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November 2011 Update

Dokuro — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 03:03:51 +0000

Since mid-September we have been meeting in the new location at 118 Main Street, in Watertown Square. We have not started to make our presence there known around town and the area, but we are working on it!

In the week of November 7th the Vice Abbess and the Abbot attended a 5-day Dai-sesshin with Sasaki Roshi at Bodhi Manda Zen Center in Jemez Springs, New Mexico. Roshi was in excellent spirits and good health, however, he contracted some kind of infection that completely took his energy away and he is currently resting – it is still amazing to see him during teisho and sanzen but it also lets most people forget that he is almost 105 years old and dealing with the issues coming with that age.

Clear skies at night let the temperatures fall into the low 20s in the morning, accompanied by some bone-chilling wind gusts. Bodhi Manda is a great place to practice and an interesting crowd assembled for the Fall kessei – zen students from Austria, Norway, a monk from Germany, and many American students and ordained people.

The schedule followed the traditional Rinzai-ji style Dai-sesshin with a 3 am wakeup, three formal meals, twice a day chanting and closing at 9 pm; personal time was as usual limited to 20 minutes after each of the meals. Shuko served as the densu and took care of the Buddha hall, Dining hall, and the arriving guests and Dokuro served as the jikijitsu in the zendo.

Dharma Cloud Hermitage is about to unveil its newly branded practice offering as “Charles River Zen”. We will use CRZ to make our presence in Watertown and the Boston area better known and to start a campaign to acquire property for a dedicated practice center in the area.

All of this would not be possible without the teaching brought here by Sasaki Roshi, for which we all are deeply grateful. The future of Dharma Cloud Hermitage and Charles River Zen depends also on your interest and dedication, for which we thank you very much.

Elsie Mitchell

Dokuro — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 02:34:00 +0000

On Monday, October 17, 2011, in the early morning hours Elsie Mitchell passed away in her Cambridge, Massachusetts home. Mrs. Mitchell was one of the founders of the Cambridge Buddhist Association, together with her husband John, D. T. Suzuki, Shinichi Hisamatsu, and a few others. The CBA offered continuous Zen practice from 1957 until the end of July 2011.

Mrs. Mitchell was a pioneer of Zen in America, many may remember her recordings of the chanting at Eiheiji, which came out in 1958 on LP. Recording together with her husband she was helped then by a young Japanese man, who introduced himself as Mr. Katagiri. I remember Mrs. Mitchell telling me this story several times, also noting that he smoked a lot. Dainin Katagiri, Shunryu Suzuki, and a number of other Zen masters knew her well.

In 1979 Mrs. Mitchell donated the funds to purchase 75 Sparks Street in Cambridge, where Maurine Stuart – Myo-on Chiko – taught until her much too early departure in 1990. Mrs. Mitchell was a continual and dedicated supporter of the Buddhist endeavors all over the United States. With her departure we are one step closer to the disappearance of the first generation of American Zen pioneers. Only a few are left.

We express our gratitude to Mr. Mitchell who supported the CBA for so many years, for her kindness, generosity, and her perseverance regarding the presence of Dharma in the American life and culture. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

No sitting on September 29, 2011

Dokuro — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 01:56:37 +0000

The evening Zazen on Thursday, September 29, is canceled. Please take note that there will be nobody at the Watertown meeting place that night.

We willr esume the schedule on Tuesday, October 4th.

We’ve started…

Dokuro — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 15:42:55 +0000

Our first evening in the new location went well – new surroundings, a somewhat demanding setup since the zabutons and zafus are stored on the top shelf and require one of us to climb up a ladder and hand them down one by one. The whole process happens in reverse at the end of the program.
Otherwise the place is quiet, spacious, and a few improvements such as the lighting are still underway. Kinhin (walking meditation) without the creaking floor boards is different, and the room allows for a more speedy movement.
We are in the market for a uniform set of tea cups for the sittings and will replace the full sutra books with laminated sheets that have the Heart Sutra on one side and Kozen Daito on the other. Every setup item, every optimization helps. We’ll also purchase a chest that is lockable to store some of the heavier items that we cannot carry in and out constantly.
Thanks to Shuko, Myoki, Jodo, Jamie, and Eldon who participated in our inaugural sitting. We hope the rest of the Sangha will have a chance to join us soon at this new location.

Update and New Beginning

Dokuro — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 03:41:52 +0000

On Thursday, September 15, we will stealthily start sitting in the new location. The first few times of the sittings will allow us to get used to the new place, develop the best way to accommodate the learning curve for setting up and breaking down the zendo. Once we have all the details worked out and established a schedule of responsibilities with our sangha members we will move forward with an advertising campaign that will introduce a new name for our endeavor in Watertown and make our presence known.

The vice-abbess and abbot just returned from a Dai-sesshin with Sasaki Roshi at Mt. Baldy Zen Center. Roshi was in good health, although it was clear that his energy at the end of the 3 months of Seichu and four Dai-sesshin was requiring a lot of rest. Nonetheless, it is still amazing with what vigor and dedication the 104 year-old master teaches. Four Sanzen and a Teisho everyday, seven days, with 38 participants in the retreat. The weather was mostly cooperative, although we had a few days in the upper 90ies, an early morning thunderstorm with lightning bolts hitting left and right, and the clear and definitive arrival of autumn after the last day of sesshin. Summer Seichu has ended and a full schedule of Roshi’s activities for the coming months is posted on the Mt. Baldy Zen Center site.

We look forward to seeing you at the new location!

Summer Break

Dokuro — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:22:14 +0000

Friends,

The sale of the house at 75 Sparks Street has given us our first ever Summer Break. The activities are suspended until they resume in mid-September at our new location in Watertown. We will be meeting at the Body Mind Integration Center, 118 Main Street, in Watertown. Shuko, the vice-abbess, has arranged for this location and we are glad to have found such a convenient and appropriate venue for the continuation of our group practice.

After the last sit everyone pitched in to remove the remaining cushions and Zen paraphernalia from the house – cars loaded up to the roof with zabutons, zafus, support cushions, candles and so were the temporary storage for the items before we moved them into the new space. It will be quite different: there is the need to setup every time and completely dismantle the setup. A true expression of the floating nature of existence is manifest! The room will transform into a Zendo and back into a room, used by Yoga practitioners, Feldenkrais students, and other groups. Sangha member wearing robes are going to have to assemble their formal travelling kit and bring it back and forth. These are great lessons to learn.

We left after the last official meeting at the CBA without leaving traces. Following that very guideline we will come into the new space and leave it in better condition than we found it, yet without leaving any traces. This was one of the things that my first Zen teacher, Genro, was very fond of. His three practical instructions were: 1. Do not waste anything. 2. Do not leave traces. 3. Support harmony where harmony is manifest, create harmony where it is absent. Many dharma talks can be given on these three apparently simple instructions, yet a whole universe and depth of exploration is contained in the simplicity.

We will operate in Watertown under a new name, which we will publish here. Unsui.org will remain, Dharma Cloud Hermitage also. Please take good care over the summer and we hope to see you all back in the Zendo at the new location in September.

Nine bows,
Dokuro

Final Meeting: You are invited

Dokuro — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 03:30:14 +0000

On Wednesday, July 27, 2011, a tradition of over 50 years will come to an end with the last and final meeting of the Cambridge Buddhist Association’s Zazen-kai. It is also your very last chance to sit at 75 Sparks Street, the place that had been the home of the CBA since 1979.
Everyone is welcome to participate. At the end of the night we will have a formal sarei (tea), chant the Heart Sutra, and the last abbot of the CBA, Dokuro, will move the Manjushri statue from the Zendo’s altar into a box for storage. That will also mark the end of the house functioning as a Buddhist temple.
Please come and join us for this significant event.

A Farewell in the Garden

Dokuro — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 02:54:58 +0000

On Wednesday, June 8, 2011 there was an informal and intimate farewell gathering held in the garden at 75 Sparks Street. The gathering was organized by Sheila L., Billy M., and Wade H. – all dedicated students of Maurine Stuart; Shuko (who also sat at the CBA with Maurine) and Dokuro were also present and participated in the chanting and remembering of Maurine who taught at the house from 1979 until her untimely passing in 1990.

The ceremony began with an offering of incense, chanting of the Heart Sutra, and a dedication chant by Dokuro. This was followed by Billy’s reading of an English version of Hakuin Zenji’s Song of Zazen (zazen wasan), then we chanted together the Enmei Jikku Kannon-gyo. The attendees reminisced about their experiences at the CBA and expressed their gratitude to the fortunate circumstances that led to the opportunity to study Zen with an eminent teacher in such a wonderful setting. Wade quoted Dai-o Kokushi (On Zen), Billy read a poem he had composed, and Sheila expressed her deep gratitude and resolve to continue this practice to the best of her ability. We finished with a chanting of “ho” (Jap. for Dharma), something that Maurine had practiced with the group, and with the Four Great Vows (Shigu Seigan-mon).

It was a lovely day and a moving farewell for Myo-on Chiko Maurine Stuart’s students and friends to the long history of Zen Buddhist practice at the Sparks Street house. Everyone was deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to study the Buddha path in this congenial atmosphere and we vowed to continue wherever the path may lead.

Dai-sesshin Report

Dokuro — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:05:24 +0000

The vice-abbess Shūkō and abbot Dokurō participated in a Dai-sesshin with Jōshū Rōshi at Bodhi Manda Zen Center in Jemez Springs, New Mexico.
Rōshi, who is walking his 105th year, was in good health and gave four sanzen daily plus a teishō in the morning. It is amazing how clear his mind is and how much he is determined to teach up to his last breath. It was a great privilege to be there and spend some time with the master.
Shūkō served as shōten in the kitchen and helped prepare three meals daily for the about thirty-five participants. Little time for rest and zazen makes a position in the kitchen even more challenging than being immersed in the seated meditation as a zendō student. Zen manifested in the activities of the kitchen work provides not only sustenance to those who eat the food but also strong and clear practice for the tenzo staff.
Dokurō once again was asked to lead the zendō as the jikijitsu, helped by Kyonen from the Roxbury Zen Center (NY), Hōgen from Augsburg (Germany), and Genshin from Colorado.
Dai-sesshin is a great practice opportunity and both the vice-abbess and the abbot were glad to be able to participate.

Bodhi Manda features a great main hall (hondō) which won an architectural award and also has natural hot pools that help relieve the stress that the strenuous practice puts on our bodies. Nature offers many opportunities to observe the beauty of New Mexico including many birds, flowers, and a wonderfully clear start-lit sky at night.

Please check out the BMZC web site.

All-Sangha Lunch and Meeting: June 5, 2011

Dokuro — Sun, 15 May 2011 20:15:53 +0000

Dear friends,

Please join us for an end-of-season informal lunch and gathering on Sunday June 5 at 12:30 pm at 75 Sparks Street.The imminent sale of the CBA gives us much to reflect upon as we simultaneously look forward to a new beginning. Our meeting will bring you up-to-date on the latest developments regarding our physical space and will offer an opportunity for you to share ideas with one another and the Board, as we formulate goals and strategies for the year to come.

The informal lunch will begin at 12:30 pm, following the Sunday morning schedule. Please feel free to join and bring friends and family. If you plan to attend please RSVP via email or by calling 617-491-8857. This will help us plan accordingly for the lunch.

If you are unable to attend and would like to learn more about our future direction or ways that you can contribute, please contact us. We hope you see you soon!

Shuko M. Rubin, Vice-abbess
Kyo-on Dokuro, Abbott