Leaving home
Shohaku Okumura Those who are clear inevitably leave family life. Those who are dull end their lives at home, which are the causes and conditions of bad karma. – Dōgen Student: Dōgen’s tone is quite harsh. What’s the positive intention he’s trying to convey here about leaving home to become a monk? Okumura Roshi: This is from Shukke-kudoku, the last chapter of the 75-chapter version of Shobogenzo. Shukke is home-leaving and kudoku is virtue or merit. It’s said that after finishing this, Dōgen wanted to make Shobogenzo into 100 chapters. He started to write, but only completed 12 of the additional 25 fascicles before he died. The very first chapter of the 12-chapter version of Shobogenzo was again Shukke-kudoku, Around this time, late in his life, home-leaving, or what becoming a Buddhist monk means seems very important to Dōgen. In Shukke-kudoku he praised the virtue or merit of home-leaving. READ MORE |
IN THIS ISSUE:
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A busy weekend of Nirvana events
Ten people gathered for a one-day sitting in honor of Buddha's entry into Nirvana. On the following day (Sunday), the community sat its usual period of zazen, heard Hoko's talk, held a chanting service that included the Heart Sutra and the Shari Raimon, and enjoyed a potluck lunch.. |
SANSHIN STYLE AND SPIRIT |
Okumura Roshi visits University of San Francisco
Okumura Roshi gave the keynote presentation at the Zen and Place conference held at USF. The title of his talk, "A Person in the Mountains," was taken from Dogen Zenji's Sansuikyo: “A person in the mountains should love the mountains; with coming and going, the mountains are his body.” He reports that about a hundred people were in attendance to hear him, including a number of Sanshin friends from the Bay area.
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Knit and crochet squares add up to dorm blankets
Friends of Sanshin are invited to send in knitted or crocheted squares to be sewn together to make blankets for the dorm. Last year all the bed linens were replaced and the blanket project will complete that effort. Squares can be any color, pattern or stitch, but they must be 12-inches on each side in order to fit together with others into blankets. Because of hypersensitivities and the need for washability, please use synthetic yarn rather than wool or exotic fibers. We'll be making eight blankets in all to provide a handmade welcome from our community to our visiting practitioners.
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Youth group gets an intro to Zen
Members of the Westerville Community UCC's youth group visited Sanshin as part of a road trip designed to let them experience a diversity of faith traditions before their confirmation. Michael Melfi, who took precepts at Sanshin with Hoko last year, is Director of Youth Ministry at the Columbis, OH church and led the trip. While at Sanshin, they heard from Hoko about the basics of Buddhism, learned to do zazen and kinhin, and engaged in a lively discussion of Buddhism in Western daily life. While in Bloomington the group also visited the Tibetan center and the Baha'i community.
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SANSHIN NETWORKCentro Zen Anshin is getting ready for Okumura Roshi's upcoming visit to Italy. He;ll also be speaking in Greece, France and the UK.
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Kyoku Lutz of Germany is visiting Sanshin for a week of dharma transmission activities with Hoko. At the conclusion, she will be a fully authorized and recognized teacher in the Soto Zen denomination. Kyoku leads the Frühlingsmond Zendo in Hannover.
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Okumura Roshi's "Living by Vow" is now available in French, translated by Sanshin Network member Shoju Mahler.
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Misaki Kido of Berkeley is wrapping up a couple of months of okesa sewing at Sanshin under Yuko's direction. Misaki will be ordained as a novice later this year.
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SESSHIN
March 5 - 8
REGISTRATION CLOSES FEBRUARY 27.
Sesshin at Sanshin is an opportunity to practice without distraction. We set aside the usual activities -- or entertainments -- of temple life, like work periods, meetings with teachers and dharma talks, and focus completely on zazen. We practice in complete silence following a 4 am to 9 pm daily schedule that consists simply of fourteen 50-minute periods of zazen with one-hour breaks for meals. This sesshin-without-toys style of practice was created by our dharma grandfather, Kosho Uchiyama Roshi and practiced at Antaji in Kyoto, Japan. We carry on and offer this tradition of our lineage here at Sanshin. READ MORE
March 5 - 8
REGISTRATION CLOSES FEBRUARY 27.
Sesshin at Sanshin is an opportunity to practice without distraction. We set aside the usual activities -- or entertainments -- of temple life, like work periods, meetings with teachers and dharma talks, and focus completely on zazen. We practice in complete silence following a 4 am to 9 pm daily schedule that consists simply of fourteen 50-minute periods of zazen with one-hour breaks for meals. This sesshin-without-toys style of practice was created by our dharma grandfather, Kosho Uchiyama Roshi and practiced at Antaji in Kyoto, Japan. We carry on and offer this tradition of our lineage here at Sanshin. READ MORE
INTRODUCTION TO SESSHIN
March 21, 9 am - 5 pm
REGISTRATION CLOSES MARCH 14.
Hoko will explain the basics of sesshin as it's done at Sanshin, including the context for our particular style, the forms and procedures we follow, and tips for preparing for your first sesshin. After lunch we'll engage in a mini-sesshin, then take care of any remaining questions. READ MORE
March 21, 9 am - 5 pm
REGISTRATION CLOSES MARCH 14.
Hoko will explain the basics of sesshin as it's done at Sanshin, including the context for our particular style, the forms and procedures we follow, and tips for preparing for your first sesshin. After lunch we'll engage in a mini-sesshin, then take care of any remaining questions. READ MORE
Our complete calendar of practice events is available here.
Tuesday Evening
6:30 - 710 Zazen 7:15 - 8:45 Getting Started in Zen Practice Wednesday Evening 6:30 - 7:00 Zazen 7:00 - 8:00 Dharma book discussion (Note that Thursday evening activities have now moved to Wednesday evenings.) |
Are we reaching you?
Do we have the best and most current contact information for you? If you've changed your e-mail address or moved to a new place of residence, or if we've never had complete information about how to reach you, it's time to update your record. Please take a moment to go here to send us the contact information you'd like us to use. We'll check it against your current record and update as needed. Don't miss any of the upcoming communications from Sanshin -- update your info today!
Do we have the best and most current contact information for you? If you've changed your e-mail address or moved to a new place of residence, or if we've never had complete information about how to reach you, it's time to update your record. Please take a moment to go here to send us the contact information you'd like us to use. We'll check it against your current record and update as needed. Don't miss any of the upcoming communications from Sanshin -- update your info today!
Donate your used dharma books
If you have dharma books you're no longer using, you're invited to donate them to Sanshin for the used book section of our sales area in the common room. It's a good opportunity to clear space on your shelves for new dharma books, to make your books available to new readers, and to help make a few dollars for Sanshin. There's a shelf labeled for used books in the common room -- you can leave your donated books there anytime.
Gifts of financial support
Whether as a practitioner, a financial supporter, a listener/reader or simply as an interested friend, Sanshin welcomes you to our international sangha. Like all nonprofit organizations, Sanshin depends on the generous offerings of those whose lives are helped by the work it does. Visit this page to set up a monthly donation or make a one-time gift online, or download a form to use when giving by check.
Community give-back programs
Designating Sanshin Zen Community as the recipient of give-back programs is a painless way to provide funding support simply by making your usual purchases!
Amazon Smile: Instead of going to Amazon's regular homepage, go to Amazon Smile and sign into your Amazon account. Choose Sanshin Zen Community as your charity, and .05% of what you spend will come to us. Remember, only purchases at smile.amazon.com (not www.amazon.com or the mobile app) support Sanshin.
CharityCharge: If you're in the market for a new Mastercard, consider getting it here and joining the friends of Sanshin who have designated us as their nonprofit beneficiary. One percent of what you spend will come to us.
Kroger: If you shop at Kroger with a Plus card, your regular purchases of groceries and household goods can provide financial support for Sanshin. Create or sign in to your Kroger account, enroll in Kroger Community Rewards® with your card, and choose Sanshin as your organization. Every time you shop and swipe your card, a percentage of what you spend will come to us.
Employer giving programs
Friends of Sanshin who work at companies like Google and Adobe are providing regular financial support through payroll deduction and employer gift-matching programs. Check with your employer's human resources or community relations department to see whether giving opportunities like these are available at your workplace.
If you have dharma books you're no longer using, you're invited to donate them to Sanshin for the used book section of our sales area in the common room. It's a good opportunity to clear space on your shelves for new dharma books, to make your books available to new readers, and to help make a few dollars for Sanshin. There's a shelf labeled for used books in the common room -- you can leave your donated books there anytime.
Gifts of financial support
Whether as a practitioner, a financial supporter, a listener/reader or simply as an interested friend, Sanshin welcomes you to our international sangha. Like all nonprofit organizations, Sanshin depends on the generous offerings of those whose lives are helped by the work it does. Visit this page to set up a monthly donation or make a one-time gift online, or download a form to use when giving by check.
Community give-back programs
Designating Sanshin Zen Community as the recipient of give-back programs is a painless way to provide funding support simply by making your usual purchases!
Amazon Smile: Instead of going to Amazon's regular homepage, go to Amazon Smile and sign into your Amazon account. Choose Sanshin Zen Community as your charity, and .05% of what you spend will come to us. Remember, only purchases at smile.amazon.com (not www.amazon.com or the mobile app) support Sanshin.
CharityCharge: If you're in the market for a new Mastercard, consider getting it here and joining the friends of Sanshin who have designated us as their nonprofit beneficiary. One percent of what you spend will come to us.
Kroger: If you shop at Kroger with a Plus card, your regular purchases of groceries and household goods can provide financial support for Sanshin. Create or sign in to your Kroger account, enroll in Kroger Community Rewards® with your card, and choose Sanshin as your organization. Every time you shop and swipe your card, a percentage of what you spend will come to us.
Employer giving programs
Friends of Sanshin who work at companies like Google and Adobe are providing regular financial support through payroll deduction and employer gift-matching programs. Check with your employer's human resources or community relations department to see whether giving opportunities like these are available at your workplace.