A few notes

With respect,


Good Evening Everyone,



We have experienced a few issues with the old CMZ website as a result of server problems. Student Jeffery and I will be revamping the CMZ site over the next 4-5 days. In the meantime we will put up a Temple Schedule with a contact email as a temporary fix. The Zendo schedule is on the Engaged Zen site, but you need to "roll over" the "Practice" button for a drawer to slide out. The Engaged Site is quite sophisticated with embedded videos, slide-out drawers on the menu, etc., and we will eventually have an interactive blog so people can post notes. The Clear Mind Zen site will focus on the Zendo, Zendo practice, ceremonials, etc. We will have pages addressing our forms, Zen applications to everyday life, and so on. I hope to have a copy of our "Shingi" (Standards for Preactice) on the site as a lock down, so that permission will need to be granted in order to access it. Only members will be able to do that.



In other matters, we will begin our study of Master Dogen's Genjo Koan tomorrow evening with a comparative translation handout. Before that, however, I would like us to take some time together to talk about where we are as an Order, Zendo, and Sangha. We will have several handouts in this regard. I am asking that if you plan to attend, that you have some ideas as to what you would like to see as Order projects.



If you have any questions, please forward them to me by return email so that I might consider how to best address them.



Lastly, we have Zazenkai coming on the 3rd. If you would like to attend, you must register with Rev. Soku Shin in advance with your donation. We have a few Oryoki sets in the Zendo for rent, if you do not have a set. We ask for a minimal $5.00 donation. This Zazenkai we will initiate a few changes to our Intensive Retreat guidelines. We will have a copy of those guidelines available tommorow.



I look forward to hearing from you.

In gassho,

Revised Engaged Site

Our revised Engaged Site is now up.  It is still being "populated" with content, but the main features and design is there.

http://daihoroshi.org/

Be well.

The Farmer's Market

With respect,


Good Morning Sangha,





I received an email from Student John Rivers indicating that he has secured a spot at the Farmer's Market for us to practice Street Zen one Saturday per month. The dates are:





· Sat., Feb. 25th



· Sat., Mar. 17th



· Sat., Apr. 14th







These are opportunities to offer to the public materials about our Zendo and our Engaged Practice, while at the same time, demostrating the practice of Zazen. We will meet in front of the COAS bookstore, as our spot is near there, at 9:00 AM. Please bring a cushion and blanket, as well as water, sunscreen and hat. We will have handouts prepared for distribution to those who request them. We will also position our Zendo dana bowl in front of us.



While this is an opportunity to share something about Zen, it is also an opportunity to share something about those projects and organizations we work with. I will try to get some Peace Village materials. I am asking Rev. Dai Shugyo to pick up some materials from Mesilla Valley Hospice. I hope one of our Order Friends, Rev. Dalene, will share materials from Ambercare Hospice. Our new Member, Student John Rivers, works with "Take Back the Night" so perhaps he will be able to bring materials from that organization. If any of you have "causes" you are working with and have access to materials, please bring them (or give them to either myself or John Rivers).



We are excited about these opportunities. Please consider joining us.

Yours,

On the Street

With respect,

This afternoon we will practice serene reflection meditation on the sidewalk in front of the Federal Building in downtown Las Cruces, NM.Street practice is a marvelously liberating practice: just yourself and your cushion under the bright, open sky.  As I sit there I occasionally have the thought arise that this is exactly what the Buddha himself did.  All of his thoughts, fears, and dreams come to mind.  People walked past him as he practiced.  Maybe they spoke to him, maybe not.  Some friendly, some not.  Perhaps he even had encounters with town authorities as he stood begging for food or addressed the social concerns of his day.  Just so, me and you. Yes, its true.  Buddha is none other than Everyman. Because this is so, as we sit, stand, walk, or lay down, we are experiencing exactly the same world as Buddha did.  The face of that world may appear differently, but its true nature is the same.  So, as we sip our morning coffee, run to the bathroom, or eat out toast, please do so with a  mind as open as the sky and consider doing what you can do to make our world a better place.

Be well. 

Street Zen

With respect,




This afternoon I will take a blanket and zafu and sit down on the sidewalk in front of the Federal Building in Las Cruces at 4:00 PM. This sitting is not just sitting, but is the practice of serene reflection as was done in the ancient times when monks walked, stood, sat, and taught only in public spaces. We call this practice today "street Zen" and we use it to bear witness for peace and serenity.



It is a fast and mindless life most of us live today. We live without real connection to our world, the actual world of the natural phases of the sun and processes of our world's plant and animal life. We become annoyed easily, frustrated, angry, and willing to not actually see the person in front of us, but rather, we see what they represent to us: a help, a hindrance, a friend, or a foe.



Our world is at war on many fronts: political, social, religious, and cultural. We easily use the overt violence of weapons or the covert violence of intimidation and manipulation to get what we want or need, but in the process do not realize what we are doing dismisses, disregards, or injures the person in front of us. It is time to make peace by practicing peace.



Our street practice invites both ourselves and others to stop, sit down, and look deeply. Zazen is a marvelous practice. Serene reflection meditation is a powerful image for our times. Consider establishing such a practice. Please write to me for details.



In gassho,



Daiho

Occupy Zen

Street practice has been a hallmark of engaged Zen since the time of the Buddha himself. Sitting calmly, bearing witness to the suffering of the world, we invite awareness to arise. The “Occupy” movement has caught the imagination of many. With a diverse and disparate agenda, occupiers often simply bear witness.




Our mission at the Order of Clear Mind Zen is to bear witness to suffering especially as regards violence. Violence occurs on many levels and takes many forms. It is not simply the act of striking another with a fist or shooting someone with a firearm. Violence includes assault to the spirit, the heart, and the esteem of another. Our world is on the threshold of recognizing such violence must cease and that to end it we must practice mutual respect, inclusivity, and support. We begin this process with practices that bring about awareness. The next step is modeling practices that demonstrate acceptance, serenity, and the courage of vulnerability. These are the heart of street practice. They are Occupy Zen.



If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at harveyhilbert@yahoo.com



Be well.

Bodhisattvas

With respect,


An elderly man came upon the stage last night at the Cattleman’s. Shaky and unsure of himself, as he was just learning to play his guitar, he began to strum. Straining to see his sheet music in the stage lighting, he lost his place several times, tweaked a string or two, and started over two or three times. The elder was clearly on the verge of tears.

Just then the organizer, who acted as stage manager, bolted out of his seat, grabbed his guitar out of its case, and nearly flew to the stage positioning himself behind the elder. The two finished the piece together. Then just as quickly, the organizer left the stage asking for a round of applause from the back. Bodhisattvas don’t think; they do.



Be well