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T H E Z E N S T U D I E S S O C I E T Y

W I N T E R / S P R I N G 2 0 0 5

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Contents

Rinzai Roku

Eido T. Shimano Roshi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Bodhidharma’s Mind-Pacifying

Roko Ni-Osho Sherry Chayat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..6

Fuketsu and The Mind Seal of The Patriarchs

Zenrin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Takuhatsu

Fujin Zenni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Zen Studies Society News & Roshi’s Travels

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Dia Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji News

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

New York Zendo Shobo-ji News

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by Eido Shimano Roshi RINZAI ROKUKANBEN: Cross-Examinations, chapterXIX translated by Eido Shimano

Mayoku (Magu) came to see the Master.Spreading his bowing mat, he asked, “Which isthe true face of the twelve-faced KanzeonBodhisattva?” The Master stepped down fromthe rope-bottomed chair. With one hand hepicked up the bowing mat; with the other handhe seized Mayoku and asked, “Where has thetwelve-faced Kanzeon gone?” Mayoku twistedhimself free and tried to sit on the chair. TheMaster picked up his staff and hit him. Mayokugrabbed it too, and both holding it, they wentinto the Master’s quarters.

A psychologist told me about someonewho wrote an interesting book. In this bookthere is a chapter which mentions threeimportant points of psychological growth:first, spirituality; second, art; and third, play.In the “Kanben” (“Cross-Examinations”)part of the Rinzai Roku, particularly in con-nection with today’s topic, the encounter ofMayoku and Master Rinzai, these threethemes stand out clearly: spiritual insight,

aesthetic beauty, and play.This ‘play’ aspect isone of the significant characteristics ofRinzai Zen Buddhism.

The other day I mentioned the seven-teenth century haiku poet Basho and thenow-famous pilgrimage he took when hewas forty-one years old. With desperationand a deeply inquisitive attitude, Basho trav-eled throughout Japan in search of ‘some-thing’. He recorded various scenes, wroteabout his experiences, and composedpoems along the way. I would like to read asection from his travel journal in connec-tion with the Rinzai Roku.

As I was plodding along the river Fuji,I saw a small child, hardly three years ofage, crying pitifully on the bank, obvious-ly abandoned by his parents. They musthave thought that this child was unableto ride through the stormy waters of lifewhich flow as wild as the rapid riveritself, and that he was destined to have alife even shorter than that of the morn-ing dew.The child looked to me as frag-ile as the flowers of bush-clover thatscatter at the slightest stir of the autumnwind, and it was so pitiful that I gave himwhat little food I had with me.

The ancient poetWho pitied monkeys for their cries,What would he say, if he saw This child crying in the autumn wind?

How is it indeed that this child hadbeen reduced to this state of utter mis-ery? Was it because of his mother whoignored him, or because of his fatherwho abandoned him? Alas, it seemed tome that this child’s undeserved sufferinghas been caused by something fargreater and more massive — by whatone might call the irresistible will ofheaven. If it is so, child, you must raiseyour voice to heaven, and I must pass on,leaving you behind.

— from “The Records of a Weather-

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Exposed Skeleton” in Basho’s TheNarrow Road to the Deep North and OtherTravel Sketches, translated by NobuyukiYuasa

Let me tell you a story similar toBasho’s. Some fifteen years ago, after estab-lishing a monastery in the Catskills and atemple in Manhattan, I took a sabbatical forone year. A friend of mine, Tani KogetsuRoshi of Shogen-ji, invited me to come andlive in Gifu Prefecture in Japan, where Itaught at Shogen College and had a differentlifestyle for a year.That summer, I needed tocome back to Dai Bosatsu Zendo for asummer five-day sesshin for American stu-dents.Tani Roshi asked me:“May I bring mystudents and friends? Can we do a jointsesshin?” I welcomed that offer. Thus, theycame.

The last day of the sesshin was August7th. That morning, with great grief, TaniRoshi told me that his only sister hadpassed away that day. She was his only livingrelative, and she had cancer.Their father hadpassed away a long time before, and theirmother cared for them strictly and withloving-kindness until she too died morethan thirty years ago, on August 7th. Justbefore Tani Kogetsu Roshi left Japan forNew York, the doctor told him, “It’s crazyfor you to go to New York, leaving your onlysister behind who is dying in two weeks.”Of course, he did not tell me this until shepassed away. I have a feeling that he visitedher at the hospital the day he left for NewYork and said to her: “Whether I stay nearyour bed or not, your life is only two moreweeks, but the Zen which has been trans-mitted to America may have a firmer foun-dation and deeper roots by my going therewith my students.”

So, that day we had a memorial servicefor his sister, and during the chanting, twobats were flying around the ceiling. KogetsuRoshi said,“They are my mother and my sis-ter.” These stories of Basho and KogetsuRoshi show us that loving-kindness, or com-

passion, cannot always be predicted by con-ventional morality.

The child whom Basho met on theroad reminds me of two great teacherswho are connected to our tradition:Yamamoto Gempo Roshi and the VenerableNyogen Senzaki. They were both aban-doned children. Nevertheless, these out-standing men were able to overcome theirdifficulties and become not only great Zenteachers but also wonderful human beings.What they have given us is still vividly alive,and their influence is still felt, even thoughthey are no longer here. The great ZenMaster Bassui, too, was an abandoned child.He is the one who asked the well-knownkoan:“What is This?”

Brother Bernard, who is sitting with usnow here at DBZ, is also related to this sub-ject. He has been a Catholic Brother forover fifty years and has spent three Kessei’shere and one Kessei at Mount Baldy inCalifornia. I don’t know whether he deliber-ately chose Rinzai places or if it was the“irresistible will of heaven” which broughthim to DBZ and Mount Baldy. These werethe only two Rinzai Zen monasteries in theUnited States.At nearly seventy-five now, hesits more than anyone else here, he worksmore than anyone else here, and he hasnever given us any trouble. He is truly awonderful human being. Through his graceand his gentle yet strong practice, he hasinfluenced our community immensely. Hewill be leaving us shortly to return to Africawhere he will continue his mission. Many ofyou do not know, however, that he too, likeGempo Roshi, Nyogen Senzaki, and MasterBassui was abandoned as a baby! They haveall taken this seeming misfortune and trans-formed it into fortune.

All of us experienced some kind oftrauma in our childhood. It may not havebeen as dramatic as abandonment, but all ofus have experienced some unforgettable,uncomfortable, un-erasable event which hasleft a trace in our hearts. So, we must notview this seventeenth century Japanese

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Teisho on The Rinzai Roku Chapter XIX

child who was abandoned by the River Fujias someone who has “nothing to do withme.” This child is just another aspect of our-selves.

“Alas, it seems to me that this child’s”– in other words, each one of us – “unde-served suffering” – our fear, frustration andinsecurity – “has been caused by somethingfar greater and more massive” – not by ourfathers, not by our mothers.There is no sin-gle person to blame; this cause stretchesback even to previous lives.

“By what one might call the irresistiblewill of heaven” – heaven’s will, God’s will,karma.

“If it is so.” This to me means not “if”but “since.” That is: Since it is so, child, eachone of us, one by one, must raise our voic-es “to heaven, and I must pass on, leavingyou behind.”

This is a delicate issue, and you may sayBasho and Kogetsu Roshi are cold and indif-ferent, but it seems to me that they reallyknew the limitation of their own capacity tohelp ‘so-called’ others. We, on the otherhand, in our delusion, think rather arrogant-ly, “Oh, we can save the world.” But, we donot fully understand the limitation of ourcapacity to help others. When it comes tothis point, the most important aspect ofBuddhist practice is, naturally, to see clearlyall aspects of the situation – the goodaspect, the evil aspect, our own traumatraces. If we can see all aspects of ourselvesand not run and hide, especially from ourown inner traumas, then we can not onlytruly help ourselves, but we can also saveothers.

Many of you know about Dr. VictorFrankl. He was an Austrian Jew who becamea very well-known psychologist. DuringWorld War II, he was sent to Auschwitz. Forsome reason, almost miraculously, he sur-vived the death camp and was able to writeabout his experiences.The other night, as I

was reading one of his books translatedinto Japanese, something really struck me.Please allow me to extemporaneouslytranslate into English this short paragraph:

What is the meaning of life? It isfound when there is no hope. Whensomeone is driven to despair by a situa-tion such as being in Auschwitz, there isabsolutely no chance of reprieve. In thiscondition where there is no hope, wecan’t help but ask ourselves about themeaning of life. When we think deeplyabout the meaning of life, in the end, wehave no other choice but to completelyaccept our fate.

– from The Walls of the Fools by TakeshiYoro

This “fate” is none other than Basho’s“irresistible will of heaven.” When we, asstudents of Dharma, completely accept ourkarma, our fate, then we can take a differentattitude.When we take a different attitude,a positive attitude, then, no matter what thesituation, we have a great influence on otherpeople.This “giving influence” to other peo-ple is the meaning of life. If we can radicallyaccept our karma, our traumas, when ourattitude changes, our actions change too.Then, whatever we say and whatever we do,however we interact with other people willhave a tremendous effect. This is how ahopeless individual in the worst situationsaved himself. Victor Frankl’s death campexperience transformed his attitude fromhopeless to hope-full, from misfortune tofortune.

***Mayoku (Magu) came to see the Master.Spreading his bowing mat, he asked, “Which isthe true face of the twelve-faced KanzeonBodhisattva?”

In our Zendo, and in many templesthroughout the world, there are images andstatues of Kanzeon Bodhisattva. Kanzeon isthe personification of the Buddha’s infinitecompassion. Mayoku came to Master Rinzaione day and asked, “Which face is the true


face? Is it you, or is it me? Am I the realKanzeon or are you the real Kanzeon?”

The Master stepped down from the rope-bot-tomed chair.With one hand he picked up thebowing mat; with the other hand he seizedMayoku and asked, “Where has the twelve-faced Kanzeon gone?”

Where did the real Kanzeon go?Where did he hide? This is Rinzai’s cross-examination.

Mayoku twisted himself free and tried to sit onthe chair.

The chair was now empty, as MasterRinzai had come down and grabbedMayoku. Mayoku seized this opportunity tosit on the chair himself, as if to say: “I havebecome the twelve-faced Kanzeon.”

The Master picked up his staff and hit him.

This hit can be interpreted in two dif-ferent ways. First, as destroying both thesecular and the sacred.The hit is destroyingboth the true and the false. By negatingeverything, Master Rinzai is saying:“Whatever you say, whatever you do isNO!” At the very same time he is saying:“All right, all right, you are Kanzeon sittingin the chair.”

Mayoku grabbed it, too, and both holding it,they went into the Master’s quarters.

Rinzai used his staff to hit Mayoku. Atthe very instant that Rinzai hit him, Mayokugrabbed the stick, and with both holdingonto it, they went into the Master’s quar-ters.

This is what I mean by play! This is aDharma drama, and here we can see thequintessence of Rinzai Zen.When two greatpeople – one host and another guest,understand each other perfectly, with equaldepth and equal clarity, there is no differ-

ence, no separation anymore. They havebecome completely one.

Getting back to the Basho and KogetsuRoshi story. Their attitude is only one wayof looking at things. Basho left the childbehind, Kogetsu Roshi left his sister behind,knowing their own limitations and acceptingkarma as it is – this is one aspect of com-passion. If, on the other hand, another indi-vidual had picked the baby up, taken him in,and raised him as his own, then that too isan equally valid form of compassion. Thishappened to Yamamoto Gempo Roshi whenhe was abandoned by the side of the roadas a baby. He was found by a man named Mr.Okamoto, who carried him to his warmhouse, gave him food, and thereafter, withhis wife, raised him as his own child. Mr. andMrs. Okamoto were good parents, and eachyear after they passed away, even whenGempo Roshi became old and frail, hewould visit his parents’ graves and offerincense in gratitude. What a beautiful atti-tude. This must have happened also withNyogen Senzaki, Master Bassui, and alsoBrother Bernard. Some persons with greatcompassion took it upon themselves tohelp an abandoned baby without any hesita-tion.

All I can say is that “Yes, there is karma.”It may be negative karma or positive karma,but in the end it is the “irresistible will ofheaven.” Who are we to judge any of this?Who are we to say:“this is right compassionand that is wrong compassion?” Is Basho andKogetsu Roshi’s position totally wrong? IsMr. Okamoto’s position totally right? Are theparents who abandoned the seventeenthcentury baby, Gempo Roshi, Nyogen Senzaki,Master Bassui, and Brother Bernard totallywrong? No one can judge. How each of usacts in life depends entirely on the depth ofour understanding.To see all aspects—posi-tive, negative, and neutral—of ourselves andthe world takes desperate courage andendeavor in zazen. This is the only way wecan be emancipated. There is no other rea-son to practice.Think over this matter well.

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words.These days, I often think of Soyen

Shaku’s words. In fact, I feel I’m just startingto understand in that same way what zazenis. I’ve been sitting for a few decades. Whatwas all that sitting? I remember Eido Roshi’swonderful metaphor on the opening eveningof sesshin of flies dashing themselves againstthe glass over and over; the window has beenopened for them, but they don’t see the freespace, they just hurl themselves against theglass. Sitting after sitting, hurling ourselves.What are we doing? I can only speak formyself. Just now, maybe I’m starting to seethat some kind person has opened the win-dow. Sometimes, when I’ve knocked myselfsenseless, I can get out for awhile, but thereare lots of windows, lots of glass. And also, allthose windows are open. That’s what is sowonderful about this practice. They arealways open.

The word acceptance is a very impor-tant one. Mostly it’s used in a way that’s likeresignation. Oh well, my life is really a mess,but I’ll have to accept it. This is not theacceptance we are talking about. What weare doing in this practice is a radical accept-ance. THIS IS IT! Shunryu Suzuki Roshi usedto say,“Things as it is.” This is what our zazenteaches us more and more, particularly insesshin: we have to go through it. There’s noway around it. When we finally stop hurlingourselves and simply see things as it is—sud-denly there’s an open window! It’s alwaysbeen open!

About Bodhidharma, most of you knowthe story of his encounter with Emperor Wu,in which his three quintessential teachingswere, “No merit”—you cannot count onwhat you are doing to bring some wonderfulresult; “Vast emptiness; nothing holy”—MU!;and,“I don’t know”—“Now I understand thatwhat I understood is that after all, I do notunderstand anything.” To finally give it all up.As it is now, just this. No inflection, no shad-ing, no agenda.

Bodhidharma went to China at a veryold age, they say maybe 120 or even 150; at

that time, the sixth century, it took threeyears by boat to get from India to China. Sospeaking of fierce struggle—how amazing, tomake that journey! And why? This questionis asked numerous times in Zen encounters.Why did Bodhidharma come from the West?Why did he make this supreme effort? Whatwas he bringing? What is the truth ofBuddhism? Why did he come? Why are wehere? This struggle and deep anguish leadsone to search and probe and question as Ekadid, as we all do. A monk asked Joshu,“Whatis the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming toChina?” Joshu answered, “Oak tree in thegarden.”

When I was a child, I was extremelyinterested in matters of a spiritual nature, butmy parents did not want to have anything todo with religion. They were running awayfrom the old Jewish mysticism of Europe, andmaking a new life as secular humanist-artists.One day I asked my mother about God. Atfirst, she dismissed the question, but I contin-

ued: “Really, what is this, it’s so mysterious.There’s more to it than I can see around me.”She said,“Well, look.” She drew a circle. She

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Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji Golden WindSesshin Day Five, September 30, 2004–Excerpts from a Dharma Talk by Roko Ni-Osho Sherry Chayatat

Mumonkan Case 41, Bodhidharma’s Mind-Pacifying

Good afternoon. Isn’t it? Desu ne? A fewof us have been learning a little Japanese, and it’sone of the few things I can remember. Thisexpression is a social convention, and like mostsocial conventions, no matter what the culture,it reflects a yearning for mutuality. In every cul-ture, every language, there is this: Isn’t it?Don’t you agree? This kind of feeling. We wantthis. We have a kind of nostalgia for a dimlyremembered oneness. We know it’s there. Soit’s not just a matter of good manners. Even inthe most densely packed cities, in the midst ofloneliness and alienation, we feel the need tohave this underlying oneness expressed in littleways. We come to Zen practice not becausewe’re looking for a new social convention, butbecause of our yearning for this rememberedoneness.

I wanted to speak about this koan,“Bodhidharma’s Mind-Pacifying,” because I think itreally captures the theme of this sesshin:acceptance and fierce struggle. In fact,we mightsay it captures the heart of our reality. Right?Desu ne? This is how we all really feel: longingfor acceptance of self, of each other, of condi-tions beyond our comprehension, fiercely

struggling to understand, asking, Why is this?How can I go on?

Of course the other reason I wanted touse this koan today is because BodhidharmaDay is October 5, right after sesshin ends, andBodhidharma is our first Zen ancestor. And so,seeing this scroll of Bodhidharma that has beenhanging here this week, I asked Eido Roshiwhose it was. When he told me, I was struckby how appropriate it is. Of course! As youknow, those of you who have been practicingfor some time with Roshi, appropriateness isone of his subtle but profound teachings—he isalways showing us his exquisite sensitivity towhat is appropriate: what words, what silence,what visual image. So, not only do we haveBodhidharma, but this Bodhidharma is by SoyenShaku Zenji. About Soyen Shaku, we may say,yes, he was one of the pioneers of Zen inAmerica, but more than that, like Bodhidharma,he can be considered the first patriarch—thefirst ancestor of Zen in America. He was thefirst Zen Master from Japan to come here, in1893, to speak at the World Parliament ofReligions in Chicago, and in 1905 he returned,and brought with him a young monk, Choro-anNyogen Senzaki, who stayed, and became thefirst Zen monk to teach zazen here in America.

Another first was a talk that Soyen Shakugave in San Francisco on that visit. Of coursethe audience knew Soyen Shaku was a veryimportant Zen master from Japan, and theywere extremely excited to hear his greatunderstanding; no doubt their expectationswere that they would be able to take somethinguseful away with them. He said:

“I have studied Buddhism for more thanforty years, and have preached the teachinghere and there. But only very recently haveI begun to understand it. Now I understandthat what I had understood is that, after all, Ido not understand anything.”

Needless to say, the audience didn’t get it,and went away scratching their heads, amidsome laughter. Nearly half a century later,when Soen Roshi came to America and gave hisfirst talk in San Francisco, he quoted those


Bodhidharma’s Mind-Pacifying

Diamond Sutra tells us, past mind cannot begrasped; present mind cannot be grasped;future mind cannot be grasped. Bodhidharmasaid,“Bring your mind here, and I will pacify itfor you.” Bring it here. When you look foryour mind, what do you see? The more welook into it, the more illusory it is—the moreit evaporates. “I cannot find my mind. I havesearched, and I cannot take hold of it!” Ekasaid. Dogen said, “To study the Way is tostudy the self. To study the self is to forgetthe self.” What is the self? You cannot takehold of it. And when that is realized, thenwhatever we see is It. With the blinders off,these golden leaves, last night’s Ode to Joy per-formed by the geese, the changing light of thismoment, it’s all here. Now your mind is paci-fied.

Before we can hear a teacher’s wordsthe way Eka heard Bodhidharma’s words, wehave to be in a state of readiness, and toenter into that state of readiness requiressincerity, willingness, absolute attention. Andit also requires an awareness of how rare andprecious this opportunity is. We can’t havean arrogant or stiff-necked approach to spir-itual practice. We do the Purification Verseevery morning. This is essential, more oftenthan just once a day. Whenever you feelsome complaint, immediately, “All the evilkarma ever committed by me since of old…”When there’s no gap, then we are ready tomeet Bodhidharma.

We started sesshin on the Jewish HighHoly Day of Yom Kippur, and these ten Daysof Awe begin with a very beautiful passagethat is sung by the cantor the first day. It real-ly speaks to this readiness of mind. Beforewe undertake these days of solemnity, ofatonement, we have to begin this way, and thesame is true of sesshin. The passage goes inpart,

“Trembling, rising to entreat the awe-some One, I now begin my plea; withlimited good deeds I stand in fear; withlimited wisdom, what hope is there forme? Grant me wisdom to transmit ourheritage,Creator. Strengthen me as I fal-ter in my fear, consider as rare incense

my whispered prayer; consider as sweet-est honey my uttered plea; may it beacceptable, not a worthless sham, sothat pardon may be granted thosewhose emissary I am. Hear my cry as Ibegin, Master of all that mercy can fash-ion. My heart is in turmoil. I cannotrest. My faults have brought me to thepoint of tears. My heart is astir as I offermy prayer.”

The turmoil in our hearts; the turmoil inEka’s mind. We have to cut off the arm.Withreadiness and purification…and finally, justMU. This turmoil in our minds—what is itreally? ME ME ME ME! We come to sesshinand begin sitting, and it becomes,“ME ME MEMU ME ME ME MU ME ME MU ME MU MUME MU MU ME MU MU MU MU.” Little bylittle, more MU and less ME. And finally, justMU. But ME comes right back. And there’snothing wrong with that. It’s only throughME that MU can be realized! When we chantso strenuously “KANZEON!” in the morn-ing, maybe we think it’s some bodhisattva outthere that we’re chanting to, but the more wedo this, the more we understand thatKanzeon is what’s happening here, right in thevery midst of MU ME MU ME MU, and thuscompassion for ourselves and our own strug-gle builds.

So along with the willingness, and sincer-ity, and earnestness, and humility, we musthave compassion for our own impediments,without which we would never be able towake up. The impediments themselves arethe karmic cause for our being here today.Isn’t that wonderful? We all must bow ingratitude for everything that we think iswrong with us, or that has been done to us.Sesshin after sesshin, fiercely struggling, andthen finding Bodhidharma not on somepedestal, but in our own hearts, in our ownlives. At this moment, what more need weseek?

(The scroll of Bodhidharma on page 10 wasdone by Soyen Shaku Zenji Dai Osho.)

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said, “Inside this circle is everything we canknow.” My mother is a brilliant woman, verylogical. She amazes me with her ability tolook deeply into matters, but always with thisvery rational perspective. So she drew a cir-cle, and said,“Everything that can be known isin this circle, and that’s all we can concernourselves about.” And I thought,You know,everything I care about is outside that circle.

Bodhidharma sat facing the wall—fornine years, after his meeting with EmperorWu, he sat facing the wall. Eka came andstood outside the door in the deep snow,wanting so badly to be accepted as the disci-ple of Bodhidharma. Such sincere desire.Snow mounting up higher and higher.Pleading to be accepted as a student. Overand over, Bodhidharma said no, I won’t takeyou. He told Eka, “The subtle and supremeteachings of the Buddhas can be pursued onlyby endless assiduity, doing what is hard to doand bearing what is hard to bear, continuingthe practice even for kalpas; how can one oflittle virtue and much self-conceit dream ofachieving it? It will end only in fruitless labor.”

Imagine if we got such a response whenwe applied to come to sesshin. “The subtleand supreme teachings can be pursued onlyby endless assiduity.” In truth, it’s importantto remember, as we sit in the midst of allkinds of turbulence, that this is absolutely asit should be. He said so, our first ancestor, hewarned us. Why should we think it would beanything but “doing what is hard to do, bear-ing what is hard to bear, continuing the prac-tice even for kalpas.” What makes it so hardis that we believe that there is somehow aneasier way. If we can just find the rightinstruction, the right posture, we can getaround this. But there’s no getting around it.Those of you who have been sitting forawhile know how wonderful it is that there’sno getting around it.

Eka, with such sincerity, in a state of suchextremity, refused to be discouraged, andfinally took out a sword he was carrying andcut off his arm at the elbow and presented it.Each one of us, although it’s not written in

the sesshin application, has to do this. Ofcourse you understand, I’m not speaking lit-erally; but we must have the willingness, thespiritual fortitude. We have to be able to say,OK! Whatever it takes! And whatever ittakes is cutting. Cutting. You may see “arm”as everything you’ve brought with you, every-thing you’ve constructed about who you are,about what you’re going to get out of this,about what it’s going to lead to—everything,cut! Thus Eka presented this strange gift toBodhidharma, crying, “My mind has nopeace!”

By now, the fifth day of sesshin, I’m sureeveryone has looked at what creates thisstate of no peace in the mind. Certainly onebig thing is, continually dwelling in the pastand the future, having some construct of real-ity based on what we’ve already experiencedor what we think will happen next. As youknow, there is pain; but suffering only entersinto it when we think pain should be other-wise, and think, what’s next? The bell? Whenwill it ring? Meal? What will I say in dokusan?These things are always entering into ourminds. Or we drift off into some dreamystate of past things that happened, things thatwere said. These figments, these imaginaryflowers in the air that we call reality, what arethey? A metaphor that is often used thesedays is movies. My son is out in LA studyingand making films. What is a film? What arethe films going on in our minds all the time?What are these projected images? Projectedlight, can you grasp any of it? Can you go upto a screen and grasp that figure there? Sameis true of all those figments in our minds weare so caught up in, the movies of our lives.It causes us to live in fictional time.

As I said, I’m just beginning to under-stand zazen, and one of the things I’ve beendoing is what Master Hakuin advises in hisRohatsu Exhortations, just breath counting;to really be nowhere but this time. The win-dow opens. There’s no other way to put it.Being-time, Master Dogen called it. But thiscontinual march across the screen of the pro-jected images returns again and again, andseduces us back into past, future. The


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in too, and you find you yourself are totallyfamiliar.

When the jikijitsu strikes the inkin bell,does she strike it with the striker? With herhand? At exactly the place where it gives agood sound without hurting the bell? Doesshe strike it with exactly the right force—nottoo much, not too little? Or does she strikeit with her mind? If her mind is certainty, nodoubts—then when she rings the bell thatbell will say certainty. Then we, sitting, arecertain: We have no doubts about how thesitting is going to go—whatever that means!

Hakuin defines the Mind Seal of thePatriarch that way: No jargon, just every-thing—including you—always fits and is total-ly familiar like that tree:You’re completely athome in the world.And it’s like certainty, notcertainty about something, certainly notabout something else. Just certainty.

The Patriarch whose Mind Seal it is, isthe Patriarch Bodhidharma, who passed itdown to us through the generations of Zenmasters. He brought nothing from India butthe robe on his back, the sandals on his feet,and a begging bowl.That was it. So his MindSeal is sort of close to nothing, isn’t it? Likethat tree, just an ordinary tree being a tree,and yet at the same time something decisiveis different. On the calligraphies hanging herein the Dharma Hall are seals. The Chineseword is ‘chop’.When the mind of the masterwho did the calligraphy is, after many tries,finally satisfied, he puts his seal on it. It’s thesame way the jikijitsu, after long learning howto strike the inkin, her mind………

The Yellow River is so called because it’ssilted up with the rich yellow soil of the‘breadbasket’ in north China. Looking at it,you can see the sorrow there.The fields areso much lower than the river that when itchanges course—disaster: drought where it’smoved from, flood where it’s moved to.Yu theGreat, a very ancient emperor, made its veryhigh dikes. He set his seal on his work: an IronOx, with tail and hind feet south of the riverand snout and forefeet north of it—bridgingthe river. Enormous, solid iron! Let’s notworry about engineering problems here.Thepoint is the psychology. Fuketsu says the MindSeal of the Patriarch is like the effect on your

mind of that Iron Ox.Let’s now go into this: If the seal is

removed /If it remains /If it’s stamped down/Or not—which of these to avoid? Both ofthose? But it sounds like certain parts of theRecord of Rinzai. Remember the one abouton the way, yet never having left home; havingleft home, yet not on the way—which is best?Something is really wrong with the question.Rinzai was fishing. So is Fuketsu, and he catch-es Rohi:“Then a senior monk, Rohi, came outwith a request: ‘This person [he himself] isalready experiencing the effect of the IronOx. Please, Master, don’t stamp with the Seal,adding yet another impression.’”

The ox is iron throughout, no silvernose or tin liver; what you see is what youget. So how could there be two differentMind Seals of the Patriarch? Rohi says,“Pleasedon’t add another impression.” But there isno other impression, only that one.We’re notin the realm of two different things here.Apparently Rohi thinks his condition is deli-cate, vulnerable: If he’s not treated just right,he’s going to suffer. How can that be if he’sexperienced the effect of the Iron Ox, if hehas the Mind Seal of the Patriarch?

We cobble together a false self out ofmental phenomena listed in the Heart Sutra:form, feeling, thought, volition and conscious-ness—defining ourselves from them. Whichleaves us horribly dependent and vulnerable,because they are. When Fuketsu says, “I’vehad a lot of experience” with whales andfloods, “which makes this frog wallowing insandy mud [worthless things] dismaying”—the frog is Rohi, but the cobbled togetherRohi, therefore vulnerable. The disciplinarianwill correct you whenever you do wrong,making you dependent on constant correc-tion. And the one that always has a positiveattitude, is kind and encouraging, leaves youdependent on that encouraging kindness. Butif you want real autonomy and independence,you need somebody like Fuketsu, who willcall a frog a frog.

The real drama here is in Rohi’s mind.His reaction to being called a frog is: “Rohistopped to think.” No obstinate resentment,no ruthless insistence on always being right.Rather, a deep respect for Fuketsu.Therefore

Fuketsu and The MindSeal of the Patriarchs

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji Memorial DaySesshin Day Six May 30, 2003 from a DharmaTalk by Zenrin Chido Robert Lewis

Blue Cliff Record Case 38:Fuketsu and the Mind Seal of the Patriarch

Introduction:The gradual method, going back to the ways ofthe world to merge them into the Way—turnsout to be leading the student up and down andback and forth in the hustle and bustle of thebusy marketplace of ideas. Use the suddenmethod, leaving no trace—and even thousandsof sages groping on for it couldn’t discover it. Howabout staying with neither way, sudden or grad-ual? The keen person at one word—at the criti-cal time when such a student is at a loss, who isso skillful and quick? To see, take a look at this.

Main Subject::Fuketsu was at a government office. Speakingfrom the high seat in the hall there, he said:“TheMind Seal of the Patriarch is like the effect of theIron Ox. If the seal is removed, the impressionremains, fixed—but if the seal remains, theimpression is ruined: It makes no impression onanyone. To avoid both the seal being removedand the seal remaining, is stamping with the sealthe thing to do—or not stamping with it?”Then a senior monk, Rohi, came out with arequest: “This person is already experiencing theeffect of the Iron Ox. Please, Master, don’t stampwith the Seal, adding yet another impression.”

Fuketsu said,“I’ve had a lot of experience fishingfor whales and settling great floods, which makesthis frog wallowing in sandy mud all the more dis-maying.” Rohi stopped to think. Fuketsu gave ashout and said, “Elder, why not say more?” Rohihesitated, trying. Fuketsu swatted him with hisceremonial fly whisk and said, “Well, do youremember what we were talking about? Take alook at it.” Rohi was about to say something, butFuketsu swatted him with the whisk again.

Verse:Fuketsu was able to hold RohiAstride the Iron OxThe Three Profundities’ sword and shieldDon’t stir up mindless retaliationA king’s palace, high on banks, dividesWaters of a river returning to the seaWith that shout, though, he madeThe river flow backward.

Driving up here through Pennsylvania ona four-lane divided highway, everybody doingsixty-five in the dark and the rain, I glanced inmy rear-view mirror. In the car behind metwo people were backlit, in silhouette—itlooked like they were tearing each other’shair out, back and forth like Punch and Judy,their car swerving all over the road. Calmingway down, I thought,“Be my guests; the roadis yours.” I planned to edge over into theslow lane to let them pass. Immediately at myred right-turn flasher they darted around tomy right and were gone. Leaving me feelinggrateful for my life, not so much all of it asjust that moment, that mo-ment. I think mostall of us have that feeling by now in thissesshin.

If we keep at this long enough, apparent-ly we all see, after a long and deep session ofsittings, a tree, say—in a new way: The treelooks like it fits. I mean, if there’s a goodsnow, snowflakes coming down, no snowflakefalls out of place, in an inappropriate place—it’s all white. Believe it or not, your tree willlook like that (or already does). It will fit injust like those snowflakes fit in. At the sametime, you see with a shock of recognition thatthe tree is somehow totally familiar.And, youand the tree being in the same world, you fit

TakuhatsuBy Fujin Zenni

It was not until I returned from Shogen-Ji,Japan, in the summer of 1999 that I could startto appreciate the impact that it had on my prac-tice. Once in a while at Shogen-Ji, lay peoplewould ask what I liked the most about Japanesemonastic life. Invariably I would reply,“Sweepingthe grounds while the sun comes up andtakuhatsu.” Though it can be challenging to walkin robes and straw sandals on cold winter days,when the sun comes out and my body gradual-ly warms up, the joy and gratitude that followmake the hardship a mere meaningless memory.Also, takuhatsu is the only time when unsuis(training monks/nuns) are freed from their sen-iors’ watch and are allowed to have brief con-tact with Japanese villagers.This contact is oftenvery moving, especially in Gifu Prefecture whereBuddhism is still widely followed.

In the Diamond Sutra, we read,

“One day, at mealtime, the World-Honored One put on His robe, and carry-ing His bowl, made His way into the greatcity of Sravasti to receive offerings of food.In the midst of the city, He walked fromdoor to door, according to tradition. In thisway, all virtuous men and women weregiven an opportunity to learn the practiceof charity.”

These few lines express so well the atti-tude of Japanese farmers during takuhatsu.

Though they thank us profusely all thetime, we are instructed never to say “thankyou”.The reason for this is that we are not beg-

ging for ourselves. Upon approaching a house,we are told to chant, “Konnichiwa, IbukaShogen-Ji, Bussho no kokorozashi onegaimooshimasu!” (Hello, this is Shogen-Ji temple inIbuka. I am here with the hope of receiving anoffering for the daily meal of the founder.) Thefounder of course passed on a long time ago,and this is where we have to remember howmuch Zen Buddhism and western thinking differ.In Zen tradition,“Kaisan,” the founder of a tem-ple, is far more alive than a regular unsui.Because of his realization, the temple was built,lay people are given a spiritual home and trueunderstanding can continue through his prac-tice. An unsui’s life, on the other hand, may notbe worth a penny, as we often hear GempoRoshi say in Eido Roshi’s teisho. So, what arewe supposed to do upon receiving the congre-gation’s generous offerings? We are to bow lowand to strengthen our resolve to save all beingsthrough our continuing effort.

I cannot recall all of the encounters thatdonors’ unbelievable attitude allowed me to ‘gothrough the rest of the week’. But on such days,while walking back to the monastery, although Imay have been carrying a few kilograms of riceon my shoulders, my heart was lighter than afeather. I’d like to tell you about two particularevents which are engraved in my memory.

The first one happened shortly after beingadmitted to Shogen-ji.A takuhatsu team usuallyconsists of four or five unsuis who walk togeth-er early in the morning to the designated village.At 7 A.M. begging is to start. Everyone isassigned an area of the village and goes ‘fromdoor to door’ individually. Around 11:30 A.M.,the group meets in a given place and proceedsto the host-family of the day for a service andlunch. Because we cannot read signs or even amap during the first few months, foreigners areusually sent along with a “sempai” (senior monkor nun).As you can imagine, the selected sempaiis usually not very happy to have to baby-sitwhile everybody else is enjoying some long-awaited independence.

One day, I was following one of the nuns,and as I just said, she was treating me like a nui-sance. She sent me to a street saying, “Do bothsides of this street.” In her tone, there was noroom for me to ask, “And then what?” While Iwas going from house to house on the assigned


Rohi is trainable, able to let go of that cob-bled-together false self, ungraspable as anycontingent thing, which is not going to workfor him.Thus Fuketsu brings Rohi to prajna-wisdom.

Then just at the right time, Fuketsu givesa shout! Rohi, losing just letting his wholebeing be with it, is just starting to think, juston the edge of having a good thought, andFuketsu blows it away.This is a matter of tim-ing:When is Rohi ready?

And Fuketsu immediately takes the ini-tiative: “Elder,”—the frog is gone—“why notsay more?” And the shout is gone. It’s as ifhe’s going around to the side of Rohi and say-ing it softly in his ear, encouraging him to goon further.

Rohi hesitates, trying—not cleverly, butstraight-forwardly—which is shugyo practice,doing with cultivation. Fuketsu lets him tryuntil just at the point where he starts to gooff into thought, and then swats him with hisfly whisk (a short stick with a horse’s tail).The first time it was a shout, but we have asensitive monk here—all he needs now is aflick with the fly swatter.

“Well, do you remember what we weretalking about? Take a look at it.” Says Fuketsu.This “Take a look” is what introduces thiskoan at the end of the introduction—remember? Fuketsu is giving Rohi a koan, as ifsaying,“Check it out, Rohi.” A koan is, as EidoRoshi has put it: when and where the truthhappens—you might say it’s a reality check.

In the second stanza of Setcho’s Verse hetalks about the “Three Profundities”—ofRinzai, who never said what they were. Buthere’s what Fuketsu says they are: 1) Prajna,2) Shugyo, and 3) Koan: wisdom, practice, andreality check—here, seeing that a frog is afrog, trying to say more, and rememberingwhat this is all about.

“Rohi was about to say something, butFuketsu swatted him with the whisk again.”—leaving Rohi where? The Verse says,“Fuketsu was able to hold Rohi / Astride theIron Ox.” Do you see it? The river and, span-ning it from dike to dike, the huge Iron Oxwith Rohi riding it. And Fuketsu is helpingRohi stay on with the Three Profundities, theshout, and the swats.

If Fuketsu were to fail and Rohi fell offthe ox, he’d fall into the Yellow River, full ofsilt. How about: He’d fall into his delusionstream of snow-balling thoughts and drownin dichotomies?

Where is Rohi headed, where is Fuketsuhelping him get to on the ox? The Verse says,“With that shout, though, he made/The riverflow backward.” What does that mean? Forinstance, take Beecher Lake.There’s a streamflowing from the semicircular ridge up therebetween Dai Bosatsu Mountain and themountain on the other side of the lake.Follow that stream back and you’ll come to aspring welling up, and that spring’s water ispure, fresh, cool, refreshing, and constant.Which sounds like Denko Osho quotingfrom the Sixth Patriarch’s Platform Sutraabout the essence of Mind, talking about itspurity, its constancy, and so on.

What is the essence of this mind, yourmind, right now? What we know of this mindis this stream. So we can translate the ques-tion:What is the source of the stream? Howdo we not just find the source, but go back toget where the stream’s source is and dwellthere? That is what Fuketsu is doing forRohi—helping him get back to the source.

In Tei Dai Denpo we chant, “…RinzaiGigen Zenji, Koke Sonsho Zenji, Nanin EgyoZenji, Fuketsu Ensho Zenji…” The “plantingpines” section of the third part of the Recordof Rinzai says that Fuketsu would be a wor-thy successor of Rinzai.The brisk interactioncharacteristic of Rinzai is here in this koan. Soin that sense the Record of Rinzai is contin-ued in, with, by, Fuketsu. Fuketsu, so to speak,is Rinzai.And in the same sense Rinzai Zen isalive and well today.Translation of the Recordof Rinzai involves scholarship—things likegrammar and word choice. But how to bringRinzai alive? My impression is that the onlyway is to be Rinzai.The translation that EidoRoshi is working on bids fair to be our firstreally accurate, living translation of theRecord of Rinzai.

A Jukai NoteBy Keiun Clare Dacey

On November sixth at Dai BosatsuZendo, twelve students took Buddhist preceptsunder Eido Shimano Roshi and Denko Osho.Since becoming Eido Roshi’s student in 2003, Ihad felt no hesitation in moving toward com-mitment to the Buddhist path. As the end ofHarvest Sesshin approached, and with it, jukai, Iunderstood that the most important event ofmy life was about to take place. Today, a littleover one week after jukai, three things standout in my memory of the ceremony.The dhar-ma hall in which we assembled was filled with agolden light. Repeatedly, when I could not con-tain the momentousness of what was happen-ing, I fell back on my community with the elevenother people sharing the ceremony. Finally, I didexperience Roshi talking to my true nature andbecame alive as I have never been.

Eido Roshi began the jukai ceremony byexplaining its name. He said that the syllable juconnotes both giving and taking. Roshi gave mea brand new birthright, and I took it with all myheart. The ‘me’ he gave it to was at thatmoment as spacious as my dharma name — foronce, not ego-bound! Who knows how much ofthat was due to the rugged seven days ofsesshin preceding, or to Roshi’s infinite patienceas I banged my head against the floor in doku-san, or to the silent generosity of others pres-ent, or to the elegant exoticism of jukai itself?What is certain is that Denko Osho’s briefwords at jukai rang true: one day all people willbe Buddhists. Jukai is meant for all.

In the joy of new birth are sober thoughts.Perhaps we all reflect on our ability to live upto the precepts. Pre-ceremony discussion ofnot giving way to lust provoked doubtful laugh-ter among a group of us jukai students. In oneof his dharma talks, Denko Osho wonderedhow many of us had come to Dai Bosatsu look-ing for the Way. I thought to myself, “Well, Icame for the food!” (Genju’s description ofDBZ’s cooking had propelled me to do sesshinthere for the first time in 1999.) Now, withjukai past, it will be interesting to see if the glut-tony slows down. As for subtler behavior, likejudging, I am simply grateful for the practicethat lets me see it. And Roshi told me to be

patient with myself.

Several people attending Harvest Sesshincommented on its grave tone, which I thinkthrew the radiance of jukai into high relief.Fujin’s presence was missed at jukai, and hertrip to France a poignant reminder of why wedo sesshin in the first place.We all felt her loss.Some thought that the restrained turmoil ofsesshin reflected the nation’s harsh presidentialelection struggle.

But veteran students were encouraged tosee Denko Osho’s jukai students, all in themidst of kessei. Soryu, Jokei, Tentetsu, Jushin,and Eigan showed a young, enthusiastic dharmaspirit and graciously played host to other par-ticipants. Soryu’s strength and energy was dis-guised by jisha grace. She did much to make thejukai sesshin comfortable. It was also wonder-ful to listen to my fellow students under EidoRoshi — Chogetsu, Shinkyo, Somon, Daigi,Genryu and Yuho — as they spoke about theirjukai experience at closing brunch. Sesshin is sosolitary, and each of us jukai students had trav-eled it alone.Then came the splendor of jukai,and all twelve of us ended up in the samedumbfounded state.While preparing us for theceremony, wise and cheerful Seigan did not givetoo much away.

Soyen Shaku/Kaigen Weekend Sesshin(with Aiho-san’s fabulous cooking) is about tobegin. Each taking of the Great Vows can be afresh commitment to the Buddhist path, andjukai kept alive. In one of my favorite of Roshi’steishos, he talked about the expression “giveand take”: “We do not say, ‘take and give’. Wesay, ‘give and take’!” Deep gratitude to EidoRoshi,Aiho-san, and the wonderful sangha thatmakes these words live.

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street, she disappeared. After the street wasover I panicked and frantically searched for ablue robe and a bamboo hat in the neighboringareas, pricked my ears to hear her chanting.When at last we found each other, she scoldedme, sent me to another street and repeated thewhole thing time and time again. After an houror so of this game, I lost my patience and toldmyself,“I am just going to continue takuhatsu nomatter what. If I get lost, she will get scolded farmore than I.After all I am a new-comer and sheis responsible for me.” I went straight aheadwith no instructions, ignoring the fact that I hadno idea where I was going.

After a few minutes of walking, I entered acourtyard and chanted as usual. I heard someshuffling inside and opened my offering bagwhile bowing. Because of the wide bamboo hatand frequent bowing, we can’t see the donors’faces. But their hands and feet stand out soexpressively. Upon recognizing the feet of theold lady who was approaching me, I just stared.I had been in that same house a few minutesago. Once in a while when two unsuis’ areasoverlap, or when one has a poor sense of orien-tation (as I do) a particular household might bevisited twice. In such case, the householderwould say, “Oh, today we’ve already seen aShogen-Ji monk,” which means, “We’ve alreadygiven our offering.” Due apologies then follow.Realizing my mistake, I started to mumbleapologies, but then stopped, speechless.The oldlady was carrying a tray with some rice to offer.She gave me rice a second time as if she hadnever seen me before. I could only bow in sheeradmiration and as I withdrew I heard her whis-per to herself, “Muzukashii desu ne! (Difficultisn’t it!)” I felt great shame for my previousanger and discouragement. She was much olderthan I, probably worked much harder than I did,yet didn’t lose her patience nor wasted a minutein telling me what to do. Hearing a monk’schanting, she JUST brought some rice.

The other event was a few months later. Iwas emancipated from having to follow my sem-pai and at long last I became responsible for myown area. The contact with Gifu prefecturenatives became far more personal and rich.Though I couldn’t always figure out the meaningof their words, their hands, eyes and smilesspoke far more to my heart than volumes onJapanese culture. Sometimes, they would peak

under my hat and say,“Oh! You are a foreigner Isee.Are you a boy or a girl?”

One day (it was December 21st) I was fin-ished ahead of time and felt like joining our DaiBosatsu Mandala day service. I saw a cemeteryon a nearby hill and thought it was a good placeto offer some chanting.To be crowded doesn’tseem to be a problem for Japanese deceasedindividuals, any more than it is for the living. Jizosand Kanzeons, old-timers and new-comers, allseem to do their best to squeeze in the smallavailable space. Upon seeing the grave of some-one who had died just a month earlier, I decid-ed to chant for him: Dai Hi Shu, Dai Segaki,Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo, and of course, NamuDai Bosa. Refreshed by this unique opportunity,I came down and headed toward the meetingpoint.A few minutes later, a middle-aged womanran after me. She was in tears and her handswere full of offerings: rice, money and oranges. Irecognized her from having visited her houseearlier that morning.At first, she was sobbing somuch that I couldn’t understand what she wassaying. When she finally was able to articulate,she told me that her husband had died just amonth ago. She could see the cemetery fromher garden and had seen me chanting and bow-ing at her husband’s grave. Her gratitude was agreat encouragement and still is.

The strictness of the founder (through theRoshi) on one hand and the kindness of the laycommunity on the other hand, both creategreat pressure for us to practice with single-minded determination. To do takuhatsu is likelistening to Master Hakuin’s Rohatsu exhorta-tions, everyday.

“You monks, all of you without excep-tion have a father and a mother, brothersand sisters and countless relatives.Suppose you were to count them all lifeafter life, it would become thousands, tenthousands and even more.All of them aretransmigrating in the six worlds andreceive innumerable sufferings. They awaityour enlightenment as keenly as theywould expect a small rain cloud in the dis-tant horizon during a draught. How canyou sit so carelessly! You must have thegreat vow to save them all! Time passeslike an arrow. It waits for no one. Exertyourself! Exhaust yourself!” (Hakuin Zenji,Rohatsu Exhortations, the seventh night.)

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wonderful thing?” originating from the Koan “Hyakujo Sits on the Great Sublime Peak,”Hekiganroku, case 26. Most importantly, Roshi spoke about how to live a meaningful life, with themessage:“we are ‘OK’ as we are, right now.” Roshi’s talk was also well attended despite a heavysnowstorm.

Eido Roshi Dedicates Unzan ZendoThe official opening and dedication of Unzan (Cloud Mountain) Zendo was held on the morningof May 1, 2004. Located in Jacksonville, Florida, and established by Zenrin Chido, the Zendo build-ing was transformed from an original 1918 foundation. Zenrin is the resident teacher to theFlorida Sangha; he is assisted by Dairi. Eido Roshi dedicated the Zendo in the morning and gavea public talk at the local Unitarian Church that same evening.

Other News:CondolencesBoth Zendo’s Sanghas express their condolences and sincere sympathy to Fujin and her family.On November 2, 2004, the second day of Harvest Sesshin, Fujin’s father Jean Formhals passedaway at the age of 89.

Earlier this year Denko Osho and his wife Hiten also suffered losses; Denko Osho’s stepmotherand Hiten’s father passed away.We would also like to offer them heartfelt condolence in theirloss.

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji NewsSpring Kessei 2004Spring Kessei began on April 1st with the following returning residents: Fujin Zenni – Inji; EntsuZenji – Tenzo; Rinden Zenji – Shikaryo and Fuzui; Daiho Zenji – Jisha; Hiten Angela Mortensen –Open space manager; Anna Song – Assistant Tenzo; Jericho Blum – Gyorin; Enmyo FlorentineSack – Assistant Jisha; and Brother Bernard Kilm – Jokei.At the close of Spring, Brother BernardKlim returned to monastic practice in Africa. Brother Bernard is a Holy Cross monk and long-time student of Eido Roshi. His energy, good humor, and endless-work ethic at DBZ this kesseiwas inspiration to all.Also joining the activities this spring were Nicolaj Jespersen, Elizabeth Grant, Eigan PatrickNewton, Soryu Sylvia Dambrauskas, Jason Franklin, Don Volk, and Zuiki Eduardo Job.

Summer Work ExchangeSummer work-exchange participants: Alan Davies, Mugen Hilary Adler, Senshin Julius Talyansky,Seema Christie, Jason Smith, Sylvia White, Shelly Bello, Joriki Scott Baker, Richard Smith, ChristianLouis, Heather Gallagher, Hal Hallstein, David Hicks, Greg Di Gesu. Special thanks to Donald Volkfrom Hawaii who was a great help in work on the fire alarm system, refixing the screens, andmany other various jobs.

Summer Five-Day SesshinSogen Yamakawa Roshi visited us from Japan for the five-day summer sesshin. He and Eido Roshialternated dokusan and Teisho to give us an unforgettable traditional Rinzai sesshin experience.This apmosphere, along with the many committed participants made it a particularly exhilaratingevent. It was splendid to host Yamakawa Roshi again for the first time in two years; his guidingpresence was welcoming and inspirational.

O-BonOne gift of this year’s O-Bon was the ceasing of persistent rain on the evening of the ceremony.Auspiciously, the sky cleared just minutes before we proceeded outside to cast our candlelit

Zen Studies Society News & Roshi’s TravelsRoshi Speaks in JapanEido Roshi gave a speech to an audience of over 2000 people in Tokyo, Japan this October. Hisspeech was connected to the prestigious award given to him in March by the Bukkyo DendoKyokai foundation, a group dedicated to the dissemination of Buddhism to the west.The well-received talk lasted forty-five minutes and was entitled “The world of Zen and Zen in theworld.” He spoke about the three fundamentals of all religions:‘aloneness’,‘radical acceptance’,and ‘renunciation’. A party was hosted by Mr. Kato at the Tokyo Imperial Hotel to acknowl-edge Eido Roshi for his lifetime achievement in bringing the Buddhadharma to the west.Wewould like to congratulate Eido Roshi for this great honor.

Jukai Ceremony 2004On November 6, 2004, the last day of Harvest Sesshin, a Jukai ceremony was performed byEido Roshi and Denko Osho.Amidst tears and joy, twelve students received lay Buddhist pre-cepts, formally embarking on “a path of endless transformation.” Congratulations to all theJukai participants and best wishes to the newborn Buddha babies on their Dharma life.Students of Eido Roshi:Carl Baldini Yuho “Sublime Peak”Clare Dacey Keiun “Open Cloud”Hiroshi Ito Genryu “Profound Dragon”Sarah Lechner Shinkyo “Mind Mirror”Anna Song Chogetsu “Fishing for the Moon”Thomas Stabb Daigi “Great Doubt”Terrance Truta Somon “Patriarchs’ Gate”Students of Denko Osho:Jericho Blum Tentetsu “Piercing the Sky”Sylvia Dambrauskas Soryu “Simply Dragon”Megumi Kairis Jokei “Always Blessings”Patrick Newton Eigan “Eternal Vow”David Seaman Jushin “Heart of this Important Matter”

Roshi’s Travels in EuropeFor two weeks in August, Eido Roshi traveled to Europe for his annual sesshin held at TheLasalle House in Zurich, Switzerland. Eido Roshi was assisted by Shokan Marcel Urech andMiku Michael Weissert.The sesshin was attended by over two dozen people.At the comple-tion of the retreat, Roshi traveled to Italy fulfilling a lifelong dream to visit Assisi, the birthplaceof St Francis.While at the Cathedral of St Francis, Roshi visited the underground tomb andchanted The Great Compassionate Dharani while surrounded by priests, monks, and nuns.“Itwas an unusual and deeply moving experience,” he later said.

Zen Weekend Workshop in Telluride with Eido Roshi On November 13 & 14, Eido Roshi went to Telluride, Colorado to lead a Zen WeekendWorkshop there.The Workshop was made possible through the generosity, effort, and gen-uine dedication of Jingu Arnold Zidell. Also participating was Daien George Burch, GodoGordon Johnson, who kindly brought all the cushions and other necessary equipment from hisDeer Run Zendo in Corte Madera, California, and Rinden Roland Sugimoto. The Workshopwas part of the “Out Loud Lecture Series,” a community program, and took place in theSheridan Opera House, an old theater located in the heart of Telluride. Each day there was aDharma-talk followed by a few periods of Zazen.The Workshop was well attended with overforty participants; and the weather was auspicious with snow falling over the mountains ofTelluride.Also, on Saturday evening Eido Roshi gave an inspiring lecture with the title, “What is the most


On Friday, February thirteenth, while visiting friends in Hawaii, Aiho-san had a serious accidentresulting in her right knee being broken. Both of her knees were surgically replaced in 1991, butthis second break posed a challenge for the same doctor who had worked on her years before.After she was flown back to New York, a three hour operation was successfully performed.Aiho-san underwent physiotherapy for more than a month and a half before resuming her normalactivities at the Zendo. She is now fully recovered with a new knee and wishes to thank the manySangha members and friends who sent cards, flowers, and well wishes.Aiho-san was very movedby everyone’s care and concern.A congratulatory get-well party for her was held in the Springjust before she and Eido Roshi traveled to Japan to accept the prestigious award by the BukkyoDendo Kyokai.

Eido Roshi Talks to St. Luke’sOn Monday September 20, Eido Roshi, accompanied by Seigan and Fujin, gave a special talk tofifty staff members of the Child and Family Institute, a psychiatric facility at St. Luke’s Hospital inHarlem. Roshi led the staff in two periods of mindfulness and discussed the uses of mindfulnessin patient treatment. He also captivated the psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers inattendance with his answers to questions.Several doctors spoke of the pain they experience while encountering the wretchedness of theirpatients’ lives. Roshi’s words about radical acceptance for both doctor and patient, gave guidanceand consolation to the hospital staff.The doctors found Eido Roshi’s Eastern view of healing particularly fascinating. Many reportedhaving an experience of being healed by Roshi’s presence and by his encouraging words.Repeating Roshi’s saying,“Let it be,” for weeks afterward, hospital staff found renewed energy fortheir work.The Child and Family Institute expresses warm gratitude to Aiho-san and Kei-un Clare Dacey forproposing and arranging this visit to St Luke’s.

NYZ Shobo-ji on TVOn Wednesday, September 29, a crew from the Fuji television network of Japan visited ourZendo and taped our sitting and chanting practices, and interviewed several people. The result-ing program highlighted Zazen practice as an alternative for Japanese businessmen after a longday of work.We truly hope that anyone who views this program will be educated to the bene-fits of Zazen.

Like a Dream, Like a FantasyAt long last the Zen writings and translations of Nyogen Senzaki, edited and inroduced by EidoRoshi will be republished in the near future.This revised edition includes a new intoduction andnew chapters.

Upcoming events:New Years Eve New York Zendo will host its annual New Year’s Eve Celebration and Chantingon Dec 31.Two sits will precede a Dharma Talk by Eido Roshi, which will be followed by chant-ing Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo 108 times. During the chanting, each participant will strike the largegong and offer incense.A party will follow on the second floor, featuring traditional Japanese NewYear’s food and drink. Please call for more information or to register. 8PM to 2AM; doors openat 7:15. Members: $20; non-members: $30.

Interim and Opening Teisho 2005Eido Roshi will give the last Teisho of 2004 on Wed Dec 15.All are welcome to attend. From Dec16 to January 4, New York Zendo will enter its Winter Interim period; therefore the Zendo willbe closed. It will re-open with the first Teisho of 2005 on Wed Jan 5. Again, all are welcome toattend.

lanterns across Beecher Lake and enjoy a festive bonfire.Thank you Aiho-san, Seigan, and Entsufor preparing a superb traditional Japanese feast for the occasion.

Fall Kessei 2004Fall Kessei has begun strongly under the guidance of Eido Shimano Roshi and Vice-Abbott DenkoOsho.Officers: Fujin Zenni – Inji and Shikaryo; Entsu Zenji – Tenzo; Assistant Tenzo – Eigan PatrickNewton; Daiho Zenji – Assistant Shikaryo; Hiten Angela Mortensen – Open space manager;Rinden Zenji – Ino; Chogetsu Anna Song – Gyorin; Tentetsu Jericho Blum – Jokei; Soryu SylviaDambrauskas – Jisha; Myogen Gail Freed – Assistant Jisha.Returning residents: Jushin David Seeman, Jokei Megumi Kairis.New residents: Myogen Gail Freed, Jishin Karen Bartlett.Along with established residents, we are joined by Settan Vasily Apostilidis and Gabriel Valibouzefrom Greece and France, respectively. Both will be studying at the Zendo until the end of Kesseion December 9th.

Rinden Roland Sugimoto Zenji has completed his thousand days of training and continues topractice here at Dai Bosatsu.

Wood Crew: Samu Weekends at DBZSangha members from Shobo-ji have visited Dai Bosatsu several times this season to help withwood harvesting, splitting, and stacking.With this extra help, led by Soun Joe Dowling’s motiva-tion and coordination, we were able to obtain wood stock entirely from DBZ property, oftenclearing already fallen trees from the forest.Thank you very much Soun,Agung Hertanto, ZuikiEduardo, Noel Rodriguez, Kevin Murphy, and Douglas Seiden.

DefibrillatorDai Bosatsu Zendo seeks to purchase a defibrillator unit for use in emergency situations; at leastone resident would like to be trained in using this apparatus. Donations for the unit would bemost appreciated; please contact us at 845-439-4566 if you can be of service regarding this issue.

New York Zendo Shobo-ji NewsChimney Repairs and New Carpet This spring NYZ had various repairs done to its building.The rusted out chimney connected tothe boiler was replaced; it had been leaking throughout last winter.The jisha closet was repaint-ed, as well as the foyer and entrance area. Outside on our sidewalk, the iron access doors lead-ing to a drainage area were replaced with a brand new set, and new carpets were installed onthe stairs and library welcoming people inside with a warm cranberry color. For their generosi-ty, we would like to thank the many people who donated to these necessary repairs.

New Garden in ProgressOur stone garden area is in the process of being renovated.With the help of Eido Roshi and Dr.Cunningham Rundles Ward, our neighbor who lives directly behind the Zendo, and in consulta-tion with Bill Watson, a gardener and landscape designer, plans are underway to restore our gar-den area to its original beauty.Already a new bamboo partition has been built to cover one ofour neighbor’s air conditioning units, which was an eyesore to be sure.The cement walls, whichnow have cracks in them, will be replaced; and new pebbles will soon replace the existing ones.In addition, when the enkianthus tree in the corner of the garden was removed due to its age, abeautiful natural altar was born.

Aiho’s New Knee

THE ZEN STUDIES SOCIETY - Shimano ArchivePublished twice annually by The Zen Studies Society, Inc....

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Transcript of THE ZEN STUDIES SOCIETY - Shimano ArchivePublished twice annually by The Zen Studies Society, Inc....