By Hokuto Daniel Diffin Osho

Perhaps you know the story of Kyogen Chikan, who studied under the renowned Zen Master Isan Reiyu. Despite years of sincere effort and diligent practice, when Isan asked him to demonstrate the original face he had before he was born, Kyogen was speechless, unable to respond. Frustrated and ashamed, he burned the sutras and notes he’d accumulated and left the monastery, retiring to the gravesite of National Teacher Chu, which had been neglected and become overgrown with weeds. There, he passed months then years, humbly tending the grounds. One day, working in the garden, he dislodged a pebble that struck a hollow bamboo stalk. THWOCK! Suddenly, everything changed! He saw his own original face and the original nature of all things. Afterward, he sent a verse to Isan, who recognized his enlightenment. But Isan’s Dharma Heir, Kyozan, decided to visit Kyogen, to test his enlightenment. In answer to Kyozan’s questions, Kyogen wrote another verse:

Last year’s poverty was not real poverty.
This year’s poverty is finally genuine poverty.
In last year’s poverty there was still ground where I could plant my hoe,
In this year’s poverty, not even the hoe remains.

We are spiritual descendants of Kyogen, searching for our original face, our true nature; and, like Kyogen, we need to tend the grounds, patiently and humbly, until our true nature is revealed and we discover ‘genuine poverty.’ But we live in 21st Century America, not 8th Century China, so how do we ‘tend the grounds?’

For those of us who have chosen the Zen Studies Society and its temples as our spiritual home, we do so by seeking refuge in the beloved community of our Sangha and participating in all the activities that ZSS offers. But we must also ‘tend the grounds’ by caring for the physical condition of our temples.

Last year, the Zen Studies Society launched the Monastery Restoration Campaign, raising funds to repair and upgrade the aging infrastructure and grounds of Dai Bosatsu Zendo. Thanks to your generosity, we have made great progress, updating the heating system for our temples, and beginning the installation of a solar array to lower energy costs and greatly improve our carbon footprint. The beautiful Bonsho bell tower that was in danger of collapse has been rebuilt, and other vitally necessary repairs have begun. Envisioned as a multi-year campaign, we are proud of our success in the first year, having raised just over half of the required funds; but for the work to be accomplished, we need each of you to be as generous as possible this year.

So please ‘tend the grounds’ both through your participation in all the activities that ZSS offers and through generously supporting the Monastery Restoration Campaign.