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W I N T E R / S P R I N G 2 0 0 9C O N T E N T SThe Blue Cliff Record Case 97 Eido Shimano Roshi 2Harvest Sesshin: Day Five Eido Shimano Roshi 7The Eloquent Silence of Nyogen Senzaki Shingeshitsu Roko Sherry Chayat 12Nen : Intense Thought Eido Shimano Roshi 19Profound Gratitude Aiho Yasuko Shimano 24Lankavatara Sutra Shokan Undo Osho 25Ichi Go Ichi E Fujin Butsudo 26Nyogen Senzaki Memorial Pilgrimageto Los Angeles Yayoi Karen Matsumoto 28What is THIS? Koju Agung Hertanto 32New York Zendo Shobo-ji News 34Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji News 36New York Zendo Shobo-ji Schedule 2009 42Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji Schedule 2009 43New York Zendo . Shobo-ji 223 East 67th Street New York, NY 10065-6002 (212) 861-3333office@newyorkzendo.orgDai Bosatsu Zendo . Kongo-ji 223 Beecher Lake Road Livingston Manor, NY 12758-6000 (845) 439-4566office@daibosatsu.orgEditors: Jokei Kyodo, Seigan Ed Glassing News: Seigan Ed Glassing, Giun KendoEditorial Assistance and Proofreading: Giun Kendo, Daiden Charles M.Young, Myodo Matthew PerezDesign: Genno Linda KingCalligraphy:Yume ("Dream") pg.6: Nyogen Senzaki, Enso pg 44: Nakagawa Soen RoshiPhoto credits: Facing page, pgs 28, 34: Daishin Pawel Wojtasik; pg 19: Myodo Matthew Perez; pgs 20, 39: Jokei Kyodo;pg 27: Fujin Butsudo; pg 31: Aiho Yasuko Shimano; pg 37: Nina Current; pg 38: Jinen Nancy Woodard, pg 40: ZenshoMartin Hara; Front & back covers, pgs 17, 45 (top): Genno Linda KingNew York Zendo Shobo-Ji 40th AnniversaryFront and back cover see page 36Published by The Zen Studies Society, Inc. Eido T. Shimano Roshi, Abbot.We ask that no part of this newsletterbe reproduced without our permission. © 2009 The Zen Studies Society, Inc.1

Hekiganroku, The Blue Cliff RecordCase 97: The Diamond Sutra’s “The Transgression is Wiped Out”Eido Shimano Roshi‘Completely exposed,’ says Setcho again.That was in September. Naturally Iasked him, “How long will it take?” Hesaid, “At the latest, by January.” I toldhim, “Fine, very good . . . please let usknow the price.”Engo’s Introduction:If you take up one and let two go, you arenot yet expert.To understand three cornerswhen one is presented still goes against theessence of the teaching. Even if you canmove heaven and earth at once, the fourdirections clash like thunder, flash like lightning,upset the ocean, overturn mountainsand pour like a torrent . . . you still fall farshort of it.Is there anyone among you who can controlthe center of the heavens? An axle of theearth?Main Subject:The Diamond Sutra says, "Furthermore, ifvirtuous men and women who receive thisteaching are downtrodden, their unfortunatedestiny is the inevitable result ofkarma committed in their past mortal lives.By virtue of their present misfortune, theeffect of their past will be worked out, andthen they'll be in a position to realizesupreme enlightenment."Verse:The clear jewel is in my palm.Whoever is accomplishedwill be rewarded with it.When neither foreigner nor native comes,It has utterly no abilities.Since it has no abilities,the evil one loses the way.Gautama, Gautama,do you know me or not?Today's teisho will be dedicated toChoro-An Nyogen Zenji Dai Osho, alsoknown as Nyogen Senzaki.We have just completed our seven-daysesshin at Dai Bosatsu Zendo to commemoratethe 50th Anniversary of hisdeparture. He died on May 7th, 1958. Iassume many of you know a little bitabout him. But, the main questions Iwould like to point out are: After all,who was Nyogen Senzaki? What did hedo in America? And where did he go?“Choro” literally means “Morning Dew,”so Choro-An is “Hut of Morning Dew.”“Nyogen” means “Like a Fantasy.” Itcomes from the Diamond Sutra. At thevery end, it says, “All composite thingsare like a dream, like a fantasy. Like abubble and a shadow. Like a dewdropand a flash of lightning. They are thus tobe regarded.”At the end of sesshin, we normally havea cup of tea together in the ceremonialway, in silence, and I speak. This time, myextemporaneous remarks went somethingas follows: “Seven days have passedlike a dream, like a fantasy.” And, believeit or not, I still feel as though I am in thatrealm. Usually, we live in an “upsidedownview” world, and it’s hard for us tosee things right-side-up. The DiamondSutra verse is well-expressed – the“right-side-up view.”It is necessary for me to use everydaylanguage to describe the life of NyogenSenzaki. He was born, it is said, in 1876,just one hundred years before the birthof Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji. And hepassed away on May 7th, 1958, just tenyears before New York Zendo Shobo-jiwas established.This may be just coincidence . . . or,maybe not.I’ll tell you of two uncanny stories – theymay give you hints as you look at his life.The first: Last summer, when I was inSwitzerland, a friend of mine said to me,“Roshi, is everything okay?” I said,“Yeah,everything is okay except . . .” And, I didnot say anything. The following day hesaid: “Except what?”“Well,” I said, “our tatami mats in DaiBosatsu Zendo are getting old – thirtyoneyears old.” And he said, “Okay, I’lltake care of that.” So, I immediately gotin touch with my friend in Japan, whohad donated all of our tatami mats overthirty years ago. I said to him,“This timewe’ll pay; can you do it again?” And hereplied,“It would be my honor.”I was thinking they would arrive inJanuary, or at the latest, February. Butthere were lots of problems importingthe tatami mats. Inspection at customstook many, many days and months. Also,we wanted to install tatami in theDokusan room, so it needed some carpentrywork. Finally, the tatami cameand were installed in the Zendo andDharma Hall. The carpentry in theDokusan room was completed two daysbefore sesshin began. In other words, allthis was presented and prepared to welcomeNyogen Senzaki on the occasionof his 50th anniversary. In April, a few ofus even took a pilgrimage to Los Angelesspecifically to invite him and bring himback with us. We received our newlyinstalled tatami in perfect timing. If theyhad come in January, it would not havebeen as dramatic as this. And none of usplanned it this way . . . it just happened!Here is the second uncanny story: As Isaid, Nyogen Senzaki’s name is Choro-An, which means “Morning Dew”. Thisspring, a young lady came to Dai BosatsuZendo intending to stay for a few days,but for some reason she extended herstay to one month. And she even wantedto stay for a kessei – not knowinganything about Nyogen Senzaki, notknowing anything about us having this50th Anniversary sesshin. So she is nowat DBZ. One day she told me, “Believeit or not, in Hebrew my name means‘Morning Dew.’” And she said that eversince she came, some unknown poweror energy has been urging her to stay at2WINTER / SPRING 2009 3

DBZ. “Now I understand the reasonwhy I am here,” she said. “And I have amission to stay here. My name is‘Morning Dew.’”Nyogen Senzaki became a Buddhistmonk at the age of nineteen and practicedat Engaku-ji in Kamakura underSoyen Shaku Roshi. In 1905 he came toAmerica.I am going to read some of his newly discoveredletters. This is only an excerptwritten to his father and mother on May18th, 1906. He said (of course, this waswritten in Japanese and I translated):To state it briefly, there are three purposesfor my coming to America. One is to raisefunds for the operation of theMentorgarten in Aomori prefecture. Butbecause of the problems I have been havingwith my eyes, I was not allowed to be on thesame boat as my teacher Soyen ShakuRoshi. This eye disease also caused anunexpected problem in obtaining the trustof the Russell Family.Mrs. Russell was, in fact, the firstAmerican Zen student. Soyen Shakustayed at her home for about a monthor so, and the original arrangement wasthat Nyogen Senzaki was also going tostay there. But somehow, this eye diseasecaused some complications.The second purpose is for my own study.Since my main vocation is the BuddhaDharma, I may not be able to pursue ordinaryacademic studies. However, I am nowstaying with a schoolteacher and she isteaching me rhetoric, and perhaps somedayI can be a journalist for an American newspaper.But the main reason for my comingto America is to transmit Zen to this country.That’s why my teacher, Soyen Shaku,used his own pocket money to pay for mytravel expenses, though my teacher has nowleft San Francisco and we are apart fromone another. What I am doing here now isenduring what is hard to endure. Doingwhat is difficult to do. I have been doing allkinds of work, including grooming horses.While working together with immigrantsfrom Europe and Africa, I always tell myselfthat the land on which I now stand maysomeday become the land of BuddhaDharma. The person who punched metoday may someday become a Buddha. Theperson who treated me with contempt mayeventually become happy. I keep repeatingthis to myself. It’s just like the Bodhisattvawho is mentioned in the Lotus Sutra, JoFukyo Bosatsu. He bowed to everyone hemet saying, “You will become a Buddha.”People became angry because they thoughthe was making fun of them. They beat himwith sticks and stones. He did not stopbowing to them, always repeating, “You willbecome a Buddha.”The next letter was written to his friendMr. Miyamoto in 1928:I’m now sowing some inconspicuous Dharmaseeds, and I will likewise end my life in thiscountry inconspicuously. But I am convincedthat fifty years from now, the seeds I havesown will sprout, and true Buddha Dharmawill shine in America. I have made many sacrifices,but I am following my teacher SoyenShaku’s will. And this is my main purpose forcoming to America.I just turned fifty-two years old. My hair hasbecome white, and perhaps you may notrecognize me. Essentially, what I am doingis tsuyubarai: cultivating the soil so theBuddha Dharma may successfully be transplantedto America.This is another very uncanny happening:This February I was in Japan, and I wasasked to give a talk on Nyogen Senzaki,which I did. Upon my return from Japanto Dai Bosatsu Zendo, I found a packagefrom someone and a letter saying,“These are the letters written byNyogen Senzaki to his parents. Perhapsthey will be useful for you.” And the letters,only parts of which I have readnow, are from that package. NyogenSenzaki did not expect his private lettersto be sent back to America fifty yearsafter his death. So, through these letters,we are able to know about his lifein San Francisco.There was some kind of anti-Japanesemovement in the early 1930s, and persecutionwas all over – he had to carry apistol whenever he went out, to protecthimself. Passing through all these seeminglydifficult days, he continued to workand study and sow the seed of BuddhaDharma in American soil.This kind of everyday-language explanationis rather easy for you to understand,but that is not the main purposeof my talk tonight.Who was Nyogen Senzaki? What did hedo in America? Where did he go?The Diamond Sutra says,Furthermore, if virtuous men and womenwho receive this teaching are downtrodden,their unfortunate destiny is the inevitableresult of karma committed in their pastmortal lives. By virtue of their present misfortune,the effect of their past will beworked out, and then they will be in a positionto realize supreme enlightenment.The Diamond Sutra was written aboutfour hundred years after ShakyamuniBuddha’s entering Parinirvana. In otherwords, it did not come from ShakyamuniBuddha’s mouth like Atta Dipa, which isundoubtedly the direct teaching ofShakyamuni Buddha.However, he had many awakened studentsand each student had anotherawakened student, and with the readinessof time, they got together and compiledthe teachings of ShakyamuniBuddha. One of them was the DiamondSutra. The essence of it is sunyata: “Allcomposite things are like a dream, a fantasy,a bubble and a shadow. Like a dewdropand flash of lightning.” All these wecan see, but we cannot grasp. As phenomenathey exist, but as entities, theydon’t. They are thus to be realized. Theyare thus to be regarded. This is theessence of the Diamond Sutra.“Furthermore, if virtuous men andwomen who receive this teaching aredowntrodden,” – oppressed or treatedbadly, like Nyogen Senzaki was in SanFrancisco – “their unfortunate destinyis the inevitable result of karma committedin their past mortal lives. Byvirtue of their present misfortune, theeffect of their past will be worked out,and then they will be in a position torealize supreme enlightenment.” Thisis too rational; too logical. The real isnot rational.In order to understand the DiamondSutra, we must realize our own truenature. To realize our own true naturemeans understanding that there is nosuch thing as the evil karma committedby our own past lives. Thus, there are nosins to be extinguished.This is the real point. This is why we aredoing zazen.4 WINTER / SPRING 2009 5

We often say we have lots of accumulatedevil karma. By chanting Purification,little by little, all these karmic defilementswill be gone, and then someday,when we become completely pure, we’llall be enlightened. This is too rational,too logical. We are already enlightenedanyway; we simply don’t know it yet.We’re too suspicious to accept this – itsounds too good to be true.At the same time, perhaps all of youhave tasted this much when your zazenis really good: No border between youand others. No border between youand the good earth. And when youexhale, the universe exhales . . . whenyou inhale the universe inhales.As Nyogen Senzaki said in one of hispoems, “America has Zen all the time.Why, my teacher, should I meddle?” Notonly America – Africa has Zen all thetime. Why should I meddle? Or, can Imeddle? Can we meddle?I’m going to make up a new word:unmeddleability. We think we are bumpkins.“Some day we’ll be enlightened.”No! You already are – always – enlightened.And none of you believe this. Itsounds too good to be true.The problem for our practice is not ourpain, our drowsiness, or our thoughts, butsimply our lack of faith in the Dharma.That’s it!Muslims face Mecca and do prostrationsfive times a day. They may have theirown reasons, but we can learn a lot fromtheir dedication. If we do, our heartsmay become softer, less arrogant, andless suspicious.To understand the Diamond Sutra, inshort, is to understand our mind:“All composite things are like a dream,a fantasy, bubble and a shadow. Likea dewdrop and flash of lightning . . .”The greatest mistake we all make –which we don’t even realize that we’remaking – is to think, “This body is mybody.” This is the biggest mistake.So, to requite the beneficence which wereceived from the struggle of NyogenSenzaki and various teachers who triedto transplant this tradition from East toWest is to understand, experientially:Who was Nyogen Senzaki? What did hedo? Where did he go?If you want to truly realize the essenceof the Diamond Sutra, the answer is verysimple: Who was Nyogen Senzaki? Hewas nobody. What did he do inAmerica? He did nothing. Where did hego? He did not go anyplace.This is really like a dream, like a fantasy.After fifty years, he is shining more thanever!Having bid farewellto the far native countryWind and moon are in harmonyNot despising utter povertyYou continued to live in true ZenThe hut of morning dewis like a dream, like a fantasyFifty years have passedsince you departed ❖Dai Bosatsu Zendo Harvest Sesshin 2008Day Five TeishoEido Shimano RoshiThis morning we heard wonderful news:that Senator Obama was elected ournext President of the United States. Isay that it is wonderful, because it seemsto me that the United States of Americabecame enlightened. I would like to saysomething about the karmic connectionbetween Dai Bosatsu Zendo and thishistorical event.I have noticed that this Sesshin we have somany people from foreign countries.Japan, China, Vietnam, Canada, Poland,Holland, France, Austria, and Switzerland.I believe most of you are quite familiarwith the history of the United States, butI would like to convey something aboutthe karmic connection between DBZ andthe history of this country, as well as mypersonal karmic connection withPresident-elect Obama, though we havenever met face-to-face.In February of 1971, for the first time, Idrove up to this Beecher Lake property.It was a beautiful cold day. There was nomonastery of course, no gate house, nogarage, and no woodshed. Only BeecherHouse. When I came to that bridge bySangha Meadow (DBZ's cemetery), Ithought “At last – we found the place forus to build the monastery.” So I said toMr. Johnston, “This is it.” This was evenbefore we negotiated with the propertyowner. At that time, I had no idea thatthis frozen place we had driven past wasa lake called Beecher Lake. Later I foundout that the name “Beecher” came fromthe Beecher family, and that one of themembers of the Beecher family wasHarriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote UncleTom's Cabin. Those of you who have notyet read Uncle Tom's Cabin, by HarrietBeecher Stowe, please read it. Thisnovel boldly criticizes slavery, andPresident Lincoln was immensely movedby it. As you all know, President Lincolnsigned what is known as the“Emancipation Proclamation” in 1863. Iwill return to that subject in a moment.On the last Thursday of November, wecelebrate Thanksgiving Day. If my understandingis correct, Thanksgiving inAmerica began in 1621. The Pilgrimsfrom England left their country as aresult of increasingly hostile religiouspersecution. The Protestants becameprotestants, really ‘in protest.’ So theycame to this new continent, and werecalled ‘Pilgrims.’ From their point ofview, it was a religious pilgrimage. ButNative Americans were already here.This particular spot by Beecher Lakewas one of the spots the NativeAmericans discovered and lived in. Theyhad some special intuition that this placehas ki (spiritual energy) and would be agood place for them to live. From their6 WINTER / SPRING 2009 7

point of view, the Pilgrims were not welcome– it was an invasion. In the earlydays here, the Pilgrims struggled to survive,and when the first harvest tookplace, they thanked God by celebratingThanksgiving Day. At any rate, becausethese pilgrims were from England, andbecause they were white, and Protestant– they are called WASPs – White Anglo-Saxon Protestants – and they becamethe most influential group of people inthis country.During the American Revolution, on July4th, 1776, this nation declared herIndependence. Two hundred years later,on July 4th, Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongojiwas dedicated.The Civil War was between the northernpart of the United States, such asour New York area, where industry andbusiness were the essence of livelihood;and the southern part, like Georgia,Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, whereagriculture was the essence of livelihood.Unlike nowadays, use ofmachines was limited, so human energyand human power were indispensable.And this is how slavery came about.There are still such terms existing:“slave-trade” and “slave-ship.” In otherwords, human beings were purchased ortraded from Africa and the West Indies.They were brought to the United Statesfor agricultural labor. The Civil War, tostate it briefly, was the disagreementbetween two parts of the United States– the North, where slavery was unnecessary,and the South, where slavery wasconsidered essential. So they fought.The Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865.In 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed theEmancipation Proclamation, and laterthat year in the Gettysburg Address, hesaid, “A government of the people, bythe people, and for the people,” whichstill is considered the foundation ofDemocracy. Abraham Lincoln was assassinatedin 1865.1963 – exactly one hundred years afterthe signing of the EmancipationProclamation – was a year which I shallnever forget. Two important eventstook place. I was already in America, andthe Civil Rights movement was quiteactive. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was thehead of that movement, and in August1963 his well-known “I Have a Dream”speech was delivered in Alabama. Laterthat very year, in November, John F.Kennedy was assassinated. He was nota WASP. He was the first CatholicPresident of the United States; and hewas also quite active in the Civil Rightsmovement.The Martin Luther King speech, “I Havea Dream” is quite poetic, and of course,addresses lots of political and sociologicalissues, but some part is relevant forme to share with you now:“Five score years ago, a great American, inwhose symbolic shadow we stand today,signed the Emancipation Proclamation.Thismomentous decree came as a great beaconlight of hope to millions of Negro slaves whohad been seared in the flames of witheringinjustice. It came as a joyous daybreak toend the long night of their captivity.But one hundred years later, the Negro stillis not free. One hundred years later, the lifeof the Negro is still sadly crippled by themanacles of segregation and the chains ofdiscrimination. One hundred years later, theNegro lives on a lonely island of poverty inthe midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.One hundred years later, the Negrois still languishing in the corners of Americansociety, and finds himself an exile in his ownland. So we have to come here today todramatize a shameful condition.”Dr. King speaks about how black peoplewere unhappy victims of discrimination,and he describes this very powerfully andaccurately. Then he says to the audience:“Go back to Mississippi, go back toAlabama, go back to South Carolina, goback to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, goback to the slums and ghettos of our northerncities, knowing that somehow this situationcan and will be changed.Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. Isay to you today my friends – so eventhough we face the difficulties of today andtomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dreamdeeply rooted in the American dream.I have a dream that one day this nation willrise up and live out the true meaning of itscreed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident,that all men are created equal."I have a dream that one day on the red hillsof Georgia the sons of former slaves and thesons of former slave owners will be able to sitdown together at the table of brotherhood.I have a dream that one day even the stateof Mississippi, a state sweltering with theheat of injustice, sweltering with the heat ofoppression, will be transformed into an oasisof freedom and justice.I have a dream that my four little childrenwill one day live in a nation where they willnot be judged by the color of their skin butby the content of their character.”And it goes on. It's a really wonderfulspeech.Forty years ago, a few months beforeShobo-ji was dedicated, the BuddhistChurch in Chicago invited me to comeand give a talk on Buddhism – onBuddha's birthday. So in April of 1968, Iwent to Chicago, and it was upon myreturn that I heard the news that MartinLuther King had been assassinated.Later, while Dai Bosatsu Zendo wasbeing built, it became clear in my heartthat the dedication day for Dai BosatsuZendo must be on July 4th, 1976 –because each of us has our own slaveryconditionedheart. It does not have anycolor, it does not have any visual form,but we all know that our minds and ourhearts are not yet emancipated. So, ourown personal “emancipation proclamation”was declared on July 4th, 1976;because just two hundred years beforethat, America declared her independence,and a Buddhist monastery is aplace where each participant strives forspiritual emancipation. That's why thatparticular date and that particular yearwere selected.Actually, to say so is not quite right.Even though we wanted to open DBZon July 4th, 1976, if the circumstancesdid not allow us – for example, if welacked the building funds – nothing couldhave happened. But somehow theMandala web connects all things; nothingis disconnected. The Mandala web madeit possible for us to open on that day.8WINTER / SPRING 2008 9

As you know very well, many peoplelaugh at me and say, “You are like DonQuixote, why do you sing ‘TheImpossible Dream’ again and again?”Because this is my “I Have a Dream.”Martin Luther King's dream was what Ihave just read to you. And my“Impossible Dream” came from theBroadway musical, Man of La Mancha.There is a verse which goes:This is my quest, to follow that starno matter how hopeless,no matter how far;to fight for the right,without question or pause;to be willing to marchinto hell for a heavenly cause.This part is just like our zazen practice;our emancipation training.This is my quest.No matter how hopeless . . .Sometimes you feel despair, asMartin Luther King said.No matter how far . . .Ten years, twenty years, three lifetimes,five lifetimes.To fight for the rightwithout question or pause;To be willing to marchinto hell for a heavenly causeAnd I know if I’ll only be trueto this glorious quest . . .This is what Man of La Mancha's“Impossible Dream” is telling us: this isthe attitude for us to take in our practice.Not only people from Africa, but manyLatinos and Asians also came into thiscountry. The WASP is becoming aminority. When Martin Luther Kingmade his speech “I Have a Dream,”Senator Obama was two years old; hewas just a baby! Forty-five years later,Martin Luther King's dream is starting tocome true. At last, citizens of the UnitedStates are truly enlightened, knowingthat if we were to continue under thepresent circumstances for four moreyears, or eight more years, we'd be likehundreds of people crammed into asmall room without oxygen. And so, weelected Obama.Two days before the election – Nov. 2nd– his grandmother passed away inHawaii; and when I heard that she passedaway not knowing whether or not herbeloved grandson will become thePresident of the United States, I thought“Obama will win.” Not because somesympathetic votes would go in his favor –in fact, her death was not widely publicized.Nevertheless, I heard it fromsomeone, and I was convinced that herdeath is the birth of a new United Statesof America. For this reason I was reallyhappy when I heard the news yesterday.As all of you are quite aware, all thoseoutstanding leaders – Abraham Lincoln,John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King –were assassinated by someone who didn’tlike change, and I sincerely hope thatthat won't happen to Senator Obama,our President-elect. If that happens,'despair' is really the only word I canthink of. For some of you, despairbecomes stimulation or encouragementfor your practice; and some of you maysimply lose hope and may give up yourpractice. This is the reason why such a. . . almost messiah . . . came to this nationat the most appropriate time, with suchcharisma, virtue and intelligence. And I'mso glad that American citizens, or a substantialpart of us, supported him – thushe will become our President on January20th, 2009.In his acceptance speech in Chicago,Obama said,“We made it. We shall overcome.”After nearly two years of campaigning:We made it. We shall overcome.And he was not only speaking toblack people: “We” means all of us. Wemade it. We shall overcome.So this is the connection between DaiBosatsu Zendo and the “EmancipationProclamation.” And we – not I – we havea dream. We must have a dream.Dogen Zenji said,Setsu ni omou koto waKanarazu toguru nariWhich means: “Whatever it may be, ifyou think of something desperately,sooner or later it will become true.”Martin Luther King's dream took placeforty-five years from the day he spoke it– nearly half a century has passed. But,“No matter how hopeless, no matterhow far; to fight for the right withoutquestion or pause . . .” Though BarackObama is not the descendant of slaves,through his dedication to break downracial barriers, he made Martin LutherKing’s dream come true by becomingthe President of the United States.Now let me tell you my personal connectionwith President-elect Obama. Icame to the University of Hawaii inAugust, 1960. That year, Barack Obama’sfather came from from Kenya toHonolulu to be a student of that university.His mother, originally from Kansas,moved to Seattle, Washington with herparents before moving to Honolulu.Seattle is the city where Nyogen Senzakifirst landed in 1905. It is also the citywhere Chester Carlson was born thatsame year. After moving to Honolulu,Obama’s mother became a student atthe University, and this is where she metBarack Obama Sr. They met on campus.The following year, on August 4th, 1961,Barack Obama Jr. was born in Hawaii.After finishing high school, he went toOccidental College near Pasadena,California. Because Pasadena andMishima (where Ryutaku-ji is located)are sister cities, I had the opportunity totravel to Pasadena several times duringthe mid-’60s. Obama attendedColumbia University in New York in theearly ’80s. After graduation he moved toChicago. This is the city where theWorld Parliament of Religions tookplace in 1893, where Soyen Shaku introducedBuddhism for the first time to theWest. In my opinion, Barack Obama ispart of the Dai Bosatsu Mandala web.This nation was made by NativeAmericans, WASPs, Africans, Jews,Europeans, Latinos, and Asians. Now weare really becoming more and morediverse. I am so glad that SenatorObama was elected, and so glad thatAmerican people, with enlightened eyes,have chosen him to be the next leader ofthis nation. At last we realize the injusticeof this unreasonable discrimination.Whether black, white, yellow or red, weall have two eyes that are horizontal andone nose that is vertical. ❖10 WINTER / SPRING 2009 11

The Eloquent Silence of Nyogen SenzakiShingeshitsu Roko Sherry ChayatCompiling and editing Eloquent Silence:Nyogen Senzaki’s Gateless Gate and OtherPreviously Unpublished Teachings andLetters was a profoundly moving experience,one through which I felt an everdeepeningin-nen with this pioneer ofZen in America.Two years ago, knowing that the 50thanniversary of Nyogen Senzaki’s passingwould occur in 2008, we were thinkingabout ways of commemorating hisinspiring life. In direct response, the DaiBosatsu Mandala exerted its magic. Inthe fall of 2006 I received a telephonecall from Josh Bartok, senior editor atWisdom Publications. He said he hadrecently received a collection ofXeroxed pages of what appeared to betranscriptions of talks by NyogenSenzaki, including commentaries on theGateless Gate. Would I be interested inediting this material?I immediately got in touch with EidoRoshi, and he agreed that this wouldindeed be a worthy project, one thatwould continue the work he had startedwith Namu Dai Bosa: A Transmission of ZenBuddhism to America and the two editionsof Like a Dream, Like a Fantasy (the secondedition of which I had worked on withhim). In August 1960, when Eido Roshi(then Tai-san) was about to leave for theUnited States, Soen Roshi had given himthree boxes containing Nyogen Senzaki’smanuscripts, asking him to publish themas the opportunity arose. Before hepassed away in 1984, Soen Roshi namedEido Roshi literary executor of all hiswork and holdings, including NyogenSenzaki’s writings.Eido Roshi and I met to discuss the projectjust before the start of RohatsuSesshin 2006. We looked at theXeroxed pages Josh had sent me. Myexcitement grew when Eido Roshi toldme about letters from Nyogen Senzakito his teacher, Soyen Shaku Roshi.Theseincluded two written in the late 1800sand early 1900s, before Nyogen Senzakicame to the United States. Sharply criticalof Japanese Buddhism, they were inold-style kanji, and would be very hardto translate, Roshi said. I began thinkingof Japanese friends of a certain age whomight still recognize those kanji.Eido Roshi then showed me old, fadedXeroxes of Nyogen Senzaki’s poetry, inhis beautiful calligraphy, with his ownEnglish translations typed or hand-writtenon each page. Roshi rememberedseeing the originals of these poems whenvisiting Duncan McCandless, a son ofRuth Strout McCandless, many years agoin California, and suggested I try to findhim so that we might scan some of theoriginals for the proposed new book.The Internet came through: DuncanMcCandless had a website with his biographyas an artist and photographs ofsome of his beautiful paintings. I got intouch with him, and we soon began alively correspondence, in the course ofwhich he reminisced about his mother’sclose discipleship under NyogenSenzaki, and his own childhood friendshipwith the Zen teacher, who hadstayed with the McCandless family inPasadena for several months after beingreleased from Heart Mountain InternmentCamp. Duncan-san and I agreedthat I would visit him that summer andsee some of the Nyogen Senzaki materialsfrom his mother’s estate, includingthose poems.To bring the book out in 2008 wouldrequire fast work, both on my part andon the part of Wisdom. I discussed itwith Josh, and he said if we could haveeverything to him by September of2007, it would be possible. I quicklyread through the material that Josh hadsent, and saw that it was in need of substantialediting. First, it had to be convertedinto computer files—a time-consumingprocess. With the kind help ofspeedy typists Kanro Christine Dowling,Kigetsu Jennifer Sampson, and TetsuninPat Yingst at Hoen-ji and Yobin AndreaRook at Dai Bosatsu Zendo, the materialstarted coming to me digitally, and Ibegan editing in early 2007. On anothervisit to DBZ, Eido Roshi showed mesome wonderful old photographs ofNyogen Senzaki alone, with Shubin andJimmy Tanahashi, and with Soen Roshi, aswell as several historic group images;these, Jokei scanned and sent to me.I had to take a break in the spring for apilgrimage that my dear friend KazuakiTanahashi and I were leading, “AncientBuddhism in Japan.” We traveled to Nara,Koya-san, and Kyoto, and then my studentsand I met with Miyamoto TaihoRoshi, the Kancho at Soen Roshi’s ordinationtemple, Kogaku-ji (founded by BassuiTokujo Zenji), and climbed Mount DaiBosatsu. After our return to the States, Ire-immersed myself in the NyogenSenzaki material, and in June, I went toCalifornia for the American Zen TeachersConference, which was convenientlybeing held in San Francisco that year. Ihad arranged to meet with DuncanMcCandless the very day I arrived.Zenshin Richard Rudin picked me up atthe airport and we drove into the hillsand spent an unforgettable afternoon,first at Duncan-san’s apartment havingtea and talking, and then at his studio,where, from a large chest, he beganbringing out treasure after treasure—the originals of the calligraphy poemsthat Eido Roshi remembered seeing,many photographs, and the robe, rakusu,and kesa that Nyogen Senzaki had givenhis dear student, Ruth StroutMcCandless. We so strongly felt thepresence of teacher and disciple, andtheir remarkable Dharma relationship.Duncan-san was kind enough to let meborrow a number of the calligraphies,which I carefully brought with me to SanFrancisco Zen Center; the next morning,before the conference started, myfriend Sunyana Graef, who runs theVermont Zen Center, went with me toan area copy shop and helped me scaneverything. Then, equally carefully,Zenshin picked them up at SanFrancisco Zen Center and returnedthem to Duncan-san. I went back to theEast Coast. Eido Roshi had given me an12 WINTER / SPRING 2009 13

untranslated poem that would becomethe frontispiece of the book, and twoletters from Nyogen Senzaki to histeacher, Soyen Shaku Roshi. I needed tofind someone who was of a generationto remember what those kanji meant.Luckily, here in Syracuse was ProfessorTsutomu Nakatsugawa, who had visitedDai Bosatsu Zendo with his wife,Masako, and was a friend of Hoen-ji.With some trepidation, he agreed totake on the task, as long as I was willingto rewrite and polish his English. As hegot more deeply into the work, he realizedthat he could not understand certainwords and phrases; he asked afriend in Japan, Professor Mitsuo Ishida,for help, and they both spent many longhours and did a great deal of research,aided in Buddhist terms by a priest ata temple near Professor Ishida. Theresults of our collaboration can beseen in the first two letters in theCorrespondence section of the book.Working almost continuously exceptduring sesshin at Hoen-ji, I completed afirst draft that summer. Eido Roshiwrote an excellent Foreword. At somepoint during that time, the title for thebook came to me: Eloquent Silence. Theannual week that my husband, AndyHassinger, and I spend on Wolfe Island,Canada, allowed for a blissful lack ofinterruptions, and I was able to write theIntroduction. One more editing of theentire manuscript, and the Septemberdeadline was met. That December, Ireceived the first page proofs, and thenext few months were spent doing furtherediting. In February, the coverdesign arrived; I sent it digitally to EidoRoshi, who was in Japan, and he emailedback that he liked it very much. Thatsame month, I received the edited pageproofs for further checking. By spring, thefinal pages came in for a last proofreading.In April, a few of us went to Los Angeles,at the kind invitation of Eido Roshi andAiho-san. That Dai Bosatsu MandalaDay, Roshi conducted the full service atNyogen Senzaki’s grave in EvergreenCemetery, and invited him to come toDai Bosatsu Zendo the following month,to be with us for our Nyogen SenzakiSesshin. We offered the finished manuscriptat the grave, under the headstoneinscribed with Nyogen Senzaki’s words:“Friends in Dhamma, be satisfied withyour own heads. Do not put on anyfalse heads above your own. Thenminute after minute, watch your stepsclosely.These are my last words to you.”What a Mandala Day that was!I had selected several excerpts from thebook for a preview publication designedby Banko Randy Phillips to be given toparticipants at the forthcoming NyogenSenzaki Sesshin, and during our stay inLos Angeles, many emails went back andforth to Banko so that the small bookletcould be finished in time.At that May 2008 commemorativesesshin, we strongly felt that NyogenSenzaki had indeed joined us. On May 7,Eido Roshi offered him a Chinese poemhe composed for the FiftiethAnniversary Memorial Service. He dedicatedhis teisho to him, as I did myDharma Talk. Earlier that year, inFebruary, Eido Roshi had given a talk inJapan about this pioneer of Zen in theWest; after he returned to the States, hereceived a packet of letters from someonewho had heard his talk. Now hetranslated excerpts from three letters,reading them to us in his teisho, and theywere truly remarkable depictions ofNyogen Senzaki’s early days inCalifornia. After sesshin, I got in touchwith Josh. I knew final production wasabout to begin—but would it still bepossible to include Eido Roshi’s memorialpoem and those excerpts in thebook? He discussed it with the productiondepartment and said as long as thenew material could be placed before andafter what had already been set as numberedpages, it could work.The wonderful openness, flexibility, andprofessionalism shown by WisdomPublications toward this entire project—and,of course, the Dai BosatsuMandala—allowed this to take place.Still, as mid-summer approached, wewondered—would the books really beready for distribution so that they couldbe given to those who would attend theupcoming Fortieth Anniversary Sesshinat New York Zendo Shobo-ji? I kept intouch with the production department;everything was going smoothly. In June,we received the final cover text fromWisdom; with just a few editorialchanges, it was approved. Amazinglyenough, a full month ahead of schedule,on the eighth day of the eighth month of2008—a mystical and powerfully auspiciousdate—the books arrived at DaiBosatsu Zendo, New York Zendo, andthe Zen Center of Syracuse.With gratitude to Eido Roshi for theopportunity to “entangle my eyebrows”with Nyogen Senzaki, and for everyone’sunstinting efforts to bring this book intoexistence, I offer profound bows.Shingeshitsu Roko Sherry ChayatExcerpts follow:From the IntroductionStarting in 1922, three years after SoyenShaku’s death and exactly seventeenyears (as mandated by his teacher) afterhis arrival in the United States, wheneverhe could save enough money, NyogenSenzaki would hire a hall to present lectureson Buddhism. He called thesemeetings his “floating zendo.” Gradually,people began asking to sit with him.“I atlast established a zendo in 1928, which Ihave carried with me as a silkwormhides itself in its cocoon,” he told a student.Now the adult MentorgartenSangha was born—a Sangha that had nodivide between East and West, no connectionwith any religious organizationor establishment, and very little of thehierarchy typical of Japanese Zen. In histalks, he addressed his students as“Bodhisattvas” or “Fellow Students,” andnoted,“The same spirit of Sangha foundin my Mentorgarten movement may befound in early Buddhism—nay, not onlyin early Buddhism, but in both ancient andmodern Buddhism as well. If there is trueBuddhism, there is this Sangha spirit.”14 WINTER / SPRING 2009 15

Nyogen Senzaki and Soen Nakagawa discoveredin each other the values ofmoral integrity, resolve, and purity theyboth found gravely lacking in theBuddhist establishment in Japan. In hiscommentary on Case Twenty-two of theGateless Gate, Nyogen Senzaki quoted aNew Year’s Day poem he had written:One hundred thousand bonzesof Japan are intoxicated with sakeon this New Year’s Day.Alone, Brother Soen is sober—nothing is able to tempt him.I light a lamp on my windowsill, andpine for him from this side of the ocean.He must be very happy when the plumblossoms herald the coming of spring!Then he added,“This monk is my discovery,being of the same name, by pronunciation,as my teacher Soyen Shaku, butwritten differently in Chinese characters.He is in Mishima, Japan, these days.His full name is Soen Nakagawa. He willcome to America in the future, gatherthe old assembly around him, and tearKashyapa’s preaching sign into rags.”Certain themes recur throughoutNyogen Senzaki’s koan commentaries,talks, essays, poems, and letters: “Blockthe road of your thinking,” he tells usagain and again.That’s all we need to do.“Give the uppercut to your own dualisticideas.” The simpler the better, heemphasizes; no word is best of all. Wemust continually strive to actualize thetruth of Zen for ourselves, since realization“will not come to us by luck, as in alottery” (Case Twenty-two of theGateless Gate). If we are filled with“emotional pining” for something outside,for someone else’s understanding,we are cut off from our own inner wisdom.He notes that real Zen teachersnever give anything; rather, they takeaway whatever their students areattached to.Stressing that silence is the most eloquentvehicle for expressing Zen, in hiscommentary to Case Twenty of theGateless Gate he says,“I appreciate yourenthusiasm in copying my lectures andkeeping them, but remember that Ispeak them with shame and tears. I dosuch a dirty job (this talking on Zen)because nobody else has done it herebefore me. Please do not show my lecturesto any outsiders and say that theyare a part of my Zen. I have no suchfunny business as preaching Zen.Whatever I say passes away before yourecord it. You only catch my yawns andcoughs.”Nyogen Senzaki had no use forBuddhists who sought renown or usedpropaganda to attract students. “Theteachings lose their richness when theyhave many followers” (Case Twenty-sixof the Gateless Gate). Indeed, he heldmost of his contemporaries in the ZenBuddhist establishment in disregard, particularlyin Japan, but in America as well,as is evident in this paragraph from CaseTwo of the Blue Rock Collection:“Herein America, many so-called spiritualteachers gather students who bringmany questions; they then patiently tryto entertain them with favorableanswers.” In the United States, NyogenSenzaki lived as an ordinary citizen, notcalling attention to himself in any way.He wore a suit and tie, placing his robeover them when engaged in zazen orgiving a lecture; he did not shave hishead, but as the young monk Tai-sanobserved when Nyogen Senzaki visitedRyutaku-ji, had a beautiful silver crownof hair. “Those who digest Zen wellshould do their work in the world withoutdisplaying any trace of Zen,” he saysin “Amban’s Addition” to the GatelessGate, and in the same commentary hetells us, “Monks have no monopoly onZen. Zen belongs to the world. Laymenand laywomen adherents should studyZen—even children in kindergartenshould be trained in the Zen way. Theshrubs and grasses around this humblehouse also study Zen. They show thecolor of Zen through their own naturalgreen. . . . Zen monks are like streetcleaners. They do their work so thatothers can go their different ways. . . .True monks who guard the lamp ofDharma are becoming fewer and fewer.”The world—not just the Zen world, notjust the Buddhist world—needs thecool-headed, compassionate, and incisiveteachings of this true monk more todaythan ever. With palms together, in commemorationof his life of integrity, simplicity,wisdom, and unstinting lovingkindness,this book is offered to men,women, children, shrubs, grasses, andstreet cleaners!From The Gateless GateCASE FORTY-SEVENTHE THREE BARRIERS OF TOSOTSUTosotsu erected three barriers andmade the monks pass through them.Thefirst is, in studying Zen, the aim is to seeyour own true nature. Now, where isyour true nature? Secondly, when yourealize your own true nature, you will befree from birth and death. Now, whenthe light is gone from your eyes and youbecome a corpse, how can you freeyourself? Thirdly, when you free yourselffrom birth and death, you should knowwhere you are. Now your body separatesinto the four elements. At thismoment, where are you?Bodhisattvas: All koans in the GatelessGate deal with one’s own true nature.They begin with Joshu’s “Mu.” Gutei’s finger,Zuigan’s inner master, the SixthPatriarch’s true self, and Bodhidharma’spacified mind—each leads the studentdirectly into the region of buddhanature.Anyone who has experiencedturning inwardly can actualize the same,with ease, at any time. It is not confinedin a thing; therefore, it will be discoveredin everything. It is not excluded in aplace; therefore it will be exposed at anyplace. The first barrier of Tosotsu is,“Now, where is your true nature?” Atthe moment of your hesitation, you arefar away from it, ten thousand miles afar.The second barrier of Tosotsu is,“Whenyou realize your own true nature, youwill be free from birth and death. Now,when the light is gone from your eyesand you become a corpse, how can youfree yourself?” Kukai, a ninth-centuryJapanese Shingon monk, said, “When16 WINTER / SPRING 2009 17

death comes, I am not there.While I amhere, death cannot claim me. Whyshould I be afraid of death?” The statementis quite logical. Dualistic consciousnessand death have no opportunity tomeet each other. People simply feardeath due to their habit of dualisticthinking. In fact, they are threatened bythe idea of death, not by death itself.Dogen, a thirteenth-century JapaneseSoto teacher, said, “In the region of buddha-nature,there is no birth, and accordingly,there is no death. Life never begins;therefore, it never ends. Birth and deathare simply psychological demarcations.”This is my free translation. In this koan ofTosotsu, to pass through the second barrier,you must eliminate not only the fearof death, but death itself, birth itself.Some of you come to sanzen and showme your own last moment, shutting youreyes and playing a corpse.You are dead,sure enough, but where is your buddhanature?Until you can prove yourself inreal freedom beyond birth and death,you are just a bad actor, after all.The third barrier:“When you free yourselffrom birth and death, you shouldknow where you are. Now your bodyseparates into the four elements.At thismoment, where are you?” Some of youstretch your arms and legs out on thefloor. I never blame the manner in whichyou present your koan in sanzen, as longas you express Zen from the bottom ofyour heart. If you mean, however, to indicatethe four elements—earth, water,fire, and air—by means of such acrobaticstunts, you simply make me laugh. Torepresent the elements of modernchemistry, your fingers and toes are notenough, in any case. Now what are yougoing to do? A good physician knowsabout the health of a patient’s bloodfrom a glance at the face, even beforelaboratory work is done. Now show methe four elements, which move on asvividly as the ebb and surge of the sea ofbuddha-nature.MUMON’S COMMENTIf you can pass these three barriers, youwill be a master wherever you are.Whatever happens around you will benothing but the essence of Zen.Otherwise, you will be living on poorfood, and will not have enough of it tosatisfy yourself.Years ago, a Japanese woman worked onthis koan. She worked hard, day andnight. At the end of the third seclusion,she came to sanzen and expressed herZen in silence, folding her hands, palm topalm. I said, “The first barrier is passed.How about the second barrier?” Shekept herself in the same pose. I said,“Come on, now, tell me, when the lightis gone from your eyes and you becomea corpse, how can you free yourself?”She went on in the same pose, foldingher hands palm to palm. I said, “You arequite stubborn. Never mind the secondbarrier. How about the third? Now yourbody separates into the four elements.Where are you?” She did not change herpose at all. I said, “Come on, come on,where are you?” She still stood, foldingher hands palm to palm, without a word.I said, “Such monotonous Zen! What isthe use of it? Get out.” Before I rang thebell to call the next student, she bowedto me and got out of the last barriergracefully. I know it is useless to bring upa canceled check here. I only wanted tosuggest to you that the answer in Zen isnot necessarily shown by gesture, or bywords. When one can master oneselfwherever one stands, one can turnwhatever happens into true and livingZen. Of course I am not praising stubbornnessor uniformity at all. ❖Nen (Intense Thought)Eido Shimano RoshiEvery year, after summer sesshin is overin Switzerland, I have two days of vacationtime in Europe. This year, I went toPisa in Italy with my students M., whousually accompanies me in Switzerland,and J., a nun from Dai Bosatsu Zendo.In front of the famous Leaning Tower,there is an old Catholic cathedral, theDuomo di Pisa. Instead of climbing upinto the tower, the three of us decidedto go into the cathedral. Centuries ofpeoples’ prayers help to create a uniqueand powerful atmosphere unlike anythingI have experienced in Americanchurches which are much more modern.Attendant J. was raised Catholic beforebecoming a Buddhist nun. Therefore,she was emotionally overwhelmed andquite “drunk” by her pious feelings uponleaving the church. Afterwards, we spentsome time seeing the other sights in thePiazza dei Miracoli (“Square ofMiracles”), then finally started walkingtoward the car. We were all feeling quiteelated. On the way to the car, M. said,“Itis hot, I will run ahead and start the airconditioning, but please walk slowly andtake your time.”As soon as M. left, a woman in her twentiesaccompanied by three young childrenapproached J. and I in two teams.We had been warned about aggressivepickpockets and theft in this populartourist area. Two girls came towardsme, spreading a map in front of meshouting, “One Euro! One Euro!!!” Thewoman and the other girl did the samething in front of J. I did not have any cashwith me, neither Euros nor dollars. So,we ignored them and tried to speed up,but they were blocking our way and wecould barely move forward. Within aminute, a second attack came. Again, thekids spread the map in our faces, saying,“Mister, mister, one euro!!!” This timethey came so close that our bodiestouched.All the way to the car, the same gamewas repeated four more times. Whenwe finally reached the car and M. openedthe door for us, two of the little girls ranup to J. holding a small brocade pursesaying, “Miss, you dropped this, is ityours?” J.’s face went pale. I realizedwhat had just happened---the womanand the girls were pickpockets. I quicklyasked J.,“Do you have your passport?Did they take anything else?” Shechecked and nothing was missing.then, the whole team had fled.ByWe then went inside the car and lockedthe doors. I asked J., “May I see yourpurse?” Her passport, a twenty dollarbill and a string of prayer beads were stillinside. I was amazed by the skill of theyoung thieves, using a couple of big maps18 WINTER / SPRING 2009 19

to hide what they were doing, andshouting “One Euro!” to divert ourattention.J.’s beads are made of purple amethystcrystal. They come from her grandfather,who was a faithful Buddhist in TruePure Land (Jodo Shinshu) School. Afterhis death, his wife gave these well-usedbeads to her daughter (J.’s mother), andthey were passed on to J. on the day ofher ordination. J.’s mother told her,“Keep these always with you, whereveryou go.”Why did the professional pickpocketsreturn this purse to J.? I was puzzled.They were immigrants from a foreigncountry, and had no way of knowing wewere Buddhist priests. After thinking itover, I realized that the power of Nen inthe beads is what made the thievesreturn the purse. J’s grandfather hadused them for decades, praying andchanting with them. His spiritual energysaved J. from losing her passport in aforeign country.In the Lotus Sutra there is a phrase thatgoes, “Sometimes you may be attackedby thieves, surrounded by them, andmay face the chance to be killed. If youpray to Kanzeon Bodhisattva wholeheartedly,the thieves will not only stoptheir evil deed, but may also cultivatecompassionate minds.”This is exactly what happened with J.’sbeads. Decades ago, in the countrysideof Japan, J.’s grandfather prayed day andnight, and his Nen finally had a chanceto bloom this past summer in Italy.Nen will never disappear and never die.What an awesome power! ❖The article above was originally featured in Schole Magazine, a Japanese Buddhistperiodical, earlier this year. We are pleased to include the Japanese text from theoriginal article on the following pages.20WINTER / SPRING 2009 21

Profound GratitudeLankavatara Sutra RevistedFrom September 11th to 14th, 2008,New York Zendo Shobo-ji celebrated its40th Anniversary with a special sesshin.It was a remarkably strong retreat withjoyful Dharma energy, ending in a ceremonyon Sunday afternoon, which wasattended by 150 guests. I would like toexpress my profound gratitude to all thepeople who helped make this wonderfulevent possible. For about a year we hadbeen meeting, planning and organizingfor Shobo-ji’s birthday. Great effort wasinvolved, both behind the scenes and outfront, in repairing and beautifying thetemple and preparing for sesshin. Someof these projects included:1. The front of New York Zendo’sbuilding was stripped and repainted.2. The outside wooden entrancedoors were re-sanded, stained, andsealed with polyurethane.3. A brand new entrance door wasinstalled, stained and sealed.4. Six toilets were replaced.5. The wooden deck in the gardenzendo was replaced.6.The garden zendo’s roof andshingles were replaced.7.A new bowing mat andpurple zabuton for Eido Roshiwere purchased.8.A gratitude gift of a new robefor Eido Roshi was orderedand made in Japan.9. New jihatsu wrapping clothswere made.10. New chopsticks for the jihatsusets were purchased.I remember so vividly the beautifulautumn afternoon of September 15th,1968. On this day, New York ZendoShobo-ji was officially opened. SoenRoshi, Yasutani Roshi, Chester andDorris Carlson, Bill and Milly Johnstone,and many other distinguished guests andsangha members who were involved inthe creation of the temple were present.In those days, it was inconceivable that aRinzai Zen Buddhist temple had openedin New York City. The newborn babytemple needed lots of care in dailyaffairs, zazen meetings and sesshinpreparations. Eido Roshi’s burning passionfor the Dharma helped Shobo-jigrow and become strong. We bothhelped and encouraged each otherthroughout the years, with the mutualsupport of the sangha.Now forty years have passed, and today,we just completed our AnniversarySesshin and celebration. As Confuciussaid,“At the age of forty, I was no longerdeluded.” The Shobo-ji sangha is nowfirmly stabilized.This has given me a newenergy and joy. I am truly grateful for thesupport I received from the Dharma.This is the most wonderful gift from theDharma and from Shobo-ji. Indeed,“Dhamma Dipa, Dhamma Sarana.” I cannever thank you enough, Dharma. Evenafter eons, my gratitude to the Dharmawill never disappear.Toki Oshimi Koto woHagemishi Himo SugiteHô no Irie ni Yu wo AminikeriThe days where I begrudged everyminute spent on accomplishing thingsare now gone, At last I can batheleisurely in a Dharma pool!Gassho,Aiho Yasuko Shimano ❖by Shokan Undo OshoWhen I was around 25 years old, towardthe end of my hippie years, I discoveredBuddhism and Zen. Maybe I should clarify:I discovered books about Buddhismand Zen. Deep inside myself I clearly feltthat this is it! – especially Zen. So I readevery book available on the topic ofeither Zen or Buddhism. And therewere MANY. This was in the mid-seventiesand the public interest in Zen andBuddhism was enormous. Besides all ofthe Beat Zen literature available, all of D.T. Suzuki’s works had been translatedinto German, as well as uncountableother good, serious Zen books, whichare nowadays considered classics. Atthat time I understood quite well that tostudy Zen without actually practicing islike a lifeless corpse. And I occasionallytried to do the real thing – sit crosslegged – but was intimidated by my ownfailure; after five minutes I could notstand the pain anymore and stood up. Itwasn’t until a few years later, after a cuttingcrisis in my life, that I started to sitregularly on a daily basis, and was able toprogressively increase the length of mysitting periods.Some time before this happened I cameacross a book called Meditation Sutras ofMahayana Buddhism. It included theHeart Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, theLankavatara Sutra and some others in anaccurate translation into modernGerman. I thought that this wasBuddha’s original teaching and I was veryeager to read and understand what hetaught. I made it a kind of meditation toread this book. I sat on a chair at a tablewith my spine straight and read slowlyand concentrated word by word. Someof the passages I was able to understand.Certainly not the Heart Sutra. And theDiamond Sutra did not make much senseto me, either. But I was very impressedby the Lankavatara Sutra, although myown perception of reality was quite differentfrom how Buddha explained it tobe. Be that as it may, the reading experienceitself was so calming and refreshing,with the gentle flow of the dialogue andthe many repetitions, that I was deeplysatisfied, whether I understood themeaning or not. Didn’t Buddha repeatedlysay in the Lankavatara Sutra thatBodhisattvas should patiently take onand get used to the view; that all manifestations,including ourselves, exist in themind only? This “patiently take on andget used to” warmly touched my heartand strongly supported my wish to followthis path.Recently, in a sudden impulse, I grabbedthis book again and read the LankavataraSutra. More than thirty years had passedsince I first read it. How different wasmy response this time, yet how much thesame! As I started to read, I was transportedback in time and felt exactly as ifI were sitting at the table some thirtyyears ago; certainly due to my concentrated,upright and open-minded readingat that time. The next thing I noticed washow familiar this view of “not a singlething exists” was to me. Unlike decadesago, some of the theories and explanationsof the Sutra were not only comprehensible,but accurate expressions of myown experiences. I could not help butfeel grateful for the Rinzai Zen training Iam undergoing, and once more I becameclearly aware of the differences betweenNyorai Zen (reading and studying theSutras) and Soshi Zen (our actual Zentraining, koan study and life experiences).This time, once again, when reading thewords “patiently take on and get usedto,” my heart was filled with feelings offaith and willingness. Although we usuallysay: "Practice thirty more years," I wishmy practice will continue forever. ❖24 WINTER / SPRING 2009 25

Ichi Go Ichi EFujin ButsudoTwo years ago, I went to Shogen-ji inJapan to attend Rohatsu sesshin. Aftersesshin was over,Yamakawa Roshi tookme to a hot spring hotel together witha group of non-Japanese monks. Whilethe attendant monk was driving us, Iheard Roshi tell him to go to a towncalled Tajimi, not far from Shogen-ji inGifu. Afterward, I was supposed tomeet a European friend of mine; so wespoke on the phone about where wecould meet each other.When I told himI was going to Tajimi, he said, with anenthusiastic voice,“Oh! I know a potterthere. Why don’t we visit him!” Afterspending the night with Roshi and thegroup in the hot-spring hotel, I called upmy friend, telling him where I thought Iwas. Roshi happened to hear my conversationand exclaimed,“We are not inTajimi here, we are in Unuma!” I hadmisunderstood, but the appointmentwith the potter had been made, so itwas decided that we would go anyway.I had been told that Mizuno Sensei, thepotter, was in his late seventies. Uponmeeting him, I couldn’t believe my eyes:he looked more like in his early sixties!We had lunch together, and then hetook us to his kiln. Unfortunately, it wasraining on that day, so we didn’t spendmuch time looking at the kiln. He tookus inside his studio, and from then on,the visit turned into a dream. MizunoSensei had met my friend several times,but they were certainly not intimatefriends.As for myself, it was our firstencounter. As we were led around thestudio admiring his work, time literallyvanished. I cannot even tell for sure howlong we stayed with him. It could havebeen two hours, it could have been four,but it felt no more than twenty minutesat the most. Though we used Japaneseto communicate, my friend and I completelyforgot the fact that we weretalking in a foreign language. We couldhave been speaking in Russian orChinese, and still would have understoodeach other perfectly. MizunoSensei spoke to us as if we were hisown children. His voice, his gestures, hiswhole attitude was like a river, gentlyflowing downstream. He spoke of TaniRoshi and Eido Roshi’s friendship withgreat fondness, showed us photos ofthem from years ago, when they visitedhis kiln. His wife was like the transparencyof the mountain stream. Shewas present, in fact very attentive, sittingby the irori (the hearth), servingpowdered tea, sweets, green tea,clementines, responding quickly and elegantlyto whatever needs came up. Atthe end, Mizuno Sensei presented mewith a black tea bowl, an incense burner,a hana ire (flower vase to be hung ina tokonoma) and a small sake cup.Whiletalking to me, he wrote on a piece ofrice paper with a brush which clay hehad used to make them, and the storybehind their shape and color. Withinseconds, Mrs. Mizuno was next to mewith packing material and bags so Icould carry them safely.It was only upon parting from MizunoSensei that I realized what had beenoffered to me: the gift of inexhaustiblespirit. Freely offered to all, we trampleit under our feet every single day, socarelessly! I made myself promise toremember that afternoon every singleday of my life, until I am so saturatedwith it that I don't need to be remindedany more.I read many times what ancient Japanwas like, or ancient anywhere, whenpeople were more inclined to allowthemselves to dissolve completely intothe moment, whatever they wereengaged in. But to experience first-handmeeting someone who had transcendedtime, cultures, age and race was anunforgettable inspiration. In Japan, thereis a Zen saying, “Ichi Go, Ichi E” whichmeans, “One opportunity, One meeting.”It implies, “Unprecedented, unrepeatableencounter,” in other words: ameeting that truly changes your life. Icherish very much the tea bowl andother gifts, which I received on that day.But more importantly, someday whenserving tea, I hope to not merelyquench the visitors’ thirst, but likeMizuno Sensei did with us, to swallowwith them Beecher Lake in one gulp. ❖Eido Roshi writes calligraphy in Mizuno Sensei’s studio February 200726 WINTER / SPRING 2009 27

Nyogen Senzaki Memorial Pilgrimage to Los AngelesYayoi Karen MatsumotoOf course! It was on Dai BosatsuMandala Day, April 21, 2008, that RokoOsho, Fujin and I were to meet EidoRoshi and Aiho-san in Los Angeles tobegin our Nyogen Senzaki 50th anniversarymemorial pilgrimage. (On the 21stof each month, monk Soen Nakagawaand monk Nyogen Senzaki would bow toeach other from across the Pacific duringthe Second World War.) Fujin and I leftNew York Zendo before dawn. FollowingSeigan’s directions, we walked to the subway,which connected with the AirTrain,which took us like a swift breeze to JFKAirport. There we met Roko Osho.Thethree of us flew out from JFK to LAX.Roshi and Aiho-san had already flown toLos Angeles the night before, of courseon flight #21.And so it was that we, along with manyothers, had been touched in the Dharmaby Nyogen Senzaki, the karmic founder ofDai Bosatsu Zendo. Foremost wasRoshi’s and Aiho-san’s Dai BosatsuMandala connection. I thought abouthow all of us who have ever studied withRoshi at the Zen Studies Society are beneficiariesof this inspired connection.Roko Osho was editor of the bookEloquent Silence: Nyogen Senzaki’s GatelessGate and other Previously UnpublishedTeachings and Letters. Fujin was born onNyogen Senzaki’s memorial day, May 7th.And I was told by my mother thatNyogen Senzaki cared for me when I wasa baby on a couple of occasions, while shetaught tea ceremony.My dad had been interned during theSecond World War at Heart Mountain,Wyoming, the same place that NyogenSenzaki was interned along with manyothers of Japanese descent. According tomy mother, in the early 1950’s whenHounsai, the current retired grand teamaster of the Urasenke Tea School,stayed at our home in Los Angeles, hewent to Nyogen Senzaki’s zendo to dozazen. Nyogen Senzaki would also cometo our house from time to time with hisZen students who would study chado(the way of tea) with my mother, SoseiMatsumoto. She remembers the students:Henry Mittwer, now a Zen priestliving in Japan; Robert Aitken, now a roshiin Hawaii; and two American women. Onone of these visits when I was about 3 or4, it was just Nyogen Senzaki and myself,while the others were in the tea room.Sitting on the dark green couch in our livingroom, he dug into his monk’s bag,pulled out some candy and gave it to me.Then he showed me how to fold origami.On another visit, I wondered if he hadcandy in his bag again. And he did. Yearslater, I recalled Nyogen Senzaki’s atmosphereof deep calm and kindness andthought that maybe it was the Zen. Andso I began to practice.The flight was a smooth one, and Roko,Fujin and I landed safely at LAX Airport.We were met by my cousin Etsuko Ota,who took us to the hotel in Little Tokyo,where we greeted Roshi and Aiho-san.Etsuko returned to my mother’s house.She and Takako Osumi, my other cousin’swife, picked up the many items for thememorial service, while I strolled with theothers through the hotel courtyard to aJapanese café for lunch. The weather wasperfect: soft sun and mild temperatures.The first bit of fun began with Aiho-santelling the young Japanese waiter that helooked like Sangen (a former jisha and residentat DBZ and son of Myoyo Tanaka). Ofcourse the waiter had no idea who Sangenwas. But he did look like Sangen. Roshismiled, seemingly agreeing that the waiterlooked like Sangen, but said that most peoplewould not say so. In good humor herepeated to Aiho-san that most peoplewould not say so. Aiho-san, also with goodhumor, kept on appreciating the resemblance,now calling the waiter directly,“Sangen.” The waiter smiled.After that, we quickly changed and werepicked up by Etsuko and Takako to go toEvergreen Cemetery to visit NyogenSenzaki’s gravesite. Earlier at the hotel,Fujin and I made a call for Roshi toReverend Inoue, a Nichiren Buddhist priestwho had served in New York City and thenrelocated to L.A. Roshi was trying toarrange for us to visit with him. The priestwas away, and we were unable to connectwith him. Anyway, Takako knew nothingabout all of this. She had said earlier thatshe could pick up some flowers along theway. I thought she had some florist in mind.Surprise! Surprise! Takako takes us to herBuddhist Temple of the Nichiren sect,which just happens to be the very templewhose head priest Roshi had tried to contactthat morning! We went inside thetemple. There were lots of flowers, stillfresh, leftover from a ceremony. Takako gotthese flowers for Nyogen Senzaki.We then headed toward EvergreenCemetery in East L.A., where I had goneso many times before with myNishihongan-ji Pure Land Sunday schoolclass in my childhood. We arrived,unloaded the cars, and set up the gravesitefor the chanting ceremony with flowers,incense, and matcha (powdered green tea)and sweets. Sitting on goza straw mats onthe grass, we chanted and poured clearwater over the grave. A moment ofsilence, and a pine tree in the backgroundreminded me of Nyogen Senzaki’s being.Then Roshi led us to the Tanahashi familygrave, where Jimmy Tanahashi, the karmicbenefactor of DBZ, is buried. We chantedthere and also at Takako’s family grave.Evergreen Cemetery was getting ready toclose its gates for the evening, and a joyfulmood prevailed. The gravesite chantingand paying of respects for NyogenSenzaki’s fiftieth memorial at Evergreenhad been accomplished.Then, again with Roshi directing us, wewent to Second Street, which was not faraway. We greeted Alice Tanahashi, thedaughter-in-law of Shubin Tanahashi, whowas Jimmy’s mother and also a student ofNyogen Senzaki. Directly across the streetwas Nyogen Senzaki’s zendo, the left-sideunit of a duplex. I never thought much ofit before, but Second Street appears anddisappears as it traverses L.A. Furtheruptown, my family home happens to bedirectly on one of the points where SecondStreet reappears. The house where thezendo used to be was unoccupied, and Iimagined how it must have been. Lookingthrough the book Eloquent Silence, a photofrom Roshi’s collection appears. It is aphoto of that very house, still bright eventwo years after the passing of NyogenSenzaki, with Soen Roshi and the L.A.Sangha standing in front of it.28 WINTER / SPRING 2009 29

After that, we rode around trying to findTurner Street, where Nyogen Senzaki hadan apartment. We got out of the car towalk on N. Alameda Street; Roshi, Aihosan,and Roko Osho going in one directionand Roshi sending Fujin and me inthe other. We walked and walked andwere not able to find Turner Street, andwondered what had happened to it. Backhome, I looked at MapQuest, and foundTurner Street marked. It intersects N.Alameda Street just south of E. TempleStreet. It was just a block or two further!We went back to the hotel for a breakuntil we met again for dinner. We walkeddown East First Street in Little Tokyo andsaw Fugetsudo, the Japanese confectionerystore, in back of which ShubinTanahashi used to have a laundry shop. Itis also the store where my mother, Susie,and father, Eddie, met. For me,Fugetsudo was also where we got freshJapanese manju ricecakes after BuddhistSunday School, and where one caughtthe scent of warm sweet bean and riceflour in the air.That evening after having a good dinner inthe Japanese Village in Little Tokyo, wereturned to the hotel and went our waysto our respective hotel rooms. Fujin andI shared a room. The room had an interiordoor which was neither a bathroomnor a closet. I thought it must be a safe,since the doorknob on it was differentfrom the other doors, and said so toFujin. I opened the door and then therewas another door, just like a safe wouldhave. I opened it, and . . . it opened into aroom where an Asian family was staying,but what was most memorable was thesight of a man on the bed looking back atme, completely surprised! I was surprised,too. I gasped and ran away fromthe door, leaving it wide open! Then I hadto inch my way back to the door to closeit and not look at him! Fujin was laughingthrough the whole thing. Maybe I wastoo! But it was probably more gaspingthan laughing.The next morning, we were scheduled togo to Zenshu-ji Soto Mission on HewittStreet in East Los Angeles. This was thefirst zendo where I sat zazen, years ago,before it was remodeled. Fujin and Iwalked on East First Street to Zenshu-jiahead of Roshi,Aiho-san, and Roko Osho,who were waiting at the hotel to bepicked up by Reverend Kojima. Fujin andI reached Zenshu-ji first and were greetedby a friendly American Zen minister.He then went to pick up Roshi,Aiho-san,and Roko Osho; and phoned ReverendKojima to wake him up. We chanted, satzazen together in the zendo, andReverend Kojima kindly served us matchaand sweets.Then we were picked up by Daishin ofthe Zen Center of Los Angeles. We weregreeted by Roshi Egyoku. Egyoku, as Iused to call her, used to take tea lessonsfrom my mother at our house when shewas a resident student at ZCLA with thelate Taizan Maezumi Roshi. Although wedid not necessarily speak about Zen, westill shared the moment together. Ialways think of her as my Dharma big sister.Nowadays, duties as abbot seem tokeep her from tea class. Anyway, it wasgreat to visit her and ZCLA, where wechanted, sat zazen together, and enjoyedtea and sweets with conversation. It wasgood to share Zen, L.A. Soto-style!We went back to the hotel for lunch.Our next appointment was at my mother’shouse, and we were picked up byEtsuko and Mrs. Nogaki, a student of mymother’s. It turns out that Mrs. Nogaki isan old childhood friend of Aiho-san! Theywere happy to see each other, chatted inJapanese, and rode in the car together. Wearrived and immediately did a service at myfamily altar, which has a photo of my dad,who passed away many years ago. I havebeen with Roshi and monks to chant inpeople’s homes before, but this was a first.We walked toward the tea room. In theentry area was a calligraphy by Soen Roshi,appropriate to the new spring season andoccasion. In the tea room alcove, was asimple flower arrangement of clematis in aMexican clay vase given to my mother byNyogen Senzaki. This was coupled with astriking calligraphy scroll by Roshi. It read,En Zan,“Distant Mountain,” alluding to thephrase from the Hekiganroku, “Endlesslyarising distant mountains, blue heaped uponblue.” So my mom acted as host, assistedby Etsuko, Mrs. Koizumi, and Mrs. Nogaki,who acted as ceremonial host and whiskeddelicious tea. The day concluded with dinnerwith my mom and her students at amodern Japanese fusion-style restaurant ina renovated bank in Beverly Hills. Wereturned to our quarters in the hotel aftera very rich day.Regarding the scroll, Roshi told me to tellmy mom to give it to me, as it would beappropriate for Endless Mountain Zendowhere I live and practice with Genro. A fewdays later, when I brought it up, sheremained silent. I guess it’s just too good acalligraphy to give away.The next morning at our closing breakfasttogether, guess who was breakfasting cattycornerto our table: Yes! Yes! It was theman on the bed! First I caught him in thecorner of my eye, and nudged Fujin to lookdiscreetly. Yes, it was he. I tried not to lookand hoped that he wouldn’t recognize me.He gave no indication that he did, and didn’tsmile either. Fujin and I were both againconsumed by intense laughter, outwardlycontrolled, but not really successfully. Whata perfect cap to our trip!You should know that usually when Fujinand I are together, we are not necessarilylaughing, but somehow when I amasked to write an article, there is hilariousmaterial to write about! You mayhave read in an article in a previousnewsletter about our laughter in Japan . .. and now in Los Angeles, California! Ithink of Nyogen Senzaki as a being with adignified bearing, yet he was an elementin the wonderful laughing connectionwith my friend Fujin. Just as it had helpedto carry Roshi and Aiho-san to America,his quiet and steady influence was felt onthe L.A. pilgrimage with all of its uncannyand joyous connections and moments ofpoignant reminiscence.Although I expected to meet everyoneback on the East coast, the Zen phraseoften seen in tea rooms, ichi go ichi e – anunprecedented, unrepeatable encounter– describes the unprecedented, unrepeatableparting at LAX: we each wentour own way. The pilgrimage concludedwith feelings of fulfillment and gratefulness,ripples extending endlessly. ❖30 WINTER / SPRING 2009 31

What is THIS?Adapted from a Dharma Talkby Koju Agung HertantoEver since the Big Bang 13.7 billion yearsago, the universe has been expanding.400 billion observable galaxies – all containinganywhere from ten million to atrillion stars – have been flying apart atincomprehensible speeds since the beginningof time, space and matter. The cosmosis essentially an eternally growingballoon, and the galaxies are all dots onthe surface of the balloon, flying fartherand farther . . . out. What is this vastexpanding nothing that fills the balloon?Is this nothing created out of something?Why is there so much energy out thereapparently in the middle of nothing?What’s on the other side of the balloon?Will the cosmos continue to expand untileverything that’s something is so far awaythat we see nothing in the night sky? Isthe future nothing at all?What is THIS?If we look down instead of up, we find alot more nothing, although it’s a scientificquestion whether the subatomic void isthe same nothing as the cosmologicalvoid. We do know that there’s a lot ofspace down there between the atoms,not to mention quarks, neutrinos and theHiggs boson “god particles” that physicistsmay or may not find soon at theLarge Hadron Collider in Switzerland.According to most theories, subatomicspace and time are like sand grains floatingin a void. We don’t know what thevoid is, but we do know that it’s most ofeverything that’s something, includingourselves. And we know that “virtual”particles pop in and out of existence inthe subatomic void. Thus, it seems to beimpossible to have something withoutnothing, and nothing without something.And here we are: something that is mostlynothing observing nothing that is continuallygiving birth to something.What is THIS?Unfortunately, the brain is an imperfectinstrument for observing nothing orsomething or THIS. It is prone to delusion.It daydreams. It gets distracted.Even when the observer is paying fullattention to the observed, the brain filtersand compares the received imagewith data stored in the memory. If theimage matches the data, we give theimage a pre-existing label. If the imagedoesn’t match the data, we invent a newlabel. Labels are unavoidably biasedaccording to our emotional state, utilitarianconsiderations, and cultural conventions.Our genetic heritage dooms us tolabeling. We are born with a capacity tospeak, and as we learn to speak, we learnto label everything. We learn it so wellthat we can’t stop.Without the label, what is THIS?Labeling is the wall between us and THIS.And there lies duality. On one side of thewall: us. On the other side of the wall:THIS. Our practice is to remove the wall– brick by brick, sit by sit – and perceiveTHIS. When we have carted awayenough bricks, we create for ourselves acertain gateless gate through the wall thatreally wasn’t there in the first place. AsHakuin Zenji says in Zazen Wazan, “Thegate of the oneness of cause and effect isopened; the path of nonduality and nontrinityruns straight ahead.” Zazen thenbecomes just sitting, just breathing, justobserving . . .THIS.Is THIS the same nothing as the cosmologicalvoid? For scientists, the questionis hugely expensive. They must build themost complicated machines in the histo-ry of the world to search for answers. InBuddhism, we already have the necessarytechnology: zafus. Yet we also needpatience and perseverance, which can beas elusive as the Higgs boson.There are many ways to practice andmany traditions. Breath counting is verypowerful, as Hakuin reminds us in theexhortations that we read duringRohatsu. Whether it is breath counting,or Mu, or Kore nan zo, or shikantaza, thefocus is always our tanden or hara or gut.That is the place where we live, onebreath at a time. In my tradition,Javanese, there is a spiritual exercise astold in the story of Devaruci which mentionsthat “Hara is the universe.” Weshould cultivate our hara or tanden if wewant to know the universe.Practice is always going up and down, justlike the tanden as you breathe. EidoRoshi has stated that there are three hindrancesto practice: scattered mind, lowself-esteem, and confusion. I’ve experiencedall of them. The most obvious oneis the scattered mind that jumps aroundlike monkeys in the forest. If I don’tengage their chatter, the monkeys usuallygo away by themselves. To overcome lowself-esteem, I always remind myself thatthis journey is long, and it is OK to feelbad but not to give up. One more step .. . one more step . . . one more step – it’slike trudging through a snowy field. As forconfusion, the remedy is Roshi. We canask anything related to our practice duringdokusan. Talking to trusted, experiencedfriends can be helpful. So can readingsutras or the sayings of a Zen master.But we cannot just read books with ourdiscriminating, dualistic, rational minds.We need practice to fathom the void.Facing death is another aspect of myzazen. Almost every day I think aboutdying. This is not abstract, but a kind ofexperience that strangles me. Surprisingly,it also seems to inspire mindfulnessand compassion. I look at my belovedwife, friends, teachers and all sentientbeings with gratitude, because I see theinterconnection linking all of us. I ammore grateful for the precious life thatI have, and I pay more attention to all itsaspects.We are dying every day in our physicalbodies, where the cells are constantlyreplaced. Most of the cells in our bodiesare under 15 years old. And at the atomiclevel, 98 percent of the atoms comprisingour body are replaced every year byatoms from our environment. In otherwords, we are always young. We aredying and being resurrected in everymoment.Practicing Mu, facing death, fathoming thevoid – THIS is not a hobby. It takes dedication,all the time and everywhere. Ahuge task. A doable task. We need onlyto observe our minds. Practice is likehammering a nail over and over, and littleby little it penetrates the wood. Jesussaid in the Sermon on the Mount, “Askand it will be given to you; seek and youwill find; knock and the door will beopened to you.” We used to knock softly. . . knock . . . knock . . . knock.That is notthe knock of Master Rinzai’s student. Wehave to knock hard . . . KNOCK . . .KNOCK . . . KNOCK! We bang on thedoor! Kick the door! Shake the door!Shout with all our might! And the doorwill be opened to us.So let us knock with nen, and let us continueour practice as Master Bassuiinstructed:Look directly!What is THIS?Look in this mannerAnd you won’t be fooled! ❖32 WINTER / SPRING 2009 33

New York Zendo Shobo-ji NewsNew York Zendo Celebrates its 40th AnniversaryNew York Zendo Shobo-ji celebrated its 40-year anniversary with a special four-dayweekend sesshin that concluded with a ceremony held on Sunday, September 14th.Over fifty Sangha members participated in the retreat, including Roko ni-Osho, GenjoOsho, and representatives from Dai Bosatsu Zendo, the Zen Center of Syracuse,Chobo-ji, Endless Mountain Zendo, Brooklyn Aikikai, Hollow Bones Zendo, and WildGoose Zendo.Each day, Eido Roshi told incredible stories about the opening of New York ZendoShobo-ji, and about the efforts of Soen Roshi, Chester and Dorris Carslon, Aiho-sanYasuko Shimano, and the many known and unknown deceased Dharma brothers and sisterswho have woven a strand in Shobo-ji’s mandala web. He also expressed his gratitudeto the Dharma for actualizing his Impossible Dream of an authentic Rinzai ZenBuddhist temple in the middle of New York City.As our sesshin concluded,fifty guests joined the Sangha in a celebration to mark the foundingof our city temple. Roko ni-Osho acted as Master of Ceremonies and introduced specialguest speaker Dr.Tenzin Robert Thurman, Professor of Buddhist Studies at ColumbiaUniversity. Dr. Thurman gave a lively talk about the Dharma in the West, after whichRyugan Robert Savoca Sensei,Yuho Carl Baldini and students from Brooklyn Aikikai led amisogi purification ceremony in the main zendo. Next, sangha member Dr. Chi-in LionelParty introduced and performed a harpsichord concert, featuring pieces by DomenicoScarlatti, J.S. Bach, Girolamo Frescobaldi, and François Couperin. Eido Roshi was asked togive closing remarks, and he spoke about how important it is for each of us to have a vowand a dream – to march on, no matter how difficult – and to trust in the Dharma.Four cakes with ten candles each were presented to Roshi,Aiho-san, Roko ni-Osho, andthe representatives of Brooklyn Aikikai to blow out. Then everyone gathered outsidefor a group photo, before moving upstairs for a champagne toast offered by Seigan EdGlassing. To conclude the wondrous day, everyone in attendance sang “The ImpossibleDream,” followed by thunderous applause. Each participant received a gift bag, whichincluded Nyogen Senzaki’s new book, Eloquent Silence, introduced by Eido Roshi andedited by Roko ni-Osho.Preparations, Renovations and ThanksFor most of this year New York Zendo has been preparing for the 40th Anniversary.We extend our special thanks to Aiho-san Yasuko Shimano and Seigan Ed Glassing fororganizing the various jobs, upgrades, contractors and volunteers who helped makeShobo-ji ready for its celebration. Many people helped in the beautification of thebuilding, while others helped behind the scenes.Special acknowledgments go to the following: Mr. Shuji Bon Yagi donated six new Tototoilets to Shobo-ji, which were installed by Peter Lombardi with help from Tangen BartBlank. Mrs. Myoyo Tanaka helped to order a brand new robe, which was the sangha’sgift to Eido Roshi. She also arranged the printing of one of the gifts for all the participants– a shikishi of Gempo Roshi's calligraphy, “Fantasy.” Additionally, she donatedJapanese foods and tea for the sesshin, and ordered new chopsticks for Shobo-ji’s jihatsusets. We also extend our thanks to Dai Bosatsu Zendo for donating thirty handmadezafus, a purple zafu and zabuton for Eido Roshi, and a new bowing mat from Japan.Katsuro Anthony McKiernan donated four cakes, fruits, cookies, and bread for sesshin,and Shoteki Chris Phelan donated champagne for the celebration. Thank you to Seiganand Jeannie Joshi for designing the Shobo-ji t-shirts.The outside of the building was repainted to match its opening colors from September15th, 1968. Peter Lombardi, Seigan, Genkai Stefan Tessler, Curtis Gatz, and Kozan PiotrRoszczenko stripped, sanded, and restained the wooden double doors and completelyreplaced the outside front door. Peter also extensively renovated the garden zendo’sdeck, roof, and beams.Finally, a deep bow to all who donated their time, ideas and work, and to all those whomade special contributions to New York Zendo Shobo-ji.Main Altar Buddha RestorationAt the conclusion of Shobo-ji’s 40th anniversary sesshin, Eido Roshi gave a teisho, inwhich he mentioned the history of the Amida Buddha statue on the main zendo’s altar.Amida means “Endless Dimension Universal Life.” Our beautiful Amida Buddha statuewas made in Korea and resided at Ryutaku-ji before Soen Nakagawa Roshi gave it toour sangha in 1968. Since then, it has been watching over us and practicing with us atNew York Zendo Shobo-ji. During these past 40 years, however, the wooden statuehas aged and has been in need of restoration for quite some time. Large cracks developedin the statue’s surface, and its skin began to peel.After the anniversary celebration, Roshi asked Togetsu Johanna Schwarzbeck, a professionalgilder and art restorer, to investigate the condition of the statue. It turned outto be in far worse condition than we had originally suspected. Woodworms had completelyinvaded the statue. The back of the Buddha needed to be filled, re-gilded andantiqued, and the right hand and left toes needed to be re-attached.Togetsu worked on the statue for almost two months and returned Amida Butsu toNew York Zendo in the beginning of December. Now Amida Butsu looks breathtaking,having been restored to its original condition. Thank you to Togetsu for her outstandingand skillful job. Thanks also to the many Sangha members and anonymous donorswho contributed money for the restoration.34 WINTER / SPRING 2009 35

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo Ji NewsWinter Interim 2007-2008The colder, darker months of the year were enlivened this winter by the presence ofthree interim residents who joined us for sections of the winter interim period.Matthew Leavey spent two weeks practicing with us, sharing his baking skills and south-London accent. Jinen Nancy Woodard returned to DBZ this winter and made greatstrides to organize and catalog the original blueprints of the monastery building. Also,Talia Lugacy visited DBZ for the first time, shared most of the interim period with us,and decided to return for the spring kessei.Spring Kessei 2008Spring kessei began on April 3rd with residents Fujin Butsudo, Jokei Kyodo, ShinkonWado,Tenrai Gudo, Giun Kendo, Seizan Tomoaki Sasaki,Tangen Bart Blank, Join JocelynPerry, and Peter Lombardi joined by returning kessei students Yobin Andrea Rook andKozan Piotr Roszczenko. Talia Lugacy participated in her first kessei, and Ciska Matthesjoined for approximately three weeks. We were also pleased to have a visit from longtimeDharma friend Brother Bernard Klim, C.S.C., who traveled from Uganda to joinus for Holy Days Sesshin.Choro-An Nyogen Senzaki's 50th Memorial2008 marked the 50th anniversary of Nyogen Senzaki's death, and several happeningsthis year helped us to remember and honor his immeasurable contribution to theDharma in the West. Here at Dai Bosatsu Zendo, we held a well-attended Ven. NyogenSenzaki 50th Memorial Sesshin, featuring several teishos and Dharma talks based uponNyogen Senzaki's writings and lectures. The Nyogen Senzaki 50th Memorial Sesshinincluded a special tea offering by tea teacher Ms.Wako Umetsu and Ms.Yoshiko Goto –who is the grand-daughter of Eido Roshi's ordination teacher, Kengan Goto Osho. Also,in the weeks leading up to this sesshin, a huge shipment of new tatami mats arrived fromJapan for the zendo, the Dharma hall, and the dokusan room. These were a generousdonation by Omar Danial and Nigol Koulajian. Many thanks also to Rev. Genro LeeMilton, whose woodwork in the dokusan room allowed us to turn that space into a tatamiroom for the first time.Nyogen Senzaki's 50th memorial was also honored by the publication of Eloquent Silence,a sizable collection of Nyogen Senzaki's previously unpublished lectures, essays, poems,calligraphy, and letters, including his complete commentary on The Gateless Gate.Eloquent Silence was translated and edited by Roko ni-Osho Sherry Chayat and featuresan introduction by Eido Roshi. Congratulations to Roko ni-Osho and Eido Roshi! DaiBosatsu Zendo would also like to thank Rev. Daien George Burch, who sponsored thepurchase of numerous copies of the book for use by DBZ and Shobo-ji.A Hearty Welcome to Fujin and RaijinA pair of striking new figures appeared in the Dharma Hall this spring. Two paintedwooden statues depicting Fujin and Raijin were donated just in time for the NyogenSenzaki 50th Memorial Sesshin. Fujin and Raijin are the Japanese gods of the wind andthunder, respectively. Fujin carries the wind on his back in a large sack, and Raijin holdsa striker in each hand, which he uses to make rumbles of thunder on his drums.Together, they now preside over the two windows on either side of the Dharma Hallaltar and lend their ki to our chanting services. Their images are featured on the frontand back covers of this issue of the newsletter.OrdinationsOn Gempo Roshi's day, June 3rd,TenraiFred Forsythe and Stefan Streit were ordainedas Zen Buddhist monks by Eido Roshi at DaiBosatsu Zendo. Tenrai received the monk'sname Gudo, which means “Quest.” Stefan wasgiven the Dharma name Giun, which means“Good Cloud” and the monk's name Kendo,which means “Unmistakable Way.” The twonew monks were heartily supported by spiritualguardians Fujin Butsudo and Karen Streit,Roko ni-Osho,Aiho-san and Seigan Fudo, familymembers, friends, DBZ residents, and numerousmembers of the DBZ and Shobo-ji sanghas.Obaku VisitLater in June, Dai Bosatsu Zendo received asomewhat unexpected visit from nine ObakuZen priests and lay students. The trip was arranged by one Asano Osho, who had visitedDBZ approximately 16 years ago, and the group was led by Nakamura Rodaishi ofTetsugen-ji in Japan. In addition to these two, the Obaku group was composed of twoother temple priests – Takashima Osho and Miyazaki Osho, two shintos (first-yearmonks) – Yamamoto Zenji and Kunizaki Zenji, and three lay people – Mr. Fumihiko Hokyo,Mr. Makoto Nakamura, and Ms.Akane Kozu.The group stayed with us for two days and shared with us some of the most wellknownpractices of the Obaku school of Zen. Perhaps the highlight of their stay was atraditional Obaku-school fucharyori meal, prepared for the DBZ residents by AsanoOsho with help from Kozu-san. Taking more than a full day of work to prepare, thisstunning meal incorporated more than 20 sublimely nuanced and artfully displayedcourses. Truly, a treat rarely met with!The Obaku group also presented for us their characteristic bombai chanting, in whichwe heard some familiar sutras and dharanis chanted in the classical Chinese pronunciation,with enchanting accompaniment by inkins and the hokku. Also, Ms.Akane Kozuperformed for us a beautiful and expressive traditional Japanese dance to a classicmelody called “Sakura.”Ichikukai VisitShortly before O-Bon this summer, Dai Bosatsu Zendo had the rare opportunity tohost Hiruta Sensei and five other misogi practitioners from Ichikukai Dojo – the onlyactive misogi dojo in Japan. Misogi is an ancient and energetic Shinto purification practicethat combines different styles of breathing, chanting, and shouting that are all aimed36 WINTER / SPRING 2009 37

at completely expelling air from the lungs and stirring up a clarity and primal vitality inthe practitioner. Hiruta Sensei, Abe-san, Ichikawa-san, Narita-san, Gen-san, andAnekouji-san traveled from Ichikukai and joined the DBZ residents, along with RyuganRobert Savoca Sensei, Yuho Carl Baldini, Terri Rzeznik, Grace Rollins, Justin Coletti,Daiden Charles Young, Zenchu Simon Manzer, and Tom Worsnopp. Together, we performedharai (misogi) in the zendo and shared a festive meal before the Ichikukai contingentcontinued on to Hiruta Sensei's new dojo, the International Kei-Zen Center, inextreme upstate New York, near the Canadian border.O-BonAbout 120 guests, work exchange students, and residents received the beneficence ofbeautiful weather, a starry sky, and a waxing moon for the 2008 O-Bon ceremony, aswe chanted Dai Segaki for our deceased loved ones and floated painted lanterns onBeecher Lake. Aiho-san joined us from Shobo-ji and led the large tenzo team for theevent, which included the skillful efforts of Seigan Fudo, Seizan Tomoaki Sasaki,YusenJunko Fujii, Manu Sassoonian, Lann Ikeda, Shogo Wada, and Ryota Hikima. Again thisyear, Peter Lombardi led the zomu crew, which coordinated the beautiful outdoorlantern-and-torch lighting and treated us to a massive O-Bon fire.Also, this year’s ceremony was enhanced by newly-donated segaki cymbals and flags.Rev.Yuzen Suzuki of Kokoku-ji temple generously coordinated both of these donations.The cymbals were made by Mr. Toshio Koide, and the segaki flags were lovingly andmeticulously constructed by several members of the Kokoku-ji sangha: Ms. KaoriSuzuki, Ms. Kazuo Kessoku, Mr.Tomohiro Idie, Ms.Yukiko Maruyama, Ms. Mizue Wakai,and Ms. Hiroko Uenoyama. The spirits of the deceased and O-Bon's attendees alsoenjoyed a bountiful offering of homegrown vegetables from Mr. Kiyuu Yokoyama. Eventhough the event itself lasted less than 24 hours, it was a beautiful and moving experiencefor all who attended.Summer Interim Residents and Work Exchange 2008The summer of 2008 featured a particularly dense event calendarat Dai Bosatsu, with the monastery often hosting multiplegroups or events on a given weekend, and almost weeklyadding a center-line to the zendo to accommodate thelarge number of visitors and helpers. Especially consideringthe healthy attendance at most summer events, we are verygrateful to the many people who contributed their efforts asinterim residents and work exchange students this summer.This summer's work exchange participants were: JinenNancy Woodard, Yusen Junko Fujii, Manu Sassoonian, FrehBekele, Thin-thin Lay, Nicholas Carbuto, Pascale Burkhart,John Lynch, Lann Ikeno, Larry Gagler, Asher Evans, BillGiordano, Christopher Botta, Ben Mayock, and JunkoKawakami.The resident community was also fortunate to receive anextended visit from former resident Zenchu Simon Manzer,who has been studying at Shogen Junior College in Japanand spent 2 weeks of his summer break training at DaiBosatsu Zendo. Two young Japanese men also stayed for asignificant portion of the summer interim: Ryota Hikima, astudent at the University of Buffalo and a great-nephew of Eido Roshi, joined us forpart of his summer break, and Shogo Wada spent his first few weeks in the UnitedStates as an interim resident at DBZ.Samu ProjectsThis year saw the evolution of several notable projects, installations, and donations atDai Bosatsu Zendo. A highly visible example is the new bridge over the outflow at thefoot of Beecher Lake, which was completed in the waning days of summer by PeterLombardi with assistance from Tangen Bart Blank and Shogo Wada. This spring andsummer also presided over the construction of a new greenhouse and two new drystoneplanting beds behind the woodshed. The greenhouse was purchased with moneydonated earlier in the year by the DBZ resident community and constructed by SamuWeekend Participants. Alas, our busy schedule did not allow an opportunity to put thegreenhouse together in time for this year's growing season, but the residents are excitedabout the modest first-fruits from the plantingbeds and eager to get an earlier start next year. Also,as if summoned by the construction of the newgreenhouse, Mr. Kiyuu Yokoyama appeared in the latefall and spent several days with us, working diligentlydespite chilly weather to plant a myriad of vegetablesand ornamentals in the greenhouse and in the vicinityof Sangha Meadow.DBZ also gratefully received two major pieces ofoutdoor equipment this year. One was a new logsplitter, the purchase of which was coordinated bySoun Joe Dowling and funded by donations from severalfrequent Samu Weekend volunteers. The otherwas a new riding lawn mower, donated by Jim Tisch and coordinated through the effortand initiative of Laura Last. Both of these highly useful gifts were put to immediate andenthusiastic use by our Zomu and the summer samu volunteers.Finally, after quietly spreading its roots in the literal underground of Dai Bosatsu Zendofor the past couple of years, our cushion-making department bloomed this year into abona fide cottage industry. Led by Tenrai Gudo, the “zafu-ryo” filled orders this yearfor 16 pairs of zafus and zabutons for Endless Mountain Zendo, a dozen supportcushions for Hoen-ji, 10 pairs of cushions for Nakamura Roshi's zazenkai at Tetsugenjiin Japan, 30 zafus for Shobo-ji, and countless smaller cushion orders for individuals.In this effort, we are very grateful to Ms. Hisako Sasaki, who donated her labor tomake shells for 100 zafus. May these cushions gently but firmly support the practiceof their present and future owners!Fall Kessei 2008Fall Kessei began on September 17th. Residents Fujin Butsudo, Jokei Kyodo, ShinkonWado,Tenrai Gudo, Giun Kendo, Seizan Tomoaki Sasaki,Tangen Bart Blank, Join JocelynPerry, and Peter Lombardi were joined by returning kessei student Kozan PiotrRoszczenko. First-time DBZ kessei students included Myodo Matthew Perez andSeimu Tina Grant, hailing from Chobo-ji's sangha in Seattle, and Thierry Boudewyn, whocame to us from Strasbourg, France. Also, Shogo Wada was so enthusiastic about hisexperiences at DBZ during the summer interim that he elected to return and attendhis first kessei in the fall.38WINTER / SPRING 2009 39

Harvest Jukai Sesshin 2008Eido Roshi conducted a Jukai ceremony on November 8th, the final day of HarvestSesshin. This year, 8 students took Jukai and received Dharma names, as a symbol oftheir commitment to zen practice and their new identity as Buddhists. Congratulationsand good luck to this year’s Jukai students!Name Dharma Name TranslationJudy Chang Hokaku Release the CraneLarry Gagler Gangyo Vow and practiceJohn Lynch Ryoju Vulture peak / Spiritual EagleYasuko Hara Ryoun Transcend the CloudsLaura Jackson-Zaremba Hojun Pure TreasuryElzbieta Roszczenko Karyo Flower HillPiotr Roszczenko Kozan Cultivate the MountainJohanna Schwarzbeck Togetsu Exhale the MoonInterreligious Gathering with Pope Benedict XVISeigan Edwin GlassingThis April, Eido Roshi was one of ten religious leaders asked by the Vatican to meet personallywith Pope Benedict XVI during his trip to Washington DC. The themes of thePope’s visit in the United States were peace and inter-religious dialogue, and his tour culminatedin an April 17th meeting with representatives of Judaism, Islam, Buddhism,Hinduism, and Jainism in Washington, DC. Pope Benedict XVI delivered a special addressto an audience of over two hundred dignitaries and officials. He spoke of the commonbonds that the Vatican has had with other religions, a vision of hope, and his view of thefuture, in which he called upon all people to become artisans of peace:“I assure you thatthe Church wantso continue building bridges of friendship with the followers of all religions,in order to seek the true good of every person and of society as a whole.”Following the speech, two representativesof each religion wereasked to share a few private minuteswith His Holiness. Eido Roshiwas one of the Buddhist representatives.After the Pope left theauditorium, the ten representativeswere asked – to their surprise– to share their experienceswith the rest of the audience. EidoRoshi, stepping up to the podium,shared what he told the Pope:“Although dialogue and words areimportant, what is more essential is the power of Silence, which is shared by all religions.Silence and ‘being silent’ are the hallmark and wellspring of prayer itself.” The audiencegave him a standing ovation!Eido Roshi Acknowledges Roko ni-Osho as a RoshiSeigan Edwin GlassingOn October 12th, Eido Roshi traveled to the Zen Center ofSyracuse Hoen-ji to conduct a Shitsugo Ceremony. Thisceremony acknowledged Roko ni-Osho as a Roshi in theHakuin-Torei-Gempo-Soen lineage of Rinzai Zen Buddhism.As a symbol of this acknowledgment, Eido Roshi gave herthe name Shingeshitsu, “Room for your Heart to Bloom.”Over 150 people attended the event, including sangha membersfrom Hoen-ji and teachers from the Zen community.From the very beginning, the entire sangha greeted EidoRoshi and Seigan in robes chanting Namu Dai Bosa. It wasvery touching to see their love for Roshi in this simple act.The ceremony was elegant and simple and Eido Roshi'swords were uplifting. In his congratulatory address, EidoRoshi recounted to the sangha a recent conversation he hadwith Nikyu Robert Strickland. Nikyu said, “We have a temple. We have a teacher. Wehave a lineage.” Roshi remarked that this simple statement encapsulates the essence ofthis event. There is a temple, Hoen-ji. There is a teacher, Shingeshitsu Roshi, and there isa lineage which is known as the Taku-ju school of Rinzai Zen Buddhism.This lineage runsthrough Eido Roshi’s teacher, Soen Roshi, his teacher, Gempo Roshi, Gempo Roshi'steacher Sohan Roshi and continues back to Hakuin Zenji, Rinzai Gigen Zenji,Bodhidharma Daishi Dai Osho and Shakyamuni Buddha.Eido Roshi concluded his remarks, saying, “So, Brothers and Sisters in Dharma, with greattrust, I happily transmit this wonderful lineage with the name Shingeshitsu Roshi to Roko ni-Osho.” Shingeshitsu Roshi then gave a teisho on Obaku's “Partakers of Brewers Grain,”wherein Obaku Kiun Zenji states, “I do not say there is no Zen, but that there is no Zenteacher.” Following the teisho were a musical performance, several speeches and a wonderfulvegetarian feast made by the sangha.40WINTER / SPRING 2009 41

There is a love at the heart of Hoen-ji that shines through in so many ways. The Hoen-ji sangha’sdevotion to their teacher and to the Dharma is reflected in their many kindnesses.Thiswarmth is perfectly condensed in Shingeshitsu Roshi’s new name, “Room for your Heart toBloom.” The Zen Studies Society extends its heartfelt congratulations to Shingeshitsu Roshi,and to the entire Hoen-ji sangha.Genjo Osho Receives Dharma TransmissionShinkon Peter GlynnOn May 21st, a beautiful spring day in Seattle, Eido Roshi conductedShiho-shiki (Dharma Transmission) for Genjo MarinelloOsho. Among those present for the ceremony were GenkiTakabayashi Roshi (Genjo's ordination teacher and foundingabbot of Chobo-ji), Roko ni-Osho Sherry Chayat from Hoen-ji,Meido Moore Roshi from Chicago, Eido Frances Carney of theOlympia Zen Center, Chozen Bays Roshi and Hogen Bays ofGreat Vow Monastery in Oregon, the Ven. Shen-Ling Rossi ofDragon Flower Ch'an Temple in Tacoma, and Urasenke Tea Instructor Bonnie Soshin MitchellSensei. Ninety guests attended the ceremony held at the University Friends (Quaker) Hall.The traditional ceremony included challenges by 6 gatekeepers, including Eido Roshi andGenki Roshi. Once Genjo passed through the six gates, Eido Roshi forcefully pounded astaff on the floor and passed it to Genjo as the symbol of transmission. Then Genjo Oshooffered a Dharma talk. A delicious lunch prepared by the Chobo-ji sangha provided anenjoyable conclusion to the memorable occasion.Shokan Undo Acknowledged as OshoJokei KyodoThis August, Eido Roshi traveled to Switzerland to conduct his annual sesshin at Stiftung-Felsentor retreat centre near beautiful Lake Lucerne. Although Roshi has been traveling toSwitzerland to do sesshin for many years now, this year’s retreat was quite special. On the lastday of sesshin, Rev. Shokan Undo Marcel Urech was acknowledged as an Osho and receivedEido Roshi’s endorsement as leader and resident teacher of Shogen Dojo Zurich.Shokan was first ordained in the Soto Zen tradition in 1986, before becoming a student ofEido Roshi in 1991. He lived and trained at Dai Bosatsu Zendo for six years before returningto Switzerland to lead the Shogen Dojo Zurich community. Over time, the sangha hasgrown and the mandala widened. In addition to his duties in Zurich, Shokan has also beeninvited to lead Zazen practice at various retreats and seminarsacross Europe combining Aikido and Zen. In recent years, a fewstudents from DBZ have been fortunate enough to travel toSwitzerland with Roshi to participate in sesshin with Shokan andthe European sangha.It was a rare and unique opportunity to be able to witness andtake part in this very special occasion, for which I am deeply andinexpressably grateful. On behalf of the Zen Studies Society, Iwould like to extend our warmest congratulations to Shokanand to our European sangha brothers and sisters.N E W Y O R K Z E N D O S H O B O - J IS C H E D U L E 2 0 0 9JAN Dec 31-1 New Year’s Eve Celebration8 Winter/Spring Training period startsTeisho by Eido Roshi10 Dokusan, Japanese Dharma class31 New Year of the Ox All Day SitFEB 14 Nirvana All Day SitMAR 20-22 Soen/Yasutani Roshi Weekend Sesshin28 Dokusan, Japanese Dharma classAPR 16 Teisho by Eido Roshi18 Dokusan, Japanese Dharma class25 Spring All Day SitMAY 14 Teisho by Eido Roshi16 Dokusan, Japanese Dharma class23 Nyogen Senzaki All Day SitJUN 5-7 Gempo Roshi, Kengan Osho Weekend Sesshin20 Japanese Dharma ClassJUL 3-4 Closed for Independence Day11 Segaki All Day Sit, Spring Training period ends15-16 Open for regular evening zazen22-23 Open for regular evening zazen29-30 Open for regular evening zazen31-Sept 2Closed for Summer InterimAUG 19-20 Open for regular evening zazen26-27 Open for regular evening zazenSEP 3 Fall Training period starts,Teisho by Eido Roshi5 Morning Dokusan, Japanese Dharma Class18-20 Shobo-ji 41st Anniversary Weekend SesshinOCT 10 Bodhidharma All Day Sit24 Morning Dokusan, Japanese Dharma ClassNOV 14 Morning Dokusan, Japanese Dharma Class20-22 Soyen Shaku/Kogetsu Tani Weekend Sesshin25-28 Closed for ThanksgivingDEC 1-8 Rohatsu Week: 1 sit added12 Fall Training Ending Teisho by Eido Roshi13-Jan 5Winter Interim Zendo Closed31-Jan 1New Year’s Eve Celebration42WINTER / SPRING 2009 43

D A I B O S A T S U Z E N D O K O N G O - J IS C H E D U L E 2 0 0 9JAN Dec 31-Jan 1 New Year’s Eve Celebration with Eido Roshi16-19 Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend SesshinMAR 11-15 March–On 5-Day SesshinAPR 3 Spring Kessei Begins4-12 Holy Days Sesshin17-19 Samu Weekend24-26 Intro to Zen WeekendMAY 2-10 Ven. Nyogen Senzaki Memorial Sesshin15-17 Samu Weekend21-24 Intro to Zen Weekend29-31 Samu WeekendJUN 19-21 Intro to Zen Weekend27-Jul 5Anniversary SesshinJUL 7 Spring Kessei Ends31-Aug 5Summer Samu 5-Day SesshinAUG 8-9 O-BonSEP 16 Fall Kessei Begins18-20 Intro to Zen Weekend26-Oct 4Golden Wind SesshinOCT 9-11 Samu Weekend15-18 Intro to Zen Weekend31-Nov 8Harvest SesshinNOV 13-15 Intro to Zen Weekend26-27 Thanksgiving Celebration30-Dec 8Rohatsu SesshinDEC 10 Fall Kessei Ends31-Jan 1New Year’s Eve Celebration44 WINTER / SPRING 2007 2009 45

The Zen Studies SocietyDai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji223 Beecher Lake Road • Livingston Manor, NY • 12758-6000www.zenstudies.orgPresorted StandardU.S. Postage PaidNewburgh, NY 12550Permit No. 8604