Retreat!

"An Extremely Expansive Place"

Here is an excerpt from the recently published translation of the Collected Works of Korean Buddhism in thirteen volumes. This passage opens Won Hyo's "Preface to the Commentary on the Jin Translation of the Flower Ornament Sutra." The really cool thing about the publication is that it's all on-line and free. This is a monumental offering. Many thanks to Robert Buswell and his team of collaborators. Here is the link.  

"Now, in the unhindered and unobstructed dharma-opening of the dharma-realm there is no dharma, and yet no non-dharma; no opening, and yet no non-opening. Thus it is neither large nor small, neither in a hurry nor taking its time; neither moving nor still, neither one nor many. Since it is not large, it can become an atom, leaving nothing behind. Since it is not small, it can contain all of space with room left over. Unhurried, it can include all the kalpas in the three time periods; not taking its time, it can enter fully into an instant. Since it is neither moving nor still, samsāra is nirvāna and nirvāna is samsāra. Being neither one nor many, one dharma is all dharmas and all dharmas are one dharma." Won Hyo

Ji Jang Bosal

Dear Sangha,

Thank you for chanting Kwan Seum Bosal to my friend's mother Ka Lee Tsin 2 weeks ago. She passed away 2 days ago. May I requests Ji Jang Bosal for Ka Lee Tsin and Kwan Seum Bosal for her family.

Yours in the Dharma,
Sing Yu _/\_
Reply to: karikong@hotmail.com

Chanting Request

Dear KUZS,

Please accept this request for chanting for a good friend to the Dharma, Katherine Cleveland, whose light is flickering in Lanikai, Oahu, Hawaii. This request will be followed by a request for Ji Jang Bosal chanting when appropriate. Katherine's primary quality is kindness toward all.

Thank you,
In the Dharma,
Jim Pallett, Dharma Zen Center
Reply to: pallett.jim@gmail.com

Last Few Hours

We have only a few more hours to go. Right now we're on break. Everyone is sacked out. For some reason I have energy to spare.

The first afternoon of the retreat, I felt profoundly moved by the opening lines of the Temple Rules: "you have already made a firm decision to attain enlightenment and save all beings."Really?" I thought. Is my resolve firm? Every word of the rules tasted like golden nectar. The old scarred brown floor seemed like the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, pouring forth its light.

Much of the weekend has passed like this, moment after moment of quiet gratitude and deep love--for my teacher and sangha and the wide open space of this place.

We'll do it again in January. Stay tuned for more news from the heartland.



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Reclining Buddha

We are about 24 hours into our Summer Solstice Retreat with Linc Rhodes, jfpsn. Manhattan items and Topekans: why not drop everything and join us? We'll be here through noon on Sunday.


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Tallgrass Zen Retreat

June 21 - 24 , 2012 

Deep Creek Community Center in the Flint Hills     

10 minutes outside of Manhattan, Kansas

 Silent meditation, vegetarian meals; kong-an interviews Guiding teacher Linc Rhodes JDPSN. 

Retreat begins Thursday at 1:00 pm and runs through noon on Sunday. Late entry times: 5:45 am; 8:30 am; 1:00 pm and 6:15 pm. 

Full retreat $150 general public; $130 Kwan Um members; $110 Dharma Teachers/ DTIT. Per day $50/$45. To inquire about registration e-mail tallgrasszen@yahoo.com or call 785-537-8713.

Sunday Practice

We've practiced now for four weeks in our new space, the Solar Addition of the UFM. It's a lovely space, a bit small but full of light with red tile floors. I'll try to post some pictures soon.

We meet from 3:00 - 4:30. We do nine prostrations, chant Kwan Se Um Bosal, sit for two rounds with walking meditation, then close with the Heart Sutra in English and the Great Dharani. This is a wonderful way to bring the weekend to a close.

What will you be doing next Sunday at 3:00?

Practice Schedule / Location Change

Margaret and I are excited to announce a change to both our practice schedule AND location. Beginning Sunday February 12, 2012 we will hold practice on Sundays from 3 - 4:30 in the solar addition of UFM (1221 Thurston St, Manhattan, KS). Here's a link to a map: http://g.co/maps/nj3mn.

Effectively immediately, we will no longer practice at Mercy Hospital Chapel. This means no practice tomorrow (Saturday February 4) or Tuesday (Feb 7).

We hope to see everyone very soon.

Interdependence

I found this shell in the shallow water of the Banana River, a lagoon that runs from Cape Canaveral in the north to the Indian River in the south. I picked it up because I was attracted to the deep green color, which of course dried to an ordinary grey. But I love it for its worm casings and barnacles, the traces of the many lives nurturing and nurtured by the creature that made this shell, concrete proof that our lives continue on past the death of the biological body and the mass of psychic energy we call the self. Had I resisted the temptation to plunge my arm into the cold water and take this shell, it undoubtedly would have offered refuge to a succession of hermit crabs before it began breaking up, turning slowly to sand, shifting back and forth under the surface of the clear green water.

Our bodies are as soft and vulnerable as the mollusk that grew this shell. And our selves have no more substance than the waves that break on the shore. But we do exist beyond what we call our "selves," in the wind and the tides and the sand under foot.


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Location:Cocoa Beach