centre news 2005

December 31, the last day of the year, saw our traditional cleaning of the Zen Centre.

The last sesshin of 2005 was in November. Thirteen people attended in the cool, damp weather. Gratefully a wood stove kept us warm. Congratulations to first-timers Attila and Kumiko who both did very well. The sesshin ended with everyone bright-eyed and lively.

	Thanks to Brad for tiling the lower bathroom shower. It was a lot of work while Brad continued his full time job. There was a little help from Chris M, Mike and Eshin. It looks a big improvement and will last a long time.

In October Eshin lead the Prince George Zen Group in their two day intensive. Most had sesshin before and the sitting was solid.

Mortgage Retirement Fund Appeal.

Most of you will have received the centre’s appeal card for this fund. We’re at a transition point in the centre’s growth. New space is needed for residential students, storage, a dining area, etc; the present zendo, bathroom, and sangha area are becoming cramped as more students appear. A larger place is needed. We can get by for a while in a limited way. The basement could be used for students, a few more people can fit in the zendo on busy days, etc. However, soon a larger place will be needed, ideally with enough room for students to stay during intensives.

The donations of the sangha and supporters continue to help, covering our ongoing costs with the little excess going into paying down the mortgage each year. The mortgage now stands at $50,000. Paying this off entirely will give the flexibility for our growth. It would mean the basement could become free for our use, and with no mortgage the equity would be maximized for moving a larger new place. Please reflect on the need for the centre and practise, both for our individual selves and for our troubled world, and contribute accordingly. The Zen Centre directors are asking people to dig deeper than usual for this occasion.

Making the goal of this appeal more possible is the offer of an anonymous donor, who will match our donations for the mortgage fund. This means our donations are effectively doubled. Let’s make the most of this opportunity. Please stretch in what you can give and we’ll see if we can retire the mortgage!

On September 17th Gareth was initiated as a Zen monk in the Tokudo Shiki ceremony. Gareth took the name Buddhist name E'cho. Most of the sangha attended the ceremony and wished him well.
The third sesshin of the year was in August. A smaller group of the core members practised intensly and smoothly.

In spring we solicited views on how to present and send the centres information. The following arrangement is being implemented. The web site for visitors and newcomers remains www.zen.ca. It is orientated to people outside the centre looking for information. A sangha section is at sangha.zen.ca (no www). This is orientated to sangha members, people that already know the centre. Printed newsletters will continue. Email announcements will continue; schedule changes, etc will be emailed to a list of current sitters; ceremony announcements, etc will be emailed to the full list of sitters and supporters. Send in your email address if you want to be on these lists but aren’t currently receiving anything. Both the www.zen.ca and sangha.zen.ca sections of the web site will have the maroon coloured announcements of schedule changes.

The May sesshin on Galiano Island was full. The facilities allow a maximum of fifteen people. August is filling slowly and is likely going to be smaller than usual. The dates for the November sesshin has been changed to the 11 th – 19 th, a week earlier that first planned. The dates for the 2006 sesshins are now being worked out.

Maintenance that’s on the ‘to do’ list:- tile the basement bathroom shower, put anti-slip on the front steps for winter, widen the side path for the new garbage containers City Hall is planning, the zendo will need re-painting sometime as it’s stained by incense smoke and has some roughly painted areas.

July saw a successful yard sale fund-raiser. Thanks to everyone that donated items or came to help.

The years second sesshin in May was maxed out at fifteen people. Congratulations to Cristian, Graham, Gordon, Ivan and Ken on their first sesshin. Graham came from Calgary, Judith and Ken from Prince George, Dorothy from Dawson Creek, and the remainder from Vancouver. People had the opprtunity to learn new responsibilities as tenzo, jikijitsu, etc. The next sesshin is in August and is likely to be filled so don't wait too long before applying!

Buddha's Birthday ceremony was held on April 9th. This year the ceremony was fuller with the two tokudo people chanting before everyone joined in. Eshin then spoke on Shakyamuni's life and it's lessons and teachings for all of us. Many thought this years food was the best yet and was followed by Peter playing the shakuhachi . Thank you everyone for making it such a wonderful occasion.

Corinne's Tokudo Shiki (ordination) was on Saturday January 8. Her Buddhist name is Myorei. Most members of the Zen Centre and Mrs Sumi's Ikebana school came to witness and celebrate this important point in Myorei's practise. Every practitioner present found the chants and vows very moving and having a deep impact on them.

The Zen Centre started because of a visit to Vancouver from Joshu Sasaki Roshi many, many years ago. Over the years many of our members have travelled south to do sesshin and/or training under his guidance. He is still going at ninety-eight years old. Schedules and details can be found at Mt Baldy Zen Center's web site.