UNSUI – Dharma Cloud Hermitage

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On Sunday, September 19, 2010, Kyōon Dokurō ordained his first disciple and also the first nun of Hōun-an, Dharma Cloud Hermitage. The ordination ceremony was attended by members of the Sangha, guests and ended with an informal vegetarian lunch.

We welcome Myōki (明気) McTighe to our sangha as an ordained disciple in training and wish her all the best in her Zen training within the Rinzai-ji tradition. Myōki started her practice with Teido Stephens, who is a disciple of Kozan Gentei Stewart, who studied with Sasaki Roshi and teaches in North Carolina. When Myōki moved to the Boston area for a new job she searched for a place to sit and joined the practitioners at Dharma Cloud Hermitage in 2005. Since then she has been a steady presence in the Zendo and attended several week-long retreats with Sasaki Roshi. Her training will continue locally but also include frequent participation in Dai-sesshin at training facilities where Sasaki Roshi teaches.

The ordained sangha at the temple now consists of the Vice-abbess Shūko, Myōki, and the Abbot, Dokurō. Together with the other practitioners we will continue to further a strong place of Zen practice that is sincere, genuine, and welcoming.

Weekly Schedule

The Fall 2010 schedule starts on Monday, September 13, 2010. The schedule is like last year’s schedule, offering Monday and Wednesday evenings from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm, and the traditional Sunday morning schedule from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. The Sunday schedule includes chanting the entire Sutra Book,  including Chapter 25 of the Lotos Sutra. Tuesday morning sitting from 7:00 am to 8:00 am is held as announced in the schedule listing.

At the bottom of the current schedule page the events for the upcoming 30 days in advance are displayed. The list updates automatically. Please check the schedule should you be unsure if there is sitting, like on Monday holidays or holiday weekends.

Open House

Once a month the Open House offers guests and newcomers a glimpse of formal Zen training. An abbreviated schedule is followed by refreshments and the opportunity to ask questions and chat with sangha members. The dates for the Open House events are: October 6, November 3, and December 1. The Open House begins at 7:30 pm and ends around 9:00 pm. Everyone is welcome, no prior arrangements need to be made, just stop by and bring a friend along!

Urban Rohatsu Retreat

The monastic practice of celebrating the historical Buddha’s enlightenment is by sitting seven days in the most severe retreat of the yearly calendar. In the urban setting that Hōun-an serves, we adjust the format and offer our first “Urban Rohatsu” from Monday, December 6 through Sunday, December 12. The commemoration of Buddha’s enlightenment will begin with the Monday evening schedule, at 7:30 pm. Throughout the work week sittings will be offered from 5:30 am to 7:30 am in the morning, and every evening from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. Saturday will be a full day of sitting, starting at 6 am through 9 pm (including three meals), Sunday will begin at 7 am (with breakfast) and end in the celebration of Jodo-e at 11 am.

Participation in the weekday sittings of the Urban Rohatsu is on a donation basis, no registration is required. The weekend portion of the retreat requires registration and a deposit to participate. Details about the requested contribution will be posted.

On Sunday, September 19, the Fall/Winter season opens. A very special event will be included in this opening sitting: an ordination ceremony, Tokudo-shiki  得度式. The regular sitting schedule will begin at 10 am with formal tea, followed by a period of Zazen. The ordination ceremony begins at 11 am.

Please feel free to join us for the sitting or the ceremony. The ordination marks an important event for Dharma Cloud Hermitage, we are taking on the first ordained disciple that is directly affiliated with the temple. Join us in welcoming the newly ordained member of our sangha.

Dharma Cloud Hermitage had a good showing of four participants in the July Dai-sesshin that opened Mt. Baldy Zen Center’s Summer Seichu (training period). Shuko, Myoki, Taigen, and Dokuro participated in the week of intense schedule. The number of participants was around 30 full-time, which made it a good match for Roshi, who gave four sanzen (private interviews) a day, and the usual daily teisho (lecture).

The weather was at first cool, but then turned into a hot stretch. It was nice to be able to connect with many long time students of Sasaki Roshi, just sitting in the same meditation hall, and to see that there is still agood number of younger Zen students who join these retreats.

At this point Roshi is in the last days of a five-day retreat at Rinzai-ji, celebrating his 48 years in the United States.  Roshi’s health is good, as reported by Myoren, who has been serving as his Inji for some time now. Dokuro had a phone call with Roshi yesterday, and Roshi sounded strong and healthy. We congratulate him on his 48th anniversary of arriving in the US. May there be many more in good health.

Weekly Schedule

Wednesday, 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm Evening Zazen

Doors will open 15 minutes prior to the scheduled meeting times.

During the summer we reduce our schedule to a once-a-week meeting on Wednesday nights. The reduced schedule lasts until mid-September, when the full schedule will resume. We will have one occasion for a longer sit this summer, which yet remains to be determined and which will be announced here as well as by an email update.

Have a great summer!

Open House

Once a month the Open House offers guests and newcomers a glimpse of formal Zen training. An abbreviated schedule is followed by refreshments and the opportunity to ask questions and chat with sangha members.

The dates for the summer Open House events are:

July 14, August 4, September 1, all occur during the regular Wednesday time. We start at 7:30 pm and end about 9:00 pm.

Hanamatsuri

On May 2nd we had an extended sitting that ended with the Buddha’s Birthday celebration, Hanamatsuri. A few non-regulars came, and we had nice attendance. After the ceremony there was an informal vegetarian lunch that was in part provided by some of the participants. Special thanks to Jamie and Ginny for the delicious vegetable stew. Also thanks to Michael, Martha, and the other visitors for joining us on this special day.

Other News

We had a nice crowd of visitors for the Open House on May 5. A group of high school students from Concord Academy made their way to the Zendo to learn a little bit about the practice in which we are involved. The abbreviated formal schedule offered a short Dharma talk by the Abbot, and as usual the evening ended with refreshments, conversation, questions and answer style dialog. The sangha is always glad to welcome visitors and give the opportunity to have a look into what formal Zen practice encompasses.

On May 2nd we will celebrate Buddhas Birthday with an early start for the Sunday schedule, 7 am. There will be sitting until 9 am, followed by a break with informal, self-serve silent breakfast. The schedule will resume with the usual 10 am sits, and end early at 11:15 am to prepare for the Hanamatsuri Ceremony, which will follow around 11:30 am.

Hanamatsuri (Flower Ceremony) commemorates the birth of the historical Buddha. It is usually held on or around April 8, but some temples delay it. Shuko and Dokuro had the pleasure to participate in Hanamatsuri at Rinzai-ji in Los Angeles on April 8. The CBA Hanamatsuri has been a tradition since Houn-an Dharma Cloud Hermitage started to attend the Zazen-kai.

The ceremony involves lots of flowers, petals on the altar, and the standing baby Buddha in a bowl of sweet tea. In the beginning the Abbot opens the ceremony with prostrations while everybody chants, then four celebrants circumambulate the altar and chant. After each line of the chant the baby Buddha is bathed with a scoop of sweet tea. When the circumambulation ends after the third repetition of the chant, everyone in the community is invited to bathe the Buddha. This is especially popular with the children, who love the color of the flowers and the bathing.

After the ceremony there will be an informal light lunch served. To offset the cost of the food and the flowers a donation for the participation in the ceremony and the early schedule is requested. No sign-up is required, but let us know that you will come so we can prepare enough food.

On April 1, 2010, Joshu Roshi celebrated his 103rd birthday. To commemorate the occasion and Buddha’s birthday a Hanamatsuri Dai-sesshin at the root temple Rinzai-ji in Los Angeles was given. Roshi gave Teisho on Case 1 from the Blue Cliff Record (Hekigan-roku). Shuko and Dokuro were participating in the Dai-sesshin and the Hanamatsuri ceremony, which was on April 8. The following Saturday, April 10, Roshi ordained Kumiko Yasukawa as a Zen nun and gave her the dharma name Myoren. Congratulations!

The Zendo, in conjunction with a personal donation from the abbot and vice-abbess, gave Roshi a 27″   HDTV/Monitor and a five DVD set “Earth” from BBC as a birthday present. Roshi enjoyed watching the entire first presentation, taking in the wonderful visuals from the BBC production. For an hour and a half he was completely absorbed by the images, temporarily forgetting about the sciatica and other pains that come with a 103-year-old body. Roshi is in good health for his age and his mind is still as sharp as ever. We all wish him good health for many more years. The monitor will enable him also to see digital pictures sent to the Inji via email on the large screen.

On Saturday, April 24, Dokuro was invited to lead a retreat for the Harvard Buddhist Community. The retreat drew some nine participants; it was held at the Center for the Study of World Religions on Francis Avenue. Zazen, walking meditation, discussion, and a dharma talk made up the program. Laura Votey, who organized the retreat for the HBC, also helped facilitate a lunch with contributions from other members of the HBC. The overall consensus was that more such retreats should be offered throughout the year.

We are planning on the Hanamatsuri ceremony at the CBA sometime early in May. A separate announcement will be sent out via the email list. If you would like to be on that list please send us a quick note via the contact form on this site.

Please come by the Cambridge Buddhist Association on the evening of the first Wednesday of the month.  We will start around 7:30 pm. If you arrive earlier we can send one of the sangha members to give you a tour of the house; otherwise, please come by 7:30 pm so we can start on time!

Our One Day went by pretty fast, while outside the rain kept going and going. We had a good number with 12 participants, some of them part-time. It is always a privilege to be able to spend time together in the Zendo, sit, walk, chant, and eat. Some of the participants came for the first time, and we welcome them into our middle.
The practice at the Dharma Cloud Hermitage and the Cambridge Buddhist Association is always open to everyone who is willing to follow the form and respect the other practitioners.

Many thanks to Shuko, who served as the tenzo and prepared breakfast and lunch for the entire group. A lot of time is spent shopping in the rain), planning, cutting vegetable with Myoki as the shoten. A great Thank You to both bodhisattvas!

We will be planning the next retreat for April and will announce it as soon as a decision has been made.