Dear zen friend

1).   October   Sesshin:     10/11,  10/12,   10/13.  

       November Sesshin:   11/08,  11/09,  11/10. 

2)  In the quiet evening of September 14th,  gunshot was heard nearby,  3 times. I thought about a family of deer. It consisted of 3 deer,  walking around  together. They frequently played in the back yard.  After the day of gunshot, the deer had not been seen. I worried about them. 

At lunch time on 29th, 3 deer appeared in the back yard. We saw each others. They were not afraid of us. I felt a joyful surprise. But they were grey. They used to be orange brown. Were they hiding as hair color was turning? 

There was a famous priest in Kyoto 1000 years ago.  One day he hit a deer in his temple. People accused him for his violent action. Where was compassion?  He said, if a deer became too friendly,  it would lose sense of alert.      My practice is not good enough.  

3)  The Heart Sutra begins with  “When Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva deeply practicing prajna paramita, clearly sees all the five aggregates are emptiness, and relieves all misfortune and pain. 

The sentence indicates that Heart sutra would further explain about Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. In fact it explains emptiness and nothingness, instead.  This fact implies that Heart Sutra was created by somebody who was not familiar with principles of Buddhism. 

If you want to know Avalokitesvara Boddhisattva, you should read the 25th section of the Lotus Sutra, which is Kanzeon Bosatsu Fumonhon. ( Chapter 25th,  Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.) 

In English and Sanskrit, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is used. In Chinese,  Kanjizaibosatsu （観自在菩薩）is used in the Heart Sutra, and Kanzeonbosatsu （観世音菩薩）is used in the Lotus Sutra. I don’t know why two names are used. Something incoherent must have happened. 

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is the most popular Bodhisattva among millions of bodhisattvas.  It is like a mother who loves all children and a doctor who cures all illnesses. 

Valley Zendo has a statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. When it was given, I thought it was a kind of idol. Now it is the 観世音菩薩 who watches us and protects us. 

Regards.

Eishin Ikeda

Valley Zendo