Thanks to Hogetsu Barndal for this photo from the end of our recent Zen Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher Training Course. We have another one scheduled for 4th November next year. Also probably one in January. I’ll keep you pasted

Pack up camp, fill our water bottles
hoist our packs
find our direction and path
comment on the weather and nice surroundings
chat about work and life

the ascent kicks in
gentle plod turns to paced uphill steps

trees are left behind, chat is left behind
the going gets steep and rough
concentrate on the steps
boots tramping on stone and mud
no, feet caressing the ground with each pace

footfalls, step, step, step
uphill

one foot after the other
the rhythm
observing the body working, the feet moving – as if from the outside
where is the self, where is the foot, where is the ground, the mountain?
the body is moving, the mind is still, what is “I”?

I am the footfall, I am the ground beneath, I am the rhythm
true nature.

Mark Kakushin Westmoquette

The Japanese Zen teacher, Suzuki Shosan (1579-1655), a battle-hardened samurai who became a monk later in life taught his students, ‘True ‘no-thought, no-mind’ zazen is just one thing – to have a fearless mind.’

He developed a unique style of teaching and practice which emphasized fearlessness, freedom and complete engagement with life. He particularly urged his students to squarely face the koan or spiritual problem of death.

In October 12-17 we have a Zen retreat at Anam Cara in Scotland where we will be exploring Shosan’s teachings to transcend your deepest fears so that you can become freely able to shape your most authentic and satisfying life. There are only 12 places available. It’s suitable for new people as well as experienced practitioners. You can register at http://www.anamcara.org/. Please come and join us. Life is short. Let’s really live before time runs out.

Best wishes Daizan

With Matt Kuke Kane in Japan. Having completed a translation of poems by the great pilgrim monk, Enku, I left a copy on his grave at Mirokuji, and then we walked through the mountains up the valley of the Nagara River via Enku’s birthplace, the shrine where his first statues were enshrined, the waterfall where he realized enlightenment and finished at the gateway temple to Hakusan – White Mountain, the great holy peak of central Japan.

We left a copy of the poems on the mountain altar with the following poem inscribed on it:

May these leaves
flutter
all over this world mountain,
spreading Enku’s joy
wherever they land.

It’s hard to describe the mixture of pain and bliss that was the fabric of the pilgrimage. Perhaps you can imagine walking through cloud-swept mountains and actually being the mountains.

On Wednesday 7th July at 6.30pm, I’m doing a talk at the Buddhist Society, 58 Eccleston Square, near Victoria Station, London. Here’s the write-up on the flyer:

“The seventeenth-century yamabushi or mountain-practice monk Enku, completed a vow to carve and distribute 120.000 statues. He also wrote numerous poems and engaged in prodigious pilgrimages the length of Japan. Considered an enlightened man in his lifetime, the extraordinary creativity, vitality and compassion of Enku’s work make him a fascinating figure even today.`’

Please come and join us if you can. There’s no charge.

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was living among the Sakyans. Now there is a Sakyan town named Sakkara. There Ven. Ananda, his assistant, went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, Ven. Ananda said to the Blessed One, “This is half of the holy life, lord: noble friendship, noble companionship, noble camaraderie.”

“Don’t say that, Ananda. Don’t say that. Admirable noble, noble companionship, noble camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life.”

“This body of ours is something like an electric battery in which a mysterious power latently lies. When this power is not properly brought into operation, it either grows mouldy and withers away or is warped and expresses itself abnormally. It is the object of Zen, therefore, to save us from going crazy or being crippled. This is what I mean by freedom, giving free play to all the creative and benevolent impulses inherently lying in our hearts.”

“When the cloud of ignorance disappears, the infinity of the heavens is manifested, where we see for the first time into the nature of our own being. We now know the signification of life, we know that it is not blind striving, nor is it a mere display of brutal forces, but that while we know not definitely what the ultimate purport of life is, there is something in it that makes us feel infinitely blessed in the living of it and remain quite contented with it in all its evolution, without raising questions or entertaining pessimistic doubts.”

Written back in 1927 by D.T. Suzuki, I don’t think anyone has ever better defined Zen.

We have some up-coming events you might be interested in. Firstly Wednesday 7th July, 6.30pm at the Buddhist Society, 58 Eccleston Square, London SW1V 1PH, near Victoria Station, I’m doing a talk entitled, “Sculptor of Bliss – The Japanese Monk Enku and His Work”. The flyer says, “The seventeenth century yamabushi or mountain-practice monk Enku, completed a vow to carve and distribute 120,000 statues. He also wrote numerous poems and engaged in prodigious pilgrimages the length of Japan. Considered an enlightened man in his lifetime, the extraordinary creativity, vitality and compassion of Enku’s work make him a fascinating figure even today.

Julian Daizan Skinner Roshi studied in a Zen temple just eleven kilometres from Enku’s grave. During this time he was fortunate to meet and study with Enju Kuze Sensei, twentieth generation Dharma descendent of Enku. He has translated a collection of 100 of Enku’s poems.” So there you have it. Please come and join us, it’s free admission.

Also coming up we have the following:

Saturday 24th July-Saturday 7th August 2010 – Yoga teacher training course at Beacon Centre, Devon.
Saturday 21st August-Saturday 28th August 2010 – Meditation teacher training course at Beacon Centre, Devon.
Tuesday 12th-Sunday 17th October “Wake Up and Live”, dynamic Zen retreat at Anam Cara in the Scottish Highlands. Cost only £305 all-inclusive. Check www.anamcara.org for details.

Drop me a note if you’d be interested, full details on the website.

Best wishes Daizan

“Japan Zen Enlightenment Journey – it did everything it said on the tin, and
more!

“To me this felt like the kind of experience where the more you put in, the more
you get back. The more you could take advantage of the beautiful, safe,
nurturing, and inspiring setting, the teaching and guidance that Shinzan Roshi
gave and the energy that our fantastic group generated, the more your practice
could really move on, become more focussed and go that much deeper. Roshi was,
with no doubt, the engine of the sesshin; a truly inspirational figure, both in
what he said and who he was. While you could sense a wild and ferocious side (a
character mirrored by his beautiful dogs), he came across as infinitely kind,
warm, understanding and approachable. He never stopped teaching, and obviously
put his all into the sesshin. This, my first retreat, gave me my first glimpse
into the world of liberation – I now understand what “zen” really means.

“Regarding the second week of sightseeing, it was an absolute honour to be able
to go to the places and do the things we did with Daizan and Matt. I cannot
thank them enough for showing us Japan so expertly and in such detail. They were
both (particularly Daizan) such founts of knowledge on almost any topic to do
with Buddhism, Japan, and just about anything else, that the guide book became
superfluous!! To us, it felt like the week went effortlessly – indicating that
they both must have put in an awful lot of behind-the-scenes work to make our
time so chock full yet run so smoothly. I couldn’t possibly decide which
activity was the highlight of that second week, although the lady tea master we
spent some time with left an unexpectedly powerful impression on me.

“I have a feeling this won’t be my last trip to Japan…=”

We’re looking at heading out again next May. It won’t be the same as this year, or last year – guaranteed! But every single person who’s come with us has found it a life-changing experience. Email zenways@london.com and I’ll put you on the list of interested people.

Best wishes Daizan

We’re just back from our 2010 Zen Enlightenment Journey to Japan. Lots to tell you about it all. We had an absolutely amazing experience. More to follow. Back in London now. Look forward to catching up.

Cheers Daizan

Announcing the publication of Wake Up and Live, a comprehensive guide to Zen meditation. For the first time, the full range of Rinzai Zen meditation is presented in English. The set of eight DVDs and two CDs provide a sophisticated and broad-based system which will enhance your health and well-being and foster the unfolding of your spiritual awakening. The first fifty are signed and individually numbered and available on limited release at £79. Email daizan@london.com to order your copy.

Visited the beautiful Thai-style temple in Wimbledon. The wall-paintings depicting the life of the Buddha combine tradition and modernity in an unforgettable way. We’ll be visiting again one sunday afternoon soon to practice and spend some time with the resident monks. Come and join us! Email daizan@london.com if you’d like to come.