floatingzendo.org

Tues. Study: Dogen’s Zuimonki

Administrator — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:51:21 +0000

Begining July 8, 2008, Floating Zendo in San Jose, CA will study Dogen Zenji’s Zuimonki on Tuesday evenings.

Zuimonki is a collection of dharma talks to lay and monk practitioners given by Dogen Zenji, recorded by his disciple Ejo.

We will use a few translations:

Online: from Sotoshu (Soto Zen in Japan, likely translated by Shohaku Okumura in 1988 variously indicating Kyoto Soto Zen or Sotoshu).
Book: Thomas Cleary’s Record of Things Heard, available from Amazon, and possibly from local book sellers.

If you can not attend our Tuesday evening zazen/study, we hope you will listen to recordings of these meetings.

2008 FZ Sesshin

Administrator — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:21:16 +0000

We are pleased to announce Floating Zendo’s 2008 sesshin (retreat) will be held from August 18 through August 24, 2008 at Jikoj (Los Gatos, CA) in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. We look forward to seeing you there!

Sesshin starts today (August 18, 2008). Please join us, even if you have not contacted us yet.

See the sesshin page for latest information.

FZ Newsletter and Logo

Administrator — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:18:45 +0000

(Deadline extended… please send contributions to Carolyn! )

Dear Floating Zendo Sangha,

Our next newsletter is our traditional Sangha Newsletter. We welcome news from our far-flung sangha, as well as poems, stories, photos, artwork, and calligraphy. If what you want to send doesn’t fit these categories, send it along anyway. We look forward to publishing your FZ creativity.

We’re also looking for a logo for the Floating Zendo and hope you will be inspired to vision, or paint, or calligraph, or doodle some image of the Floating Zendo. Please send graphics in .jpeg format. We’re happy to receive written descriptions too, such as “Buddha on Cloud,” or whatever your vision is. We’ll be posting these as we receive them on the website blog, www.floatingzendo.org, so tune in there.

Please send all items to the editor carolyn at carolyndille.com by July 20, 2008 (extended from May 24, 2008).

Angie on Wikipedia

Administrator — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:49:26 +0000

Wikipedia now has an entry for our teacher Angie!

Take a look… you may learn something that you didn’t know about our teacher!

(P.S. There is also a permanent link to the Wikipedia entry on the Blog Roll.)

Studying Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind on Tues Evening

Administrator — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:10:19 +0000

As of late November 2007, we have begun our study of Shunryu Suzuki’s Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind.

We hope you will join us for regular zazen and our study of this wonderful book, led by our teacher Angie.

Aspects of Sitting by Kobun Chino roshi

Administrator — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 22:09:41 +0000

We have begun the study of Kobun Chino roshi’s Aspects of Sitting. We began this study in mid-August 2007, and will review a chapter each Tuesday evening after zazen in San Jose.

The text addresses guidelines for zazen, which are especially relevant, as we are about to hold our annual sesshin. Kobun was Angie’s teacher.

Angie handed out paper copies of Aspects for local use in San Jose.

There is an almost identical online copy available at Jikoji, if you’d like to study along with us (remotely). Angie’s Tuesday evening talks on Aspects will be available as well.

Poem by Wang Wei

Administrator — Fri, 18 May 2007 23:15:10 +0000

On Tuesday, May 15, 2007, guest speaker Michael Newhall from Jikoji cited a poem from memory that many sangha members enjoyed. The following is the poem in full:

Chungnan

Middle-aged now, following the Way.
Settled at evening near the Chungnan slopes.
Delight, and I wander off by myself
Searching for what I need to see alone.
I climb up to the roots of the streams,
Sit and watch the White Clouds pass,
Meet the old man of the woods,
Talk and laugh, forget to go home.
… Wang Wei (699-759 AD)

A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, by Santideva

Administrator — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:13:00 +0000

[We are beginning study of A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, written by Santideva. We begin with Chapter 1 on May 1, 2007, as part of our regular Tuesday evening schedule in San Jose. Please join us.]
A GUIDE TO THE BODHISATTVA’S WAY OF LIFE
(concerning development of an enlightened mind)
Translations in print:

Bodhicaryavatara, Kate Crosby and Andrew Skilton
Entering the Path of Enlightenment, Marion Matics
A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior, Alexander Berzin
A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, Stephen Bachelor
A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, Vesna and Alan Wallace
The Way of the Bodhisattva, Walstan Fletcher

Online Translations:

Commentaries:

Transcendent Wisdom, Dalai Lama (on Chapter 9)
A Flash of Lightning in the Dark of Night, Dalai Lama
Meaningful to Behold, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
No Time to Lose, Pemo Chodron

Ox Herding Pictures (Study Materials)

Administrator — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 00:43:54 +0000

Beginning In late January 2007, Floating Zendo will study the 10 Ox Herding Pictures of Kaku-an Shi-en (Ch) / Kuo-an Shih-yuan (Ch):
Book, online:

D.T. Suzuki from _Manual of Zen Buddhism_ (a classic)

Books, offline:

Loori, John Daido, _Riding the Ox Home_
Kapleau, Philip, _Three Pillars of Zen_
Shibayama, Zenkei, _A flower does not talk; Zen essays_ (another version, with 6 pictures)

Online:

Urs App
Hsu Yun (includes Chinese of poems)

Dogen’s Users Manuals on Zazen

Administrator — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 00:35:52 +0000

I recently read some lectures by Pat Phelan about Dogen’s Fukanzazengi, where she indicates that Dogen wrote three zazen “users manuals”, that are available in English from Stanford’s Soto Text Translation Project:

Zazengi (Principles of Zazen)
Zazenshin (Lancet of Zazen)
Fukanzazengi (Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen)

The translators’ notes and supplemental notes are especially helpful to understand the historical Zen background/context of Dogen’s references.

I hope you too find these excellent Dogen writings an encouragement in your practice.

… Dan