Taihaku Roshi - 4 Year Memorial

 

May 24th, 2025 marked the 4th year since Taihaku Roshi's sudden passing.  We had a special ceremony honored Shao Shan Temple's beloved founding abbot on this day directly after the Saturday morning program.  We offered incense and chanting in the small room at the Taihaku Altar and then processed up to the cemetery chanting the ancestor lineage with each step.  After offering incense at Taihaku Roshi's memorial stone we processed in silence back to the Temple and joined in a time of refreshments.  The tender time of rememberance and connection was joined by all of nature with the calls of ravens and the fragrance of flowering trees.

Buddha's Birthday Celebration 2025

 On a perfect weather spring day, Sunday, May 11th, Shao Shan Temple celebrated Buddha’s birthday!

Although we celebrate Buddha's Birthday every year, it is a new-born occasion every year - unique causes & conditions bringing forth a time that is fresh and new.   There were several unique aspects of this year's ceremony.  It was on Mother's Day - appropriate - as this is an occasion where we also honor and acknowledge Shakyamuni Buddha's mother.  Also everyone was invited to bring their home altar buddha to sit on the main Temple altar for this occasion - it was a  wonderous gathering of buddhas!

A festive celebration on a perfect spring day - with the new leaves bursting light green and the sky a brilliant blue.  An enthusiastic group gathered and nature joined in with the calling of the baby ravens in their nearby nest. 

Participants were invited to join in a noble procession carrying parasols, walking sticks decorated with colored streamers, bubble wands and little bells. The procession was accompanied by bells, drums, and conch. 

There was the telling of the story of Buddha's birth.

Everyone had the opportunity to ladle pure water over a statue of the baby Buddha accompanied by Shakuhachi flute music. 

The ceremony was followed by a delicious potluck, fiddle playing and gifts from Shao Shan for people's home altars! 

April Garden Opening Ceremony & Work Day

 
 Thank you to everyone who joined in the opening of the Temple garden on Saturday, April 19th!

There was a Temple "Garden Opening Ceremony" to begin the garden growing season.  The ceremony included walking in procession around the garden chanting the "Disaster Preventing Dharani", ceremonially planting the first seeds, and chanting our "Garden Chant". We also read a Thich Nhat Hanh quote about being aware of what kinds of thoughts we "water" within ourselves - whether wholesome or unwholesome.

We worked tilling the soil and shaping the garden beds - finishing just as the pouring rain started!

Flexibility & change - April Family Program

 For April's Family Program we explored the themes of stretching our brains and moving with change. 

We began by introducing ourselves and sharing something we had been noticing about the natural world, such as the weather continuously changing its mind between winter and spring, the return of the robins, and green bulb shoots poking through the ground. We then listened to the story of the Blind Men and the Elephant, in which each blind man touches a portion of an elephant and insists that the elephant is like a pillar (leg), a rope (tail), a wall (body), a tree branch (trunk), and a pipe (tusk), depending on the part they were touching. We discussed how each of us has a unique perspective, which is only partly true, so it is important to respect and listen to the perspectives of others as well. 

Next, we looked at a variety of optical illusions, which challenged our brains to see things differently. Another brain-stretching challenge was trying to write or draw with our non-dominant hand. We also played a game called Morph, in which each person copied the movement of another person, who also was copying the movement of another, and practiced moving with change while staying in the moment. 

After snack, we proceeded to the Temple zendo, where we shared the Morph game with the adults, and ended with a bell-ringing meditation and group OM.

March Introduction to Shao Shan

 

Saturday morning March 22nd, was an in-person "Introduction to Shao Shan Temple" program.  Seven new people participated.  This program offers an overview of the Temple, history, programs offered, an introduction to meditation, the opportunity to ask questions and a brief tour of the grounds.  Noah & Caleb joined as sangha (Temple community) representatives.

Winter Mini Practice Period - 2025

 

The Winter Mini Practice Period is designed to provide an opportunity for Temple participants to make a individual commitment to intensive practice during these several weeks of ongoing extended practice schedule.  We began on March 1st and concluded with a weekend Sesshin (Meditation Retreat) on March 15th&16th.  This is our fourth annual March Practice Period. 

Heart Sutra Copying Practice

The theme of this year's practice period was the "Heart Sutra." chanted daily. Several of the Dharma Talks were offered by visiting teachers.

Ven. Lhundub Chodron Dharma Talk #2

Rev. Seiso Cooper - Dharma Talk #3

Rev. Jisho Siebert - Dharma Talk #4

With deep gratitude to all the visiting teachers and to all who participated in this year's Winter Practice Period - may it be of benefit.

Rev. Kenzan - Dharma Talks #1&5

Temple front doors open during meditation

Adapting in Winter - March Family Program

 

For the March Family Program the children explored the themes of winter adaptations and adapting to changing circumstances. We began by sharing our names and things we had been noticing about the natural world, including a few returning birds, dramatic shifts in temperature, strong winds, and ice. We then discussed various ways that animals adapt to winter, including hibernation/torpor, staying active, and migrating. We pretended to be different animals adapting in their various ways - snowshoe hares hopping with camouflage fur, Canada geese flying south for the winter, foxes hunting for mice, and bears and chipmunks sleeping in their dens and burrows. We also talked about ways humans adapt to the challenges of winter, such as putting on warm gear, making fires in our homes, making snow people and skiing to have fun in the cold, and shoveling and plowing to be able to move around. Next, we ate a delicious snack of mud (chocolate pudding), snow (shredded coconut), dirt clumps (toasted walnuts), rocks (raisins), and melted snow (water) to give ourselves extra energy before our outdoor adventure. Once fed, we ventured outdoors and dug our own human-sized burrows and tunnels in the snow banks around the temple property. Finally, we joined the adults in the temple zendo for an exploration of meditating with different hand mudras and ended with some group OMs.

Buddha's Parinirvana 2025

On February 15^th Buddhists around the world traditionally commemorate the Buddha’s Parinirvana - Shakyamuni Buddha’s departure from this body.   

This year we commemorated Buddha's Parinirvana with an extended meditation period which included a reading of excerpts from the Parinirvana Brief Admonitions Sutra - Shakyamuni Buddha's last words.  The meditation was followed by a ceremony which included chanting, formal offerings and traditional aspects of Soto Zen funeral services.

O good followers of the path! Do not grieve! Even if I were to live in the world for as long as a kalpa, our coming together would have to end. There can be no coming together without parting. ... it may be that you will think, “The teacher’s instructions have ceased.” But it should not be seen like this. For what I have taught shall be your teacher, all living beings shall be your teacher, this bright world, and your very mind itself, shall be your teacher.  

-Excerpts from the Parinirvana Brief Admonitions Sutra

Hearts of Lovingkindness - February Family Program

For February's in-person Family Program, we celebrated lovingkindness and the heart. The children's portion of the program began by sharing our names and things we had been noticing in the natural world, which included snow, snow and more snow (and snowflakes!). 

For one activity we paid mindful attention to our pulses as we jumped up and down for a minute and then stood quietly as our heart beats settled back down. We also passed a group pulse, in which each person squeezed the hand of the person next to them as the pulse moved around the circle. Next, we crafted Lovingkindness/Valentine's cards and paper snowflakes, some of which became offerings on the Temple altar, and also made pine cone peanut butter bird feeders as a lovingkindness offering to the birds and other outdoor creatures. 

Finally, we gathered inside the Temple with the adults for some meditation and ringing of the bell, sending the vibrations of lovingkindness near and far.

Temple Days 2025

 

We are resuming the once a month TEMPLE DAY program.  The plan is that it will usually be the first Friday of the month.  This is a program to experience a slice of monastic life with sitting meditation, chanting service, work practice and a meal together.

This past Friday was the first Temple Day in several years and an enthusiastic group came together to be the life and breath of Shao Shan.  Work included winter squash processing, thorough Zendo cleaning, candlestick polishing, preparing lunch, roof snow shovelling and more.

Visiting Teacher: Rebecca Li

 

Shao Shan Temple was honored to have Zen Teacher and author, Rebecca Li, join our Tuesday evening online program on 2/4/2025.  We are currently reading her book Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method for Study Group.  We have been finding both her book and her talk to be inspirational for our practice.

With deep gratitude!

Annual Meeting 2025

 Shao Shan Temple's 2025 Annual Meeting took place on Saturday, February 1st.  

While most of our programs are focused on matters of spiritual practice; this program is different in that it focuses on the administrative and functional aspects of Shao Shan Temple - the ground of how the Temple functions and moves forward.   

The Annual Meeting participants had the opportunity to review the Temple Reports (Sangha Report, Program Report, Cemetery Report and the Financial Report) and ask questions.  The Annual Meeting this year was primarily in-person (with coffee & donuts!) plus a limited online option.  A summary of the Annual Meeting is available upon request.

Bodhisattva Precept Ceremony 2025

 In January, Shao Shan Temple has a ceremony for formally receiving the first five Bodhisattva precepts and making a commitment to a Buddhist way of life.  This is also an occasion for Sangha members and the families and friends of those receiving the precepts to join together in support of the commitment being entered.   

This year, on Sunday, January 26th, 2025, Steven Melamed, Kyle Stevens and Arthur Demarais participated in this ceremony, receiving the five precepts.  Thanks to all who joined in a spirit of renewal and intentions which support a life beneficial for all. The ceremony was followed by a joyous time of refreshments and social connection.