Sangha News for April, 2023

Meeting the World-Honored One

Shohaku Okumura

Dōgen’s Chinese Poems (64)
Meeting the World-Honored One
136.  Enlightenment Day Ceremony Dharma Hall Discourse

落草六年老作家    （落草六年老作家、）
夜來不覺入梅花    （夜來覺えず梅花に入る。）
春風尀耐箇中起    （春風尀耐にして箇の中より起り、）
紅白枝枝謾自誇    （紅白の枝枝、謾に自ら誇る。）

The old head of the house, after falling in the grass for six years,
during the night entered the plum blossoms without realizing it.
The spring wind arising within [the plum blossoms] cannot stay put;
the branches all red and white take pride in themselves.

This verse is recited at the beginning of Dharma Hall Discourse 136. Dōgen Zenji held the first summer practice period at the newly built monastery in Echizen from the 4th month to the 7th month of the year. This is the first Buddha’s Enlightenment Day which Dōgen and his sangha celebrated at Daibutsuji (大仏寺), renamed as Eiheiji in the 6th month of the next year, 1246.  READ MORE

In This Issue:

• Okumura Roshi: Meeting the World-Honored One
• News: New genzo-e recordings available, Platinum panel
• Practice recap: Ango now open, another European resident, sewing retreat, Buddha's birthday
• Coming up: May genzo-e, June sesshin, precepts retreat
• Sanshin Network: News from France and Germany

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News

Dogen Institute is pleased to announce two new full-length recordings of genzo-e, now available for study on the DI's Podia site: Bussho Part I and Uji. These recordings are made available free to our subscribers.

• The first recording is a video covering the first third of Dōgen’s Shobogenzo Bussho. As you may know, Okumura Roshi is lecturing on Bussho for his last three genzo-e. We expect to make the second set of recordings on Bussho (from November 2022) available on the Podia site late this year. The third part of Bussho will be covered during the live genzo-e in May 2023. You can find information about registering for the May 2023 genzo-e here.

• The second recording we are releasing is an audio covering Shobogenzo Uji, given in 2004.

If you are not yet a subscriber to our Podia site, please join us! You can find information about subscribing here.

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Platinum panel:  As part of our Platinum Celebration, we'll hold a Saturday morning panel discussion of Sanshin's past and future. Tonen O'Connor, Hoko, David Thompson, Jeff Alberts and Mark Fraley will give brief updates on our five strategic goals, and the discussion will be facilitated by Gene Elias. For complete information on the celebration weekend, which marks Sanshin's 20th anniversary, and to RSVP for in-person participation. go to the Platinum Celebration page of our website.

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Practice recap

Ango now open: The ango (practice period) has now gotten underway and will continue through the precepts retreat in July.  Shinko Hagn from Vienna is serving as shuso and is giving a series of Sunday talks on the Four Embracing Actions.  "I'm especially focusing on how we realize these four embracing actions, especially in our daily lives," he says.  "To understand the four embracing actions we should ask ourselves: How does our being come into being, how are the ingredients for what we call our being mixed together and how can we practice to recognize and transform them so that we realize Okumura Roshi's  formula 1=0=∞ in our everyday lives?  I will talk a lot about my own practice and especially how much my pastoral work, mainly in prisons, helps me.  Kodo Sawaki said, 'Separated from daily life, Buddhism is a dead thing. All aspects of your life must be the Buddha Way.'"  For more information on Shinko and the activities of the ango, please visit the ango page of our website.

And another European resident:  Also participating in the ango is Jinryu Wachowitz from Hannover, Germany.  She received novice ordination from Hoko last December.  Jinryu practices with Kyoku Lutz, Hoko's dharma heir, who will be completing zuise in Japan next month along with Mokusho DePreay from Belgium.  In the meantime, Hoko agreed to give Jinryu her start until Kyoku can complete her credentialling process.  

Sewing retreat:  Under the direction of Yuko Okumura and Esho Morimoto, five people are sewing rakusu.  Three of them will be receiving the precepts from Hoko in July.  Shinko and Jinryu are also taking the opportunity to sew kohonbukusa, or book wrappers, and to hear from Yuko about the history and details of robe sewing within Sanshin Style.  Yuko is engaged in a long-term study of our particular dharma family's practices of sewing and wearing robes, and she'll also be sharing information during the Platinum Celebration in June.  

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Buddha's birthday: As it happens, Shinko's first Sunday talk coincided with our observance of Buddha's birthday.  Following the talk, the sangha chanted the Heart Sutra and dedicated the merit to our original teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha.  One by one, practitioners came to the altar to pour sweet tea over the baby Buddha, and then after a pizza lunch it was on to an afternoon of groundskeeping, interior painting, and other work.  Thus the day included all three of our core practices: zazen, work and study.

Coming up

Virtual genzo-e on Shobogenzo Bussho (Buddha Nature), Part 3 (May 3 - 8):  Okumura Roshi taught about the first and second parts of this text in the May and November 2022 Genzo-e.  However, no prior knowledge of the text is required, so if you missed the previous genzo-e you will have no problem following along. This retreat is Okumura Roshi's final offering of genzo-e before he steps back from day to day leadership at Sanshin.  All zazen periods and lectures will be shared on Zoom, and we encourage participants to participate in the full schedule if possible.  Visit the virtual genzo-e page to learn more and to register. 

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June sesshin (May 30 - June 4): 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 9 pm daily schedule that consists simply of fourteen 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 Antaiji in Kyoto, Japan.  We carry on and offer this tradition of   our lineage here at Sanshin. Learn more here. ​

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Precepts retreat with Hoko (July 4 - 9):  This retreat focuses on the study of the sixteen bodhisattva precepts that Buddhists receive as guidelines for living a life of practice.  The daily schedule includes zazen, lectures, work practice and silent meals, and a precepts ceremony (jukai-e) is held during the last day of the retreat, during which those receiving the precepts will make their vows and receive a dharma name and a rakusu, or small robe, which they have sewn beforehand.  Learn more here.

Sanshin Network

Cooperative ordination in France:   Kudo Reimer from Germany reports, "The second meeting of the French and German part of the Sanshin family took place in March.  Shoju Mahler from Zendo L’Eau Vive (Hosuiji) in Alès, France and Kyoku Lutz from Frühlingsmond Zendo in Hannover, Germany, got together again after their meeting earlier this year with Hoko in Hannover.  This time it was on the occasion of my shukke tokudo ceremony at Zendo L’Eau Vive.  It was a great opportunity for everyone to practice and exchange many thoughts and dharma conversations in French, English and German.  We also visited the city of Nimes with its Greek/Roman history near Alès, which was an informative and joyful experience for everyone.  On top of that, many ideas arose on how to practice together in the network of the European Sanshin family in the future."

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