“Hossho: Dharmata” by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi

 

eMirror Vol. 11, No. 9

Friday, March 2nd, 2007

Edited by Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho

 


Quotes from teisho are run sequentially in the eMirror

 

          We have looked into what the terms “natural wisdom” and “untutored wisdom” mean as Dogen zenji uses them. But another important term is “dharmata” or, in Chinese “faxing” and in Japanese, “hossho.”

          There are many important traditional Buddhist technical terms that we use in this practice such as Suchness or immo or tathata; which is the fact that everything just is. Although this means that everything is not about you, they are not “being not about you” either. Another term is emptiness or openness or ku or sunyata; which is the fact that everything just is, empty of your concepts, empty of being solid things out there that are known by a self that is in here, and open as dynamic activities that emerge through interactions and vanish into interactions. So this quality of “just is” does not mean “merely” and the “is” does not fall into our personalized ideas of existence.

          In the passage that we have just considered Eihei Dogen zenji says, “Know that we enter the samadhi of dharmata through meeting the sutras or meeting a Master. To enter and receive samadhi as dharmata is what is called natural wisdom.”

          “Dharma” can mean many things depending upon the context it is used in. It can mean “a duty” or “a law”, or “how things are” or “reality”. It can mean the Teachings, specifically the Buddha’s Teachings or Buddha-dharma or Buppo. It can mean “a thing” or the things that comprise a thing, such as particles or atoms. It can mean a moment of experiencing. It can mean what is experienced. Shikai osho often says that “Whenever you notice something, that is a dharma.” The suffix “ta” means “ness”. “Dharmata” or “hossho” can mean the essential nature of something.

           Now, we need to be careful here because words can convey meanings that we do not intend. “Essence” can just mean the “gist” or “the main point.” The “essence” of something in classical Western philosophy from Plato and Aristotle down to Aquinas is that which makes something what it is, which was regarded as an abstract ideal that was more real than its manifest counterpart. For example, there are many round things, many circles: the rim of this water glass, the edge of this gong, [strikes gong gently] the full moon, the sun. I’m sorry to say this, but according to classical Western thought none of these are as real as the ideal or essence of a circle. As for “nature”, this how the essence is expressed in how the concrete manifestation acts or behaves; its qualities. So for classical Western thought essence preceded existence, the idea was more real than the thing that the idea was referring to, just as in Christianity the abstract idea of a soul was more real and of greater value than a bodymind. This is unfortunately not only silly but dangerous. This is why heretics have been tortured and executed; this was not merely punishment but was what was viewed as compassionate attempts to save the heretic’s soul and the souls of those they would corrupt.

          In the Buddha Dharma, the essence or essential nature of something and indeed of everything is that there is nothing behind anything making it what it is. The idea of something is a delusion about that thing. At the very least the idea of something can only highlight particular aspects of that thing but cannot describe let alone convey or present the totality of a glass, a gong, the full moon, or the sun. So the essence or the reality of something, of a dharma, the Dharma about that dharma, is that it is sunya, empty. The reality of reality is that each and every thing transcends ideas and instead is just such, the display of Suchness.

          The term dharmata then can mean realityness, the essential reality, or what is essentially real. As well as being empty or open, every thing that can be experienced is presencing as an experience. It is not a thing out there somewhere, it arises alive within experiencing. It is not solid, it is impermanent and is in motion. So the essential reality of every thing is that it is deeply intimate beyond the fractures of subject and object, self and other. Every thing and everything is essentially real and reality presents itself as each thing and everything, all together stainless and seamless.

 

-Zen Master Anzan Hoshin. Beginning teisho two “What is the Samadhi of Dharmata?” presented Saturday, December 4, 2004, in the series “Essentially Real, commentaries on Eihei Dogen zenji’s Hossho: Dharmata”

 

Upcoming Events

 

Fusatsu and the Vow of Samantabhadra

Chanting of the Precepts will take place on March 21st. The Vow of Samantabhadra will be chanted on March 7th, March 14th and March 28th.

 

Hermitage

The Roshi began a period of hermitage on Wednesday, February 28th which will end on Sunday, March 4th at 10:00 a.m., when he leads monastics in Acalanatha Sadhana.

 

Introduction to Zen Workshop

Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho will present the next Introduction to Zen Workshop at Dainen-ji on Saturday, March 3rd. For more information please see:

http://www.wwzc.org/programs/Introduction_To_Zen_Workshop_Ottawa.htm.

            For information concerning our Long-distance Training Program, please visit this Web Page:

http://www.wwzc.org/programs/longDistance.htm.

 

Introduction to Zen Workshop in Harrow, England

On Saturday, March 3rd at 2:00 p.m., Ven. Saigyo chiden will be presenting an Introduction to Zen workshop at the Harrow Zazenkai. The Zazenkai is located at Flat 3, 4 Stuart Avenue, South Harrow, Middlesex, England HA2 9BB. For more information about the workshop or to register, please telephone Frank Tettsu Woods at 0208-422-9757 or send an email to info@wwzc.org. There is a suggested contribution of 10 pounds to register for the workshop.

 

 

Oryoki enso by Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi

 

Oryoki for General Students

On Saturday, March 10th, general students who attend the 6:00 a.m. formal sitting may participate in oryoki practice led by Jinmyo osho. Associate or visiting public students who are in retreat at the monastery on that day may also participate in oryoki. Dana is $10.00. You do not need previous experience of oryoki to attend. For more information or to register please send an email to schedule@wwzc.org.

 

March Two-day Sesshin

The March two-day sesshin will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, March 16th and will end at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 18th.

On Saturday, March 17th, associate and general students may attend a sitting held in the Zendo, which will begin at 9:30 a.m. (please arrive by 9:15 in time for first Bell) and will end at 11:30 a.m.

 

 

Zen Classes

Chunen ino and Mishin tando received two students from Brookfield High School on Wednesday February 28th, for the second of two Zen classes. These classes are by invitation from the Continuing Education Department of the Ottawa Carleton District School Board. During the first class, last week, students were provided with basic information on Zen Practice. During the second class, they visited the monastery and were given a tour of the Hatto, Zendo, Shuryo, ground floor library, and given a brief explanation of the function of each of the rooms. They also did zazen and kinhin in the Zendo.

 

Recorded Teisho Schedule

Saturday, March 3rd general sitting – Sitting Up Straight: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin’s commentaries on Keizan Jokin zenji’s “Zazen Yojinki”: “Incomparable” (teisho 14 of 17).

Sunday, March 4th formal sitting - SAkN: Root Cycle Three: “Open Details” (teisho 4 of 8).

Monday, March 5th general sitting – Without Difficulty: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin’s commentaries on “Xinxin Ming: Words on Trusting Awareness” by Jianzhi Sengcan: “The One Way Is All Directions” (teisho 10 of 25).

Tuesday, March 6th formal sitting – Mikkyo-zo: Monastic Jishu: “Chu-u” (Class 4 of 15).

Thursday, March 8th associate sitting – This World of Ten Directions: “Don’t Worry About Not Falling” (teisho 10 of 10).

Saturday, March 10th general sitting – Sitting Up Straight: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin’s commentaries on Keizan Jokin zenji’s “Zazen Yojinki”: “It’s Just That Simple” (teisho 15 of 17).

 

 

White Wind Zen Community Media Site

The following MP3s of teisho from the series “Round and Bright: Commentaries on Koun Ejo zenji’s Komyo Zanmai” have been posted on the Media Site:

 

01 of 24. Reading 01

02 of 24. Reading 02

03 of 24. Teisho 01. Entering the Room

04 of 24. Teisho 02. Neishitsu: No Shit

05 of 24. Teisho 03. No Choice

06 of 24. Teisho 04. Sometimes

07 of 24. Teisho 05. The Practice which Practices All Beings

08 of 24. Teisho 06. The Evening News

09 of 24. Teisho 07. Reverence for Not Knowing

10 of 24. Teisho 08. Feeling is Joy

11 0f 24. Teisho 09. In the Hot Seat           

12 of 24. Teisho 10. The Forge        

13 of 24. Teisho 11. Jewels of Flame         

14 of 24. Teisho 12. The Wind Between the Ears    

15 of 24. Teisho 13. Falling   

16 of 24. Teisho 14. Sun Face, Moon Face  

17 of 24. Teisho 15. The Familiar is Strange, the Strange is Familiar       

18 of 24. Teisho 16. You're Wrong...          

19 of 24. Teisho 17. Wonder  

20 of 24. Teisho 18. Alone    

21 of 24. Teisho 19. Seeds    

22 of 24. Teisho 20. Black Mountain  

23 of 24. Teisho 21. Open Sky        

24 of 24. Teisho 22. Round and Bright        

 

 

Congratulations

Congratulations and deep gassho to Steven Karcz on being accepted as an associate public student by the Roshi. Steven is a resident of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

 

Retreats

Deshi Vicki Robichaud sat a one-day retreat on Thursday and a partial retreat on Friday in her home on Gabriola Island. Marcin Matuszkiewiewicz sat a partial retreat in his home in Montreal on Saturday, February 25th.

 

To Schedule a Retreat

Please email schedules@wwzc.org to schedule a retreat, even if you have made verbal arrangements with a practice advisor or a Dharma Teacher. Emails sent to that address are routed to all members of the Practice Council who will need this information for the purposes of meal planning, preparing tapes for your retreat and planning samu assignments. Retreats are defined in the following way:

 

Half-day Retreat (you would need to arrive 15 minutes before the actual starting time) Begin at 6:00 a.m., end at noon. Or begin at 9:30 a.m., end at 6:00. Or begin at 3:00 p.m., end at 9:10.

Partial Retreat (You would need to arrive 15 minutes before the actual starting time) Begin at 6:00 a.m., end at 6:00 p.m. Or begin at 9:30 a.m., end at 9:10 p.m.

Full retreat (you would need to arrive by 5:45) Begin at 6:00 a.m., end at 9:10 p.m. Please remember to bring a change of clothes suitable for samu (caretaking practice). If staying overnight, please remember to bring a sleeping bag, a towel and other such necessities. If you have been diagnosed by a medical doctor as having allergies to specific foods, please contact the tenzo, Jinmyo osho at Jinmyo@trytel.com a week in advance of your retreat to inform her of dietary restrictions as this affects food purchases and meal planning. The suggested dana for retreats is $40 a day, which covers the basic cost of food and other materials. Donations above this figure are very welcome and all donations are tax deductible. There is also a retreat schedule for public students posted on our Website at:

http://www.wwzc.org/Resources/Public.student.retreat.schedule.htm

Public Students’ Retreats

For retreats to be mentioned in the eMirror, public students are asked to send an email to schedule@wwzc.org mentioning the date of their retreat and whether it is a partial, half-day or full retreat.  

 

Samu Weekend Report

Over the weekend of February 24th and 25th we held our first samu weekend of 2007. Twenty students attended during the weekend and worked on a wide variety of projects and tasks around the monastery. Here is a list of some of the many improvements and repairs completed over the two days:

The ceiling of the basement workshop was fully insulated which has resulted in a warmer kitchen floor above and a more pleasant working environment in the shop; painting was completed on several areas of trim on the second floor between the Hatto and Shuryo; above the hung ceilings in the front hallway, kitchen and dining hall were areas of damage to the old plaster walls where wires or plumbing pass from room to room or to the outside. These holes let in a lot of cold air during the winter and so they were located and properly insulated; extra shelving was installed in the basement office; the attic was sorted further, tidied and storage was created for the various electrical wiring supplies and spares we have; new baking equipment shelving was installed in the laundry room.

     Thank you to the following students who attended the samu weekend: Chunen ino, Mishin tando, Senbo shramon, Jido anagarika, Nathan Comeau, Gillian Higenbottam, Ian Hepburn, Charles Enman, Neil Porter, John McCaffrey, Rob McBride, Jane Brown, Cesar Aloe, Jan Elliot, Paul Kadziora, Samantha Drouin, Sean Moreland, Melanie Coughlin and Nicole Lewis.

     Thank you to the Roshi and Jinmyo osho for designing and preparing the wonderful meals for the participants and to Shikai osho for the afternoon refreshments.

Gassho,

Saigyo chiden, shissui

 

Address Updates for Charitable Tax Receipts

Charitable tax receipts for all dana contributions made during 2006 will be ready before the end of the month. If you have moved in the past year, or are not sure that we have your current address on file, please email your updated address to Mishin tando at Mishin@trytel.com so that your tax receipt can be correctly addressed. Thank you to all monastics and lay students for generosity in your dana offerings.

- Gassho, Mishin tando, treasurer.  

 

 

Zenga by Sengai

 

Office of the Tenzo

Dogen zenji taught that the work of preparing and serving meals was "a matter for realized monks who have the mind of the Way or by senior disciples who have roused the Way-seeking mind." In alignment with this, part of Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's samu for the Community involves personally overseeing the activities of the ancient office of tenzo. Jinmyo Renge osho serves as tenzo and Mishin tando and Saigyo chiden offer assistance as tenzo-anja.

 

Meals prepared during the Samu Weekend:

Saturday:

Mixed grain (Lundberg Farm short grain brown rice, barley, Korean sticky white and brown rice, gohan); red lentil daal with diced poblano chiles and coriander; roasted tiny eggplants and quartered plum tomatoes with extra virgin olive oil, and Sichuan peppercorns, cumin seeds and white mustard seeds; blanched Brussels sprouts with slivered ginger, dried chiles, ponzu, ngoc mam; salad of mung bean sprouts with mint and chopped Chinese celery dressed with ngoc mam, mirin, and lime juice.

Sunday:

Kishimen noodles with diced plum tomatoes and mangoes, Thai basil, basil, slivered ginger, fermented wheat paste, Sichuan peppercorns, shoyu, ngoc mam, and lime garnished with mung bean sprouts and peanuts; dai gai choy, sliced eryingi mushrooms, whole tiny cremini mushrooms and oyster mushrooms with puffed tofu in a chile miso soup; Napa cabbage slaw dressed with mayonnaise and Vietnamese roasted chiles.

 

The following is a list of meals served prior to the evening sittings on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday:

Monday yakuseki

Whole small Korean cabbages, cored and braised in mixed grain congee; Gardein (TVP) fake beef and chicken strips roasted with red bell peppers, poblano and cubanelle peppers in bulgogi and garlic; roasted whole cremini mushrooms with shoyu and sesame oil.

Tuesday Yakuseki

Black beans slow cooked in stock from smoked pork hocks and jowl (the hocks shredded and chopped and added back into the beans), white onion, (sachet of bay leaves, lime leaves, epazote, coriander seeds), balsamic vinegar, red wine and finished with toasted cumin seeds; red cargo rice; red bell peppers, cubanelle peppers, and hot banana chiles roasted in extra virgin olive oil; roasted San Marzano tomatoes with whole garlic cloves, oregano, and chipotle; green cabbage and white onion slaw with lime and celery seeds; Shikai osho's corn bread. 

Thursday Yakuseki

"Pancakes, bacon and eggs": Buckwheat pancakes served with a “syrup” of bulgogi (Korean barbeque sauce mixed with shoyu); caramelized onion fritatta topped with blackened tomatoes, seasoned with ginger and chilis; "bacon" made from strips of red bell pepper sauteed and then seasoned with a small amount of hickory water; sugar snap peas and sauteed mushrooms.

 

Monastery Breadbasket

2 pans of cornbread, 16 mini baguettes; one light lemon meringue pie.

 

Students attending sittings on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings may make arrangements to join residents for meals prepared by the Office of the Tenzo. Please email schedule@wwzc.org at least one day in advance; Contribution is $10.

 

Thank You

If you would like to thank someone for a contribution they have made, please feel free to send an email to Jinmyo osho at jinmyo@trytel.com. (Owing to the volume of mail I receive, please note that an email sent to me containing a thank you intended for the eMirror should specify that it is to be included. Otherwise I will likely assume that you are just sending me an email, will think, "Thank you very much," and that will be the end of it).

 

From Shikai osho, “Thank you to Chunen ino for two documentary movies; to Saigyo chiden and Jido anagarika for teaching me how to change the water in the Dinsdale’s (rescued feeder fish) tank and for making a shelf which stores baking utensils and sharpens the environment of the pantry/laundry room.”

From Jinmyo osho, “Thank you to Senbo shramon for purchasing a new mat cutter for framing original sho brushed by the Roshi.

From Chunen ino, “Thank you from Chunen ino, to the Roshi and Jinmyo osho for wonderful and nourishing meals prepared during the Samu weekend, to Shikai osho for several clarifications and explanations, to Mishin tando for maintaining and organizing the financial books, and preparing the tax receipts, to Saigyo chiden for organizing the samu weekend, to James MacAulay for enhancing the media site.”

From Mishin tando, “Thank you to the Roshi for the loan of books about the history of the Dharma; to the Roshi and Jinmyo osho for design and preparing two delicious lunches for participants at the Samu Weekend, and to Shikai osho for afternoon refreshments especially the crispy oatcakes; to Saigyo shuso for organizing the Samu Weekend and to all students who participated; to Charles Enman for arriving at 5 a.m. prior to morning sittings to assist the monastics with samu and soji (preparation of the practice halls).”

From Saigyo chiden, “Thank you to residents for taking care of my responsibilities whilst I am in England and for looking after Shiro (a monastery cat). Thank you to Mishin tando and Muryo for work on applying for a Heritage grant for an upcoming chimney repair; to Peter Walker for a donation towards the samu weekend.”

From Senbo shramon: “Thank you to the Roshi for the amazing collection of music and DVDs he makes available; to Chunen ino for the gift of cross-country skis; to Mishin tando for preparing and mailing the charitable tax receipts for the year 2006.”

From Sean Moreland, “Thank you to the Roshi and Jinmyo Osho for the preparation of delicious and nourishing meals and Shikai Osho for equally delicious refreshments during the Samu weekend, to Saigyo chiden for his attentive and helpful Samu instruction and diligent organization of tasks, and to all the monastics and students whose inspiring efforts maintain the practice environment at Dainen-Ji.”

 

 

 


 

Ongoing

 

Samu

Request for Assistance, Office of the Treasurer

As part of clarifying and streamlining the financial processes of White Wind Zen Community, we would like to have pairs of students rotate to help process dana contributions on a weekly basis. To date, most of this work has been done by Mishin tando with the assistance of one or two other students, but it is time to restructure the system so that the work of the Office of the Treasurer becomes more manageable and more students are helping with this responsibility. If you would be available on Saturdays prior to the General Sitting for about a hour (from 8:15-9:15 a.m.), your help will be appreciated. Please email mishin@trytel.com. Training will be provided. No special financial skills are needed other than an eye for detail and accuracy.

 

Archiving Samu

Since 2002 the teisho presented by the Roshi and the Dharma Talks given by the Dharma Teachers have been recorded directly onto CD and copies made available to students. Prior to this time all of the recordings were made on cassette tape. Over the last years the monastics, with the help of several students, have worked to transfer the taped material onto CD, not only because cassette tape technology is fast becoming outdated but because the early tape recordings are deteriorating quickly and may soon become unplayable. To lose these teaching would be disastrous. We are presently making direct CD copies of all of the early tapes so that there is a back-up copy available should anything happen to the master tape which makes it unplayable but there is much work to be done. There are still over 100 tapes from the 1980’s and 1990’s that need to be re-mastered, relabeled and copied and this constitutes many hundreds of hours of work. If you are able to commit to a regular weekly schedule of two or three hours samu to continue this vital work, please let us know by writing to tapes@wwzc.org. Full training will be given.

 

Daily Samu

Samu each day to prepare the monastery for the arrival of the students is a very important practice for the monastics. Any help to assist the monks with brightening and clarifying the practice environment is very much appreciated. If you are able to come early before a sitting to do samu, please consult the samu notice board situated between the side entrance doors to find a task which has not been done recently. If you have any questions about the task please ask any monastic.

 

Improvements to the Second Floor Washroom

A project that has been on the high priory list for a number of years is the renovation of the second floor washroom. Even though this is the most frequently used washroom in the building it has never had any substantial improvements apart from being painted last year. Work on this washroom, which was scheduled to be taking place late this year or early next year, will again need to be delayed due to the necessity of a urgent roof repair to the west side of the roof. This repair will cost in the region of $13,000 and as this is considerably higher than our available budget we have had to cut back on other important work. Because of this, we have decided to fundraise in order to gather sufficient money to make the improvements to the washroom. The work to be done will include a new sink and cabinet and a new ceiling light, fan and exhaust. This will cost in the region of $1000 to complete. Students are encouraged to donate towards this project so that it can be scheduled some time in the winter and the improved facilities will be available by 2007. Improvements to this room will benefit every student that comes to the monastery for sittings.

Thank you for your generosity to help with this project.

Gassho,

Saigyo chiden, shissui.

 

CDs Available to the Public

A selection of CDs of teisho and Dharma Talks is available on our web-site. The page is found at http://wwzc.org/CDWebSales/CDWebSales.htm or follow the link for Dharma Texts and CDs on the home page. Over time more teisho and Dharma Talks from the over 2500 presentations made by the Roshi, Shikai osho and Jinmyo osho will be made available for purchase.

 

Ongoing Project: “All is Change”

Dainen-ji, being a 135-year-old building, is continuously in need of maintenance and the costs associated with this can be astronomical when such things as roof repairs or painting are needed. This is something that we cannot afford to do, yet must do and so the “All is Change” project has been created. The “All is Change” project is very simple. Most of us have a bowl or a jar or some other kind of container that we keep somewhere at home and fill up with loose change because it's too heavy to carry around. Several hundred dollars has been collected so far both in loose change and Canadian tire money which has been put towards the building maintenance fund. Most of the collected money was spent on materials for the new front path and we have also been able to purchase several new tools which will help greatly with ongoing renovations. If anyone would like to contribute to this fund, each penny will be appreciated.

 

 

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