 |
|
FEBRUARY 2010, Vol. 2 No.1 |
|
WELCOME: This issue marks the first anniversary of the publication of our e-Newsletter. With this tool we have been able to regularly reach over one thousand of our Sangha members, many of whom are physically far away from Deep Spring Temple. Zazen is beyond time and space, but please come sit with us anyway - and arrive ten minutes early. February marks our annual Sangha and Board meeting and all are invited to attend. As part of our Buddhist Studies Class beginning this Saturday, January 31st, Kyoki will be teaching about one of the Sutras chanted at Deep Spring Temple called Song Of the Precious Mirror Samadhi. In Soto Zen Buddhism, Sutras may comprise teachings from the Buddha or a poem written to demonstrate a Zen Master's understanding. You can read the text of this Sutra below or learn more about Buddhist Sutras in general by clicking here. |
| DID YOU KNOW? We offer an Introduction to Zen each Sunday morning at 8:30 and then join the regular Sunday schedule that runs from 9:00am until noon. Suggestion donation of $10. Click here to register. And please remember that if there is snow forecast we are closed. An up-to-the minute calendar is kept on our web site at www.deepspringzen.org. You can also check KDKA Channel 2 (www.kdka.com) or WPXI Channel 11 (www.wpxi.com) in Pittsburgh for updated closing information. |
| IN THIS ISSUE: |
| Zen Practice |
| Weekly Zazen Schedule |
| Location Schedules |
| A Zen Buddhist Sutra |
ZEN PRACTICE: Beginning a Zen practice can be really difficult. We recommend you meet with either Rev. Jisen Coghlan (jisen@deepspringzen.org) or Rev. Kyoki Roberts, (kyoki@deepspringzen.org) for practice instruction. They are usually available Tuesday - Saturday 9:00am-4:00pm. |
| WEEKLY ZAZEN SCHEDULE: Please arrive 10-15 minutes before starting time. 
|
DEEP SPRING TEMPLE:
|
ZEN FRIENDS:
|
MATTRESS FACTORY:
|
| SONG OF THE PRECIOUS MIRROR SAMADHI The dharma of thusness is intimately transmitted by Buddhas and ancestors; Now you have it; preserve it well. A silver bowl filled with snow; a heron hidden in the moon. Taken as similar, they are not the same; not distinguished, their places are known. The meaning does not reside in the words, but a pivotal moment brings it forth. Move and you are trapped; miss and you fall into doubt and vacillation. Turning away and touching are both wrong, for it is like a massive fire. Just to portray it in literary form is to stain it with defilement. In darkest night it is perfectly clear; in the light of dawn it is hidden. It is a standard for all things; its use removes all suffering. Although it is not constructed, it is not beyond words. Like facing a precious mirror, form and reflection behold each other. You are not it, but in truth, it is you. Like a newborn child, it is fully endowed with the five aspects; No going, no coming, no arising, no abiding; "Baba wawa" - is anything said or not? In the end it says nothing, for the words are not yet right. In the illumination hexagram, apparent and real interact. Piled up, they become three, the permutation makes five; Like the taste of the five-flavored herb, like the five-pronged vajra. Wondrously embraced within the real, drumming and singing begin together. Penetrate the source and travel the pathways; embrace the territory and treasure the roads. You would do well to respect this; do not neglect it. Natural and wondrous, it is not a matter of delusion or enlightenment. Within causes and conditions, time and season, it is serene and illuminating. So minute it enters where there is no gap; so vast, it transcends dimension. A hairsbreadth's deviation, and you are out of tune. Now there are sudden and gradual, in which teachings and approaches arise. When teachings and approaches are distinguished, each has its standard. Whether teachings and approaches are mastered or not, reality constantly flows. Outside still and inside trembling, like tethered colts or cowering rats, The ancient sages grieved for them and offered them the dharma. Led by their inverted views, they take black for white. When inverted thinking stops, the affirming mind naturally accords. If you want to follow in the ancient tracks, please observe the sages of the past. One on the verge of realizing the Buddha Way contemplated a tree for ten kalpas, Like a battle-scarred tiger, like a horse with shanks gone gray. Because some are vulgar, jeweled tables and ornate robes; Because some are wide-eyed, cats and white oxen. With his archer's skill Yi hit the mark at a hundred paces, But when arrows meet head-on, how could it be a matter of skill? The wooden man starts to sing; the stone woman gets up dancing. It is not reached by feelings or consciousness; how could it involve deliberation? Ministers serve their lords, children obey their parents; Not obeying is not filial, failure to serve is no help. With practice hidden, function secretly, like a fool, like an idiot; Just to do this continuously is called the host within the host. |
| NEW YEARS EVE 2009 At the close of 2009, we held our New Year's Eve party at Deep Spring Temple. Here are some photos taken by Sangha member Bill Allen who has quite an eye for wonderful pictures!     |
UNTIL NEXT TIME:
 |