Tuyết Sơn Thiền Tự

Mt Adams Zen Buddhist Temple

雪山禅寺

August 2012 Newsletter
Dear Dharma Friends,
The bright light of August is upon us - for those of us in the Pacific northwest it is a special time of warmth and growth.  The mountain trails are open, hiking is wonderful, and the joy of just being alive is so easy to find in everything. May the season spur our own thoughts on to find the joy of living - right now.

We have had wonderful workshops and retreats at the Abbey this year and we're going to attempt to have even more next year.  As soon as we complete our 4th hut we will start having Zen retreats lasting 3 or 7 days.  We'll also add Metta retreats by early fall.

The very reverend Mingchan Shi visited our temple for 2 weeks and presented me with his red kesa (see photo below).  He also gave me an appointment to his temple. Here is the translation:

"LETTER OF APPOINTMENT - This letter invites the Venerable Kozen Sampson (Abbot of Mt. Adams Zen Buddhist Temple in Trout Lake, Washington) to become honorary head monk and lifetime professor at the Jiashan Temple in Shimen County, Hunan Province, PR China, a monastery in the Linji Lineage of Chinese Zen Buddhism. This appointment is valid for life. Abbot Shi Mingchan, Jiashan Temple, Shimen County, Hunan Province."

 

It is a wonderful honor and a great joy to share Dharma with other Buddhists.  Abbot Mingchan's zen lineage actually has a section that is the same as mine - from the Buddha to the 9th Chinese Zen Masters - before the lineage separates.  
 
In looking with the heart of the dharma, all temples, statues, robes, incense and all the other religious "stuff" is pretty much horse feathers.  Without the heart of Dharma is it all just "stuff"  It is our own journey which makes it so very real and beautiful.  I was in a Thai temple a few years ago and the abbot there addressed a layman saying, " I see that you have a lot of gold Buddhas and charms around your neck - Do you know that they are all useless to protect you or to stop change?'  "No - I paid good money for them and got them blessed", replied the layman.  "Well", said the abbot, "Dharma is free, Buddha is within and nothing you can wear will change that."  The abbot then smiled and said "but they are shiny".
May we all find our stuff and not allow it to get in our own way. 
 May all beings find peace.         In Loving Kindness, Thich Minh Tinh

We are a small Thien (Zen) Buddhist Temple practicing  "laughing farmer zen" - living our practice, sitting zazen, being here - right now!

Services & Meditation  

 

Morning Services  6:30AM 

Calendar 


AUGUST  

4 Saturday Service 
4 Lunghnasadah Druid  8pm
6 CRCC Ministry
8 Peace Camp presentation - Kozen

11 Saturday Service
 
18 Saturday Service
22 - 26 ISSICA Retreat
25 Saturday Service
27-29 ISSCA Retreat here 
31 Community foundation sale in Trout Lake

SEPTEMBER

1 Saturday Service 
8 OPEN HOUSE here to celebrate our new meditation huts and temple artwork   
15 Saturday Service 
22 Saturday Service 
29 Saturday Service  

Quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh

"Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts."

 

"Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today."

 

"Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace. It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace. It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace."

 

"Let us enjoy breathing together."

Dogen Zenji Quotes
(1200 - 1253)
Dogen Zenji
 

That you carry yourself forward and experience the myriad things is delusion. That the myriad things come forward and experience themselves is awakening

  

Studying the Buddha way is studying oneself.
Studying oneself is forgetting oneself.
Forgetting oneself is being enlightened by all things.
Being enlightened by all things is to shed the body-mind of oneself, and those of others.
No trace of enlightenment remains, and this traceless enlightenment
continues endlessly.

  

Yet, though it is like this, simply, flowers fall amid our longing and weeds spring up amid our antipathy.

Words of Wisdom from The Buddha

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.

 

To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.

 

If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.

  

When Buddha was on his death bed he noticed his young disciple Anan was weeping.
'Why are you weeping, Anan?' he asked.
'Because the light of the world is about to be extinguished and we will be in darkness.'
The Buddha summoned up all his remaining energy and spoke what were to be his final words on earth:
'Anan, Anan, be a light unto yourself.'

Buddhist Scripture

 

Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.

 

You can only lose what you cling to.

 

There is only one time
when it is essential to awaken.
That time is now.

 

Meditate.
Live purely. Be quiet.
Do your work with mastery.
Like the moon, come out
from behind the clouds!
Shine.

 

If it is not truthful and not helpful, don't say it.
If it is truthful and not helpful, don't say it.
If it is not truthful and helpful, don't say it.
If it is truthful and helpful, wait for the right time.

 

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.

 

Your work is to discover your world
and then with all your heart give yourself to it.
Joanna Macy 
was at the Abbey for a 1 day workshop in July.  Her presentation was wonderful and inspiring.
   Joanna Rogers Macy, Ph.D, is an environmental activist, author, scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology. She is the author of eight books.
   For more information about this amazing woman or her mission to save our earth - please see her website www.joannamacy.net
Joanna Mays  

Quotes from  

Eleanor Roosevelt

 

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.     

 

Hate and force cannot be in just a part of the world without having an effect on the rest of it.     

 

Have convictions. Be friendly. Stick to your beliefs as they stick to theirs. Work as hard as they do.

 

As for accomplishments, I just did what I had to do as things came along.

Temple Open House and official welcoming of our new meditation huts and temple art.
Please Join Us
Saturday 8 September
9 - 10 AM Temple Saturday service
10 - 11AM  tours and hut and artwork dedication
11 am - Noon - Potluck Brunch - please bring a dish to share with guests.

Meditation Huts
- so far we have had donations for 3 huts.  2 are completed and the 3rd hut is under construction.  The 3rd hut will be for handicapped individuals and will exceed ADA requirements.

Adris DeFreece
Ardis, a local artist, has created a vision of the sky, the Bodhi Tree (under which the Buddha became enlightened) and Buddhist Bodhisattvas on the ceiling and alter wall of the temple.  She did much of the work lying on her back at the top of a 12 ft scaffold - a local Michelangelo!

ceiling
CINDY NOVELO in Concert at a private residence in Trout Lake WA
Tuesday, Aug. 14, in Trout Lake
7:30 p.m. $15 donation (All proceeds go to the artist)

For more info or to RSVP, contact Nancy at [email protected] or 541-490-2291.  
Reservations are required as seating is limited.

World music-infused Americana, graced with classically soulful lyricism
Haunting, soulful, magical... Cindy Novelo's music captivates the heart and soothes the soul.  Reaching from the mystical sounds of the hollows of Appalachia to the melodies and traditions of both Medieval and Romantic Europe, Novelo blends her classical training with her deep love of folk music into mesmerizing interpretations of traditional tunes and original compositions graced with passion and tenderness.  An award-winning musician and singer/songwriter, Novelo has performed across the U.S., Europe, and Latin America.

For sound clips and more, visit www.cindynovelo.com

National College of Natural Medicine NCNM (www.NCNM.edu)
presented a Wang Fengyi retreat hosted at Trout Lake Abbey
Instructors
Instructors at NCNM's . From Left to right, Dr. Zhao, Dr. Liu, Abbot Ming Chan, Dr. Wang, Dr. Heiner Fruhauf, Kozen, Dr. Laurie Regan, Dr. Tamara Staudt.  Kozen was not an instructor but gave 2 dharma talks during the retreat.
Sitting Meditation
Samadhi or Zazen -Body, Breath, and Mind

1.  Body

   Keep the head erect, back straight, nose in line with your navel, ears aligned with your hips, eyes open and downcast at about a 45 degree angle. Keep your tongue touching the roof of the mouth just behind the front teeth.

   Partially sit on a cushion with legs crossed, or a bench, or a chair (feet on floor). Keeping a straight back is an important aspect of meditation. if you are sitting on a cushion - usually sit on just 1/3. 

   You do not need to be able to sit in a full lotus. Sit as you are able - we do not give any points for suffering.  

   Hand Position: Cosmic Mudra - Place your right hand palm upward in your lap against the lower abdomen. Place the left hand palm upward on top of the right. The second joints of the middle fingers should be touching, and your fingers parallel. Raise the thumbs up and touch the thumb tips lightly together, forming an oval between the thumbs and fingers. The thumb tips should join at the approximate level of the navel.

 

2. Breath

   Breathe in and out through the nose. Expand your belly as you breathe in.  Contract your belly as you breathe out  Let your long breaths be long and your short breaths be short.

 

3. Mind

   Neither try to block thoughts nor daydream along with them. Let thoughts be like clouds in the trees - clouds just drift through, while the tree remains still.

   Count 1-10 with inhales being odd numbers (1,3,5,7,9) and exhales being even numbers. Think of your breath coming in and going out.

Return to watching your breath if you get lost and restart counting. Identify what you are doing if you lose count - "having a thought", "having an itch", "having a feeling" - then return to counting.

   After leaning this simple counting the next step is to quit counting and just sit quietly.

    

Start your sitting with 2 deep breaths. Then breathe naturally.

Start easy - if you are new to meditation , try starting with 5 minutes a day.  Then add time as you can - the goal is to be able to sit for 30 - 45 minutes.

Attend a temple or meditation group to get help with specific problems - sometimes a teacher can be of great help.   

There are other forms of meditation which we will review in future articles. 

"Meditation is a private activity done well in a group." 

Resources

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 The Farm Store at Trout Lake Abbey.  Proceeds are shared between the Trout Lake Presbyterian church and the Mt. Adams Zen Buddhist Temple. 
  

Churches that teach and practice an embracing,  

kind, and loving faith.

 

Trout Lake Presbyterian - Sunday service in winter at 11:15 am    

http://www.troutlake.org/main/custom.asp?recid=15&id=38

Sunday Service at in summer 10AM   

  

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    

    

Pacific Hermitage  http://hermitage.abhayagiri.org/ 

65 Barnedt Road

White Salmon, Washington 98672

Co Lam Pagoda

3503 S. Graham St.Seattle WA 98118 
Some monks speak English well    

 

Minh Quang Temple  

14719 SE Powell Blvd. Portland, OR    

non-english speaking monk


Hood River Zen
- Hood River OR 

www.hoodriverzen.org  (affiliated with Dharma Rain)  

 

Local Providers of Compassionate Care   

These individuals are recommended because of the quality of their practice, not because of any religious beliefs. 

  

Cookie Gilpatrick  LMT  Massage Therapist Yoga Instructor
offices in Trout Lake and Hood River cell 541.490.9077  home 509.395.2468
 

Karen Hoffman LMT  Massage Therapist
offices in Trout Lake and White Salmon cell 509.637.4995  

 

Dave Martin MSOM, LAc  Acupuncture and Classical Chinese Medicine   

Trinity Natural Medicine http://www.trinitynaturalmedicine.org/  

410 E. Jewett Blvd, White Salmon WA

office 509.493.1241

 

Denise Morrison PA-C
North Shore Medical Group
http://www.northshore-medical.com/Default.aspx


Jennifer Silapie ND
Naturopathic Physician  

Mountain Sage Medicine   

http://www.mountainsagemedicine.com/Site/Mountain_Sage_Medicine.html

302 W. Steuben, Bingen, WA 98605.
509.493.3300

 

These individuals are recommended because of the quality of their practice,
not because of any religious beliefs.

 

 

  MEDITATION SERVICES 

+ Join us Monday - Friday at 6:30 AM for our usual daily service.  

+ Thursday and Friday Evenings at 6:30pm

+ Saturday Morning at 9 AM

Tuyết Sơn Thiền Tự + Mt Adams Zen Buddhist Temple + 雪山禅寺

PO Box 487, Trout Lake WA 98650     www.MtAdamsZen.org

509.395.2030  (e-mail -put in the @ sign) kozen1 at embarqmail.com