Photograph by Kail Shanker
Photograph by Kail Shanker
Friday, December 21st, 2018
Edited by Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho
The White Wind Zen Community:
An international community practising and teaching Dogen’s Zen since 1985.
Each moment’s rising and falling away is what each moment is. There is no "moment" apart from arising and falling, coming and going. There is no moment "to which" arising and falling occurs. Rising does not give rise to some "thing" which is a moment, and falling away does not take some "thing" away. Time is just the three dimensions of space moving together with and within the fourth dimension of space; it is just space moving within space. Each moment of experience or dharma contains many experiences or dharmas all together as that moment of experience. Each and all are rising and falling, shining and turning.
There are many perspectives from which this coming and going can be understood or misunderstood, suffered or realized, recoiled from or practised as the turning and shining of the Wheel of Reality, the Horin.
In the following passages Dogen addresses issues that were relevant to how people commonly understood Bukkyo or the Buddhist Teachings not only in his own time in Kamakura era Japan but to how Buddhism is commonly practised and understood today. He provides a brief review of the paths of the sravakas and the pratyekabuddhas which are both aspects of the Hinayana and the bodhisattva path which is the Mahayana.
Dogen zenji says,
Now let us outline the Three Paths and Twelve Divisions of the sutras.
The Three Paths are:
The sravaka1 path. This is the path of those who have attained the Way through the Four Noble Truths.2 The Four Noble Truths are: the truth of suffering, the truth of grasping as its cause, the truth of ceasing, and the truth of the Way. Hearing these truths leads to their practise and the transcending of birth, old age, sickness, and death and culminates in pari-nirvana. In the practise of the Four Noble Truths suffering and the cause of suffering are secular while cessation and the Way become the first principle. That is the view of scholars.3 If practice is based on the Buddha Dharma, the Four Truths are each a Buddha alone together with the Buddhas,4 the Four Truths are each the Dharma abiding in the place of Dharma, the Four Truths are each the form of reality and the Four Truths are each Buddha Nature. Therefore, it is not necessary to mention concepts of “unborn” or “uncreated” and so on, since the Four Truths are each “completely unnecessary.”
1 Shomon.
2 Shitai: ku (duhkha-satya), shu (samdhaya-satya), metsu (nirodha-satya), do (marga-satya).
3 This is a reference to the two truths of secular and principle (shinzoku-nitai) of the Sanron school.
4 Yuibutsu-yobustsu. “A Buddha Together With A Buddha.”
-Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi, beginning teisho 5 "The Four Noble Truths and Interdependent Emergence" on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 in the teisho series "The Thread of the Buddhas," commentaries on Eihei Dogen zenji's Bukkyo.
Fusatsu: December 19th, January 17th and 31st.
Joya (New Year’s Celebration)
On Monday, December 31st at 10 p.m. until Tuesday, January 1st at 12:00 a.m., we will celebrate Joya or New Year's. Join Zen Master Anzan Hoshin, Ven. Shikai Sensei and Ven. Jinmyo osho and the monastics of the Northern Mountain Order in ringing in the New Year with 108 recitations of the Mahaprajnaparamita Hridaya sutra mantra. Following the sitting there will be an array of shojin-ryori (Zen vegetarian cuisine) dishes for an informal feast. All students are welcome to attend. There is no better way to begin the year. Dana is $25. Please register by sending an email to schedule at WWZC dot org, or telephone the Zen Centre office (613) 562-1568.
Hermitage
The Roshi will begin a period of hermitage at midnight on Wednesday, January 2nd which will end at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, January 6th, when he leads monastics in Acalanatha Sadhana.
Introduction to Zen Workshop
The next Introduction to Zen Workshop will take place on January 5th. For more information please see:
https://wwzc.org/introduction-zen-workshop-ottawa
For information concerning our Long-distance Training Program, please visit this Web Page: https://wwzc.org/long-distance-training-program
Two-day Sesshin
The January two-day sesshin will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, January 11th and will end at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 13th. Formal students are asked to send in their schedules as soon as possible.
Associate and General Sitting January 12th
During the sesshin, on Saturday, January 12th, there will be a sitting for associate and general students which will take place in the Zendo. Arrival time is 9:15 a.m. (in time for First Bell). The sitting ends at 11:30 a.m. Students attending are reminded to remain on the first floor.
Daiji-ki
January 22nd is the memorial of the date of death of Daiji Tenku daiosho, who was the Teacher of Joshu Dainen daiosho, both of whom Anzan Hoshin roshi studied with.
Hermitage
The Roshi will begin a period of hermitage at midnight on Wednesday, January 30th, which will end at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, February 3rd, when he leads monastics in Acalanatha Sadhana.
You don't need to turn around and go home. Ring the bell once and then sit on the bench on the front porch. If possible, we will come and unlock the door for you right away. If we are in the middle of the chants or listening to a teisho, we will come to let you in as soon as the teisho finishes.
Michael Nisch sat a half-day retreat on Sunday, December 16th at his home in Ulm, Germany.
To Schedule a Retreat
Please visit this Web page for information about scheduling a retreat and an explanation of the different kinds of retreat (duration and timing) you can sit: https://wwzc.org/retreats. Please note that retreats should be scheduled one week in advance.
Public students sitting retreats should send an email to schedule@wwzc.org to confirm they sat a retreat so that notice of it can be included in the eMirror. Please include the location of the retreat and the duration.
If associate students are unable to attend the Thursday evening associate sitting, they may attend one of the general sittings to make up for the sitting they missed. General sittings are held on Monday evenings at 7:30 p.m. (first Bell is at 7:15) and Saturday mornings at 9:30 a.m. (first Bell at 9:15 a.m.). Please send an email to request permission to attend one of these sittings.
Teisho presented at general and associate sittings which are part of a series need to be listened to in the correct order and with none missed out. If you miss a sitting please borrow a copy of the missed teisho from the library or download it from the WWZC Media Site as soon as possible, so that the continuity of what is being presented is not disrupted. The weekly list of recorded teisho played at sittings is posted on the web site at:
https://wwzc.org/recorded-teachings-schedule
Students can access the password-protected online Recorded Teachings library on the WWZC website at https://wwzc.org/recorded-teachings or through the streaming site at http://app.wwzc.org. The custom-built media streaming site allows students to live stream recordings from the WWZC Recorded Teachings collection. It is optimized for use on smartphones and tablets, and works with most modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. It can also be used on desktops.
While most of the online Recorded Teachings library is password-protected and only accessible to students of Zen Master Anzan Hoshin, a small selection of MP3 recordings of teisho are accessible to the public at https://wwzc.org/recorded-teachings. Additional recordings will be uploaded periodically.
MP3 recordings of five teisho are currently available:
On Saturday, September 22nd, Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho-ajari presented "The Whole World is Already Ready", Dharma Talk 2 in the series "All Around, All At Once".
Direct link to transcript of Dharma Talk: https://wwzc.org/dharma-text/all-around-all-once-part-2-whole-world-already-ready
Direct link to MP3 recording (accessible to students): https://wwzc.org/recorded-teachings/all-around-all-once
On Saturday, November 17th, 2018, Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho-ajari presented the Dharma Talk "Unfabricated", Dharma Talk 3 in the series "All Around, All At Once.
The 138 articles with photos and descriptions presented by Shikai Zuiko o-sensei in the series "Who, What, Where, When, Why: Uncovering the Mystery of Monastery Objects" is available for download. http://www.wwzc.org/dharma-text/who-what-where-when-why
Each Sunday afternoon (except during O-sesshin and Sesshin), Caretaking Council (Saigyo tando, Fushin shramon and Endai shramon) do samu from 1:30p.m to 4:30p.m. on the various small projects required around the monastery. There are always a great many tasks that need to be done and so any students are welcome and encouraged to come to Dainen-ji to join the monastics in caretaking practice. If you would like to partake in the samu practice on Sundays please write to Saigyo tando at saigyo.cross@gmail.com.
by Ven. Shikai Zuiko sensei
Continuing on with “Painted Cakes: A Zen Dictionary” a limited edition text written by Anzan Hoshin roshi in the 1980s and last revised in 1994.
Samsara (S) The continual round of Birth and Death. The circular closed patterns of self-image struggling to become real.
Questions can be sent to me, Shikai sensei, at shikai.sensei@gmail.
Dogen zenji taught in the Tenzokyokun that the work of preparing and serving meals is "a matter for realized monks who have the mind of the Way or by senior disciples who have roused the Way-seeking mind." In alignment with this, part of Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's samu for the Community involves personally overseeing the activities of the ancient office of tenzo. Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho serves as tenzo and Mishin ino and Saigyo tando offer assistance as tenzo-anja.
Monday Yakuseki:
Lundberg Farms short-grain brown rice with sesame oil; Doenjang soup made from Napa cabbage sliced into small pieces, minced garlic, doenjang (Korean miso), gojuchang (Korean chili paste) and shoyu; a bed of stir-fried mustard greens seasoned with gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) with salt, sesame oil and shoyu; sauteed tofu seasoned with sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) and shoyu; kkakdugi (cubed daikon) kimchi.
Tuesday Yakuseki:
Chinese cabbage and pork (pork tenderloin cut into thin strips, ‘velveted’ in egg white and cornstarch and then seared with bran oil, mixed with Chinese cabbage cut into bite-sized pieces, reconstituted shitake mushrooms, sauteed Spanish onion, garlic, chopped chilis, chili-garlic sauce, ground toasted coriander and cumin seeds, unsweetened crunchy peanut butter, lime juice, hoisin sauce; mixed grain (white and brown Thai rice); baechu kimchi. Vegetarian option: meatless Chinese cabbage in peanut sauce (as above) with tofu, served with rice and kimchi.
Thursday Yakuseki:
Roasted tiny potatoes (red and Yukon gold); mushroom flavoured meinjin (wheat gluten) with braised crimini mushrooms, seasoned with garlic, thyme and shoyu; sauteed greens (dai gai choy (mustard greens), gai lan (Chinese broccoli) and bok choy with butter, garlic and lots of black pepper.
Baking by Shikai sensei:
Puffed quinoa chocolate walnut squares; easy peasy 2 ingredient fudge
If you would like to thank someone for a contribution they have made, please feel free to send an email to Jinmyo osho at rengezo at Gmail dot com, but be sure to type "eMirror" in the subject line.
From Shikai sensei:
Thank you to Jinmyo osho for finding a new dining hall table assembled by Saigyo tando, Fushin shramon, and Endai shramon; to all those who contributed to the table buy; to Fushin shramon for making himself available for samu in the Sensei-ryo; to Shannon for an excellent rum fruit cake; to George Donovan for a gift card.
From Endai shramon:
Thank you to the Roshi for designing the content of the Introduction to Zen workshops, and to Mishin ino and Saigyo tando for presenting the workshop every month. Thank you to Shikai sensei, Jinmyo osho, Chunen angya, Mishin ino and Saigyo tando, who correspond with public students throughout the world and deal with the many inquiries from people interested in learning to practise.
Dainen-ji, being a 140-year-old building, is continuously in need of maintenance and the costs associated with this can be astronomical when such things as porch repairs or exterior painting are needed. This is something that we cannot afford to do, yet must do and so the "All is Change" project has been created. The "All is Change" project is very simple. Most of us have a bowl or a jar or some other kind of container that we keep somewhere at home and fill up with loose change because it's too heavy to carry around. Several hundred dollars has been collected so far both in loose change and Canadian tire money which has been put towards the building maintenance fund. If anyone would like to contribute to this fund, each penny will be appreciated. The “All is Change” container is on the wooden wall shelf under the Sangha Board in the cloak room.
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