This year at both the Nebraska Zen Center and the Vine of Obstacles: Online Support for Zen Training we’ve studied one of the essential texts in the Sōtō Zen liturgy, “Harmony of Difference and Sameness” (Japanese: Sandōkai; Chinese: Cāntóngqì 參同契), supported by Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. In order to work my edge and offer something fresh to students, I translated the text as we were going along. You’ll find that below. The… Read more

My wife and co-teacher, Tetsugan, and I have been noticing how participation at the Nebraska Zen Center, and probably in other Zen Centers too, falls into five types (give or take): visitor, member, student, apprentice, and successor. In this post, I’ll briefly flesh out those levels of participation. Why? First, there are students here in Omaha that are on the edge of several of these levels of participation and it might serve them to more clearly know the lay of… Read more

Overview This program offers Zen practice under the guidance a senior Zen teacher, Dōshō Port (see bio here, listen to talks here), and interactions with a mature community of practitioners. Ed Gōshin, a longtime student of Katagiri Rōshi and Dōshō, serves as our assistant teacher. The Vine is designed for those who are determined to awaken (kensho) and actualize the great matter of birth and death (post-kensho training). And who aren’t shy about it. We offer instruction in both just-sitting zazen and the… Read more

            I forgot a few important things when writing the last post, “The Dharma of Taking Food: The Zen Art of Oryoki,” but thankfully, I have been reminded by caring others. So in this post, some more about an important practice opportunity. First, I’ll share a bit more about Wiping Cloth Sensei, and then unveil the Gansho Oryoki Incident Drama Scale (GOIDS), modelled after the better know Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (SSHWS). We also have a solid… Read more