Front porch rupa, Rohatu O-sesshin,
Photograph by Senbo Pham-Dinh
Front porch rupa, Rohatu O-sesshin,
Photograph by Senbo Pham-Dinh
eMirror Vol 26, No. 52
Friday, December 23rd, 2022
Edited by the Practice Council
The White Wind Zen Community:
An international community practising and teaching Dogen’s Zen since 1985.
Sometime after this, another monk called Sariputta1 was walking by and saw Rahula sitting there beneath the tree, trying to be mindful. So he said, “You should practise being mindful of the inbreath and outbreath, Rahula. If mindfulness of breath is cultivated with continuous practice, there is a vast harvest, there is great richness.” Sariputta was one of the foremost of Buddha’s students. He himself was a teacher underneath the Buddha, and was famed throughout the monastic Sangha as one of great wisdom. He could present in very clear and concise terms the subtleties of experience. Now, when someone like that speaks to you, you listen to what they have to say. Sariputta says, “Be mindful of the inbreath and outbreath. If mindfulness of breath is cultivated with continuous practice, with great sincerity, over and over again, repeatedly, continuously, with each breath, then there is a vast harvest, there is great richness.”
So Rahula sat there the rest of the day and, when evening fell and it grew dark, he stood up and on his shaky knees and ankles wobbled his way towards the little camp site where all the monks were. He saw his dad, bent over, and sat down to one side. And seated there he asked, “How is mindfulness of breath to be practised? How is it that continuous practice will bring a vast harvest and great richness?”
Now, that’s the thing. “Be mindful of the inbreath, be mindful of the outbreath, just pay attention to what is going on.” These are such simple instructions, it certainly sounds easy. And yet, when we sit down to follow the inbreath and outbreath, we find that attention is everywhere but with the inbreath and outbreath. The mind is everywhere but with the body, everywhere but with this moment of present experience.
1 In Sanskrit Sariputra.
-Ven Anzan Hoshin roshi, continuing Teisho Two: "The Elements of Bodymind" in the series "Flowers and Worms", Hanamatsuri sesshin, April 11th to 14th, 1991, Zazen-ji.
Fusatsu: January 4th and January 18th.
Introduction to Zen Workshop Ottawa
The next Introduction to Zen Workshop will take place on Saturday, January 7th, at 1:45 p.m. To register: https://IntroductionToZenWorkshop.eventbrite.ca
For more information please see: Introduction to Zen Workshop (Ottawa)
For information concerning our Long-distance Training Program
For students living an hour or more commuting distance from the monastery in Ottawa, please visit this Web Page: Long Distance Training Program | White Wind Zen Community
Joya (New Year’s Celebration)
On Saturday, December 31st at 10 p.m. until Sunday, January 1st at 12:00 a.m., we will celebrate Joya or New Year with 108 recitations of the Mahaprajnaparamita Hridaya sutra mantra at midnight.
Hermitage:
The Roshi is continuing an extended period of "self-isolation" due to underlying health issues until the COVID-19 situation clarifies.
“River of Memory”: transcript of teisho presented by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi at Zazen-ji, on March 21st, 1991:
https://wwzc.org/dharma-text/river-memory
Congratulations and deep gassho to Artik Chauhan of Ottawa who has been accepted as a general student, and to Michael Hammond of Meadowbank, PEI who has been accepted as an associate public student.
Deshi, Isshin, sat a partial retreat on Sunday, December 18th at her home in Saint John, New Brunswick. Leonardo Nobrega sat a two-day retreat from Friday, December 16th to Sunday, December 18th. Ian Richard sat a one-day retreat on Friday, December 16th at Dainen-ji.
If you would like to sit a retreat at Dainen-ji, please email schedule@wwzc.org to register a week in advance. For further information please visit this page: https://wwzc.org/retreats
If you would like to sit a retreat at home please follow the schedule outlined in this page:
https://wwzc.org/retreat-schedule-public-students. After your retreat, please send an email to schedule@wwzc.org to confirm that you sat a retreat and include the duration and location.
Saturday, December 24th to Saturday, January 31st
Saturday, December 24th: "The Landscape of Reality" by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi: "Nehan" (2 of 12, 34 minutes)
Sunday, December 25th: SAkN: "Questioning the Enigma" by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi: "Dukkha is Bad Space" (teisho 3 of 4)
Monday, December 26th: "The Touchstone" by Ven. Jinmyo Renge sensei: "The Touchstone 7, Faster Than the Speed of Thoughts" (teisho 7 of 22, 24 minutes)
Thursday, December 29th: "The Touchstone" by Ven. Jinmyo Renge sensei: "The Touchstone 7, Faster Than the Speed of Thoughts" (teisho 7 of 22, 24 minutes)
Saturday, December 31st: "The Landscape of Reality" by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi: "Flowers Fall" (3 of 12, 24 minutes)
Associate and general students should continue to follow the recorded Teachings schedule for the sitting you were attending at the monastery, and listen to that during your home practice.
You can access the online Recorded Teachings Library at wwzc.org/recorded-teachings-schedule.
You can also use the streaming site at app.wwzc.org to live stream recordings from the online Library. If you have forgotten your password or need assistance with accessing the recorded Teachings, please email schedule@wwzc.org.
Please note that teisho should be listened to in the correct order and with none missed out as themes, metaphors, questions raised and answered evolve in spirals throughout the series.
While most of the online Recorded Teachings library is password-protected and only accessible to students of the Lineage of Zen Master Anzan Hoshin, a small selection of MP3 recordings of teisho are accessible to the public at wwzc.org/recorded-teachings Additional recordings will be uploaded periodically. MP3 recordings of four recorded teisho by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi are currently available:
Dharma Position https://wwzc.org/dharma-position
Eyes See, Ears Hear https://wwzc.org/eyes-see-ears-hear
Embarrassment https://wwzc.org/embarrassment
Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi's reading of his translation of Eihei Dogen zenji's “Bendowa: A Talk on Exerting the Way”: https://wwzc.org/bendowa-talk-exerting-way
Photograph of Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi at Daijozan, mid-1980s,
by Ven. Shikai Zuiko sensei
Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi has recently completed translation work on some shorter texts by Eihei Dogen zenji from the Shobogenzo. The work on these particular texts is based upon the literal translations that he worked on with Joshu Dainen roshi at Hakukaze-ji around 1977-78 followed by many years of putting them down, picking them up, and polishing. Naturally, more essential texts such as Uji, Genjokoan, Shinjin Gakudo and some 40 others were completed first and have been given extensive commentaries by the Roshi. This batch of texts includes Baike: Plum Blossoms, Ryugin: Howling Dragon, and Udonge: The Udumbara Blossoming and many others are nearing completion. Annotation details and successfully conveying them across various document formats are the issue at this point.
Work on Bussho: Buddha Nature, a very long and nuanced text by Dogen zenji, is ongoing.
Roshi is also finishing an update to the Saijo Shingi: The Deportment of Radiance, our manual of monastic training standards which is a supplement to the ancient Eihei Shingi and Keizan Shingi.
Begun by Ven. Shikai Zuiko o-sensei
Finished by Rev. Fushin Comeau shuso following her death
Three times or three measures of time: Past, present, future; all time itself.
Posted December 16th, 2022. New entries are posted every two weeks.
Dogen zenji taught in the Tenzo Kyokun: Instructions for the Tenzo (https://wwzc.org/dharma-text/tenzo-kyokun-instructions-tenzo) 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 sensei serves as Tenzo and Mishin godo and Saigyo ino offer assistance as tenzo-anja. The following meals were prepared on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings:
Monday Yakuseki:
Cavatappi pasta in garlic-butter sauce (diced Spanish onion, minced garlic, butter, olive oil, white wine, red chile flakes, a small amount of cream, salt); tomato soup (mirepoix of diced celery, carrots and white onion, dried thyme, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, olive oil, whole tomatoes, vegetable juice); cubed fresh pineapple.
Tuesday Yakuseki:
Crusty rolls with butter; white bean stew (cannellini beans, pearled barley, diced carrots, potatoes and celery, minced garlic, vegetable stock, thyme, basil, cayenne, black pepper, a little apple cider vinegar. For those who wished to supplement their diet with meat sauteed pieces of chicken thigh was added to a separate pot of the soup; salad of Romaine lettuce, leaf lettuce, chopped tomatoes, celery, radishes, thinly sliced red onion, served with a dressing made of equal parts of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar.
Thursday Yakuseki:
White and brown calrose rice; deep fried tofu cut into strips with sauteed strips of Spanish onion, poblano and red bell peppers, in a sauce made from minced garlic and ginger, vegetarian oyster sauce, Yeo’s chili sauce, shoyu and sesame oil; a soup made from mushroom stock with slivered ginger and chopped gai lan; cremini mushrooms cooked in an air-fryer.
If you would like to thank someone for a contribution they have made, please feel free to send an email to Jinmyo sensei at rengezo@gmail dot com, but be sure to type "eMirror” in the subject line.
From Jinmyo sensei:
Thank you to Mishin godo for preparing Monday yakuseki so that I could do a large food shopping; thank you to Saigyo ino for the use of his car for food shopping; to Saigyo ino, Fushin shuso, David Gallant and Leonardo for moving two cabinets to the Dining Hall to hold dishes and some food items, and for clearing snow on Friday evening, following a heavy snowfall; to Senbo for the gift of a Breville ‘smoker’ for making smoked nut cheeses; to David Gallant for installing a new wireless access point in the Sensei-ryo and for clearing the Undo of items for donation; to Shannon Craig for helping me to organize the basement pantry during samu on Wednesday; to Denise Beaudot for maple syrup from her trees. Thank you to Ian Richard for the gift of two loaves of dairy-free bread, three kinds of jam, some vegan ‘butter’, two kinds of specialty coffee, and a selection of six teas; to Cate Gallant for an assortment of Christmas baked goods.
From Mishin godo:
Thank you to Jinmyo sensei for arranging to have two spare cupboards moved to the Dining Hall for storage of dishes and pantry items. Thank you to Mrs. Gallant for baking a range of cookies for residents. Thank you to Ian Richard for fresh baked bread, coffee, teas, and jams. Thank you to Denise Beaudot for making copies of a jubon pattern to be loaned to general students to sew jubon. Thank you to Challian Christ and Christina Comeau for cleaning boot mats after the Monday evening sitting.
From David Gallant:
Thank you to Jinmyo sensei for carefully reorganizing many items in the kitchen and dining hall recently. Thank you to Mishin godo and Saigyo ino for leading kata at the formal sittings each week. Thank you to my mother Cate Gallant for the Christmas gift of a large variety of delicious baked goods for residents at Dainen-ji this year.
From Ian Richard:
Thank you to the Roshi and the Practice Council for establishing the retreat schedule and making this option available for students who wish to deepen their practice. Thank you to Jinmyo sensei for the wonderful meals, samu instruction, and showing me the home-made dairy-free cheeses she was smoking in the kitchen. Thank you to Mishin godo for a tasty breakfast, and to Saigyo ino for meeting me before and after going to work for instruction. Thank you as well to Leonardo for opening the Butsudan and serving as jikido in the evening.
From the Office of the Treasurer:
Thank you to Loic Ouellette and Elayne van Snellenberg for donations.
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