Blog Archives

Sangha News for November

11/15/2024

Monthly Commentaries

Dogen's Chinese Poems (83)
Dwelling Thoroughly in the Mountains
Commentary by Shohaku Okumura

2. Informal Meeting on New Year's Eve

With more than three hundred pieces of empty sky
I can buy one branch of plum blossoms at the end of the twelfth month,
which, with auspicious clouds at the top of the cliff and the moon above the cold valley,
Contains spring and warmth promising sounds of laughter.

This shōsan (小参, Informal Meeting) presentation on New Year’s Eve is too long to quote in this article. Dōgen’s main point is to praise abiding and practicing in the mountains. I suppose this was given shortly after their annual monastic practice was established at Daibutsuji in 1245. When he wrote Shōbōgenzō Mountains and Waters Sutra (山水経, Sansuikyō) in 1240, “mountain” was still a somewhat poetic and philosophical image of the Buddhadharma. But now, Dōgen Zenji and his community lived and practiced in the remote mountains entirely covered with deep snow.

It is interesting to me that while Dōgen was living in Kyoto, the capital city, he had the opposite opinion. I think it is fortunate for us that Dōgen mentioned both sides and had to make a choice because of the conditions in his time and of his sangha. Sometimes, we must make such a choice: whether we should share the dharma and practice with more people, or keep our practice strong and the sangha small with only determined practitioners.
READ MORE

I Vow With All Beings:
Adornments
Commentary by Hoko Karnegis

When putting on adornments,
I vow with all beings
to give up phony decoration
and reach the abode of truth.

Certainly, there’s nothing wrong with getting dressed up or having an attractive home. Sometimes we make that extra effort because we care about those we will meet or host. We don’t show up at a wedding wearing a sweatshirt and we don’t use a shabby tablecloth when throwing a dinner party. We want to be part of creating a special and beautiful experience for everyone.

However, of course, there’s always a bit of ego involved with decoration, and I suggest that that’s what the “phony” in this gāthā is about. If adornment is aimed at convincing ourselves and others that things are other than they are, we’re setting the stage for suffering. This gāthā asks us to consider the nature of beauty, and by extension, the nature of value and worth. READ MORE

In this issue:

Commentaries: Dwelling thoroughly in the mountains; Adornments
New on the web: 108 Gates; Sunday talks on Youtube
From our directors: Amid the season
Other news: Sawaki Nyoho-e Treasury; Public Sotoshu online dharma talk; A call for Sanshin photos
Practice recap: Virtual dharma study intensive; Six Points discussion #5; Closing out the garden season
Coming up: Nov work day; Ryaku fusatsu; Rohatsu sesshin; The Zen Practice of Being Old
Sanshin Network: News from Japan

New on the web

108 Gates: Hoko's written commentaries on gate statements 43 - 46 of the 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination (Ippyakuhachi Homyomon) are now available, together with study/discussion questions for groups or individuals. New commentaries are posted to our 108 Gates page each Monday.

Sunday dharma talks on Youtube:

From our treasurer

Gene Kishin Elias

Amid the season
For helping and good tidings,
Will you help Sanshin?

Whether our year-end traditions include Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah or Rōhatsu, it's a good time to reflect and find harmony within ourselves, our community and our environment. When we settle ourselves and see our world with wisdom and compassion, noticing how we support and are supported by all beings, giving arises naturally.

Funds raised so far: $8065*

*As of Nov 13th. For each thousand dollars we raise together, we'll color in a square of Indra's Net. Coming together with the sangha to take care of our practice and our temple is just an instance of the universe carrying out its functioning. Learn more about our Fall 2024 Fund Appeal.

With the election behind us and requests for political contributions no longer coming in, we can turn our attention -- and our financial support -- to enabling zazen, work, study and ritual at Sanshin. This year alone, contributions to political parties and candidates generated $7.6 billion, and if Sanshin had just 0.0125% of those contributions, we could dissolve our Development Committee, paint our facility, build a new zendo, replace our roof, increase our teaching, research and study, and establish a permanent residential practice. Dollars for the dharma can go a long way!

Sanshin's fund drive is an opportunity to invest in the future of Soto Zen practice in North America through supporting your own sangha and temple. If you're able to make a contribution of any size, or increase your current level of giving, it will be greatly appreciated. Please email me with your questions about Sanshin's finances and plans. Thank you for your support, and may your life be filled with joy, magnanimity and nurturing.

Other News

Sawaki Nyoho-e Treasury:
Nyoho-e has no market value
A brief teaching from Okumura Roshi

The monks [in the early sangha] washed abandoned rags and then cut off only the unstained pieces. They sewed those pieces together and made their robes. Those rags found in the grave yard or on the street had no market value any more; they were just abandoned, so the monks could take them without other people objecting. A robe made this way is free from greed or desires. READ MORE

Public online talk from Sotoshu representative (Nov 19th):

Zoom meeting information for a public dharma talk (in English) sponsored by the Soto Zen Buddhism North America Office is offered below:

November 19, 2024 05:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86572619045
Meeting ID: 865 7261 9045

Do you have photos of Sanshin history?

Our thanks go out to longtime friend of Sanshin Barb Corson for contributing several vintage photos to our archive from her own collection. We're always interested in receiving images that capture Sanshin's history. If you've been here and taken photos that are now lurking in your own files, please consider sharing them with Sanshin so that we can document our story.

Practice recap

Virtual dharma study intensive: From Nov 1st - 10th, about sixty practitioners participated from throughout the U. S. and beyond via Zoom in a 10-day dharma study intensive with Okumura Roshi, focused on Dogen Zenji's early text Gakudo Yojinshu (Points to Watch in Studying the Way).

The schedule consisted simply of a lecture and Q & A with Okumura Roshi each morning, which practitioners folded into their own schedules of zazen and day to day responsibilities and practice from home. A small support crew was present in-person to facilitate technical and zendo needs. This event is the successor to the genzo-e retreats of the past twenty years, and is held online twice a year. The next one will be carried out in May of 2025, with the topic TBA.

Six Points discussion #5:
Work practice as an investigation of community

A group of practitioners gathered at Sanshin and virtually from home on November 14th to sit zazen and then discuss the fifth of the six points of practice fundamental to Sanshin's mission and practice vision: work practice as an investigation of community. A recording of Hoko's opening remarks for the evening will be made available soon. See other Six Points talks on our Youtube channel.

As part of our yearlong investigation of lineage & legacy, we'll discuss the sixth and final point, deeply encountering the teaching of ehou ichinyo (dharma and Buddha's robe are one), on December 19.

Closing out the garden season: Though we still have some daikon radishes, turnips, kale, arugula, and Swiss chard in the ground yet to harvest for Rohatsu sesshin, much of our garden caretaking practice this month has focused on putting the garden "to bed" for the winter. To help ensure next year's garden fertility, local practitioner Michael shared seeds for overwintering cover crops and journeyed with Sawyer to local farm T7 Ranch to gather cow manure. Many thanks all around to the many beings who have contributed to this year's growing efforts, whether watering, planting, harvesting, fertilizing, or eating during sesshin, retreats, and workshops throughout the year.

In mid-October, several practitioners gathered to harvest sweet potatoes, which will likely end up in our oryoki bowls this Rohatsu sesshin.

Coming up

November work morning (10:30 am - 1 pm) this Sunday, Nov 17th: This Sunday we'll gather for a work morning, following regular zazen at 9:10 am and our monthly World Peace Ceremony. Hosshin will lead a few practitioners on projects inside the temple, and Sawyer and Esho will coordinate work around some fall flower planting. All are welcome to participate in this monthly opportunity to engage body and mind and actively study interconnectedness as a sangha.

Ryaku fusatsu (Mon, Nov 18th at 7pm): This Monday we'll hold our monthly ryaku fusatsu ceremony. We carry out this ceremony on the Monday evening closest to the 15th each month, as a regular renewal of our aspiration to practice with the sixteen bodhisattva precepts. Virtual and in-person participation is welcome, regardless of whether or not you've formally received the precepts. If attending in person, please show up by 6:50 pm, to allow enough time for offering incense and purifying rakusu or okesa (if you have one) before the ceremony.

Rohatsu sesshin: Registration for our 8-day Rohatsu sesshin is open through next Friday, Nov 22nd. You can register for the whole sesshin or for a selection of full days. Rohatsu is carried out each year across the Buddhist world in recognition of Shakyamuni's awakening under the bodhi tree. Sesshin at Sanshin is an opportunity to practice zazen 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. Learn more and register here.

The Zen Practice of Being Old:
Three-part online discussion series for practitioners age 70+
Jan 9th, 16th, & 23rd, 2025 from 2 - 3:30 pm ET
with Rev. Tonen O'Connor

Zen practitioners age 70+ are invited to join Tonen O'Connor, resident teacher emerita of the Milwaukee Zen Center and former Sanshin board member, for a series of three afternoon virtual discussions this January about new dharma gates that appear as we age. This series is not about "spirituality for positive aging," nor is it about "achieving graceful elder years." It is about new opportunities for practice. The discussions will focus on the practice opportunities and dharma insights available at 70 years of age and beyond that differ from the experience of our younger years. LEARN MORE AND REGISTER

Mountains of Echigo Yuzawa, photographed by Tonen & friends while traveling in Japan

Sanshin Network

Sanshin visitors at Muryoji: Muryoji, in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, is the home temple of Aoyama Shundo Roshi, a well known and respected Soto Zen teacher. Jisho Takahashi, a dharma heir of Okumura Roshi who currently lives and practices at Muryoji, helped to guide and coordinate visits there from several other Sanshin Network teachers and practitioners in October.

On October 25, a total of 18 people, including Okumura Roshi's dharma heirs Mokusho DePreay from Belgium and Issan Koyama from New York along with several of their sangha members, visited Muryoji. Rev. Jokei Lambert, who translated and published Aoyama Roshi's book Hana-ujyo (Flowers, Mirrors of Our Lives) this year, was also present.

Jisho gave a tour of the temple, and the group experienced hanayose, a kind of ikebana (traditional Japanese flower arrangement), and observed the tea ceremony practice.

Doju Layton, an ordained student of Okumura Roshi, and his partner Alli Gillet, who received lay precepts at Sanshin earlier this year, traveled in Japan for a few weeks before Doju's six-month stay at the training temple Kotaiji -- including a visit to Jisho and Muryoji in mid-October. Alli reports, "They were such a warm and welcoming sangha that it was hard to say goodbye. We felt like we were part of their family even though we only spent just a couple of days with them."

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