BHZ Monday Zazenkai

Mondays at 3 p.m. Pacific time in the Zoom Zendo.  

In August use Friday order of service.

(Doan/Kokyo part is in blue text. Turn on "original sound for musicians" at the beginning of each zazenkai.)

     Order of Service (Doan/Kokyo's part in blue).

     Three Periods of Zazen 

Doshi rises, goes to altar, places rakusu on head 👏
kokyo: “Robe Verse” (first four lines only, in English)
Great robe of liberation, field far beyond form and emptiness, wearing the Tathagata’s teaching, saving all beings.
doshi makes offering then moves to bowing position
doshi deep bow (No Bells), deep bow,  deep bow
          bows to altar    🔔.    bows to seat     🔔  bows to center  🔔 
3:10  after doshi is settled, doan: “Zazen”
3:30 🔔 🔔 “Kinhin” 🔔
3:40 after doshi is settled, “Zazen” 🔔 🔔 🔔
4:00 🔔 🔔  “Kinhin” 🔔 
4:10 after doshi is settled,“Zazen” 🔔 🔔 🔔
4:30 🔔 signals end of zazen

     Service

doshi rises, goes to altar, makes offering then moves to bowing position
kokyo: “Three bows, in your own way”
🔔 all bow,    🔔 all bow,    🔔 all bow
👏 doshi faces altar in gassho
kokyo announces sutra
sangha recites sutra
👏 at end of sutra
kokyo reads Long Eko:
We dedicate our practice today to: Memorial List
doshi deep bow
And to all those who have died in natural and human-made disasters, racism, extreme weather events, climate change, war, disease, conditions, poverty, and acts of terror, violence, persecution, and indifference.

Recognizing Buddha Nature manifested in their precious lives, as in our own precious lives, we pray that the benefits of their and our own positive actions of body, speech, and mind may continue, and that all harmful karma may be swiftly brought to peace. 

👏 doshi rises

We also dedicate our practice today for the wellbeing of those suffering from the ongoing effects of trauma -- childhood abuse and neglect, systemic racism, climate change, poverty, disease, conditions, war, and acts of terror, violence, persecution, and indifference. And especially for: Wellbeing List

May they, and we, find wisdom and serenity in the midst of difficulties and be free from hindrance.

kokyo chants:
May all beings realize the Awakened Waaay. 🔔
All Buddhas throughout space and time, 🔔
doshi goes to altar
All honored ones, Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas, 🔔  
doshi makes offering at altar 
Wisdom beyond wisdom,
doshi moves to bowing position
Maha Prajna Paramita
kokyo drops pitch at last syllable “ta” to indicate end of chant 
🔔 o o o ooooooooo
kokyo announces: “Three Bows, in your own way.” 
🔔 all bow, 🔔 all bow, 🔔 all bow
doshi bows to altar,     🔔    bows to seat,      🔔    bows to camera 🔔

Dharma time

1^st Monday: Tea & conversation or topic -- all comers invited

2^nd Monday: Koan

3^rd Monday: Tonglen practice followed by chanting

· Led by Dolkar alternating with Mary Ann

· Chanting led by Doko or practice leader

4^th Monday: Metta practice followed by chanting

· Led by Kishin alternating with Kenshin, or Dainei

· Chanting led by Doko or practice leader

Om mani pedme OMMm
mani pedme Hum
Om mani pedme Hum
Om mani pedme Hum

Refuges

I take refuge in Buddha. May all beings
embody the great way, resolving to awaken.

I take refuge in Dharma. May all beings deeply
enter the teachings, wisdom like an ocean.

I take refuge in Sangha. May all beings
support harmony in the community, free from hindrance.

or:

Pali Refuges
 

Buddham Saranam Gacchami
Dhammam Saranam Gacchami
Sangham Saranam Gacchami

Dutiyampi Buddham Saranam Gacchami
Dutiyampi Dhammam Saranam Gacchami
Dutiyampi Sangham Saranam Gacchami

Tatiyampi Buddham Saranam Gacchami
Tatiyampi Dhammam Saranam Gacchami
Tatiyampi Sangham Saranam Gacchami

 

 

 

Key:
(X) = “Clunk”
(O) = Bell (usually takes place before an action)
Ooooooooooooooooo is called a roll down. Imagine dropping a ping pong ball on the table and imitating the successively shorter intervals between bounces until it kind of dribbles . A rolldown is usually done to indicate an ongoing movement such as the doshi unfurling and laying out their zagu, or the doshi walking from the altar to the head of the mat while the sangha moves into position (e.g. from sitting/kneeling to standing) prior to making bows.

During successive periods of zazen and kinhin, a period of either form of meditation ends with 2 bells if it will be followed by another period of either form of meditation. The doan sounds only 1 bell to indicate the end of a period that will be followed by something other than zazen or kinhin (e.g. Service or a talk.)

BHZ Friday Zazenkai

(Currently, BHZ Friday Zazenkai takes place Fridays at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time in the Zoom Virtual Zendo. Kokyo/Doan part is in blue)

Friday Zazenkai Order of Service

 

8:30         Doshi rises, moves to altar, places rakusu on head   

👏 Kokyo announces and recites “Robe Verse (one time):” 

Great robe of liberation, field far beyond form and emptiness, wearing the Tathagata’s teaching, saving all beings. 

Doshi makes offering & moves to bowing position
Doshi bows, (No Bells) Doshi bows, Doshi bows
     Doshi bows to altar,  🔔  bows to seat, 🔔 bows to center 🔔

                                                   

8:32             After doshi is settled, Doan announces: “Zazen”

9:00             🔔🔔    “Kinhin”

9:10             🔔 (to end kinhin); after doshi is settled; “Zazen” 🔔🔔🔔

9:30            🔔🔔    “Kinhin”   

9:40         🔔 (to end kinhin); after doshi is settled; “Zazen” 🔔🔔🔔 
10:00         🔔 signals end of zazen

 

Service:

 

Doshi rises, makes offering, then moves to bowing position

kokyo announces sutra 
sangha recites sutra
👏 at end of sutra

Kokyo recites short Eko:

May the positive energy of our practice pervade everywhere,

And may we, together with all beings, realize the Buddha Waaay.   🔔

All Buddhas throughout space and time, 🔔  doshi goes to altar

All honored ones, Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas, 🔔  doshi makes offering

Wisdom beyond wisdom Doshi returns to mat

Mahaa Prajnaa Paramitaaaaa  🔔 o o o ooooooooo

“Three Bows, in your own way.” 

🔔 all bow, 🔔 all bow, 🔔 all bow

Doshi  bows to Altar,  🔔  bows to Seat,   🔔 bows to Center 🔔

     Brief discussion     

 Pali Refuges

Buddham Saranam Gacchami
Dhammam Saranam Gacchami
Sangham Saranam Gacchami

Dutiyampi Buddham Saranam Gacchami
Dutiyampi Dhammam Saranam Gacchami
Dutiyampi Sangham Saranam Gacchami

Tatiyampi Buddham Saranam Gacchami
Tatiyampi Dhammam Saranam Gacchami
Tatiyampi Sangham Saranam Gacchami

 

Refuges

I take refuge in Buddha. May all beings
embody the great way, resolving to awaken.

I take refuge in Dharma. May all beings deeply
enter the teachings, wisdom like an ocean.

I take refuge in Sangha. May all beings
support harmony in the community, free from hindrance.

 

The Buddha’s Five Remembrances

I am of the nature to grow old. 
There is no way to escape growing old.
I am of the nature to have ill health. 
There is no way to escape having ill health.
I am of the nature to die. 
There is no way to escape death.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. 
There is no way to escape being separated from them.
My actions are my only true belongings. 
I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. 
My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

-- Upajjhatthana Sutta (“Subjects for Contemplation”) 

 

Chants practice 

 

 

Avowal of Karma and Renewal of Vows

(Currently quarterly, generally Sunday nearest equinoxes and solstices, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Pacific time)

Avowal & Renewal of Vows 

We gather on the Solstices and the Equinoxes so that – in the presence of each other, the Beloved Community – we can acknowledge our past and harmful karma and renew our vows as bodhisattvas on the Path of Practice. To make a fresh start. Again and again.

And we always begin these quarterly gatherings by acknowledging that wherever we find ourselves in this country today, we’re inhabiting the traditional homelands of Native people -- people whose land was taken but not given. Eugene, Oregon, where I am now was home to the Kalapuya tribes. Whether or not you know the name of the Native people who lived where you find yourself today, please call them to mind. They are our ancestors right here where we live and our neighbors in the three worlds.

As Buddhists, we resolve to wake up to the truth of our interbeing with all existence throughout time & space. To see things as they really are, and to harmonize with the community of all beings. So that the effects of our actions of body, speech, and mind will tend in a direction away from creating more suffering, and toward liberation – toward freedom from suffering – for all of us.

So, the first step – a first step we have to take over & over again as we find our way through the beginningless tangle of causes & condition w/in which we live – the first step is to look deeply & acknowledge our past harmful actions – our participation in the causes & conditions that continue to perpetuate suffering.

And then to renew our vows as people on the path of practice – to live in a different way. A trustworthy, wholesome, life sustaining way in harmony with our True Nature and the flow of all existence. A way that tends toward liberation from suffering – for all of us.

Please recite the verses along with the kokyo but leave your mic muted. Even though you’re muted please participate fully b/c, like zazen, this is full bodymind practice. Imp to hear your own voice saying the words and to fully inhabit the physicality of the many bows. We say bowing “in your own way” to include the many ways from full prostrations to lying down bows. The important thing is to give the bow your full mind-body attention. To inhabit it as a form of mindful moving meditation.

Please be sure to engage in mindful movement during kinhin, whether walking, stretching, going to the bathroom, or mindfully moving in some other way. What we’re doing is not theoretical. This is embodied practice. Embodied in the zendo and embodied in our ordinary daily lives.

We’ll begin w/ the Robe Verse, have a period of zazen followed by kinhin, then the Avowal of Karma & Renewal of Vows ceremony, followed by kinhin and 3 more periods of zazen. We’ll close at noon with a short dedication.

The robe, in whatever form we wear it, is the Buddha field – the field of awakening – that we’re all entering by way of our intention to practice together today. Some robes are visible to the eye, others are not visible in that way. But all robes show themselves in the lives of  those who wear them. So the Robe Verse is for all of us entering the great Way together today, resolving to awaken. Please keep your microphone muted as we say the Robe Verse together.

(Doshi kneels & puts okesa on head and hands in gassho.)

Kokyo I: “Robe Verse” (1 time)
Great Robe of Liberation
Field Far Beyond Form and Emptiness
Wearing the Tathagata's Teaching
Saving all Beings

(Doshi makes offering and 3 bows. No bells
Doshi makes gassho to altar. O
Doshi makes gassho to seat. O
Doshi makes gassho to center O
Doshi sits.)

Kokyo I: “Zazen” (30 min.)
OO (signals end of zazen) → “Kinhin” (10 min.)
O (signals end of kinhin)

When everyone is seated

Kokyo I:  x  “Avowal of Karma and Renewal of Vows”

(Doshi makes offering) (pick up script from zabuton to left of altar)
___________________________________________

Kokyo II: Three bows in your own way. Please consider standing for these first three bows even if you’ll be doing seated bows from then on.

O Bow

O Bow

O Bow

AVOWAL OF KARMA

Kokyo II: Please recite 3 times aloud with your speaker muted. Make a bow when the bell sounds at the end of each recitation. Please remain in gassho for the rest of the ceremony.

All my ancient, tangled karma
From beginningless greed, ill will, and ignorance
Born of body, speech, and mind
I now fully avow.
O Bow

All my ancient, tangled karma
From beginningless greed, ill will, and ignorance
Born of body, speech, and mind
I now fully avow.
O Bow

All my ancient, tangled karma
From beginningless greed, ill will, and ignorance
Born of body, speech, and mind
I now fully avow.
O Bow

HOMAGES

Kokyo II: Please recite aloud and make a bow when the bell sounds at the end of each homage.

Homage to the Seven Buddhas before Buddha. O Bow

Homage to Shakyamuni Buddha. O Bow

Homage to the Future Maitreya Buddha. O Bow

Homage to Manjushri, the Perfect Wisdom Boddhisattva. O Bow

Homage to Sa man ta bha dra the Shining Practice Bodhisattva. O Bow

Homage to Avalokitesvara, the Infinite Compassion Bodhisattva. O Bow

Homage to the Succession of Ancestors, Women & Men, Known & Unknown. O Bow

BODHISATTVA VOWS

Kokyo II: Please recite 3 times. Make a bow when the bell sounds at the end of each full recitation.

Beings are numberless, I vow to meet them with kindness and curiosity.
Occasions of suffering are inexhaustible, I vow to touch them with patience and love.
Dharma Gates are boundless, I vow to enter them.
The awakened Way is immeasurable, I vow to embody it. O Bow

Beings are numberless, I vow to meet them with kindness and curiosity.
Occasions of suffering are inexhaustible, I vow to touch them with patience and love.
Dharma Gates are boundless, I vow to enter them.
The awakened Way is immeasurable, I vow to embody it. O Bow

Beings are numberless, I vow to meet them with kindness and curiosity.
Occasions of suffering are inexhaustible, I vow to touch them with patience and love.
Dharma Gates are boundless, I vow to enter them.
The awakened Way is immeasurable, I vow to embody it. O Bow

REFUGES

Kokyo II: Please recite each refuge with the kokyo. The Doshi then speaks alone. Make a bow when the bell sounds after the Doshi speaks.

I take refuge in Buddha.

Doshi: Before all being
Immersing body and mind deeply in the Way
Awakening true mind. O Bow

I take refuge in Dharma.

Doshi: Before all being
Entering deeply the merciful ocean
Of Buddha’s Way. O Bow

I take refuge in Sangha.

Doshi: Before all being
Bringing harmony to everyone
Free from hindrance. O Bow

(Doshi makes offering.)

PURE PRECEPTS

I vow to refrain from causing harm.

Doshi: It is the abode, the source, and the law of all Buddhas.

I vow to devotedly do what is good.

Doshi: It is the teaching of unsurpassed complete Enlightenment.
It is the path and the practice.

I vow to live and be lived for the benefit of all beings.

Doshi: It is transcending profane and holy, taking self and others across.

CLEAR MIND PRECEPTS

I vow not to kill, but to cherish and cultivate the great web of life.

Doshi: Not killing life, the Buddha seed grows. Transmit the life of Buddha and do not kill.

I vow not to take what is not given, but to cultivate fairness, gratitude, and generosity.

Doshi: Self and objects are such, two yet one. The gate of liberation stands open.

I vow not to misuse sexuality, but to remain trustworthy in relationships, honoring the intimacy of bodies with respect and joy.

Doshi: Let the three jewels of self, objects, and action be pure. With nothing to desire, one goes along together with the Buddhas.

I vow not to lie, but to cultivate truthful, kind, beneficial communication.

Doshi: The Dharma Wheel turns from the beginning. There is neither surplus nor lack. The sweet dew saturates all and harvests the truth.

I vow not to intoxicate myself or others, but to cultivate clear thinking, and to remain tuned in to the common ground of our shared life.

Doshi: Originally pure, don’t defile. This is the great awareness.

I vow not to dwell on the mistakes of others, but to cultivate wise, respectful, beneficial ways of responding.

Doshi: In the Buddha Dharma, go together, appreciate, realize and actualize together. No fault-finding. No haphazard talk. Do not corrupt the way.

I vow not to praise myself and downgrade others, but to value myself and others equally.

Doshi: Buddhas and Ancestors realize the vast sky and the great Earth. When they manifest the noble body, there is neither inside nor outside in emptiness, nor a bit of dirt on the ground.

I vow not to withhold spiritual or material aid, but to share all that I have to offer, giving freely and generously.

Doshi: One phrase, one verse, is the ten thousand things and one hundred grasses. One dharma, one realization, is all Buddhas and Ancestors. From the beginning there has been no stinginess at all.

I vow not to harbor ill will, but to cultivate loving-kindness, understanding, and forgiveness.

Doshi: Neither negative nor positive, neither real nor unreal. There is an ocean of illuminated clouds, and an ocean of ornamented clouds.

I vow not to abuse the Three Treasures, but to respect the Buddha, unfold the Dharma, and nourish the Sangha.

Doshi: To expound the Dharma with this body is foremost. Virtue returns to the unfathomable ocean of reality. Let us accept it with respect and gratitude. Thus on this [solstice, equinox] day we offer the merit of the bodhisattva’s way through all world systems to the unborn nature of all being.

Kokyo II and sangha:

All Buddhas throughout space and time; O
All honored ones, bodhisattvas, mahasattvas; O
Wisdom beyond wisdom, maha prajna paramita. O o o o oooooooo

Kokyo II: Three bows in your own way.

O Bow

O Bow

O Bow

_______________________________________________________

Kokyo I:
“Kinhin” (10 min.)
time O (signals end of kinhin)
When doshi seated and settled OOO → “Zazen” (30 min.)
time OO (signals end of zazen) → “Kinhin”
time O (signals end of kinhin)
When doshi seated and settled OOO → “Zazen” (30 min.)
time OO (signals end of zazen) → “Kinhin”
time O (signals end of kinhin)
When doshi seated and settled OOO → “Zazen” (30 min.)
time O (signals end of zazen)

Doshi goes to stand facing the altar.

Kokyo I: When doshi is in place facing the altar: X

Dolkar: We will now chant the universal mantra for compassion, Om Mani Padme Hum, 9 times.

Kokyo I: X (signals end of Om Mani Padme Hum chanting and beginning of Mary Ann's recitation)

Mary Ann: 

Shantideva's prayer

Now and forever may I become
A protector for those without protection.
A guide for all who have no direction;
A ship for those on the great sea of loss;
A bridge for beings with rivers to cross.
A sanctuary for all in danger and flight;
A lamp for those who are seeking the light;
A refuge for those who find no safe place;
And a servant to all in sure need of grace.

As long as space forever unfurls.
Wherever beings reside in this world.

Till then may I abide and persist.
Wherever sorrows of our world exist. 

All Buddhas throughout space and time,
O (Doshi goes to altar. Bells follow text not doshi.)
All honored ones, Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas,
O (Doshi makes offering at altar.)
Wisdom beyond wisdom,
(Doshi returns from altar.)
Maha Prajna Paramita.
O o o o oooooooo
Three bows in your own way: 

O Bow

O Bow

O Bow

(Doshi makes gassho to altar.) O
(Doshi makes gassho to seat.) O
(Doshi makes gassho to center [camera]) O

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Ten Verses of Unfathomable Depth

TEN VERSES OF UNFATHOMABLE DEPTH

1. The Mind Seal

I ask you, “What does the Mind Seal look like?”
And “What sort of person dares to transmit it?”
Throughout the ages, it has remained firm and unshaken.
As soon as you call something the Mind Seal, it is already meaningless.
You must know that in essence all things originate from infinite emptiness.
You can compare it to a lotus flower in a red-hot kiln.
Don’t say that a free and empty mind is the Way;
A free and empty mind is still separated from it by a great barrier.


2. The Mind of the Enlightened Ones

This mind is like emptiness, but it isn’t empty.
How could the unfathomable function ever degenerate to being the result of achievement?
The bodhisattvas at the three stages of wisdom have still not clarified this.
And how can the higher ranks of bodhisattvas ever reach it?
The golden carp that has passed through the net remains trapped in the water.
But the stone horse still on the way leaves its sand cage suddenly.
Why have the meaning of Bodhidharma coming from the West explained in every detail?
Don’t ask about the coming from the West, nor about the East.


3. The Unfathomable Function

You cannot rely on looking far ahead to the end of the universe.
And why would you tie yourself down to tainted worldliness?
Essentially, the miraculous body is not bound anywhere.
It is already throughout the whole body, so what other traces could there be?
A single efficacious word transcends the multitudes.
It is far beyond the Three Vehicles and does not require cultivation.
Shake off your hands and get away from the sages of all ages.
Then your path of return will resemble an ox in the midst of fire.


4. The Transcendent within Dust and Dirt

That which is impure is impure by itself; that which is pure is pure by itself.
Highest wisdom and delusion are likewise empty and even.
Who could say that nobody can appreciate Bianhe’s jade?
I say that the jewel of the black dragon shines everywhere.
Only when the myriad dharmas disappear does the whole thing appear.
The Three Vehicles split up and assumed only provisional names.
Truly outstanding people have determination that knows no bounds.
Do not try to go where the buddhas have already gone.


5. The Buddhist Teaching

The Three Vehicles spoke golden words one after another.
But the buddhas of the past, present, and future only declared the same thing.
In the beginning, when they expounded the reality of skandhas and
then complete emptiness, everyone grew attached to it.
Later, when they negated both reality and emptiness, everyone discarded it again.
The complete treasury of sutras in the Dragon Palace is meant to be prescriptions.
Even the Buddha’s last teaching does not reach the unfathomable.
If even one deluded thought arises in the world of true purity,
This already means spending eight thousand years in the world of human beings.


6. The Song of Returning Home

Don’t be distracted by the King of Emptiness when you are still on the Way.
You must drive your staff forward, moving on until you reach home.
If you travel for a long time like clouds and water, don’t get attached to it.
Even in the deep recesses of snowy mountains, don’t forget your mission.
Ah! I regretted that in past days my face was like jade.
And I lamented that at the time of my return my hair had turned white.
Returning to my old home with dangling arms, there was no one who recognized me.
Also, I had nothing to offer my parents.


7. The Song of Not Returning Home

Having the intention of going to the source, of returning to the origin, is already a mistake.
Essentially, there is nowhere to settle down, no place to call one’s home.
The ancient path through the pines is covered with deep snow.
The long range of mountain peaks is furthermore blocked by clouds.
When host and guest are tranquil and serene, everything is incongruous.
When lord and vassal are united, there is wrong in the midst of right.
How will you sing the song of returning home?
In bright moonlight, the dead tree is blooming in front of the hall.


8. The Revolving Function

It is still dangerous even inside the castle of nirvana.
Strangers come across each other without appointment.
People call someone who provisionally puts on a dirty robe “a buddha.”
But if someone wears precious clothes, what should you call him?
In the middle of the night, the wooden man puts on shoes and leaves.
At dawn, the stone woman puts on a hat and goes home.
An ancient emerald pool, the moon in the empty sky.
Screening and filtering over and over to catch the moon, for the first
time you will really know.


9. Changing Ranks

Growing hair and horns, you enter town,
Resembling a blue lotus flower blooming in the midst of fire.
All afflictions become like rain and dew in the vast sea.
All ignorance becomes like clouds and thunder on a mountain.
You completely blow out the furnace below the cauldron of hell,
Smashing to pieces a forest of swords and a mountain of daggers with a single shout.
Even golden chains cannot hold you back at the entrance.
Going into the realm of other beings, you transmigrate for a while.


10. Before the Rank of the Absolute

In front of many dead trees and steep boulders, there are many wrong tracks heading off course.
Those travelers who have reached this place all trip and stumble.
A crane stands in the snow but does not have the same color.
The bright moon and the flower of reeds do not really resemble each other.
“I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished!” When you think so, you cannot really be finished.
If you say, “This is it! This is the ultimate source!” you also need a good shout.
From the bottom of your heart, you play a melody on the harp with no strings.
How would it be possible to grasp the moonlight shining in the empty sky?


-- Sekkei Harada tr.