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.

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!)

The latest email from Myozen:
Edited to add my email reply to Myozen, prior to her reply posted below, in order to provide the context:


Dear Myozen,

Thank you for your reply and update. It is good to hear that you and Perry are doing well, especially now, after what I understand to have been a recent record snowfall (2 meters?) at Kitamaat. Not surprising that your wood shed collapsed!

I had generally summarized your first email, and now, with your permission, have copied your second email, below, on to OBC Connect.

We are all looking forward to ongoing updates, as you are able, and never with any time pressure!

All the best to you, Perry, Perry’s mother, and the Kitamaat community--from me and the OBC Connect community--

In gassho,
Kozan



Dear Kozan,

Thank you for pasting my email on the forum.     It was so good to see everyone's faces in their photographs again.

I will pass on your regards to Perry's mother - it will be a nice surprise.    She is in Vancouver at present with Perry's younger sister who lost her husband in a boating accident on the Douglas channel in November.    It was a terrible time for the family while the Coast Guard was looking for him, but according to their telephone calls, Perry's mother and sister are now doing well and are enjoying the grandchildren there.

This afternoon I looked through postings on the forum and it struck me again what a vibrant and warm community it represents.

Over months since moving here I have become more accustomed to hanging out with the crows in the backyard than being online!

Now that the snow is gradually melting Perry commented that it is almost difficult to imagine how the village looked one month ago.     Fortunately everyone remained safe, although there were losses of food in freezers during the power outage and three of the fishing boats moored in the village bay (harbor) sank under the weight of the snow;    the boats have been salvaged and are on the beach, and some organizations gave village residents supermarket gift cards to help replace the food.    

We have seen the first robins, and some scouts have left for Kemano on the Gardner Channel to check whether any sign of oolichans.

Thank you again, Kozan ...

With very best wishes to you also from Perry.

In Gassho,

Myozen

Was a little surprised to still be able to log in!

Kozan,
Thank you so very much for posting the emails.    We will be calling Perry's mother and sister tonight and will convey your message to them;  they will appreciate it so much.

Josh and Mark,
So happy to see your faces and that you are well.

Howard,
When we went to the village bay to pick up our youngest son this afternoon, there were sea lions on the inside of the breakwater - so perhaps the herring are here.     With the spring the kayaks and sailboats will begin appearing.

Thank you for your kind thoughts Kozan, Josh, Mark and Howard.

Gassho,

Myozen

Great to see you back here again, Myozen, my dear friend!

Thank you, Kozan, for welcoming me back so warmly.

Perry's mother called this morning from Vancouver and reminded me to say thank you for the message.     She asked me for her biscuit recipe - it is a grandchild's birthday today and she was making a big pot of seafood chowder ... she is quite a tenzo!


Very best regards.

In gassho,
Myozen