Sangha News for March 2022

The wheel of food and the wheel of dharma

Shohaku Okumura

Dōgen’s Chinese Poems (51)
A Wooden Ladle Striking in the Place We Cannot Avoid

Yunmen’s every-atom samādhi can turn into
both the wheel of food and the wheel of Dharma.
Bring a full container and fill the [monks’] bowls.
The World-Honored One’s confirmation [of the tenzo’s practice] has been employed, and yet is fresh.

“The wheel of food” is a translation of jikirin (食輪) and “the wheel of Dharma” is horin (法輪). Of course, “dharma wheel” is Buddha’s teachings as the expressions of the Dharma he awakened to. It seems the word jikirin was originally used in the Vinaya. When a monastery was established, two important aspects were how to turn the dharma wheel and how to maintain the monastic community as an administration. In the common usage of these terms, often the aspects of turning the dharma wheel and administration are considered to be two separate aspects of monastic life, which sometimes contradict each other. If the abbot is tough and the practice style is strict in order to keep the pure dharma wheel turning, not many monks stay at the monastery, and the monastery may also lose the support of lay people. In order to keep the wheel of food turning extensively, the abbot needs to be popular with lay society such as the emperor, aristocrats, high-class government officers, rich merchants, etc. To do so, the monastery may need to hold popular events or ceremonies for lay supporters; then sincere monks may leave the monastery.

But here, Dōgen is saying that in the tenzo’s work, both the wheel of food and the wheel of dharma are being turned simultaneously. These two wheels are not contradictory at all.  READ MORE

​​In This Issue:

• Okumura Roshi: The wheel of food and the wheel of dharma
• Practice recap: March sesshin for Uchiyana Roshi
• Coming up: Experiencing Zen, ango, morning practice schedule change, virtual genzo-e, June sesshin with Shodo Spring, Shoji workshop with Issan Koyama
• Sanshin Network: German translation of The Wholehearted Way

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Practice recap

March sesshin in honor of Uchiyama Roshi:  Eight practitioners participated in person and several more joined the sesshin virtually.  Sesshin ended on Uchiyama Roshi's memorial day with a dharma talk from Okumura Roshi and a brief chanting service.  Uchiyama Roshi is one of the most important influences on Sanshin's practice today.  For links to works by and about him, go to this page. 

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Coming up

Ango (practice period) set for April 4 - July 4:  Ango, or practice period, is an opportunity to focus a bit more intensively on our practice and perhaps to make a commitment to ourselves to stretch a little -- to sit a little more, attend a little more frequently, learn something new or take on a particular activity.  We invite you to consider how you might deepen your practice during this time.

During ango we have the additional leadership of a shuso, or head novice, who takes on various responsibilities in the sangha as an opportunity to develop clergy skills.  Our shuso for this ango is Issan Koyama from New York.  His theme for the ango is Two sides of reality in one action.  He will be supporting our practice and we will be supporting his growth as a leader.  Issan will be giving a series of 10 Sunday talks, leading a one-day workshop, serving as doshi for monthly World Peace ceremonies, serving as ino for monthly ryaku fusatsu ceremonies, assisting with sesshin and retreats, and serving the sangha in myriad other ways while he's in residence here.  In June, we will recognize the coming completion of his term as shuso with two ceremonies in which he will demonstrate his dharma mastery to the sangha and his readiness to teach and serve independently.  More information about the ango will be available shortly on our website.

Please note that as of April 4, the first day of the ango (practice period), we will return to our standard morning schedule:

5:10 am  Zazen
6:00 am  Kinhin
6:10 am  Zazen
7:00 am  Robe chant
7:05 am  Service
7:30 am  Reading from Shobogenzo Zuimonki, announcements, soji (cleanup)
​7:45 am  Bow out

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Experiencing Zen: An Introduction to the Basics (begins April 4, 7 pm):  We'll explore what Zen Buddhism is really all about, beginning with the central ideas of Buddhism itself and moving on to the teachings and practices particular to its Zen form. Class will include instruction in sitting practice (zazen) and walking practice (kinhin), as well as plenty of time for questions and discussion. Enthusiastic participants in this class from previous years went on to form a zazen/book discussion group that is still meeting today.  Class is taught by Doju Layton at Ivy Tech Community College.  Complete information is here.

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Virtual genzo-e: Shobogenzo Bussho (part 1) with Shohaku Okumura (May 5 - 9):  Deep study of Dogen Zenji’s teachings as a means of truly understanding the practice of regular intensive shikantaza is one of the three elements of Sanshin's mission. It's an antidote to the "Zen sickness" described in the "Zazenshin" fascicle of his Shobogenzo. That danger can come with doing a lot of sitting with gaining mind—searching for a peak experience or some personal benefit. Thus dharma study is not an end in itself but assists our sitting practice. As our ancestor Kodo Sawaki Roshi often said, "All Buddhist scriptures are only footnotes to zazen."  Read more and register here.

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June sesshin with Shodo Spring:  ​Sesshin at Sanshin is an opportunity to practice 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.  We practice in complete silence following a 4 am to 8 pm daily schedule that consists simply of thirteen 50-minute periods of zazen with one-hour periods for meals and a bit of personal time.  This sesshin-without-toys style of practice was created by our founder's teacher, Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, and practiced at Antaji in Kyoto, Japan.  We carry on and offer this tradition of our lineage here at Sanshin. 

Shodo Spring is a dharma heir of Shohaku Okumura and is a member of Sanshin's board of directors.  She sits monthly Antaiji-style sesshins in the tradition of her lineage, leads an informal study group, and occasionally gives talks and retreats at other temples. She founded Mountains and Waters Alliance in Minnesota, a part of the Sanshin Network, to work together with all beings for the welfare of the whole earth. She lives on a farm, apprenticing herself to the plants, waters, animals and earth, learning to be human, and she spends time with her children and grandchildren.  Read more and register here.

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Shoji (Life-Death) workshop with Issan Koyama (June 25): At this time of isolation, doubt, and grief, learning from Buddha’s and Dōgen’s teachings, we explore a way to connection, trust, and healing.  In this one-day workshop, we alternate supportive Buddhist texts readings, including Shōbōgenzō Shōji – Life-Death, and exercises to share our experiences.  Read more and register here.

Sanshin Network

A German translation of The Wholehearted Way is now available, produced by a team headed by Kyoku Lutz of the Fruhlingsmond Zendo in Hannover.  Eihei Dogen’s Bendowa, or A Talk on the Wholehearted Practice of the Way, was written in 1231 A.D. and expresses his teaching of the essential meaning of zazen (seated meditation).

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For complete information about Sanshin and our style of practice, visit our homepage.