PDA

View Full Version : January 24th-25th, 2013 Treeleaf Weekly Zazenkai - A FAMILY AFFAIR!



Jundo
01-24-2014, 04:50 AM
NOTE: A LOCAL WOMAN IN TSUKUBA CALLED TO SAY THAT SHE AND HER HUSBAND WILL COME SIT THIS WEEKEND WITH THEIR CHILDREN, BOTH IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. I SAID THAT I HAVE MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT MAKING YOUNG KIDS SIT ZAZEN FOR A LONG SIT (SEE BELOW), BUT THEY ARE MORE THAN WELCOME IF SHE FEELS IT IS HELPFUL. I ASK ALL OUR MEMBERS TO "JUST SIT" WITH THE KIDS THIS WEEK WHEN THEY COME (Frankly, I can say after having sat, that these kids did better than many adults I know! :encouragement: ) .

Hello All,

Please 'sit-a-long' with our weekly FRIDAY/SATURDAY 'LIVE FROM TREELEAF' 90 minute ZAZENKAI, netcast LIVE from 9am Japan time Saturday morning (that is New York 7pm, Los Angeles 4pm (Friday night), London midnight and Paris 1am (early Saturday morning)

... and to be visible at the following link during those times and sit-a-long-able any time thereafter ...

LIVE ZAZENKAI NETCAST at GOOGLE+ IS HERE:
CLICK ON THE TAB ON LOWER RIGHT FOR 'FULL SCREEN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEliVsYVrzo

[B]FOR THOSE NOT ALREADY MEMBERS OF THE CIRCLE WHO WISH TO JOIN TO SIT LIVE WITH A CAMERA, INSTRUCTIONS ARE POSTED AT THIS LINK (http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?10200-How-to-Join-GOOGLE-for-Zazenkai). WE ARE NOW LIMITED TO 10 INDIVIDUALS WITH CAMERAS, BUT ANY NUMBER CAN WATCH LIVE 'ONE WAY' AND SIT-A-LONG VIA THE ABOVE SCREEN. IF JOINING WITH CAMERA, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR MICROPHONE IS MUTED:

00:00 – 00:15 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA in English) and Dedication
00:15 – 00:45 ZAZEN
00:45 – 00:55 KINHIN
00:55 – 01:25 ZAZEN
01:25 – 01:30 FOUR VOWS & VERSE OF ATONEMENT

As you can see, our Zazenkai consists of chanting the 'Heart Sutra' in English (the words are at the link below), some full floor prostrations in sets of three (please follow along with me ... or a simple Gassho can be substituted if you wish), followed by our Dedication, Zazen twice for about 30 minutes each, with 10 minutes of Kinhin in between, and we end the sitting with 'The Verse of Atonement' and 'The Four Vows'.

Please download and print out the Chants we will recite at the following link (PDF):

Chant Book (PDF) (http://www.treeleaf.org/treeleaf_zazenkai_chant_book.pdf)

or

Chant Book (SHORT VERSION HTML) (http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?7032-Weekly-Monthly-Zazenkai-Chant-Book-is-Here)

So, please join us as soon as you can, and we will keep a Zafu open for you.

Remember, when we drop all thought of 'here' 'there' 'now' 'then' ... we are sitting all together!


Gassho, Jundo gassho1

Jundo
01-24-2014, 04:54 AM
As to sitting with any noise or distraction that may result sitting with kids, a re-MINDer ...

Noise or anything is not really a "disturbance" without the mind to be "disturbed". If the mind is not "disturbed", then what "disturbance"? [monk]

I learned this lesson in part sitting many a morning at Nishijima Roshi's old Zendo ... located right next to a NOISY child's playground and a highway.[claps]

As to having kids sit Zazen, I sometimes say the following:

===========================

Every home is different, but in our house Leon sits with me for about 10 minutes now and then ... before either dashing off or falling asleep. He used to sit with me more when smaller, not so interested now at 10. My daughter joins me from time to time,

I do not think that we need to insist that our young children sit Zazen. It is best just to create a loving home in which lessons of Wisdom and Compassion, the Precepts and other teachings of the Buddha are naturally passed down to our children. Let them learn about Zazen from seeing the place and effect that Zazen has in our lives Then, years from now, when they are grown ... maybe they will turn to it too (your child saying years from now, "That Practice had a positive effect on mom and dad, and they were good parents ... maybe I should try that too").

Now, when my daughter plops down in my lap, she is always welcome. If he or she is making noise, I ask them kindly to stop while I am sitting (sometimes that lasts for more than a minute). However, ultimately, the noise is "just what is" and we sit with it, all the Buddha's chanting.

In the meantime, one issue for me is those times I have to give a "time out" to Leon or Sada, and have them sit in the corner. It looks too much like Zazen. In fact, when Leon was younger, he asked my wife if papa was "bad all the time, because he is always sitting in the corner"! [scared] I think he now understands the difference!

Kyonin
01-24-2014, 11:16 AM
Hi!

I'll be there live and happy to sit with the kids if they come.

Gassho,

Kyonin

odiedoodie
01-24-2014, 12:07 PM
Hi
I will be there. Kids are great! They make the only "noise" that I like to hear. But as to my neighbors....

Gassho,

Jon T

Mp
01-24-2014, 12:46 PM
I too will be there live and one of the kids ... I mean sitting with this kids. =)

Gassho
Shingen

Juki
01-24-2014, 01:17 PM
I will be there live, as well.

Gassho
Juki

Dosho
01-24-2014, 01:54 PM
I'll be here.

And I sit with kids every week...you just can't hear them because my mic is on mute. ;)

Gassho,
Dosho

Yugen
01-24-2014, 02:12 PM
I'll be here too. I'm on the Doan schedule tonight.

Deep bows
Yugen

Koshin
01-24-2014, 02:49 PM
Will be there live ....kids, no problem, surely they will make noise, my two dogs will hear, bark like crazy and the dog next door will answer..... a normal days Zazen :)

Gassho

Daitetsu
01-24-2014, 03:40 PM
As usual, will try to make it live if not too tired.
To be honest sometimes I find some "background noise" even helpful.
I always have to fumble with my speakers anyway, as everyone else at home will be sleeping and I don't want to wake anyone up (while on the other hand I must still be able to hear the bell!)...

Gassho,

Daitetsu

Joyo
01-24-2014, 08:22 PM
Welcome to my house each week during zazenkai. My microphone is always turned off, so nobody hears my two young boys running around the house, yelling and causing all kinds of noise. So, two more young children will make no difference to me :)

And I agree, Jundo. I do not force my kids to sit zazen. However, time-out is similar, as in, go find a quiet spot and sit there. The only difference is, they must sit until I tell them to get up ;)

Gassho,
Treena

MyoHo
01-24-2014, 08:28 PM
How wonderful! I will sit the recorded version as usual. Can't wait :D

Gassho

MyoHo

Daijo
01-24-2014, 09:47 PM
I sit with a group in the back room of a small cafe twice a week. Sometimes it's very quiet, and sometimes they're hosting an open mic out front. I find the sudden noises, the occasional loud customer or the flushing toilet next door to be very helpful teachers. This Sunday we will sit with whatever noise the cafe happens to deliver as well as with the visiting children who may or may not be sitting with Treeleaf.

Myozan Kodo
01-24-2014, 10:33 PM
Thanks Jundo.
Will sit over the weekend. Thank you for your words on sitting with kids.
Gassho
Myozan

Shinzan
01-24-2014, 11:01 PM
Thanks. I'll be here.
Shinzan

Mp
01-25-2014, 12:06 AM
Well Google up to it's all trick again! Unable to get it, but see other were ... so I don't know. Google is a good teacher as it is very frustrating! =(

Enjoy your sit everyone

Gassho
Shingen

Juki
01-25-2014, 01:32 AM
Awesome Zazenkai. Thanks to all who sat or will sit. Thanks to our wonderful guests, as well.

Gassho,
Juki

Juki
01-25-2014, 01:34 AM
Well Google up to it's all trick again! Unable to get it, but see other were ... so I don't know. Google is a good teacher as it is very frustrating! =(

Enjoy your sit everyone

Gassho
Shingen

Shingen, I started trying to find the hangout and Google gave me fits. It kept saying that Google was not available. Five minutes before Zazenkai, I switched from Internet Explorer to Google Chrome and all the sudden I could get in. Now I set Google Chrome as my default browser, so I guess i better resave all my bookmarks.

Gassho,
Juki

Myosha
01-25-2014, 01:36 AM
Everyone well done.

Jundo' s farewell. . ."a Stitch in time. . .?"

Thanks to all.


Gassho,
Myosha

Daitetsu
01-25-2014, 01:36 AM
That was nice - yes, thanks to our guests from me as well!
Have a great weekend all!

Gassho,

Daitetsu

Koshin
01-25-2014, 01:39 AM
Well, that was an awesome zazenkai :) ....and with Elmo and Sitch you cannot go wrong [claps] ...... and those kids managed to stay firm in their seats better than me.... and little Sada ... these little teachers gassho1

Have a great weekend

Gassho

Shinzan
01-25-2014, 01:40 AM
Thanks, everyone. Those kids were amazing. I guess "uh-oh" is a universal.
I too was having difficulty getting to the hangout. Tried several ways, but I guess I'll try Chrome next. Neither Internet Explorer, nor Firefox would show the join-hangout button. FYI
See you next week.
Shinzan

Dosho
01-25-2014, 01:48 AM
Thanks everyone! gassho1

I started using Chrome a few months ago and experience far fewer issues with Google related sites/apps than when I was using IE. I'd definitely recommend it.

Gassho,
Dosho

Joyo
01-25-2014, 02:17 AM
Thank you everyone, the children were wonderful :) You were missed Shingen.

Gassho,
Joyo

Sekishi
01-25-2014, 02:35 AM
Thank you all for your practice. How amazing it is that we all come together together, in a room in Tsukuba and rooms around the world, all the ancestors, all of us together. gassho2

Deep bows,
Sekishi

Mp
01-25-2014, 04:29 AM
Thanks for the suggestions, but I have tried everything. Chrome, Firefox, Safari on Mac and PC, Chrome on Chromebook and Android, but the reality is, it is what it is, consistently inconsistent. There is no one solution ... sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Oh well, moments like these are good practice. =)

Gassho
Shingen



Shingen, I started trying to find the hangout and Google gave me fits. It kept saying that Google was not available. Five minutes before Zazenkai, I switched from Internet Explorer to Google Chrome and all the sudden I could get in. Now I set Google Chrome as my default browser, so I guess i better resave all my bookmarks.

Gassho,
Juki

Taikyo
01-25-2014, 08:32 AM
Thanks to all who sat are sitting and will sit. Those children were amazing!!! Have a great weekend everyone.

Gassho
Taikyo

Kaiku
01-25-2014, 08:49 AM
Great Zazenkai. Thank you everyone for sitting. Having the guests was wonderful. I look forward to being able to start sitting live again next time. My job has had me doing a few weeks of overnights. Was suppose to be only two weeks, but just one more week to go. Have a great weekend everyone! gassho1

Gassho
Bobby

Kantai
01-25-2014, 08:53 AM
Thank you everyone!

Gassho
Kantai

Heisoku
01-25-2014, 11:08 AM
Thank you Jundo and Yugen and everyone sitting. Gassho.

Kyonin
01-25-2014, 11:14 AM
Thank you all who sat and will sit.

Yes! It was a pretty cool zazenkai with the kids around plus Elmo and Stitch!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone :)

Gassho,

Kyonin

Myoku
01-25-2014, 05:27 PM
Thank you everyone,
amazing how the kids made it!
Gassho
Myoku

Shokai
01-26-2014, 11:22 AM
Thank you all who sat and will sit. Have a great week, gassho

Sent from my Note 2 using Tapatalk4

Entai
01-27-2014, 01:41 AM
I wouldn't know what to do with "silence" if I came across it. It's good to sit with you all....especially our guests.

Gassho,
Entai / Bill

Kokuu
01-27-2014, 02:16 PM
They were indeed great! Lovely Zazenkai. Thank you.

Gassho
Kokuu/Andy

Liang
01-27-2014, 03:06 PM
Thank you and welcome to our guests! Gassho, Fred

Matt
01-29-2014, 03:05 PM
Will be sitting this one tonight. Gassho, Matt J