December 2020, Issue 82

Editorial

Welcome to this edition of Myoju magazine. Our theme for this issue is Beginning: Return. This has been a remarkable year for the Tokozan Jikishoan community. All of Jikishoan’s practice activities and programs were suspended in March due to COVID-19 restrictions. Soon after, Ekai Osho launched the Online Home Learning and Retreat Program. In the same way as we practice kinhin—walking meditation—the community has moved ahead, one small step at a time, to arrive to the close of the year, having completed three six-week long online retreats. The sangha has learned many things over the last eight months, and we have grown in strength as a result. Online technology has enabled the growth of our regular practice community, which now includes students from interstate and overseas. Tokozan Temple’s daily early-morning and evening zazen practice is now firmly established. Teachers and visitors have joined us from overseas. Our small hometemples have helped nurture our collective practice.

The cover photo of the Tokozan entrance gates, taken by Lachlan Macnish, reflects the spirit of this issue—return to Temple. There is writing on endings and new beginnings: the closing of Shogoin Temple and the relocation of Thursday evening Sanzenkai to Quang Minh Temple in Braybrook. Marisha Rothman shares her experience in taking on the role of Shuso in her talk Being the Shuso. The Shuso ryo will lead the community into the next practise period starting in February 2021. Hopefully we will soon be able to return to some form of in-person practice while also offering online programs and activities. We will wait to see. I wish to thank everyone who has contributed to the production of this final issue of Myoju 2020.

Gassho, Margaret Kokyu Lynch — Coordinator On behalf of Ekai Korematsu Osho — Editor

Read this Myoju (file on Google Drive)