May 1-2nd, 2026 -OUR MONTHLY 3-hour Treeleaf ZAZENKAI- A Third Mysterious Talk

[Jundo]

(Daylight Savings - Check Start Times)

A third mystery in a long-ago masterpiece ...
... but no particular order ... jump on in ...

The Third of Ten Mysterious Talks by Master Tong'an Changcha
(TEXT BELOW)

Dear All,

Please sit our Monthly 3-Hour Treeleaf Zazenkai LIVE with Zazen, Heart Sutra and more. We meet 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: TREELEAF Practice Calendar (8am to 11am Japan time Saturday morning, New York 7pm to 11pm, Los Angeles 4pm to 7pm, Friday, London Midnight to 3am and Paris 1am to 4am on early Saturday morning) and also sittable any time thereafter:
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However, "one way" live sitters are encouraged to come into the Zoom sitting, and just leave the camera and microphone turned off.
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Audio recordings of the Talks during Zazenkai are available here:
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Treeleaf Zendo Podcast

The Sitting Schedule is as follows:
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00:00 - 00:50 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA IN JAPANESE / SANDOKAI IN ENGLISH) & ZAZEN

00:50 - 01:00 KINHIN
01:00 - 01:30 ZAZEN
01:30 - 01:40 KINHIN
01:40 - 02:20 DHARMA TALK & ZAZEN
02:20 - 02:25 KANNON STRETCH
02:25 - 02:55 ZAZEN and METTA VERSES
02:55 - 03:00 VERSE OF ATONEMENT, FOUR VOWS, & CLOSING

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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!

Gassho, Jundo

STLah


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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Chant Book is here for those who wish to join in: CHANT BOOK LINK

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
https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...093#post189093

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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
https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...s-in-the-Zendo

[Jundo]

image.png

We burn like an ox amid a once classic text of Soto Zen in China, long forgotten until recently revived ...

The "Ten Mysterious Talks," or "Ten Talks of Unfathomable Depths" (十玄談), by the 10th Century Soto (Caodong) Master, Tong'an Changcha (同安常察, Dōan Jōsatsu).

We will explore the third of the ten. (Translation by Daigaku Rumme):

(However, jump in any place if just joining us ... there is no particular sequence to take in order!)

3. The Unfathomable Function
You cannot rely on looking far ahead to the end of the universe.
And why would you tie yourself down to tainted worldliness?
Essentially, the miraculous body is not bound anywhere.
It is already throughout the whole body, so what other traces could there be?
A single efficacious word transcends the multitudes.
It is far beyond the Three Vehicles and does not require cultivation.
Shake off your hands and get away from the sages of all ages.
Then your path of return will resemble an ox in the midst of fire.

③ 玄機

迢迢空劫勿能收
豈爲塵機作繫留
妙體本來無處所
通身何更問蹤由
靈然一句超群像
逈出三乘不假修
撒手那邊千聖外
廻程堪作火中牛

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image.png
Ten Ox-herding Pictures

[NicholasCopeland]

Sat offline this morning. Thank you all.

Gassho

Nick (SatLAH)

[Jundo]

Hah! Very funny! Well, I wished to check one word of Changcha's teaching, so this morning I plugged it into Google on my Chrome browser. The new Google AI instantly offered an interpretation of the teaching, and I was interested in how it did.

Hmmm. I had to admit that the AI offered a very fine, to the point summary. Not bad at all, almost what I took 30 minutes to say!

And that is when I looked in the lower right corner, and saw the AI's source ...

image.png

Emi Jido is jealous.


HOWEVER, I cannot fully concur with the "context" it also attributes to us in conclusion. The situation is more subtle. There is "nothing to cultivate," yes, it is true, but we must diligently cultivate that fact!

image.png

Emi Jido smiles.

Gassho, J
stlah

[Kotei]

Thank you for sitting this together everyone - and for the talk, Jundo.
Bows,
Kotei sat/lah today.

[Dogaku]

Hello,

Thank you for the monthly zazenkai and Dharma talk. I sat with you all this evening. It felt good to do so wearing the Okesa.

Gassho,
Dogaku
Sat/Lah

[Seiko]

I sat with 1st May Zazenkai on Thursday 7th.

Gasshō, Seiko, stlah

[Shui_Di]

Thank you Jundo,

I just sat for this Zazenkai.

妙體本來無處所
廻程堪作火中牛

I love these two phrases.

Essentially, the miraculous body is not bound anywhere.

Then your path of return will resemble an ox in the midst of fire.


When the ox is not bound, the fire won't catch the ox

Or maybe the fire become the "holy fire"

Gassho, Mujo
Stlah