newsletter
Winter 2009-10
Dashing to Dokusan
A misty autumn morning
Tjingelingeling, boing boing
Feet rushing wet grass
Swoosh swoosh
Opening the door squeak
Entering sacred space
Meeting face to face
The masters of old
Via the ancient way
Who was it that entered
What is it that came out
Tjingelingeling boing boing
Gakudo
Before dawn
Dark secret night
Two lamps meet
One light
Taian
Zen River Kitchen
Prepare:
Poached Stove Pears
Peel & slice the pears length-wise into eighths. Trim out
the core. Set aside.
6 cooking pears (or firm conference pears)
Using a pestle & mortar, crush the cinnamon sticks &
cardamom pods with their seeds,
500ml red grape juice (druivensap)
Zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
3 star anise
3 cinnamon sticks
12 cloves
20 cardamom pods
2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoon dried rosemary
Juice of half a lemon
Honey to taste
Make a tisane by adding the crushed cinnamon sticks,
cardomom seeds, cloves, star anise, lemon zest &
ginger in a small pot with 300 ml water. On a low
heat, simmer for 20 - 30 minutes. Add a little water if
needed. Turn off the heat, add the thyme & rosemary.
Cover with a lid & steep five - six minutes. Strain well.
In a large pot with a lid combine the strained tisane
with the grape juice. On medium heat, bring to a low
simmer.
Place the sliced pears into the pot with the juice, cover
& return to a simmer, stirring occasionally to allow
even cooking. Conference pears need only return to
the boil. Cooking pears simmer 10 - 15 minutes. They
should be al dente when pricked with a cocktail stick.
Add lemon juice & honey to taste.
Serve with quark or ice cream, as a breakfast or dessert.
Navigating Zen
by
Tenkei Coppens Roshi
Master Ummon was asked,
“What is Zen?” He answered,
“Is it all right to get rid of this
word?” Obviously Zen is a tricky
word that can cover many things,
particularly in our day and age.
It is a bit like “art” or “music”.
When you say, “My aunt is an
artist”, or “She plays the piano”
we don’t quite know what that means. It gives us some
indication about what she is doing, but it does not tell us
much about the style or the quality of her art or music. The
same is true for Zen. There are so many different methods
and levels, accommodating so many different intentions,
it can be quite bewildering. No wonder the great masters
have always been as meticulous as possible to not only give
guidelines about how to practice Zen, but also to provide
the framework in which it can flourish.
For example Master Cijao of Changlu, who lived in
eleventh century China, starts his practice manual with a
strong exhortation: “Those who aspire to enlightenment
and who would learn wisdom should first arouse an attitude
of great compassion and make an all-encompassing vow to
master concentration, promising to liberate other people,
not seeking liberation for your own self alone. Then and
only then should you let go of all objects and put to rest all
concerns.” The implication is that cultivating a clear vision is
absolutely essential before even starting.
Master Chinul, the great twelfth century reformer of
Korean Zen, takes great pain to clarify the various elements
of training that need to accompany meditation in order for
it to be effective. He particularly researches the relationship
between meditation and study. In his day and age the study
of Buddhist texts received more attention than meditation,
and he tried hard to remedy that imbalance. In that sense he
very much reminds us of Dogen Zenji, who pursued a similar
objective in Japan a century later. They both believed in a
balanced recipe of practice. Master Chinul asserts that if you
only look into yourself without any guidelines, you end up
with “idiotic” Zen. And if you only study texts and never
read your mind, you end up with “crazy” wisdom.
Dogen Zenji is the champion of zazen but even for him just
sitting is not enough. He outlined an extremely meticulous
schedule for training to make sure that his vision could be
followed and enacted as accurately as possible. In a way, it
is obvious; without being informed by the strong vision of
those who delved into the mind before us, our efforts may
never bear fruit, however much we meditate. Without this
vision there is actually very little incentive to “let go of all
objects and put to rest all concerns”.
When we were living in Salt Lake City, we used to do
outdoor retreats in the desert of southern Utah, not far from
a place called Dead Horse Point. It is a must-see when you
are in the area as it offers a spectacular view of the Colorado
River. One time we went there, looked into the canyon and
thought it was totally grand. I was very happy and returned
to our campsite one great experience richer. I actually went
back twice because I loved it so much. But after some time
a slight suspicion came up because I heard somebody talk
about Dead Horse Point and it didn’t quite sound like what
we had seen. So we went back once more only to realize
that we hadn’t gone far enough. In these national parks there
are different viewpoints and we had only seen the first one
– just the edge of the canyon, not the full works. The real
deal was quite a bit further; and once we got there, it was
obvious that we had finally reached Dead Horse Point. It’s
a place you never forget. Yet without my intuition being
challenged, I would have missed it.
The same is true for Zen practice. Without the vision and
guidelines of our ancestors, we can easily miss the point!
In fact, it seems to me that half of our practice is finding
out how to actually do this practice. The other half is really
doing it. But the how is not always so clear. Even with
general guidelines, the maps of old that give us direction
and challenge us to go beyond what we know, we may still
find it difficult to see how to apply these guidelines in reallife situations. That is of course the reason the Zen tradition
emphasizes so much the intimate connection with a teacher,
someone who brings that vision to life and makes sure we
don’t get stuck in our own viewpoints. We have often talked
about that in terms of music. Imagine that you have never
heard anybody play Mozart, but you have the sheet music
and you just start to play. However precious your sheet
music is, it still would be very difficult, if not impossible
to transform it into Mozart’s music without the help of an
experienced musician. In fact the essence of Mozart’s music
could never have been transmitted throughout the ages
without its being played over and over again.
One of the ways the vision of Zen has been formulated is
through the koan collections. They are the sheet music of Zen
masters. Here we can find the message of the masters and
learn how to accord with that message. Koans also provide
a mighty communication tool for one-on-one encounters
between teacher and student, as they enact the wisdom
that is wrapped in them. No wonder Maezumi Roshi had
such high regard for koans. I heard him say several times,
“I looove koans!” Sometimes koans are called “examples”
since they provide a model for relating to life’s situations
far beyond our conventional patterns. We learn to identify
Continued on page 4
Fall 2009 fundraiser
Don’t these plans from the local architect’s bureau JUK
speak for themselves? They show a grand new zendo that can
easily seat forty-four, simply by adding an extention of three
metres to the current zendo. In our initial design, most of
the present outside wall was left intact. Later, Julio Martínez
Calzón, a Madrid sangha member and expert engineer,
envisioned removing the whole wall and supporting the
ceiling with two colomns. JUK elaborated on this idea.
This means the inside of the zendo becomes one
uninterrupted space. As for the two columns, their position
is, coincidentally, perfectly in accord with Japanese temple
design; they even have a function during services. From the
outside the new zendo will be in tune with the local building
style and look like a spacious sun-room, a traditional feature
of the Groningen farms.
Estimated costs for this renovation are roughly between
€80.000 and €100.000, depending on the amount of work
we can do ourselves. A detailed calculation is in the making.
We hope to finance about half of the costs directly from
savings and annual fundraisers. The Triodos bank has already
agreed to grant a loan to cover the rest. Last year’s Fall
fundraiser collected about €15.000 with donations coming
in up till very recently(!) If things continue the way they are
going, construction work could start as early as March or
April 2010.
All donations great and small are very welcome, and are
tax deductable. Thank you very much for your generosity.
Gassho,
Netherlands: Zen River, Postbank 9233632
International: ABN Amro Zen River 587056177, Swift Code: ANL2A. IBAN: NL39 ABN A0 587056177. BIC-code: ABN ANL 2A.
Winter Ango November 29 - February 27, 2010
The Shuso (head monk) of this Winter Ango will be Helma Jifu Vulink. Helma has
been practicing Zen for many years and has lived in Zen River since 2006. After a
career in drama and raising a family with two children, Helma now devotes herself
completely to the dharma and is one of the pillars of the Zen River community. She
received monastic ordination in 2007. We are very happy to see her in her new role
as Shuso. The Hossenshiki (ceremony concluding Ango) will be held at 11:30am on
February 27.
Continued from page 2
with the characters of the koan and the specific issues they
are dealing with, and by doing so we internalize the vision
of Buddhist teaching. That is why it is so important to work
on a koan with your whole being and to allow the vision it
represents to become your life itself. In other words, we need
all our faculties involved; our head alone is not enough.
This is true of course for many aspects of our life. Take
for example the simple fact of digestion. For digestion to be
successful we need our whole body and mind. We cannot rely
on our heads only, just putting food in our mouth, keeping it
there and hoping it will satisfy us. We have to swallow and
allow the food to find its way down. Our own body and
mind are a complete system with incredible intelligence, far
beyond what the head alone could ever understand. Just
imagine the mess we would be in if we tried to understand
and control every detail of our digestion. It would definitely
take all the fun out of eating! Now, if eating and digestion as
a response to the need for food already involves our whole
system, how on earth can we expect to find a response to
the question of life and death by only thinking? I am not
talking about minor issues here, I am talking about the big
ones! Somebody asked me some time ago, “Does Zen solve
your problems?” I said, “No, it actually gives you one -- but
a really good one!” Not all these silly little problems that
can keep us busy all the time, but the really big ones that
we need to look at and work on, and that we almost never
get to. Like “What is this?” Or “Who am I?” Or “What am
I supposed to do?” “What is life, what is death?” We call it
the great matter of life and death. That is just one way of
putting it, but it sounds like a big problem. Is there anything
more important? Could you say, “I‘m not dealing with the
matter of life and death today, I have more important things
to do”?
Some time ago somebody asked me, “What are all these
koans for? I mean, I have problems enough. Why do I have
to figure out what my face was before my parents were
born?” The surprising thing is, if you really find out what
your true face is, your life becomes a lot easier, not only
for yourself but also for others! You start to see your life
as the life of the Buddha, with the vision of a buddha. But
to do so, you have to turn around and step backward, far
into your own mind, to the place before any distinctions are
made. Then when you turn around again and navigate your
life from that perspective, you find yourself navigating a
different life. In that sense most koans are testing questions,
to see whether you have stepped back far enough, whether
you have been able to go beyond the limitations we usually
put upon ourselves. How do you pour a five-storied pagoda
out of a teapot? How do you pull Mount Fuji out of your
breast pocket? These may sound like funny questions, but
they can test if you can deal with situations while not coming
from your conditioned mind. Would that be of any help in
your life? True, these koans do sound absurd; but isn’t life
absurd when you really look at it? We’re all glued to this
little ball called ‘Earth’, and the thing turns and turns while
nothing is holding it. It just floats freely in space and spins
around like nobody’s business. Nobody knows where it’s
going. One day it will crash, that is for sure. So what do we
do here? And how much time do we have to do it?
Turning our own light inward and addressing the big issue
requires the effort of our whole being. And yet it is the most
natural thing to do. We actually long to go there, it is a very
deep desire. It is like wanting to go home. Of course you
can say, wait a minute, I have all kinds of issues. I mean,
I’m not happy, I’m stressed out and my husband ran off.
Or I lost my job, I’m very jealous, or I’m very scared all
the time. I have all these problems I would like to figure
out first, before I look in. Well then, go ahead. There is
nothing wrong with trying to improve yourself and gain
more confidence. Mindfulness is very good for that. Pay
attention. Pay attention not only to your failings but also
to your qualities. Dare to admit your potential, and also
where you make mistakes. But the problem is, if you always
come from a self oriented perspective, you will never be
totally satisfied. You will always try to live up to some ideal
you have in your head based on your self-image; and it will
always be limited. You will always feel like you’re falling
short, and end up trying to improve more and more. Endless
rounds of self-improvement…I get tired just thinking of it.
In Zen we work on ourselves, but it is just not on the
self we know. In fact, we are encouraged to forget the self
we know. And since there is so much more to our true self
than we know, we can open to a vastly greater perspective.
We can improve ourselves without becoming tired all the
time because when we really turn our own light inward, we
discover that we are complete and perfect from the very start!
It gives us a very different perspective, not only of ourselves,
but also of – bless them – others! You look around and just
see buddhas having a hard time. Having a hard time, but
buddhas nevertheless. You start to see our innate perfection
while simultaneously seeing how we continuously mess up.
Then when you try to do something, you don’t need to try
to make things perfect. They already are! You just try hard
not to mess up, which is a very different approach.
I remember this was a big thing to learn as an artist.
Stretching a large canvas on a frame was quite a job, and
once it was all done it was impossible not to take some time
enjoying the beauty of it; such a strong and yet delicate
shiny white surface. Even the smell was wonderful. People
would visit my studio and say, “Ah, Belgian linen, isn’t it?” A
good canvas feels so beautiful, like skin, I always wanted to
tap on it a little, tacatacatac. It would give an almost erotic
sensation. No doubt, a fresh canvas is totally perfect as it
is. Nobody can argue. So then, what are you going to do?
I used to almost pee in my pants! How to paint something
and not spoil this perfection? It can happen really fast! Before
you know it, you’ve made a mess. You can try to return
things to some kind of perfection, but it’s really hard to get
it back. Finally, I had to change my strategy. Rather than
trying to create something perfect, I just worked hard not
to lose its innate perfection. In the meantime it was always
reassuring that whatever I would smudge onto the canvas,
however terrible the painting would look, that immaculate
white Belgian linen was still sitting there underneath!
In zazen we have an ace opportunity to return to our
true self over and over again. And however we mess up,
it is always sitting underneath. However stuck I might find
myself, in opinions, judgements, criticisms, confused by
all kinds of notions of right and wrong, lost in details and
responding from a self-serving perspective rather than from
an open and flexible one, I can always return home.
Zazen is like an open goal. In fact there is no real excuse
for not scoring a goal. Imagine you are in soccer team and
everybody has worked hard to get the ball forward as far
as possible. Suddenly you have it right in front of you; you
are in a prime position, in the right place at the right time,
in front of the goal. This game has not lasted just an hour
or so, this game has been going on for aeons. Lifetime after
lifetime this ball has been pushed forward. How many lives
have been lived in order for you to have this life? Now the
ball is in front of your feet. A lot of people are watching,
cheering you on. Simultaneously there are forces from the
opposite camp trying hard to distract you. You may not feel
like the best soccer player in the world; in fact you have
strong doubts. Perhaps you don’t feel so well today; perhaps
you first want to know where this ball came from; perhaps
you feel totally vulnerable and exposed. Yet here you are!
What are you going to do? The goal turns out to be as big
as the world, but you do have to shoot!
Spanish Sangha
Zen River Madrid is now into its sixth year and continues to flourish. Tenkei Roshi & Myoho Sensei visit every April,
to find fine weather, good food and a lively and appreciative reception at workshops. The sangha meets twice a week
to sit zazen and once a month for a zazenkai, which includes listening to a recorded dharma talk of Roshi. Regular
video conferences keep students in touch with him and provide an introduction for newcomers. While these video
conferences are very inspiring, they don’t substitute for face-to-face working with the teacher.
The main reason why the Spanish
sangha thrives is because its roots are
firmly planted in the rich soil of Zen
River in Holland. Many members of
the sangha have visited Zen River at
least once and some come two or
three times a year. Three members
have received jukai: Marisa Emyo
Gonzalez, Concha Eisho Gonzalez
and myself. Jorge Ryusho Lopez
Doriga, one of Roshi’s senior students,
initiated the Madrid Zendo and has
now moved to Lima, Peru and started
a Zen River group there.
Paul Taian Davies
Zen River Atelier
May he have a swift passage
Visit www.zenriver.nl
& follow “Atelier” for more information
Or call tel. +31 (0)595 435039
Two bows, Fifth time this koan,
No clue anymore. Any smile? No.
Trying something half-heartedly.
What does that gesture mean?
Something comes up, I dare to do it.
Smiling the bell. Next koan. Two bows.
Fugan
Special Everyday Event
The daily schedule is still gaining in popularity. Many
members discover that the daily grind has its own
advantages. It also provides a great opportunity for
various meditation groups to join together for a few
days and receive special attention. Over the last year
Egbert Oosterbroek and his sitting group, members
of the Venwoude community, Friederike Boissevain’s
group and a delegation of the Düsseldorf Sangha
visited Zen River. Later this month Dirk Beemster with
his group from Hoorn will come over for a weekend.
Caught in the claws of the crouching dragon,
One on one for the sake of no one.
Intimacy in the ten directions
Reveals even the most obscured.
Senko
with
November 19 - 23
Dukes Barn, Beeley, UK
Genshin Sensei
To request a digital flyer
please contact: kannonji.temple@gmail.com
Great Sangha Gathering
With Genpo Roshi
January 12 - 20, Ameland
info: www.genpo.org
November 7-------------------------------Visit Dr. Witteveen
November 19 --------------------------------Teisho Den Haag
November 28 - February 27-----------------Winter Ango
November 28 - December 5-------------------------Rohatsu
December 27 - Jan. 1, ‘10----------------New Year Sesshin
January 12 - 20------------------Great Sangha Gathering
February 6-----------------------------------------------Zazenkai
February 20 - 27---------------------Ango Closing Sesshin
February 28 - March 7-----------No scheduled activities
Spring 2010
March 13--------------------------------Zazenkai Düsseldorf
March 28, 14:00 --------------------------------Open House
April 2 - 4 ------------------------Buddhas’ Birthday Sesshin
April 18----------------------------------------Zazenkai Madrid
May 1 - 6 ---------------------------------Sakura Jukai Sesshin
May 28 - June 3----------------------------------British Week
May 28 - 30 ----------------------------------Two Day sesshin
Summer 2010
June 10 ---------------------------------------Teisho Den Haag
June 19-------------------------------------------Intro Zazenkai
July 17 - 22----------------------------------------Family Week
July 31 - August 28 -------Summer Month-long Sesshin
July 31 - Aug 5 ------------------Part one
August 7 - 12---------------------Part two
August 14 - 19 -------------------Part three
August 21 - 28-------------------Part four
August TBA-----------------Simonszand Outdoor Retreat
Aug 29 - Sep 5---------------------- No scheduled activities
Fall 2010
September 11-------------------------------------Intro Zazenkai
September 25----------------------------Zazenkai Duesseldorf
October 2 - 9 ------------------------------Fall Jukai Sesshin
October 29 - 31------------------------------Weekend Sesshin
November 18 --------------------------------Teisho Den Haag
November 27 - December 4--------------------------Rohatsu
Running, running with great haste,
Absolutely no time to waste.
To face the lion in his den,
Do I dare to steal his zen?
Put at stake my dreams and ideas?
Stir up everything that seems at ease?
I take the light and carry it fast
This golden chance will not last.
Koren
Tel. +31 (0)595 435039
Autumn Retreat
Winter 2009 / 10
zenriver@zenriver.nl
Sunday: 11:00 Dogen study group / 19:00 Public Service
Monday: 19:30 River of Zen (Zen texts thru the Ages)
Tuesday: 16:00 Right Speech Class / 19:30 Intro. Class
Wednesday: 19:30 Zazen & Teisho
Calendar of Events 2009-10
www.zenriver.nl
Saturday - Wednesday:
4:55 Wake up / 5:30 Zazen / 7:30 Service
8:00 Breakfast / 9:00 Samu / 13:00 Lunch / 14:00 Rest
16:00 Study / 17:00 Exercise / 18:00 Supper
19:30 Zazen / 21:15 Four Vows / 22:00 Lights out
to the other shore
CONTACT: Zen River, Oldörpsterweg 1, 9981 NL Uithuizen, Netherlands.
Hand-Tailored
Meditation Supplies
John Daido Loori, Roshi
1931 - 2009