A quote from the teachings of the Buddha:

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.”

“Zen in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one’s own being, and it points the way from bondage to freedom. By making us drink right from the fountain of life it liberates us from all the yokes under which we finite beings are usually suffering in this world. We can say that Zen liberates all the energies properly and naturally stored in each of us, which are in ordinary circumstances cramped and distorted so that they find no adequate channel for activity.

“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

Mark Westmoquette, astronomer writes about his experience in Japan.

“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