Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

[Dosho]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

Hi all,

Here is the tea party report for Sunday, July 17th:

We've developed a pretty steady turnout over the last few weeks which has led to some very good discussions. After our traditional meal chant, robe verses, and short sit we turned to matters of practice, many surrounding the upcoming ango and jukai here at Treeleaf. One sangha member who was recently in an accident discussed his fear and uncertainty about sewing a rakusu, mostly due to only having the full use of one hand, but also due to some other factors. This person also mentioned sitting zazen both on and off pain medication which led into a discussion of a recent Brad Warner post about zazen and recreational drug use that has generated much talk in the blogosphere. Another member talked about being off any kind of medication for the first time in 18 years and how it felt very much the same since stopping. Recent posts at Zen Forum International were also a topic of interest involving who is "suitable" for ordination as well the new book club selection, Zen Seeds. The tea party then concluded with some folks conversing on techniques for finishing a kesa (the part made of cloth anyway) and starting a new one.

Hope to see some folks at this week's tea party...no camera required!

Gassho,
Dosho

[Tb]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

Hi.

Here is an record of the things discussed during the last Teaparty:

Counting Breath vs Shikantaza
Fireflies vs Lightningbugs
Books & the Treeleaf bookclub
Roshis, Senseis & Masters
Three pillars of Zen
Enjoying the Teaparty
Buddha & Rebels
Age
Smoking & Nicotine
Sewing
Netflix & movies
Rakusu
Google+

And a reminder of the Treeleaf teaparty ,sunday 21.00 (swedish time ) on skype.
Contains a short ceremony and some friendly talks.
If you want to join, unless you already have, pm Fugen or Shohei your skypename.

Everybody's welcome.
Same time, same place.
Thank you for your practice.

Gassho & Mtfbwy
Shohei and Fugen

[Dosho]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

Hi all,

Here is the tea party report for Sunday, July 3rd:

The call this week was fraught with technical glitches for some of the participants, but as we do here at Treeleaf we merely rolled with what was. We had our usual meal chant, robe verses (for the second week with the soulful stylings of Shohei), and a short sit. I missed some of what followed as it turned out that no one could hear me at first and then later when they could it was rather muffled...new 'puter! One person told the tale of their crazy existence of late while we had a Treeleaf newbie who was having some technical issues of his own. Another person had to come in and out of the call while tending to issues of family and, you guessed it, computer problems! I finally stopped trying to fix my issues and just listened while one person recounted their recent time in the hospital and the rather humbling experience of taking care of themselves at home afterwards. This person has described how friends had really come through and how he was looking forward to jukai this year.

In sum, it was the most perfectly imperfect tea party ever...well, since last week and until next week. Hope to see some folks there this coming week and, remember: No camera required! Just you and your computer!

Gassho,
Dosho

[Dosho]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

Hi all,

Here is the tea party report for Sunday, June 26th:

We started with a small crowd and added a couple during the call, so we had a nice half dozen sangha members this week. As usual, we had our traditional meal chant, robe verses, and short sit. The common theme for this week's discussion was the tendency to either overanalyze one's pratice or to not analyze it at all, with every level of thought inbetween. Consequently, some felt that there was too little discussion of existenial questions on the forum while others felt satisified to post and read threads, but not be too concerned with such matters day to day. Topics around this discussion included "spiritual seeking", what we as buddhists do when we find ourselves in a church or gathering of another religion, the impact of human beings on the environment, and when easing one person's suffering may seem to conflict with the needs of another. Those left at the end closed with a dicussion of the very controversial topic, "Legos: Permanent or Impermanence?" :mrgreen:

I hope to see some folks at this Sunday's tea party! If you don't come, you'll never know what happens...well, until I post next week's update.

Gassho,
Dosho

[Tb]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

Hi.

A reminder of the Treeleaf teaparty ,sunday 21.00 (swedish time ) on skype.
Contains a short ceremony and some friendly talks.
If you want to join, unless you already have, pm Fugen or Shohei your skypename.

Everybody's welcome.
Same time, same place.
Thank you for your practice.

Gassho & Mtfbwy
Shohei and Fugen

[Tb]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

Hi.

The secretary's report from the last Teaparty (as to what was discussed):

Hans trip to a monastery
What do priests do
Sutras
Oryoki
Training in monasteries vs Treeleaf Training
Sewing
The new Bookclubbook
Books on Dogen
zafu and sitting
Teaparties
Plumblossoms
Pots & Enlightenment

Mtfbwy
Fugen

[Tb]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

Hi.

A reminder of the Treeleaf teaparty ,sunday 21.00 (swedish time ) on skype.
Contains a short ceremony and some friendly talks.
If you want to join, unless you already have, pm Fugen or Shohei your skypename.

Everybody's welcome.
Same time, same place.
Thank you for your practice.

Gassho & Mtfbwy
Shohei and Fugen

[Dosho]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

Hi all,

Here is the tea party report for Sunday, June 12th:

We had a very nice turnout this week with 10 different sangha members stopping by at some point during the call. After our traditional meal chant, robe verses, and short sit, there was a discussion of wearing rakusus and kesas in public, which then led to the thought that the tolerance for religious garments seems very different between North America and Europe. One of our priests in training talked about getting a sitting group together that may consist of an old group that used to sit in his town. We also discussed the recent retreat that Mongen (Hans) went on in Japan and the pictures and stories he brought back with him. One person offered a link to a local zen center's Vesak celebration complete with very colorful rakusus! Other topics included gaming: console vs. PC, the health benefits of cursing, whether some books on the reading list would make good book club selections in the future, and the shocking revelation that kids don't always listen to their parents.

Please consider dropping by the tea party this Sunday, whether it's for one hour or one minute. We'd love to have you join our madcap adventures!

Gassho,
Dosho

[Tb]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

Hi.

A reminder of the Treeleaf teaparty ,sunday 21.00 (swedish time ) on skype.
Contains a short ceremony and some friendly talks.
If you want to join, unless you already have, pm Fugen or Shohei your skypename.

Everybody's welcome.
Same time, same place.
Thank you for your practice.

Gassho & Mtfbwy
Shohei and Fugen

[Jundo]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

this week's call mentioned their curiousity if a kesa can actually ever be finished, ... a tale of washing a kesa ...

The Kesa Koan:

A Kesa is complete from the start, before the very first stitch ... yet never completed even when thought fully sewn.

It is never ever soiled though muddy and in need of a sometime wash (and though we strive to keep the stains away, not spill our soup on it during formal Oryoki meals), never grown old even as the fabric wears away with time (and though we strive to keep it in shape as long as we can), never torn though completely fallen apart (bound to happen someday).

In fact, it is ALL THIS LIFE, just like that! 8)

Gassho, Jundo (stepping on Taigu's Kesa tail here )

[Graceleejenkins]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

Dosho, very nicely summarized! People will have to join us to see what stays on Skype! Gassho, Grace.

[Dosho]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

Hi all,

Here is the tea party report for Sunday, June 5th:

After our tradtional meal chant, robe verses, and short sit we turned to matters of practice. Multiple participants on this week's call mentioned their curiousity if a kesa can actually ever be finished, but were assured that completed kesas have been spotted outside of captivity. One of our priests in training related a tale of washing a kesa that consisted of young children, a bathtub, and kitty litter. Problems with the sitting hall were also discussed, particualy the early adoption by ooVoo of Apple's new O/S that no one is using yet! So, sitting for Mac users may be limited to the backup system for awhile. Other topics included personalities like Brad Warner and Stephen Hawking, efforts to ban circumcision in San Francisco, scholarships to prestigious universities, and the fact that when it comes to some discussions, "What happens on Skype, stays on Skype."

Hope to see some more folks at next week's tea party!

Gassho,
Dosho

[Tb]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

Hi.

A reminder of the Treeleaf teaparty , 21.00 (swedish time).

Everybody's welcome.
Same time, same place.
Thank you for your practice.

Also, this sunday we have the Treeleaf beginners mind teaparty, starting an hour earlier, 20.00 (swedish time).
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3118
This is an option for those that is new to the teaparty and/or and/or are a bit on the shy side and /or have questions about Treeleaf.

Note: you don't need an camera, just an headset and a skype account.
An option to skype is that we do it through oovoo, that is if everybody feels comfortable with video...


If you want to join either, Just pm Fugen or Shohei your skypename.

Gassho & Mtfbwy
Shohei and Fugen

[Dosho]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

Hi all,

Here is the tea party report for Sunday, May 29th:

After our tradtional meal chant and robe verses, we sat for a few minutes and then began a discussion of practice. One person discussed their extension of practice into lawn mowing and maintenance using an old fashion reel mower, bare hands, and the occasional electrically powered tool. Another attendee discussed their reading of a book by someone they later found out to be controversial and a realization that they would not have read the book if they had known that in advance. A general discussion then followed about selections from the book club and reading list including Realizing Genjokoan by Shohaku Okumura. Jundo and Mongen's retreat at Shogoji was also mentioned as well as the recent changes on the forum to make some areas available only to members. Other topics discussed included creating businesses, whether any endeavour can truly be called a failure, parenting, time spent outdoors, particularly by young people, gun ownership, and the possible differences of European and North American representation in the sangha.

Hope to see some more folks at next week's tea party!

Gassho,
Dosho

[Tb]

Re: Sharing Helpful and Insightful Tips (was The Tea Party)

Hi.

A reminder of the Treeleaf teaparty ,sunday 21.00 (swedish time ) on skype.
Contains a short ceremony and some friendly talks.
If you want to join, unless you already have, pm Fugen or Shohei your skypename.

Everybody's welcome.
Same time, same place.
Thank you for your practice.

Gassho & Mtfbwy
Shohei and Fugen