Dharma Rain Character

Still Point

Newsletter of Dharma Rain Zen Center

Portland, Oregon

Volume XXIX Number 2

March-April 2004

 



By Elizabeth Erin Luthy

If we meditate with our hair on fire, is our body the kindling? We should be willing to sacrifice our bodies, but what if we don't have to? Should we do it anyway to prove that we are sincere trainees? Is our body the thing that carries our head to the meditation hall so we can deal with our thoughts?

I have always been a physically active person. I played club soccer for over twenty years, joined the Mazama mountain climbing club, enjoyed swimming and volleyball, and love the outdoors. I've attended Dharma Rain Zen Center for many years and have had a more disciplined meditation practice for the past ten years. But my active lifestyle did not prepare my body for the subtle transformation of energy that was occurring because of my meditation practice. As my awareness during meditation penetrated areas of my body that had remained unexamined, I began to experience pain. I became quickly motivated to find a way to alleviate my pain, and I found that meditation practices have traditionally been linked with a body practice that gradually prepares the body for the transformations meditation brings about. I started practicing yoga and tai chi, and I am amazed and very grateful for what each has done for my meditation practice.

Keep in mind that the Buddha grew up in a culture immersed in yoga. Yoga was a well-known and accepted practice for meditation practitioners. Siddhartha went into the forest to study with Yogis. As a result, our meditation position and hand mudras are from yoga. Some yoga texts say that Buddhism is fundamentally yogic, and aspects of yogic movement and breathing were developed to assist in spiritual development. In fact, yoga and Buddhism co-existed when Buddhism moved to Tibet.

When Buddhism moved to China, legend has it that Bodhidharma brought meditation and movement together into a single practice by introducing yoga and pranayama breathing exercises to the indigenous Taoist "Play of the Five Beasts." Today in Zen, we attribute the philosophical integration of Taoism and Buddhism to the person (or persons) in the legend of Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma's contribution in bringing body and mind practices together in spiritual cultivation has earned him his reputation in tai chi and qi gong literature. Somehow, our tradition came out of this rich mixing pot.

Many years ago, Jon Kabat Zinn taught a yoga class and a meditation class, one right after the other, at a church. He recalls in a Yoga Journal article that he had planned it so people could attend both classes in one night, but after the yoga class the students all left and the meditators didn't arrive until it was time to sit. He had thought of it as essentially one class, but neither group saw the benefits of combining both practices. They thought of themselves as either movers or sitters.

What might a meditator learn from a body practice? A body practice is a natural way to bring mindfulness off the cushion and become familiar with meditation while in motion. We become very familiar with the breath during seated meditation. How many of us are aware of where the breath is when we are in motion? The mind is not separate from the body. Learning to discipline the body is another way to discipline the mind.

Life is filled with opportunities (a.k.a. problems). Often the more difficult the "opportunity," the more useful it is to have more than one way to look at it. Information about where we are constricted in our emotional and mental lives is sometimes more accessible through the body's stuck places. Running into stuck places in our bodies is sometimes a way to look at spiritual issues that we have been avoiding successfully with our well-worn thought and emotional patterns.

Still don't see the connection? We are all aging and some meditator's bodies become disabled from not counteracting the fact that we hold the body in one or two positions for long periods of time. Often the damage is done before the person even becomes aware that their body is becoming contorted. A body practice is a way of keeping our body in condition for a longer career as a meditator. In the short term, doing a body practice between periods of meditation keeps the mind alert and bright. Gyokuko says that it helps to circulate "the juices."

There is something else, but I cannot really explain it. When something wonderful comes into your life, how do you explain all the subtle way that itaffects you? The Buddha said that human life is a precious opportunity. To me, the body is a gateway as well as a vehicle. As I now practice with my body, I am learning from it as well as caring for it. I know this body is not my body. I am grateful for it and I remain mindful that it is only on loan to me.


by Domyo Sater

In working with the Precepts, I have found it useful to "translate" them for myself, using words that capture, for me, the flavor of how each Precept manifests in my life. I imagine that every person will have their own translation of each Precept, depending on their karma. Contemplate them and see for yourself! The official translations used at Dharma Rain are in bold; my interpretations follow, in plain text.

Do Not Kill - Cultivate and Encourage Life
Do Not See Anything as Separate From Yourself - See and Honor Every Being and Thing as a Manifestation of Buddha Nature

Do Not Steal - Honor the Gift Not Yet Given
Do Not Place Self-Interest Before Consideration For Others - Trust That You Have All You Truly Need

Do Not Misuse Sexuality - Remain Faithful in Relationships
Do Not Manipulate the Natural Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Attraction Between People Merely For Pleasure, or For Building and Maintaining Your Sense of Self - Negotiate the Intricacies of Human Intimacy With Care, Respect and Honor

Do Not Speak Dishonestly - Communicate Truthfully
Do Not Hide Your Mistakes or Your Pure Buddha Nature With Coarse or Subtle Lies - Speak From Your True Heart

Do Not Become Intoxicated - Polish Clarity, Dispel Delusion
Do Not Take Refuge In Distractions - Cultivate the Clarity and Energy Required For Practice

Do Not Dwell On Past Mistakes - Create Wisdom From Ignorance
Do Not Dwell Unnecessarily on the Past or Future - Have Faith In Your Ability, and the Ability of Others, To Grow and Change

Do Not Praise Self or Blame Others - Maintain Modesty, Extol Virtue
Do Not Compare Yourself To Others - Honor Each Person's Unique Process and Manifestation

Do Not Be Mean With Dharma or Wealth - Share Understanding, Give Freely of Self
Do Not Worry About Lacking Anything - Take Every Opportunity To Be Generous

Do Not Indulge Anger - Cultivate Equanimity
Do Not Justify Territoriality - Do What Needs To Be Done With an Attitude of Acceptance and Compassion

Do Not Defame the Three Treasures - Respect the Buddha, Unfold the Dharma, Nourish the Sangha
Do Not Give Energy To Skepticism or Cynicism - Cultivate Faith In, and Reverence For, That Which is Greater

22 January 2004

Present: Gyokuko Carlson, Kyogen Carlson, Jeanette Ryan, Gary Oshiro, Dosho VanSant, Kisei Martin, Kei'un Lewis, Genko Rainwater, Kat Strieby, Shisei Niski

The meeting began shortly after 7 pm.

1) Formal Approval of the Minutes from the Annual Retreat
The minutes of the November meeting were approved unanimously.

2) No members brought issues to the Board at this meeting.

3) Selection/Election of Board Officers: The current officers are: Jeanette Ryan, President; Gary Oshiro, Treasurer-for-Life; and Joe Shisei Niski, Secretary. All graciously agreed to continue in office. Genko volunteered to be "President-in-training" for this, Jeanette's final year.

4) Treasurer's Report
Preliminary Balance and Profit & Loss reports for 2003 were presented and examined. The current projection is ending '03 just under $7k in the red. The overall sense is that 2003 was a reasonably good year from a financial perspective, although we'd prefer to be in the black..

5) Operations Report
We're holding off on finishing the Sangha House and Dharma House kitchens. The basement hallway in the Dharma House will be finished immediately, in part to accommodate resident turnover. Outdoor work has been progressing at both houses The Zendo boiler overfilled again. It has been fixed (we hope) and is currently working.

6) Bylaws Report:
The only outstanding issue is the Abbots' providing a list of names for the Council of Elders specified in the revised bylaws.

7) Elections Report:
Kisei was re-elected and Kat elected to the open Director positions. Gyokuko was elected Co-abbot with no dissenting votes.

8) Board Elections
Several recruits for the two open positions have declined. Hongaku has agreed to throw his rakhusu into the ring, and other members will be approached soon. Genko will draft a "voter's pamphlet" right away, and ballots will be mailed in December.

9) Storage Unit Rental:
Kei'un reported on her investigation into rental storage. Gyokuko took the list provided and will determine how large a unit we need.

10) Zendo Tenant Changes:
Portland Vipassana Sangha is purchasing a building, thus we'll lose a bit of rental income. The Sufi group that formerly rented on Tuesday nights may be interested in coming back.

11) Repayment Plan for the Carlsons' Loan to DRZC:
At last year's Board Retreat we committed to finalizing a repayment plan at the beginning of 2004. The balance is currently $24,000. A motion to make a payment of $4000 to the Carlsons every January until the loan is paid passed unanimously.

Next Meeting:
Thursday, 11 March, 7 pm at the Sangha House. Next Sangha Forum will be Sunday April 4th. Respectfully Submitted, Joe Shisei Niski, Secretary .

Photo above with Board Minutes:January's snow helped the Dharma House front garden, torn up for remondeling, look good.back

Photo above: Buddha in the snow in the Dharma House garden.

Submit!

The newsletter is put together in the first week of every other month. Submissions are very welcome: short or long articles, which can be on any point of practice, including travel, research or personal experience; descriptions of events we've had; the occasional poem or drawing.

Send your items to: newsletter@dharma-rain.org, or by regular mail, or drop it off in the newsletter slot in the Center house office.

 

 

 

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STILL POINT edit of 21 February 2003

Edited for archive on June 30, 2004
Dharma Rain Zen Center Newsletter
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Volume XXIX Number 1 January-February 2004
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