Sangha News for January 2022

1/14/2022

Sitting with Eyes Open in the Flames of the World

Dōgen’s Chinese Poems (49)
Sitting with Eyes Open in the Flames of the World

Shohaku Okumura

The buddha ancestors transmit zazen facing the wall,
Which is not the same as the meditation of the two vehicles or those out-side the way.
The eye that sees before anything happens can open before anything happens,
Just like the lotus blossom in flames in the twelfth month.

Rujing said that because of their compassion, buddha-ancestors practice zazen within the world of desire. Dōgen expresses this same zazen as a lotus blossom in flames. “In flames” refers to the burning house of samsara, the world of desire. As a bodhisattva, we don’t escape from the burning house, but practice zazen right there. This is an expression of no-abiding nirvāṇa (mujūsho nehan, 無住処涅槃) of bodhisattvas, who do not stay in samsara because of wisdom but do not enter nirvāṇa because of compassion.

In our zazen we don’t negate our discriminative thinking. Samsara is still there, but we just let thoughts come and go without grasping, fighting against, or eliminating them. We don’t take any action based on them. The thoughts are not “my” thoughts as objects of my mind. READ MORE

In This Issue:

Okumura Roshi: Sitting with eyes open in the flames of the world
Practice recap: January sesshin
Other news: Event coordinator hired; secure storage space needed for valuable tapes; fund appeal -- it's not too late
Coming up: Introduction to Dogen retreat, March sesshin, Experiencing Zen
Sanshin Network: New Year greetings from Colombia

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Practice recap

January sesshin: Eight people braved bitterly cold winter temperatures to participate in person in some or all of the year's first practice event. Practitioners sat for three days in complete silence, shared communal meals, and were joined by the rest of the regular sangha on Sunday for Okumura Roshi's dharma talk.

Other news

Event coordinator hired: Doju Layton has become Sanshin's event coordinator, with responsibilities for providing logistical support for genzo-e and other practice events. He will also be taking on some of the administrative work previously carried out by Hoko; she'll be redirecting that time to teaching and writing. In addition to his new staff responsibilities, Doju will continue to carry out his activities related to groundskeeping and environmental sustainability, welcoming and orienting new practitioners, and his own training as a novice. This spring he will also being teaching Sanshin's Experiencing Zen course within Ivy Tech Community College's continuous learning program. Learn more about Doju here and here.

Secure storage space needed for valuable tapes: One of the primary activities of the Dōgen Institute is looking after Sanshin's digital and physical archives. Our digital archives are stored away safely on the cloud, but we're now looking for storage space for our physical archives. These physical archives include one-of-a-kind recordings of lectures by Okumura Roshi on cassette tape as well as recordings of his teacher, Uchiyama Roshi. Over the years, the Dōgen Institute has worked to raise money and convert these recordings from cassette to digital files in order to preserve them safely, but even after the conversion the original tapes still need to be stored somewhere.

Those who have visited Sanshin in person will already be aware that space is at a premium on the campus. We're looking for a sangha member who would be willing to store these tapes in a safe, dry, controlled environment until such time as Sanshin Zen Community has a larger library and/or an agreement with a larger institution for their storage. If you are willing to consider storing these 6 to 8 banker's boxes full of tapes, please contact David Thompson.

Fund appeal: it's not too late! Sanshin's fund appeal will wrap up soon, but there's still time to make a gift of financial support, whether on a one-time or monthly basis. With your generous support, we have maintained a robust virtual practice community while reopening our temple to local practitioners. Gifts to our sangha have also enabled us to engage in study and practice through in-person and virtual retreats and to spread the dharma by supporting the works of clergy and friends. For complete information and to make your donation, please go here. If you've already done so, thank you so much!

Coming up

Introduction to Dogen retreat with Hoko: Dogen's writings are a lifetime study, and one introductory weekend isn't nearly enough to prepare participants to study the Shobogenzo on their own. However, this retreat introduces basic elements of Dogen's teaching and provides some grounding in the major themes, the structure of his writing and awareness of the texts he found influential. While this retreat is not a prerequisite for genzo-e participation, those aspiring to participate in such study may find it helpful. More information about in-personal participation for local practitioners and virtual participation for others is here.

March sesshin in honor of Uchiyama Roshi (10 - 13): Uchiyama Roshi's memorial day is March 13. We will sit in recognition of the very important role our founder's teacher has played in the development of the practice we carry out at Sanshin today. More information about in-personal participation for local practitioners and virtual participation for others is here.

Experiencing Zen: An Introduction to the Basics (begins April 4, 7 pm): We'll explore what Zen Buddhism is really all about, beginning with the central ideas of Buddhism itself and moving on to the teachings and practices particular to its Zen form. Class will include instruction in sitting practice (zazen) and walking practice (kinhin), as well as plenty of time for questions and discussion. Enthusiastic participants in this class from previous years went on to form a zazen/book discussion group that is still meeting today. Class is taught by Doju Layton at Ivy Tech Community College. Complete information is here.