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Revised to correct dates of this weekend's sesshin: October 8th through 10th
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| Desert Zen Center - Chùa Thiên Ân |
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a Zen Buddhist temple dedicated to teaching meditation to everyone
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10 a.m.
Meditation
Dharma Talk
Chanting
October
10 - Thầy Minh Nhâ't
End of Sesshin
17 - Roshi
24 - Roshi
31 - Tâm Hu'o'ng
Everyday Ghosts
Reaffirming the Precepts
November
7 - Roshi
14 - Thầy Minh Nhâ't
21 - Roshi
28 - Tâm Hu'o'ng
Reaffirming the Precepts
Service is followed by fellowship and light refreshments _________
Can't make Sunday Service?
Visit the Dharma Talk Archive at DesertZenCenter.org
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Meditation & Dharma Class
Thursday Nights
7 p.m.
Every Thursday night, we gather in the Zendo for meditation, followed by training practice and, then, fellowship & Dharma class in the Sangha Hall. During the Rains Season at DZC, we are practicing Japanese chants, the keisaku and studying Dogen Zenji's Instructions to the Cook. Please join us.
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Desert Zen Center's
Retreat Schedule
Please RSVP for Retreats
October
Fri-Sun, the 8th, 9th & 10th
Weekend Retreat / Sesshin November Saturday, the 13th
Day at the Temple
Teaching Retreat on
"Meditation Techniques"
Fri-Sun, the 10th, 11th & 12th Weekend Retreat / Sesshin
Celebrating Bodhi Day / Buddha's Enlightenment Day (December 8) ____________________
Sesshin: meditation retreats: zazen, kinhin, samu
(working meditation) and mindfulness throughout the day & night,
including chanting services and opportunity for dokusan. Weekend retreats start 8:00 p.m. on Friday, plan to stay at DZC Friday and
Saturday nights; formal vegetarian meals are included. Sesshin ends Sunday after our regular Service. Day at the Temple 9a.m-3p.m. Zazen (sitting) & kinhin (walking) meditation, dokusan (formal
individual interview), formal vegetarian lunch, Dharma talk & ending ceremony.
Teaching Retreats are similar to Sesshin but replace several periods of zazen with Dharma teaching. This November, Roshi will focus on "Meditation Techniques." |
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Reminder... this Weekend
October Sesshin
Friday 10/8 8:00 p.m. thru 10/10 Sunday Service
Silent formal meditation retreat -
 Zazen (seated meditation), kinhin (walking meditation), samu(working meditation) and mindfulness throughout the day and night. Chanting services, basic instruction and opportunities for dokusan (formal interviews with Roshi).
Plan to stay at DZC on Friday and
Saturday nights. Sunday Service concludes retreat.
Formal, ample vegetarian meals are provided
Please RSVP!
the small print:
You don't need to bring much.
Pack light, but smart.
Bring sleeping bag or bedding, flashlight, washcloth, towel and essential toiletries.
For samu / work meditation, it's good to have a hat and work gloves.
Dress comfortably, modestly and avoid bright colors (see A Note on the Keisaku below*).
While usually not extreme at this time of year, temperatures vary in the desert;
bring a jacket and plan clothing layers.
Other details under Retreat Schedule at bottom of left column.
(If you've taken Refuge, please bring your rakusu.)
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"All I teach is Loving Kindness."
-- Thây Thích Minh Nhât*
(Metta is Sanskrit for Loving Kindness.)
Sometimes, we have an idea that by reading a lot of books we will receive much Wisdom and understanding.
A proverb from the Sufi tradition, the mystical branch of Islam, is:
"A donkey carrying a heavy load of Holy Books
is still a donkey."
In a more modern way, we can say,
"Standing in a garage does not make one a car." The practice of Loving Kindness is not done by opening a book, It is a practice that is active and that continues. It never ends!
The tool that helps us do this is being open to the moment and -- from that moment -- reaching out. Loving Kindness is about giving.
It reminds me of our national Holiday of Thanksgiving. On this day, we reflect on our life and give thanks for the things we have. But I think we have to look at it in another way: we should observe Thanksgiving as a day when we give thanks for the ability to give -- and act from Loving Kindness.
Now, nobody is asking that we run off to a leper colony and be the next Mother Teresa. However, if you are open, you will sense there are many "leper colonies" all around us. My definition of a leper colony is any place or situation that is causing suffering to others.
Let your practice grow...
_________________________________________________ * The monk formerly known as Reverend Nagacitta/Thích Tâm Hue
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Save the Date: December 5th
Bodhi Day Celebration
December 5th has been set as the date for our ceremony and celebration of Buddha's Enlightenment day.
Transmission of Mind Seal
Making the end of the year and this celebration very special, the Most Venerable Thích Ân Giao Roshi will conduct a formal public ceremony of Transmission of the Light - Dharma Mind Seal, during the Sunday service. This ceremony will recognize the attainment of two Soto Zen priests, Ken Hogaku Sho McGuire and Fern Shin Getsu Myosen McGuire, of the Dharma Mountain Zendo (website quicklink in red box to left). These two Roshis are Thích Ân Giao Roshi's Dharma siblings in the lineage of Soyu Matsuoka Roshi. and a Lunch Party
To mark this most important day of the Buddhist year and our celebrations, a potluck luncheon is in the works, followed by our usual entertainment festivities. For the musical interludes, we now have a songbook (with words!) and we're working to include/expand our "repertoire"! Any suggestions?
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Gatha for Cultivating Concentration
Cultivating concentration,
I wish that all beings
Conquer their minds by concentration,
Ultimately, with no remainder.
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*A Note on the Keisaku (Awakening Stick) - Sư Cô Thích Tâm Hu'o'ng
A fancy, lacquered Keisaku
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 The Keisaku (Kyôsaku) is a thin, flexible, wooden stick used in Zen meditation sessions. The Japanese word, Keisaku, is translated variously: the warning stick, the stick of compassion, the encouragement stick, the wisdom stick, or the Awakening Stick.
The Keisaku is carried by the Zen priest or monitor during formal Zazen (sitting meditation) practice and is applied in a set of two quick, swinging blows
(somewhere between a tap and a WHACK), one to each of the large trapezius muscles at the back of the shoulders. Although
we might conjure a mental
image of forceful blows raining down on sleeping, daydreaming, inattentive monks, that's not our experience. That's not what happens in our Zendo. Yes, it's startling, even when expected - but that's the point. It's not punishment; it's about waking up.
It's also very useful "lightning strike"
bodywork, right at the spot where humans tend to store tension. Properly done, it is not painful; the force applied is gauged to each recipient's size, condition and experience with meditation and with the stick.
This is my experience: the flexible stick strikes and is gone. At skin level, it stings, but the sting fades with the reaction of the shoulder muscles. First the shoulders tense at the blow, an automatic response. Then shoulder muscles warm and relax, releasing body tension that builds during extended, concerted sitting or has been held from everyday life.
Aside from the physical benefit, the Keisaku is a great kindness. It's like the temporary loan of an instant meditation button. In my experience, there isn't a thought, zoning-out, bliss, drowsy slump, mental movie, even pain obsession or what-have-you that survives the Keisaku. Now, you might find yourself reviving, revisiting or clinging to the husk of that phenomena, but at the strike -if only just for the moments of the strike- extinguished, gone.
Then, there's a dynamic force to the "slap" that ripples out and benefits everyone who hears it, including the Buddha sitting on the mat, who then has a priceless opportunity to practice non-attachment. Ah, there are no words. Zen masters have been describing the experience for many many years - capturing mere form. The experience is wordless.
In our Zendo, the Keisaku. is given only to those who request it by making gassho (bowing with hands in the lotus mudra - much like the Western hand position for prayer) as the priest or monitor walks through the Zendo. During a retreat, one can choose to try it, ask for it every round, skip it entirely or every now and then, or even request more than one set of blows (Once the pair of blows are received, the recipient bows in gratitude.Thây Minh Nhât remembers that once during training he forgot to bow and received the kindness of a series of Keisaku blows.)
Now, all the above is preface to a simple reality. This year as part of the Rains Season Training, we are learning the Keisaku
during Thursday night Dharma Class. In order that experience and
ears will not be at risk, no trainees will be wielding the Keisaku at this retreat. So, do try the Keisaku early in the sessions when Thích Ân Giáo Roshi walks the Zendo, before the beginning of Dokusan (private interviews). Don't miss the taste of Zen, this moment.
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* It's important to wear clothing that covers the shoulders; a T-shirt is sufficient. The Keisaku cannot be properly applied to someone wearing spaghetti straps; either the blow will hurt or it will be a token, too weak to benefit.
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TO LEARN BUDDHISM IS TO STUDY YOURSELF TO STUDY YOURSELF IS TO FORGET YOURSELF TO FORGET YOURSELF IS TO BE ENLIGHTENED BV ALL THINGS - DOGEN ZENJI
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Desert Zen Center www.DesertZenCenter.org Thích Ân Giáo Roshi
10989 Buena Vista Road (760) 985-4567
Lucerne Valley, CA 92356-7303 email: roshiDZC@hotmail.com
Regarding this email or to contribute to future newsletters:
tamhuongDZC@yahoo.com
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