Three Treasures Sangha
Three Treasures Sangha of the Pacific Northwest (TTS) is a lay Zen group located in Seattle, Washington and affiliated with the Diamond Sangha, an independent lineage founded by Robert Aitken Rōshi, a dharma heir in the Sanbō Kyōdan (Harada-Yasutani-Yamada) lineage.
Verses on the Faith Mind
“Nothing hangs in the mind,/There is nothing to remember./Boundless, clear, self-illuminating–/The mind does not make efforts./ This is the place of non-thinking,/Difficult to fathom with intellect or feeling.”
Hello Everyone, I’d like to start today by saying something about the 16 Bodhisattva precepts. Our lineage looks at the precepts from 3 different vantage points–the hinayana, the mahayana and the essential. The hinayana view is quite literal. Not killing means just that. We may attempt to fulfill this vow by eating a vegetarian or vegan diet. We may try to move carefully and thoughtfully in the world and in our daily activities. We move with kindness knowing we are all kin. We attempt to lessen our footprint but the best we can do is lessen the footprint, we can never erase it. In a sense, we can only fail because for us to live, others must die.
–Jack Duffy
If you want to read Jack’s complete talk, and discuss it, head over to the Palouse (the Palouse Zen group’s website that is).
Solstice Celebration: December 23rd
Next Friday, Dec. 23, we will have our annual Solstice Celebration at the Center at 6:30am.
Here’s what we’ve planned:
- Luminary lit walkways
- Sitting in the total dark for 1/2 hr.
- Lighting candles and reading pieces relating to light/dark, life/death, ease/difficulties, etc. (bring something to read if you like or just come and listen to others)
- Bells crescendo
- 3 deep bows
- Coffee and breakfast
- Buddhist songs to Christmas tunes
Because of the nature of the event and the difficulty of coming in late in the dark we ask that you be a few minutes early.
Blue Cliff Record Case 6: Yun-Men’s Good Day
Talk given by Scott Ruplin
Zenkai, Dec. 3-4, 2011
Blue Cliff Record Case 6:
Yun-Men taught by saying, “I do not ask you about before the 15th of the month. Come, give a phrase about after the 15th:”He himself responded, “Every day is a good day”
First let’s say some words about the life and teaching of Master Yun-Men Wen Yen, who is called Ummon in Japan. Most of this information comes from The Roaring Stream, bu Foster and Shoemaker, and Zen Dust, and the book Master Yun-Men by Urs App. There’s also a pretty extensive Wikipedia entry about him. His name, and the name of the mountain where he settled, translates as “Gate of the Coulds”. The “Yun” is the Chinese word for the “Un” in the names of teachers in our line.
He was an absolutely uncompromising and extraordinary teacher. He appears 18 times in the Blue Cliff Record and 5 times in the Wumenkuan. Read more…
Holiday Social
Come join the Three Treasures Sangha’s December social gathering. We are gathering on, Wednesday, December 14th at 6pm at the home of Larry Keil and Kay Peters–331 17th Ave. E. This is a potluck, so bring a dish and your partner or friend and join us in an evening of informal conversation and feasting. Be advised that we usually have a little wine and beer at these events.
Take Care and we hope to see you then.
Larry
Talks From Beginners’ Weekend
The talks from the Beginners’ Zazenkai, held November 11-13 at Dharma Gate, can now be listened on the Mountain Lamp website:
“Talks for Beginners in 2 Parts”
Also please join the Shin Jin Mei conversation on the web. Jack and the folks from the Palouse group are studying the Verse on the Faith Mind, and Jack provides comments on the section under study that week. Then the group and individuals send in their comments. This is a lovely way to study, stay connected to practice… & you don’t have to leave your home. Please e-mail Will S. or go to http://palousezen.org/ for details on the blog.
Enjoy
Jack
Help Requested: Facility Maintenance
Dear Sangha Friends:
The Facility Committee has posted a white board in the entry to the basement that lists routine cleaning tasks with the frequency they need to be done and the date last done. If you come early for a sitting or event, please consider looking at the board and sweeping a floor, clean a bathroom. Some folks have taken on these tasks and do them routinely when they come to the center. If you are one of those folks, please write in the date you completed the task. Thanks for all you do to help us collectively maintain our facility!
Yours,
Members of the Facility Committee
(Kay Peters, Jan Mikus, Cristina Mullen, John Flynn, Ellie Graham)
2012 Practice Schedule
January
Zenkai 1/21-22
Jack unable to be in Seattle on the last Wednesday
February
Zenkai 2/18-19
Board meeting at 4pm 2/18 and general Sangha meeting at 1pm 2/19
Last Wednesday with Jack 2/29
Read more…
November weekend retreat with Jack Duffy: Nov 11, 12 & 13
I wanted to inform you all of the upcoming opportunities for practicing zazen together at Dharma Gate (formerly Seattle Practice Center). I especially wanted to let you know of our three-day weekend retreat with Jack Duffy on November 11, 12 and 13.
This is a great opportunity for all of us to more firmly ground our practice and a good time for any newcomers to experience zen meditation. We will have orientation for anyone new to the practice of zazen on both Saturday and Sunday so be sure to let those you think might be interested know about this weekend. The schedule for the weekend is copied below. For those of you living outside the Seattle area, let me know if you want to attend but need housing for Friday and/or Saturday nights. We will try to arrange housing with sangha members. Read more…
Dokusan: Wednesday, October 26
Jack will be in town for dokusan on Wednesday, Octoer 26th. Regular zazen and dokusan will begin at 6:30 pm.
To accommodate more people being able to see Jack, there is a sign-up sheet for dokusan in 10-minute increments (self-monitored) at 5:30-5:40, 5:40-5:50, 5:50-6:00, 6:00-6:10, and 6:10-6:20.
To sign up:
Contact Karen Rosenstiel before Wednesday evening by email at:
karenr7@q.com or telephone her at (206) 325-4334 (leave a message if necessary).
Here’s how to participate:
1. Each person will be responsible for monitoring their own 10 minute allotment (or less), out of respect for fellow sangha members.
2. Whoever comes to early dokusan is committing to stay for evening sitting — this isn’t a short-cut and a way to miss sitting with the group!
3. If you have been to early dokusan, please do not put out your card during evening sitting.
Warmly,
Karen Rosenstiel
Poem: A Pact by Sibyl James
I make a pact with you, Walt Whitman.
I have detested you long enough.
I come to you as a grown child
Who has had a pig-headed father.
I am old enough now to make friends.
- Ezra Pound
A Pact
I come to make my peace
with you, mu. With the ambiguity
of your signals
and the way you distort them,
like a teenage boy in lust
reading his girlfriend’s no as yes.
In that old back and white movie,
To Have and Have Not,
you’re the grey of Humphrey Bogart,
the reluctant hero who only briefly
gets the girl.
And still you’d claim
to name it all, the emptiness
that’s full, the darkness
pregnant with the moon and stars.
Entering the portals of your face,
I breathe you out
and hope to lose myself.
–
