TREELEAF ZENDO PODCAST

Motion Still

Just Sitting, Thinking-Not Thinking ... is the silence always heard in noise and silence, the stillness that is both movement and standing still ... the peace encountered even as disturbance .... . ... ... ... the full, vibrant life ... ... ...
 

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Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended.
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Eido's Shame ...

... and other reflections on "When Roshis Act Ugly, Small And All Too Human" ...
Before I add my small voice to the many calls of condemnation of Eido Tai Shimano "Roshi", and demands for his self-reflection, dismissal and disgrace (more here from James Ford) ... http://monkeymindonline.blogspot.com/20 ... o-zen.html

... I would like to reflect on the overall question of when Buddhist teachers act with human weakness, ugliness, seemingly against all that they stand for.
I think it a fallacy to believe that Buddhists, no matter the level or depth of the practitioner, are ever completely free during this life from being just human. It is a religious, heroic image created by the many old Buddhist stories which scrubbed clean all the tales of the ancestors of the past, robbing them of every flaw and placing them on golden pedestals. A Buddha or Ancestor (Jesus or any Saint in any religion) dies and ... century by century ... those in the religion (looking from afar at what those attainments actually were on the part of their "religious heroes" and with need to depict their power) start to imagine, fantasize and exaggerate the wonderful nature of the teacher and teaching into something super-human. What was merely "Great, Profound and Wonderful" must become "Mysterious, Wondrous and (often) Ridiculous". The result is called an "hagiography"
In any large group of people ... whether Zen priests, other Buddhist, Christian or Jewish priests and clergy of all kinds ... there will always be examples of greed, anger and ignorance. Furthermore, in the lifetime of any one individual ... even among the best of us ... there are sure to be moments of greed, anger and ignorance.
All human beings, from 'Great Bodhisattvas' right on down to the rest of us, are human beings ... and that means rough edges, cracks and ugly spots, flesh, fallings down and flaws. (At least, of course, until we eventually become Perfect Golden Buddhas ... assuming that even those ideals reside anywhere beyond our flawed human imaginations) Human beings are human. That includes Zen and other Buddhist teachers, no less.
And it is a breath of fresh air that we finally realize so about Buddhist practice. It is also a chance for the true POWER of this practice to manifest ... for it is a practice for flawed human beings who wish to be better. The true value of this Buddhist Way is proven there.
What matters most is what we do with those flaws in life, how we live as human beings ... with a bit of grace, ease, non-attachment, wholeness, peace, at-oneness and sincerity, great Compassion and Loving Kindness toward our fellow flawed beings. Practice does not remove all our human rough spots, but it allows a wild and imperfect stone to be imperfect (perfectly imperfect) yet simultaneously material to be polished into a jewel ... so many rough edges made soft and round. The Precepts are a guide for constant moment-to-moment practice in "not falling down". One cannot polish a tile into a Buddha ... but the constant polishing is Buddha.
What our Practice does accomplish, if diligently followed, is to free us from the worst (at least among most long time practitioners I know ... apparently, not so for Eido and his ilk). It does work to make us better people. (In fact, most clergy I have met ... not just Buddhist clergy, but of all religions ... are good, caring, ethical people, the bad apples like Eido Shimano aside). Most of the Zen teachers I have met ... especially those with a few years and some maturity under their belt ... tend to be lovely, gentle, well rounded, self-actuated, moderate, compassionate, healthy people - balanced, living life with fullness and well. It would be a shame if someone like "Eido Roshi" were taken as representative of all Buddhist teachers everywhere, or used as the basis to claim that the Buddhist Way is without value ... for the countless good and decent teachers are proof otherwise.
Now, the reason (in my opinion) to condemn someone such as Eido is --not-- because he is a Buddhist clergy who had a sexual affair with a student or several students. That, unfortunately, is all too human and is a matter between consenting adults (although there are great possibilities of the teacher taking advantage of his/her position vis-a-vis the student even there). The reason instead is because he clearly engaged in decades of horribly abusive sexual conduct which hurt the victims deeply and profoundly, then added to the hurt of victims in order to protect himself, then covered it up time and again, seeking to whitewash his reputation. It now appears that he was aided in this by people around him. Few (Aitken Roshi and a few others being the exception) spoke out until now, for there is a tendency in the Buddhist world to look away, hoping that the problem will simply vanish or be dealt with by the wrongdoing teacher's own students (in this case, despite countless promises, it was not). Thus, it is time for bodies such as the American Zen Teachers Association to have some means to censure teachers who violate the ethics accompanying their positions of trust, and to force such teachers and their students and Sangha into repenting and reform. Shame on them for not doing so until now, shame on all of us for not intervening more.
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New Years Greetings

Dear All,
Just a little New Years Greetings from the Cohen Family (it's already the New Year here in Japan) ...
And don't forget our New Years Zazenkai today ... All Are Welcome!
RING IN THE NEW YEAR ... AND EVERY NEW MOMENT ... WITH OUR 4-HOUR ZAZENKAI ... (detail here)
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=3260

Gassho, Jundo, MIna, Leon and 'Tin Tin' the Cat
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Home for the Holidays!

Heading home to see family and friends always presents a few special "opportunities for Practice" at this time of year ...
Meeting family and old friends ... how do you explain to them about "being a Buddhist"?
You may even start to feel a little guilty for not being part of the religion you were raised in.
How should we celebrate the holidays with friends and family?
My answer: Celebrate Peace & Joy!
Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended.
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Shikan

Our practice is shikantaza. Shikan means just, nothing but...Core and essence of our tradition, it is also a practice of simplicity.
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Making Our Holidays Family Friendly

It is often said that Buddhist groups in the West are not very welcoming of children, and miss chances to communicate basic teachings and practices to kids. In both Asian Buddhism and for other religions in the west (but, somehow, not so much for "Western Buddhism"), "religious holidays" can be a time for families to unite, to bond through customs and practices, and to bring children into the spirit of the time through the celebration. Holidays can be an important time to expose children to Buddhist teachings and values in ways that leave a lasting, positive impression for the future. Are there ways to make various Buddhist holidays more "kid friendly" while preserving the traditional message, values and customs of the original?
This is something that weighs heavily on many Buddhist parents at this time of year, when the other religions have their big celebrations. Buddhist children might feel left out, and we may be missing an opportunity to teach them important lessons while making them feel included in our Practices, transmitting a positive feeling about Buddhism as they grow up. Also (and most importantly), I am certain that we can do so BOTH while preserving the true message of the Buddhist holidays AND avoiding the crassness and commercialism that has come to represent this time of year.
Our Treeleaf Sangha has established a workshop to transform a couple of traditional Buddhist holidays to suit western needs a bit more, and especially the needs of families and the teaching of good lessons to children. Once we get things hammered out, we would like to encourage other Zen Sangha, and the wider Buddhist community in the west, to join with us. viewforum.php?f=28

WITHOUT the department stores (by emphasizing, for example, giving to charity, unselfish giving to others, the making of homemade gifts or giving of Buddhism related presents), WITHOUT the glitz and commercialism, we can turn Rohatsu (Buddha's Enlightenment Day in December), Vesak (Buddha's Birthday around April) and some other holidays into FAMILY FRIENDLY events WHILE PRESERVING THE TEACHINGS. The central messages of the holidays ... selflessness, generosity, non-attachment, peace, awakening, compassion, loving kindness ... can be both PRESERVED and PASSED ON to children through the vehicle of these holidays. The message on these holidays is now conveyed through chanting and ritual ... so why not through joyous songs and home rituals that the whole family can partake in? NOTHING of the meaning, traditions and authenticity of these holidays need be lost.
Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended.
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Koku 1

What is the meaning of Koku? What is Koku? What is not Koku?
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Buddhanomics: Job Search

So many folks are losing their jobs these days, sometimes after many years of loyal and hard work at a business. Almost nothing more to do but let it go, move on, trying to keep a roof over our family's head.
When I was a kid, my own father went through a hard bankruptcy after many years of being the president of his own small company making furniture. Leon was not a "Buddhist" by any means, but still I would call him one of those "naturally Zen" folks. I recall how, when he lost the business, he sat in front of the window for a couple of weeks, depressed and not shaving, wondering where to go from here. But, after a few days of that, he picked himself up and found himself a job as a salesman in a discount department store, working for commission and for somebody else. Most importantly, he never lost his humor for long, and kept a "that's just the breaks, we still have each other" attitude which I will never forget. And though he was now not the "boss" but working at a job he did not choose, he did it diligently, optimistically and with great energy. In fact, he kept at it, going onto the sales floor each day (with co-workers 50 years younger), until he was 77 years old ... all so his family had bread and I could get through school.
Fortunately, too, he never lived "rich" even when times were good, always having the same small house and same plain car. In that way, the "ups" and "downs" were never too much of a fall.
In times like these, there are some good lessons there.
Today’s Sit-A-Long video follows at this link. Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended.
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