Myozen Delport

First topic message reminder :

For those who trace their connections
back to the beginnings of the Zen Mission Society and the foundation of Shasta
Abbey I’m pleased as punch to say I’ve been in touch with Myozen Delport, for a
while Miyagawa.

Myozen was one of Kennett Roshi’s first students, studying with her at
Umpukuji. She ordained and was common in those years, not long after received
Dharma transmission on the 14th of July, 1969. She and another ordained
disciple came withher when the roshi came to California.

Following her marriage to Arnold, Myozen and her husband moved to his native
Canada. As was Kennett Roshi’s want, there were various false statements made about
her in the years that followed. Myozen has had a son, now grown, and following
a divorce has remarried.

What did happen is that she connected with an old friend, a Soto priest Kodo
Ito, and re-ordained with him. As Kennett Roshi never registered her
transmission there were no difficulties in her “starting over.” She travels to
Japan regularly. In 2004 Myozen received Dharma
transmission from Ito Roshi, which is registered in Japan.

This relationship continues to this day.


She is doing well.


And I am so glad.


I cannot say how important Myozen was to me at the beginning of my Zen life.

Good , chisan ,about good news for Tamara . good , and i agree about the other sort of news.
The wind here is wildly calling its news -

Wonderful chisan.

Good news Mike. Fingers crossed for you both.


Stan.

Great news, Chisan. Yea!!!

Thank you very much for your kind comments of support everyone.
Good to see you again Stan

Great to see you again Mike. I thought I`d follow your lead with the mug shot.
Got fed up waiting for Lise anyway.

Oh and....get yer `air cut...hippy ! LoL.

I am having internet connection problems tonight.
Stan at least you hair has stayed the same color,and it looks like you still enjoy your food!!

Chisan,
Hi, it is really so nice to see your photograph! What very excellent news - we are both so happy for you and Tamara. Perry's comment was, "Oh boy, tell him I am so glad!"

Your friend Bill Picard was a very wise person - the train journey is such an apt analogy.

Your post was so very moving. I am sorry I had not been able to respond sooner - I was under the weather for a couple of days even with medicine, but am better now. Then yesterday my eyes were dilated (Perry says, "diluted") for the annual diabetes check-up - we still had to be out in the blizzard helping a friend put her fence back together (the one we painted), which evidently had been ploughed into by a large truck. The impact was forceful enough to break the 6" x 6" concrete post reinforced with rebar! The driver had taken off, damaged vehicle and all.

This morning everyone was digging out of the snow, putting those shovels/spades to work - in this case they were more useful than the book promising a vision of paradise ...?


Nicky,
So happy to meet you. Thank you, your comments really touched my heart. It is so wonderful and filled with mystery when people, who have not met face-to-face, connect for even a moment across such geographic distance. It feels like a blessing, this sharing.

Tomorrow night there is to be a festival of lights in the library park - currently the weather forecast is for rain to be added to melting snow.


Anne,
Yes, that is Devil's club! A rather unfortunate name for a beautiful plant the Haisla call 'uiqas - there should be another apostrophe on the "q". Now I am thinking of another beautiful plant also with enormous leaves - often called "Indian wax paper" due to its use - skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanum), the first wild plant that comes through in the spring. Perry always slows down when we pass them. It really does smell like skunk scent - it looks like a giant yellow arum lily. We will not be seeing or smelling them for a while ...

Thank you for the pictures you always post! :-)

Gassho,
Myozen

Hi Myozen, I am thoroughly enjoying this discussion!

As a semi-aside, I am jumping in here to provide you with a link to Nicky's awesome website and art work--since I know that she would never do so!

http://www.nickyloutit.co.uk/index.php

Ah yes Myozen the vision of paradise. The publisher tells me that they have a few left and are selling, 2 for 1 dollar 50.
The books are starting to sell again, and there is no crisis,however they are being sold mainly to the Rocky Mountain area where it has been noted that one tied to each boot enables a faster mode of skate like transport.
Thanks for your kind comments and thanks to Perry .

Are you now eating what you have stored away,do you eat mainly stored fish/
What does everyone do on the reservation,I assume there is not much to do,Is there local industry or is the life style formed around fishing and storing food for the winter?
Are the fish that are caught in the spring and summer traded or sold?
Are they river fish or sea fish?
How close is the life style to the traditional way?

Kozan,
Hi, a nice surprise to see you! Thank you for so thoughtfully providing the link to Nicky's website and artwork - I had wanted to tell her in that post that I would love to see her paintings, but I am usually a bit awkward with asking questions. Gassho :-) Hope you are enjoying the season in California - I often recall places our small sangha at the time visited.


Nicky,
Oh, how very beautiful - I am really at a loss for words looking at your paintings. It was startling returning to the glaring white monitor screen after having been gently drawn into the images. Thank you for sharing your heart like this. I loved the endearing story and photograph of Mrs. Brown and the blackbird!

Recently I rather tentatively joined the local art association and at 4 o'clock this afternoon when the current exhibition at the Terrace Art Gallery is over, the pottery plate with cedar imprints and the photograph by an elder artist - her first work to be placed in a show - which I had purchased can be brought home. I find that visiting the gallery there is a kind of time-stand-still feeling, as if just having woken up from a dream which is still lingering.

I wish I were able to see your paintings in person, Nicky.


Chisan,
Hopefully the publisher is pleased with the present weather conditions in the Rocky Mountains.

We have started eating the canned and smoked fish we put up and also potatoes from the garden to go with it. Usually there is venison preserved the same way. Perry says, "A few years ago there would now be trapping activity and also rather urgent efforts to get the wood supply together in the case of procrastinators. Now one also begins to watch the moon for digging clams and cockles, and to add to the diet of fish and venison, possibly hunting for ducks - the feathers are also used. Then again, others are just waiting for the Grey Cup Football Game on the telly, or for the National Hockey League shut-out strike to end! There is trade with seaweed, oolichan grease, and dried smoked salmon. The closeness to a traditional way of life depends also upon how close an individual is to the grandparents/elders to be taught. Local industry is represented by Rio Tinto aluminium smelter and the Kitimat port. Some individuals, although employed in industry or other career, still value traditions and others simply enjoy living off the bounty of the land and ocean as much as possible. In the case of the Haisla of Kitamaat Village the fish is from the ocean, but here in Terrace there is also fishing in the Skeena River."

When our son shows me how, we would like to post some photographs to show you.

The seasonal festivities begin in Terrace today and so far the weather is holding. Everyone probably has crossed fingers. At 2 o'clock we are invited to the ladies' tea at the Anglican Church by the friend whose fence we are now so well acquainted with - Perry always happily attends these functions, taking his humour with him. This is followed at 6 o'clock by the Kermode ("Spirit Bear") Festival of Lights. Every year the Haisla Nation Council hosts a Christmas dinner for Haislas living in Terrace and the local Indian Friendship Society also hosts one for the community.

We hope you and Tamara are enjoying the season in its many aspects, Chisan.

Gassho,
Myozen

Myozen,
Thank you so much . I'm at a loss for words too, and yes wish we could meet , wish i lived close by .
Outside its still wild wind and rain , maybe when that calms , I'll have more to say.i hope so ,

but meanwhile love and gratitude Nicky .

And thank you Kozan , you really are miraculously everywhere .

Kozan, Myozen,

Thanks for reminding me to once again look up Nicky's Gallery website. Nicky has that rare ability to convey a quality of lightness, airiness and space in her paintings that is really rare. I also love the picture of Neddy, that I hadn't noticed before, (the non hunting dog), and the expression of pure joy in her (his?) face.

Nicky, the oils are especially amazing. They are translucent like water color. Your paintings are graceful and lovely. I would like to see them in person.

Carol, Breljo, ( Brigette ? )Kozan ,and Myozen ,
Thank you . All your responses are hugely heart warming .I havnt been able to go to my own site or blog for many months. As i said to Myosan i wanted to say more and still do , and now the wild weather has abated so that excuse has gone .This site - you people are important to me , but of course its public which is good because that leaves us open, as indeed i do with my website , but there's a sort of vital stirring of creative/spiritual change that is too unformed for me to put out, BUT ID LIKE TO SHARE .I dont want to sound pretentious its a very ordinary struggle , so i hover longing to kind of swoop and wondering how - Ahhhhh PM or' MP' s of course . I dont know do any of you struggle with what to say , i dont mean the mighty brain stuff that goes on , more the heartfelt ? Maybe its getting old , nearly 70 , and i havn't got that online ease , but i sense its particularly with this very site/Sangha or pub! as Mark called it , Oh i wish we were in a pub near here by the fire ...............THATS IT , love Nicky.

Nicky, thank you for such heart-felt comments. I think I know what you mean! I've been working on two articles specifically related to this site, for about two years. I've posted snippets of each, as part of my own process of pulling the concepts into focus. I find this to be enormously helpful. And at the same time, because the contents of each article depend upon my own synergetic understanding of the subjects, it will take as long as it takes! ('Synergetic understanding' as in an integrated understanding that is more than the sum of the identifiable 'parts'). Part of the reason for the delay in completion is that as my exploration continues, the 'scope' of each article, the panorama encompased, keeps expanding!

I don't know if this relates in some way to the nature of what you are experiencing--but, in any case, I sympathize!

Nicky and Kozan, I think I too can relate to this phenomenon that you both are talking about, if I understand this correctly. I have experienced this also where I try to put something into words that, as you put it Kozan, "the panorama encompassed keeps expanding", so much so that after a while, after spending a lot of effort, it seems impossible to bring to completion, and I have to give up knowing this will never have an end to it, just because it just cannot seem to be expressed adequately with words, and yet it seems to want to be expressed!

Nicky,
Thank you, I also wish I were living close enough to walk over for a visit. It would be so lovely!

It is the same for me - this forum has brought so much change in my spiritual as well as physical life and there is so much I would like to share but find that it is rather a conundrum since the process itself changes through the very process of writing here! This is also my first experience with open discussion online and I find that during the day I would think or see something I would like to convey - my daily life here and the forum have begun to overlap or become seamless.

The involvement with the art association is also due to having been able to discuss experiences with Kennett Roshi on this forum - it has encouraged me to come out of my "cave". Today I collected an oil I had been waiting for while on exhibit at a local coffee shop. It is of a sunflower in full bloom - when I unwrapped it at home to hang it, I noticed that the artist had written on the edge of the canvas flap, "from seed", which reminded me of our first discussion.

Again, I love your website, Nicky.


Brigitte,
As always, I enjoyed seeing your comments - I have been wondering how you are keeping.

When we were in Kelowna, I found a collection of short stories by Kunal Basu - the title story The Japanese Wife is so very sensitive and touching (I have not read the remaining stories yet) and I wondered whether you would like it. When I searched this title on line I learned that it was also filmed in 2010 and can be watched online in its entirety.

Rain has washed away some of the snow. We had to make a quick visit to Kitamaat Village today and on the way we saw 8 eagles - that is Perry's clan, so it seemed auspicious.

I hope you are also enjoying the season - Rohatsu soon!

Gassho,
Myozen

We have had incredible rain here.Cornwall has been hit very hard with villages with pretty streams that run through them seeing water surges which makes the streams become fast flowing rivers . I have never seen rain like it constant heavy rain,sometimes horizontal,and every river and stream so close to bursting its bank. I live by a stream which is very close to bursting and further upstream the banks were broken and roads flooded. Our factory is on the south coast and by a river which burst its bank just downstream which closed the main road.It is still raining today but not quite as hard as the rain spreads through the country. Global warming eh

Global warming indeed, my friend. I hope you do well through all of this!

Yes you've all written what I'm brewing with , it is extraordinary this on line communication .
'synergetic understanding ' sounds terrific Kozan ,
and yes Brigette that expanding,
and yes Myozen the seam less overlap
and yes chisan this rain - i hope you're still not flooded ( my son is just up the hill in penryn)

It makes us vulnerable though being on line , and i still hover a little but perhaps more of an eagle and less of a Bluetit -or do they only live in the uk? well i AM quite English .

Yesterday i had coffee with an old - in both senses- OBC friend . Thinking of all of you and sad we're not closer i spoke of my longing to be more cosily in her sangha position, at the same time how could she STAND being still part of a group that had done such ghastly things, ( we have shared a lot together ) - yes as well as vital good . She talked of how she felt all religions went wrong ect ,and she was fine on the edge in her way and got very warm support . I could appreciate that .And said i can happily sit in church, join in a catholic ceremony , learn about judaism ,but i back away from the OBC and so miss all that good stuff . Then i realized it was that i gave my heart to the OBC and my teacher,and .the disillusion was heart breaking . and in the broken heart is richness - isnt that so ? we have to look deeper and wider - in fact soar ! Never mind all this hovering l , actually bluetits jump and flutter, in a way i can identify with . I came away from seeing her a little stunned at how differently we do our life's. And appreciating my online friends ..... is that sad ? or exciting ? Well it must be exciting , because as you say Myozen,this forum has bought so much change , in my spiritual life too , and i like that word seamless, as part of the experience - AND seed .
well its still raining , but gently here , and although i havn't even begun-( no completion here Brigette ) im going to stop .
And I'll look up Kunai Basu.

Yes rain the road to from Truro to Penryn is cut off,there is a lot of swollen rivers Dharma is everything good sects bad sects and too much rain

Chisan , sounds dramatic , swollen rivers dharma ....... My son might be happy, in that he can stay at home instead of catching the train to work, but hope damage isnt serious .

Nicky wrote:

She talked of how she felt all religions went wrong etc ,and she was fine on the edge in her way and got very warm support. I could appreciate that. And said i can happily sit in church, join in a catholic ceremony , learn about Judaism, but i back away from the OBC and so miss all that good stuff. Then i realized it was that i gave my heart to the OBC and my teacher, and the disillusion was heart breaking.

Your friends "all religions went wrong, etc" sounds like a weak rationalization/answer to your question. What does it feel like to you?

Hmmm my heart sinks . What a disturbing question .

The logical response is, and was, that its a weak rationalization, at the same time it didn't feel like that . She is old and alone . i understood . I also felt very strongly that i couldn't possibly judge her spiritual movements . we, as i said had the same teacher and our experiences were totally different , i mean god knows what on earth we are all up to on our different paths . Of course you know all this , and i seem to be defending her , and my catholic daughter in law and so on , and so on .
NO , it didn't feel weak , it felt like she was in her place , i felt glad for her , BUT in some core of me yes it felt weak , and thats painful .

Myozen,

Thank you so much for your kind offer, and I would love to say yes, problem is I am able to do very little reading any longer, I believe I mentioned advanced glaucoma, so I just want to thank you for the thought. I need to keep reading to a minimum, short articles, paying bills, etc. because the eyes tire easily. I've had several operations and have a lens implant in each eye. Doctors have done all they can and now it's just maintaining of what vision is left. I am grateful for still being able to manage my own stuff, can't spend too much time on the computer either, but am so grateful I can still participate here a bit. So many thoughts come up while reading everyones stories many to which I would love to respond but just don't have the energy any longer. I am looking forward to the article Kozan mentioned that he is working on.

My thoughts go out to the folks in the UK, hope the rain abates, and you all stay safe and don't have too much damage.



In Gassho

Brigitte

Chisan,
We have been watching the reports of flooding in the UK and have been thinking of you. It is a relief to hear it is not raining quite as hard anymore - we hope you keep safe.


Nicky,
The longing you speak of to be more cosily in a sangha position - this is also something I have been missing since members of the Daiko-ji zazenkai passed away and others moved to other urban communities. At the Buddhist temple in Kelowna I was thinking how fortunate everyone was to be together. The experience with OBC was heartbreaking indeed but, as you say, such richness comes from prevailing through painful times. This online sangha is a true blessing and a kind of miracle - re-uniting with long-time dharma family and meeting new dharma family and friends. Trusting again after such heartbreak can be a bit of an issue and this is where I feel this forum is such a great refuge to try out our wings again. What a beautiful and inspiring analogy, the soaring, you speak of!

Brigitte,
Thank you so much for spending time with us here - your comments are always so thoughtful and warm. This communication is so very precious in its fragility (please forgive me for this clumsy statement) - lately I have also been feeling this appreciation for what is through it all. Please keep well, Brigitte.

...

I would like to write more, but I have been experiencing some "interesting" days with an infected tooth - diabetes suppresses the immune system, so one has to resort to medicine and this medicine has the side effect of very determined drowsiness. Hopefully with the tooth extracted, tomorrow I will be more alert!

Gassho,
Myozen

Hi Myozen, the rain seems to have just about stopped I think it was a very costly experience for Cornwall and England a lot of damage. Great local services did really well here. It was really good seeing everyone still trying to get to work and going different routes. there is a tiny bakery near our factory down a tiny valley in a village of 10 houses I drive about 2 miles every day at 10am to collect a Cornish pasty they make for me. I had to leave half an hour early to do a rather picturesque detour, avoiding fallen trees and rivers and streams that decided to cross roads. Despite the fact that they knew it would be difficult to get there , I was greeted with a Cornish 'Some rain out there boy' and a piping hot pasty '. We only had one guy unable to get in to work.
The internet has made communication so much easier and instant,as well as being able to collectively query our experiences,there is no one here saying this is how you have to meditate and this is the right view of life. this seems an obsessive western practice,in my experience the last thing a teacher wanted to hear was me repeating his words, i was always expected to experience or be this present moment rather than think about it.

Hot pasty and
Unspoken friendship
The floods have gone

Nicky wrote:

Hmmm my heart sinks . What a disturbing question .

The logical response is, and was, that its a weak rationalization, at the same time it didn't feel like that . She is old and alone . i understood . I also felt very strongly that i couldn't possibly judge her spiritual movements . we, as i said had the same teacher and our experiences were totally different , i mean god knows what on earth we are all up to on our different paths . Of course you know all this , and i seem to be defending her , and my catholic daughter in law and so on , and so on .
NO , it didn't feel weak , it felt like she was in her place , i felt glad for her , BUT in some core of me yes it felt weak , and that's painful .

Nicky, thanks for the honest thoughts. I did mean my comment as a question because I wouldn't presume to judge someone based on the small bit of conversation you posted.

Chisan,
Happy to hear that you are safe and that the flooding has stopped. We wish you well with the clean-up. I guess a positive side to something like this is that they are times when communities pull together and help each other through - it seemed that people in a nearby area were surprised at the time of severe damage from a storm a few years ago, when the Terrace community pitched in to help them.

With the snow being blown horizontally today, I found myself thinking of your Cornish pastry.

Lovely poem -

Gassho,
Myozen

Myozen

Hope your tooth ache is better, on the pain scale it ranks right up there with kidney stones, etc., I know!!

Chisan

We finally have some real rain here too, in So. Cal. (just in time for the local Christmas Parade). And your mention of Pasties reminded me of a visit to the Empire Mine in Grass Valley, here in Californias Gold Country. It was once the biggest Gold mine in California, most prolific, very deep mine. A lot of the miners came from Cornwall and some of their lunch buckets which were on display at the museum on site had an extra compartment for Pasties. They must be good.

I think there has been many times in history,when the price of tin has fallen and Cornish miners have emigrated to find work.There was a recent bit on TV when a town in Mexico celebrated its ancestors and a lot were from Cornwall the town is now famous for Mexican pasties which are hot chili pasties.

The pasties are traditional food for the miners meat one end jam the other,they do represent Cornish working life,and the adaptablility people have to be to survive.Impermanence stares everyone in the face here as it is a small community,the traditional ways of survival are constantly eroded, there is not a tin mine that is still working,although 1 may soon start up again. The lanscape has many engine houses,some in beautiful locations on cliffs where the seams ran under the sea.
the farming industry has been changed from the ways of 20 years ago,due to direct buying of supermarkets,and the effect of global warming,as Cornwall traditionally made its money from farming in the winter ,when the rest of the UK was covered in snow,the traditional weather patterns have changed,we have floods and wet summers milder winters.
people here have to constantly learn new skills to survive,we have sell products further u the country,the internet is seen as a huge help, but not quite so simple to implement,we sell a lot of tables and wardrobes in the south of England and do weekly deliveries to London,this time before Christmas is usually busy,is is always worrying if we will cope with the problems that that brings.

Relating the problems of survival with Zen Buddhism of course poses many questions.Staying with it, being here,not ducking issues,being tough being kind.
Alot of the guys are ex offenders ,they have something thrust upon them they have not had before responsibility and trust. Anyone steps out of line and they have to come and see me when I explain I don't want to treat them like an [banned term] so so me a favor and don't act like an [banned term]. The end result is we have a great work force that works hard is adaptable,and we work together through the everchanging impermanence of life

Brigitte,
Thank you for your kind thoughts! I am still fiddling with the tooth situation.

The story about the miners' lunch boxes is so heartwarming.

It is still blizzard-y but on Saturday parents and pets braved the weather to attend a children's festivity in the evening - Christmas lights went on in the park and there was a bonfire, steaming cups of cocoa.


Chisan,
It is so interesting learning about Cornish life and your community, the matters of change and adaptation to it. The hot chili pasties sound wonderful with the snow blowing outside tonight ... This area used to be forest industry-dependent but eventually all the sawmills shut down due to the downturn in the forest products market. The current trend in the area is to export raw logs to China, which benefits only a few in the local economy. Recently one sawmill, which will produce "specialty-sized lumber", re-opened with much excitement in the community due to employment prospects. In the larger region there is quite a bit of investment in developing a mining industry.

With the traditional life style of the Haisla and other Indian nations also eroding, there is emphasis on training the young people in both preserving traditional skills/culture and learning new academic/vocational skills. We were at the learning centre at the reserve (reservation) near Terrace recently to help put together a Swedish designed composting tumbler - we had lunch there and sat in on some of the lessons. It is so excellent seeing the teenaged students turning up for the classes which blend cultures seemingly so effortlessly - on that day there were several very cool longboards/skateboards parked at the entrance.

As you write, "staying with it, being there, not ducking issues" - this seems one of the vital things one learns through the effort at sustained practice. Sticking to it through all conditions, giving it one's all one way or another. I think this also cultivates deep roots and faith/trust in the practice/way - the realization that it does "work". It dawns on one that it is just life as it is.

Very best wishes during your busy season, Chisan. Perry says he enjoyed the ladies' tea, by the way!

Gassho,
Myozen

Myozen, I hope the tooth is OK they can be so painful when nerves are pressed and squashed.
You gave a good insight into life there, I am surprised the lumber industry has all but ceased. The world economies seems to swing to the cheapest country,China Vietnam,I think Scandinavian timber goes all the way to China then back as furniture to the UK.There used to be lots of factories like ours scattered all over England now there are very few. This means carpentry skills are not passed on as they were, which is a sign of change.I personally do not like to see this sort of change,I am sure with the young people over there, they must be torn between the old ways and knowing who they are,but also wanting to be like the youth in the rest of the world,and who can deny them that.
When I visited China I enjoyed seeing Chinese life, but all of a sudden you see FKC rather than KFC, which is the Chinese version of fried American chicken , personally I like to see China being Chinese,but life changes and there seems to be pressure to be uniform the same not different.
Staying with it does seem important,but what else can one do? I think there is much to learn about zazen when not in a zazen environment,It is a positive because formal Buddhism naturally drops away,temple bells are replaced by the singing of birds and thumping of machines. Oneness in the stillness of meditation may be seductive, but can one let it go? and living in the midst of duality can one one let that go too,but does one let go of anything or is everything simply as it should be.


The Great Way is not difficult
for those who have no preferences
When love and hate are both absent
Everything becomes clear and undisguised
make the smallest distinction however
and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart

The third Patriarch

Right Dwelling is so important--producing what we actually need, with local resources, through cooperative self-reliance. I think that this principle is inherent in the 8 Fold Path--and yet, it now seems largely forgotten within the culture of Buddhism.

Nevertheless, the 8 Fold Path (in my opinion) clearly integrates the inner and outer aspects of living and practice:

(Right Dwelling): Right thought, speech, action, livelihood.

(Right Awareness): Right understanding, effort, concentration, meditation.

Standing Here before this altar
Performing this ceremony
Saved by All Beings

Happy Bodhi Day.

Chisan,
I so much enjoyed your post and have been wanting to respond - just a few minutes ago a problem I was having with the computer was sorted out.

Your poem "Standing Here before this altar/Performing this ceremony/Saved by All Beings" is so entirely fitting to Bodhi Day, echoing the Buddha's exclamation upon realization. We all save each other - beautiful.

It is so true when you say that it is positive when formal Buddhism naturally falls away - such an immediacy and vitality in our natural surroundings/life without ritual interpretations. This is how it has been for me these several years living up here. When I visited the Buddhist temple in Kelowna, I must admit, that there was an element of awareness of missing some of the formal traditions.

Your quote from Sengcan reminded me of Dogen's comment to it recorded in the Eihei Koroku.

Here is a saying. The third ancestor, Great Teacher [Jianzhi Sengcan], in "Inscription on Faith and Mind" said, "The supreme way is not difficult; only disdain picking and choosing."

Great assembly, have you ever studied the third ancestor's meaning? Tell me, what is the third ancestor's meaning?

Passing through three kalpas, without fail we arrive; passing through numberless kalpas, without fail we arrive; without arising from our seat without fail we arrive. Therefore, [the third ancestor] said, "The supreme way is not difficult." Simply to disdain picking and choosing is like a garuda not eating anything but dragons."

Shohaku Okumura and Taigen Leighton add the footnote (pages 35-36 of their translation) -

Dogen is pointing out the paradox in the Inscription on Faith in Mind. Disdaining or avoiding is a kind of preference, a kind of picking and choosing. But for garudas it is simply natural to eat dragons; for Buddhist practitioners it is simply natural to follow the way."

The changes for the Indian young people here are not only the rapid changes in society due to trade/economy, technology, etc. but also the changes/losses in the culture and traditional way of life. Some turn away from tradition to immerse themselves in the mainstream culture, while others are quite skillfully blending both cultures, like reporting the progress of their traditional food gathering activities on facebook ... I am using the word "Indian" since Perry also does so - and he says to tell you: "I am a Columbus Indian. Columbus got lost! We should all be Buddhist, since it was a Chinese Buddhist monk who discovered this coast first!" (I hope it is not inappropriate to write this on the forum). One day Perry's brother came in and asked sincerely with an amused smile, "What is the politically correct word for us now? Native? First Nations? Aboriginal?"

Thank you for asking, Chisan - the tooth has been extracted.

I wish I could visit your factory to see your furniture designs and your countryside.


Kozan,
You have raised such a crucial issue in mentioning Right Dwelling and Right Awareness - it is a matter of the survival of our home planet. There has been a lot of media coverage relating to the opposition of First Nations groups to the proposed Enbridge Gateway oil pipeline project here. Another strongly opposed proposed project relates to the Sacred Headwaters (Klappan Valley), the pristine subalpine basin which is the source of the Skeena, Nass, and Stikine rivers in Tahltan Nation territory - 1,000 coalbed methane gas wells.

Right livelihood becomes so complicated in globalized society now. (Perry enjoys creating words and here he says "Glob-ulized") The job I had in Terrace before going to South Africa to be with my mother, had been in the woodlands division of a lumber company prior to the collapse of the forest products industry here. This division was responsible for silviculture and reforestation, so it felt positive being involved with this aspect of things. My next job as a translator brought the issue of the fate of dolphins in relation to tuna fishing.

Sorry I am still writing in such a formal manner :-)

I hope you are enjoying Bodhi Day. It has been snowing for several days but the sun is out today, with forecasts for the return of the snow tomorrow.

Yesterday evening was the Christmas dinner for Haisla Nation members living in Terrace hosted by the Haisla Nation Council - it was well attended and was festive in the best sense of the word!

Gassho,
Myozen

Simply to disdain picking and choosing is like a garuda not eating anything but dragons."

I like to feel it also means we can only be who we are,our zazen shows us that it is not us that changes or us that realize,this me is an incredible mixture of picking and choosing,our true nature is already here, hidden by by our own personal reinforcements (picking and choosing)With zazen we do not need to pick and choose we do not need to do anything.Free from this and that the garuda eats dragons

I love the name Sacred Headwaters..full of respect and deep rooted spirituality,I hope the young kids there take pride in who they are and where they have come from, natural dignity is far more important than,position and wealth.Taking the earths resources without any responsibility,and making these judgements based only on wealth is hard for those who feel we are feeling the effects now of deforestation,and the slowness of establishing alternative fuel sources.

We think we walk the right path,
But we dont even hear
The garuda whistle

Happy Bodhi Day

Chisan,
Wonderful! Free from this and that the garuda eats dragons - as they say around here, "bingo!" when something is spot-on, eye-opening.

We think we walk the right path/But we don't even hear/The Garuda whistling. I love this - may I enter it in my journal/diary? Each day I sit at the kitchen table writing with my old trusty fountain pen, recording "my life", and working things out.

One of the positive elements to the ongoing gatherings/demonstrations in opposition to those projects is that the young people are becoming very aware of the value of their heritage and culture and realization of what is at stake here. It affects not only First Nations culture but all beings who rely upon/are part of the ecosystem and beyond that through interrelatedness.

I have ventured rather tentatively elsewhere into the forum this morning - I so much enjoyed seeing your comments in "The Reading Corner".

We have a heavy snowfall warning and a large snowplough just scraped by efficiently noisy - or in a noisily efficient way?

Gassho,
Myozen

I think the garuda tells us also about the flow of life,underneath our own lives we are most probably concerned about our own mortality,it is never time to die to move on,there are so many things to do and our responsibilities most probably will be left behind.After all we have hopefully enjoyed our short lives,and if we have not make amends and live a live that truly fulfills,do something new make a new friend ,step away and help someone else, move on,'chew it up and spit it out'.
Zazen is the flow of life There is no reason to do anything life is complete it is the picking and choosing that separates us from our own nature the flow of life
Garuda and dragon
Heaven and earth
All beings

The way is perfect,like vast space
where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess
Indeed,it is due to our choosing to accept or reject
that we do not see the true nature of all things
Live neither in entanglements of outer things
nor in inner feelings of emptiness.
Be severe in the oneness of things
and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves.
When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity
your very effort fills you with activity
As long as you remain in one extreme or the other
you will never know oneness

The Third Patriarch

Chisan,

In the midst of all the busy-ness of this week (large extended family ...) my mind has often returned to the moving words in your post - periods of quiet reflection. The garuda also represents the overcoming of obstacles and disharmony in traditional symbolism,which I feel also relates to your words.

This evening we have to go to a multicultural potluck and I have been asked to say "something" about Buddhism there - you would have had a spot-on poem here, Chisan.

Wishing you a joyful holiday season,

Gassho,
Myozen

myozen and Chisan,
I've been enjoying your Postings , you both cheer me, thank you , though i'm a bit spooked by the fearsome Garuda .Warmest Blessings Nicky .

Hello Nicky,

Thank you, it is always so good to hear from you, too. This is wishing you a very happy holiday season with warmest regards.

Gassho,
Myozen

Hi Myozen we are wrapping up orders at work one day to go one more run to London,we are working long long hours to finish on time, we have all forgotten yesterdays stress, and we are looking forward to tomorrow night.
I am so pleased that the First Nations past has been respected, and the Sacred Headwaters can be preserved and oil and gas preservation banned.

Not destroyed These
Sacred Headwaters
named by Our Fathers

With tired limbs and thoughts of yesterday today and tomorrow.
I will turn once again to the Third Patriarch

Words
The Way is beyond language
for in it there is
no yesterday
no tomorrow
no today

I am so pleased that the First Nations past has been respected, and the
Sacred Headwaters can be preserved and oil and gas preservation banned.

I should have said gas development (brain not thinking soo tired)

chisanmichaelhughes wrote:

I am so pleased that the First Nations past has been respected, and the
Sacred Headwaters can be preserved and oil and gas preservation banned.

I should have said gas development (brain not thinking soo tired)

Must have been distracted what with the Queen looking over your shoulder and all....:-)

I think she is saying.....

'Bodhidharma came all that way , all that time ago....... and we get the hippy'

Chisan,

Really like the cozy photograph!

There is jubilation here over the Sacred Headwaters decision - also very happy for the caribou living there.

Perry and I wish you and your factory staff happy holidays after your long hours.

PS. According to records, when Bodhidharma was last seen he was crossing a mountain path wearing only one sandal ...

God! .... another [banned term] hippy.

Myozen, Yes glad about the preservation of ancestral lands. It's often such a fine balance between local interests and wider societal interests; and the oil boys like to throw their weight around and say they are always acting in societal interests when often they they are only being greedy.

Mike, hope you still afloat given all the floods and rain down your way. Must make deliveries a nightmare.

I am delighted to report that I have just received an email from Myozen, a few minutes ago--and that she and Perry are doing well!



In essence, they had to move, some 2 years ago, to Perry's mother's home in Kitamaat Village, to care for her, and have only recently obtained internet access.


Myozen reiterated her appreciation for this community, and her hope to reconnect.

thanks for the positive update......

Great ...thanks, send our warmest.

Warmest is right!
After their recent record breaking 2 meter dump of snow and three day power outage.

And, this latest email from Myozen, received today:


Dear Kozan,

It was so delightful to see your warm-hearted email this morning!     I am very happy to hear that you are well and happy.

Here I must admit that when I wrote to you I had actually wanted to ask if you would mind please conveying my regards to everyone at OBC Connect, but felt a bit awkward since I had not been communicating for so long.    I would be glad if you copied the email to the site ... thank you!

I would love to rejoin the forum, although it may be a bit sporadic since our days here are somewhat unpredictable - there are no schedules!    Allowances are made for what is jokingly called "Indian time" here.    Many people do not have vehicles so we make trips to town frequently to help with errands;   everyone knows everyone else so visits are casual and impromptu.     When we moved here we needed to adjust again to this open socializing and sharing, so different to our life in Terrace.

This afternoon we both spent time in the yard - Perry shoveling a trench to the woodpile (our woodshed collapsed also) while I went around splinting and supporting damaged branches.      This is a mountainous area and the village road winds for 11 kilometers through dense conifers along the water of the Douglas Channel.    We saw many seals on the log booms as well as herons and Canada geese, so spring is nearing.

This evening I will take a look at OBC Connect - I have not been spending time online so far yet and hope I still know how to log on ...

It is so wonderful being in contact again.     Wishing you a pleasant remainder of the day :-)

In gassho,

Myozen

Josh, Mark, and Howard, thank you all for your kind thoughts.

I feel confident that Myozen feels the same!


(Note to all--I would not have been able to comment on Myozen and Perry's snow condition, without the information you provided, Howard. Thank you!)