May 1st-2nd, 2015 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI!

[Jundo]

The short reading for today's Talk will be posted immediately below in this thread.

Please 'sit-a-long' with our MONTHLY 4-hour 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 4am (early Saturday morning)) ... and visible at the following link during those times ...

... to be visible on the below screen during those times and any time thereafter ...

LIVE ZAZENKAI NETCAST at GOOGLE+ IS HERE:
CLICK ON THE TAB ON LOWER RIGHT FOR 'FULL SCREEN

http://youtu.be/hVjdOL-dX20

FOR THOSE NOT ALREADY MEMBERS OF THE CIRCLE WHO WISH TO JOIN TO SIT LIVE WITH A CAMERA, INSTRUCTIONS are posted AT THIS LINK. WE ARE NOW LIMITED TO 10 INDIVIDUALS WITH CAMERAS, BUT ANY NUMBER CAN WATCH LIVE 'ONE WAY' AND SIT-A-LONG VIA THE ABOVE SCREEN. IF JOINING WITH CAMERA, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR MICROPHONE IS MUTED:

The Sitting Schedule is as follows;

00:00 - 00:50 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA / 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

02:40 - 03:15 ZAZEN
03:15 - 03:30 KINHIN
03:30 - 04:00 METTA CHANT & ZAZEN, VERSE OF ATONEMENT, FOUR VOWS, & CLOSING


Our Zazenkai consists of our chanting the 'Heart Sutra' and the 'Identity of Relative and Absolute (Sandokai)' in English (please download our Chant Book at the link below), some full floor prostrations (please follow along with me ... or a simple Gassho can be substituted if you wish), a little talk by me ... and we close with the 'Metta Chant', followed at the end with the 'Verse of Atonement' and 'The Four Vows'. Oh, and lots and lots of Zazen and walkin' Kinhin in between!

Please download and print out the Chants we will recite at the following link (PDF):

Chant Book (PDF)

or

Chant Book (SHORT VERSION HTML)

I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU POSITION YOUR ZAFU ON THE FLOOR IN A PLACE WHERE YOU ARE NOT STARING DIRECTLY AT THE COMPUTER SCREEN, BUT CAN GLANCE OVER AND SEE THE SCREEN WHEN NECESSARY. YOUR ZAFU SHOULD ALSO BE IN A POSITION WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE COMPUTER SCREEN WHILE STANDING IN FRONT OF THE ZAFU FOR THE CEREMONIES, AND HAVE ROOM FOR BOWING AND KINHIN.

ALSO, REMEMBER TO SET YOUR COMPUTER (& SCREEN SAVER) SO THAT IT DOES NOT SHUT OFF DURING THE 4 HOURS.

I hope you will join us ... an open Zafu is waiting. When we drop all thought of 'here' 'there' 'now' 'then' ... we are sitting all together!


Gassho, Jundo

[Jundo]

FOR TODAY'S TALK

Dear All,

Today's talk is not an easy one in several ways ...

For one thing, I have had a great deal of difficulty to gather appropriate old, traditional Buddhist writings on today's topic. What is most surprising is that today's topic is war, disease, poverty, disaster and other mass suffering in the world, and one might think that those subjects are right at the heart of the Buddhist teachings on "suffering" and "samsara", so there must be lots of old Suttas, Sutras and other writings right on point. But in actuality, I do not believe there are so many old writings directly dealing with these topics except in very general terms.

I will discuss the reasons that may be so during today's talk.

I will also discuss why my talk today will be very positive and optimistic in tone even as it is sad and broken hearted. It is not merely one or the other.

In the meantime, I will post some links to images here ... ugly images. YOU SHOULD NOT FOLLOW THE LINKS IF YOU ARE A PERSON OF FRAGILE OR VULNERABLE CONSTITUTION WHO MAY BE EXTREMELY SENSITIVE TO VIEWING IMAGES OF VIOLENCE AND DEATH. It is fine if such folks listen to the talk without following these links. I will post a couple of examples so that all may have a sense, but much more is at the links below.

First, recent Pulitzer Prize winning photos of the Ebola crisis:

James Dorbor, 8, suspected of being infected with Ebola, is carried by medical staff to an Ebola treatment center in Monrovia, September 5, 2014. The boy, who was brought in by his father, lay outside the center for at least six hours before being seen.

A relative grieves as a Liberian Red Cross burial team dresses in protective clothing before removing the body of a suspected Ebola victim in central Monrovia, September 18, 2014. The team had gone to the compound four times in the past four weeks. The family of the dead man, sick for six days with the hemorrhagic fever's telltale symptoms, had taken him twice by taxi to treatment centers, only to be turned back for lack of beds.

More here: PULITZER PRIZE EBOLA PHOTOS 2015

Heart rending images of war ....

IMAGES OF WAR:

Now, my main point today is this:

Buddhism [1] explains why such sorrows exist in the world, and explains in reasonable, cogent, realistic ways (beyond some rather more doubtful and fanciful explanations it also offers), [2] provides a vision which offers peace and compassion amid, and transcendence of, all human suffering, and, simultaneously [3] offers a workable path toward the alleviation of such suffering and ugliness in this world in ways vitally necessary for our species' future.

If Buddhism failed in those three hard tasks, I don't think it would have much value. Fortunately, I believe, it does not fail in those tasks. Thus, I can say that my talk today is as positive and optimistic in tone as it is sad and broken hearted. It is not merely one or the other.

Gassho, J

PS - (If you would like to read a short, interesting scholar's paper on "Perspectives on disease and disability from Buddhist canonical literature" (LINK)

Portion:

[In one Sutta, the Buddha] once came across an old monk who was terribly ill. Suffering from acute dysentery, the monk lay in a pitiable condition ... none of the monks of the monastery helped him as he was not known to help anyone. But the Buddha, along with his foremost disciple, Ananda, cleaned up the ill monk, thereby setting an example of selfless service. He proclaimed that "Whoever would tend to me,should tend to the sick," and decreed that the monks, who have only each other, should practice brotherhood and care.

[Anshu Bryson]

See you all there!

Gassho,
Anshu

-sat today-

[RichardH]

Will be here/there,

Gassho
Daizan


sat today

[Jishin]

Will be on the road. No live zazenkai for me.

Gassho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Mp]

I will be there live. =)

Gassho
Shingen

#sattoday

[Sekishi]

See you all soon, internet service permitting.



Sekishi
#sattoday

[Joyo]

Hello Jundo, my son's have a school dance tonight and they are still young enough to want me to attend with them. So I will have to sit with the recording later on tonight or tomorrow. I very much look forward to your talk, but I am one of those people that cannot watch the videos that you posted. Thank you for the warning that you gave. I appreciate it a lot.

Gassho,
Joyo
sat today

[Dosho]

I'll be here with bells on.

Gassho,
Dosho

[Kyonin]

Hi guys.

I'll be home late tonight because of work. I'll sit this one on Saturday morning.

Gassho,

Kyonin
#SatToday

[Myosha]

Participating.


Gassho
Myosha sat today

[Dosho]

I don't see the hangout.

Gassho,
D

[Anshu Bryson]

Neither can I

Gassho,
B

[RichardH]

no hangout visible

D

[Mp]

Does this work for the link

https://plus.google.com/116930448607190706458/posts/XBZMUUkQchm

I lost the link and got kicked out ...let me see what I can do.


Gassho
Shingen