UNSUI – Dharma Cloud Hermitage

Archive for the ‘News’ Category

The Spring retreat was well attended and gave ample opportunity to participate in all aspects of formal Zen practice. The retreat ended with the celebration of Buddha’s birthday, Hanamatsuri. For a good number of participants this was the first opportunity to experience extended practice.

The Hanamatsuri ceremony includes the formal circumambulation of a Baby Budhha statue. The altar is covered with petals gathered from the magnolias and flowers in the CBA’s garden. The circumambulators participate in a responsive chant and stop to poor sweet tea over the statue. This wonderful celebration of community was a good opportunity to thank everybody who has been contributing to the Sangha and our practice of the Dharma.

The beginning of the month marks Joshu Roshi’s traditional birthday sesshin which is followed by the Hanamatsuri celebration of Buddha’s birthday. Joshu Roshi will celebrate his 99th birthday with this 7-day Dai-sesshin which is the fourth Dai-sesshin he leads this year. Just a few days before starting the April Dai-sesshin he returned from a weeklong retreat he led in Puerto Rico.

Shuko and Dokuro will be participating in the Dai-sesshin from April 1-7.

We had a great month of March and were able to have Kim Amlong teach us some Yoga stretches that are especially helpful with seated meditation. We also had a nice evening with the members of BABU (Buddhist Association of Boston University) who paid us a visit on March 30.
Dokurô Osho continues to serve as the Buddhist chaplain at Boston University where he leads meditation with the BABU group on a bi-monthly basis.

Below you can see the schedule for the Winter retreat which was received very well. We had a total of fifteen participants for the weekend. Most of the participants were full-time and took advantage of the extended practice opportunity. We are looking forward to the next weekend retreat which will be our Spring retreat.

Our first weekend retreat for the year will start with the evening schedule on February 3rd. The retreat continues until Sunday the 5th at 12 pm. We are planning on at least four weekend retreats during the year.

Dokuro went to Los Angeles to attend the monthly Osho meeting. Joshu Roshi spoke at the meeting and some important developments around Rinzai-ji will be forthcoming. Sasaki Roshi is in fair health and will lead another Dai-sesshin at Mt. Baldy Zen Center starting February 8.

Happy New Year!
Shuko and Dokuro went to celebrate New Years with Joshu Roshi at Rinzai-ji in Los Angeles. Roshi is walking his 98th year and just had returned from Mt. Baldy Zen Centers Rohatsu Dai-sesshin.
The Cambridge Buddhist Association will be starting a series of events under the title “Growing a Lotus” which presents different topics that relate to Buddhist practice, including mind-body topics, Yoga for sitting meditation etc. Please check the schedule for announcements of programs.

The weekend retreat Dec. 2-4 was well received. Eleven participants shared the time together in this non-residential retreat. More retreats are planned for the upcoming winter and will be announced in the scheudle section.

The highlight of the retreat was a Jukai ceremony for Jonathan Briley and Franco Deangelis. Jonathan received the Dharma name Shôgen (清 原 ), and Franco Jôdo (情努).

The vice-abbess went to Bodhi Manda Zen Center to serve as Inji for Joshu Roshi. The Kessei at Bodhi Manda included two Dai-sesshin and also included a meeting of the Rinzai-ji Oshos. The abbot, Dokuro, travels once a month to the West Coast to participate in the Osho meetings in which Joshu Roshi addresses all Rinzai-ji Oshos.

Our enhanced schedule started just after Labor Day. We increased the formal practice to three meetings a week, please see our current schedule.

Dharma talks will be given on Sundays and during the week. In mid October we will also offer an introduction class that runs for four weeks.

On August 7 Cindy & Warrick took their marriage vows in a wedding ceremony at the CBA. Dokuro performed the service with the help of the vice-abbess Shuko. It was a very festive occasion attended by some twenty participants of all age groups. We wish the couple all the best in their marital life.

Plans for the Fall are forming and will be announced shortly on this site. Please check back, and, until then, enjoy the rest of the summer.

Our first year at the Cambridge Buddhist Association has ended. Without any advertising we gathered a core group which faithfully attends the formal sittings. A Zazen-kai weekend and a day sit were great successes with more than ten participants each. Some of our core members attended Dai-sesshin with Joshu Roshi in California.

For the coming year we are looking at offering sittings as before on Mondays and Sundays, but also adding an additional night on Wednesday. An introductory class for newcomers and people interested in meditation is planned and will be advertised during late summer.

Many thanks to the CBA for the use of the premises, all contributors, and friends. Please keep up the good work and we’ll have another great year to come.

Please join us for our one day retreat on Sunday, June 19, from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cambridge Buddhist Association. Formal lunch will be served. This is another great opportunity to engage in more extended meditation practice.