Zen Studies Society

2024 Year-end Invitation from Hokuto Osho

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By Hokuto Daniel Diffin Osho

May you live in interesting times.

This curse, supposedly from ancient China, was first pronounced in a speech by a British diplomat in 1936. At that time, the Great Depression had a grip on America and Europe, Hitler was building the German army and threatening neighboring countries, and the great international debate centered on whether it was communism or fascism that would eventually rule the world. Interesting times, indeed.

Once again, we live in interesting times. The world seems filled with madness, badness, and worse. And yet, we have no choice but to go on, turning to one another to lift each other up.

At times like these, the concept of refuge becomes increasingly important. How do you take refuge? Where do you take refuge? When the world is filled with madness, where do you find sanity, purpose, and community?

I take refuge in the Buddha
I take refuge in the Dharma
I take refuge in the Sangha

We find refuge in the example of the Buddha and the living Bodhisattvas among us; we find refuge in the teachings, accumulated and refined over the centuries, and renewed in each of us every time we sit in the clarity of zazen; and we find refuge in the community of like-minded practitioners, practicing for no other purpose than to find the wisdom, compassion, and joy that is everybody’s birthright.

The three treasures are our refuge; the three refuges are our treasure.

These treasures are available to each of us, and are accessible anytime, anywhere. And yet…discovering and exploring them through practice also requires an actual physical place of refuge and dedicated teachers to guide us deeper into the dharma.

We are very fortunate that the Zen Studies Society provides us with both an urban temple and a beautiful mountain monastery where the Sangha can gather and study with wonderful teachers, especially our Abbot, Chigan Roshi, and our beloved retired Abbot, Shinge Roshi, as well as a growing number of associated Dharma teachers.

2024 Year-end Affirmation from Chigan Roshi

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By Chigan Roland Jaeckel Roshi

As winter draws closer and we approach the last few weeks of the year, the days get shorter and darkness outlasts the sunlight hours. Along with the natural phenomenon of the changing seasons, change is also unfolding simultaneously in our society and the world. As a spiritual person, a human being who is walking the path of the Bodhisattva, how do we move forward in difficult situations? How do we embrace societal challenges as opportunities for practice instead of falling into despair, anger, or fruitless struggle? How do we make a real difference?

In a world where division, polarization, and fear are used to compete for power and influence, the promise of a path that guided a human being named Siddartha Gautama to become a liberated being—a Buddha—is of the utmost importance. Although we practice as individuals, we inevitably awaken to the insight that life is indivisible. An essential step in our spiritual journey is to examine the workings of the two-dimensional mind and look deeply into the nature of duality. We learn that viewing the human condition exclusively from a dualistic perspective reinforces the cycle of suffering, known in Buddhist teachings as samsara. Concepts like victory and defeat, winning and losing, or us versus them, are dear to the dualistic perspective and fuel the workings of a limited, self-referential mind. Through introspection, cultivating stillness, and quieting this mind, we discover that these two-dimensional concepts are delusions. Another aspect of the self-referential mind is identity, a function crucial in society and interpersonal interaction. As long as we understand that identity, at its core, is merely a set of safe limits that allow us to interact, all is well. But when we attach to a fixed identity, we imprison ourselves in just a tiny compartment of our whole being and inevitably suffer the effects of spiritual poverty.

When events in the world provoke fear, disappointment, or concern, we tend to react with opposition, resistance, and anger. As practitioners, we are called to step beyond the two-dimensional mechanics of opposition. Merely reacting in this way only perpetuates fragmentation and strife.

Formal Zen training is a unique way to realize and experience the indivisibility of all existence. Continuous and diligent practice is needed to ripen and mature our ability to embrace challenges and act in a more holistic and wholesome manner. New York Zendo Shobo-ji and Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji are rare places that offer this time-honored practice of introspection and awakening. We offer the world access to this practice and are grateful to everyone who chooses to walk this path. The need for places of refuge and safe practice, such as our temples, where this exploration is available in a supportive environment, is of increased importance in times of significant challenges.

As a token of our appreciation, we have shared an affirmation to help refresh our commitment to the path of the Bodhisattva. Let it remind us of the need to awaken, be clear, and walk with determination and unwavering curiosity.

2024 MRC Message from Shinge Roshi

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By Shinge Sherry Chayat Roshi

In 1974, just 50 years ago, a small group of us began living in the Joraku-an, now known as the Beecher House. The Zen Studies Society had purchased 1,400 wooded acres surrounding Beecher Lake in the spring of 1971, and on September 13, 1972, Soen Nakagawa Roshi led the Kaisanshiki, “ceremony for opening the mountain,” where the new monastery, International Dai Bosatsu Zendo KongoJi, would be built.

As president of the board of ZSS, the young monk Eido Tai Shimano addressed the mountain, asking “forgiveness for our destruction and pollution of all rocks, trees, grasses, masses and nature” and asking “permission to establish a Zen monastery on this very site … May this place be peaceful, calm, creative and harmonious for all the years to come and for all people who may come here, generation after generation.”

Soen Roshi offered this verse:

In this bottomless lake
Let us put sun, moon and all stars;
On this boundless field
Countless bodhisattvas are being born—
Niii!

We residents of the Joraku-an (the name coming from the line “jo raku ga jo” in our Kanzeon chanting: “eternal, joyous, selfless, pure)” sat, chanted, cleaned, planted a large vegetable garden, tapped maples for syrup, and each winter morning before dawn took our old blue pickup truck out to clear and sand the road so that the construction vehicles could get to the building site. We watched in awe as the steel frame and cinder blocks rose higher and the graceful arcs of the cedar roof took form. Then, even before we would carry the Tasmanian oak floor boards up the hill, we did sesshin on the sheetrock underlayment. “The deeper our samadhi went, the higher the roof soared,” Eido Roshi wrote in Namu Dai Bosa: A Transmission of Zen Buddhism to America.

It’s hard to believe that half a century has passed, with all its depths and heights, dark shadows and bright lights. The same ardent love of practice, the same aspiration to offer it to “generation after generation,” has resulted in a beautiful renovation of the Beecher House and now, the badly needed restoration of the monastery itself.

From the earliest days, our focus has been on conserving resources and minimizing our carbon footprint. Living through the long, cold winters at 3,000 feet, we know the dire importance of a dependable heating system. Unfortunately, the original baseboard hot water system, for all its clanking and wheezing, has never been effective, whether we’ve fired up the boilers with wood, biomass pellets, or propane.

Now the technology has caught up with our needs: heat pumps have been installed in the Zendo and Dharma Hall as part of Phase I-a of our restoration (as they have been at the Beecher House and at New York Zendo), giving reliable heat in cold weather and drying up the humidity to create coolness on summer days. The first part of the solar array that will pay for the electricity used for this technology is nearly finished.

Generous gifts from our Sangha and Dharma Friends have also allowed us to start Phase I-b, which includes heat pumps and “splits” for the guest rooms on the first and second floors, as well as the library/yoga room and abbot’s apartment; and installing proper insulation throughout the building.

From my long vantage point, this is an exciting time. In just two years, we will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the formal opening of International Dai Bosatsu Zendo KongoJi on July 4, 1976. Every inch of this building is imbued with the sincere practice and resounding vow undertaken by all of us. How appropriate, how essential it is to do everything we can to restore our spiritual home.

With that in mind, please consider adopting a project in Phase II of the Monastery Restoration:

  • Finish the final phase of the solar panel installation $55,000
  • Restore the masonry walls, $12,000
  • Reset the bluestone patio, $61,750
  • Repair fascia/rafter tails on the roof, $13,200
  • Repair stairs to residents’ quarters, $1,500
  • Install dehumidifiers in utility areas, $7,500
  • Replace 13 handmade oak doors, $50,000
  • Paint interior spaces, $35,000

Thank you for joining me in this worthy effort. Let’s do our best!

2024 MRC DBZ Video Series: Together we Build

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By Jifu Devyani Sadh

We are excited to share our latest video, Together We Build: Join the DBZ Legacy, which showcases the crucial projects we need to fund Phase II of the Dai Bosatsu Zendo Monastery Restoration Campaign. In this update, Keirin Brian Smith highlights the key areas where your support can make a significant difference. You may have already seen our videos on completed and in-progress projects in the DBZ Monastery Video Series.

Chigan Roshi’s heartfelt appeal invites us to “carry forward the spark of the energy of Universal Life throughout these endless dimensions, making it possible for new practitioners to encounter the Dharma Jewel at Dai Bosatsu Zendo, and for long-time practitioners to return and continue to walk this path of the bodhisattva.” Similarly, Hokuto Osho encourages us to “search for our original face, our true nature; and, like Kyogen, ‘tend the grounds,’ patiently and humbly, until our true nature is revealed.”

In the spirit of shared stewardship, we invite you to “Adopt A Project.” This initiative offers you a unique opportunity to make a tangible impact on our renewal efforts. Our projects span both the interior and exterior of DBZ, varying in scale and expense, so you can choose the one that resonates most with you:

  • Restore the masonry walls: $12,000
  • Reset the bluestone patio: $61,750
  • Repair fascia/rafter tails on the roof: $13,200
  • Repair stairs to resident quarters: $1,500
  • Install dehumidifiers in utility areas: $7,500
  • Replace 13 handmade oak doors: $50,000
  • Paint interior spaces: $35,000
  • Install a large solar panel (Part II): $55,000

Every achievement and future aspiration at DBZ is made possible through the generous donations of our Sangha. Whether you choose to adopt a project or contribute to the general Monastery Restoration Fund, your timely donation or pledge will enable us to scope out and plan these essential endeavors. Contributions can be made online or by check, while pledges can be made via email.

Together, we can preserve and enhance DBZ, a spiritual home cherished by so many. Join us in this meaningful pursuit and help us build the future of Dai Bosatsu Zendo.

2024 MRC The Original Face Before You Were Born

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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.

2024 A Grateful Return by Shinge Roshi

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By Shinge Sherry Chayat Roshi

I can’t describe my recent visit to Japan without using a cliché: it was the trip of a lifetime. The last time I was there, in 2017, was certainly a peak experience—Chigan Roshi and his wife, Shuko Rubin; Myogen Conor Keenan and his wife, Kai Sasahara, and Myoku Miyo Hirano and I were guests of Noritake Shunan Roshi, abbot of Reiun-in, who made it possible for us to attend the 250th commemoration of Hakuin Ekaku Zenji at RyutakuJi in Mishima and additional ceremonies at MyoshinJi. It was a rich and fulfilling time, an unsurpassable time—surely my last in Japan, I thought.

Then the invitation came: on May 26, 2024, Yamakawa Sogen Roshi, abbot of ShogenJi and KokokuJi, would be installed as Kancho (supreme abbot) of MyoshinJi, one of the Rinzai School headquarters. The Kyoto temple complex includes 46 sub-temples, including Reiun-in, spread across a vast area connected by stone pathways. I immediately accepted. Chigan Roshi could not attend, but special funding arrangements were made through the generosity of several donors so that I could represent the Zen Studies Society. Read More

Locations

Dai Bosatsu Zendo
223 Beecher Lake Road
Livingston Manor, NY 12758

New York Zendo
223 East 67th Street
New York, NY 10065


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Contact Us

Dai Bosatsu Zendo
office@daibosatsu.org
(845) 439-4566

New York Zendo
office@newyorkzendo.org
(212) 861-3333