Tonight we will have a short service followed by two periods of Zazen with an interval of Kinhin (5 minutes of slow walking in between). We will conclude by chanting the refuges in Pali.
Please feel welcome to stay on zoom if you are able to share greetings with the sangha.
Please put your zoom in gallery mode, and keep your video link on while muting your mic until the end of the service – Feel welcome to face away from your device camera while keeping your presence visible in the frame for others in attendance to see and know you are there. Please refrain from moving your device around while others are sitting zazen with you.
The All Beings Zen Sangha welcomes and affirms all who come here to seek the Way, and who will work toward respectful acceptance of others across our many differences, harmonizing the one and the many.
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Zenshji 100th Anniversary: A Series of Lectures and Conversations is a series to commemorate Zenshuji Soto Mission’s 100th Anniversary, which is the 100th anniversary of Soto Zen in North America. The temple was founded in 1922 as the first official branch of Soto Zen in North America. Events in the series explore the diverse and emerging story of American Zen, and Zenshuji’s contribution to it. There will be one lecture or conversation a month till November 2022.
The first lecture in the series will begin Saturday, January 22, 2022, at 8pm Eastern Time offered by Prof. Duncan Ryuken Williams titled “Zen at the Half-Century: Zenshuji Temple and the WWII Incarceration of Japanese Americans.”
Please visit Zenshuji.org for more information about the lecture series which will be offered by Zoom and hybrid Zoom/in-person for those in the Los Angeles, CA, area. Email the Zenshuji webmaster to receive a Zoom link for the lectures (email information is available on the lecture series flyer on the website).
“The International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism announces that our beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has passed away peacefully at Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, Vietnam, at 00:00hrs on 22nd January, 2022, at the age of 95.
We invite our global spiritual family to take a few moments to be still, to come back to our mindful breathing, as we together hold Thay in our hearts in peace and loving gratitude for all he has offered the world.”
Saturday January 22, 2022 – 2:30pm : Rev. Seigaku Amato will lead an online workshop on carving a “chop” (hanks) or name seal. Use this link to join. If asked for a password use 412621
Practice carving can be done with vegetables such as a carrot or potato!
Tuesday, January 18: Dharma Tea at 2pm led by our most recent former Shuso, Shōryū Christopher Leader on the topic of “Act in the Moment”. Shōryū will I’ll discuss acting now rather than trying to schedule one’s kindness/compassion/generosity. Use this link to join. If asked use this password 784873. As the norm we will begin with 5 minutes of silent tea drinking. All are welcome
Tuesday, January 11th: Dharma Tea at 2pm led by Myōshin Annie Markovich on the topic of “Bearing witness in Auschwitz”. In the late fall of 2021 Myōshin joined in an in-person and outdoor Sesshin (Zen Retreat) on the site of the former internment camp. This is one of many retreats of this type that Myōshin has participated in during of the years of her zen practice. Join us to learn about her profound experiences and insights. To join use this link. If asked for a password use 784873
January 8, 2022 – 2pm : Rev. Seigaku Amato joins ABZS for a discussion about his graphic book, The Complete Illustrated Guide to Zen. Use this link to join if asked for a password use 810749.
Here is the link to join us via the cloud zendo at 7PM for the All Beings Zen Sangha evening program. Tonight we will have short service followed by two periods of Zazen. We will have our monthly “pass the feather” sharing and we will close by chanting the Refuges.
If you are asked for a password please use this 641260
Please put your zoom in gallery mode, and keep your video link on while muting your mic until the end of the service – Feel welcome to face away from your device camera while keeping your presence visible in the frame for others in attendance to see and know you are there. Please refrain from moving your device around while others are sitting zazen with you.
Order of Service
Greeting by the Kokyo
Enmei Jukko Kannon Gyo
Heart Sutra in English
All Buddhas Chant
25 Minute Zazen Period
5 minute Kinhin (slow walking) or stretch
25 Minute Zazen Period
Four Great Vows
Pass the feather
Refuges in Pali
THE FOUR GREAT VOWS
Beings are numberless; I vow to save them.
Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow to end them.
Dharma Gates are boundless; I vow to enter them.
Buddha’s way is unsurpassable; I vow to become it.
Enmei Jukko Kannon Gyo
KAN ZEON
NA MU BUTSU
YO BUTSU U IN
YO BUTSU U EN
BUP PO SO EN
JO RAKU GA JO
CHO NEN KANZEON
BO NEN KANZEON
NEN NEN JU SHIN KI
NEN NEN FU RI SHIN
Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,
when deeply practicing prajña paramita,⨀
clearly saw that all five aggregates are empty
and thus relieved all suffering.
Shariputra,
form does not differ from emptiness,
emptiness does not differ from form.
Form itself is emptiness,
emptiness itself form.
Sensations, perceptions, formations,
and consciousness are also like this.
Shariputra,
all dharmas are marked by emptiness;
they neither arise nor cease,
are neither defiled nor pure,
neither increase nor decrease.
Therefore, given emptiness, there is
no form, no sensation, no perception,
no formation no consciousness;
no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue,
no body, no mind;
no sight, no sound, no smell, no taste,
no touch, no object of mind;
no realm of sight… no realm of mind consciousness
There is neither ignorance nor extinction of ignorance…
neither old age and death,
nor extinction of old age and death;
no suffering, no cause, no cessation, no path;
no knowledge and no attainment.
With nothing to attain,
a bodhisattva relies on prajña paramita,⨀
and thus the mind is without hindrance.
Without hindrance, there is no fear.
Far beyond all inverted views, one realizes nirvana.
All buddhas of past, present, and future
rely on prajña paramita ⨀ and thereby attain
unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.
Therefore, know the prajña paramita ⨀ as
the great miraculous mantra,
the great bright mantra,
the supreme mantra,
the incomparable mantra,
which removes all suffering
and is true, not false.
Therefore we proclaim the prajña paramita ⨀mantra,,
For the health and well-being of everyone, the zendo will continue be closed for in-person practice until the end of January 2022. We will continue to offer our normal services over Zoom in our cloud zendo, please join us!
We will reassess this in-person closure at the end of January and will communicate a path forward to the sangha at that time.
Join All Beings Zen Sangha for Zazen practice and a Dharma Talk offered by our abiding teacher Rev. Inryū Poncé-Barger on the topic of “Seeing what is in front of us as sacred”. Use this link to sign in. If asked for a password use 641260
Photograph by Shōryū Christopher Leader
Order of Service
Welcome from the Kokyo
Chanting of the “Song of the Grass Hut”
Dedication
30 minutes of Zazen
Inryū Sensei’s Dharma Talk
Chanting of the Refuges in Pali
Soanka: Song of the Grass Hut
I’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value.
After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap.
When it was completed, fresh weeds appeared.
Now it’s been lived in —covered by weeds.
The person in the hut lives here calmly,
Not stuck to inside, outside, or in-between.
Places worldly people live, he doesn’t live.
Realms worldly people love, she doesn’t love.
Though the hut is small, it includes the entire world.
In ten feet square, an old man illumines forms and their nature.
A Mahayana bodhisattva trusts without doubt.
Will this hut perish or not?
Perishable or not, the original master is present,
Not dwelling south or north, east or west.
Firmly based on steadiness, it can’t be surpassed.
A shining window below the green pines—
Jade palaces or vermilion towers can’t compare with it.
Just sitting with head covered all things are at rest.
Thus, this mountain monk doesn’t understand at all.
Living here she no longer works to get free.
Who would proudly arrange seats, trying to entice guests?
Turn around the light to shine within, then just return.
The vast inconceivable source can’t be faced or turned away from.
Meet the ancestral teachers, be familiar with their instructions,
Bind grasses to build a hut, and don’t give up.
Let go of hundreds of years and relax completely.
Open your hands and walk, innocent.
Thousands of words, myriad interpretations,
Are only to free you from obstructions.
If you want to know the undying person in the hut,
All Beings Zen Sangha Covid Protocol Effective December 22, 2021
In the spirit of our recent Ango, and for the time being All Beings Zen Sangha Board of Directors is updating our COVID protocol amidst the myriad concerns of the Omicron variant.
Over the next three weeks, the zendo will be closed for in-person/group practice. We will continue to offer our normal services over Zoom in our cloud zendo during this period. We will reassess this closure in early January and communicate a path forward to the sangha at that time.
We are aware that returning to all-online services may be difficult for some of you. If you need help navigating or have any issues with Zoom, please reach out and we will do our best to assist you. Inryu-Sensei will continue to be available for dokusan. If you would like to have a 1-on-1 meeting with Sensei please send an email to: inryu@allbeingszen.org.
In an effort to be proactive in our care for you and the space we practice in, the following changes are effective starting on Wednesday, December 22nd:
To attend in-person events, you will need to have received a booster shot in addition to the two-vaccines. A revised signature sheet will be provided for you to initial to this effect.
In-person events will require a KN95 or N95 mask. We have a small number of these available for distribution in the zendo but it would be helpful if you are able to get and bring your own KN95/N95 mask..
These decisions were not made lightly. We feel that ensuring your health and safety in our practice space is important, especially during this season of increased travel and exposure. We will continue to support your practice however we are able, and we will continue to post a link to our online practice events at www.allbeingszen.org. We hope to see you there.
