I recall a teisho by Roshi when I was in training at Mt Baldy Zen Center. He spoke of how Japan and the West have differing terms to describe what is called Buddhism. The West often uses terms such as religion, way of life, etc. Roshi pointed out that Japan had no term “religion” until it became necessary to translate the Western term. He was bought up learning the Japanese phrases “shu gyo” or “bu gyo” for what we call Buddhism.
 These phrases, if I recall correctly, indicate the foundation, teaching or basis of life, also known as the Buddha way. Buddhism is not a religion or an "ism,” not even a way of life. These are mistaken Western descriptions based on our own cultural heritage.

Perhaps we can get a sense of Buddhism from Master Dogen’s well known saying “To study Zen is to study the self, to study the self is to lose the self . . .” Here, the spirit of Zen comes through very strongly. The foundation or basis of life isn’t an understanding or intellectual theory. It’s realized, instead, through self-contemplation and through application in our lives, cycled, repeated, deeper and deeper, fuller and fuller. Zen belongs to the wisdom traditions of the world, rather than the knowledge or revelation traditions.
This is an important point. Western culture has become so knowledge-based: we know so much yet remain so far from the truth. Even science describes what it discovers; yet few do the actual discovery. Master Dogen reminds us that the truth is discovered and realized through our introspection, not from studying, learning or knowing outside things or ideas.

With a clear initial orientation we can look at how to investigate the self.

Traditionally we start in seated contemplation. The posture, both physical and energy-wise, expresses the commitment to be present with an active spirit. Contemplation is the intelligent awareness of our full being’s involvement in this moment. Regarding contemplation as purely a mental activity is a mistake.

Nor is contemplation and meditation exactly the same. Meditative techniques – such as counting the breaths, cultivating peaceful or concentrative states of mind, just following the breath, etc. – do not lead to insight and wisdom. They merely lead to a cultivated, subjective state of mind. However, if you find yourself repeatedly absorbed in internal dialogues, you can use a meditative technique as a preventative. For example, apply your attention to sounds or to the breath. This brings attention to the physical present rather than totally mental states – “flowers of air.”

Contemplation requires intelligent awareness of what’s present, both inside and outside. Simply experience this awareness as the arising and passing of existence. The mind slowly and naturally becomes focused with the present physical place and moment. At first we find ourselves present only a small part of the time. But practicing being present makes us more present more often. It’s a case of practice makes perfect! However, it takes time and consistent effort. We have to make it happen. It won’t occur on its own. This is an important point.

In contemplation we come to see deeply what is occurring. We come to see that at times there’s only the outside: the subjective sense is gone. At times there’s only the subjective internal state: the objective sense is gone. At times both subjective and objective disappear. Here it seems we sleep, yet it’s not conventional sleep but a very deep, unconscious state of rest. At times both subject and object are present, with a sense of both ourselves and the outside.
The last is the fully awake state, the state of true love, when we are the distance or space that includes and embraces both inside and outside. (This sounds a mouthful, but Buddhism tries to be accurate and precise in talking of reality.) It’s this awakened state that’s recognized as being most alive. It’s the state of true love.
When there’s only the subjective, true love is cultivated by making relationship to the outside. When there’s only the objective, it’s cultivated by arousing ourselves to be present. Reflect on this; notice when you find yourself unbalanced one way or the other, and apply the antidote!

Our various problems or unbalances arise from our inability to be present. We get caught up in inner dialogues, habitually avoid being open, or let emotions prevent our being present – fear, anxiety, anger, etc. But it’s a mistake to fixate on these as something to fix. In fact, they are merely passing symptoms along the journey to true love, of inside and outside alive together, moment by moment. When problems arise, just let them be without fixating or self-identifying in a permanent way with them: neither avoiding or repressing them on the one hand nor, on the other hand, indulging, naming or making a story about them. In time they gradually burn off. This is called the practice of letting be.

Zen practice is very simple. Just keep trying to be present and engaged with this place, in this moment. Everything else is avoidance, distraction and repression. Being present and engaged is the deepest way of loving. Simply relax and consciously melt into the moment. At the same time, let the moment embrace you. Let go of all set ideas and opinions, all blind likes and dislikes, all grasping what makes us comfortable and avoiding what’s troublesome. Just deeply trust being with this world beyond good and bad. True love is the journey to accepting reality as it is rather than how we wish it to be.

How do we respond to – and within the reality of – true love? Master Lin Chi (Rinzai in Japanese) said, “Don’t seek adornments, adornments come of their own.” This is an interesting and important statement. With Zen practice our original innate human qualities flower and manifest of their own accord. They are with us from the start. When we just let go of all that is false and inauthentic, our authentic self, hidden by false views and actions, becomes manifest. This is interesting because it’s easy to talk about and cultivate how one ought to be. There’s so much of this in the world these days. In contrast, Zen states that we must trust ourselves before thinking and doubting.  Before thinking and doubting, we are already in the prior state of non-separate true love. This is to trust that we already deeply and directly know. It comes about by extending ourselves into the moment rather than holding back in doubt – this takes time and practice.

Traditionally an analogy of a tree was used. To merely cultivate the separate self was called arranging the branches and flowers. Zen says we must put down deep roots and then the branches and flowers will look after themselves. In other words, contemplate and actualize the foundation of life, discover true love, and your humanity arises of its own accord. This may sound radical in the self-improvement culture we live in. However, in cultivating qualities (the branches and flowers) without being grounded in the present (in the root), we find ourselves being overwhelmed by the circumstances of daily life. As the Zen analogy of the tree points out, having a strong, clear foundation in true love gives stability within the winds of change.

Qualities such as kindness, gratitude, and active caring must be creatively discovered in our present situation. Zen is a life of creative acts arising from this very place, this very moment. These acts bring ourselves and the situation forward. When done in true love, not emotional love, no mistakes are made: no mistakes, that is, of self-centered grasping or avoiding, personal likes and dislikes, and so on. Instead, we are forever creating the future from the present based on clarity and openness.

Contributions 

Ian Hignell
The Being Of Skiing
Standing on the cornice looking
across to the tusk gleaming black.
Then, looking down, jumping, aaaaah!
Oooomph compress, extend, quickly turning
schooo, turn, schooo, turn, dancing rhythmically,
aaaaah the powder is soo forgiving, swinging
side to side, between trees through the glade,
Wow, yahoo, sun sparkling, some shade,
no thinking, existential, it’s all doing,
the Zen of just being, exhilarating.

Mike Henley
To the man lost, a map is worth more than gold.
But at his destination, it falls from his fingers as scrap paper.
To those lost on the Way, the words of the ancients are as gold.
But when the Way is found, even the name Buddha is like dry sand in the mouth.

The past is smoke.
The future is mist.
Only the present is a stone you can grasp.

There is no poem better
Than a drink of cold water.

A thousand hours just sitting,
not a moment wasted.

Blue sky mind.
A few clouds,
but they don’t linger.

A great handicap is that we are able to conceive of things that do not exist and then to conduct ourselves as if they did.

No one is undeserving of your compassion.

If a gift requires gratitude it is not a gift.

Don’t let the ungrateful stop you from giving.

TV is easier to look at than the mirror.

Cleaning the Carpet
Pulling the machine, the bucket disappears.
Filling the bucket, the machine disappears.
Feeling the carpet, the machine and bucket disappear.

Don Hagreen
Cariboo Highway Sideways Glance
Tires carve through the bend.
Straightaway opens. Stress drops.
Horse rolls, kicks his feet.

Centre News

The August sesshin saw two newcomers, Daniel from Winnipeg and Ned from Vancouver. The sesshins, now being held at the centre, help strengthen the feel of practice here. The regular daily zazen times fit in with the sesshin schedule. This means people can attend daily zazen even when a sesshin is occurring.

The next sesshin is November 15th – 22nd.
The dates for the 2009 sesshins will be decided over the next month. It’s possible the centre will go to five or six sesshins a year as recent participation has pushed the accommodation limits. Increasing sesshins is a way to handle the volume of people now interested. Bunk beds and bedding have been bought for some rooms to accommodate more people.

The centre has three bedrooms on the first floor for dedicated, sincere and serious Zen students; providing them with a remarkable opportunity for zendo practice, guidance and interaction with a teacher, Zen studies, helping take responsibility for the centre – all on a daily basis. Preference is for full-time students, but school or work is possible. Please see the residency page on the web site for details.

Myorei has created a design plan for the garden after attending a series of classes at VanDusen Botanical Garden. It includes a kinhin circle at the rear. The plan will be implemented slowly over the years.
Thanks to the sangha members who helped steam clean all the carpets in August.
Caulking of the exterior openings before winter was done during the August sesshin – thanks Daniel!!
The renovation of the upstairs kitchen is on hold. The downstairs kitchen has been used for sesshins and there may be no need for a full upstairs kitchen.

Further minor renovations are required. The drywall needs additional finishing. Some seams stand out and need feathering-in and repainting. The old stove and some of the counter need to be removed from the upstairs kitchen. This will allow a larger general area and hopefully can be done during winter. If anyone can help with this please contact Eshin and a schedule will be set up.

The centre needs a house-sitter (centre-sitter?) from Christmas to the New Year. The person must sleep and help at the centre during this time, including feeding the cat. Can you help?

Recent weeks have seen a burst of new people coming for introductions to Zen. This usually happens in fall and there’s hope many will take up regular practice.
The numbers for the One Day Sits remain high.

Over summer there were weekly meetings for the 2nd stream. Four people, with Eshin, studied the Diamond Sutra and Tozan’s Five Ranks. The meetings went beyond study to include sharing experiences and insights into these great traditional teachings. Eshin also interacted, strongly at times, with members to extend their insights. A new series of meetings is planned. One suggestion for study is the Record of Master Lin Chi (in Japanese, Rinzai). If you are interested in attending please let Eshin know.

Eshin is very willing to meet with sangha members to discuss practice. This has been going on over several years. The meetings are one-on-one. If newer members are unaware of this and wish to meet Eshin in this way please contact him.

A large part of the centre’s income comes from donations. Over the years there’s been very strong support, which has allowed the centre to grow as well as cover running costs. The last big growth step occurred over the last year when the new property was purchased and extensively renovated. A loan had been added to the mortgage to cover the renovation. The renovation has now been completed to the point where the centre can be used for practice and residency. Yet there’s still much finishing to be done, both inside and with the garden. Fortunately the centre is able, on an ongoing basis, to cover expenses but there’s a financial limit to the further finishing. Please consider whether you can increase the monthly donation or consider a one-time donation to help.

 Sangha News

Eshin and Myorei visited Phil’s Mindfulness Meditation group in Sooke on Oct 1st. The group is part of Thich Nhat Hanh’s lineage.

Eshin attended the NWDA Dharma teachers meeting early in October. It’s a time for Pacific North West teachers, from all Buddhist traditions, to meet, discuss and share resources. The two main discussion groups at the meeting concerned troubled people attending centres and how to help and incorporate children in practice. It was a time for Eshin to meet and mix with peers.

David Ashton has moved to Victoria where his family is. He was working in Vancouver and returning home at weekends. He returns to his family and his first work as a biochemist.

Chris Massey and Dawn were married in Powell River on the 2nd August. Eshin, Myorei, Brad, Jon and Risako were there for the happy occasion.

Jeff Creek, a long time Zen student and Rinzai-ji director, visited Eshin on the July 10th while on a business trip to Vancouver.

Donations

The Centre asks for contributions from its friends. This is a way to support the Zen Centre itself and to repay benefits from the centre’s practise. It’s the practice of giving and receiving, receiving and giving. A contribution of $20 per month is expected and many contribute $35 or $50 a month as appreciation of the practice and importance of the centre develops.

A great thank you for all the membership and general donations since spring: Adrian Dobre, Branko Vrbic, Bryson Young, Christian Reuten, Dalip Mahal, Darryl Brousseau, David Ashton, David Stevenson, Elsie Sands, Eshin Godfrey, Fred Newman, Glenda Carberry, Greg Barkovich, Ian Hignell, Jonathan Gallant, Kevin Conzen, Klare Shoveller, Krista Johnson, Larry Steele, Laurissa Kowalchuk, Lina Zarate, Marina Abramishvili, Mike Henley, Ned Mcfarlane, Paramita Banerjee, Paul Clarke, Peggy Scott. Peter Smith, Risako Ota, Rory Workman, Shadi Shahkalili, Stephane Chretien, Susanna Neufeld, Tony Ross and for all the anonymous donations.

A big thank you for both the items and the time that sangha members donate to help the centre: Klare for kitchen towelling; Rory for a long ladder, compost, guest room chest of drawers; Dalip and Krista for a hand vacuum cleaner; Myorei for flowers.