New Year Begins

Fruit trees in the Central Valley, California

I didn’t especially choose Piedmont as my place of respite.  Rather, it was somewhat known, a place well located, and it was excellent to be in relationship to my daughter for this while.  It was startling on the drive down, once I’d entered California, how emotions that I’d forgotten came sweeping over me in the space of the wide landscape - emotions necessary to the artist in order to dream, to connect to myths, to understand vision and translate it into expression.  I felt I’d hindered some genuine articulation by living away from a topography that speaks to my soul.

It isn’t that I think I’ll do something great with art.  I simply want to remember how to contemplate in the natural way that I do.  As a teacher and leader, there is no choice but to put one’s own needs aside and care for what has to be done.  There is no room to grieve, no room to “simply be” even though that is what we teach.  People’s projections weigh heavily on our public leaders, teachers, ministers.  Can we imagine the weight of expectation and demand that we place on President Obama, and on other public people?  My heart aches for what the President, the human-being-man must carry.  Our Zen teachers are simple human beings, but still we weigh them down with who and what we want and think they should be, what we think “Zen” is.

I’ve come to deeply sympathize with the poet-priest Basho who also became abbot of a temple.  Numerous times in his life, he left the demands of the temple behind and went off for years at a time to find himself, to be in the world as a free agent, to be away from pastoral care and listen to the sound of the wide world, to walk where no one knew him, to recover the heart of compassion, to live in a natural way.  Because of this we have his great travel poems and we have an example of the priest-artist who must live his art in order to survive.

So, for better or worse, here I am for the next three months.  This is where I hang my hat.

Arrived in Piedmont

At a rest stop along the way.  Couldn't help noticing sunshine and blue sky.

The amount of water on the freeway was stunning.  White knuckles all the way with a two lane highway with trucks on the right throwing up water and cars going northbound throwing water up over the median barrier.  The wipers couldn't flick fast enough.  But, my timing was excellent for snow:  no chains, no snow on the road and just ahead of a major blizzard in the Siskiyous and Shasta.

My first night in California I stayed at the Comfort Inn in Redding.  Very nice, comfortable, spacious, hospitable.  Still the rain pummeled the city, but by morning the sky was California blue and the sun California golden.  On the open road for the remainder of the drive, wide, wide fields opened out to faraway mountains.  This went on for several hours and brought out flashes of memories of wandering in meadows in this landscape.  It’s where I feel at home.  It's dangerous to weep while driving.

Today is December 30^th.  I have a few things to iron out to fully settle in, but it’s a good place to sleep with an excellent bed.  Nearly as quiet at night as it is at Olympia Zen Center.  It’s a corner apartment and the way the building is arranged, I have no walled neighbors, only someone downstairs who is very quiet.  So, I have tremendous privacy.  No need for shades or curtains since I don’t look into anyone’s windows.  There are good views from every window.  It’s a very homey place with livable paintings, some quite nice and many done by the fellow who lives here who is going to Asia for three months.

View from the kitchen window.

The location is excellent with a busy village two blocks away.  My daughter says the area should be called Piedmont and not Oakland, but the post office calls it Oakland.  A huge and interesting cemetery is just up the street and it provides good walking trails.  At the top there is a grand view of the whole of San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate and the Bay Bridge.  It’s a fine day here, just the tail end of a wind storm that hit central and southern California.  I’m off to explore.

What it takes...

December 8th is the day we celebrate the Buddha's Awakening, so some people call it Enlightenment Day, or Bodhi Day.  It has a good feel to it.  It feels high spirited and special the way a birthday feels.  So last night in the Zendo, someone asked an interesting question.  He said if the Buddha had this great enlightenment and became this influential person with a way to overcome suffering, how did he know what to do to get there?

I explained that I felt very strongly that the Buddha didn't know what to do or how to get there.  He had struggled for many years and explored various avenues to try to find an answer to the dilemma of suffering, but his steadfast confidence took him through the difficulties that brought him to the great insight of the Four Noble Truths.  In Buddhism the word "steadfast" really means "faith" so the Buddha had faith in his own Self, faith in the ongoing activity of compassion which propelled him to resolve the problem of suffering.  He had confidence that through effort in the search, he would find an answer.

We have the same ability in our own lives, in our own dilemmas, to find the answer and gain insight into any life problem.  Steadfast confidence in the (big) Self will steer us in the right direction.  Of course, we have to be willing to put immense effort into right focus, right concentration, in order to place ourselves in the yeast that will give rise to insight.  We can't expect that we will just be handed an answer simply because we want one.  Sincere and steadfast effort is called for.  Practicing with steadfast confidence brings us happiness.  Please don't take my word for it.  This is what the Buddhas says.  The Buddha also says, if you want to know about steadfast confidence, please find out for yourself.

In this way, the Buddha was very practical and logical.  All that he learned and experienced is also available to us through our practice.  He clearly taught that we too can experience happiness.

Happy Thanksgiving

With blessings to one and all on Thanksgiving Day and throughout the holiday season.
This is a view of Gogo-an earlier this week when we received our first snowfall of the winter.  Frigid temperatures followed and the landscape remains wintry and picturesque. 


On Wednesday evenings, we always chant the Heart Sutra, and following this we offer a dedication of our practice.  On this Thanksgiving Day, I'm including here, in brief, those expressions of gratitude as they have deep meaning and intention for us all.   


For Our Many Benefactors

We celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Dharma which bring light and hope to the many realms of suffering, and lead to ease and joy.  These teachings are offered here at Ryoko-an because of the goodness and generosity of all our many benefactors.

 We offer the merit of this chant to all those who aid and support our temple through myriad expressions of generosity.  May all our benefactors gain wisdom and compassion from all they meet and may our sincere vows to practice together be realized in the Enlightened Way.

For the Welfare of Families and Children

We celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Dharma which bring light and hope to the many realms of suffering, and lead to ease and joy.  These teachings are offered here at Ryoko-an in recognition of the many families who support our practice.

We offer the merit of this chant to all families and particularly to the health and welfare of children.  May all families receive the protection of the Dharma and be shielded from misfortune and disaster.  May we in our sincere vows to practice together, exemplify the teachings of Buddha and realize the Enlightened Way.

For Those Courageous Enough to Lead Us in Governments Throughout the World

We celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Dharma which bring light and hope to the many realms of suffering, and lead to ease and joy.  These teachings are offered here at Ryoko-an in recognition of the effort of all those courageous enough to lead us in governments throughout the world.

We offer the merit of this chant that those who take leadership positions may be led by wisdom and truth.  May our nations learn to live in peace.  May we in our compassionate practice keep the mind of hope and dignity alive in support of justice and equality and may our sincere vows to practice together be realized in the Enlightened Way.

Poem for Veterans' Day

Each year at Veterans's Day or on Memorial Day I post a poem by my brother John Carney who is a Vietnam Veteran.  He writes poems about military patriotism and poems that question war.

WHO UNDERSTANDS

  

                                    John Carney 5/29/2010

Who fully understands

The meaning of this day?

The parents, spouses, sons and daughters 

Who waved them on their way? 

Is it the comrades in their midst  

Who saw them where they lay?

Many do not comprehend

And some may not even care

That the sacrifice that was made

Is a bond that others share.

And this is not a matter

It is not the important thing

As they laid down their lives

That only some then felt the sting.

What is important for us all to know

and to realize in some way  

Is that the meaning of this time 

Though passion only some display,

Is we are a country, we are a people

And this liberty we hold so dear

Is kept alive by our willingness

To respond when threats appear.

It may be arguable or seem wrong

And with that make some outcry

Against the leaders and their acts

Have them explain their reasons why.

But do not let this day go by

Without some pause for thought

For the fallen and their loved ones

And their comrades who also fought.

As as a nation, as a people

And our actions in this world

We should recognize and honor

Today when the flag's unfurled.

It's one time we should all realize

It doesn't matter if you fully understand

But take some time to respect such cost! 

They died in service of our great land! 

Priest in Need of a Car

A priest in Washington on a very low income is in need of a car since her car died of old age.

If you have a car you were thinking of selling and would consider donating to a great cause, please notify us through the website

olympiazencenter.org   "contact us" page

or telephone
360-357-2835

Zen Translation Forum

This coming weekend, San Francisco Zen Center will present The Zen Translation Forum, a program celebrating the publication of SHOBOGENZO, edited by Kaz Tanahashi and including a host of translators and scholars.


The program will be held at three venues in San Francisco:  City Center, Fort Mason, and Green Gulch.  The afternoon programs will be on Live Stream and you may tune in and enjoy the panel discussions and presentations from wherever you are.



I will be presenting on Sunday afternoon at Green Gulch.  My subject is Dogen's View of Women and I'll speak about that, of course, and also present the book project that Soto Zen women priests are working on.


The Live Stream will be broadcast from 2 to 5 p.m. on November 6 and 7, 2010.

To access the SF Zen Center channel page for the live stream, please visit:
 SF Zen Center at LiveStream

You may also find information on Facebook