September Zenwest events and announcements

Pilgrimage - September 15

 
Pilgrimage is a sacred practice in many traditions, including Zen Buddhism. Join us for a day to experience the deep silence and companionship that develops on this one-day pilgrimage. The route from downtown Victoria, to Kokizan-ji (Red Flag Mountain Temple) in Sooke is approximately 36km and begins at 8am, so bring good shoes, a good lunch, plenty of water, and a walking stick helps. If you plan to take part please contact Ven. Eshu at eshu@zenwest.ca

Osho Ceremony - September 28

On Saturday September 28, 2013 Ven. Eshu will be acknowledged as an Osho by Ven. Genjo Marinello, Osho of Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji in a ceremony to be held at the UVic Interfaith Chapel at 3:30pm. Everyone is welcome to attend this ceremony, which is a celebration not only of Ven. Eshu, but of the entire community that has been built here on Vancouver Island, and indeed the Zenwest Sangha around the world.

Genjo Osho describes the ceremony:

"Osho is the Japanese Zen word for temple priest so this is a ceremony acknowledging and affirming Eshu Martin as a temple priest and Dharma Teacher. This is not the same as Dharma Transmission which may come after years of additional training. As an acknowledged temple priest, Eshu will have the authority to give Dharma talks, do one on one Dharma interviews and ordain priests in training (Unsui in Japanese). Eshu has been in acting in this capacity already so this ceremony is more of a celebration and acknowledgment of this fact. At the ceremony, Eshu will re-affirm the Four Great Bodhisattva Vows, give himself more fully to the Three Treasures, re-commit to the Ten Precepts, and do prostrations to the Rinzai/Hakuin Dharma lineage. He will receive various articles signifying the affirmation of Eshu as Osho, including an extension to his Dharma Name, brown robes, red Japanese fan, long Buddhist prayer beads, and a staff. He will then give a brief Dharma Talk on a subject of his choice. Following this there will be a reception to celebrate this event."

The ceremony will be followed by a reception potluck at the Oaklands Community Centre at 5:30-9:00pm.

Several guest priests will be in attendance, and it will be a rare opportunity for everyone to enjoy the company of experienced practitioners and teachers from many traditions.

Kokizan-ji Hermitage Project

 
 

Our Kokizan-ji (Red Flag Mountain Temple) Hermitage project is under way! Working with local talent, designers, builders and artisans in our own community, we continue to make Zen come alive by offering more and more opportunities for Zen practice available right here on Vancouver Island.

Our vision is to create small hermitage buildings, with just enough room to sleep 2 for short term visitors or students at Zenwest.

The initial fundraising for the first hermitage building was a huge success, and now the real work of taking it from vision to reality begins!


There is no Zenwest Work Day scheduled in the month of September (given the number of other events this month), but there are many small jobs to do in order to prepare Red Flag Mountain Temple for the building. Ven. Eshu will be working away at it all month, so if you have a few hours that you would be willing to dedicate this month to helping get things ready, please contact Ven. Eshu eshu@zenwest.ca

Some jobs include:

• Bucking some downed trees
• Splitting and stacking firewood (we have an electric splitter)
• General bush clearing and piling for burning/chipping

If anyone has, or knows somebody that has access to a mini-excavator, please let Ven. Eshu know, as this would be a big help as we prepare and level the area before construction. 

For more information about this project, see
http://zenwest.ca/latest-news/100-hermitage