What should I do for the Vesak?

[Peter Rowe]

Dear all, I've been given the day off for the Vesak, which is officially in Europe the 1st of JUne. How should I celebrate? I was thinking of doing a Sesshin at home, but I don't know if this is a good idea or not. Any ideas or knowledge would be helpful. Sincerely, Peter.

[Jundo]

Hi Peter,

Well, the strange thing is that Vesak (the day of Celebration of the historical Buddha's Birthday) is April 8th in Japan, unlike the rest of Asia. So, we have already had our Birthday Party ...

http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?13358-Celebrate-Buddha-s-Birthday-%28April-8th-in-Japan%29&p=152188&viewfull=1#post152188

However, truly, is not the "Buddha Birthday" in each moment of each day and any day? So, never too late.

We do not have any special ritual for noting the event in our Sangha, apart from our usual Zazenkai. However, we did have our 2-Day "All At Home" Rohatsu (Buddha's Enlightenment Day) Retreat, available for sitting any time where you are. In fact, "Vesak" includes elements of Rohatsu too in its meaning, so nothing wrong with sitting a day of that Retreat if you wish. Here is the link.

http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?12930-TREELEAF-SANGHA-online-2-DAY-ANGO-JUKAI-ROHATSU-RETREAT-2014-%28MAIN-PAGE%29

Happy Birthday! (The Buddha's Birthday is your Birthday too!)

Gassho, Jundo

SatToday

[Myosha]

Hello,

Have no ideas or knowledge, HOWEVER, please enjoy the day off as this bag 'o bones starts its sixty-fourth solar orbit.


Gassho
Myosha sat today

[Daiyo]

Hi, last sunday the Fo Guang Shan Temple in Buenos Aires celebrated Vesak.
I could participate and had a very nice time.

This is a photo of me taking part in the Baby Buddha Bath:

SAM_6277.jpg

And another one of the altar with a big Buddha statue and several offerings: fruits, flowers, incense, sutras, etc:

SAM_6288.jpg

After all, any day is a good day to celebrate the Buddha's birthday!



Gassho,
Daiyo


SatToday

[Peter Rowe]

Dear all, Well, I was able to do some sitting, but not as much as I had set out to do. I wanted to do at least five hours (hour on the cushion and an hour off, because I didn't think I would be able to do the day long sitting that Jundo posted for me). THis was the first time I attempted to do more than my usual 40 minutes. I only got about three hours in, and the last hour was really difficult. I am disappointed. Zazen has become more important for me in the past month. I realize that it is more important than many of my other activities. I have been reading The ZEn Teaching of Homeless Kodo and I was very impressed by the way he gave his entire life to Zazen. I felt I could give Zazen more time and more effort. When I tried today I fell short of my ambitions: I both feel bad about not achieving what I had set out to do and bad about having to give up because I couldn't take it anymore. How should I understand this? What should I do? SIncerely Peter.
Sat.

[Anshu Bryson]

It is the Vesak (called Waisak here) public holiday in Indonesia tomorrow.I will sit in the morning and evening as normal, but have nothing special planned. I am readinf Okumura's 'Realizing Genjokoan'; I might spend some extra time with it tomorrow... ;-)

Gassho,
Anshu

-sat today-

[Jundo]

Dear all, Well, I was able to do some sitting, but not as much as I had set out to do. I wanted to do at least five hours (hour on the cushion and an hour off, because I didn't think I would be able to do the day long sitting that Jundo posted for me). THis was the first time I attempted to do more than my usual 40 minutes. I only got about three hours in, and the last hour was really difficult. I am disappointed. Zazen has become more important for me in the past month. I realize that it is more important than many of my other activities. I have been reading The ZEn Teaching of Homeless Kodo and I was very impressed by the way he gave his entire life to Zazen. I felt I could give Zazen more time and more effort. When I tried today I fell short of my ambitions: I both feel bad about not achieving what I had set out to do and bad about having to give up because I couldn't take it anymore. How should I understand this? What should I do? SIncerely Peter.
Sat.

Hi Peter,

This is not a sprint, nor a marathon (although there are sometimes we sit long hours). It is a day by day walk through the mountains.

What prize were you trying to win, what points to rack up? If we sit long, there is no place to go and nothing lacking. If we sit short, there is no place to go and nothing lacking. (Nonetheless, for this very reason, sometimes it is good to sit long precisely to realize this fact of "no place to go and nothing lacking").

Maybe this talk will help ...

http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?7701-Sit-a-Long-with-Jundo-Zazen-for-Beginners-%28Part-V%29

Gassho, J

SatToday (but did not keep track of the time)

[Peter Rowe]

Dear Jundo, Thank you for your teaching. I have been thinking about it off and on for the past couple of days. I supose in a way I was trying to rack up points-I felt I had to put out, do the work, to consider myself an authentic zen buddhist...Authentic is a word that comes back over and over again in Dogen's writing, and perhaps that word, or rather my interpretation of it, allowed me to push myself into a meditation marathon...That and some of the zen heroics I have encountered in different writings here and there...Sincerely, Peter. (I am sorry if I am a little brutal here, but I'd rather just say things as they are, to the best of my ability)