May 2020 Buddhist Newsletter

May 2020

Saturday Temple Services on ZOOM 507878725 at 9am

Other services are done by Zoom - see poster below

Dear ones,

Well, April has passed and May is upon us. Some have said - "Will April ever end? It is the longest time, I am isolated and lonely". We as a nation are getting pandemic fatigue. We grieve for what was and long for a return to what we have known.

Sadly, the COVID virus is still here, uncontrolled, and causing emotional and physical trauma. We are all experiencing some form of grief and many of us have added fear to our daily emotions.

What can we do? Here are a few suggestions for taking care of ourselves:

-Balance watching or reading the news with viewing or reading recreational or spiritual subjects. (If we become too focused on the negative, it colors our thoughts and empowers our depression and sadness).

-Go outside, look at flowers and trees, and living things. (Balancing indoor and outdoor brings about harmony of spirit. The Japanese concept of Shin Rin Yoku - forest bathing.)

-Spend time on the phone, internet, zoom, face time etc. with friends and family. (Connecting allows us to socialize and be a part of a group vs. isolating)

-Donate food or time with relief agencies, feeding the homeless or ill. (When we give, we always receive far more than we give. Per Dogen Zenji "We are enlightened by all things in the Universe" when we forget self.)

-Voice our appreciation to nurses, doctors, grocery store workers, delivery people, transportation drivers, and others who help us. (Verbalizing appreciation reminds us to be kind and supports others.)

-Exercise, or do yoga, QiGong, walk, Tai Chi, or any other form of movement. (Movement helps our physical self stay limber and in balance. It also relieves body stress from emotional turmoil).

- Meditation and contemplation can help us be present in the midst of turmoil and anxiety. ( When we practice focusing the mind we become present in the now and let go of future and the past. Just the now, right now, no room for fear, sadness, worries, just right now in this moment. The practice of IS-ing, just being right here and now, is the practice taught by our historical teacher, the Buddha. It is the way of peace regardless of what is happening.)

May all be well and healthy, in metta (loving kindness) Thay Kozen

Special Dates in May

5 - Cinco de Mayo, Teacher's day

7 - Vesak (Buddha's Birth, awakening, and death), Day of Prayer

10 - Mother's Day

16 - Armed Forces Day

19 - Laylatul-Qadr (Moslem day of the Quran)

20 - World Bee Day

25 - Memorial Day

28 - Shavuot (Jewish day of the Torah)

31 - Pentecost (Christian Church born of the spirit)

TORTOISE PRACTICES HIS LAST BREATH

by John Madian

Rabbit was in his good morning

Hippity-hoppity-happy

tell myself a good goofy story mood

as he hopped up the path

to see Frog and Toad

So he was especially happy when he

came around Big Bend and saw Tortoise

Oh the glory!

What a happy good morning story

I’m telling myself

to see my 3 best friends

in one morning! sang Rabbit

But Tortoise didn’t sing back

Rabbit stopped, listened, watched

Then Rabbit walked slowly

toward Tortoise

Tortoise, why aren’t you saying hello?

asked Rabbit

Tortoise took another long slow breath

Tortoise you’re breathing funny

Tortoise didn’t answer

Tortoise, are you dying?

Rabbit asked anxiously

No, not dying yet

What are you doing?

Practicing

Practicing what?

Practicing taking my last breath

Is that something I should practice?

Rabbit asked.

No Rabbit, not yet, you’re young

You’re still celebrating your first breath

and each new breath after

that brings you new adventures

but I’m old as stones and dinosaur bones

and each breath brings me

closer to my last.

Does that scare you?

Sometimes, but mostly I’m practicing

to make my last breath

the best breath I’ll ever take

How do you practice?

I imagine

What do you imagine?

I take a deep breath

and as I let my deep breath out

I imagine I’ll not take another

That sounds scary

It was at first,

now it’s become rather fun

Fun? What do you mean fun!

Fun because as I let my breath out

I imagine morning meadow

bright with light

singing spring-blooms-tunes

birds chirping,

insects strum-humming

and bright rainbows smiling

in glistening dew drops

And that makes you happy

to take your last breath?

Oh yes,

it’s so beautiful,

so peaceful

Do you do anything else

in your imagining?

Yes, in my heart I say thank you

for all the wonderful times I’ve had

Thank you, River,

Fish, and Old Oak

Thank you for the forever new

seed and flower song

that the earth is always

protecting and giving birth to

And especially thank you

for my parents,

my friends,

and for you, Rabbit,

my special best friend,

who let me win the race

I didn’t really let you win, said Rabbit.

I know, but that’s how

I like to imagine it, smiled Tortoise

Then Tortoise took an especially deep breath

smiled and let it out ever so slowly

Are you dying now?

No, but I’m liking the idea of dying

better today than I did yesterday

Well, I’m liking the idea

of not dying even more

So please, Tortoise, come along

Let’s visit Frog and Toad together

That sounds very nice, agreed Tortoise

While today is a very good day for dying

It’s even a better day to play with our best friends!

" When the mind's not quiet- that's when its poor and burdened with difficulties.It takes molehills and turns them into mountains.But when the mind is quiet, there's no suffering, because there's nothing at all. No mountains at all. When there's a lot to the mind, it's simply a lot of defilement, making it suffer".

Ajaan Fuang

Thich Minh Thien's Column

Abbot, Budding Dharma. Arlington Texas

Here Is Now

We have just finished the month of April in what will be forever known historically as a month of “Self-Isolation”. Unless you have had the opportunity to live in a monastic environment or taken the opportunity deliberately to spend your days in “self-isolation”, then this is a new experience for many. I had done a few retreats that favored isolation and prior to my ordination, my teacher had me spend 30 days without human, pet or social media interactions. It was just me, my thoughts and my practice. It was a time directed by someone and readily chosen by me. In our current “self-isolation”, we all had to make a choice for our health and the health of others, to undergo this unusual and not desired state of living, though it was not about what any of us would necessarily choose to do.

My experience thus far has been to find more and more comfort in my meditation practice. But that encompasses 1 to 1 1/2 hours of my 24 hour day. I am finding my thoughts drifting to memories of time spent prior to this pandemic and to curiosity and concern about what the world will be like when, and if, this terrible virus is controlled. Both those thought processes seemed to be more directed about me than about the suffering of others. Sort of a weak bodhisattva practice was my judgement on that.

Then a couple of days ago, during meditation, a sort of mantra became a focus …Here is Now… and I began to see it in a different perspective. It became clearer to me that Here, is not necessarily Now. I remember a great teacher whose name begins with a “K”, in a dharma talk, about being right here…right now. He illustrated it by continually clapping his hands together and repeating, “…Now….clap clap…no not then….now…clap clap….no not then….NOW…”. That dramatization brought a realization of what mindfulness in the moment was really about.

Zen is often described as the connection of body, breath and mind. It is clear that if the mind is off somewhere in the past or meandering about what the future may hold, that connection is questionable. We know that focus on the breath, when we notice our monkey mind off playing somewhere, can help us rebuild the connection of body, breath and mind. Logically then, one might reasonably say that when the mind, body, breath connection is broken, being … Here… is not necessarily being in the …Now. Alternatively, we can see that when all is in synch in that Zen connection of body, breath and mind, the here and the now are one and the same.

As our great teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh says, “To dwell in the here and now does not mean you never think about the past or responsibly plan for the future. The idea is simply not to allow yourself to get lost in regrets about the past or worries about the future. If you are firmly grounded in the present moment, the past can be an object of inquiry, the object of your mindfulness and concentration. You can attain many insights by looking into the past. But you are still grounded in the present moment.”

Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhass

Ven. Jeff Miles

Fa Hsing, Thich Tâm Minh

Heads bowed

in reverent silence,

a flock of crows

listens to the rain.

******

Oh my darling,

Oh my darling, quaran-tine;

We were locked

Indoors forever

Dreadful sorry, quaran-tine.

Reading stories,

Stirring crazy,

Staying up 'til way past nine;

We ate all the

Junk food in sight

While we sat in quaran-tine.

Nurses, doctors,

Grocery workers,

Working hard on the front line,

Kept us fed and

Safe from danger

'Til the end of quaran-tine.

When the time came

To return to

The outer world we left behind,

We would always

Carry with us

Memories from quaran-tine.

Prayer Is Not Enough.' The Dalai Lama on Why We Need to Fight Coronavirus With Compassion.

full article. https://time.com/5820613/dalai-lama-coronavirus-compassion/

This is a most wonderful insight teaching...Thay Kozen

AH HA Moments by Scott See

Some years ago, early in my studies with my teacher, Venerable Thay Kozen, I remember saying, “All this Buddhist stuff is really just learning how to think about things from a different perspective.” Or, “Learning to look at things differently.” I forget exactly what I said, but that’s the gist of it. Thay Kozen gave me one of his gentle, “Is that so?” reactions. Now, years later, I’ve found that there is indeed more than just thinking about things differently. I don’t have the words to explain what the more is. Words are such an imperfect tool. When I find the words, I’ll come back and edit this post. But for now, I’ll give a few tries here.

Learning to step back from the default state of mind static and be present with the present moment.
Learning to capture and stay with the instant before we dump our thinking on top of things.
Learning to just be.
Learning to let go.
Learning that on one hand, everything is perfect just as it is. And at the same time
“Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken! Take heed, do not squander your life.”
― Dōgen
And that these two are not contradictory.
…to be continued…

"The more conscientiousness a person is,

the more likely they are to wash their hands"

The Bodhisattva Practice is to save all sentient beings. Wearing a mask and gloves in public and washing your hands frequently is as much for others as for ourselves. Let us all think of each other in this time of a COVID pandemic. Read more about why we do and don't wash our hands at https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200417-the-hidden-reasons-some-people-dont-wash-their-hands

May the Infinite Light of Wisdom and Compassion so shine within us

that the errors and vanities of self may be dispelled;

so shall we understand the changing nature of existence and awaken into spiritual peace.

Mt Adams Zen Buddhist Temple 46 Stoller Rd., Trout Lake WA 98650 509.395.2030 www.Mtadamszen.org