90 Days of Zazen

Half Day Retreat

2009-04-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

Kannon-do recently held a single day retreat. I thought long and hard about participating. Finally I decided to participate for half the day. What I don't want to do is burn myself out. Going all gung-ho and then dropping out. These retreats are participate as you can affairs. It appears that few actually start at the beginning and go all the way through.

The schedule was as follows:

5:30 Sitting Meditation
6:10 Walking Meditation
6:20 Sitting Meditation
7:00 Silent Bowing
7:10 Breakfast
8:00 Cleanup
8:40 Sitting Meditation
9:20 Walking Meditation
9:30 Sitting Meditation
10:00 Walking Meditation
10:10 Sitting Meditation
10:50 Walking Meditation
11:30 Silent Bowing
11:40 Lunch

Previously, the most meditation I had done in a day was 90 minutes. On this day, I spent 4:20 meditating. This whole day would have been 6:50 so I did about 2/3 of it. Some call this a Sesshin but I think anything a day or less should be called a zazenkai.

At some points it was tough, at others I was fine. There was a brief period where I felt very comfortable and at ease. Almost as if my mind had turned down quite a bit. I imagine one can experience more of this at real Sesshins. It seems almost like the mind stops resisting and just succumbs. This didn't last long but was memorable.

Looking forward to doing a full one day retreat in May.

_/\_

Dai Bosatsu's 16 Vows

2009-04-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

In my previous post I discussed the Bodhisatta Vows and included the English version used by the Upaya Zen Center in the Soto tradition. I have since pieced together the 16 vows used by Dai Bosatsu, a Rinzai monastery in New York, from two sources. Eido Shimano Roshi's book Points of Departure: Zen Buddhism With a Rinzai Viewdiscusses the Three Treasures and Three Pure Precepts while the monastery's Tenzo's cookbook 3 Bowls : Vegetarian Recipes from an American Zen Buddhist Monasterylists the Ten Precepts.

Three Treasures

We take refuge in the Buddha
We take refuge in the Dharma
We take refuge in the Sangha

Three Pure Precepts

We vow to refrain from all action that creates attachments.
We vow to make every effort to live our lives awake in the truth.
We vow to live to benefit all beings.

Ten Precepts

I will be reverential and mindful with all life;
I will not be violent, nor will I kill.

I will respect others' property;
I will not steal.

I will be conscious and loving in my relationships;
I will not give way to lust.

I will honor honesty and truth;
I will not deceive.

I will exercise proper care of my body and mind;
I will not be gluttonous nor abuse intoxicants.

I will remember that silence is precious;
I will not gossip or engage in frivolous converstation.

I will be humble;
I will not praise myself and judge others.

I will be grateful for my life;
I will not covet, envy or be jealous.

I will keep my mind always calm and at peace;
I will not give way to anger.

I will esteem the Three Treasures: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha;
I will not defile them.

Shimano Roshi provides a lucid discussion of the precepts in his book. He explains that the Three Pure Precepts are a condensation or the root of the Ten Precepts. The Three Treasures however are the "root of the root". He goes on to state there are three ways to interpret the Three Treasures. One way, which he considers to be the most important, is itai san bo in Japanese. Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are inseparable and one,

When we practice Mu, this Mu is Buddha. This Mu is Dharma. This Mu is Sangha.

What are the 16 Bodhisatta (बोधिसत्त) Vows?

2009-04-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

To formally become a buddhist in the Zen tradition, one receives the Bodhisatta Precepts or Vows. This is done in the Jukkai (受戒) ceremony. Although I haven't read it, the book Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Preceptsby Tenshin Roshi of the SFZC explores in detail these precepts and their application in one's life. I've put that on my future reading list. If anyone has read it, I'd appreciate any comments. There are a number of translations of these vows. The following is from the Upaya Zen Center:

The Three Treasures

Be one with the Buddha
Be one with the Dharma
Be one with the Sangha

The Three Pure Precepts

Do not commit evil
Do good
Do good for others

The Ten Grave Precepts

Do not kill
Do not steal
Do not be greedy
Do not tell a lie
Do not be ignorant
Do not talk about others’ faults and errors
Do not elevate yourself and put down others
Do not be stingy
Do not be angry
Do not speak ill of the Three Treasures

Translations:

Pali - bodhi (बोधि) - enlightened + satta (सत्त) - existence
Sanskrit - bodhisattva (बोधिसत्त्व)
Chinese - púsà (菩萨)
Japanese - bosatsu (菩薩)

_/\_

Gil Fronsdal

2009-04-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

Googling around I fell upon the site of the Insight Meditation Center (IMC). This is not a Zen center. It is a Vipassana meditation center. For the time being my focus is on Zen and Zazen Meditation. However, I am attracted to the lead instructor's, Gil Fronsdal's, style and manner. He certainly has Zen credentials (see below) and I find his Theravada background, of which I know even less, intriguing. The first I had heard of Vipassana was through a YouTube video Doing Time Doing Vipassana, a film about S. N. Goenka Vipassana meditation used as therapy in prisons.

Gil Fronsdal is an ordained Soto Priest who received Dharma Transmission in the Shunryu Suzuki lineage in 1995 from Mel Weitsman of the Berkeley Zen Center. He has also been a Theravada monk and trained with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. He earned a PhD in Religious Studies from Stanford University. He sits on the Council of Elders of the San Francisco Zen Center and is the primary teacher of the IMC in Redwood City.

I downloaded the IMC's April~June '09 newsletter; the lead article, written by Gil on "Mental Noting", could be quite useful in many meditation practices. It suggests simply noting what's going on in our minds during meditation to stay present. A Zen practitioner once suggested that I observe my thoughts as objects floating down a river in front of me during meditation. Gil's Dharma Talks and many articles are available online. There are about eight years of talks and well over 100 hours there, freely available for download. Although Gil is a bit on the intellectual side, he seems to have a great understanding of Buddhism and an ability to relate the subject in an extremely understandable way. I've read a few chapters of his book The Issue at Hand: Essays on Buddhist Mindfulness Practicewhich is freely available for download in English and French. I will follow later with a review of the book but for now suffice it to say, it is recommended.

_/\_

My Legs Hurt! - How to Get to Full-Lotus?

2009-04-07T15:18:00.000-07:00

Currently I can sit in Quarter-Lotus for 40 minutes and then switch legs and do another 40 minutes. I tried Half-Lotus and made it about 35 minutes. The problem is that the pain builds if I practice daily. If I am going to make Zazen a lifelong practice I can take my time getting to Full-Lotus. Here's my plan to get to full lotus in about three years.

Year 1 - Burmese
Year 2 - Quarter-Lotus
Year 3 - Half-Lotus

Then Full-Lotus. Obviously I will need to switch legs with each posture, giving each leg an equal stretch.

I've backed off half and quarter-lotus electing Burmese so that I can practice daily without too much pain. Burmese is not as stable as the others but both my knees touch the zabuton which is preferable.

In addition stretching is in order. Here are a few resources:

Full-Lotus for Dummies
Hardcore Zen Yoga Postures
Makkoho - rec'd by Robert Aitken in Taking the Path of Zen
Patrick of Yoga Garden's Video:

Any comments are advice are very much appreciated.

_/\_

Where is Rinzai?

2009-04-07T13:44:00.000-07:00

In Japan there are three sects of Zen: Soto (曹洞), Rinzai (臨済) and Obaku (黄檗). Soto is the most common sect in the West and the largest in Japan; centers are found most everywhere. There doesn't seem to be any Obaku outside Japan. If there is, please let me know. Obaku shares the Rinzai lineage. But it came over to Japan much later than Rinzai, during the Edo Period.

There are many centers that claim both Soto and Rinzai heritage, particularly those of Maezumi lineage, but there are few that are purely Rinzai. Honestly, any new Zen school or mix that doesn't exist in Japan, I consider to be American Zen. So where is Rinzai?

I found it difficult to find anything purely Rinzai near me while there are at least five Soto or American Zen spin-offs within 30 minutes drive of where I live. After a long search I did find a Japanese Rinzai priest in my area. He doesn't appear to give Dokusan (独参) but has administered Jukkai (受戒) to at least a couple of student I am aware of. There is no temple but a Sangha meets at one of the members' homes on Sundays where this priest is usually in attendance. I haven't met him yet but look forward to.

The only thing I could find on the priest online was some journal entries of a former student. He received Jukkai and later went off to spend a month at Dai Bosatsu, a Rinzai monastery in New York run by Eido Shimano. It seemed to be a rewarding experience.

Another attraction is that the priest is Japanese. Many of the Zen centers appear now practically detached from Japan. Having lived and worked in Japan, Japanese Zen is appealing.

I've requested an inter-library loan of Eido Shimano's out-of-print Points of Departure: Zen Buddhism With a Rinzai Viewto get a better undestanding of the Rinzai tradition.

_/\_

Robe Chant

2009-04-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

In the morning we do very little sutra chanting. After the first sitting we do a simple one called the Robe Chant:

Dai zai geda puku
Mu so fuku den e
Hi bu nyo rai kyo
Ko do sho shu jo

Dai zai geda puku
Mu so fuku den e
Hi bu nyo rai kyo
Ko do sho shu jo

Great robe of liberation
Field far beyond form and emptiness
Wearing the Tathagata's teaching
Saving all beings

I enjoy doing the chants in Japanese but don't care for them in English. English doesn't seem lend itself to the chants; it seems a little contrived.

I don't have this memorized yet so I refer to the Kannon Do's Chant Book, reciting from it.

If anyone knows where I can find this written in Japanese (kanji) characters, please let me know.

_/\_

Beginning

2009-04-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

This blog is an exploration of Zen by a beginner, or maybe an advanced beginner. Not far from where I live there is a Soto Zen meditation center in the Shunryu Suzuki lineage which offers zazen sittings six days a week. I am commiting myself to sit in zazen for a minimum of 90 days. I will sit for a minimum of four and a half hours and six days per week.

I call myself an advanced beginner because many years ago, during college, I experimented with zazen at two different zen temples, one in Los Angeles and one in Long Beach. Both were considerable distances from my home and my practice fell off quickly.

Why 90 days? Well I want to give it a good go. After 90 days I will decide whether I will continue or not. I don't believe zazen once or twice a week will have much of an effect other than a calming one, which is good but I am looking into more that.

Although I've been going to zazen off and on for a few weeks, today is day three of 90 Days of Zazen.

_/\_