valleyzendoblog

Dear zen friend

1)     December Sesshin:     12/06,   12/07,   12/08. 

        Year end Sesshin:        from  12/27  to    12/31.   

        January Sesshin:        01/17,    01/18,    01/19.

2)     Tale of Genji trivia 2 

Around the year1000 AD in Kyoto, the most peaceful and prosperous culture was established.  Although Tale of Genji was the best sold novel, many other literatures like essay, history, diary, and collection of poems were published. Some were done individually,  some were compiled by multiple people. Those intelligent writers knew each others and often worked together. Researchers nowadays can cross-reference their works and reconstruct lives those days fairly and precisely. To learn newest knowledge from ancient literatures has been favorite hobby this year. . 

Kyoto was named as ‘Heiankyo’, the capital of peace. There was a contemporary police department in Kyoto, but the government had no military forces. There were no wars nor riots for 3 hundred years.  There was no capital punishment. Governing class enjoyed peaceful time and tried to enhance the quality of beauty in their lives. They wrote letters with brush on papers, some of which are existing national treasures. Colorful kimonos have been the standard for centuries afterwards. Their lacquered bowls and furnitures were crafted arts. 

Michinaga was the most powerful figure in Kyoto. He helped Murasaki to write Tale of Genji. Without his finance and power, the novel could not be realized. A situation of royal family was closely reflected on the novel. The Tale of Genji was a product of political events and social consciousness at the time. 

Takaie was rival of Michinaga and politically a loser. The unhappy loser was sick in his eyes. He needed a treatment and rest. At the time Tale of Genji was almost finished, he offered to become a commander of Dazaifu legion in Kyushu for 5 years. The legion existed only on paper since there had been no fighting for long. His offer was accepted by Michinaga. 

In the fifth year of Takaie’s watch, an invasion occurred to Northern Kyushu. Hundreds of people were killed and taken. Takaie wrote a warning letter for Kyoto and immediately gathered volunteer samurais. Instantly made primitive samurai forces fiercely fought foreign pirates and successfully sent them back to the continent. Oh, kamikaze helped Takaie, too. In the context of fighting, the sickness in his eyes was not talked about. The sickness might have been cured due to lack of political pressure.  

Takaie saved the nation. But the central government, in which Takaie knew all the members, did not appreciate his contributions. The governing class did not even feel that there was crisis. Peace was their deep belief. 

The most peaceful time was peaked as Tale of Genji was completed. Such words as samurai and daimyo began to be heard.  3 generations later. Michinaga’s lineage still stayed in the center of the power. At the same time, Takaie lineage was asked for protection as many samurai forces were growing all over the country. The samurai power gradually became dominant for centuries. 

Regards. 

Eishin Ikeda

Valley Zendo

Dear zen friend

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

      December Sesshin:    12/06, 12/07,  12/08.

      The Year End Sesshin:     from  12/27  to   12/31. 

 2)   There was a conference in Los Angeles for 2 days 2 weeks ago. Business was done as planned. But a physical position in an airplane was uncomfortable. I have my right knee been in sprain since. 

Complete recovery from the sprain may take 2 weeks. And sciatica likely be back due to lack of motion.  This is additional factor to be away from air travel. 

3)    LA Dodgers won baseball world championship over NY Yankees yesterday. The news could not be missed. Yankees have been super stars for hundred years for many Japanese. When Yankees traveled Japan in early 1930s, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig won all games. Total defeat has been talked about. Yankees were special.  Baseball players wanted to play in Yankees. We could not imagine to win over the New York professional team.  What a change a hundred years made!  

I worry about the left shoulder of Shoei Ohtani. Many honorable athletes gave up their careers due to injuries. He needs quiet time for a while.  

4)    Voting day for the presidential election will be on 11/05. The Tuesday may be remembered as one of the most important days in the US history and in the world. 

General election was held in Japan a week ago. But new prime minister and his cabinet members are not decided yet. They are waiting for the result of the presidential race in the US. 

The same thing has been happening in other nations, too.  Canada and England are liquid, watching a global  trend becoming clearer. WWIII has not started because the decision in the US is not made. The worldly situations look critical and urgent. 

However, these events occur all the time. Hundred years later, campaigns and power struggles would happen everywhere. There would be peace somewhere, there would be wars somewhere.  

I have been in general told that we should be away from politics. Shakyamuni was a prince, but he was not involved with politics. Dogen Zenji stayed far away from Kyoto,  the capital at that time. And I as a Soto Zen Buddhist am busy to do things other than politics. 

Regards.

Eishin Ikeda

Valley Zendo

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

Dear Zen friend

1)    September Sesshin:   09/06, 09/07, 09/08. 

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

2)      Trivia on Tale of Genji. 

There was (is in a special occasion)  a specific dance show in front of the emperor.  Four women danced for about 20 minutes. Each held a fan, moved slowly and orderly. Their movements were judged by noble people just like  a dancing show in an American TV. 

A YouTuber explained that woman’s clothing (Junihitoe) weighed about 40 pounds. During performance their arms were  up or at the level with their shoulders. Maintaining their postures needed hard work. Jumping and fast movements were impossible with a 40 pound weight.  

Junihitoe literally means twelve layers of kimono. It is art of clothing till nowadays.  I thought it really had 3 or 4 layers of clothing with colorful sleeves.  One YouTuber showed how to wear Junihitoe. She actually wore 12 layers of clothing using one thick string. Some wore more than 12 layers of clothing.  How to wear kimono is a technique which men usually do not know.

There are many pictures in which women in Tale of Genji were drawn. All the women were sitting. No one was standing or walking. It was explained that  Junihitoe was so heavy that women rather liked to sit still. Gravity matters. Also layers of  clothing became cushion, so sitting was easier than we imagine. 

The story was written on paper.  Paper was rare and pricy those days. Tale of Genji was a long novel. Author (Murasaki Shikibu) needed a lot of paper to keep writing. She was talented but did not have money. So a rich and powerful sponsor was a must to supply papers at least until the end of the novel. The highest ranked government officer really existed and helped her to write Tale of Genji. 

Tale of Genji was copied by servers for the empress as the editing was completed. Copying was done by hand brushing. Books were made from those copies and the best quality book was given for the emperor. Other books were delivered for various readers. Tale of Genji was a best seller and became a national project a thousand years ago in Kyoto. That is why everyone those days knew the story and talked about it. 

By the way, that empress died at 87 years of age. Her mother lived till 90 years old. Those who survived ten years of  young life could have had a long life.  

Men learned and used Chinese letters for making official reports, writing Chinese poems, and brushing calligraphies. Japanese letters were used for poems, diaries, and essays mostly  by women.  Language those days seemed to be not much different from modern Japanese. 

Regards. 

Eishin Ikeda

Valley Zendo

Dear zen friend

1)   Summer Fest:   08/16 (Fri),    7 am  Chanting,   9 am   Wood splitting.  

   08/17 (Sat.),    7 am   Chanting,    8 am  Zazen,    2 pm   Dharma talk   by Rev. Tenku Ruff.   The guest speaker has been teaching mainly at  Beacon Zen Temple,  Beacon.  NY.  She belongs to younger generation of Soto Zen Priests. Buddha dharma and vision for future Soto Zen are expected to be spoken.   Discussion follows. 

   08/18 (Sun.).   7 am  Chanting,  8 am   Sunday Zazenkai,    2 pm Walking in the woods.

Note: This schedule is official.  Please ignore the schedule announced in the previous monthly mail. 

2) September Sesshin:   09/06,  09/07,  /09/08 

3) One day in July,  I was bitten by a bee when I stepped on a porch floor outside the back door. There were bees flying around but no nest was seen. 

It took a while to find a nest. It was a big hornet nest, hidden under the porch. Hundred hornets have worked for building the nest. Having imagined counter attack, I was hesitant to do anything and waited for a good idea to handle the nest.  

Soon, a friend was bitten at the same place in the same situation.  The incident was his first experience in his life. He was grown in the city and has worked in an office building. He looked painful and afraid to near the nest.  I said  “Do nothing and wait for two days. Nature will cure the bite.” 

I am bitten by a bee every year. I never looked for a pain killer or any medicine against a bee bite. There was an accident that seven bees invaded under my shirt. They became violent looking for escape.  It was a hell.  Yet, the pain went away in three days naturally. 

There was no choice but to remove the nest ASAP.  I shot water to the nest. It was not effective enough since I was thinking about running away while shooting water. 

A few days later,  a zen practitioner proposed to use chemical spray.  It looked to work well. Two days later bees were flying around and the nest was being rebuilt. Finally I shot plenty of water to destroy the whole nest. 

A few days later again, different kind of bees were seen. There was a different kind of nest in the make at the same spot of hornet’s.  Bees made their own nest at the same place for the hornet!  I have never seen such development. They did not give up. I tried to remove new nest for four times.   

It was chill when the last attempt of shooting water was done. I could not compete with energy of bees. Low temperature may have been the best solution.   

Regards.

Eishin Ikeda

Valley Zendo

Dear zen friend

1)  July sesshin:    07/12, 07/13, 07/14.

2)   Summer Fest:     On 08/17 ( Sat.)  2 pm:   Dharma talk by Rev. Tenku Ruff.   The guest speaker has been teaching mainly at  Beacon Zen Temple,  Beacon.  NY.  She belongs to younger generation of Soto Zen Priests. Buddha dharma and vision for future activities are expected to be spoken.   Potluck lunch follows. 

On 08/18 (Sun.).  Chanting  7 am,  Zazen  8 am to noon,    Lunch.     2 pm Walking in woods

On 08/19 (Mon.)  Chanting  7 am.  Wood splitting  9 am  to 3 pm.   Adjourn. 

3)   There is a lawn mower at Zendo.  I pulled string to start engine many times, but the engine did not ignite at all. Other people worked with the mower. I had to accept the fact that my muscles were too weak to start the engine. So I gave up working with the lawn mower. Whenever young people comes, I asked them to mow tall grasses.  I did not touch the lawn mower for 5 years. 

A few days ago I pulled the string, and the engine ran. Why and how did the engine allow me to start? Did my muscles become stronger? Did the engine become better? Did summer temperature matter? A surprise for 5 years just happened. 

I mowed grass for about 3 hours. Pushing the mower was hard and painful in the back. My muscles in the back must have been weak. These muscles are important for breathing. I felt necessary to go to a fitness club for training back muscles. After 3 hours mowing,  I was tired and exhausted. I used to work for the same thing for 8 hours. 

Lawn mowing may be the beginning for my  normalcy. The word juvenescence came out.  To push is the first principle of muscular movement. Non-self propelling lawn mower may be a good item for fitness exercise. 

4)   After an accident near the nest, robins were not seen for 3 weeks. I thought they would never come back, So I took the nest away. The ladder must be cleaned. 

Next day the couple of robins came back. They looked to check the used nest for raising more chicks. Wow, I made another mistake. I had a feeling of regret, sadness, and disappointment.  Everything went wrong with robins this year. 

Regards.

Eishin Ikeda

Valley Zendo

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  

Dear zen friend

1)      May Sesshin.    05/10,   05/11,   05/12. 

         June Sesshin:   06/07,  06/08,   06/09.  

2). When driving Warner Hill Road, we often encounter two or three deer. They don’t look scared. They stand and look at us. Then, they walk into woods.  

Deer used to be quick to run away. Humans were enemies, and we were danger.  

A neighbor hunter moved away a few years ago. Since then no neighbor intends to chase after them nor kill them. Deer community must have sensed the change. Their minds and action patterns are influenced by peaceful environments. They seem to be able to tell peace from danger.  

3)  There is a huge shrine called Izumo Taisha in Japan. It is 24 meter high, made from woods. It is known as one of the oldest shrines. The official myth mentions stories about the shrine and its related hero. 

There were drawings which showed the design of the original shrine without its height. There were rumors saying that the height of the shrine used to be 48 meter tall. There was a song about tall buildings a thousand yeas ago. It said that Izumo Taisha was the tallest building in the country. Second was the building in which a huge Buddha sat in Nara city. No one believed there was a taller building than the temple in Nara.  

In the year 2000, an old big pit was found near the shrine. In the pit there were 3 cedar trees bundled together, each was 1.3 meter in diameter. The trees are exhibit at the museum of the shrine. Suddenly the song turned to be true and old rumors seemed to be correct. 48 meter tall building was likely to exist. 

Where were those big trees? How were the woods cut, moved and crafted? Were there nails and hammers? Were there saws and planes? Countless questions are asked. Were there more carbon dioxides those days?  We know very little while researchers are working hard.  

4)  Birds start making nests. Daffodils are in bloom. We will be busy for outdoor work. Firewood must be made, grass must be mowed. Painting and staining are planned. We need hands and volunteers.  If interested, please let us know.     

Regards, 

Eishin Ikeda

Valley Zendo

Dear zen friend

1)     April Sesshin:       from  04/12  to   04/16.

        May Sesshin:      from   05/10   to   05/14. 

2)     The latest winter was easy to survive. It was relatively warm, snow was little. Our driveway was plowed 2 times only, 10 inches and six inches deep respectively. Snow is plowed 6 or 7 times during normal winter. 

It rained all year long last year. Often times it poured. From that trend, I expected heavy snow in winter.  Where did all water go during winter?

3)    March 23rd  was a day of sleet, rain, and snow. It was not too cold, not too windy,  just quiet. Around 10 pm all lights went out. Computer screen fazed away. Blackout began. I brought a flash light and a kerosine lamp. I expected 8 hours of darkness.  

Lights were on at 10:30 pm. It was a quick fix.  But internet was not connected. Electric devices were blinking and signals were irregular. I rebooted switches all over in the basement and on the first floor. Internet  was not re-connected in an hour. Then the microwave oven had noise with blinking light. TV monitor and video player were not on but noisy. The refrigerator had strange sound. A light bulb outside at the front door was blacked.  At midnight blackout struck again. 

At 4 am,  the power was back. Internet was connected. Everything was normal including the light bulb outside the house.  I felt we are vulnerable to cyber attack or miscalculation of electricity mixture at the grid. 

4)    An old man used to live in the woods near zendo. When I wanted to see him I walked on a path to his cabin. The path was overhung with tiny twigs and leaves. I automatically broke those twigs and branches for the path. The path should be wider and clearer. 

When he saw my clearing activities, he was upset. He said tiny twigs and leaves are gentle. When they are broken, hard branches are left. It is dangerous for face and eyes to be hit hard by them. 

He died a few years ago. I remember his wisdom whenever I walk into the woods. Nature is gentle, a human makes it dangerous. 

Regards. 

Eishin Ikeda

Valley Zendo

Dear zen friend

1)   March sesshin:    from   03/08  to  03/12.  

      April sesshin:       from.   04/12  to  04/16. 

2)   Just after 4 pm on 01/01/2024, M7.6 earthquake rocked Noto Peninsula in Japan. There are many earthquakes in Japan, so people call their nation earthquake super power or a nation of natural disasters. Yet the quake this time was unforgettable. 

The Noto Earthquake happened in the midst of New Year holidays. Everyone was relaxed and enjoyed refreshing new year day. The holiday turned into hell. The land instantly rose at most 4 meters, sea water receded from beach.  There were small ports where fishermen going and coming. Suddenly, boats located on a dry land and waterways lost sea water.  Good news was that damage by tsunami was not reported. 

Roads were broken and twisted everywhere. Many houses collapsed due to the quake and the rise of land. Houses were built  with strict building codes. Those codes have prevented houses from fall when earthquakes occur. Houses, however,   could not stand the power of shaking this time. Beautiful coast lines extended far out at sea. New roads, ports, water supply pipe lines, and sewage system must be rebuilt as soon as possible.  What a disaster! 

Historically Noto Peninsula was the birthplace of Japanese Soto group second to Eiheiji. There are some large temples older than 700 years. Prominent Soto priests studied and practiced there, then moved to other areas all over Japan for centuries. Each temple has a unique story. Those stories have collectively made the history of Sotoshu. 

7 years ago I visited temples in Noto Peninsula. One temple was under repair work. There was an earthquake in the previous year. In February a letter arrived from the same temple. Pictures showed fallen roofs and collapsed buildings. The director of the temple was a friend of mine at Kyoto Antaiji. All personnels have survived, but he must be in charge of rebuilding the temple.  He cannot retire until the completion of  the new job. 

Volcanic activities along the pacific rim have been strong recently. Eruption of volcano and earthquake come from the same cause, motion in the deep earth. 

You know Iojima where Americans and Japanese fought at the end of WWII. Several  American war ships tactically sunk under sea at that time. Now the ships sit on the beach showing rusty bodies. Thus, Iojima has been on the rise. Last year a tiny island appeared close to Iojima. Then both became one. Iojima has ever been expanding. 

About 100 miles southward  Iojima, a new island was born a few years ago by volcanic eruption. A natural disaster may be accompanied by natural reconstruction. 

Regards. 

Valley Zendo

Eishin Ikeda