He's ok now it seems ... but, man, it was a rough night ...
Pardon if the talk is a little sleepy tonight ... my wife and I are bushed!
(remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;
Treeleaf Zen
Monday July 6, 2009
Zazen in the ER (for our son)
Spent the evening in the emergency room for our son ... sudden 40C/104F fever ...
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Add to StumbleUponSaturday July 4, 2009
Our July 4-Hour 'Live' Zazenkai Netcast
Please join our JULY MONTHLY 4-hour 'Live from Treeleaf' ZAZENKAI, recorded in "real time" and available at the following links:
00:00 - 00:50 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA / SANDOKAI) & ZAZEN
00:50 - 01:00 KINHIN
01:00 - 01:40 ZAZEN
01:40 - 01:50 KINHIN
Remember, when we drop all thought of 'here' 'there' 'now' and 'then' ... we are sitting all together!The recording is divided into 2 parts as follows (click on the blue link) :
00:00 - 00:50 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA / SANDOKAI) & ZAZEN
00:50 - 01:00 KINHIN
01:00 - 01:40 ZAZEN
01:40 - 01:50 KINHIN
ZAZENKAI PART I
01:50 - 02:30 DHARMA TALK & ZAZEN
02:30 - 02:40 KINHIN
02:40 - 03:20 ZAZEN
03:20 - 03:30 KINHIN
02:30 - 02:40 KINHIN
02:40 - 03:20 ZAZEN
03:20 - 03:30 KINHIN
Our Zazenkai consists of our chanting the 'Heart Sutra' and the 'Identity of Relative and Absolute (Sandokai)' in English (please download our Chant Book at the link below), some full floor prostrations (please follow along with me ... or a simple Gassho can be substituted if you wish), a little talk by me ... and we close with the 'Metta Chant', followed at the end with the 'Verse of Atonement' and 'The Four Vows'.
I SUGGEST THAT YOU POSITION YOUR ZAFU
ON THE FLOOR IN A PLACE WHERE YOU ARE NOT STARING DIRECTLY AT THE
COMPUTER SCREEN, BUT CAN GLANCE OVER AND SEE THE SCREEN WHEN NECESSARY.
YOUR ZAFU SHOULD ALSO BE IN A POSITION WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE COMPUTER
SCREEN WHILE STANDING IN FRONT OF THE ZAFU FOR THE CEREMONIES.
ALSO, REMEMBER TO SET YOUR COMPUTER (& SCREEN SAVER) SO THAT IT DOES NOT SHUT OFF DURING THE 4 HOURS.
Please join in, one and all.
Gassho, Jundo
Friday July 3, 2009
As Buddhas Do, So Should You
Though every action may be said to be "Zazen" in its limitless meaning ... whether walking, standing, running, sitting or reclining ...
... there's something special about Zazen seated in the cross-legged position.
One reason is that it can be a position of ease and balance ...
... but also, since it is what all the Buddhas do ... so should me and you.
_____________________________
Question Six:
Q. [Someone asks], Among the four different postures (walking, standing, sitting, lying down), why does Buddhism encourage entering realization through meditation only in sitting?
A. It is not possible to thoroughly comprehend the path by which the buddhas from the past, one after another, have been practicing and entering realization. If you seek a reason, you must know that it is only because [sitting] is what has been used by Buddhist practitioners, and beyond this you do not need to search. However, the Ancestor [Nagarjuna] praises it, saying "Zazen is the dharma gate of ease and delight (nirvana)." So, couldn't we infer that it is because [sitting] is the most stable and peaceful of the four postures? Moreover, this is not the path of practice of one or two buddhas, but all buddhas and ancestors follow this path.
From: Talk on the Wholehearted Practice of the Way - Kosho Uchiyama (with Shohaku Okumura, Taigen Daniel Leighton)
(remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;
Thursday July 2, 2009
The Freedom of Doing Without
I would like to recommend another small daily practice that can fit into any life ...
... voluntarily, each day, doing without something desired.
(remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;
Tuesday June 30, 2009
Whattsa Who'sa Bodhisattva? - The Virtue of Meditation
On Today's "Top Ten" Countdown of the "Pure Virtues of the Bodhisattva" ...
... we come to No. 5 ... Meditation .. Dhyana ...
(not to be confused with the 50's song 'Diana' ...
Hold me, darling, ho-ho hold me tight
Squeeze me baby with-a all your might
Oh, please stay by me, Diana
Oh, please, Diana
Oh, please, Diana
Oh, please, Diana)
Anyway, we spoke about this just a few days ago, in looking at Master Dogen's 'Bendowa" ... how 'Zazen' may thus appear to be well down the list ... just one of many Buddhist practices ...
... but is better seen as the very center of all ... Zazen as the heart & foundation of the Bodhisattva Virtues.
Zazen is the spindle which makes the whole record spin, baby!
(for those old folks who remember 'records')
... change that tune!
Like that song says ...
You and I will be as free
As the birds up in the trees
... Dhyana
(for those old folks who remember 'records')
And if you think too that Zazen's just some narrow form of 'meditation' ... a little tool, bit of a mind trip, some one hit wonder ...
... change that tune!
Like that song says ...
You and I will be as free
As the birds up in the trees
... Dhyana
(remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;
Monday June 29, 2009
Zazen in the MRI Machine
I had my annual physical today, the way they do it in Japan. (Wow, I hope my fellow Americans soon get a national health insurance system like they have here in Japan ... let's just say that there is...
Saturday June 27, 2009
Join our Weekly 'SATURDAY LIVE FROM TREELEAF' Real-Time Zen Meditation
Please join our weekly "Live from Treeleaf" Zazenkai meditation ...However, for technical reasons, today's sitting has been pre-recorded.We start with 3 floor prostrations (or deep Gassho), then chant the Heart Sutra in ENGLISH (see below), then sit about 40...
Friday June 26, 2009
A Wordless Smile (and Celestial Beings too)
(BENDOWA XXXVI)Master Dogen upheld Zazen ... not only as one Buddhist Practice among many Buddhist practices ... but as ... THE Buddhist Practice. I think Dogen can make a good case for his assertion being right. Zazen is what...
Thursday June 25, 2009
There Is No 'Zen Sect' !!
(BENDOWA XXXV)We have been looking in recent days at the "Perfections of the Bodhisattva" ... one of which is said to be "meditation" (along with practicing charity, keeping the Precepts etc.). "So", the questioner asks, "since all Buddhists traditionally...
Wednesday June 24, 2009
Whattsa Who'sa Bodhisattva? - The Virtue of Effort
Last time, in our discussion of the Ten Pure Virtues or "Perfections" (Paramitas) of the Bodhisattva path ... we talked about "Patience" ...... and today we will talk about the Perfection of Effort and Diligence (Virya Paramita).All the perfections...
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About Treeleaf Zen
Jundo Cohen is a Soto Zen Priest and founder and teacher of the Treeleaf Zendo--a Zen sangha (community) located in Tsukuba, Japan. Jundo was ordained in 2002 and subsequently received Dharma Transmission from Master Gudo Wafu Nishijima. He is a member of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association and American Zen Teachers Association . His blog, Treeleaf Zen, was designed specifically for Zen practitioners who cannot easily commute to a Zen Center due to health concerns, living in remote areas, or childcare and family needs.
On Treeleaf Zen, Jundo provides Zazen sittings, guided meditation, retreats, discussion, interaction with a teacher, and all other activities of a Zen Buddhist sangha, all fully online. Members now sit in over 20 countries. The focus is Shikantaza "Just Sitting" Zazen, as instructed by the 13th Century Japanese Master, Eihei Dogen.
More on Jundo...
On Treeleaf Zen, Jundo provides Zazen sittings, guided meditation, retreats, discussion, interaction with a teacher, and all other activities of a Zen Buddhist sangha, all fully online. Members now sit in over 20 countries. The focus is Shikantaza "Just Sitting" Zazen, as instructed by the 13th Century Japanese Master, Eihei Dogen.
More on Jundo...
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