DAIHONZAN CHOZEN-JI / INTERNATIONAL ZENSummer DOJO 2019 SUMMERWINTER 20182019 NEWSLETTER notthe atdepth peace. of Pleaseour training pacify andit for the me, Mysterious Master.” Bodhidharma Wonder of THEMYSTERIOUS BODHIDHARMA WONDER AT said,the Universal“Bring me Mind. your mind,As Honda and I’ll Roshi pacify puts it forit, “Allyou.” we Huike can responded,do is train hard.“I’ve searchedThe rest isfor the it willfor manyof Heaven.” years, but I can’t METHODCHOZEN-JI find it.” Bodhidharma replied, “There. I’ve pacified it for you.” SAYAMASAYAMA DAIANDAIAN ROSHI,ROSHI, ABBOT As I write, we are on the fifth day of the Winter Sesshin. WithEveryone, this Huike from thewas peopleenlightened, making becoming and serving the Second the meals Pa- triarch,to the andstudents Bodhidharma sitting completed zazen in histhe mission Dojo, toare transmit giving it thetheir essence all. Alani of ZenApio to and China. Rosie Abriam Roshi—who were ordained as Chozen-ji priests— - —in October—are training in the kitchen with Wong Roshi and a student from Toronto. SometimesIn sesshin andI am beyond,asked for several the business old time plan Dojofor Chozen-ji. members Whenhave returned I was young, to Chozen-ji I futilely to tried train many and supporttimes to thecome Dojo. up with something, but Zen training at Chozen-ji is a hard sell. NowSynchronicity I say I’m madefollowing other the important Bodhidharma things method, happen or atas Hondathe Dojo, Roshi including says, “Train a leadership hard. The retreat rest is upwith to 18Heaven.” members The resultsof the aremanagement better. team from Hilo-based hardware, building supply and design company HPM. We also have Ten - Shin - Myo calligraphy by Omori Sogen Rotaishi. Chozen-ji’s reach is getting wider globally and deeper lo- a new treasure trove of Kendo gi, hakama and bogu to cally with serious students undertaking 3-Week Live-in lend to new students until they can purchase their own. Myo Shin Ten Intensives and Sesshin. Different groups like the UH Swim This is not only due to the generosity of Dojo members Mysterious Wonder Heart/Mind Universe Team—which won both the women’s and men’s title this seasonwho contributed for the first to time—the the Gi & HakamaUS Japan Fund,Council which Under we 40 announced in the last newsletter, but also to the Hilo Bodhidharma“The Mysterious transmitted Wonder the of essencethe Universal of Zen Mind.” from India Omori to Leaders, the Japan America Society and the Hawaii Asia Pa- ChinaSogen in Rotaishi the sixth wrote century. these When characters he met onwith the China’s sign thatEm- cificHongwanji Alliance Kendo have Club,visited who us towere learn disbanding about Zen and training. sent peror,hangs a above devout the Buddhist altar inwho the had Budo built Dojo temples at Chozen-ji. and translat To- Chozen-jiover three members pallets of went clothing to Kahoolawe and equipment, to plant along trees, with and edme sutras, they thedescribe Emporer how asked Chozen-ji what merit has therecome wasto enjoyin all he a Chozen-ji-supporteda donation to cover Huithe Alohacost of were shipping. honored by the Ho- hadsecond done. spring. Bodhidharma responded, “No merit whatsoever.” noluluBoth the City HPM Council retreat for and their the work Hilo addressingHongwanji the donation state’s More than 500 people from Hawaii, the mainland US and homelessnesscan be traced andback affordable to profound housing encounters crises. We with even Tanouye made The Emperor then asked what the holy principle of Bud- a short promotional video for social media. dhismoverseas was have and Bodhidharmaexperienced Chozen-jisaid, “No holiness,this year—whether vast empti- Roshi decades ago. Tanouye Roshi taught the Hilo ness.”to celebrate When theNew Emperor Year's, attendasked who the itArt was Show, standing learn before about Clearly,Hongwanji sitting Kendo facing Club the wallback does then, not and mean they not were doing happy any- him,Zen Bodhidharmatraining for the said, first “No time knowing.” or do shugyo. There is new thing.that theirIt means kendo enjoying equipment mysterious would wonder. be given new life gravel on the grounds; buildings and signs have been at Chozen-ji. 20 years ago Mike Fujimoto, the CEO of Of course, not everyone enjoys themselves when they come Thepainted; Emperor a new couldn’t wood understand burning kiln so isBodhidharma taking shape; left and for HPM, his wife and his son Jason met Tanouye Roshi at the Shaolin temple where he sat in a cave, facing the wall for to Chozen-ji. Some people come with set expectations of new classes in tea, ceramics and Karate have started. Chozen-ji. At this meeting Tanouye Roshi drew a “Z” on nine years and acknowledging no one. One evening, a man what Zen training should be and are disappointed. We are Most meaningfully, more students are doing sesshin. Jason’s back without touching him to demonstrate kiai, named Huike stood through the night outside of Bodhidhar- told we should explain more, be friendlier, and scold less. and it was Jason, now the COO of HPM, who set up the ma’sMany cave people seeking have to contributed speak with theirhim. Byeffort morning, and resources snowfall When I think of Bodhidharma, however, I am resolved only leadership retreat. reachedfor this hisall knees.to happen, Still, Bodhidharma but there sathas facing been the too wall. much to sit harder. synchronicity for us to not attribute the Dojo's rebirth to The students here for sesshin right now are amazed at Finally, Huike cut off his arm and presented it to Bodhidharma For some people, coming to Chozen-ji feels like coming who then said, “What do you want?” Huike said, “My mind is home. With these folks we have a karmic connection, and www.chozen-ji.org 1 www.chozen-ji.org 1 Summer 2019 we are committed to providing them the depth and inten- sity of training that will enable them to meet the existential issues in their lives and develop to their full potential. I thank all of you who’ve made donations to support this commitment, particularly the participants of our Zen and Sake Dinner, but even more so the people who come to our work days—scrubbing the mats in the Dojo, clearing the overgrown vegetation, and taking garbage to the dump. All this plus hard training cultivates the unique vibration of Chozen-ji. WHY I LIKE ZEN PART IV ALOHA, COMPASSION WAYNE HONDA ROSHI AND PEACE Zen archery student, Alan Riesman said Zen is a good anti- RYUKO (NORMA KAWELOKU) WONG ROSHI dote for mental diarrhea or ‘MD’. That term stuck with me Tanouye Roshi was determined to literally spread lessons since anyone who does zazen has experienced MD, and any of the Aloha Spirit—the genuine stuff beyond the tourist form of diarrhea is not our friend. greeting. He believed a deeper understanding and cultivation A single thought is usually the start of MD and it goes down- of aloha would allow us to have a more tangible sense of hill from there, but not all thoughts are MD—only unneces- the Buddhist principle of compassion. The more I practice, sary ones. Zen works as an antidote because the body and the more I appreciate this approach unique to Chozen-ji… the mind are united by means of the breath. the explicit embodiment of aloha as an embodiment of wise compassion… and the connection of aloha to Omori Ro- Shin Ki Roku Ichi is the principle here, and zazen provides shi’s desire that Chozen-ji be a dojo that trains for peace. ideal conditions to deal with MD. But for this principle to work, it takes sincere persistent effort because results are Peace isn’t merely the absence of conflict. It isn’t enough to not instantaneous. It takes years to learn and a lifetime to just wish that everyone get along with each other. Peace— master because the supply of MD is endless. Tanouye Roshi used to say—peace needs to be waged. This directive is even more important in fractious times. Zazen is not enough to cure it since the time doing it is a small fraction of our daily life. We need more and the con- A deep practice of aloha requires self-reflection and mu- stant training contained in the concept of shugyo starts tual relationship. We need to be kind to ourselves in order making sense. to be kind to others and to accept kindness. We need to understand and live in ways that cultivate the mutuality of Tanouye Roshi asked Omori Roshi for five years of his life our existence, to know that true thriving can’t happen in to create Chozen-ji to teach the way of shugyo. One way to isolation. Aloha is a collective thing and its energy is usefully practice shugyo is simple and includes three things: infectious. Aloha resides in a healthy spirit, and is humble and proud at the same moment. 1. Feel your entire body, especially your feet on the ground, On Wednesday’s class at the dojo, we end with this simple 2. Keep your vision 180 degrees, and chant: 3. Breathe slowly with long exhalations. E aloha mai E aloha no Sounds easy but to constantly practice this is very difficult E aloha e and you will experience failure when you experience MD Beckon aloha, call it in or become upset. Those are reminders that we forgot our The real aloha, nothing else shugyo. But each failure is an opportunity to recover and Aloha from everywhere, to everywhere eventually learn that to do shugyo is the best possible way to live.