October 16th-17th Treeleaf Weekly Zazenkai

[Washin]

Thank you and nice weekend to all.

Gassho
Sergey
sat-today

[Myosha]

Thanks to all.


Gassho
Myosha sat today

[Onkai]

Thank you everyone. It was wonderful to sit with you. Enjoy the weekend.

Gassho,
Laurie
Sat Today

[Doshin]

Thank you everyone. And I too enjoyed the birds.

Gassho

Randy
Sattoday

[Byokan]

Thank you dear Sangha

I really like the mini-teisho's.

Gassho
raindrop
sat today

[Kotei]

Thank you all very much.

Gassho,
Ralf sattoday.

[Kyonin]

Thank you all!

I have always though it's magical to be able to listen to what's happening in Japan in real time.

Have a great weekend!

Gassho,

Kyonin
#SatToday

[Deirdre]

I enjoyed sitting with you (and the birds!) this morning.

Gassho,

- Deirdre

[Anshu Bryson]

Always great to see a full house! Thanks everyone!

Gassho,
Anshu

-sat today-

[Jundo]

I enjoyed sitting with you (and the birds!) this morning.

Gassho,

- Deirdre

And remember, on those days when the helicopters pass from the military base ...

... birds sing just as birds, helicopters sing just as helicopters.

The difference between "sound" and disturbing "noise" is largely between our own ears ...

Gassho, J

SatToday


-------------------------

Another good time to repost on Suzuki Roshi distinction of "sound" and "noise" . Yes, noise or anything is not really a "disturbance" without the mind to be "disturbed". If the mind is not "disturbed", then what "disturbance"? This is not merely about kids during Zazen, but all the moments in life which come to "bother" "interrupt" "ruin" etc. etc. our life.

Here is the video with Suzuki Roshi in which he distinguishes "sound" from "noise", and points out that "inside" and "outside" us is not a clear border ...

At our Zendo in Tsukuba, for our Saturday morning Zazenkai, birds can usually be heard chirping prettily in the surrounding trees ...

... but also, a truck or cars will frequently be heard rushing down the nearby road, carpenters banging fixing a neighbors roof, or a military helicopter passing overhead (I do not know why, but our house must be on some route they use to one of the nearby bases).

It has become one of the most powerful teaching tools I have for new students. I tell them that it is not to think "Oh, the birds are very lovely and peaceful ... but the trucks and helicopters disturb my nice Zazen". Rather, "the birds are singing as birds ... the trucks are trucks ... the copter just copters. Do not think one pleasant but the other ugly or detracting from the atmosphere. Then, there is a certain quiet and stillness that one can come hear behind and sounding right through all the sounds and noise."

I learned this sitting many a morning at Nishijima Roshi's old Zendo ... located right next to a NOISY child's playground and a highway.

Suzuki Roshi has a lovely little talk (one of his few video talks) on the mind's making "sound vs. noise". If I recall, his birds in the talk were not as pretty sounding as ours!

Gassho, Jundo (a really annoying guy, depending on how you hear me! )

SatToday!

PS - I was not sure why Suzuki Roshi found the Blue Jay's cry so intrusive, so I found this ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwImsK2Ggjc

[Hotetsu]

Will sit with this tomorrow.

Gassho,
Hotetsu

#SatToday

Sent from my LGMS345 using Tapatalk

[Seido]

Arigatou gozaimashita.

Gassho,
Ken
JustSatThisToday

[Banto]

Grateful to sit with you today
Gassho
Rodney

[Matt]

Sitting this now.
Gassho,
Matt

[Jika]

Thank you all very much.

Congratulations to the new computer, Kyonin - what platform are you running on it now ?

Gassho,
Danny
#sattoday