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Thread: September 24-25th Treeleaf Weekly Zazenkai - "Not Open, Not Closed" Zazenkai

  1. #1

    September 24-25th Treeleaf Weekly Zazenkai - "Not Open, Not Closed" Zazenkai

    Today's little talk will be coming from this: The Eyes of Zazen: Neither Open Nor Closed
    https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...346#post290346

    Dear All,

    Please sit our Treeleaf Zazenkai for 90 minutes with Zazen, Heart Sutra and more:

    10am Japan Saturday morning, NY 9pm, LA 6pm Friday night, London 2am and Paris 3am Saturday morning, or any time thereafter here:


    However, "one way" live sitters are encouraged to come into the Zoom sitting, and just leave the camera and microphone turned off: Join live (with or without a camera & microphone) on Zoom at: TREELEAF Now OR at DIRECT ZOOM LINK, password (if needed): dogen

    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 VERSE OF ATONEMENT & FOUR VOWS
    01:30 - 01:45(?) Informal Tea Time (All Welcome)

    Gassho, Jundo

    SatTodayLah



    PS - There is no "wrong" or "right" in Zazen ... yet here is a little explanation of the "right" times to Bow (A Koan) ...


    Chant Book is here for those who wish to join in: CHANT BOOK LINK

    The other video I mention on Zendo decorum is this one, from our "Always Beginners" video Series:

    Sit-a-Long with Jundo: Zazen for Beginners (12) - Basic Zendo Decorum At Home
    https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...093#post189093

    I also recommend a little Talk on why small rituals and procedures are so cherished in the Zendo:

    SIT-A-LONG with Jundo: Small Things in the Zendo

    https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...s-in-the-Zendo
    Last edited by Sekishi; 09-24-2021 at 10:45 PM. Reason: Added youtube one-way video.
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  2. #2
    See you all there.

    Gassho,
    Koushi
    STLaH
    理道弘志 | Ridō Koushi

    Please take this novice priest-in-training's words with a grain of salt.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Koushi View Post
    See you all there.

    Gassho,
    Koushi
    STLaH
    Not if we see you first.

    Gassho, J

    STLah
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  4. #4
    See you all later!

    SatToday
    Bion
    -------------------------
    When you put Buddha’s activity into practice, only then are you a buddha. When you act like a fool, then you’re a fool. - Sawaki Roshi

  5. #5
    See you all then

    -satToday

  6. #6
    Will be there with the bells

    Gassho
    Jakuden
    SatToday/LAH


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  7. #7
    Treeleaf Priest / Engineer Sekishi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Virginia, USA
    Zoom and youtube are ready to go. I will be doing the "techno-Ino" thing from my desk tonight (camera off).

    Deep bows to all,
    Sekishi
    #sat #lah
    Sekishi | 石志 | He/him | Better with a grain of salt, but best ignored entirely.

  8. #8
    Looking forward to sitting with all of you!

    Gassho,

    Shade

    ST

  9. #9
    see all on Youtube

    Jon T

  10. #10
    I will have to join you all on demand this time. Not enough hours in the day; glad I can join you all across time See you all soon.

    Gassho,

    Ryan
    SatToday LaH
    墨眼 | Bokugan | Sumi Ink Eye
    Ryan-S | zazenlibrarian.com

  11. #11
    Know that I came late. Know that this week I shall not miss one single day with you and watching now.
    Gassho
    sat/lah
    Peaceful Poet, Tai Shi. Ubasoku; calm, supportive, limited to positive 優婆塞 台 婆

  12. #12
    Thank you, Jundo, Jakuden, and Sekishi, and everyone, for another lovely zazenkai with a thoughtful talk. Tea time was eye-opening as well.

    Gassho,
    Onkai
    Sat/lah
    Last edited by Onkai; 09-25-2021 at 03:18 AM.
    美道 Bidou Beautiful Way
    恩海 Onkai Merciful/Kind Ocean

    I have a lot to learn; take anything I say that sounds like teaching with a grain of salt.

  13. #13
    Thank you Jundo, Jakuden, Sekishi, and everyone for a wonderful zazenkai!

    Jundo's song of choice at the end may have been a little too far back for me, but I was reminded of Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me, if anyone needs a nice Halloween themed ear worm.

    Gassho,
    Koushi
    STLaH
    理道弘志 | Ridō Koushi

    Please take this novice priest-in-training's words with a grain of salt.

  14. #14
    I thank and appreciate all of you!
    Deep bows to Jundo, Jakuden and Sekishi!

    SatToday
    Bion
    -------------------------
    When you put Buddha’s activity into practice, only then are you a buddha. When you act like a fool, then you’re a fool. - Sawaki Roshi

  15. #15
    The image I mentioned in the talk ... by a physicist, John Wheeler ...


    More about him ...

    https://blogs.scientificamerican.com...ate-the-world/

    ... and the song ... in this version (although the title is not so PC) by legendary film director Busby Berkeley, who truly understood that one is many, many just one ...


    Gassho, J

    STLah
    Last edited by Jundo; 09-25-2021 at 03:27 AM.
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  16. #16
    Thank you everyone, todays talk was especially interesting!

    Sorry I had to dash from first Zazen sit a minute early, area leader came over to talk to me about the Lion Dance I'm about to go participate in! But I came back quickly straight into Kinhin. The Tea House afterwards was also really enjoyable. It's always a pleasure to hear other people talk about their practice or life experiences.

    Gassho
    Mark
    ST
    浪省 - RouSei - Wandering Introspection

  17. #17
    Thank you Jundo, Jakuden and everyone else! It was nice practicing with you!

    Many of you will probably know the famous quote from Carl Sagan: "The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself."

    Gassho, Nikolas
    Sat/Lah

    Στάλθηκε από το SM-A705FN μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
    希 rare
    理 principle
    (Nikolas)

  18. #18
    Life itself is the only teacher.
    一 Joko Beck


    STLah
    安知 Anchi

  19. #19
    Thanks for sitting, everyone!

    When you sit, the universe is sitting on itself!


    Sekiyuu
    Sat Today

    Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

  20. #20

  21. #21
    Thank you everyone.

    Gassho, Seiko, stlah
    Gandō Seiko
    頑道清光
    (Stubborn Way of Pure Light)

    My street name is 'Al'.

    Any words I write here are merely the thoughts of an apprentice priest, just my opinions, that's all.

  22. #22
    Thank you everyone. I sat with you this morning.


    Tairin
    Sat today and lah
    泰林 - Tai Rin - Peaceful Woods

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Nikos View Post
    Thank you Jundo, Jakuden and everyone else! It was nice practicing with you!

    Many of you will probably know the famous quote from Carl Sagan: "The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself."

    Gassho, Nikolas
    Sat/Lah

    Στάλθηκε από το SM-A705FN μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
    Oooooh, I forgot about that! I was a pretty big Carl Sagan fan, and somewhere in the back of my brain I knew that whenever Jundo talked about us being the universe looking at itself it reminded me of something, and now I know what it was.

    Gassho
    Jakuden
    SatToday/Lent a little hand

  24. #24
    Thank you everyone!

    Gassho,
    Kotei sat/lah today.

    義道 冴庭 / Gidō Kotei.
    Being a novice priest doesn't mean my writing about the Dharma is more substantial than yours. Actually, it might well be the other way round.

  25. #25
    Thank you others for allowing me practice in one way 1/2 time.
    Gassho
    sat/ lah


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
    Peaceful Poet, Tai Shi. Ubasoku; calm, supportive, limited to positive 優婆塞 台 婆

  26. #26
    Treeleaf Priest / Engineer Sekishi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Virginia, USA
    Quote Originally Posted by Nikos View Post
    Many of you will probably know the famous quote from Carl Sagan: "The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself."
    Apologies in advance - I have a thing for this quote...

    A month or two ago my son had an upset stomach and took some Pepto-bismol. He said something to me like, "You know, bismuth cannot form in most stars, only red-giants that eventually go super-nova. Through massive explosions our upset stomachs are calmed."

    But, one of my favorite deliveries of this line comes from the character Delenn on Babylon 5.

    > The molecules of your body are the same molecules . . . that burn inside the stars themselves. We are star stuff. We are the Universe, made manifest, trying to figure itself out.
    >> ~ Delenn, Babylon 5, _A Distant Star_





    A while back I really got into exploring this expression of "being starstuff". In particular the word "stuff" really strikes me - so non-specific and simple. Another word for "dharmas", or for the "red dust" of some of the old Zen stories.

    But, I found that there is an older usage of the term in this context. This one by science author H. Gordon Garbedian in 1929:

    > We are made of the same stuff as the stars, so when we study astronomy we are in a way only investigating our remote ancestry and our place in the universe of star stuff. Our very bodies consist of the same chemical elements found in the most distant nebulae, and our activities are guided by the same universal rules.
    >> ~H. Gordon Garbedian, 1929 August 11, New York Times, Section: New York Times Magazine, _The Star Stuff That Is Man_ by H. Gordon Garbedian, Quote Page SM1.


    But, it is possible that he in turn borrowed it from Albert Durrant Watson who used it in a way even more aligned with "dharmas" or "skanhas" in 1918:

    > Thus we come to see that if our bodies are made of star-stuff, and there is nothing else, says the spectroscope, to make them of—the loftier qualities of our being are just as necessarily constituents of that universal substance out of which are made, "Whatever gods there be."
    > We are made of universal and divine ingredients, and the study of the stars will not let us escape a wholesome and final knowledge of the fact.
    >> ~Albert Durrant Watson, The Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Volume 12, Number 3, _Astronomy: A Cultural Avocation by Albert Durrant Watson (Retiring President’s Address_, Annual Meeting, January 29, 1918



    Perhaps there are older formulations. I do not know. But how lovely it can be when science, astronomy, philosophy, and religion find the common ground of truth. Right here in the world of the red dust - starstuff.

    Deep bows,
    Sekishi
    Sekishi | 石志 | He/him | Better with a grain of salt, but best ignored entirely.

  27. #27
    Treeleaf Priest / Engineer Sekishi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Virginia, USA
    Apologies for yet another post, but during the talk all I could hear in my head was a sample (original from Cowboy Bebop) used in an old lofi hiphop track "The Eye of Truth" from the Driver album _Bumps_:




    > Know this Swimming Bird: This blue eye perceives all things conjoined. The past, the future, and the present. Everything flows and all is connected. This eye is not merely seeing reality. It is touching the truth. Open the eye of truth... There is nothing to fear.
    >> Laughing Bull, _Cowboy Bebop_


    Ok, enough with the quotes. Enjoy your day, conjoined with all things, different but not separate, at one - not two, starstuff walking and talking - head nodding.

    Deep bows,
    Sekishi
    #sat
    Sekishi | 石志 | He/him | Better with a grain of salt, but best ignored entirely.

  28. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by Sekishi View Post
    Apologies in advance - I have a thing for this quote...

    A month or two ago my son had an upset stomach and took some Pepto-bismol. He said something to me like, "You know, bismuth cannot form in most stars, only red-giants that eventually go super-nova. Through massive explosions our upset stomachs are calmed."

    But, one of my favorite deliveries of this line comes from the character Delenn on Babylon 5.

    > The molecules of your body are the same molecules . . . that burn inside the stars themselves. We are star stuff. We are the Universe, made manifest, trying to figure itself out.
    >> ~ Delenn, Babylon 5, _A Distant Star_





    A while back I really got into exploring this expression of "being starstuff". In particular the word "stuff" really strikes me - so non-specific and simple. Another word for "dharmas", or for the "red dust" of some of the old Zen stories.

    But, I found that there is an older usage of the term in this context. This one by science author H. Gordon Garbedian in 1929:

    > We are made of the same stuff as the stars, so when we study astronomy we are in a way only investigating our remote ancestry and our place in the universe of star stuff. Our very bodies consist of the same chemical elements found in the most distant nebulae, and our activities are guided by the same universal rules.
    >> ~H. Gordon Garbedian, 1929 August 11, New York Times, Section: New York Times Magazine, _The Star Stuff That Is Man_ by H. Gordon Garbedian, Quote Page SM1.


    But, it is possible that he in turn borrowed it from Albert Durrant Watson who used it in a way even more aligned with "dharmas" or "skanhas" in 1918:

    > Thus we come to see that if our bodies are made of star-stuff, and there is nothing else, says the spectroscope, to make them of—the loftier qualities of our being are just as necessarily constituents of that universal substance out of which are made, "Whatever gods there be."
    > We are made of universal and divine ingredients, and the study of the stars will not let us escape a wholesome and final knowledge of the fact.
    >> ~Albert Durrant Watson, The Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Volume 12, Number 3, _Astronomy: A Cultural Avocation by Albert Durrant Watson (Retiring President’s Address_, Annual Meeting, January 29, 1918



    Perhaps there are older formulations. I do not know. But how lovely it can be when science, astronomy, philosophy, and religion find the common ground of truth. Right here in the world of the red dust - starstuff.

    Deep bows,
    Sekishi

  29. #29
    Thank you all!

    Gassho

    Risho
    -stlah

  30. #30
    One last entry. When that star ⭐️ goes super nova, I want to live on a planet where I can see it, not close enough to get burned up in my next life, In my next world .
    Gassho
    sat/ lah


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
    Peaceful Poet, Tai Shi. Ubasoku; calm, supportive, limited to positive 優婆塞 台 婆

  31. #31
    Quote Originally Posted by Jundo View Post
    The image I mentioned in the talk ... by a physicist, John Wheeler ...

    Sat with this on Saturday evening.

    So, the eye sees the U, and they are the same, such as I and you

    Gassho
    Kantai

    SatLah

  32. #32
    I know what two books of poetry and one novel will be done what is possible to complete my work. Finish the book in the works Book next about Portraits of Their Lives, Novel The Orange Bicycle, book three I have the beginning of an Outline. Can I finish these by age 77, Patty Brown about finished. That’s four books. Then, early papers and poetry Grinnell has the first two books I will send this third soon. I will only opt for surgery if surgeon can give me a better than 65%chance. That’s what Dr Kim gave me during imaging consultation in my neurologist floor ICU. My case is serious so I won’t become email and depend on Treeleaf Zendo, Therapy and Church.? Key can I finish books in length of time with my memory in tact? That’s two to three books in 7 years?
    This is an unknown! It’s even an unknown how long I will have my memories. Long term will be in tact. Books are a possibility if I chooses nothings. I might have no choice lol


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
    Peaceful Poet, Tai Shi. Ubasoku; calm, supportive, limited to positive 優婆塞 台 婆

  33. #33
    Jundo I really did sit last night. As usual focus for 20 minutes. Please please save above it saves me so time and thoughts
    Gassho
    sat/ lah


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
    Peaceful Poet, Tai Shi. Ubasoku; calm, supportive, limited to positive 優婆塞 台 婆

  34. #34
    Quote Originally Posted by Tai Shi View Post
    Jundo I really did sit last night. As usual focus for 20 minutes. Please please save above it saves me so time and thoughts
    Gassho
    sat/ lah
    Your posts are not being censored, Taigu. Be at ease.

    We are all with you, friend.

    Gassho, Jundo
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  35. #35
    I love how so much can be extrapolated from as simple a gesture as not closing the eyes in shikantaza Wonderful talk, Jundo.

    Thank you Jakuden, Jundo, and everyone who sat/will sit. Sat with you all this morning.

    Gassho,

    Ryan
    SatToday
    墨眼 | Bokugan | Sumi Ink Eye
    Ryan-S | zazenlibrarian.com

  36. #36
    Thank you all for a wonderful zazenkai session which I have now caught up on. The dharma talk was eye-opening and right up my street. I concur that there is place where one day science, mysticism, philosophy and practice will meet each other in being and understanding. Those out there physicists of today will be less out there tomorrow.

    Jeez I love this stuff, so thank you all for sharing.

    Gassho,

    Ryokudo

    SAT/LAH

  37. #37
    Member Seishin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    La Croix-Avranchin, Basse Normandie, France
    Thank you everyone.

    Sat


    Seishin

    Sei - Meticulous
    Shin - Heart

  38. #38
    Thank you for this teaching.

    Gassho2, meian stlh

    Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
    My life is my temple and my practice.

  39. #39
    I would like to see some finish hours and hours and hours of Zazenkai when with my disabilities I find it difficult to finish 45 or 50 minutes of one. How could someone find the time to thoroughly relax the reality of a Zazenkai for dozens of years and months and hours?
    Gassho
    sat/ lah


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
    Peaceful Poet, Tai Shi. Ubasoku; calm, supportive, limited to positive 優婆塞 台 婆

  40. #40
    Quote Originally Posted by Tai Shi View Post
    I would like to see some finish hours and hours and hours of Zazenkai when with my disabilities I find it difficult to finish 45 or 50 minutes of one. How could someone find the time to thoroughly relax the reality of a Zazenkai for dozens of years and months and hours?
    Gassho
    sat/ lah


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
    Do what you can, Taishi. It is not a matter of length, and the real Zazenkai has no start or finish. If you get tired, rest.

    Gassho, J

    STLah
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  41. #41
    Member Yokai's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    Havelock North, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
    the real Zazenkai has no start or finish
    Sat with you beyond time (away celebrating 20th anniversary)

    Thank you everyone

    Gassho, Yokai sat/lah

  42. #42
    Thank you all! I hope you had a good 20th anniversary, Yokai!

    Gassho
    Kokuu
    Last edited by Kokuu; 09-28-2021 at 04:55 PM.

  43. #43
    Sat on demand, thank you everyone for the practice.

    Gassho,
    John
    Sat today

    Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk

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