Sangha News for September, 2023

Faith in fresh blossoms

Shohaku Okumura

Dōgen’s Chinese Poems (69)
Faith in Fresh Blossoms
456. Dharma Hall Discourse

​I, Eihei, have this phrase that was correctly transmitted to me:
In the midst of snow, plum blossoms only on a single branch.
Among the middling and lowly, many hear this, but not many believe.
Mahāyāna bodhisattvas trust without doubt.

This is verse 68 in Kuchūgen, and Dharma Hall Discourse (上堂, jōdō) 456 in Volume 6 of Eiheikōroku. This discourse consists only of this verse, without an accompanying speech. This was given in the same month as verse 67, between the 1st day of the 9th month and the 1st day of the 10th month in 1251. This verse in Manzan’s version is the same as Monkaku’s version.  READ MORE

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In This Issue:

• Okumura Roshi: Faith in fresh blossoms
• News from our directors: Where the money goes
• Other news: Temporary resident from South America; fall appeal underway
• Practice recap: September sesshin restarts oryoki practice
• Coming up: Virtual dharma study intensive
• Sanshin Network: News from South America

News from our directors

Where the money goes
Gene Kishin Elias, Treasurer

 As Sanshin's treasurer, I want to share with you how our monies are spent to support our mission, especially now as we are kicking off our annual fund drive.  As you can see on the pie chart below, our number one expense for the first half of this year has been the support of teaching/translation and content generation, followed by establishing and maintaining residential practice and offering practice opportunities like sesshin and the upcoming Shobogenzo Zazenshin intensive dharma study with Okumura Roshi. As you can see, our founding teacher remains hard at work translating and helping us understand the writings of Dōgen.

As you look at the chart, you may ask, “Why aren’t we spending more on the Dōgen Institute?”  The answer is in technology.  Over the last several years we've found new ways to use technology to share the teachings and practice, and we continue to do that through innovative publishing practices as well.  However,  we have more expenses coming as we work to systematically move our digital  archive that now relies on outdated technology toward cloud based, web enabled technologies.

Your gifts of financial support enable Sanshin to make Soto Zen practice available in its own particular style, which is based on the teachings of the Buddha, Dōgen Zenji, and Sawaki, Uchiyama and Okumura Roshis.  Around the US and across the worldwide Sanshin Network, thanks to friends like you we continue to carry out our mission of enabling the investigation of interconnectedness as it manifests in community by engaging in five points of Soto Zen practice.

If you have questions about Sanshin's finances, please email me.  Thank you for your support and may your life be filled with kindness, joy and magnanimity.

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Other news

Temporary resident from South America:  Jakusho Pignatiello from Sangha Dokan in Caracas, Venezuela, has been in temporary residency at Sanshin for three weeks before spending a final week in the US at Gyobutsuji in Arkansas.  While here, he's participated in all of the regular daily and weekly practice activities as well as the September sesshin, and his visit has allowed for a temporary restart of the Friday morning dharma discussion as well as the afternoon work period.  He's cooked for the Friday morning oryoki breakfast, rung bells during sesshin, served as morning doshi several times, demonstrated zazen postures for newcomers during a Getting Started session, and generally integrated himself into the life of Sanshin.  He even visited Indiana's oldest organic farm with Sawyer to pick up vegetables for sesshin meals.  See Sanshin's Facebook page for shared posts from Sangha Dokan illustrating his visit.     

Stranger's Hill Organics workers with Jakusho and Sawyer

Jakusho with the Wednesday evening discussion group in the zendo

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Fall appeal underway:  If we know how to contact you by land mail or email, you'll have received our fall appeal letter.  Now that we've successfully completed our leadership transition and are working to implement the strategies we've developed over the last three years, part of determining the way forward is committing to maintain real financial stability.  Contributing to our Annual Fund appeal is an easy way to provide your financial support to Sanshin.  You'll be helping to replenish the emergency funds we needed to spend during the pandemic in order to preserve our practice and keep it going, allowing everyone to continue to practice together, first virtually and then in person once again.  Your gift also 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.  Please make your gift today.

Practice recap

September sesshin restarts oryoki practice:  Fourteen participants were part of the successful relaunch of oryoki practice during sesshin after many years.  When Sanshin stopped renting the building next door, it lost the use of the larger kitchen and meals area, so returning to oryoki practice in the zendo for sesshin meals was the best option.  The process and style are taken from what's done at Antaiji in Japan.  Practice leaders planned and prepared for some time beforehand to ensure that the re-introduction would be as minimally disruptive as possible, and while it was necessary to break the usual complete silence in order to train and direct participants for the first few meals, folks quickly picked up the new systems and were able to fully enter into it as practice. 

Practitioners reported feeling more connected as a community taking meals this way than going through a buffet line and eating and washing up as individuals as before.  Everything from the tenzo cooking right next door to the zendo, to remaining the the same building and the same room throughout the day, to cooperating on setup, to the need to hand things to and serve each other during meals allowed for the investigation of interconnectedness through community that is at the heart of Sanshin's mission.

There are a few challenges to resolve before the Rohatsu sesshin, but this experience proved that oryoki practice can be done within the framework of sesshin as we carry it out.  We now have a group of regular sesshin participants who are experienced with meal practice and can help newcomers fold in.

Welcome meeting

Zazen, with oryoki sets hanging at our places

Oryoki practice. All photos by Myogen Ahlstrom.

Coming up

Virtual dharma study intensive (November 1 - 10):  Founding teacher Okumura Roshi will be giving a series of ten lectures, one each morning, focused on Shobogenzo Zazenshin.  This virtual-only ten-day event will be the successor to genzo-e, with a less strenuous lecture schedule for Okumura Roshi.  There is no 'retreat' schedule beyond the daily lectures and Q&A periods -- participants are encouraged to incorporate regular zazen practice throughout the ten days of the study intensive, as their own schedules and time zones allow. Practitioners are invited to join the regular morning practice schedule being carried out at Sanshinji before most of the lectures.  For further details and to register, please visit our virtual dharma study intensive webpage.

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Sanshin Network

Soto Zen anniversary in South America: Densho reports from Lima, where he served as ino for the 120th Anniversary of Soto Zen in South America.  "Nine members of our sangha attended the activities, which included the X Latin American Zen Encounter.  It was a very nice opportunity to meet people from diverse countries for this important celebration. We had a sesshin, lectures, Dharma talks, cultural events, and the formal ceremonies."  Densho leads the Soto Zen Colombia community.

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