Treeleaf Zendo
A Soto Zen Sangha
TEACHER TALKS Roshi Jundo Cohen Sometimes I am asked why, in some of our ceremonies such as Jukai (Undertaking the Precepts) we bow to our parents even if, in some tragic cases, those parents may have been absent or even abusive. I always respond that I would never require anyone to do so, but there…
TEACHER TALKS Roshi Jundo Cohen I will now teach you how to stop time, halting right in its tracks the rush of passing time from yesterday to today to tomorrow. I will also demonstrate how to experience the timeless, as well as all time, pulsing in every moment of time. It sounds hard, and perhaps…
TEACHER TALKS Roshi Jundo Cohen In our Sangha, we believe in upholding the Precepts and our Bodhisattva Vows to save suffering sentient beings, but we avoid debate and discussions of overt “politics.” It is often a fine line to tread. Our Sangha is a haven from the turmoil of the outside world focused on Zen…
TEACHER TALKS Roshi Jundo Cohen I read in a Buddhist scholar’s commentary that many modern folks in the West are “disenchanted” about life, much more than people 5000, 500 or even 50 years ago, or folks in non-Western, more traditional societies. By “disenchanted,” I don’t mean that we are disappointed at the state of this…
by Jundo Cohen Roshi For centuries, Zen Buddhists have been supported by, and been, artists, craftspeople and artisans. They make the beautiful implements that we use in our rituals, temples and practice places, from Buddha Statues to incense burners. Now, we have had such a gift to our Sangha. As you know, this Sunday, we…
We are very content to make this announcement, and ask everyone sitting with our sangha to join in its celebration. Our sangha will welcome through ‘Home Leaving‘ ordination, an additional three new novice-priest trainees, familiar and friendly faces around here: Kōriki Mark Jackson, Kōjitsu Brett Williams and Shinkon Joseph Gaston. They will join our present novice-priest…
TEACHER TALKS Roshi Jundo Cohen Sometimes I reach for analogies to express this Zen way. Today, as the weather warms, I turn to swimming … Imagine this world as a great pool, beyond Olympic-size, vast, holding all the world and all the galaxies, seemingly boundless. Where it came from, where it goes, we cannot be…
Dear All, an auspicious and happy announcement for our Treeleaf Sangha Master Dogen wrote in Shobogenzo-Menju, Face-To-Face Transmission: “Then Śākyamuni Buddha, in the order on Vulture Peak in the Western Country, India, among an assembly of millions, picked up an uḍumbara flower and winked. At that time the face of Venerable Mahākāśyapa broke into a smile.…
Spring Retreat Highlights Here’s a look back at our spring retreat, which was held on Saturday, April 5th of 2025, to both celebrate Hanamatsuri and 700 years since the death of Master Soji Keizan, the other patriarch of Soto Zen alongside Eihei Dogen Zenji. On Hanamatsuri We celebrated Hanamatsuri, which corresponds to Vesak in South Asian…
TEACHER TALKS Roshi Jundo Cohen As a young man, in search of “true Zen,” Master Dogen made the dangerous journey to China, experiencing great sea storms and illness along the way. Even after arriving and visiting many Zen teachers here and there, he still could not find what he searched for. Finally he found his…