Treeleaf Zendo - Treeleaf Community: Topics About Zen Practice

Tendai Roots of Kamakura Buddhism by Michael Conway, Otani University

Hoshuku — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 04:06:13 GMT

This is the 4th lecture in a 9 lecture series on Buddhism in Japan and this one was by the second teacher in the series, Michael Conway of Otani University in Kyoto. This is a Pureland University and that is his specialist field if study.

The key part of the lecturs was how the four practices 四種三昧 developed by Zhiyi as 'The Great Calming and Contemplation' 摩訶止観 can be seen echoed in later Kamakura Buddhism. Each of the types of Kamakura latches on to one of the four and runs with it into a new form.

He highlighted that, as Tendai had developed, there was a tension embedded in it. Namely that it had firmly established that everyone had Buddha nature and so the principle of universal salvation but the practices devised to realise this were extremely exclusive and inaccessible. They could only be done by physically robust men with sufficient free time and money to devote to them. Almost no one could take 90 days away from nomral life or afford the equipment needed to do these practices even if they were physically able to do so. The practices are outlined below.

1. 常坐三昧 Constantly sitting samadhi becomes Zen (all forms) - 90 days of continuous silent sitting meditation, based on the Sutra on Mañjuśrī’s Discourse on Prajñā
2. 常行三昧 Constantly walking samadhi becomes Pureland (all forms)- 90 days of continuous walking meditation around a statue of Amida while constantly chanting his name, based on the Sutra on the pratyutpanna-samādhi
3. 半行半坐三昧 Part sitting and part walking samadhi becomes Nichiren - Based on the Lotus Sutra and the invocation of various figures who appear in the Lotus Sutra (including the
title). Involves prostrations, invocations, chanting and circumambulation interspersed with periods of seated meditation
4. 非行非坐三昧 Neither walking nor sitting samadhi becomes Soto Zen and the basis for Dogen's thought - No set time period or format but involves constantly keeping one’s mind calm and focused on the realization of truth at all times and in all settings

I hope this is of some interest.

Bows
Hoshuku
Satlah

Sunday Sit with Washin - July 19th, 2026

Kotei — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 05:23:54 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.

Thank you BION for youtube Dharma talk on Attention!

Douglas — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:33:56 GMT

I just wanted to say THANK YOU to BION for his wonderful talk on Attention. I found it quite valuable and insightful. Other than the beauty and cultural history of the forms of Soto Zen, their value in cultivating attention is something that I had known but not really thought of in a deeper way.

This was a GREAT talk.

I'm sure Jundo found it entertaining that you were winging it when trying to decide how many times to ring the bell! For those of us not living as a monk, I'm often amazed at how you can drag yourself out of bed at terrible hours and do what you do, but hearing stories like that re-assures me that you are as bleary eyed as the rest of us when waking up from sleep.

Gassho,
SAT/LAH
Doug

Sunday Sit with Washin - July 12th, 2026

Kotei — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 07:18:44 GMT

Catuskoti

thilo — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 09:55:37 GMT

Hello,
I hope this is the right place to post this.

I just read an interview with Graham Priest (https://tricycle.org/article/the-logic-of-paradox), a philosopher with a PhD in mathematical logic. Since I have a background in mathematics myself (once a mathematician, always a mathematician, right?), that alone was reason enough for me to dive into it.

Broadly speaking, the interview explores how we deal with contradictions and paradoxes, not only in general, but specifically within Buddhism, where they obviously show up quite frequently.

Western logic usually struggles to resolve these contradictions. Personally, I often find it difficult to handle such paradoxes in a "logically satisfying" way. That is why I found the concept of Catuskoti incredibly impactful (to avoid using the word "enlightening" here).

Put simply, the principle states that a proposition is not limited to being just true or false. It can also be both true and false at the same time, or neither true nor false. This entire concept can be elegantly mapped onto algebraic structures or set theory, which I find absolutely fascinating. While this mathematical approach might only be of limited help in finding ultimate "truth", it means I no longer feel like I just have to "endure" or tolerate a paradox.
I find this profoundly fascinating because it strips away the (often very subjective) label that Buddhist or Eastern philosophy is somehow "unlogical." Instead, it shows it is merely unlogical within our Western framework of logic (perhaps "metalogical" if you will) and that our boundaries are often just linguistic ones.

Do any of you have thoughts, comments, or perhaps book recommendations on this topic?

Gassho
sat/lah

Sunday Sit with Washin - July 5th, 2026

Kotei — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 07:35:31 GMT

Chronic illness Book Study Zoom group

Kokuu — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 12:37:19 GMT

Hello lovely Treeleafers!

Jundo said it was okay for me to advertise a forthcoming Zoom group here. It is focussed on practicing Zen with chronic illness, both in terms of how illness, pain and disability may require us to modify our practice, and how practice changes how we engage with our physical challenges.

We will be talking about a book we previously read here as a forum read-along, Darlene Cohen's Turning Suffering Inside Out. As those of you who were part of that group may remember, Darlene was a much loved American Zen teacher who lived much of her adult life with Rheumatoid Arthritis and the book is an account of how she lived with that and being a Zen priest and teacher.

We will meet each Monday at 1pm Eastern Time (6pm UK, 7pm central Europe), which I know won't be great for everyone but is the product of including people in Europe and US Pacific Time.

Please let know if you are interested.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-

Hybrid Soto Buddhist?

Patrick Fain — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 03:32:10 GMT

Hi,

(I would appreciate it if no further responses to this post be made, the responses I have received from Jundo and Bion are enough to provide adequate answers to my post, and I realize that if I receive 5 or more responses doubting my beliefs it may only discourage me, thanks)

I'm predicting that I'm about to hear a lot of information that will challenge my beliefs but I welcome them even if they force me to face difficulties. I can be open minded, or the opposite I suppose.

I identify with Soto Zen the most. There are beliefs though that I do not agree with or believe. One example is reincarnation. One question that comes to my mind is if desire and a unwholesome life lead to various levels of rebirth, what caused our first birth in the first place. If we had no previous life to speak of, no desire, no samsara, no unwholesome acts to exist than why were we born in the first place?

I believe that when we die our energy simply returns to the supreme consciousness. Look at it this way, we are a drop of water in the ocean in our existence, the ocean is always there and always was, when we die the drop of water returns to the ocean, becomes one with the ocean. No personal existence, no hells, nothing but energy returning to the source energy/consciousness.

So I guess I just believe in practicing Shikantaza, doing good deeds, creating karma for this life, no other. Practice well, learn, grow, practice the dharma for the sake of practicing the Buddhas teaching. The Buddha wa Watashino Sensei !?

I do not have to agree with everything the Buddha said. Does this mean I can not be a Soto Zen Buddhist?

Patrick Fain

Sat/Lah

Samaya Precepts

Hoshuku — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:50:24 GMT

Samaya Vows.
I recently became aware of these vows that are used in Shingon Buddhism as and when someone progresses into tantric / esoteric training. The initiate has already taken the usual Bodhisattva Vows and these seem to be a summary used before the next step is undertaken.
I post them here because I found them an easy to remember healthy summary.
Wikipdedia version:

Never abandon the True Dharma: Uphold and protect the ultimate teachings without wavering.

Never negate bodhicitta: Maintain the compassionate aspiration to attain enlightenment for the sake of all beings.

Never withhold the teachings: Share the Dharma generously and do not selectively withhold teachings from those who seek them.

Never cause harm:Refrain from physically, verbally, or mentally harming any sentient being.

I summarised this down to:

Generously study the dharma

Generously cultivate bodhicitta

Generously give the dharma

Don't harm sentient beings

Bows
Hoshuku
Satlah

Sunday Sit with Washin - June 28th, 2026

Kotei — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 19:27:55 GMT

Advaita Vedanta

Jundo — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 15:05:15 GMT

The Hindu philosophy of Advaita Vedanta is not Buddhism and is not Zen. Nonetheless, there is tremendous common ground, even with some important differences.

I just came across an excellent interview with a teacher of Advaita Vedanta, someone who also seems very friendly to Buddhism, also finding common ground in his explanation. If you are interested, I suggest a listen, as it is a very worthwhile 90 minutes.

Now, as I mentioned, there are some differences.

For one, their notion of "Brahma" or ultimate reality is --- yet is not --- like our teachings on the wholeness of Emptiness or ultimate Dharmakaya Buddha. The differences are subtle but, Master Dogen's vision is not of a stagnant unity or "oneness" that is somehow True while this world of things is false, but of a vibrant and flowing wholeness that is everything, including all the things of this world. Emptiness, while wholeness and peace, is generally not like an intelligent godhead. I also have some doubts about their notion of "bliss" as the payoff of merging with ultimate reality.

The Advaita Vedanta teacher, Swami Sarvapriyananda, says that they are primarily a philosophical school that doesn't have need to meditate in order to realize these truths which can be realized intellectually. However, he also says that many in Advaita have become more open to some kinds of meditation. I believe that he would be open to Shikantaza Zazen if asked.

As well, he discusses their practices of Bhakti, the worship and veneration of various deities as helpful images or ideas for many people to help them understand ultimate reality which is too hard and abstract for some. Although not so emphasized in much of western Zen, of course, we have our cosmic personages such as various Buddhas, Kannon and the other Bodhisattvas, whose presence as an idea is very helpful to many people who like or need to put a face on some aspects of Buddhist teachings.

If you have any impression, comment or disagreement about the video, please put it here. I am not expert on Advaita Vedanta (and I will also stay firmly planted in Zen Buddhism), but I will do my best to discuss.

Finally, for point of disclosure, the ESSENTIA FOUNDATION, which is the host of this video, also happens to be the publisher of my upcoming book, "The Whole Universe Led To YOU!" However, that is not the reason that I am posting this interview, which I find fascinating on its own.
.

Gassho, Jundo
stlah

Can Thought labeling have value in our practice?

Patrick Fain — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 18:32:31 GMT

A book I once read called Being Zen: bringing meditation to life; mentioned and described the process of thought labeling. Basically it involves noticing a thought narrative and making it very basic and labeling it in our mind.

A example is experiencing thoughts about anger toward someone and narrowing that narrative down to say to oneself instead; "Thinking about anger" or "experiencing anger, or "thoughts of anger". This book also mentioned my favorite one "Thinking". Noticing one is caught up in thinking and saying in your mind "Thinking". Then dropping the thought narrative whatever it maybe.

Does this process have value in Soto Zen or does it take away from Shikantaza after Shikantaza during normal living for example?

,Patrick Fain

Sat/lah

Japanese Buddhsim - lecture 3 - The Tales of Ganji or the Precepts Arrive in Japan

Hoshuku — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 03:33:26 GMT

The Tales of Ganjin – the Precepts from the Nara to the Heian Period

The full precepts were brought to Japan by the Chinese monk Ganjin (Jianzhen) in 753. At that point the full sangha is set up in Japan with the possibility of full valid ordinations and, conversely, no need to send men and women to China to be ordained.

Ganjin was a respected Vinaya master in China and was approached by two Japanese monks from an official delegation to ask him for one of his students to come to Japan. However, the lack of enthusiasm among his students led Ganjin to volunteer himself. Having been requested to teach the dharma in Japan he felt that that need could not go unanswered.
The attached photo is of a statue of Ganjin. It is thought to be the earliest Japanese statue of a real person as opposed to a deity of some kind. It also shows him blind, as it is a well known part of his story that he went blind during his efforts to get to Japan.

Ganjin had five failed attempts to get to Japan to answer his call to share the dharma. Those failures are all rooted in the fact that he was trying to sneak out of China without official approval. That lack of honesty meant that any grievances that broke out among his students resulted in the aggrieved students reporting their master to the authorities. That lack of honesty combined with bad weather meant that a lot of time, effort and money was wasted between 742 and 753.

When another official delegation came from Japan to request a Vinaya master, the Emperor gave permission and an order that a Daoist priest be included.

Precept platforms were erected at Todaiji (Nara – central Japan), Yakushiji (Shimotsuke – north Japan) and Kanzeonji (Daizaifu – south Japan). All existing Japanese monks were ‘reordained’ to make sure that they had been done properly and so the monastic sangha was firmly established and independent.

Each of the six established Nara schools was allowed ten ordinands a year and that system carried on until disrupted by Kukai and Saicho. With so few monks, each school took efforts to keep ’their’ students and this is the root of the hard edged factionalism that is such a feature of Japanese Buddhism.

IMG_2438.jpg

Bows
Hoshuku
Satlah