January 2026 - In this issue:
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Jizo figurines at home on the common room altar at Sanshin.
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 From our directors
 Practice recap
January work day: The sangha gathered for our monthly work day on a chilly Sunday, January 11th. Practitioners worked on trouble-shooting Okumura Roshi's office printer, developing a budget for Sanshin's technology needs, changing furnace filters, and re-organizing several temple storage spaces, sharing a warm meal of Indian food in the middle of the day. Thank you for your work practice!
 Coming up
"During sesshin, we don't do anything as individuals." Read more about the purpose of sesshin in a new essay by Hoko, part of a series on understanding Sanshin-style sesshin.
For a complete listing of our regular practice activities and upcoming extended practice opportunities, visit our Schedules & Calendars page.  Sanshin Network
 Japanese language study opportunity: Esho Morimoto offers lessons or tutoring for basic conversational Japanese, online or in person. If there is interest in forming small classes and studying with others, that may be possible. Note that this offering is not about translating Dogen texts, reading classical Japanese, or doing other high-level Buddhist study. However, some knowledge of basic Japanese can be very helpful for practitioners, especially those planning to practice in Japan itself. Please contact Esho directly for more information or to make arrangements.  Are we reaching you? Do we have the best and most current contact information for you? If you've changed your e-mail address or moved to a new place of residence, or if we've never had complete information about how to reach you, it's time to update your record. Please take a moment to go here to send us the contact information you'd like us to use. We'll check it against your current record and update as needed. Don't miss any of the upcoming communications from Sanshin -- update your info today!
 From our directorsMaintaining our place of practice: Approaching our end-of-year appeal goal! Sanshin Zen Community commemorated the Buddha's awakening by holding Rohatsu sesshin earlier this month (see below), alongside Buddhist practice communities around the world. At Sanshin, we practice a refined style of sesshin created by our dharma grandfather, Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, and originally practiced by the sangha at Antaiji in Kyoto, which included our founder, Shohaku Okumura. During these "sesshin without toys," we let go of activities like dharma talks, chanting services, work periods, and meetings with teachers to focus wholeheartedly on zazen as our truest teacher, in community.  Image by Jikei Kido, 2023. This kind of practice requires little—just cushions, sustenance, silence, a roof, and a simple aspiration for practice and awakening together. But sustaining the space where such practice can unfold year after year requires your support. We are currently raising funds to make crucial repairs to our temple. You can help ensure that our intensive style of sesshin remains a refuge of deep practice for future generations.
Even if you are not able to give at this time, we value your support through your continued practice. With gratitude, Mark Fraley, Norma Fogelberg, Tonen O'Connor, and Gene Elias Sanshin Development Committee Practice RecapRohatsu sesshin & Buddha's awakening ceremony: Seven practitioners participated in most of our recent Rohatsu sesshin, Dec 3 - 8, with drop-in zazen participation and meals contributed by several others. The sesshin ended as always with a chant of the Heart Sutra to break silence at midnight on Monday, Dec 8th. The sangha publicly marked Shakyamuni's awakening on the following Sunday, Dec 14th, with a dharma talk by Doju, a Heart Sutra service, and a warm potluck lunch on a very cold and snowy day.
Coming up Introduction to sesshin -- Register by Jan 6th, 2026 Sat, January 10th, 2026 with Doju Layton In the lineage of Antaiji and Sanshinji, sesshin is not a test of endurance but a quiet opportunity to “just sit”—shikantaza—together with all beings, deepening our understanding of the Buddha Way through wholehearted, simple practice. This introductory retreat will provide both instruction and direct experience in zazen (seated meditation), kinhin (walking meditation), and zendo etiquette and forms. Participants will also receive guidance in ōryōki (shared formal meals eaten using particular forms and utensils, maintaining the mind of zazen) and explore the meaning of sesshin as taught in this tradition. The schedule balances periods of silent practice, practical instruction, and opportunities for discussion. LEARN MORE & REGISTER BY JAN 6. Upcoming holiday closures: In the midst of the busy winter holidays, Sanshin will be closed on December 24 - 26 (Wednesday - Friday) and January 1 - 3 (Thursday - Saturday). We encourage you to carry on your practice in ways appropriate for you during this time. For full information on our regular practice schedule, visit our Schedules & Calendars page. Sanshin Network
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However, we could also say that the more important robing activity is to embody the qualities of a bodhisattva, known as the six paramitas (generosity, morality, patience, energy, meditation, and wisdom). As Sawaki Rōshi reminds us, the robe and the dharma are one, so to put on a robe is to enter into the dharmakāya, or the dharma body of Buddha. This is everyone’s practice, regardless of their clothing. READ MORE  From our directors
 Practice recap
Dates for next spring's virtual DSI, continuing to explore Kesa Kudoku, are not yet finalized, but will likely fall in late April/early May, 2026. Stay tuned to this newsletter and our Schedules & Calendars page for the latest information. For teachings and resources related to the okesa and rakusu in the Soto Zen tradition and our dharma family, you can visit our Sawaki Nyoho-e Treasury.
 Coming up
If attending in person, please show up by 6:50 pm, to allow enough time for offering incense and purifying rakusu or okesa (if you have one) before the ceremony.  Introduction to sesshin -- register by Jan 6th, 2026 Saturday, Jan 10th, 2026 This one-day workshop, facilitated by Dōju Layton, offers participants an opportunity to enter the practice of sesshin in the Sōtō Zen tradition transmitted through Kōshō Uchiyama Rōshi and Shōhaku Okumura Rōshi. Those who are interested in our full 3-, 5-, and 7-day sesshins, but may feel apprehensive, are particularly encouraged to participate. Newcomers and experienced practitioners who wish to deepen their understanding of Sanshin-style sesshin are welcome. LEARN MORE & REGISTER  Sanshin Network
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Do we have the best and most current contact information for you? If you've changed your e-mail address or moved to a new place of residence, or if we've never had complete information about how to reach you, it's time to update your record. Please take a moment to go here to send us the contact information you'd like us to use. We'll check it against your current record and update as needed. Don't miss any of the upcoming communications from Sanshin -- update your info today!
In the bodhisattva vows, delusions are inexhaustible, just as our hair never stops growing. We never run out of delusions. Worldly cares, sensual desire, passions, unfortunate longings, suffering, and pain all keep showing up; we don’t have to count up to 108 to know there are a lot. Yet our bodhisattva vow is to liberate all beings by helping them understand the nature of this delusion. To do so, we have to start with ourselves, taking every opportunity not to ignore delusion when it shows up, and letting go of it with both commitment and compassion. Taking head shaving as a practice gives us the chance to practice vow and repentance, recognizing that delusion keeps arriving and at the same time aspiring to cut off the attachments that lead to that delusion. READ MORE  From our directors
 Practice perspective
We have a small but consistent morning Zen practice group that meets Monday through Thursday at 7:30 AM. We begin with a period of zazen followed by a short chanting service. We sit for one period of zazen only. Our liturgy includes the Robe Verse, the Heart Sutra, the Sho Sai Myo Kichijo Dharani, a dedication verse, and the Four Bodhisattva Vows. We don’t do soji afterward—instead, we casually rise from our mats and begin our day. The zendo is a small tatami mat room with sliding glass doors that look out over a Japanese garden behind the Center for East Asian Studies. Typically, three to four practitioners from different class years sit regularly. The group is partially led by Kando, a retired Wesleyan professor with ties to Zen Mountain Monastery and experience practicing in Japan. The morning sittings have been a part of campus life since the early 1990s, and it’s wonderful to be part of such a long-standing tradition. Just last week, an alumnus who helped start the practice with Kando came back to sit with us while his daughter visited Wesleyan! In addition to morning practice, there’s also a student-run sangha that meets in the evenings once or twice a week. These gatherings are a bit larger, usually around ten students, and take place in the meditation room in the Chapel basement. We sit in a circle for about twenty minutes of open meditation, welcoming all traditions and styles. Afterward, someone offers a short reading: usually a passage from a book or a poem, which we discuss briefly before ending. Overall, I’ve found the campus to be incredibly open and welcoming when it comes to Buddhist practice. Several of my friends have joined me in the mornings, and many others have engaged in meaningful curiosity-driven conversations. The mindfulness classes offered through the East Asian Studies department are also hugely popular. It’s been grounding and a blessing to continue practicing here in such a thoughtful and supportive community. I hope all is well back at the temple—sending my warmest regards to everyone at Sanshinji!  Practice recapHome Altar workshop: Five practitioners participated in the home altar-building workshop led by Sanshin work leader Hosshin Shoaf on Saturday, September 20th. Under Hosshin's direction, each participant constructed a simple altar to be mounted on a wall in their house, as a foundation for practice at home and beyond. The workshop offered an opportunity to take up the study of shelter as one of the three faces of nyoho: our focus for the last three months of our year of Tangible Thusness at Sanshin.
 Coming up Virtual dharma study intensive with Okumura Roshi -- One week left to register (by Oct 22nd) Kesa Kudoku (Virtue of the Kashaya) 10 weekday mornings: Oct 27 - 31 & Nov 3 - 7 (The lectures are also recorded and made available to registrants each day.) There is one week left to register for this fall's dharma study intensive, during which Okumura Roshi will offer ten lectures on his own newly edited translation of Eihei Dogen Zenji's Kesa Kudoku (Virtue of the Kashaya). In this text, Dogen discusses the meaning and importance of Buddha's robe (known as kashaya or okesa) as a direct expression and transmission of the dharma, supporting ourselves and others through our day-to-day practice -- whether or not we're wearing a formal rakusu or okesa ourselves. LEARN MORE & REGISTER  Rohatsu sesshin (Nov 30 - Dec 8): Rohatsu sesshin offers a particularly intensive opportunity each year to come together to embody the Buddha's practice, recognizing his awakening under the bodhi tree. This year, our intention and plan remains to carry out the full Nov. 30 - Dec. 8 Rohatsu sesshin. However, depending on registrations, there is some potential for the number of days to be reduced. Regardless, we'll finish on Dec. 8th, the traditional date of Buddha's awakening. We will make a final decision about start date and inform everyone by Nov. 11th at latest. Thus, if you aspire to participate in Rohatsu at Sanshin this year, being proactive in coming to a decision and registering early will be helpful for everyone's planning. Registration for all or a selection of full days is welcome. LEARN MORE & REGISTER  Sanshin Network
 Are we reaching you? Do we have the best and most current contact information for you? If you've changed your e-mail address or moved to a new place of residence, or if we've never had complete information about how to reach you, it's time to update your record. Please take a moment to go here to send us the contact information you'd like us to use. We'll check it against your current record and update as needed. Don't miss any of the upcoming communications from Sanshin -- update your info today!
This verse continues our consideration of the meaning of committing to practice. In this case, the circumstance is ordination as a novice, leaving behind one’s status as a layperson and vowing to carry the dharma and the Buddhist tradition in a formal and public way. Traditionally, the way to cultivate good roots was to devote oneself entirely to studying the dharma and practicing the Way. Thus, this gate associates shedding lay clothing—leaving behind the responsibilities of being a householder and caring for family, fields, business and society—with a wholehearted commitment to practice. Another way to look at this, however, is to see shedding lay clothing as putting aside our habitual focus on satisfying our greed, indulging our anger, and remaining ignorant of things we don’t want to see. We make a shift from setting up conditions that result in worldly benefits—material gain, an impressive reputation, victories over rivals—to setting up conditions that result in moving ourselves and others toward understanding the Four Noble Truths and cause and effect. Worldly benefits may still arrive, but achieving them is not our goal or focus. We’ve redirected ourselves away from self-clinging and toward embracing all beings. READ MORE News
Farm-to-sangha connections: Visits to Green Gulch & Seven Ridges Farms
 Practice recapSeptember sesshin: Emerging from our simplified Quiet August practice schedule, four practitioners participated in a steady and settled 3-day sesshin at Sanshin from September 4 - 7. Several others dropped in for some portions, virtually and in-person. Local practitioners Doju and Eunyoung each contributed a meal.
 Coming up
 One-day sit with Hosshin Saturday, Oct 4th, 7:30 am - 6 pm (REGISTER BY SEPT 27TH) Join us for one day of practice led by Hosshin Shoaf in the style of our sesshin, a retreat devoted simply to sitting zazen. The schedule will be that of a typical sesshin, but the day itself will be shorter than the usual 4 am - 9 pm. Whether you're just establishing your practice and are looking for the opportunity to try some intensive sitting or you're an experienced practitioner with limited time, this one-day sit is a chance to set aside all other home and temple activities and just engage in zazen.  Virtual dharma study intensive with Okumura Roshi Kesa Kudoku (Virtue of the Kashaya) 10 weekday mornings: Oct 27 - 31 & Nov 3 - 7 (The lectures are also recorded and made available to registrants each day.) Registration is now open for this fall's dharma study intensive, during which Okumura Roshi will offer ten lectures on his own newly edited translation of Eihei Dogen Zenji's Kesa Kudoku (Virtue of the Kashaya). In this text, Dogen discusses the meaning and importance of Buddha's robe (known as kashaya or okesa) as a direct expression and transmission of the dharma, supporting ourselves and others through our day-to-day practice -- whether or not we're wearing a formal rakusu or okesa ourselves. LEARN MORE & REGISTER  Sanshin Network
On August 23rd, the opening of the Sanko-an Zen hermitage took place in beautiful weather. After zazen and the opening ceremony, there was an aperitif. This is an important Valais tradition, and we toast with local white wine and snacks. After the kampai, there were some pleasant conversations. We all agreed that this was a good start and we hope that the Dharma will continue to establish itself in Valais. In the midst of the wilderness, we hope that it will be easier for us to become also wild and natural. The first five-day sesshin will take place in early October.
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From our directors On Ethics at Sanshin Gene Elias, EAR Committee Liaison When we feel harmed What is the process for us? Ethics Policy As a sangha, we are bound together by our practice and for some of us, our vow to keep the precepts. However, a community is a group of humans – each of us is unique. We have natural likes and dislikes and to a certain extent, implicit bias. I like jazz and blues music. Others like classical music or maybe show tunes and opera. Still others enjoy more modern forms. We are all unique. Hypothetically, one afternoon as I sit enjoying a little Buddy Guy (blues) and another sound drifts into my enjoyment. Maybe it's rap or some other sound that is discordant to what I was enjoying. So what do I do? How do I restore harmony with whomever is playing the music that disrupts my afternoon musical enjoyment? And what has this to do with ethics? In Buddhism, ethics and harmony are deeply intertwined concepts. Harmony is a dynamic state of balance and equilibrium, both with others and the natural world. Achieving this state often requires adherence to ethical principles and virtues. Hence, the Sanshin Ethics Policy, which provides a more concrete set of standards that sits alongside the precepts, and also provides a framework for resolution processes and procedures via our Ethics and Restorative Justice Committee (EAR) when conflicts go beyond the trivial issue mentioned above. The committee consists of three esteemed individuals, all outside of our immediate sangha: Sonia (Sunny) Leerkamp, a former prosecutor for Hamilton County and a former Special Counsel and a leading advocate for Restorative Justice; Shoryu Bradley, founder and teacher at Gyobutsuji in Arkansas, who received dharma transmission from Okumura Roshi; and Richard Nance a specialist in Tibetan Buddhist traditions and director of graduate religious studies at Indiana University. When an issue is brought to the committee, its role is to clearly understand the situation in question, establish facts and context and recommend a model of Restorative Justice to help reestablish harmony within the sangha. I encourage you to read our Ethics Policy, which is posted on this web site. It is the basis of our belief in what ethics means and indicates our intention to maintain and, if need be, restore harmony within our sangha. Practice recap
 Intro to Zen with Hoko winds up: Eight local folks have been participating in Hoko's 6-week introduction to Soto Zen, offered in our zendo through Ivy Tech Community College's Center for Lifelong Learning. Attendees received zazen instruction and now sit together for half an hour each week before engaging in an hour of presentation and discussion of Buddhist basics. The series, which Hoko first offered nine years ago, wraps up next week.
Coming up 3-day September sesshin -- register by Thurs, Aug 28th Sep 4 - 7, 2025 Sesshin at Sanshin is an opportunity to practice zazen without distraction. It's one of the core activities for us in this dharma family, and we pay a lot of attention to it. We set aside the usual activities -- or entertainments -- of temple life, like work periods, meetings with teachers and dharma talks, and focus completely on zazen. LEARN MORE & REGISTER
 One-day sit with Hosshin Oct 4th, 9 am - 5 pm Join us for one day of practice led by Hosshin Shoaf in the style of our sesshin, a retreat devoted simply to sitting zazen. The schedule will be that of a typical sesshin, but the day itself will be shorter than the usual 4 am - 9 pm. Whether you're just establishing your practice and are looking for the opportunity to try some intensive sitting or you're an experienced practitioner with limited time, this one-day sit is a chance to set aside all other home and temple activities and just engage in zazen. LEARN MORE AND REGISTER Other news
 Sanshin Network Hoko steps up for Soto Zen NA: Hoko has been appointed president of the board of directors of Soto Zen North America, a fairly new organization that aims to partner with Sotoshu, the existing denomination, in serving temples, clergy and sanghas. She had been serving as vice president and communications officer until the previous president stepped aside to take on other Soto Zen NA responsibilities. Her main focus now is working with the board and the denominational council to finalize a mission statement and strategic plan as well as to prepare for the annual Sotoshu conference in October in Los Angeles.  Practice opportunities in Atlanta: Three Mountains Zen, a lay Zen Buddhist community founded just last year, has established its practice schedule of in-person zazen periods and virtual practice with Sanshin, and held a one-day retreat this month. The sangha is discussing Hoko's 108 Gates essays at its weekly gatherings as well as reviewing Buddhist Essentials. Its next retreat is set for October 11.
Are we reaching you? Do we have the best and most current contact information for you? If you've changed your e-mail address or moved to a new place of residence, or if we've never had complete information about how to reach you, it's time to update your record. Please take a moment to go here to send us the contact information you'd like us to use. We'll check it against your current record and update as needed. Don't miss any of the upcoming communications from Sanshin -- update your info today!
We realize there’s only so much we can do on our own by reading books and watching videos. At some point, it’s time to do sustained body-and-mind practice in person with a sangha and a human teacher who has been engaged with this thing for some time, one who has received the training and credentials necessary to carry the tradition in a mature way and pass it on to others. READ MORE Practice recap
Coming up
3-day September sesshin Sep 4 - 7, 2025 Registration is now open for our 3-day September sesshin. Sesshin at Sanshin is an opportunity to practice zazen without distraction. It's one of the core activities for us in this dharma family, and we pay a lot of attention to it. We set aside the usual activities -- or entertainments -- of temple life, like work periods, meetings with teachers and dharma talks, and focus completely on zazen. LEARN MORE & REGISTER  World religious landscapeNumber of Buddhists is falling worldwide: In a study just released by the Pew Research Center, Buddhists were the only major religious group that had fewer people in 2020 than a decade earlier. The number of Buddhists worldwide dropped by 19 million, declining to 324 million. As a share of the global population, Buddhists slipped by 0.8 points, to 4.1%. Buddhists have the lowest retention rates among the religious categories studied. Fewer than eight-in-ten adults who were brought up as Buddhists (78%) have retained their religion.
 Sanshin Network
 Are we reaching you? Do we have the best and most current contact information for you? If you've changed your e-mail address or moved to a new place of residence, or if we've never had complete information about how to reach you, it's time to update your record. Please take a moment to go here to send us the contact information you'd like us to use. We'll check it against your current record and update as needed. Don't miss any of the upcoming communications from Sanshin -- update your info today!
News Sanshin "mini-CSA" partnership with Seven Ridges Farm: Beginning with our recent June sesshin, and extending (if the growing season allows) through this year's Rohatsu sesshin, we've established a partnership with nearby Seven Ridges Farm, an "ecologically minded family farm in the hills of beautiful Brown County Indiana." In the spirit of CSA (community supported agriculture) arrangements, we've paid the farmers (Jon & Andrea) up front for the season, and will receive whatever is in abundance at their farm for four sesshins & retreats this year. Learn more about the farm here, and sign up for your own weekly summer and late summer Seven Ridges CSA share here if you like! Practice recap
 Owen tends a garden path.  June sesshin: Four practitioners participated in-person throughout our 5-day sesshin, June 3 - 8, with significant partial participation from about ten others online and in-person. With a small and experienced core group, practitioners reported the sense of a steady and settled sesshin, with everyone covering multiple sesshin functions (ringing bells, cooking meals, washing dishes, tending the altar), in addition to the zazen schedule, each day. Our formal oryoki meal practice was altered to simplify the serving process, helping us to work out how to carry out sesshin meals with a smaller group. Two of the meals were cooked by local practitioners, who then joined us for those meals and zazen afterwards. Our next sesshin is set for September 4 - 7. Coming up
 This year's precepts retreat will be led by Hosshin Shoaf, who received dharma transmission from Okumura Roshi in 2024. Precepts retreat with Hosshin -- register by June 24th July 1 - 6 (concluding with a public jukai-e ceremony on Sunday, July 6th at 10 am) Our annual precepts retreat focuses on the study of the sixteen bodhisattva precepts that Buddhists receive as guidelines for living a life of practice. Alongside the three kaitei who will receive precepts at the concluding jukai-e ceremony, additional practitioners are welcome and encouraged to register for all or a selection of retreat days, whether or not you've formally received the precepts previously. LEARN MORE & REGISTER BY JUNE 24TH
Sanshin Network
 Esho's offerings: Esho Morimoto is offering two kinds of teaching to practitioners and sanghas. 1) Rakusu and okesa sewing at any temple in need of a sewing teacher. Esho became a sewing teacher in 2018 and taught at the Brooklyn Zen Center and Ancestral Heart Zen Monastery in Millerton, NY. She moved to Bloomington, IN in the spring of 2022 to carry out an okesa sewing apprenticeship with Yuko Okumura and to practice with Sanshin. Completing the apprenticeship in the summer of 2023, she taught rakusu and okesa sewing at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, Carmel Valley, CA during its fall 2023 and winter 2024 angos while she was practicing there as a part of her priest training. She now teaches robe sewing in the style of our dharma great-grandfather, Kodo Sawaki, and recently led a rakusu sewing retreat for this year's precepts recipients at Sanshin. 2) Basic conversational Japanese. Esho offers lessons or tutoring online or in person. If there is interest in forming small classes and studying with others, that may be possible. Note that this offering is not about translating Dogen texts, reading classical Japanese, or doing other high-level Buddhist study. However, some knowledge of basic Japanese can be very helpful for practitioners, especially those planning to practice in Japan itself. If you are interested in either of these offerings, please contact Esho directly for more information or to make arrangements. Are we reaching you? Do we have the best and most current contact information for you? If you've changed your e-mail address or moved to a new place of residence, or if we've never had complete information about how to reach you, it's time to update your record. Please take a moment to go here to send us the contact information you'd like us to use. We'll check it against your current record and update as needed. Don't miss any of the upcoming communications from Sanshin -- update your info today!
Literally giving up home life isn’t necessarily what we do when we take on dharma leadership today—and yet, there are teachings in this gatha that all practitioners can fruitfully consider. To give up home life is to shift one’s focus and to put a priority on approaching the world through the lens of practice. READ MORE From our directors
Thanks and farewell to departing directors: Due to other important obligations for their time and attention, Laura Miller and Zenki Batson recently stepped down from our board of directors. Laura served as vice chair for nearly two years, offering in-depth organizational knowledge and experience that will continue to positively impact our sangha and temple operations. Zenki, Vice-Abbess at Chapel Hill Zen Center, held our outside-lineage clergy seat for about a year and a half, offering an important perspective from the wider North American Zen community. We thank them both and wish them well in their ongoing endeavors! Practice recap
Garden opening ceremony & May work day: After regular zazen on Sunday May 11th, the sangha walked together from Sanshinji to our community garden plot ten minutes up the road and carried out a garden opening ceremony. We chanted the Heart Sutra and the Sho Sai Myo Kichijo Dharani as part of formally recognizing the 10 X 20 ft plot as a place of communal practice and asking the land, beings, and elements for their support and protection of our practice as temporary stewards of this ground. Most of the vegetables will end up in our oryoki bowls during sesshin and retreats.
After the ceremony, a few practitioners remained at the garden for weeding, watering, and sowing seeds. The rest walked back to Sanshinji and worked on electrical wiring in the zendo, edging around the parking lot, weeding the flower gardens, mowing the lawn, and setting new posts for our "dead hedge" brush fence. Our next work day is scheduled for Sunday, June 1st. Coming up June sesshin (register by Tuesday, May 27th): Space remains for participation in our upcoming 5-day sesshin. Sesshin at Sanshin is an opportunity to practice zazen without distraction. We set aside the usual activities -- or entertainments -- of temple life, like work periods, meetings with teachers and dharma talks, and focus completely on zazen. LEARN MORE & REGISTER BY MAY 27TH
Visit our Schedules & Calendars page for a complete listing of our regular and extended practice opportunities. Sanshin Network
Are we reaching you? Do we have the best and most current contact information for you? If you've changed your e-mail address or moved to a new place of residence, or if we've never had complete information about how to reach you, it's time to update your record. Please take a moment to send us the contact information you'd like us to use. We'll check it against your current record and update as needed. Don't miss any of the upcoming communications from Sanshin -- update your info today!
News A message from the Head Priest of Sotoshu in 2025: Every year the head priest of Sotoshu gives an official message. The following is a translation offered by Sotoshu for English speakers. The various problems facing the world today are complex and layered. It is not an exaggeration to say that the crisis threatening basic human rights, such as the right to live in peace and the dignity of life, is only growing. As followers of Shakyamuni Buddha and two founders of Soto Zen Buddhism, we must know the sure path to follow. Shakyamuni Buddha realized the law of dependent origination (the interconnectedness of all things) and, through his wisdom, observed everything correctly. He demonstrated with his own life that harmony with others is achieved through compassion. This way of life, free from self-interest and egoism, is what we should follow. Dogen Zenji taught, “Learn the backward step that turns the light and shines it inwards.” This means to pause in our steps, adjust our breath, step back two or three paces, and humbly reflect on our actions in the light of the Buddhist path. Keizan Zenji taught, “We must always generate thoughts of harmony and reconciliation.” The disturbance of harmony is, throughout all ages, caused by human self-interest and desire, namely greed. It is this greed that is the source of suffering and the root of conflict. Since this world is impermanent and selfless, the sun and moon shine without personal attachment, illuminating everything. We too wish to engage with all things and all circumstances with the utmost sincerity. The act of gassho (palms together in reverence) is to align oneself with the Buddha. By engaging in zazen (seated meditation), where we can awaken to the Buddha within ourselves, let us pray and wish for a peaceful life for all people across the world, ensuring that no one is left behind. Let us continue to practice the way of the Bodhisattva together. Gassho Homage to the Buddha Shakyamuni Homage to Zen Master Dogen, Great Master Joyo, Eminent Ancestor Homage to Zen Master Keizan, Great Master Josai, Great Ancestor 1 April 2025 Donin Minamisawa Head Priest of the Sotoshu  New book featuring Okumura Roshi: When Thinking is a Problem is a collection of essays examining the activity of thinking and how it is a primary factor in suffering at the individual as well as at the collective level, while at the same time, a necessary function that is often taken for granted and misused. The collection includes a chapter and translation by Okumura Roshi. The book is edited by Charles Eigen, who practices at Milwaukee Zen Center, and is now available for pre-order. Practice recapBuddha's birthday: The sangha marked Buddha's birthday on Sunday, April 6th with a dharma talk by Okumura Roshi and our brief annual ceremony. Buddha's birthday is one of the sanbukki, or three Buddha days, marking the important event's in Shakyamuni's life -- his birth, awakening, and death. Our Dogen Institute recently published an e-book (Plum Blossoms in the Snow) featuring teachings given on these three days over the years at Sanshin by Okumura Roshi and Hoko.
Sewing retreat: This year's cohort of three lay precepts recipients spent the week of April 7 - 14 sewing their rakusu, which they will formally receive as part of the jukai-e ceremony at the end of this year's precepts retreat in July. Two others dropped in for parts of the retreat to sew robes along their paths to ordination and dharma transmission. Esho Morimoto led several hours of sewing instruction each day, Hoko and Yuko offered teachings and presentations related to the meaning of sewing and wearing nyoho-e, and Hoko and Hosshin (this year's preceptor) worked together to cook meals for the participants. Recordings of Hoko's and Yuko's presentations will be made available in relevant sections of Sanshin Source in the coming weeks.
April work day: The sangha gathered at Sanshin for our monthly work day on Sunday April 13th. Inside the temple, practitioners worked on electrical wiring in and around the zendo while sewing retreat participants continued to sew their rakusu. In the breezy sunny weather outside, practitioners weeded the moss garden and native flower planting area, cleared the area where a new toolshed will be placed later this year, and screened our temple compost heap toward use in our sangha vegetable garden plot. Our next work day is scheduled for May 11th. Coming up Virtual dharma study intensive on Ejo's Komyozo-Zanmai (register by Tues, Apr 29th) May 1 - 10, 2025, 10 - Noon online with Okumura Roshi Over the course of ten mornings this May, Okumura Roshi will offer ten lectures on his own new translation of Komyozo-Zanmai (The Samadhi of the Radiant Light Treasury), a text attributed to Koun Ejo Zenji. Koun Ejo (1198 - 1282) was Dogen Zenji's close attendant, principle dharma heir, and the second abbot of Eiheiji following Dogen's death. He transcribed and compiled many of Dogen's writings and discourses, but Komyozo-zanmai is the only original writing attributed to Ejo. In it, Dogen's shikantaza (our practice of zazen) is discussed as the samadhi of the radiant light treasury. LEARN MORE AND REGISTER BY APR 29  Tangible Thusness: Exploring nyoho food this May - August Continuing our yearlong investigation of the teachings of nyoho (things done or made according to dharma), we'll shift our primary focus from clothing to food during the second third of the year, May - August. Clothing, food, and shelter are traditionally regarded as the "three faces" of nyoho. Look out for Sunday talks as well as regular opportunities to engage in communal food practice through oryoki meals, local farm partnerships, and participation in our sangha vegetable garden.
Sanshin Network
Shodo Spring practiced at Sanshinji from 2004 to 2011. Her teaching now grows from that training and from learning and practicing permaculture during that time. LEARN MORE AND PRE-ORDER Are we reaching you? Do we have the best and most current contact information for you? If you've changed your e-mail address or moved to a new place of residence, or if we've never had complete information about how to reach you, it's time to update your record. Please take a moment to send us the contact information you'd like us to use. We'll check it against your current record and update as needed. Don't miss any of the upcoming communications from Sanshin -- update your info today! |
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