Mt. Equity ZendoZephyr-June/July 2012

Long Summer Sesshin with Doyu Roshi and Rev. Tom Wright

Blessed again, after a two year hiatus, with the teachings of Doyu Takamine Roshi and his disciple and translator, Rev. Tom Wright. This year’s study, from June 1st through 9th, was on the “Shushogi,” chapters one and two, or “Practice (meaning zazen) and Realization Are One.” A constant theme throughout the 9 day Sesshin was the teaching of impermanence. E m p h a s i s w a s m a d e o n n o t s i m p l y unders tanding impermanence f rom an intellectual point of view, but in understanding it, seeing it and experiencing it in our day-to-day, moment-to-moment lives. Doyu Roshi spoke of how Dogen Zenji lived his final days, and explained his death poem. He further spoke from personal experience and about the days, months, and years leading up to Uchiyama Roshi’s death sharing his maturing work right up until the end.This Sesshin could not have happened without all of the sincere efforts of all those who helped

us prepare and attended. A special thanks goes out to Nanshin and Tomei who worked long hours on the schedule and duty assignments making for a very smooth Sesshin. Also, special thanks to our Tenzo’s: Tokuen, Koen, Keien, Daijun, and Nanshin. Knowledge of the importance of cooperation, making the best use of food items, as well as years of experience helped create 3 meals a day for an average of 22 people a meal over a 9 day period. This was no mean feat. The Dharma Talks can be found online at www.mtequity.org/mp3.

Right Photo: Myodo holds the bell to recite the verse for beginning the Dharma Talk. Behind her is Abbess Josho Phelan of Chapel Hill Zen Center. To Myodo’s right are Eido, Shudo and Susan Gresens from the Baltimore Dharma Group.Bottom Left: NiOsho and Doyu Roshi during the meal ceremony.Bottom Right: The Sangha lifts their bowls to honor the food before eating.

Scenes from the Long SummerSesshin

Rev. Shinjo Nohara, Donna Chogetsu O’Malley, Doyu Roshi, NiOsho, and Dick Raimon Herbert photoed here. Rev. Shinjo, Donna, and Dick came to be with us from Shao Shan Temple in Vermont. The Abbess-to-be of Shao Shan is Rev. Taihaku Priest and is pictured to the right. Rev. Taihaku will be having her Mountain Seat Ceremony in September of 2013. She becomes Abbess of Shao Shan Temple with this ceremony.

Meigetsu Becky Robishaw stands next to one of the two newly planted peach trees which she donated. They were dedicated and planted in memory of Yuki, our old white cat beloved by many, with us for 19 years, seen below with a big fan, Kyla Tsai-McKinney.

Letting Go, and Letting Go Some Moreby Doko Kris Misage

We are in a transition, from being taken care of by Zuijun Esho, founder and teacher of Baltimore Dharma Group (BDG), to senior students deciding for and moving toward holding the container of BDG. Our recent relocation, away from Zuijun Esho’s home, to a room at a local Quaker Meeting house called “Homewood Friends,” is a very physical letting go of the space in which Zuijun Esho and her husband Steve held us.

Zuijun Esho’s death in January of this year was not unexpected; she had been battling, adjusting to, living with, and teaching from brain cancer for two years. But it very quickly became clear to our small sangha that we had limited deep understanding and experience of the work Zuijun Esho and her husband Steve did to open their home to all manner of newcomers and make part of their space into a zendo. Three sangha members temporarily hosted programs at their homes as the group decided how to proceed, and all of the hosts noticed how this practice churned up aversion and greed, and revealed the inability of our habit energies to “make things better”.

The sangha rallied to find a new space. The whole group considered criteria for choosing a new location, contacted possible locations, and visited the best options to get a feel for the space and to discuss the terms. It quickly came to our awareness that the very discussions we were having about space were the beginning seeds of a long process of grieving, healing, and sangha-building. For example, we initially concentrated on issues like cost and convenience to public transportation; but as time went on these issues transformed themselves into more complex concerns at the heart of our identity, such as how newcomers enter the space, how we interact with other users of the larger space, and how we sustain an independent identity in a borrowed location. Suddenly we could see the depth of care and commitment that Zuijun Esho had brought to creating and nurturing our sangha. We felt the loss of our teacher again and again during this time.

Our choice narrowed to a Lutheran church in south Baltimore, and two locations near Zuijun Esho’s home: a space run by Shambhala-lineage Buddhists, and the Quaker Homewood Friends Meeting House. After members visited all three locations and reported back to the sangha, the sangha discussed the options over email, and met to choose. The attendees took time to list the pros and cons of all three locations, check in with each other about our feelings and intuitions about each space, and listen deeply to each other about our concerns and what we each saw as major considerations. At this crucial moment we benefited from NiOsho’s insights asking us to notice the different energies of the spaces. At the end of that meeting, we came to consensus on choosing Homewood Friends.

The process of realizing BDG had to relocate, feeling the weight of all that entails, and carefully deciding as a group which direction to go, was a long process of letting go of the support we had as guests of Zuijun Esho and Steve. At the same time, many of us are holding close Esho’s teachings and example. How much to live out Esho’s wishes for us, and how much to make our own sangha-reality? This is a question of the utmost difficulty. Now we are practicing full bore the letting go of our individual visions of the perfect space, the perfect sangha, the perfect practice.

We are open to newcomers. Come join us as we let go some more, and practice with what we have.

Myodo (left), Mihoko (center), Dendo (Right)

Mihoko-san made a donation for the inkin that Dendo is holding and will be used by the Baltimore Dharma Group. It was one of many instruments kindly given to MEZ by Steve Rodgers to be used for fundraising for the Japan disaster area.

Fire Escape ProjectWe thank the many Sesshin attendees who worked hard on cleaning and painting the fire escapes. They look like new. There is just a little bit more to clean and paint on the underside of the stairs. To those who would like to volunteer two hours to help us complete this project, consider coming on a free morning around 10am and staying for lunch. We will make a mean tabouli salad with fresh veggies straight from our garden!

Ongoing Insulation ProjectRecently, the Board approved more ongoing renovations and insulation in several rooms in MEZ. Dale Hessler, our carpenter, has completed installing blue foam insulation and drywall in the first floor central guestroom in order to better insulate the stone walls. The R value for stone is extremely low. Adding 2.5 inches of foam board greatly increases the R value of our walls, lessening our fuel consumption. In July we plan to have Dale continue this project in either the Arhat Hall or dining room. Upon completion of Dale’s work we’ll need help priming and painting the dry wall. We’ll contact you later via email to see when we can get together for work, talk, fun and food.

Witnessing the Tearing Apart of Local Community by the Natural Gas IndustryJust a 30 minute drive from Mount Equity Zendo a community of mobile homes has been forced to evacuate with a 3 month notice. Many of the thirty two people have been living in the Riverdale Mobile Home Community for over thirty years. Aqua America purchased the land in March to use as a water withdrawal site. Abbess Dai-En and Nanshin White joined local clergy on May 13th to protest Aqua America and to show our support for the residents of the Riverdale Community. For related stories visit: http://sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/576466/Fighting-for-their-homes.html http://sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/579508/ACCESS-DENIED.htmlhttp://sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/579091/Mobile-home-park-residents-remain-

NiOsho with Keien in Brazil, March 26th to April 3rd, to Confer Precepts

Conferring the precepts on seven lay students for Rev. Gensho Chalegre, seen translating the ceremony into Portuguese.

After benefit performance for the Tohoku Disaster by the Brazilian-Japan Friendship Society.

Blossom of the tree that produces kapok for our zafus!

NiOsho with Rev. Gensho Chalegre.

(Left) NiOsho representing Soto Shu at the installation ceremony of Jakkoji Temple’s Tenryu Tenbreul Roshi near Hamburg, Germany, June 24th.(Above) Sr. Benedicte & Sr. Felicitas reencountered after 26 years at Le Beguinage in Belgium, site of the East - West Spiritual Exchange in 1986.

NiOsho in Europe for Soto Shu Installation CeremonyJune 22nd - 24th Blessed Opportunity to Revisit East - West

Spiritual Exchange Catholic Nuns, June 26th

The Ethics CommitteeThe Soto Zen Buddhist Association (SZBA) is made up of Soto Zen priests in the United States and a few in South America as well as a few Americans living and practicing in Japan. The organization meets every other year to discuss its direction, to hear Dharma Talks by various scholars, and to strengthen the ties that exist between Soto Zen centers.Most recently the SZBA approved its own ethics statement, a process that was in the making well over four years. This ethics statement was created as a response to problems that have cropped up within and among sanghas and teachers and offers ways of addressing those issues in a protected and safe environment. To view the SZBA ethics statement please visit: Ethics Statement. The SZBA board, of which Daishin is currently a member, is strongly encouraging all Sanghas associated with the SZBA through their teacher, to create their own ethics statement. While this is a significant request, the implications of which will be explained in greater detail below, it is of greater importance that, in carrying out this request, multiple sanghas of different lineages and styles are being asked for the first time to cooperate as one body. MEZ’s Board of Directors has agreed that we should create a subcommittee to explore topics that could be included in an ethics statement for MEZ. Our Board President Tokuen has agreed to guide this effort. The task of the subcommittee will be to generate ideas about what could be included in an ethics statement and to present them to the board for consideration. The Board is inviting 3 or 4 other precepted Sangha members to work with Tokuen on this subcommittee over the next several months. If you would like to serve in this role to help draft our ethics statement, please contact Tokuen at b9g@psu.edu by July 20th. The subcommittee will begin its work in late July or early August.

Message from our Board President - Tokuen Barbara Gray

The MEZ Board recently invited an external review of our record keeping procedures to ensure that we are handling our financial affairs appropriately.  We are pleased to let you know that our Treasurer Misho Audrey Indelicarto has been doing an excellent job with keeping our books.  The only changes that were recommended are that we get a second pair of eyes looking over the records on a regular basis.  As assistant treasurer, Tomei Tom Knapp will be performing that function for us going forward.  We extend a deep gassho to Misho for all her hard work to keep MEZ's financial records in excellent working order.

Special/Upcoming Events

Half Day of Zen (1:30 - 4:30 pm)Zen and Yoga: Freedom in Body and Mind, July 7th

Beginner’s Mind Zen, August 4thFoundations For Meditation, September 1st

Full Day of Zen (10:00 am - 4:00 pm)True Freedom, July 8th

Heat that Burns away Defilement, August 5thCooling Down the Mind, September 2nd

Sesshin Schedule

Mid Summer Sesshin, July 20th - 22ndCandles on the River Sesshin, August 17th - 19th

Early Fall Sesshin, September 14th - 16thOctober Sesshin, October 19th - 21st

Zen Arts Day, July 14th 10 - 11:30am Iced Omatcha Tea Ceremony under the Giant

Linden Tree1:30 - 3:00pm Zen Heart-Brush Calligraphy- Freestyle

(Participation in Half or Both Acceptable)

Registration for Special Events: daishin@mtequity.org or (570) 546-2784Note that Sesshin requires prior approval by the Abbess for new people.

Up-Coming Yoga Schedule at MEZThursday, July 5th, 12th, and 19th, 5:45 - 6:45pm

Gratitude to the following people for making offerings of food and related items the months of May and June: Rev. Josho Phelan, Nanshin, Tomei, Eido, Myodo, Susan Gresens, Doko, Domon, Dendo, Meigetsu, Tokuen, Keien, Nanso, Shudo, Ariane de Bremond, Teijun, Annie Deighton, Misho, I’en, Susan Faeder, Mimi Rice, Daijun, Koen, and all others we may have inadvertently missed.

MEZ Board MembersTokuen Gray - President Nanshin White - Vice PresidentJido Lindauer - SecretaryMisho Indelicarto - TreasurerTomei Knapp - Assistant Treasurer

“What speaks of our fragile life... The moonlight shining in a bead of water trembling on the tip of a heron’s beak.” --Zen Master Dogen