May 98 Sangha News

Words from the Tanto

Since I will be Training Leader in May, I thought I'd write a few words.

I am fond of a mondo that is quoted by Aitken Roshi in his book Encouraging Words. He took it from Christopher Cleary's Swampland Flowers: Letters and Lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui (Grove Press, 1977, p. 3).

"In the old days, Kuei-shan asked Lazy An, "What work do you do during the twenty-four hours of the day?"

Lazy An said, "I tend an Ox."

Kuei-shan said, "How do you tend it?"

Lazy An said, "Whenever it gets into the grass, I pull it back by the nose."

Kuei-shan said, "You're really tending the ox."

The metaphors in this mondo are quite straightforward. The ox is the mind. So Kuei-shan is asking, "How do you tend the mind?" Roshi describes grass as delusive thoughts. "These include all thoughts while practicing zazen, and all extraneous thoughts when occupied with a task." (Encouraging Words, Pantheon, 1993, p. 144) So, this mondo points to a practice of taking the self firmly by the nose and coming back to the practice or the task at hand when we find ourselves wandering off into delusive thoughs.

In the orientation sessions that Clark and Vicki and I do each month, we sometimes loosely paraphrase Lazy An's response to Kuei-shan's question of how he tends the ox as, "I pull it back to the path, I pull it back to the path." This is wonderful encouragement not to chastise ourselves for losing the counting. Coming back is the heart of the practice.

This coming back to the practice can also be likened to honing a sword. Each coming back draws the mind across a sharpening stone. It's Manjusri's sword, cutting through delusions completely. Finally there is no sword to sharpen and no stone to draw it across.

Lazy An's response, "Whenever it gets into the grass, I pull it back by the nose", is fine, but I would say, "I grab its nose and pull it out of the grass!" Do you see the difference? When you notice the ox, it is already in the grass. You had better be holding it firmly by the nose and pulling for all you are worth. But don't use any muscles!

Kathy Ratliffe

Nelson to Arrive on the 18th

Our teacher, Nelson Foster, will be arriving from California on May 18th and staying with us until June 5th. He will be leading two sesshins, one on O'ahu and one on Maui.

Nelson will need a car during the time that he is not in sesshin. If you can loan a vehicle to the zendo for part or all of this period, please contact Vicki Stoddard at 947-8769 (no calls after 8 PM please).

Sesshin

Nelson will lead a sesshin at Palolo Zen Center from May 22 to May 25, the Memorial Day weekend. Anyone who wants to participate should sign up as soon as possible. Applications are available from Tash at the zendo office. Call 735-1347 or write to our Waiomao Road address.

A Maui sesshin is also scheduled , for May 29 through June 1, but the sign-up list for this sesshin has already been closed.

Maui Sesshin

The Maui Zendo will hold a three-day sesshm with Nelson. May 29 to May 31st, on Nelson's next visit to our islands. It was originally planned as a Mountains and Rivers hiking sesshin; current plans are to hold it in a lovely retreat center in Kula, on the slopes of Haleakala. Space is very limited and reservations must be made before April l0. The sesshin fee is $50 for folks who aren't members of the MauiZendo.

Please call Patti Burke at 808-572- 0711 to make reservations or to get further details. 4/98

Sunday Event for May

The tanto pool will host a short question and answer period after the regular Sunday morning zazen on May 3. If you've been wondering why we make that funny motion with our hands when we bow, or how to deal with the pain in your legs, or suchlike, please come and ask the tantos. Don't be afraid to ask; if you have a question or a problem, it's likely that someone else is wondering the same thing. The tantos' answers will help us all.

Orientation

Michael Kieran has volunteered to lead orientation this month, giving a break to Clark and Kathy Ratliffe and Vicki Stoddard, who have served as orientation leaders for a long time.

The May orientation will be held on Saturday, May 30, from 9 AM to noon.

Long Term PlanningVisioning Meeting

The sangha held its second long term planning meeting on April 19 from 9 AM until noon.

We started with a guided visualization, led by Michael Kieran. He asked us to visualize sangha life in 2008, then look back to "how we got there".

After this exercise we broke into four groups, each of which attempted to join the visions of its members into one unified whole. Each group then presented its vision to the other groups.. One group presented its vision as a play. The other three used the crayons and markers provided to draw pictures of sangha life in 2008. Though there were over twenty people in attendance and four groups, all the visions presented were remarkably similar.

The LTPSC kept the artwork and took notes on the play, and will use all four presentations to synthesize one last vision, which it will present to the sangha as a whole for consideration.

We then adjourned to the dining room for an abundance of sweets, treats, and tea. A good time was had by all.

Dress Code Reminder

The Board would like to remind the sangha that there is a dress code for formal sittings at the zendo (i.e., Sunday mornings, sesshin, zazenkai). Please wear conservative, dark clothing that covers the knees and shoulders, and limit the use of jewelry and scents. Tights may be worn but should be worn with a covering garment. If you have any questions about the appropriateness of your dress, please see the Tanto.

New Potluck Schedule

At the annual meeting, the sangha decided to experiment with a new potluck schedule. Beginning with the first Sunday in April, we will have potluck once a month, following samu on Samu Sunday. On other Sundays, we will have tea, either formal or informal. Formal tea will be in the dojo; the informal tea will be in the dining hall and may include cookies or other light snacks.

There will be an announcement about the tea before the final bow. If we are having formal tea, those who cannot stay may quietly leave the dojo at this time. When we are having informal tea, we will walk quietly to the dining hall and those who cannot stay may step out of line before entering the dining hall.

We hope that this new schedule will be more convenient for our busy members, and allow more people to stay for potluck andtea. 4/98

Sangha Visitor Policy

The Board of Directors has resolved that a member of the Honolulu Diamond Sangha may join the residential program as a visitor (short duration stay) with an automatic waiver of the $25/day fee or the 3 hour samu requirement. If you are interested in this option, please ask Tash for an application.

Buddha's Birthday Celebration a Great Success

Last month's Buddha's Birthday celebration was well-attended, despite the gusty showers that confined us to the dojo and the lanai. We offered sweet tea to the Buddha, then adjourned for tea and birthday cake. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday Dear Buddha" and the children present blew out the candles on the cake (white sheet cake with apricot cream cheese icing and piped chocolate decorations).

A Cat Story

When two gray cats, male and female, showed up on the steps of Palolo Zendo, zendo residents and visitors started feeding them. We looked for their owners but had no luck in finding any. After a great deal of discussion, the decision was made to take the cats to the Humane Society. There were very few cats at the Humane Society at the time, and the chances that they would be adopted were excellent. The Humane Society agreed to return them to us rather than euthanize them if they weren't adopted.

Wendy Dyson and Barlett Durand managed to catch and transport one of the cats, the gray female. The male fled. Amazing how cats sense that the dread cat carrier is waiting for them.

Much to our surprise, the female turned out to have an implanted microchip which identifies her owners. The Human Society is still trying to find them. If they aren't found, a couple is already on a waiting list to adopt the handsome feline.

The young male cat is still at large, but we hope that his story will have a happy ending too.