The All Beings Zen Sangha welcomes and affirms all who come here to seek the Way, and who will work toward respectful acceptance of others across our many differences, harmonizing the one and the many. May all beings be happy!
Saturday January 22, 2022 – 2:30pm : Rev. Seigaku Amato will lead an online workshop on carving a “chop” (hanks) or name seal. Use this link to join. If asked for a password use 412621
Practice carving can be done with vegetables such as a carrot or potato!
Tuesday, January 18: Dharma Tea at 2pm led by our most recent former Shuso, Shōryū Christopher Leader on the topic of “Act in the Moment”. Shōryū will I’ll discuss acting now rather than trying to schedule one’s kindness/compassion/generosity. Use this link to join. If asked use this password 784873. As the norm we will begin with 5 minutes of silent tea drinking. All are welcome
Tuesday, January 11th: Dharma Tea at 2pm led by Myōshin Annie Markovich on the topic of “Bearing witness in Auschwitz”. In the late fall of 2021 Myōshin joined in an in-person and outdoor Sesshin (Zen Retreat) on the site of the former internment camp. This is one of many retreats of this type that Myōshin has participated in during of the years of her zen practice. Join us to learn about her profound experiences and insights. To join use this link. If asked for a password use 784873
January 8, 2022 – 2pm : Rev. Seigaku Amato joins ABZS for a discussion about his graphic book, The Complete Illustrated Guide to Zen. Use this link to join if asked for a password use 810749.
Here is the link to join us via the cloud zendo at 7PM for the All Beings Zen Sangha evening program. Tonight we will have short service followed by two periods of Zazen. We will have our monthly “pass the feather” sharing and we will close by chanting the Refuges.
If you are asked for a password please use this 641260
Please put your zoom in gallery mode, and keep your video link on while muting your mic until the end of the service – Feel welcome to face away from your device camera while keeping your presence visible in the frame for others in attendance to see and know you are there. Please refrain from moving your device around while others are sitting zazen with you.
Order of Service
Greeting by the Kokyo
Enmei Jukko Kannon Gyo
Heart Sutra in English
All Buddhas Chant
25 Minute Zazen Period
5 minute Kinhin (slow walking) or stretch
25 Minute Zazen Period
Four Great Vows
Pass the feather
Refuges in Pali
THE FOUR GREAT VOWS
Beings are numberless; I vow to save them.
Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow to end them.
Dharma Gates are boundless; I vow to enter them.
Buddha’s way is unsurpassable; I vow to become it.
Enmei Jukko Kannon Gyo
KAN ZEON
NA MU BUTSU
YO BUTSU U IN
YO BUTSU U EN
BUP PO SO EN
JO RAKU GA JO
CHO NEN KANZEON
BO NEN KANZEON
NEN NEN JU SHIN KI
NEN NEN FU RI SHIN
Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,
when deeply practicing prajña paramita,⨀
clearly saw that all five aggregates are empty
and thus relieved all suffering.
Shariputra,
form does not differ from emptiness,
emptiness does not differ from form.
Form itself is emptiness,
emptiness itself form.
Sensations, perceptions, formations,
and consciousness are also like this.
Shariputra,
all dharmas are marked by emptiness;
they neither arise nor cease,
are neither defiled nor pure,
neither increase nor decrease.
Therefore, given emptiness, there is
no form, no sensation, no perception,
no formation no consciousness;
no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue,
no body, no mind;
no sight, no sound, no smell, no taste,
no touch, no object of mind;
no realm of sight… no realm of mind consciousness
There is neither ignorance nor extinction of ignorance…
neither old age and death,
nor extinction of old age and death;
no suffering, no cause, no cessation, no path;
no knowledge and no attainment.
With nothing to attain,
a bodhisattva relies on prajña paramita,⨀
and thus the mind is without hindrance.
Without hindrance, there is no fear.
Far beyond all inverted views, one realizes nirvana.
All buddhas of past, present, and future
rely on prajña paramita ⨀ and thereby attain
unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.
Therefore, know the prajña paramita ⨀ as
the great miraculous mantra,
the great bright mantra,
the supreme mantra,
the incomparable mantra,
which removes all suffering
and is true, not false.
Therefore we proclaim the prajña paramita ⨀mantra,,
Join All Beings Zen Sangha for Zazen practice and a Dharma Talk offered by our abiding teacher Rev. Inryū Poncé-Barger on the topic of “Seeing what is in front of us as sacred”. Use this link to sign in. If asked for a password use 641260
Photograph by Shōryū Christopher Leader
Order of Service
Welcome from the Kokyo
Chanting of the “Song of the Grass Hut”
Dedication
30 minutes of Zazen
Inryū Sensei’s Dharma Talk
Chanting of the Refuges in Pali
Soanka: Song of the Grass Hut
I’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value.
After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap.
When it was completed, fresh weeds appeared.
Now it’s been lived in —covered by weeds.
The person in the hut lives here calmly,
Not stuck to inside, outside, or in-between.
Places worldly people live, he doesn’t live.
Realms worldly people love, she doesn’t love.
Though the hut is small, it includes the entire world.
In ten feet square, an old man illumines forms and their nature.
A Mahayana bodhisattva trusts without doubt.
Will this hut perish or not?
Perishable or not, the original master is present,
Not dwelling south or north, east or west.
Firmly based on steadiness, it can’t be surpassed.
A shining window below the green pines—
Jade palaces or vermilion towers can’t compare with it.
Just sitting with head covered all things are at rest.
Thus, this mountain monk doesn’t understand at all.
Living here she no longer works to get free.
Who would proudly arrange seats, trying to entice guests?
Turn around the light to shine within, then just return.
The vast inconceivable source can’t be faced or turned away from.
Meet the ancestral teachers, be familiar with their instructions,
Bind grasses to build a hut, and don’t give up.
Let go of hundreds of years and relax completely.
Open your hands and walk, innocent.
Thousands of words, myriad interpretations,
Are only to free you from obstructions.
If you want to know the undying person in the hut,
All Beings Zen Sangha Covid Protocol Effective December 22, 2021
In the spirit of our recent Ango, and for the time being All Beings Zen Sangha Board of Directors is updating our COVID protocol amidst the myriad concerns of the Omicron variant.
Over the next three weeks, the zendo will be closed for in-person/group practice. We will continue to offer our normal services over Zoom in our cloud zendo during this period. We will reassess this closure in early January and communicate a path forward to the sangha at that time.
We are aware that returning to all-online services may be difficult for some of you. If you need help navigating or have any issues with Zoom, please reach out and we will do our best to assist you. Inryu-Sensei will continue to be available for dokusan. If you would like to have a 1-on-1 meeting with Sensei please send an email to: inryu@allbeingszen.org.
In an effort to be proactive in our care for you and the space we practice in, the following changes are effective starting on Wednesday, December 22nd:
To attend in-person events, you will need to have received a booster shot in addition to the two-vaccines. A revised signature sheet will be provided for you to initial to this effect.
In-person events will require a KN95 or N95 mask. We have a small number of these available for distribution in the zendo but it would be helpful if you are able to get and bring your own KN95/N95 mask..
These decisions were not made lightly. We feel that ensuring your health and safety in our practice space is important, especially during this season of increased travel and exposure. We will continue to support your practice however we are able, and we will continue to post a link to our online practice events at www.allbeingszen.org. We hope to see you there.
Tuesday, December 21, 2021: 7pm – 8:15pm Solstice Service closing the Fall 2021 Practice Period.
Photo by Shōryū Chris Leader
Join ABZS in our cloud zendo for the end of the Ango closing ceremony. The ceremony will include the reciting of the Enmei Jukko Kannon Gyo chant 108 times, the recitation of the male and female Soto Zen Ancestors and the 2021 Benji Poem by our All Beings Zen Sangha Fall 2021 Practice Period Benji Kōryū Naomi Knoble. Use this link to join. If asked use the password 173700
Tuesday, December 21, 2021: Tuesday Tea at Two pm lead by EiShin Mike Barreda on the Topic of “Play as Practice? 2-2;45pm The first five minutes we will share together silently having tea. Use this link to join. If asked for a password use 784873
Mike
EiShin will use this poem in his presentation
Ryōkan Taigu (良寛大愚) (1758–1831) was a quiet and unconventional Sōtō Zen Buddhist monk who lived much of his life as a hermit.
First Days Of Spring – The sky First days of Spring-the sky is bright blue, the sun huge and warm. Everything’s turning green. Carrying my monk’s bowl, I walk to the village to beg for my daily meal. The children spot me at the temple gate and happily crowd around, dragging to my arms till I stop. I put my bowl on a white rock, hang my bag on a branch. First we braid grasses and play tug-of-war, then we take turns singing and keeping a kick-ball in the air: I kick the ball and they sing, they kick and I sing. Time is forgotten, the hours fly. People passing by point at me and laugh: “Why are you acting like such a fool?” I nod my head and don’t answer. I could say something, but why? Do you want to know what’s in my heart? From the beginning of time: just this! just this!
Dharma tea at 2pm led by Kōryū Naomi Knoble on the topic “The Paramita of Patience”. We will start with 5 minutes of silent tea drinking and conclude the discussion with the four great vows. Use this link to join. If asked for a password use 784873.
