August 2nd-3rd 2024 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour Treeleaf ZAZENKAI - Zazen-Yojinki VI

[Jundo]

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We continue (and today complete) our series on

Master Keizan's 'Zazen-Yōjinki'

坐禅用心記

'Notes to Keep in Heart for Zazen'
(text below)

Dear All,

Please sit our Monthly 4-Hour Treeleaf Zazenkai LIVE 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 >>

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For local times, please check the Practice Calendar here: TREELEAF NOW >> (8am to noon Japan time Saturday morning, New York 7pm to 11pm, Los Angeles 4pm to 8pm, Friday night, London midnight to 4am and Paris 1am to 5am 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 in this series are available here:
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Dharma Talk Audio / Podcast Episode:
https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...408#post339408

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The Sitting Schedule is as follows:

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 - 01:50 KINHIN

01:50 - 02:30 DHARMA TALK & ZAZEN
02:30 - 02:40 KINHIN & HOKEY-POKEY RITUAL

02:40 - 03:15 ZAZEN
03:15 - 03:30 KINHIN
03:30 - 04:00 METTA CHANT & ZAZEN, 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]

keizan-5.jpg
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This is Part VI (and the completion) of our series on Keizan Jokin Zenji's 13th Century ...
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'Zazen-Yōjinki'

(坐禅用心記; 'Notes to Keep in Heart for Zazen')

This week, on the sitting of Zazen (and maybe what to do when the mind runs wild ... )

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To practice sitting, find a quiet place and lay down a thick mat. Don’t let wind, smoke, rain or dew come in. Keep a clear space with enough room for your knees. Although in ancient times there were those who sat on diamond seats or on large stones for their cushions. The place where you sit should not be too bright in the daytime or too dark at night; it should be warm in winter and cool in summer. That’s the key.

Drop mind, intellect and consciousness, leave memory, thinking, and observing alone. Don’t try to fabricate Buddha. Don’t be concerned with how well or how poorly you think you are doing; just understand that time is as precious as if you were putting out a fire on your head.

The Buddha sat straight, Bodhidharma faced the wall; both were whole-hearted and committed. Sekiso was like a gnarled dead tree. Nyojo warned against sleepy sitting and said, “Just-sitting is all you need. You don’t need to make burning incense offerings, meditate upon the names of buddhas, repent, study the scriptures or do recitation rituals.”

When you sit, wear the kesa (except in the first and last parts of the night when the daily schedule is not in effect). Don’t be careless. The cushion should be about twelve inches thick and thirty-six in circumference. Don’t put it under the thighs but only from mid-thigh to the base of the spine. This is how the buddhas and patriarchs have sat. You can sit in the full or half lotus postures. To sit in the full lotus, put the right foot on the left thigh and the left foot on the right thigh. Loosen your robes but keep them in order. Put your right hand on your left heel and your left hand on top of your right, thumbs together and close to the body at the level of the navel. Sit straight without leaning to left or right, front or back. Ears and shoulders, nose and navel should be aligned. Place the tongue on the palate and breathe through the nose. The mouth should be closed. The eyes should be open but not too wide nor too slight. Harmonizing the body in this way, breathe deeply with the mouth once or twice. Sitting steadily, sway the torso seven or eight times in decreasing movements. Sit straight and alert.

Now think of what is without thought. How can you think of it? Be beyond thinking. This is the essence of zazen. Shatter obstacles and become intimate with awakening awareness.

When you want to get up from stillness, put your hands on your knees, sway seven or eight times in increasing movements. Breathe out through the mouth, put your hands to the floor and get up lightly from the seat. Slowly walk, circling to right or left.

If dullness or sleepiness overcome your sitting, move to the body and open the eyes wider, or place attention above the hairline or between your eyebrows. If you are still not fresh, rub the eyes or the body. If that still doesn’t wake you, stand up and walk, always clockwise. Once you’ve gone about a hundred steps you probably won’t be sleepy any longer. The way to walk is to take a half step with each breath. Walk without walking, silent and unmoving.

If you still don’t feel fresh after doing kinhin, wash your eyes and forehead with cold water. Or chant the “Three Pure Precepts of the Bodhisattvas”. Do something; don’t just fall asleep. You should be aware of the great matter of birth and death and the swiftness of impermanence. What are you doing sleeping when your eye of the way is still clouded? If dullness and sinking arise repeatedly you should chant, “Habituality is deeply rooted and so I am wrapped in dullness. When will dullness disperse? May the compassion of the buddhas and patriarchs lift this darkness and misery.”

If the mind wanders, place attention at the tip of the nose and tanden and count the inhalations and exhalations. If that doesn’t stop the scattering, bring up a phrase and keep it in awareness – for example: “What is it that comes thus?” or “When no thought arises, where is affliction? – Mount Sumeru!” or “What is the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from the West? – The cypress in the garden.” Sayings like this that you can’t draw any flavour out of are suitable.

If scattering continues, sit and look to that point where the breath ends and the eyes close forever and where the child is not yet conceived, where not a single concept can be produced. When a sense of the two-fold emptiness of self and things appears, scattering will surely rest.

Arising from stillness, carry out activities without hesitation. This moment is the koan. When practice and realization are without complexity then the koan is this present moment. That which is before any trace arises, the scenery on the other side of time’s destruction, the activity of all buddhas and patriarchs, is just this one thing.

You should just rest and cease. Be cooled, pass numberless years as this moment. Be cold ashes, a withered tree, an incense burner in an abandoned temple, a piece of unstained silk.

This is my earnest wish.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL TEXT STUDIED SO FAR IN PDF FORMAT: Zazen Yojinki (VI).pdf

[Jundo]

Well, Master Keizan said not to sit in the rain ... but we will dance in it ... with a not so traditional Japanese duo, Charan-Po-Rantan, to honor our roots ...
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About Charan-Po-Rantan ...

A two-sisters unit is consisting of Momo (younger sister/vocals) and Koharu (elder sister/accordion).

The band was formed in 2009 by the elder sister, a street performer, and the younger sister, an ordinary high school student.

They have made their major debut in 2014 under production company Avex Trax.

When Koharu was 7 years old, she admired Alegría's accordion playing in Cirque du Soleil and Koharu has asked Santa Claus for an accordion for Christmas.

The day she received it from Santa Claus, her life as an accordion player began. The band's sound is based on Balkan music and chanson, and incorporates all genres of music, with a unique circus-like worldview.

... “Charan-po-rantan” means sloppy or irresponsible in Japanese ...

https://www.charanporantan.net/profile

For the youngsters and anyone who might not know the original Gene Kelly version ...
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[Koriki]

"02:30 - 02:40 KINHIN & HOKEY-POKEY RITUAL"
Ah, the time honored hokey-pokey ritual.

I used to be addicted to the hokey-pokey...

But I turned myself around

Gassho,
Koriki
s@lah

[Kaisho]

Hey All,

Thank you for the sit! I came in late so went to the Youtube stream. I really appreciated the sitting in the rain.



Gassho
Kaisho
Stlah

[Bion]

Hey All,

Thank you for the sit! I came in late so went to the Youtube stream. I really appreciated the sitting in the rain.



Gassho
Kaisho
Stlah

Thank you for sitting together! Did you dance along?

Gassho
sat and lah

[Kotei]

Thank you everyone, including the visiting teacher.
Gassho,
Kotei sat/lah today.

[Kaisho]

Thank you for sitting together! Did you dance along?

Gassho
sat and lah

Indeed! Did my best 9 pm dance I could muster.

Gassho
Kaisho

[Bion]

Indeed! Did my best 9 pm dance I could muster.

Gassho
Kaisho

more than enough!!!!!

Gassho
sat and lah

[ZenJay]

Thank you everyone, great to sit with you all!

Gassho,
Jay

Sat/lah today

[Houzan]

Thank you all. Sat with you just now

Gassho, Hōzan
Satlah

[BikeZen]

I sat with all y'all this afternoon, through space and time. But I didn't dance.

Con Mucho Gassho,
Bill
Sat

[Bion]

I sat with all y'all this afternoon, through space and time. But I didn't dance.

Con Mucho Gassho,
Bill
Sat

GASP!!!!! No dance???? I demand a re-do!!!
Thank you, Bill, for sitting with us!!!

Gassho
sat and lah

[Jundo]

I sat with all y'all this afternoon, through space and time. But I didn't dance.

Con Mucho Gassho,
Bill
Sat

Huh!? Now, sometime this week, a few quick steps to "Sitting in the Rain," please .... When the Zen folks dance, it is time to dance!

Gassho, Jundo
stlah

[BikeZen]

Yes sir!

Gassho
Bill
Sat