Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery

Golden Highways Revisited: 1998We have a moment to pause before the evening’s event, so they kit me out witha cup of tea and a quiet corner. Chozen and Hogen Bays appear and the sessionswells into shape. The talk is on The Buddhist Practice of Moral Precepts and is astonishinglywell attended. Well-sugared and hidden amongst humorous asides wemanage to give the Five Precepts the full treatment; furthermore, if the faces alightwith joy around the room are anything to go by, folks seem to get it too – what awonder.Tan Sudanto shows up with his mother and stepfather and then trails backwith us to Larch Mountain Zen Center, perched on the edge of the Columbia Gorgea few miles east of the city. It is the teaching center run by Chozen and Hogenthemselves and the place where they have lived for a dozen years now. Yon-San,an American Zen monk fresh from Japan, who is helping Harada Roshi set up in aplace on Whidbey Island, off Seattle, is also along with us for the evening.After a little loss of ways and roaming aimlessly in the dark, we meet up andget to the center by 11:45 p.m. – long day, deep sleep, no worries.June 4 thWe sit and chat all morning over tea and breakfast – the skies unload a thick drizzleand cloud wraps Larch Mountain completely. We are happy to be ensconcedhowever and talk over all manner of issues related to starting new places.Larch Mountain Zen Center began with the vow of the late Maezumi Roshi toplant the seeds of the Dharma so firmly in the West that they would never die out.Jan Chozen Bays, a Dharma heir of Maezumi Roshi, has dedicated her life to helpfulfill this vision. She was ordained as a Zen priest in 1977 and received Dharmatransmission (authority to teach) from Maezumi Roshi in 1983; since his death shehas continued to deepen her own practice by studying with Shodo Harada Roshiof Sogen-ji Monastery in Japan.She is a wife, mother and pediatrician working in the field of child abuse.Hogen Bays, her husband, began practicing in 1968 with Roshi Philip Kapleau.He was ordained as a Zen priest by Maezumi Roshi in 1990. Hogen has also continuedhis Zen studies with Harada Roshi since 1990. He is a naturopathic doctor,holds a Master’s degree in psychology and has worked for the Oregon Departmentof Corrections for 15 years.In 1985 Chozen began leading a small meditation group in her home inPortland. As the need arose she began to give Dharma talks, guide students andlead intensive silent retreats. As the group grew the weekly zazen practice movedto the Dharma Center in Portland. Requests for residential training led to theestablishment of Larch Mountain Zen Center in these forests above the ColumbiaGorge.Their mission is to make the Dharma accessible to people of all ages and backgroundsand to facilitate the transmission of an authentic teaching lineage. Theirinstruction is tailored to each individual and they use a variety of meditation practicetechniques, including breath, listening, koan study, and others that they andthe student feel are appropriate. Both Chozen and Hogen are very much in support85