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Mt Adams Zen Buddhist Temple

 

September 2015 Newsletter

Dear Dharma family,
I am excited to tell you about Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center in Vancouver Washington.  They will start a Hospital Wide Mindfulness Program on October 20, 2015. With all the wonderful success stories of patients and staff using mindfulness practices in other parts of the country, this new program will be an exciting new addition to the services provided at Legacy.

We have experienced the smoke from the great fires burning in Washington and Oregon states.  Some days we could barely see the farm next to us.  May all who work to keep us safe be well and happy. Our gratitude goes out to the men and women of the fire departments, forestry, national guard, and police.  Thank you for the job you do. 
Kozen
We have several retreats coming up
October
10 Bodhi Dharma Day - One-day retreat
23-25 Fall retreat
 
November
14 - 15 Precepts retreat
December
31 meditation starts at 11:30 pm and ends at 12:30 am

Call the temple for reservations or questions.   
We are collecting funds to build a temple

We have raised  $2,370 in 1 month. 
WE WANT TO EXPRESS OUR APPRECIATION TO THE FOLLOWING DONORS:

Huynh Can De, Lang Tang, Tina McNurlen, Thao-Oanh Doan, 
MK&Feyrie Southeast, Mita Beach, Sean Harbaugh, Thay Z
Members of Buu Hung Monastery,
YOU CAN DONATE DIRECTLY TO OUT TEMPLE OR GO TO  
Meditation
&
Dharma Talk

Sun. Sep.6th      3:00 -4:30 pm  

All Welcome! Free
Location:   17808 NE 18th St. Vancouver   WA   (Buu Hung Monastery)
                                                                   
Ven. Kozen Sampson (Thich Minh Tinh), is Abbot of the Mt. Adams Zen Buddhist Temple (46 Stoller Rd. Trout Lake, WA) www.mtadamszen.org leads Meditation and give Dharma talk. He is an American monk in the Vietnamese tradition. Tea gathering with teachers after meditation.
 
For Inf.:     Akiko Pinard       nihongo1@msn.com              360-574-0389

Sadi Minh Thien's Column

SEPTEMBER 2015
 
Almost a year ago, someone shared an article with me and one of the key points in it was the following:
"Meet every experience fully; and meet it as a friend"
 
Little did I realize at the time, how impactful that simple statement would become as I choose a path of living in more mindful ways through the study of Dharma and the practice of Meditation. Certainly, I find it easier to ... "meet every experience fully; and meet it as a friend" when:
  • the experience is one I judge to be good or desirable to pursue
  • it generates an energy, interest or desire to pursue it
  • it continues to provide "good feelings or results" that contribute the necessary energy and outcomes to hold my interest
I find it is very different to follow this direction and advice when:
  • the experience is one I judge to be bad or less desirable
  • fear arises that the outcomes in moving forward will require more energy than I am willing to commit to; and
  • lack of discipline and laziness moves me away from mindfully recognizing an experience for what it is and how it impacts my life
The Buddha pointed out that there are four ways that people get led off course. Two of them are following your likes and dislikes; the other two are giving in to delusion and fear. I know these things pull me off the path from time to time and you may also find this to be true for you. We become distracted and move away from a more mindful way of living because we like to follow what we like to follow and avoid what we dislike - even though the things we dislike are often things we really have to look at.
 
The Buddha also points out that the reason we're suffering is because of the craving in our minds, and yet we like to hold on to our cravings. We are attached to them. One author I read put it this way..."The Buddhist teaching on non-attachment is ultimately about realizing the truth of yourself". In Zen Buddhism, that non-attachment isn't about physical items, locations and such, it's about the ideas we occupy our minds with.
 
To live with mindfulness is to live fully engaged and yet unattached in each moment. To be mindful is to be open and accepting of whatever may come in any moment, with no judgement. It moves us in shifting our mindset to ... "meet every experience fully; and meet it as a friend". And though it sounds like a relatively easy and uncomplicated task, just the knowing of this principle doesn't seem to be enough. What I may know and understand in my mind, but do not put into practice, is just a thing of the mind and never has the opportunity to reach its' full potential. Our mind produces endless thoughts. Our thoughts become our words; our words become our actions; our actions become our habits and our habits become the pattern of our lives.
 
The teachings of the Buddha tells us that through mindful living and the disciplined practice of Meditation, we can unburden ourselves from attachments and thus reduce suffering, even to the point of Awakening. The Buddha nature exists in all sentient beings and each of us are challenged to wade through the myriad of attachments of the world and our minds to realize that which is already within us and in all things. So may we all... ... "meet every experience fully; and meet it as a friend" , and through the Dharma, our practice of Mediation and our connections through Sangha, may all beings be happy and free.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samm a sambuddhassa
 
PCT Hikers
 Men and women hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) which goes from       Canada to Mexico. During their journey they are given a "trail name"  usually based upon behavior or some physical trait.  To the left - "Beetle Juice" and "The Lebowski" enjoy a breakfast at the Abbey. 

As they pass through our area some will stop and spend a night, meditate, shower, wash clothes, or have a meal.  We have met many wonderful folks who seem to undergo a spiritual adventure as they hike the PCT.

more hikers below - after a hot breakfast and a lot of laughter

James Dean
   "Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today."
  
    "Only the gentle are ever really strong."
     "The gratification comes in the doing, not in the results."
                       James Dean 1931- 1955

   This man died young.  He brought a new vibrancy to acting and to life and remains a folk hero to many.  Every day is a gift.  I like these quotes of his.  Thay Kozen
Climate Change
In an article by , he identifies the causes of man made pollution responsible for adding to climate change.  John, an Opinion Columnist, CNN Digital is an award-winning columnist for CNN Digital and creator of the network's Two° project, which aims to involve readers in climate change coverage.


Per Kozen - I am not sure of the many natural causes of climate change.  I do think we as humans could do a better job of taking care of our earth and polluting less.  Here's a list of the top climate polluters today. They create about 70% of all current greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, according to the World Resources Institute.
  1. China
  2. United States
  3. European Union
  4. India
  5. Russia
  6. Indonesia
  7. Brazil
  8. Japan
  9. Canada
  10. Mexico
We are a small Thien (Zen) Buddhist Temple practicing  "laughing farmer zen" - living our practice, sitting zazen, being here - right now!

Services & Meditation  

 

Morning Meditation  6:30AM 

Sunday Evening Meditation
6 PM at
Trinity Natural Medicine, Hood River OR

1st Sunday of the month meditation at Buu Hung Monastery in Vancouver
Calendar

SEPTEMBER
6 Buu Hung Monastery - talk in Vancouver WA
23 -28 Visit Chua Thien An (Desert Zen Center)
 
OCTOBER
10 Bodhi Dharma Day - One-day retreat
10 One day retreat - "
23-25 Fall retreat

NOVEMBER
14 - 15 Precepts retreat
DECEMBER
31 meditation starts at 11:30 pm and ends at 12:30 am

Master Jiyu Kennett
"All men know suffering which is as mud in which
the lotus takes its root:
all men know the lotus blossom
which gazes at the heavens.
Few men indeed know
how to nourish the root of True Religion within themselves in
the mud of ignorance that surrounds them and
fewer still know how to make that root
flourish and grow the long stem needed
in the dark water before the flower can bloom
in the clear light of day...
I am attempting to show how to grow the long stem
of lotus, from the root to the blossom, for the stem
of lotus and Zen training are identical."

~ from the book by
Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett
"Zen is Eternal Life"
http://www.berkeleybuddhistpriory.org/pages/teaching/rmjiyu.html
Great Quotes
"Try not to become a man of success but rather a man of value."
- Albert Einstein

"To meet everything and everyone through stillness instead of mental noise is the greatest gift you can offer to the universe." - Eckhart Tolle

"If you don't want your tax dollars to help the poor - then stop saying that you want a country based on Christian Values, because you don't." Jimmy Carter
Dharma Rain in Hood River - Meditation classes

September - visiting teacher tbd
Sunday 09/13 from 3:00 - 5:00pm 
Sunday 09/27 from 3:00 - 5:00pm

October
 
Sunday 10/11 from 3:00 - 5:00pm with Kakumyo
Sunday 10/25 from 3:00 - 5:00pm 
 
November  
Sunday 11/08 from 3:00 - 5:00pm 
Sunday 11/22 from 3:00 - 5:00pm
with Kakumyo

December
 
Sunday 12/13 from 3:00 - 5:00pm 
Sunday 12/27 from 3:00 - 5:00pm
 
 
All events held at Cascade Acupuncture in Hood River unless otherwise noted.  http://www.hoodriverzen.org/calendar.html
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 http://www.northwestdharma.org/ 
We just renewed our temple's membership and gave a "little extra" donation. 
How about you  - have you renewed your membership ? 

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

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