... meeting the unknown ...
(remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;
Jundo Cohen: August 2009 Archives
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A SPECIAL "LIVE FROM TREELEAF' Real-Time Zazenkai -- Celebrating the First Day of Our 100-Day ANGO!
Welcome to our Special "Live from Treeleaf" Zazen marking the FIRST DAY (although really without beginning or end) of our 100-DAY 'ANGO' PRACTICE SEASON
OUR ANGO SITTING NETCAST CAN BE VIEWED HERE (on Ustream)
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ABOVE LINK WAS BROKEN YESTERDAY, BUT IS NOW WORKING
We run a little long in time today, about 1 hour 20 minutes, as I want to talk a little about what Ango means.
More information on participating in our Ango at Treeleaf (it is never too late to hop in) is provided at LINK: ANGO
It is not too late to join in!
It is not too late to join in!
Master Dogen wrote "What is attentively maintained by all practicing buddhas, and what is thoroughly mastered by practicing buddhas is like this .... Although the everyday activities of practicing buddhas invariably allow buddhas to practice, practicing buddhas allow everyday activities to practice. This is to abandon your body for dharma, to abandon dharma for your body. This is to give up holding back your life, to hold on fully to your life".
Even buddhas practice buddha, and they do so as and amid everyday activities. Those events of daily life are the place of practice, and are just one's life. In everyday activities, the Teachings can be both learned and put into practice. Allowing life to be fully life.
Such will be the theme of this Ango ... practice in the homes, offices, factories, with the people and situations with whom we find our self in our everyday activities.
In keeping with the philosophy and path of practice here at Treeleaf ("life is our temple"), we will seek to obtain many of the same ... (and, I believe, quite a few additional and very special) ... fruits and lessons of a traditional Ango while sitting within the "monastery" of our day-to-day lives, jobs, problems, unending distractions and family responsibilities.
In doing so, I believe, we will have the opportunity to taste the sweetness (and sometime bitterness ... no one without the other) of concentrated Zen practice ...
The most important point to keep in mind is that those work duties at the office, daily problems and family responsibilities ARE THE PRACTICE PLACE as much as the Zafu (sitting cushion). The home kitchen is the temple kitchen, the office, store or factory is the garden when we practice Samu (work practice), etc. Each presents countless opportunities for practice, and for manifesting Wisdom and Compassion.
The purpose is not to overwhelm; it is to mutually work together through a period of dedicated practice. We will do our best each and every day, and let Zazen soak into our life. But key to that is consistency, not giving up, finding the time and not quitting.
I propose that Ango participants should commit (as best they can, given the circumstance of their lives) to as many of the following as possible. In all cases, the emphasis will be on increasing ... not raw quantity ... but the sincerity, commitment, vigor and seriousness of what we undertake:
Even buddhas practice buddha, and they do so as and amid everyday activities. Those events of daily life are the place of practice, and are just one's life. In everyday activities, the Teachings can be both learned and put into practice. Allowing life to be fully life.
Such will be the theme of this Ango ... practice in the homes, offices, factories, with the people and situations with whom we find our self in our everyday activities.
In keeping with the philosophy and path of practice here at Treeleaf ("life is our temple"), we will seek to obtain many of the same ... (and, I believe, quite a few additional and very special) ... fruits and lessons of a traditional Ango while sitting within the "monastery" of our day-to-day lives, jobs, problems, unending distractions and family responsibilities.
In doing so, I believe, we will have the opportunity to taste the sweetness (and sometime bitterness ... no one without the other) of concentrated Zen practice ...
The most important point to keep in mind is that those work duties at the office, daily problems and family responsibilities ARE THE PRACTICE PLACE as much as the Zafu (sitting cushion). The home kitchen is the temple kitchen, the office, store or factory is the garden when we practice Samu (work practice), etc. Each presents countless opportunities for practice, and for manifesting Wisdom and Compassion.
The purpose is not to overwhelm; it is to mutually work together through a period of dedicated practice. We will do our best each and every day, and let Zazen soak into our life. But key to that is consistency, not giving up, finding the time and not quitting.
I propose that Ango participants should commit (as best they can, given the circumstance of their lives) to as many of the following as possible. In all cases, the emphasis will be on increasing ... not raw quantity ... but the sincerity, commitment, vigor and seriousness of what we undertake:
- Add a minimum of 5 minutes per sitting to however long one's current sitting time, and commit to sit that time - at least daily - without missing a single day. As well, for those who can and whose schedule will realistically allow ... consider adding an additional full sitting period per day to however many times per day one is now sitting Zazen. Whatever your commitment, be realistic about what you can maintain ... and then (absent sheer impossibility) stick with it, without missing a single day
- Join in each and every 1-hour Saturday Treeleaf Zazenkai, and 4-hour monthly Treeleaf Zazenkai
- Add, if you can, Metta Verse Practice and Nurturing Seeds Practice to your routine each day.
- Listen, as possible, to each short (usually 5 minutes or so) 'Sit-a-Long' Talk (to be presented by Jundo and Taigu on this Treeleaf "Beliefnet" Blog) during the practice period, also all available in recorded form to meet your schedule. A special series of talks will be presented during the Ango period (we shall use Dogen's "Instructions for the Cook" Tenzokyokun, as well as other subjects. Necessary materials will be provided).
- Join frequently in online discussions in our Forum (LINK) of the content and Ango experiences, sharing the ups and downs and middles.
- If technically possible, commit to meet with Jundo or Taigu by Skype video at least once per month during the Ango.
- If simultaneously studying for Jukai, complete and participate in each of the readings and discussions each week regarding the individual Precepts, as well as complete Rakusu sewing.
- Make formal study on the meaning and philosophy of Samu (work practice, the central theme of Dogen's "Instructions for the Cook"), and apply such perspectives and attitudes in your family and work duties each day.
- Commit to give up one or two items or passions one truly loves during the Practice period, for example, sweets after meals, luxurious meals, cigarettes, television, consumer purchases of luxury items.
- Commit to mindful eating, and silently or orally recite one short meal chant (to be provided) before all meals.
- Commit a portion of your weekly income during the period to extra charitable donations (assuming you have the financial ability). I do not accept any "Dana" financial contributions for Treeleaf, as we now have sufficient resources for what we are doing. However, I do encourage people to make financial donations to charities that help folks, e.g., feeding the poor, finding a cure for a disease. Both donations and Samu work should be a bit beyond the point where it starts to hurt. If you have the time, consider extra volunteer activities in your community as well.
- Commit to sit our SPECIAL 2-DAY ROHATSU RETREAT (to be held online, currently scheduled for netcast the weekend of December 5 & 6) at the culmination of the Ango. Again, it would be good to participate "live", but all will be available in recorded form to fit schedules. The retreat will likely be similar to last year's schedule and content (LINK HERE):
And so, we support each other.
Gassho, Jundo
Gassho, Jundo
Friday August 28, 2009
Whattsa Who'sa Bodhisattva? - The Virtue of Skillful Means
We continue with our series on the Ten Pure Virtues or "Perfections" of a Bodhisattva ....
with Skillful Means (Upaya)
Historian and Soto Zen Priest Taigen Dan Leighton writes ...
Skillful
Means, upaya in Sanskrit ... is an essential
concept in Mahayana Buddhism. Skillful means, sometimes translated as tactfulness,
expedients, or ingenuity, is the practice of applying awakening teaching to the
diverse variety of students or practitioners. ...
The idea of skillful means became crucial to the adoption of Buddhist ideas into China, and thereafter in all of East Asia. Skillful means is fully expressed and elaborated in the Lotus Sutra, probably the most influential Buddhist text in East Asia. Several colorful parables depict aspects of skillful means. In the parable of the burning house, a man comes home to find his house in flames and his children playing inside. When he tells them to flee the house they refuse, as they would rather play with their toys. The father finally entices them from the house with descriptions of many colorful carriages waiting outside. They exit to find only one ox cart, symbolizing the One Vehicle of Buddha's Way that can carry everyone. The One Vehicle includes all the various skillful teachings for saving beings from the flames of worldly suffering. The sutra emphasizes that the father in the parable was not lying, as he lured the children from the burning house to save them. ...
The idea of many teachings and practices applied skillfully to the single aim of spiritual awakening is an appealing approach for a modern Western understanding of the sometimes confusing abundance of Buddhist schools. Moreover, skillful means might be a way of respecting the pluralism of all religious traditions in our contemporary global interconnectedness. All traditions may be equally respected for the value of their teachings as they apply to different peoples' particular approaches to ultimate religious truth, and to primary principles such as kindness and compassion. ...
The practice of skillful means reminds us to listen to others respectfully, honor their differences, and recognize that others may have different needs and benefit from different teachings and practices. Following the model of the bodhisattva of compassion, we must not self-righteously cling to any particular method. We can learn various useful approaches, and as we learn to trust and respond with whatever is at hand, our skillfulness can develop.
(from An Introduction to Skillful Means)
The idea of skillful means became crucial to the adoption of Buddhist ideas into China, and thereafter in all of East Asia. Skillful means is fully expressed and elaborated in the Lotus Sutra, probably the most influential Buddhist text in East Asia. Several colorful parables depict aspects of skillful means. In the parable of the burning house, a man comes home to find his house in flames and his children playing inside. When he tells them to flee the house they refuse, as they would rather play with their toys. The father finally entices them from the house with descriptions of many colorful carriages waiting outside. They exit to find only one ox cart, symbolizing the One Vehicle of Buddha's Way that can carry everyone. The One Vehicle includes all the various skillful teachings for saving beings from the flames of worldly suffering. The sutra emphasizes that the father in the parable was not lying, as he lured the children from the burning house to save them. ...
The idea of many teachings and practices applied skillfully to the single aim of spiritual awakening is an appealing approach for a modern Western understanding of the sometimes confusing abundance of Buddhist schools. Moreover, skillful means might be a way of respecting the pluralism of all religious traditions in our contemporary global interconnectedness. All traditions may be equally respected for the value of their teachings as they apply to different peoples' particular approaches to ultimate religious truth, and to primary principles such as kindness and compassion. ...
The practice of skillful means reminds us to listen to others respectfully, honor their differences, and recognize that others may have different needs and benefit from different teachings and practices. Following the model of the bodhisattva of compassion, we must not self-righteously cling to any particular method. We can learn various useful approaches, and as we learn to trust and respond with whatever is at hand, our skillfulness can develop.
(from An Introduction to Skillful Means)
(remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;
Wednesday August 26, 2009
The Dancers The Dance
(BENDOWA XLII)
In today's section of Bendowa, Master Dogen presents a rather philosophical argument (reprinted in full below) upholding the Buddha's rejection of the idea of a separate "soul" or "mind essence' which continues on, and is later reborn, after the body dies. He considers that a too simple, one-sided way to view things. It separates life into pieces.
I believe that what Master Dogen is describing may best be tasted by imagining all of reality as a Great Dance that has been ongoing with no seeming beginning, no visible end. All of us ... each being, the mountains, stars, wind and rain, all things and all events ... are part of this dance. We are all dancing together.
If we fail to see the "big picture", we see our own life as just a single dancer who steps on stage for a few years, moving here and there (sometimes tripping on our own feet, sometimes bumping into other dancers), all to disappear from the stage when we die.
Our main concern then (a view that fails to see the Big Picture, the WHOLE GRAND BALLET) may be to hope that, at best, we might get the chance merely to come back as another little clumsy dancer for a few more years.
Then, it is not a question of our worrying about whether our small, clumsy dancer 'self' will be reborn in the future as another small, clumsy dancer 'self' (that may or may not be so). It is just the dancing dancing ongoing dancing ... life-and-death just the great whirling, dancers entering and exiting ...
... all this one Great Dance.
His point is that body and mind are never separate ... and so we cannot say that one ends while the other does not. There is not a time, Master Dogen states, "when body and mind are one reality, and another
time when they are not one reality."
However, that does not mean, according to Dogen, that "it's over when it's over". Not in the least! If you think "it's over when it's over" ... then get over "you" now!
I believe that what Master Dogen is describing may best be tasted by imagining all of reality as a Great Dance that has been ongoing with no seeming beginning, no visible end. All of us ... each being, the mountains, stars, wind and rain, all things and all events ... are part of this dance. We are all dancing together.
If we fail to see the "big picture", we see our own life as just a single dancer who steps on stage for a few years, moving here and there (sometimes tripping on our own feet, sometimes bumping into other dancers), all to disappear from the stage when we die.
Our main concern then (a view that fails to see the Big Picture, the WHOLE GRAND BALLET) may be to hope that, at best, we might get the chance merely to come back as another little clumsy dancer for a few more years.
But, says Dogen, that is because we cannot see that we are not just little dancers ...
... dancing, unbroken, through all time. Wholly twirling and intertwined. The dance defined, created and made real, fully exerted, in each step by step we each and all make in this moment.
... WE ARE THE DANCE!
... dancing, unbroken, through all time. Wholly twirling and intertwined. The dance defined, created and made real, fully exerted, in each step by step we each and all make in this moment.
Then, it is not a question of our worrying about whether our small, clumsy dancer 'self' will be reborn in the future as another small, clumsy dancer 'self' (that may or may not be so). It is just the dancing dancing ongoing dancing ... life-and-death just the great whirling, dancers entering and exiting ...
... all this one Great Dance.
Thus, says Master Dogen in this section ...
... [We] should realize that living-and-dying is just nirvana;
[Buddhists] have never discussed nirvana outside of living-and-dying. ... Further, if we think that life and death are
something to get rid of [or be free of], we will [be guilty of hating] the Buddha-Dharma.
How could we not guard against this? Remember, the lineage of the Dharma which
[asserts that] "in the Buddha-Dharma the essential state of mind [Uchiyama:
the vast total aspect of mind essence] universally includes all forms,"
describes the whole great world of Dharma inclusively, without dividing essence
and form, and without discussing appearance and disappearance. There is no
[state] - not even [life and death and] bodhi or nirvana- that is different
from the essential state of mind. All dharmas, myriad phenomena and accumulated
things [all the myriad phenomena in the who universe], are totally just the one
mind, without exclusion or disunion [everything included and interconnected]. [The myriad things and phenomena]
are the even and balanced undivided mind, other than which there is nothing;
and this is just how Buddhists have understood the essence of mind. That being
so, how could we divide this one reality into body and mind, or into
life-and-death and nirvana? We are already the Buddha's disciples.
(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.
Here is the full text ...
Questions Ten ...
[Someone]
asks, "It has
been said that we should not regret our life and death," for there is a
very quick way to get free of life and death. That is, to know the truth that
the mental essence is eternal. In other words, this physical body, having been
born, necessarily moves toward death; but this mental essence never dies at
all.
Tuesday August 25, 2009
Bienvenue à Tenho
Rev. Tenho, a student and Dharma Heir of Jean-Marc, flew in today from France and is also visiting Treeleaf, Japan. I thought I would also let her introduce herself and lead the sit-a-long today.
If you would like to see a short video (in French language) of Jean-Marc's Zen Dojo in Lyon, this is a story from the TV news there ...
Merci, Tenho et Tenryu
If you would like to see a short video (in French language) of Jean-Marc's Zen Dojo in Lyon, this is a story from the TV news there ...
Merci, Tenho et Tenryu
(remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;
Monday August 24, 2009
'MONDAYS with TAIGU' - ANGO
This week, Rev. Taigu talks about ANGO, a special 100 day Practice Period, as we will begin at Treeleaf in a few days ...He writes: This is the text quoted in the following talk. It was given at the beginning...
Saturday August 22, 2009
Our SPECIAL 6-Hr Jean-Marc Bazy/Ango ZAZENKAI
WELCOME to our TREELEAF SPECIAL "ALL ONLINE" 6-HOUR ZAZENKAI with Jean-Marc "Tenryu" Bazy (founder and teacher of l'association zen Dogen Sangha de Lyon-Villeurbanne, France) ... ... recorded in "real time" and available "on demand" for sitting any time, any place,...
Filed Under: Guided Meditation, Jean-Marc Bazy, Meditation Techniques, Zazenkai, Zen Buddhist Meditation
Friday August 21, 2009
GOIN' TO AN ANGO ...
.THIS SATURDAY/SUNDAY (depending on location) ...... to "unofficially" kick off our ANGO season a little early ("officially" beginning August 29th) ...ANGO INFORMATION LINK... and to mark the visit to Treeleaf Tsukuba all this coming week of JEAN-MARC BAZY, a...
Wednesday August 19, 2009
Jump In, The Water's Fine
(BENDOWA XLI)Today, a message for so-called "armchair Buddhists" ... hesitant to get their feet wet ..._____________________________ 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;...
Tuesday August 18, 2009
Play Ball!
Continuing with Master Dogen's Bendowa ...(BENDOWA XL)So, let's say "enlightenment" is like baseball ... Dogen went around visiting a lot of baseball stadiums, meeting the players and coaches ... and here is what he learned about the playing of...
Monday August 17, 2009
'MONDAYS with TAIGU' - Shikantaza 1
.I am happy to annouce a new weekly feature on the 'sit-a-long' ... "MONDAYS with TAIGU" ... a talk each Monday by Rev. Taigu Turlur, teacher at the Treeleaf Sangha ...Welcome Taigu!Rev. Pierre Taigu Turlur (also know as "Kuma...
Saturday August 15, 2009
Join our Weekly 'SATURDAY LIVE FROM TREELEAF' Real-Time Zen Meditation
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,...
Friday August 14, 2009
OBON ! Remembering our Ancestors, Honoring the Living
.This week (actually, the holiday is in both July and August) is the major Japanese Buddhist holiday of Obon ... a time for remembering the deceased and our ancestors ...Here is the description by the Soto Zen headquarters in...
Wednesday August 12, 2009
ANNOUNCEMENT: ANGO! JUKAI!
No video today, but an ANNOUNCEMENT of our upcoming, "fully online" 100 day 'ANGO' ... as well as Precepts study and Rakusu sewing in preparation for our next 'JUKAI' (Undertaking the Precepts Ceremony, scheduled for January 2010) ... both resources...
Tuesday August 11, 2009
After The Storm
.Well, the typhoon passed, just a glance and a lot of rain here. Also, yesterday's earthquakes did no more than rattle the roof a bit.All is still, peaceful and the sky is blue once again!I like sunny days. But...
Monday August 10, 2009
Typhoon Comin'
There's a typhoon heading toward where we are in Eastern Japan tonight, and it is interfering with the internet ... so no video today ...However, please sit with me in the coming storm. Hopefully, in this practice, we learn to...
Saturday August 8, 2009
Our August 4-Hour 'Live' Zazenkai Netcast
Please join our AUGUST MONTHLY 4-hour 'Live from Treeleaf' ZAZENKAI, recorded in "real time" and available at the following links:The recording is divided into 2 parts as follows (click on the blue link) :00:00 - 00:50 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA...
Thursday August 6, 2009
Lava and Sea Zazen
.On our way back to Japan today ...But this morning had the great experience of going on a boat and heading out to sea before sunrise to witness something that can be seen few places in the world ......
Wednesday August 5, 2009
Zazen in Pahoa
.I am in Pahao, Big Island, Hawaii tonight ... great town, population 962 in the last census. Pretty much sitting right on top of Kilauea Volcano, which rips through this area with a flood of lava every few decades....
Monday August 3, 2009
On The Road
.Still on the road with my family ... today, in Volcano National Park A few Zazen tips for the traveler (remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended) To subscribe...
Saturday August 1, 2009
Join our Weekly 'SATURDAY (was once) LIVE FROM TREELEAF' Real-Time Zen Meditation
NOTE FROM JUNDO - I AM WITH MY FAMILY TODAY ON THE 'BIG ISLAND' OF HAWAII WITHOUT INTERNET ACCESS ... I HAVE COME TO LOOK AT LAVA POUR FROM THE EARTH. HOWEVER, THAT MEANS THAT TODAY's ZAZEN MUST BE...
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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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