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Dear Dharma Family,
We have so much to be thankful for; our Monday meditation group in Hood River is growing, our building fund is growing each month, our retreats have been well attended, and we are in the middle of a wonderful Fall rain (may our mountains be covered in deep snow).
Kozen will have a knee replacement surgery on November 2 at Hood River's Providence Hospital. He'll be in the hospital for 2 days then go home and have nurses and physical therapy treat him in his home - laughing this getting old stuff is more difficult than he imagined.
Thay Z (Thich Minh Thien) from Texas will be in charge of the temple activities while Thay Kozen recuperates.
Thay Z and Thay Kozen visited Thich Trung Sy in his temple in Texas. He is a dear friend of many years.
FOR LOCAL KLICKITAT COUNTY RESIDENTS:
Our temple supports Pat Arnold of Trout Lake, Washington, for County Commissioner. She is a strong advocate for the environment and farmland protection.
May we all be well and happy and thankful this season.
Thay Kozen
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Thich Minh Thien's Column
NOVEMBER, 2016
LOVING SPEECH AND DEEP LISTENING
This month I had a difficult time coming up with what I wanted to share with everyone. Before meditation this morning, I stressed a little about that very issue. After meditation, I found myself reading something from a webpage which drew me to a Thich Nhat Hahn, Plum Village site which then brought me to the Five Mindfulness Precepts. Thank you Universe! I now had five topics rich in Buddhist concepts for living mindfully in a modern world. Now the task was to just choose one. At first I thought I could just do them in the order in which they appeared which would be easy. But then I saw the one designated as number four, and I knew it was the one that I had to start with. This fourth one is entitled, "Fourth Mindfulness Training - Loving Speech and Deep Listening".
It was little wonder that this was the one that so drew me in. Over the last 2-3 months, I have been making a conscious effort to pull back from my attachment and fascination with our political process. It felt like a bit of what I would imagine a light withdrawal from any addiction would feel like. I knew it was time to stop spending time on social media debating (translated as "arguing") about the differing political positions between the Democrats and the Republicans. It was time to stop my one-way dialogue with the TV screen, watching pundits on both sides go at it, all the while drawing my mind and focus into my own brand of politics, and thereby judgments about those who differ from my way of thinking. One of the candidates for President was especially disturbing to me. I began to question what was wrong with all those who could even think about supporting this candidate? And I began to take great umbrage from those who were unjustly attacking the candidate I felt was best suited to lead this great country of ours. I could feel my own suffering over all of this. It was clear; in this attachment, I was not mindful about my understanding and use of Loving Speech and Deep Listening.
As a monk, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening for all beings to relieve suffering and to promote reconciliation and peace in myself and among others. Notice I said committed to and not accomplished at. The Fourth Mindfulness Training commits one to speaking truthfully, using words that inspire confidence, joy and hope. When anger is manifested, the determination should be to NOT be so quick to speak. It is in our practice of mindful breathing, walking and meditation where we can look deeply in that which is causing suffering and unhappiness. It is through these practices that I can look deeply into my own suffering and my own thoughts and misguided perceptions. It is through deep listening that I can first hear the suffering and unhappiness in others before I move to judgment about them.
I give credit for the following words to the late, Brother ChiSing, who was a practitioner of the Five Mindfulness Precepts. Practicing this precept of Loving Speech and Deep Listening, we commit to speak and listen in such a way, that helps us and others, transform our suffering and see ways around and out of suffering and difficult situations. We all can be determined not to speak news that we are not certain of and not utter words that can cause division and/or discord. It is through the practice of Right Diligence that we nourish our capacity for understanding, love, joy and inclusiveness, and gradually transform anger, violence and fear that lie deep in our consciousness.
And I give thanks for the hit this morning after meditation about a topic for this month's column and topics to expound upon for the next four months.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
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The Most Venerable Khen Rimpoche Ngawang Jorden, Abbot of Sermey Monastic University in Karnataka India visited out temple in October.
Rimpoche is enjoying a serene moment with our pond and the mountain
Venerable Tenzin Khechock, Rimpoche, and Thay Kozen spent time in The Cloister,
enjoying the many Buddha Shrines and walkways.
You can find out more about
The Most Venerable Khen Rimpoche Ngawang Jorden, Abbot at Sermey Monastic University at
http://serameymonastery.org/
Left to right: Thanh Châu, Ven. Su Co Hue Hung, The Most Venerable Khen Rimpoche Ngawang Jorden, Ven. Thich Minh Tinh, Ven. Su Co Dam Khanh, Ven. Tenzin Khechock and the dogs by the temple's pond.
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Buddhist Thought
President Obama, speaking during his toast Tuesday, said he was reminded of his visit to the Colosseum in Rome in 2014. "It was late in the day, it was quiet, the sun was going down, and as I walked across those ancient stones worn by the history of 2,000 years, it was a humbling reminder of our place here on earth," he said. "In the grand sweep of time, each of us is here only for a brief moment. So many of the things that we focus on each day, the political ups and downs, the successes and the setbacks, those things are fleeting.""What matters in the end is what we build," he said. "What matters is what we leave behind." President Barack Obama
This reminds us of the Buddha's teaching:
The Five Remembrances
I am of the nature to grow old.
There is no way to escape growing old.
I am of the nature to have ill health.
There is no way to escape ill health.
I am of the nature to die.
There is no way to escape death.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love
are of the nature to change.
There is no way to escape
being separated from them.
My actions are my only true belongings.
I cannot escape the consequences of my actions.
My actions are the ground upon which I stand.
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| Ecumenical & Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration! Monday, November 23 at 7pm White Salmon Methodist Church Dessert and coffee to follow. Participating spiritual traditions include: Baha'i Spiritual Assembly of Klickitat County; Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ Mid-Columbia Unitarian Universalist Fellowship; Mount Adams Zen Buddhist Temple; Asbury/Our Redeemer Lutheran Partnership; St. Mark's Episcopal Church; Trout Lake United Presbyterian Church; White Salmon United Methodist Church A special in-gathering for MAMA Emergency Funds will also take place: The Mount Adams Ministerial Association has an Emergency Fund to assist people with emergency needs in Kickitat and Skamania Counties. MAMA also makes referrals to social service agencies in the area. Checks of support can be written to MAMA. Your financial support is tax deductible. All are welcome! Please join us! |
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Our New Temple Building Fund reaches $26,000.00
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
You can contribute at
www.gofund.me/ywdqkc
or by mailing the donation to our temple (Mt. Adams Zen Buddhist Temple PO Box 487, Trout Lake, WA 98650). Be sure to indicate "for the new temple" if you mail in a check.
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Neijing Classical Acupuncture
A Neijing Classical Acupuncture class was held here from October 19 - 26. The class was presented by Ed Neal MD, MSOM, Director and Senior Researcher, Xinglin Institute. You can find out more at http://www.xinglininstitute.org/
Neijing acupuncture is a style of acupuncture that derives its clinical methodologies from the fundamental text the Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic of Medicine). This text contains two sections; the Suwen (Simple Questions) and the Lingshu (Spiritual Pivot). Together they form the entire basis of Chinese medical theory and practice. This style of medicine is not only a complete medical system, but also offers its practitioners (and their patients) a way of life rooted in ancient Chinese culture.
One of the key differences between classical acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (or TCM, a name given to the standardised medicine of the Peoples Republic of China in the 1940's) is that Classical Acupuncture is not used based on point protocols or specific function but on an understanding of the natural movements of fundamental substances through the body landscape according to the laws of "space, time, rhythm and direction". This means that within this style of acupuncture one discerns the patterns of nature within the body in relation to its environment, and are treated accordingly.
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Japanese researchers found that practicing
shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing (essentially, strolling around a forest for a bit or sitting and soaking in that nature) led to lower cortisol levels and lower blood pressure, and greater activity in the body's calming parasympathetic nervous system. A slightly longer trip to the woods could even strengthen your immune system. A study in
Environmental Health and Preventative Medicine reported:
"People who spent 3 days and 2 nights in the forest had increased activity among their natural killer cells, which may help fight infections".
This was in our newsletter 2 years ago. It remains a wonderfully pertinent bit of information. Go, get out into nature. Breathe and observe, breathe and observe, then do some more. Kozen
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TIBET AID NEEDS YOUR HELP
As you can see from our donation below, Tibet Aid is an ongoing charity we support. They need more children, monk, and nun sponsors as well as direct donations. Would you be willing to help? You can become a sponsor for $40.00 a month - a most wonderful merit gaining activity.
Contact : Kathleen Nolan, MD, MSL Executive Director
Tibet Aid 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY 12498
Telephone & Fax: +1 845-679-6973
Toll Free: 1-877-842-3824 (1-877-TIBETAID)
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Our temple's yearly donation to Tibet Aid for 2016 - 2017
Sonam Choetso 08-10875-10 $480.00
Dechen Youdon 08-10876-10 $480.00
TCV School Gopalpur, Village Darati $100.00
Lobsang Nyima $480.00
(Sera Jhe Monastery)
Tibet Aid $100.00
Total Donation $1640.00
Chimi Dolma, another Tibetan refugee child, is attending a Nursing Program.
We have committed to pay $2,000 a year for 4 years. We just sent off the 3rd year's tuition for her to attend nursing school in India. It is our hope that Chimi will come to the USA to complete her Master's Degree in Nursing once she completes her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing education.
We now have $3,000 in our college fund for Sonam and Dechen.
We will help them through college by giving them $1,000 each a year for 4 years. We need to save up $5,000 more to complete this goal.
We will send this money in November 2016. If you would like to contribute please mail us a check to Mt. Adams Zen Buddhist temple with a note that it is to go to our Tibetan Children's fund.
A special thanks to Ed and Thay Z who donated extra money to send to the girls. That allows them a great deal of "shopping money" and they'll be thrilled when it gets to them.
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Bob Davis is one of our caterers who provide meals for folks who use the Abbey for retreats. He has a long history on catering and food service and is available for large and small groups.
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Tibet Aid Monk Sponsorship
We sponsor Venerable Lobsang Nyima at Sera Jhe Monastery
It is a pleasure to support a Tibetan Monk who fled Tibet in order to live a religious life. Just $40.00 a month allows him to have food, shelter, and clothing.
Sera Jhe Monastery
His Holiness the
Dali Lama at
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Winter hours
Monday - Friday 6:30 am - Meditation
Saturday 9am
- Full Service
November
December
8 Bodhi Day - meditation 12/7 at 11:30pm to 12:30am 12/8
Please Register +
17 Winter Solstice - Druid Event
30 Midnight Meditation - 12/30 at 11:30pm to 12:30am 1/1 Please Register +
JANUARY
Private retreats only
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|  PO Box 487, Trout Lake WA 98650 www.MtAdamsZen.org
509.395.2030 (e-mail -put in the @ sign) kozen1 at embarqmail.com
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