Deming Zen Center

Photo from Retreat and Precepts Ceremony

2011-05-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

Precepts at Deming Zen Center

2011-05-09T05:38:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, May 7, Deming Zen Center held its first precepts ceremony.

Sometimes people who have been practicing for a while decide to solidify their commitment to practice at a public ceremony. Precepts are vows which are used in Zen practice as guidelines for conducting ones daily life in a clear, compassionate direction. To do this, the precepts cannot always be taken as literal commandments. Using the precepts becomes a practice of applying spontaneous wisdom in weird situations.

In our school, one takes five precepts at first. Those five precepts are:

I vow to abstain from taking life.
I vow to abstain from taking things not given.
I vow to abstain from misconduct done in lust.
I vow to abstain from lying.
I vow to abstain from intoxicants, taken to induce heedlessness.

The person taking precepts then receives a Buddhist name. One of our members took five precepts this weekend and received the name Hye Chung, meaning "Wisdom Sky."

In later years, it is possible to take more precepts. In our school, when you take more precepts you are also taking on responsibilities for helping the Zen Center by leading practice, learning to give meditation instruction to beginners, and so forth. There are 10 precepts, and later 16 precepts.

At this ceremony, our abbot took on an additional 48 precepts to make 64 precepts. These bodhisattva precepts are very old lay precepts in Buddhism. In our school, one who takes these precepts is called a "Bodhisattva Teacher." Their responsibilities include teaching and leading practice, giving consulting interviews (similar to daisan in Japanese Zen schools), and giving public talks on Zen.

Our precepts teacher was Judy Roitman, JDPSN, who is also the guiding teacher of our baby Zen Center.

When our group photo comes back, we will be sure to post it.

We Are Now Deming Zen Center

2011-05-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

In December 2010, the Kwan Um School of Zen ratified Judy Roitman, JDPSN as the guiding teacher of Deming Zen Group.

In April 2011, the group incorporated as a non-profit, Deming Zen Center. We are an affiliate of the Kwan Um School under the direction of Judy Roitman. At this writing, our status as a 501(c)(3) organization is pending.

Our website has a blog, which has taken the place of this one. We may, however, revive this blog as a place to print dharma talks by our guiding teacher, our abbot, and others from the school.

For more updates, please visit our website.

One-Day Retreat on July 18

2009-06-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

Our new website is working pretty well, and future blogs and announcements will be posted there.

Click here for detailed information on our first retreat, taking place on Saturday, July 18. We hope to see you there!

Website under construction

2009-06-09T21:11:00.001-07:00

A website for our group is now under construction. You can actually view it live by clicking here.

It will have some additional features and be more useful for outreach to the community, so -- why not? It's one of these free web services, so it is a little clunky to edit, but for a basic website to introduce ourselves to folks (and to provide you all with a handy calendar so that you can see what we're up to), it's not bad.

Summer Retreat

2009-06-03T12:11:00.001-07:00

We will soon be scheduling retreats for this summer and for this fall.

These retreats will be open for everyone, not just the regular participants in our group. For those needing instruction in sitting meditation, an early orientation will be available.

The summer retreat will be at the St. Augustine Anglican Church in Deming, and the fall retreat will very likely be at a private retreat center a few miles south of town.

Watch this space for updates.

Zen Group Takes A Hike

2009-06-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

John, a participant in our Zen group and a local author, led a short hike out near the Mimbres Valley above an old mine on a gorgeous Saturday morning with clear views of the mountains all around us.

We would like to do more like this, and anyone from the group is welcome to join us. For now, please enjoy these photos from our walk.

A Group Photo?

2009-05-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

Hwa Gye Sah is a temple in Korea that has a special relationship with the Kwan Um School of Zen, and those who practice in the tradition of Zen Master Seung Sahn.

Their website is adding some stories about American Zen groups, including ours. I have already written the story for them (it will appear in English and Korean on their website) and provided some pictures of our space. They have asked for a group picture as well.

So at one of our upcoming meetings, I might try to gather us up for a little group photo. Nothing special or formal, just a picture of smiling meditating people in our space, to appear only on this Korean website (and maybe our blog, too?).

We're still going strong on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings. Drop in and sit with us!

Your Contributions

2009-05-10T21:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks to your contributions, some useful supplies are on their way.

Any day now, more chanting books will be delivered.

Coming soon: small support cushions to tuck under our zafus or knees.

Also on the list: a meditation bench for those who would like to sit in the seiza (kneeling) position.

It has been warm, but not unbearable. We are going to try out more than one method for cooling that space, and if need be we will adjust our schedule to take advantage of cooler times.

As Big As The Whole Universe

2009-05-06T06:25:00.000-07:00

From a talk at Cambridge Zen Center on July 29, 1993.

Question: How does Zen practicing take away karma?

Zen Master Seung Sahn: Zen practice does not take away karma. If you practice Zen, your karma becomes clear. If you are not practicing, your karma controls you. But if you are practicing, you control your karma. So your karma becomes clear. Good karma, bad karma, whatever karma you have becomes clear; then only help other people. That's the point. Sometimes when a person first starts practicing Zen we talk about "taking away karma," but those are only teaching words. Bodhisattvas have bodhisattva karma. Karma means mind action. So, karma controls me, or I control my karma and help other people. These two are different, but same karma.

Q: Bodhisattva karma is helping people?

ZMSS: Of course.

Q: But first we have to help ourselves, right?

ZMSS: Myself?

Q: To get a center.

ZMSS: Where is your center?

Q: Talking to you.

ZMSS: That is not your center. If you make "my center," then you will have a problem. Our minds are always going around and around ... seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, thinking. We see something and think, "I like that. I don't like that." If your mind is moving then you are not clear, because you have "my" opinion.

So, take this "around and around mind" and put it inside. At first keep your center here (points to lower belly). If you have a strong center, then your mind is not moving and your opinion disappears. If your mind is not moving, then you see clearly, hear clearly, smell clearly, taste clearly, touch clearly, and think clearly. Then everything becomes clear.

If you keep your center here at first (points to lower belly) then your center will become bigger, bigger, bigger ... as big as the whole universe. The name of this is Buddha. So if you want to understand the name of the Buddha, keep a mind which is clear like space. Clear like space has no center. The universe and you are already one. So there is no life and death. But if you only keep your center here (points to lower belly), then one day your body will disappear and your center will also disappear. Then you have a problem (laughs).

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Zen Master Seung Sahn (1927-2004) was the founder of the Kwan Um School of Zen.

One Pure and Clear Thing

2009-05-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

One day Zen Master Man Gong gave a dharma speech in which he said, "Even if this world explodes, if everyone has one pure and clear thing, it will never disappear. That thing sometimes dreams, sometimes is awake. Then I ask you, not-dreaming and not-awake, where is it?"

That is Man Gong Sunim's famous dharma speech. Everybody already has one pure and clear thing, but if you want to find it, you can't. And if you forget one thing, it's always in front of you. That's a strange thing, yah? Also, if you say "one thing," that's a big mistake! That is not one thing. The Sixth Patriarch said, originally nothing. But if you say, "originally nothing," that "originally nothing" is also a big mistake. If you completely attain "originally nothing," you cannot say anything because "originally nothing" has no words or speech. Also, action is not possible. So what is this "originally nothing"?

An ancient Zen Master said, "talking time, sitting time, even drinking time, it's always in front of you. One thing is always in front of you, anyplace, anytime. Coming, going, talking, laughing, it's always in front of you. Even dreaming, it's always in front of you. But when you are sleeping, you don't have a front or back, you don't have high or low. Sleeping time, where is one thing? Yah, one thing disappear, not disappear? Where is it, where does one thing stay? Usually in a dream, talking, walking, any action, it's always clearly in front of you. That's very easy. But if you are not dreaming, where is your true master then? Where does this one thing stay? That's a very important point.

When you are hungry, go to the kitchen. When you are tired, go to the bedroom.

That's our Zen style. Tired, then sleep. Hungry, then eat. That means, don't make anything. Moment to moment, just do it! That's our job, OK? Our world is very complicated, but if you are not thinking, it's not complicated, very simple. If you are thinking, then your checking mind appears. If checking mind appears, then the whole world appears, and then the whole world will control you. If you don't make anything, then the whole world disappears. Then everything is very simple. Only see, only hear, only smell... only do it! At that point your mind is like a clear mirror. In a clear mirror there is nothing. Somebody appears, it reflects. Something appears, it reflects. Everything is reflected, but the mirror is not attached; nothing can stay in the mirror. Reflections appear, disappear, appear, disappear. The mirror is free, no hindrance! Our true self is the same as a clear mirror: everything appears and disappears, OK?

This type of mind has only one thing; that means truth. Everything appears, disappears, appears, disappears... that's the truth. If you don't understand anything, then everything you see, hear and smell is the truth. Then next, how does truth correctly function to help other people? If you have an "only reflect" mind, then function is not possible. If you see somebody who is hungry and you only reflect, then I'm hungry - but if I'm full, then hungry is not possible. But truth is not enough when people are hungry, we must help them. When suffering people appear, it is necessary to help them. That's the bodhisattva way, not just reflect mind. How can I help all beings? If everything is clear, then you can attain moment to moment correct situation, correct relationship, correct function. So everybody attain this mind, OK?

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Zen Master Seung Sahn (1927-2004) was the founder of the Kwan Um School of Zen.

What's On Our Altar?

2009-04-29T06:19:00.000-07:00

Second in a series of posts about the stuff on the altar and in the dharma room...

You may have noticed a couple of small cards with names on them, like this one.

Chanting is part of my daily meditation practice, and sometimes I am chanting the names of bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas are mythological figures who have vowed to remain in the world among the suffering, until every last sentient being is free. This is an important example in Zen practice, because it points to our direction: giving the merits of our practice away.

Most commonly, we chant "Ji Jang Bosal" in remembrance of the dead or to protect people traveling, or we might chant "Kwan Seum Bosal" for those who are ill or otherwise suffering. We treat this not as petitionary prayer so much as a way to practice intensively and dedicate our own strength and determination to the well-being of those we love.

Chanting Ji Jang Bosal for a friend or loved one brings up strong feelings which can be very helpful in the grieving process, of digesting the loss and letting them go, appreciating their memory and whatever gifts they presented to us. It has been a powerful practice this month to chant in memory of a friend of 15 years who died suddenly and violently.

Please feel free to add names of people who have passed or are suffering. If you would like to try this special chanting for yourself, talk to me and we'll arrange for you to join me. You can also do it on your own. We can help if you want to try it.

Your True Self

2009-04-29T06:08:00.000-07:00

From a talk by Zen Master Seung Sahn...

Thank you very much for coming today. But what is it that brought your body here? Is it your mind? What is mind? Where is it? What is its shape? Mind is no mind. A mountain does not proclaim, "I am a mountain!" A river does not say, "I am a river!" All names and all forms are made by thinking. Thus, mind is no mind. All things have name and form. Names and forms come from emptiness. Thus, form is emptiness, emptiness is form.

When you are thinking, your mind, my mind, and all people's minds are different. If you cut through all thinking, your mind, my mind, and all people's minds are the same. The mind that cuts through all thinking is the true empty mind. The true empty mind is before thinking. Your substance is before thinking. Your substance is universal substance. Before thinking, there is no speech and no language. There is no God, no Buddha, no mountain, no river, nothing at all. Thus, no form, no emptiness.

But, before thinking is truly just like this. No form, no emptiness is itself a clinging to emptiness. Put it down! Then you will have no inside and no outside; you will attain the Absolute. Everything that you see, hear, taste, and smell is the truth. God is God, Buddha is Buddha, mountains are mountains, rivers are rivers. The truth is like this. Form is form, emptiness is emptiness.

If you cut through all thinking, your mind will become clear. Just that is your true self. Thinking is desire, desire is suffering. When the mind remains clear, there is no life and no death. You will find true freedom that has no hindrance.

Your body has life and death, but your true self transcends both life and death. What, then, is one's true self? Does it exist or not? If you say that it exists, where is it? If you say that it does not, what is hearing this speech? Both these answers are not complete. Why? (striking the table) KATZ! Put it down, put it all down! The Great Way is in front of the door.

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Zen Master Seung Sahn (1927-2004) was the founder of the Kwan Um School of Zen.

Hell Is No Problem

2009-04-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

The following is from a dharma talk by Zen Master Dae Kwang, Abbot of the Kwan Um School of Zen...

Often Zen Master Seung Sahn says, "If the direction of your life is clear, then your whole life is clear. If your direction is not clear, then your life will always be a problem." The reason we practice Zen is to understand ourselves completely, attain our original nature, and save all beings from suffering. This is our direction - the original job of all human beings. In this there is no "I, my, me." If we have "I, my, me" then we will get suffering, guaranteed.

Several years ago at the end of the long winter retreat in Korea, Byoek Am Sunim, our precepts teacher, gave each of the participants a calligraphy It read: "You make, you get." This is a very simple equation! At that time, someone asked him why it was that people suffer. He said, "Human beings continue to suffer because they do not see cause and effect clearly." So, the question "Why do I suffer?" has a simple answer: "What do you want?"

Achaan Chah, a now-deceased meditation teacher in Thailand, would often walk around the monastery grounds and ask every monk that he met, "Are you suffering today?" If the monk answered "yes," Achaan Chah would say, "Oh, then you must have a lot of desires today." If we can clearly see the nature of desire and anger, then it is possible to let them go. This means seeing cause and effect clearly. However, one more step is necessary.

One time a monk came to Zen Master Seung Sahn and said that he wanted to stop being a monk because the monk's life for him was a living hell. Zen Master Seung Sahn replied, "If your direction is clear, then even living in hell is not a problem." This means if you want to help this world, then even suffering should not be a hindrance. Most important is direction. If your direction is clear, then the suffering you experience becomes "Big Suffering" and helps this whole world. So, what do you want?

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Our next sitting will be on Sunday: chanting at 11:00 AM, sitting around 11:20. Email us at nogate_(at)_gmail_dot_com for more information.

Updates

2009-04-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

We are back from California, and going strong!

Six of us at practice Wednesday evening, which is a record -- and it looks like we will need to order a few more chanting books. Good problem to have, we'll put in our order next week.

The weather has been very pleasant, and we are already looking at ways to cool the space during the summer months.

We are also looking into a retreat facility for a one-day meditation retreat in the Deming area during the summer. Watch this space for details.

There WILL Be Sitting on Sunday, April 19!

2009-04-18T15:55:00.000-07:00

We are back from California and practice will take place tomorrow as regularly scheduled: 11:00 AM chanting, 11:20 sitting. Hope you will join us!

Dharma Talk Tomorrow

2009-04-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

The Deming Headlight ran a community notice about us and there have been a couple of phone calls, which might indicate some turnout for our first public dharma talk tomorrow.

It takes place at our Hemlock Street space tomorrow morning (Saturday) at 11:00 AM. Algernon will present a short extemporaneous talk about practice and open the floor to questions and discussion. Meditation instruction will be available for anyone new to sitting, upon request. If the weather is nice, we might enjoy some tea and admire Sarah's flowers.

Hoping to see everyone tomorrow...

Ji Jang Bosal

2009-04-07T20:13:00.001-07:00

Dear Sangha,

Our dear friend J.W. Harrington took his own life today. We are devastated. Please chant Ji Jang Bosal for him and Kwan Seum Bosal for his wife Jayne.

In the Dharma,
Soeng Hyang Zen Master

JW was the long-time administrative director for the Kwan Um School of Zen, occasionally my boss when I lived at Providence Zen Center and worked in its offices, and a personal friend for 15 years.

Although most of us knew he had had a very difficult winter, this action came as a surprise and a shock.

Here is JW (with my friend Tam) the last day I saw him. He had helped us arrange a 100-day blessing ceremony for my son last summer, and was on hand that day to celebrate.

Our chant for the deceased is the name of Ji Jang Bosal, a bodhisattva thought to protect the dead, children, and travelers. Chanting is a way to grieve with conscious awareness. It feels almost like gathering up all the sadness and the relief from slowly, painfully, letting go of someone we love (thus allowing their transition to be complete), and dedicating all of it to the deliverance of all sentient beings.

So I went into the garage tonight and broke out the chanting book (it has been some time since I did a Ji Jang Bosal chant), found my hands shaking.

His loss will be felt by a great many people whom he helped. He was an efficient and friendly presence, an indispensable team member, and did I mention a good friend who laughed often.

Some things in this life are incomprehensible. We acknowledge this all the time in Zen lore, but this is an event that reminds us just how surprising and incomprehensible it can be. Damn, this hurts.

During the next 49 days I will be doing Ji Jang Bosal chanting for JW, and his name will be on our altar. Please feel free to add more names to the altar, now or at any time.

Upcoming Events

2009-04-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

SATURDAY, APRIL 11
11:00 AM

Public Dharma Talk with questions & answers

Location: Deming Zen Group
Cost: FREE. (But there is a donation box near the door to benefit the group...)

** NO PUBLIC PRACTICE ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15**
(We're in California!)

SUNDAY, APRIL 19
6:00 PM

Thai music and dance performance, with three-course Thai meal!

Location: Lemongrass restaurant, Las Cruces
Cost: $30 at the restaurant

This is a benefit for a Thai Buddhist temple up in Albuquerque. My family and I will be there along with the resident priest up at Silver City Zen Center. It promises to be a good show, and the food there is always wonderful.

You must make reservations by calling (575) 523-8778.

SATURDAY, MAY 18
Time TBA

Buddha's Birthday celebration and Jukai (precepts ceremony).

Location: Silver City Zen Center, Silver City

Cost: FREE

Our good friends up in Silver City will celebrate the birth of the Buddha with a Zen precepts ceremony presided over by Kojun Jean Leyshon of the Hoko-ji Zendo here in New Mexico.

Buddha's Birthday Celebrations

2009-04-05T06:31:00.001-07:00

This weekend, Buddha's Birthday is being celebrated at Providence Zen Center, head temple of the Kwan Um School of Zen. They traditionally do that on the first weekend of April.

A lot of countries use April 8 as their date to observe Buddha's Birthday, and so these celebrations will be next week.

Some places will actually take the trouble to calculate the difference between the lunar calendar and the calendar we use, to arrive at the actual date, and they will celebrate whenever that day falls.

Our friends up at Silver City Zen Center are going to celebrate Buddha's Birthday on Saturday, May 16. A Deming contingent of me and, perhaps, my family will go up there for the ceremony, and if more of us from Deming would like to join perhaps we can coordinate a party to travel together.

Leave a comment here or speak with me after practice.

Planting Seeds

2009-04-02T06:31:00.000-07:00

It is springtime. Let loose the seeding metaphors!

The world is full of suffering. How can it be stopped? Every human being has a seed of compassion and wisdom that must be very carefully nurtured. It is our responsibility to find this seed and do everything we can to make it grow.

First, you must believe that you have this seed. Then you must ask yourself with all the strength you have, ''What is this seed?" If you truly search for it, you will understand that everyone is just like you. Everyone has it. You will have no more desire for yourself; you will only want to teach everyone how to find their seed.

Enlightenment is believing in yourself. Enlightenment is finding your seed. But your job is not over yet. Your mind must become strong enough to be totally wise and compassionate moment to moment in any situation.

This is much more difficult than attaining Enlightenment.

--Zen Master Soeng Hyang

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Zen Master Soeng Hyang (Barbara Rhodes) is the head of the Kwan Um School of Zen.

Dharma Talk on Saturday, April 11

2009-03-29T16:23:00.001-07:00

There will be a public dharma talk at Deming Zen Group on Saturday, April 11, at 11:00 AM.

The topic will be: "Zen Meditation Is Not A Good Idea." There will be a short talk followed by questions and answers. Following the talk there will be tea for anyone who wants to stay and chat.

All are welcome to attend.

Shadow of a Moth

2009-03-26T06:30:00.001-07:00

Last night was our weekly Wednesday evening sitting, and we had a visitor: a moth was drawn in by our single light bulb, which illuminated our "zen hut" as we sat.

Since my eyes were on the carpet, all I saw was an enormous shadow. There was also a flapping sound. Startled, I looked up, expecting to see a bat. My mind was already problem-solving: how do I discretely escort a bat out of here, and am I afraid of bats?

I saw nothing, went back to sitting. Then the shadow and the sound again. The whole process of thinking about bats repeated, and I looked up only to see that my bat was, in fact, a larger than usual moth batting at the light bulb. It was casting a shadow larger than the moth itself.

What an analogy for the distractions caused by objects of mind. Something crosses in front of our light bulb and casts a long shadow. We then misconstrue the shadow and become alarmed by superficial impressions ("It's a bat!"), and soon become distracted from what is right in front of us.

Good teaching, from a moth.

Barb pulled the chain, the light went off, and we sat in the twilight while the moth moved on to light bulbs elsewhere.

More Chanting Books

2009-03-21T11:21:00.001-07:00

Thanks to a little gift from our friends in Silver City, we have two more chanting books for the group for everyone's convenience.

Our normal practice schedule continues tomorrow, Sunday, with chanting at 11:00 AM and sitting beginning around 11:20.

The weather is lovely now, so it should make for comfortable sitting with the birds singing. Also, the two chihuahuas across the street have moved away, which has reduced the dog noise noticeably.

Fundraising Idea: Buy A Mala, Support Your Local Zen Group

2009-03-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Deming is hosting the 44th annual Rockhound Roundup out at the fairgrounds. I almost skipped it, but Sarah lured me out there to walk around and enjoy the giodes, fossils, turquoise, some of it collected around these parts. I didn't know this, but apparently we are in a pretty good area for gems and unusual rocks.

While perusing, I hit upon an idea for a little fundraising activity for the Zen group. Years ago, at the Diamond Hill Zen Monastery, I was taught how to make malas, the beads used to count repetitions of a mantra or prostrations by Buddhists. They also make very good reminders of our practice. For years, I wore a wrist mala (consisting of 27 beads) throughout the day as much to remind me to take a breath as anything else. These days, I have a 108-bead mala made of bone, used to count prostrations or simply to help me focus attention on my breath when I do breathing exercises.

Malas are useful and, when made of gems or other pretty stones, they make pretty good gifts. So people buy 'em, I can make 'em. At the rockhound roundup, I invested in some ocean jasper and other agate beads...

Enough to make a 108-bead mala and a few wrist malas. Proceeds will go to equipping and decorating our Deming Zen Group. What do you think?

No Sitting on Wednesday, March 18

2009-03-13T06:21:00.000-07:00

Already, changes!

Next Wednesday, the 18th, I have a dress rehearsal for a play that opens on March 20, so there will be no sitting that night. Please feel free to keep up the schedule by sitting on your own!

All other times are still on as scheduled...

Sitting Underway

2009-03-12T06:12:00.001-07:00

There were four of us last night, despite it being a little bit chilly and damp. Very soon, we aren't going to need sweaters or blankets; instead, we'll be wondering how to cool the place down.

Our next meeting is Sunday: chanting at 11:00 AM, sitting around 11:20, followed by tea if anyone wants to hang out afterwards.

What's On Our Altar?

2009-03-07T16:20:00.001-08:00

In Korean Buddhist temples, altars have at least three levels and each level is for specific items. On one level, for instance, you have the props used by those leading chanting and sitting practice. Our altar is, necessarily, a very simplified affair with the essential elements all one shelf together.

The white statue depicts Shakyamuni Buddha, the spiritual teacher born Siddhartha Gautama who lived a few hundred years B.C. The figure next the buddha is a wooden carving of Kwan Seum Bosal (better known by the Chinese name Quan Yin), a female figure embodying compassion in the Buddhist tradition, a being who denies salvation for herself so long as any other beings suffer.

The altar includes the elements of fire, water, wind, and earth. Out of view are the lamps that are lit at chanting time. On the other side of the buddha is a cup with incense to offer (the wind offering). Below the buddha is a glass cup with the daily water offering, and the rice in the incense bowl is our offering. (Many times, a Korean altar will have a separate bowl with an offering of rice, but we condensed it here.)

That's our altar, and it is still rather spartan. Behind the buddha there would usually be either a hand-painted calligraphy or, more traditionally, a Buddhist painting (tangka), as seen in the picture below (from our temple Mu Sang Sa in Korea)...

The painting shows various bodhisattvas and great disciples of the buddha, and are typically very colorful, include some gold leaf, and are very precious and expensive works of art.

Anyway, we don't have anything like that. Just our worn wooden walls, the floor, the wind, and this moment.

Come and sit with us tomorrow if you like. We'll be chanting at 11:00, and sitting will begin around 11:25. Be careful of the time, as I hear we are supposed to move our clocks ahead an hour or some silliness. If you show up early, we'll have tea.

Sunday morning sitting starts tomorrow

2009-03-07T05:39:00.001-08:00

Hello there,

Tomorrow we will have our first Sunday morning sit. There will be chanting at 11:00 AM and sitting will begin around 11:25.

Instruction on sitting is available, and there is nothing special involved in the chanting except following along.

Hope to see you there!

Coming soon:

There have been requests for a monthly dharma talk, so we'll schedule something soon. It might be fun to have someone from Silver City Zen Center come down for that.

Don't Check Your Antennae

2009-03-04T06:02:00.000-08:00

Huang Po said, "Your practice is like being an insect with very sensitive antennae." Your mind, your consciousness, your perceptions are like antennae. If your checking mind moves those antennae feelers even the smallest amount, then you've lost your way. Huang Po was saying, don't check. Don't think in terms of opposites, or of yourself as separate from anything. only completely perceive; believe in what you have already. You are already Buddha. Just give yourself to everything.

--Zen Master Soeng Hyang

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There will be practice this evening (Wednesday) at 7:00 PM, starting with chanting followed by sitting. The sitting begins around 7:25 if you need to arrive late. It's a good idea to arrive a few minutes early to get yourself situated.

Meditation instruction is available.

Dress for whatever the temperature is outdoors. If it is cool outside, socks and a sweater might be good.

First Sitting Tomorrow Night

2009-03-03T19:27:00.000-08:00

Our first scheduled sitting is tomorrow night. Chanting is at 7:00, and sitting will start around 7:25.

We sit for half an hour. There are cushions and mats here for your use, and chairs are available on request.

Tonight it was nice and warm out, and after we turn the clocks ahead this week it won't be as dark outside. The garage provides shelter from the wind, but as far as temperature goes, it is like sitting outside. On chillier evenings, socks and thick sweaters are a good idea. Sometime between now and next fall, we'll have a plan in place for heating our space.

Don't be offended if you see a spider scuttling out of the way. Until recently, she probably regarded this space as hers.

A Zen Master Loses Three Minds

2009-03-02T06:06:00.000-08:00

Reprinted from my personal blog, dated 27 June 2007...

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During a retreat at Dharma Zen Center, a student came to the interview room and bowed to the visiting teacher, Zen Master Bon Haeng.

"Good morning," said the teacher. "Any questions?"

"Yes sir," said the student. "Last night we had this dharma talk, and you made three kinds of mind. You made auditory mind, visual mind, and kinesthetic mind. How can we lose these three minds?"

"Let me ask you: what is visual mind?"

"Your mat is blue."

"Correct. And what is auditory mind?"

The student hit the floor. The teacher said, "Is that all?" The student said, "You heard that."

The teacher narrowed his eyes and said, "Not bad. What is kinesthetic mind?"

The student hit the teacher, who laughed and said, "Not bad. But I would have chosen this."

Then the teacher hugged the student. "Thank you for coming."

Zen Master Bon Haeng (Mark Houghton) received dharma transmission from Zen Master Seung Sahn in 2000. He is Guiding Teacher of Cambridge Zen Center and the Open Meadow Zen Group in Massachusetts.

Practice Schedule

2009-03-01T14:09:00.001-08:00

We will begin with 2 weekly sessions, and add a third soon.

So for now, here is our practice schedule:

WEDNESDAY EVENING PRACTICE

7:00 PM Chanting
7:25 PM Sitting

SUNDAY PRACTICE

11:00 AM Chanting
11:25 AM Sitting

Once we get the ball rolling, we will add a weekly early morning session. The day is yet to be determined but the schedule will consist of:

5:00 AM Bowing
5:20 AM Chanting
5:55 AM Sitting

What Our Chanting Sounds Like

2009-03-01T10:10:00.001-08:00

Dharma room in progress

Chanting is part of the practice available at our group. Although one could show up just in time for sitting, chanting is itself a meditation form upheld by the Kwan Um School of Zen, and part of my personal practice. The chants come from the Korean Buddhist tradition, but in Zen the content is not as important as the practice itself, just breathing and making sound with others (or, when I practice alone, making sound along with the birds and the wind).

On this subject, Zen Master Seung Sahn said, "When we bow together and chant together and eat together, our minds become one mind. It is like on the sea. When the wind comes, there are many waves. When the wind dies down, the waves become smaller. When the wind stops, the water becomes a mirror, in which everything is reflected-mountains, trees, clouds. Our mind is the same. When we have many desires and many opinions, there are many big waves. But after we sit Zen and act together for some time, our opinions and desires disappear. The waves become smaller and smaller. Then our mind is like a clear mirror, and everything we see or hear or smell or taste or touch or think is the truth. Then it is very easy to understand other people's minds. Their minds are reflected in my mind. So chanting is very important."

Most of the chants are in Sino-Korean, and chant books are available for participants. When a large group chants together strongly, it is actually rather beautiful. Would you like to hear it? Here are links to MP3 recordings of our chants:

Homage to the Three Jewels

Heart Sutra in Korean

Heart Sutra in English

Great Dharani

Kwan Seum Bosal chanting

We Are All Like Rocks

2009-03-01T06:23:00.001-08:00

This is a story about Zen Master Seung Sahn, founder of my Zen school, as related in a letter written by Mu Bul Sunim, who was among the Zen Master's first western students. "Soen Sa Nim" is Korean for 'Zen Teacher' and refers to Seung Sahn Sunim. I am reprinting this from the Kwan Um School of Zen's archive of teaching articles, which you can view here.

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Before Soen Sa Nim left Korea, we had the great fortune to meet Mrs. So. She has been working for almost a year on getting a bell made for the Providence Zen Center. She went to great trouble and expense to find the right poet and sculptor and foundrymen to do the job. We happened to be here in Seoul just when everything came together, on the day the bell was to be cast. We took a long taxi ride to the town where the foundry was and we all watched for about an hour as the men very carefully assembled the mold. The form for the inside shape of the bell was in one piece, but the outside was made up of three collar-like pieces which had to be placed over the inside form just so. The master foundryman checked each step very carefully. This bell is very big, about six feet tall, and a single mistake at this time would mean a whole year's work shot to hell, so the tension could almost be felt as the final piece of the mold was put in place.

Then, very quickly, the men rushed around getting the chain falls ready to carry the pot of molten bronze and to pour the bronze from the furnaces outside. Then, as they started pouring the red hot liquid from the furnaces into the pouring pot, Soen Sa Nim said something like this, "Originally this metal was ugly rocks. Then the rocks were heated for a long time over a very hot fire until finally they became liquid. Now this liquid will be poured into a mold and take the shape of a big beautiful bell, and when it cools someone will strike the bell and the beautiful sound will fill the whole universe."

Then everything was ready and the men started pouring the liquid bronze into the mold. They poured from two pots, from both sides, and they were very careful to pour both at the same speed, and not to spill. Two men guided each pot which was supported by a chain fall, and their faces were wet with sweating from the work. It seemed it would take forever to fill the huge mold, but finally the master foundryman gave the order to stop pouring and the men backed off the pouring pots. It wasn't quite done yet though. On a Korean temple bell, there is a tube coming out of the top of the bell which carries the air out of the bell when it is struck, making it resonate choong .... like a wa, wa, wongwongwongwong .... chong.

This had to be filled from the top, so one of the men took a longhandled ladle filled from one of the pouring pots and slowly and carefully filled the tube until the red metal overflowed onto the top of the mold.

Then it was finished. The whole room breathed a sigh of relief. The master foundryman was happy. He said the pouring had gone well.

"So," Soen Sa Nim said, "we are all like rocks. And when we practice hard we heat up our hearts making a big hot flame which melts our condition, situation, and opinion until we become like molten metal, ready to assume the shape of a great Bodhisattva, who, when struck with a cry for help, makes a big, deep sound which resonates and fills the whole universe, and makes everybody happy."

So I hope you keep such a mind, and save all people from suffering.

A New Sitting Group Appears

2009-02-28T13:55:00.000-08:00

Home of the Deming Zen Group

Six months ago, a sign went up in the window of the Readers Alcove book shop on Copper Street in downtown Deming. The handprinted sign invited anyone who wanted to sit Zen to call up and come over to sit with me on my front porch, which I had set up as an outdoor dharma room, with a makeshift altar and my collection of zafus. Meanwhile, I was welcomed by the Silver City Zen Center an hour north, and began sitting with them on Saturday mornings in addition to my solo practice on the front porch.

In January, the phone rang -- an experienced meditator had seen my amateurish sign in the bookstore window. Word spread, three more people called, and suddenly the front porch did not seem to offer adequate accommodation. My landlady agreed to rent me the unused garage behind our house, and I set to work hacking the cobwebs and sweeping the place out.

Moktak finds a resting place in the garage

Silver City Zen Center has been very supportive, lending us several zabutons and some additional zafus as well as a lovely area rug. A local couple interested in the group lent us some padding to insulate the cold and uneven concrete floor. I lucked out on a low bid for an altar buddha. Although much can be done in the way of aesthetic improvements, we have everything we need to begin practicing together. Tomorrow is March 1, so in March we begin.

Today and tomorrow, there are meetings scheduled with the five folks who have called and expressed interest. We are discussing schedules and activities of interest, and very soon we should have a weekly practice schedule in place. We will post it here.

New altar buddha

Based on what has already been expressed or requested, it appears that our group will offer regular chanting and sitting practice, meditation instruction for anyone, and a monthly dharma talk. We will have two, perhaps three scheduled practice times per week, to ensure everyone has a chance to participate. For a brand-new sitting group, that is ambitious enough.

This blog will publicize our events, document the beginning of our group, and share words or images of related interest. Please feel free to leave comments, ask questions, and engage in the discussion. If you are in the area and interested in practicing, let us know.

As for me, even if no one comes, how wonderful to have a space for daily practice, and to hang up my worn old dharma robes...

{Compulsory "about me" statement: Began practicing with Zen Master Soeng Hyang (Barbara Rhodes) in Providence, Rhode Island in 1993. A Senior Dharma Teacher in the Kwan Um School of Zen, providing meditation instruction and leading practice wherever I go. Lived at Providence Zen Center, Cambridge Zen Center, served two years as abbot of Dharma Zen Center in Los Angeles, before moving with my family to New Mexico in 2008. I've got a garage full of cushions. Come sit.}