I can do no better than send you over to Iain Robinsons blogger where he has written about his visit to Sojiji, (where Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett trained in the 1960's) to listen to some ancient music played, mostly, by monks.

Iain describes the music thus: "Gagaku is music to sit still with and experience, it is structurally so different that I can't describe it. But it's often a very meditative sound". Take a look, there are a couple of photos too.

Here is a link to a site talking about Gagaku music for those who want to read further on the subject.

From time to time, for a change of pace and because it's good to smile and laugh a little, I'll dig out some of my photos and post them. Machinery that has become part of the landscape is a particular favorite of mine. Not sure why, perhaps it is about the relationship between movement and rest embodied in such images.
Seen in a neighborhood in Utrecht, The Netherlands, 1999. I wonder if it is still there.

I am tempted to write about photography, however I think it is probably better that I didn't. I struggled for years with the philosophical problems surrounding photography and thankfully eventually stopped, not long after that I became a monk. It's interesting because somehow I don't seem to think about all of that any more.

Yesterday I was at the post office mailing a Scriptures and Ceremonies CD to an estranged congregation member staying in Toronto for the year. While there I noticed a woman mailing two parcels to Singapore and we fell into conversation. "What's it like"? she asked. "Hot, modern, humid, muli cultural, great shopping, oh and much more". "Is it green"? "Yes, and very very clean too"! She would soon be finding out first hand about the place. This conversation had me transported back not only to the time I spent in Singapore this year but to the months I lived there in 1979. For some reason Singapore gets under your skin, under mine anyway.

My last week in East Asia was spent in Singapore as the guest of Poh Ern Ssu "Temple of Thanksgiving". This visit was at the end of two months intensive traveling and it was all I could do to physically and mentally keep going. There was little energy left over to post entries for this blog. Over the next little while I'd like to acknowledge the help and support I received in Singapore by, posting some photos and speaking of a sampling of what happened during my brief visit. I hope Boon will, if needed, help fill in some of the gaps with names of people and temples.

Mr. Boon Lee and his wife Connie were my hosts and mentors while in Singapore. They are pictured forth and fifth from the left. The photo was taken on my last evening in Singapore, June 2005. It had been a long evening and by the time this photo was taken most of the congregation had gone home. The red kesa was one of the many gifts so kindly given to me. I'm holding a blue lapis statue of the Healing Buddha, also a gift.

I bumped into Boon by chance in a shopping center wheeling the temples books to the accountant. I'd just survived a reflexology treatment the like of which I had never experienced before. Painful yet effective, a life saver.

Weaving through those two months in East Asia were meetings with lay Buddhist, in Singapore I was fortunate to spend my time exclusively in the company of lay devotees. They like those met in Taiwan, Malaysia and Japan were an inspiration. I think enough time has elapsed for me to try and convey in words what I learnt from these people. In short they inspired gratitude which is at the heart of giving unconditionally. There is much to be said on this subject, however that will have to come on another day.

An American lay Buddhist sangha member related the following story from yesterdays Thanksgiving Dinner, which he had with his wife and extended family, including two young grandchildren.

We were all gathered round the table full of holiday dishes, quite a spread, we paused a moment to take it all in. I said something like "Gee, look at all this lovely food, thank you, maybe we need to say a verse or something*. Young Zain (6 years, or so), sensing the gravity of the situation and quickly searching his memory banks, came up with the one verse he knew well, learned from school, The Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag! So he had us all place our hands on our hearts and then he lead us in reciting: "I Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands-one nation indivisible-with liberty and justice for all." (That's the original version.)

*For those not familiar with our practice we generally recite a verse aloud before eating a meal, when alone or in the company of fellow practitioners. Or recite it silently when the circumstances call for that or just simply say 'Thank you'. Basically we bring gratitude to mind for the food which enables us to continue to practice.

One can bow to the innocence of a child's fresh young mind that came up with a verse, even though not quite appropriate for the occasion. Thank you Zain.

Here is the statue, bought at Polly Magoo's, then carried home to the priory in a snow storm this time last year. Over the follow days the statue, which had been 'antiqued', was tenderly cleaned and then painstakingly painted by Rev. Koten. On the Lions Gate Buddhist Priory web site you will find the transcript of the talks given by Rev. Master Koten during a weeks retreat he gave at Shasta Abbey in 2004. (Go to the archives for all of the talks). The title of the retreat was: Female Buddhas: The Equality of Buddha Nature. These transcripts will eventually all be published in the Journal of the O.B.C. however you can take a look at the teaching now.

Goodness! It is amazing what one discovers on the internet, and right in ones own back yard too! There are quite a few articles to be found on the OBC web site if you follow the link above. I see that Rev. Master Koten has one there which relates to his retreat topic.

Tomorrow, 24th November, is Thanksgiving in America. This is a time when families get together and eat and celebrate. I took a look for the history of this celebration and now I know more clearly its origins and how it came to be what it is to-day. Take a look at this link. The History Channel - Thanksgiving if you want to dispel some of the myths that have grown up around this day.

I'm fortunate in having a huge Dharma family, both lay and monastic sangha members. This evening I received a telephone call from one of them. I was touched to be remembered and get this call. "You're family, that's why I called".

Thanksgiving is celebrated in Canada in September and we did a ceremony at the Priory. I've been waiting for an opportunity to post a photo of the altar and now is my chance. You will see there are dishes of food on the altar and I scattered some autumn leaves around the alter reminding us that the season is changing and our efforts are more inwardly directed...now the harvest is in.

It is unseasonably warm at the moment. Temperatures reached 15 c today!

Copied below is an email exchange which has some content in that may be of interest. It is published with the persons permission.

What's your/the soto zen point of view regarding positive self-talk? I understand (well, likely not, but you know what I mean) the benefits of looking at things as they are, but doesn't a person sometimes need to lie to themselves a bit to feel better sometimes? Or just focus on the positive to get through a tough time?

Dear Friend,
In brief, telling the truth is telling the truth, be it to others or oneself. Telling oneself little untruths is like giving candy to a crying child. It works for awhile but doesn't address why she is crying. As for feelings. Where there is feeling, good bad or indifferent feelings, there is an aspect of the 'being' (you) waving her hand (so to speak) and saying "hay, you can let go of this". "Take a look". This is the arising of the koan in daily life and the solving of the koan too if one chooses to: one, listen and two, act wisely where action is called for. The Buddhist precepts come in here as well as Compassion of course. Often it is only when somebody realizes that they hurt deeply, (really badly and for a long time), and they want an end to it that they take up a religious practice. That's when they have really really 'had it' with pain and suffering, and at the same time trust that there is a path out of it. Amazing as it might seem it is often the case that realizing ones suffering and finding a religious path can happen around about the same time.

As for 'being positive'. We talk about 'looking up', not looking down, maintaining a 'bright mind', that sort of thing. All point to not indulging in self pity and woe while on the other side of it, not deliberately going into another kind of self, a positive one. There is a difference between trying to think oneself into 'being positive' and 'looking up' which is not about thinking something. It's more about returning to paying attention in the present moment. Look down and you are mentally stumbling about in the dark and tripping over oneself constantly. Difficult to explain all of this however all roads point to meditation. In this case returning to daily life meditation. That's just doing what you are doing and not obsessing about what's going on in the mind/body however nasty it might feel. Simple, yet not easy. There is a lot to all of this, however that's the gist.

OK I guess if all else fails, the chips are down etc, it's best to focus on the positive rather than dwell in the negative. It is just that there is this basic problem there. Negative and positive are just two sides of the same coin and to flip from one to the other side and back is 'work'. Better by far to simply hold the coin, be still with it/within it and let the good and the bad times roll on by. Reference to a song there I think! We call this traveling the Middle Way.

Your question was a good one, simple and straight forward. I like 'em that way. I think this exchange would make a good blogger posting. Are you OK with my doing that? In gassho, Mugo

Sure! I asked (my question) because I've been depressed for a few days and was wondering. Thinking positive helps sometimes, but then I remembered reading stuff about...stuff...that made me question that practice. Not that I'm going to completely throw it out. Sometimes it's useful. Thanks for your answer. I'll have to chew on it.

Had you tried getting out and walking, briskly. That can help lift a depression if it hasn't gone too heavy. Mugo

Oh yeah, I'm also really feeling it - not meditating regularly. I was noticing the effects, even of not going to your place (the priory) anymore. I'll be glad when I can attend again next week. It's really hard for me to get into sitting once I've fallen out of it.

So true, so very true for all of us. It is hard to get back into sitting. However, do you ever take a long break from cleaning your teeth? Think about, habits get to be habits through repetition. In gassho, Mugo

True!
I wasn't down last week, and last night just wanted to relax. I'll be busy all this week, too. I was starting to meditate and exercise regularly - then really overbooked myself. Oh well.

Middle Way, all the way.

:)

I just came across this news item by chance. Seems there is a whole lot of 'something' going on in Napal at the moment. My only thought is to pass on merit to the little chap they call the Buddha Boy.

How many times have I walked into a music shop and asked for an f tuning fork only to be met with kindness, to be sure, but no promises of an f fork? It would seem they are not used much and so for years my efforts have been in vein. That is until the other week when I strolled into a music shop, in the now famed, Whyte Avenue close to the Priory. The sales woman, Lisa, went to a lot of trouble to track down a source for me and the other day I picked up this one. A magnificent aluminum tuning fork, it's a whopper too.

Our scriptures were translated into English and set to Gregorian chant by Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett and much of what we sing has a 'reciting note' of f, thus the need for the fork. It is paramount to start off a scripture on the right note as things can go down hill, musically, very fast if you don't. When I’m precenting I prefer to use a tuning fork rather than a pitch pipe as a pipe, powered by breath, can sound a bit odd ‘honking’ in the middle of a ceremony!

In an interview Rev. Master gave with Lenore Friedman she spoke about translating the scriptures and setting them to Gregorian chant. Which is a variety of plainsong by the way, something I’m glad to have got clear for myself. That interview, along with interviews with other leading female Buddhist teachers in North America, were edited into a book entitled 'Meetings With Remarkable Women' published by Shambhala. It came out in the 1980’s and has since been republished in a Revised and Updated Edition around 2000. It’s well worth getting hold of a copy as, apart from the references to music, the interview give a sense of Rev. Masters’ humanity and great sense of humour too. Also Lenore paints a picture of training at Shasta Abbey, as seen through her eyes during a weekend stay there.

Here is an extract from the aforementioned interview for your interest:
“…there are twenty-four scales in Gregorian—and there are peregrinating ones as well. Which means if you choose the right ones, you can avoid the emotionalism. Interestingly enough, regarding our major and minor scales, the major is one of the twenty-four, which is the war scale. All our major music is written in the scale that encourages anger and violence. And all our minor music (which is the Aeolian) is the death scale, in which people made all their funeral music.” “I do most of mine in the Phrygian, which is very cool and starry and still. And it gives the perfect effect. I also use the peregrinus mode because that’s extraordinarily good for very long lines.”
From
Meetings With Remarkable Women, published by Shambhala.

Well, this has all been very instructive. I expect there are readers who know a lot more about plainsong, and music generally, than I do. I’m no expert. If anybody needs to get a copy of our Scriptures and Ceremonies you can buy a CD, or an audiotape version, from the Throssel Hole Buddhist Bookshop. They may well ship to North America.

Bit of a change o' pace for to-days posting.
The above map should give you an idea of the scale of the Edmonton area and where the Priory is. At the top of the big N of Edmonton is Whyte Avenue the main 'hanging out' and local shopping street for University students. I can reach Whyte walking, at a brisk pace, in 15 mins. The Priory bank is there as is Chapters the bookshop chain where I go yet seldom buy. Polly Magoo's is on Whyte Avenue and long established too, by modern standards. This is a very colorful gift shop with imports from Asia including Buddha statues, the staff are friendly and helpful. Last year towards the end of November Rev. Master Koten of Lions Gate Buddhist Priory in Vancouver came to visit for a couple of weeks. Andrew, a layman from England, was here at the same time and it turned out to be a very memorable time for all of us.

It didn't take long before Rev. Master Koten and I were out window shopping on Whyte. To cut a long story short we quickly found ourselves hauling back a heavy statue in a snow storm, bought at Polly Magoo's. At the same visit I spotted a statue of the Healing Buddha which I connect with, loved it in fact. There was some question as to whether it was for sale or not, however eventually over about a week all the staff got on the same page and now it sits as the Buddha on my private altar. The staff were burning incense stick in the hand of the statue. I wince now at the thought. The other day I bought a small piece of Lapis to place in the open hand. Lapis is associated with Bhaisagjyguru by the way.

From time to time I drop into Polly Magoo's to visit the statues. The staff remember me as 'being with the monk who painted a statue' they had sold. They recently moved a few doors down the street and the have completely remodeled inside. They were glad to show off their new 'Buddha corner'. Well, I couldn't not take a photo of the mural painted by one of the staff, Kelsey Nowaczynski.. Here it is:

Hopefully there will be a photo of that painted statue mentioned and also one of the Healing Buddha too.