January 2006

CONTENTS

UPCOMING EVENTS

Half day zazen-kai including a formal oryoki lunch are now held every fourth week from 8 a.m. to noon. Dates: Jan 29, February 26, March 26, 2006. Please make a donation to the sangha when you attend (recommended amount $10.)

Spring Zazen-kai with Eshin will be held April 7-9. There will be a Friday night introductory session from 7-9 p.m. open to the public, followed by a two day retreat. These events will be held at the new 3rd Ave. location.

A Vipassana retreat with Joanne Broatch will be held February 10-12 at UNBC Bentley Centre. The registration form is available here.

One day Vipassana retreats are now held occasionally at the 3rd Avenue location. Email johnjudy@shaw.ca to request notification of dates.

Links to Recommended Web sites

Visit Rinzaiji.org, web site of the head temple of our Zen group lineage, click on News for Newsletters or Sunday talks.

CONTACT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Edward (President)

John (assistant to the treasurer)

Judith (Newsletter editor)

Ken (Treasurer)

Larry

THE NEWS

On Sunday January 29 we are having a "grand opening" potluck lunch to celebrate the new downtown location, room 104 at the Spruce Capital Building, 1717 3rd Avenue. Spouses and friends are welcome. This follows the January 1/2 day zazen-kai on Sunday morning, so zazen-kai participants need to bring a pot luck contribution. There will not be an oryoki lunch that day. Doors open for lunch at 11:45. If you come late and the door is locked, please ring the bell.

Trudi, Edward, Ken, Richard, Kinnie and Judith painted our new room. Ken organized the painting in a hurry, doing the shopping, prep work, top coat, and clean up himself, including the nasty under the sink problem area. Richard, Gerry, Edward and Larry helped with the move. Donations included a floor lamp and new candle holders from John, a desk from Don, $50 from Eshin, a microwave from Judith. We still need one or two more floor lamps, a lockable donations box, two large coolers for food during retreats, and a coat stand for the storage area. A fan for summer, a vacuum cleaner, a crock pot or slow cooker, and a rice cooker would also be appreciated. Donations may be dropped off at the potluck or on Mon or Tuesday nights.

We continue to increase our visibility. There will be an introductory Zen workshop Jan 28, John continues to provide a strong Vipassana presence at UNBC, and we will launch our updated web site at http://www.bmsnbc.com on January 28. New glossy leaflets, inspired by Sarah Dowling's Tilopa publicity material, are being designed and printed. Many thanks to Tawnya for her consistent effort keeping our cyberspace presence up to date, designing our new logo, and working on new posters and flyers.

The February Vipassana retreat with Joanne Broatch is at UNBC (Bentley Centre) on February 10-12. Joanne Broatch has been practicing in the Theravada tradition since 1979 and teaching since 1994. Jack Kornfield has been her principal teacher. As in previous years there will be a free evening talk, for general audiences, on Friday the 10th, at 7:30 p.m. This year's talk is entitled “Quiet the Mind, Open the Heart: The Practice of Lovingkindness (Metta).” This will be followed by a weekend meditation retreat, fee $70, with catered vegetarian lunches. Click these links for the poster and registration form.

The dates of the April two day intensive practice with Eshin are April 7, 8 and 9. It will be held at the new Third Avenue location. Eshin is a Zen priest trained in the Rinzai Zen tradition by Joshu Sasaki, Roshi. Eshin strongly recommends that all Zen students attend for the full time: Friday 7:00-9:00 p.m., Saturday 5 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sunday 5 a.m. - 5 p.m., cleanup 5-5:30 p.m. Part time attendance can be arranged for those with other responsibilities (family, impending examinations, etc.) Zen students are encouraged to make a commitment as soon as possible (call 563-4199 or email buddhistinfo@hotmail.com), pay their $75 donation early, and plan around the date. A poster is available here, please distribute and post this in your communities closer to the time. All participants, friends and spouses are welcome to join us for an informal dinner with Eshin on Sunday after formal practice ends.

There are a lot of mistaken ideas about what Zen is. Sometimes these mistakes can hinder our practice with other people. It is necessary to negate our own small self, but when we negate other people we are just puffing our selves up at their expense. We need to stop "thinking too much," but we don't need to stop thinking, or to negate other people's thinking. We need to relate to others in a generous and constructive way, without self righteousness or rigidity. We are expected to carefully observe the forms of practice transmitted by our Zen teacher, without acting as if this is the only way to progress spiritually. When Zen students are rude to or dismissive of other people, we are not practicing Zen.

Ungan Kido Osho's article "Thinking Mind" in the Rinzai-Ji center's Winter 2005 Newsletter is helpful when considering how we relate to others. Kido says that a student of Zen needs to ask of each situation "How can I help? How can I throw myself away in this situation without personal concern"? Kido includes helpful comments on the meaning of the admonition not to "think too much," pointing out that the thinking mind "plays an integral and unavoidable role in spiritual development."

Rinzai-Ji's Winter 2005 Newsletter also contains a Teisho by Roshi in which he explores the concept of God from a Buddhist perspective. Like all Buddhist teachings these articles mean more when you have practiced more. Intensive practice in the tradition is needed. Do not expect to understand Kido or Roshi completely without it.

Directors please: keep the webmaster (tawnya-w@shaw.ca) posted when you change email addresses or phone numbers or leave town for extended periods, encourage newcomers to make the appropriate donation so we can pay the rent, have new people sign the guest book and include their email address, be careful not to let candle wax drip on the floor, lock the front door before starting formal practice at 7:15, and remember to turn the heat down to 60 when you leave.

I hope everyone had a good holiday season, see you at the January 29th potluck.

from the editor: Judith Johnson