Message from the President
by Tim Kennedy

Well, right now I am reading the new book by Reb Anderson, Being Upright. I ran across something that made me pause-I had to think about this. "The great master Yunmen was once asked by a monk, 'What was the Buddha teaching his entire lifetime?' Yunmen answered, 'An appropriate response.'"

Part of the reason I was taken aback by this was that I thought I had heard most all of the pithy Buddha sayings-but here was a new one on me. And then I thought that it was uncharacteristic. I am more familiar with the "Be a lamp unto yourself" kind of advice. And this seems different.

As I read on in the book, he explains how Buddha was so concerned with each individual he met. And, like Buddha, for each of us, each situation which arises requires our presence and a response. How can I respond appropriately?

Recently we had a board meeting: How does one respond appropriately to what goes on there? Do we pause and consider what the other is saying? That is hard. Things go fast in a board meeting with such very bright people. How should we respond? I can't say that all of what goes on at a meeting is exactly what I would want-and I am the president. It is hard for me to know how to respond at these times. I do know that all of the board members are doing the best that they can. I know that I appreciate their efforts. This is part of my response.

Since Reb brought up Yunmen (Ummon in Japanese), I was reminded of another story of Ummon. In "Ummon's Kitchen and Main Gate," there is the story of his questioning his students. The students do not respond to his question, so he answers for them. It must be hard when asked a koan to present the appropriate response-and I had the sense that one of the assembled monks could do it. So what would I do if I was there? Could I come up with a response-would it be the "appropriate response"? Does life present itself as a koan more often than I think? It reminds me of Dogen's Genjo-koan and how he seems to be saying that that is what all of life is-a koan that requires a response. I really haven't been living my life that way. Maybe I should wake up to the request to an appropriate response. Then the Buddha's teaching might mean more to me.

Gassho,

Tim Kennedy

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Sangha News

- Reb Anderson to Lead Stillpoint Sesshin -
Tenshin Reb Anderson, senior dharma teacher and former abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center, will lead a four-day sesshin in Pittsburgh from June 1 through 4.

Reb Anderson, Tenshin Roshi is a lineage holder in the Soto Zen tradition. He was ordained as a priest by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in 1970. He served as abbot of San Francisco Zen Center from 1986 to 1995, and continues to teach there. He is the author of Warm Smiles from Cold Mountains: Dharma Talks on Zen Meditation and Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts, both from Rodmell Press.

Stillpoint is sponsoring the event. We would like to encourage practitioners from other regions, traditions and sanghas to join us for this very special retreat, and welcome beginners with appropriate preparation to take this opportunity to develop and deepen their practice. Please help us plan by reserving a space as early as possible. For more information or for advance registration, call 412-441-4171 or contact Tim Kennedy at timnottom@aol.com.

We're also happy to welcome back Shohaku Okumura on April 13-15 and Nov. 8-11, and Issho Fujita on August 17-19.

- Hana Matsuri Celebration -
Hana Matsuri ("Flower Festival") is the annual celebration of Shakyamuni Buddha's birth, according to Japanese tradition. Join Stillpoint to wish the Tathagata a happy 2,384th birthday!
We will celebrate Hana Matsuri at the Fairmount Zendo on Sunday, April 8, at 11 a.m., following the morning sitting. The ceremony involves chanting while bathing the Buddha (come see what that's like!), followed by a potluck lunch. There will be a sign-up sheet posted for food, and, of course, everyone is welcome to bring flowers.

- Growing the Sangha -
Stillpoint is raising the amount of suggested monthly contributions from its members. The new system is two-tiered - with a raise from $15 to $25/month. Those who can't contribute the extra $10 can continue to give $15/month. The new figure reflects increased operating costs, such as rent for the zendo. And $5 of the $10 increase will go to start a building fund for Stillpoint.

- New Board Members Elected -
Stillpoint welcomes two new board members: Jackie Apone and Mark Pfaff, who were elected to serve a two-year term. Their election expands the board to 11 members. We're glad they've agreed to help to guide Stillpoint, and look forward to adding their skills and insights to the mix. The community also re-elected three returning board members-Mike Usman, Barbara Lebeau and Adrian McCoy.

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An Open Letter to Pittsburgh's Buddhist Community
By Neal Griebling

Dear Friends,
In October 2000, Catherine Raphael, a wonderful woman who co-founded the Nuin Center in Highland Park, called and asked to meet with me. When we sat down to talk, she mentioned that she had watched the September Bill Moyers special on PBS that focused on how people die in America. The first program in the series featured the work of Zen Hospice in San Francisco.

"I want to establish a zen hospice in Pittsburgh and I want you to manage it," she said. I questioned her at some length to make sure she understood the challenge before her. She remained very firm about wanting to establish the project. I told her we needed to understand the nature of the problem before we could proceed in any substantive way. Cathy asked me to conduct a feasibility study and I agreed.

We both thought it was crucial for an existing nonprofit organization to initially sponsor the project. I suggested Stillpoint as that organization. While she is not a Buddhist, she said she specifically wanted the Zen Hospice model and readily agreed that Stillpoint was most appropriate as a sponsoring organization.

We broke down the issue into two parts. The first part would consist of the preparation of the feasibility study. To participate, Stillpoint would agree to sponsor the study, accept a grant from Cathy, and pass through funds to pay for fees and expenses incurred to prepare the study.

At its November 1, 2000 meeting, the Stillpoint Board of Directors agreed to sponsor the preparation of the feasibility study. It was understood that I would serve as coordinator.

I began the study by talking extensively with Frank Ostaseski, the founder of the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco. I wanted to understand their model and whether it could be adapted to fit the needs of Pittsburgh residents. Frank was very helpful and offered his organization's support should we decide to proceed further with actual planning and development beyond the feasibility study.

During subsequent months, I have interviewed many people in southwestern Pennsylvania to discuss certain basic questions. These include:

o What would the conceptual model for a Buddhist hospice program look like?
o Is there a need for such a model in southwestern Pennsylvania? Assuming such a need exists, will the local Buddhist groups support such a venture?
o Is there support within the larger community?

Peaceful Dwelling Place-
A Vision of Engaged Compassion
More work remains before the feasibility study is finished. However, certain features of the model have surfaced that I would like to share with Pittsburgh's Buddhist community. While there are a number of hospices currently providing end-of-life services in this region, all but one provide in-home care exclusively. Peaceful Dwelling Place is meant to be a unique program and not intended to duplicate currently existing services. The program is being designed to provide an umbrella of services dealing with spirituality and end-of-life issues, while offering resources to currently existing hospices.

Peaceful Dwelling Place refers not to a place, but a state of mind. True spiritual practice has a calming effect on our lives: We are less likely to react to outer disturbances in ways that are harmful to ourselves and others. Deep spiritual inquiry quiets the mind and brings us to a clear space where we feel connected to everyone and everything. We understand through our own experience that we are everyone and everything.

When we experience ourselves in this way, we are able to embrace what is happening in us and around us without pushing it away or wanting it to change. We rest in a state of equanimity. From this calm space, free of self-centered desire, we can act with wisdom and compassion. This is where healing and transformation begin. To live fully within each moment is to be that moment, to accept the present situation, to dwell contentedly in things as they are. This is peaceful dwelling place.

The vision of this program includes:

o An ongoing workshop series devoted to providing individuals with healing approaches to examining their lives, with mercy and awareness, within the light of death.
o A Meaningful Life Therapy component that offers individuals with serious illnesses opportunities to live purpose-centered lives within the realistic limits imposed by their illness.
o A Guest House that provides 24-hour compassionate residential care to terminally ill patients. It is anticipated the Guest House would broker with other community hospices to provide direct medical services; it would not provide these services on its own. A key element of this component is the continuous availability of skilled volunteers who are trained in deep listening and other aspects of compassionate caregiving.
o A pool of volunteer caregivers available for service outside the Guest House: their own homes, area nursing homes, service in other hospice programs.

To my knowledge, no other comparable program exists in our area. The embryonic model is generating much interest and enthusiasm from people throughout Allegheny County. They include: current and former hospice administrators, members of the End of Life Partnership, a local organization formed to focus attention on issues raised in the Moyers series and local Buddhist organization members.
I have been assured, at least through anecdotal information gathered through person-to-person interviews with diverse people, that there is indeed a need for the project as envisioned. I have been deeply moved by direct offers of help and support the project is generating from medical professionals and volunteers throughout the area.

I believe the time has come for the development of a model that will provide a way for spiritual seekers to access their inner resources within the framework of a Buddhist model of engaged compassion. I hope the emerging model that is Peaceful Dwelling Place will serve as the catalyst for such an approach.

I want to thank the Stillpoint board of directors for their sponsorship of the feasibility study. When the study is finished, I will present the results to the board and the Stillpoint membership. In the meantime, I welcome your input about and your participation in this important project. Feel free to contact me at [412] 481-0970 or kakuju@bellatlantic.net for more information.

Gassho,
Neal Griebling

Stillpoint Launches Sunday Morning Discussion Series
by Carrie Abels

At January's community meeting, members raised the idea of offering more discussions, presentations and talks following the Sunday 9:30 a.m. sitting. For a while now, such structured gatherings have taken place on Sundays, but only intermittently. Usually people simply gather for tea and conversation (and sometimes fresh fruit or bread!), but there is a feeling that this social time could be used to help us learn more about our practice, share insights and frustrations with each other, and offer newcomers to Zen some additional understanding that could deepen their commitment to Stillpoint and to their practice.

It was decided there will be a designated discussion, presentation or talk every Sunday. These talks will include, but not be limited to:

o discussions about a topic related to practice.
o presentations by Stillpoint members who have made Zen-related trips abroad.
o talks by teachers around the country played on tape.
o discussions of passages in a book.
o presentations by visiting teachers or Stillpoint members who would like to share personal experiences.
o workshops on chanting and how to lead chants.

Of course, many of these gatherings will be led by members, so we are hoping that people will volunteer to make presentations, suggest good books to discuss, or offer to teach their skills. Please pass your ideas on to me, as I will be the coordinator for these "Sunday Sessions." The sessions will begin between 11 and 11:15 a.m. (after sitting and chanting) and hopefully wrap up around noon. Hopefully they will continue to involve fresh fruit and bread whenever anyone is moved to bring some! It's also possible for people to skip the morning sitting and just come for the scheduled gathering.

To find out what's coming up on the schedule, you should consult the Stillpoint web site (www.stillpointzen.org). If you do not have access to the Internet, just call me. At this point, starting in March, it looks like discussion of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind will take place the first Sunday of every month, a taped talk by a teacher will take place the second Sunday, a practice discussion will take place the third Sunday, and the fourth Sunday will remain open.

Thanks for taking an interest in this. I believe it can provide us with more insight and deepen our commitment to our practice. For more information, contact Carrie Abels at 412-422-0290 (evening), 412-263-2614 (day) or at abelsc@earthlink.net.

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Genjo-Koan: Actualization of Reality
A talk on the first chapter of "Shobogenzo" by Shohaku Okumura

When all dharmas are the buddha dharma, there is delusion and realization, practice, life and death, buddhas and living beings. When ten thousand dharmas are not [fixed] self, there is no delusion and no realization, no buddhas and no living beings, no birth and no perishing. Since the buddha way by nature goes beyond [the dichotomy of] abundance and deficiency, there is arising and perishing, delusion and realization, living beings and buddhas.-from the first chapter of Shobogenzo [True Dharma Eye Treasury/Genjo-koan (Actualization of Reality.)]

Yesterday I talked about the title of Genjo-koan. This morning I'd like to talk about the first three sentences of Genjo-koan. These first three sentences are the one of the most interesting parts of Genjo-koan. Since ancient times, many Zen masters have discussed what this means.

In the first sentence, he said, "When all dharmas are the buddha dharma," "All dharmas" means all beings, all existence, everything, including the function of our mind. Since we are Buddha's children, we see all dharmas as buddha dharma (Buddha's teachings). So there is delusion and realization, practice, life and death, buddhas and living beings.

One of the basic teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni was the Four Noble Truths. The Buddha taught this in his first teachings to the five monks after his attainment of buddhahood. The first truth is the truth of suffering. The second truth is the cause of suffering. Buddha said the basic cause of suffering is delusion and attachment. Attachment comes out of ignorance of the reality of our life. Buddha said the reality of our life is impermanence and egolessness. Everything is impermanent, so everything is always changing, depending upon causes and conditions. There's nothing fixed, no substance. We can't grasp anything. And yet because we don't see that reality, we attach ourselves to many things we love, and we hope those things do not change. Particularly this person. We grasp this body and mind as "me" (ego).

Although there's nothing we can grasp and attach to, still we have some kind of energy which attaches to things, especially to ourselves, to this body and mind. Our own body and mind are something very special for us. We think this "I" is the center of the world and more important than anything else. This attachment caused by ignorance is the cause of suffering, according to Buddha. And that is the usual way we live. We live based on ignorance. That's why our life becomes suffering.

Ignorance, greed and anger (or hatred) are called the three poisonous minds. Greed and anger are two opposite symptoms of attachment to ourselves. When we encounter something we want, we become greedy and want to make it our possession. When we encounter something we don't like, we get angry or we hate it. Those three poisonous minds make our life suffering.
Buddha said it's possible to become free from the three poisonous minds, and free from suffering. That is the third truth: the cessation of suffering-nirvana.

The fourth truth is the path that leads us to the cessation of suffering. The Eightfold Right Path - right view, right thinking, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right samadhi -as our practice is the cause of cessation of suffering. The way we usually live is within the first pair of cause and result (suffering as result and ignorance as cause). First we have to realize the reality of our life -that is, impermanence and egolessness. To see impermanence and egolessness is "right view" within the Eightfold Right Path. We need to live based on the right view and practice the other seven.

This practice of the Eightfold Right Path enables us to become free from suffering. That is nirvana. This is the basic teaching of Buddha. There is a way of life based on the three poisonous minds, and there is a way of life based on the right view that sees the reality of impermanence and egolessness. Our practice of the Eightfold Right Path is the practice that leads us from living based on delusion to the way of life based on the right view.

So there is delusion and realization. Cessation of suffering is nirvana. And there is practice. Practice is the path that leads us from delusion to realization, or samsara to nirvana. And also there is life and death. And buddhas and living beings. According to Mahayana Buddhism, there are many buddhas who awaken to that reality of being free from suffering and samsara. Living beings are still deluded and suffering in samsara. If there is no delusion and realization, no living beings who are suffering in samsara and who are released from samsara, Buddha's teaching can't make any sense. That is the very basic teaching of Buddhism.

But in the second sentence of Genjo-koan Dogen says, "When ten thousand dharmas are not [fixed] self, there is no delusion and no realization, no buddhas and no living beings, no birth and no perishing." The word "fixed" is my addition. Dogen just said "not self." Ten thousand dharmas means all beings. All beings have no substance, no fixed self. That means everything is impermanent and egoless. Therefore he said, there is no delusion and no realization, or buddhas who attain realization and no living beings who are suffering. There is no such thing as birth or death.

In both sentences he says "when." But this "when" means "always." It's not a certain time in certain conditions. These two sentences are about the same beings. In the first sentence, he says there are those things. In the second sentence, he says there aren't. This is perfect contradiction. So, we are stuck and wonder what Dogen meant.

My understanding of these first two sentences is that these are a summary of Dogen's understanding of Buddha's teaching. If you read the Heart Sutra, it says there is no suffering, no cause of suffering, no stopping and no path. That means there are no Four Noble Truths and no Eightfold Right Path. What the Heart Sutra said and what Buddha said is in the same contradiction with the first and second sentence in Genjo-koan.

It's easier to understand the first sentence. We are suffering because we attach ourselves to many things. That makes our life more difficult. So we want to be released from this ego attachment. Then our life might be easier and better.

Between these two sentences, there are at least five hundred years of history of Buddhism. After Buddha's death, Buddha's disciples studied what the Buddha taught and practiced them.

In order to be free from samsara or free from living ruled by three poisonous minds, they needed to live in a quiet place. They had to leave society, where there are so many conflicts and problems. So to be monks, people left society and lived in quiet places. The members of the monks' community all had the same purpose, following the same teaching. Within such a monastery, people can be very peaceful and be free from the three poisonous minds, because there's no conflict. Buddhist monasteries became larger and larger and more and more separate from the lay people living in the society. And eventually they started to think only monks can be released from suffering. If you want to reach nirvana, you have to leave home, society, your profession. Monks became a kind of professional practitioners and philosophers and made a lofty system of abidharma philosophy and practice.

That was somehow different from the original intention of the Buddha. The Buddha appeared to this world to save all sentient beings, especially people who are suffering in samsara. That's one of the reasons Mahayana Buddhism criticized those monks in monasteries who didn't impart or teach much, even though they were supported financially by lay society.

Mahayana Buddhists thought all living beings, not only human beings, should be released and should reach nirvana. Within Mahayana, basically there's no decisive distinction between monks and lay people. Both are bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas means "Buddha's children." Buddha's children means that when they grow and mature, they all become buddhas.

The philosophical basis of Mahayana Buddhism was the idea of emptiness. Emptiness means there's no fixed self or entities or substance. That's what Dogen said in the first part of the second sentence: "When ten thousand dharmas are not [fixed] self," that means there's no fixed thing called delusion, and there is no fixed thing called enlightenment, because both are empty. Everything is a collection of causes and conditions. There are no fixed groups of people as deluded human beings and enlightened buddhas. Delusion and realization have no fixed nature.

Birth and death are the same. If there's no self, what is born? That is just a temporary condition of causes and elements. Something appears, like a bubble. And it disappears. But nothing really appears and nothing really disappears. That's what many of the Mahayana sutras said.

Precisely because of the emptiness of all things, we can be released from suffering. If everything has fixed substance, there's no way we can be released, because deluded human beings have to be permanently deluded human beings. Since everything is not fixed, we can change. Our practice changes the causes and conditions. Our practice allows us to be free from suffering even if we are not monks or full time practitioners. Even if we are lay practitioners, we can be free from suffering, from the three poisonous minds, if we sincerely practice. That is what Mahayana Buddhism taught. They thought all buddhas appeared to save all living beings.

These first two sentences of Genjo-koan are two sides of one reality. We cannot negate either. These are two sides of Buddha's teaching. That's the way Buddha's teaching becomes complete: by putting "no" in front of each of the Four Noble Truths, the Four Noble Truths become complete. This "no" is not simply a logical negation, but liberation from clinging. Those are two sides of one reality, or one teaching of dharma. When we attach to either side, we create mistakes.

If we only see the first side and cling to it, we think that there is fixed delusion and fixed enlightenment, and we cling to practice which allows us to go from a fixed entity called delusion or suffering to a fixed entity called enlightenment or nirvana. This practice creates another suffering, because within our lifetime, it's very difficult to achieve such realization or attainment of nirvana. And yet we cling to this idea.

When we mistakenly attach to the second side, we see there's no enlightenment, no delusion, no suffering, no buddhas and no living beings. Then why do we have to practice? Why do we have to make efforts? That is another problem caused by attachment to the Mahayana teaching, or the teaching of emptiness. We call it "sickness of emptiness." When we grasp the idea of emptiness with our ego-centered mind, and simply think there's no delusion, no enlightenment, no buddha, no deluded human being, that means everything is just as it is. Why do we have to practice? Why do we have to study?

That was Dogen's original question when he was young, when he studied Mahayana. Mahayana said all beings have buddha nature. Everything is reality as it is. If so, then why do buddhas and ancestors have to study Buddhist teachings and practice, going through so much difficulty? If everything is empty, then why do we have to practice? Dogen started to practice Zen. He wasn't satisfied with Zen in Japan at the time. That's why he went to China.

I think that the third sentence is the answer he found in China. In the third sentence he discusses "the buddha way." In the first two sentences, he talks about "buddha dharma." Dharma is the way things are. Buddha way is different from buddha dharma. Buddha way is our way of life as our practice. We have to study, practice, and work. We have to walk on the way using our own legs. This is actual life as our practice. As Buddha's children, we need to live based on Buddha's teachings. This life - living based on Buddha's teaching - is buddha way. The direction of buddha way is toward buddhahood. The buddha way is the way through which Buddha's children become buddhas. Dogen said, "Since the buddha way by nature goes beyond [the dichotomy of] abundance and deficiency, there is arising and perishing, delusion and realization, living beings and buddhas."

Second in a series of three lectures given by Rev. Shohaku Okumura during Stillpoint's April 2000 sesshin.

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