Sangha News for October 2023

10/15/2023

In gratitude to my father

Shohaku Okumura

Dōgen’s Chinese Poems (70)

363. Dharma Hall Discourse for the Memorial for My Nurturing Father, Counselor of State Minamoto

Eihei’s staff is a branch of plum blossoms.

It is from a seed planted in the Tenryaku era,
but the fragrance of its five petals endures without fading up to the present.
Its roots, stems, and fruit are truly
far-reaching

Dōgen gave this verse on the anniversary of his father Minamoto Michitomo’s death, the 2nd day of the 9th month in 1250. Dōgen Zenji did not talk or write much about his family. We don’t even have reliable information about the identities of his father and mother. This verse and another in 1252 (discourse 524) were given on the occasion of the memorial service for his father Minamoto Michitomo (源通具, 1171–1227). Dōgen also gave Dharma hall discourses for his mother: Dharma hall discourse 409 in 1251 and discourse 478 in 1252. His father is mentioned only by his family name and the name of the highest position his father occupied in the imperial court, asō (亜相, assistant minister). Asō is a Chinese name for the Japanese term dainagon (大納言). We translated the position as “Counselor.” In this discourse, Dōgen calls Michitomo “ikufu (育父),” meaning “nurturing father.” From the time of Menzan’s work in the eighteenth century until recently, many scholars thought that Michitomo’s father Michichika (通親, 1149–1202) was Dōgen’s real father, and that Michitomo fostered Dōgen after Michichika died, when Dōgen was two years old. Today many scholars think that Michitomo was indeed his Dōgen’s real father. READ MORE

In This Issue:

Okumura Roshi: In gratitude to my father
Practice recap: Work day, Hoko's visits, Okumura Roshi in Pennsylvania
Coming up: Virtual dharma study intensive, Rohatsu sesshin
American religious landscape: Religion and wellbeing
Sanshin Network: News from California, Colombia, Arkansas, France, Austria and Italy

Are we reaching you?

Do we have the best and most current contact information for you? If you've changed your e-mail address or moved to a new place of residence, or if we've never had complete information about how to reach you, it's time to update your record. Please take a moment to go here to send us the contact information you'd like us to use. We'll check it against your current record and update as needed. Don't miss any of the upcoming communications from Sanshin -- update your info today!

Practice recap

Work days: In September, completed tasks included taking down two trees and the viburnum bush in the front yard; assembling two small flat-pack tables for the zendo to replace the very wobbly ones in use for talks and ceremonies; installing a motion-detector light in the changing room; and continuing bamboo removal and processing. This month, practitioners took down two more trees on Sanshin property, a dead cherry at the rear north side and a tree that was leaning heavily on the northside front fence. They also completed removal of the bamboo grove.

Hoko's visits: Hoko gave a Saturday morning virtual talk on non-reliance and the basics of Sanshin style for Great Tree Zen Women's Temple in Asheville, NC as the first talk in a series on our anniversary book, Adding Beauty to Brocade. The video recording is here. She also went to St. Paul to attend a workshop on various robe-related activities led by Shosan Austin from San Francisco Zen Center.

Okumura Roshi in Pennsylvania: Okumura Roshi is in Pittsburgh for the weekend, participating in his last sesshin with Stillpoint, a lay practice group.

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.

Rohatsu sesshin (November 30 - December 8): Rohatsu sesshin marks Shakyamuni's awakening under the bodhi tree. On the final evening we sit until midnight and hold a brief chanting service. This is our longest and most intensive sesshin of the year. LEARN MORE

Visit our Schedules and Calendars page for information on all upcoming events.

American religious landscape

Religion and wellbeing: Recent studies about the role and effect of religion in people's lives have uncovered a paradox. While fewer and fewer people in many parts of the world say they are religious, scholarship is showing the potentially positive effects of faith on wellbeing in a time of heightened negative emotions. According to Gallup, "Factors that may be behind this seeming paradox are lack of awareness of the faith-wellbeing relationship; generational influences; “othering” -- viewing/treating a person or group of people differently from oneself; religious polarization; and the evolution of religious practice."

Religious people report better experiences in these areas:

Positive Experience Index (experienced enjoyment, smiled/laughed a lot, treated with respect, learned something, felt well-rested)
Social Life Index (satisfied with opportunity to meet people and make friends, have people you can call on if in trouble)
Optimism Index (rate life in five years highly, standard of living getting better, local economy getting better)
Community Basics Index (everyday life in a community, including environment, housing and infrastructure)

LEARN MORE

Sanshin Network

Shotai's passing: Shotai de la Rosa, one of the founders of the Soto Zen community in Bogota, passed away in late September from a heart attack. She was at Metta Forest Monastery in California at the time. She became a Zen Buddhist in 1989 and from the 1990s onwards she first studied Zen under Dokusho Villalba (Spain) and Fausto Taiten Guareshiin (Italy), then in the USA and finally at the Aichi Senmon Niso-doin, Nagoya, Japan.

New novice and training temple: In Colombia, Densho has conducted novice ordination ceremonies for Mugai Ovalle. He joins seven other dharma descendants, some of whom are training in Japan or have completed transmission. Densho further reports, "We also received a land, on loan, and we are planning to establish a training monastery. It will take a while, but we will start casting the bonsho for the temple and celebrating a ceremony for the opening."

South America to middle America: Jakusho from Venezuela completed his temporary residency at Sanshin and spent a week practicing with Shoryu at Gyobutsuji in Arkansas before heading home. Hoko drove him there from Indiana so that he could see a bit of middle America and the Ozark mountains.

The fruit of practice in France: Shoju Mahler has planted a persimmon tree long years ago in the garden of Zendo L’Eau Vive / Hosuiji in France to honor Uchiyama Roshi's teaching „Practice and Persimmons“. The persimmon takes a long, patient, caring time to ripen into sweetness. Shoju and Jinryu Wachowitz, a novice in the Sanshin lineage from Germany, share the small but very sweet persimmon fruit during Jinryu's one month practice time at Hosuiji.

Interfaith Panel Discussion on Contemplative Care in Vienna: Koryu and Shinko from Vienna recently translated and published “Contemplative Care”, the German edition of “The Arts of Contemplative Care”, a standard textbook on Buddhist chaplaincy. Instead of a “classic” book launch event, their NGO “1000 Hände” organized an interfaith panel discussion. Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Buddhist Chaplains, who work in prisons, hospitals, and hospices, discussed the topic: “How Can We Help in Times of Crisis?” Both the panelists and audience, in person and online, engaged in lively discussions. What is the difference between chaplaincy and psychotherapy? Is spiritual and religious support seen as important in today’s secular European world? Is it okay to get paid for chaplaincy? Two hours were hardly enough to plunge into the depths of many of these issues, so a follow-up event will be organized in Spring 2024.

“Words of Awakening”: English Lecture on Dharanis on Zoom and in Vienna in October: On October 21st and 22nd, Daijihi Vienna will invite Spanish dharma teacher Rev. Aigo Castro, MA, to give a lecture on the origin, history, and practical aspects of Dharani. Dharanis are chanted on a daily basis in Zen centers all around the world, yet practitioners are often unaware of their meaning. Rev. Aigo Castro, who speaks Sanskrit, Chinese, and Japanese, will share his vast knowledge about the meaning and practical applications of dharani, from pre-Vedic times to present-day Japan and the West. We know from experience that Aigo’s lectures are very detailed and informative, and his lively and engaging way of delivering them makes it easy to listen closely and absorb the knowledge.

The seminar is suitable for both Buddhist practitioners of all traditions and people with a scholarly interest in East Asian cultural and religious history. Aigo will give his lecture in English, Koryu will translate consecutively into German. The event will be live streamed online via Zoom. You can buy a ticket here (30€), and we will send the Zoom link via email. For more details, visit Daijihi (EN) and watch our video teaser trailer (with English subtitles).

Italians honor Keizan: Centro Zen Anshin representatives attended Sotoshu's 700th memorial observances for Keizan Zenji in Paris. Keizan Zenji is considered one of the two founders of Soto Zen.

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