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Sangha news for February 2024

2/15/2024

Practice that continues

Image credit: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

by Shohaku Okumura

Dōgen’s Chinese Poems (73)
Practice That Continues Beyond Magical Offering
313. Dharma Hall Discourse

Carrying flowers, hundreds of birds made offerings to Niutou.
Touzi [Datong] appeared to be selling oil.
Talented and untalented are thirty-five miles apart.
People in the past and present have expressed progress and practice.

This poem is about comparing two stories. The first story is about Niutou Farong (牛頭法融, Gozu Hōyū, 594–657) before and after his meeting with the Fourth Ancestor, Dayi Daoxin (大医道信, Daii Dōshin, 580–651). Farong was the founder of Niutou school of Chinese Zen. Historically, it was an independent school, together with Northern and Southern schools. But later, when the orthodox Zen lineage was established, the connection between Daoxin and Farong was made up.

According to the Record of Transmission of the Lamp (景徳伝灯録, Keitoku Dentōroku, compiled in 1004), after Daoxin transmitted the Dharma to the Fifth Ancestor, Daman Hongren (大満弘忍, Daiman Kōnin, 602–675), he visited Mt. Niutou and met Farong. The story says that before he met Daoxin, Farong was always sitting alone on the mountain. Even when other monks approached him, he did not respond. Hundreds of birds holding flowers in their beaks came to offer them to him. Around Farong’s hermitage, some tigers and wolves were walking around. Upon seeing the animals, Daoxin raised his hands as if he feared them.
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From our directors

Successful 2023 annual fund campaign: We offer our deepest gratitude to everyone for helping Sanshin Zen Community end the year on a stronger financial footing. We have been working very hard to make up ground for revenues lost due to the pandemic. For the first time, Sanshin formed an annual campaign committee, with a goal of raising $25,000 by the end of last year to support our practice. Because of your generosity, we surpassed our goal!

Thank you to everyone who supported our efforts and especially to members of the campaign committee: Norma Fogelberg, Mark Fraley, Tonen O’Connor, Komyo Melfi,
Laura Miller, Karla Passalacqua, Henry Coffey, Neil Chase, Gene Elias, and Jeff Alberts.

Our dharma community’s generosity supports the everyday life of Sanshin as we work together to take care of our facilities, make practice resources available, and simply
gather for zazen, work and study. Read on in this newsletter and watch our website for a variety of exciting new practice opportunities in 2024. We’ll be focusing on our lineage & legacy, offering Sangha Stewardship workshops for practice leaders and board members around the region, and continuing development of our newest division, the Sawaki Nyoho-e Treasury. We look forward to your participation in these activities as well as our regular weekly practice, either virtually or in person. It’s your involvement that makes these things possible.

Hoko Karnegis, Senior Dharma Teacher
Komyo Melfi, Board President
Mark Fraley, Annual Campaign Chair

Introducing Zenki: Zenki Kathleen Batson has been appointed to fill the out-of-lineage clergy seat on Sanshin's board of directors. Zenki is a Soto Zen Buddhist priest in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki and is Vice-Abbess of the Chapel Hill Zen Center in North Carolina. She grew up in metro Detroit and first tried meditating in sixth grade after reading Shunryu Suzuki’s book, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. She began developing a consistent meditation practice in her early 20s and was introduced to Dogen’s writings in a college course on Taoism and Zen Buddhism taught by Tom Kasulis at Northland College. She first received the Precepts in 1995 at a retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh and first heard Okumura Roshi speak at MZMC in the 1990’s. She began practicing with her teacher Josho Pat Phelan in 2000. She received zaike tokudo in 2002, shukke tokudo in 2015, was shuso in 2019, and received Dharma transmission from her teacher on January 1, 2023. Zenki deeply appreciates Okumura Roshi’s work and has attended several of his genzo-e retreats over the last two decades. In her free time, she enjoys making music and art and spending time camping and kayaking calm waters. She lives in Durham, NC with her husband, son, and a cat.

Other news

Two new chapters available: New translations of Chapters Two and Three of A Study of the Kesa by Echu Kyuma are now linked from our Sawaki Nyoho-e Treasury site. Chapter Two covers the names of the okesa, while Chapter Three deals with appropriate materials. The book is being translated by Koun Franz and Yuko Okumura, and new chapters are posted as translations are completed. The Sawaki Nyoho-e Treasury is a division of Sanshin that works to accurately preserve, embody and transmit Kodo Sawaki’s nyoho-e teachings about sewing, wearing and encountering Buddha’s robe.

New resource for discussion groups:

Hoko's comments and discussion questions about the Ippyakuhachi Homyomon, or 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination, are now being posted to Sanshin's website on a weekly basis for use by dharma discussion groups or individual practitioners. "I hope it's helpful particularly for small regional sanghas that may not have teachers or may be looking for new things to talk about," she says. "The 108 Gates cover such a broad territory, and there's a lot here for folks to dig into that relates directly to our daily practice life. Groups can take up a new gate each week, read the commentary together or before their meetings, and use the discussion questions as a springboard for a conversation about what it means for them."

The text appears as the 11th fascicle of the 12 fascicle version of Dogen Zenji’s Shobogenzo. He didn't compile the list himself; it's mostly a long quote from another text called the Sutra of Collected Past Deeds of the Buddha. Dogen wrote a final paragraph recommending that we investigate these gates thoroughly.

Hoko has been talking about the gates one by one since 2016. New gate commentaries, along with discussion questions and suggestions for further reading, go up on Mondays.

In this issue:

Okumura Roshi: Practice that continues
Just for fun: Who waite for dead men's shoes. . .
Practice perspective: Haiku offerings
From our directors: Thank you from the annual fund campaign committee; new director Zenki Batson
Other news: New resource for discussion groups; two new chapters of A Study of the Kesa
American religious landscape: Buddhism among Asian-Americans
Practice recap: Quiet February practice; Intro to Zen course wrapping up
Coming up: Uchiyama Roshi memorial sesshin; 'Six Points' discussion evening; Sangha Stewardship workshop; virtual dharma study intensive
Sanshin Network: Jisho's transmission; news from Japan, Colombia, Belgium, Minnesota, and Danville, IN

Just for fun:
What if Dogen Zenji taught using Western proverbs?

Who waite for dead men's shoes shall goe long barefoote.

A Western ancestor said, "He who waits for dead men's shoes goes long barefoot." We should understand that the bare foot is Ordinary Mind, which does not wear shoes. In the world of samsara, people wait for shoes to keep the bare foot clean and safe, and the weight of waiting drags them past this moment. In the world of universal functioning, shoes do not wait for you, alive or dead. You do not wait for them. Shoes are this moment and dead men are this moment. Are you the live one waiting or the dead one waiting?

There is long going along and there is shortly stopping short. The thus-come one comes and goes and the ground bears the weight of his bare foot. The ancient footprint of the Tathagatha waits to be seen, and still the Tathagatha prints the earth with the wheel of his bare foot. He is long barefoot and longs for nothing, going beyond shoes and not-shoes.

Waiting to put on dead men’s shoes means the bare foot is unobstructed and unhindered. The past is already gone and the future has not yet come. The ancestors have already gone and left their shoes behind. Maitreya’s shoes can’t yet be seen. Do all of these shoes fit or not? Do not fail to follow the long path in the direction of the ancestors' footprints, but print the earth with your bare foot and encounter the sky with your Original Mind.
--- Hoko

Practice perspective

Haiku dharma from Mark Myogen Ahlstrom:

The life you are is
Our unobstructed being
Dharma turning wheel

You don’t know it but
Your aching back in Zazen
Turns the dharma wheel

Thusness is just this
Your sleeping foot in Zazen
The true dharma gate

I am the echo
Of the train barreling through
I am my Zazen

I sit with the moon
Fingers pointing every way
Silence rests between

A gate with each breath
The world turns and we turn it
Just being this, now

American religious landscape

Buddhism among Asian Americans: According to a recent Pew Research Center study, about one-in-ten Asian American adults (11%) say their religion is Buddhism, a slight decline from 14% in 2012. A much larger share (21%) currently say that, aside from religion, they feel close to Buddhism for reasons such as ancestry or culture. In total, one-third of Asian Americans express at least some connection to Buddhism.

Among East Asian origin groups (Chinese, Japanese and Korean Americans), most respondents who have a connection to Buddhism do not identify as Buddhist, but rather say they feel “close to” Buddhism aside from religion. The same is not true among those with origins in Southeast Asia.

For example, while Vietnamese Americans and Japanese Americans are equally likely (62% each) to express some connection to Buddhism, only 19% of Japanese Americans identify as Buddhist, compared to 37% of Vietnamese Americans. More Japanese Americans do not identify with any religion but say they feel close to Buddhism aside from religion (30%). Another 12% identify with a religion other than Buddhism but feel close to Buddhism aside from religion. LEARN MORE

Practice recap

Practice carries on in "quiet February": In the midst of a warm first half of the month here in Bloomington, practitioners have settled into February's simplified practice schedule, letting go of morning liturgy and Zuimonki readings, most Sunday dharma talks, and evening practice activities. This seasonal practice rhythm, echoed again in August, is quieter and more focused on zazen within a less intensive schedule. It is related to Uchiyama Roshi's sesshin schedule at Antaiji, where a sesshin was held every month except February and August, marked as the coldest and hottest months each year.

Preparations for March sesshin (see below) have carried on outside of a designated sangha workday, as practitioners have worked on their own or in small groups to remove the paint from our recently donated zendo bell to increase its tonal clarity, construct a new mallet for ringing the bell, hook up another fan in the zendo, and continue the installation process of a sliding barn door to more fully separate our kitchen from the zendo.

Intro to Zen course wrapping up: This month the nine participants in Hoko's six week course will complete discussions that have ranged widely from the practice of zazen and the life of the Buddha through how Soto Zen has traveled across Asia and landed in North America. A number of attendees have been to Sanshin in the past or have some prior exposure to practice. "It's such an interesting group, with a variety of particular interests," Hoko says. "The objective of the six sessions is to give folks enough of a foundation that they feel comfortable continuing to practice at Sanshin if they wish." After a hiatus of several years, Intro to Zen is again being offered in partnership with Ivy Tech Community College's Center for Lifelong Learning here in Bloomington.

Coming up

Parinirvana ceremony & potluck (Sunday, Feb 18): Next Sunday we will mark the occasion of Shakyamuni Buddha's parinirvana (nehan). Note that this Sunday's schedule is different from the "quiet February" schedule of this month's other three Sundays. This is one of the sanbukki, or Three Buddha Days, marking the important events in Shakyamuni's life -- his birth, awakening, and death. This Sunday, Hoko will give a dharma talk on "everyday parinirvana," and then we'll hold a brief ceremony followed by a potluck lunch.

Uchiyama Roshi memorial sesshin (Mar 7 - 10): A few spaces remain for participation in our upcoming March sesshin, which we dedicate to the memory of Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, the teacher of our founder, Shohaku Okumura. He died on March 13, 1998. We will hold a brief memorial service following the usual Sunday morning zazen and dharma talk, given by Okumura Roshi himself. LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE

"Six points of practice" discussion series begins next month: Sanshin's six points of practice are direct legacies of the last three holders of our lineage: Okumura, Uchiyama and Sawaki Roshis. Throughout this year of our focus on lineage and legacy, join us for a series of informal discussions aimed at exploring how each of these points works in our everyday practice lives. On March 28th, following a period of zazen, we'll consider the first point: zazen in the context of Buddha's teachings. Virtual and in-person participation is welcome; no registration required. For a complete schedule of the year's discussion evenings and more, please visit our lineage & legacy webpage.

Sangha Stewardship workshop (Apr 4 & 5): As part of our work practice in 2024, Sanshin will be offering two short workshops on bodhisattva leadership as experienced through the positions of sangha stewards, both practice leaders and administrative leaders. On April 5th and 6th, Hoko will lead a workshop exploring the roles of the tenzo (head cook) and ino (practice manager). The workshop will include both higher-level doctrinal context and practical applications. This session is also particularly aimed at small sanghas in our region which may be ready to add more structure to their communities or to take on more traditional practices in the context of their own contemporary circumstances and available resources. To learn more about this year's new offerings and to register for the upcoming workshop, please visit our Sangha Stewardship webpage.

Save the date for the May virtual dharma study intensive (May 2 - 11): Plans are underway for our Dogen Institute to sponsor the second virtual dharma study intensive with Sanshin's founding teacher Okumura Roshi this May. During the inaugural event last November, Okumura Roshi lectured on Dogen Zenji's Shobogenzo Zazenshin. During this May's series of ten lectures, he will talk on Menzan's Jijuyū-zanmai (Samadhi of the Self). Jijuyū-zanmai was written by Menzan Zuiho (1682-1769) as a guide to zazen for lay students. In it, he explains that the Buddha's samadhi is nothing other than the zazen which we practice with our body and mind, and he urges us to live in accordance with the three-fold pure bodhisattva precepts.

Okumura Roshi translated this important text in the early 1980s for Sotoshu, and it appeared originally in the book "Dōgen Zen," along with other writings. He later revised the translation slightly for its appearance in the 1988 edition entitled "Heart of Zen." Although Sotoshu still makes this available as a free e-book, Okumura Roshi wishes to newly translate the work for the upcoming dharma study intensive.

Stay tuned for further details and registration information in the coming weeks.

Sanshin Network

Transmission complete: Jisho Takahashi has completed dharma transmission with Okumura Roshi. She has returned to Muryo-ji in Nagano prefecture in Japan, where she has lived and practiced since 2020. Before that, she also practiced for two years in residence at Aichi Senmon Niso-do, and regularly practiced at Sanshin while living in Bloomington a few years ago.

Opportunity to support two temples damaged by an earthquake: Jisho Takahashi has organized a fundraising page to offer financial support for two temples in Japan which experienced significant damage from an earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula on New Year's Day, 2024. These two temples have connections to Sanshin. Ryushoji was founded by Rev. Waju Murata, who practiced at Antaiji about 40 years ago at almost the same time as Okumura Roshi. The abbot of the other temple, Eifukuji, is Rev. Koshu Ichibori, who visited Sanshin in 2017 through a Sotoshu program, staying in Bloomington for several days and later visiting Ryumonji in Iowa and Great Tree Zen Women's Temple in North Carolina. All funds raised will be distributed to Ryushoji and Eifukuji, and updates on their long-term rebuilding process will be posted to the fundraising page every few months. LEARN MORE

"Arrived at Asuka Village, gathered in front of the first Japan-made Buddha statue at Japan's first Buddhist temple, Asuka-dera (AD. 588)"

New York Zen Community in Japan: Practitioners with the New York Zen Community for Dogen Study, founded and led by Issan Koyama, are traveling through Japan for three weeks visiting important sites in Buddhist and Soto Zen history.

If interested in following their footsteps virtually, please send friend requests to either/both New York Zen Community for Dogen Study and/or Hajime Issan Koyama on Facebook, or "Follow" Issan Koyama on Instagram.

New temple in Colombia: The Soto Zen Colombia sangha has established a new companion center for practice in the mountains outside of Ibagué, Colombia. Densho Quintero reports: "On Friday, January 26, we held a simple ceremony to begin the practice in our rural center Hosenzan Zenshinji, Dharma Spring Mountain - Heart of Zen Monastery. A privileged place full of life, diverse animals and wonderful birds, with a natural birth of water. Place of recognition and silence in which we have been welcomed as guests by the majestic mountain and its inhabitants. Our commitment is to protect and conserve life and water. May the practice of the Way continue to bring light to confused hearts so that peace may reign."

Sanshin network and hossenshiki at Kotaiji: Eisho Amaya, a student of Densho Quintero in Colombia, completed his hossenshiki ceremony at Kotaiji in Nagasaki, Japan, in mid-January. Also present in the ceremony were two ordained students of Okumura Roshi, Gyoriki Herskamp and Jikei Kido, who have been participating in practice periods at Kotaiji.

Practice opportunities in Minnesota: In March, Shodo Spring will continue her monthly series of online classes exploring core Soto Zen teachings with a study of Dogen's Genjokoan. She will also be holding sesshin from March 15-17, as well as a series of three "Earth Apprentice Retreats" in April, May, and July, combining spiritual relation with land and meditation practice. For more information about the Mountains and Waters Alliance and their practice offerings, see their 2024 calendar.

New issue of Midwest Zen: Great Wind Zendo in Danville, Indiana has just released Issue 5 of Midwest Zen. It contains original essays, poetry and art from contributors in the Midwest and around the world. All issues can be downloaded freely at greatwindzendo.org/mwz.

Belgian book study: Practitioners at the Centre Shikantaza in Mons, Belgium, founded and led by Mokusho Depreay, have been studying Okumura Roshi's e-book "The Structure of the Self in Mahayana Buddhism."

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