Letter from the Abbot: Collecting the Mind in a Pandemic, by Sayama Daian Roshi
Covid-19 lays bare the First and Second Noble Truths that existence is impermanent and that suffering arises from attachments. To date, December 18, 2020, there have been 17 million infections and 310,000 deaths in the United States. Life has been disrupted in so many ways, and so many livelihoods lost. Face to face encounters have become a luxury. It’s a good time for spiritual training.
Collecting the mind is a translation of the Japanese word sesshin which refers to a week-long intensive training held in July and December at Chozen-ji. From the start to the end, students are told to treat it as one long period of zazen, essentially copying Shakamuni Buddha meditating under the Bodhi tree before he was enlightened. Sixteen people participated in this last sesshin which ended December 6. Nine were in a bubble at the temple and the others took Covid-19 tests before the start. We sat farther apart and wore masks throughout. The weather was gorgeous, and we did many things outdoors. Being able to do sesshin was a blessing for us.
In sesshin form is used to force concentration into the present. The forms of eating are particularly complex and fast, with hand signals to indicate servings, and chopsticks placed on the table when the person before or after you is being served. Bowls are cleaned with tea and a slice of radish. All must be done without noise, except when eating noodles, then slurping is the right form. It is impossible to be regretting the past or worrying about the future when the present is so demanding.
After sesshin one student said when she went to see her family, everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion and everything was in Technicolor. Her mind was collected and her spirit bright despite the pandemic still raging in the world.
Gassho,
Sayama Daian
Abbot, Daihonzan Chozen-ji