TREELEAF ZENDO PODCAST

We are calling on ALL of our Treeleaf Members and friends to Vow to undertake one extra, special 'Good Deed' each day (besides all the Good you already do!) and dedicate this to our Sangha.
This is a manifestation of our Shikantaza Practice out in this world, this is a Community Project together. We recall especially that Mahayana Buddhism that is actually not about us at all, but is always dedicated to the world. We sit for the world, we act for the world and others. So, this is just another form of Shikantaza, like Chanting Metta ... it is Metta in Action. Like placing an offering on the Altar, this is making small offerings to the Altar which is the world. Like working in Samu to pick weeds or cook, or eating Oryoki, this is working to pick a few weeds in our town, to feed others as we feed ourselves.
Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum:SIT-A-LONG with Jundo: The Treeleaf LEND-A-HAND ('LAH') Project ... WE NEED YOU! »

Our Talk this month digests the Chants for Formal Meals ... not bread alone, these Chants guide us for all our Practice and Life ... The talk covers the Formal Meal Verses (Gyôhatsu nenju 行鉢念誦):
Verse upon Hearing the Meal Signal (Montsui no ge 聞槌之偈)
Verse for Setting Out Bowls (Tenpatsu no ge 展鉢之偈）)
Verse of Buddha Names (Butsumyô 十仏名)
Food Offering Verses (Sejiki ge 施食偈)
Verse of Five Contemplations (Gokan no ge 五観之偈)
Verse of Food Offering (Saba ge 生飯偈)
Bowl Raising Verse (Keihatsu no ge 擎鉢之偈)
Meal End (Sessui no ge 折水之偈)
Verse of Purity While Abiding in the World (shose kaibon no ge 処世界梵之偈)
Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum:May 5th-6th, 2017 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! »

A special Zazenkay and talk by guest speaker David Loy. David Robert Loy is a professor, writer, and Zen teacher in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition of Japanese Zen Buddhism. He is a prolific author, whose essays and books have been translated into many languages. His articles appear regularly in the pages of major journals such as Tikkun and Buddhist magazines including Tricycle, Turning Wheel, Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma, as well as in a variety of scholarly journals. David lectures nationally and internationally on various topics, focusing primarily on the encounter between Buddhism and modernity: what each can learn from the other. He is especially concerned about social and ecological issues. ... David Loy is one of the founding members of the new Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center, near Boulder, Colorado.
Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum:ATTENTION: Special Zazenkai SUNDAY April 30th with DAVID LOY »

The Talk this time will look at the Heart of the Heart of the Heart Sutra, form and emptiness in a nutshell ...
We will reflect on the wording of the Heart Sutra as we chant for Zazenkai in English most weeks. However, I will touch briefly on the somewhat longer version used by Tibetan Practitioners and some others, with adds a little more at the startless start and endless end.
Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum:March 31st-April 1st, 2017 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! (NOT APRIL FOOLS!) »

Our talk is about the zen poems of the Great Fool: Ryōkan Taigu (1758–1831).
This famous hermit monk lived a simple life but rich in practice and reverence for the present moment. After leaving the monastery he spent his life helping people in villages, begging, playing with kids and writing poems. More about Ryōkan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dkan
Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum:OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! The zen poems of Ryokan Taigu »

How does our Zen Practice blend with taking a stand? Do we stay "beyond the fray" or speak out for what is right? I have been wrestling with this lately, like many folks. I have advocated leaving "politics" outside the door of our Treeleaf Sangha. In principle. I still believe so, and that we should speak civilly and gently to each other in the Sangha, agreeing to disagree, leaving most political debate outside.
Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum:SIT-A-LONG with JUNDO: Sit Down & Speak Up »

WELCOME to our Memorial & Celebration of NEHAN-E, (Pari-Nirvana) the traditional day to mark the historical Buddha's death and passing from this visible world. This is also a day for each of us to remember in our homes those family and friends who have gone before. As well, we particularly mark the passing of Nishijima Gudo Wafu and Rempo Niwa Zenji.
Our reading for today's Nehan-e Zazenkai is a passage that Dogen wrote late in life, showing his seemingly very traditional views on Rebirth at that time: Dogen’s Shobogenzo Doshin, "Mind of the Way" (translated by Peter Levitt & Kazuaki Tanahashi)
Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum:February 4-5th, 2017 - Our SPECIAL "NEHAN-E" 4-hour ZAZENKAI! »

This talk looks at aspects of the wording and content of our upcoming Jukai "Undertaking The Precepts" Ceremony, to be held next week ...
Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum:January 6th-7th, 2016 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! Reflections on Jukai! »