UNSUI – Dharma Cloud Hermitage

Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Dear Dharma friends,

As some of you may be aware, the Board of the Cambridge Buddhist Association has decided to sell the house at 75 Sparks Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The CBA, as we have known it, will no longer exist as a place for Buddhist study and practice. The current plan is to continue our activities at 75 Sparks Street until the end of July 2011, at which time we will need to relocate our sangha.

The Cambridge Buddhist Association has a very rich history in terms of both study and practice. The Zazen-kai dates back to 1957, even before the CBA was officially incorporated as a non-profit organization (1959). Many prominent scholars and religious leaders have been affiliated with the CBA over the years including Mrs. Mitchell, Dr. D.T. Suzuki, the Japanese Zen Philosopher Dr. Shinichi Hisamatsu, Shunryu Suzuki, and Dr. Huston Smith.

The dwelling at 75 Sparks Street was purchased with the help of Mrs. Elsie Mitchell in 1979 in order to house the Zazen-kai. Maurine Stuart, Myoon Chiko, led the Zazen-kai beginning in the early seventies and continued as the Spiritual Director at Sparks Street until her untimely passing in 1990. Subsequently George Bowman led the Zazen-kai from 1991 until 1999 followed by a succession of resident monks (Dharman Stortz, Bhante Pannyaloka). From 2004 until the present time Dharma Cloud Hermitage has had the privilege of being responsible for the Zazen-kai with Dokuro at the helm as the Spiritual Director and Abbot of the CBA.

For all of you who have meditated at 75 Sparks Street over the years, there is still an opportunity to visit and participate for a few months. Please feel welcome to join us and to help keep alive the spirit and 54-year tradition of the Zazen-kai. The Board of Directors of the CBA has requested our help in conducting a Closing Ceremony which transitions the use of the space from one as a Buddhist temple to a place of secular use. Details will be forthcoming. We, Dharma Cloud Hermitage, will continue our practice in the Boston area in an effort to carry on the history and mission of the Zazen-kai. This Zen community will survive with your commitment and generous support.

Respectfully,

Shuko and Dokuro

We are faced with an important challenge of having to find a new home for our temple, although we are not able to speak further about the details at this time. Therefore we are calling an all sangha meeting for Sunday, April 3, at 12:00 pm, directly following the Hanamatsuri ceremony. The meeting is called by the Board of Houn-an, Dharma Cloud Hermitage, and will be chaired by Peter Crawley, the President of the Board.

We invite you to attend this meeting to learn more about these impending  and significant developments regarding Dharma Cloud Hermitage and the future of Zen practice offered by our temple. Your participation is vital and will offer an opportunity to help steward us through a very important transition. We realize that this is a last minute announcement and that everyone may not be able to attend this first meeting. There will be additional meetings open to the wider sangha and public at a later date. However, if possible we urge those who are able to attend.

Due to the inclement weather predicted for Wednesday, February 2, 2011, we are moving the February Open House to Wednesday, February 9. Since the weather forecast indicates the very high likelihood for dangerous travel condition the Wednesday night sitting is canceled. We rather cancel the sitting than putting those who plan to come here in danger.

On November 28 at about 10 pm local time (Vienna, Austria) Seiun Genro, Osho (清雲玄朗和尚), passed away. Genro was my first Zen teacher in Austria and I have known him for over 28 years. Learning about Genro’s passing brings up the main issues that Joshu Roshi asks us to study: sickness, old age, and death.

I sat my first sesshin in Austria with Genro, having had no prior sitting experience. We exchanged some letter beforehand – me looking for advice how to go to Japan and enter a monastery for training. Genro responded immediately, telling me there is no need to go to Japan, just come and try sitting with him first. I trusted him – without any preparation I signed up for a 7-day retreat and ended up sitting right in front of his seat – the prime spot to be corrected and yelled at at any moment. I survived the sesshin, much thanks to my stubborn nature to go through with this. My early Zen education is based on what Genro taught me. He was a great disciplinarian, with a lot of attention to detail. He also was a great teacher to instill the basic attitudes to enter into the practical aspect of Zen studies. His talks came from his experiences in life, filled with usable advice, clear instruction, and the authority of someone who had lived through what it takes to arrive at what he was talking about.

Training at Mt. Baldy I remember a few Summer Seichus in the late 80′s when Genro still participated in training, holding the tanto position. I recall the fellow students sitting on the tan cringing when he hit me with the keisaku - freely putting himself fully (yes, fully) into using Manjushri’s sword to cut off any ideas and thinking. Commuting between Baldy and Austria was an interesting experience, helping Genro with sesshin after I was ordained by Joshu Roshi in 1989. It went on until I moved to the US in 1994, I practically participated and helped out in all retreats that Genro gave in Austria and Germany.

Last October Rinzai-ji hosted a special Dai-sesshin for the European sangha – and Genro came. It was nice to be with him again, after so many years that had passed since we sat together. Great gratitude is in my heart for having been introduced to this path by Genro – without that I would not be who and what I am today, nor would I be where I am. This shall stand as my expression of my deepest respect for the teacher Genro, who gave birth to me as a practitioner. In a book to commemorate 15 years of Bodhidharma Zendo in Vienna I wrote something like: “I see Genro as a father, who helped conceive me as a Zen practitioner, and Joshu Roshi as a mother who is now trying to make a man out of the child.” This hold true to this day.

Genro -

Countless thanks and my deepest gratitude shall be expressed here for your life, your work, and your teaching. You have touched many lives, and as for me, given me a life full of meaning, wonder, and the foundation to move towards a more mature human being through Zen practice.

Thank you,

Kyoon Dokuro, Osho
杏園獨樓和尚

This year we are offering our first “Urban Rohatsu”. As an urban place of practice we are here to meet the needs of working people who want to take advantage of the possibility to practice Zen. The Rohatsu Sesshin is the most intense practice period in the traditional monastic setting and we are attempting to bring that intensity into the daily schedule of those who cannot participate in a residential Rohatsu retreat.

We start out on Monday, December 6 with the regular evening schedule. Throughout the week there will be morning sitting from 5:30 am till 7:30 am. The morning schedule includes choka, the morning chanting, and a lot of sitting. Participants will leave, go to work, to school, or whatever their day demands of them and return in the evening for the regular 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm schedule. There will be a Dharma Talk on Monday evening, Wednesday morning, and Friday evening; the Tuesday and Thursday sittings will offer the opportunity for informal interviews with the abbot.

The high point of the Urban Rohatsu will be the weekend: Saturday from 6:00 am – 9:00 pm, three formal meals, a full sesshin-like schedule that consists of zazen, kinhin, Dharma Talk, informal interviews, and a short cleaning period called nitten soji. Unlike other retreats we hold during the year, there will be no work period (samu) and that time will be replaced with sitting. Following this strict schedule will allow for an intense opportunity to relate to the spirit of Rohatsu. Sunday morning we’ll begin at 7:00 am, have an informal silent breakfast at 9:00 am, sit a little more, and end with the jodo-e (成道会) ceremony, celebrating Buddha’s enlightenment.

The sittings during the week are free, as usual we ask for a voluntary contribution of $3 – $5 for a sitting. For Saturday and Sunday we are asking for contributions to cover the food expenses.

Saturday

All day: $85 ($75 for members)
Part-time: $30 per meal ($25 for members)

Sunday

All day: $25 ($20 for members)

Signup is required for the weekend portion to allow for proper food planning. Please contact us to sign-up via e-mail or leave a message at 617-491-8857.

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.

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 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.