June 2-3 2023 -OUR MONTHLY 4-hr ZAZENKAI- Nyorai Zenshin -A Mini-Lesson in Dogen Jazz

[Jundo]

tsuku0.jpg

A 'Goju-no-To' Five Story Stone Pagoda (Stupa),
similar to the one at Treeleaf Tsukuba Zendo


We'll Scat with Dogen's Jazz in
Shobogenzo Nyorai Zenshin (The Buddha Whole Body)
(text below)

Dear All,

Please sit our Monthly 4-Hour Treeleaf Zazenkai netcast LIVE 8am to noon Japan time Saturday morning (that is New York 7pm to 11pm, Los Angeles 4pm to 8pm (Friday night), London Midnight to 4am and Paris 1am to 5am (early Saturday morning)), and also sitable any time thereafter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRyovi3GywY

However, "one way" live sitters are encouraged to come into the Zoom sitting, and just leave the camera and microphone turned off: Join live (with or without a camera & microphone) on Zoom at: TREELEAF Now OR at DIRECT ZOOM LINK, password (if needed): dogen

Dharma Talk Audio / Podcast Episode:

https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?20232-TREELEAF-PODCAST

Tags: None

[Jundo]

From my book, THE ZEN MASTER'S DANCE: A Guide to Understanding Dōgen and Who You Are in the Universe ...

https://wisdomexperience.org/product/the-zen-masters-dance/

A modern jazz musician like saxophonist John Coltrane, by taking the basic melodies and themes of the standard score, by bending and turning them inside out, changing the beat and going to unchartered places, squeezes amazing sounds and fresh discoveries out of the wellworn original. ... Dōgen does the same in imaginatively re-expressing ancient teachings. Sometimes with Dōgen and Coltrane it is the sound, man, and the hinted implications, more than the straight meaning. People often get tangled in Dōgen’s style because they constantly look for Dōgen’s intellectual and philosophical meaning in every phrase. They shut the book in frustration or think that Dōgen was pulling the wool over people’s eyes. However, although I believe that Dōgen was often trying to impress his listeners with a “hot” set of startling phrases, I don’t think that he was ever just putting on a show. He said what he meant, and meant what he felt. Dōgen was being true to the Buddha’s sound. With Dōgen, we have to learn to feel the music more than to intellectually understand the score.

It’s not just Coltrane or jazz: Picasso and the other modern visual artists took the concrete image of a table, a human face, or a guitar and, by pulling apart the pieces and reassembling them in unexpected ways, led us to discover new insights into ordinary table-ness, face-icity, and guitar-ism.

... Some 700 or so years before these modern folks, Dōgen had the equivalent approach, taking “standard” Mahayana Buddhist teachings, fanciful but traditional Buddhist images, and “samples” of quotes from well-known stories related to his intended topics, tearing them apart, and tossing all back together again, remixing them, in order to discover and uncover new feelings, sounds, implications, visions, and Wisdom, all in what was often pretty wild imagery to start with!

To me, Master Dōgen was “blowing his Shōbōgenzō-sax”—riffing, rockin’, rollin’, ranting, and roof-raising by expressing-folding-bending-fractalizing-unfolding-straightening-teasing-releasing the “standard tunes” of the sutras and old koans. The untrained ear can’t always make heads nor tails of the complex rhythms, flying notes, wild tempos—maybe sometimes even Dōgen himself could not grab hold of the animal he was creating—but I know that he felt what he meant, and that he knew that the creature he was fashioning had life.

~ ~ ~

SHOBOGENZO NYORAI-ZENSHIN (The Buddha Whole Body):

ONCE, ON VULTURE PEAK in Rajagraha, Shakyamuni Buddha said to Bhaishajyaraja Bodhisattva Mahasattva [Bodhisattva Medicine King]:

Bhaishajyaraja, wherever a sutra is expounded, read, chanted, copied,
or kept, a seven-treasure stupa, tall, wide, and solemn, is erected, but
do not enshrine the Buddha’s relics in it. The reason is that a stupa
embodies the Tathagata’s entire body. Make offerings of all sorts of
flowers, incense, jewels, canopies, banners, music, and chanting verses
to respect, revere, and admire the stupa. When people see this stupa,
bow, and make offerings to it, they know that they are closer to
unsurpassable, complete enlightenment.

In this way, a sutra is expounded, read, chanted, and copied. A sutra is reality. To build a seven-treasure stupa is to build reality. The stupa’s height and breadth are the scale of reality. A stupa embodies the Tathagata’s entire body means a stupa is the Tathagata’s entire body.

Thus, expounding, reading, chanting, copying, and so on, are the Tathagata’s entire body. Make offerings of all sorts of flowers, incense, jewels, canopies, banners, music, and chanting verses to respect, revere, and admire the stupa. Or, offer heavenly flowers, heavenly incense, and heavenly canopies, and so on. These are all marks of reality. Or, offer excellent flowers, excellent incense, renowned robes, and renowned garments of the human realm. These are all marks of reality.

A stupa is erected, but do not enshrine the Buddha’s relics in it: from this we know that a sutra is the relics of the Tathagata, the entire body of the Tathagata.

There is no greater merit than seeing and hearing golden words uttered by the Buddha. Hurry up and accumulate effort and virtue. When you see people bow and make offerings to the stupa, know that they are closer to unsurpassable, complete enlightenment. When you see the tower, sincerely bow and make offerings to it. Thus, all come closer to unsurpassable, complete enlightenment. Closer to is not come close to or go close to. Unsurpassable, complete enlightenment is all closer to.

Right now, when you see those who receive, chant, elucidate, and copy a sutra, you are seeing this stupa. Rejoice that all are close to unsurpassable, complete enlightenment.

This being so, a sutra is the Tathagata’s entire body. To bow to a sutra is to bow to the Tathagata’s entire body. To encounter a sutra is to encounter the Tathagata’s entire body.

A sutra is the relics of the Tathagata. So, the relics of the Tathagata are a sutra. Even if you know that a sutra is the relics of the Tathagata, if you don’t know that the relics of the Tathagata are a sutra, it is not the buddha way.

The reality of all things right now is a sutra. Human realms, deva realms, ocean, empty space, this land, and other lands are the reality of all things, a sutra, relics. Hold, chant, elucidate, and copy the relics and unfold enlightenment. This is to follow a sutra.

There are relics of ancient buddhas, present buddhas, pratyeka-buddhas, wheel-turning kings, and lions [kings of dharma], and there are relics of wooden buddhas and painted buddhas. There are also relics of humans.

Nowadays, among buddha ancestors in China, there are those who manifest relics while they are alive, and there are many who manifest relics after being cremated. Such relics are all sutras.

Shakyamuni Buddha said to the assembly, “I practiced the bodhisattva path in my past life. The long life I have achieved by this has not been exhausted. My life span will be doubled in my future life.”

The relics of eighty-four to [approximately twenty-five bushels] are no other than the Tathagata’s timeless life. How much is the life span of one who practiced the bodhisattva path in the past life beyond the boundary of the billion worlds? This is the Tathagata’s entire body, a sutra.

Prajna Kuta Bodhisattva said [in the Lotus Sutra], “I see that Shakyamuni Buddha was engaged in difficult and painful practice through innumerable eons, piling up effort, accumulating virtue, and ceaselessly pursuing the bodhisattva path. When I observe the billion worlds, there is not even a poppy seed that is not a place where this bodhisattva gave up his life for the sake of other beings. Thus, he achieved the path of enlightenment.”

From this I know that the billion worlds are a piece of his compassionate heart, a bit of his boundless realm, the Tathagata’s entire body. It is beyond whether he did or did not give up his life.

Relics are neither before nor after the Buddha, nor do they stand shoulder to shoulder with the Buddha. Being engaged in difficult and rigorous practice through innumerable eons is the Buddha’s womb and abdomen activities, the Buddha’s skin, flesh, bones, and marrow. This is spoken of as ceaselessly. He makes further effort after attaining buddhahood. He goes further and further, giving guidance to the billion worlds. This is the activity of the Tathagata’s entire body.

Presented to the assembly of the Yoshimine Temple, Yoshida County,
Echizen Province, on the fifteenth day, the second month, the second
year of the Kangen Era [1244].

~ ~ ~

Please DIG this like a beatnik, mannnn ...

https://youtu.be/bOTI6ugscPs

[Jundo]

In honor of Dogen's Jazz, we will dance a little Jazzy Hokey Pokey ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMavyKG0UXs

[Bion]

This will be another great Zazenkai, CLEARLY! [emoji3526]

[emoji1374] Sat Today

[Guest]

Ah man, super cool daddy-o. Diggin' the scene. And the look those monks sport with their fly rinks. And then there are the bells man and drums and black robes. I dig that shape in a drape. Jundo giving a talk, that cat's claws are sharp man. I mean that dude can't find a sour note, he is everything plus. And during the talk, shut your trap and just focus your audio man.

Gassho,
Daiman
St/LAH

[Tokan]

Ah man, super cool daddy-o. Diggin' the scene. And the look those monks sport with their fly rinks. And then there are the bells man and drums and black robes. I dig that shape in a drape. Jundo giving a talk, that cat's claws are sharp man. I mean that dude can't find a sour note, he is everything plus. And during the talk, shut your trap and just focus your audio man.

Gassho,
Daiman
St/LAH

I think this "lingo" is why Jazz never really took hold in the UK lol

Gassho, Tokan

satlah

[k1982]

Ahhhh I'm going to miss this one but in two weeks the amount of "free time" I get will be increasing. Can't wait to do these live with everyone, yet still excited I can kind of participate even after the live event is over. Very cool!

-K

[Bion]

Ahhhh I'm going to miss this one but in two weeks the amount of "free time" I get will be increasing. Can't wait to do these live with everyone, yet still excited I can kind of participate even after the live event is over. Very cool!

-K

You’ll get a wave [emoji1309] across space and time! [emoji3526]

[emoji1374] Sat Today

[k1982]

You’ll get a wave [emoji1309] across space and time! [emoji3526]

[emoji1374] Sat Today

Much appreciated!

[Jundo]

Ah man, super cool daddy-o. Diggin' the scene. And the look those monks sport with their fly rinks. And then there are the bells man and drums and black robes. I dig that shape in a drape. Jundo giving a talk, that cat's claws are sharp man. I mean that dude can't find a sour note, he is everything plus. And during the talk, shut your trap and just focus your audio man.

Daiman is da man.

https://youtu.be/zDgH1QtJOVQ

Gassho, J

stlah

[Tokan]

Hey all

Have a super smooth jazazenkai, and watch out for those slippery syncopated inverted rhythms! I'm jiving with the family today, can't get down with the cats, that's too bad man, but I'm gonna dance and riff across time and space later, catch the jazz tapes if you know what I mean? Stay cool

Gassho, Tokan

satlah

[Jundo]

Let us dedicate today to all the real musicians and creative folks ...

Here is the Cliburn Competition gold medal piece I referenced, so moving (thanks Chris) ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPJL488cfRw

Yunchan Lim 임윤찬 – RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, op. 30 – 2022 Cliburn Competition. The conductor in Marin Alsop.

I mentioned that my mother was a jazz singer in the 40s and 50s. Somebody put some of her songs up on youtube. They are from a little later, and not her hotest jazz stuff, but this is mom (stage name Joy Martell)

https://youtu.be/WzKCudjzf4o

https://youtu.be/K3Wj1_B5Ipw

And here is my Uncle Robert Mandell (https://sites.google.com/site/westsidemaestro/) ...

https://youtu.be/X7iIGLomhJc

I am the musical blacksheep of the family, for sure.

Gassho, J

stlah

[Kaitan]

Thank you for the zazenkai. It felt heart warming. The reading from Dōgen felt very trippy (in a good way) so much that I'm considering to read Tanahashi's version just for the flowery and poetic tone.

Gasshō

ST


Bernal

[Kotei]

Thank you Jundo, mom and bob and everyone.
Gassho,
Kotei sat/lah today.

[Tairin]

Thank you everyone. I sat with you this morning.

Today’s talk inspired me to spend some time with John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”. Not that I ever really need an excuse to spend time with Trane.


Tairin
Sat today and lah