| We
are a small Zen Buddhist Temple practicing "laughing farmer zen" -
living our practice, sitting zazen, being here - right now! |
December Happenings -
click for links to the websites
4 Dec. transmission ceremony in CA
7 Prison Ministry - CRCC
8 Buddha's awakening (Rohatsu)
11 Zazenkai celebrating Buddha's Awakening
16-19 Heart Relic Tour in Tucson, AZ
25 Yule - Celebrating Christ's Birth
28 Prison Ministry CRCC
31 New Year's Eve
Jan 2, 2011 - UU church sermon Hood River
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" The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances"....Atisha |
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Dear Dharma Friends,
We
wish all beings the very best of the Holiday Season. May our
friends of Christian, Moslem, Jewish, Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Native Beliefs,
Pagans, Buddhists, Atheists, Shinto, Bon and all others find joy.
The Holiday Season is a wonderful time to think of others and do random
and intentional acts of kindness. May we all live in the loving
practice of giving, sharing, and being at peace with ourselves and
others.
A dear friend came up with several joyful ways of expressing this season:
1. buy coffee for folks behind them in line at a drive-through window
2. pay the toll at a toll bridge for the car behind
3. pay for the groceries of an elderly person at a grocery store
4. pay for a strangers dinner at a diner
5. Mow or rake a neighbor's lawn
6. Chop some firewood for a single mom
For all of the above - we do it even better if
we can do so anonymously. It doesn't have to be much and you don't have
to spend money - giving of ourselves is our greatest gift!
In joy and peace, Minh Tinh & Tam Tri
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Good Works
We
have sponsored a second refugee Tibetan child. Many Tibetan
refugees who have escaped Chinese rule in Tibet have found new homes in
India. In this heart wrenching journey to find freedom from
oppression, families are uprooted and traumatized. Imagine what it
would be like to be forced to move to a new country where you did not
speak the language and were not part of the culture or society.
Please consider helping us in sponsoring Tibetan refugees or go directly
to Tibet Aid and join in their efforts.
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Dogen Zenji's Corner
"If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?"
Dogen Zenji (1200 - 1253)
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"
Whatever is material shape, past, future, present, subjective or
objective, gross or subtle, mean or excellent, whether it is far or
near - all material shape should be seen by perfect intuitive wisdom as
it really is: This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.
Whatever is feeling, whatever is perception, whatever are habitual
tendencies, whatever is consciousness, past, future, present, subjective
or objective, gross or subtle, mean or excellent, whether it is far or
near - all should be seen by perfect intuitive wisdom as it really is:
"This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self."
The Buddha
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Join us for Zazenkai - intensive 1 day meditation trainings
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Dates: Saturday
Dec11, 2010 Rohatsu (The celebration of Buddha's enlightenment - note the change of date)
Please click on this link to go to our website and find our more about zazenkai
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Empty Mind sayings
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Practicing meditation:
"Set aside
all involvements and let the myriad things rest. Zazen is not thinking
of good, not thinking of bad. It is not conscious endeavour. It is not
introspection. Do not desire to become a buddha; let sitting or lying
down drop away. Be moderate in eating and drinking. Be mindful of the
passing of time, and engage yourself in zazen as though you are saving
your head from fire"... Dogen
"Normally, we do not so much look at things as overlook them".... Alan Watts.
"Be
soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream,
not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course. It
will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find
the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out
of your sight. It will take you" ..Sheng-yen.
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Northwest Buddhist Resources
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Who Are We?
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Mt Adams Zen Buddhist Temple
at Trout Lake Abbey
(Part of the Arizona Soto Zen Centers
a 501(c) 3 tax exempt organization)
46 Stoller Road
Trout Lake, WA 98650
e-mail: sokozen@azszc.org
509.395.2030
website http://www.mtadamszen.org/
Temple Services:
Monday - Friday 6:30 AM
Thursday & Friday 6:30 PM
Saturday 9:00 AM
Sunday Closed
We are affiliated with the Arizona Soto Zen Centers and the Desert Zen Center.
We
are of Soto (from Japan) and Rinzai (from Vietnam & Japan) Zen
traditions in the teaching of Rev. Soyu Matsuoka Roshi, Saito Seiwa
Roshi, Venerable Thich Anh Giao, and Most Venerable H.T. Thích
Thiên Ân.
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 | | Monk receiving dana |
Dana & Finances
The
temple has no outstanding debts. Our "sponsor a child program" is
going well and we now sponsor 2 Tibetan refugee children and a senior
monk. We hope to add a nun to our list.
Due to the very cold
winters we have here, we're also adding thermal blinds for the temple's
windows. The cost of a new heating system is over $6,000 so we're
going to hold off on such an expensive change and work instead to be
more efficient with the heat we have.
Our new office above the garage will soon be finished and 2 local groups have already requested to use it this next year.
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Loving Kindness Practice by Ven. Pannyavaro
"
The practice always begins with developing a loving acceptance of
yourself. If resistance is experienced then it indicates that feelings
of unworthiness are present. No matter, this means there is work to be
done, as the practice itself is designed to overcome any feelings of
self-doubt or negativity. Then you are ready to systematically develop
loving-kindness towards others.
Four types of persons to develop loving-kindness towards:
1. respected, beloved person - such as a spiritual teacher
2. a dearly beloved - a close family member or friend
3. neutral person - somebody you know, but have no special feelings towards, (e.g. person who serves you in a shop)
4. a hostile person - someone you are currently having difficulty with
Starting
with yourself, then systematically sending loving-kindness from person
to person in the above order will have the effect of breaking down the
barriers between the four types of people and yourself. This will have
the effect of breaking down the divisions within your own mind, the
source of much of the conflict we experience. Just a word of caution if
you are practicing intensively. It is best if you choose a member of the
same sex or, if you have a sexual bias to your own sex, a person of the
opposite sex. This is because of the risk that the near enemy of
loving-kindness, lust, can be aroused. Try different people to practice
on, as some people do not easily fit into the above categories, but do
try to keep to the prescribed order" .
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 | | Green Living |
The Zen of Composting:
Make me one with everything
Many ancient cultures thought that Winter was a time of "death" and
then Spring was a "rebirth". The wonderful cycle of life has
entered the season of Shorter days and dormancy . Our temple is
part of a Certified Organic Farm. Our practice here includes
learning to live with the earth and support the natural processes of
life and death. Food that we grow becomes sustenance for ourselves
and others. Replacing the nutrients that a plant has used,
becomes an issue of nature and balance.
We compost most organic matter; leaves in the Fall, food scraps, tree
trimmings, weeds, chicken and Alpaca poop, and most other natural
vegetative matter we come across. Composting is really easy and
natural. Everything (usually the more variety the better) is
placed in a huge pile, water added as needed, and in just a few months
we have a rich dark brown, nutrient filled soil which we then add back
to our fields. Nature, in and of itself, builds up, then tears
down, in a wonderful process of birth, life, death, decay, and then life
again; the Great Wheel turning.
Composting has been part of simple farming for thousands of
years. Organic farmers work with nature to find the balance of
life and death and become sustainable. Modern farmers use soil
analysis to find out what the soil needs to be optimally
productive. Most Organic farmers avoid using "quick fixes" that
may not lead to a sustainable environment.
Chemical additives, weed resistant crops, and pesticides have all
been developed to increase yields and decrease losses. Sadly,
sometimes these "cures" are far worse than the "disease". If I
poison an insect - does that poison effect me, does it linger in the
environment, does it come at a cost that my children will pay later
on? This issue of sustainability and balance is on ongoing problem
for farmers and consumers.
Per the Buddha's Noble Eight Fold Path, in doing Right Action, we are
directed to choose our "best life practices" in all that we do.
For us, organic sustainable farming and consuming seems one way that we
can do this.
Simple "food things" we can all do to add to a sustainable environment:
1. compost - a sometimes smelly but easy act
2. buy Certified Organic
3. buy locally grown food
4. eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, natural grains
5. minimize our intake of commercially processed foods
6. grow something to eat - in a garden or a pot
7. minimize our intake of animal flesh, avoid "corn fed" beef
8. If we buy coffee, tea, or chocolate buy Organic & Free Trade products
9. Use whole grain products
10. avoid microwave cooking (and the whole "ready to eat" processed food concept)
11. and maybe the most important action of all - Live, and Laugh, and Love - find the joy in all that we do!
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The Second Noble Truth 
The Origin of Suffering is Attachment
Last
month we discussed the Truth of Suffering. The Buddha taught us that
all the suffering we endure, plus the suffering we inflict on others,
has a cause: attachment. What is this attachment all about, anyway?
Attachment is based on three things: greed, hatred, and ignorance. The greed
is wanting for ourselves. This could be for things, it could be for
people, or more subtly, for changing the way we or various situations
are: becoming something different. Hatred acts in the same way, but in reverse: for not wanting things, people, or the way things are with us or for others. Our ignorance
is the presence of formations in our mind that we wrongly hold to be
true. That things or people will last despite the fact that they are
impermanent. That things or people will bring us lasting happiness, or
that life should be a certain way when it is just what it is. These ideas lead to our attachments.
So
here's an example: I'm sitting at home, watching TV and eating an
entire bag of Oreo cookies. An advertisement comes on for the latest fad
in jeans. Wow! Look at how the person in the commercial has a great
figure and a hot date, just because they're wearing X brand of jeans. If
I only had that pair of jeans, I'd be popular and people would like me.
Maybe that person I've had my eye on would ask me out. Then I'd be
truly happy. I really need to get that pair of jeans! I deserve
them. But I can't afford them. Why do I have to be so broke all the
time? It's just not fair! My neighbor is so wealthy and I'm always
broke. I hate that guy!
Fast
forward a few weeks. I get the jeans. Oh, I'm SO happy I finally have
the jeans. And dhaaang, don't they make me look good! I got the jeans!
Mine! All mine!
And
a few weeks later....These jeans are too tight. I look terrible in
them. And that person I had my eye on never did call. Now my friend is
mad at me, too. Just because I yelled at them when they spilled coffee
on my new jeans. What's the big deal? I'm probably going to give them to
Goodwill anyway. I have too much stuff. If I just got rid of some of
the extra stuff lying around my house I'd be happy. Why can't I ever be
happy? I'm always craving things I can't have. It's just not fair!
My
example is extreme, but we all have desires like this. They cause us so
much suffering, and cause others around us suffering as well. The
tricky thing is that as human beings, we will always have greed. We will
always have hatred. We will always have ignorance. Trying to doggedly
abolish these things from our lives is unsuccessful, and becomes a
form of trying to become something different. Ajahn Sumedho, the most senior western monk of the Thai Forest Theravada tradition, summed this up well:
"The
problem is the grasping of desire, not the desire itself. Grasping
means being deluded by it, thinking it's really 'me' and 'mine'. These
desires are me and there is something wrong with me for having them...or
'I have to get rid of something before I can become what I want to
be'."
The key is neither to get entangled with desire, hatred,
and ignorance nor strive to get rid of them. The key is to look at them
like we do the thoughts that naturally arise during our meditation. Just
notice them....and let them go. All we have is right now.
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 | | Kozen & Denise at morning service |
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FREE TRADE & ORGANIC COFFEE TEA, ETC.
The
Abbey is now selling Fair Trade & Organic coffee, tea and
chocolates. The profits will be divided between The Mt. Adams Zen
Buddhist Temple and the Trout Lake Presbyterian Church. We will
have our website up in mid -January on the Mount Adams Zen Center
website (www.mtadamszen.org). Until then you can call Kozen
and make orders over the phone 509.395.2030.
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