Chozen-ji's Winter Newsletter features a number of updates that reflect just how vibrant and busy the Dojo is today. Click the links below to read a shortened version of the teisho that Sayama Roshi gave to a packed Dai Sesshin in December that culminated in the ordination of four new priests.
Read MoreAt the opening tea which formally starts sesshin, I suggested that we consider sesshin not only as one long period of zazen but also as one long Kendo shiai, a 6-day continuous match which requires full concentration moment by moment. In sesshin, we are doing shiai with the forms, with pain and sleepiness, with each other, and with ourselves for 6 days.
Read MoreKyudo at Chozen-ji is beginning to re-blossom through the hard work of the teachers and students. This year was busy with rebuilding the azuchi by replacing the dirt, sifting in sawdust, and leveling to the correct angles. Great care was also taken to refinish the Kyudo dojo floor and paint the interior.
Read MoreOur recent sesshin was well attended with 20+ folks coming together to train for the week. For four of the students, this sesshin culminated with an ordination after 3+ years of intensive training.
Read MoreWe have made significant progress on the buildings and grounds this year. We finally repaved the parking lot to get rid of all the potholes and be better suited to handle the heavy Kalihi Valley winter rains. Currently, we are in the process to finally replace the gate on Kalihi Street.
Read MoreChozen-ji held a special 50th Anniversary Art Show November 4-6 featuring displays of historic photographs and master artworks made at the Dojo over the years. With calligraphy, ceramics, books, and omamori sold online and in person, the Art Show was a big fundraising success.
Read MoreThis summer newsletter is packed with news of activity at Chozen-ji—from facility repairs to the return of our annual fundraising dinner and updates on new classes. In his Letter From the Abbot, Sayama Daian Roshi writes about translating Omori Sogen Rotaishi's Ken To Zen from the original Japanese.
Read MoreChozen-ji’s new class schedule, plus updates on our Summer Pre-Sesshin and Dai Sesshin and live-in trainees.
Read MoreRead about special Chozen-ji events, including our November 4-6 Annual Zen Art Show & Sale and Talk Story evenings with several of Hawaii’s gubernatorial candidates, including former Hawaii First Lady Vicky Cayetano and US Representative Kai Kahele.
Read MoreDojo members have been hard at work maintaining the buildings and grounds of Chozen-ji. Over the last six months we have completed several projects, including replacing the front columns on the Kyudo Dojo and refinishing the Kyudo Dojo floors.
Read MoreChozen-ji’s Abbot, Sayama Daian Roshi, focused this newsletter’s Letter From the Abbot on his new interpretive translation of Ken To Zen by Chozen-ji founder, Omori Sogen Rotaishi. Read on to learn about how Omori Rotaishi described Kendo as a Way of killing and giving life, and why Kendo is an integral part of Chozen-ji training.
Read More2022 will mark Chozen-ji's 50th anniversary since it was founded in 1972. In this special edition of Chozen-ji's newsletter, you will find a Letter From The Abbot that reminds us of the foundations of Chozen-ji's training method: zazen, sesshin, and The Hojo.
Read More2022 is the Year of the Water Tiger. Already upon us, the Tiger is impatiently taking up the space the Ox was unable to occupy in its blessed and cursed deliberateness. Ambitious and desirous of covering more and more ground, the Tiger’s energy is about engaging and driving ideas.
Read MoreOur 50th anniversary is a fitting moment to reaffirm the basics of shugyo at Chozen-ji. The idea of Chozen-ji started in 1970 when Tanouye Rotaishi asked Omori Rotaishi for five years of his life to bring shugyo to the West. In 1972, they established Chozen-ji.
Read MoreChozen-ji's 2021 Annual Zen Art Show was a successful first in many ways. It was the first year that the Art Show was held as a hybrid of online and in-person sales, with online reservations accepted for in-person attendance. It was also the first year that a new cohort of relatively new and young Dojo members took responsibility for many of the logistics, marketing, and preparations. Pulling off an in-person Art Show in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was a true community accomplishment.
Read MoreThe 2021 winter Rohatsu sesshin kept up the momentum from recent sesshins. It also featured dramatic weather right from the beginning. Torrential downpours led to 12 hours with no electricity forcing the group to do okyo and zazen by flashlights and candlelight. The rain turned into strong winds and clear skies by the end.
Read MoreThe year 2022 marks the 50th year since our Founders Omori Sogen and Tanouye Tenshin established Chozen-ji back in 1972. Today we have a beautiful Daihonzan to do shugyo in at the back of Kalihi Valley. To get to this point, many personal sacrifices were made by Tanouye Rotaishi and his students.
Read MoreThanks to the generosity of dozens of donors, we have successfully raised the funds needed to break ground on our development of new housing across the street at 3570 Kalihi Street. We are still welcoming contributions, which will allow us to expand our budget for things like appliances and landscaping later on in the development.
Read MoreArt can be enjoyed in many ways at many levels. The arrangement of cushions, a calligraphy, flowers in a vase, a cup of tea, or the scent of incense can enhance the kiai of the moment and foster joy. Art can be practiced in all activities and is accessible by all.
Read MoreWe just finished the summer sesshin last week. 19 people trained, many of them young and local. It was great to see that. Twice as I walked over to the Dojo for the evening inspection of the sitting, there was a full rainbow over Chozen-ji. “Wondrous,” I thought.
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