TALLGRASS ZEN

Interdependence

2012-01-13T09:56:00.001-06:00

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.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Cocoa Beach

Practice Canceled Tonight, 12/20/2011

2011-12-20T14:35:00.000-06:00

We are canceling practice tonight due to inclement weather. But we are planning to be there Saturday morning, usual time, usual place. See you?

Winter Solstice Events

2011-12-01T09:50:00.000-06:00

Tallgrass Zen Center
Winter Solstice
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Deep Creek Community Center

Meditation from 9 am - 5 pm
with consulting interviews
bring your own lunch
tea provided

Potluck at 5:30 pm

Candlelight Kido at 6:30 pm

All events are open to the public,
no prior experience necessary
free will offering to cover rental of facility

for directions call 785-537-8713 or e-mail tallgrasszen @ yahoo. com

Practice cancelled Saturday, November 12, 2011

2011-11-12T07:04:00.002-06:00

We are unable to be there for practice this morning. Regular practice schedule will resume on Tuesday evening.
Margaret & Christina

Kwan Se Um Bosal / Ji Jang Bosal

2011-09-11T20:10:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we had our first ever kido retreat led by Linc Rhodes, JDPSN. It featured about seven hours of chanting kwanseumbosal over and over while sitting and walking and keeping time with percussion instruments. In the words of Sam Wisely, it was "interesting." At one point, about 4 hours into our afternoon chanting, everyone seemed to wake up together and began hitting their instruments hard. Several us of were hitting the floor. The energy was palpable. This went on for a while. It's hard to explain how one minute you can be practically falling over with exhaustion and the next minute clear and exhilarated.

This morning we had practice at Ana Franklin's Yoga Studio and chanted Ji Jang Bosal to commemorate 9/11. Ji Jang Bosal is the "earth storehouse boddhisatva," which is a lovely way to think of the dead. Afterward we sat in a circle and talked and ate Ana's delicious meal. Thank you, Ana!

And many thanks to everyone who participated in both events, especially to Linc for traveling so far and being so steady.

kwanseumbosal kwanseumbosal kwanseumbosal

Tallgrass Zen Kido Retreat

2011-08-21T11:35:00.004-06:00

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Guiding Teacher Linc Rhodes JDPSN

Deep Creek Community Center
In the Flint Hills of Kansas
10 minutes from Manhattan,kansas

Kido chanting retreats consist primarily of chanting with breaks for meals. We chant “Kwan Seum Bosal”, the Korean name for the bodhisattva of compassion, while sitting, standing and walking. These retreats are suitable for beginners as well as experienced students. Kido begins at 6am & ends at 9:30 pm.

$50 general public
$45 Kwan um members
$40 dharma teachers
scholarships/work exchange

to register call 785-537-8713 or e-mail tallgrasszen@yahoo.com

Tallgrass Zen Center is affiliated with the Kwan Um School of Zen
http://tallgrasszen.blogspot.com/

Practice Canceled Tuesday August 9

2011-08-09T09:58:00.002-06:00

Dear Friends,

We are canceling practice tonight, Tuesday August 9. We will be there Saturday morning at our usual time. Please join us then.

In the dharma,

Christina and Margaret

Buddha’s Birthday Poem

2011-05-11T08:01:00.000-06:00

look up into the sky
look into the Baby Buddha’s eyes.

despite his declaration: “Only I am holy”
we love the Baby Buddha anyway.

before he could teach us to WAKE UP
he let go of silver spoons to grow up.

look into the Baby Buddha’s eyes
in the face of everyone you meet.

in the early morning twilight
as planets align in the eastern sky
buffalo graze on tallgrass.

Happy Buddha’s Birthday

Margaret Wheeler
May 10, 2011

Jijang bosal for Honey

2011-05-08T12:38:00.001-06:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Honey

2011-05-08T11:45:00.000-06:00

My little cat Honey is dying. She was diagnosed two or maybe three weeks ago with kidney failure, and despite my best efforts has slowly wasted away. I am very sad. I’m also feeling very guilty because I was negligent in various ways.

We adopted Honey nine years ago from the local animal shelter. She was a pregnant stray who was very close to being euthanized. So in another sense I am feeling quite virtuous because we prolonged her life, and because her life was by and large a good one, with plenty of food and water and love.

Somewhere between guilt and virtue lies a truth about our lives and our deaths. I don’t know what it is.

I know that I love the little creature and that she loves me. She’s lying right now in the garden, under a rose bush, in the sunshine, while her life slowly ebbs away. Margaret and I have been weeding the vegetable garden, stopping now and then to visit with her. She lifts her head a bit when we touch her then falls back into a doze. This is best death I can give her, to let her lie in a safe familiar place, to return to her again and again so she can hear my voice and feel my touch.

I know that there is great teaching in all this, about suffering and impermanence. But right now all I want to do is cry.

One Day Retreat: May 7, 2011

2011-04-26T14:51:00.001-06:00

Tallgrass Zen Center

One Day Mediation Retreat with Consulting Interviews

Deep Creek Community Center

Saturday May 7, 2011

Set up will be at 6:45 am

7:30 am – 5:00 pm

Bring your own breakfast/lunch

Tea will be provided

Please RSVP to tallgrasszen @ yahoo. com if you plan to attend

2011-04-19T06:13:00.000-06:00

On Saturday morning April 16, we arrived for practice and our matts. cushions and altar items had been removed by hospital staff. A note had been left for us and the items were safely locked in an office. We have subsequently learned that we will still be allowed to use the chapel for our practice times on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings, however we will not be allowed to store our supplies at the hospital any longer. So when attending practice you might consider arriving early or staying late to help with set up and take down.

This change is the result of Matt Cobb"s resigning from his position as Chaplain at Mercy. He has been a great friend and bodhisattva to our sangha in his kind offer of the chapel for our practice over 5 years ago.

We will continue to hold practice at the hospital, and continue to search for an (im)permanent home for Tallgrass Zen Center.

May Our Practice Benefit All Beings,
Margaret Wheeler, Co- Abbott
Tallgrass Zen Center
Manhattan, Kansas

London Zen Centre

2011-03-22T13:30:00.001-06:00

I wrote this last week but was unable to post it. Gratitude never gets stale!

I'm staying at the London Zen Centre, and just wanted to say thanks to the teacher, Ja An (Bogusla) for her hospitality and clear teaching. I also want to encourage everyone reading this to visit asmamy Zen Centers as you can.

Here's a pic of us I took on yesterday.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New Kwan Um Website

2011-02-22T13:57:00.003-06:00

Breaking news! The Kwan Um School of Zen has a new updated website. It's quite beautiful. If you've never visited or if you haven't visited in a while, check it out at www.kwanumzen.org.

Practice cancelled 02/01/2011

2011-02-01T18:17:00.001-06:00

Due to the winter storm, practice is cancelled Tuesday evening 02/01/2011. Stay safe and keep warm.

Our Path

2011-01-04T09:23:00.001-06:00

Eating breakfast beside the banana river I looked up and heard / saw a big splash of water, the trace of some creature who had surfaced and then sunk back into its element. Seeing and hearing happened so closely together that they seemed as one. But they lagged behind the event--a fish jumping, perhaps. All I could see/hear was the trace of the effect. And I thought, it is like that. We live our whole lives within an aftereffect, mistaking it for the thing itself. I imagine--I believe--that what the Buddha found was a way to experience that which is always already happening just prior to our perception of it. And so I follow his path (which of course is no more a path than a splash of water is a fish).

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Cocoa Beach

Heart Kyol Che

2010-12-29T09:13:00.003-06:00

Kyol Che means "tight dharma" or "coming together." In Korea, it is the three month winter and summer periods when monks and nuns do intensive sitting practice in the mountains and temples. The Providence Zen Center holds two Kyol Che retreats each year. Winter Kyol Che starts January 3 and runs through April 1, 2011. Students sit a minimum of one week up to the entire three month period.

Heart Kyol Che will run concurrently with the traditional Kyol Che: it is an opportunity for students who cannot sit the traditional Kyol Che or who can only sit part of it, to participate by doing extra practice at home and practicing together with others as they are able.

There are many ways to participate in Heart Kyol Che. Some people make an extra effort to attend weekly meditation practice with the local sangha. Some people do extra prostrations daily or weekly. Some people do Midnight practice. It was as a Heart Kyol Che practice that a dear dharma friend began his practice of chanting the Great Dharani 108 times a day. One year when feeling overwhelmed, my Heart Kyol Che practice was very simple: in addition to daily mediation practice, I chanted the Heart Sutra in the morning, at noon and in the evening.

By doing Heart Kyol Che together, we strengthen our practices, and provide support to those who are sitting traditional Kyol Che. And we are inspired and energized by their commitment.

Our next Tallgrass Zen retreat February 18, 19, 20 coincides with the Intensive Week of Practice during Winter Kyol Che at Diamond Hill Zen Monastery in Providence. This is an opportunity to practice Heart Kyol Che together. We will be sending out a flyer and registration form for the retreat soon.

If you would like to discuss your ideas for Heart Kyol Che, please contact Christina or Margaret: tallgrasszen@yahoo.com or 785-537-8713.

We will be having New Year’s Day extended practice with Consulting Interviews from 7:30 am – 9:30 am at the Mercy Hospital Chapel on Saturday January 1, 2011. Afterwards we will have breakfast at a local restaurant. Please join us as we greet the New Year.

May Our Practice Benefit All Beings,

Margaret Wheeler, Secretary
Tallgrass Zen Center
Manhattan, Kansas

Buddha's Enlightenment Day Events

2010-11-28T16:37:00.003-06:00

Saturday December 11, 2010

Deep Creek Community Center

Meditation Retreat 9am-5 pm

$10 fee & bring a sack lunch

Vegetarian Potluck 5pm

Candlelight Kido 6:30 -8:00 pm

Sunday December 12, 2010 11:00 am

Buddha's Enlightenment Day Ceremony

Yoga Connection 321 A Poyntz Avenue

Manhattan, Kansas

For information or directions contact us at 537-8713

Retreat Photos

2010-10-24T18:49:00.000-06:00

Here are some photos from our retreat this weekend. Thanks to everyone who sat with us, especially our teacher, Linc Rhodes, jdpsn.

I forgot my tripod and had to set the camera up on the tailgate of the pickup. Here are a couple of shots I took trying to get the right angle and focal length. The first one is Judy Wright. The second one is Margaret Wheeler.

Gathering the sangha:

Here we all are!

(Back: Richard Brown, Linc Rhodes, Sam Wisely; center: Dick Marston, Tracy Leedstrom, Judy Wright, Rebecca Otte; bottom: James Frager, Margaret Wheeler, Christina Hauck, Jeff Ireland.)

Finally, Linc and Jeff in the world's most spacious interview room:

Primary Point Magazine online

2010-09-12T10:35:00.001-06:00

The latest Primary Point magazine is now available online. Small pdf file: http://bit.ly/af7tzY
Large, high-resolution pdf file: http://bit.ly/cmt1Ce

Kwan Um School of Zen Facebook http://www.facebook.com/kwanumzen

Memorial Facebook page for Zen Master Seung Sahn:
http://www.facebook.com/seungsahn

We hope you enjoy and make use of these opportunities to connect with our many dharma brothers and sisters.

In the dharma,

Your Kwan Um School of Zen
International Office

Greetings from Linc

2010-07-23T19:41:00.000-06:00

I got this email from Linc today and thought I'd share it:

     Here is a picture of the wild patch some people claim to be a garden.

     Some of the sunflowers are from Kansas and now on steroids.

     This year there are pole beans climbing up the sunflowers, eliminating some of the poles.

     Lots of basil and tomatoes. Summer is ripe. Love Linc

Retreat & Precepts Ceremony

2010-05-26T14:42:00.001-06:00

Thanks to all who participated in our retreat last weekend. Congratulations to our preceptees, James Frager, Jeff Ireland, and Dick Marston.

Back row, left to right: Christina Hauck, Audrey Bosley, Sam Wisely, Rebecca Otte, Dick Marston.
Center row: Snehal Monteiro, James Frager, Bob Huff, Linc Rhodes, JDPSN.
Seated: Dennis Bosley, Jeff Ireland, Margaret Wheeler

Top row, left to right: James Frager, Jeff Ireland, Dick Marston, Audrey Bosley, Linda Marston, Brooke Marston.
Center row: Christina Hauck, Rebecca Otte, Linc Rhodes, JDPSN, Margaret Wheeler
Seated: Snehal Monteiro, Sam Wisely, Bob Huff, Dennis Bosley

Motivations for Practice

2010-05-19T16:24:00.017-06:00

Our dharma brother Dick Marston will be taking ten precepts at a ceremony this Sunday at the Deep Creek Community Center, thereby becoming a Dharma Teacher in Training. As part of his preparation for this important step, he wrote a short essay called, "Motivation for Practice." With his permission, I am sharing it with all of you.

The ceremony will begin at 11 am on Sunday May 23: all are invited!

***

We practice Zen through at least six forms of meditation: 1) keeping a question, 2) mantra practice, 3) kong-an practice, 4) chanting, 5) prostrations, and 6) clear-mind meditation. The overall purpose is to develop clear thinking, moment to moment, creating awareness in everything we do. When we practice, our direction becomes “clear like space.” Kwan-Um teachings have shown that practice is not intended to produce a trance-like state, but rather one where we perceive situations truthfully, are more alert, and are calmly focused on the present.

The first form of practice, keeping a question, such as “what am I?” helps us to let go of thinking, opinions, and desires. The second form of practice, mantra practice, also helps with clear-mind meditation. Watching my breath and silently thinking “clear mind” when inhaling and “don’t know” when exhaling helps me to create a clear thinking mind, replacing the “garbage truck” full of anguish and delusions that I collected during the rest of the day. The third form of practice, kong-an practice, involves a question and answer session with our guiding teacher, designed to create a “before-thinking mind.” This form of practice has proved especially difficult for me, given my deeply-engrained academic background as a student and professor. The fourth form of practice, chanting, is an energetic form of meditation. Chanting “Kwan Seum Bosal” repeatedly is useful when focusing on the suffering of others. I am still learning the meaning of other chants. The fifth form of practice, prostrations, constitute a physical action that shows reverence for the Buddha, dharma, and sangha. The sixth form of practice, clear-mind meditation, involves sitting still and quiet on a cushion, as well as standing and walking meditation. In my experience, chanting, bowing, and clear-mind meditation are particular powerful and inspiring when conducted with the sangha.

The ultimate motivation for practice is to save all sentient beings. Life can be full of joy and bliss, but for most it is difficult and challenging…full of anguish, suffering, and delusions. Life is difficult because we crave satisfaction in ways that are inherently dissatisfying. All things are transitory…all things change and are impermanent. Some of the ways that suffering occurs are listed below:

Greed: attachment to money and material possessions; displeasure when we don’t have them; attachment to pleasurable sense objects (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects); displeasure when encountering unpleasant sense objects.

Ego: attachment to praise, approval, ego-pleasing words; displeasure when we are criticized; attachment to having a good reputation and image; displeasure when they are tainted; failure to realize we are all “playing in the sandbox together” and are interdependent for our health and well-being; and

Anger: caused by resentment toward other people or events, or by the displeasures described above.

These emotions are human. One cannot make them disappear, nor is it desirable to turn them inward. Instead, we practice to recognize and acknowledge these poisons, then release them…“put them all down.”

A self-examination of my past reveals I have suffered from these three poisons (and still do) and have caused pain to others over the years through exhibiting anger, greed, and ignorance. So one motivation for practice is to recognize the anger, greed, and ignorance in my own behavior and strive for 10,000 years nonstop to eliminate it…seek to develop compassion, generosity, and a feeling of interdependence. However, our practice cannot be for just ourselves. We must recognize the suffering in others and ultimately it is this suffering from which we wish to save all sentient beings.

In practicing Zen, I strive to follow the eight-fold path for reducing greed, ego and ignorance:

WISDOM TRAINING

Right View: knowing yourself and others; avoid delusions about yourself and others; let go of ego and selfishness

Right Intentions: love, kindness, empathy, compassion; do not harm others

ETHICS TRAINING

Right Speech: try to say the “right” thing; speak the truth; speak kindly; do not use hurtful language; avoid ego; don’t gossip

Right Action: try to do the “right” thing; treat others as you wish to be treated; cherish all forms of life, help others; employ a skillful balance of endurance, energy, enthusiasm, grace, dignity, patience, self-discipline, consistency, courage; refrain from killing, lying, stealing, sexual misconduct, intoxicants

Right Livelihood: try to earn your living in the “right” way; integrate spirituality in your everyday activities; make a life, not just a living; be skilled, efficient, energetic, earnest and learned in your profession; have virtuous, trustworthy, faithful friends; have spiritual aspirations, live within your means; avoid the five hindrances (craving, ill will, torpor, restlessness, doubt)

MEDITATION TRAINING

Right Effort: pay attention, moment to moment, during the course of the day

Right Mindfulness: awareness during everything you do in your life; the discipline to perceive truthfully; be alert and calmly focused on the present; avoid distractions

Right Concentration: take the time to “step into yourself” and be aware of the workings of your mind and body; the discipline to still your mind; complete focusing of the mind

In my roles as a husband, father, and professor I have observed and experienced a great deal of suffering as well as joy. I practice to remind myself of why marriage and parenting can be full of bliss but also affected by the three poisons. As an academic, I observe greed, ego and anger to a degree that is truly shocking. When problems arise, practice reminds me to 1) stop and recognize the behavior and the root cause of it, and 2) consider my own role in creating the problem. Without practicing Zen, I feel certain I would have failed by now as a husband, father, and university department head. Challenges remain.

As a professor, I have taught and conducted research on separating the effects of human activities on rivers and mountains from changes that occur naturally. This effort has involved studies of the effects of mining, wildfires, deforestation and reforestation, grazing, agriculture, river regulation, and military maneuvers on landform stability in France, Brazil, Mexico, the Himalaya of Nepal-India-Pakistan, and in the American West and Great Plains. I am seen abject poverty, political oppression, and environmental devastation in some of these areas, which has fostered a sense of interdependence and wanting to help…also a sense of frustration that I cannot do more as an individual and as a citizen of a rich nation. Zen practice has led me to be mindful of the underlying causes of environmental change and the impacts that these changes exert on sentient beings. In many cases, my trained instinct to find a cause-and-effect link has been tempered by a “don’t know mind,” a realization that sometimes the world is too complex to be understood in terms that are simple, ordered, unified, and harmonious.

--Dick Marston (Poep An)

Reflection on the Teachings of Man Gong

2010-04-26T08:12:00.000-06:00

"To attain the result of your practice, you must extinguish the small “I”. You must stop checking and become like a rotten stump, then you can get rid of the “I” that thinks it exists.” The Teachings of Zen Master Man Gong

To become like a rotten stump means first of all to become like a tree that has been cut down. A tree that has been cut down is completely stripped of its trunk, branches and leaves. It can no longer take in energy from the sun. So this means to cut off whatever gives energy to your small self.

Sometimes you see a tree stump in the forest with new branches and leaves growing from it. This is because the roots are alive and continuing to draw nourishment from the soil. So if you want to attain your true self, you must become like a rotten stump, which means to let your roots die so that you stop feeding your small self.

Finally, a rotten stump nourishes the whole forest. Insects, reptiles and small mammals take refuge in it, and they feed each other and the birds and other animals. As the stump slowly decomposes it releases all the nutrients that were bound up in it and those leech through the earth enriching the soil, helping other plants to grow. This means that your practice is no longer for yourself but rather for all beings without discrimination.

April 24 Morning Practice Canceled

2010-04-22T09:36:00.002-06:00

Due to the Midwest Sangha Weekend events in Chicago, we are canceling Saturday Morning Practice on April 24, 2010. We will resume our regular schedule on Tuesday Evening April 27th.

PBS Documentary BUDDHA April 7, 2010 @ 7:00 pm

2010-03-31T16:45:00.003-06:00

Dick Marston sent this via e-mail:

On Wednesday, April 7, 2010, at 8:00 p.m. ET (7:00pm in Kansas), PBS will bring to life Siddhartha and his journey in THE BUDDHA, a two-hour documentary directed by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin.

“Buddhism is growing more and more popular in America,” said David Grubin. “But the Buddha himself remains a mysterious, exotic figure, the founder of a religion in a different key. The Buddha never claimed to be God, or his emissary on earth. He said only that in a world of unavoidable pain and suffering, he had found a serenity which others could find too. In our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion, the Buddha’s teachings have particular relevance.”

The film, narrated by actor Richard Gere, is undertaken in conjunction with Asia Society Museum, which has organized an exhibition entitled Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art, the first-ever exhibition examining artistic production inspired by sacred sites and the practice of Buddhist pilgrimage in Asia.

Grubin, who directed the critically acclaimed series of films on American presidents including “LBJ,” “FDR” and “Truman” as well as other award-winning series such as THE JEWISH AMERICANS, THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN and NAPOLEON, tells the story of the Buddha through ancient artwork that depicts the various stages of Siddhartha’s journey, contemporary animation that vividly portrays the legends surrounding the Buddha and contemporary footage of northern India, where many of the religious rituals from the Buddha’s time are still practiced today.

Experts on the Buddha, representing a variety of disciplines, relate the key episodes of the Buddha’s life and reflect on what his journey means for us today. They include His Holiness the Dalai Lama; poets Jane Hirshfield and W.S. Merwin; scholars Robert Thurman, Kevin Trainor and Dr. Max Moerman; astrophysicist Trinh Xuan Thuan; and psychiatrist Mark Epstein, as well as practicing Buddhist monastics.

“By continuing our exploration of the world’s religions, we are delighted to participate in broadening people’s understanding of Buddhism today with David Grubin’s moving portrait of the life of the Buddha,” said John F. Wilson, PBS senior vice president and chief TV programming executive. “This film exposes not just the man, but also his rich teachings, which we hope will spark a larger conversation about religion and spirituality.”

www.PBS.org/TheBuddha

Am I in a Cult? (Part 1)

2010-02-22T14:14:00.000-06:00

I've spent some time over the past couple of days--too much time, probably--reading around at the Forum maintained by a guy named Rick Ross, a prominent anti-cultist. I started reading because Margaret said that there was quite a bit of negative information about Zen Master Seung Sahn (you can read it from start to finish here). I noticed pretty quickly that a member who calls himself "The Anti-Cult" was especially driven to attack ZMSS, but that much of what he said was unfactual or a massive distortion of the facts. I've written a response to him, but after reading a thread started by someone calling himself "Dr Logic," I realized that there's no point in trying to reason with "The Anti-Cult"--or anyone on the Forum. Most of the posters seem locked into a very rigid perspective in which any disagreement with them constitutes an effort to manipulate, even brainwash them.

It was especially unnerving to watch the Forum members begin attacking "Dr Logic," whose protests were then construed as attacks for which he was eventually banned from the Forum. There were lots of other instances where the Forum members, especially The Anti-Cult, would accuse Dr Logic of doing exactly the thing they themselves were doing. It was kind of like watching a microcosm of American political discourse--but somehow sadder.

Public Dharma Talk in Manhattan

2010-01-19T15:49:00.000-06:00

Tallgrass Zen 2010 Events Schedule

2009-12-08T18:55:00.008-06:00

Consulting Interviews:
First Saturday of each month

YMJJ Retreat January 29, 30, 31, 2010
Dharma Talk on January 28, 2010

Midwest Sangha Weekend in Chicago
Ten Directions Zen Community
April 23 -25, 2010

Buddha’s Birthday
Friday May 21, 2009: Ceremony & Potluck
Day of Meditation & Interviews May 22

YMJJ Retreat June 24, 25, 26, 27, 2010

Sangha Day at Lake Wabaunsee July 2010 (TBA)

Retreat October 22, 23, 24, 2010
Dharma Talk on October 21, 2010

Buddha’s Enlightenment Day Activities 2010
Saturday December 11: Day of Meditation & Interviews with Evening Kido
Sunday December 12: Ceremony and Potluck

2009-12-04T21:30:00.003-06:00

Buddha's Enlightenment Day is celebrated on the 8th Day of the 12th month. So this year on a lunar calendar it is December 23rd, on a solar calendar it is December 8th. Which do you like?

Saturday December 5, 2009: Tallgrass Zen Extended Morning Practice with Consulting Interviews 7:30 -9:30 am: Mercy Chapel - 1823 College Avenue - Manhattan, Kansas - Followed by Sangha Breakfast at a local restaurant

Sunday December 6, 2009: PrairyErth Zen: Buddha's Enlightenment Day Ceremony 10:30 am 2221 Edgewater -Topeka, Kansas. Followed by a Sangha Potluck.

Saturday December 19, 2009: Day of Meditation with Consulting Interviews 9am - 4:30pm. Deep Creek Community Center - Manhattan, Kansas. Bring a sack lunch. Potluck Dinner to follow before the Kido at 6:30 pm

Saturday December 19, 2009: Buddha's Enlightment Day Kido 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm - Deep Creek Community Center. Kido is means Energy Way - and we chant along with percussion instruments, so bring a moktak, drum, rattle. All are welcome.

For more information contact us at tallgrasszen@yahoo.com or call 785-537-8713

Surprise!

2009-11-07T15:04:00.002-06:00

For several weeks now, Aussama has been telling us that she would bring two Korean friends to practice with her this Saturday, people she met in Korea. We were pleased because today was the first time we were able to offer consulting interviews (with Senior Dharma Teacher Margaret Wheeler). When we arrived at the chapel we learned that one of Aussama's friends was also an old friend of ours--Jee Hyun Lee, who has been living in Philadelphia where is an Assistant Professor at Drexel. What a surprise! We were also happy to meet Jee's friend, Jin, who is also a first-year Assistant Professor at Drexel. How lucky we all are to have such wonderful friends to practice with.

Kido Retreat with Linc in California

2009-10-17T21:01:00.002-06:00

Ji Jang Bosal

2009-10-09T16:59:00.002-06:00

John Daido Loori, Roshi, died today. You can read about him here.

Retreat with Linc Rhodes

2009-10-02T13:35:00.001-06:00

Our retreat starts tonight at 6:30. There are still seats left for Saturday and Sunday. Email for more information.

People Smiling

2009-08-31T19:44:00.002-06:00

Susan, Margaret, Rebecca, Linc, Christina, Judy, Liatris, Dennis

People Walking

2009-08-31T18:33:00.004-06:00

During our circle talk at the end of the retreat held at Praireyrth Zen Center last weekend, Dennis talked about doing walking meditation outside. At first, he said, he was nervous because he worried about what people would say if they saw us. Once we got outside though, he realized that there were no people around to gawk and possibly criticize us. But there were lots and lots of birds, he said, watching us.

"What did they say?" I asked.

Linc Rhodes, JDPSN answered, "The people walking are the great sutras."

More or Less Terminal

2009-08-22T19:26:00.003-06:00

A friend, a long term Zen practitioner, recently told another friend that he finds himself in a "more or less terminal situation" and will enter hospice soon. He also told her that he was at peace with his situation and not to send a get well soon card.

What great teaching! We are all in a more or less terminal situation from the day we are born until shortly before we die. The question is, how can we be at peace with our condition?

Retreat Photo

2009-06-21T15:32:00.003-06:00

We just finished our second summer solstice retreat with a precepts ceremony. Congratulations to Jeehyun Lee for taking five precepts, to Susan Warden for renewing sixteen precepts and to Margaret Wheeler and Christina Hauck for taking sixteen precepts. Thanks to our teacher, Linc Rhodes, for traveling all the way from Rhode Island to practice with us, and to all the people who worked so hard, before, during and after the retreat.

Solstice on the Prairie Retreat June 2009

2009-05-19T20:45:00.005-06:00

Tall Grass Zen
Solstice on the Prairie Retreat

Thursday June 18 - Sunday June 21, 2009
Deep Creek Community Center
in the beautiful Flint Hills
near Manhattan, Kansas

Retreat starts Thursday evening at 6:30 pm and runs through Sunday morning. There will be a precepts ceremony on Sunday at 11 am. You can sit all or part of the retreat. Late entry times are Friday and Saturday mornings at 6 am; 9 am and Noon. The precepts ceremony is open to the public.

If you would like to register for the retreat you will need to register in advance. Please email us at tallgrasszen@yahoo.com or call 785/537-8713 for more information.

Affiliated with the Kwan Um School of Zen
http://www.kwanumzen.com/

Half-Day Retreat in Topkea

2009-05-17T07:35:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Margaret and I sat a half-day retreat with our friends at PrairieEyrth Zen Center. Thanks to the PEZC for hosting this.

Ji Jang Bosal

2009-04-08T07:38:00.000-06:00

JW Harrington, May 8, 1958 - April 7, 2009.

JW, for thirty years the key administrator for the Kwan Um School of Zen, took his own life yesterday afternoon in Providence, Rhode Island. He is survived by his wife, Jayne, his mother, and thousands of friends around the world.

I did not know JW well, but in our many phone conversations and emails he was always friendly and efficient. Once, during Kyol Che, I did some office work for him. He had such a beautiful calm light. Now I feel so sad for him. He must have felt so desperate and alone.

Let us keep one another close.

2009-03-08T18:55:00.003-06:00

Sitting with ease
on the bridge
Deep Creek accepts
another fallen leaf
greeting it with
a circle of radiance
shimmering
to every shore

The leaf floats
nesting into a rock

Form is emptiness

A cloud passes
over sunlight
transforming the vision
to opaque depth

Emptiness is form

Walking back
pick up a penny
in the road
Warm in the hand
South wind cool
on the face

Margaret Wheeler
Tall Grass Zen
2009

UPDATE ON THE FEBRUARY RETREAT

2009-02-06T09:20:00.001-06:00

Because our teacher, Linc Rhodes, had to return to Providence unexpectedly, we've shortened the retreat. We will now begin at 9 am and end at 5 pm on Saturday February 7.

Winter Solstice Candlelight Kido

2008-12-14T12:08:00.000-06:00

Buddha’s Enlightenment Day Poem

2008-12-09T18:35:00.000-06:00

Buddha’s Enlightenment Day Poem

It took an Indian prince six years of renunciation
Six years of wandering, six years of meditation
To awaken to what the farmer knew every morning of her life

Deep darkness, clearing skies of vivid stars
And each winter without fail
One joyous moment as the morning star
BOOM
First startles the trembling night sky

You have to already be awake to witness this
We are already a part of each and every creation

The stars, seen or unseen. The prairie grasses frozen frosted still
The rice in the paddies picking up the dawn breeze
The rhythm of the sky and stars, dawns and sunsets, twilights, dusk and darkness
The heat, the dust, the barren, lush or harsh landscapes
Can you see the hawk’s breath as she soars low before you startled eyes?

Dawn announces the coming round
Earth wheels to greet a brighter beckoning
Attainment fades with the morning star
As it appeared, so it disappears
The young prince, renunciant
Smiles, touching the earth
Just as the daughter bent to plant the rice
The stars, the earth, the rice, the water, the farmer
The daughter’s offering to the prince under the Bodhi tree

Wake up Wake up Hurry up Wake Up

Draw back the veil, open the blinds
Wake up Wake up
Did you see the morning Star?
Did you oversleep again?

When the stone girls sighs
Her breath does not cloud
The Great Round Mirror

You have to be awake to attain this and let it go:
One by one each creation has it
One by one each creation is complete.

HAPPY BUDDHA’S ENLIGHTMENT DAY

Margaret M. Wheeler
Tall Grass Zen

Retreat Photos

2008-10-13T15:20:00.005-06:00

Thanks to who everyone who sat the retreat. A special thanks to Linc Rhodes for his generous teaching. And thanks as well to those who stuck around and helped Margaret and me get packed up and home. These photos were taken by Jeehyun Lee. Thank you, Jee!

Deep Creek Community Center

Lincoln Rhodes, JDPSN

Our bell and altar

Sunrise over the Flint Hills

Bowls

Richard Michael, Liatrus, Christina, Linc

Christina, Linc, Margaret, Judy, Jee, Rebecca, James

October Retreat

2008-09-15T06:53:00.002-06:00

Buddhist Wedding Ceremony

2008-07-24T10:55:00.005-06:00

The wedding was lovely. We used the Kwan Um Marriage Ceremony, which is short, yet beautiful. Here are the vows, which are based on the Eightfold Noble Path:

Views We vow in our married life together to continually break through our pre-conceived views of each other and see clearly.

Thoughts We vow to let go of feelings that arise from selfish desires, attachments, and fears, so that we can open our hearts to one another.

Conduct We vow to be compassionate with one another and with all beings.

Speech We vow to refrain from speaking harshly or deceptively to each other or about one another to others.

Livelihood We vow to practice peaceful and ethical occupations and to support each other in our work.

Effort We vow to support one another in creating a compassionate and loving home.

Mindfulness We vow to always be mindful of each other and to let go of our ideas and beliefs so that we can see each other clearly.

Meditation We vow to encourage each other to walk the bodhisattva path together.

During the ring exchange, Margaret and I made the following additional vows, which are taken from the Book of Ruth:

"Where you go I will go. Where you lodge I will lodge. Your people will be my people. What you hold sacred I will hold sacred. When you die I will be there. Nothing but death shall divide us."

Thanks to everyone for their kind wishes.

Wedding Bells

2008-07-21T23:02:00.003-06:00

Hello!

Well, tomorrow is the big day for us!

What this means for you is: we are canceling practice tomorrow, Tuesday July 22.

But you can come on Saturday the 26th.

Love, Christina and Margaret

Where's Christina?

2008-07-09T08:20:00.003-06:00

Good morning, Dharma Friends!

If you'd like to know what I'm up while I'm away, you can visit my other blog:

caveofpoisongrass.blogspot.com

Hope you are all well and staying cool.

Here in Sonoma County it is hothothothothothothot

Love, Christina

Sangha

2008-07-02T06:48:00.000-06:00

Greetings to all dharma friends!

"Enlightenment and clarity of mind occur only in response to the sustained efforts of study and practice. Although you have your own capacity, you practice the way with the combined strength of the community. So you should practice and search with one mind with others." --Dogen

Several years ago I attended a dharma teachers retreat at the Providence Zen Center. It is a beautiful place with paths wending through 50 acres of wooded land. Set behind the zen center on the hill is the Diamond Hill Zen Monastery overlooking a small lake. It was October and very cool, having rained all weekend. But this particular morning was clear and cloudless with a cold breeze and heavy dew on the grasses. Zen Master Bon Haeng brought us outside to begin our morning walking meditation. I got in line behind one of the teachers in our school waiting to begin walking. Before we began our walk, the zen master told us, "Walk as one person and as one with the universe." So carefully following the footsteps of the teacher before me, I matched his every step, trying to place my foot in his footstep, and moving my leg with his in strong together action. As we entered the large lawn in front of the zen center, I realized he was tromping down the wet, dewy grass for me, showing me exactly where to place my foot and that in turn I was flattening the grass even further for the person behind me so that the others in line behind us avoided having wet, muddy feet and could see where to walk with greater clarity -- each footstep a giving to the person behind.

This is what we do for each other everytime we practice together, showing each other the way, each adding our own capacity for meditation to aid one another in finding the way. In the dharma room, we bow, chant, and sit as one body. Doing this is a symbol of the true nature we all share and it helps us to continue practicing meditation even when alone. Practicing together helps us to see our karma more clearly as we abut up against others opinions and likes and dislikes and they in turn see ours. The combined energy of each sangha member brings forth the dharma in ways we can scarcely imagine. As the seed needs water to grow, we need each other to grow -- bringing forth that "mind of minds" that is always present within us and around us.

I am having surgery in a few weeks and so cannot be with you physically for awhile, but I send you all the blessings of the Buddha dharma and look forward to the time that I can be with you all again.

Good and evil have no self-nature

Holy and unholy are empty names

Outside the door is the land of stillness & light

Spring comes, grass grows by itself

Rebecca

Rebecca Otte is Director of the Prairy Erth Zen Center in Topeka, Kansas. She is a Senior Dharma Teacher in the Kwan Um School of Zen.

Post-retreat

2008-06-23T08:59:00.004-06:00

Thanks to everyone who helped out with last weekend's retreat, especially our teacher, Linc Rhodes.

Congratulations to Sam Wisely and Matt Cobb for taking Five Precepts

Thanks to Susan Warden for resuming her Dharma Teacher role.

And thanks to everyone else for your hard practice . . .

and creative rest!

A Little Birdie Told Me

2008-06-15T13:13:00.006-06:00

Based on a Dharma Talk given on 06/08/08 at Paririeyrth Zen Center Topeka, Kansas

Thank you all for your hard practice, it is good to be with you today.

As many of you know for the past four years I have been practicing with a woman who is imprisoned at Topeka Correctional Facility. We have slowly evolved from weekly meetings one on one, into a meditation class twice a month, alternating with a Kwan Um Buddhist Service twice a month. Both are open to any of the women incarcerated in minimum security at TCF. Twice a month I continue to meet with this lone Buddhist one on one, as her “Spiritual Advisor”, the prison’s designation for our relationship.

On one of these occasions recently, when I arrived I was told that we could not meet in one of our usual rooms: we would be meeting in the officer’s break room. No problem, we’ve had to meet there before. I went in to set up the altar, and this particular evening I was very, very tired. So instead of moving everything all around, I just moved two chairs and set up the altar on one of the tables where it was. While I was setting up, she was summoned to our meeting. When she arrived we greeted each other by bowing to each other, palmed joined, as we are not allowed to touch each other. We set down our cushions on the cold tile floor, and I opened the altar (she’s not allowed to touch the lighter, incense or the candles). I hit the moktak and we stood behind our cushions, and suddenly I notice we are smack in front of the Coca Cola machine. The bright loud Coca Cola machine. I cannot unplug it, this is a prison and I have no authority here what so ever. And so we begin, chanting Kwan Seum Bosal.

And I am immediately reminded, as is she it turns out, of Zen Master Seung Sahn’s teaching about chanting practice “Even using Coca Cola as a mantra could help your life, if you practice correctly.” So there we are in the Prison Officer’s break room, facing this huge Coca Cola machine, chanting. And this teaching comes alive: “Kwan Seum Bosal, Coca Cola, Kwan Seum Bosal, Coca Cola ….”

Later, after we had completed our practice session that evening, we both talked about what a powerful experience that was to chant Kwan Seum Bosal, Evening Bell Chant, The Heart Sutra and the Great Darahni with that Coca Cola machine shining brightly before us, reminding us of Zen Master Seung Sahn’s teaching.

Last weekend I was returning home after running some errands and as I was turning into our driveway, I saw a tiny baby bird at the edge of the driveway, almost in the gutter. So naturally I slowed the car and carefully turned to avoid it. I parked, got out of the car, and walked back down the drive and attempted to get the bird to move. It kept peeping cheeping at me, but I could not dissuade it from its reckless spot. Fearful that it would hop into the street and be killed, I finally scooped it up. It perched on my finger. Such a beautiful bird, a brown thrasher. It cheeped some more, “I’m hungry.” Well now what? Thrashers tend to hang out on the ground or in shrubs, but I was concerned that our outdoor cat Max would find this bird. So I wanted to save this little bird in my hand. And now one of its parents arrived looking for it, with a morsel in its mouth. It flew over me a few times demanding that I unhand the little bird. I spied a low branch in a locust tree and placed the bird there. I watched and listened awhile, then returned to the house. I went out to the yard again later, the baby Thrasher was gone from its perch. Inwardly I congratulated myself for saving it, and wondered where it had flown. Then to my utter delight, I saw three baby blue jays sitting on the ground in a cluster, beside our birdbath. Their parents were in the oak trees screaming at them. I imagine they were cajoling them to use their wings to fly and get out of range of Max the cat, who was napping on the front porch. So I joined in the chorus with the adult Blue Jays, “Fly you silly birds. The universe has wings and it can fly.” One of them made a short flight into the forsythia bushes, the other two just continued to sit there. I decided to let Max in the house for a while.

Oh! I was much delighted with all these fuzzy baby birds in the yard. When Christina arrived home later I told her about my encounters with the birds and commented, “I wish you’d have been here with your camera, they were so cute.”

An hour or so past. I went out to the car for something, and I saw a bird had been run over in the street. I went to look closer. It was a baby thrasher. I could see the stripes on its chest. I was so upset; I went into the house and cried. I regressed becoming like a little child, slumping against Christina. And I was asking myself, “what is this, what is this grief?’ Quickly I realized that this sense of loss was not about the bird at all, but about my perception of myself, the delusion that I had somehow saved this bird.

Finally, sometime later, I couldn't bear it that the bird's carcass was in the street. I walked down the driveway and into the road, peeling the flattened bird off the pavement and placed it in a flowerbed.

Yet the bird had something else to teach me. And I have been digesting this lesson all week.

A few days ago I was talking with Rebecca Otte on the phone and she asked me if I could give the Dharma talk today. “Oh sure, no problem.” Then last night I was complaining to Christina, “Why did I say I would give the talk? I don’t have anything to say, I don’t know anything.” I could only think to tell about the bird, but I hadn’t fully processed what had happened, let alone had a clue as to how to weave it into a Dharma Talk. So I went to bed and slept hoping for inspiration in a dream. Then this morning I woke up and just picked up the Compass of Zen and let it fall open. This Zen serendipity gave some direction on how to digest this incident and shape it into a talk. The page it fell open to was Zen Master Seung Sahns teaching on chanting: “The correct practice of meditation means attaining one pointed mind without wanting anything.” I wanted something: I wanted to save the bird from death. And also wanted the bird to remember me, for this is not the first time I have held a baby bird, believing I was saving it from danger.

Wanting a certain outcome, this is attachment, clinging - a link in the chain of dependent origination. Recognizing this I could trace it backwards – to desire, sensation, contact, the six senses --- all the way back to ignorance. I had picked up the bird to save it, deluding myself, “I am a great bodhisattva saving this bird from a death in the street.” This is Zen smugness. I thought I was becoming One with the Universe but instead I created life and death.

So another big mistake. Zen Master Seung Sahn taught use that our mistakes are not so important, it’s how you correct your mistake. Our mistakes can be great teaching. There was a Korean monk Sok Du – Rock Head – very very stupid monk, but he was very determined. One day he asked the Zen Master, What is Buddha? The Zen master replied, “Buddha is Mind.” But Sok Du misunderstood – they were speaking in Chinese, so he thought what the Zen Master said was “Buddha is grass shoes.” Sok Du didn’t question this, he just sat with this for many years, always everywhere, “Buddha is grass shoes, Buddha is grass shoes.” Until one day, we know the story, he was carrying a load of firewood down a hill, tripped in his grass shoes. Firewood went flying everywhere, the shoes flew in the air and landed and he saw they were all torn up. Sok Du mind opened he attained enlightenment; “Waaahh. Buddha is grass shoes.” He ran to the Zen master shouting, “Now I understand Buddha.” The Zen master asked him what he understood and Sok Du hit the Zen master over the head with the grass shoes. The Zen Master says, “Only that?” So Duk replies, “My grass shoes are all torn up.” And the Zen Master laughed, “Now you truly understand Buddha.”

So I came here this morning with these ideas for this Dharma talk but uncertain how to weave it together: Coca Cola, Grass Shoes, Road Kill. After we chanted and sat down for mediation I thought of Sok Du and his great determination and suddenly all these memories appeared and disappeared: our cat Sophia was killed in the road in front of our house. My sister was hit by a go cart right before my eyes, I was four and she was two. I thought she was dead lying there in the street in front of the house we lived in. My 16 year old nephew was killed in a car accident in 1985. All these memories juxtaposed with Sok Du's "Buddha is grass shoes" and then suddenly turned into “Buddha is road kill, Buddha is road kill.” BOOM. Something opened up inside. I held this new mantra while I meditated this morning with all of you.

More practice is necessary. "Buddha is road kill, Buddha is road kill...."

Margaret Wheeler
Dharma Teacher
Tall Grass Zen
Manhattan, Kansas
tallgrasszen@yahoo.com

A Request from China

2008-05-21T07:23:00.001-06:00

Zen Master Dae Kwan, who is the guiding teacher of the Hong Kong Zen Center, has sent this request our to all the members of our school:

Dear All,

We like to encourage all our students to support the government request to meditate for 3 minutes to all the deceased who die during the earthquake in Sichuan at 2:28pm for 3 days.

WHEN YOUR MIND IS PURE THE LAND IS ALSO PURE.

May we meditate with this mind and dedicate to the Sichuan victims to sacrifice for all beings.

-May all the deceased go to good and bright pure land and be free from frustration, anger and sadness. Attain good rebirth.

May their death turn to a great bodhisattva action for all beings, help all beings to wake up from our delusion and attachment.

May we show our deepest gratitude and apologies to your unfortunate death. Because of our bad action to our Earth that this happen in your place.

May more life be rescued.

May all families be taken care of and no one is left out.

May all the missing families be reunited.

May all the frontline volunteers’ be safe and with great energy to help those who are in need.

May all of us wake up and learn from this bad situation and continue to bring forth great love and great care to those who are in need until all become independent.

May we all learn from this disaster and turn it to a great teaching to this whole world that government and subject become one will heal all crisis.

You can share this dedication with everybody.

Yours In Dharma,
Sifu / Dae Kwan

New Location?

2008-05-15T14:46:00.003-06:00

Looks like the Tall Grass Zen Center has a brand new location! Wow! No building fund drive or anything. Guess all that hard practice really pays off here on the physical plain after all.

Either that or its some sort of sports medicine clinic in Topeka.

Which do you like?

Kwan Se Um Bosal

2008-05-08T22:17:00.003-06:00

Thom Pastor JDPSN was seriously injured a few days ago when he was rear-ended by a drunk driver traveling in excess of 100 mph. Thom's neck and shoulder were broken. Fortunately, his spinal cord was not damaged. He had surgery on his shoulder today and will have to wear a neck halo for some time as his neck heals.

Please keep Thom and his family in your thoughts.

Midwest Sangha Weekend

2008-05-03T16:23:00.002-06:00

April 25-27 was Midwest Sangha Weekend, hosted for the third time in a row by the Ten Directions Zen Community. Five teachers attended: Bobby Rhodes, School Zen Master & Guiding Teacher of TDZC (among others); Dae Kwang Sunim, School Abbot and Guiding Teaching of the Great Lake Zen Center in Milwaukee (among others); Linc Rhodes, guiding teacher of the Indianpolis Zen Center, Prairyerth Zen Center (Topeka) and Tall Grass Zen; Judy Roitman, Guiding Teacher of the Kansas Zen Center (Lawrence, KS) and Red Earth Zen Center (Oklahoma); and Thom Pastor, Guiding Teaching of the Isthmus Zen Community (Madison, WI) and Great Brightness Zen Center (Las Vegas, which really puts the "west" into "midwest").

Naturally, there were even more students than teachers, including Margaret and Christina. It was wonderful to see so many old dharma friends and to make new ones as well.

The weekend kicked off on Friday with a workshop for Dharma Teachers and Dharma Teachers-in-training. We all practiced together Friday and Saturday nights and Saturday and Sunday mornings. At this event, all the teachers give interviews, and there's no telling who is behind the door you've just been called to!

There were workshops all day Saturday as well as Sunday morning. Saturday evening there was a variety show. I'm sure that the stars were the family of drummers, including a mom, a dad, and two little kids. Hopefully, soon there will be some photos!

A million thanks to the Ten Directions Zen Community for hosting this great event!

Practice Canceled

2008-02-20T07:15:00.003-06:00

There will be no practice this upcoming Saturday morning (February 23). Several of us are planning to go to the half-day sit at PrairyEryth Zen Center in Topkea instead. Scroll down for a link to PrairyEryth.

2008-02-16T21:09:00.002-06:00

As the snow recedes
across the lawn
gathering in the edges
of the flower bed
the neighbor's dog
paces in the cold
dry grass

Each year the great question

Will Spring Arrive?

Will Spring Come?

Margaret Wheeler

Our Larger Sangha

2008-01-29T15:47:00.001-06:00

We have some opportunities in the coming weeks and months to visit/support/interact with other sanghas.

On Sunday February 3, Zen Master Dae Kwang will be giving a talk at the Kansas Zen Center following practice. Practice runs from 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. The talk follows. ZMDK is the school abbot and a monk and a wonderful teacher. Margaret and I are planning to attend. We hope to see some of you there: perhaps we could go out for tea afterwards.

On Saturday February 23 and Saturday March 22, Prairy Erth Zen Center will host extended days of practice. You can visit their website at http://prairyerthzen.org

And, saving the best for last, MID-WEST SANGHA WEEKEND will be held on April 25-27 in Chicago. This will be an excellent opportunity to visit with Linc Rhodes, to meet other teachers (including Bobby Rhodes, the Guiding Teacher of our school, and Zen Master Dae Kwang, the School Abbot, among others), and to meet and practice with our Kwan Um Family members from Indy, Chicago, Madison, Milwaukee, and other places throughout the midwest. Let's all go!

Post Retreat

2008-01-28T14:10:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who helped make the retreat such a success: Bob for set-up and hosting Judy; Pete and Sam for cooking and site break down; Dick for hosting Linc and giving a great dharma talk; Matt for picking Linc up; Rebecca for moktok; and Margaret for shopping, cooking, and making sure I got the story right. Thanks, too, to Susan, Liatris, and Judy for helping out with the ceremony.

Here are some ceremony pics: thanks and congratulations for Rebecca for taking sixteen precepts and Dick for taking five.

Midshipman Marston comes aboard!

Everybody says "kim chee"!

January Retreat

2008-01-15T10:21:00.000-06:00

We are so happy that Linc Rhodes JDPSN will be leading our fourth retreat at the little schoolhouse on the prairie. We'll gather around 5:00 p.m. for an informal meal on Friday evening, January 25. The retreat will start at 6:30 and run through Sunday morning at 10 a.m. A precepts ceremony will follow the retreat at 11:00 a.m. Please join us!

If you'd like to register, please email us at tallgrasszen@yahoo.com.

Retreat Photo

2007-10-28T18:40:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who helped make the retreat such a success! Here's a group photo courtesy of Cheryl Hanbeck.

True Nature

2007-09-25T12:26:00.000-06:00

When I was on an assignment on campus I stood beneath a pine tree and watched the students and traffic pass by and I looked down and saw this. It was a lunar moth. It was lying amongst the dry fallen pine needles doing what lunar moths do. Being a lunar moth. It was not being anything other than itself. A thought arose concerning my practice. When I sit I am merely sitting. Is that true? Am I truly 'just sitting'? Am I being myself? When I do my tasks at work or eat or hold my friend's hand am I being who I am? Who is this? To be truly us. To act without pretense. Being nothing more than who we are. No effort. Being present without preference. At that moment another delusion was released. My practice was strengthened. I knelt by the moth and I appreciated its true nature.

MEDITATION RETREAT WITH LINC RHODES

2007-08-30T06:39:00.000-06:00

We are delighted that Linc will be returning to Manhattan, KS

WHEN
•Friday, October 26, 6:30 p.m. to Sunday, October 28, 10:00 a.m.

•There will be a precepts ceremony Sunday at 11:00 a.m.

WHERE
•Deep Creek Community Center

COST
•Full retreat: $60 general public / $50 KUSZ members

•Saturday only: $45 / $35 •Sunday only: $25 / $20

Discount for early registration (before October 16)
Scholarships available
.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
•meditation instruction•meals•private interview(s) with Linc

To register, please email tallgrasszen@yahoo.com

Of what use is it to talk about the enlightenment of grass and trees?

Day of Meditation

2007-07-22T09:51:00.001-06:00

I know its a long drive, but I hope folks can make it to the Day of Meditation on August 4th at our home outside of of Tonganoxie. This is basically a one day retreat without a teacher in a really beautiful spot in the country that has its own amazing vibe. Be sure to contact Tall Grass Zen for details.

Richard

Motivations For Practice

2007-07-03T14:04:00.000-06:00

In order that I qualify to enter the Dharma teacher training program, I’ve been asked to write a 1000 word paper on motivations for practice. Well, the motivation for practice is to help this world. There. That’s why I practice. Well, now I only have 971 more words to go. I guess I might as well elaborate.

So, how can sitting on the floor help this world?

In his Four Noble Truths, Buddha stated that suffering is the result of the attachment to craving within our own minds. Then he laid out a plan called the Eightfold Path for eliminating suffering, in part, by training the mind to stop this craving and the clinging it creates.

That brings us to meditation. This is the way we can train our minds to stop clinging to what we consider to be good and to push away what we consider to be bad. We do this by practice. In Buddhism, the word practice employs two meanings. It refers to both a spiritual practice and a repetitive practice (as in practice makes perfect). Just as we can learn to train our fingers to the correct position for playing a chord on a piano or guitar, we can train our minds to cling less. So, when you’re sitting and thoughts come up, and you become aware that you’re no longer counting or watching your breath or whatever your practice is, you gently but firmly bring your mind back to your practice. It is the nature of the mind to wander. No matter what you do, it is going to fight against this training and try to return to what has become its habitual nature. So, there’s no reason to beat yourself up because your mind is wandering. Wandering is what minds do. The training that the Buddha speaks of is actually the continual bringing your mind back to concentration. This is what you are practicing. So, if you have a session in which your mind keeps wandering and you keep having to rein it in, or if you have a session in which your mind is calm and focused, they are each equal in quality. Actually, quality or judging has nothing to do with practice. It is practicing itself that is important.

On Internet discussion groups, I’ve read many posts in which folks ask how they can become more compassionate, patient, open, etc. The answer to all these questions is simple. PRACTICE. Meditation, bowing , chanting, walking and kong-ans are the practice. Becoming a more patient and compassionate person is the by-product. It is that simple. This is a truly transformative spiritual practice. Its not as if meditation will make you realize that you should do this or that, or that it provides you with the tools to decide to behave a certain way. Regular meditation actually transforms your mind.

But, becoming a better person is not the ultimate motivation for practice. I stated earlier that helping this world is. I love the metaphor of ripples in a pond. One small pebble, even a grain of sand, tossed into a still pool will create ripples that slide out across to the opposite bank, putting all the water molecules in the pond into motion. It’s also true that as one person becomes more compassionate or patient, those with whom they interact will benefit, and the people with whom that second set of people interact will benefit, on and on until the ripples reach the opposite bank.

I’ve seen this rippling in action in my own life. I work as an elementary school teacher. My co-workers and I have lessons to plan and teach, papers to grade, scores to record, reports to write, meetings to plan and attend, standardized testing to prepare for, articles to read, etc., etc. It is very rare that it’s ever possible to actually finish our work during the work day, or even when we take it home to continue working there. It is very tempting to tune children out during times that we might consider down time so that we can concentrate on one of the tasks demanding of our time. It used to be that when children were waiting for dismissal, I would ask them to sit quietly while I worked away.

One day however, after I’d been practicing for a year or so, a boy was waiting for a late parent to pick him up. Instead of grading papers, I sensed that something was on his mind. We began talking and soon he began telling me that he’d been very anxious because he really missed his brother. Because I seemed receptive rather than asking him to sit down, he went on to explain that his father, who had just been released from prison, had kidnapped his brother two weeks earlier and the family hadn’t heard from them in all that time.

We had a heartfelt discussion about these events and the stresses they had born. I know that had this happened a year earlier, I would have asked him to just get out a book to read while he waited and this conversation would never have begun. It was because of my practice that I was aware that there was something to talk about and was present enough to act on it. I didn’t stop to think about what I should do. I simply reacted to the situation in a more compassionate manner. I like to think that this talk helped my student. Maybe he was nicer to his other family members or friends when he went home. Maybe they responded in kind to those with whom they interacted that night. Of course, this was just one event. I find myself in similar, though less dramatic situations on nearly a daily basis, as we all do.

As anyone who works with children, I’m fortunate to receive immediate feedback from them for all my actions and all my speech. Working with children is probably the best spiritual training a person could find. I often wonder who does more teaching during a school day, me or my students. Actually, it was because of this feedback that I first sought out a Zen teacher to help me become more patient and compassionate with my students. It was the best thing I could have done for them, for myself... and for this world.

Zen Poem

2007-06-29T13:16:00.000-06:00

The myriad of differences resolved by sitting, all doors opened.
In this still place I follow my nature, be what it may.
From the one hundred flowers I wander freely,
the soaring cliff-my hall of meditation
(with the moon emerged, my mind is motionless).
Sitting on this frosty seat, no further dream of fame.
The forest, the mountain follow their ancient ways,
and through the long spring day, not even the shadow of a bird.

Reizan (d. 1411)

Formalizing

2007-06-15T18:17:00.001-06:00

Hi, everybody.

Margaret and I are at the point where we would like to begin formalizing the relationship between Tall Grass Zen and the Kwan Um School of Zen. This stems primarily from our commitment to the practice and the school. Our secondary motive is more practical: when we formalize, the school will return fifty percent of our dues money. This money will help offset some of the costs of running retreats and the prison dharma work. More importantly, it will help us to grow, to make the practice available to more people in the Manhattan area.

The school recommends that a group have four to five dues paying members of the Kwan Um School before requesting recognition. We have three members already: Christina, Margaret, and Dick. Richard Brown will join when we formalize. Others (as many as three) have indicated that they would like to join.

We’ve posted the complete guidelines to this blog: scroll down to read them.

We would like to emphasize that no one is being asked to join the school. Joining the school is NEVER a requirement for coming to practice or sitting retreats. In most respects, formalizing our relationship to the school will change nothing.

We would like to hear from you! Are you interested in formalizing? Are you interested in joining the school? Will you run in the opposite direction if we take this step? Please feel free to use this blog to share your thoughts and feelings. Or email us at tallgrasszen@yahoo.com or call us or talk to us after practice.

Yours in the dharma,

Christina & Margaret

Guidelines for Starting a Zen Center

2007-06-15T18:16:00.001-06:00

The model for Zen center development is based on the central role of the guiding teacher throughout the process.

1. A dharma teacher (or higher) in good standing with the Kwan Um School of Zen may decide to start a sitting group and promote it to the local community. It’s best if the group meets in a public space for practice. It is important that Kwan Um forms (chanting, sitting, bowing, reading letters, etc.) be introduced from the beginning. This can be done gradually. A web site, newsletter, and e-mail list can also be established. A dharma teacher should identify him/herself as a dharma teacher in the Kwan Um School of Zen in any publicity.

2. Either as a kick-off event, or soon after the foundation of the group, the dharma teacher should invite a Zen Master or Ji Do Poep Sa Nim to give a public talk or workshop. Establishing a relationship with a guiding teacher is the key to the development of a new Zen center. It’s best if a guiding teacher is involved from the very beginning of the group.

3. Developing membership is an important and sometimes difficult step. Show prospective members that there is something worthwhile to join by continuing to invite teacher(s) and to offer workshops, public talks, and perhaps one-day retreats. New students will be more confident in joining a group knowing it is part of a larger sangha. While a group is forming, new members temporarily join as members of the guiding teacher’s home Zen center (or a geographically close Zen center). The new group’s portion of its members dues are routed through this Zen Center, helping the new group develop a financial profile that will be needed when the costs associated with practice equipment, incorporation, insurance, banking, etc. begin to appear. It is suggested that four to five members be onboard before a group becomes a Zen center. Five members generate $750 annually for a group.

4. The group must request ratification of its guiding teacher by the School trustees. The group establishes and maintains a consistent practice schedule of weekly sittings and several retreats per year.

5. The guiding teacher should encourage and help facilitate incorporation as a non-profit and the adoption of the common bylaws. The group must establish a board of directors and officers, all of whom must be members. The group should request that it be included in the School’s non-profit 501(c)(3) status. It is strongly recommended that groups carry liability insurance, officers and directors insurance, and professional liability insurance. (The guiding teacher is already covered by the School’s professional liability insurance, but the Zen Center is not.)

6. When it has accomplished the underlined items, the group will become a Zen Center in the Kwan Um School of Zen and be listed in Primary Point and on the School website.

April 1, 2006

IndyZen

2007-06-13T10:06:00.001-06:00

I just returned from my second amazing retreat at the Indianapolis Zen Center (IZC)! Our teacher, Linc Rhodes, told me to give his best to my friends, Margaret and Christina a couple of times. He told me about how amazing it was to see a herd of buffalo on the Konza Prairie during his last visit to Manhattan. I'm sure it's an amazing experience for anyone, but for a dyed in the wool Easterner... Also, Chris, who has sat with M & C in Indy, Chicago, Providence, and Colorado sends his love and says he's trying to think of how to kidnap them and take them home to Alabama with him.

During the circle talk at my last IZC retreat, someone mentioned how nice it was to have four guests from Kansas who knew the chants so well that the group didn't just sound like Eddy (a local Dharma Teacher) and his back up singers as usual. Well! They have been practicing! The chanting was amazingly enthusiastic, confident and downright inspiring. Only 3 or 4 people needed chanting books at all, and no one used them during the Heart Sutra. For someone like myself who practices alone most of the time, this enthusiastic chanting was absolutely inspiring. I found myself taking big gulps of air at times in order to get it around the lump in my throat. Practicing alone is necessary, but the opportunity to practice with a Sangha means partaking in what is deservedly one of the three jewels of Buddhism along with Buddha and Dharma. Keeping a practice going on my own has proven to be very difficult, especially during times of stress and anxiety when I (and the world) need it the most. But, the inspiration and support one derives from sitting, chanting and walking with others of like mind and direction provides the momentum and helps with the considerable discipline needed to keep it up. When thinking about Sangha I'm always reminded of what Garrison Keiler says about Powdermilk Biscuits on his radio show. “They give you the get-up-and-go to do what needs to be done.”

Interviews with Linc were wonderful (of course). We talked mostly about impermanence as it applies to getting older and to jobs and relationships whose natures are always changing. He pointed out that I have real life koan to sit with in order to help my situation. I found this very helpful. Of course, just sitting for two and a half days was an immense help in toning down my stress level.

The drywall is up in the IZC Dharma room as they continue to convert their two year old Zen Center from a residential home. Linc stayed through Monday to lend his carpentry expertise by putting up the trim in the Dharma room. A bunch of other folks, inspired by Linc’s presence were taking off of work to help out. Again, there’s Sangha at work.

Richard

Dry Cleaning the Mind

2007-06-12T18:04:00.000-06:00

Thanks for the invitation to join the blogspot. I am uncertain of any particular protocol, so, I ask for grace and education with any faux pax. I was honored to be able to read the letters while sitting last Saturday morning. Two short letters that resonated powerfully for me. One of the things that has continued to stand out was the phrase "dry cleaning the mind" when talking about an arduous nine day sit. The retreat was an ardous sit. Saturdays moring sits no longer seem arduous but the 108 pronations do. I still find even short sits alone arduous. My mind continually leaves the train station and my body urges me to move. But as I get back to center and let go of the urges of the body, I do find my mind is dry cleaned. Thanks for welcoming me.

A pocket full of nothing...

2007-06-06T15:00:00.000-06:00

I had awakened at 9 p.m. last night only to sit on the stoop of my apartment building and peer into the evening sky. I sipped a cold glass of water and quietly watched the leaves in the trees dance in the wind. In my khakis I was completely rooted to the concrete watching the neighbor's cat stop to observe my presence then patter away. I thought about impermanence. How the things of life do not always remain the same. Relationships change and end. Jobs come and go. My son can now lift me over his head and has a running vehicle in contrast to my now dead Nissan Sentra. Nothing special about this evening. In the silence; between the rustle of the wind through the trees there was nothing. The things I clung to so dearly and even those things I had been told I should hold to were no longer fixtures my mind had created. Gone. I searched for some remorse. On my cushion, like so many other thoughts, it was like a torrent. I remember the Heart Sutra and the interviews with the Ji Do Poep Sa Nim. "Cling to nothing..." What the hell? Another sip of the cold water and I sat for an indefinite amount of time. When I brought the glass to my lips and discovered a trickle I knew it was time for a walk. I blended into the shadows of the tree laden streets and allowed the cool of the evening to envelope me like a moist blanket. My feet are placed before me and I move forward slowly.

Meal Gatha

2007-06-01T13:55:00.000-06:00

Here is a widely-used gatha our family says when we sit down together to eat a meal together. perhaps some others will want to use it.

We venerate the three treasures
And are thankful for this meal
The work of many people
And the sharing of other forms of life

2007-05-31T20:47:00.000-06:00

Turning the Wheel

2007-05-31T12:49:00.000-06:00

Thank you for the invitation to contribute to this blog Christina.

I have always wanted to continue the Dharma in cyberspace.

So, here it goes,

OOOOOhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Huuuuuuunnnnnngggggggg

May our practice benefit all beings, that we may know true happiness and be free of suffering ever dwelling in the great equanimity that is free from attachment and aversion.

Sweetcorn

Retreat Photos

2007-05-22T21:07:00.001-06:00

Here are a couple of group photos from Sunday after the retreat. Thanks to all who participated.

Practice Updates

2007-05-13T18:52:00.000-06:00

On Friday, May 18, at the Chapel of Mercy Hospital, from 7-8 a.m., we will have morning practice with Linc Rhodes. This will consist of 108 prostrations, the Morning Bell Chant, and a short period of sitting meditation. All are welcome.

Regular Saturday morning practice is CANCELLED on Saturday May 19 for the retreat. For more information about the retreat, please scroll down.

Correct Situation, Correct Function, Correct Action

2007-05-12T13:36:00.000-06:00

This afternoon, taking a break from raking the remnants of oak leaves from the front lawn, I heard a child cry out, followed by muffled sobbing. I stood up from my seat on the porch and quickly scanned the area. There on the sidewalk, near a neighbor's driveway was a boy sprawled near a bicycle. The front wheel was off and the boy was hugging himself, trying desperately not to cry out again. I moved quickly toward him, hunched down to assess his injuries: banged knees, elbows and chin. I introduced myself, and asked him for his name. "Daniel," he managed, just above a whisper. I asked if I could call someone for him, he shook his head empahtically: No! I asked if I could take a look at his knees - they were swelling up quickly. I offered ice, water, a phone. He declined. I asked if I could assist him getting home, again he declined with a desperate shake of his head. He seemed to be fighting back tears. I watched his face grimaced in pain.

Then I understood completely. More awful than the physical pain, more humiliating than the embarrassment at the kindness of this stranger before him, was the awesome fear of parental rebuke.

After a moment, I told him quickly about a spill I took from a bike at age 14, the broken nose, the knocked out front tooth. The anger from my parents all the way to the hospital.

Then I asked how I could help. He started to shake his head again, but then brightened with an idea: he asked if I had any tools. I asked if he could stand. He did so, wincing and tried to pick up the bike. I intervened and handed him the front wheel. I picked up the bike and we walked slowly to our porch. I was glad to see he could walk. I went inside to get a toolbox A few minutes later, I found the problem - the hex nut on one side kept slipping as I tightened it. I told him he'd need to get the bolt on the hub replaced. He then suggested a hammer, and as I realized the source of the problem (that he had most likely applied a hammer to this bolt) I recognized all the times I had been shamed as a child for similar incidents of clever, but ultimately self defeating ingenuity. So I simply explained what happens when one hammers a bolt - the threads strip and it makes it impossible to tighten the hex nut. So this bolt wouldn't hold the wheel in place for long, and the same thing would happen, again - only next time he might land on his face or head or worse. He asked me how far I thought he could get before it happened again. I stated, I didn't think he could go very fast or very far, and he'd be better off walking the bike home. He thanked me, and as he was wheeling the bike away I said, "Just pay it forward. You do something nice for someone else today."

Public Talk by Linc Rhodes

2007-05-06T08:47:00.000-06:00

WHERE

Manhattan Public Library Auditorium, corner of Poyntz & Juliette. Free.

WHEN

Friday, May 18, 6 p.m.

The sun shines everywhere. Why does a cloud obscure it?

Meditation Retreat with Linc Rhodes

2007-05-06T08:14:00.000-06:00

WHEN

Saturday, May 19, 6:00 a.m. to Sunday, May 20, 12:00 p.m.

WHERE

Deep Creek Community Center. Email tallgrasszen@yahoo.com for directions.

COST

Full retreat: $60 general public / $50 Kwan Um School of Zen Members
Saturday only: $50 / $40
Sunday only: $30 / $25

Scholarships available.
Discount for early registration (before May 11).

WHAT'S INCLUDED

meditation instruction
meals
private interview(s) with Linc.

To register, please email tallgrasszen@yahoo.com

Spring comes, the grass grows by itself

PRACTICE SCHEDULE

2007-05-06T08:03:00.000-06:00

All practice is held in the Chapel of Mercy Regional Health Center, which is located on the second floor of Mercy Hospital on the corner of College & Kimball (across from the football stadium), Manhattan, Kansas.

Tuesday evening

6:30 - 6:50 Special chanting
7:00 - 8:00 Chanting and sitting meditation

Saturday morning

7:30 - 8:30 Bowing, chanting and sitting meditation (we usually go out to breakfast together after practice).

There is no charge for practice. Please wear loose comfortable clothing. We prefer that you do not wear shorts. Bring a cushion, if you have one.

Coming for the first time? Try to arrive ten minutes early so we can greet you and orient you to our forms.

Questions? Please email us at tallgrasszen@yahoo.com

Welcome to Tall Grass Zen

2007-05-06T07:58:00.000-06:00

Tall Grass Zen was founded in 1999 by Christina Hauck and Margaret Wheeler. Our vision is to bring the teaching of Zen Master Seung Sahn to Manhattan, Kansas. This is our first effort at hosting a webpage--please let us know what you think!

In the Dharma,

Christina & Margaret