Late Summer 2006

Our relationship with Zen Desert Sangha and other thoughts.

joel

 

Since our sangha has gone through changes of late and some who practiced with us before are gone and others are here that weren’t before, I thought it might be beneficial to recap some of the evolution we have gone through.

When our sangha just formed, several of us were sitting at the Zen center in Tucson, and had a formal student/teacher relationship with Pat Hawk, Roshi. With his guidance we adopted the Diamond Sangha format for our Sunday sit and service. It was strongly felt that it was important to carry on an established tradition and not risk projecting our limited and changing understanding and needs onto the form of our practice. The Diamond Sangha tradition is directed towards a lay sangha, brings together Soto and Rinzai traditions, and tends to be very inclusive. It has served us well. There are other traditions that are no less worthwhile of our effort and aspiration, but in the maturation process of study it is almost universal that a time comes to commit to one particular path. Our practice at Bisbee Lotus Sangha shouldn’t inhibit the various practices we each bring to the cushion. Our goal is to be mutually supportive and provide the essential element of sangha.

ZDS (Zen Desert Sangha) has been and continues to be supportive of what we are doing. In our beginnings, they provided officer training for several of us. They gave us the bell the jiki uses. All members of our sangha have been and are welcomed to attend all the sits and events there. Presently they are discussing the donation of books from their library to ours. They have been a sibling sangha and I believe we may be on the verge of additional exchanges.

It is anticipated that several members and senior students from ZDS will be visiting soon. Roshi Pat Hawk has tentatively agreed to come down to give a teaching. Perhaps we can arrange for a Zazenkai, which would allow for Dokusan or private interviews. It will be a great opportunity to deepen our practice and expand our identity. The relationship could possibly lead to more teacher/student encounters.

So, this could be a good time for us to evaluate what it is that we want from our sangha and what we can give. Sometimes important things happen in our lives and if we aren’t mindful enough we won’t grasp the significance until later on. And that is why the great teachers of Buddhism direct our attention to the here and now, to nurture life moment by moment. It could be said that this is the matter of Great Faith in the Way and a test of our wholeheartedness.

Case Four of The Book of Serenity:

“ Attention! When the World Honored One was walking with his disciples he pointed to the ground and said,” It would be good to erect a temple here.” The god Indra took a blade of grass and stuck it into the ground and said,” The temple has been erected.” The World Honored One smiled.”

From Dogen’s Instructions to the Tenzo: “Handle even a single leaf of a green in such a way that it manifest the body of Buddha. This in turn allows the Buddha to become manifest through the leaf. This is a power which you cannot grasp with your rational mind.”

And also , he tells us of asking an elderly and senior monk who was working very hard in the hot sun why he did not let younger monks assist him. The monk answered,” Other people are not me.” And “If not now, then when?”

New to the Library:

Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind: the Zen Journal and Letters of Maura “Soshin” O’Halloran

“In 1979, at the age of twenty-four, Maura O’Halloran left a waitressing job in Boston and began her study of Zen in Japan. Today, she is revered as a Buddhist saint, and a statue stands in her honor at the monastery where she lived. This is the story of her journey…” Great read- highly recommended as a glimpse into someone else’s path and experience.

Handful of Leaves 4 volume anthology of sutras from the Pali Canon, considered the oldest recording of the Buddha’s teaching and of the many parable used in the teaching of the Dharma. Translated by Thanissarro Bhikku and printed by the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies, this set of books was donated to the Bisbee Lotus Sangha by the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies as part of their practice of sharing the Dharma. For further information on the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies www.sati.org.

NOTE: AS space is currently limited in our sangha library this volume is at Joel’s. If interested just let him know and it will be brought to the next sit.

Dharma Study Group to Form:

Currently we are preparing to initiate our Dharma Study Group. This group will be meeting for us to explore as dharma brothers and sisters the teachings of Buddhism and Zen. The intent is for it to be a coming together of hearts and minds in order to be mutually supportive of our spiritual paths. There will be an emphasis on the process of sharing, of learning to move between the positions of teacher and student, or, put in more traditional Zen terms, of guest and host. It is said that of all the practices or paramitas, that of giving is the most beneficial, equally for the individual self and the greater self (if the distinction is to be made), and that there is no greater gift than that of the Dharma.

We will be exploring the teachings of Kosho Uchiyama as put forth in the book, “Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice.” Uchiyama was of the Soto tradition and played an instrumental role in the transmission of Zen to the West. He touches upon many subjects, some poetically, some practically, but always directing us toward the opening of our eyes and mind so that we may experience our self-nature with the clarity that comes with the practice of Zazen and Zen Mind. This is not a book full of answers, but one of questions, and often we will find that we will work very hard to discover and accept that, in the end, there are no answers, only the very process of asking and responding.

The first gathering is slated for Wednesday October 4, from 6:30 to 8pm, at Molly’s home in Warren. It will run for 6-8 weeks (every Wednesday). We are working in some formality to the gathering, in keeping with the spirit and significance of studying the Dharma. One may come and go as other obligations or desires allow. There is no cost except for the purchase of the book. There is one copy in the library and if the cost of the book is a hindrance to joining us, see Joel who will seek a scholarship from the sangha to help out. Everyone is welcomed, the only prerequisite is the spirit of sharing.

“I will lie happily in the shadow of the grass- that is, in the grave- knowing you’re all practicing sincerely. I will lie there sorrowing if you live blindly. Please let me lie cheerfully in the shadow of the grass. I ask this of you wholeheartedly.”

Kosho Uchiyama“ from Opening the Hand of Thought”

Sangha Needs:

Sangha Librarian: This would entail keeping a running inventory of books, labeling books, writing reviews for newsletter etc… If interested please contact Suzanne.

Altar Flowers:  A volunteer for Altar flowers for September.

Sunday Tea:  If anyone is interested in spearheading the activity of providing tea prior to the Sunday sit in a ceremonial manner please contact Suzanne.

Samu Practice:  Someone to look into the “Adopt a Highway” program as something we could engage in as community service.  Information needs to be presented to the sangha before the upcoming general meeting.

Something to think about.......

Soon we will be asking sangha participants to declare a particular level of commitment to the sangha. There will be several categories of membership with varying responsibilities and privileges. This is in preparation of our first “official” general meeting and board elections. Provisional by-laws are being prepared and our vision is to seek non-profit status in the near future.

In any case, whatever we decide, everyone is welcome to participate in our sits and events. This is as much of an opportunity to give as a request for support. It is rare to be born a human, even less so to be privileged enough to participate in the Way…

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Stepping Forth:

Besides being found in the Gateless Barrier, this case is also found in the Book of Serenity (Equanimity) as Case 79. Often it is taken to mean that we should not become stuck in the sense or wisdom of emptiness and that our practice must go further. The commentary by Gerry Shishin Wick, in his presentation of the Book of Equanimity, emphasizes that it is not a step we take AFTER we get some place special, but a step forward from wherever we are, “Each of us is stranded on a hundred-foot pole. We may have climbed up for the view or we may have fallen to it from another perch. No matter where we are in our Zen practice or our life, we’re always standing on top of a hundred-foot pole.” Furthermore, he says, “Our habit-ridden consciousness holds us in one place if we don’t see it and let go. We need to watch it very carefully without judging. You can see how quickly you fall into old patterns of behavior. It’s almost like trying to separate yourself from your shadow. And it gets more and more subtle.”

Wick concludes his commentary with, “The Great Way is not something to believe in. It’s something you have to realize for yourself. As long as you want to hold on to this limited view of who you are, you’ll never do it. All kinds of discomforts come up during zazen and the rest of your life, but as long as you have the faith and determination you can encounter them with your eyes open. Just keep going forward step by step from the top of the hundred-foot pole.”

So do we practice to attain or attain to practice? Shall we step forth or climb upward? Both? Neither? What does Master Dogen have to say?

“You only attain the mind of Buddha when there is no hating of birth and death and no desiring of Nirvana. But do not try to gauge it with your mind or speak it with words. When you simply release and forget both your body and mind and throw yourself into the house of Buddha, and when functioning comes from the direction of Buddha and you go in accord with it, then with no strength needed, freed from birth and death you become Buddha. Refraining from all evils, not clinging to birth and death, working in deep compassion for all sentient beings, respecting those over you and pitying those below you, without any detesting or desiring, worrying or lamentation- this is what is called Buddha. Do not search beyond it.”

Sangha News:

Our website is up and running!!! www.bisbeelotussangha.org It is quite beautiful and informative. Charles has done an awesome job, selflessly devoting many hours of labor and dedication to the growth of our sangha. Now we have yet another way to reach out to the larger community and beyond.

For me the occasion precipitates some contemplation as to what we are doing. When we call ourselves a sangha we create an entity, a being of its own, we have drawn a circle around our practice as a group and that empowers us to be and do that which we cannot do as individual beings. As I see it, the sangha is here to serve both its members and the world to which it belongs. So, the question becomes how shall we nurture and support sangha so it best serves our vows to help all beings attain liberation from suffering, to lessen attachment to selfish and ignorant currents, to open the ‘hand of thought’, and actualize the Buddha’s teachings. To be part of a sangha is a wonderful opportunity. ‘Sangham Saranam Gacchami – I take refuge in the Sangha.”

In the works:

Written by-laws and membership information. We are working to give the sangha enough structure so everyone can participate in setting its course. Hopefully they will be in place soon and we’ll have a general meeting to elect board members and share our thoughts and visions.

Meanwhile if you have questions, concerns, or suggestions the current board members are Anita, Joel, Suzanne, Larry, and Charles.

Gassho:

Charles for the website

Shiloh for altar flowers

When you are able to sit without any image or any sound, with an open mind,
that is true practice.  When you can do that, you are free from eveything.
Shunryo Suzuki