Dear zen friend

1)      June Sesshin:    June o7, 08, 09.  

          July Sesshin:     July  12, 13, 14.     

2)   A couple of robin had been raising their chicks in the woodshed. Looking at their dedication and joy is fun. But they do not make noise nor sing.  It is hard to know when they made a nest and when baby birds leave. Why are they silent? When I start chanting sutras,  they fly near and perch on deck. They are not deaf, though. 

When I drove home today, garden was found damaged by a deer. To bring some tools to fix it, I entered the woodshed. Accidentally a sharp sound scared chicks and they flew out one by one.  They were almost ready to fly but not 100% completed. It was hard to watch them in struggle. Sorry. My heart hurt. The parent couple tried to attack me. I know their feelings. Chicks flew away and walked away in silence.  If they were phoebes, they would have cried all day long. 

Their nest must be abandoned.  But a bird keeps perching on a pole nearby like a surveillance camera. They must think risk control is ever more important for making a new nest. 

3)    A friend priest came on May 27th.  He gave us interesting dharma lecture. After lunch, free discussion continued for seven hours. Those who can discuss Buddha Dharma are rare. I spent precious time with him. 

We agreed that Soto zen taught a path on which we walk for life. He did not look for an enlightenment but a certain path for life. I looked for an enlightenment in a sense. In the end enlightenment does not matter. As long as there is a certain path (Buddha Way) to walk on we can keep walking, learning, living. Alongside, an enlightenment is given from time to time. Success, failure, nirvana are the same. Without Buddha’s path, we do not have enough ability or courage to attain a peaceful life. 

Buddha Dharma teaches multiple truths. Official sutras already contains numerous languages, logics, cultures, stories, and dharmas (truthfulness.)  Wisdom and truths are waiting to be discovered in Buddhism. Solutions are not one but countless. Many meanings are lost in translation. For a motivated person there are plentiful frontiers to explore in Soto zen. 

I showed him how to keep a less painful life. In Buddhism life is painful. In Sotoshu pain has not been taken into question. For most people  pain is cured in a doctor’s office. Unfortunately or luckily I had to find a solution to cure pains in remote woods. Gradually I found a fact that we can have a less painful life with innate capacity. The principle of Buddhism (Life is painful.) was not discussed this time. 

Sotozen is easy to collect multiple wisdoms in our real life. One priest has three teachers. In the morning chantings ninety previous teachers are counted. Even though we do not know wisdom of all those teachers, we know each of them has brought contributions to the Buddha dharma, which allows accumulation of more dharmas. We learn recorded precedents and follow those traditional models, which is in turn the newest wisdom. 

On the same day bright red rhododendron blossomed. Butterflies and humming birds were flying around. It was planted ten years ago. Until his arrival it did not show flowers. I waited for ten years. 

Regards.

Eishin Ikeda

Valley Zendo