Sangha News for January

1/15/2025

Commentary

I Vow With All Beings:
Balconies
Commentary by Hoko Karnegis

When climbing up in balconies,
I vow with all beings
to ascend the tower of truth
and see through everything.

In the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, balconies frequently adorn celestial palaces or other buildings that represent unsurpassable true awakening.

Along with flower garlands, golden nets, jewel-encrusted furniture and other luxurious things, balconies establish a structure as being something beyond the everyday. A raised balcony clinging to the side of a heavenly palace is certainly an elevated vantage point from which to gain the broadest possible view, and not a spot that everyone can easily reach.

This gāthā describes the action of climbing up into a balcony, not simply being there somehow and enjoying the day. Climbing and ascending are our practice. The view is already there for anyone to see, but until we can put aside our delusions and distractions, we can’t experience it directly. The pure jeweled balcony of awakening remains closed to us, even though it’s really a part of ourselves. READ MORE

From our directors

New board member Doshin Johnson: Rev. Dōshin Diana Johnson is a Soto Zen Buddhist kokusai fukyoushi (international teacher/missionary). Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri within the Catholic religious tradition, she served over 3 decades in Chicago as a bilingual social worker and local government administrator. She experienced a ‘call’ to interfaith chaplaincy, began a divinity program at Chicago Theological Seminary and, following early retirement and a move to the southwest, started zazen practice with Rev. Daiho Hilbert of Clear Mind Zen, who introduced Dōshin to Rev. Okumura’s Living by Vow.

She has a BA dual major in political science and foreign languages; a Master’s of Public Administration; and a Master’s of Divinity in Buddhist Chaplaincy. She completed the Foundations Program at the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care as well as chaplaincy internship and residency units at hospitals in Whittier and La Jolla, CA. In addition to 11-months of monastic training with Rev. Seido Suzuki Roshi at Toshoji Senmon Sodo in Okayama Japan, Dōshin has trained with her teacher, Rev. Gyokei Yokoyama at Long Beach Buddhist Church and Sozenji Buddhist Temple, and continues to serve with: Rev. Shumyo Kojima Roshi and the lay leadership at Zenshuji Soto Mission in Los Angeles; Rev. Mumon Savoy and the Jirando la Rueda del Dharma (Turning the Dharma Wheel) sangha in Veracruz Mexico; and Rev. Sozui Schubert at Hidden Valley Zen Center in San Marcos CA. Recently at the Cedar Rapids Zen Center she served for six months as interim practice director following the death of founding teacher Rev. Jien Zuiko Redding. Dōshin currently lives in San Diego with her spouse of 32 years.

In this issue:

Commentary: Balconies
New on the web: 108 Gates; Sunday dharma talks on Youtube
From our directors: New board member Doshin Johnson
Other news: Introducing Sanshin Source
Practice recap: Six Points discussion series complete; Being Old disussion series underway; January work morning
Coming up: Tangible Thusness 2025; Nyoho workshop with Koun Franz; Quiet February practice schedule; Buddhist Essentials series; Uchiyama Roshi memorial sesshin
Sanshin Network: New Year's greetings from Colombia and Rome

New on the web

108 Gates: Hoko's written commentaries on gate statements 52 - 55 of the 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination (Ippyakuhachi Homyomon), which explore the four foundations of mindfulness, 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:

Dec 15th: Hoko on "nothing extra" ritual within Sanshin's practice vision
Dec 22nd: Hoko on nyoho: "according to dharma"
Dec 29th: Hoko on the 3 faces of nyoho: clothing, food, & shelter
Jan 5th: Okumura Roshi on Opening the Hand of Thought

Other news

Introducing Sanshin Source: Sanshin Source is Sanshin Zen Community's newly available and continuously evolving online library of context and in-depth information about our style of practice within the Soto Zen tradition. It serves as a partner-site to our main operational website (www.sanshinji.org), with many linkages growing between the two sites over time. Anyone is welcome to peruse and study these resources as our collection continues to grow. We've organized the content according to our practice vision diagram so that you can see the relationships between the elements. Intersecting these elements with each other gives interesting new insights into our practice. Watch for new content throughout the year and beyond -- may it support us in understanding our practice and practicing our understanding.

Practice recap

Six Points discussion series complete: Throughout 2024, practitioners gathered at Sanshin and virtually from home for a bimonthly series of teachings and discussions exploring Sanshin's six points of practice, as part of last year's practice theme, lineage & legacy. On December 19th, we discussed Dogen's teaching of ehou ichinyo (kesa and dharma are one) as an essential aspect of Sawaki Roshi's legacy and our practice today at Sanshin. Thanks all for your participation throughout 2024.

A recording of Hoko's opening remarks for the evening can be viewed at right, and a playlist of her opening remarks from these discussions throughout last year can be found on our Youtube channel.

Being Old discussion series underway: More than two dozen practitioners have come together online for the opening sessions of a three part discussion series on The Zen Practice of Being Old led by longtime friend of Sanshin and respected teacher in her own right, Tonen O'Connor. Discussions have revolved around new opportunities for practice and dharma insights available at 70 years of age and beyond that differ from the experience of our younger years. Participation has ranged from Bloomington to Vermont to Australia.

Winter work practice: In the midst of cold, snowy weather over the past few weeks in Bloomington, work practice has focused around shoveling snow so that we can continue to gather and practice, and tending to various tasks inside the temple. In early January, Hosshin led the process of installing a new monitor on the wall in the corner of the zendo, replacing our previous (damaged) monitor, and allowing for a greater sense of the presence and involvement of practitioners who regularly join us virtually via Zoom.

On our January work day, Esho led our more or less biannual process for converting used beeswax candle trimmings into a new batch of candles for our altars, Hoko expanded our used dharma book shelves, Chris and Sawyer undertook a temple technology inventory, and Hosshin completed months-long work on the wood valance over the Manjushri altar in the zendo. Our next work day is scheduled for Sunday, March 2nd.

Coming up

Tangible Thusness in 2025: Following our practice theme for 2024, lineage and legacy, in 2025 we embark on an exploration we're calling Tangible Thusness, a deep investigation of the teachings of nyoho, or things done or made according to the dharma. Here at Sanshin, we sometimes put a lot of attention on seemingly-abstract teachings from the Buddha, Dogen, and our 20th century ancestors; Tangible Thusness is our opportunity to experience the truth of these teachings in our concrete, everyday lives.

Over three four-month segments, beginning this month with clothing, we'll explore each of the traditional three faces of nyoho (clothing, food, & shelter) in turn, seeing what we can learn about the specific face and also how we can apply those teachings throughout our practice life, in and out of the temple. LEARN MORE

Nyoho: The Dharma of Just This
(registration closing Tuesday, Jan 21)
A one-day workshop led by Koun Franz
Saturday, January 25th from 9 am - 5 pm

There is a tradition—within the Soto Zen tradition—called nyohō, a practice of exploring the dharma as it’s expressed through the material world around us. These teachings offer a way for us to touch, smell, taste, view, and hear the dharma—to hold it in our hands. They invite us not only to consider our practice in terms of the Buddha's original teachings but also to take creative responsibility for it in each moment.

Join Koun for a day which will frame our year of Tangible Thusness, exploring nyohō teachings and practice as a sangha throughout 2025. In-person and virtual participation is welcome.

Koun, who leads practice at Thousand Harbours Zen in Nova Scotia, has traveled to Bloomington to lead workshops at Sanshin a couple of times over the years, including one also focused on nyoho, and one examining Keizan Zenji's writing, Zazen Yojinki. Koun is also a member of the advisory committee for our Sawaki Nyoho-e Treasury.

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER by Tues, Jan 21st

Quiet February simplified practice schedule: During February and August at Sanshin, the regular practice schedule becomes quieter, less busy, and more focused on zazen. We let go of chanting services and Shobogenzo Zuimonki readings on weekday mornings, most Sunday dharma talks (which are replaced by one more period of zazen), and all evening practice activities. Keep an eye on our Schedules & Calendars page to see how regular practice activities shift next month.

Save-the-dates for Buddhist Essentials with Hoko:
From Shakyamuni to Sanshin
Six Wednesday evenings, March 5th - April 9th

This spring, Hoko will lead a six-part lecture and discussion series tracing the connections between foundational Buddhist teachings such as the Four Noble Truths and three marks of existence, through the development of Mahayana teachings and practice, and into the history of the Soto Zen tradition. We'll see how all of this underpins our day to day practice at Sanshin and beyond. The material is intended to be accessible and useful for all practitioners, whether beginner or experienced. Those just establishing their practice are especially encouraged to attend in order to gain a firm foundation for zazen, work, study and ritual going forward as members of the sangha.

Note that these sessions will replace our usual Wednesday evening dharma book discussions between March 5th and April 9th, and will allow extra time for Q&A, ending by 8:30 ET at the latest each evening. Virtual and in-person participation is welcome and encouraged.

Uchiyama Roshi memorial sesshin (Mar 6 - 9): Sesshin at Sanshin is an opportunity to practice zazen without distraction. We dedicate our March sesshin each year to the memory of Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, the teacher of our founder, Shohaku Okumura and author of the foundational book Opening the Hand of Thought. As he is one of the main shapers of our style of practice, we can't help but be grateful for his life and practice. He died on March 13, 1998. We will hold a brief memorial service following the usual Sunday morning zazen and dharma talk, given by Okumura Roshi himself.
LEARN MORE & REGISTER

Sanshin Network: New Year's greetings

“May this New Year be a time of Peace and Harmony, liberated from greed, hatred and ignorance... " From the eko (dedication) of the New Year's Greetings Ceremony on January 3rd, 2025 at Anshinji, Rome, Italy.

Soto Zen Colombia, founded by Densho Quintero.

A sangha greeter, sculpted by Masaki

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