Summer Retreat August 18th to August 25 2011

A 7 day Cha'n Retreat will start on August 2011,
under the instruction of Master Chieh Harne aka Master Henry,

Pre-registration is not required, if you wish to come for a short time drop ins will be welcome.

Sunshine Zen Centre
11148 Sunshine Coast Highway 101
Tel 604 883 1167

~*~

Thousands of years ago, the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.
He realized that all sentient beings possess inherent Buddha nature with the potential to achieve ultimate freedom, eternal peace and perfect enlightenment

Ch'an, widely known as Zen in the West, is directly seeing one's true mind, which is the mind of the Buddha.

The object of ch'an training is to realize the mind for the perception of (self-)nature.

No Attachment to Dust

Zengetsu, a Chinese master of the tang dynasty, wrote the following advice for his pupils:

Living in the world yet not forming attachments to the dust of the world is the way of the true Zen student.

When witnessing the good action of another encourage yourself to follow his example. Hearing the mistaken action of another, advise yourself not to emulate it.

Even though alone in a dark room, be as if you were facing a noble guest. Express your feelings, but become no more expressive than your true nature.

Poverty is your treasure. Never exchange it for an easy life.

A person may appear a fool and yet not be one. He may be only guarding his wisdom carefully.

Virtues are the fruit of self-discipline and do not drop from heaven themselves as does rain or snow.

Modesty is the foundation of all virtues. Let your neighbours discover you before you make yourself known to them.

A noble heart never forces itself forward. Its words are as rare gems, seldom displayed and of great value.

To a sincere student, everyday is a fortunate day. Time passes but he never lags behind. Neither glory nor shame can move him.

Censure yourself, never another. Do not discuss right or wrong.

Some things though right, were considered wrong for generations. Since the value of righteousness may be recognized after centuries, there is no need to crave an immediate appreciation.

Live with cause and leave the results to the great law of the universe. Pass each day in peaceful contemplation.

from Heart to Heart

Om Homage to the Perfection of Wisdom, the Holy !

Avalokita, the Holy Lord and Bodhisattva, was moving in the deep course of the Wisdom which has gone beyond.

He looked down from on high, He beheld but five heaps, and He saw that in their own-being they were empty.

Here, O Sariputra,

form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form ;

emptiness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form,

the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness.

Here, O Sariputra,

all dharmas are marked with emptiness ;

they are not produced or stopped, not defiled or immaculate, not deficient or complete.

Therefore, O Sariputra,

in emptiness there is no form nor feeling, nor perception, nor impulse, nor consciousness ;

No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind ; No forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touchables or objects of mind ; No sight-organ element, and so forth, until we come to :

No mind-consciousness element ; There is no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, and so forth, until we come to : There is no decay and death, no extinction of decay and death. There is no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path.

There is no cognition, no attainment and no non-attainment.

Therefore, O Sariputra,

it is because of his non-attainmentness that a Bodhisattva, through having relied on the Perfection of Wisdom, dwells without thought-coverings. In the absence of thought-coverings he has not been made to tremble,

he has overcome what can upset, and in the end he attains to Nirvana.

All those who appear as Buddhas in the three periods of time fully awake to the utmost, right and perfect Enlightenment because they have relied on the Perfection of Wisdom.

Therefore one should know the prajnaparamita as the great spell, the spell of great knowledge, the utmost spell, the unequalled spell, allayer of all suffering, in truth -- for what could go wrong ? By the prajnaparamita has this spell been delivered. It runs like this :

gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.

( Gone, gone, gone far beyond, gone altogether beyond, O what an awakening, all-hail ! -- )

This completes the Heart of perfect Wisdom.

(Translated by E. Conze)

"Avalokiteshvara proclaimed the pith of the prajnaparamita, the essence of the rug-pulling-out experience, the essence of the fearless, open state of mind. It came in the form of a mantra: "OM GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SVAHA." Just as a seed contains the tree, this mantra contains the entire teachings on abiding in prajnaparamita, abiding in the fearless state. "OM gone, gone, gone beyond, gone completely beyond, awake, so be it." This is a description of a process, a journey, of always stepping out further and further. We could also say, "OM groundlessness, groundlessness, more groundlessness, even beyond groundlessness, fully awake, so be it!" No matter where we are on the bodhisattva path, whether we are just beginning or we've practiced for years, we're always stepping further into groundlessness. Enlightenment is not the end of anything. Enlightenment, being completely awake, is just the beginning of fully entering into we know not what. When the great bodhisattva finished teaching, the Buddha came out of his meditation and said, "Good, good! You expressed it perfectly, Avalokiteshvara." And those in the audience who hadn't walked out or died from heart attacks rejoiced. They rejoiced at hearing this teaching on stepping beyond fear." From The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times. ©2001 by Pema Chödrön.

Meditation Retreat 2009

A university professor visits Master Nan-in to find out about Zen.
Nan-in serves him tea, but keeps pouring even tho' the cup is full.
"Master, the cup is overflowing. Please stop.".... "you are like this cup,
full of your own views. If you do not empty your cup how can i show you Zen?"





The non-dwelling mind is the mind of the Buddha, it is the mind of liberation, it is the mind of Bodhi, and it is the mind of non-birth. So, if you really want meditation to come about, sit properly erect and close your eyes. Then purify your mind, lay down everything and think of neither good nor evil. Just observe your thoughts. As you look for their place of origin, you discover that they suddenly rise up and just as suddenly disappear, and that this process goes on and on. Be patient and continue to observe them, and you will, in time, know the thoughts to be devoid of any self-nature; also you will, thereby, know original emptiness. Do not attempt to follow the thoughts, to trace them in any way or have any intention of getting rid of them, and, in time, awareness will manifest as your mind illumines a thought. Then, there will suddenly be a stillness that becomes suchness. At some point, another thought will arise, and you will observe it in the same way.

Do this at least once a day, sitting from fifteen minutes to an hour. As your concentration deepens, your thoughts slow down and diminish in number, and your power of illumination increases until you eventually find out that not a single thought arises. Then, there is only stillness and voidness, for then the mind is clear and pure. This is your self-nature as known directly through wisdom (Prajna)

Author by

Dharma Master Lok To
based on the meditation manual
of Ting Chen





A 30 day meditation retreat will take place in the Sunshine Zen Centre, under the guidance of Master Henry, if you require further information please contact the Monastery by phone or e-mail us at sunshinezencenter@gmail.com

Dates

August 20 2009

to

Sept 20 2009



Namo Amituofo

Winter Retreat Dec 17th 2008 Feb 4th 2009

The Fundamentals of Meditation Practice

Originally, one's own mind and nature are pure, and there is nothing to accept and nothing to refuse; there is neither existence nor non-existence; there is only clear understanding without attachment and with no dwelling. One who wants to know the no-attachment, no-dwelling mind can find it through meditation, because it is only then that the mind does not think of right and wrong, of good and evil or of self and others.

A new 49 day Winter Retreat will start on December 17, led by Master Henry. We will be following the ‘standard’ retreat programe with plenty of meditation, & periods of silence as well as the opportunity for one-to-one practice reviews, pre-registration is highly suggested, if you wish to come and practice for a shorter period of time drop ins will be welcome, please phone in advance.

What to bring:

Sleeping Bag
Comfortable & warm clothing
Winter Boots
Flashlight

THE SIXTH PATRIARCH HUI NENG

His Holiness Hui Neng (638-713) , who became the great Sixth Patriarch of Ch'an (Japanese Zen) was a poor illiterate peasant boy from Hsin Chou of Kwangtung. One day, after he had delivered firewood to a shop, he overheard a man reciting the following line from the "Diamond Sutra" - "Depending upon no-thing, you must find your own mind." Instantly, Hui Neng became Enlightened. The full verse said: "All Bodhisattvas (Compassionate Ones) should develop a pure mind which clings to no-thing whatsoever; and so he should establish it."

The man who recited this sutra encouraged Hui Neng to meet the Fifth Zen Patriarch, Hung Jen, at the Tung Chian Monastery in the Huang Mei District of Chi Chou. Hui Neng said to the Fifth Patriarch: "I am a commoner from Hsin Chou Kwangtung (today, near Canton in the south of China). I have traveled far to pay you respect, and I ask for nothing but Buddhahood." "You are a native of Kwangtung, a barbarian? How can you expect to be a Buddha?" asked the Patriarch. "Although there are northern men and southern men, north and south make no difference to their Buddha Nature. A barbarian is different from Your Holiness physically, but there is no difference in our Buddha Nature." Master Hung Jen immediately accepted Hui Neng as his disciple, but he had to hide this fact from the very educated northern monks at the monastery. At the time of the Fifth Patriarch, Ch'an was still influenced by Indian Buddhism, which did not emphasize direct awakening, but the importance of study and metaphysical debates. To protect Hui Neng, the Patriarch sent him to the kitchen to split firewood and pound rice for eight months.

One day the Fifth Patriarch told his monks to express their wisdom in a poem. Whoever had true realization of his original nature (Buddha Nature) would be ordained the Sixth Patriarch. The head monk, Shen Hsiu, was the most learned, and wrote the following:

The body is the wisdom-tree,
The mind is a bright mirror in a stand;
Take care to wipe it all the time,
And allow no dust to cling.

The poem was praised, but The Fifth Patriarch knew that Shen Hsiu had not yet found his original nature, on the other hand, Hui Neng couldn't even write, so someone had to write down his poem, which read:


Fundamentally no wisdom-tree exists,
Nor the stand of a mirror bright.
Since all is empty from the beginning,
Where can the dust alight


The Fifth Patriarch pretended that he wasn't impressed with this poem either, but in the middle of the night he summoned Hui Neng. The Fifth Patriarch gave him the insignia of his office, the Patriarch's robe and bowl (source). Hui Neng was told to leave for the South and to hide his enlightenment and understanding until the proper time arrives for him to propagate the Dharma.

To meditate means to realize inwardly the imperturbability of the essence of mind.

Those who train themselves for imperturbability should, in their contacts with all types of men, ignore the faults of others.

As to the dharma, [teaching, path] this is transmitted from heart to heart, and the recipient must realize it by his own efforts.

All depends on self-practice.... "


The Sutra Spoken by the Sixth Patriarch on the High Seat of the Treasure of the Law, otherwise known as The Platform Sutra of Hui-neng.

Hui-neng's life-story was fortunately preserved for us in the sutra text, in the record of his first public talk, which he began as follows:

Learned Audience, our essence of mind [literally, self-nature], which is the seed or kernel of enlightenment [bodhi], is pure by nature, and by making use of this mind alone, we can reach buddhahood directly. Now let me tell you something about my own life and how I came into possession of the esoteric teaching of the Dhyana school.

Hui-neng said that when he heard the sentence "One should use one's mind in such a way that it will be free from any attachment," he "at once became thoroughly enlightened and realized that all things in the universe are the essence of mind itself."

49 day Ch'an retreat July 13th August 30th 2008

Thousands of years ago, the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.
He realized that all sentient beings possess inherent Buddha nature with the potential
to achieve ultimate freedom, eternal peace and perfect enlightenment

Ch'an, widely known as Zen in the West, is directly seeing one's true mind, which is the mind of the Buddha.
The object of ch'an training is to realize the mind for the perception of (self-)nature.

At Sunshine Zen Centre, one learns Buddha's teachings, Introduction to Chan Meditation and advanced meditation methods to experience Cha'n. All classes are free of charge and open to public.

Regular Meditation Schedule open to all public
Thursday 7- 9 pm and Sunday's from 9 -12 am





A 49 day Summer Retreat will start on July 13th 2008, under the instruction of Master Chieh Harne aka Master Henry
pre-registration is highly suggested, if you wish to visit for a short time drop ins will be welcome
please phone in advance

The Monastery is located is located near Pender Harbour off Highway 101 on the Sunshine Coast of BC.
The Sunshine Coast is accessible from the rest of the Lower Mainland only by boat or airplane. Travellers aboard BC Ferries leave Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver for the 45-minute ride to Langdale on the Sechelt Peninsula. Highway 101 links Langdale with Pender Harbour, approximately 31 miles (50 km) to the northwest.



We are supported by your generous donations.
For registration/inquiries
please contact

Sunshine Zen Centre
11148
Sunshine Coast Highway 101
Canada V0N 1Y2
Tel/Fax:604 883 1167
sunshinezentemple@gmail.com

Come and experience Cha'n with us!

Picture Master Henry at the
Chan Hall on the opening day ceremony for the first 49 day Ch'an Retreat at the Sunshine Ch'an Temple July 13th 2008 Photo Credit Jorge

Ch'an

THUS I HAVE HEARD
An Ancient Master once said...

Self-Cultivation has no other method;
It requires but knowledge of the Way.
If the Way can only be known
Birth and death at once will end

Ch'an began with the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni, when in his "now" famous “Flower Sermon.” One day the Buddha took his seat before his assembled monks and, instead of speaking, remained silent while holding a single flower aloft in his hand. Of those assembled, only one disciple Mahakashyapa (Sanskrit: “Great Kashyapa”), understood the meaning of the Buddha’s actions. The Buddha publicly recognized Mahakashyapa’s realization and he, in turn, passed the wordless teaching along to his disciples. Eventually the transmission passed to Bodhidharma Bodhidharma transmitted his Mind-Seal of Dharma to China: " When Master is pointing out the Mind directly, you discover your own Original Nature is no different from Buddha's" The Teaching given by Bodhidharma to his Dharma Heir, the Second Patriarch Hui Ko (487-593), also known as Sheng Kwang is" "Drop all discursive thoughts and all attachments. Rest your mind. Like a wall, don't be influenced by internal and external factors; only then, can you enter the Buddhist Path." According to earlier translators "Ch'an derives its name from the Chinese term channa, an attempted transliteration of the Sanskrit term dhyana (meditation, concentration)"

Master Henry & the Author of the Blog Jorge Sunshine Ch'an Temple September 2005