , “Thank you to the Roshi and Jinmyo osho for many trips each week to the stores to purchase the food and supplies for the Office of the Tenzo. Thank you to Nathan Comeau for samu to tidy the furnace room. Thank you to Carys Carrington, Nathan Comeau and Charles Enman for archiving samu.

From Chiso anagarika , “Thank you to the Roshi for the numberless ways in which he redirects my practice; to Shikai osho for a wonderful refreshment done while she was not feeling well; to Roshi and Jinmyo osho for wonderful meals which were not only nourishing and beautiful but humorous as well; to Chunen ino for his help and for a CD and to everybody involved in making the Teachings available on CDs (when do they have the time I always wonder); to Mishin tando for practising the Sadhana with me; to Saigyo chiden, Senbo shuso and Jido anagarika for always being helpful and available; to Muryo for picking me up at the airport; and thank you again to Jinmyo osho for taking the time to add this to the e-mirror.”

 

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.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 this year or early next year, will again need to be delayed due to the necessity of a urgent roof repair to the west side of the roof. This repair will 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 fundraise 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 winter and the improved facilities will be available by 2007. 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. 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. Most of the collected money was spent on materials for the new front path and we have also been able to purchase several new tools which will help greatly with ongoing renovations. If anyone would like to contribute to this fund, each penny will be appreciated.

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