TREELEAF ZENDO PODCAST (Treeleaf Zendo)

There are people without homes, food, loved ones just 100 miles north of here. My son (who is -not- the child in the photo at left) is obviously shaken, tossed around with the other children in his school classroom when the earthquake hit. A seven year old cannot understand. The child in that photo must be so much more confused ... beyond a child's understanding. The aftershocks and "meltdown" talk as we constantly checked for bulletins were beginning to get to our son, so we send him (with my wife) off to relatives on the other side of Tokyo. After a fews days with no water or toilets (they're back now ... luxuries ... ), checking news bulletins for the nuclear reactors (about 110 miles from here) and being woken from sleep by the aftershocks ... I'm TIRED! But I can't help just feel fortunate that my family and I seem so well off, unscratched. Inconvenienced and sleepless at worst, maybe a bit rattled. Zazen truly has helped to keep all in perspective this week, centered, bringing stability in the sometime chaos ... earth moves, heart still (even if now and then racing when the rafters and electric lines shake back and forth.). One truly can feel terrifying fear AND fully see through the fear AT ONCE! Fear and Peace, AS ONE! Our "a little" broken house can be fixed. Compared to those really without, hungry and sleeping in the cold, missing sons and daughters, wives and husbands swept away ... we're untouched. Other than "stuff" ... a fallen roof, some cracked wooden beams, smashed furniture, and broken buddha statues (can they be broken?) ... we're okay. After a couple of days without power and water ... I sit here drinking my coffee, typing on the computer, enjoying a hot shower, like any other day. Here, things are getting back to normal. "Stuff" can be fixed. For these other people, some things will be much harder to repair ... their broken hearts and uprooted lives. All we can do is send our empathy and hopes out to those not so lucky. Oh, and make efforts to lend a hand were needed (there are probably people in your own community who could use your help today... not only in Japan), and don't forget the cash. A few people have asked me were to send money. As the Japanese are quite well off generally as a country, I would strongly suggest looking at organizations like Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children, which help people in like events in countries which are not so well equiped, Haiti and such. http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ http://www.savethechildren.org Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended. Visit the forum thread here!

Hi, Awhile back, I reminded our Treeleaf Ango-ers that there are no mistakes in Ango, no way that life can intervene, that obstacles are just "opportunities for Practice" ... ... that ALL OF LIFE IS PRACTICE! viewtopic.php?f=17&t=4230 However, I certainly did not mean that one could just do the parts of Practice that one likes or is moved by, skipping the rest. I did not mean that, just because there are "no mistakes", such was an excuse to be careless or slack, being forgetful, just practicing whenever and however in hell we want! Although "life can NEVER intervene, and ALL of life is Practice" (yes, even how we play video games and how we watch TV), that does not mean we can just let life intervene, and consider that watching TV or playing a video game is the same as Practice and Zazen! To do so is to miss the central part of this practice ... dropping resistance to our aversions and attractions, dropping attachments and renouncing those things we hunger for ... dropping anger and other excess or otherwise harmful emotions ... finding balance in life neither too loose nor too tight, moving forward with diligence and sincerity and energy ... even as there is No Place to Go! In this Middle Way beyond "right and wrong" "easy and hard" "doing and non-doing" ... ... nonetheless, ONE CAN DO ANGO WRONG! :twisted: One can be too loose in this Practice, just as one can be too tight! One can run toward or away from what we like or dislike and resist, forgetting that this is a Practice founded upon dropping all "likes and dislikes" and resistance! Remember this week's portion of the Xin Xin Ming ... neither hard or easy ... neither fearful, slack and irresolute nor charging forward ... To live in the Great Way is neither easy nor difficult, but those with limited views are fearful and irresolute: the faster they hurry, the slower they go. Ours is the 'Middle Way' ... but that does not mean any namby pamby, fence sitting, half hearted way that's middling, making do, mediocre and muddling through! I often repeat the story of Buddha, Sona and the Lute Strings ... [The Buddha said], "Sona, you were a musician and you used to play the lute. Tell me, Sona, did you produce good music when the lute string was well tuned, neither too tight nor too loose?" "I was able to produce good music, Lord," replied Sona. "What happened when the strings were too tightly wound up?" "I could not produce any music, Lord," said Sona. "What happened when the strings were too slack?" "I could not produce any music at all, Lord," replied Sona "Sona ... You have been straining too hard in your meditation. Do it in a relaxed way, but without being slack. Try it again and you will experience the good result." Fortunately, in this way of ever new beginnings in each moment ... ONE CAN EVER BEGIN RIGHT FROM HERE! Please visit the forum thread here!

PLEASE NOTE THAT DAYLIGHT SAVINGS HAS BEGUN IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE. THE SUBJECT OF THE LITTLE TALK THIS TIME WILL BE A SONG CALLED "THE FERRYMAN" by Ralph McTell. PLEASE SEE THE LYRICS HERE and HAVE A LISTEN: LINK: http://www.treeleaf.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=51011#p51011 Dear All, Please 'sit-a-long' with our MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI, netcast LIVE 8am to noon Japan time Saturday morning (1/1) (that is New York 7pm to 11pm, Los Angeles 4pm to 8pm (Friday night 12/31), London midnight to 4am and Paris 1am to 5am (early Saturday morning)) ... and visible at the following link during those times ... LIVE ZAZENKAI NETCAST at USTREAM: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sit-a-long-with-jundo But FEAR NOT if not possible for you to join 'live' in your location at those times, as the entire sitting is recorded in 'REAL TIME' and available for full participation 'ON DEMAND' at ANY TIME after that, no different from the 'live' sitting . Just click then on the links below: THE 'REAL TIME, ANY TIME' recorded version is divided into 3 parts as follows (click on the links) : 00:00 - 00:50 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA / SANDOKAI IN ENGLISH) & ZAZEN 00:50 - 01:00 KINHIN 01:00 - 01:30 ZAZEN 01:30 - 01:50 KINHIN 01:50 - 02:30 DHARMA TALK & ZAZEN 02:30 - 02:40 KINHIN 02:40 - 03:15 ZAZEN 03:15 - 03:30 KINHIN 03:30 - 04:00 METTA CHANT & ZAZEN, VERSE OF ATONEMENT, FOUR VOWS, & CLOSING 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'. Oh, and lots and lots of Zazen and walkin' Kinhin in between! Please download and print out the Chant Book (PDF) at the following link: http://www.treeleaf.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2231 I STRONGLY 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, AND HAVE ROOM FOR BOWING AND KINHIN. ALSO, REMEMBER TO SET YOUR COMPUTER (& SCREEN SAVER) SO THAT IT DOES NOT SHUT OFF DURING THE 4 HOURS. I hope you will join us ... an open Zafu is waiting. When we drop all thought of 'here' 'there' 'now' 'then' ... we are sitting all together! Gassho, Jundo Visit the forum thread here!

TODAY'S SITTING MARKS OUR CELEBRATION OF TREELEAF'S 10th ANNIVERSARY!

Shōbōgenzō Ikka-no-myōju by Master Dogen One Bright Pearl

In [this] sahā world, in the great kingdom of Song [China, there lived] Great Master [Gensha]. One day [while still a young monk, a student of Master Seppo], in order to explore widely the surrounding districts, he leaves the mountain, carrying a [traveling] bag. But as he does so, he stubs his toe on a stone. Bleeding and in great pain, [Gensha] all at once seriously reflects as follows: “[They say] this body is not real existence. Where does the pain come from?” He thereupon returns to Seppō. Seppō asks him, “What is it, [tough guy]?” Gensha says, “In the end I just cannot be deceived by others.” Seppō, loving these words very much, says, “Is there anyone who does not have these words [inside them]? [But] is there anyone who can speak these words?” Seppō asks further, “Why do you not go exploring?” [Gensha] says, “Bodhidharma did not come to the Eastern Lands [of China]; the Second Patriarch did not go to the Western Heavens [of India].” Seppō praised this very much.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: April 1st-2nd, 2016 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI for TREELEAF'S 10th ANNIVERSARY! »

A special Zazenkay and talk by guest speaker David Loy. David Robert Loy is a professor, writer, and Zen teacher in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition of Japanese Zen Buddhism. He is a prolific author, whose essays and books have been translated into many languages. His articles appear regularly in the pages of major journals such as Tikkun and Buddhist magazines including Tricycle, Turning Wheel, Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma, as well as in a variety of scholarly journals. David lectures nationally and internationally on various topics, focusing primarily on the encounter between Buddhism and modernity: what each can learn from the other. He is especially concerned about social and ecological issues. ... David Loy is one of the founding members of the new Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center, near Boulder, Colorado.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: ATTENTION: Special Zazenkai SUNDAY April 30th with DAVID LOY »

The Talk this time will look at the Heart of the Heart of the Heart Sutra, form and emptiness in a nutshell ...

We will reflect on the wording of the Heart Sutra as we chant for Zazenkai in English most weeks. However, I will touch briefly on the somewhat longer version used by Tibetan Practitioners and some others, with adds a little more at the startless start and endless end.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: March 31st-April 1st, 2017 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! (NOT APRIL FOOLS!) »

We all make mistakes ... big and small. Perhaps when we are all Buddhas, we will be beyond bad choices and harmful acts ... but now we are each just fallible human beings, Bodhisattvas living in this tricky Saha world, hopefully doing the best we can. Human beings will make mistakes. However, what we do with those mistakes ... whether we learn from them, seek not to repeat them, and repair the damage we have created ... makes all the difference in the world. What's more ... we ARE Buddha too, right now and all along. Thus, even amid all our big and small mistakes ... there is no mistake, nor could there be. Of course, to live from only one such perspective ... that there are mistakes, or that there is never any mistake ... would be a BIG MISTAKE! Fortunately, we BUDDHA-NOT-BUDDHAS can live by knowing life as each at once ... with no mistake or harm possible, yet repairing what needs to be repaired as best we can. Thus, we ATONE. Thus, All is At-ONE. OH, AND JUST A REMINDER! Our Annual Jukai (Undertaking The Precepts) Ceremony will be netcast Sunday at the following times and link. Please come to watch and welcome those who are receiving the Precepts with our Sangha, folks joining together from so many places. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sit-a-long-with-jundo SUNDAY, JANUARY 16th 2011 at MIDNIGHT (Sunday/Monday) JAPAN TIME (which should be SUNDAY 10AM in NY, 7AM on the West Coast, 3pm in London, 4 pm in Paris). Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended. Visit the Forum for this topic!

We continue with Why Zen Students Fail!

One reason is because they trust the Zen Teachers too much sometimes.

Another reason is because they trust their Teacher not enough sometimes.

Sometimes they are blind to a Teacher's flaws, victims of excess devotion, faith and obedience (yes, it sometimes happens, as described HERE)

Sometimes students expect a Zen Teacher to be flawless, saintly and superhuman, and run away at the first sign of humanity.

Students should realize that the teachers are really just mentors, "friends on the way", folks who have been around the block, guides who have walked the path and can help point out the generally good directions and the dangers and quicksand. Learn from the voice of experience and the wise advice, but in the end, each student must do their own walking.

In all cases, the student should learn to see through the Teacher to the Teaching, seeing this messy world and the Pure Land as One.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum:

SIT-A-LONG with Jundo: Why Zen Folks FAIL!! (6) - Trusting the Teacher »

Today's Talk:

Theory of Zazen for Three Personality Types Sankon-Zazen-Setsu by Keizan Zenji (translation by YASUDA & ANZAN, with some adjustments from Masunaga and Kennett)

In traditional Buddhist descriptions, there the three levels of capacity that Buddhist practitioners exhibit (sankon 三根; Sk. trīṇi indriyāṇi): dull (donkon 鈍根), middling (chūkon 中根; Sk. madhya indriya), and sharp (rikon 利根; Sk. tīskṣṇa indriya) capacities. These are three different capacities that Buddhist practitioners exhibit.

Dogenologist & Historian Carl Bielefeldt comments (Dogen’s Manuals of Zen Meditation, footnote 33 on p.152): Here [in the “Theory of Zazen for Three Personality Types”] Keizan distinguishes three levels in the understanding of zazen (corresponding to the traditional Buddhist disciplines): the lowest emphasizes the ethical character of the practice; the middling, the psychological character; the highest, the philosophical. The second, he describes as ―abandoning the myriad affairs and halting the various involvements, ‖ making unflagging effort to concentrate on breathing or consider a koan, until one has gotten clear about the truth. (In the highest zazen, of course, this truth is already quite clear.) In his influential Zazen yojinki as well – though [Keizan] repeats the Fukan zazen gi passage on nonthinking—Keizan recommends the practice of kanna [Koan phrase centered Zazen] as an antidote to mental agitation in zazen (ibid. 497b).

Further reading for this talk is available in the Zazenkai forum thread:

August 2015 Zazenkai Forum Thread »

Koans for this talk are from The Book of Serenity: CASE 58 - The Diamond Sutra's Reviling, CASE 59 - Seirin's Deadly Snake, CASE 60 - Ryutetsuma's Old Cow, and CASE 61 - Kempo's One Stroke.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: August 12th-13th, 2016 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! »

Dear All, Please 'sit-a-long' with our MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI, netcast LIVE 8am to noon Japan time Saturday morning (that is New York 7pm to 11pm, Los Angeles 4pm to 8pm (Friday night), London midnight to 4am and Paris 1am to 5am (early Saturday morning)) ... and visible at the following link during those times ... LIVE ZAZENKAI NETCAST at JUSTIN.TV: REMEMBER TO CLICK ON "FULL SCREEN" VERSION! Watch live video from treeleafzen on www.justin.tv But FEAR NOT if not possible for you to join 'live' in your location at those times, as the entire sitting is recorded in 'REAL TIME' and available for full participation 'ON DEMAND' at ANY TIME after that, no different from the 'live' sitting . Just click then on the links below: THE 'REAL TIME, ANY TIME' recorded version is divided into 3 parts as follows (click on the links) : 00:00 - 00:50 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA / SANDOKAI IN ENGLISH) & ZAZEN 00:50 - 01:00 KINHIN 01:00 - 01:30 ZAZEN 01:30 - 01:50 KINHIN ZAZENKAI PART I LINK: LINK TO BE POSTED HERE AFTER LIVE NETCAST 01:50 - 02:30 DHARMA TALK & ZAZEN 02:30 - 02:40 KINHIN TALK & ZAZEN PART 2 LINK: LINK TO BE POSTED HERE AFTER LIVE NETCAST 02:40 - 03:15 ZAZEN 03:15 - 03:30 KINHIN 03:30 - 04:00 METTA CHANT & ZAZEN, VERSE OF ATONEMENT, FOUR VOWS, & CLOSING ZAZENKAI PART 3 LINK: LINK TO BE POSTED HERE AFTER LIVE NETCAST 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'. Oh, and lots and lots of Zazen and walkin' Kinhin in between! Please download and print out the Chant Book (PDF) at the following link: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2231 I STRONGLY 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, AND HAVE ROOM FOR BOWING AND KINHIN. ALSO, REMEMBER TO SET YOUR COMPUTER (& SCREEN SAVER) SO THAT IT DOES NOT SHUT OFF DURING THE 4 HOURS. I hope you will join us ... an open Zafu is waiting. When we drop all thought of 'here' 'there' 'now' 'then' ... we are sitting all together! Gassho, Jundo

It’s almost to the point that there’s a flavor of Buddhism for everyone, especially in the West! From A is for Amida to Z is for Zen, there are groups and teachings of all stripes … the monastic and the “out in the world” types … traditional and tradition breaking … many teachers in between, mixing and matching. The Western Buddhist world comes in ten thousand colors and flavors! And that can be GOOD! I have never been a “my way or the highway, one size fits all” kind of Buddhist. Different folks may require different medicines for what ails them. Find the path and teacher(s) right for you. All you have to do, though, is avoid the snake oil, the image driven jive and hype, soothing but empty cliches, crazy cults, charismatic charlatans and ego maniac gurus professing “freedom from ego”, downright crooks and con-men, New Age dribble and pseudo-psycho-babble, fast food drive-though spirituality. Also, don’t fall into “spiritual materialism” … shopping around in the Dharma department store for the fluffy and flashy, for teachers of ‘anything goes, feel good philosophies’, “teachings” that just say what we want to hear (and not what we need to hear). Oh, and if you do stumble on a worthwhile practice, be sure not to quit too fast … as soon as it becomes a little demanding. Do all that … and you’ll be just fine! Visit the Forum for this topic!

Dogen writes: "This old plum tree is boundless. All at once its blossoms open and of itself the fruit is born". Please visit the forum thread here!

Yes, baby, can you divide the reality of one thing happening? Can you cut the sound in half? More than that, with a single blossom, all blossoms. The whole reality is captured in a single unfolding. From star to bin, all is said and expressed. Check this. gassho Taigu Visit the forum thread here!

I have a BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG announcement to make: Let's extend a warm welcome to ... DENNIS 'GENPO' MERZEL ROSHI as our NEW ABBOT OF TREELEAF SANGHA!!! (and GOODBYE TAIGU!! You broke Jundo's heart ...  ) NOTICE: NEW SANGHA FEES EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! Visit the Forum Thread here!

So many folks are losing their jobs these days, sometimes after many years of loyal and hard work at a business. Almost nothing more to do but let it go, move on, trying to keep a roof over our family's head. When I was a kid, my own father went through a hard bankruptcy after many years of being the president of his own small company making furniture. Leon was not a "Buddhist" by any means, but still I would call him one of those "naturally Zen" folks. I recall how, when he lost the business, he sat in front of the window for a couple of weeks, depressed and not shaving, wondering where to go from here. But, after a few days of that, he picked himself up and found himself a job as a salesman in a discount department store, working for commission and for somebody else. Most importantly, he never lost his humor for long, and kept a "that's just the breaks, we still have each other" attitude which I will never forget. And though he was now not the "boss" but working at a job he did not choose, he did it diligently, optimistically and with great energy. In fact, he kept at it, going onto the sales floor each day (with co-workers 50 years younger), until he was 77 years old ... all so his family had bread and I could get through school. Fortunately, too, he never lived "rich" even when times were good, always having the same small house and same plain car. In that way, the "ups" and "downs" were never too much of a fall. In times like these, there are some good lessons there. Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended. Visit the Forum for this topic!

It is hard for any of us to remember in this consumer driven world, but there is a wonderful freedom in living simple, living small. The psychologist Abraham Maslow said that man really needs just a few things for peace and happiness ... a certain amount of food and a healthy environment, shelter and physical safety, the love and friendship of others. Beyond that, anything else might be seen as a luxury! What is more, we can be prisoners of "things" if we crave them to excess, hang our happiness on them, run after them, hoard them, cling to them. Thus, we should learn the freedom of a Zen monk, who finds the whole universe in a small, nearly empty room ... who has few possessions, and is not very much attached to even those. It is hard to do these days for most of us in the west (me too), but there is great good in not running after or being tied to material things. Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended. Visit the Forum for this topic!

I hear from folks every day touched by the bad economy ... jobs lost, houses foreclosed, marriages under stress, people in crisis. These are hard times for so many. Over the coming weeks, I will offer a series of talks on what Buddhism has to teach about the economics of "hard times". Some of it will cover big topics that impact the whole system, with our consumerism, materialism and wasted resources. The future is at stake! But some of it is small, and right at home. Today, we will start with a really simple lesson. In fact, it is so true, so wise, so often said ... that it sounds like a greeting card, a bumper sticker, a fortune cookie. But it is TRUE AS TRUE CAN BE: THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE --ARE-- FREE! When the bank's repossessing the car, when hopes and dreams go up in smoke, when we have a leaky roof over our head on a rainy day, it good to appreciate the rain! Click here to visit the forum thread!

This lovely poem of Dogen is an attempt to convey through sound and breaths his real and original face. The mountain of samadhi, the moon of awakening, the white and changing nature of rice, cloud and water. This is also a precise description of what takes plcae when one sits, the no-self being realised when everything is invited adn included in a lively process of expanding in all directions. On a portrait of myself 1249, Echizen Fresh, clear spirit covers old mountain man this autumn. Donkey stares at the sky ceiling: glowing white moon floats. Nothing approaches. Nothing else included. Buoyant, I let myself go~filled with gruel, filled with rice. Lively flapping from head to tail, sky above, sky beneath, cloud self, water origin. Visit the Forum for this topic!

The past year has seen its ups and downs ... a lot of downs it seems. Next year will likely be so too. (And the year after that!) This is the roller coaster of life.

Do you know the still and quiet center at the heart of all ups and downs? Do you know that the world has always been so? Do you know that things are probably not as down (or as up) as you might think?

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: Sit-a-Long with Jundo: My Uplifting, Inspiring, Hopeful, Optimistic New Years Message »

It is the first day of April here in Japan, the start of Spring, and that is a time to think of endings and beginnings ... SO, I AM VERY SAD TO ANNOUNCE THE END OF TREELEAF SANGHA as it has been until now ... ... and the BIRTH OF A NEW AND IMPROVED TREELEAF ... We are just trying to make BUDDHISM SEXIER! We asked for your suggestions, and we listened ... to all of them! Even the really really dumb ones! In fact, this may be THE END OF BUDDHISM AND ZEN! There is no Zazen sitting to accompany today's talk ... as we have done away with the sitting too. To be honest, I never really got much out of it. Visit the forum thread here...or don't...whatever.

Well, the cat is home from the hospital ... minus his tail, bandaged up and down. Somehow, he seems okay with it ... too "simple minded" and "dumb" to rehash the past, worry about his limited future, his options, to be traumatized by the drama, concerned about his scarred looks, to mourn for his missing tail. He just sits with it all ... and purrs. Oh, what we might learn from poor, dumb animals! Where did the cat's tail come from, where did it go? Visit the forum thread here!

When Dogen was in China he wrote this: Break open a single particle and all the sutras grow clear: the great merit-wheel of the dharma turns as a whole. The womb of a donkey gives birth to the noble horse Each time you look, you'll see it new. Mysteriously, the skin-bag is the Buddha field. Even a failure, imperfect, raw, half-baked, crooked, call-it-whatever, everytime it will shine, both different and the same. This endless practice shows that impermanence is the body of Buddhas. Nothing you can do about it. If you want Heaven, Amida-land outside here and now, as it is, outside of the womb of this donkey...How can it be? gassho Taigu Visit the Forum for this topic!

... and other reflections on "When Roshis Act Ugly, Small And All Too Human" ... Before I add my small voice to the many calls of condemnation of Eido Tai Shimano "Roshi", and demands for his self-reflection, dismissal and disgrace (more here from James Ford) ... http://monkeymindonline.blogspot.com/20 ... o-zen.html ... I would like to reflect on the overall question of when Buddhist teachers act with human weakness, ugliness, seemingly against all that they stand for. I think it a fallacy to believe that Buddhists, no matter the level or depth of the practitioner, are ever completely free during this life from being just human. It is a religious, heroic image created by the many old Buddhist stories which scrubbed clean all the tales of the ancestors of the past, robbing them of every flaw and placing them on golden pedestals. A Buddha or Ancestor (Jesus or any Saint in any religion) dies and ... century by century ... those in the religion (looking from afar at what those attainments actually were on the part of their "religious heroes" and with need to depict their power) start to imagine, fantasize and exaggerate the wonderful nature of the teacher and teaching into something super-human. What was merely "Great, Profound and Wonderful" must become "Mysterious, Wondrous and (often) Ridiculous". The result is called an "hagiography" In any large group of people ... whether Zen priests, other Buddhist, Christian or Jewish priests and clergy of all kinds ... there will always be examples of greed, anger and ignorance. Furthermore, in the lifetime of any one individual ... even among the best of us ... there are sure to be moments of greed, anger and ignorance. All human beings, from 'Great Bodhisattvas' right on down to the rest of us, are human beings ... and that means rough edges, cracks and ugly spots, flesh, fallings down and flaws. (At least, of course, until we eventually become Perfect Golden Buddhas ... assuming that even those ideals reside anywhere beyond our flawed human imaginations) Human beings are human. That includes Zen and other Buddhist teachers, no less. And it is a breath of fresh air that we finally realize so about Buddhist practice. It is also a chance for the true POWER of this practice to manifest ... for it is a practice for flawed human beings who wish to be better. The true value of this Buddhist Way is proven there. What matters most is what we do with those flaws in life, how we live as human beings ... with a bit of grace, ease, non-attachment, wholeness, peace, at-oneness and sincerity, great Compassion and Loving Kindness toward our fellow flawed beings. Practice does not remove all our human rough spots, but it allows a wild and imperfect stone to be imperfect (perfectly imperfect) yet simultaneously material to be polished into a jewel ... so many rough edges made soft and round. The Precepts are a guide for constant moment-to-moment practice in "not falling down". One cannot polish a tile into a Buddha ... but the constant polishing is Buddha. What our Practice does accomplish, if diligently followed, is to free us from the worst (at least among most long time practitioners I know ... apparently, not so for Eido and his ilk). It does work to make us better people. (In fact, most clergy I have met ... not just Buddhist clergy, but of all religions ... are good, caring, ethical people, the bad apples like Eido Shimano aside). Most of the Zen teachers I have met ... especially those with a few years and some maturity under their belt ... tend to be lovely, gentle, well rounded, self-actuated, moderate, compassionate, healthy people - balanced, living life with fullness and well. It would be a shame if someone like "Eido Roshi" were taken as representative of all Buddhist teachers everywhere, or used as the basis to claim that the Buddhist Way is without value ... for the countless good and decent teachers are proof otherwise. Now, the reason (in my opinion) to condemn someone such as Eido is --not-- because he is a Buddhist clergy who had a sexual affair with a student or several students. That, unfortunately, is all too human and is a matter between consenting adults (although there are great possibilities of the teacher taking advantage of his/her position vis-a-vis the student even there). The reason instead is because he clearly engaged in decades of horribly abusive sexual conduct which hurt the victims deeply and profoundly, then added to the hurt of victims in order to protect himself, then covered it up time and again, seeking to whitewash his reputation. It now appears that he was aided in this by people around him. Few (Aitken Roshi and a few others being the exception) spoke out until now, for there is a tendency in the Buddhist world to look away, hoping that the problem will simply vanish or be dealt with by the wrongdoing teacher's own students (in this case, despite countless promises, it was not). Thus, it is time for bodies such as the American Zen Teachers Association to have some means to censure teachers who violate the ethics accompanying their positions of trust, and to force such teachers and their students and Sangha into repenting and reform. Shame on them for not doing so until now, shame on all of us for not intervening more. Visit the Forum for this topic!

"EVEN AS" ... an ordinary phrase that one hears used a lot around here: Drop all thought of "this and that" ... even as we live in a world of "this and that" ...Drop all thought of anything to achieve ... even as we keep moving forward to get things done ... Drop all thought of anyplace to go ... even as we have places to go and people to see. Drop all thought of "time" ... even as we watch the clock.     This even as sounds so ordinary ... even as nothing is ordinary! Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended. Visit the Forum for this topic!

As one of a series of talks putting the spotlight on Treeleaf's ENGAGED & CHARITABLE PROJECTS CENTER, I would like to speak of the traditional Buddhist Paramita (Virtue) of Dana ... Generosity, Charity, Giving.

To give and be charitable takes us out of our selfish concerns for our own well-being alone. There are hungry mouths to feed in this world, and we can all do something. There are none of us so impoverished or wanting that we cannot give something to someone in need ... money, food, kindness, comfort, encouragement, teachings of wisdom ... especially for so many of us in relatively wealthy Western society.

However, there is also something special about giving from a Zen Buddhist point of view ... namely, that even as we give, there is nothing in need of giving or lacking ... there is truly no giver, receiver or gift ... nothing in need of giving, no giver or hungry mouths to feed ... yet we give nonetheless, for there are hungry mouths to feed! All True At Once, As One.

Perhaps we might say that, transcending giver-receiver-gift, only the naked generosity remains which holds and sweeps in all of us in the world's embrace. As you breathe every breath of air, bite a sweet apple and drink the refreshing water that the earth provides, as the sunlight shines down, know all this as just the world's generosity. We must pay it back.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: SIT-A-LONG with Jundo: GIVING, GENEROSITY and ENGAGEMENT »

WELCOME to our Memorial & Celebration of NEHAN-E, (Pari-Nirvana) the traditional day to mark the historical Buddha's death and passing from this visible world. This is also a day for each of us to remember in our homes those family and friends who have gone before. As well, we particularly mark the passing of Nishijima Gudo Wafu and Rempo Niwa Zenji ...

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: February 6th, 2016 - SPECIAL "NEHAN-E" 4-hour ZAZENKAI! »

How does our Zen Practice blend with taking a stand? Do we stay "beyond the fray" or speak out for what is right? I have been wrestling with this lately, like many folks. I have advocated leaving "politics" outside the door of our Treeleaf Sangha. In principle. I still believe so, and that we should speak civilly and gently to each other in the Sangha, agreeing to disagree, leaving most political debate outside.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: SIT-A-LONG with JUNDO: Sit Down & Speak Up »

WELCOME to our Memorial & Celebration of NEHAN-E, (Pari-Nirvana) the traditional day to mark the historical Buddha's death and passing from this visible world. This is also a day for each of us to remember in our homes those family and friends who have gone before. As well, we particularly mark the passing of Nishijima Gudo Wafu and Rempo Niwa Zenji.

Our reading for today's Nehan-e Zazenkai is a passage that Dogen wrote late in life, showing his seemingly very traditional views on Rebirth at that time: Dogen’s Shobogenzo Doshin, "Mind of the Way" (translated by Peter Levitt & Kazuaki Tanahashi)

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: February 4-5th, 2017 - Our SPECIAL "NEHAN-E" 4-hour ZAZENKAI! »

*Note* - This Audiocast contains a 30 minute dharma talk followed by 8 minutes of zazen.  For the full zazenkai, please visit the links below. PLEASE NOTE THAT SOME KINHIN TIMES HAVE BEEN LENGTHENED IN COMPASSION FOR NEW SITTERS JOINING US ... Dear All, Please 'sit-a-long' with our MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI,netcast LIVE 8am to noon Japan time Saturday morning (1/1) (that is New York 6pm to 10pm, Los Angeles 3pm to 7pm (Friday night 12/31), London 11pm to 3am and Paris midnight to 4am (early Saturday morning)) ... and visible at the following link during those times ... LIVE ZAZENKAI NETCAST at USTREAM: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sit-a-long-with-jundo But FEAR NOT if not possible for you to join 'live' in your location at those times, as the entire sitting is recorded in 'REAL TIME' and available for full participation 'ON DEMAND' at ANY TIME after that, no different from the 'live' sitting . Just click then on the links below: THE 'REAL TIME, ANY TIME' recorded version is divided into 2 parts as follows (click on the blue links) : 00:00 - 00:50 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA / SANDOKAI IN ENGLISH) & ZAZEN 00:50 - 01:00 KINHIN 01:00 - 01:30 ZAZEN 01:30 - 01:50 KINHIN ZAZENKAI PART I LINK: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/12462420 01:50 - 02:30 DHARMA TALK & ZAZEN TALK & ZAZEN LINK: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/12464630 02:30 - 02:40 KINHIN 02:40 - 03:15 ZAZEN 03:15 - 03:30 KINHIN 03:30 - 04:00 METTA CHANT & ZAZEN, VERSE OF ATONEMENT, FOUR VOWS, & CLOSING ZAZENKAI PART 2 LINK: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/12465668   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'. Oh, and lots and lots of Zazen and walkin' Kinhin in between! Please download and print out the Chant Book (PDF) at the following link: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2231 I STRONGLY 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, AND HAVE ROOM FOR BOWING AND KINHIN. ALSO, REMEMBER TO SET YOUR COMPUTER (& SCREEN SAVER) SO THAT IT DOES NOT SHUT OFF DURING THE 4 HOURS. I hope you will join us ... an open Zafu is waiting. When we drop all thought of 'here' 'there' 'now' 'then' ... we are sitting all together! Gassho, Jundo Click here to visit the forum topic!

Moreover, remembering the natural sage of Jetavana park, we can [still] see the traces of his six years of upright sitting. We can still hear rumours of the transmitter of the mind-seal at Shaolin, spending nine years facing the wall. The ancient saints were like that already: how could people today fail to practice wholeheartedly? De plus, alors que nous pensons au sage inné de Jevatna, nous pouvons percevoir les traces de ces six années d'assise. Ainsi de Bodhidharma qui transmit le seceau de l'esprit et resta neuf annees face au mur. Si telle était la conduite des sages d'antan, comment pourrait on aujourdhui ne pas pratiquer corps et âme? Please visit the forum thread here!

Doing one practice... Now if a bird or a fish tries to reach the end of its element before moving in it, this bird or this fish will not find its way or its place. When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point. When you find you way at this moment, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point; for the place, the way, is neither large nor small, neither yours nor others'. The place, the way, has not carried over from the past and it is not merely arising now. Accordingly, in the practice-enlightenment of the buddha way, meeting one thing is mastering it--doing one practice is practicing completely. Here is the place; here the way unfolds. The boundary of realization is not distinct, for the realization comes forth simultaneously with the mastery of buddha-dharma. There is no need to hurry and nowhere to go. As soon as one practices fully, this place is the whole full blown moon. The self changes, everything changes, so movement occurs. But although movement occurs, we never leave this place. The time of practice is not even taking place now. So mindfullness is extra. The time and space that Dogen is talking about are different from the ideas we have about time and space, now is not distant from past and future but totally embrace them. Here is not opposed to there, here includes all places. In other words, past and future are just taking place within the sphere of now ; room, streets, forests, seas are displayed within the one big space without edges or bounds, with no within and without. Meanwhile, we operate and need the dualistic consciousness that rises boundaries and thresholds everywhere and everytime. As we sit the body-mind and drop the body-mind, time and space realize themselves. No special awareness of this One taste is needed. It just takes place naturally. So we can let go of the chase and the search. So to practice one thing is to practice everything, to know one thing is enough. Each step contains the whole journey. Please visit the forum thread here!

Dogen writes: Do not suppose that what you realize becomes your knowledge and is grasped by your consciousness. Although actualized immediately, the inconceivable may not be apparent. Its appearance is beyond your knowledge. Zen master Baoche of Mt. Mayu was fanning himself. A monk approached and said, "Master, the nature of wind is permanent and there is no place it does not reach. When, then, do you fan yourself?" "Although you understand that the nature of the wind is permanent," Baoche replied, "you do not understand the meaning of its reaching everywhere." "What is the meaning of its reaching everywhere?" asked the monk again. The master just kept fanning himself. The monk bowed deeply. Taigu comments ... In this video, we look at Dogen's take on practice (fanning) as the only way to manifest awakening (air). Even this little corner of the big Universe is reached and touched by reality itself. No need to take this too far, to travel far, the simple actions of our life, the daily moves we make, the ten thousand activities we display are unfolding this awakening. The simple and bare practice is the Dharma gate. It also shows that tradition matters, we are not asked to get rid of the fan but to pick it up. Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended. Please visit the forum thread here!

That brightness beyond all brightness cannot be own. As you display the moonlight, you cannot see it. Its activity cannot be soiled or limited by your games: dividing, separating, breaking, the dual is left behind. Dogen uses a metaphor and at the same time, it is not a metaphor. Quite clearly, the dewdrop is a dewdrop~you~moon~light~reflection~time~universe. All these words not forming a neckless of pearls but a single pearl~like word~world. Please visit the forum thread here!

Dogen writes: Do not suppose that what you realize becomes your knowledge and is grasped by your consciousness. Although actualized immediately, the inconceivable may not be apparent. Its appearance is beyond your knowledge. Zen master Baoche of Mt. Mayu was fanning himself. A monk approached and said, "Master, the nature of wind is permanent and there is no place it does not reach. When, then, do you fan yourself?" "Although you understand that the nature of the wind is permanent," Baoche replied, "you do not understand the meaning of its reaching everywhere." "What is the meaning of its reaching everywhere?" asked the monk again. The master just kept fanning himself. The monk bowed deeply. Taigu comments ... In this video, we look at Dogen's take on practice (fanning) as the only way to manifest awakening (air). Even this little corner of the big Universe is reached and touched by reality itself. No need to take this too far, to travel far, the simple actions of our life, the daily moves we make, the ten thousand activities we display are unfolding this awakening. The simple and bare practice is the Dharma gate. It also shows that tradition matters, we are not asked to get rid of the fan but to pick it up. Visit the Forum for this topic!

Heading home to see family and friends always presents a few special "opportunities for Practice" at this time of year ... Meeting family and old friends ... how do you explain to them about "being a Buddhist"? You may even start to feel a little guilty for not being part of the religion you were raised in. How should we celebrate the holidays with friends and family? My answer: Celebrate Peace & Joy! Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended. Visit the Forum for this topic!

Dogen writes these few verses: In the stream Rushing past to the dusty world my fleeting form casts no reflection Echoing a distant poem of Tozan in the Jewel Mirror Samadhi: it is like looking into a precious mirror form and image behold each other You are not it, it is you Visit the forum thread here!

As this is just the New Year, it is a good time to stir the pot at Treeleaf's ENGAGED & CHARITABLE PROJECTS CENTER ...

We want to activate the place, and believe that it should be front and center in our Practice right with Zazen ... in fact, charity and volunteer activities --are-- Zazen "off the cushion."

Every couple of weeks or so, we will be presenting projects that anybody can ... should ... dig into, and we would like to make this a Community Team Effort! There will be many options available, something for anybody, even folks who have mobility or other health issues. There are always ways to reach out wherever you find yourself, always someone who you can help a bit no matter how much you are struggling in your own life (maybe just pick up a phone or computer and reach out to someone else who is also housebound, for example).

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: SIT-A-LONG with Jundo: TOTALLY ENGAGED »

To open this New Year, our reading will be the prologue to Master Dogen's Bendowa (On the Endeavor of the Way, Kaz Tanahashi Translation), written in 1231, one of the first pieces on Zen Practice written by Master Dogen following his return to Japan from China: www.lionsroar.com/just-wholeheartedly-sit

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: January 1st-2nd, 2016 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! WELCOME THE NEW YEAR! »

This talk looks at aspects of the wording and content of our upcoming Jukai "Undertaking The Precepts" Ceremony, to be held next week ...

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: January 6th-7th, 2016 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! Reflections on Jukai! »

WELCOMING THE NEW YEAR TOGETHER ... Dear All, Please 'sit-a-long' with our MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI, netcast LIVE 8am to noon Japan time Saturday morning (that is New York 6pm to 10pm, Los Angeles 3pm to 7pm (Friday night), London 11pm to 3am and Paris midnight to 4am (early Saturday morning)) ... and visible at the following link during those times ... LIVE ZAZENKAI NETCAST at JUSTIN.TV: CLICK ON THE TAB ON LOWER RIGHT FOR 'FULL SCREEN http://www.justin.tv/treeleafzen But FEAR NOT if not possible for you to join 'live' in your location at those times, as the entire sitting is recorded in 'REAL TIME' and available for full participation 'ON DEMAND' at ANY TIME after that, no different from the 'live' sitting . Just click then on the links below: THE 'REAL TIME, ANY TIME' recorded version is divided into 3 parts as follows (click on the links) : 00:00 - 00:50 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA / SANDOKAI IN ENGLISH) & ZAZEN 00:50 - 01:00 KINHIN 01:00 - 01:30 ZAZEN 01:30 - 01:50 KINHIN ZAZENKAI PART I LINK: Watch live video from treeleafzen on Justin.tv 01:50 - 02:30 DHARMA TALK & ZAZEN 02:30 - 02:40 KINHIN 02:40 - 03:15 ZAZEN 03:15 - 03:30 KINHIN TALK & ZAZEN PART 2 LINK: Watch live video from treeleafzen on Justin.tv 03:30 - 04:00 METTA CHANT & ZAZEN, VERSE OF ATONEMENT, FOUR VOWS, & CLOSING ZAZENKAI PART 3 LINK: Watch live video from treeleafzen on Justin.tv 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'. Oh, and lots and lots of Zazen and walkin' Kinhin in between! Please download and print out the Chant Book (PDF) at the following link: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2231 I STRONGLY 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, AND HAVE ROOM FOR BOWING AND KINHIN. ALSO, REMEMBER TO SET YOUR COMPUTER (& SCREEN SAVER) SO THAT IT DOES NOT SHUT OFF DURING THE 4 HOURS. I hope you will join us ... an open Zafu is waiting. When we drop all thought of 'here' 'there' 'now' 'then' ... we are sitting all together! Gassho, Jundo Please visit our forum thread here!

So many Zen students think that the longer they sit the better. They believe 10 years surpasses 10 months or 10 days, which must be better than 10 hours, which is better than 10 minutes or seconds. They treat Zazen like a taxi meter or points to rack up, the more they sit the closer they are to the goal. They equate more and more sitting with going deeper and deeper, or becoming more and more peaceful, or more and more "Buddha-like", or more and more "enlightened".

However, Zazen only truly hits the mark when all measure of time and score, goals and attainment are dropped away. Only then does a moment of sitting contain all time, only then does one realize the destination ever present. Zazen is thus very unlike many forms of meditation (not to mention very unlike our usual clock watching, tally counting, comparing and measuring, goal oriented attitude toward the rest of our busy lives) in which deeper and deeper attainments, and greater and greater achievements, add up with time. In Zazen, one attains the deepest attainment and the greatest achievement, namely, the timeless which is right in each tick of the clock, the goal ever reached again and again in each passing mile on the road across town. But one only realizes so when one sits as the still and round face of the clock which holds all time as the hands make their circles ...

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum:

SIT-A-LONG with Jundo: Why Zen Folks FAIL!! (5) - Watching The Clock Rackin Up Points »

FOR TODAY's TALK: Soto Zen Teacher Kokyo Henkel explains the "basics" of Mirror Awareness very nicely …

The true nature of mind is mirror-like awareness, always just reflecting what’s happening, whether we notice this or not. It never shuts off or stops functioning, even when we’re completely engrossed in conceptual thinking or strong emotions. A mirror just receives whatever object is placed before it, neutrally and naturally. It has no opinions about the object. The mirror doesn’t prefer red over blue, it doesn’t discriminate among these things, and yet it doesn’t block them out, reject them, or alter them in any way. It is just open receptivity, without adding any commentary. … All these qualities of the mirror are also qualities of the nature of mind, the naturally present open awareness of Buddha-Nature.

… During zazen we can open to this receptive mirror awareness. If we try to look directly at it, try to grasp the mirror, we won’t be able to; we will only get to see our ideas of it reflected in it. Therefore the practice is, rather than trying to see the mirror, simply to be the mirror. If we try to be the mirror and also try to figure out what the mirror is, then such figuring is simply reflections on the mirror. It seems quite challenging to just reflect like a mirror, since we are so accustomed to discriminating, preferring, assessing, and getting caught up in the objects placed before us. Though it is challenging, it is also very simple, almost too simple for us to accept. http://sweepingzen.com/mirror-awareness-the-true-host

Further reading for this talk is available in the Zazenkai forum thread:

July 2015 Zazenkai Forum Thread »

Who is a Zen Priest ... and how to nurture their Training? And who perhaps is not? These are difficult questions, especially in our little Sangha.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: SIT-A-LONG with JUNDO: Who Is a Priest ... »

Koans for this talk are from The Book of Serenity: CASE 54 - Ungans Great Compassionate One, CASE 55 - Seppo the Rice Cook, CASE 56 - Mishi's White Rabbit, and CASE 57 - Genyo's One Thing.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: July 1st-2nd, 2016 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! »

Buddhist meditation has commonly been considered an instrumental technique aimed at obtaining a heightened mental or spiritual state, or even as a method for inducing some dramatic "enlightenment" experience. But in some branches of the Zen tradition, Zazen (Zen seated meditation) has been seen not as a means to attaining some result, but as a ritual enactment and expression of awakened awareness. This alternate, historically significant approach to Zen meditation and practice has been as a ceremonial, ritual expression whose transformative quality is not based on stages of attainment or meditative prowess.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: June 31st-July 1st, 2017 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! »

Dear All, PLEASE NOTE THAT WE HAVE MOVED OUR NETCAST FROM USTREAM to JUSTIN.TV! CLICK ON LINKS BELOW: Please 'sit-a-long' with our MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI, netcast LIVE 8am to noon Japan time Saturday morning (that is New York 7pm to 11pm, Los Angeles 4pm to 8pm (Friday night), London midnight to 4am and Paris 1am to 5am (early Saturday morning)) ... and visible at the following link during those times ... LIVE ZAZENKAI NETCAST at JUSTIN.TV: REMEMBER TO CLICK ON "FULL SCREEN" VERSION! http://www.justin.tv/treeleafzen But FEAR NOT if not possible for you to join 'live' in your location at those times, as the entire sitting is recorded in 'REAL TIME' and available for full participation 'ON DEMAND' at ANY TIME after that, no different from the 'live' sitting . Just click then on the links below: THE 'REAL TIME, ANY TIME' recorded version is divided into 3 parts as follows (click on the links) : 00:00 - 00:50 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA / SANDOKAI IN ENGLISH) & ZAZEN 00:50 - 01:00 KINHIN 01:00 - 01:30 ZAZEN 01:30 - 01:50 KINHIN ZAZENKAI PART I LINK: TO BE POSTED HERE AFTER LIVE NETCAST 01:50 - 02:30 DHARMA TALK & ZAZEN 02:30 - 02:40 KINHIN TALK & ZAZEN PART 2 LINK: TO BE POSTED HERE AFTER LIVE NETCAST 02:40 - 03:15 ZAZEN 03:15 - 03:30 KINHIN 03:30 - 04:00 METTA CHANT & ZAZEN, VERSE OF ATONEMENT, FOUR VOWS, & CLOSING ZAZENKAI PART 3 LINK: TO BE POSTED HERE AFTER LIVE NETCAST 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'. Oh, and lots and lots of Zazen and walkin' Kinhin in between! Please download and print out the Chant Book (PDF) at the following link: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2231 I STRONGLY 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, AND HAVE ROOM FOR BOWING AND KINHIN. ALSO, REMEMBER TO SET YOUR COMPUTER (& SCREEN SAVER) SO THAT IT DOES NOT SHUT OFF DURING THE 4 HOURS. I hope you will join us ... an open Zafu is waiting. When we drop all thought of 'here' 'there' 'now' 'then' ... we are sitting all together! Gassho, Jundo

Many forms of Buddhist meditation center on seeking ... seeking benefits ranging from mystical states and insights, to simple relaxation and good health effects. These are great Practices, yet also feed the tendency so common to folks in modern, consumer societies to not know how to be truly still, content and whole ... for people in the West keep running after more, bigger, better, brighter. We want to be more focused, more peaceful, more enlightened ... We truly are hamsters on treadmills, and we do not know how to stop and turn spinning wheels into Enso!

Even many of the students and Teachers of so-called "Just Sitting" Zazen will bring a subtle greed into their sitting ... subtly and secretly demanding some profit and returns ... which robs the sitting of its greatest power. Oh, sure, they may become more peaceful, relaxed, accepting in life ... and that's something! But they are not truly "just sitting" in stillness ... rather, they are still "just demanding" even if in the backs of their minds. Modern, industrial people, it seems, find it so hard to just sit and be, whole and complete!

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum:

SIT-A-LONG with Jundo: Why Zen Folks FAIL!! (3) - CHASING »

Last time in this series on "Why Zen Folks FAIL!", we looked at NOT KNOWING HOW NOT TO CHASE! Folks don't know how to be totally still. This time, the reason "Zen Folks FAIL!" is because of complacently NOT KNOWING HOW TO CHASE! Folks don't know how to keep climbing and moving!

Saying about this life and world that "there is nothing in need of change" --does not-- mean "there is nothing in need of change". Simply because all things are "perfectly complete, just as they are", that --does not-- mean that all things are "perfectly complete, just as they are". Saying so is only from one beautiful perspective. In fact, to realize profoundly that "there is nothing in need of change", we must change our human tendencies of excess desire, anger, jealously and other divisive thoughts of ignorance. There is a lot about us in need of change in order to realize that nothing was ever in need of change from the first, not a drop.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum:

SIT-A-LONG with Jundo: Why Zen Folks FAIL!! (4) - NOT CHASING ENOUGH! »

TODAY's TALK: Jijuyu-zanmai (The Self-Fulfilliing Samadhi / The still abiding taste of the self in self-fulfillment) by Menzan Zuiho Osho

Menzan Zuihō (面山瑞方, 1683-1769) was a Japanese Sōtō Zen scholar and abbot of the Zenjo-ji and Kuin-ji temples active during the Tokugawa era. Menzan's scholarship was part of the Tokugawa movement of returning to original historical sources to revitalize Zen (復古. "fukko" - "return to the old"), especially the works of Dōgen Zenji. Before Menzan the works of Dōgen were not widely studied or put into practice, and he helped revitalize the Sōtō school by analyzing and building on Dogen's writings. Menzan used Dōgen to promote a reform of the Sōtō sect, which included reforming the monastic code and meditation practice. Due to Menzan's efforts, Dōgen studies now occupies a central position in Sōtō Zen thought.Menzan was also involved in lecturing to the public and teaching laymen and laywomen meditation practice. One of his most famous works, the Buddha Samadhi (Jijuyu Zanmai) is addressed to laypeople and focuses on the teachings of Dōgen.

The reading for this talk is available in the Zazenkai forum thread.

June 2015 Zazenkai Forum Thread »

Koans for this talk are from The Book of Serenity:

• CASE 51: Hogen's "By Boat or Land"
• CASE 52: Sozan's Dharmakaya
• CASE 53: Obaku's Dregs
• CASE 54: Ungans Great Compassionate One

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: June 3rd-4th, 2016 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! »

Our Talk this Month is "What I Know about the Ino" (the Supervisor of Monks) ... a monastic office, but not that far from our own lives, jobs and family duties ... It is from Master Dogen's "Pure Standards for the Temple Administrators (Chiji Shingi)" for Eiheiji Monastery (translated by Taigen Leighton and Shohaku Okumura)

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: June 2nd-3rd, 2017 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! »

Ryokan, the old big useless fool, writer of cheap poetry and wanderer in both worlds, this one and the next, writes: Violets and dandelions mixed together in my beggar's bowl are offered to all the buddhas Manifest here, there and everywhere   Broken bowls, begging bowls, that's what we are. Nothing special, nobody special. Takuhatsu is the action of going begging in the streets, floating away in this fleeting world, things given and received, but who gives, who receives? In the light of the sad events of the past few weeks, Let's take a look at this bowl. gassho Taigu Visit the forum thread here!

What is the meaning of Koku? What is Koku? What is not Koku? Visit the Forum for this topic!

Futher comments on Koku based on Uji, Being-time. The broad and big body of Koku contains all actions and times: Visit the Forum for this topic!

The Nishijima Cross translation gives this version of the text: Zen Master Shakkyō Ezō of Bushū asks Zen Master Seidō Chizō,“Do you understand how to grasp space?” Seidō says, “I understand how to grasp it.” The master says, “How do you grasp it?” Seidō clutches at space with his hand. The master says, “You do not understand how to grasp space.” Seidō says, “How do you grasp it, brother?” The master grabs Seidō’s nostrils and pulls them. Groaning with pain, Seidō says, “It is very brutal to yank a per- son’s nostrils, but I have directly been able to get free.” The master says, “Directly grabbing hold like this, you should have got it from the beginning.” Shakkyō’s words “Do you understand how to grasp space?” ask “Are you too ‘the thoroughly realized body as hands and eyes’?”Seidō says, “I understand how to grasp it.” Space is one unadulterated mass, which, once touched is then tainted.Since being tainted, “space has fallen to the ground.” As we are entertaining ourselves with ten thousand things to do, to dream about, to chase; as we imagine the truth to be found somewhere else, we neglect the very precious Koku of this-self-here-now. Getting hold of our nose is to get in touch with the only reality that matters. Everything else belongs to the realm of projection and illusion, we have to start where we live, in this space of being and practice and then we may unfold. Visit the Forum for this topic!

The Nishijima Cross translation goes as follows: Daibutsu would like to tell Shakkyō the fol- lowing: “Before, when you grabbed Seidō’s nostrils, if you wanted to grasp space, you should have grabbed the nostrils of yourself, Shakkyō, and you should have understood how to grasp the fingertips with the fingertips.” Even so, Shakkyō does know a bit about the dignified behavior of grasping space. Even a good player at grasping space needs to research the interior and exte- rior of space, needs to research the deadening and vitalization of space, and needs to know the lightness and weight of space. We should maintain and rely upon [the teaching] that the effort in pursuit of the truth, the establish- ment of the mind, the practice and experience, and the assertions and ques- tions of buddhas and of patriarchs are just the grasping of space. My late master, Tendō Nyojō, the eternal buddha, says: “The whole body like a mouth, hanging in space.” Clearly, the whole body of space is suspended in space. Grasping space is extra. This reality in this reality, this space in this space practice, teach and preach the Dharma. Like the empty mouth of a bell, space moves in space. Visit this topic on the forum!

Dogen writes the following: The migrating bird leaves no trace behind and does not need a guide This freedom from form and attachment, from past ( trace) and future (guide), this complete action, absolute and yet transitory is our practice. Koku is found in this wondrous life, in this body-mind. Totally experienced, it is forgotten. Once forgotten, it is realized. gassho Taigu Visit the forum for discussion on this topic!

Someone asked me today during our Zazenkai if FOLKS IN ZAZEN CAN LEVITATE. Well, I am open minded about such things, but I have never seen so in person. The only photos I have seen look either like they have been photoshopped, or there is something wrong with the photo (such as the dark background and sleeves in these photos which surely hide a platform) ...   ... or the person is "bouncing" more than flying ...   I have had sensations like levitating off the ground during long Zazen, great lightness and motion, but that turned out not to be so when I looked down. Oh, the mind can play tricks during Zazen. HOWEVER ... I KNOW THAT LEVITATION EXISTS IN ZAZEN, FOR SURE! REAL LEVITATION IS ALWAYS IN ZAZEN ... FLYING EVERY WHERE AT ONCE! Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended. Click here to visit the forum thread!

For the next few "sit-a-longs", I'm going to revive a series from awhile back on WHATSA BODHISATTVA, looking a some of the greats ... Avalokiteśvara (Kannon), Samantabhadra and others. Before, we looked at each of the traditional Virtues, the 'Perfections' of a Bodhisattva ... http://www.treeleaf.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?search=whattsa+who'sa+bodhisattva&IncludeBlogs=2&limit=20 Today, though, let's talk about the Devil, Satan, Mara, Evil ... Oh, I believe in the Devil! Bodhisattvas too. Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended. Visit the forum thread here!

It is often said that Buddhist groups in the West are not very welcoming of children, and miss chances to communicate basic teachings and practices to kids. In both Asian Buddhism and for other religions in the west (but, somehow, not so much for "Western Buddhism"), "religious holidays" can be a time for families to unite, to bond through customs and practices, and to bring children into the spirit of the time through the celebration. Holidays can be an important time to expose children to Buddhist teachings and values in ways that leave a lasting, positive impression for the future. Are there ways to make various Buddhist holidays more "kid friendly" while preserving the traditional message, values and customs of the original? This is something that weighs heavily on many Buddhist parents at this time of year, when the other religions have their big celebrations. Buddhist children might feel left out, and we may be missing an opportunity to teach them important lessons while making them feel included in our Practices, transmitting a positive feeling about Buddhism as they grow up. Also (and most importantly), I am certain that we can do so BOTH while preserving the true message of the Buddhist holidays AND avoiding the crassness and commercialism that has come to represent this time of year. Our Treeleaf Sangha has established a workshop to transform a couple of traditional Buddhist holidays to suit western needs a bit more, and especially the needs of families and the teaching of good lessons to children. Once we get things hammered out, we would like to encourage other Zen Sangha, and the wider Buddhist community in the west, to join with us. viewforum.php?f=28 WITHOUT the department stores (by emphasizing, for example, giving to charity, unselfish giving to others, the making of homemade gifts or giving of Buddhism related presents), WITHOUT the glitz and commercialism, we can turn Rohatsu (Buddha's Enlightenment Day in December), Vesak (Buddha's Birthday around April) and some other holidays into FAMILY FRIENDLY events WHILE PRESERVING THE TEACHINGS. The central messages of the holidays ... selflessness, generosity, non-attachment, peace, awakening, compassion, loving kindness ... can be both PRESERVED and PASSED ON to children through the vehicle of these holidays. The message on these holidays is now conveyed through chanting and ritual ... so why not through joyous songs and home rituals that the whole family can partake in? NOTHING of the meaning, traditions and authenticity of these holidays need be lost. Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended. Visit the Forum for this topic!

First, I would like to point everyone to our upcoming ZENATHON, for 10 days starting April 1st (March 31 in some places) through April 10th, marking the 10th Anniversary of Treeleaf Sangha. Sangha members and friends will be sitting somewhere in the world, in all time zones, to mark the event. We are also very fortunate to be able to celebrate together with the traditional day marking Buddha's Birthday in Japan, April 8th (details on that soon). In our Community, we have people sitting all over, in all times, dropping away all thought of "here and there". If you are available to sit with us, here is information on how you can note your times to sit (or if your schedule requires, you can also just pull up a Zafu when you can).

... And on to today's topic:

As part of our focus on Treeleaf's Engaged and Charitable Projects Center, I have been looking at how the traditional Virtues (Paramitas) of a Bodhisattva aid and guide us in our volunteer, charitable and socially engaged activities in the world. This time, we look at how ethics and the Precepts are a vital foundation for our activities.

Truly, they open the heart. An appreciation of the importance of life, of not taking what has not been given, of not using others, of honesty and like virtues all help us along.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: SIT-A-LONG with JUNDO: Engaged Ethics (& Zenathon for Treeleaf's 10th Anniversary) »

Because “this place is where something ineffable exists,” it is through the realization of these words that Buddhist patriarchs are caused to be. And because the realization of these words of Buddhist patriarchs passes naturally from rightful successor to rightful successor, the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, realized as “a whole body,” are “hanging in space.” This space is beyond such categories as the twenty kinds of space [such as inside, outside, over, below, etc.]. In general, how could space be limited to only twenty kinds of space. There are eighty-four thousand kinds of space, and there may be countless more besides.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: March 4th-5th, 2016 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! »

Our talk is about the zen poems of the Great Fool: Ryōkan Taigu (1758–1831).

This famous hermit monk lived a simple life but rich in practice and reverence for the present moment. After leaving the monastery he spent his life helping people in villages, begging, playing with kids and writing poems. More about Ryōkan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dkan

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! The zen poems of Ryokan Taigu »

PLEASE NOTE THAT SOME KINHIN TIMES HAVE BEEN LENGTHENED IN COMPASSION FOR NEW SITTERS JOINING US ... Dear All, Please 'sit-a-long' with our MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI,netcast LIVE 8am to noon Japan time Saturday morning (1/1) (that is New York 6pm to 10pm, Los Angeles 3pm to 7pm (Friday night 12/31), London 11pm to 3am and Paris midnight to 4am (early Saturday morning)) ... and visible at the following link during those times ... LIVE ZAZENKAI NETCAST at USTREAM: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sit-a-long-with-jundo But FEAR NOT if not possible for you to join 'live' in your location at those times, as the entire sitting is recorded in 'REAL TIME' and available for full participation 'ON DEMAND' at ANY TIME after that, no different from the 'live' sitting . Just click then on the links below: THE 'REAL TIME, ANY TIME' recorded version is divided into 3 parts as follows (click on the blue links) : 00:00 - 00:50 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA / SANDOKAI IN ENGLISH) & ZAZEN 00:50 - 01:00 KINHIN 01:00 - 01:30 ZAZEN 01:30 - 01:50 KINHIN ZAZENKAI PART I LINK: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13089563 01:50 - 02:30 DHARMA TALK & ZAZEN 02:30 - 02:40 KINHIN 02:40 - 03:15 ZAZEN TALK & ZAZEN PART 2 LINK: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13091980 03:15 - 03:30 KINHIN 03:30 - 04:00 METTA CHANT & ZAZEN, VERSE OF ATONEMENT, FOUR VOWS, & CLOSING ZAZENKAI PART 3 LINK: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13094120   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'. Oh, and lots and lots of Zazen and walkin' Kinhin in between! Please download and print out the Chant Book (PDF) at the following link: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2231 I STRONGLY 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, AND HAVE ROOM FOR BOWING AND KINHIN. ALSO, REMEMBER TO SET YOUR COMPUTER (& SCREEN SAVER) SO THAT IT DOES NOT SHUT OFF DURING THE 4 HOURS. I hope you will join us ... an open Zafu is waiting. When we drop all thought of 'here' 'there' 'now' 'then' ... we are sitting all together! Gassho, Jundo Visit the forum thread here!

In our Soto Way, this Life-Practice-Enlightenment is the constant painting of a picture ... a masterpiece ever created and simultaneously complete in each stroke by stroke by stroke. The goal is not to strip away the surface image in search of blank canvas. Nor is it a finished masterpiece, done once and for all, then hung in a museum to gather dust. It is not something one sees outside oneself, as if one merely need see the painting hanging on a gallery wall and is thus done. It is not simply a matter of realizing that the image on the canvas is a fiction, or real as real can be, or something in between (although all of those). It may be a dream, a dream within a dream ... yet even a painted rice cake can fill all hunger, says Master Dogen. Rather, it is the art of creation, mastery of the brushwork ... whereby, one is free in life to paint a master stroke, or an ugly stroke, in each here and now instant stroke ... free to create the life-self-world work of art one chooses by one's words, thoughts and acts, one stroke building on the last. It is an ongoing opus, a total composition, paint drop by paint drop, continuing so long as we live. Nevertheless, while painting onward ... each stroke by stroke is already Whole and Complete, the totality of every painting ever painted contained in each drop. The 'master artist' is not the mere 'beginner'. Although each stroke is ever new, a new beginning, the true "master" tends to the masterful stokes and compositions, rather than the hack or low or damaging. All time and space and history painted us into this painting of a world ... and thus we were born as part of its scene, part of this world. Now, alive, we find ourselves with brush in hand ... ready to continue the making of the total composition ongoing from this point forward ... a painted being in a picture, and a being painting the picture, all just the painting all along. Maybe we cannot change the vast, total composition as just one person (the world is a big and complicated place), but we can change so much ... repaint the ugly into something balanced, beautiful, serene. The brushstrokes of our actions, Karma, will be seen far into the future. The timeless achievement of Enlightenment is A Treasure beyond Measure, a Priceless Painting we realize was (as was the jewel in the Lotus Sutra) hidden in plain view all along! Looking for the painting from inside the painting, we cannot find it. Or, better said, it is a Priceless Painting that we realize was never hidden nor bound by any frame, just who we have been all along, and we that ... for we are the work of art, all of life a work of art. What is more, the Vast, Powerful composition ... filled with happy faces and crying faces, images of peace and of war, growth and death, majestic mountains and scrawled graffiti on city walls ... is embraced for Totality, rejecting none of it. All painted right in, making the Whole. All the Master Peace. Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended. Visit the Forum for this topic!

People fail at Zen because they think there is a place to fail. But in fact, THERE IS NO PLACE TO FAIL!

People fail at Zen because they think there is -no- place to fail. In fact, THERE ARE ENDLESS PLACES TO FAIL!

The biggest place to fail is to believe that there either is or is not places to fail. Better said, the trap is the failure to know that ONE CAN FAIL YET NOT FAIL AT ONCE!

Zen folks fail because we're IGNORANT, DELUDED sentient beings, of course! But more specifically, because of several common mistakes and misguided assumptions among many Zen students new and old (and by so-called Zen Teachers too).

This is the first of a NEW VIDEO/AUDIO PODCAST SERIES and, over the coming weeks, I will look at many of the reasons that Zen students, Teachers, Zen groups and Buddhism in general are EPICALLY FAILING in the West (and why they are also doing quite well in so many ways, thank you!).

Join the discussion for this episode at the Treeleaf.org forum.

Buddhism [1] explains why sorrows exist in the world, and explains in reasonable, cogent, realistic ways (beyond some rather more doubtful and fanciful explanations it also offers), [2] provides a vision which offers peace and compassion amid, and transcendence of, all human suffering, and, simultaneously [3] offers a workable path toward the alleviation of such suffering and ugliness in this world in ways vitally necessary for our species' future. If Buddhism failed in those three hard tasks, I don't think it would have much value. Fortunately, I believe, it does not fail in those tasks. Thus, I can say that this talk is as positive and optimistic in tone as it is sad and broken hearted. It is not merely one or the other. May 2015 Zazenkai Forum Thread

We continue a series of talks on the Buddhist "Paramitas" (Virtues) which aid in our engaged and charitable work in the world. Today ... PATIENCE ...

We can be diligent and energetic in our efforts, seeking a good outcome ... yet not be attached to the desired outcome. We can do what can be done, trying for good results ... yet filled with patience at the slow progress. We can try for success ... yet also know equanimity with regard to success or failure.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: SIT-A-LONG with JUNDO: ENGAGED PATIENCE »

Today's Talk is dedicated to a fellow who historically got a bad rap. It is also shows how much our Shikantaza Zazen ways resonate with the Teachings of the ancient Masters in the earliest days of Zen ...

Heshang Moheyan (和尚摩訶衍)) was a late 8th century Chan monk (Chan is the Chinese name for Zen). He became famous for representing Chan in the so called "Council of Lhasa," a debate held in Tibet between adherents of the Indian teachings of "gradual enlightenment" and the Chinese teachings of "sudden enlightenment," which according to tradition was won by the "gradual teachings", causing Moheyan and all Chan Teachings to be expelled from Tibet. However, recent research has disclosed that the story is not so simple, and may represent a rewriting of history and what actually happened by those later advocating the esoteric teachings we now know as Tibetan Buddhism. It is now known that Moheyan and Chan Teachings were very influential and widely accepted in long ago Tibet for a long time before they were purged.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: May 6th-7th, 2016 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! »

We are calling on ALL of our Treeleaf Members and friends to Vow to undertake one extra, special 'Good Deed' each day (besides all the Good you already do!) and dedicate this to our Sangha.

This is a manifestation of our Shikantaza Practice out in this world, this is a Community Project together. We recall especially that Mahayana Buddhism that is actually not about us at all, but is always dedicated to the world. We sit for the world, we act for the world and others. So, this is just another form of Shikantaza, like Chanting Metta ... it is Metta in Action. Like placing an offering on the Altar, this is making small offerings to the Altar which is the world. Like working in Samu to pick weeds or cook, or eating Oryoki, this is working to pick a few weeds in our town, to feed others as we feed ourselves.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: SIT-A-LONG with Jundo: The Treeleaf LEND-A-HAND ('LAH') Project ... WE NEED YOU! »

Just Sitting, Thinking-Not Thinking ... is the silence always heard in noise and silence, the stillness that is both movement and standing still ... the peace encountered even as disturbance .... . ... ... ... the full, vibrant life ... ... ...   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... that is clear, living, empty space ... . . . . .    Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended. Visit the Forum for this topic!

Dear All, Just a little New Years Greetings from the Cohen Family (it's already the New Year here in Japan) ... And don't forget our New Years Zazenkai today ... All Are Welcome! RING IN THE NEW YEAR ... AND EVERY NEW MOMENT ... WITH OUR 4-HOUR ZAZENKAI ... (detail here) viewtopic.php?f=11&t=3260 Gassho, Jundo, MIna, Leon and 'Tin Tin' the Cat Visit the Forum for this topic!

... no place to hide! I came back to Tsukuba yesterday to find a town returning to calm, neighbors helping neighbors, and a great spirit of volunteerism and service. People are staying out of the rain, trying to avoid drinking the water, and the ground still shakes now and then ... but, otherwise, pretty ordinary March day. These are images and newsreports of the 1896! tsunami in Japan which is said to have killed 27,000! people, rivaling the current disaster. 30,000 may have died earlier the same year in a separate tsunami. Nor is that the only such case, with dozens of earthquakes, tsunami, vo past century in Japan ... with hundreds of thousands dead or displaced. And, in great part, this is also a source of strength in Japanese national character, as people pull together at such times and overcome. Sure, this recent disaster has a couple of twists ... the nuclear things and such ... but countless Japanese folks (and non-Japanese too) are doing so in this case too. Something like how Americans needed the hardship of "crossing the great frontier" to make American Character ... Japanese may thrive from nature's hardship and challenge. I am sitting in near-normal safety in Tsukuba, while folks are truly suffering 100 miles northeast of here. The highways are filled with relief trucks moving supplies that way, local community groups are pitching in too in my town and 1000 others. I sent Mina and Leon to be with relatives in Osaka, the "safe" part of Japan (although they also have had a killer tsunami or two down there in centuries past), because the radiation levels here in the air, rain and water are not advisable for growing children. For an old guy like me, however, little concern or threat. The subject of today's sit-a-long ... no where to run to, baby ... no where we need or can run, baby ... just be still, baby, even as we run for the hills! Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended. Visit the forum thread here!

For this talk, we will reflect on some of the Verses, Vows and Dedications we are heard to Chant around here for each Zazenkai and at other times.  For further reading on these and other Chants, I highly recommend "Living by Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Texts, by Shohaku Okumura, Wisdom Publications, 2012."

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: November 6th-7th, 2015 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! »

To Commence Jundo's month-long travels & pilgrimage to India, this talk is on Satsangs the Bhagavad-gītā (and various Zen Teachings on India).

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: November 4th-5th, 2016 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! NAMASTE INDIA! »

The Talk this time will be on Master Hongzhi's 'Guidepost of Silent Illumination' ... http://www.treeleaf.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=4226 A little more about Master Hongzhi (Wanshi in Japanese) here ... http://www.elqui.mailworks.org/Hongzhi-Zhengjue/index.html And for our true "Dharma Wonks", an essay by Soto teacher, translator and historian Taigen Dan Leighten on ... Hongzhi (Silent Illumination), Dogen and the Background of Shikantaza http://www.ancientdragon.org/dharma/articles/the_art_of_just_sitting Please visit the forum thread here!

Reading: "Wild Ways of the Precepts in Japan"

It is not known if the precepts in sixteen articles resulted from Dogen’s own innovation or if he borrowed this group from another source. [Dogen, in a writing describing the ordination ceremony for his priests] states that the ordination ceremony described therein is exactly the same as the one conducted by [Dogen's Teacher in China] Ju-ching in 1225 when he administered the precepts to Dogen. The reliability of that assertion, however, seems doubtful. [from "Dogen and the Precepts" by Prof. Steven Heine]

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: October 2nd-3rd, 2015 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! »

Koans for this talk are from The Book of Serenity: CASE 67 - THE FLOWER GARLAND SUTRA’S WISDOM, and CASE 68 - KYUHO’S HEAD AND TAIL.

Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: October 7th-8th, 2016 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! »

in spring, the cherry blossoms in summer, the cuckoo 's song, in autumn, the moon shining, in winter, the frozen snow: how pure and clear are the seasons! Please visit the forum thread here!

Rohatsu is coming. Celebration, quality time, quiet time. My wish is for you to enjoy your retreat. Not to rush it or wish you could be somewhere else. Just surrender to each action and moment as it is. Visit the Forum for this topic!

Our Annual 'AT HOME' Two Day 'ALL ONLINE' ROHATSU (Buddha's Enlightenment Day) RETREAT IS COMING UP ... to be LIVE NETCAST on the weekend of December 4 and 5, 2010. This Retreat celebrates the 'official' closure of our ANGO (100 day Special Practice Season) at Treeleaf, is a part of current preparations for our JUKAI (Undertaking the Precepts) Ceremony in January, and marks ROHATSU ... the traditional holiday in Japan celebrating the time of the Buddha's Enlightenment. I will also soon be posting LINKS TO A SERIES OF 'SIT-A-LONG' TALKS WHICH SHOULD BE LISTENED TO before the Retreat. They cover such hot topics as "How to Oryoki" "How to Bow" "How to Go To The Bathroom during a Retreat" (Really) and many others. TODAY'S SIT-A-LONG LOOKS AT THIS QUESTION: If there is 'nothing to attain' in Zazen ... why sit an intensive retreat at all?? Visit the Forum for this topic!