CMZC Report on the Mt. Seat Ceremony of Tatsudo Nicole Baden

 A message from Crestone Mt. ZC about the recent mountain seat ceremony in which Zentatsu Richard Baker stepped down (on Friday Sept. 6th) and Tatsudo Nicole Baden stepped up to become the abbot of Dharma Sangha Germany and US.

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Ascending the Mountain Ceremony Our Gathering at CMZC

The Ascending the Mountain Ceremony Weekend was three weeks ago already, but the event, it's historical importance and the abundantly celebratory feel of it is still present for us, as we hope it is for Tatsudo Roshi and Baker Roshi. We bow deeply and also with great joy. While Genzan Brian DeCamp was in Germany, contributing and being present for CMZC on-site, those of us here joined remotely. We "participated" in as many of the events as we could, sending our gratitude and support to Baker Roshi and Tatsudo Roshi from afar. We were moved and inspired by the key, defining moments, by the depth of the greater Sangha, and by the connecting and re-connecting that was so palpable, even via Zoom. We were lucky to have Kōkyō Henkel, Dharma Heir of Tenshin Reb Anderson, here as a Visiting Teacher for some weeks that included the Mountain Seat Weekend. His two talks nurtured the understanding of our shared lineage, and he also was a guide as we witnessed each step of the Ascending the Mountain Ceremony. Thank you, Kōkyō. We thank all of those who made it possible to be part of the event remotely, and those who helped in any way to make the event so unforgettable.

No Small Self

Student: If things, as they are, are selfless, where does the small self come from?

SR: Actually, there is no small self [laughter], but you say [tapping stick on table] there is a small self. That is the mistake. We usually have that kind of mistake.

Image from CD Album Cover

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-04-08 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Yes and No

Student: Could you explain the part of the Heart Sutra that says, “No eyes, no ears, no nose?” 

SR: ...There is a nose, that is right, and there is no nose. That is also right. And “yes” and “no” [laughs]. You should understand in two ways: yes and no. That is complete understanding.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-04-08 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Control

Desire in its usual sense is always based on a selfish idea. When you think, “Nothing wrong to extend my desire,” if someone says you shouldn’t do so, then you will feel bad [laughs]—you will feel some restriction. That is control in its ordinary sense. But if you understand your desire as pretty selfish, then naturally you will limit your desire to some extent. That is not control. That is the way desire should be. There is a big difference.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-04-08 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Humbleness

First of all, we have to have wisdom to see things as it is. When we have no selfish ideas, we can see things as it is. So, we know what we are doing always, and we know that we are not perfect, and our idea is a one-sided idea. So, we have always room to accept someone’s idea too because we know that what we say or how we practice is not perfect. That is humbleness. That is how to accommodate our opinion to others’ opinions.

Ch’an Conference, 1976

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-04-08 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Ideas

When we realize ourselves, and when after reflecting on ourselves, and when we are able to see “things as it is,” whatever the thought may be is acceptable: “Capitalism is all right. Communism is all right. Nothing wrong with it.” But when our understanding is based on a selfish idea, and when we try to force our opinion on others, then, without reflecting on our way, and when we attach to our own idea, rejecting others’ idea, then our effort will end in a dead end [laughs].

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-04-08 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Zentatsu passes the mantle on to Tatsudo

The ZBZS Mt. Seat Ceremony Weekend

From late August to late September, I stayed a month at Zen Buddhistisches Zentrum Schwarzwald (ZBZS), the Zen Buddhist Black Forest Center of Dharma Sangha founded by Zentatsu Richard Baker. I stayed in Johanneshof, once a Steiner school, one of two neighboring places that houses the center. The other is a large house/shop building called Hoffhaus. It was my fourth extended stay there in 24 years. Every time it gets better. Most the time it was me, Zentatsu, a few staff older but younger than us, and mainly young students practicing there who were a pleasure to be with. The reason they kindly flew me there was the Mountain Seat Ceremony for Tatsudo Nicole Baden.