Treeleaf Zendo - Treeleaf Community: Topics About Zen Practice

‘Treasure the Questions’ - in thx for Seikan’s precept session

Hoshuku — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 08:28:06 GMT

Maybe 35 years ago, I saw Martyn Joseph perform this song in a small folk club in Birmingham, UK.

Seikan reminding us to keep a questioning mind and avoid the trap of certainty brought it back to me.

Treasure the Questions

[Verse 1]
Locked in my heart there's a child
Knocking the door to get out
He's asking the questions that hurt him
Sometimes it's a question of doubt
And I can't pretend that it's easy
I can't pretend that I win
When your search in this life is over
That's when the struggle begins

[Pre-Chorus]
And if I don't find out
The search is not in vain
And if I don't find out
I hold on

[Chorus]
And I treasure the question as they rage in my mind
And I treasure the question, some day I will find
You know I ran out of answers, yeah, such a long time ago
And I treasure the question wherever I go

[Verse 2]
Searching Saharas of sorrow
Trying to understand why
The journey has drawn me so much closer
I don't have to stand here and lie
Over and over I cried in the darkness
Over and over to see
The crime is to sit and not wonder
Renewing my mind set me free

[Pre-Chorus]
And if I don't find out
The search is not in vain
And if I don't find out
I hold on

[Chorus]
And I treasure the questions as they rage in my mind
And I treasure the questions some day I will find
You see I ran out of answers, yes I did, such a long time ago
And I treasure the question wherever I go

[Pre-Chorus]
If I don't find out
The search is not in vain
And if I don't find out
I hold on, I hold on

[Chorus]
And I treasure the questions as they rage in my mind
Yes, I treasure the questions some day I will find
You see I ran out of answers, yes I did, such a long time ago
And I treasure the questions, 'cause someday I'm gonna know

[Outro]
Treasure the question
Treasure the question
One day I will find
Some day I will find
Treasure the question

Bows
Hoshuku
Satlah

Sunday Sit with Washin - October 4th, 2026

Kotei — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 07:17:12 GMT

Hello everyone,

we are meeting again the coming weekend, coming together out of compassion for those suffering, our hope for peace and our mutual support throughout the year.
Led by Washin from Odessa, we'll be sitting for peace in the Ukraine and around the world this coming Sunday.

You can check with the Treeleaf Practice Calendar for your local time, under the listing Sunday Sit (Zazen for Peace):
https://www.treeleaf.org/practice-calendar/
We meet in the Treeleaf Scheduled Sitting Room:
https://www.treeleaf.org/zendo-ssr/
password if needed is << dogen >>

A livestream of the meeting can be found here:

The format of the sitting will be:

- Heart Sutra
- Zazen 40 minutes
- Verse of Atonement & Four Vows

All are welcome. Please, join us! No prior experience is required - just follow along - come sit with us.

Gassho,
Kotei sat/lah today.

Zen and Nichiren Buddhism - talk by M. Conway

Hoshuku — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 01:55:36 GMT

There is less to say from this talk as I feel that, being inside a Soto Zen sangha, we have a reasonable general knowledge of a lot of this.

I will therefore limit my observations to what seemed new to me + a link to the overall talk. As a Pureland practitioner and academic within the Pureland training system, Michael happily admitted that he was talking as an outsider.

Rinzai Zen - he questioned strongly the general idea that Eisei founded Rinzai in Japan. He was happy with the idea that he founded an important lineage rooted in Kenninji, but he was one of many. He pointed out that Kenninji doesn't refer to him as Eisei but as Yosai, so there isn't even agreement on his name. Rinzai didn't produce a biography of him similar to those printed by Soto and Nichiren. [My comment - during the Meiji Reforms Buddhist sects were told to name their single founder (their Jesus) and founding text (their bible) in order to appear respectable to Westerners, so Rinzai picked on Eisei.]

Soto Zen - Just one comment felt novel - that Dogen was a physically weak and sickly individual. That's why he didn't leave the ship on arrival in China - he needed to recover. It's also why he died so young. The following are the ages at death of the main Kamakura Buddhist leaders: Shinran 90, Hōnen 80, Eisai 75, Nichiren 61, Dōgen 54 & Ippen 51. In Ippen's case, his chosen itinerant life was basically that of an Indian style wandering monk living on alms. In the Japanese climate, that's a major strain on the body - Japan is NOT the tropical clmiate of India and goes well below freezing in winter.

Nichiren - an astonishingly confrontational style that seems an aberration in Japanese society.

General - none of the Kamakura Buddhisms (except some types of Pureland) were numerically successful during the founders lifetimes.

Bows
Hoshuku
Satlah

Sunday Sit with Washin - September 27th, 2026

Kotei — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 06:33:35 GMT

Vairocana = The One Bright Pearl?

Hoshuku — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 03:31:20 GMT

Reading about Hua Yen philosophy brought Vairocana Buddha to my attention again.

As an anthropomorphic represenation of totality, he seems to symbolize reality in the same way as Dogen's One Bright Pearl.

Is this fair or am I missing something?

Bows
Hoshuku
Satlah

Zazen challenges

Mujin — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 12:57:01 GMT

I am having difficulties with a new position at work, and have been struggling, but have a handle on it now. However, when I do Zazen, it all comes crashing back into mind. I try to just let it come and let it go, but I get emotional bound up with the thoughts. I end up feeling very off mentally after zazen lately because of it. What can I do?

Gassho,

Mujin
SatTodayLAH

Sunday Sit with Washin - September 20th, 2026

Kotei — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 06:34:03 GMT

Incense

Hoshuku — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 02:36:05 GMT

Yesterday, I went to an incense making workshop at the BDK Center in south central Tokyo.

It was an interesting, informative and enjoyable time led by the manager of one of the long established incense makers in the Tokyo area, Karaku https://www.m-karaku.com/onlineshop/kit/item05.html

Naturally, the history ofJapanese incense follows that of Buddhism in Japan. So, the preserve of the elite until the Kamakura period when popular forms of Buddhism arose, including Zen. This is when the stick incense form arose as being easy to use without much specialist equipment.

The Soto-shu specific details that came out are that:
1. Primary use is to time zazen sitting sessions
2. Sticks of about 9 inches / 23cm last about 40 minutes
3. Earthy, herbaceous or treelike scents help in keeping sitters awake / alert, eg sandalwood, clove, patchouli, fennel and fenugreek

The more exotic and expensive scents tend to be used in esoteric Buddhism (Tendai / Shingon) and the sweet, floral ones in devotional Buddhism (Pureland / Nichiren)

The mix was measured by the tiny scoop or spoon which is about 1/5 teaspoon or 0.5 grams.

The recipe I chose was:
3 scoops Agar
2 scoops Sandalwood
1/2 scoops of each of the following Dragon Brain, Clove, Star Anise and Patchouli

Once ground togehter in the mortar 5 drops of amber oil and 6 scoops of Incense Tabu / Binder was mixed in.

Then 30 ml of water and the mix was ground until it was like peanuts butter.

Then pushed into the syringe and extruded in lines.

They need to be left for a day to dry.

Bows
Hoshuku
Satlah Screenshot 2026-09-16 at 11.28.31.png Screenshot 2026-09-16 at 11.29.43.png Screenshot 2026-09-16 at 11.30.54.png Screenshot 2026-09-16 at 11.31.58.png Screenshot 2026-09-16 at 11.32.44.png Screenshot 2026-09-16 at 11.33.39.png

Deceiving the teacher

Houzan — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 20:16:26 GMT

As part of my Ango, I’m reading Eihei Kōruku, and I have to say: what a treat!

Sharing the 48th dharma hall discourse; Deceiving the Teacher:

This mountain monk has not passed through many monasteries. Somehow I just met my late teacher Tiantong. However, I was not deceived by Tiantong. But Tiantong was deceived by this mountain monk. Recently, I returned to my homeland with empty hands. And so this mountain monk has no Buddha Dharma. Trusting fate, I just spend my time. Morning after morning, the sun rises in the east. Evening after evening, the moon sets in the west. The clouds disperse and mountains valleys are still. After the rain, the mountains on the four directions are close. Every four years is a leap year. A rooster crows toward sunrise.

My own humble interpretation:

«This mountain monk has not passed through many monasteries. Somehow I just met my late teacher Tiantong.»

Dogen spent more than 2 years visiting many monasteries in China before meeting Tiantong. I think what he is saying is that the number of monasteries he visited is a low price to pay to meet his teacher. It’s somehow irrelevant.

«However, I was not deceived by Tiantong.»

I believe Dogen is saying that Tiantong was the real deal. There was no deception - only true Buddha Dharma.

«But Tiantong was deceived by this mountain monk. Recently, I returned to my homeland with empty hands. And so this mountain monk has no Buddha Dharma.»

This is a fun one. «Tiantong was deceived by this mountain monk» I think refers to Tiantong giving transmission to Dogen. It’s not that Dogen actually deceived his teacher. It’s Dogen saying that he was searching for enlightenment, and Tiantong played along, with grandfatherly love, and gave what can’t be given as soon as Dogen understood there is nothing to gain. He confirms this in the next section saying he returned to his homeland with empty hands - with no Buddha Dharma. This is what he received. So the deception is really referring to the traditional forms of giving transmission. Empty hands here ofcourse also means hands full of everything.

«Trusting fate, I just spend my time.»

«Trusting fate», I read as «in radical equanimity». There is no footnote in the book, but I bet the «just» here is shikan, as in shikantaza. So I believe he refers to zazen here.

«Morning after morning, the sun rises in the east. Evening after evening, the moon sets in the west. The clouds disperse and mountains valleys are still. After the rain, the mountains on the four directions are close. Every four years is a leap year. A rooster crows toward sunrise.»

When sitting zazen, the world is just what it is.

Gassho, Hōzan
Satlah

Sunday Sit with Washin - September 13th, 2026

Kotei — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 06:21:54 GMT

A Whole Lotta Sittin' - (A single day "sesshin" schedule)

Ryūdō-Liúdào — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 12:42:40 GMT

On the first Monday of every month or two, I like to dedicate a full day to practice. Now, I hear you... "But isn't Monday a workday?" And yes, yes it is. For me, that's what makes it work!

My weekends are quite random with family stuff and adventure times, while my weekdays are very stable and regular, which allows for the ability to create a nice, manageable sit schedule. Granted, my work window is a 6-hour one, and I work in my own home, so I made my schedule with that in mind. I only post this as an idea with an example for anyone who may wanna try something akin to it.

The whole purpose, or at least my aim, is to have a day of intensive concentration, settling the mind, and integrating mindfulness in one's actions. My work happens to be teaching online, but outside that 6-hour window, I go without a phone, a PC, and talking of any sort, allowing my mental energy to consolidate and focus. Beyond sitting, one takes that full presence off the zafu and holds it while walking, studying, cooking, making tea, eating, drinking, washing the dishes, etc. Sticking to a strict, repetitive schedule leaves no room for personal preferences, so you just let any of that go and stick to the routine. Finally, having to face the inevitable physical discomfort (sore knees, backaches) and mental hurdles (boredom, anxiety) really helps to teach you to observe suffering without reacting to it.

Or, well, at least that's my experience. Here's the schedule I've come up with for myself, and yes, it's certainly much looser than a proper sesshin, but that's part of the whole point. This is a practice that still remains "in the mundane world," for lack of a better way to put it. The dog still needs a walk from each of us in the family, and I'll smile and nod at any neighbor passing by. Just gotta do my best.

6:30 wake n make coffee
6:40–7:15 coffee n wash up
7:15–7:55 zazen
7:55–8:05 kinhin
8:05–8:25 morning chanting (three refuges, four bodhisattva vows, heart sutra)
8:25–9:00 prepare for work
9:00–3:00 teach
3:00–4:00 stretching, taiji, n take dog for walk (I find walking and stretching for a post-work hour helps to refocus back on the day's path)
4:00–4:40 zazen
4:40–4:55 kinhin
4:55–5:15 afternoon sutra chanting (Sandōkai)
5:15–5:30 language/poetry studies
5:30–6:30 cook for self and family
6:30–7:00 eat (I have a simple meal of rice, natto, kimchi, and a piece of fruit)
7:00–7:20 tea session
7:20–8:00 zazen
8:00–8:15 kinhin
8:15–8:35 evening chanting (three refuges, four bodhisattva vows, verse of atonement)
8:35–9:15 final zazen
9:15 closing bows n book reading

Gasshō,
Ryūdō
Sat lah