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Mt Adams Zen Buddhist Temple

 

June 2016 Newsletter
Dear Dharma Family, 
   Change, change, change - as we greet each moment in the present and treat it as a friend, we begin to experience the miracles.           
   4 Buddha statues arrived the last week in May, arranged for by Ven Master Heng Chuan, from the city of 10,000 Buddhas.  We appreciate his efforts to support our small temple. 
    Thay Vinh Minh,  Thầy Thích Nhuận Ân, Sư Cô Thích Nữ Giới Bửu will be in residence here for 2 months.
May we all find peace.  Thay Minh Tinh
 
Portland Buddhist Festival in Colonel Summers Park
 
Saturday June 4  11:00am - 4:30 pm 
1801 SE Taylor St, Portland

http://www.portlandbuddhistfestival.com/ 

Booths and Festivities...
+Buddhist talks and workshops 
+Teachings and activities for Adults and Children 
+Tabling by Buddhist Communities

Join us - we will have a booth there 
PRECEPTS RETREAT
Saturday and Sunday July 16 - 17
with Buu Hung Monastery
starting at 9 am on Saturday, July 16 and ending at noon on Sunday, July 17
Come and Live a monk or nun like life
for 24 hours by following the Buddha's Precepts
register by calling (360) 718-6158
or e-mail huehuong7@yahoo.com
Schedule 
16 July 
8:30-9:30 am                  Ceremony of receiving the eight precepts
                                            (altogether)
9:30-9:45am                   Break
9:45-10:45am            Reading/ Meditation ( Americans)
                                Repentance Ceremony 1 (Vietnamse)
11:30-12:30pm        Formal Meal Ceremony
                                   (only for precept practitioners)
1:00-   2:00pm             Relaxing Nap
2:30-3:30pm              Dharma Talk (altogether)
3:30-3:45pm                    Break
3:45-   5:00pm             Reading/Meditation (Americans)
                                  Repentance Ceremony 2 (Vietnamese)
6:00pm                          Drinking milk or rice soup
7:00-8:00pm                  Dharma Talk (Viet, thầy Vĩnh Minh)
                                         (American-Thầy Kozen )
8:00-8:15pm                   Break
8:15-9:15pm                   Reading/Meditation (Americans)
                                  Repentance Ceremony 3 (Vietnamese)
9:30-10:00pm              Sitting meditation (altogether)
10:00pm                          Sleep
 
Sunday, 17 July 
6:00-7:00am                    Morning Chanting (Vietnamese)
                                 Meditation (American)
7:00-8:30am             Closing Ceremony (altogether)
9:00 am                          Breakfast
10:00-11:00am             Tea Meditation ( open to the public)
12:00pm                            Formal Lunch   (open to the public)        
                                               The End
 

Dogen Zenji
Genjokoan
Below are 5 English Translations of Genjokoan, which is an influential essay written by Dōgen, the founder of Zen Buddhism's Sōtō school in Japan. It is considered by some to be one of the most popular essays in the Shobogenzo.
As all things are buddha-dharma, there are delusion, realization, practice, birth and death, buddhas and sentient beings. As myriad things are without an abiding self, there is no delusion, no realization, no buddha, no sentient being, no birth and death. The buddha way, in essence, is leaping clear of abundance and lack; thus there are birth and death, delusion and realization, sentient beings and buddhas. Yet in attachment blossoms fall, and in aversion weeds spread.
To carry the self forward and illuminate myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and illuminate the self is awakening.
Those who have great realization of delusion are buddhas; those who are greatly deluded about realization are sentient beings. Further, there are those who continue realizing beyond realization, who are in delusion throughout delusion. When buddhas are truly buddhas, they do not necessarily notice that they are buddhas. However, they are actualized buddhas, who go on actualizing buddha.
To study the buddha way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away. No trace of realization remains, and this no-trace continues endlessly. When you first seek dharma, you imagine you are far away from its environs. At the moment when dharma is correctly transmitted, you are immediately your original self.
When you ride in a boat and watch the shore, you might assume that the shore is moving. But when you keep your eyes closely on the boat, you can see that the boat moves. Similarly, if you examine myriad things with a confused body and mind you might suppose that your mind and nature are permanent. When you practice intimately and return to where you are, it will be clear that nothing at all has unchanging self.

Chinese Zen Master Venerable Wumen Huika (Mumon) tells us, "I am senior to you and you may have nothing of mine.  This may sound selfish, but anything given by another is impermanent.  Only that which you reach by yourself is everlasting"    

There is a wonderful movie about Ven. Dogen Zenji at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s5Uz8XSc-Y 
We are a small Thien (Zen) Buddhist Temple practicing  "laughing farmer zen" - living our practice, sitting zazen, being here - right now!
 
   Services & Meditation  
 
Remote Locations
_______

Hood River, OR
Monday at Noon
Trinity Natural Medicine
1808 Belmont Ave., Hood River
-----
Vancouver WA
first Sunday of the month
at 3pm
Buu Hung Monastery
17808 NE 18th St.
Vancouver WA
Calendar 
June
1-July 31 Thay Vinh Minh,  Thầy Thích Nhuận Ân, Sư Cô Thích Nữ Giới Bửu in residence

4-5 Retreat - 2 day - Metta
Please Register +

5 Buu Hung Monastery 3 pm 
18 Summer Solstice - Druid Event

20-25 TEMPLE CLOSED
monk and nun retreat
26-30 Qigong Retreat - Pam Tindall - Private
July
1-5 Zikr Dances of Universal Peace - Private

3 Buu Hung Monastery 3 pm
7-10 Druid retreat
15 Thich Minh Thien and Thich Nu Hanh Minh Ordinations
Please Register +

16-17 PRECEPTS RETREAT  
30 Lughnasadh - Druid Event
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 sangha you can still donate dana (money).  They are a clearing house for Buddhist Activity in the Northwest and need our support. 
 
read more about the NWDA at http://www.northwestdharma.org/  
June 2016
 
This month I am in a 30-day personal retreat and, that's what I am still doing as I write this column. During this personal retreat, I have pretty much put away the tools of modern day that we have become so accustomed to such as radio, Facebook, other social media sites, the phone, texting, household things, interaction with others and television. I will share that coming off my television addiction (I am a politics news junky) was a struggle at times. As the retreat days pass by however, that hunger or grasping for something to do which inevitably led me to the TV remote control has gotten less and less as my time is filled in other ways. The Buddha knew this which is why he removed himself from the world he was familiar with when he set out to find the answers to his questions around suffering and life.
 
As I prepared for this personal retreat, I knew that my days were going to be very different. There would be quiet reflection, walking meditation, reading all those books on the Buddha and Zen that I hadn't gotten around to yet and of course, an increased time sitting zazen. The first couple of days in my readings, I came across a quote from Master Dogen Zenji which said, "Be mindful of the passing of time, and engage yourself in zazen as though you are saving your head from fire." Something to aspire to for sure.
 
 
I normally sit 25-30 minutes a day, usually in the morning. When time gets away from me, I sometimes try to pick up my meditation later in the day. I find however, that once my brain gets involved in 'stuff', settling down on my pillow is more difficult to do. I have been on 5, 7 and 10 day retreats where more meditation is on the schedule and I can say though challenging, I derive great benefit from the increase in time on the cushion. With that in mind, I set my retreat schedule for sitting 3 times a day, for a minimum of 30 minutes each. When I did that, it felt like I was challenging myself. But as I got into my retreat, I realized that there was no challenge and this was just another delusional thought of my mind. I didn't need a challenge or schedule to see the value of sitting, quietly, as we do in zazen; and for only that purpose...to sit...!
 
With that in mind, let me share a couple of thoughts about meditation and sitting zazen in general. They may be new thoughts for you or gentle reminders like they have become for me.

For the beginner as well as the experienced meditator, the excitement and energy of starting out this process of consistently sitting in meditation can soon fall off. Find the time that's right for you to spend on your pillow or chair and be as faithful as possible in that schedule.
 
When you find that the schedule has broken down, don't give up or beat yourself up over what you may view as failure. Each moment provides an opportunity to start anew. That's why it's called a 'Practice'.
 
A focus on your posture and breathing are key elements to sitting zazen. Wear comfortable clothes, pick a quiet spot removed from distractions and noise that will be conducive to your sitting practice. Room temperature should be comfortable and lighting subdued. Having an altar and adding elements of a favorite Buddha figurine, candles and maybe a plant can deepen the experience as well. Time your food intake for well before or after your sitting time. Choose a cushion or chair that supports your sitting posture. That can help reduce the physical strain sometimes associated with longer meditation time.
 
Start out with a reasonable time for you to sit. Remember, this isn't a competition. Even the great Masters didn't start out sitting for hours on end. The spirit can only bear what the body can endure. Remove expectations about why you're sitting or what you hope to accomplish. Follow the breath, noticing your breathing in and out. Let whatever other thoughts that come into your mind, simply be noticed and let go.
And finally, live in gratitude for what we have; for this life, this moment, this opportunity to just be and to meet the most important person in the world during your meditation - You!


Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa



 
Gate Doors for our New Temple Gate

These beautiful antique gate doors are on lay away at Antiques and Oddities, 211 W Steuben St, Bingen, WA 98605.  The doors are very old and from China.  If you are in the shop, please make a small donation towards the doors - they will look wonderful at the gate to our new temple.
  Metta - 4 Sentences that can change our life

First: Take a deep breath, shift your body into a gently aligned state with your spine straight.


Start with yourself - picture yourself right now in your mind, and say:
May I be well
May I be happy
May I know love
May I know peace

Then visualize a loved one, then a stranger, then an "enemy" (or someone who has caused you pain), then everybody, and for each say:
May you be well

May you be happy
May you know love
May you know peace
 
Take a deep breath and hold it for a second between each of these visualizationsLastly, return to yourself and visualize yourself and say the 4 sentences again for you.

By practicing this simple exercise daily we can start the process of re-framing our thoughts.  The Buddha tells us, "What we think we become".  May we all find peace.

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

 

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