Dear ,

Here at the Village , in accord with an ancient tradition, we mark out two times a year to intensify our practice – our meditation, our relationship with sangha, our study, and our practice in our day-to-day life. We call this ‘ango’ - ango means ‘peaceful dwelling’ and it is my hope that wherever you are, you will take this three-month intensive practice period to create a peaceful dwelling. Our winter ango begins on December 26th.

Our shuso for this period is Lisa Zuisho Soshin DuFour. Soshin has provided us with a practice template, a commitment form that can help us to orient our practice. Please fill it out for your records and e bring a copy in and place it in the ango box so that your name will be added to the ‘ango board’ and you can review your commitments with a teacher.

The 2012 Ango Study Text is the Lotus . It is one of the most influential texts of . The parables and dramatic scenes have become a part of much East Asian spirituality, poetry and visual arts. It is considered a classic religious scripture. During ango, various talks will focus on this sutra, and I hope you enjoy reading it. There are three translations that I can recommend:

The scholarly version by Leon Hurvitz (Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma) translates from the Chinese of Kumarajiva, but includes also key passages from the . Columbia University Press.

A delightfully readable version by Burton Watson, (The Lotus Sutra), also from Kumarajiva, with less scholarly notes, but definitely the work of a stylist and poetic translator. Columbia University Press.

An accessible, fresh, conversational translation from 2008, by Gene Reeves, (The Lotus Sutra, A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classic) Wisdom Publications.

There are also quite a few on-line sources for download. I have not checked them, but you may wish to take a look.

There is a pdf that can be downloaded by a pair of Japanese Translators at http://www.bdkamerica.org/digital/dBET_T0262_LotusSutra_2007.pdf

There is also a very old translation (1884) by H. Kern that can be downloaded at http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/lotus/index.htm

And so forth.

Please do enjoy this time in winter to revive your practice through , retreat, and study! Bows, Roshi