Sept. 2nd-3rd, 2022 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour Treeleaf ZAZENKAI - Commencing JUKAI & ANGO!

[Amelia]

I joined late and left early. Whole family decided to gather at my house to meet a new baby. I will catch up later, thank you all.

Gassho
Sat, lah

[Tokan]

Thank you everyone! What a joy to see so many faces and to kick off Ango together. Thanks Jundo for a great talk and a hopeful and encouraging Hokey Pokey!
Much love to you all and let’s do our best!

[emoji1374] Sat Today

...and thank you Bion, you have obviously been researching the stylistic elements of chanting, as your chanting has evolved. Great work!

Gassho, Tokan (satlah)

[Bion]

...and thank you Bion, you have obviously been researching the stylistic elements of chanting, as your chanting has evolved. Great work!

Gassho, Tokan (satlah)

I’ve done it the same since we started the ino service! [emoji1] I was probably very nervous the first time though! An audience does that hahaha
Thanks!

[emoji1374] Sat Today

[Tokan]

I’ve done it the same since we started the ino service! [emoji1] I was probably very nervous the first time though! An audience does that hahaha
Thanks!

[emoji1374] Sat Today

Or maybe it was my speakers lol, there was just a lovely deep tone to your chanting this time around

Gassho, Tokan (satlah)

[Bion]

Or maybe it was my speakers lol, there was just a lovely deep tone to your chanting this time around

Gassho, Tokan (satlah)

Ah! I changed the mic setup and most importantly: I WAS NOT DYING OF HEAT [emoji1787]

[emoji1374] sat lah

[Suuko]

For Today's Talk, to Commence our Jukai & Ango Season .... Redemption, Icchantikas and 'Broken Ladles'

A Soto Teacher in Australia, Hogen Daido Yamahata, has a little book with some very wise, often truly astonishing quotes (https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/hogen.html) :



In traditional Mahayana Buddhism, a great debate occurred about whether there existed human beings who are Icchantika, lacking Buddha Nature, never to become Buddhas, without possibility of redemption. Master Dogen seems not to have subscribed to the idea Dogen, and in fact, may have celebrated our imperfection and the impossibility of redemption as the very place of our perfect liberation and ultimate redemption.

In Genjo Koan, Dogen writes:



In a section of Shobogenzo entitled Butsukojoji (Continuous development beyond Buddha)



Finally, a poem by Dogen on Shakyamuni Buddha's moment of Enlightenment, under the Bodhi Tree, after years of hard practice, torturing the body, seeking extreme meditative states:

After six years of bitter ascetic practice, He attained awakening in one sitting.

Glimpsing the ground and arising, how laughable! What is this broken wooden ladle?

Gassho, J

STLah

What a beautiful, read. Thanks Jundo. The suffering of life seems almost like poetry here.

Gassho,
Suuko.

Sent from my M2101K7BNY using Tapatalk

[Kotei]

Thank you everyone!
Gassho,
Kotei sat/lah today.

[Chikyou]

Wow, this was a transformational Zazenkai for me.

I loved the in-depth Metta and I must say, I honestly didn't consider chanting Metta for past versions of myself that did something I regret. I have a lot of regrets and this is solidly in my toolbox now.

Gassho,
SatLah
Kelly

[Tai Do]

Thank you, Jundo and everyone for this beautiful start of Ango.
I wrote your quote in an index card and put it on my wall, Jundo:

"A Buddha is someone who realizes the real meaning of living in the imperfection and turning it, bringing the light into it, making it good."

Gassho,
Mateus
Satlah


Let's go Ango!
Let's go Jukai!

[Nenka]

Liking the redemption theme

Had a good sit with the recording.

Gassho

Nenka
st

[Seishin]

After a few weeks awol, was good to sit Zazenkai again. Thank you all.



Sat

[Nanrin]

Thank you everyone.

Gassho,

Emma

Sat

[ZenKen]

Thank you for this zazenkai and opening of Ango. I finally completed my sit with it. Thanks also for the very challenging metta gatha. I had to dig deep to mean it and feel so much better now that I have.

Gassho
Anna
stlah

[sreed]

Jundo, that was such a powerful dharma talk. I will listen to it again on the podcast too, as I want to continue to reflect on it. I am so honored to be here and take part in Ango and Jukai this year. I had a realization about my perceived reality and my suffering over wishing a situation was different. I can embrace it and be at peace with it now. I also enjoyed the broken ladle metaphor. I am the ladle, Sara-ing. I am also the mountain, Sara-ing. And they are me.

Gassho
-Sara
ST

[Kokuu]

Lovely! Thank you all for sitting!

Gassho
Kokuu