TRAVEL DIARY: DHARMATRACKS Across AMERICA WEST (7/28-8/31) & OAKLAND RETREAT (8/9-12)

[Jundo]

Today, dropping Mina and Chao Chao off at LAX airport for their return to Japan, then Shoka has offered to drive me and Leon around LA all day ....

Sometime in the afternoon, meeting up with some folks from the Dogen Sangha Los Angeles group, probably at their Zendo, for a brief sit followed by eats in Chinatown. Looks like Bro. Brad Warner will hop on in, taking time from his busy schedule. Then need to catch our train to Arizona at 10pm. Not sure if we can netcast any of that, but will try to post a photo or two.

Ansan ... we are on our way! Drive slow, we will be waiting for you. On the road to your place, should be eclipse time.

Gassho, Jundo

SatToday

[Mp]

Today, dropping Mina and Chao Chao off at LAX airport for their return to Japan, then Shoka has offered to drive me and Leon around LA all day ....

Sometime in the afternoon, meeting up with some folks from the Dogen Sangha Los Angeles group, probably at their Zendo, for a brief sit followed by eats in Chinatown. Looks like Bro. Brad Warner will hop on in, taking time from his busy schedule. Then need to catch our train to Arizona at 10pm. Not sure if we can netcast any of that, but will try to post a photo or two.

Ansan ... we are on our way! Drive slow, we will be waiting for you. On the road to your place, should be eclipse time.

Gassho, Jundo

SatToday

Very good, happy travels in the LA ... and I am happy to hear that Brad is going to jump in. =)

Gassho
Shingen

SatToday/LAH

[Byokan]

Sat with Shokakai. Wonderful!

Gassho
Byōkan
sat today

[Jundo]

A lovely day with Shoka seeing the part of Samsara that is Hollywood, paying tribute to the stars. Then on to dinner with
Mark from Dogen Sangha LA. Brad, unfortunately, could not make it. Thank you to Shoka for all her warmth and hospitality.

Now on to meet Ansan in Arizona, on the train now, they kick us off a bit after 5am. Eclipse tomorrow morning too.

Gassho J

SatTodayLAH

[Doshin]

Jundo,

Just to let you know, I do remember you are coming! I was in Deming and wondered where there was a train station. Finally found it, a bench with a cover over it. I will be somewhere near the bench (if not sitting on it) on Thursday.

Jishin, your Cassita awaits you.

Gassho
Doshin
ST/LAH

[Kyonin]

Jundo!

Give Ansan a big hug for me

Gassho,

Kyonin
Sat/LAH

[Jishin]

Jundo,

Just to let you know, I do remember you are coming! I was in Deming and wondered where there was a train station. Finally found it, a bench with a cover over it. I will be somewhere near the bench (if not sitting on it) on Thursday.

Jishin, your Cassita awaits you.

Gassho
Doshin
ST/LAH

My casita es tu casita. Your casita es mi casita!

Will be there soon!

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Meitou]

Still following your footsteps, even though I'm lagging behind a little. Just sat the rest of the redwood zazenkai. Thanks Jundo, and thanks James for letting me sit in your beautiful house. And talking of behinds, thanks also for the hokey cokey 😀.
Gassho
Frankie
Sat with you all today /lah

[Jundo]

Ansan picked Leon and me up at the little train station in Maricopa Arizona, then we drove for about two hours ... catching the eclipse on the way ... then drove on, pulled off a dirt road and kept going ...

... and then there was the house, with her husband Keith and the dogs, cats, lizards and snakes (haven't seen any yet though). She is an artist who headed out here 20 years ago with her husband, a former computer guy from back in the day. Her art ... you have to see it youself, fills every corner of the place, wherever one looks a story. In fact, they built the house themself out of mostly recycled stuff, with no particular house building experience (and a building inspector who was in a good mood that day).

Like I said, you have to see it to believe, so I made this little video. I went fast ... too fast ... to do justice, so please pause and peruse the details of the place, and their life that they have created here. We walked the dogs among the scrub and cactus.



We are going to sit Zazen here, but their connection to the outside world is so flimsy that I can't netcast the whole thing. Maybe I will put up some later. In the meantime, just sit today and tomorrow with us in heart.

Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

[Doshin]

Beautiful people in a beautiful home in a beautiful desert in a beautiful world. As the Navajo say...walk in beauty.

Gassho
Doshin
St/lah

[Mp]

Beautiful people in a beautiful home in a beautiful desert in a beautiful world. As the Navajo say...walk in beauty.

Gassho
Doshin
St/lah

I echo those words ... lovely! =)

Gassho
Shingen

SatToday/LAH

[Kyonin]

Marvelous! I knew Ansan is an artist but I had no idea how wonderful her home is.

Now I really want to go visit them

Gassho,

Kyonin

[Tairin]

Very cool house Ansan. Thank you for the tour.

Gassho
Warren
Sat today

[Joyo]

Thank you for recording the video of Ansan's house, Jundo. Wow you have been a busy traveler!! Enjoy the rest of your trip.

And hello Ansan!! =)

Gassho,
Joyo
sat today

[Jundo]

We have been sitting at Ansan's house various times, so please join us in heart with this picture (pretty much the same as "live action" Zazen really )

We may actually netcast a bit of our Zazenkai tonight, Arizona time (schedule to be determined), if Ansan's internet will take the load.


AnsanZazen.jpg

Gassho, Jundo

SatTodayLAH

[M.C. Easton]

Just finished sitting the Eureka zazenkai. Thank you to Jundo and James. I found it very restful to sit with you among the trees. Safe travels to everyone as the journey continues!
Gassho
Melanie
SatToday/LAH

[Jundo]

Hi from the Arizona Desert ...

Ansan and husband Keith (and the two sheepdogs and the cat) join us for a little Zazenkai at night. We will sit twice, with Kinhin between, likely read the Shobogenzo at the end. However, be aware that because of the internet connection out here among the cacti, the video cuts out at about 20 minutes.



Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

[Mp]

Sounds great ... You sit in the desert and I will sit on the coast and yet you are sitting on the coast and I am sitting in the desert. =)

Gassho
Shingen

SatToday/LAH

[Jakuden]

Falling behind a little, but how awesome Ansan's house is! Will sit the rest of this as soon as I can. Thank you!
Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH


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[Tai Shi]

It was great to sit with Ansan, Jundo and even perhaps Ansan's husband fully enjoying the dessert while I am in the Sierra Nevada Mountains visiting my father who lives in the little town of Colfax, me at abput 3.000 feet as my dad looks over the town of about 1800 people, his little home and one acre of mountain side orchard. I sat afrer the vidio looking over The American River Valley, with Amtrack and The Union Pacific Railways directly bellow about thee miles away. My twenty minutes of solitude after the video ended at about 6 Am while my dad and my wife slept, me then waiting for breakfast I kept my dad's dog Julie company.

Tai Shi
std/lah
Gassho

[Jundo]

Waiting in Maricopa Arizona for our 5am train to New Mexico ... The only place for Leon and I to wait for miles is the Ak-Chin Indian Reservation Casino near the station, but I am not placing any bets.

Much thanks to Ansan and Keith for a most memorable two days.

I will close with a story: Yesterday, Ansan took us on a hike into the desert around their place, through scrub and aroyos. Beautiful, sand and heat and cactus and scrub. She made a little fun of me, and my care to where I was walking, saying I should watch my step a bit, and stay out of the brush, but that in 20 years living there she had never seen one of the world's most poisonous snakes that live right near them ... the horned pit viper (she and Keith said that one can survive a rattler bite, but that the bite of a baby pit viper is sure death).

Well, this morning she went out for her morning stroll in the desert ... and almost stepped on a horned pit viper, first she had seen in 20 years.

I leave them to their desert paradise.


Ansanfarewell.jpg

Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

[Shokai]

Wonderful, I've heard a rattler and seen the traces of a side winder, and shook my boots out every morning to rid them of scorpions. Good hunting in New Mexico.

Gassho, Shokai

sat/LAH

[Mp]

Wow ... I am glad you all had a great time and the snakes did too. =)

Happy journey.

Gassho
Shingen

SatToday/LAH

[Joyo]

Sounds great ... You sit in the desert and I will sit on the coast and yet you are sitting on the coast and I am sitting in the desert. =)

Gassho
Shingen

SatToday/LAH

You Zen people really know how to mess with my head. =)

Jundo, glad you are having such a wonderful time.

Gassho,
Joyo
sat today/lah

[Kyonin]

What a nice adventure you guys must have had.

Thank you Ansan and Keith for letting us take a look at your home.

Gassho,

Kyonin
Sat/LAH

[Ansan]

Hope you connected with Uber. If not, we will be happy to pick you up, accompanied by my pet pit viper.

Jundo, your visit is one of the most memorable for us. You taught me much not only about Zazen & its beauty, but about the love from the kindest, most human & generous person I have ever met. Many, many deep bows.

Gassho
Ansan

SatToday w/o baby pit viper







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[Shokai]

_/\_

[Sekishi]

Finally catching up here after some time away. Thank you all for sharing your homes and time with Jundo and friends. Treeleaf really is a special place filled with amazing people!

I have so much gratitude for you all.

Deep bows,
Sekishi #sat

[Jundo]

I will always carry you and Keith with me too, Ansan, and everyone met on this trip. All are old and dear close friends, though some met for the first time (in this lifetime anyway :-) ).

Another word on Ansan's stumble on the horned viper yesterday. On her walk, she also stumbled on a flower (she can say the kind) she rarely sees, and a mysterious gravesite which might be new or old (hard to tell in the desert, and their 40 acres of scrub and dirt hide many things she has yet to find. She thinks it an animal grave, someone's pet perhaps, with cross at the head).

I said the flower means life, the grave death, and the poisonous viper the cutting edge of the two where we stand.

Gassho J (on train near Demming New Mexico)

STLah

[Jakuden]

NOTE FROM JUNDO: SEE THE VIDEO OF SITTING WITH "THE DUDE" DOSHIN in NEW MEXICO BELOW


oh kewl! I don't see a link to watch though?
Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mp]

I too will be sitting along side all you dudes and dudettes. =)

Gassho
Shingen

SatToday/LAH

[Jundo]

Live from New Mexico, we had a 90 Minute Zazenkai featuring a special surprise guest ... direct from the Big Lebowski ...

But because of technical difficulties, only a brief "hello" and a portion of the second sitting recorded (about 20 minutes with no ending bell). But please join us as much as you can, and please look about 15 minutes in to see the magnificent scenery surrounding his place. Lovely, like a western painting ...



Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

[Zenmei]

Live from New Mexico, we had a 90 Minute Zazenkai featuring a special surprise guest ... direct from the Big Lebowski ...

Maybe time for some koan study:

http://zenpeacemakers.org/bernie-and-the-dude/

Gassho, Zenmei (sat)

[Seishin]

We have been sitting at Ansan's house various times, so please join us in heart with this picture (pretty much the same as "live action" Zazen really )

We may actually netcast a bit of our Zazenkai tonight, Arizona time (schedule to be determined), if Ansan's internet will take the load.


AnsanZazen.jpg

Gassho, Jundo

SatTodayLAH

Ansan

Thank for sharing you wonderful house with us. Like others I'm finding it difficult to keep up with this whirlwind tour. I'll sit with the Arizona Zazenkai, regardless of the brevity. I've a cousin who live's in Phoenix but that seems light years from your desert dwelling.

STMIZ / lah

[Ansan]

Ansan

Thank for sharing you wonderful house with us. Like others I'm finding it difficult to keep up with this whirlwind tour. I'll sit with the Arizona Zazenkai, regardless of the brevity. I've a cousin who live's in Phoenix but that seems light years from your desert dwelling.

STMIZ / lah

Yes, it does seem like a whirlwind...and I can't imagine how Jundo does it!
Phoenix is a huge sprawling city connecting multiple burbs. After the outskirts, the flat desert surrounds it, but we might someday get swallowed up by the developments.

Gassho,
Ansan
SatToday/LAH

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[Meitou]

Live from New Mexico, we had a 90 Minute Zazenkai featuring a special surprise guest ... direct from the Big Lebowski ...

But because of technical difficulties, only a brief "hello" and a portion of the second sitting recorded (about 20 minutes with no ending bell). But please join us as much as you can, and please look about 15 minutes in to see the magnificent scenery surrounding his place. Lovely, like a western painting ...



Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

I sat with this recording this morning, brief but intense as they say and I was really interested to hear about Doshin being a lizard wrangler. I've come to love lizards since I've lived here in Sardinia and have to constantly battle with my youngest cat for their precious lives. Thank you Doshin for allowing me to sit in your lovely house in a state that I always wanted to visit - and now I have.

Gassho
Frankie

Satwithyoualltoday/lah

[Ansan]

Live from New Mexico, we had a 90 Minute Zazenkai featuring a special surprise guest ... direct from the Big Lebowski ...

But because of technical difficulties, only a brief "hello" and a portion of the second sitting recorded (about 20 minutes with no ending bell). But please join us as much as you can, and please look about 15 minutes in to see the magnificent scenery surrounding his place. Lovely, like a western painting ...



Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

Doshin

Thank you for sharing your beautiful home with the gorgeous environment as well as some of your captivating history. Could you share the name of your book on lizards? Some of our favorites out here are the Desert Iguana and Horny Toad along with many others I have yet to identify. Gassho to both you & Jundo.

Ansan
SatToday/LAH

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Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk

[Jinyo]

Thank you Ansan and Doshin and thank you Jundo for sharing this amazing road trip with us.

Gassho,

Willow

ST

[Jakuden]

Yay Doshin!! Thank you!! As a Bio major before I went to Vet school, I also had and have a love of all things herpetological, which I think I instilled in my girls as well. So I enjoy your facebook posts very much. In fact, I can't even adequately express my respect and admiration for your lifelong dedication to ecology, preservation, herpetology... we need so many more folks like you. If I ever get to visit New Mexico, can I come get a tour??

Gassho,
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH

[Jundo]

Please join us from 7:30 (starting half hour later than the schedule) pm Mountain Time for a Zazenkai with Jishin and Doshin ...

07:00-07:40 PM Entrance by Officiant (Jundo) & Zazen.
07:40-07:50 Kinhin
07:50-08:20 Zazen + Short Talk
08:20-08:30 Kinhin
08:30-09:05 Zazen + Metta Verse
09:05-09:50 "Long" Service. (Please follow along in the Chant Book for Retreat "Long Service" PDF LINK).

Gassho, Jundo

SatTodayLAH

[Doshin]

Shingen, we open new hangout on Ranyds account

https://hangouts.google.com/hangouts...pntitctytgxwme

Sent you invite

[Jakuden]

Sat with you guys for awhile, now have to go to bed--work tomorrow. Thanks to all! Travel safely!!
Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH


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[Mp]

That was lovely folks ... thank you for letting me be a part of it. =)

Gassho
Shingen

SatToday/LAH

[Shokai]

Thank you Jundo, Shingen, Dosshin and Jishin;
Great to see amd sit with you all. And, don't you think Jundo looks good aS A BLONDE
hAVE A WONDERFUL session with Daiho to morrow\\

say good night Dick
gassho, Shokai

sat?LAH

[Jundo]

Hi Guys,

I would like to thank Doshin for his fine oral guidance to the history flora and fauna of this area, and Jishin for his hours and hours of driving to get here and take us all around. We visited the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument ...

Often described as the “most beautiful” of the pre-Columbian ruins in New Mexico (not a small feat when one considers the abundance of ruins in New Mexico), these cliff dwellings are truly off the beaten path. Nestled in a scenic side canyon in the Southwestern part of the state that’s more noted for the later Apache occupation and Geronimo fame, these ruins provide solitude and beauty in equal amounts. Who built these ruins? For years, mostly nomadic tribes used these naturally formed caves on the Gila River for shelter. A relatively small family group, sometime around the 1200s, decided to make this a permanent home. Sadly for them, this lasted only for about a generation before they abandoned the area. For us, however, the desert climes, coupled with the shelter from the elements in the caves, have kept the ruins remarkably preserved. While occupied, these ruins housed roughly a dozen family groups of the modern-day classified Mogollon People. Considered to be on the northernmost boundary of the civilization, the park is home to a couple prominent ruin sites. In these canyons, with a scenic river flowing through them, the Mogollon hunted, planted their crops, raised families and enjoyed the shelter the caves provided

A little Zazen with the Mogollon people ...



But Doshin's big excitement was his finding a few crevice spiny lizards!



Tomorrow, off to see Daiho with Jishin,

Gassho, Jundo

SatTodayLAH

[Eishuu]

Wow, beautiful house Ansan! Really inspiring to a fellow artist.

Will try and sit with the Zazenkai later.

The Gila Cliff Dwellings look stunning! What a wonderful journey. Thanks Jundo for sharing.

Gassho
Lucy
ST

[Doshin]

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk

Hi Ansan,

The book I wrote years ago Desert Lizards; by Randall Gray (on Amazon) is not what you need to learn more about the diversity of life in the Sonoran Desert around your beautiful home. It was written for the zoo, museum and private sector working on husbandry and propagation of some lizard species. I highly recommend "A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles in AZ" byThomas Brennan and Andrew Holllycross. It is available of Amazon (BTW, Desert Iguanans are one of my favorite lizard species )

Gassho
Doshin
sat today with some interesting characters
LAH

[Doshin]

Yay Doshin!! Thank you!! As a Bio major before I went to Vet school, I also had and have a love of all things herpetological, which I think I instilled in my girls as well. So I enjoy your facebook posts very much. In fact, I can't even adequately express my respect and admiration for your lifelong dedication to ecology, preservation, herpetology... we need so many more folks like you. If I ever get to visit New Mexico, can I come get a tour??

Gassho,
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH

Jakuden,

Thank you for the kind words. All are welcome in my home (it is how we maintain social contact from the middle of nowhere ) and my tour service provides me an opportunity to share the wonder of the living world and hear myself talk! . Plus I aways learn much from others.

Gassho
Doshin
st/LAH

[Joyo]

Thank you Doshin, Jundo and Shingen. It felt like I sat zazen in the dessert of New Mexico.

Doshin, when I was a child, I found salamanders under our back step and I took them for bike rides with me. I then let them loose in a pond in our pasture, and I will never forget how happy I was to see them living and free.

I would love to have a tour sometime. What an amazing experience. =)

Jundo, again thank you for all your recordings. It has been so wonderful for someone like me, who is unable to travel and explore like you have been, to be able to enjoy your journey.

Gassho,
Joyo
sat today

[Shoka]

Just wonderful. Thank you to Ansan and Doshin for having us in your homes.

Gassho,

Shoka
sattoday