Tag: Spring

Posted on

Zen and the Art of Tea

On Saturday April 3rd, we’ll meet online at 10:00am PDT (13:00 EDT, 19:00 CET) to attend a tea ceremony (Chanoyu). 

An opportunity for us to gather, share a bowl of tea, a quote or verse, and celebrate the awakening of spring. 

See the attachment for a calligraphy and commentary by Roshi of the verse:

“ Scoop up water and the moon is in your hands. Toy with flowers and their fragrance scents your garments..”

Sokan will host the tea ceremony, offering tea and lead us through preparing our own bowl of matcha if we wish. No matcha? please brew a cup of your favourite drink and come along. 

Once we’ve made our tea, we’ll quietly savour the moment together, and if we wish, take turns and share a verse or quote that inspires us. Being together, creating a quiet space, sharing spare words. 

Before the tea ceremony starts, we’ll open with zazen, so organize your tea items before hand. 

Depending on time there may be questions, and discussion on the practice of tea and zen after the closing. 

We plan to gather on the first saturday of each month and share tea. 

“Chanoyu must be made with the heart,
not with the hand.
Make it without making it,
in the stillness of your mind”

Hamamoto Soshun

Join the Event via Zoom at this URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4166803936?pwd=T2Fob2QyMnVUaFBHV3pZK09EQVNhZz09

If you wish to donate to support Tahoma and Chanoyu at Tahoma: Tahoma Donations

Gassho,
Gensho & Sokan 

Posted on

April 2019 Day of Practice


April Day of Practice at Tahoma 

Continuing our regularly scheduled day of practice we will devote Saturday April 20th  to zazen. As we move into spring our efforts turns to preparing the garden for the monasteries needs. Thus for this Day of Practice we will follow closer to a Samu Sesshin Schedule and devote several hours in the morning to work practice in the garden.  People are welcome to come just for the garden work as this is also one of our Garden Saturdays for the month of April.

This year for the reading and study portion of the practice day we are going to be focusing on the Diamond Sutra. We will be utilizing the Red Pine translation and  along with  the commentary by the Sixth Patriarch Hui-neng, in The Sutra of Hui-neng,  if you’d like to engage in this with your own copy.  As always one is welcome to come before evening zazen on Friday and stay through Zazenkai on Sunday for a full 36 hours of practice. Further details on practice at Tahoma over this weekend can be found at the end of this post.

The Schedule for this day will be:

4:50 Seated in Zendo; Gosei
5:00 Choka (Sutras)
5:40 Zazen
5:55 Kinhin
6:00 Han; Zazen; Zazen
6:55 Breakfast
Breakfast Cleanup
8:15 Samu (Clappers; meet at deck)
10:40 Samu ends (Clappers)
11:00  Seated in Zendo; Gosei
11:10 Zazen; Zazen
12:00 Lunch
Kitchen Cleanup
1:50 Seated in Zendo; Gosei
2:00 Reading; Zazen; Zazen; Kinhin; Zazen; Zazen*
4:00 Supper (optional, free-style)*
5:20 Seated in Zendo; Gosei
5:30 Zazen; Zazen; Kinhin;
6:30 Zazen; Zazen; Kinhin; Zazen; Zazen
8:30 Kaichin in kitchen
Yaza

The Monastery’s regularly scheduled periods of zazen from 5 am to 7 am and 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm will still be observed and anyone can drop in for either of these or any of the other zazen periods. You are also welcome to arrive on Friday before the Practice Day and/or stay though Zazenkai on Sunday, if you’d like to extend your practice. In all cases it is expected that the monasteries schedule will be followed.

Please email us If you’d like to attend, especially if you will be coming early or staying later or if you have any questions:
tahoma@whidbey.com

*  Note
 In the case that the only registered participants in the Day of Practice are Monastery Residents, the 2pm to 4pm  period will be freestyle zazen. Drop-ins are welcome to sit in the zendo, just know that it will be unstructured until Zazen at 5:20pm.