Mount
Adams Zen Buddhist Temple
February
26, 2010 edition 6
Located at Trout Lake Abbey 46 Stoller Rd., Trout Lake
WA 98650 509.395.2030
May
the Infinite Light of Wisdom and Compassion so shine within
us that the errors and vanities of self may be dispelled;
so shall we understand the changing nature of existence
and awaken into spiritual peace.
HAPPY
Chinese NEW YEAR
The
Chinese New Year started on Sunday 14 February, making
the year 2010 the "Chinese Year" of 4708, 4707,
or 4647, depending upon which area of China you are from
or which scholar you study. Our best wishes to all our
Chinese friends and associates. Just for fun, a Chinese
year and horoscope flyer is attached in a PDF file at
the end of this newsletter.
Jukai
Tokudo – Accepting the Precepts – the baby’s
first steps
Ch’an
Master Sheng-yen said “a common saying in Mahayana
Buddhism is having vows to break is the bodhisattva path.
Not having vows to break is a non-Buddhist path."
The
point of this wonderful saying gives us a glimpse into
Master Seng-yen’s thoughts. It is better to try
and not be perfect, maybe even fail, than to not try at
all.
Jukai
Tokudo is like the first steps of a baby. “Jukai,”
Ju, means, “to receive.” That is why we don’t
say we take but rather we receive the Jukai. Jukai means,
“To receive the Kai.” The word kai can be
translated as the precepts or the discipline or the way
of being or living our life.
In
receiving these precepts we have a roadmap of how to live
within our Buddhist practice and how to live our life.
It isn’t meant to make us perfect. Rather it is
meant to focus our thoughts, actions, and heart in the
direction of the very best that we can be. Like the venerable
Master Sheng-yen said, having these vows is the Buddhist
path; the breaking of them is our less than perfect human
behavior.
Jiyu-Kennett
Roshi once gave a wonderful talk on receiving Jukai. Per
her, receiving the precepts was a promise to start the
process of living up to each precept rather than actually
promising to keep each precept.
When
a child is first born they are weak and uncoordinated.
The caregivers provide constant care and guidance –
until the child begins to attempt more complicated tasks.
No one wants their child to fall, yet it is only by trying
and falling a few times that a child learns to coordinate
their body enough to stand upright with balance and then
to take a few steps.
Likewise
in Buddhism our initial efforts are weak and uncoordinated.
Zazen is not an easy practice to perform, nor is putting
aside our own “self” in order to practice
the precepts. Meditating in a group helps all of our practices;
sitting together in zazen (meditation) reinforces our
own practice as well as reinforcing the practice of others.
Receiving
the precepts is a wonderful step in our life. It affirms
our wish to do something about ourselves and that we’ve
accepted the teachings of the Buddha as our first course
of action in this process.
ZAZENKAI
on Saturday April 3rd
The
Mount Adams Zen Buddhist temple will be offering our first
1-day intensive meditation program. Zazenkai means “to
come together for meditation”. The meditation day
will start at 6am and end at 3pm. A vegetarian lunch will
be served. Please see the schedule for details (at the
end of this newsletter). The donation is $40.00 and a
vegetarian lunch will be provided. A Zazenkai flyer
is linked at the end of this newsletter, please print
it on your home printer and put it on your local message
board.
Tucson
7620
N. Hartman Lane, Suite 112, Tucson, AZ
This
group is going strong under the leadership of Ron Sensei
(phone 520.904.9474) and Ed Reis (phone 520.991.8108).
The group meets every Sunday Morning at 9AM. Please give
them your support by attending.
Phoenix
The
Phoenix center has closed. Rev. Johndennis Govert is still
available for those who wish to have a priest’s
direction and guidance (phone 480.213.8979)
Trout
Lake
PO
Box 487, Trout Lake WA 98650
(phone 509.395.2030) 46 Stoller Rd. Trout Lake WA 98650
Temple
Hours - Our regular meditation services
hours are Monday - Friday mornings at 6:30 am, Thursday
and Friday evenings at 6:30pm and Saturday morning at
9am.
Trout
Lake Farm and Organic Garden Activities:
We have Certified Organic Brown Eggs for sale. Our eggs
are currently for sale at the Trout Lake Grocery store
and the BZ Corners grocery store. We have a new greenhouse
and we’ve started planting seeds for early germination
for our Spring plantings.
Ongoing
Projects
1.
We are building 3 shrines on the property. Would you like
to assist in the building of a shrine on the property?
The shrines will be located out in the fields and be roofed.
We will have one each for Buddha, Kannon Bosatsu, and
Jizo Bosatsu. The statues are carved in granite and are
ready for shipment to the US. We expect them here by April
2010
2.
Food Bank gardens. We plan to plant 1-3 acres in gardens
for the food bank in the spring. Please plan on helping
plow, seed, weed, water, or deliver the produce from the
efforts. Providing food for those in need is a “right
action” for our bodhisattva practice.
Financial News:
We are doing OK financially. We have paid over $9,000
for granite carved statues in China. Shipping costs are
unknown at this time.
Jan
2010 – Feb donations = $210.00
Cash on hand = $160.00 (plus our priest travel fund)
Liabilities = $ none.
We are planning some advertising but less than $100.00
Miscellaneous
News:
New
Spiritual Chant Group Starting in White Salmon
In
an e-mail...
Hi
Friends,
I
wanted to let you all know that there is a chanting group
that is starting up in March. Our first meeting is going
to be March 5th (Friday) from 5:15-6:15 pm at Yoga Samadhi
in White Salmon.
At
this first meeting I will be teaching the others some
of the chants that I have learned in school (some of you
may know them). I would love for you to join us.
Cost
will be by small donation only for the space.
You
do not need to know how to chant....it is easy to learn.
And if you have some chants feel free to bring them.
Also
some people have drums, so if you want to bring a drum
you may. (the chants I know don't involve instruments,
but supposedly other people in the group really like to
drum)
If
you like it then you can come monthly. At the first meeting
we will be discussing a generally good time to hold the
chanting circle.
I
look forward to seeing you there. And Please pass this
message along to those you think may be interested.
Jennifer
Buddhist Woodworking
Reverend
Ken McGuire has started a new woodworking company specifically
for Buddhist Alters 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
Two
Local Christian Churches
that teach and practice an embracing, kind, and loving
faith.
There
are two wonderful churches in our local area that are
well worth attending.
Local
Providers of Care
Jennifer
Silapie ND, a Naturopath Physician, has opened a practice
in White Salmon. She is a warm hearted and caring individual.
251 N. Main Ave, White Salmon 509.493.3300
Karen
Hoffman, massage therapist in Trout Lake and White Salmon
cell 509.637.4995
Cookie
Gilpatrick, massage therapist in Trout Lake and Hood River
cell 541.490.9077 home 509.395.2468
Wonderful
Reading
The
Shack by William P. Young is a wonderful and enlightening
book. It is the story of a father’s loss of his
small daughter and the personalization of God (as a robust
black woman), Jesus (as sort of a hippie fix it man),
and the Holy Ghost (as a sweet and loving gardener). It
is a wonderful story with enough fairy tale qualities
to teach our “inner child”.
While
I can’t comment on the Christian theology, the concepts
of not limiting God, forgiveness, and trust shine through
the story and evoke a sense of that which is beyond our
understanding and filled with love and compassion. I highly
recommend the book. The book was recommended to me by
a kind man named Dov – thank you for recommending
the book – it was a joy to read! I encourage everyone
of all faiths to read it. — Kozen
Zazenkai
Schedule
"come together for meditation”
A day of intense meditation and practice
Saturday April 3rd, 2010
