ZEN PEBBLE. Cultivating Wisdom and Compassion: Our Common Aim. From the Sangha Heart

Transcription

1 ZEN PEBBLE Number 4 News from the Zen Community of Baltimore/Clare Sangha Summer 2011 Cultivating Wisdom and Compassion: Our Common Aim The Zen Community of Baltimore/Clare Sangha was founded in 1993 by Sisters Janet Richardson-Roshi and Rosalie McQuaide-Sensei. We come together regularly to support one another in Zen practice. Our common aim is to cultivate wisdom and compassion. Our aim is strongly rooted in the Zen teaching of the oneness of life, the interdependence of all beings in the world. Because One, when we care for others we in truth are caring for ourselves. That we are all the One Body parallels a teaching in the Christian tradition. In Matthew 25, Christ says What you do for any of my people here you also do for me. And what you refuse to do for any of my people here, you refuse to do for me. From its inception, ZCB has been comprised of working people from all walks of life. We are now spread out in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and beyond mostly householders, diverse in age, work and family style. Our status as a dispersed, working sangha determines the offerings members can support. This Zen Pebble is dedicated to all who practice and train with us. In From The Sangha Heart below, we hear the experience of 11 Zen practitioners, followed by encouragement from our founding teachers. Next is a write-up of the Sixth ZCB Bead Ceremony at summer sesshin Then: Letters to Sangha from President Carl Pohlner and VP/Treasurer Mark Wiess; a collection of Dharma Do s and Don ts; and our Schedule for May all be well. - Zen Pebble Committee TAKE A CLOSER LOOK (Con. on page 8) Inside This Issue 1 Cultivating Wisdom and Compassion 1 From the Sangha Heart 9 Founders Corner 10 Sixth ZCB Bead Ceremony 13 Letters to Sangha 14 Dharma Do s and Don t s 17 ZCB Schedule 2011 From the Sangha Heart Contents 1. Avatars of Buddha by Carl Pohlner 2. Connections by Carole Andrews 3. Continuous Journey by Carolyn Moyer 4. Initial Insight by Ed Stokes 5. Finding Zen Practice by Kevin Lavey 6. All That Matters by Josh Rothschild 7. Within You and Without You by John Hebb 8. How Do We Become Uninspired? by Dan Magorian 9. Spaciousness of Practice by Kevin McCamant Day Challenge by Yolanda Chetwynd 11. Loving What Is by Sr Doris Mical Page 1

2 Avatars of Buddha By Carl Roji Pohlner I have been fortunate in never having to wonder if I were living a meaningful life. After retiring from a career in public education, I took work as a job coach for adults with developmental disabilities who wanted to work in the mainstream. I was not sure after 40 years in the public schools - first as an English teacher, then assistant principal - if I wanted to lead a meaningful life anymore, but that was the only job I could get. My employer assigned me to work with a group I would come to call the Avatars of Buddha. The Avatars are highly skilled teachers of the virtues of patience and compassion. Just when you think you have experienced it all that after six weeks of daily practice there is nothing more that can go wrong with rolling a fork and knife in a paper napkin and taping it they always seem to find one more way to test you. The Avatars are also good at mondos: If the restaurant manager asks your name, what will you say? I don t know. Just say your name. Batman. But that isn t your real name. What s your real name, Carl? In the eventual interview at the restaurant, the avatar, to my distress, introduced himself as Batman. Without a blink, the manager deftly said, Hi, Batman. He was very kind to us, but the avatar didn t get hired. It was not in my retirement plan, but the meaningful way of life continues. -Married householder Carl Pohlner has three children and five grandchildren, and lives in Bel Air, MD. He is a founding member of ZCB and serves as our President. Connections By Carole George Andrews I am teaching grandsons Eli (5) and Aedan (3) to sit. We started a year ago. I gave each a small Buddha, candle holder and zafu. It was easy to teach them a sitting position; when I showed them how I sit they said, Kangaroo hands and pretzel legs Grammy this is how we sit on the floor in school! Then the rules: no talking, no moving; of course later I had to add a few such as no sighing, no humming, no looking around. I put a toy animal on the floor in front of them to look at in order to keep their eyes from wandering. We started sitting for three breaths and gradually extended to 10 breaths. We have experienced complete stillness and quiet for perhaps 30 seconds. They like to sit and often ask if we can. In truth, I think the attraction is blowing out the candle at the end. One day last spring I opened the window and told the boys to concentrate on listening to the birds singing outside. There was a period of complete stillness and quiet except for the singing birds. I rang the bell to end the sit and Eli said Grammy that was a good one! Wow, I thought, he gets it (or it gets him). Once since then Eli has commented That was a good one. I believe he truly feels the connection among us, because at times I feel it very strongly. At our summer sesshin 2010, there was a connection experience while we were chanting the Four Great Vows. As chant leader, Carolyn Moyer was helping us chant in unison, and we were improving day by day. Near the end of sesshin, as we chanted our Vows three times, it felt that I and the entire sangha became the chanting, we were just the chanting. It was a clear experience of our connection and oneness that I won t forget. -Carole Andrews lives in Havre de Grace, MD, and works as a dental hygienist when not training up her grandsons. She joined ZCB in 1998, now serves as a meditation mentor and Head Monk, and has started storytelling for the sangha. God only appears to a hungry man in the form of bread. -Ghandi Page 2

3 Continuous Journey By Carolyn Moyer My spiritual journey began 30 years ago in A young mother, I heard author M. Scott Peck on NPR speaking of love. He defined love as action rather than feeling. I was struck and compelled to find out more. The first words of The Road Less Travelled I remember are Life is difficult. (Years later, I heard them echo in the Buddha s First Noble Truth, the truth of suffering.) These words confirmed my experience and launched me on an investigation. It went from that slender book, to the therapist s office, to the church pew I had not sat in for 15 years, to the yoga studio and, finally, to the round, black cushion I now consider home and practice coming home to the present moment. I discovered ZCB/Clare Sangha in 1995 and, through its compassionate teachers and supportive sangha, gradually became committed to the Zen Buddhist path. Though I left ZCB for many years, becoming a student of Shugen Sensei at Zen Mountain, my cherished friendship with ZCB Head Monk Carole Andrews encouraged my return to Clare Sangha in These years of practice have allowed joy and gratitude to blossom in ways I could not have predicted. Whether challenged by difficult students, troubled relationships, or my own conditioned habits of mind, I find increasing insight, equanimity and loving-kindness through my daily practice. Bows to this bountiful universe; to Sensei Bruce, our wise and compassionate teacher; to everyone who supports and sits with ZCB sangha; to all sentient beings. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and to know the place for the first time. - TS Eliot (Four Quartets). -When not visiting her grandchildren in Northern Virginia, Carolyn Moyer resides in suburban Maryland where she teaches special needs high schoolers. She leads a small sitting group at work and, with ZCB, serves as a meditation mentor and helps train sangha members in the service assignments. Initial Insight By Ed Stokes In the 1970s while a high school student in Bangkok, Thailand, I became intrigued with meditation and began sitting under the informal guidance of my English teacher. However, during a sit one day, I had an unsettling experience and decided to stop meditation, thinking that I would return to this practice sometime. My interest was piqued some 30 years later when I heard about ZCB/Clare Sangha, and attended my first sit early in After some months, I determined with Sensei Blackman a suitable aspiration in Zen practice, and was assigned the koan of Joshu s Dog (Mu). Absorbing myself in it, I began to practice daily and attend monthly zazenkais and weekend sesshins. I also began attending the longer summer sesshins, starting with three days in 2007 and extending to a full week in The start of summer sesshin 2009 was tumultuous. I felt spending six days sitting on a cushion was a selfish escape from responsibilities to my job and family. I had an overwhelming urge to leave sesshin and return home. Somehow on the third day, I found myself, came back to my breath, and rededicated myself to practicing Mu. As the sesshin went on my concentration deepened. During kinhin, I had a sense that it was not me walking, there was just walking. A deep sense of calm came over me, along with a heightened sense of each breath. My practice seemed to go on without me. At night I fell asleep, exhausted from the day. Sometime during the night, I woke up and lay in my bed in a state of alert calm. Suddenly a passing train blasted a loud horn. In that moment, everything fell away, including me, and there was only the sound of the train horn (surprising me to say the least). Weeks later, sitting at home in Baltimore, I hear the sound of a train horn rumbling through town. I remember the horn blast at sesshin and let it go, coming back to just the sound I m hearing in Baltimore. Happy to now know this about practice, I look forward to further Zen study and embodying of the Way a lifelong undertaking, our fourth great vow for all. -Baltimore householder Ed Stokes is married with three teenagers, and works in public information technology. At ZCB, he provides support in meeting IT needs, and often leads our spiritual circles. Page 3

4 . Finding Zen Practice By Kevin Lavey After leaving the religion of my childhood, I spent years seeking another path. I read books. I attended Quaker services at Friends Meeting Houses from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Washington, DC. I read about Buddhism. I became interested in Taoism and read and reread the Tao Te Ching, that wonderful, pithy, enigmatic manual on how to live. But I wanted a practice. I sat with a Zen group in Baltimore but didn t quite find a connection. Serendipitously, I met Carl Pohlner who told me about ZCB/Clare Sangha, and I sat with the group for over a year. Alas, obligations intruded and I left my weekly sits only to return years later in I have found a way and a practice. Being present. Letting go. I love Elaine MacInnes s insight: Our journey is letting go and letting Be-ing be! I have learned the Ten Grave Precepts which I embrace. I attend to the Three Peacemaker Tenets of not knowing, bearing witness, and taking loving action - a spiritual methodology for cultivating wisdom and compassion, the main aim of our sangha. Grateful for this training practice. I return to the cushion where I sit and breathe, letting go and being present. -Householder Kevin Lavey teaches at an alternative high school in Baltimore County. He is a meditation mentor at ZCB, gives introductory instruction to newcomers, and serves on our board of directors. All That Matters By Josh Rothschild I came to meditation at age 24, having been on a self-help mission for about a year. My life was a mess. I struggled in relationships, fought with authority figures, and was not at all happy. Support for my self-help mission came from a wise mentor. She helped me see how I shared responsibility for conditions and situations. Gentle but clear, she taught me to observe myself objectively, to acknowledge my part in the struggles and difficulties. Learning came slow, but I was plenty willing. We set to uncovering my thoughts and beliefs, a humbling process. Never had I seen how harmful my thinking could be, for instance how I contrived to keep myself innocent while blaming others, how I resisted opening my heart to others. The mentor taught me to question my thoughts and habits, and stay open to a bigger truth unkown. With this inner work, my reality began to change: less clashing with others, more peaceful in the world. An acquaintance told me about meditation. Reading up, I was intrigued and began meditation practice as a way to extend the self-inquiry taught by my mentor and to cultivate inner healing. I practiced every day, following my breath to stay present as the books instruct. I often drifted off to sleep, but would start again the next day. Fail, restart, fail, restart. I never found this process disheartening, but became calmer, clearer, and happier for sure. Page 4

5 Months into practice, a strange thing happened. While meditating, I heard a clear voice out of the blue: All that matters is how much you love. That was all. I never heard a voice like it before or since never heard words so true. What else could it say? Constant practice every day. Aware of greed, returning to love; of anger, returning to love; of ignorance, to love. Sometimes more successful, sometimes less. Simply to do my best learn more today, practice deeper tomorrow. Ten years into this spiritual journey, I m grateful for the support of two sanghas and their teachers here: the Baltimore Shambhala Center and ZCB/Clare Sangha. I wish everyone simplicity in practice. All that matters is to love. -Josh Rothschild teaches yoga/meditation in the local jails and heads the non-profit group Peace in Baltimore. At ZCB, he leads zendo exercises, teaches metta (lovingkindness) meditation and works on service outreach. Hope is like a road in the country; there never was a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence. -Lin Yutang Within You and Without You By John Hebb In Finding the Still Point, the late John Daido Loori eloquently describes how to practice zazen. He presents a primer on the subject: how to sit, where to cast your eyes, how to count the breath, but there is nothing about what happens during meditation. Like all practices, he writes, it takes doing in order for anything to happen. And what happens in zazen can transform our lives. With this encouragement, I made several trips to the Zen Mountain Monastery for retreats and to study haiku and calligraphy. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation - which I began to practice in emphasized the experience outside of meditation rather than any thought or experience during meditation. He emphasized daily living more than working with a mantra. Regardless of the path, as meditators, we know that things happen as we wend our way to that still point. Early in 2009 I joined ZCB. Some time after, on Blackman-Sensei s recommendation, I undertook the koan Mu and began practicing it daily as well as attending Saturday zazenkais and seasonal retreats. My TM practice was strong preparation for the breath-awareness of Zen meditation, and the letting go of Mu. I completed the ZCB challenge of Zen 108. My practice became more encouraging. On a recent sesshin, I was sitting in the zendo facing east. At dawn, the light of the rising sun struck into my eyes, and suddenly my entire body was filled with it. There was no separation between me and the sun s light. I was the light and the light was me, it was in me and I was in the light. Max Planck says that sometimes light acts as a particle, sometimes as a wave. But his quantum mechanical equations can t describe my experience of meditation that winter morning. Our lives are not spent sitting on a cushion but living in the world. I m grateful that taking time each day for zazen, and now text study, is bringing me deeper clarity in this living. I hope it is making me a better husband, father, son and colleague. -Married householder John Hebb resides in Towson, MD, has two teenagers, and works in a program of care to the frail elderly. At ZCB, he often leads our spiritual circle for council and sharing. Page 5

6 How Do We Become Uninspired? By Dan Magorian Often, when we hear or read profound teachings, we become very inspired. But later we have a tendency to put that teaching on some pedestal in the corner over there, while our lives are over here. We tend to think: I can t do that, or sustain that state for very long anyway, so this is for advanced yogis, monastics, people having more time than I do and don t have to make a living in the modern world and support their families. So we discount the whole thing, put it in one category, ourselves in another, and throw away the baby with the bathwater. With whatever teachings we find inspiring, it is interesting to contemplate how getting uninspired happens to us. One teaching exhorts: Do not let the essential meaning fade away. Do not let the instruction dissipate. How to do that? A teacher of mine, Khandro Rinpoche, once said to assembled students: I can see you are all inspired. But how long will that last? A day or two? Maybe a week if you re lucky? After that I m going to have to get out my bicycle pump and inflate you all back up again. You re like leaky tires. From the same profound teaching: The way thoughts occur is the same as before, but the way they are freed is the most special key point. Without this, meditation is but the path of confusion. Let us examine together how, even after great inspiration, we slip back into comfortable ruts and ways of thought, our habitual patterns, and so become uninspired. Our leaky tire minds. -Married with two teenagers, householder Dan Magorian lives in Catonsville, MD. He works as an information technology consultant, and practices at both the Baltimore Shambhala Center and ZCB. Spaciousness of Practice By Kevin McCamant Hands resting in my lap, the dog curled at my feet chews her bone. This room lies around me, still, in its familiar arrangement. Outside the window snow flies, falling flake by flake from my view. All the while I sit and breathe, letting go one thought after another; each somehow the same, yet unique constructions flying by the window of awareness, then falling away like tiny crystals of ice. Sitting in the heart of a house, it is not the presence of the walls, but the spaciousness of them that lightens my heart. Sitting in the heart of a forest, perched atop the craggy descent of a hill, it is not the presence of the trees, but their openness that rests me. Presence is not encumbered by walls. Presence is not perched atop a hill. It is not breath, blood or thoughts, but the space between the trees, the nothing amidst the bones. It is not the taking of breath, the pulsing of blood, the passing of thoughts, but the open way that brings me to myself. Thoughts continue to flow and pass away and I sit for my view of the next. Resting in my lap, curled at my feet, each forms crystal by crystal. Around me, this room lies, seeming something, but being nothing at all, and all the while the dog in familiar arrangement chews her bone. -Joining ZCB in 2009, married householder Kevin McCamant has two grown children and lives in Cecil County, MD. Trained in Psychology, he counsels inmates of Maryland s prisons, and coordinates our video training with other sanghas. Page 6

7 108 Day Challenge By Yolanda Chetwynd These few words are a gesture of gratitude to Bruce Seiryu Blackman and the Baltimore Zen group. I'm indebted for their teaching and inspiration. The 108 day challenge has transformed my daily practice. As I have stepped into a leadership role at the Delaware Valley Zen Center, I find the consistency of daily Zazen invaluable. I was introduced to Zen as a child when my father brought the Japanese Zen Master Sochu Suzuki Roshi of Ryutakuji Monastery to live at our home while the London Zen Society was being established. I sat regularly and went on several long retreats until I started raising my family here in America. Twelve years ago I resumed my practice with greater dedication. It was Sr Doris Mical who introduced me to the Baltimore group. On retreat ten years ago I met Bruce when I had the privilege of sitting next to him throughout the sesshin. In talking afterwards it turned out that both my father and he had studied under Sr Elaine Maclnnes. Another coincidence was that both men had worked in prisons, my father through the Prison Phoenix Trust in England and Bruce in America. With such threads of karma and coincidence weaving throughout my life, a pattern seems to be appearing. I am grateful for this recognition of Zen 108 in my daily practice, and I am especially privileged to be able to share this honor with Sr Doris, another great friend and teacher. I am also grateful for the ongoing love and support of my husband Suresh Advani. Yours in the Dharma, Yolanda Chetwynd. -A married householder in Newark, DE, with children in high school and college, Yolanda Chetwynd completed Zen 108 and was honored in ZCB s sixth bead ceremony. She is an accomplished painter ( her father is Tom Chetwynd, author of Zen and The Kingdom of Heaven. Loving What Is There is nowhere to go. What you are looking for is right here. Open the fist clenched in wanting, and see what you already hold in your hand. (The Call, Oriah Mountain Dreamer) By Sr Doris Mical I have often thought that when it is time to cross over that God will pause and invite each of us to look back with renewed understanding and vision at the lives we have just left, See, God will say, how simple it could have been. There is no magic formula about life it has been packaged with love and wisdom in the present moment. Each moment is pregnant with the seeds of the unique person that we have been called to become. Each present moment contains all that we will need for a lifetime. Echard Tolle, on the first page of the book, The Power of Now, writes, You are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold. That is how important you are! Imagine that! In my still obscure way of knowing I believe that happens by our participation in the on-going need for the redemption of our world. The way is utterly simple. The Love-force in us provides moment by moment all that we need so that Love can express itself uniquely through all that we are and will be. No matter what options life presents the choice about how to be remains ours. There is no situation or experience in which we cannot be present to who and what we are. The present moment is the only place that we always have access to the here and now. The past and the future exist only in the present moment. Yet, we spend too much of our energy worrying about the past and future. The path with its wisdom and grace has slipped away forever and the future may or may not become reality so why waste the energy of the present moment worrying about it. The Zen Master Suzuki, reminds us, We don t need to let go. We just need to recognize what is already gone. Jesus said Can any of you for all your worrying add a single year to your life? If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why worry about all the rest? Luke 12: The bottom line is that God is only in the present moment. The mystery and miracle is that for each of us it s different. The experience of the present moment for me will hardly be the same for you. Our God is a God who knows us intimately and has designed for each of us a pathway that is unique in its gifts and challenges. The map that will lead us to final declaration This is why beloved well done! is embedded in the present moment. -A Pastoral Counselor and Spiritual Director with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, Sr. Doris Mical is a long-time friend of ZCB/Clare Sangha and a leader of her meditation group in Delaware. She was honored in ZCB s summer bead ceremony. Page 7

8 Cultivating Wisdom and Compassion By Bruce Seiryu Blackman, Sensei (Con. from page 1) Experience with a residential zendo was positive, though we weren t ready for the recurring expense then. We have moved often, seeking the best arrangement for Saturday zazenkais and seasonal sesshins long the most popular training events with members. We offer Zen 108 to help members establish a strong home practice. Soon we hope to offer Service 108 to encourage sangha outreach. People of any or no religious affiliation are welcome to practice and train with us. The website schedule page shows the times and places of practice. Nowadays these are the Holy Trinity Spiritual Center and the Towson Unitarian-Universalist Church, two of many places we ve called home near Baltimore. ZCB training is to help students realize and manifest their awakened nature. Zen meditation leads to the discovery of this true nature and the nature of all beings. Looking carefully into our own hearts and minds, we learn to transcend ego-centeredness and experience life more fully in each moment. This leads to oneness with and compassion for all beings. By diminishing ego, our capacity to take skillful action (and avoid unskillful action) increases to the appreciation of those around us. Besides such home benefits of Zen, sangha members report that compassionate action comes in response to the changing conditions and circumstances of life, from simply being where we are and doing what we re doing. Helping neighbors with snow removal is an example. We are inspired by Shantideva s Boddhisattva Vow: As long as space endures, As long as sentient beings remain, Until then, may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world. Through the years, two forms of compassionate service have especially attracted the interest and labor of ZCB members: working with special needs youth, including the emotionally disturbed and traumatized; and prison ministry with the incarcerated. The Peacemaker Tenets of not-knowing, bearing witness and loving action guide our work in these and other forms of service. Encouraging of our faith and service work is this teaching from Bernie Glassman, Roshi: When we bear witness, when we become the situation - homelessness, poverty, illness, violence - the right action arises by itself. We don't have to worry what todo, we don't have to figure out solutions in advance. Peacemaking is the function of bearing witness. Once we listen with our entire body and mind, loving action arises. Loving action is right action. It's as simple as giving a hand to someone who stumbles or picking up a child who has fallen on the floor. We take such direct, natural actions every day of our lives without considering them special. And they're not special. Each is simply the best possible response to that situation in that moment. Only a small group, we of ZCB/Clare Sangha are happy to be part of the Zen Peacemakers Sangha, and we would be happy to see you soon on a cushion near us! Wisdom tells me I am nothing, Love tells me I am everything. Between the two my life moves. - Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj in I Am That. Page 8

9 Founders Corner Summer Sesshin 2010 By Janet Jinne Richardson, Roshi On the occasion of sitting in the presence of the ZCB/Clare Sangha after many years, this co-founder remembers Basho's words: Pure white plum blossoms Slowly begin to turn The color of dawn. A Few Encouraging Words By Rosalie Jishin McQuaide, Sensei Arriving at the Msgr. O Dwyer Retreat Center for ZCB/Clare Sangha s sesshin in July 2010, a kind of mental slide show -- of all the places in and around Baltimore where so many of us had come together for zazen captured my mind and heart with gratitude, joy, and laughter! It was a wonderful reunion! Thanks to Bruce, Barbara, RoseMary, and all who encouraged Janet and me to make the trip and who so kindly facilitated our stay. Preparing a few encouraging words, which Bruce invited me to do, prompted a look back at the six years Roshi Jinne and I have lived in Lakeland FL. What to say about Lakeland, beyond its lovely name? To borrow a term from the Christian church calendar, it seems to me that Ordinary Time is essentially my experience of Lakeland churches, families, parks, schools, lakes, groves, ranches a kind of Norman Rockwell town. Ordinary Time and Ordinary Mind. Master, what is the Way? Ordinary Mind is the Way. What is Ordinary Mind? The Christian scriptures recount the story of Jesus giving instructions to his disciples/students, and he invited them to come, follow me. Their reply: Where are you going? Jesus: You know where I am going, and you know the Way. I am and you are who we were before we were born. The true self of you and of me knows where you, where I, am going and knows the Way. Master Dogen laid out the essence of Zen practice: To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to know the self; to know the self is to forget the self and to be enlightened by all things. Years ago, when I began Zen practice, Roshi Bernie Glassman would often end his instruction with See? It s simple. Could it be any simpler? Holiday Teisho By Janet Jinne Richardson, Roshi It can be useful for our meditation this evening to look at these holidays as an extended sabbath---a time to BE something besides a worker and a producer a time set aside for OTHER dimensions of our humanity, a time to be a SEER and an INQUIRER into who we are. The holidays break up our routine, they upset our schedule, our daily patterns and our so-called normal programs. This upset means for us the discovery of new spaces and new times, and explorations into new interests and occupations. So the question arises quite naturally "Who am I in such freedom? Who am I in all my various roles? What experiences do I have of my being? Am I limited to intellectual knowledge, to the ideas, opinions, viewpoints given me by others? What have I learned about myself in this process of human growth? Such questions are relevant these holidays. Carpe diem seize the time and sit with them. Sit and let the questions and the answers fall away so new insights can arise in your mind. To Shakyamuni-Buddha's enlightened eye, every thing and each being has two aspects: the phenomenal aspect and the essential aspect, the relative and the absolute. All phenomena are constantly changing. Things have no definitive, final form: houses, meals, research papers, cars are created, used, wear out, decay, disintegrate and disappear; humans are conceived, born, develop emotionally, physically, intellectually, spiritually, wear out, disintegrate, and die. These phenomenal changes are well-known. But there's an essential aspect to everything and everyone, and this essential aspect does not change. The phenomenal aspect and and the essential aspect are two aspects of one subject and from the beginning they are one. Page 9

10 What about the essential world? If you want to know about it, look at your own mind. Your mind is the entrance, the door to the vast, limitless essential world. Zen treats things from the aspect of essential nature. Zen invites us to uncover our own essential nature with our mind's eye. Nobody knows where the mind is it is not the brain but we know its functions; using body parts, it sees, thinks, tastes, touches, digests, laughs, and cries. We know the functions, but we don't understand the mind. It has an existential reality, but it cannot be grasped by our physical senses. The gateway to our essential nature is the mind consciousness and you enter this boundless and timeless world by inner concentration. You yourself are no other than your mind. Everyone knows about the phenomenal world. Zen opens the essential world to us. Let's sit. Happy holidays! Sixth ZCB Bead Ceremony June 27, 2011 Head Monk Carole Andrews: Welcome to this Sixth Bead Ceremony of ZCB/Clare Sangha. After summer sesshin 2008, we established a 108 day challenge to all sangha members and friends. The challenge is to practice zazen meditation one hour or more for 108 consecutive days. (108 is the number of prayer beads in a string of malas.) The challenge aims to help members establish a strong home practice for which there is really no substitute in a busy householder sangha like ours and to develop concentration or settling power (joriki) which is onward leading in our practice. Today we honor the sixth group of members and friends to accomplish the feat, bringing the total no. of recipientbodhisattvas to 24. The ceremony proceeds as follows: - Sensei will evoke the name of Shakyamuni-Buddha whose example and teachings we follow in our Zen training then bow before the altar and offer incense. - Recipients will each evoke the name of a bodhisattva and approach Sensei. - We will close by chanting the Heart Sutra. Sensei Bruce Blackman: In this ceremony, we remember the great realization and life of Shakyamuni- Buddha. His attainment of the Way arose through the power of his own awareness on December 8 some 2500 years ago. We are grateful that, after his great enlightenment, the Buddha sought to help others understand by the power of their awareness what he knew from experience, especially his awakening to the Essential World the realm of Absolute Reality. Page 10

11 For some 45 years, the Buddha taught in practical, skillful ways about how to realize, manifest and live in accord with our Awakened Nature. He taught his monks: There is an unborn, an unoriginated, an unmade, an uncompounded. Were there not - oh mendicant monks - there would be no escape from the world of the born, the originated, the made, the compounded. His teachings parallel and support the Christian teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven we share. Christ said the Kingdom of Heaven is within each of us. He taught that the compassion we show others in the world, we show to him; and the compassion we withhold from others, we withhold from him. Shakyamuni-Buddha lived in accord with these teachings some 500 years BC. We recite this verse in honor of his attainment and in gratitude for his compassionate Way: The Buddha was born at Kapilavastu Attained the Way at Magadha, Preached at Varanashi, and Entered Nirvana at Kushingara. He attained the Way at Magadha, At this very place, Deep into the sacred ground, High into the empty sky, Broadly shading living things The tree of wisdom thrives By rain and soil and sunshine And, World Honored One, By your loving care that we maintain. Sensei bows before the altar and offers incense. Monitor Carolyn Moyer: Now the four recipient-bodhisattvas will evoke their bodhisattva names, bow three times before the altar, offer incense, and approach Sensei. The three bows are to: the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha we take refuge in the three treasures. The three bows are also to The pure precepts: refrain from all evil; practice all good; keep your mind pure and save the many beings thus all the Buddhas taught. And the three bows are also to The Zen Peacemaker tenets of not knowing, bearing witness, and loving action these are our skillful means for practicing wisdom and compassion in the world. Monitor sounds bells for the recipient-bodhisattvas evocations. Sensei greets and congratulates the recipient-bodhisattvas in order, giving each a card and gift. Sitting: Recipient-bodhisattvas: Sr. Doris Mical Thich Nhat Hanh ( Call Me By My True Names ); Yolanda Chetwynd Samantabhadra; Mike Shanahan Ksitigarbha; Ed Stokes Avalokiteshvara. Standing: Carole Andrews; Bruce Blackman; Carolyn Moyer. Page 11

12 Evoking the Bodhisattvas Names* Avalokiteshvara: We evoke your name, Avalokiteshvara. We aspire to learn your way of listening in order to help relieve the suffering in the world. You know how to listen in order to understand. We invoke your name in order to practice listening with all our attention and open-heartedness. We will sit and listen without any prejudice. We will sit and listen without judging or reacting. We will sit and listen in order to understand. We will sit and listen so attentively that we will be able to hear what the other person is saying and also what is being left unsaid. We know that just by listening deeply we already alleviate a great deal of pain and suffering in the other person. (Bell) Manjushri: We evoke your name, Manjushri. We aspire to learn your way, which is to be still and to look deeply into the heart of things and into the hearts of people. We will look with all our attention and openheartedness. We will look with unprejudiced eyes. We will look without judging or reacting. We will look deeply so that we will be able to see and understand the roots of suffering, through the impermanent and selfless nature of all that is. We will practice your way of using the sword of understanding to cut through the bonds of suffering, thus freeing ourselves and other species. (Bell) Samantabhadra: We evoke your name, Samantabhadra. We aspire to practice your vow with the eyes and heart of compassion, to bring joy to one person in the morning and to ease the pain of one person in the afternoon. We know that the happiness of others is our own happiness, and we aspire to practice joy on the path of service. We know that every work, every look, every action, and every smile can bring happiness to others. We know that if we practice wholeheartedly, we ourselves may become an inexhaustible source of peace and joy for our loved ones and for all species. (Bell) Ksitigarbha: We evoke your name, Ksitigarbha. We aspire to learn your way of being present where there is darkness, suffering, oppression and despair, so we can bring light, hope, relief, and liberation to those places. We are determined not to forget about or abandon those in desperate situations. We will do our best to establish contact with those who cannot find a way out of their suffering, those whose cries for help, justice, equality, and human rights are not being heard. We know that hell can be found in many places on Earth. We will do our best not to contribute to creating more hells on Earth, and to help transform the hells that already exist. We will practice in order to realize the qualities of perseverance and stability, so that, like the Earth, we can always be supportive and faithful to those in need. (Bell) Close of Bead Ceremony: chanting the Heart Sutra. *These evocations of the bodhisattvas names were kindly given to Blackman-Sensei for use in ZCB/Clare Sangha by the Ven Anh-Huong and husband Ven. Thu Nguyen of the Mindfulness Practice Center of Fairfax, VA. In 1992, they were among the first students ordained as meditation teachers by Master Thich Nhat Hanh (whose name was also evoked in the sixth bead ceremony). Page 12

13 Letters to Sangha President s Letter Dear Members and Friends, April, 2011 The ZCB/Clare Sangha has enjoyed new life and growth this year, thanks to your support. We continue diversifying offerings in response to the interests of our geographically dispersed Sangha. In 2010, we extended our links and joint practice offerings with like-minded groups in other traditions. These include the Baltimore Shambhala Center (Tibetan), Baltimore Dharma Group (Soto Zen Buddhist), and The Mindful Way (Insight Meditation). We thank these groups for their interest, teaching and cooperative spirit, and look forward to further collaboration on the road ahead. ZCB continues in the training of meditation mentors and the support of those undertaking Zen 108, which helps members strengthen home practice, sharpen concentration power, and find an onward lead in the Way. Popular yoga and exercise elements have been integrated into our zazenkai and sesshin schedules, thanks to the leadership of Josh Rothschild. We also thank sangha senior Peter Wechsler for crafting and giving the sangha a beautiful rosewood Han for use in our sesshins. The founding teachers Roshi Janet Richardson and Sensei Rosalie McQuaide joined us for part of our summer sesshin in July Thirty some participants came from several states to practice together, experiencing gratitude anew for the Founders teaching and support. One participant reflected that when gratitude is felt for what we receive, it is natural for us to be generous with others, and to share the dharma assets. ZCB remains grateful for the hospitality of the Trinitarians and their beautiful spiritual center in Pikesville, Md, where we continue to meet for retreats. Likewise, we appreciate the welcoming spirit of the Towson Unitarian Universalist Church for our collaborative events. Sadly, we remember and mourn the recent passing of Holy Trinity s Fr. Tom Cerulo, a kind supporter of ZCB. May his memory be blessed. This is the time of year we request member donations to help support the work of the Sangha. Donations are tax-deductible and used for facility rental, partial scholarships for retreats, teacher travel, insurance, supplies, mailings and related services. We seek to keep our annual request both affordable and sufficient for us to breakeven across the year s schedule of programs. The request this year is again set at $100 for members. With a contribution of $25 or more, you are a Friend of ZCB. All contributions are welcome and wellused, e.g. for partial scholarships in our challenging economic times. Please write checks to ZCB and send to: Zen Community of Baltimore, c/o Mark Wiess, Treasurer, 138 Chargeur Rd, Reisterstown, Md A stamped envelope is enclosed for your convenience. Along with your contribution, if you include a selfaddressed stamped envelope we will send you ZCB s Never Mind bookmark, in bright Kelly green and banner blue. May this year bring you blessings of peace, joy and the growing benefits of a Zen life. As ever, we hope to see you soon on a cushion near us! Sincerely, Carl Pohlner, ZCB President Treasurer s Letter Dear Sangha Members and Friends: April, 2011 I want to express the Board s sincere thanks and gratitude for your ongoing generosity towards our Zen community. Page 13

14 With your donations, we were able to meet our monthly obligations and to show a positive cash flow of $843 across the schedule of program events in This is our financial goal to break even while retaining a sufficient balance in case of unforeseen needs. As of December 31, 2010, the ZCB/Clare Sangha had approximately $4,520 in funds to meet our needs as a community, broken down as follows: $3,500 in operating cash funds and $1,020 for the Greg Hartley Foundation (scholarships). These funds are to meet recurring obligations and make funding advances required for upcoming program reservations. Again, thank you for your support as we continue developing our Zen community. Sincerely, Mark Wiess, ZCB Vice President & Treasurer -Married householder Mark Wiess resides in Reisterstown, MD, has two teenagers, and is Financial Services Director for a health care provider. He joined ZCB in 1997, and serves as our Vice President and Treasurer. Dharma Do s and Don ts Among the principal do s of our Way are to practice, realize and actualize (manifest) our Awakened Nature. A parallel formulation is to take the Noble Eightfold Path. This path comprises the practice of right understanding, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort or life-style, right mindfulness, and right absorption. It is in keeping with the insubstantial nature of the self; our mutual interdependence; and the sacred nature of each being. Principal don ts of our Way include the precepts of the daughters and sons of the Buddha: not to kill, or steal, or misuse sex, or lie, or give/take drugs, among others such as not speaking of others faults. These precepts are practiced for the purpose of concentration. Below is further guidance on what to do and not do in the Way. It comes from our life teachers world-wide past and present speaking from their experience. Page 14

15 Center Center your heart and cultivate your spirit. -Chinese Proverb LISTEN An interviewer asked Mother Teresa what she says to God when she prays. I don t say anything, she replied. I just listen. So the interviewer asked her what God says to her. He doesn t say anything, said Mother Teresa. He just listens. Sitting, Sitting, Sitting Experience The essence of Zen is Awakening. This is why one does not talk about Zen, One experiences it. - Thich Nhat Hanh in Zen Keys Page 15

16 Easy and Right Easy is right. Begin right And you are easy. Continue easy and you Are right. The right way to go easy Is to forget the right way And forget the way is easy. - Chuang Tzu True silence rests the mind, and is to the spirit the nourishment that sleep is to the body. - William Penn Practice Silence Two Mistakes There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting. Buddha Page 16

17 Zen Community of Baltimore/Clare Sangha 138 Chargeur Road Reisterstown, MD ZCB Schedule 2011 Days of Silence and Seasonal Sesshins January 15, Day of Silence, Towson Unitarian-Universalist Church February 19, Day of Silence, Holy Trinity Spiritual Center (Followed by ZCB Potluck Social) March 19, Day of Silence, Holy Trinity April 8-10, Spring Sesshin, Zen Mountain Monastery May 21, Day of Silence, Holy Trinity June 18, Day of Silence, Towson Church June 24-30, Summer Sesshin, Msgr. O Dwyer Retreat House July 23, Day of Silence, Holy Trinity August Summer Break September 17, Orientation/Zazenkai, Towson Church October 15, Day of Silence, Holy Trinity November 12, Day of Silence, Towson Church December 9-11, Autumn Sesshin, Holy Trinity Other Scheduled Events Orientation Workshops for newcomers and meditation mentors (contact info@zcbclaresangha.org) February 19 ZCB Potluck Social May 1 Buddha Day, With the Buddhist Network of Greater Baltimore May Annual Teachers Meeting of the White Plum Asanga August Annual Meeting of the American Zen Teachers Association Other Offerings Weekly Sitting: ZCB/Clare Sangha is linked with groups in the greater Baltimore area that meet for practice weekly. Additional Sesshin Training: ZCB/Clare Sangha is linked with groups (White Plum, Zen Peacemakers) holding retreats outside the greater Baltimore area. Page 17

18 ZEN COMMUNITY OF BALTIMORE CLARE SANGHA Bruce Seiryu Blackman, Sensei Carl Pohlner, President Mark Wiess, Vice President/Treasurer Kevin Lavey, Secretary Clay Alberty/Ed Stokes, Co-Registrars Rosalie Jishin McQuaide, csjp, Sensei and Senior Advisor Norman Saunders, Website Founder Pebble breaks the still surface of a pool; Wave crashes on a distant shore. Credits Page 4, Li Po poem/art; and page 14 Life Force Martha Graham: - Prison Phoenix Trust Newsletter, Oxford, England. Page 10, Sketch of Me and 108: Yolanda Chetwynd. Page 15, Sketch of Sitting, Sitting, Sitting (Self Portrait): - Sochu Suzuki Roshi (Courtesy of Yolanda Chetwynd) Page 18, ZCB Logo: Marjean Irwin. Page 19, Enso: Peggy Campbell. Page 18

19 ME? I LI KE THE OLD FASHIONED VALUES ZEN, YOGA, KUN G FU, WOMEN S LIB.... ZEN PEBBLE COMMITTEE Bruce Blackman Holly Blackman Brooks Kevin Lavey Page 19