Dharma Life October-November, 2001 A Publication of the Missouri Zen Center 220 Spring Avenue Webster Groves, MO 63119 (314) 961-6138 Potluck Social Event, Oct. 13 All members and friends of the Zen Center are invited to attend a vegetarian potluck on Saturday, Oct. 13 starting at 5 p.m. This one is strictly a social event: a chance for all of us to enjoy each other's company and to sample dishes prepared by the many excellent cooks in our sangha. Please bring a vegetarian dish to share with everyone. If weather permits, we may include a veggie BBQ as part of the proceedings. Interfaith Partnership Tree Planting The Interfaith Partnership of Metropolitan St. Louis is sponsoring tree planting as an environmental project and a religious act. Between 500 and 1000 trees will be planted by local religious groups at Route 66 State Park on Saturday, October 27 and Sunday, October 28. Route 66 State Park is located at the Lewis Road exit (exit 266) off I-44. Meet at the Visitor's Center at 2 p.m. for tree planting. The Board of the Zen Center encourages members and friends of the Zen Center to participate in the tree planting. We have not decided whether to suggest that we participate as a group on a specific date. If we do make this suggestion, we'll post it to the listserv and at the Zen Center. However, don't let a suggested date keep you from attending if the other date works better for you. This is an excellent opportunity to take right action for the environment and to strengthen the Interfaith Partnership at the same time. Participants should bring one shovel per family unit and enough work gloves and bottled water for each family member. The work is easy and fun, since the Missouri Department of Natural Resources pre-drills the planting holes. Participants put the trees in the holes, fill the holes with soil, and water and mulch the trees to get them off to a good start. We expect the Universal Dances of Peace group to attend and lead a couple of circle dances following the planting. Sitting 101 and 202: Classes for Beginners The next Sitting 101 class for beginners will take place on Saturday evening, October 20 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. This class is designed to assist beginners who want to experience Zen meditation with other beginners in a supportive atmosphere. The class provides an introduction to Zen practice that will enable newcomers to learn how to meditate and set a foundation for continued practice. Beginners should arrive promptly at 6:30 p.m. to receive instruction on how to sit zazen and on proper etiquette within the zendo. Sitting will begin at 7 p.m. and last for 20 minutes. Following sitting there will be a discussion about why we meditate and time for questions. Cost will be $15 per person, which includes a copy of the Zen Manual and a coupon for $5 off the price of a zafu purchased at the Zen Center. Attendees should wear loose-fitting, modest clothing that will not distract others. We encourage beginners to enroll in Sitting 202 after completion of Sitting 101. Sitting 202 consists of two sessions. The first session will take place on Saturday, November 3 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. The topic for this session is the life and teachings of Buddha. The second session discusses how our practice applies to our everyday life. It will take place on Saturday, November 10 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Each session includes a 20 minute period of zazen and time to ask questions. Students are asked to arrive on time for both classes. The cost of each session of Sitting 202 is $15 per person. Sitting 202 is offered to people who have previously taken Sitting 101 or who have been attending the Monday evening sittings for beginners. The regular Monday evening sittings are designed especially for beginners. The Monday evening sitting is from 7-7:20 p.m., followed by discussion. These shorter sittings can help people to ease into the practice at their own pace, in a way they can sustain over time. Three people take lay ordination On Sunday, September 16 three members of the Zen Center took lay ordination vows and received dharma names. They are: Will Holcomb - Genro Claire Schosser - Kuryo Jane Seelig - Jien They express their gratitude to the sangha for the support they have received. Sesshin, Dec. 7-9 A day and a half sesshin has been scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 8 through Sunday, Dec. 9, with an option to begin on Friday evening, Dec. 7. The sesshin will begin at 6:20 a.m. on Saturday and will include an oryoki lunch. Sitting will end at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday and resume at 6:20 a.m. on Sunday following the normal Sunday schedule. Cost for the sesshin is $30 and preregistration is requested. Contact the Zen Center to register and indicate if you will be attending the oryoki lunch when you register. Sesshin attendees may begin on Friday evening. The normal Friday schedule will be observed for the first two sittings, followed by kinhin and a third sitting. Sleeping space is available at the Center on both Friday and Saturday nights. You will need to bring your own sleeping bag and towel. We remind attendees that an important part of the sesshin experience is silence. During work periods, please talk no more than is necessary to accomplish a task, and in whispers when necessary. Oryoki is held in silence. Don't worry about doing oryoki perfectly. Follow what others are doing, relax and enjoy the silence and the shared meal. Former St. Louisans and long-term practitioners to speak on October 2 Sara Jenkins and Susan Stone, two dedicated Buddhist practitioners, will return to St. Louis in late September to promote their recently published books. As part of an active "tour," they will be reading from their new books at the Zen Center on Tuesday, October 2, following the evening sitting. Refreshments will be provided. Sara Jenkins is best known as publisher and editor for Zen teacher Cheri Huber. She operates a publishing company known as Present Perfect Books from her new home in western North Carolina, and she is interested in reviewing new manuscripts. She will read from her own book: "This Side of Nirvana: Memoirs of a Spiritually Challenged Buddhist." Her website is www.presentperfectbooks.com. In the mid-1990s Susan Stone was called home from Shasta Abbey in California to care for her mother, who had received a cancer diagnosis. While back in St. Louis, Susan made the change from Zen to Vipassana (Insight Meditation) and spent the last year in residence at the Bhavana Society in West Virginia. She is currently helping to establish a retreat center for lay practitioners in that area. She will read from her book "At the Eleventh Hour: Caring for My Dying Mother." Because of the readings, Mitsu will teach this week's Japanese language class on Wednesday evening, Oct. 3 after sitting. Walk of Compassion and Peace, Oct. 6 The Buddhist Council of St. Louis invites everyone to participate in the Walk of Compassion and Peace to celebrate Mindfulness Day and reflect on the Global Ethic. This walk will take place on Saturday, October 6 beginning at 5:30 p.m. on the Grand Staircase of the Gateway Arch. All people participating in the walk should bring their own flashlight and bottled water and should wear walking shoes. T-shirts will be available for purchase. The Buddhist Council is composed of Mid-America Buddhist Association; Do Ngak Choling Tibetan Buddhist Center; Missouri Zen Center; Kagyu Droden Kunchab; Khenpo Rinpoche's Tsokye Dorje Drolmai Chostsog; St. Louis Insight Meditation Group; Sri Lankan Buddhist Group; Vien Minh Tu (the Vietnamese Temple); and Wat Phrasriratanaram (the Thai Temple). Please join all of us in taking our meditation practice into action and in supporting the awakening of peace and compassion through the Walk of Compassion and Peace. Feel free to publicize the walk within your networks of relatives, friends, and co-workers. Japanese language class, Zen writing group, and Women's Nites Mitsu has begun teaching Japanese after the Tuesday evening sittings. This is an excellent opportunity to learn Japanese in a relaxed, no-pressure atmosphere. During the first week of October only, the Japanese language class will be held on Wednesday to avoid conflicting with readings scheduled for that Tuesday evening. Rick Fischer is continuing to lead the Zen writing group on Wednesday evenings following sitting. Their writing process follows that developed by Natalie Goldberg, a student of Katagiri's and author of Wild Mind, Writing Down the Bones, and other works. The group welcomes new writers. Women's Nite is held on the third Wednesday evening of every month starting at 8 p.m. and offers women a chance to talk about our practice from the perspective of people for whom the practice has often been less available than it is now. Support the Zen Center by Baking Bread Our last fund-raising event of the year, the preparation and sale of delicious baked goods for the end of the year holidays, is set to begin. Following the Saturday morning sitting on each Saturday during October and November, we will prepare such items as banana and zucchini breads and various kinds of muffins. Preparation will take place at the Zen Center unless otherwise announced via the listserv or posting at the Zen Center. Those who have helped bake in past years will remember that a few of the loaves and muffins fail our quality control each week. They aren't wasted. Please join us for sitting and baking whenever you can during October and November. This is yet another opportunity to bring the focussed attention developed in our meditation practice into action and to support the continued existence of the Zen Center. We are grateful for your help. E-mail Discussion List To subscribe to the Missouri Zen CenterÕs e-mail discussion list, send an e-mail message to , leave the subject field blank and in the message body type Òsubscribe mzcÓ. You will then receive a confirmation message (including instructions on how to unsubscribe). Please only subscribe the e-mail address of individuals; do not subscribe other mailing lists or forwarders to our list. Also, be responsible for anything you forward to people who have not requested it. Zen 101: Non-attachment by Ando "Attaching to nothing, generate mind" The Buddha, in the Diamond Sutra These are the words of the Buddha that awakened the young and illiterate Hui-neng, who became the legendary Sixth Patriarch of Zen. Hui-neng says, in the Platform Sutra: "All things good or bad, beautiful or ugly---should be treated as void. Even in time of disputes and quarrels, we should treat our intimates and our enemies alike and never think of retaliation. In the exercise of our thinking faculty, let the past be dead. If we allow our thoughts, past, present and future, to link up in a series, we put ourselves under restraint. On the other hand, if we never let our mind attach to anything, we shall gain emancipation. For this reason, we take 'Non-attachment' as our fundamental principle." Simply stated, attach and be bound, don't attach and be free. The First Patriarch of Soto Zen, Dogen Zenji, writes in The Genjokoan: "To be enlightened by all things is to be free from attachment (non-attachment) to the body and mind of one's self and others." In the Shobogenzo Zuimonki, Dogen Zenji says that Awakening is the manifestation of Wholeness. Emptying ourselves of egoism and attachment to the material world, we transcend duality. Attachment is the statement of dualistic thinking. Dr. Yoshida speaks often of the world problems associated with attachment to the false barriers of race, creed, color, and national origin---the duality of "us and them." For this reason, he supports the "Declaration of a Global Ethic." The Declaration is founded on universal spiritual principles as expressed in the Precepts of Buddhism. In essence, the Precepts teach the realization of Wholeness or Oneness, and the elimination of attachment based on dualistic thinking. Non-attachment is our "fundamental principle" and zazen is the practice through which we realize the Limitless (unbound and free) Life of the Awakened (non-attached) Way. Please come sit with us! Sesame Noodle Recipe Everyone who worked at this year's Japanese Festival had ample opportunity to enjoy the sesame noodle recipe that Meiku developed. For those of you who would like to recreate this dish at home, here is the recipe. It can be adjusted up or down to fit the quantity of noodles you wish to cook. Sesame Noodles 1 lb dry noodles 1 c soy sauce 1 c sugar 1 c oil 1 c gomasio or tahini 2 T finely chopped ginger Cook noodles to taste. Heat soy sauce and ginger. Add sugar, oil, and gomasio or tahini. Stir to dissolve all ingredients. Pour sauce onto cooked noodles and toss. Dharma Talks by Dr. Rosan Yoshida Here are two of Rosan's talks from the two weeks following the plane attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon: The air is chilly. A big branch fell by the wind. The storm and the sun raced to take off a traveler's coat. The storm blew, and the traveler tightened his coat. The sun shined, the traveler took off his coat. Violence is not the way to peace, much less terrorism. Tribalism is not the way to truth, much less ego. Gandhi said, "There is no way to peace. Peace is the way." The Buddha said, "Each claims its own truth. That means no absolute truth there." Thus, both renounced violence and won the universal truth. "Only truth wins." "If force wins, truth loses." If violence wins, all lose. Victims, the weak, become loser. Perpetrator, the strong, becomes the only winner. The strong is enslaved to force willingly, and enslaved by the world which gives in to force. Whatever we possess, we are possessed, enslaved, lost in limited life. Thus, all lose. No one is winner in violence, terrorism, wars. Everyone wins in truth and peace, in limitless life, the total system in time and space. If calm and clear, we see the universal truth of dependent co-origination, limitless interdependence. To stop the vicious spiral, we must settle in universal truth and peace. Bring perpetrators, who became victimized to the self and the world, to the court of universal truth and peace. Give them the chance to admit and regret their own delusions and violence. Let the society also regret their own delusions and irresponsibility. Then, the whole world join in the universal principles of solving problems in truth and peace, in universal ethical rules. No one has the right to kill part and parcel of the limitless life _____________________________ The One who desires happiness causing other's suffering, Is not free from enmity entangled in the enmity binding. (Dhammapada 291) Victory begets enmity. In suffering the defeated lie down. Beyond victory and defeat, in happiness the calm lie down. (Op.cit.201) Enmities are never appeased by enmity here, But by non-enmity. This is the truth forever. (Op. Cit. 5) Whatever a hater does to a hater or an enemy to an enemy, Nothing does greater harm than the mind directed wrongly. (Op. cit. 42) Conquer one self, not thousands upon thousands, In the battlefield he is the supreme conquerer. (Op. cit. 103) Lotus flowers grow out of muddy water, and are never attached by it, containing already fruits in themselves. Great lotus flowers bloom in Hiroshima and elsewhere from seeds unearthed from sites thousands of years old. No powers survive so long. A cornered mouse attacks a cat. A baited cat grows as fierce as a lion. A baited cat can never become a lion, however fierce, much less a great lotus flower. All animals are essentially supported by plants and are not so beautiful and peaceful as flowers and fruits. Sticking to self is the source of savagery and suffering. The world trade centers were ablaze and collapsed. "The world is ablaze: the eyes are ablaze, the ears, nose, tongue, body and mind are ablaze." Many minds are ablaze with madness and folly. Tit for tat spirals debase one to the same madness and folly, wider and worse, with no end. After me the deluge attitude comes from small self, leading even to nuclear inferno. The only one wise solution is prevention, with no loss of life, saving all life. Madness and folly are cured only by education and engagement, not by force and fear. The three poisons of delusion, greed and hatred damage and doom everything. Humans have been shedding blood and tears in five calamities of delusion, bondage, discrimination, exploitation and extermination through the pyramidal power structure of civilization (urbanization). War started between city states and still continues among national states. Politics lag far behind the globalization process. To cope with the global problematique (population, poverty, resources, environment, species, etc.) we urgently need the global ethic (no killing, no stealing, no lying, equal partnership between men and women) endorsed and enforced. To avoid the hell fire, we need to go beyond secular spirals of winning and gaining, vicious circle of the self samsara (transmigration). To do this we must be freed from being blown about by karmas (habits) and shared karma (situations), bodies and minds (past and present karmas), the three poisons, the small selves. Sit and see, calm and clear, far enough into the reality of dependent origination so as to attain unconditioned peace (nirvana) and unsurpassed awakening (anuttara samyak sambodhi).