Dec 1—7: Continuation of Kokizan Training Period 3
Nov 29—Dec 7: Chobo-ji Rohatsu Sesshin
Dec 7: Eshu Osho’s birthday
Dec 17—Jan 2: Year End Closure
Harvest Potluck 2015: Zen Alive 35!
Happy 35 years of Zenwest!
Of course, this year’s Harvest Potluck was the best, because it was the most recent. It was not only a potluck of the obvious marvelous munchies but it was also a potluck of the artistically inclined with Zen Alive 35!-themed centerpieces, talented members and guests sharing songs and stories and the blast-from-the-past musical offerings from Sugartime. But how can words even come close to the delicious moments of shared laughter and food with community? We have pictures!
Eshu speaks.
Jeanine and Sekito
Kendo in the kitchen
Some acoustic rock from Sugartime
IBSMF (It’ll Be So Much Fun), formerly known as the Bearded Ladies
Friends around the table
Third-place centerpiece by Pola Wojnarowicz
Second place centerpiece by Shinzen Ruebsaat
First-place centerpiece by Janine Theobold
Meet A Member: Kendo Ralfs
When did you start on the path? And where?
Tuesday night Sit at Interfaith Chapel.
What, in terms of life challenges, brought you to the practice of meditation?
None. Wanted to find out why the Samurai flocked to it when it was brought from China to Japan.
Why do you continue?
Love the clarity that develops.
What do you find, at this time, is your greatest challenge in walking the way?
Walking asleep
If you could share one bit of practical advice about sitting zazen, what would it be?
Hit the cushion before a challenge arises not after.
Finally, in three words can you express what Buddha, Dharma, Sangha means for you?
Live to give.
XYZen By Soshin McMurchy
On the evening of Monday, November 23, seven of us had a lovely relaxed gathering at Inzen’s. We snacked on sushi, swiss chard quiche, cookies, chips, a wonderful fresh fruit dish and more, while we talked of many things. There was general agreement that XYZen is explicitly open to those who may not identify their gender as women or as men. We talked about the difficulties in using English, with the pronouns he and she, and some alternatives like they, zhe, and co. As for honourifics, we were introduced to the idea of M (pronounced em) rather than Mrs, Miss and Ms.
Our new name is meant to be inclusive. The old name “Women’s Social” excluded people who experience the oppression of women but don’t identify as such. Once that was pointed out to me, it seemed obvious!
Because learning about these things can take time, and for myself even though I have good intentions I feel awkward, we agreed that our meetings would be a safe and respectful place, and that open-hearted honest mistakes are OK. That’s how we learn.
Purpose of our meeting: Fun, connection, relationship
For future gatherings: Pola is considering the idea of doing dance with us all.
For the next gathering: Inzen has offered her place again, and the idea of working on collage (she has art supplies). Pola will find a koan in The Hidden Lamp for us all to read, mull over and bring our reactions, thoughts, and feelings to this collage making gathering.
It will be so much fun! 😉
Please click on the link to the Doodle poll below and let us know what dates work for you. Add other dates in the comments field and I will add them to the poll.
I’ve been listening to the podcast regularly for the last six months and I decided to drop a note, since the opening of the podcast always invites us to send an email if we have been listening.
As an Observant Jew in New York, the podcasts (and the instructional videos on Zenwest’s website showing how to sit) have been positive contributors to my personal life and practices. Especially, in the ‘hustle and bustle’ of the city.
—CK, New York
• • •
From a listener and Zenwest donor:
I listen to your Zen centre’s podcast on a regular basis; it’s the podcast I listen to most actually. I have no access to a Zen sangha in my area (and I can’t drive) and was looking for a resource. Your podcasts have been a tremendous boon.
I got started in meditation when I was sixteen, twelve years ago, when I suffered some health problems and as a last resort, my doctor suggested meditation. It worked, I got better and I experienced moments of stillness my troubled teenage self had never experienced. I went on to dabble with it on and off at University when things got too much or through (now) ten years in the martial arts — International Taekwondo (ITF TKD) and currently Kendo, after my knees had had enough of TKD. The philosophy behind these activities always engaged me more than fighting; I liked the artistic side.
I got started in Zen as a result of Kendo (where brief zazen is part of each class) and multiple trips to Japan. In the last eighteen months zazen and the Buddhist elements of Kendo moved out of the dojo and into my home where they became a part of my daily life (and everything else, as your ‘pie slice’ metaphor suggested it would), overtaking Kendo itself. I have realised it’s actually the religion/philosophy that drives me and the physical activities I used to create peace I was overdoing, and hurting myself. I also find that Zen, with the help of your podcasts, has shown me a path I was trying to follow and had no idea what I was doing or what it was called. Turns out it’s Buddhism and the world view and hard ‘truths’ we don’t like to hear have made my life a great deal better. It has of course created new struggles, now that I see the box we all put ourselves in! But I’ll keep at it =)
That’s probably more than you asked for, so I’ll stop there. But I felt I should answer, exactly for the community reasons and that I enjoy your podcast so. Hope all is well in Victoria and the fundraising continues strongly.
—DD, Aberdeen, Scotland
My name is Rasmus and I’m from Denmark in Scandinavia. I am 33 years old, married and have a boy (2) and a girl (6). I just joined Zenwest as a distance member.
I have been practicing Buddhism on and off since I was about 18 years old. I come from a non-religious Christian’ish family but when I found Buddhism I decided that was better suited for me.
When I began practicing I did it based on what I could find in books about zen. At some point I figured that I couldn’t carry on just by myself, so I started practicing Tibetan Buddhism instead. Here in Denmark we have a lot of Tibetan Buddhist groups, but almost no zen groups. The last 2-3 years my practice has intensified until I realized that the Tibetan practices (mantra recitation, visualizations, prayer etc.) was pulling me away from the original direction I had liked in Buddhism, namely understanding the self and samsara. So after a lot of consideration I have decided to go back to zen, this time with a teacher and (hopefully) a sangha for support 🙂
So at the moment I am trying to throw away old practice habits and just doing zazen.
I hope to get to know all of you 🙂
Mvh,
Rasmus Boserup
Rasmus Boserup and Family
Memorial Day Ceremony ~ Sooke Zendo ~ November 1, 2015
by Reverend Soshin McMurchy
The noise was raucous. In the early morning one Sunday at the Sooke zendo, 18 zenwest sitters called in the Hungry Ghosts with bells, gongs, shouts, sighs, drums, noise makers and our powerful intent. The Butsudan, made inviting to these specters with Hallowe’en candy strewn about, and a partial bottle of good quality whisky tipped precariously on its side, was a celebration of disorder. Brandishing his sword, Fudo, an angry looking deity surrounded by flames, presided over the disarray.
The trickster, aka Eshu, Osho, a master of bait and switch, invited in the Hungry Ghosts in all of us, and then captivated us with his dharma talk.
As Eshu threw candies onto the Butsudan, I was immediately caught up in the adventure of this ceremony. We made the dangerous journey to the underworld, and confronted ourselves suffering in our deluded states. In this world things that are detrimental are seen as beneficial, and vice versa. The despairing inhabitants with their huge appetites, and tiny mouths, are unable to feed themselves because they have no elbows. Their huge scooping hands full of tasty morsels, cannot reach their mouths. They are tormented by the aroma and sight of a banquet they will never consume. If only they knew that they are able to feed each other! But no, completely focussed on their own needs, they are oblivious to the poor souls around them.
Here we met Fudo, a bodhisattva, who offered us the gift of transformation.
Fudo lowers himself down to the underworld, slashes through delusion with his dharma sword, and releases those imprisoned in this topsy-turvy world of illusion.
His message is clear: We can suffer in ignorance or we can succumb to the power of transformative intent, allow Fudo’s sword to slash through our delusions, allow the flames to burn them away, and the helping hand of Fudo and perhaps of all teachers throughout the history of zen, to guide us into a place of expanded consciousness, of powerful aspiration, and of strong relationships within a loving community.
A Day in the Life of a Zen Osho By Kigen Martin
He walks up to the big wood doors, flicks his robes aside and opens them. As soon as he steps through the door he is greeted by his sangha (community). After light conversation, he walks down a long hall and into what appears to be small kitchen. He puts down his equipment consisting of his bag, a tripod, a camera and his cushion. He then proceeds to talk to another monk about the teisho (sermon). I can’t help wondering what this could be about. Someone in a black gi begins making some tea. There is clearly an elaborate system at play here. I am then guided into the first-timer’s orientation. We are shown the proper way to sit and position our hands. By the time we are shown into the Zendo, everybody else is sitting already and all the lights are out. It is dead silent and my mind suddenly goes blank. I can’t remember what to do, so I just follow the person in front of me. As we enter, we all bow, hands palm to palm. Eshu Osho (teacher) is sitting just inside the doors, the leader goes in front of him and Eshu yells out “Stop, do not cross in front of me!” He says it so suddenly and loudly that I jump. The leader then backs up and walks behind him to her seat and shows us all to our seats as well.
Everything is surprisingly silent for the amount of people there. Eshu Osho looks so quiet and peaceful. After the first fifteen minutes the timekeeper rings a bell, we stand up and start walking. The walking is silent and we all have to keep in step. We walk a big circle four times around the room and then sit back down.
For the next fifteen minutes, Eshu gave a talk. Oh, what a talk. I have never been fascinated like that in my whole life. He talked about enlightenment, and how it comes as a quick experience, lasting only a couple seconds. He asked us, “Have you ever been driving and been completely unaware? Then all of a sudden you become present, and you have no idea what happened in the past twenty minutes.” That is small-scale enlightenment. An example of large scale could be when you go away for a week long retreat and by the end your mind is so empty that you end up being completely present for longer periods of time. I found it very interesting that there was this huge misconception on how once you were enlightened you were enlightened forever. Little did I know that enlightenment was nothing like that at all.
After the talk we walked around the room a couple more times. We then sat down for a final fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes the timekeeper rang the bell again. We then proceeded to do some chanting. The chant was called Final Instruction of Daito Kokushi. The chant leader did dedications for the chant. There seemed to be some really deep meaning in the chant. When the chanting was over, all the officers proceeded to exit. Everybody else made a big circle. We were all served tea, and we all took turns introducing ourselves.
The monk there was named Doshu. There was also another monk named Soshin. Soshin was Doshu’s wife. I had no idea that you could be married as a Buddhist monk. The one boy who looked to be about fifteen was actually the Osho’s son! It’s not often that youth participate in religious practice.
I found it a very transforming and revealing evening. I would most definitely attend once more. I hope to improve upon my physical and mental stillness in the future.
Impermanence By Elder Hoyu Boulter
Impermanence
Here. Gone.
Between here and gone.
How do I live? Like it is my first moment or my last.
Becoming Ino By Elder Kidō deRosenroll
As part of the responsibility I have taken on in becoming an Elder in the Zenwest sangha, I have been training under Soshin to take over the Ino role. As Ino, I’ll be responsible for training and coordinating the various Zendo officers tasked with creating a stable practice environment. By engaging with activities like keeping the time, ringing the bells and minding the temperature, the Zendo team works to ensure everyone can focus on their own sitting rather than what comes next. From the outside, it might seem as though everything just comes together the same way every sit, but the reality can be much more dynamic. Choreography changes, people make mistakes, shift happens, but time marches inexorably forward and the show must go on, so Ino directs.
Having spent a lot of time in each of the individual officer roles in the last six years, transitioning into being responsible for all of them simultaneously has given me some interesting perspective. Historically, I have had a habit of being uptight about things being done the ‘right’ way, so I have put a lot of effort in to not concerning myself with whatever Zendo jobs I am not currently responsible for. Much like with the myriad other distractions that can come up on and off the cushion, my practice has been to re-immerse myself in my own practice when I notice myself fretting over others’ practices. Now, not only is my job to be aware of what all of the officers are doing, but also to remember anything that goes awry and consider how best to address those issues when they come up.
Adjusting to this new dynamic is going smoothly so far, but I still have a lot of work to do to really come in to the role. Corrections to the Zendo team outside of the Zendo, such as during setup and following clean-up in the ‘officer meeting’, can be thought out in advance, making them easy to handle skillfully. In contrast, when errors occur while sitting in the Zendo, a decision about the best way to approach it must be made without hesitation. While I have had practice calling out corrections as Jikijitsu in the past, I am just beginning to work on my Ino voice, which I find comes from a much more complicated place. I look forward to growing further in the Ino role and hope that some of you may consider jumping on to the wild ride of officer training, so we can practice being alive together.
Oops, We Goofed! We were remiss in forgetting two bylines for two fabulous articles in last month’s newsletter. Thanks go to Pola Wojnarowicz, for the uplifting and fun article “XYZen: A Transformation for Zenwest’s Women’s Social Group” and to Ēko Joshua Goldberg for the inspiring, film review of This Changes Everything. (I guess that’s why we call it Zen Practice not Zen Perfect!)
Coming in 2016 – Ask The Abbot Video Response
Starting in our January edition, we will be featuring your question as answered by our Abbot Eshu Osho as a video response. One question only will be randomly selected monthly. Keep your question short and succinct. Send to news@zenwest.ca with the subject heading “Ask Eshu”. Do send by December 15th.
Write On!
You are encouraged to share a poem, a haiku, a meditative moment or a photo in our monthly Zenwest e-newsletter. Send your submissions to news@zenwest.ca. Those wishing to be assigned small reporting duties of sangha events can connect with Hoyu at TommiWrites@gmail.com. Together, “We Make Zen Come Alive!”
