UNSUI – Dharma Cloud Hermitage

Archive for the ‘News’ Category

We have resumed our full schedule after Labor Day weekend and the Zendo has come back to its full life. With the new site there will be more frequent updates on what’s happening, articles, essays, and other materials that pertain to what we do at Houn-an.

The October 7 Open House was well attended, we had visitors from the Harvard Buddhist Community, as well as individuals who just came to check out the CBA. A quick sit, followed by walking meditation, and an introduction to the practice of chanting made up the formal part of the evening. Refreshments after allowed for a lively discussion, question and answers, in which visitors and sangha members contributed. We always appreciate the visitors, and sometimes we see faces return and join the sangha.  Like a living organism that constantly changes, our group also undergoes changes. We have a core group of practitioners who sustain the practice and serve as officers during the formal sittings. This is a good place to thank them for their support and participation in the activities of the temple.

Today we learned that the Abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery, John Daido Roshi, has succumbed to cancer. He was a successor to Maezumi Taizan, but had also studied with Nakagawa Soen. The Mountain and Rivers Order has lost their founder and the American Zen landscape a fixture and prominent personality.

The loss of a Zen teacher always makes me keenly aware of the unfathomable privilege to have been able to study with Joshu Roshi over the last decades, and to be still able to go and work with him in his 103rd year here on this planet. In fact, next week the vice-abbess and I will be able to participate in a Jidori Sesshin with Roshi and a good number of his European sangha at Rinzai-ji Zen Center in Los Angeles. If all works out I will also have the opportunity to meet again with Seiun Genro Osho, with whom I first started in the early eighties of the last century. Genro is himself geeting up there, 85 years of age, and it will be neat to have him there with Roshi. There will also be a good number of ‘old’ Zen students I know from my early Zen times in Austria.

In our absence the Zendo will be run by our senior sangha members. Please attend frequently and take advantage of the opportunities to sit, chant, walk, and share the spirit of the sangha. Your participation is important and we are truly grateful having you be part of our community.

When members of our sangha started to chuckle about the “news” on our previous site, “news” dating back more than a year, it became clear that we have to move forward into a new age of web technology. That’s why unsui.org migrated the content to WordPress, a commonly used and free content management system for web sites.

From now on updates are much easier to do – no more need for software on everyone’s computer, just a web browser will do! Please check back frequently, we’ll be updating with new vigor and keep you posted about what has happend and what will happen with this sangha.

At the end of our March 8 retreat four members of the sangha underwent the jukai ceremony and received Buddhist names:

Theodora F. now is called Eigetsu, Susanne F. is Myotai, Sevn M. is Hogen, and Max P. is Genki. Congratulations to our friends to formalize their comittment to the group.

Eigetsu participated in the Puerto Rico Dai-sesshin with Joshu Roshi. Myotai went with the vice-abbess and the abbot to participate in Roshi’s birthday Dai-sesshin at Rinzai-ji in Los Angeles.

Joshu Roshi, now walking his 102nd year, is in good health and will give a full Kessei at Bodhi Manda Zen Center, followed by a full Summer Seichu schedule at Mt. Baldy Zen Center.

Please make sure you mark down the last retreat before the summer, which is on the weekend of May 31, June 1st. The usual schedule, Monday, Wednesday evenings, and Sunday mornings will continue until the summer schedule is announced.

On New Year’s Eve we met for some formal cleaning, sitting, chanting, and the striking of the Great Bell. Even with short notice we had a good number of participants who shared in striking the bell 108 times.

The Abbot, Vice-abbess, and the Board of Directors of Dharma Cloud Hermitage would like to extend their best wishes for a Happy and healthy year 2008. Please come and practice with us, please join us in realizing our vision of an independent Rinzai-ji temple in the greater Boston area!

Our December 1&2 retreat went well and was a nice end note to the more intense practice offerings this year. The retreat ended on Sunday with Jodo-e, the traiditonal ceremony to celebrate Buddha Shakyamuni’s enlightenment. The ceremony was followed by the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Cambridge Buddhist Association. The Great Bell in the stairwell was struck 50 times to remember each year that the CBA has been in existence.

Rob, Shuko, and Dokuro drove to Ithaca, NY to participate in a seven day Dai-sesshin with Joshu Roshi. Ithaca Zen Center is a beautiful place and it was a privilege to participate with a good number of other long-time students and followers of Joshu Roshi. The Roshi has moved on to Bodhi Manda Zen Center, where the Fall Kessei will start shortly.

The reduced summer schedule brought an increased number of participants to our once-a-week sittings. The Wednesday evenings were well attended, and July, August, and September Open House brought new faces into the Zendo.

Myoki, Shuko, and Dokuro went to participate at a Dai-sesshin at Mt. Baldy Zen Center, where Sasaki Roshi held a full Summer Seichu. How exciting!

Roshi has also committed to come to Ithaca Zen Center in October, and four members of the sangha will participate.

Shuko and Dokuro just returned from a 7-day Dai-sesshin that comemmorated Joshu Sasaki Roshi’s 100th birthday. The Dai-sesshin was followed by the Hanamatsuri Celebration which also celebrated Roshi’s birthday.

There was some media coverage of the event, you can read an article in the online version of Tricyle or see the short news video clip from the reception after the Hanamatsuri ceremony.

Happy Birthday Roshi!

Dharma Cloud Hermitage presented Roshi with a gold brocade rakusu, which was financed by the temple and individual donors’ contributions. If you would like to help out and contribute to offset the expense for this gift, please leave something in the donation box (with a nore “rakusu”) or send a check to Dharma Cloud Hermitage, 210 Belmont Street #8, Watertown, Ma 02472-3557. All contributions are welcome.

The sittings continued with a steady attendance of a few Zen students. Dokurô gave a public talk on October 3rd, which was well attended by more than 25 people. We offered two weekend retreats that attracted a nice number of participants and a few members participated in the New Hampshire weekend retreat with Kozan Gentei.

Dokuro attended Rohatsu Dai-sesshin at Mt. Baldy Zen Center in December which was followed by the Jodo-E ceremony to commemorate Shakyamuni Buddha’s awakening.

Joshu Roshi is doing well, his health is excellent. In October he underwent an emergency angioplasty after complaining about chest pain. The procedure was performed in a renowned Los Angeles hospital and Roshi returned to Rinzai-ji a day and a half later to conduct Sanzen during Dai-sesshin.

On April 1, 2007 Roshi will be celebrating his 100th birthday which is also celebrated by a Dai-sesshin the week before. It is now 45 years that Sasaki Roshi has tirelessly taught in the United States of America. In 2006 Roshi has conducted more than 15 week-long Dai-sesshin in all parts of the US and Puerto Rico.

In July we tested the early morning sitting schedule – Wednesday from 6:00 am till 7:10 a.m. While it was much cooler than during the evening sittings, the participation was sparse and we decided to discontinue the offering in August.

Plans are in the works to offer a beginner’s class this fall. It has not been decided yet what day of the week it will be offered and for how many weeks.

Kozan Gentei Stewart, who has been a student of Sasaki Roshi for over thirty years, is leading a Zazen retreat in New Hampshire at Suitei Meyers place. We encourage everyone to sign up for this residential retreat which also offers two Yoga classes with Jill Johnson, a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher. Please read the details on the schedule page.

The vice-abbess went to Mt. Baldy Zen Center to participate in a Dai-sesshin with Joshu Roshi and to serve as the Inji for a week. Plans for the 100th birthday celebration for Sasaki Roshi are forming and a Dai-sesshin from March 24 – 30, 2007 is planned, followed by the celebration on April 1, 2007.

Melita Cutcher visited from Puerto Rico and participated in several evening sits. It is nice to have members of other Rinzai-ji Centers visit and participate in our activities.

With the end of the June schedule we marked a milestone: 200 public sittings since 2004. Dokuro made up a brochure for the Trustees Meeting of the CBA that reports the activities of Dharma Cloud Hermitage at the CBA over the last two years. We hope all are enjoying the wonderful summer and we hope to see you all back in September.

The board of directors met after the spring retreat and decided on the summer schedule for 2006. The reduced summer schedule will consist of morning zazen from 6:00 a.m. – 7:10 a.m. every Wednesday, and evening zazen from 7:30 pm – 8:45 p.m. also on Wednesday. Zendo activities will be suspended the week of July 4, 2006. The summer schedule will go into effect on June 12, after the season closing retreat and ceremony.