Sangha News for May 2021

Coming down from the mountains

Shohaku Okumura

Dōgen’s Chinese Poems (41)
Depiction of Shakyamuni Coming Down from the Mountains

A sack of flowing wind tied around his waist,
He stole the wind in the pines to insert or bring forth.
Then twirling a branch of winter plum blossoms to sell,
He came and went under the heavens, planning to find a buyer.

Commonly, “Shakyamuni Coming Down from the Mountains (出山の釈迦)” refers to paintings of Shakyamuni Buddha when he came down from the mountain after six years of very strict ascetic practice. This is one of the popular motifs of Zen paintings. After he came down from the mountain, he bathed and washed his body in the river, received food from a village girl named Sujata, and then sat under the bodhi tree where he attained unsurpassable awakening. Since the time of the Song Dynasty in China, and also in Japan, there have been many portraits of a skinny Shakyamuni walking using a staff. This theme emphasizes the strictness of Buddha’s six years of ascetic practice, and that his teaching was the Middle Way between the two extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification.  READ MORE

---

In This Issue:

• Okumura Roshi:  Coming down from the mountains
• Practice recap: Work day
• Sanshin Network:​ Recorded presentations from Shodo Spring and Densho Quintero; first sesshin in Vienna
• Resources from Sanshin
• Giving to Sanshin

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!

Practice recap

Work day:  Following a period of outdoor zazen, practitioners worked on weeding and mowing, yard cleanup, tree trimming, and cleaning and airing cushions from the zendo.  

Coming Up

At-home retreat, June 10 - 13:  Join us virtually for three days of practice in the style of our sesshin, a retreat devoted simply to sitting zazen.  Sanshin leaders will be in the zendo maintaining the schedule and carrying out the activities of a standard sesshin day at Sanshin.  You are welcome to connect via Zoom and follow along at home for as much of the day as you like.  Learn more here.

Sanshin Network

Shodo Spring of Mountains and Waters Alliance was one of the presenters in a two-part panel discussion for Community Resilience Live Talks.  The topic was dismantling conquest and recordings of her discussions are here and here.

Densho Quintero of the Soto Zen Community of Colombia offered an online lecture in cooperation with the Soto Zen South American mission.  His talk on the importance of expressing our understanding of Zen practice in our relationships with other beings, with nature, and with the everyday things we encounter is available here (in Spanish).  He's also serving as moderator for this year's Latin American Zen Encounter, with the theme of Opening Windows to a New Consciousness in Times of Pandemic.

Daijihi Soto Zen Sangha in Vienna held its first sesshin, with five practitioners attending.  Daijihi was founded by Shinko Hagn, who received novice ordination from Hoko in 2019.

​Resources from Sanshin

Virtual morning and evening practice: Sanshin offers weekday morning zazen and liturgy via Zoom.  The zazen period begins at 6:10 EST and lasts 50 minutes; liturgy follows directly afterward.  In the evenings, zazen begins at 6:30 and lasts 30 minutes.  The complete schedule is here; please email us if you're interested in participating.

Sanshin Solo: Recognizing that more folks than ever are now practicing in Sanshin's style by themselves, we've added a Sanshin Solo page to our website offering tips and information about practicing on your own.

Dharma study: Study materials remain available from our Dogen Institute and video recordings of dharma talks on our YouTube channel.

Resources from around the Sanshin Network

Centers and groups from around our global network are offering virtual practice in multiple languages and are willing to include practitioners from outside their immediate sanghas.  Please see this page of our website for a complete listing.

Giving to Sanshin

Gifts of financial support
Whether as a practitioner, a financial supporter, a listener/reader or simply as an interested friend, Sanshin welcomes you to our international sangha.  Like all nonprofit organizations, Sanshin depends on the generous offerings of those whose lives are helped by the work it does.  Visit this page to set up a monthly donation or make a one-time gift online, or download a form to use when giving by check. 

Community give-back programs
Designating Sanshin Zen Community as the recipient of give-back programs is a painless way to provide funding support simply by making your usual purchases!  

Amazon Smile: Instead of going to Amazon's regular homepage, go to Amazon Smile and sign into your Amazon account.  Choose Sanshin Zen Community as your charity, and .05% of what you spend will come to us.  Remember, only purchases at smile.amazon.com (not www.amazon.com or the mobile app) support Sanshin.

Kroger:  If you shop at Kroger with a Plus card, your regular purchases of groceries and household goods can provide financial support for Sanshin.  Create or sign in to your Kroger account, enroll in Kroger Community Rewards® with your card, and choose Sanshin as your organization.  Every time you shop and swipe your card, a percentage of what you spend will come to us.  Fifteen households are already participating on Sanshin's behalf.

Employer giving programs
Friends of Sanshin who work at companies like Google and Adobe are providing regular financial support through payroll deduction and employer gift-matching programs.  Check with your employer's human resources or community relations department to see whether giving opportunities like these are available at your workplace.