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Kanzeon Zen Center International
1274 East South Temple • Salt Lake City, Utah 84102
www.zencenterutah.org • office@zencenterutah.org • 801-328-8414Kanzeon Sangha News • Fall 2003
The Kanzeon Zen Center is a non-profit organization in the Soto Zen tradition.
Editor: Stephanie Merzel • Editorial Assistant: Caryn Silberberg • Design: Phil RingwoodIn the posture you have the capacity to face
anything and everything, including your own
death. Eventually, you are able to carry that
state of mind, that same openness, that same
courage, into your entire lives.
— Genpo RoshiZen and the Art of Confusion
A Western Zen Talk given by
Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi
Salt Lake City, February 2, 2003
(exerpt and edited)One of the things I appreciate is that Zen
practice is becoming more of a family practice.
When I started, we called it anything
and everything, but not family practice.
Today’s topic comes from one of the younger
Buddha’s in the family who asked me to speak
about confusion. And so, a little confused
about how to do this, I will try.
What creates or causes confusion? For me, it
comes up when I wish to be clear, to know
what I should do, to know what is right to
do, what is the next best thing to do and so
on. These ideas come from just about any
place – maybe from our parents, school, or
teachers, who tell us that we should do
certain things, that we should be good, or do
what’s right. This goes way on into our adult
life and probably until our death.
I think that confusion is dependent on conflict.
In other words, if I am in a struggle
between choices and decisions, that battle
seems to feed the confusion. And then out of
the desire to know and understand, more
confusion is created because there is more
conflict. It seems the best approach, rather
than trying to flee from the confusion and
find clarity, may be to turn around and face
the confusion.
Conflict requires two things. It requires separation
and dualism between what is good
and bad, what is right and wrong, what is
clear and what is confusion, what is the Way
and what is not the Way. That conflict, that
dualism, is caused by separation.
In the Big Mind Process, we discover that
separation is an illusion. Even with just a
glimpse of that, one can begin to shift
perspective from a self-centered one to a more
fluid and broad one. We begin to see that
whatever aspect of mind we are identified
with, controls our thoughts and actions. If we
are identified as a separate self, for example,
then we will continue to fight, struggle and
battle. When we shift our identification to
the oneness of all things, even to our oneness
with “confusion”, then we experience fulfillment
and completeness and that we lack
nothing.
Outside of the Big Mind Process, I don’t
think I ever hear anyone say, “I am confusion.”
“I am confused” means that there is a
“me” and this “me” is confused. It does not
mean “there is me and I am this confusion.”
If we turn around and face the confusion,
instead of struggling and resisting it, then the
confusion drops away. This takes a tremendous
amount of fearlessness and courage.
The moment we allow ourselves to just be the
confusion, clarity emerges. The struggle
drops away. I just accept being the confusion.
If the enemy is confusion, it may have a number
of partners: like fear, struggling, or resistance.
Then the foe of confusion is clarity,
wisdom, and awareness. So if I am willing to
be my confusion, to have the fearlessness to
go into the confusion and stop trying to
understand or figure it out, or struggle
against the confusion; if I am willing to just
be one with my confusion, what happens is in
that confusion there is no struggle. You are
no longer wanting or preferring something
else besides the confusion. You are just willing
to be the confusion – and in that, there is
no confusion.
A good way to be our confusion is to sit.
I notice that sometimes here on Sundays,
some people don’t really know the fundamentals
of posture, in other words, how to sit
comfortably. It’s like anything else: if you go
into the gym to work out and you just start
throwing weights around and you don’t know
what you are doing, you are going to get hurt.
That is exactly what happens in the Zendo.
If you don’t know how to sit in proper form
with proper posture and proper breathing,
you are going to start hurting. You may not
start hurting as much as you can hurt yourself
in the gym, but you can hurt yourself a lot on
the cushion. I did. I started on my own. I
started with poor posture and that affected
my neck for about twenty-five years. Just like
if you are going to take a musical instrument,
you want to learn proper form. When you sit
in the right form, in the right posture, and
you don’t fight for clarity, you don’t struggle
to understand, and you allow yourself to just
be, then whatever comes up, even if it is
confusion, you allow yourself in the posture to be
one with it. If it’s fear, instead of fighting or
resisting it, allow yourself to be it. To go into
it and experience it completely. If it’s anger,
then you allow yourself to just be that completely,
and in the posture there is the greatest
capacity as a human being to face anything.
The posture is the posture of fearlessness.
It’s the posture of the warrior.
In the posture you have the capacity to face
anything and everything, including your own
death. Eventually, you are able to carry that
state of mind, that same openness, that same
courage, into your entire lives.
It starts in the posture. With it you are going
to sit more and more comfortably, and learn
in that comfortable sitting how to let go –
and how to let go of ego-centeredness or
selfcenteredness. It is ego-centeredness that
wants to know, to understand, to figure it
out, that wants the answers now. When we
are in the posture, that is the easiest way to
begin to let go of the ego-centeredness and
actually settle into our Big Mind, settle into
the Bodhi-mind. There, when we settle
down, there is clarity. It may not be the kind
of understanding that one is always looking
for. It is not intellectual or conceptual, but in
that clarity we are able to then see the situation,
the koan, and look at it from many different
perspectives, because we are not tied in
to one perspective. We are able to shift our
perspective and see the diamond (although
we don’t usually think of our problem as a
diamond). By looking at the problem from
many different angles, we are able to drop our
perspective and see the problem from many
different angles.
So, a little bit about confusion. Be willing to
face it and be it. Not “be confused”, but be
the confusion.Bodhidharma Sesshin 2002
This past year’s Bodhidharma sesshin at the
Kanzeon Zen Center was held on October 3,
4, 5 and 6, 2002. Because any one person’s
experience of an event, particularly a sesshin
where the vast majority of the time is spent in
silent sitting, will certainly be different than
another’s, what I have to say is just that, a
reflection of what I took away from the event.
My overall impression of the sesshin is that it
was a gentle time. There seemed to be an
atmosphere of calm and warmth in the
zendo. Yet the sitting felt strong. A good
number of people sat through the entire
sesshin, including some from far away. Still,
those of us who had to make accommodations
with work over the days of the sesshin
felt entirely comfortable and included.
Roshi gave three talks addressing
Bodhidharma. Interestingly, by the third day,
he said that he had exhausted most of what
he knew of Bodhidharma. This is because
Bodhidharma is a close to mythical figure in
Chinese ch’an. Although Buddhism had
come to China before he arrived in the late
5th or early 6th century, Bodhidharma was
supposedly the first person to bring to China
the spirit of what is now know as zen—direct
transmission of the spirit of Buddhism without
focus on words and learning, an egalitarian
approach to enlightenment which
emphasized the ability of each person to realize
the truth of the dharma by introspection
under the guidance of a teacher, and which
deemphasized the importance of scholastic
learning.
Roshi characterized Bodhidharma
as a teacher of a pure or elemental form of
zen, one that existed before the various doctrinal
schools developed and before the
emphasis on ritual that is so evident in the
Soto school in Japan.
The major milestones in Bodhidharma’s life
are symbolic of the lessons that his form of
ch’an teaches – that enlightenment consists of
seeing deeply into one’s own mind and realizing
that all the apparent complications in the
world are a created in the mind; and that
patience and perseverance are the most
important elements of a strong practice,
because they are essential to gaining a clear
and deep insight.
Bodhidharma’s life demonstrates
nothing if not perseverance and
patience. Although he was deeply enlightened
by the age of 8, he is said to have studied
with a teacher for 60 years, and to have
spent an additional 40 years refining his
understanding. Only then did he undertake
to take the Dharma to China. But rather than
acceptance of his teaching, he found the
Chinese slow to accept his simple form of
Buddhism. Instead they, as personified by
the Emperor, thought that Buddhism was
primarily concerned with overt displays of
good works and with providing explicit
answers to the difficult questions that life
presents. Bodhidharma bluntly informed the
Emperor that he was profoundly mistaken.
He retreated to Shao-lin monastery where he
took a simple room and sat gazing at the wall
for nine years before returning to formal
teaching. And even then, he refused to
accept as students any but the most dedicated,
as evidenced by the fact that he did not
permit Hui-k’o to study with him until he
had cut off his arm with a knife to show his
commitment. But these dedicated students
began the spread of this simple and pure
ch’an across China with such diligence that
within 200 years, it was firmly established.
During his talks, Roshi emphasized that for
each of us, there is no limit to the degree of
clarity of insight we can realize if we will
commit ourselves to practice with perseverance
and patience. One of the most important
lessons that long-term practice teaches is
the need repeatedly to drop our insights and
to free us of our natural attachment to our
enlightenment experiences. Only then will
we be free to see more deeply into our true
self, to fully observe the universe around us,
and to refine and clarify our insight. Roshi
noted that Bodhidharma’s example of dedicated
practice contrasts with what commonly
passes in modern times for practice and the
resultant understanding. For some, a glimpse
of the truth is enough. A simple insight,
passing “Mu”, or an “aha” moment in Big
Mind, is deemed sufficient by many students
to bring them to a feeling of enlightenment,
to understand the nature of being. They then
move on. But for Roshi, as for Bodhidharma,
this brief insight can never have the transformative
power for an individual of a long cultivated
practice of sitting with a non-seeking
mind, watching the activities of the universe
around us. Only this can bring the clarity of
insight that is essential to a full awakening
and to a life that manifests fully the dharma.
This year’s Bodhidharma sesshin left me with
a strong impression of the simplicity of the
goal of practice, and the need to persist, even
through uncomfortable or unproductive
stretches. It also reinforced the lesson that
unless I am willing to note and then let pass
opening experiences, I will not be able to
approach my practice with the naive beginners
mind that is necessary to ever deeper
awakenings.
As always, a sesshin reinforced the commitment
to the practice, and the amazing
insights that the teachers of the dharma have
offered for more than two millennia.
Gassho
Michael ZimmermanFormer Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court
Big Mind Monthlong
I have not been interested in Buddhism or
religious ritual, joining some lineage. Yet in
speaking from the voice of Tozan’s second
rank, the voice of submission, I knew, felt,
experienced that Roshi, Dennis, Genpo –
whatever those names imply – is my teacher.
What does, that mean? I don’t know, but he
is my teacher.
On both of the two afternoons that we spoke
from the voice of the fourth rank I sank into
despair so deep that I was not able to continue
on to the voice the fifth rank. I just sat
there with tears running down my cheeks
with an awareness so pure of the ungraspable
pointlessness.
Such were a few of my experiences in the
Second International Big Mind Conference
this past November. Fellow explorers of Big
Mind came together from around the world
to experience and be trained in this fascinating
and powerful combination of the western
therapeutic technique, Voice Dialogue, and
the wisdom derived from Zen practice developed
just a few years ago by Roshi, the Big
Mind process.
Roshi’s approach to Big Mind process training
is still developing. He is integrating a
broader range of transpersonal and other
voices specifically including those that give
voice to various aspects of Zen practice and
wisdom. For instance in addition to facilitating
conference participants through Tozan’s
five ranks, we spoke from key voices associated
with each of the ten ox herding pictures. I
think that the significance of experiencing
these voices cannot be overestimated. In the
history of the world has a group of people
ever before been given the gift to experience
in a short space of time an actual taste of a full
range of enlightened awareness? Unlikely.
Many of the participants were there to enrich
their professional skills, including therapists,
counselors, social workers and mediators. It
seemed that virtually everyone wanted to
learn how to facilitate others in the Big Mind
process and were successful in learning how
to do this with a small group. Several people
are also beginning to develop competence
and working toward certification to work
with larger groups.
A sense of community of those engaged
deeply in Big Mind process training is developing,
whether or not they are involved in
Zen practice. And there is a special opportunity
to do this at the annual month long conference.
Particularly those who attended for
the whole month and were residents in facilities
that were provided had an opportunity
to become well acquainted and if they so
chose to integrate daily meditation and koan
training into their shared experience.
A special treat this year were daily classes and
training being offered by Stan Block regarding
the “I system” as presented in his book:
Bridging the I-System.
As Roshi is developing the Big Mind process
it is interesting to see how it is taking on a
framing that is not identified with any religion,
even Buddhism. It is all about awareness
and self knowledge as well as integrating
modern and western wisdom and techniques.
Participating in Big Mind process training
and manifesting what one learns is all about
becoming a fully integrated human being.
The Big Mind process has the potential to
provide an enriching practice that can enrich
virtually any faith tradition or philosophy of
life. It is an honor to be present at the creation
of this still emerging phenomenon and
involved in this new practice which Roshi is
offering to the world.John Kesler
Bare Bones Zen
On October 31, 2002, Halloween Night,
ghosts and goblins gathered in the zendo in
honor of those who have passed. Genpo
Roshi gave a talk about the Hungry Ghosts
and we evoked the ancestors with a service.
Chanting for the departed echoed in the
night air as the living celebrated the dead. It
was a mystical experience as the portal from
this realm to the other was bridged.
A special thank you: Andy Harmon for his
steady watch at the Animal Graveyard ;
Simone de Boer for his inscrutability while
nurturing and bathing the Buddha; Irene
Bakker for coming out of the coffin; and
beloved Bruce Waldrop for candlelight, flowers,
and tea.Stephanie Young Merzel
Rohatsu Sesshin
Rohatsu – the word has bound in it so much
hope and fear. The week of Rohatsu at the
beginning of December commemorates the
experience of the Buddha during the week
leading up to his great enlightenment on
the morning of December 8th. Thus
Rohatsu, traditionally the strongest sesshin of
the year, is for each of its participants a
chance to throw themselves wholeheartedly
into the practice and to drop off body and
mind. Rohatsu is a world wide sesshin – our
practice supported by the Sangha throughout
the world - while we support them. As in the
traditional exhortation of Japanese monasteries
the sesshin in its intensity went by like a
single day.
Rohatsu reminds some of us of the early days
with Roshi – with its traditional forms:
Oryoki, the full chanting at the services and
the pat PAT pat PAT of the kyusaku waking
us up on sleepy days. Traditionally students
go to dokusan more often than usual, and the
bells seemed endlessly calling and answering,
calling and answering.
One thing was different and innovative .
Roshi incorporated Big Mind training into
sesshin instead of the regular afternoon sitting
period. Thus we had 3 hours of teaching
and training and a shift into talking to each
other which was enriching. Then the silence
of the evening felt welcome.
The Dharma flows freely through all the
many forms of Roshi’s teaching, yet we can
still feel at home in the age old tradition and
treasury of form in the Rohatsu sesshin.Genshin Gabrysch
The Gates Of Zen
During the last few months I have started giving
a series of Monday night classes called the
Gates of Zen. The first set of four was
named The Iron Gates of Zen. The second
set was The Gateless Gates of Zen. Since
then the concept has broadened: we are in
the midst of a new set of eight talks called
The Mountain Spirit / The Valley Spirit.
To me, a way of framing these talks is likening
them to back packs for a journey we call
The Way. They include useful information
about what to take with you, what to leave
behind, and what some of the barriers and
obstacles are that we face on this journey.
These barriers and obstacles are the Gates.
These Gates are either ways in or out:
depending on which side of the gate you are
standing on.
A really important aspect of these talks is the
student / teacher relationship. They allow me
to share my own experiences as Roshi’s student
and help prepare other students for that
very significant relationship. In fact, we are
now asking anyone who is interested in
becoming a formal student of Roshi’s, called
taking Shoken, to participate in these classes
as a prerequisite.
Besides my own experience, I am sharing the
rich history of sketches, diagrams and
roadmaps left by the ancestors to show us
The Way. Some of these were written and
brought across vast distances with determination
and at great personal risk . Some of this
knowledge is remembered and recorded from
oral teachings of masters and adepts. Other
sources are poems, music, calligraphy and art.
There are diagrams and maps embedded even
in the serving of tea (Chado), painting, haiku
poetry and martial arts. Messages have been
left on rocks and trees and in hermit huts or
in monasteries. All of this has been preserved
for us to study right here on South Temple in
Salt Lake City today.
We are fortunate to have this legacy. From
the Oxherding Pictures to Master Dogen’s
comments on Shikantaza; to the contemporary
oral teachings I have received from
Roshi and from his teacher Maezumi Roshi
and from his teacher and his teacher and
on… This legacy give us a chance to look at
the places we get stuck because we are afraid
or the places where our egos trick and fool us.
They are the terrain, the challenges in the
landscape of our practice. We are really very
lucky that the rough terrain, the sticking
places are not just our obstacles; that we have
not been either clever enough or stupid
enough to invent completely individual traps.
Those that came before walked these same
roads. And so we have a records, maps, notes
to help guide us.
Some of the more detailed maps include
Master Tozan’s Ranks, The Oxherding
Pictures and Unmons’ Zen Diseases.
Aside from maps, we also have inherited
great tools: the precepts, the koans, sitting
itself. We have the guide, the teacher. All
these deserve our deep study, deep practice,
deep appreciation: the attitude of true practice.
It is my habit to keep these talks pretty personal.
Zen is mostly an oral tradition and so
I use examples from my life – what I am
working on, what I have experienced and
through Roshi what I have learned, heard,
and unlearned. It is really a great opportunity
to share this kind of thing: very much like
people walking out on a trail sharing maps,
equipment, tricks by the campfire.
All this is essential for the road. However, it
is the teacher who holds the lineage, the lore.
The teacher, the one who has gone before, is
imbedded in the cultures of the East is and I
think being both revitalized and understood
more clearly in the West. Perhaps a simple
way of looking at this is understanding that
we have two choices in our practice: we either
have a true teacher or our ego is our true
teacher. By making the commitment of
Shoken we leave our old teacher, begin to
leave our old home and we set off on the road.
I very much appreciate the opportunity to
give these talks and am happy that people
seem to respond to them. Very few people
have the kind of aspiration, dedication and
persistence it takes to walk this trail but the
numbers are growing. Few can be nudged
into seeing our own self imprisonment and
delusion even by a great teacher like Genpo
Roshi. It is my hope that these Talks for the
Road continue as a tradition here and that
we can swap the training stories and techniques
the lineage has left us and that we here
can continue this long gateless walk down the
road.Daniel Doen Silberberg Sensei
The Five Ranks of Kanzeon
Kanzeon is flourishing. The Sangha is growing.
The crowd attending Sunday talks is
ever increasing, regularly filling the Zendo
"to the rafters". Membership is rising. Local
community interest in the Center and in Zen
practice has never been greater: we even have
a crew of volunteers who help run the office
and the zendo. This is exciting and encouraging
to all of us practicing here in Salt Lake City.
At the same time, the practice is maturing as
more of Roshi’s students become seniors.
During the last two years Genpo Roshi has
given Hoshi and Denkai to a group of senior
students and he intends to give transmission
in the next months to several of his Hoshi
and Denkai students.
As the number of students empowered to
teach the Dharma under Roshi increases it
became apparent that we needed to formalize
and clarify these ranks. All Hoshi and
Denkai students were invited to attend a
series of meetings with Roshi during Rohatsu
sesshin in December 2002. Those who were
able to attend included: Stephan Coppens,
Genshin Gabrysh, Alexandra Gericke, Jules
Harris, Rein Kaales, Mark Shigeoka and
Daniel Silberberg. Sydney Musai Walters,
Sensei also attended. During the meetings the
Five Ranks of Kanzeon were detailed:Rank 1
Hoshi (Dharma Holder)
A student who receives Hoshi is an assistant
teacher. A Hoshi recipient can hold informal
interview, give talks on practice, lead workshops
and with Roshi's specific permission,
may conduct sesshin. Roshi approves Hoshi
teaching duties according to each individual’s
stage of training and experience, including
their level of koan study. The Hoshi training
can lead to Shiho (Dharma Transmission),
but progress depends on the willingness, ability
and capacity of the student.Rank 2
Denkai (Precept Holder)
At a certain point in the Hoshi training, a
novice priest may receive the precepts and the
lineage (Denkai), becoming a fully empowered
Zen Priest. With Roshi's specific
approval, the Denkai is able to give the precepts
and conduct baby blessings, funerals,
weddings and other priestly functions like
Jukai and Tokudo.Rank 3
Shiho / Dharma Transmission / Sensei
Shiho is mind to mind transmission. It is the
transmission of Baian Hakujun's Daiosho
lineage. At this point the student becomes a
teacher. However, Roshi remains the Sensei's
teacher thus assuring continuous learning
and refinement until Inka (Final Seal of
Approval) / Roshi.
After Shiho the recipient can go to Japan for
Zuisse (paying homage to Dogen Zenji and
Keizan Zenji) and may become the abbot of
one's own temple (Shinsanshiki – Ascending
the Mountain Ceremony) or the recipient
can choose the equivalent ceremony in the
United States through the White Plum
Asanga's Acknowledgement Ceremony. With
Shiho, the recipient can have a monastic center,
community practice center or residential
Zen center.
DharmaTransmission / Sensei
This is mind to mind transmission of the
Dharma to a lay practitioner, or to a priest
who has not trained and practiced in close
proximity to Roshi. The Sensei can have
a community Zen Center, but not a
monastic or residential zen center as a priest
with Shiho can.
Hermit Order / Person of No Rank
This is transmission in a secret order where
the teacher has absolutely no position, title,
or recognizable distinction. The teaching
goes on without the person who is being
taught realizing it. If a person is eligible for
Transmission, then the order is revealed at
that time and a document is given. The order
is esoteric and independent from all criteria.
The document must have the appropriate
seal of approval.
Rank 4
Roshi
The person is eligible to use the title Roshi
(Zen Master), although no Inka is given. This
occurs ten years after Shiho / Transmission and
after 55 years of age. There must be a completion
of Zuisse (Eheiji or Sojiji) or its
equivalent Acknowledgement Ceremony
from the White Plum Asanga.
Rank 5
Inka / Final Seal of Approval / Roshi
The final empowerment of the Dharma: an
independent Zen Master. Inka comes from
the Rinzai tradition. In the White Plum tradition,
Inka is used as the seal of approval and
complete independence. A recipient of Inka
may teach any way they want. Inka transmission
is from Koryo Osaka Roshi and
Yasatani Roshi through Maezumi Roshi and
Glassman Roshi.
Everyone came away from these meetings
with a clearer understanding of the ranks
and teaching roles and increased gratitude for
the lineage and for Roshi as the lineage holder.
Happily, the Dharma is spreading both wide
and deep here on the edge of the Wasatch
range.
Membership News
Hoshi Recipients
Congratulations to:
Alexandra Mushin (No Mind) Gericke December 1, 2002
George Jisho (Compassionate Illumination) Robertson April 24, 2003
Rich Taido (Great Way) Christofferson June 26, 2003
Tokudo
Randy Jitsudo (Creative Way) Burks December 6, 2002
Jukai 2002 – 03
Danny Gallegos - Reiseki (Spiritual Rock)
Richard Johnson – Taishin (Great Heart)
Richard Putts – Shindo (Faith in the Way)
Andreas Wisniewski – Soshin (Essence Heart)
Troy Nielsen – Kakuon (Awakening Sound)
Bob Burden – Daiyu (Great Excellence)
Simone Heale – Kogen (Tiger Eye)
Vegar Svanemyu – Kizen (Energy Zen)
Karen Everitt – Mitsuke (Intimate Guide)
Kevin Moran – Shomen (True Face)
Kristin Rushforth – Heiki (Calm Capacity)
Terry Kerler – Chowan (Ability to Harmonize)
Tom Zdunich – Daikan (Great Mirror)
Angela Palmer – Butsukei (Carry the Buddha in Hand)
Michael Trivett – Keijo (Bright Gem)
Board Member Comings and Goings...
Kanzeon would like to extend its gratitude
for the service of the outgoing members
of the Board of Directors: Stephen Muho Proskauer
is a long-time monk who has practiced
at the Center in both Bar Harbor and Salt Lake City.
Stephen is an experienced counselor
who integrates many years of Dharma
practice in his work. He has edited three
of Genpo Roshi’s books and has for
several years acted as Board secretary,
maintaining careful records of Kanzeon’s activities for posterity.
Al Rapaport and Roshi first met at ZCLA
in the 1970s. In his many years of practice,
Al has led sitting groups, and managed
Open Mind Productions, which produces
major Buddhist conferences in several cities.
Al is one of Kanze o n’s lay Dharma-holders,
and has recently relocated from Salt Lake City to Florida.
Welcome incoming board members:
Genshin Gabrysch and Alexandra Gericke
Welcome back Bob Lee!
Fund Raiser 2002
The annual fundraiser held this past November 2002 was a great success. About 100 people attended the bash at the Pagoda Restaurant. A sangha talent show was the entertainment and it was a great way to break the ice and get to know one another. Thank you to all who made the evening such a wonderful event.
Family Appreciation and Dana
Dear Sangha,
During Rohatsu 2002, Roshi’s senior students got together for a series of meetings on practice at Kanzeon. Among other topics, we discussed our desire to continue an important aspect of training in our lineage: support and respect for our teacher and his family as embodiment of the dharma. We decided to continue and formalize the practice of dana which was initiated with Genpo Roshi’s teacher Maezumi Roshi to insure this demanding and wonderful practice continues in our lives and beyond.
Some of us have already begun to contribute directly to Genpo Roshi and his family in gratitude for his teaching. We hope at this time that the rest of the sangha will join us. Our vision is that these monies would be collected from each affiliated sangha by teachers and assistant teachers.
In response to inquiries about recommended amounts, the following might apply:
• Five dollars a month for a Kanzeon student.
• Ten dollars a month for a personal students of Roshi’s. (Shoken)
• Twenty dollars a month for a student who has received Jukai.
• Forty dollars a month for a senior student.
• Sixty dollars a month for a student who has received Hoshi or Hoshi and Denkei.
• Eighty dollars a month for a student that has received Dharma transmission.
—These suggested amounts could be contributed on a yearly basis.
Additionally, we will also institute annual training for any student with teaching responsibilities. This training will be conducted by Roshi. We hope your Sangha will support your attendance. They are the ultimate beneficiaries of your continued study and contact with the living lineage.
This practice of Dana is a very personal way of giving beacause it is to ones teacher and family and therefore to the lineage. It is appreciating what has been done, given and received.
Daniel Doen Silberberg
Samuel Leon Richter des Etoiles,
Born to Isabella, November 24, 2002
Welcome Sam!
A Call for Photos
Any old dharma photos in your closet? Send them to us at the office here in Salt Lake City.
Classes
SUNDAY, 10:00 – 11:30 am – free to the public
WESTERN ZEN CLASS with Roshi and assistant teachers
also at 10:00: free Children’s Class
KZC Kids
The Children’s Zendo has been experiencing an active and exciting year. We have made lots of new friends and are enjoying the warm mornings at the park! The Children’s Zendo meets on Sundays during the Western Zen Class. Typically the morning involves treats, an introduction to Zazen, and Buddha stories. If the weather permits, we often venture to the nearby park until the Western Zen Class concludes.
The good news is that the Children’s Zendo has experienced a lot of growth and continues to welcome children with a variety of ages and differing levels of understanding of Zen Buddhism.
However due to the increased demand, the Children’s Zendo is asking for volunteers to assist with the individual classes. This assistant will be asked to help care for the younger children while the older children participate in a more structured session designed to introduce them to the concepts of Zen Buddhism. Also, anyone who may have a desire to host the class for the older children, if you have a special interest in a specific Zen related subject, you are also welcome to assist with the class.
If you are interested, please contact Jacque Barrow at 556-3607 or JBARROW@utah.gov.
MONDAY, 5:30 – 7:00 pm
CLASS with Daniel Silberberg
Various themes. Spring, Summer talks were titled ‘The Mountain Spirit, the Valley Spirit’, covering The Ox herding pictures, The Buddhist Realms, Master Tozan’s Four Zen Illnesses, The Buddhist Precepts, Karma and Causation, Everyday is a Good Day (Ordinary Zen), and The Roaring Stream (The Ancestors and the Lineage).
TUESDAY, 7:30 – 9:15 pm
INTRODUCTION TO ZEN, 4-week course, Level I and II with Roshi
Topics covered in Level I are Zen Meditation, Practice, Issues that Arise when Practicing Zen, and How to Continue Practice. In Level II you will learn about Objectives of Zen Practice, Sitting without a Goal, Karma and the Path of Enlightenment, and Unity & Diversity.The Class Atmosphere is casual. Beginners as well as members are invited to attend.
THURSDAY, 7:30 – 9:15 pm
EVENING WITH ROSHI or Talks by assistant teachers
Thursday evenings are a chance to enjoy spending time together with the community and Roshi for an informal yet powerful expression of the Dharma. Experience Roshi’s vibrant and alive talks in an intimate setting, with opportunities to ask questions. We welcome and encourage people at any level of practice to attend.
FRIDAY, 7:30 – 9:30 pm
BRIDGING THE I-SYSTEM with Dr. Stan Block
Practice “bridging” techniques developed by Stan Block, based on his book “Bridging the I-System”.
The Class Atmosphere is casual. Beginners as well as members are invited to attend.
Daily Meditation Schedule
MORNING ZAZEN / Dokusan or Daisan (private interview with teacher)
Monday through Thursday 6:00 am – 8:00 am
If there is no Class on Tuesday or Wednesday evening, we will have Evening Zazen 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. with Daisan or Dokusan instead.
Please check our monthly calendar for details.
Affiliates
Idaho
White Cloud Zen Group
Rein Konpo Kaales
232 South 9th Avenue
Pocatello, Idaho 83201
208-478-9715
Germany
Kanzeon Sangha Deutschland
Marcela von Wolkahof
Boltenstern Str. 7
40239 Dusseldorf
49(211)8629725
Poland
Kanzeon Sangha
Malgosia Braunek & Andrej Krajewski
Husarii 32 02951 Warszawa
48(22)427887
France
L’Association Kanzeon
Sensei Genno Pages
22 Av. Pasteur Montreuil 93100
33(1)49889165
Park City
Shodo-an Zen Mountain Retreat
Genshin Gabrysch
P.O. Box 680646
Park City, Utah 84068
435-640-5936
Holland
Zen River
Tenkei Coppens Sensei
Hoofdweg 26
9905 PC Holwierde
Zenriver@hetnet.nl
31(59)6624004
Holland
Kees van de Bunt
Frankenslag 342
2582 JB Den Haag
England
Manu Bazzano & Sarita Doveton
32 Shirlock Road, Flat 3
London NW3 2HS
44(020)7267-6147
Holland
Kanzeon Sangha
Nico Tydeman
Krayenhoffstr 151
1018 RG Amsterdam
31(20)6276493
Hawaii
Mark & Nancy Shigeoka
225 Hakuone Street
Wahiawa, Hawaii 96786
808-622-0096
France
La Martinie Zen Farm
Linda Myoki Lehrhaupt and Norbert Wehner
24540 St. Avit Riviere
33(55)3232885
LindaMyoki@aol.com
Welcome to the Kanzeon Zen Center Book Shoppe and Tape Archives
Over the years we have been building up a wonderful collection of tapes of all the Dharma talks given by Genpo Roshi and other teachers from Bar Harbor in Maine, throughout Europe, and mostly talks given at the Zen Center here in Salt Lake City. We also have on hand all of the more recent workshops including the Big Mind presentations given by Roshi. Other tapes and workshops are available also of Daniel Silberbergs Dharma discourses as well as older recordings of Taizan Maezumi Roshi’s lectures.
Talks by Genshin Gabrysch, Jules Harris, and Mark Shigeoka are also part of our collection.
All of these recorded materials are available now to the general public as well as the many books by Genpo and Maezumi Roshi. We will be expanding our book collection shortly. Genpo Roshi’s new book “The Path of the Human Being” is now available. We also have Dr. Stan Block’s book “Bridging the I System” at our shop. A new book by Dr. Block will also be released in the near future.
We invite all members and anyone interested in having these books and tapes for there own personal collection to contact us at the Kanzeon Zen Center office or just stop by and browse through our books and tapes. We are always expanding our book and tape offers throughout the year, and we would like the public to participate in our efforts to bring the teachings of Zen to the greater Kanzeon community.
We are now in the process of connecting our services through a website and we hope in the future to get our tapes on to a disc format so that those who prefer may listen through other medium as well.
Those of us who work to make these books and tapes available would like to thank all of those who support the Zen Center by purchasing our materials. By supporting our work you help to keep the Zen Center functioning and maintaining the practice of the Buddhadharma in our community. Please contact the Zen Center office @801-328-8414. If you have any questions or wish to purchase any of our recordings or literature, ask for David Howard or George Robertson. Thank you very much.
Winter/Spring 2004 Preview of Events
January 16 – 18
Beginner’s Mind Sesshin with Daniel Doen Silberberg Sensei
February 6 – 8
Big Mind Koan Workshop with Genpo Roshi
March 19 – 21
Beginner’s Mind Sesshin with Daniel Doen Silberberg Sensei
Mark your Calendar for these 2003 Events !
Meet great people from all over the world in Big Mind - a technique to
help you function freely in your life. Workshops, discussion, practice &
more. The conference also offers the opportunity to train in Big Mind
facilitation. Beginners, with no previous Big Mind experience are
encouraged to attend. Highly recommended for anyone who wishes to
understand the Self and learn how to share Big Mind with others. People
with various backgrounds have successfully applied the Big Mind process
in many fields, such as education, therapy, business, even athletics and
the arts.
International Conference 2003
October 18 to November 15
Salt Lake City, Utah
For more information and to registerr call 801-328-8414 or visit www.bigmind.org
Rohatsu Sesshin
with Genpo Roshi
December 7 – 1 4
Celebrating Buddha’s
enlightenment on December 8
Rohatsu is the strongest
Sesshin of the year. We will
have people from all over the
world joining us. Roshi will
lead the Sesshin.
Shiho (Dharma Transmission)
For Daniel Doen Silberberg
Don’t miss it!
For more information and to register call 801-328-8414
or visit www.zencenterutah.org
In loving memory of Willard Barton Young
November 7, 1918 - June 21, 2003
From the roar of a
swollen stream,
I whisper awaken.
You do not answer.
In the cracks of
desert bedrock,
wisdom seeps.
Stephanie Young Merzel
Salt Lake City, July 7, 2003
Bruce Kosho Waldrop
July 29, 1948 - February 23, 2003
For Kosho
On this day a master died before he was old
Leaving to make room for others
His bones were divided and
Brought here to nourish us.
May you become a great criminal –
To steal the Dharma Treasures
And escape empty-handed.
Joe Weed
May 12, 2002
This Mother’s Day Shuso
You give birth to yourself
Having sustained us with a
Kind word and compassionate gesture
For each person in the world.