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.

:-) Hi Henry!

"NB" for Nota Bene (or Notate Bene, if there's more than one of you) is dusty old Latin for "note well", and is fairly commonplace in dusty old England among the dustier old English. "Crying off" is ancient Greek for (roughly) excusing oneself from something, or withdrawing from something.

Henry wrote:

When are you going to start speaking English?

Only when really necessary, and if I can remember it! (-:

:-) Chisan, I think I probably had the same trouble as you with Myozen's link. Perhaps we are on the wrong side of the Pond.

I found several sites that might let you watch online for free if you're a member (always supposing they still have the video-link); and I think one can also download, e.g...
http://www.tracktvlinks.com/watch-fanshi-dansu-1989

Only a trailer exists on YouTube...


Here's another clip (with free advert)...
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9l1s1_fanshi-dansu_shortfilms?search_algo=2

Thanks Anne
I will have a look later

Not enough on the clip to really get a flavor of the movie,However Myozen I liked the Shika saying
But you can only know the nature of sugar by putting it in your mouth and tasting it.
I have thought about the flavor of Japan's temples and for me it is a strong stillness which demands a strong stillness,and where ever I went in the temple or temple grounds the strong stillness demanded a strong stillness

Happy Halloween!


Brigitte,
Thank you for your thoughtful post, it is always so good to hear from you. It is a beautiful autumn day here, with piles of golden maple leaves on the snow along the sidewalks. This morning it was minus 11 degrees Celcius with the wind chill, the coldest so far this season. It is this sparkling aspect of winter that I missed when I was back in South Africa. One year when we were driving home from Kitamaat Village - very carefully on the icy road - we saw a pack of wolves playing on the snow in the moonlight.

It is a seasonal treat gathering winter reading material and then settling in while the snow comes down quietly. It was rather moving reading that Dogen loved Eihei-ji in winter when it gradually becomes cocooned in snow.

This morning at the bookstore I was greeted by a glamorously spooky pirate lady and at the supermarket by a pregnant vampire lady. Starting tomorrow night there is a Jack o' Lantern Festival - each year Terrace residents take their carved pumpkins to Ferry Island and light the candles at dusk.

It is lovely to know that you and Kozan also enjoy the reflective-ness of the season.



Chisan,

Beautiful - that stillness of the Japanese temples is something I sometimes miss. The strong stillness "sinks" into the marrow.

My apologies for a hasty post last night, complete with typos! I had meant to say there was a quiet ripple of laughter which gradually grew until everyone was falling apart laughing out loud.

Perhaps the dog was wondering whether the monk has the Buddha Nature?

I looked at the link again - it is the 2.25 minute Daie Film trailer which opens with a moving scene of monks doing takuhatsu in the snow. A hyphen was left out in the link (instead of an underscore) which should be dailymotion.com/video/x9l1S1_fanshi-dansu_shortfilms.

The trailer also does not really convey the flavour of the film, which though a parody/comedy has some thoughtful moments. In one scene, while the young Japanese monks are struggling with their concerns over girlfriends left behind, dealing with new disciplines, etc. there is a gaijin monk who says, "Zen is the universe." At this point Hodo groaned!


Anne,
Thank you for trying with the link I mistyped - sorry for the trouble :-) Many bows! I have not been able to find a site where the entire film can be watched on line.

Gassho,
Myozen

Chisan and Anne,

Perhaps you have seen it already, but the Japanese film Zen (Dogen) can be watched on YouTube in a subtitled version (123.30 minutes)

The Life of Zen Master Dogen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TinmRC2BS00

Gassho,
Myozen

Nice "flavor" of stillness Chisan. I have for a long time been looking for a specific translation of one of Bashos Poems which I have sadly misplaced. . The one below approximates it and even though by now I should have given up trying to look for perfection I can't help it in this case. Still looking....

Such stillness--
The cries of the cicadas
Sink into the rocks.


Myozen, Thank you for the link to the film on Dogen.

Brigitte

Nice poem Breljo

We seem to like stillness here humor and delicate poems, Good qualities of life for me. A life without meaning is so unfortunate. the flavor of Temples this stillness always points me back to the koan of daily life. What is the difference between a temple life and a non temple life,what is Zen Buddhist without sutras, and organization? My life could not be more different than life at a temple,it is frantic. I design and have a small factory that makes furniture, we can never quite cope with the volumes,on top of the usual work loads we have had to make beds wardrobes chests kitchens tables chairs for 7 apartments on the isles of Scilly ( such a beautiful group of islands) we had a 2 week deadline and somehow had to fit it all in,so it is early starts late nights,desires for the strong stillness of The temple itself are strong! however if one does learn anything without the form and structure,if depth of being is not left behind on ones zafu,then a frantic life is really a great place to practice. We are supposed to finish Scilly isles contract tomorrow so it is an early night for me,but I will be up before our overseas friends have their evening ovaltine

There was a saying on the cover of a journal I had ( I never kept it up much), which said, "If you can't find the Truth right where you are, where do you expect to find it? Your post, Chisan, reminded me of it. I have to believe that whereever we are at any time is exactly where we are supposed to be. In your case right now, in the midst of Furniture making. Many people depend on you. It is nice to know you are busy at a time many have no work. Temple life can be very beautiful. It is right for some and for various reasons, some of which have been discussed here, it is not particularly helpful. I think all of us have met people in this life who without much of a religious bent of any kind, walk The Noble Eightful Path without ever having heard of it. They may be found in the monastery and outside of the monastery, in any walk of life.

As a curious aside, something prompted me to make a cup of Ovaltine last night, hardly ever drink that stuff,but pulled out an old jar I've had in the cupboard forever.

Brigitte

Closing deadline forklift truck
searching the Whole
factory
Buddha Mind

I think we have beaten the system as the number counter won't go higher
man verses modern technology we won aha

Myozen wrote:
Upon reflection on your post, it occurs to me that the thing I have to let go of is missing being a monk specifically in Japan, with its wider social/communal/traditional implications as a "Buddhist" country, and I realize this sense of loss is due to all the effort and focus since early childhood - and that there are aspects of all this studying/experience now unutilized. (Sorry, I do not know how to express this without sounding proud of achievements of some kind, which is not the feeling or intent). I believe the essence of the matter of life here has moved somewhat beyond the "Kennett Roshi problem" now, thanks to everyone's comments and support on the forum. It is as Josh also has indicated, it was time to move on then, and it is time to move on now with my life here without compromises - which Perry reminds me I have been trying through the years.

I am very glad that being here on OBCC has been of help to you in sorting things out. It has been so for many of us. It seems to me that those aspects of your prior study that are unutilized may be things that are simply not needed anymore in your life. I have to wonder if those things are the wheat or the chaff. If they are the latter, with a slight change of perspective, you might see your load all the lighter for not having to use them at all. They could, perhaps, become just pleasant memories to enjoy on occasion. And rather than opportunities lost, they could become simply the good fortune of having been the path that lead you to your present life. Just food for thought.

Anne wrote:
"Limited patience", if I have have read that as you mean it, does sound rather like Rev. Kennett: I'm not trying to be cheeky or 'get my own back' here. I see in others' stories of Rev. Kennett, and what I know of her long-held genuine-but-mistaken belief in the ubiquitous necessity of living as an unpartnered monk for certain degrees of realisation, factors that while particular to her in some aspects are not necessarily unique to her in all aspects, for I have witnessed some in my own past. Excluding recognition of these where appropriate in oneself, or in ones past, will hamper ones development or ones understanding of other people. When someone is considered a troublemaker or forgetful (for example), they may also regularly be blamed for things that aren't their doing simply because others are so used to things beingtheir doing, and then look no further; so even more gets piled in front of the "troublemaker's" or demented person's door, becoming yet more of a cause or 'reason' to doubt them next time: I noted this many times when working in mental health services for over-65s. Correctly or mistakenly, my impression of some posts on this thread has been somewhat similar, along with an impression of a kind of 'ostracism' of Rev. Kennett. Again, this does not sound dissimilar to some of her behaviour. Alas, present limits to my tact-knowhow (not unwillingness to use tact, as I have got over thinking that is a good way to help others!) may mean this statement appears to some people as insulting, which is certainly not my intention. In examining aspects of her behaviour, I perceive also a more general relevance from which I do not wish to exclude myself.

Anne,
I basically agree with your response to my post. My "limited patience" is just like Re. Kennett's, so that it sounds rather like her makes perfect sense. I would like to deny that, but fear that Cyndi may have audio, or worse video, of some of my more " limited patience" moments corners me into admitting the unfortunate truth. However, though the essence of my and Rev. Kennett's limited patience my be the same, I do believe that I view my own impatience differently from how Rev. Kennett viewed hers. I see my impatience as just that: impatience. With all the destructive consequences that tag along with it. Occasionally my impatience will have good effect, but for the most part it is an expression of my own frustration. The norm is that it isn't skillful means, but frustration at having a lack of skillful means to address an emotionally difficult situation.

From my point of view, the real damage done by Buddhist teachers in general, and specifically Rev. Kennett, is not that they get angry or impatient at times, but that they portray their own shortcomings as manifestations of their enlightenment. This is a true mind "banned term." Of course, in your heart you know the falseness of their assertion, but your defenses fight and fight, and the ensuing confusion can truly be emotionally devastating. But what makes it a true mind "banned term" of the first order is that everyone around you--all those people who have become, all rolled into one, your friends, coworkers, family, fellow spiritual travelers--all hand you the same line of nonsense. Everything inside shouts, "Something is terribly wrong" while everyone around you spouts the same nonsense that denies and negates your own perceptions. When a person has dedicated 10, 15, 20 or more years to this community, the emotional pain, self doubt, and mental confusion can be horrendous. It is this collateral damage that makes my "limited patience" and Rev. Kennett's of a wholly different order.

Anne wrote:
I do hold Rev. Kennett responsible for her behaviour; nothing I asked was intended to suggest the actions mentioned were "good to do". There can be much difference between intent and effect-due-to-lack-of-understanding. I think that Rev. Kennett had significant misunderstanding about Myozen (hopefully not in every aspect throughout Myozen's time with her), and that it was best (indeed inevitable in the end) that Myozen leave, just as I found it necessary to end my postulancy at Throssel Hole in 1975. (Conversely, sucky effects do not necessarily mean sucky intent, especially when dealing with someone who has a certain degree of liberative insight and applied training.) My impression has been that Myozen is over any kind of belief that there must have been something wrong with her if she could not appreciate and agree with the misunderstandings and adversarial modus operandi. Even in writing to you here, I wish I could think of a more tactful way of expressing my meaning but alas my time and intelligence are too limited, for which I offer apology as I have no wish to be offensive.

Anne,

I completely agree that there is enormous difference between intent and effect-due-to-lack-of-understanding. That is a given. What I do disagree with is that this distinction is of particular importance in any particular instance. I would contend that for those of us who left the OBC for the above reasons, that the importance of Rev. Kennett's intent becomes irrelevant at a certain point. Many of us struggled with the question of whether her actions were "enlightened and for our own good or not" for years. When we came to the conclusion that they were not, we then struggled with "though she's mistaken on this, is her intention to do good?" And then at a certain point I had to conclude that her intentions are hers and perhaps I will never know what they truly are. And you know what? By that time, her intentions were utterly irrelevant. What was relevant was the destruction, pain, and confusion wrought by her actions. What was relevant was that she simply was not helping. What was relevant was that holding on to doubt to protect those who will not open their eyes and is only holding me back, needed to be dropped. So essentially what I was saying is not that your statement is wrong, but that in many circumstances it is irrelevant. Whether it was for Myozen is only something she can answer. I phrased my post to her in the manner I did, from intuition that she had bigger fish to fry. No doubt I could have done it more tactfully, but like you, limited time sometimes makes my skillful means even more lacking than it is with ample time.

Chisan and Brigitte, I love the Ovaltine story and how connections happen on the forum!


Brigitte,
It is such a moving poem, which does evoke the stillness of nature in sound. I agree that practice does not depend upon a monastery or the proximity of a zafu, and is to be found in each facet of our daily lives. Being able to spend time in formal training serves as a basis for bringing the experience into the "world" of everyday life, whether a monastic or not.

I was so happy that you also like Basho's poetry. Basho was born in Iga-Ueno, now part of Mie Prefecture where Kennett Roshi's temple was situated, so Kennett Roshi's friend took us to see the "Poet's Memorial Hall" - the area had a tranquil/nostalgic atmosphere infused with Basho's legacy. In a bit of a contrast, the Ninja Museum is also nearby where the demonstrations of ninjutsu skills are very energetic!


Chisan,
Please excuse me for entering your conversation with Brigitte, which brought a sense of quiet and centering in front of the computer. Buddha mind, forklift - thank you for sharing the story of your business. I would love to see your designs. What kind of wood do you work with? I have often wanted to ask you more about your experiences but I am not skillful at it, so just seem to be writing about my own.


Henry,
OBCC has really been a tremendously helpful experience, thank you. Perry and I have discussed loss within the context of his experience - he has often mentioned that so many traditional skills he learned since childhood are also now no longer utilized due to changes in land use, accessibility to territories, and environmental changes resulting from pollution: skills that he also misses using as integral to an entire lifestyle. There are specific skills that are learned as a priest responsible for/to a parish (the same applies to priests of other religions and other cultures, of course) - skills specific to the culture and social environment. Some of these are transferable skills, while others are of a more personal nature. One adapts as one goes along. When I first came into contact with deaths in Kitamaat Village it was an odd sense not being able to "help" in the way I was accustomed to as a monk in a Buddhist environment. You are right in stating that these experiences are of value - they are a vital part of the stuff we are individually made of. Kennett Roshi and all, it has been a "rewarding" (not quite the word, since it is what it is) journey so far.

You have stated such a crucial issue when you say, "the real damage done by Buddhist teachers in general ... is not that they get angry or impatient at times, but that they portray their own shortcomings as manifestations of their enlightenment." At first in Unpuku-ji, these matters were a bit of a struggle since Kennett Roshi was also misreading my inner heart/intentions to such a degree, but since she was the teacher and was skillful at turning matters to reflect that it was my shortcoming in not understanding her sublime/subtle teaching, I starting feeling rather badly about myself in an unhelpful way. However, by examining other facets of my interactions with other people, and the quality of these interactions, this soon turned into questioning what Kennett Roshi's intent was in such often destructive behavior. (The letters she had me translate come to mind again). The picture was just a bit too distorted - since she was the teacher who ordained me, I stayed with her after twice directly engaging her in questioning her motives. I believe it was also the geographic distance at the time that facilitated the eventual severance of ties. At present, as you say, Kennett Roshi's intentions/motives are no longer relevant to my/our life - what was done was done and former students like ourselves have been working at coming to terms with the damage and confusion caused in the process, and getting on with our lives in the present.

It is a bit tricky conveying these things due to the dependence on written words :-)


Anne,
Your posts present so much to think about, often bringing memories of aspects of practice with Kennett Roshi that I had forgotten about when I dust off the old journals to respond. :-)

Also, thank you for posting the clip from the film.


....

We are presently preparing for a medical trip for Perry - off to the city on Monday while friends stay with our pets - which will be of several days' duration. He is in good spirits, going to see a specialist. It probably would be hard to guess that Perry has been disabled for several years? Some of his vertebrae have been damaged due to a condition which had been undiagnosed for too long - we manage by working around the schedule of his medications and the extent of his physical mobility at a given time. That is where the good medicine of humour comes in!

Gassho,
Myozen

Chisan,

Keep up the poetry, I imagined the frenetic pace of deadline, combined with the smell of sawdust, woodshavings and machine.

Myozen

Best thoughts for Perry and you on Monday. Hopefully the right doctor, combined with the right diagnosis and treatment can be found.

Also, lucky you, got to visit Bashos Memorial. One of my favorites:

Deep from within the Peony, the bee emerges, reluctantly.

Love that poem Breljo

Myozen hope things go well for Perry,I know a few people who suffer in this way it is very painful, I hope You manage to get something sorted.

Myozen the furniture designs are really nothing special. I always have to do designs that meet a certain budget(usually low) .I have had to design furniture that was made to look like wood and was not wood,it had beautiful veneer shapes like a butterfly, I designed it in the back streets of Taichung Taiwan. It was a coffee table that had to be produced for about 18us$ and was bought in 4000 pieces a time every 6 weeks. Not many people could do the whole design, and fight the Chinese on price at the same time so I was asked to do it. Now days I design normal furniture for individual people or we sell standard items.
There used to be lots of small furniture factories around the UK but there are not many left. Cheap imports have had an effect,and the recession here finished off many more. We have 10 guys making constantly,we sell locally and distribute to London each week,It is quite a large volume,as we are quick to make. I do not make anything myself as I do not have the time,and by now most probably have lost my touch. It is very hard going I work in the factory,but hardly have time to run it ,so at the moment it is organized by a 19 year old girl,who is very bossy,everyone respects her and she does a good job. A lot of the guys are ex offenders and I have been to court to argue that we need someone rather than them being put away,and I give assurances that I will make sure they toe the line,it works quite well,and when I think about it quite remarkable they guys follow a young girl like they do.

Time to do things is something I do not possess, I have done many things I wrote articles and blogs for a broadcaster,I wrote as an upper class lady,whose favorite pastimes were visiting Harrods , Harvey Nichols, and eating expensive food and drink in expensive bistros.Without realizing it she would say things that would have double meanings usually very rude,and she would tend to know politicians from when they were young and use infantile nick names for them ( so it was not a direct assault on their characters for legal reasons),so she would inadvertantly reveal dark secrets about them (usually George Osbourne who is our finance Minister) These blogs and articles were very popular,unfortunately I did not manage to bring the government down but had a lot of fun trying...again I do not have time for any anarchism these days.

These anarchistic days of the badlands
Are only me
Wondering who I am

:-) Hi Myozen!

Many thanks for the Dogen film-link...I shall enjoy viewing that. (Is creating a direct link with the icon a newly learned skill?!)

Very best wishes to Perry. (-:

:-) Hi Brigette!

Are any of the following the "misplaced translation" of Basho's haiku?...
http://haikutopics.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/silence.html

:-) Hi Henry!

Re impatience, I think that a temptation may be to use the burst of incendiary energy that may accompany a view of (roughly) "This nonsense has got to stop", to pack such a wallop that (one hopes) others will toe the line of thinking/attitude/behaviour one considers acceptable. Hairsplittingly, I don't know whether Rev. Kennett would have considered the "incendiary energy" as "skillful means", but rather her forceful imperative outbursts...I guess that is the point you are making? If so, this is rather the picture I have formed of the behaviour under discussion.

I also wonder about what it was that troubled her and seemed so important/'at stake'. I think she may have had needless-though-genuine qualms on some accounts...not for the fun of it but due to mistaken premises. Mistaken premises plus tirades, combined with implications that the premises are correct and that the tirades constitute high-order "skillful means", would indeed be hellish for others to endure.

Concerning whether the difference between intent and effect-due-to-lack-of-understanding "is of particular importance in any particular instance"... People may sometimes infer that bad effects do indicate bad intent. For example, for years I supposed that Rev. Kennett's statements about "the ubiquitous necessity of living as an unpartnered monk for certain degrees of realisation" must be the result of some kind of wish for elitism; and I could not fathom why she would wish to do this. It didn't add up to what I knew of liberation, or even earlier stages, yet I could think of no other explanation at the time. While I did not doubt that her realisation took her beyond a wish to look down on someone else, simultaneously I posited a parallel-running of the opposite attitude, without even realising the untenability of this.

Later, when I had recalled a shifting of various of my own beliefs over time (even after liberation), I realised that, if I'd had 'followers', they would have been dancing the conga behind me for years. When I came to see a particular belief as inaccurate in some way, my perspective or belief had changed; but the former belief had not necessarily arisen or persisted due to ill intent. Realising my own passage through various beliefs, I could better understand how Rev. Kennett could arrive at her view without any elitism being involved. This was actually very helpful to me to understand.
I think that, had Rev. Kennett considered what Myozen's (and others') intentions would have been, when faced with what seemed to Rev. Kennett as 'inappropriate behaviour' in seasoned students, she might have responded differently. Over the years, Myozen and practitioners like yourself had shown diligence in, and commitment to, training; yet, faced with certain appearances, Rev. Kennett doubted that diligence and commitment, and treated you like rapscallions.

In my posts, I was not thinking solely of Myozen but also of other views as they seemed to me on the forum...I hope Myozen has not felt 'used and abused' as a result. One day some people reading this may need to be able to recognise their own good intent despite damage done, instead of believing worse of themselves...which is not the same as saying let the damage continue.

Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Henry. (-:

And Myozen I should add I have sat with the same friends for 39 years

Anne,
I can only reiterate, that for me Rev. Kennett's intent is not so burning an issue. I hope her intent was pure, but I can't advocate for that view. Neither do I feel a drive to advocate for the view that she had ill intent. Her intent was her own. I know she was often kind to me and I know she many times acted towards me in a manner I thought unnecessarily mean spirited, even cruel. In the end there was enough of the latter that I needed to leave. Like I said, I hope her intentions were good. If she were alive and I could engage these topics with her (though that seems unlikely) her intent would be more relevant. But she is not, and I am far more concerned with those who are trying to sort out the emotional confusion that often comes with having had a close relationship with someone who could seemingly so effortlessly shift from being kind to being cruel. Some call this enlightenment. If it works for them, fine. I just find it offensive when they can't accept that this behavior makes some recipients quite disgusted.

Myozen,
I truly hope that Perry can find some effective treatment for his condition. As you know from reading my introduction post, I've had my share of back problems. I know how debillitating that can be. Let's wish and hope for the best possible outcome.

Maybe loss can eventually drift into wistfulness. There's something reassuring about wistfulness, me thinks.

Hi Anne,

For some reason I just lost what I wrote to you, so here is goes again, a bit shortened version from what I remember.

I wrote to thank you for that link you pointed me to, and no I haven't found (the most perfect version of that particular Haiku) as of yet. Amazing as it is, it seems there is nothing on the internet that can't be found. I have two problems (challenges as they are now called), my computer skills are elementary at best and my eyesight (glaucoma) is slowly but relentlessly deteriorating. I am grateful to still be able to participate to some extent here on the OBC Connect, it may not be too much longer when I won't be able to. I also meant to thank you for letting me know some time ago about a particular feature on the keyboard that I did not know about which has been very helpful, the Control and plus/minus buttons that let you increase/decrease text. So thanks much for that also and as always I appreciate your commentary.

Brigitte

[this behavior makes some recipients quite disgusted.]

Actually I have not come across behavior, cruelty and nastiness like it any where else.

To put it in context I have not come across old men fondleing women's breasts like Eido. Old men having sex with minors maezum. Old men having sex on the phone Eko,or people thinking they are Jesus anywhere else.all I wanted to do was learn to sit.

Marching into Poland next and we were only taking orders

Brigitte,
Thank you. Perry had to complete a very detailed - and lengthy - advance questionnaire so it seems the evaluation process will be thorough.

What a charming poem! There are peonies in the garden, which we both enjoy, and to which we added bee balm and sedum for the bees - whenever we see one come around we cheer (quietly) since the bee numbers have declined so much everywhere.

There is an old story told about a monk who loved peonies and who tended them with great care in the temple garden. One day a lovely young woman began to visit the garden and the monk eventually fell in love with her. He gathered his courage and told her that he would return to lay life if she would marry him. She pitied him and revealed to him that she was the spirit of the peonies, after which she disappeared, walking gracefully through the temple garden wall. The monk continued to take care of the peonies for the rest of his long life, the story goes.

It is such a blessing meeting new dharma family and friends on the forum, and to communicate this way. We hope everything goes well with you, too, Brigitte.


Chisan,
Thank you from Perry. A course of acupuncture treatment two years ago fixed some of the neurological effects (involuntary twitching), which was a big help but pain and loss of some mobility still remains an issue. So we are hopeful ...

A striking poem! The design originating in Taichung Taiwan sounds very intriguing. The same pattern is found here with the dwindling number of individually handmade items due to the market being flooded with cheap imports. My maternal grandfather was a carpenter and I remember my mother telling me how, as a child, she loved watching the curled shavings drop from the planer. I enjoyed hearing about your staff - Perry says he wholeheartedly agrees with your insight of, as he says, "providing the opportunity to do something worthwhile" instead of periods in incarceration. Your blogs and articles sound like wonderful fun.

For some reason I remembered a German friend in Vancouver telling me about Dame Edna, whom he greatly admired - in exchange, I introduced him to durian.

Such continuity - sitting with the same friends for 39 years - brings such richness to life. It is one of the gifts of growing older.


Anne,
I passed on your best wishes to Perry, thank you.

I made a direct link to the Dogen film? I did not even know! :-) By the end of the film I found that I was in tears.

May I tell you a "big secret" about Kennett Roshi? :-) She enjoyed watching the children's animation Ge-ge-ge no Kitaro - within days of my arriving at Unpuku-ji she introduced it to me and we watched it sitting on the floor (she had a back rest contraption for her zabuton) in the communal room under the kotatsu.

The 1960s theme song is on YouTube -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9boVDep-diw

I would have liked to post it here as a remembrance of happy times.


Henry,
Perry said to tell you that some days it feels as if he needs a stick of dynamite to get moving, and that he hopes you do not need the same! Thank you for your good wishes.

The statement "I know she was often kind to me and I know she many times acted towards me in a manner I thought unnecessarily mean spirited, even cruel" completely concurs with my experience with Kennett Roshi. As for her intent, that is something which we probably will never be able to fathom or identify. I have also often thought of the fact that she is no longer here to be able to discuss any of this, although it probably would not have been productive/helpful?

When I wrote the above post to Anne, I did actually feel wistful! Having examined the fall-out debris thanks to the forum, I can honestly state that there are some fond - heart-warming even - memories of the time spent with Kennett Roshi in those early days in Unpuku-ji. It is a relief being able to do so, somehow. It was that seemingly "effortless shift from being kind to being cruel" you write of that was very puzzling and confusing.

And here we are!

Gassho,
Myozen

I hope it goes well with Perry. I remember a friend of mine who is a permanent severe pain sufferer,due to nerve damage in his neck.His pain levels went from really bad to when he had a flare up horrific.
He is a wonderful guitar player and was paid enormous amounts of money to fly to different parts of the world,to appear at a festival or concert to play possibly 1 lead solo. He was paid from the moment the taxi picked him up to the moment it dropped him back,he and his guitar went first class on the plane.He lives just up the road from me now,. A few years ago he was thinking of jumping off a cliff here to kill himself,I had been told about amtriptyline his doctor had not used the drug for his patients however it is one of a few that can be used for nerve damage situations. basically a daily small dose has actually helped my friend. he does not tour like he used to but I bullied him into playing with me when we played a charity aids gig John my friend had not played live for 10 years due to pain of holding the guitar.I was nasty and made him play,there was great fear and anxiety until the first note and then he seemed to fly to some mystical place played for an hour and a half with his eyes closed,with a fat smile on his face..very beautiful to see.John now has his own band and plays locally twice a week. I only mention it as you wrote about it and there are always ways through pain and difficulties for Perry,and I hope he finds them.

Chisan

I'm glad you like that poem as much as I do. .

Hi Myozen,

Good to know Perry is on the way to get some help!

Loved your Peony story, it made me think of the Findhorn Community which I had not thought of in many years and I wondered whether it was still in existence, remember hearing about it in the seventies.as sort of a spiritual Community dedicated to growing and developing communication with plants. I am not sure if you are familiar with it, it is in the far north of Scotland and when I looked it up I saw that apparently it has been develped into some sort of an Eco Village, much expanded and thriving.

Brigitte

Chisan,
Thank you for telling us John's story - it is so moving and uplifting. You saved your friend in every meaning of the word. So glad he is doing well.

When I told Perry your story, he said that in his case perhaps the equivalent would be when he is on the boat with his brother on the Channel - his brother does not let him pull the ground line; he insists that Perry only navigate.

I believe Hodo would really have enjoyed knowing you. He was also a musician and had a band called Samsara Fish - "swimming the ocean of samsara". He played the guitar and autoharp. It was lovely when his former band mates performed Sarah McLaughlin's In the Arms of an Angel for him. Good friends are a wonderful thing.

Recalled a verse we used to repeat when I was growing up in South Africa - "Always remember the 5th of November". In the rural area we lived in, children pushed a straw man in a wheelbarrow and went from house to house calling out, "a penny for the Guy!" The evening would conclude with boisterous fireworks. In the late 1990s when I was back in South Africa the custom had somehow disappeared.

Thank you again for your encouragement, Chisan. We will let you know how things go. I do not know if I will be able to post while we are away, being not that computer literate!


Brigitte,
Tomorrow we will be on our way - thank you for your wishes. We are looking forward to visiting the Buddhist temple and finding some durian!

I am glad you liked the peony story. Your reminder of Findhorn brought some nice memories - I had also forgotten. I believe it was in the mid-1970s that friends were also reading The Magic of Findhorn. The vision is so inspiring - we both love plants but only have a small garden space with flowers and vegetables all together. If I recall correctly, representatives from Findhorn have come to Hollyhock Learning/Retreat Centre on Cortes Island, here in B.C.

We were without electricity for some time today due to a wind storm that brought down some trees over power lines. It was quite pleasant spending quiet time by candle and lamp light, just listening to the wind (and the cat snoring contentedly!)

Gassho,
Myozen

:-) Hi Myozen!

Thank you for the Ge-ge-ge no Kitaro tune-link. I poked around on Google, adding "episode" to the search string...maybe this 25-minute episode, first shown on 14th February 1968, was before your time in Unpuku-ji?...
http://www.veoh.com/watch/v20722141GTH29MMT?h1=GeGeGe+no+Kitaro+(1968)+%237+(English+subtitled)
...My search pulled up other 1968 episodes, including the first, which (judging from Wikipedia) may have been aired originally on 3rd January.

Remember, remember, the 5th of November --
Gunpowder, treason, and plot...
Tonight is "Guy Fawkes Night" in England, commonly 'celebrated' with fireworks, though many fireworks are a-popping and bursting days in advance. I'm not sure if the "penny for the Guy" custom still happens here either (I think contributions used to be spent on fireworks). The festival's origins are political and unpleasant, reflecting religious antagonisms of the era, alas...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes

And now for something rather different... Myozen, do you have any contact with Japanese-Canadian Buddhists? (I'm wondering about an outlet for those skills.) (-:

Don't tempt me
However we had our village bonfire and incredible firework display last night.
It is a yearly social gathering despite not being allowed anywhere near a firework,after having in the past been accused of misleading the youth of the village when I showed them how to fire rockets up 32mmdiameter plastic pipes and set someones hedge alight. I did manage to creep up to the bonfire and instead of Fawkes burnt effigies of :
3 phoney Buddhist teachers
2 failed republican hopefuls
1 Haggard green faced witch (English south coast)
And a lot of karma that should have gone a long time ago

chisanmichaelhughes wrote:

And a lot of karma that should have gone a long time ago

I love it, Michael.

Myozen, your mention of a snoring cat made me think of one who couldn't get his nap in -

http://www.simonscat.com/Films/Catnap/

We have arrived back home to wind and snow and happy pets. While away I missed visiting on OBCC and it was excellent coming to the computer today and finding your posts.

Perry's tests and evaluations went well - at one point he had to be sleeping with several electrodes attached to as many wires, so he commented to the technician that he hopes he does not dream of untangling a fishing net. We had to fly to Vancouver and then on to Kelowna, and the same route back to Terrace. The many magpies in Kelowna excited us more than the large urban shopping facilities!


Anne,
Glad you enjoyed Ge-ge-ge no Kitaro - the tune makes me miss Kennett Roshi! :-)

While in Kelowna I made contact with the Japanese Buddhist Temple (Jodo Shinshu) and we had a pleasant visit during dharma class and sutra chanting. While speaking Japanese to the priest I had a feeling like that of a slate having been wiped clean of all difficulties and obstacles and of being at the first point of connection with Buddhism again. Sorry, that sounds a bit odd ...

After Perry was done with his stay at the clinic we spent the last evening in Kelowna with friends who were part of Daiko-ji when they lived in Terrace. We heard stories about Lake Okanagan's Ogopogo - a relative of Nessie.

Chisan,
Your contributions to the festivities and the bonfire sound most interesting! It is something like the burning of negative karma which had been written on wooden tallies which are then tossed into the roaring consecrated fire during purification rites - I think Kennett Roshi may have performed this ritual at Shasta Abbey? Still have a kesa with a hole burned in it during a very energetic yamabushi performance.


Lise,
We had a good laugh watching Simon's cat - thank you for the treat! Perry was also quite delighted since most people know him as "Simon" since that is his first name - he commented that our cat had similar problems when we were baby-sitting our son's kitten ... :-)

Gassho,
Myozen

:-) Hi Myozen!

I am glad Perry's tests went well.

Googling for images of Kelowna's charms/congregations/conventicles/flocks/gulps/murders/tidings/titterings/tribes (collective nouns, take your pick!:-) of magpies, I found none of the many...but here is one splendid Chichester Wetlands (Kelowna) magpie with feathers spread...
How nice that you had a chance to meet up with the Jodo Shinshu priest! (In China, Chán/Zen and Jìngtǔzōng/Pure Land Buddhism were often companions.)

Ogopogo?...intriguing! I am out-of-touch with news items but found this YouTube video of what some think may be the serpentine course of a Lagarfljótsormur (or Icelandic Lagarfljót worm) swimming across current, taken in February this year...

Hi Anne!

Very much enjoyed your post - such tremendous fun, thank you! What a beautiful photograph of a magpie - we were somewhat transfixed when we saw them for the first time.

A great reminder of the concurrence of Zen and Pure Land in Chinese Buddhism. There is often so much debate about self-power/jiriki and other-power/tariki. This morning I thought about the wonderful Scripture of Kanzeon Bosatsu - the repetition of the assurance of mindfully invoking the power of Kanzeon/nenpi Kannon riki in times of danger and distress - surely this is other-power in Zen ...

The Lagarfljotsormur? Our neighbour who took care of our pets while we were away, and whom we usually assist with her yardwork, is Icelandic so I gave her a telephone call and told her about your post - she wants me to check the exact whereabouts of this in Iceland, and said we can come by later for a pot of soup for our dinner! Thank you for dinner, Anne ...

In Kelowna we came to the subject of Ogopogo when Perry asked if Lake Okanagan freezes over - our friend stated that it never freezes and added jokingly that this was due to Ogopogo. In South Africa we used to hear about Nyaminyami of Lake Kariba/the Zambesi River. Maybe the three are Plesiosaur cousins ... Ogopogo reminded me of the novel by Tracy Chevalier Remarkable Creatures relating to Mary Anning's discovery at Lyme Regis in Dorset.

So, if we feel fear upon suddenly meeting either of the three, there is the Scripture of Kanzeon Bosatsu ... sorry, I do not mean this in a disrespectful manner. :-) One day when Kennett Roshi's friend was driving us somewhere, we had a close call with a careless driver and Kennett Roshi quippped "Namu Amida Butsu" much to the amusement, and agreement, of her friend.

Gassho,
Myozen

Hi Myozen It is nice to see you back and I am pleased that all went well for Perry. poor Tamara had to have another sample taken,,the corrected way to rise from ones zafu and we wait a further 2 weeks for the results.
I was reminded today of the zendo etiquette, when I got off my zafu in a somewhat alien way, I don't think for a minute that any way is better or more correct,but it was a good reminder that my way very quickly gets set in stone and that oneness of body and mind is very often what we do not want,and the ability to see the emptyness of emotions that lead to lack of confidence can so quickly be used to have power over other people.
Good reminders for first thing in the morning

:-) Hi Myozen!

I had another read today about the legendary Lagarfljótsormur on Wikipedia. Disappointingly for plesiosaur fans, there has been suggestion that the motions filmed by Hjörtur Kjerúlf (in the above video) may be those of an inanimate object trapped in the chilly waters -- e.g a fishing net! -- swayed by the strong current, as it appears to make no progress during the short video. (I hope your neighbour won't be too disappointed.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagarfljot_Worm

Another Lagarfljótsormur newsreel (with pronunciation!), showing Hjörtur's footage, from Nightline, ABC News...


Dorset has some reputation for fossil finds. On walkabout, my pa picked up an ammonite's remains in stone, and an actual large tooth (c. 6" long, 1½" wide at the biting-end, 2¼" wide at the other end, and ⅞" at the thickest point)...from when giant oolichans ruled the oceans. ;-)

Hi Chisan,
It is nice to hear from you again, too. We are very sorry to hear of Tamara's ordeal - our best wishes and love to you and Tamara.

One's practice "habits" sometimes can become a bit fixed, and then life presents one with a shake-up and re-evaluation. Practicing solo for so long, it was quite a refresher meeting the Jodo Shinshu Pure Land priest and the students at the temple last week. It reminded me of a paper by Taigen Dan Leighton, Dogen's Zazen as Other Power Practice which was published in The Institute of Buddhist Studies "Pacific World Journal" in 2005 - I just re-read it and was touched by two passages on page 26 - "In the updated Shobogenzo essay 'Birth and Death' ('Shoji'), Dogen says simply, 'Just set aside your body and mind, forget about them, and throw them into the house of buddha; then all is done by buddha.' In the next passage, he writes: "Dogen especially invokes the power of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion who is attendant to Amida Buddha. For example, after relating a dream or vision he had that included Avalokitesvara, Dogen says poetically, 'When Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva makes an appearance, mountains and rivers on the great earth are not dead ashes. You should always remember that in the third month the partridges sing and the flowers open."

Please keep well, Chisan.


Hi Anne,
Thank you for the ABC newsreel - my neighbour does not have a computer so I will have to invite her to view it here! She commented that there are so many myths, legends, and monsters that she was told about as a child. I liked Hjortur's remarks ...

There are fossil beds in the Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park at Smithers, about 127 miles from Terrace - I have not visited it yet.

Perry was delighted at the vision of giant oolichans ruling the oceans. He asked if you know that oolichans are also called "candle fish" because they were used in the past as candles (producers of light) due to their oil content. (Sorry, oolichans - it is fellow living beings like this that have kept people alive.)

Yesterday morning when we peeked out to see if there are more deer tracks in the snow, we found very large bear tracks right outside our door. It seems they are still looking for food before hibernating, so we would have to be mindful when stepping out!

Gassho,
Myozen

Very nice to hear from you again Myozen yes good advice from Dogen.
How indeed can we be separate from our inherant nature,our lives and practice may indeed twist and turn we may well believe the practice is this way, or maybe that, but by throwing away our body and minds and leaving it to the Buddha, we are already one with our selves in the deepest sense
Rather than gaining or doing something,we should forget our own silliness and and be who we are.
Dogen compassion indeed

Even in the Spring and Autumn
The Partridges have
Always sang

:-) Hi Myozen! As Chisan says, "Very nice to hear from you".

Let Perry know I had done my homework already (a small and easy assignment), having read about the various other names for oolichan (eulachon, hooligan, ooligan, oulachon, uthlecan or candlefish) in Wikipedia, where it also mentions that the name candlefish "derives [from] its being so fat during spawning, with up to 15% of total body weight in fat, that if caught, dried, and strung on a wick, it can be burned as a candle."

Slug and snail trails outside my backdoor but very large bear tracks not so much...phew! (Perhaps if you stick to acrylic fleece when you step out they will find you unpalatable!...?) No snow as yet here...mists, clouds and rain, leaves still on the turn and falling.
I hope you will feel safe to 'venture out' into other parts of the forum if fancy takes you (we try to keep bear tracks small to medium). (-:

Chisan,
Beautiful! What can one say in addition?


Anne,
Passed on the further news to our Icelandic neighbour in relation to the pronunciation - she commented when watching the Icelandic soccer team playing on television that the players' jerseys were not big enough to accommodate their names. Thank you, she very much enjoyed this exchange. :-)

I also passed on your suggestion of acrylic fleece to Perry. He says it is an old custom to bathe in water to which a ginseng family plant Oploplanax horridum ("Devil's-club") has been added as purification before hunting to also remove human scent so that the animals would not detect the person. We used to have some simmering on the wood stove in our old house - it has a wonderful fragrance.

I will gradually venture into other areas of the forum - soon we will be hibernating one way or another between bouts of shoveling snow.

Take care in the changeable weather :-)

Gassho,
Myozen

Myozen I think it is a case of 3 arrows in mid air meeting I think Dogen you and I felt the same thing,which is the beauty of true zen. It is passed on or shared without limitations,Japanese South African,English,
man woman sage we all want to be influenced by a higher teaching.

Do you get completely snowed in there ,can you work in the winter?

:-) Hi Myozen!

I am glad your neighbour enjoyed your efforts to pronounce Lagarfljótsormur...I am sure you were quite adept!

From the Wikipedia article on it, "Devil's club" looks like a plant of varied uses. On the combined subjects of bears and OBC Connect, here's a link to Bears are pretty cool, a topic in The Lounge subforum, in case you've not yet seen it...
https://obcconnect.forumotion.net/t357-bears-are-pretty-cool

Today in Broadstone was brightly sunny but tomorrow's forecast includes rain...changeable indeed. I hope you and Perry are managing to keep cosy and above snow-level. (-:

Chisan,
Thank you for your reflection-inspiring post, as always. Wonderful and so true - there are no limitations to a heart seeking authentic teaching and to the transmission thereof (but one tends to forget that!). Perhaps the only limitation is one's expectations and definitions? Wherever we are we can feel the warmth and breath of the Buddhas, the ancestors.

The snow has melted again with temperatures above zero so we have now cleared the garden, planted the tulip bulbs and raked the last leaves. The last several years it has not snowed as much as perhaps two decades ago. The largest single snowfall we have had recently was about 3 feet. One year in Kitamaat Village it snowed so much overnight that the only way one knew our vehicle was parked outside was by the evidence of the radio antenna that was still visible. The children walked to school in tunnels dug around the village, the walls of which were too high to look over. In Terrace in winter life goes on with the addition of having to prepare somewhat more in advance before going anywhere - often one has to dig a path to the vehicle, scrape the ice off the windshield and negotiate around the mountains of snow piled in the middle of the road between the two lanes. After all the years here I am still wonderstruck by the beauty of winter in the northern hemisphere - winters in Cape Town meant rain and wind for weeks.

A few days ago I came across a photograph taken of some monks looking rather cold walking in waist-high snow at Shasta Abbey, led by Mark!


Anne,
Had a laugh - enjoyed the Bears are pretty cool topic. When Perry and I first met, he soon started taking me for hikes in the forest around Kitamaat Village - he showed me a place where there were so many crystals on the mountainside. I love seeing the enormous tropical-looking Devil's club leaves - one thing I learned very quickly was not to grasp a Devil's club for support if you slip: thorns! Perry showed me the edible plants like the rice root (Fritillaria) and tea (Ledum groenlandicum), animal tracks and scat - very important to be able to identify these in the forest! Recently we stopped to look at some scat, and I was reminded of the old local joke - "It is not grizzly bear scat because there are no bells in it so it must be black bear." It had to be explained to me that hikers often wear bells to warn bears that they are approaching. :-)

So far we are keeping cozy and hope you are too ...

Gassho,
Myozen

Perhaps the only limitation is one's expectations and definitions?

Well that has certainly hit home I was going to add 'and our willingness to practice' but I remember Bill Picard like yesterday telling me at some point zazen is just done. The spirit of this approach has lived with me for forty years,and in some ways I am lucky as my life is fairly hectic,it is alarm bell and and if I do not get up I am late for zazen,no time to consider why or what I am doing. So I do agree the limitation is our self, our view.

Wherever we are we can feel the warmth and breath of the Buddhas, the
ancestors

This reminds me of Japan one monk said to me ..don't worry you are in the hands of Buddha. He meant practice and the way will always show itself to you. And as we know seeing the way is not the difficult part
I hope you and Perry and the indiginous family are well,and the tea made from melted snow , fills you all with life and merriment

Chisan,
By saying "at some point zazen is just done" and "practice and the way will always show itself to you" I feel the subtle matter of sustained practice through no matter what - when it has become as natural as breathing in and out - has been expressed so well.

There was something I wanted to write to you in relation to the planting of the tulips and narcissus, which we were trying to get done before dark - which means soon after 4 o'clock - but once I made it to the computer, I had forgotten! Anyway it was about the article I read titled A Conversation with the Elements by Mark Nepo in "Parabola" magazine, which reminded me also of the process we have gone through on this forum in relation to examining and coming to terms with our experiences with Kennett Roshi.

He wrote, "An ancillary paradox is at work in the kinship between light and dark. We yearn so hard and long to be rid of darkness. Yet without dark, there is no shadow. And without shadow, there is no depth perception. Without any depth perception, we have no sense of direction, no sense of what is near or far. In our need to find our way, we are asked not to bypass darkness but work with it and through it ... As a seed buried in the earth can't imagine itself as an orchid or hyacinth, neither can a heart packed with hurt or a mind filmed over with despair imagine itself loved or at peace. The courage of the seed is that, once cracking, it cracks all the way. To move through the dark into blossom is the work of soul."

I would very much like to hear your comments on this Chisan - the matter of "depth perception" spoke to me.

When our boys were small, Perry showed them how to make the "Indian ice cream" he used to eat when he was a child: fresh snow + canned evaporated milk + sugar and other flavouring. (Never experimented with oolichan grease here ...!)

Gassho,
Myozen

I think what you are talking about is the heart of Zen.
Practice and enlightenment,oneness and duality.
'Avoid one sided clinging'

For me the most helpful anecdote or advise was from Bill Picard in 1970,he told me that life was like sitting in a train and the side of the track passes so quick it is difficult to see it clearly,however a moment of insight reveals the start and end of the journey and then it is back in the train,with life flashing by,but this time the journey is altered by a little wisdom.

Whether or not the wisdom benefits one or how one lives through the rest of the journey depends on the myriad shadows we have. I personally believe that insight is simultaneously revealed in relation to ones practice,and the difficulties experienced with implementing our own practice and living a life that deepens realization rather than taking one away from being who one really is.
The moment teachers or anyone cease their practice Buddhism withers and dies and empty words replace living experience.
The word shadows is new to me I take it to mean the depth of our selfishness,all the little cause and effects of our lives,endless practice. The myth that sudden enlightenment bypasses once and for all the difficult practice of awareness that allows the growth of love and compassion,most probably started for me many years ago by reading a book that promised a vision of paradise for 2 dollars fifty.That's cheaper than a spade to clear the snow
Take care my friend

"An ancillary paradox is at work in the kinship between light and dark. We yearn so hard and long to be rid of darkness. Yet without dark, there is no shadow. And without shadow, there is no depth perception. Without any depth perception, we have no sense of direction, no sense of what is near or far. In our need to find our way, we are asked not to bypass darkness but work with it and through it ... As a seed buried in the earth can't imagine itself as an orchid or hyacinth, neither can a heart packed with hurt or a mind filmed over with despair imagine itself loved or at peace. The courage of the seed is that, once cracking, it cracks all the way. To move through the dark into blossom is the work of soul."

Myozen ,
sorry i"m not chisan commentating , and as usual on this site i'm only ever saying little sort of asides , but i found the above so moving appropriate applicable to every speck of my life . I was sitting in tears after a skype call with my youngest son in australia - there he was in a hot summers evening , and me in my arm chair with the rain outside , and i was overwhelmed with sadness and baffelement as to how to love .i garden and paint and 'sit' and the reminder of that seed in EVERYTHING breaks my heart but reminds me too of the extraordinary power and beauty of our lives ,of us .Oh but we do need courage, and now i sense that seed - cracking - indeed ive been painting that - but lately not , lately is changing. but thank you very much . i feel so happy to find this sort of thing here.

Also ive enjoyed reading the past posts on this thread . i cant think how i missed them , i get the feeling , that threads hide from me , and then ,thank god jump out .

Chisan ,
I dont kow what you mean the word shadow meaning- to you - the depth of our selfishness......I dont like that heavy judgement word ,to me shadow is more like a reflection. But i always like your Bill Pickard stories , so thank you too.

How wonderful Nicky that you wondered how to love

:-) Hi Myozen! Apologies for my tardy reply...I have been, and am in process of, catching up on some work long promised to a friend, but have enjoyed reading the posts. (-:

Devil's Club with helpful hand for scale... ...ooch!...

MIchael, I like seeing your picture! Somehow you look just as I had imagined you might look! I'm happy to see your smile. I hope your girlfriend's tests turned out well. Such a worry . . .

Thanks Carol we get the last test results today they took a mechanical sample last time..which was not very nice..Thanks for asking I will let you know

yes it was good news,no cancerous growths,Tamara has to go every year for a mammagram, we wish everyone who did not get some good news our sympathy and love

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