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Sangha News for June 2023

6/15/2023

 

The fire boy

Shohaku Okumura
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Dōgen’s Chinese Poems (66)
A Fire Boy’s Dedicated Play
299.  Dharma Hall Discourse in Appreciation of the Previous Director

The fire boy comes seeking fire.
With complete dedication, do not stop when you have only seen the smoke.
Play with the golden star (Venus), manifesting so brightly.
A December plum blooms colorfully on the tip of an old branch.


The position of the director is the highest among all temple administrators, and has the overall responsibility for temple affairs. The person appointed to this position must be a capable and experienced monk. Xuanze was such a person, but during the three years since joining Fayan’s monastery, he had never attended dharma gatherings such as dharma hall discourses (jōdō), minor gatherings (shōsan), etc. to listen to Fayan’s dharma teachings. He did not visit the abbot’s room to ask dharma questions. When asked the reason, Xuanze said that he had attained awakening when he practiced with another master in the past, therefore he did not need to listen to other teacher’s dharma teachings anymore.

Fayan asked with which saying he had attained awakening. According to Xuanze, he asked his previous teacher “What is the self of this student [Xuanze himself]?” Then the teacher said, “The fire boy comes seeking fire.”  READ MORE

In This Issue:
  • Okumura Roshi: The fire boy
  • News: Platinum Celebration updates; goodbye to 1708; Sanshin leaders at Sotoshu anniversary events
  • Practice recap: June sesshin; Jinryu makes virtual classroom visit
  • Coming up: Shuso ceremonies; precepts retreat; save the date for virtual November dharma study retreat
  • Sanshin Network: Zuise completed; New Sanshin Network collaborative book

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Platinum Anniversary Celebration Updates

Weekend of June 23, 2023 recognizing:
  • Sanshin's 20th anniversary
  • Shohaku Okumura making a transition from abbot to founding teacher
  • Yuko Okumura stepping back as Sanshin's main dharma ​sewing teacher
  • Hoko taking leadership of the day-to-day practice
  • Release of new Sanshin Network collaborative book Adding Beauty to Brocade on the teachings of the Bodaisatta Shishobo.

Sanshin's 20th anniversary celebration will give our community the chance to connect, greet old and new friends, reflect on twenty years of practice, and look ahead to Sanshin's future.  Below you'll find the schedule of events for the weekend and more information on the presenters and activities as well as the tools for entering the drawing for artwork by Mayumi Oda and sponsoring a congratulatory message in the printed program.
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In person event registration has closed. Virtual attendance does not require registration.  We will post virtual attendance information on the Platinum and virtual practice pages before the events begin. 
Thank you for your participation!
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Visit the Platinum Celebration webpage for the latest information on:
  • Platinum Celebration event schedule
  • Friday concert conversation with Yael Weiss and 32 Bright Clouds​
  • Saturday morning panel discussion: Sanshin Past and Future
  • Introducing the Sanshin Network's new collaborative book Adding Beauty to Brocade
  • ​History and Future of Sanshin Style Kesa Sewing Practice with Yuko Okumura
  • Questions about the Platinum Celebration?
  • Venues for our Platinum Celebration activities
  • Drawing for art piece by Mayumi Oda
  • Sponsor a message in the printed program
  • FAQ
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News

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Goodbye to 1708:  Sanshin will be moving out of its rental facility (1708), next to its main building (1726), in mid-July.  The funds now going toward the monthly rent will be redirected to other areas of the operation as the board of directors continues its work to ensure Sanshin's financial sustainability.  Over the years, 1708 has served as a short-term guest facility, a storage space, the kitchen and meals area for sesshin and retreat, a workshop space for robe sewing retreats, a meeting area, and, most recently, housing for three residential practitioners.  

Giving up 1708 means putting Sanshin's fledgling residential practice on pause for awhile, since there is nowhere else on campus for residents to live.  Camping in the yard or sleeping in the zendo during sesshin and retreats will still be possible.  Meals during sesshin and retreat will be taken in the zendo using oryoki, and Sanshin has begun production on an orientation video that explains how that works in our particular style and space.
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Without residents, carrying out practice and programs will fall mainly to staff, which consists of one full time and one part time employee.  The significant drop in available human resources will result in fewer practice activities for at least the next year.  Our schedule and calendars page will always have the latest and best information about what's happening at Sanshin.

Sanshin's board is working with consultant Norma Fogelberg to create a fundraising team that will launch its training and work in July.  Three projects requiring major expenditures will be necessary for Sanshin to meet its strategic goals:  acquiring a new home for the Okumuras, renovating the existing facility at 1726, and hiring additional staff.  This will be a meaningful time to step back, reevaluate, set priorities, increase Sanshin's sustainability, and determine a direction for the future.


Sanshin leaders at Sotoshu anniversary events:  Okumura Roshi, Hoko, shuso Shinko Hagn, board member Zuiko Redding, and Shoryu Bradley were part of recent large-scale events at Sotoshu North America in Los Angeles.  Seven ceremonies over three days recognized Sotoshu's 100th anniversary in North America and the 700-year memorial for Keizan Jokin, considered one of the founders of Sotoshu.  Okumura Roshi and Zuiko served as gosendoshi, Shoryu and Hoko returned as ino, and Shinko absorbed as much as he could and made a number of useful contacts for himself.  While the ceremonies were less complex than the last round in November, they were on a larger scale and included some very high-ranking clergy from Japan.  Okumura Roshi and Zuiko were called up to the platform for individual recognition by the head of Sotoshu in Japan for their many years of service to the dharma in North America.  Hoko was taken under the wings of the two high-ranking baika teachers from Japan, who invited her to sing with them whenever she wasn’t up on the platform serving as ino.
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Practice recap

June sesshin:  Eight practitioners sat together for five days, the final sesshin to make use of the kitchen and meals area at 1708.  Four participants were from out of town, and two were first-timers.  Our next sesshin is August 31 - September 3.

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Jinryu makes virtual classroom visit:  A Japanese language instructor from IU asked for a Sanshin representative to spend virtual time with her 30 summer program students.  Residential practitioner Jinryu, who is here from Germany, took on the challenge of introducing Zen by computer in English.  She taught zazen, answered questions, and helped the class discuss the concept of ichigo ichie, or the once-in-a-lifetime encounter,

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Coming up

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Shuso ceremonies:  Sanshin will mark the ending of the ango and the end of Shinko's term as shuso with the usual ceremonies  Everyone is welcome to participate, either in person or online.  Shinko has chosen a case from the Shoyoroku, or Book of Serenity, for this ango, and Konjin Godwin, Director of the Soto Zen Buddhism International Center in San Francisco, will talk about it during the honsoku gyocha (June 17, 7 pm).  Shinko will answer formal questions about it from the sangha during the shuso hossen (June 18, 10 am).  A potluck lunch will follow; please contact us ASAP if planning to attend.  Go to our ango page for the complete case and other information.


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Precepts retreat with Hoko (July 4 - 9):  This retreat focuses on the study of the sixteen bodhisattva precepts that Buddhists receive as guidelines for living a life of practice.  The daily schedule includes zazen, lectures, work practice and silent meals, and a precepts ceremony (jukai-e) is held during the last day of the retreat, during which those receiving the precepts will make their vows and receive a dharma name and a rakusu, or small robe, which they have sewn beforehand.  Learn more here.


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Save the date for November virtual dharma study retreat:  Plans are underway for Dogen Institute to sponsor Okumura Roshi’s virtual ten-day dharma study retreat in November 2023.  This once-a-year event is meant as a successor to Okumura Roshi’s genzo-e retreats, which will no longer be held.  The format for this new retreat includes one morning lecture a day for ten days.  This format will provide a less strenuous schedule for Okumura Roshi as he transitions into the Founding Teacher role.  In November 2023, he plans to lecture on Dogen’s Shobogenzo fascicle “Zazenshin.”  Registration for online attendance will open sometime after mid-July.  In-person attendance will be restricted to support personnel.

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Sanshin Network

Zuise completed: Kyoku Lutz (Germany) and Mokusho Depreay (Belgium) have completed zuise at each of Sotoshu’s two head temples in Japan.  They are now authorized to fully function as recognized dharma teachers.  Zuise had been delayed for a number of Western teachers for several years because of the pandemic, so it’s good to finally close the loop on their credentialing process.

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New Sanshin Network collaborative book:  In this volume, sixteen teachers from around the network respond to Okumura Roshi's opening essay on Bodaisatta Shishobo (Four Embracing Actions of the Bodhisattva).  The official publication date of Adding Beauty to Brocade is Saturday, June 24 to coincide with our Platinum Celebration.  Order the print version through online resellers, such as Bookshop.org; your local bookseller may also be willing to special order copies of the book for you.  Print copies retail for $20.00 USD. An e-book version will be available on the Dōgen Institute’s podia site. The e-book version is provided as a non-printable PDF, and retails for $16.99 USD.

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Two practitioners from South America, Kyoku and Mokusho at Sojiji

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

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  • Home
  • Giving to Sanshin
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  • Schedules and calendars
  • About Sanshin Zen Community
  • FAQ
  • Resources for practice
  • Resources for small groups
  • Sangha News
  • Sanshin network
  • Contact