Treeleaf Zen

Jundo Cohen: February 2009 Archives

Saturday February 28, 2009

Weekly 'SATURDAY LIVE FROM TREELEAF' Zazenkai Meditation

WARNING: THE SIGNAL FOR TODAY'S NETCAST CUTS OUT MIDWAY THROUGH ZAZEN. SO, PLEASE KEEP GOIN' ON YOUR OWN TODAY (SITTING TIME: 40 MINUTES), FOLLOWED BY KINHIN, VERSE OF ATONEMENT & FOUR VOWS

Please join our weekly "Live from Treeleaf" Zazenkai meditation ...

We start with 3 floor prostrations (or deep Gassho), then chant the Heart Sutra in ENGLISH (see below), then sit about 40 minutes of Zazen, then 10 minutes of Kinhin, closing with the chants of the "Verse of Atonement" and "Four Vows". Please join in, one and all.

TODAY'S SITTING IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF Andrew Symon, A FRIEND OF OUR SANGHA MEMBER TOM


Gassho, Jundo

(video below)

Friday February 27, 2009

Zazen Meditation with Jundo : Snowing

.

it is snowing

two poems by dogen zenji about the snow ... about sameness and difference ...


A snowy heron
on the snowfield
where winter grass is unseen
hides itself
in its own figure.


Snow is falling far and wide,
Each snowflake neither the very same nor completely different than the other ones;
Singing and dancing, they chase after each other,
Till the whole universe is made afresh with its new covering,
As the snow even conceals the moon and clouds,
And puts out the flame in our hearth;
All kinds of leaves and flowers respond differently to the cycles of the seasons,
Yet remain oblivious to the cold of night or the chill of winter--
So goes the preaching of the Dharma
By the pines in the valleys and the bamboos on the mountains.



I am sure that some of our Sangha members sitting with us in places like Sweden, Finland and Canada will laugh at what I consider a "snowfall"



(remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;
a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended)


To subscribe to "Treeleaf Zen" click here.

 





Thursday February 26, 2009

Zazen Meditation with Jundo : Flowing


We abandon all need for life to be as we would make it ... we drop all thoughts of purpose, goal, attainment and meaning ... we strip ourselves naked and jump into a river, abandoning all demands that the river carry us where we wish. We cease all struggles, judgments and insistences, casting out our arms and floating ... us at one with that river ... then, in perfect balance and union, all thought of "us" and "river" dropped away.

Then, where the current flows is just where we flow. Better said, there is just the flowing, carrying all where the waters will. By total yielding, all is now totally free.

But in my belief, some people have unrealistic expectations for Buddhism, thinking that one can maintain such states in all situations, in all times of life. I do not think it is so (just idealized old tales of long dead masters), nor need be so. Anyway, it is not true for us ordinary beings, the ones I know in this world.

Even the most gifted river swimmers among us will sometimes blink and cough and thrash around wildly when, from time to time, the water gets in the eyes and throat.

Yet, before we drown in panic and confusion, our training allows us to recover our balance, breathe smoothly and float once again.



(remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;
a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended)


To subscribe to "Treeleaf Zen" click here.

 





Wednesday February 25, 2009

Of Buddhas & Ordinary Beings (Bendowa V)


We'll talk about Buddhas and ordinary living beings ... living in one reality, yet conceiving and perceiving that fact so differently.




_____________________________

When you let go, the dharma fills your hands; it is not within the boundary of one or many. When you try to speak, it fills your mouth; it is not limited to vertical or horizontal. Buddhas continuously dwell in and maintain this dharma, yet no trace of conceptualization remains. Living beings constantly function in and use this dharrna, yet it does not appear in their perception. The wholehearted practice of the Way that I am talking about allows all things to exist in enlightenment and enables us to live out oneness in the path of emancipation. When we break through the barrier and drop off all limitations, we are no longer concerned with conceptual distinctions....

From: Talk on the Wholehearted Practice of the Way - Kosho Uchiyama (with Shohaku Okumura, Taigen Daniel Leighton)


When we let go, it has already filled the hands; how could it be defined as one or many? When we speak, it fills the mouth; it has no restriction in any direction. When buddhas are constantly dwelling in and maintaining this state, they do not leave recognitions and perceptions in separate aspects [of reality]; and when living beings are eternally functioning in this state, aspects [of reality] do not appear to them in separate recognitions and perceptions.' The effort in pursuing the truth6 that I am now teaching makes the myriad dharmas7 real in experience; it enacts the oneness of reality on the path of liberation. At that moment of clearing barriers and getting free, how could this paragraph be relevant? From: Bendowa - A Talk about Pursuing the Truth  - Nishijima-Cross




(remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;
a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended)


To subscribe to "Treeleaf Zen" click here.

 





Tuesday February 24, 2009

... Let Go ... (Bendowa IV)





When you let go, the dharma fills your hands ... no restriction in any direction ...




_____________________________

When you let go, the dharma fills your hands; it is not within the boundary of one or many. When you try to speak, it fills your mouth; it is not limited to vertical or horizontal. Buddhas continuously dwell in and maintain this dharma, yet no trace of conceptualization remains. Living beings constantly function in and use this dharrna, yet it does not appear in their perception. The wholehearted practice of the Way that I am talking about allows all things to exist in enlightenment and enables us to live out oneness in the path of emancipation. When we break through the barrier and drop off all limitations, we are no longer concerned with conceptual distinctions....

From: Talk on the Wholehearted Practice of the Way - Kosho Uchiyama (with Shohaku Okumura, Taigen Daniel Leighton)


When we let go, it has already filled the hands; how could it be defined as one or many? When we speak, it fills the mouth; it has no restriction in any direction. When buddhas are constantly dwelling in and maintaining this state, they do not leave recognitions and perceptions in separate aspects [of reality]; and when living beings are eternally functioning in this state, aspects [of reality] do not appear to them in separate recognitions and perceptions.' The effort in pursuing the truth6 that I am now teaching makes the myriad dharmas7 real in experience; it enacts the oneness of reality on the path of liberation. At that moment of clearing barriers and getting free, how could this paragraph be relevant? From: Bendowa - A Talk about Pursuing the Truth  - Nishijima-Cross




(remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;
a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended)


To subscribe to "Treeleaf Zen" click here.

 





Sunday February 22, 2009

Zazen Meditation with Jundo : Back On My Bike, Ready to Ride

After a couple of days' being knocked a bit off my seat ... we're back in the saddle again! (remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended) To subscribe to...

Saturday February 21, 2009

Weekly 'SATURDAY LIVE FROM TREELEAF' Zazenkai Meditation

[DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, TODAY'S ZAZENKAI IS PRE-RECORDED]Please join our weekly "Live from Treeleaf" Zazenkai meditation ...We start with 3 floor prostrations (or deep Gassho), then chant the Heart Sutra in ENGLISH (see below), then sit about 40 minutes...

Friday February 20, 2009

Zazen Meditation with Jundo : Still Off My Game

I'm still feeling quite off my game today. This thing in my life really knocked me for a loop. Some folks think that one is never ever supposed to have a bad day or days if one is a...

Thursday February 19, 2009

Zazen Meditation with Jundo : Even Buddhas Get the Blues

It is much easier to be at peace with a disaster or war on the other side of the world ...... than with the little troubles in one's own home or family. The people we are closest to, and...

Wednesday February 18, 2009

Practice Makes Perfect (Bendowa III)

You are already perfectly you, and life is already perfectly life ... ... but it's not a matter of merely saying so. _____________________________ Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes;...

Tuesday February 17, 2009

Jijuyu Zanmai (Bendowa II)

Continuing with Master Dogen's Shobogenzo Bendowa ... Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 I would like to talk a bit more about Jijuyu zanmai, "the samadhi, the Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4...

Monday February 16, 2009

Zazen ... Supreme Perfect Enlightenment Attained! (Bendowa I)

We begin our series of talks on Master Dogen's Shobogenzo Bendowa ... Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0pt; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New...

Saturday February 14, 2009

Weekly 'SATURDAY LIVE FROM TREELEAF' Zazenkai Meditation

[DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, TODAY'S RECORDING IS A REPLAY]Please join our weekly "Live from Treeleaf" Zazenkai meditation ...We start with 3 floor prostrations (or deep Gassho), then chant the Heart Sutra in ENGLISH (see below), then sit about 40...

Friday February 13, 2009

Zazen Meditation with Jundo : High Anxiety!

Today's subject is "sitting with Anxiety" ...  Is it true that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" ??(and thank you very much to all the folks who wrote to ask about my son Leon. He...

Thursday February 12, 2009

Zazen Meditation with Jundo : The Sick Child Sutra

I was going to start a series of talks yesterday on an old Zen writing ... Master Dogen's Bendowa (sometimes called "A Talk about Pursuing the Truth") ...But our son, Leon, started throwing up at 4am ... and I've been...

Tuesday February 10, 2009

Zazen for Beginners (We're All Beginners) XIV - Words & Letters

Zen is sometimes described as "A special transmission outside the scriptures, not relying on words or letters." Yet historians of Zen Buddhism almost unanimously agree these days that the 'Zen way' rarely, if ever, left the words and letters...

Monday February 9, 2009

Zazen Meditation with Jundo : A Zen Monk in Love ...

Well, it is nearly Valentine's Day, and love is in the air ...A few days ago I spoke about how most "Zen Monks" in Japan marry:MARRIED MONKand today you will meet this monk's "better half"!!What is a Zen Buddhist...

Saturday February 7, 2009

February 4-Hour 'Live from Treeleaf' Zazenkai!

Hi,Please join our FEBRUARY MONTHLY 4-hour 'Live from Treeleaf' ZAZENKAI, recorded in "real time" and available at the following link:ZAZENKAI Remember, when we drop all thought of 'here' 'there' 'now' and 'then' ... we are sitting all together!I have a...

Friday February 6, 2009

Zazen Meditation with Jundo: 'No Time' Like The Present (REDUX)

I BELIEVE WE FIXED THE SOUND  FROM YESTERDAY [THERE WAS NO SOUND!]. So, today I will talk a second time about 'no time' ...Let's taste some other ways that Zen teachers, like 'ol Master Dogen, have looked at time...

Wednesday February 4, 2009

Zazen Meditation with Jundo: What will be will be ...

Continuing our discussion of time ... we go back to the future ... What's a Zen 'approach' to the future?  Well, again, we experience the future many ways at once!Today's sitting is dedicated to Chan Master Sheng Yen, who...

Tuesday February 3, 2009

Zazen Meditation with Jundo: The Past is Past

How do Zen Buddhists experience the 'past' ?Well, we let the sad times be sad times, the happy times be happy, the painful moments painful, the joys joyful ... each moment just what it was. We don't run from...

Monday February 2, 2009

Zazen Meditation with Jundo: In the Moment?

Here's the incredible medical case of H.M. ..._____________________________He knew his name. That much he could remember.He knew that his father's family came from Thibodaux, La., and his mother was from Ireland, and he knew about the 1929 stock market crash...

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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.

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