Zazenkai questions from a newcomer!

[Meitou]

Hah! My joke about our Ceremonies here at Treeleaf, given the age, sprains, bad backs, physical whatnot of our members (and the Teacher too) is that, well, I am just happy if we can all manage to get up from a bow, let alone move in harmony.

Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

Well you know that very fluid movement they made when going down on their knees, it was on my mind so much that I thought I'd try it yesterday, all I'll say is thank goodness the bed was close at hand to break my sack-of-potatoes fall I remember when I took the Tibetan refuge, I worried more about the nine prostrations I was going to have to do than the vows or anything else and when we refuge takers all got talking it turned out we all felt the same! I survived...

Thank you Jundo so much for the tour of the Zendo, it is absolutely beautiful inside and out. I think it was in your intro video here that you said it wasn't all about paper screens and tatami mats and I remember thinking, oh please, let it be, because I love Japanese art and artifacts, so it was a real joy to see so much simple beauty in the Zendo. I'll try to copy the Treeleaf sign over the door and put it on the front of my Chant Book folder. Baby Buddha in his naughty step playpen made me laugh too! It's really good now to have that extra sense of the space, it's come even more alive. Wish I could pop in for some zazen and a cup of tea!
Thank you again, deep bow of gratitude.

Gassho
Frankie,
Satwithyoualltoday/LAH

[Jundo]

... I did have a little laugh as it looks like baby Buddha is in a time-out spot. lol

Gassho,
Joyo
sat today/lah

Well, by popular request, the Baby Buddha has been freed from his crib, and is now on the Ancestors Altar next to the 6th Ancestor, Hui Neng.

I realized when I filmed the Zendo that I could have changed the camera angle a bit to make it a little big more dramatic ... shooting from below with the garden and attractive Japanese roof of our storehouse in view, but I decided to show it in all its simple plainness. It is what it is.

I did call it our "barn." Actually, it is a farm building called a "naya" in Japanese. I rather doubt that they kept large animals in there, although perhaps chickens. Here is an even more traditional one I found online, with a thatch roof ...

＊納屋 (or 菜屋) (Naya) Barn
This building is a barn, called “Naya”, which is divided into three. The left side is a stable where horses had been kept until very recently 50 years ago. The middle is a room which puts farm machines and implements and fixtures in order, and the right was for kind of a warehouse which keeps grain and important articles.

The other little building I show at the start is really an outhouse, a hole in the ground toilet that the farmers used when they did not want to take their boots off to use the toilet inside the house. Once, I am sure, it was the only WC, but now we have indoor plumbing. We don't use the outhouse much any more (though the squat toilet is good for building leg strength), and leave it to the spiders. If you visit, however, you are welcome to it.


Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

[Tairin]

Thank you for the tour. I've been curious about the Zendo but it never even occurred to me to ask for a virtual tour.

Gassho
Warren
Sat today

[Seishin]

Jundo

Thank you so much for the guided tour of Treeleaf, its good to finally see "my" spiritual home. as it seems to be becoming. Good to see everything within your/our wonderful temple and the explanations of the various artifacts. I also appreciate the previous ceremony clips. I found the Yokoji video very instructional, delivered in a simple but clear manner and was moved by the final Japanese chanting, which resonated with me, although why I'm not sure, maybe decades of Japanese counting during karate training, that at times I used to find hypnotic.

Many thanks for sharing.

SIVZTM and a little lah today

[Ryudo]

Thank you Jundo,

This is very nice.
A beautiful place to sit. Thank you so much for opening it to us and making it available to us.
Deep bows.

Gassho
Marcus
SatToday

[Ansan]

Thank you, Jundo, for the lovely tour of the finished Zendo as well as the reconstruction of it. I especially appreciate the explanation and history of each item and your love of each one. I did not know how large it is but now will have my own internal hologram of where I am when I sit. I can even smell the many fragrances of the statuary, the wood, the presences.

Gassho
Ansan
SatToday/lah

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[Kyotai]

I enjoyed it very much as well.

Gassho, Kyotai
ST LAH

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