Myoju

In this issue there are writings on pilgrimage and Sanzen in Japan, refuge in the bush, refining the practice-art of mak-ing gomasio, and the struggle to maintain the sajō in secular life. Calligraphy by Ekai Osho, poetry by Nicky Coles, il- lustration by Sally Wain and a review of Painting Enlightenment – the Artwork of Iwasaki Tsuneo.

In Ekai Osho’s Dharma talk, ‘The Goal of Buddhism’ he emphasises the importance of setting a clear goal, putting it into practice, and recognising and facing the challenges as they arise. This is our dynamic nature. 

Ekai Osho’s Dharma talk ‘Everything Shines’ is an extract of a public talk given while he was in the United States in June to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Carleton-Antioch Buddhist Studies programme.

It could be said that impermanence is the great koan at the heart of our lives - the Great Life Matter. How do we actualise - endlessly express - that which we cannot grasp? What is it that we hold on to? How do we let go? I once asked Ekai Osho if he had ever undertaken koan practice. ‘Every day,’ he replied, ‘Genjokoan’.

Our feature article is the commemorative Dharma talk given by Rev. Hoitsu Suzuki Roshi who is the son of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. His words directly evoke the qualities of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, the foundational teachings of which have been at the heart of our practice and training over the last twenty years. Hoitsu Suzuki Roshi’s presence was a clear reminder of how fortunate we are as a community to have such direct links to our lineage.

In this issue we also have a focus on Zen Master Dogen’s teaching Tenzo Kyokun (Instructions to the Cook). Nothing says impermanence in the vegetable kingdom quite like a mushroom and James Watt, the Tenzo for the Jikishoan community, reveals its wonders in his student talk.

Welcome to this myoju with the theme: ‘Lineage: returning to source’, our final in the series. Ekai Osho is a bearer of the Soto Zen Buddhist lineage to Australia, a gift that as a community we are blessed to receive. Central to Ekai Osho’s unique vision is the adaptation of monastic practice into the lay context.

In this edition: You need a pot to grow a seed, by Ekai Korematsu Osho. Zendo practice, formal practice, by Teishin Shona Innes. Jikido facing out, by Tony Crivelli. Sangha news: Ordination at Toshoji; Shogoin Naming; Searching for the moon; Jikishoan Funeral Guidelines and Sutra book burning.

Issue 72 of Myoju is now available online. In this edition: A picture of a rice cake | Ekai Korematsu Osho Make yourself a light | Murakami Tokuson Roshi Making

As Jikishoan approaches its 20th anniversary in 2019, this year Myoju will explore our identity as a community through the theme of Lineage. As a young, lay community, practising in a spiritual tradition that originates far beyond our land and culture, we do not do so in isolation. 78 generations of the Soto Zen Buddhist tradition are embodied in the forms of our practice and training, allowing us to experience an inclusivity and belonging that takes us beyond our individual

Welcome to the Summer issue of Myoju, which is the last in the series on Dreams and Visions with the theme Returning. In this issue we conclude the series of Dharma Talks by Ekai Osho on Dogen Zenji’s text Muchu Setsumu. As returning is both an end and a beginning, we also present the first in a series of lectures by the great teacher and founder of Jikishoan, Ikko Narasaki Roshi.

In this issue of Myoju Ekai Osho talks of the power of legendary story as something essential and wonderful about being human. There are examples of timeless yet particular stories in this issue: from fire lighting practices in Toshoji and the fascination of beginner’s mind to the shifts and changes of aging and the transformations of pilgrimage.

In this Winter Solstice edition of Myoju, the second in a series addressing the topic Dreams and Visions. As Ekai Osho has expressed in previous issues, we can view winter as analogous to training, and spring as the time of flourishing.

<p>This issue introduces the theme Dreams and Visions,&nbsp;with a focus on purity, or practice. In it, we celebrate the&nbsp;expression of Ekai Osho’s dream: the creation of a new&nbsp;Zendo for the&#8230;</p>This issue introduces the theme Dreams and Visions, with a focus on purity, or practice. In it, we celebrate the expression of Ekai Osho’s dream: the creation of a new Zendo for the practice and teaching of Zen Buddhism in Melbourne.

In this issue, Ekai Osho talks of the self connected with reality, and quotes Dogen Zenji in telling us that “The way is originally perfect and all pervading”... This is what we must have faith in, letting go of ourselves as we seek reality.

The usual translation of the Japanese word Nin is ‘patience,’ but perhaps ‘constancy’ is a better word. Shunryu Suzuki Roshi said, ‘You develop the composure’. In Zen Mind Beginners Mind, he talks about the historical Buddha as being no different to us. When something happens, an emotional or unfortunate thing or something sad, the Buddha suffers emotionally, he experiences that kind of emotion.

This issue of Myoju is the first of several issues with the theme Cultivating Faith. Shunryu Suzuki Roshi said, ‘You develop the composure’. In Zen Mind Beginners Mind, he talks about the historical Buddha as being no different to us. When something happens, an emotional or unfortunate thing or something sad, the Buddha suffers emotionally, he experiences that kind of emotion. But his view of the world, of life, is stable and composed. How is this possible? It is faith.

Ekai Osho’s Dharma talk reminds us of the power of the kitchen as a place for practice of the Three Minds: joyful mind, parental mind and magnanimous mind.

In this issue: A Huge Loop, by Ekai Korematsu Osho, on returning to the USA after 25 years; Liam Tosen’s Lay Ordination, by Vincent Vuu; The Journey Home, by Azhar Abidi …and much more.

The theme of the Spring 2015 issue is Lineage in Practice and features articles by Ekai Korematsu Osho and Jikishoan members.