Zen Training at a Monastery

Hello all!

It's so nice to read about the Sangha happenings and practice! I miss you all! For those who don't know me, I started my Zen practice with Cold Mountain Sangha in early 2006. It wasn't until after my first sesshin in March 2007 that I was hooked on Zen. Then after the June sesshin last year with the Sangha, I realized that I had to focus on my Zen training. So I applied for a one-year residency at Zen Mountain Monastery and have been here for the past eight months. Kriti asked me to share some of experiences training at a monastery, which I am more than happy to do so!

We just completed our first 30 days of our Spring Ango (literal meaning is "Peaceful Dwelling"), a 90-day intensive training period, where we intensify our practice with more sitting, earlier wake-up, scheduled body practice (yoga or movement led by a senior monastic), art practice, and oryoki breakfast during the training week. Every Ango here also has a theme, this ango's theme is Dogen's Genjokoan, which we have a one-week intensive on in May and our art practice is also based on lines from the Genjokoan.

For this ango we also have a Shuso (head monk), who leads the Sangha and is the model for practice during these 90-days. At the end of the 90-days she will undergo shuso hossen, which is a ceremonial rite-of-passage where she will become a senior and give her first dharma talk and do a dharma combat, which is like a public dokusan. The Shuso's dharma combat is when the Sangha can test the Shuso's understanding of the dharma.

For each training period, the residents and monastics all receive new service positions. I'm currently the AM jikido (timekeeper) which means that during the training week I have to make sure the tea and coffee service is ready by 4.15am, offer incense at the main altar, do the wake-up bell at 4.25, open up all the altars and hit the han at 4.50 to signal that the Zendo is closed, everyone should be sitting and doing zazen by then. During the sitting periods I signal the start and end of the periods and offer incense before each period, make sure the kyosaku stick is ready and watch the time for kinhin. Throughout the morning I make sure the tea and coffee service is stocked and clean. For ango sesshin, everything is moved up 30 minutes earler because wake-up is at 3.55am, not to mention there's also a lot more coffee making!

Training as AM jikido has been such an amazing experience so far. I get to serve the Sangha and have seen that the only way I could serve in the most efficient and effective way possible is by letting go of the self. The service tasks are timed quite tightly so that I have to move swifty, which I've been reminded of several times by the monitor. Once I almost missed canton, when the teacher walks by everyone's seat before the first morning period, because I took too long to close everything down in the dining hall. I've noticed that all of my concentration is required at whatever it is that I am doing so that I can do it swiftly and smoothly. So after I do whatever I have to do to get myself ready for the day my attention is solely focused on the jikido tasks to be carried out.

I enjoy sitting before our morning zazen so when I found out that I was AM jikido this training period I wondered what I was going to do. When I saw the idea of getting up at 2.30am to allow me to sit before morning zazen, I heard myself say to myself, "You've got to be kidding." But I felt like I couldn't just turn away from this opportunity (I don't know what else to call it!) so I set my alarm for 2.30am. I was quite tired by the end of the first week, maybe even a little delirious, but now I find that it's no big deal to wake up at 2.30 or at 2.00 during sesshin. And at that time of the day, it seems like it is neither night nor day. What is time in the end? And also, who said we needed 8 hours of sleep anyway??

This post has gotten quite long, but if anyone would like to know more about life at the monastery I'd be more than happy to share! Be well!

lots of love,
May

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Michael Pope's message from Taiwan

This post is just a bit edited version of Mike's (Tall comfortable Mike, if that's how you know him) original heartwarming message posted as a comment. Mike, please post directly as an author after accepting your invitation to be an author (it was resent today).

My name is michael and currently i am living in taiwan. i am running back and forth to Japan every three months for sesshin in japan. i am here in taiwan studying mandarin and such. last summer i lived in a Japanese temple called Bukkokuji. it is on the side of a mountain. i ve heard that most temples traditionally have been built on the sides of mountains. the town is called obama and it is on the west coast of japan. there is also a temple down the street from it called Hoshinji. last sesshin you could hear people yelling mu during our zazen period all the way from the other temple. i thought that was the sweetest and most inspiring thing. you really feel "in it", everyone is working hard.

dokusan is quite a challenge there. one time, i said to the teacher during dokusan "watashiwa gyogen". that means my name is gyogen (my dharma name there) in japanese. i think he went on and on in japanese about how much he loves his teacher because he kept pointing at him, smiling and holding his heart....finally i told him i don't speak a lick of japanese. he just laughed and said...continue, continue! ...so i did.

i am going back to japan in 4 weeks for next sesshin. possibly when i am finished here in taiwan with my studies i will go live in a different temple in japan south of kyoto... but i'll see how that all goes.


Text from an earlier email sent in 2008 (photo of his Takahatsu robes):

i did takahatsu (begging for alms) here. we do it about every 5 days or so. it was painful because we walk in these rice straw shoes. it rained all day! we walk around yelling HO! until we get to a door where we chant (and ask for alms). it is rather interesting. it's like some very old tradition juxtaposed to the modern world. this is the main way the temple is still supported along with donation and bukkokuji's small farms. i hope you enjoy the picture of my takahatsu outfit. i was getting ready to go out. we also have to wear a big hat. then we carry a bowl, small bell, and little papers we give to people..it is a blessing of sorts. we go out all day chanting and yelling!

do you know that most of these monks are not vegetarians. i was very surprised. they eat whatever is given to them. one day someone donated a sausage and pepperoni pizza! i ate a piece thinking it was surely vegetarian...

the sitting schedule changes depending on the weather. if it rains, then we sit 6 hours in a day. if no rain we sit 4 hours. we chant 2 times a day. we have to work in the fields if the weather is nice. the teacher's name is roshi sama. he is quite old...maybe 85. the temple is pretty laid back and people are very humble. i feel like a total beginner again.

From another mail:
i was lucky enough here to be assigned ringing the giant bell and chanting at 11 am. it is like a whole little thing that i do of chanting and bowing and ringing... i was a little nervous at first because everyone can hear you and i have to do it really loud! the bell must weigh 200 punds or more. i felt honored to do it.

Good Luck Mikey! You are missed here -- please post some pictures when you compose create new blog. It is very easy to upload pictures and also videos using the icons on the right side of the create post page! And please write more and often!

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