![]() |
![]() |
||||
Those who attended the Kanzeon in the Kitchen Feast Feb. 24 were very pleased. It seems this event has found its way into DRZC's annual calendar. (But don't expect it every year!) The feast is unique in that it brings together many in our community along with their friends and family who do not attend the Zen Center - Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike, together for good food and a few laughs, becoming familiar faces.
Thanks to the volunteers that allowed around $1000 to be raised: chefs/masterminds Gyokuko Carlson and Kakumyo Lowe; BBQ specialist and emcee/raffle-guy Kyogen Carlson; helpers with food and dining room setup during the preceding week, including: Alison Brown, Getsushin Brox, Yuishin Clark, Joan McKenna, Anthony Stevens, Sokyo Swallow and, from the Lewis and Clark Zen Sangha, Jeff Lesh and Joanne Cintora; head server Gwen Martin and her crew: Mary Garrard, Fred Green, Jeff Lesh and Sally Schoolmaster; musicians Rene Berblinger and Laurel Brauns; dessert chefs Kyonin Lee, Domyo Sater and Yuishin Clark. After dinner, weary cooks, servers and several guests attacked the mountain of dishes next time we would be deeply grateful for a fresh crew whose only job is cleanup!Above: Once again, Rene Berblinger and his guitar provided a musical accompaniment to the meal and conversation.
Left: The food was so good, it was not safe to leave your plate unguarded.
The Soto Zen Education Office sponsored a conference March 9-11 at San Francisco Zen Center. It was attended by Gyokuko and Kyogen, Chozen and Hogen Bays from ZCO, Rev. Eko Little, abbot of Shasta Abbey, Revs. Taiken Yokoyama, and Shohaku Okamura of the Soto Zen Education Office, and priests from the lineages of Suzuki Roshi, Katagiri Roshi and Tozen Akiyama Roshi. Topics discussed included methods and standards used for giving Jukai precepts, the need for seminary education of ordained priests in the United States, and cooperation in organizing a trip to Eiheiji for the celebration of Dogen Zenji on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of his Parinirvana. This last item is of some interest. The International Department at Eiheiji would like to have a special two-day event for all of Dogen's Dharma descendants from around the world. This is a wonderful and unique opportunity for both ordained and lay followers of Soto Zen to visit Eiheiji, which was founded by Dogen and is the site of Dogen's and Koun Ejo's ashes. The Int'l Dept. will even arrange a charter flight, transportation in Japan, and accommodations at Eiheiji for us. The memorial will be in October of 2002. Those planning to go will need about $2000 for the trip and expenses while in Japan. If you have an interest in attending, call the Zen Center.
Jukai sesshin was held March 13-18. Gyokuko acted as abbot, administering the Precepts, meeting with preceptees throughout the week in face-to-face interviews, giving evening teishos on the Three Treasures and the Precepts as the blood of the Buddhas, and giving oversight to the shuso, Jay Dosho VanSant, who managed the sesshin.
Kyonin Lee was Tenzo, with Kakumyo Lowe and Yuishin Clark assisting. (And Fred Green.)
Jiko Tisdale was head tea server and guestmaster. Their efforts allowed participants to focus on stillness in this sesshin - "peaceful dwelling."
Above: Dorene Walker and David Robinson make zabutons during the Jukai sesshin. Working in silence, sesshin participants also thoroughly cleaned the zendo, painted inside the Sangha House, cleaned the furnace room, worked on the pond and gardens, made various repairs and did many other things - both supporting and building sangha.
Right: Kyogen-sensei wields the duster during a work period-modeling the endless training of dusting.
Even eating is part of endless training:
Left: Food offerings are made to the Hungry Ghosts (and the animals in the garden)from the lunchtime meal.
Right: After meals, dishes are cleaned and placed neatly on the table, one way we can show our respect and gratitude for the vessels that help to feed us.
Jukai is a special time of year for the sangha, because we are able to formally recognize the treasures of Buddha and Sangha in new faces. New blood enters as wagessas with eternity knots are laid on preceptee's shoulders. It is a time when change at DRZC is evident and ushered in with joy. When someone is given the Precepts, they vow to treasure this ancient Buddhist tradition and become a "Buddhist of the ten quarters." Above - The sangha awaits the start of the Jukai Ceremony.
Left: Gyokuko-sensei, this year's celebrant for Jukai, begins the ceremony.
Below - With Gyokuko-sensei and the rest of the sangha as witnesses, Jennifer (left) and Daniel (right) vow to follow the precepts.
Right- 19 new Buddhists took the precepts this year.
L-R Front- Gyokuko, Plow Hiebert, Dosho VanSant (shuso)
L-R Middle - John Burk, Denise Lee, Sylvan Rainwater, Kyri Treiman, Jennifer Pagliaro, Daniel Morgenweck, Lily Farris, Sara Smart, Pam Britton
L-R Back - Katherine Radeka, Jerome Madden, Claudine Kavanagh, Dorene Walker, Angela Byington, Jim Schulz-Browning, Melinda Messore, David Robinson, Rusa Fischer
Notably, the two youngest people to receive the Precepts this Jukai were actually among the most senior Buddhists in the bunch. Lily Farris and Sarah Smart have been attending Dharma School at DRZC for nine and five years, respectively. Lily and Sarah represent a generation of Americans who have had access to Buddhism from a very young age. They will be graduating from high school and from Dharma School this year, and are the very first of our Dharma School kids to decide that they want to continue to identify as Buddhist in their adult lives. We wish them much love and good fortune on their adventures! Left: Lily receives the precepts from Gyokuko sensei
At the April 8 Sangha Forum, members were presented with a treasurer's report, an update on membership, and an astonishing list of activities and services provided by or overseen by the Zen Center. See below for Treasurer's Report. Given the drop in income between 1999 and 2000, questions were raised about whether membership had also fallen. Kyogen explained it is difficult to track membership because the situation fluctuates considerably. There is a time-lag between when people stop paying membership dues and when their record in our database is changed to non-member status. Also, people may increase or decrease the amount of money they are contributing without this being reflected in the number of members. The general impression, however, is that membership has more or less stayed the same, or slightly increased. At the same time, participation in Center activities has increased dramatically. This may explain why expenditures increased between 1999 and 2000, while income did not.
Kyogen also pointed out that money received through the Paint-the-Eye fundraising for capital improvements, payments and acquisitions is not included in the figures for income. Someone suggested general income might have been down because members were concentrating on contributing toward the capital fundraising drive, though it would be difficult to determine if this were the case. For the next year, more emphasis will be placed on the importance of membership and donations toward general operating expenses. Paint-the-Eye money will be earmarked mostly for paying down the mortgage on the Sangha House, and will be tracked on the new thermometer graph in the Zendo lecture room. The remainder of the meeting demonstrated something Kyogen has been talking about for years: we have truly moved from being "clergy-centered" to "program-driven." Members spoke briefly about many of the activities and services described in this newsletter. Also discussed was Zen Center Residency, Seminary Program, Dharma School, Library, Apprenticeship Committee, Bookstore, Internet Presence and the availability of Practice Advisors.
Domyo Sater was ordained by Gyokuko-sensei during Shukke Tokudo (monk ordination), on March 2. Shintai Dungay was jisha. Many lay and ordained were present as witnesses, including Chosen and Hogen Bays, Ani Paldrön, Eric Marcoux and Eijo McMullen.
We now have four ordained monks and two postulants at Dharma Rain. We congratulate Domyo and bow in deepest gratitude for the offering of service that these six people have made (and continue to make) to us.
Expenses are increasing at a higher rate than our income, especially with the addition of another facility (the Sangha House) and the expenses that go with it.
Year 1999
2000
Contributions: $ 63,000
$ 57,200
Total income: $134,800
$121,200
Expenditures: $111,200
$117,400
Net income: $22,600
$3,800
The year-to-date income and expense statement of Feb. 28, 2001 shows a net loss of $7,969. This is not indicative of how we expect the fiscal year to end. At the same time last year, we showed a net loss of $6,482, and ended with a net income of $3,800. Our net equity at the end of last year was $108,252. This accounts for depreciation, and is a conservative estimate of the amount of money that would remain if all Zen Center property were sold and all debts paid.
Priests Get Help Scheduling Informal Sanzen: Both of the Center teachers, Kyogen and Gyokuko Carlson, are available for private meetings, also commonly referred to as informal sanzen. To schedule sanzen with Kyogen, please call the Center and ask for Kyonin Lee. To meet with Gyokuko, call Domyo Sater.
Zendo Rearranged: Recently, the priests' and precentor's seats were moved to the front of the hall, near the altar. The precentor now has a clear view of the celebrant and can more effectively lead services. There is room for a row of chairs along the back wall, increasing the total number of seats. Also, those who need chairs will no longer have to move them and we can spare the zabutons the impact of the chair legs.
More Stillness, Less Gassho: Our particular form had become a bit gassho-happy compared to many other western and Japanese Soto sanghas. The general rule of thumb is not to make gassho when the precentor is singing alone, as in offertories, or when the celebrant is acting alone, as in incense offerings. Nor do you usually need to make gassho when you are on your cushion - such as after the third bell rings to begin zazen, or when your neighbor returns from sanzen. This way the body can remain still for longer periods, both during meditation and during chanting, and the precentor and celebrant act for the community in service. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule of form. We still make gassho throughout the ancestral line and most of the meal verse.
Please let us know about new developments in your lives for future issues!
Member Joe Niski and Nanette Redman (now Nanette Niski) were married March 10. Their Shingon Buddhist wedding ceremony was performed at the Leach Botanical Garden by Rev. Eko Noble. Sosetsu Stauffer bought a house at 15th and Alberta, and is applying to the MSW program at PSU. Julie Burtis has completed a year at Tassajara and will probably stay for another summer, but may return to us in the fall. Kakumyo Lowe was accepted by Gyokuko as a postulant for monastic ordination on Feb. 7. Domyo Sater received monastic ordination from Gyokuko on March 2, with many lay and ordained as witnesses. Both Kakumyo and Domyo are now living, working and practicing at the Zen Center full time. They join Gyokuko and Kyogen and postulant Kyonin Lee in this way of life, helping to expand and strengthen the flow of full-time residential practice at the Center. Postulants and monk-trainees may also be sent away to train at other practice centers for limited amounts of time, as Kyonin Lee will be doing this summer. She will be leaving May 23 to participate in a summer intensive at Tenshin Fletcher's Zen Mountain Center in California, and will return Aug. 29.
After many years of being located in Getsushin Brox's house, the Zendo has moved to a temporary location in Kip Lohr's home. Priest Eijo McMullen is in the process of buying just under 5 acres of land in the hills of south Eugene where he hopes to build a center.
Getsushin came down on Tues. March 27 for a dinner and closing ceremony. There was a period of meditation followed by a ceremony where people spoke about what all the years of being in the house had meant to them. This was followed by Eijo, Thelma Soderquist and Martha Welches breaking down the altar and packing it for its new home, as the sangha chanted Kanzeon.
Finally, the evening ended with a raucous cake party where Getsushin and Eijo each blew out candles on a cake that said "The Wheel Turns." Many thanks to Getsushin's generous donation of her house for all these years and Eijo's continuing efforts to move forward with a new center. Eijo's schedule is now 5 days a week in the morning. Please call Thelma Soderquist (541-344-4222) to get details on Eugene Zendo meetings and events.
Clockwise from top left:
Members of Eugene group reminisce.
Getsushin at the last meeting
Thelma, Debra and Eijo
Eijo chants the scriptures with the other members of the group
Group photo of those who attended the final meeting at Getsushin's house.
Getsushin and Eijo blow out candles, then Eijo cuts the cake at the closing of the zendo that has resided in Getsushin's house for many years.
STILL POINT archive edit of 1 July 2001
Dharma Rain Zen Center Newsletter
Copyright Northwest Zen Sangha.
No portion of this publication
may be reproduced in any form
without permission.
This Web page may be linked
to other Web pages provided
its contents is not altered in any way.
email to Staff@Dharma-Rain.Org
([an error occurred while processing this directive])
If there are broken links or other problems with this page, contact the Still Point Web Manager, Jeanette Ryan, at ryanjb@teleport.com