Chanting & Zazen Circle (Mo thru Sa)

[Guest]

Ryo,

It could be done, yes ! I’m always interested by different variations and translations of zen texts. Each one can teach something or present a subject with new lighting, new perspectives.

Good idea !

Yuki 雪.

[Anchi]

Lovely ....Thank You Yuki,

Always great to sit and chant In Your company !

See you

Gassho

[bluemountain]

Great Yuki. It is always pleasant and joyful to sit with everybody.

Unfortunately starting today I'll be taking swimming classes. The good part is that I'll be able to exercise (which I haven't done much since quarantine started). The bad part is that I won't be able to sit with everyone on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays since my class begins right in the middle of our meeting.

But hey! Aren't we supposed to transcend thoughts of good and bad after all?

So I hope to see everyone on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Gassho

Au revoir, Ciao, Bye, Sayonara, Tchau...

Bernie

[Ryokudo]

Hey Yuki,

Yesterday went cool, but that's what you get with Paul, John P, Aprapti and Bluemountain Bernie.

We did Sanki Raimon (Aprapti)

Contemplating Mind (Johnny boy)

Maka Hannya (Ryo)

zazen

Some Haiku form my man John and then 4 vows in Port, Jap, Eng.

It was great but obviously we missed you mon frere, I hope the travel was ok and we shall see you tonight.

In gassho,

Ryokudo

SAT/LAH

[Guest]

Hi Chanting Brothers,

The travel have gone well. Actually, our little Zendo on wheels (caravan) is parked at the house of our beloved daughter. We will stay here for at least 8 to 10 days.

Yes, Ryokudo, I will be able to join you today.

See you all !

Yuki 雪

(Sat alone yesterday but will do it in your company today !)

[kirii]

Hello! I haven't introduced myself yet and someone asked me where I was from, so here you are I am Kirii, a person from germany and I am pretty shy, I hope it has been ok for you guys that I have been leaving off my camera and mic. Practice has been very nice with all of you and I have been enjoying it ! See you tomorrow (I have 2h of training tomorrow, won't be sure whether I can participate or not because after that 'll be exhausted...) I think I might've deleted my last message

Gassho

Kirii
Sat today

[Guest]

Hello! I haven't introduced myself yet and someone asked me where I was from, so here you are I am Kirii, a person from germany and I am pretty shy, I hope it has been ok for you guys that I have been leaving off my camera and mic. Practice has been very nice with all of you and I have been enjoying it ! See you tomorrow (I have 2h of training tomorrow, won't be sure whether I can participate or not because after that 'll be exhausted...) I think I might've deleted my last message

Gassho

Kirii
Sat today

Hi Kirii,

In Chanting and Zazen Circle, we are free to be who we are, so you can be assured that nobody will judge the fact your camera and mic are off. Thanks for your presence and practice with us. By the way, if you know the four vows in German, I would be interested to have the text in your language and, who knows, maybe try to read it at the end of our Chanting session, as I have done with the Portuguese text last week !

See you soon,

Yuki 雪

[Guest]

Hi everybody,

Aprapti had a good suggestion for the text to read this week. It is from Thich Nhat Hanh.

Please Call Me by My True Names

Don’t say that I will depart tomorrow —
even today I am still arriving.

Look deeply: every second I am arriving
to be a bud on a Spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and
death of all that is alive.

I am a mayfly metamorphosing
on the surface of the river.
And I am the bird
that swoops down to swallow the mayfly.

I am a frog swimming happily
in the clear water of a pond.
And I am the grass-snake
that silently feeds itself on the frog.

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks.
And I am the arms merchant,
selling deadly weapons to Uganda.

I am the twelve-year-old girl,
refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean
after being raped by a sea pirate.
And I am the pirate,
my heart not yet capable
of seeing and loving.

 
I am a member of the politburo,
with plenty of power in my hands.
And I am the man who has to pay
his “debt of blood” to my people
dying slowly in a forced-labor camp.

My joy is like Spring, so warm
it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth.
My pain is like a river of tears,
so vast it fills the four oceans.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and laughter at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up
and the door of my heart
could be left open,
the door of compassion.


This poem was written in 1978, during the time of helping the boat people.

Seeing you tomorrow !

Yuki 雪

[Ryokudo]

Hey yuki,

Sounds lovely, and then maybe a maka hannya or sandokai?

I guess Aprapti should have 1st pass at TNH text?

A bientot mon frere.

Gassho

Ryokudo

SAT/LAH

[Ryokudo]

Hello! I haven't introduced myself yet and someone asked me where I was from, so here you are I am Kirii, a person from germany and I am pretty shy, I hope it has been ok for you guys that I have been leaving off my camera and mic. Practice has been very nice with all of you and I have been enjoying it ! See you tomorrow (I have 2h of training tomorrow, won't be sure whether I can participate or not because after that 'll be exhausted...) I think I might've deleted my last message

Gassho

Kirii
Sat today

Wilkommen kirii,

A great zen trait is to hold your peace until you are ready to speak. Shyness is not a problem, you are blossoming with us anyway, like Buddha's flower. Whether we see you or not, we see you and honour you. One day we may see you, meanwhile our hearts see each other and chant in unison, dancing to the dharma,

Gassho

Ryokudo

[Anchi]

Hey Yuki,

Sounds wonderful !
Thank you Aprapti

See you all !

Gassho

[Guest]

Hi everybody !

I plan to read Please « Call Me by My True Names » from Thich Nhat Hanh in French later this week. Here is the French translation if you want to follow me in French.

Appelez-moi par mes vrais noms
(Thich Nhat Hanh)


Ne dites pas, je serai parti demain,
car je ne cesse de naître, aujourd’hui encore.
Regardez en profondeur : je nais à chaque seconde
bourgeon sur une branche printanière,
oisillon aux ailes encore fragiles,
apprenant à chanter dans mon nouveau nid,
chenille au coeur d’une fleur ;
bijou caché dans une pierre.
Je ne cesse de naître, pour rire et pour pleurer ; pour craindre et pour espérer :
Mon coeur est rythmé par la naissance et
la mort de tout ce qui est vivant.
Je suis l’éphémère se métamorphosant sur l’eau de la rivière,
et je suis l’oiseau qui, au printemps, naît juste à temps
pour manger l’éphémère.
Je suis la grenouille nageant heureuse dans la mare claire,
Et je suis l’orvet approchant en silence pour se nourrir de la grenouille.
Je suis l’enfant d’Ouganda, décharné, squelettique,
aux jambes pareilles à des bambous fragiles,
et je suis le marchand d’armes vendant des armes meurtrières à l’Ouganda.
Je suis la fillette de douze ans, réfugiée sur une frêle embarcation,
Se jetant à l’eau pour avoir été violée par un pirate,
et je suis le pirate, au coeur incapable encore de voir et d’aimer :
Je suis un membre du Politburo,
et je suis l’homme qui doit acquitter sa « dette de sang » envers mon peuple,
mourant lentement aux travaux forcés.
Ma joie est comme le printemps, chaude,
au point d’épanouir des fleurs en tout mode de vie.
Ma peine forme une rivière de larmes, débordante,
au point d’emplir les quatre océans.
S’il vous plaît, appelez-moi par mes vrais noms,
Que j’entende ensemble mes cris et mes rires,
Que je voie ma joie mais aussi ma peine.
Appelez-moi, s’il vous plaît, par mes vrais noms,
Que je m’éveille, et ouvre pour toujours la porte de mon cœur,
la porte de la compassion.

Gassho

Yuki 雪

[aprapti]

Hi everybody !

I plan to read Please « Call Me by My True Names » from Thich Nhat Hanh in French later this week. Here is the French translation if you want to follow me in French.

nice!!

aprapti

sat

[aprapti]

zenboek3.jpg

this is the book based on enmei jikku kannon gyo.

aprapti

sat

[Anchi]

Lovely in French ! Thank you Yuki.
This is a wonderful book Aprapti !

Always great to sit and chant with everybody.

See you all

Gassho