WELCOME TO THE ARIZONA SOTO ZEN TEMPLE NEWSLETTER

 “Your suffering is my suffering and your happiness is my happiness,” said Buddha, and, just as a mother always loves her child, He does not forget that spirit even for a single moment, for it is the nature of Buddhahood to be compassionate”.... The Teaching of Buddha - Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai.

NOTE FROM KOZEN SENSEI

Sensei has been looking at 40 acres of pristine desert land with its own small mountain as the site for our future monastery.  The land is located half way between Tucson and Phoenix.  Negotiations are currently underway.  Sensei will keep us informed as progress is made.
 
Kozen Sensei spent the last 3 days in Cloudcroft New Mexico enjoying the hospitality of Ken McGuire Roshi and his wife Reverend Fern McGuire.  Not only did they take Sensei to their beautiful spirit filled mountain temple, Daibutsuji, they also gave Kozen a large box of Matsuoka Roshi’s historical documents that will be catalogued and preserved in our founders room when we build the monastery.  A most magnificent gift.  Please be sure to thank both Ken Roshi and Reverend Fern when you meet them.  They are both living treasures for our Dharma community-quietly spreading thundering Zen throughout the Southwest.  Please visit their website at http://www.pvtnetworks.net/%7Ekmcguire/
 
Also, Sensei will be leaving for his trip to visit family and then off to intensive monastery life in Japan at the end of this month.  He will be gone until mid to late August.  If you would like to see him before he leaves, please be sure to attend service.  Kozen does not know if internet will be available to him while in Japan, but he will send updates via snail mail which will be included in the newsletters.

NEW SUMMER HOURS

TUCSON

Beginning April 14, services will be held Monday evening and Sunday morning at the new Tucson Tibetan Buddhist Temple.  Address will be posted in a separate email as soon as it becomes available.  Ron Sensei will be conducting the Sunday morning services and Ed Reis will be conducting the Monday evening services as Ino.

Please note that while Kozen Sensei is away Ed Reis has been appointed the coordinator for the Tucson Zen Center.  If you have any questions regarding scheduling and driving directions please contact Ed at ejmreis@mac.com.

PHOENIX

Beginning the week of April 6, the new summer hours for the Phoenix Zen Center is Friday evening at 7 and Saturday morning at 9.  Tuesday evenings are cancelled until Kozen Sensei returns from Japan.  Reverend John Dennis will be conducting as many of the Saturday morning services as his schedule will allow.  All other services will be conducted by one of our Inos.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Joan for her faithful service as the Tuesday evening Ino at the Zen Center.  She has done a wonderful job.

If you have any questions regarding the Phoenix schedule, updates from Kozen or the newsletter, please contact Patricia McCommas at arizonanomad@hotmail.com

If you have a need to speak with a priest while Kozen Sensei is away, please feel free to contact one of the following Priests:

Reverend John Dennis at johndennis@govert.us the Arizona Soto Zen Center Associate Priest or Yuko San at info@detroitstzencenter.com

For those of you who have not met Yuko San, she was our Los Angeles guest Priest for our first Sesshin held in Tucson. Please visit her website at http://www.detroitstzenceter.com for more information regarding Yuko San.

Buddhist Prayer of Blessings

We surround all men and all forms of life with infinite love and compassion.

Particularly, do we send out compassionate thoughts to those in suffering and sorrow,

 to those in doubt and ignorance,

 to all who are striving to attain truth,

 and to those whose feet stand close to the great change that men call death,

 we send forth all wisdom, mercy and love.

 THE ETERNAL AND GLORIFIED BUDDHA

Information contained within this section is taken directly from the Teaching of Buddha °© Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai, Tokyo (Society for the Promotion of Buddhism). This book can be ordered by visiting their website at http://www.bdkamerica.org/default.aspx?MPID=53. All bolded words in the following excerpt were added for emphasis. If you have questions regarding any information contained herein, please attend one of our services and speak directly with Kozen Sensei or one of our attending Priests and the Recommended Reading page on this site to view Kozen Sensei’s personal recommended reading list.

Do not think that the compassion of the Buddha is only for the present life; it is a manifestation of the timeless compassion of the eternal Buddha that has been operative since unknown time, when mankind went astray due to ignorance.

The eternal Buddha always appears before people in the most friendly forms and brings to them the wisest methods of relief.

Shakyamuni Buddha, born a Prince among his Shakya kinsmen, left the comforts of his home to live a life of asceticism. Through the practice of silent meditation, he realized Enlightenment. He preached the Dharma (the teaching) among his fellow men and finally manifested it by his earthly death.

The working of Buddhahood is as everlasting as human ignorance is endless; and as the depth of ignorance is bottomless, so Buddha’s compassion is boundless.

When Buddha decided to break from the worldly life, he made four great vows: 1) To save all people; 2) To renounce all worldly desires; 3) To learn all the teachings; and 4) to attain perfect Enlightenment. These vows were manifestations of the love and compassion that are fundamental to the nature of Buddhahood.

Buddha first taught himself to avoid the sin of killing any living creature, he wished that all people might know the blessedness of a long life.

Buddha trained himself to avoid the sin of stealing, he wished that all people might have everything they needed.

Buddha trained himself to avoid ever committing adultery, he wished that all people might know the blessedness of a pure spirit and not suffer from insatiable desires.

Buddha, aiming at his ideal, trained himself to remain free from all deception, he wished that all people might know the tranquility of mind that would follow in speaking the truth.

He trained himself to avoid double-talk, he wished that all people might know the joy of fellowship.

He trained himself to avoid abusing others, and then he wished that all might have the serene mind that would follow by living in peace with others.

He kept himself free from idle talk, and then wished that all might know the blessedness of sympathetic understanding.

Buddha, aiming at his ideal, trained himself to keep free from greed, and by this virtuous deed he wished that all people might know the peacefulness that would go with this freedom.

He trained himself to avoid anger, and he wished that all people might love one another.

He trained himself to avoid ignorance, and he wished that all people might understand and not disregard the law of causation.

Thus Buddha’s compassion embraces all people, and his constant consideration is for their happiness. He loves people as parents love their children and he wishes the highest blessedness for them, namely, that they will be able to pass beyond this ocean of life and death.

GASHO!

Kozen
Senior Priest
520.360.9080