My Cancer Ango - 9 - "Angos of Hard Knocks"

[Jundo]

Hi All,

The following "Talk from the Hospital Bed" is a little longer, but I think you will find it inspiring, with hope, love, even laugh and smile bringing. A few tears.

It recounts the stories of some wonderful priests and priest candidates, teachers lay and ordained, good and ethical and dedicated folks, whom I witness being "shut out" because of artificial walls being built by some in the Zen Establishment. We are in an age of building walls, rather than just sitting facing walls.

There is no reason to exclude this small group of people. There are others I could not cover, but not so many really. They have suffered enough (and learned to transcend such suffering through their Zen Buddhist Practice). They are each and all Bodhisattvas working to help other suffering beings.

I apologize that I am still a bit winded, so my voice is hard to hear sometimes.

Gassho, Jundo

STLAH

[Byokan]

Thank you Jundo.

Gassho
Byōkan
sat + lah

[Mp]

Thank you Jundo, honest and true to the heart. =)

Gassho
Shingen

Sat/LAH

[Onkai]

Thank you Jundo, for this talk and for creating such an inclusive community.

Gassho,
Onkai
Sat/LAH

[Doshin]

Doshin
st/lah

[Eishuu]

Gassho
Lucy
ST/LAH

[Jakudo]

Thanks for this Jundo, hope you are home with your family soon.
Sat today


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[Souchi]

Gassho,
Stefan

SatToday

[Jakuden]

Thank you Jundo, and much love to you and your family [emoji120]❤️
Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH


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[Jundo]

Hi, A couple of folks wrote to ask why a priest would care to be in any of these organizations anyway. If they are good priests, let them be good priests and not care. As Groucho said, "I wouldn't belong to any club that will accept me as a member."

This is a tempest in a teapot. The only thing these organizations offer is fellowship. However, they are also moving more and more to serving as "stamp of approval" affixers for public consumption, something like a certifier to the public that the replacement parts for your motor are real and what they claim to be, anyone lacking such certification likely counterfeit, flawed, imitation, buyer beware. Those are the only reasons to give a rat's ass.

The greatly disabled, elderly, poor, mother of a special needs child etc. should not be denied fellowship, and should not be left with the stigma of somehow being counterfeit, flawed, imitation, buyer beware because the doors were shut to them. It is shameful and totally unneccessary. Truly, the priests themselves have faced worse discrimination and injustice in life every day, but for me it is not that different from the restaurant which slams the door in someone's face because of their Irish name, or the hotel that suddenly runs out of beds for guests with disabilities. Where is the Compassionate Heart of Kannon, the discernment to look past surface appearances, that Zen folks proclaim so often?

Gassho, J

STLAH

[Hoyu]

Gassho,
Hoyu
Sat Today

[Byokan]

... The only thing these organizations offer is fellowship. However, they are also moving more and more to serving as "stamp of approval" affixers for public consumption, something like a certifier to the public that the replacement parts for your motor are real and what they claim to be, anyone lacking such certification likely counterfeit, flawed, imitation, buyer beware. Those are the only reasons to give a rat's ass. ...

Yes and, while they may or may not someday grow into that authority, they are already widely and wrongly perceived as having some certifying authority, which they certainly do not have. They lack the necessary structure to serve in that capacity, and the potential for harm is very real, in my opinion. Working to open those doors, and require good governance, ethical guidelines, accountability, and transparency, is essential.

But that's just, like, my opinion, man.

Gassho
Byōkan
sat + lah

[Jinyo]

Yes and, while they may or may not someday grow into that authority, they are already widely and wrongly perceived as having some certifying authority, which they certainly do not have. They lack the necessary structure to serve in that capacity, and the potential for harm is very real, in my opinion. Working to open those doors, and require good governance, ethical guidelines, accountability, and transparency, is essential.

But that's just, like, my opinion, man.

Gassho
Byōkan
sat + lah

Hi there,

I don't know if this is more of an issue in the USA? Zen has such a small foothold in the UK that I'm not sure its relevant here. I was surprised to find there is a Zen community near to us. They do seem quite traditional, with a constitution, board of ethics, etc http://www.turningwheel.org.uk/

I'm unable to attend this centre because of illness/disability but if I were able I think I'd just go along and see. Though if I'm honest I would feel more secure if I knew the person in charge had had a rigorous training and was certified.

I'm not saying its impossible - but I feel its possibly harder to access this degree of training through an internet based training. Just now Tree Leaf and its Priest Training programme flies under the flag of an experiment. Maybe in time it will become the norm with our increasingly internet based lives - but I'm not sure we can expect acceptance from quite rigid establishments at the moment.

If the main issue just now is what constitutes an Ango - I'm not qualified to offer an opinion. I understand what you say Jundo and emotionally I gravitate towards the essence of what you say but I can still see that's its problematic. I'm not sure that we should be trying to squeeze our life experiences into an Ango box - I say this as someone who's had 30 years of constant illness and even written a book that includes how Zen practice has helped me to cope/re-shape my perceptions but I would be reluctant to claim this necessarily constitutes an Ango.

Unsui, Priest or lay-person - all a human being can do is offer some form of service. Host a sitting group - start a reading/discussion group of Zen texts - partake of tradition and ritual - or create new rituals if the old don't float your boat.

In the UK I think the Mindfullness movement is the closest we'll ever come to Zen. The 'rules' are also excluding. Again - if you can't make it to a retreat and spend so many specified hours then you can't be certified as a trainer. You could say another door closes or you could say it has to be this way to protect the general public.

This just makes me feel if you're sure you've got something worthwhile to offer - then simply offer it. Don't worry about what to call it, or categorize it. Don't waste time trying to get accepted where you're probably never going to be accepted. Don't wait for somebody else to open a door for you when you're fully able to create your own door and freely walk through it.



Willow

ST

[Jyukatsu]

Thank you Jundo, you are an inspiration.
Hope you are home with your family soon.

Gassho,
Jyúkatsu
sat today

[Kokuu]

Hello all

Thank you, Jundo

Several people on the Soto Zen Facebook group made important points about what might be expected of priests including being able to effectively run a sesshin. I would hope to be able to do that in theory at some point, pending the arrival of the energy to back it up.

It does promote discussion of what the basic requirements of a priest are and if all those with dharma transmission are expected to fulfill the function of a priest or if some might take on another role. Could Ryokan have run a retreat? I don't know but his ability to write poems and brush calligraphy has left arguably more of a legacy than a couple of sesshins. Not to compare the two but in the west all dharma transmission seems to come with an understanding that one will teach as the head of a centre or monastery and might there be other ways of teaching, including writing, various artistic efforts (for example, if Daizan produced paintings that contained the essence of Zen wouldn't that be a role for a priest?) and other paths in the world?

http://www.turningwheel.org.uk/

This is a centre that is part of the Order for Buddhist Contemplatives which is the only British descended lineage I believe, through Jiyu Kennet. Simon the Professsor has experience sitting with this group who practice an interestingly Christian influenced chanting style.

In the UK I think the Mindfullness movement is the closest we'll ever come to Zen

I don't know if I agree with that. Mindfulness lacks the depth and lineage of Zen and also is mostly silent on ethics, compassion and the perfection of wisdom. Dogen Sangha exists in London and there are various seeds of Zen practice which I hope might grow into healthy trees.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-