Dharma Zen Center

Good day. This Saturday, Arne Schaefer, JDPSN joins us via Zoom from Germany to offer a Dharma Talk. Here is a teaching from him: The Chinese Emperor Wu from Liang asked Bodhidharma: The Buddha has taught that one will go to heaven if one donates robes and bowls to a monk. But I gave countless monks food and clothing. I have paid many times for copies of the sutras. Also I have founded many, many temples. Tell me sir, how much merit have I earned? Bodhidharma answered: Non...Continue reading

Good day. This Saturday, Senior Dharma Teacher Tim Colohan will teach a class in writing Haiku. What is a Haiku? According to https://www.learnreligions.com/the-zen-art-of-haiku-449947, Haiku evolved from another poetic form called renga. Renga is a kind of collaborative poem that originated in early 1st millennium China. The oldest example of renga in Japanese dates to the 8th century. By the 13th century, renga had developed into a uniquely Japanese style of poem. Renga...Continue reading

Good day. This Saturday, November 7th, we will have a Zoom retreat led by Dharma Zen Center Guiding Teacher Paul Park, JDPSN (Pictured above). Josh Atlas will be the virtual Head Dharma Teacher. The schedule is as follows: *10am 12:30 Sitting Meditation *12:30 to 1:30 Break For Lunch *1:30 to 4:00 Sitting Meditation... *Circle Talk *During the 2 and hour blocks of meditation, we take a 10-minute "break" every 30 minutes. During the 10-minute break, it’s a good idea to do activities such as stretching, yoga poses, walk around your room, get water, use restroom, etc. However, we discourage you from surfing the web, engaging in conversations, etc. Try to keep the meditative mind. To join Saturday and Sunday, please click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9668602253 If you have not already RSVP'd, please do so. The cost is $30 for guests and $25 for members of the Kwan Um School of Zen. You may pay here: paypal.me/dharmazencenter ***We will not have Practice on Sunday morning. Take care and be safe.

Good day. Our teaching today comes from an article printed in May called "How to Escape Coronavirus." The article appeared on the Lion’s Roar website (https://www.lionsroar.com/how-to-escape-coronavirus/) and was written by Colin Beavan a Senior Dharma Teacher in the Kwan Um School (our parent organization). How do I get out of this coronavirus world? I don’t know how to get out of my discomfort, but it tells me about your discomfort. So I’m writing this article. It seem...Continue reading

Good day. Our teaching today comes in the form of 5 quotes from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh who is a global spiritual leader, poet and peace activist, revered around the world for his pioneering teachings on mindfulness, global ethics and peace. To discover more about Thich Nhat Hanh, you may visit this website: https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/ We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the Earth. Walk as if you are kissing the Earth wi...th your feet. Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today. There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way. Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand. Plans For This Weekend *****10am on Saturday. We will gather in front of our Center and have 2 rounds of sitting meditation in and around our garden. Masks are required. We will maintain a comfortable social distance of 5 feet. Please come join us. Please arrive at 9:45. *****3pm on Saturday. We have an honored guest! Zen Master Bon Soeng (Jeff Kitzes), who is pictured above, will join our Zoom class. He will give a talk, then answer our questions. Who is ZM Bon Soeng? Zen Master Bon Soeng (Jeff Kitzes) received transmission in April 2001. He has been practicing Zen since 1975, and began practicing with Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1979. He is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice, with a specialty in the integration of Zen Buddhism and Western Psychotherapy. He is the guiding teacher of Empty Gate Zen Center in Berkeley, California If you’d like an introduction to his teaching, you can check out his videos on YouTube. If you search YouTube for Jeff Kitzes Empty Gate Zen Center it will lead you to many of them. *****10am on Sunday. Sunday morning at 10am, we will start by meditating for 30 minutes, then read of a letter from The Compass of Zen a book on Buddhism and Zen written by the founder of our school Zen Master Seung Sahn. Afterward, we will have a virtual Circle Talk where will share about our life, our Practice, and/or the events in the world around us. To join both days, please click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9668602253 Supporting DZC And finally, if you are able to donate to DZC, it is always appreciated as it helps keep our Center alive and strong. Here is the link: paypal.me/dharmazencenter Please be safe and well.

Good day. Our teaching this week comes from Zen Master Bon Soeng (Jeff Kitzes) from the Empty Gate Zen Center. Until the pandemic this year, ZMBS had visited our Zen Center every year for 15 or so years. We are grateful and offer this teaching -- "Keep your direction clear. There is something that moves you to practice, that points you in the direction. Then find your "try mind". Inspiration is wonderful, but if we just rely on inspiration, it fizzles out. And then we're l...Continue reading

I hope you are well. This Saturday, September 26th, is a Zoom retreat with Zen Master Soeng Hyang (Barbara Rhodes). We have extended the length of the retreat a bit to ensure that we can offer all attendees a private interview with the Zen Master. Therefore, the retreat will last from 9am until 3:15pm. Here is the schedule: *9:00am 11:30am (Four 30-minute rounds of sitting meditation broken up with 10 minutes of walking meditation or rest in between.) *11:30am 12:1...5pm Break *12:15pm 2:45pm (Another four 30-minute rounds of sitting meditation broken up with 10 minutes of walking meditation or rest in between.) *2:45 Circle Talk The cost will be $30 for guests and $25 for members of the Kwan Um School of Zen. You may pay here: paypal.me/dharmazencenter **Please RSVP (if you have not already done so) by replying to this email if you'd like to participate** To join Saturday and Sunday, please click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9668602253 Who is Zen Master Soeng Hyang? Zen Master Soeng Hyang (Barbara Rhodes) is the School Zen Master of the Kwan Um School of Zen. She received dharma transmission from Zen Master Seung Sahn on October 10, 1992. She was one of Zen Master Seung Sahn's first American students and studied with him beginning in 1972. She was given inka in 1977. A registered nurse since 1969, she currently works in hospice care. She helped found Providence Zen Center, and lived there for seventeen years, serving in a number of administrative capacities. Zen Master Soeng Hyang has a daughter and lives with her partner, Mary, in California.

Good day. Our teaching this week is an exchange by two great figures in Chinese Zen JoJu and Nam Cheon. JoJu (depicted in the sketch above) asked Nam Cheon, What is the true way? Nam Cheon said, Everyday mind is the true way. JoJu said, Should I keep it or not? And Nam Cheon said, If you try to keep it, you’re already mistaken. JoJu said, But if I don’t try, how can I understand the true way? Nam Cheon said, The true way is not dependent on understanding or not ...understanding. Understanding is illusion. Not understanding is blankness. If you completely attain the true way of not thinking, it’s like space, clear and void. So why do you make right and wrong? With those words, JoJu had some kind of deep experience. Zoom Plans for This Weekend *2:15pm on Saturday. Zen hang-out Time. Please grab a cup of coffee or tea, log into our Zoom meeting and let’s just hang out for a while and see where the conversation takes us. That will lead us into- *3pm on Saturday. We will have a 15 minute meditation. Then Senior Dharma Teacher Tim Colohan will give a talk and Paul Park, JDPSN (Dharma Zen Center's Guiding Teacher) will answer our questions. *10am on Sunday. We will start with 30 minutes of meditation. Then Dharma Teacher In-Training Josh Atlas will give a Dharma Talk. Afterward, Paul Park, JDPSN will answer our questions. The link to join both meetings is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9668602253 We depend on your support to keep our Center alive and strong. Are you able to support DZC? If so, please make a donation here: paypal.me/dharmazencenter No amount is too great or too small. Upcoming Retreat Zen Master Soeng Hyang (Bobby Rhodes), the head of the Kwan Um School of Zen (our parent organization) will lead a Zoom retreat from 9am until 2pm. Please RSVP if you’d like to attend. Take care and be safe.

Good day. Dharma Zen Center is part of the Kwan Um School of Zen a world-wide organization. Every 3 years, the Kwan Um School hosts an event called The Whole World is a Single Flower held at places across the world. This year, for obvious reasons, the event will be held online. While it’s somewhat discouraging, the good news is that we can all attend. If you are interested, please visit -- https://www.kwanumzenonline.org/wwsf . There is a fee, but there are seve...ral options to fit your budget. I hope we can have good representation from Dharma Zen Center. I, for one, will be attending. Conquer the angry one by not getting angry; conquer the wicked by goodness; conquer the stingy by generosity, and the liar by speaking the truth. - Buddha Zoom Plans for This Weekend *2:15pm on Saturday. Zen hang-out Time. Please grab a cup of coffee or tea, log into our Zoom meeting and let’s just hang out for a while and see where the conversation takes us. We did this last week and we had fun. That will lead us into- *3pm on Saturday. We will have a 15 minute meditation. Then Matt Keeler, JDPSN, a Teacher from our New Haven Zen Center will give a Talk, then answer our questions. To learn more about the JDPSN, click here *10am on Sunday. We will start with 15 minutes of meditation. Then we will have a reading from the Compass of Zen a book about Buddhism by our founding Teacher, Zen Master Seung Sahn. The Paul Park, JDPSN will give interviews. If you’d like an interview, please plan on staying online and meditating in front of your computer until around 1. If you need to leave earlier, please RSVP so I can put you first. If you’ve never had an interview, I drop you and Paul into a private Zoom room and you can speaking privately about your life and practice. To join, please click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9668602253 You are what you think. All that you are arises from your thoughts. With your thoughts you make your world.- Buddha We depend on your support to keep our Center alive and strong. Are you able to support DZC? If so, please make a donation here: paypal.me/dharmazencenter No amount is too great or too small. Upcoming Retreat Zen Master Soeng Hyang (Bobby Rhodes), the head Teacher of the Kwan Um School of Zen, will lead a Zoom retreat from 9am until 2pm. Please RSVP if you’d like to attend. More soon Many do not realize that we here must die. For those who realize this, quarrels end. - Buddha Take care and be safe. Yours in the Dharma,

Hope you are well. This Saturday, August 22nd, from 9:45am-5pm, there will be a Zoom retreat with Zen Master Ji Haeng (Thom Pastor) who joins us from the Zen Center of Las Vegas. Here is the schedule: 9:45 Intro Talk by ZM Ji Haeng 10:00 - 12:30 Meditation... 12:30 - 2:00 Break 2:00 - 4:30 Meditation 4:30 - 5:00 Circle Talk Please log in by 9:40. In a Zoom retreat, we meditate in front of our computers for 30 minutes at time. Between the meditation sessions, we take a 10 minute break where can stretch, or walk around the room, then return to the meditation. Everyone will have a private interview with the Zen Master where I will put you and ZM Ji Haeng in a private Zoom room. The cost is $30 for Guests and $25 for members of the Kwan Um School of Zen. Please RSVP (if you have not already done so.) You may pay here: paypal.me/dharmazencenter The Zoom link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9668602253 Who is Zen Master Ji Haeng? Zen Master Ji Haeng, (translation: Wisdom Action) serves as both Abbot and Guiding Teacher of the Zen Center of Las Vegas. Beginning formal zen training in the Kwan Um School of Zen in the mid 1980’s, he received Inka, a Buddhist term meaning authority to teach from the famous Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn on April 6, 2002. After an additional and arduous twelve years of training, he received formal dharma transmission becoming a Zen Master at a ceremony in Providence, R.I. on April 5, 2014. In order to earn his title, stringent qualifications were imposed including successfully engaging in Dharma Combat with three Japanese Zen Masters all from separate traditions and lineages. In addition to teaching responsibilities in Las Vegas, Zen Master Ji Haeng is also the Guiding Teacher of the Isthmus Zen Community in Madison, WI. and Prairie Earth Zen Center in Topeka, KS. He frequently travels to both of those Buddhist Centers to lead meditation retreats. Ji Haeng Z.M. also served as guiding teacher in Vancouver, BC. for a number of years and has led retreats in Denver, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Fairbanks, Cambridge, Chicago, Miami, and Tallahassee. He has been a frequent Buddhist lecturer and has led both classes and retreats in Pengerang, Malaysia and Singapore. Ji Haeng Z.M. taught an Introduction to Zen Buddhism course at UNLV for fifteen years before retiring from that position. He initiated a zen meditation program at Federal Prison Nellis recognized for having one of the highest participation rates at the facility. The prison was closed in 2006. I hope you'll join us.

Good day. As was mentioned last week, a nun and Teacher in our school, Myong Hae Sunim, passed away in a car accident in her native Lithuania on August 2nd. We offered a teaching of her’s last week. This week, we offer a video created by DZC sangha member David Andrew in honor of her life and commitment to the Dharma -- https://vimeo.com/445294430 Plans For This Weekend *****At 10am, we will gather in front of our Center and have 2 rounds of sitting meditation in and aro...Continue reading

Good day. Back in May, I offered a powerful teaching from a nun and Teacher in our school named Myong Hae Sunim (pictured above). I met her in Hong Kong in 2009 and, though I only spoke to her briefly, she had a powerful impact on me. Sadly, Myong Hae Sunim passed this past weekend in a car accident in her native Lithuania. Here is a brief bio of who she was: Myong Hae Sunim was the first Buddhist nun from Lithuania, where she heard of Zen Master Seung Sahn’s teaching fo...Continue reading

Good day. Hope you are safe and well. As is mentioned in the title, we will have a guest this weekend, Zen Master Jok Um (Ken Kessel). Our Teaching this week comes from a talk where a student asked Zen Master Jok Um a question and he provided an answer. (The full teaching can be found here.) Question: When I practice at home I have to do lying-down practice, because it’s such a stressful time for me. But then I get caught up in thinking right now you need to be sitting...Continue reading

Good day. Hope you are safe and well. For our Teaching this week, I present 5 quotes from Japanese Zen Master Suzuki Roshi. Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else. Wherever you are, you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and the stars you see. You are one with everything. That is more true than I can say, and more true than you can hear....Continue reading

Good day. Our teaching this week comes from the speech DZC Guiding Teacher, Paul Park, JDPSN gave after becoming a Teacher in 1998. These are excerpts. The full speech can be found here -- https://kwanumzen.org/teaching-libra//09/01/inka-speech-12 Seems I've been practicing Zen for only a few years, but already eighteen years have passed. When I was twelve years old, I remember that my mother and I went to the Korean temple, Dharma Sah, which had just opened in Los Ang...Continue reading

Good day. This Saturday is Independence Day. What does independence mean in Zen? The following was said by the late Zen Master Su Bong: Becoming independent doesn’t mean I become independent. Truly becoming independent means the world can depend on me. Understand? My parents, my family, my friends and my country can depend on me that means becoming independent. I am independent so I can do anything I like is not correct independence. Becoming independent means ...this world can depend on me. Then what? Everything can depend on you so you and everyone become harmonious. Also everything can depend on me means I am dependent on everything. Plans For This Weekend No Saturday class. Please enjoy the 4th of July. ***10am on Sunday. We will start by meditating for 20 minutes, we will have a virtual Circle Talk where will share about our life, our Practice, and/or the events in the world around us. Afterward, Paul Park, JDPSN (our Guiding Teacher) will give interviews to all who are interested. We are going to try something new. If you’d like an interview, please plan on staying and meditating in front of your computer. I will drop people into a private Zoom room with Paul. This will last until the interviews are finished. If you can't stay the whole time, but would still like an interview, please email and I will make other arrangements. To join, please click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9668602253 Password (if necessary): 108 Upcoming Retreat On August 22nd, we will have a Zoom Retreat with Zen Master Ji Haeng (Thom Pastor) from the Zen Center of Las Vegas. More soon That is all for now. Take care and be safe.

Good day. I hope you are well. When I was young, an English Teacher told a story of a plane that crashed into a lake in New York. As rescuers arrived, a passenger on the plan kept diving down into the lake and bringing people up. He saved ten people before he either froze to death or drowned. I never forgot that story. Years later, I heard the following story from the head of our school, Zen Master Soeng Hyang. This story made me think of this man. (The version of the... story below is told by a different Zen Master the late Zen Master Wu Bong.) Once I readthe story of one of the Buddha's previous lives. He was a little [female] bird then, and one day the forest where the bird lived caught on fire. For the bird, in fact, it wasn't such a big problem, because she could just fly away. But looking down on the forest while flying above, she saw all the other animals caught in the fire and struggling to get out. And the bird couldn't just fly away. She felt so compassionate for the other animals that she decided to help. She flew to the lakequite far awaytook some water into her beak, flew back to the forest and poured it down on the fire. And then she flew again to the lake and brought some more water, and then again, and again. And so she continued until she got completely exhausted. When she couldn't fly anymore, she fell down into the burning forest and died. Once I read this story, I could never get it out of my head. Plans For This Weekend *3pm on Saturday. Senior Dharma Teacher Tim Colohan will speak for 30 minutes on the topic "Spiritual Bypassing", the Function of Suffering and the Hazards of Meditation. Afterward, DZC Guiding Teacher, Paul Park, JDPSN will answer our questions. To join, please click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9668602253 *10am on Sunday. Sunday morning at 10am, we will meditate for 30 minutes, then Sangha Member Varda Bar-Kar will give a Dharma Talk. Afterward, our JDPSN, Paul Park, will answer our questions. Who is Varda? In her own words -- Varda Bar-Kar lives in Santa Monica with her husband Patrick S. Bennett. She is the mother of two grown daughters and a filmmaker. When Varda was 12 years old, a visit to the San Francisco Zen Center ignited her interest in Zen Buddhism. She received zazen instruction when she was in high school and practiced on and off as a teenager. Years later, in the mid-1980s she and Patrick attended Dharma Talks at the SFZC and Green Gulch. Varda became a member of the Santa Monica Zen Center in 1998 where she received Jukai (the bodhisattva precepts) and practiced for ten years. After leaving SMZC, Varda co-founded a Zen sitting group which she co-led for seven years. Soon after the sitting group dissolved, Varda got lucky when her friend Craig Miller introduced her to the Dharma Zen Center. We, at Dharma Zen Center, are lucky she found us. To join, please click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9668602253 Hope to see you this weekend.