Tuyết Sơn Thiền Tự

Mt Adams Zen Buddhist Temple

 

August 2013 Newsletter
Dear Dharma Friends,

The beauty of all the life and growth in the middle of summer is quite wonderful.  On our farm everything is growing, harvests have started and there seems plenty for all. The days are hot, the nights wonderfully cool - everything it in its own proper place and order.  I am reminded of a famous story.

Once there was a prosperous shop owner who wanted a sign to be made for him by a Buddhist monk who was famous for his calligraphy writing.  He went to the monk, and asked him to write a sign. The monk agreed to do it and told the shop owner to return the next evening, and the sign should be ready.

The next evening when the shop owner returned, he saw the sign that the monk had written; he was horrified and angry at the message.  "Are you cursing my family with these death wishes?" He asked loudly.  The sign read, "Grandfather dies, Father dies, Son dies."

The priest answered, "This is not a story of death.  Grandfather Dies, means no man should die before he has a Grandson. Father Dies, means that no man should die before he has a son to carry on his family name. Son Dies, means that no son should die until both his grandfather and his father have passed away before him. This is the natural order of things, and therefore it is not an evil curse, but a great blessing for any family."

When he heard this, the shop owner understood the monk's meaning. He took the sign and had it hung outside his shop for everyone to see. He thought of it as a great blessing, and told the story to all of his customers.

May we celebrate the order that comes with everyday life - accepting all - and grateful for the smallest of things just in their proper place, time, and order.  Life is so full with many many blessings that we often overlook them and become aware of them only when they are no longer present.  May we all live in gratitude.  Kozen 

The Face of Buddhist Terror - let us not confuse Buddhist practice for secular practices.  

"It's a faith famous for its pacifism and tolerance. But in several of Asia's Buddhist-majority nations, monks are inciting bigotry and violence - mostly against Muslims". By Hannah Beech / Meikhtila, Burma, And Pattani, Thailand 

"His face as still and serene as a statue's, the Buddhist monk who has taken the title "the Burmese bin Laden" begins his sermon. Hundreds of worshippers sit before him, palms pressed together, sweat trickling down their sticky backs. On cue, the crowd chants with the man in burgundy robes, the mantras drifting through the sultry air of a temple in Mandalay, Burma's second biggest city after Rangoon. It seems a peaceful scene, but Wirathu's message crackles with hate. "Now is not the time for calm," the monk intones, as he spends 90 minutes describing the many ways in which he detests the minority Muslims in this Buddhist-majority land. "Now is the time to rise up, to make your blood boil."

Buddhist blood is boiling in Burma, also known as Myanmar-and plenty of Muslim blood is being spilled. Over the past year, Buddhist mobs have targeted members of the minority faith, and incendiary rhetoric from Wirathu-he goes by one name-and other hard-line monks is fanning the flames of religious chauvinism. Scores of Muslims have been killed, according to government statistics, although international human-rights workers put the number in the hundreds. Much of the violence is directed at the Rohingya, a largely stateless Muslim group in Burma's far west that the U.N. calls one of the world's most persecuted people. The communal bloodshed has spread to central Burma, where Wirathu, 46, lives and preaches his virulent sermons. The radical monk sees Muslims, who make up at least 5% of Burma's estimated 60 million people, as a threat to the country and its culture. Muslims are breeding so fast, and they are stealing our women, raping them, he tells me. They would like to occupy our country, but I won't let them. We must keep Myanmar Buddhist.

Within all of us there is a Hitler and a Quan Yin. Buddhist practice in my understanding uses Metta (Loving Kindness)  - not violence - to end disputes.  May we all find peace.  Kozen
We are a small Thien (Zen) Buddhist Temple practicing  "laughing farmer zen" - living our practice, sitting zazen, being here - right now!

Calendar

AUGUST 

12 Kozen to CRCC   

18 MCUUF Hood River Service 

24 celebrating our temple's 4th anniversary.
25 Precepts Ceremony
for Rhonda Schrock
 

 

SEPTEMBER
9 Kozen to CRCC
12 - 16 Mama bear retreat
30 Kozen to CRCC

 

OCTOBER
5 Bodhi Dharma Day
18-20 Fall Meditation Intensive
21 Kozen to CRCC
Words of Wisdom   

S. Suzuki, Roshi  

(1905 - 1971)

 

"If your practice is good, you may become proud of it. What you do is good, but something more is added to it. Pride is extra. Right effort is to get rid of something extra."

 

"If you want to read a letter from the Buddha's world, it is necessary to understand Buddha's world."

 

"All of you are perfect just as you are and you could use a little improvement."

 

"As soon as you see something, you already start to intellectualize it. As soon as you intellectualize something, it is no longer what you saw."

 

"Everything is perfect, but there is a lot of room for improvement."

 

"In Japan we have the phrase shoshin, which means "beginner's mind." The goal of practice is always to keep our beginner's mind. Suppose you recite the Prajna Paramita Sutra only once. It might be a very good recitation. But what would happen to you if you recited it twice, three times, four times, or more? You might easily lose your original attitude towards it. The same thing will happen in your other Zen practices. For a while you will keep your beginner's mind, but if you continue to practice one, two, three years or more, although you may improve some, you are liable to lose the limitless meaning of original mind."

 

"If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few."

GAYA: Terror struck the temple town of Bodh Gaya in Bihar, as nine serial explosions rocked the Mahabodhi Temple complex on Sunday morning.

   Two tourists, including a monk from Myanmar, have been injured in the blasts.
   Union home secretary Anil Goswami confirmed that the Bodh Gaya blasts were a terror attack.

  Bihar Police suspect the involvement of Indian Mujahideen in the temple blasts.  

Our temple members took a trip to visit this site last year.  I am sad that such violence has touched such a loving place.   

May we all find peace. 

Is your group part of the Northwest Dharma Association? 
if not, it is time to join!  If you are a solitary practitioner or without a sanga you can still donate dana (money).  The are a clearing house for Buddhist Activity in the Northwest and need our support. 
 
read more about the NWDA at https://www.northwestdharma.org/ 

Abby Bowing
Thich Minh Tanh ( Abby) tells us that bowing to everything allows us to love without conditions.  "When in doubt, love more."
46 Stoller Rd., Trout Lake WA 98650   509.395.2030  

Directions to Mt Adams Zen Buddhist Temple
(From the 84 freeway we're
about 21 miles)

From Portland OR, take the 84 freeway east towards The Dalles.

Take the US-30 exit, EXIT 64, toward OR-35/MT. HOOD HWY./WHITE SALMON/GOVT. CAMP over the bridge towards Washington State.  There is a toll Bridge - the cost is $1.00 
Turn LEFT and go about 2 miles  
TURN RIGHT onto WA 141 Alt (Just before the White Salmon River Bridge) If you go into Skamania County you've gone too far.            

Turn LEFT at the top of the hill onto WA 141 
Go about 21 miles past Husum and BZ Corners 
Turn RIGHT onto Warner Rd. (there is a brown sign to Conboy Lake Wildlife Refuge 10 miles, then a green sign Trout Lake and Glenwood - arrow to right) You can see the mile marker 21 just ahead as you turn.   
Go 1.0 mile.  Go past Trout Lake Farms and Sunnyside Drive to your right 
Turn RIGHT onto Stoller Rd.  Just past a row of mailboxes.  Warner sort of dead ends - the main traffic route is to the left but we are to the RIGHT. 
Go about 0.4 miles - the Abbey is the last house on the paved road on the LEFT (you will see a large field and a 3 story tall red barn) and there is a sign Trout Lake Abbey at our driveway. 

The Northwest Dharma Association,
Open Gate Zendo
& Mt Adams Zen Buddhist Temple

Invite you to join us for
 
Fall Retreat,
a 3-day live-in meditation intensive

October 18 - 20
(Friday - Sunday)

We are limited to 20 attendees so please register early.

 
We will practice several forms of meditation, and develop metta, loving kindness practices for ourselves and others.
Vegetarian meals will be served.

Please contact Abby for reservations at 509-637-4511,  
or e-mail her at abgale@embarqmail.com.

  Lord Buddha

 
If you are able to arrive early on Friday 18 October, please, come for our 6:30 am temple service and stay for the rest of the day if you like.
 
We are asking for a $120.00 donation, but we would rather have you here than your money,
so don't let finances stop you from coming.


The event will be held at Mt Adams Zen Buddhist Temple at the base of Mount Adams;
  46 Stoller Rd., Trout Lake WA 98650   509.395.2030   www.mtadamszen.org 
Hope to see you here at the Abbey!           
Small Buddha Surprise
A small, now beloved, hand made statue has shown up at our temple. It seems to be a statue of a robed monk with a baby in his arms and a German Shepard dog beside him.   We do not know where it came from, but it seems to look suspiciously like Kozen.  Anyone want to take credit for making it? Thank you for the statue.  It is on our main altar. 
hand made monk
Pope francis
His Holiness Pope Francis is bringing loving kindness into the world in an exciting new way.  His gentle speech, humility, and compassion are a wonderful teacher for us all. "The measure of the greatness of a society is found in the way it treats those most in need."
We are blessed to have him as a world religious leader.  Kozen
Pacific Coast Trail Magic
For hikers, the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT) from Mexico to Canada is a special trail going through low deserts and high mountains in a several thousand mile journey. 

The Pacific Crest Trail (commonly referred to as the PCT, and occasionally designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail) is a long-distance mountain hiking and equestrian trail. The trail's southern terminus is on the U.S. border with Mexico, and its northern terminus is in British Columbia, Canada; its corridor through the U.S. is in the states of California, Oregon, and Washington.

The Pacific Crest Trail is 2,663 mi (4,286 km) long and ranges in elevation from just above sea level at the Oregon-Washington border to 13,153 feet (4,009 m) at Forester Pass in the Sierra Nevada. The route passes through 25 national forests and 7 national parks.

Our temple provides a small cache of portable food as well as a trash can on the trail.  Such a cache is called "trail magic" and those who provide such things are called "trail angels".  

Jizo shrine 2013
Ksitigarbha Shrine 

PCT Hikers
PCT Hikers at our shrine
for trail magic
Kozen in the mountains
  Kozen walking in the mountains
Join us for Mountain Walks
  Our temple members will be "walking on Mt Adams" starting Friday, Aug 2nd and we hope to take a mountain walk every Friday leaving at 6:30 am from the Abbey.
   The walks will be easy and will last about 3-4 hours.  Be sure to bring water and a trail snack with you.
   Please call and confirm if you would like to join us.
 
May the Infinite Light of Wisdom and Compassion so shine within us that the errors and vanities of self may be dispelled; so shall we understand the changing nature of existence and awaken into spiritual peace.

PO Box 487, Trout Lake WA 98650     www.MtAdamsZen.org

509.395.2030  (e-mail -put in the @ sign) kozen1 at embarqmail.com