Monthly Archives: April 2019

Muho’s talk on Dogen’s Gyoji chapter & walk around the hall, April 27th & 30th 2019

The venerable monk Chōkei Eryō was a revered senior monk training under Seppō. For twenty-nine years he went back and forth between Seppō and Shibi, exploring the Matter through his training with both of them. During those months and years he wore out twenty sitting mats. There are people today who love doing seated meditation and, citing Chōkei, they take this beloved ancient one as their model. Those who idolize him are many; those who equal him are few. At the same time, his efforts for thirty years were not in vain. There was a time when he was rolling up a bamboo blind in the doorway of the Meditation Hall and suddenly had a great awakening. During those thirty years, he never returned to his home country, or visited his relatives, or chatted with those sitting on either side of him; he just put his efforts into the Principle Matter. The ceaseless practice of this Master went on for thirty years. For thirty years he treated his doubts and misgivings as doubts and misgivings: we should speak of him as someone of keen wit who did not ignore anything, as someone with great potential for realizing the Truth. Reports of such firmness in resolve are sometimes met with when studying the Scriptures. When we desire what we should desire and feel shame about what we should feel shame about, then we may encounter Chōkei. To speak the truth, it is only due to a lack of heart for the Way and a lack of skill in handling their daily conduct that people become vainly tied to fame and gain.
(https://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/Dogen_Teachings/Shobogenzo/029gyoji.pdf)

Gudo Nishijima’s translation can be found here (scroll down […]

My Teacher’s House (2), April 24th 2019

Antaiji’s history
About Kodo Sawaki and Kosho Uchiyama (with links to English texts)
One text of special relevance: “To you who has decided to become a Zen monk”
Muho: “Adult Practice”
Muho: “Adult Practice: You create Antaiji!”
Muho: “Adult Practice: You don’t count at all!”
Muho: “Adult Practice: Tomatoes and cucumbers”
Muho: “What does it take to become a full-fledged Soto-shu priest and is it really worth the whole deal?”

My Teacher’s House

Shinyu Miyaura and the History of Antaiji in Hyogo According to Muho Noelke
(by Edward Moore)

II – A Delicate Flower and the Trump of Zen (1)

The original Antaiji was located in an area named Gentaku, in the northern part of Kyoto. While founded for the research of Eihei Dogen’s Shobogenzo in 1921, it was made famous by Kodo Sawaki and Kosho Uchiyama, who began using it as a place of practice after the second world war. In the late 1960s, hippies from the west flocked to Asia to learn more about Buddhism, and some ended up at Antaiji – under the abbacy of Uchiyama at the time. Unlike other Zen temples, Uchiyama’s Antaiji welcomed westerners from all walks of life, male and female. He was a frail and gentle figure, the complete opposite of his strong and powerful master Kodo Sawaki. Uchiyama would always use the phrase, a violet blooms as a violet; a rose blooms as a rose, when comparing himself to his teacher. While there were impressive characters like Sawaki that resembled roses, there were also precious violets like Uchiyama. When he […]

My Teacher’s House, April 20th 2019

Muho: “Adult Practice”
Muho: “What does it take to become a full-fledged Soto-shu priest and is it really worth the whole deal?”
Kosho Uchiyama: “To you who has decided to become a Zen monk”

My Teacher’s House

Shinyu Miyaura and the History of Antaiji in Hyogo According to Muho Noelke
(by Edward Moore)

I – Introduction

By the roadside leading up to the temple he watched over, Shinyu Miyaura was found fatally wounded, face down in the shallows of the mountain’s river. Some hours before, the abbot had driven a bulldozer over the bank and was crushed beneath. While the vehicle moved up towards Antaiji, he stumbled a few feet in the other direction before collapsing unconscious.

His body was discovered by an American monk. A practitioner at Antaiji for over a year, this monk was with Miyaura shortly before the accident had happened. Miyaura was using the bulldozer to help bring down a guest who stayed at the temple the night before. As it was 14 February, the middle of winter, there was too much snow on the road for a regular car to drive through without assistance. While Miyaura was saying his goodbyes to the guest at the bus stop by the base of the mountain, the American monk was told to go ahead back up to Antaiji as it would soon be time for the communal bath. After a few hours, he and the other residents realised something was wrong, so they made their way back down the mountain to search for Miyaura. One could only imagine the shock of discovering that wreckage, and seeing their teacher’s broken body amidst the blanket […]

Antaiji’s cherry blossoms & from the green house to the founder’s hall & cutting and chopping wood for boiler and kitchen, April 17th & 18th 2019

Zazenkai started in Osaka, April 9th 2019

On most sundays, 6:40 to 7:40, next time on April 14th

Zazenkai started in Osaka, April 9th 2019

On most sundays, 6:40 to 7:40, next time on April 14th

Around the hall, April 4th 2019

Zazenkai starts in Osaka & “Antaiji”and “Muho Nölke” account separated, March 31st 2019

Antaiji on Youtube: youtube.com/user/sendaba
Muho on Youtube: youtube.com/user/sendab
Muho’s Playlists: youtube.com/user/sendab/playlists

On most sundays, 6:30 to 7:30, starting on April 7th