December 19-20th Treeleaf Weekly Zazenkai: Sit As A Photon

[Jundo]

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQeaIwHhr8cASq85mXGzB_-j0fgw7oT33Hoaw&s.jpg

(See below in this thread for what the physicists say ... )

Dear All,

Our Treeleaf Zazenkai is for 90 minutes with Zazen, Heart Sutra, and more. We meet virtually in our Zoom Scheduled Sitting Room here:
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JOIN ZOOM >>
The password (if needed): << dogen >>

For local times, please check the Practice Calendar here: PRACTICE CALENDAR >> (10 am Japan Saturday morning, NY 8 pm, LA 5 pm Friday, London 1 am, and Paris 2 am Saturday) or sit this Zazenkai any time thereafter here:
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However, "one-way" live sitters are encouraged to join the Zoom meeting and simply leave the camera and microphone turned off.

00:00 – 00:15 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA in English) and Dedication
00:15 – 00:45 ZAZEN
00:45 – 00:55 KINHIN
00:55 – 01:25 ZAZEN
01:25 – 01:30 VERSE OF ATONEMENT & FOUR VOWS
01:30 - 01:45(?) INFORMAL TEA TIME (ALL WELCOME)
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Chant Book is here for those who wish to join in:
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CHANT BOOK LINK

For some more information about Zendo etiquette at Treeleaf and to help you be more comfortable with joining the Zoom room, please have a look here:
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ZENDO ETIQUETTE

ATTENTION: Everyone, when rising for Kinhin or Ceremonies after Zazen, get up slowly, don't rush, hold something stable, you won't be "late", so TAKE YOUR TIME! Make sure you are careful getting up!
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Gassho
sat lah
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PS - There is no "wrong" or "right" in Zazen ... yet here is a little explanation of the "right" times to bow (A koan) ...
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The other video I mention on Zendo decorum is this one, from our "Always Beginners" video Series:
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Sit-a-Long with Jundo: Zazen for Beginners (12) - Basic Zendo Decorum At Home
(LINK)

I also recommend a little Talk on why small rituals and procedures are so cherished in the Zendo:
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SIT-A-LONG with Jundo: Small Things in the Zendo
(LINK)

[Jundo]

Time does not pass, and distance shrinks to nothing (?), for a photon because it exists at the speed of light ... Here is what the legit scientists say ...
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For a short explanation ... Neil deGrasse Tyson (LINK)

... and a longer version ...
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For an even longer explanation, Dr. Lincoln from the Fermi Lab ...
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But for the videos' photons, no longer or shorter explanations needed!

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Gassho, J
stlah

[Jundo]

Today's Zazenkai will also be dedicated to our friend Kyosui ...
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image.png

KYOSUI LINK

... and to the recently departed brothers of two friends ...
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... all also now become light ...

[Taiji]

Here's the link to that article I mentioned during tea time. I haven't vetted what the folks at Slate have to say against the peer-reviewed literature they link to, but the article was a very interesting read, and I'd be curious what folks with training in the relevant fields make of it.

CW: Descriptions of fictionalized violence toward animals (nothing graphic, but still there), in case you need to avoid that sort of thing.

https://slate.com/life/2025/07/drug-brain-addiction-revenge-public-health-death.html

Gassho,
Vic
Sat/LAH Today

[Jundo]

The biophysicist who is researching photons as information transmitters in the cells (including the neurons, possibly related to consciousness) ... just so you know I don't come up with these crazy ideas myself ...
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Your Brain Is Glowing, and Scientists Can’t Figure Out Why: Researchers have measured the brain’s faint glow for the first time, hinting at a potential role of “biophotons” in cognition

... Researchers studying biological tissues, including neurons in petri dishes, can detect this as a weak but continuous stream of light—from a few photons to several hundred photons per square centimeter each second. “Scaling this up to humans, we wanted to know if those photons might be involved in some information processing or propagation [in the brain],” says senior author Nirosha Murugan, a biophysicist at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario.

Scientists have been proposing that biophotons play a role in cellular communication for at least a century. In 1923 Alexander Gurwitsch conducted experiments where he showed that photon-blocking barriers placed between onion roots could prevent the plant from growing. In the past few decades, a handful of studies have added weight to the possible role biophotons play in cellular communication, which influences an organism’s growth and development. With this work in mind, Murugan and her team wanted to see if they could detect hints of this phenomenon at the level of the human brain. ...

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https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/human-brains-emit-light-signals

[Kotei]

Thank you Jundo.
Thank you Koriki for Ino and Bion for the tech, and everyone for sitting together.
Gassho,
Kotei sat/lah today.

[Shinshi]

I am off to sit with the recording. I read Jundo's post about this first and now I can't get this song out of my head.

Gassho,

Shinshi
Satlah

[Tairin]

Thank you everyone. Due to Christmas events I had to split my sit up over two sessions but I finished sitting with you this evening.


Tairin
sat today and lab

[Shui_Di]

Thank you Jundo.

It will be the quote of the year.

SIT AS A PHOTON

Namu Photon-Butsu

Gassho, Mujo
Stlah

[Dogaku]

Thank you for the service and the Dharma talk.

Gassho,
Justin
Sat/Lah