We reflect firstly upon the insufficiency of our effort in this life. We contemplate the effort which has gone into the preparation of this meal.
We reflect secondly upon our merit. We consider whether we are deserving of this meal.
We reflect thirdly upon the sources of our mental illusions and mistakes. We must avoid greed, anger and ignorance.
We reflect fourthly upon the reasons for eating meals. It is to avoid becoming weak and thin.
Finally we reflect upon the ultimate reason for taking meals. It is only to attain the truth.
The Japanese Government have just started a campaign called “Premium Friday” to encourage businesses to let workers finish up at 3 pm on the last Friday of every month. The idea behind the campaign is to stimulate the economy by giving people more time to get out and spend money at the end of each month – which is right around payday - and to also cut down on excessive working hours (and stress levels) among workers.
Last Friday was the very first “Premium Friday” and the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe took to his Facebook page to describe how he was spending the afternoon. Here’s what he wrote in Japanese:
心を無にする。
プレミアムフライデーに、座禅を組みました。
慌ただしい毎日ですが、久しぶりに静かなひと時を過ごし、すっきりと落ち着いた気持ちになりました。この後、上野の博物館に行ってみようと思います。
The translation is something like this:
“Meditating (emptying my mind). I’ve been doing some zazen on Premium Friday. I’m busy everyday, but for the first time in a while I had some quiet time and feel refreshed and calm.
I think I’ll visit a museum in Ueno after this.”
I don’t know if the museum in Ueno that Abe went to after the meditation was the National Museum, but if it was he might have come across the big picture they have in there of a priest in the Obaku School of Zen Buddhism, which was painted about 100 years ago by a Japanese artist named Takamura Shinpu. I was down there recently and (with permission) snapped a photo of it on my phone. Here it is:
When I saw the picture, it reminded me of a Zen koan (short story) from a long time ago about Master Obaku, the founder of the Obaku school, in which the Prime Minister of China visits a temple where Master Obaku is and sees a picture of a reverend monk on the wall. The Prime Minister says that he can see the picture, but would like to meet such a reverend monk in real life. Eventually the monks in the temple introduce him to Master Obaku. When the Prime Minister sees Master Obaku, he asks Master Obaku to give him one or two words to change his life. Master Obaku calls out loudly, “Prime Minister! Where are you?”
We'll be holding a Zen meditation retreat at the Jampa Ling Buddhist Centre near Bawnboy village in County Cavan over the weekend of August 1-3. The retreat is suitable for anyone interested in Buddhism and/or meditation, and beginners are welcome.
The retreat will run from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. 
The cost for the retreat is 80 euros. You can email me at tokyozazen@gmail.com to register. The closing date for registration is Monday, July 28.
Email me for more information or check my webpage at www.zen.ie/cavanretreat.html.
A friend of mine has written a couple of essays relating to the present moment for a magazine called “Culture Counter”. The first one is called “Phenomenological eco-mysticism”, which is about some experiences he had in the US and Japan recently. The second one is called “Overcoming the cult of the present moment”, which compares what is sometimes meant when people talk about being here and now, and something the Buddhist monk Dogen wrote about the present moment in his book Shobogenzo.
My Buddhist teacher, Master Gudo Wafu Nishijima passed away on January 28 at the age of 94. I attended his wake tonight in snowy Tokyo. It was a very nice service with his family and friends and many of his students in attendance. We chanted Buddhist sutras and offered incense, and remembered his great life and kindness to us all. The photo above is of the altar with Master Nishijima’s framed picture.
Sensei, thank you for all your kindness and help, and please rest in peace.
I’ll be holding a Zazen meditation class in Tokyo this coming Saturday, May 25. Anyone interested is welcome to attend, and attendance is free. The first part of the class will be from 11 am to 12 noon, and the second part will be from 12.30 to 2 pm. You’re welcome to come to both the morning and afternoon parts, or to either one. The schedule is:
11.00 – 11.25 Zazen
11.25 – 11.35 Kinhin (this is a slow walking practice)
11.35 – 12.00 Zazen
12.00 – 12.30 Break (for lunch or a rest)
12.30 – 1.00 Zazen
1.00 – 2.00 Talk (optional)
If it’s your first time to do Zazen and you’d like some instructions, please come about 10 or 15 minutes before the start and I’ll show you what to do.
The class will be held at Tokyo University’s Young Buddhists Association. You can click here to download a map with directions to the Young Buddhists Association from the Marunouchi and Oedo subway lines. Both lines run through Shinjuku station. The stop on both lines is called "Hongo-Sanchome".
If you’re coming from Hongo-sanchome station on the Marunouchi line, turn right after passing through the ticket barrier and follow the alley out to the main street. The building where the meetings are held is across the street. You can cross at the traffic lights on the corner (see map). If you’re coming from Hongo-sanchome station on the Oedo line, take exit no. 5 and turn to the left after leaving the station. Follow the main street and then turn left again at the corner with the traffic lights (see map).
The entrance to the Young Buddhists Association is next to the Nicos travel agency (directly behind the bus stop). You'll see a "Zazen Practice" sign on the glass door at the entrance.
Here's a video showing how to get to the meetings from Hongo-sanchome station on the Marunouchi line.
Email me if you need more information, otherwise feel free to come along on the day and give it a try.
Buddhist Centre in Bawnboy in County Cavan. It was our first time to hold a Zen retreat there, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But it turned out to be a real nice retreat with a real nice group of people. Some people were trying a Buddhist retreat and meditation for the first time, while other people had been at a retreat before and had been doing meditation for several years or more. The people who were trying it for the first time seemed to enjoy it overall, and no-one complained about sore legs or the bad jokes. The people who had been to retreats before seemed to enjoy the atmosphere and zazen at Jampa Ling as well. During the retreat we got a chance to meet the Tibetan monk who lives at the Jampa Ling Centre and some of his students. It was my first time to meet a Tibetan Buddhist teacher. After chatting to him and his students, I realized that even though there are differences between Zen Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism, there’s plenty of common ground as well.
Apart from meditation, one of the activities during the retreat was a work period each morning for about 40 minutes. During the work period we chopped veggies or worked in the garden or cleaned up around the Centre. I was in the garden crew for both days. Usually I work indoors, so it was great to get outside in the fine weather and do some weeding and mess around with the wheel-barrow, although the bit of weeding I did was nothing compared to some of the work that was done by other people in the gardening crew. The person in charge of the gardens at Jampa Ling told me afterwards he was delighted to get so much help. He didn’t expect people would get into it so much, and he told me to let everyone know they were welcome back anytime! I didn’t get a chance to chop any veggies during the retreat, but I appreciated all the work people did to help with the food prep and wash-up during the retreat. 
and lakes. In one of the free periods during the retreat a few of us walked up to the nearby lake for a swim. I hadn’t brought my swimming togs so I just went in for a paddle, but the wise folks who had brought their swim gear really enjoyed the water. To get to the lake we had to walk through a field that had some cows and a bull. I grew up in the countryside and I’ve come across the odd bull that’d get very upset if you approached his field on the wrong day, so I was a bit worried when someone told me there was actually a bull there as we were walking through the field. I had visions of us being chased and attacked by the bull, and then having to cancel the retreat and it being all my fault. Luckily though, the bull must have picked up on the fact that the retreat was strictly vegetarian, and he and his herd let us pass in what I interpreted as a kind of mutual understanding of live and let live.
There were really friendly dogs and other animals around Jampa Ling as well. One of the dogs was the cute scotch terrier in the photo, and another was a very friendly border collie who was one of those dogs that loves to run after sticks and bring it back for you to throw again. If he saw you walking around, he’d run off and get a stick and bring it over and drop it down a few feet in front of you. Then he’d back off a few yards and crouch down and wait for you to throw it so he could run after it and bring it back to repeat the process over and over. If you walked past the stick without throwing it, he’d get it and drop it down in front of you again, and would keep doing that until you either gave in or went somewhere he couldn’t find you. Well he got plenty of throws out of me and lots of other people during the retreat. I’m sure he must have thought it was great to have the Zen folks around for the few days as well. 
