By Kyotai Amanda Hill

Endless is my vow
Under the azure
Boundless autumn

-Soen Nakagawa Roshi

We recently celebrated the founding of Dai Bosatsu Zendo on July 4th during Anniversary Sesshin. Chanting Tei Dai Denpo always connects us to our ancestors, but Anniversary Sesshin has a unique ability to unite us with the past generations and founders of this beautiful mountain temple. In Endless Vow: The Zen Path of Soen Nakagawa, Eido Roshi notes in the introduction, “Monk Soen began chanting Namu Dai Bosa on Mount Dai Bosatsu in Japan, and the forcefield of his energy soon reached America.”

Decades ago, Soen Roshi offered seeds from Japan to be planted and nourished in the Catskill Mountains of New York. And today we are still connected with his Namu Dai Bosa and aspirations to bring Zen to the United States. Eido Roshi goes on to describe, “The echo of his solitary chanting resounded; its energy emanated throughout the world, resonating and intermingling with that of many others in the endless dimensional Dai Bosatsu mandala, whether seen or not seen, whether heard or not heard, whether realized or not.”

In this way, we see Soen Roshi’s vow and intention continue to unfold around us, fueling our own vows and intentions to offer the same to future generations. In Endless Vow, a mandala has been described as “a visual representation of the interconnectedness of the whole cosmos. It includes form and nonform, being and nonbeing. Through the mysterious and subtle interweaving of action and reaction, an entity is created, yet without fixed identity.” This vivid description reminds us of the deep interpenetration of the past and future in this present moment and the responsibility we all share in weaving this mandala together.

In the same vein as a mandala, the Avatamsaka Sutra points towards a complex web of interconnectedness between all things. As we begin to see ourselves in all things, we realize the capacity we have to experience these connections in our own bodies. As the boundaries of self and other fall away, this naturally leads us to a place of taking great care of each other in all activities. At the culmination of this sutra, Samantabhadra reveals his ten vows as guidelines for living as a bodhisattva. The ninth vow particularly caught my attention calling us to benefit all beings or act in accordance with all beings.

Samantabhadra, Universal Worthy, the bodhisattva of great activity, reminds us today to continually act in accordance with ALL beings. What are the seeds we want to plant and nourish to come to fruition far beyond the span of our human life? In The Way of the Bodhisattva, Shantideva provides similar advice for operating in this way to “Regard your body as a vessel, a simple boat for going here and there. Make of it a thing that answers every wish to bring about the benefit of beings.”

As we enjoy the last vestiges of summer and prepare for fall, let’s remember the vows of our ancestors and reaffirm our own vows. In all activities of our lives, are we considering the vast wide mandala interconnected with the entire cosmos, throughout all space and time, and our small, yet mighty role in this very moment to nourish these dharma seeds planted by all those who came before us with great vows? Namu Dai Bosa!

When the mandala governs, the people are hardly aware it exists.
The mandala doesn’t talk, it acts.
When its work is done,
The people say, “Amazing:
We did it, all by ourselves!

-Tao Te Ching, chapter 17

By Kyotai Amanda Hill

“The purpose of a Zen community, to embody fully the reality of buddha nature, is not at all separate from achieving harmony with the natural environment and its rhythms. The community practice forms reflect the ecological Buddhist worldview of mutual interdependence.”

– Dogen, Pure Standards for a Zen Community

The days grow longer, the sun appears higher in the sky, and a tiny crocus peeks through the snow – the first breaths of spring come to our attention. Being engaged with ourselves and the environment, the separateness disappears.

Observing the Winter Sky

Orion, the hunter, has long been a favorite constellation of the winter sky as it’s easily identifiable with the three bright stars of his belt: Alnilam, Mintaka, and Alnitak. Even as we name these stars, imagining a picture and myth to explain our place in this universe, other cultures make alternate inferences. Lakota Native Americans viewed these same three stars as the back of a bison, with neighboring stars creating the remainder of the mammal.

Following the line of Orion’s belt to the north, you will find Pleiades, a star cluster also known as the Seven Sisters because of its seven main visible stars. Subaru, the Japanese word for Pleiades, means “united” or “gather together.” For fans of The Lord of the Rings, this star cluster is thought to be the inspiration for Remmirath, rem (mesh) and mir (jewel), or the Netted Stars.

Awakening of the Forest

Male bears are beginning to emerge from hibernation, while their female counterparts will remain longer. We may begin to see the woodcocks as an initial sign of the spring migration, soon the warblers and songbirds will follow. The daffodils, snowdrops, and crocus begin to bloom, and minute red buds can be seen on the maple trees. The earth is opening before our eyes.

Below the Frozen Waters

As the ice begins to melt, the dripping sound of water permeates the air. The nutrients that have settled on the bottom of lakes and ponds over the winter stir, offering an opportunity for growth. All the dormant life, being nourished, slowly awakens to the spring. Soon the frogs’ resounding croaks will be evident.

I am reminded of Indra’s Net, which metaphorically represents dependent origination, depicting the universe as a network of interconnected jewels, each reflecting the light of others. Francis Cook wrote, “The Hua-yen school has been fond of this image, mentioned many times in literature because it symbolizes a cosmos in which there is an infinitely repeated interrelationship among all members of the cosmos.” I often consider this, acknowledging that all of my speech and actions affect things seen and unseen in my immediate and distant environments. Each of us reflects the other as jewels in a net or the moon on the ocean.

“Not a thing in the entire universe is missing from the present time. Observe and meditate on it deeply.” As we move into spring, Dogen’s words inspire us to take in everything, observe it deeply, feeling the unity of the internal and external.