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We are a small Thien (Zen) Buddhist Temple practicing "laughing farmer zen" - living our practice, sitting zazen, being here - right now!
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Calendar
June 2011
1 - New Moon*
4 - Saturday Service Here
6 - Prison Ministry CRCC
11 - Saturday Service
11 - All day meditation intensive
12 - Hood River zazen (Dharma Rain) dates not available on their website
14 - Flag Day
15 - Full Moon*
19 - Temple closed
19 NW Dharma Association meeting in Olympia
20 - Buddhist movie night at the Abbey - 6 pm - join us
24- Zen Lunch at Debbie's call 360.951.2329
25 - Sunday Service Here
26 - Hood River zazen (Dharma Rain) dates not available on their website
27 - Prison Ministry CRCC
* Buddhist Ceremonies
Thien (Zen) services are in blue
+Summer Service+
Our last Saturday service will be on June 11. We will have a 9AM Sunday service from June 19 - Sept 30th
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Meditation Intensive/Zazenkai
A Zazenkai is a special, yet ordinary day in which we put aside the myriad happenings in our lives and focus on our meditative practice.
It is a day of Right Concentration to include sitting (of course!), walking, meditative work practice, and quiet intentional meals known as oriyoki. Other forms of practice may be included. Please call to let us know if you plan to attend.
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Thich Nhat Hanh Speaks:
"When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That's the message he is sending."
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Dogen Zenji
"You should study not only that you become a mother when your child is born, but also that you become a child."
"Set aside all involvements and let the myriad things rest. Zazen is not thinking of good, not thinking of bad. It is not conscious endeavour. It is not introspection. Do not desire to become a Buddha; let sitting or lying down drop away. Be moderate in eating and drinking. Be mindful of the passing of time, and engage yourself in zazen as though you are saving your head from fire."
"A zen master's life is one continuous mistake."
"That you carry yourself forward and experience the myriad things is delusion. That the myriad things come forward and experience themselves is awakening."
"The true person is Not anyone in particular;
But like the deep blue color
Of the limitless sky,
It is everyone,
Everywhere in the world."
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Empty Mind Sayings
It is said within Zen: "Do not mistake the teacher's finger pointing towards the moon as the moon itself".
It is also said: "Do not confuse the reflection of the moon within the water for the moon".
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Northwest Buddhist Resources
click on links below
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 Dear Dharma Friends,
Spring is finally upon us. We need volunteers for our gardens and then in August & September for canning and drying fruit. Please think about volunteering hours as the summer goes on. We donate 40% + of what we grow to the local food bank.
With all the extreme weather in so many parts of the world, our late spring this year seems a minor thing. May all beings find peace.
In loving kindness,
Thich Minh Tinh
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We Have WWOOFers!
Jen and Jordan are visiting us on behalf of World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms. WOOFers travel to organic farms and work in trade for room, board, and learning opportunities.
Our first WOOFers have been a wonderful asset to the farm. They've put in new strawberry beds, placed plants in the herb garden, cared for the chickens and have even gone to help milk goats at a neighbor's house. They've also been helping out in the kitchen, and sitting with us in the temple. They think that they're only here for ten days, but we just might have to kidnap them!^D
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Good Works
We discovered a new company last month that engages in Good Works: Tom's Shoes. With every pair of shoes you buy, Tom's donates a pair of shoes to a child in a poor country, so that they can attend school and walk more safely. They also make most of their shoes without leather. We're not advocating to buy shoes if you don't need them, but perhaps keep them in mind if the time comes that you're looking for a new pair. For more information, check out their website: Toms shoes
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Wet Spots On The Floor
Thich Tam Tri/Denise Morrison
My dog Kona is often a point of discussion at the Abbey. Kona is a mix of black lab and handsome stranger, given to me by a doctor I worked with ten years ago. I got her for free, but she has cost over ten thousand dollars in vet bills and home repairs. The ironic thing is that of all the dogs I have had, Kona and I have had the weakest bond, yet I have done more for her financially than any dog I've had. As one of our guests had mentioned, it's like a marriage: when you agree to take an animal into your home, you care for it no matter what - for better or for worse. Sadly, what I realized is that my relationships with my pets has gone better than my relationships with some people.
Compassion for pets is sometimes easier to come by than compassion for people. It's easier to generate compassion for a harmless little puppy when compared to a human being that is getting on our last nerve. Our conversation about Kona got me wondering: why is that? Puppies (and adult dogs)certainly do things that are annoying. They leave wet spots on the floor for us to find in the middle of the night. They chew up our favorite sweaters or books. They decide that three o'clock in the morning is a good time to bark or howl or to want to go outside. Yet we usually give them more latitude than we allow our human friends. We might say that dogs don't know any better, but our human friends do. But do they?
It is our nature to have moments of selfishness, anger, and ignorance. It is also our nature to be intolerant of those traits in others while ignoring them in ourselves. But the fact is that even though we all may know better, it is our nature to leave these wet spots on the floor. It is our nature to act in ways that are selfish, angry, or ignorant. When our anger or judgment of other people's actions arises, we can make a note of it in ourselves. We can remember a time when we've done something similar. We can lovingly remember that as connected beings, it's both our and their nature to do these things. We can mentally pull out the carpet steamer, clean up the mess, and then love them (and ourselves) just the same.
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The Pacific Hermitage finds a new home
Per their website (http://hermitage.abhayagiri.org), the monks from the Pacific Hermitage will be moving nearer to White Salmon. As a special guest to help celebrate their new home, Ajahn Jayasaro will give a dharma talk.
"We're happy to announce plans for a visit by one of our senior teachers, Ajahn Jayasaro. He ordained in Thailand with Ajahn Chah in 1980, and served as abbot of Wat Pa Nanachat, our international monastery for five years. Since then he's been living in a hermitage in Thailand and offering inspiration and guidance to lay and monastic communities, with a special interest in bringing Buddhist principles to the education system.
In his dhamma talks, Ajahn Jayasaro often states that "Buddhism is not a belief-based religion" but an education-based one which teaches people to "liberate themselves from all suffering through a clear penetrative understanding of the way things are." He serves as spiritual director of several innovative schools in Thailand, including the Thawsi School.
From "The Meaning of Wisdom in Buddhist Education": "In order to flourish in the world it's not then a matter of merely accumulating a body of knowledge, so much as cultivating a strong but supple mind and the ability to develop life skills such as skillful communication, the ability to work in a team, patience, resilience (the ability to bounce back after disappointments), the ability to manage one's moods, and to protect the mind from pride, arrogance, greed, hatred, depression, anxiety, and panic. These abilities are being increasingly recognized as being more useful and necessary in the long run to a successful working life than having a particular degree under your belt. This is why Buddhist education is not at all idealistic. It is not meant to produce unworldly people, virtuous but unable to cope in the so-called 'real world'. It is rather based on the conviction that the Buddhist developmental process which can in its fullness take someone all the way to enlightenment, on a scaled-down level provides the best possible kind of education for ordinary people." They will be holding a Pah Bah (an offering ceremony) on Saturday, June 4. The day will begin with a meal offering and Pah Bah ceremony at the Bingen Schoolhouse at the corner of Humboldt and Cedar Streets in Bingen, WA. For directions please visit www.bingenschool.com. If you are planning on bringing something to offer for the meal, please arrive at 11:00 in order for us to prepare the meal and have it ready to offer to the monastics at 11:30 AM. The Pah Bah ceremony will begin right after the meal. There will also be a Dhamma talk in Thai by Ajahn Jayasaro, a highly respected Western monk visiting from Thailand. Once the ceremony and talk conclude, there will be a break. Then, from 3-5 PM the gathering will move to Yoga Samadhi on 177 W. Jewett Street, in White Salmon for a meditation and a Dhamma talk in English by Ajahn Jayasaro. Please join us in celebrating this wonderful event. May Dharma flow from the new hermitage like water in the Columbia River - full and beautiful. |
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Resources
Buddhist Woodworking
Reverend Ken McGuire has started a new woodworking company specifically for Buddhist Altars and supplies. You can view some of his wonderful work at the Trout Lake Zen Temple or online at http://zenfurnishings.net/
by Ken's workshop.
Free Trade coffee that goes for a good cause:
The Presbyterian Coffee Project provides free trade, sustainable, worker friendly coffee. In the greater Trout Lake area you can purchase it from our temple or the Trout Lake Presbyterian Church.
Local Churches that teach and practice an embracing, kind, and loving faith.
Trout Lake Presbyterian - Sunday service at 11:15 am
http://www.troutlake.org/main/custom.asp?recid=15&id=38
Sunday Service at 10AM (Summer schedule), Trout Lake
Bethel Congregational Church (United Church of Christ)
http://church.gorge.net/bethel/
Sunday Service at 10AM in White Salmon
Mid-Columbia Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
http://mcuuf.org/index.php
Sunday Service at 10AM at the Rockford Grange, Hood River
Minh Quang Temple 14719 SE Powell Blvd. Portland, OR
Hood River Zen - affiliated with Dharma Rain
www.hoodriverzen.org
Local Providers of Care
Cookie Gilpatrick LMT
Yoga Instructor & Massage Therapist
Trout Lake and Hood River
cell 541.490.9077 home 509.395.2468
Karen Hoffman LMT
Massage Therapist
Trout Lake and White Salmon
cell 509.637.4995
Dave Martin MSOM, LAc
Acupuncture and Classical Chinese Medicine
410 E. Jewett Blvd, White Salmon WA
office 509.493.1241
Denise Morrison PA-C
Mid Columbia Family Health Center
http://www.mcfhc.com/
Jennifer Silapie ND
Naturopathic Physician
251 N. Main Ave, White Salmon
509.493.3300
These individuals are recommended because of the quality of their practice, not because of any religious beliefs.
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