Mind Refresher Cakes
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Berkeley Zen Center June 2007 Newsletter Mind Refresher Cakes BZC Schedule Sojun Talk, BZC, June 21, 1989 June (continued from last month) Practice Period Dinner/Skit Night eshan was meeting Lung-tan with a pre- Saturday, 6-2 conceived idea of him. He always had Bodhisattva Ceremony DDsome idea in front of him about what he Saturday, 6-2 and 6-30, 9:30 am was seeing, rather than just seeing. Although he Founder’s Ceremony went to Lung-tan to help him see directly, he did- Monday, 6-4, 6:20 pm n't know that that's why he was going. He Tuesday, 6-5, 6:40 am thought he was going to show him something. Half-Day Sitting He didn't realize he was going to Lung-tan in Sunday, 6-10 order to be able to see. Lay Ordination/Zaike Tokudo He stayed with Lung-tan for a while. He was Saturday, 6-16 humbled when he began to see who Lung-tan Kidzendo really was. One night he was having a long talk Saturday, 6-16 with Lung-tan. Lung-tan was getting a little tired, Five-Day Sitting and said, "It's time for me to retire. It's very dark End Practice Period out there and I think you'll need some light to Weds-Sunday, 6-20 to 6-24 find your way." So he took a paper lantern, lit it Shuso Hossen and handed it to Deshan. As soon as Deshan Sunday, 6-24 took the candle, Lung-tan went "Whoo!" and July blew out the light, and the entire world was pitch Half-Day Sitting dark. Everything gone. At that point, Deshan Sunday, 7-1 dropped--everything--gone. New Deshan. Founder’s Ceremony There is something called, "pecking and tap- Tuesday, 7-3, 6:20 pm ping." When the chick is ready to come out of Thursday, 7-5, 6:40 am the shell there's a "tap-tap-tap-tap" and the All Sangha Potluck mother bird goes "tap-tap-tap-tap" on the outside Thursday, 7-5 just at the right moment. (I don't know if this is One-Day Sitting factual.) If the mother taps too early or too late, it Saturday, 7-14 continued on page 2 Kidzendo Saturday, 7-21 Bodhisattva Ceremony Affirmation of Welcome Saturday, 7-28, 9:30 am Walking the path of liberation, we Mountains and Rivers Sesshin express our intimate connection with all Friday-Sunday, 7-27 to 7-29 beings. Welcoming diversity, here at Berkeley Zen Center the practice of Zazen is available to people of every race, nationality, NOTE: Monday June 25, informal zazen (am) class, gender, sexual orientation, age, and physical and Wednesday, July 4, informal zazen (am and ability. May all beings realize their true nature. pm). Berkeley Zen Center 1931 Russell Street Berkeley, CA. 94703 510.845.2403 www.berkeleyzencenter.org Saturday Childcare Mind Refresher Cakes Childcare is offered free of continued from page 1 charge on Saturdays from won't work, Lung-tan probably wasn't planning to 9:15 to 11:15. It’s helpful for do it. He was just handing him the light. It was a planning if you can let us spontaneous act, and a total surprise for know that you’re hoping to Deshan. attend; call or email Greg The next day, Deshan took all of Denny, 595-8162, or his sutra commentaries and [email protected]. burned them, very gleefully burned them all, and felt very lib- Childcare Schedule erated. All preconceptions had dropped from his June 2 Childcare mind. All points of view had dropped away. Any June 9 Childcare opinion had dropped away. He was just left with June 16 Kidzendo this clear light, which permeated the darkness. June 23 Sesshin – no program When everything became completely dark, he June 30 Childcare could see his life, which illuminated everywhere. July 7 Childcare – and camp-out Then Deshan left Ryutan. But later he came July 14 Sesshin – no program back, and studied with him for thirty years, refin- July 21 Kidzendo ing his practice gradually. July 28 Childcare This is a significant part of the story, because August 4 Childcare this pitch-darkness is only one side of enlighten- August 11 Childcare ment. To have this kind of experience is wonder- August 18 Kidzendo ful. But the other side, after this realization, is August 25 Childcare learning to live your life as a new person. So the commentators say that Deshan was a little too Kidzendo hasty in leaving Ryutan after his realization. A talk in the zendo for young ones three and He should have stuck around and not been so up is offered on the third Saturday of each hasty to leave. Sometimes we have a realiza- month (or the fourth Saturday if a sesshin is tion, and we think, "This is it," and we leave, and scheduled on the third). We meet upstairs at lose ourself in the world, and it all kind of fritters the Senauke's household (1933 Russell) for a away. Unless you cultivate after dropping, you briefing on forms at about 9:45, then sojourn can lose it. This kind of experience is very good, down to the zendo for the first 10 minutes of but on the other hand, it's not the end. It's only a lecture starting at 10:10. Afterwards, children beginning. Any kind of realization or opening may join the regular Saturday childcare pro- experience is only a beginning for the rest of gram if they wish. your life of practice. You can't stay in the new- born stage. So we let go and stay present in beginner's mind not trying to do something extraordinary, but realizing the extraordinariness of our ordinariness. These folks are all in the lineage of Sekito kisen (Jap.). Dao-wu was Sekito's student, also a student of Matsu. I want to familiarize you with some of the people in this lineage. There are many good stories about them. Page 2 June 2007 BZC Newsletter Vice Abbot Position By Sojun PEOPLEPEOPLE , Abbot Sojun, and the Board of Directors, have decided to create the position of Vice Nine bows and many thanks to John Rubin I Abbot for Alan Senauke. As Vice Abbot he will (and also Claire Rubin – we think we may have I share some of the responsibilities of the Abbot. missed the opportunity to thank her when she These responsibilities will consist of administra- phased out a couple years ago) for years tive duties as well as teaching and various lead- beyond count as one of the Head Cooks for the ership functions, many of which Alan now per- twice-monthly Men’s Shelter Dinners; and many forms as Tanto. The Tanto position, for the pres- thanks to the intrepid Everett Wilson for step- ent, will remain inactive. We want to give our- ping forward to take this on. Of course, the very selves as much space as necessary to work out best way to thank them both (as well as continu- which responsibilities make sense for us to ing Head Cook Lance Shows) is to SIGN UP TO share. HELP!!!! Eventually I will step down as Abbot. But I real- * * * ize that I have been giving some confusing and Nine more bows to Carol Paul for her devo- unclear messages. This has been mostly tion to BZC’s altars as Head Chiden, ably shep- because of my own lack of clarity about my herding us through a tumultuous year where we future role and my relationship to the sangha transitioned from kerosene lamps to complicated after stepping down. Although it may seem rather candles and from incense to flower petals to straight forward, there are, after 40 years of this, whole flowers. Taking over for her is our newly some emotional sticking points that arise for me. ordained priest, Alexandra Frappier. Since I plan to remain here there are things such * * * as space, protocol, and monetary support to be Beaucoup thanks to Jesy Goldhammer for worked out. Understanding that there are things tending our bathrooms this past year, and wel- which we cannot anticipate, we want to take the come to new Bathroom Attendant, Christy time and be as clear as we can be. Calame. New resident Catherine Cascade is As of now, I have no fixed date for stepping taking over as Health and Safety Coordinator down. I will be 80 years old in two years and and as Community Room attendant; we mourn doubt that I would do it before then. Although I and miss our previous CR attendant, the late feel as healthy and active as ever, that seems Paul Winnacker. like a good possible benchmark. We all want the * * * transition to be as smooth and seamless as pos- If you would like to join the practice of volun- sible, so when that does happen we will have teering at BZC, a good place to start is helping worked out a solution where I will assume a new out with Saturday breakfast – assisting in the position as Senior Dharma Teacher, without the kitchen or with serving. Also we always need responsibilities of the Abbot, which will be given Jikidos –zendo cleaning takes an hour or two over to Alan. I hope to actively continue to work twice during one week – leave a note for Head with those who relate to me as their teacher, to Jikido Shelley Brock for training. If you’ve tried continue to teach in various ways, and to work these positions and you’d like to take on addi- with people in their practice positions and sup- tional responsibility, don’t hesitate to contact the port the three treasures without creating any Coordinator, Laurie Senauke.