Rinzai Heartland

2012 events (including sesshin)

2012-01-18T14:47:00.000-06:00

Most of the 2012 schedule of Rinzai Zen Community events, including sesshin sponsored by Daiyuzenji and Korinji, has been posted on the RZC site here. Registration for the April 12-15 sesshin is also now open, and can be found here.

A number of important upcoming events are shown on the calendar. Instructional seminars in Chicago dealing with our Internal Training curriculum, and specifically with Hojo, have been scheduled. You'll also find meeting dates for the Chicago-area practice groups. Please take a look, and we hope to see our distant members at a sesshin or other event very soon!

The Rinzai Zen Community

2011-12-16T12:28:00.001-06:00

For some time now we've been using the name "Rinzai Zen Community" for the network of practice groups and practitioners anchored by Korinji and Daiyuzenji. Now RZC has its own site: http://www.rinzaizen.org.

While the Daiyuzenji and Korinji sites will remain focused on the events and doings of each temple, the RZC site is evolving to be the main resource for our sangha's members. A password-protected page provides access to various practice aids- instructional videos, downloadable docs, a "Contact a Teacher" function, and so on - for our members only. Our first batch of videos, including clips instructing basic zazen and breathing, will be posted shortly.

If you currently donate regularly to Daiyuzenji, Korinji or one of our practice groups, congratulations: you're already an RZC member. Go to the RZC site, click on "Become a Member", fill out the information and RZC will register you.

If you're not currently a member please take a look at the RZC site. We're excited to see our community grow and hope that RZC will serve to open our practice to many, many others...distant as well as near.

Korinji stove, doors

2011-12-13T12:04:00.000-06:00

Two shots from our last work weekend in November. Greg Dekker, Jim Mills and myself were on site at Korinji to accomplish several things: high on our list were a final battening down of the work site before winter and some cleanup following a violent windstorm which had dropped some trees across the property. But more exciting: our zendo wood burning stove and our Amish-built main doors were all ready to install.

The stove is rated to heat up to 2500 square feet...more than enough for this space. The latest wood burners are small and extremely efficient. It barely fills one corner of the main space but puts out a surprising amount of heat. With insulation and ceiling fans we'll be in good shape.

Our doors are 8' red oak, crafted by Abe Bontrager from LaValle, WI. Finished locally, they came out beautifully. Here is a view of the mounted doors from the inside. It was too dark by the time we were finished to get many good outside shots, but we'll remedy that soon.

We're in the midst of setting next year's work schedule at Korinji and will announce it shortly.

Rohatsu lecture in Chicago

2011-12-05T13:59:00.001-06:00

The Japanese word Rohatsu literally means the 8th day of the 12th month. This day is the one traditionally viewed as marking the attainment of enlightenment by Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha. Across the Zen world, practitioners are undertaking a period of particularly rigorous training this week to commemorate this event. It culminates with the rising of the morning star on the 8th.

A public Zen lecture will be offered at Daiyuzenji temple in Chicago on the evening of the 8th (this Thursday) by So'zan Miller Roshi, the Daiyuzenji abbot. Please join us! Start time is 7:15pm, and the suggested donation is $10. Tea will be served.

If you'd like to attend, please RSVP to: info@daiyuzenji.org.

Zen practice group in Ann Arbor

2011-11-07T17:00:00.000-06:00

The Rinzai Zen Community welcomes the practice group at Huron Valley Aikikai in Ann Arbor, Michigan under the leadership of Tozan (Rodger) Park Sensei.

Tozan is a long-time Zen practitioner and a good friend. He's also been very supportive of our work at Korinji - you'll see him in quite a few of the work crew photos. If you'd like a place to practice in Ann Arbor please check them out.

Zen Community of Cincinnati

2011-10-25T12:14:00.000-05:00

We're pleased to welcome a new practice group in Ohio associated with our Rinzai Zen Community: the Zen Community of Cincinnati. The group meets at Aikido of Cincinnati, www.aikidocincy.com. For more information please contact Mr. Mark Agerton through that site.

An autumn week at Korinji

2011-10-25T09:34:00.000-05:00

We've just returned from our end-of-year work week at Korinji. In glorious autumn weather and with a whirlwind of activity the zendo exterior was essentially completed: the walls are now clad with stucco siding trimmed with cedar, while the cupola is entirely finished in cedar.

Our professional crew managed by Jim Mills, and our volunteers managed by Greg Dekker, somehow accomplished everything we set out to do. In addition to the progress on our building we also continued our development of the grounds: the trail system has been expanded, the stone and earthen ramps bracketing our small bridge have settled nicely, and the rocks lining the paths are planting themselves more deeply and growing thick coats of green moss. We harvested several thick hardwood trunks; though they were standing dead and dry, they're rock-solid and heavy as iron (we believe them to be hophornbeam). These will be the pillars anchoring our future entrance gate. And the process of clearing our future house site, overgrown with rose, buckthorn and burdock, has begun.

Some small but significant jobs were completed on the sidelines as well. Two umpan (metal gongs), cut from 1/2" steel and donated to us, now serve to call work crews to lunch. One of them has been hung temporarily from our zendo porch where it is forming a fine patina of red rust. We'll let that one continue to age over the winter. The second has been finished differently, with a hand-peened rim and dark bluing. The striker was made from wood found on the land.

We expect to have one more work weekend at Korinji in November (dates TBA). Our 8' tall red oak doors hand-crafted by Abe Bontrager, a woodworker from the local Amish community, are completed and now getting stained and sealed locally. We also have our wood-burning stove on the way. We hope in November to have both of these installed....and of course you will all be welcome to help.

To see some more photos from the week (including our 8' red oak doors) please go here.

Sesshin next week

2011-10-03T19:08:00.004-05:00

Fall sesshin, hosted jointly with Daiyuzenji temple in Chicago, is next week (October 6-9)! This sesshin will be held at House-in-the-Wood, a retreat center on Lake Delavan in Wisconsin. It's a beautiful place and the site of many of our sesshin in the past.

For more information (including directions and an online donation link) please see Daiyuzenji's registration page: http://daiyuzenji.org/SesshinDelavanFall.html.

Upcoming events

2011-09-14T09:42:00.004-05:00

Fall promises to be as busy as ever. The next Korinji work weekend is this coming Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17-18. Fall Sesshin is set for Oct. 6-9. Visits by Meido Roshi to various Chicago-area practice groups are scheduled through December. And the end-of-year work week at Korinji will be held Oct. 17-22 with our annual party on the 22nd.

Stay up to date and in touch! To join the Korinji email list go to http://www.korinji.org/

To see the Korinji general events calendar for USA and Europe go to http://www.korinji.org/Calendar.html

For specifically Chicago-area events and practice group meetings go to the Chicago Zen Community site here: http://www.chicagozencommunity.org/

Please help us spread the word about Korinji and the Rinzai Zen Community! Forward these links to your email lists, post them on your Facebook page and in general talk us up! Korinji is a community of practitioners, not just a place - and we welcome anyone to join us on the path of Zen...

August training and travels...

2011-09-06T19:15:00.007-05:00

I'm happy to report to all our friends and to the members of Korinji's Rinzai Zen Community on the activities of the past month. Since the beginning of August, two sesshin and two important training seminars have taken place.

The beginning of August saw our annual long sesshin, jointly sponsored by Daiyuzenji in Chicago and Korinji. The group this time around consisted mostly of experienced students, and so the sesshin was smooth and marked by a quiet depth that was perhaps also reinforced by the warm, humid weather. Once again Daiyuzenji rented Camp Dewan in south-central Wisconsin as the sesshin venue...after so many sesshin there, the place seems to fit us like a glove (with the Korinji zendo nearing completion, however, it's wonderful that we can finally envision a day when renting such a place will be unnecessary).

Daiyuzenji Abbot So'zan Miller Roshi, Soen Linxweiler Roshi (who also served as tenzo) and myself were all present; James Traywick was shika and Alex Shakar lent his energy as jikijitsu.

Immediately following sesshin, I flew to Poland to instruct at an annual 8-day summer training camp there hosted by Tomasz Krzyzanowski Sensei's AAI-Polska, a large Aikido organization. I was pleased to instruct not only a number of martial art classes but also zazen each morning. It was encouraging to see 80-odd students - many of them first-time meditators - solidly sitting at the beginning of each day. Even when the exhaustion of the week's training schedule began to take its toll, zazen attendance did not drop off. It's my hope that this bodes well for future Zen training activities there.

This year and in past years the Poland event has drawn martial artists and teachers from Poland, Russia, Latvia, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, Germany and Sweden. Of course this year I was excited to show pictures of our progress at Korinji to many of the students, and in general to spread the word about our community. I do anticipate that when Korinji is complete some of the first resident trainees may well come from among this group of international friends.

After that event I had a week free before the start of another sesshin in Germany. During this time a few of us toured by car from the Baltic Sea, south through Poland into Slovakia and Hungary, and then through Transylvania in Romania to the Black Sea at Constanta. It was an exhausting but fascinating journey through parts of Europe I'd never seen. Then in Bucharest, I tracked down an old training friend from many years ago named George Raicu. George had spent some time in 1990 in Chicago at the training hall of our late teacher, Toyoda Rokoji. Though it's been twenty years since we last met, the bonds of our time living and training together still held. He (and Romania) have been through a lot in the decades since his return from Chicago, and George has been instrumental in spreading traditional Japanese martial arts there. Toyoda Sensei would be pleased, I'm sure. We had a wonderful, nostalgic meeting together which may also blossom into further activity.

Finally, in the last week of August I flew from Romania to Salzburg, Austria, and was driven from there over the border into the town of Laufen. Our annual European sesshin is held in Bavaria in a renovated 16th-century Capuchin monastery which, though now hosting many kinds of events, still holds something of its originally rigorous, quiet atmosphere. The sesshin organizers are Anselm Stahl and Raymond Schroder, who both have many years of Zen, martial arts and bodywork training. The attendees are largely drawn from the community of bodyworkers they've worked to develop in Europe. It is certainly a pleasure to practice with such a focused and physically "present" group of trainees.

I was particularly impressed to see many of the students taking advantage of the free-sitting periods, not only in the zendo but on the grounds of the old monastery and even in the small cemetery where the simple stones of the monk's graves stand. One particular area a few of us used for for walking meditation, in the forested rear of the compound along an old wall into which are set faded paintings of the stations of the cross, remains strongly in my memory. I feel very good that our group's usage of this old monastery is, in some small way, in union with the spirit of those contemplative monks who lived, trained and died there over several centuries.

After a long journey back from Europe and a few days rest, we then held the second of this year's Internal Training seminars in Chicago. The event was scheduled for Labor Day weekend and so I didn't expect the type of attendance we'd had earlier in the year. But still, 14 enthusiastic trainees came, including a few from a Soto practice group in the Champaign/Urbana area of Illinois. After the events and travel of the previous weeks, it was wonderful to spend two days practicing tanden kokyuho, Hakuin's naikan and nanso exercises, and our Do-in Ho breathing, movement and self-massage practices. Physically and energetically it was a perfect way to end what's been a whirlwind month of travel, training and teaching.

I'm grateful to everyone who organized all of these events. And I'm especially grateful to Enmei Hunter and our other Korinji board members and friends whose work in my absence makes it possible for me to travel without worry. Greg Dekker and Jim Mills also have kept the ball rolling on construction at Korinji, and we're now set for our next work weekends. Before the end of October our zendo's exterior will be completed.

Everyone here in Chicago did such a wonderful job holding the fort, in fact, that I now feeel very comfortable leaving again when necessary!

- Meido

Heat and progress

2011-07-26T11:47:00.014-05:00

The recent heat wave didn't spare Korinji: stagnant, humid air settled into our little valley, seeming to magnify and hold the sun's heat...just in time for our summer construction week!

The professional crew led by construction chief Jim Mills and project manager Greg Dekker spent last week completing the framing, soffit/fascia and window installation. Our cupola is no longer a purely ornamental feature: with 16 windows in place, it's become an enormous skylight admitting illumination sufficient to make electric lighting completely unnecessary during the day.

Likewise, the large windows on both the ravine and uphill sides of the building now afford breathtaking views of the surrounding foliage. Because the ravine side windows are level with the canopies of downhill trees, the sensation arises that one is floating high in the air. This has led to the new zendo nickname of "the treehouse".

Particularly beautiful is the tongue-in-groove cedar above the future front door. When the double entrance doors are installed along with the cedar decking, this will be a truly magnificent spot.

There's still much to be done this year: next up is the siding, and with that Korinji's first building will be finished on the exterior at least. Insulation and interior buildout will continue throughout the winter and into the spring...but at this point we can confirm that we're on schedule and even several thousand dollars under budget.

Tremendous thanks to "Monster Crew", the insanely talented and hardworking gang who braved the extreme heat and once again came through for us (seen here enjoying a celebratory end-of-week dinner).

We now take a break to focus on two sesshin in August (Wisconsin and Germany) but the next work weekend at Korinji is set for Sept. 17-18. Mark your calendars! Along with the building construction there are always exciting work projects around the grounds as well, and your energy continues to be needed up at Korinji.

Sept. 3-4 seminar: The Energy and Healing Practices of Zen

2011-07-22T22:59:00.003-05:00

"The Energy and Healing Practices of Zen", a seminar instructing Korinji's Internal Training curriculum, will be offered in Chicago on Saturday and Sunday, September 3-4. This is the second of two seminars on this topic offered this year, teaching the major practices of the curriculum. Those who missed the first seminar will have the opportunity to make-up the foundational instruction during this second event.

The seminar is taught by Meido Roshi, and all proceeds benefit Korinji. Please see the seminar flyer for registration information, here. For more information on the curriculum itself, see the Internal Training page on Korinji's website here.

New practice group: Naperville, IL

2011-07-06T15:49:00.003-05:00

A new practice group in the western Chicago suburb of Naperville has been officially formed as a branch of the Rinzai Zen Community, Korinji's network of Zen practice groups and practitioners. The Naperville group currently meets Saturday mornings and Meido Roshi will be visiting there once monthly.

Please see www.chicagozencommunity.org for more information on this new group as well as the six others in the Chicago area. Groups outside the Chicago area are also forming and will be announced shortly...the Korinji site maintains a full listing of the practice groups of the Rinzai Zen Community here which is updated regularly.

Upcoming events & Fall-a-thon results

2011-06-27T15:59:00.014-05:00

First, two event reminders/updates:

1. This coming Friday, July 1st, the annual memorial service for Tenzan Toyoda Rokoji (1947-2001) will be conducted at 3717 N. Ravenswood, #113, Chicago. Toyoda Sensei, who immigrated from Japan to Chicago in 1974, was a dharma successor of the late Tenshin Tanouye Roshi in the line of Omori Sogen Roshi. A lay Zen master and teacher of Aikido, he spent his career working to transmit our Zen lineage, as well as traditional Japanese martial and cultural arts, to the West. This year marks the 10th anniversary of his death.

Aikido students will practice in Toyoda Sensei's honor from 5:45-6:45pm; the ceremony will start promptly at 7pm. Please dress appropriately (training uniform, or modest clothing). Following there will be internal training and meditation.

2. Update: the July 2-3 monastery work weekend at Korinji has been canceled. Again, a professional crew will be on site July 18-22 working to construct the soffit and fascia of our roof and to drop in our new windows. We'll be on hand to assist the crew, and welcome you to join us. Please contact Korinji to volunteer (info@korinji.org)!

Second, we're thrilled to announce the results of the recent Fall-a-thon fundraiser. This past Saturday, 11 Aikido students performed 1,958 falls and raised just under $10,000.00 in pledges for Korinji. There are still a few fallers needing to make-up their sessions so final numbers will change...but for now, thank you to these martial artists whose sweat and effort have helped fund Korinji. It is fitting, as we approach the 10th anniversary of Toyoda Sensei's death, to recognize that without these Aikidoists Korinji would not be taking form as it is today...

June 18-19 report, July plans and the Fall-a-thon

2011-06-21T18:39:00.010-05:00

The most recent monastery work weekend has added a few new features to the Korinji grounds.

The area in front of the zendo is now graded to its final form, with a new path leading up from stone steps, skirting the building's perimeter and then ascending up to what will eventually be the site of our residential structure. At one point in this ascent another new path, nearly obscured by dense foliage, now winds off some 30 yards into a hidden, silent grove of old oaks which shelter a cluster of flat-topped boulders. These stones are ideal for yaza, the "free" periods of meditation concluding the monastic day, when it is customary for monks to sneak off outside to some solitary spot to sit. The image shows the largest of these.

Meanwhile below in the main ravine, our small footbridge has been nearly completed from recycled railroad ties and leftover zendo lumber. Drystone ramps will soon join to both ends of the wooden span.

Though our focus in the past two months has been grounds work like this, we're pleased to announce that the next major phase of building construction has been confirmed. July 18-22 a professional crew will be onsite to complete our wall framing, the roof soffit and fascia, and the installation of our windows. These windows and the lumber needed for this work have been ordered. We're on track now to complete the exterior entirely by this fall.

Though the actual work that week will be completed by pros, we still need assistants! If you'd like to come up to lend a hand, please contact Korinji: info@korinji.org.

Finally, please remember the annual fundraiser benefiting Korinji which Shinjinkai, the Japanese Martial Arts Society (http://www.shinjinkai.org/) is holding this coming Saturday the 25th in Chicago. During this event Aikido students demonstrate their martial art by being thrown as many times as they are able within 15 minutes. Similar to a walk-a-thon, they gather pledges for the number of falls they take. In years past as much at $16,000.00 has been raised by this event. Right now there are fallers who need sponsors: if you'd like to be matched up with one of these amazing volunteers to pledge a certain amount per fall (or just contribute a flat donation of any amount) please contact Shinjinkai: info@shinjinkai.org.

Memorial day weekend report

2011-06-10T17:01:00.019-05:00

Another weekend of progress at Korinji. This time we'll use mostly images to tell the story (courtesy of JC Epong, our photographer):

Like all work weekends, zazen (meditation) begins and ends each day. We sit as a group in the unfinished interior of our building. Early or late in the day, however, you may catch glimpses of volunteers doing solo sitting on a flat rock in the woods, or perhaps on the future back engawa.

The samu (work) schedule for this weekend was mostly centered on the grounds: trail building, gardening and other such things. More than 40 plants - purple coneflowers, woodland poppies, ferns, lillies, phlox, yarrow, valerian, lamb's ear, pachysandra and scilla - were dug in along the trail. They join the maidenhair ferns, may apple, thimbleberry and blooming trillium which were everywhere in abundance. Many thanks to Karen Radtke, who began stockpiling many of these additions last fall and lovingly cared for them over the winter in anticipation of this day.

While this was going on, the chainsaw crew was hard at work felling dead wood and in general cleaning up the place. Trees don't always lean the way we'd like them to fall, and so the rope teams applied their skill and muscle. Other volunteer teams were also wandering the woods locating and digging up suitable stone to finish lining the main stretch of trail between our parking lot and the zendo. In the main ravine, it often makes sense to roll the stones down to where they're needed, rather than haul them. A slow but steady avalanche of these sandstone rocks allowed us to complete the trail and establish the foundation of the small footbridge that will span the muddy ravine bottom.

Let's return now to the work of our planters: this bit of trail, which is one of the switchbacks on the initial stretch below the parking area (and the point where future visitors might catch a first glimpse, far off and above the trees, of the monastery building roofs), has been dubbed "fern alley".

Some other minor jobs: raking the gravel of our new construction access drive, which is beginning to set nicely. This is the dreaded stretch of steep hill that tested our volunteers' endurance in the past, when construction materials were often hauled down to the work site by hand. Those of us who were there in those difficult days tend to wax poetic about this drive in a way that most folks can't understand. It's beautiful!

The end of a day: relaxing on the front porch. The special meal this time was okonomiyaki, a type of vegetable pancake which is a famous dish in Japan's Kansai region. Many thanks to Greg Dekker for his chef skills and generosity in feeding the hungry crew.

We hope these images give you a sense of a typical summer weekend at Korinji. Please join us! A listing of future work weekend dates may be found on the Korinji site, here. Our schedule now calls for the completion of the building's exterior (soffit/fascia, windows and siding with trim) before the fall, allowing us to continue interior buildout throughout the year in a fully-sealed building. We welcome you to be a part of this immensely rewarding project, and most important to practice with us.

New Zen practice groups: update

2011-05-25T22:32:00.005-05:00

18 participants turned out for the Chicago Zen Community's introductory session at North Shore Yoga in Northfield, IL on May 21st. Strong interest has led to confirmation of our new practice group there, meeting monthly on Saturdays 11:15am-12:30pm. Sitting and a dharma talk will be offered. Please mark your calendar with the upcoming monthly dates: June 11th, July 30th and September 24th.

Here's another reminder also for the first monthly meeting of our new group in Roscoe, Illinois at Lazy Dog Yoga: June 6th, 7:15-9pm.

For more detailed location information and to RSVP to visit either group, please go to http://www.chicagozencommunity.org/. And please help us spread the word!

New Zen practice groups

2011-05-10T15:31:00.003-05:00

The Chicago Zen Community, an association of Chicago-area practice groups which is part of the larger Rinzai Zen Community supported by Korinji, has announced the formation of a new practice group in Roscoe, Illinois (near Rockford), meeting at Lazy Dog Yoga. The group will meet monthly on Monday evenings at 7:45pm, with the first meeting scheduled for June 6. Meditation instruction and a dharma talk will be given. See the CZC site for more information.

Meanwhile in Northfield, Illinois an introduction to meditation class will be held on Saturday, May 21 at North Shore Yoga, 11:15am-12:30pm. This class is being held as a kick-off event for a possible ongoing practice group there. Please see North Shore Yoga's site here for location information.

Several additional practice groups are in the process of forming, and we'll keep you posted!

Trails and drives

2011-05-10T12:13:00.007-05:00

Though rain was forecast this past weekend at Korinji our work crew was met with unexpected sunshine. They report that the last of the snow is finally gone, and flowers are blooming in the forest despite the slow start that the trees seem to have had this year

With dense foliage yet to arrive and the forest floor still clear, it was therefore a good time for work on the grounds. We're happy to announce that after a bit of hard labor the trail from our main parking area to the monastery now has steps in two locations: on the steep slope just below the lot, and on the slippery area below the second switchback (just before the footbridge location). Our steps, five in each spot, are made of railroad tie halves and stone. We expect to put another 9 in just below the zendo, above the future gate.

Most of the rest of the work this weekend involved the disposal of a huge brush pile, the construction of a bin for burnable wood scraps (with our future woodstove in mind), and a general continued cleaning up of the construction site. On Monday, however, a dramatic change came to the grounds: the final graveling of our main parking area, as well as the secondary drive and parking leading down to the monastery area. Gusty thunderstorms hit before noon, but by that time our skidsteer had done most of the difficult work. By 3pm it was done, and we now have a permanent and accessible large parking area for guests as well as construction and emergency access to the building site. And yes, we can finally announce that never again will any of our work crews need to carry building materials down to the monastery by hand. Veterans of the now-infamous groundbreaking weekend, in which more than 300 bags of concrete were hand carried through the woods, may justly now brag that "in the old days, we did things differently...".

With this completed, we're now poised to dive into more work on the building, depending on our fundraising situation. We've calculated that $60,000.00 is needed to finish the zendo completely, inside and out. Though our incoming donation stream has been wonderfully steady, it hasn't been large enough to allow for the several large purchases we now need to make quickly, like windows. Please see the Korinji site for ways in which you can donate or volunteer including supporting events like our annual Fall-a-thon on June 25th!

Many thanks as usual to our volunteer work crew this past weekend. The next work weekend is May 27-30...Memorial Day weekend here in the States. If you can come up to help for any or all of those days, you are indeed very welcome to contribute to Korinji's founding.

Internal training workbook available

2011-05-04T16:23:00.008-05:00

A limited number of copies of the Internal Training Reference and Study Workbook are available. This is the same workbook distributed to participants in the recent internal training seminar. Contents include:

- Preface (by Meido Roshi)
- A Brief Background of Internal Training
- Points to be Observed in Practice
- The Posture of Internal Training
- The Practices (with blank pages for student notes):Tanden Kokyu-ho, Naikan no Ho, Nanso no Ho, Do-in Ho (24 self-massage forms, 15 small forms and 15 primary forms), and Hara Tanren.

Please note that this is a workbook for students actually studying the internal training curriculum; it does not instruct the curriculum, but rather serves as a convenient notebook and reference during actual class sessions. In other words: you can not learn the curriculum from this book, but the book is important if you are learning the curriculum.

Copies are $15.00, made payable to the Korinji foundation. Please email to info@korinji.org to inquire.

Summer Sesshin: USA and Germany

2011-04-22T11:28:00.006-05:00

Mark your calendars: the next sesshin are set!

August 2-7 will be our local sesshin in Burlington, WI hosted jointly by Daiyuzenji and Korinji.

The dates are also set for our 2011 European sesshin, to be held once again in Laufen, Germany (just north of the Austrian border...fly into Salzburg): August 25-28. The venue for this event is the Kapuzinerhoff, a restored 17th century Capuchin monastery (shown in the photo).

For information on either event, please contact Korinji: info@korinji.org.

Spring activities

2011-04-22T10:48:00.016-05:00

This week saw a flurry of activity as the Korinji Foundation's schedule of spring events clicked into gear.

This past weekend Shininkai in Chicago hosted the first of the Foundation's two 2011 Internal Training instructional seminars. 35 participants from Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky and Montana traveled in for the two-day training led by Moore Roshi, which focused on the foundational practices of Korinji's internal training curriculum: Tanden Kokyu-ho and the Naikan no Ho and Nanso no Ho exercises of Hakuin Zenji. The second day's practice was able to get through the Do-in Ho self-massage and energy circulation exercises in a cursory manner; a second seminar on Sept. 3-4 will focus on a more detailed examination of them as well as Hara Tanren.

Both seminars this year benefit Korinji of course. This first seminar raised approximately $2000.00 for our building fund. This will just about cover the cost of Korinji's crucial new driveway and parking areas which are being completed in a few weeks (work crew volunteers: this new graveled drive means no more hauling of building materials through the woods by hand!).

Yesterday, another event truly served to drive home the fact of spring's arrival. McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, Illinois has established a beautiful Zen garden in a courtyard on campus, and Korinji was invited through the Japanese Culture Institute to participate in its dedication. Moore Roshi briefly spoke on the significance of art from the Zen Buddhist standpoint and conducted a traditional blessing ceremony with assistance from Jim Mills Sensei (who instructs meditation at the Lake in the Hills practice group). A spring poem by the famous Zen master Ryokan was read by a college faculty member:

First days of spring - the sky
is bright blue, the sun huge and warm.
Everything's turning green.
Carrying my monks' bowl, I walk to the village
to beg for my daily meal.
The children spot me at the temple gate
and happily crowd around,
dragging my arms till I stop.
I put my bowl on a white rock,
hang my bag on a branch.
First we braid grasses and play tug-of-war,
then we take turns singing and keeping a kick-ball in the air:
I kick the ball and they sing, they kick and I sing.
Time is forgotten, the hours fly.
People passing by point at me and laugh:
"Why are you acting like such a fool?"
I nod my head and don't answer.
I could say something, but why?
Do you want to know what's in my heart?
From the beginning of time: just this! Just this!

Afterward additional cultural demonstrations were offered, including the making of ceramic tea bowls by Hironobu Nishitateno Sensei, a shodo (calligraphy) demonstration by Hekiun Oda Sensei, and Aikido and Iaido demonstrations by instructors and students from Aikido Shimboku Dojo led by Lisa Tomoleoni Sensei. A wonderful day!

Finally, our practice group in Highland Park, Illinois which began this past winter has now taken root well and seems to be growing in energy and vitality as the days lengthen. After only a few months we now have a solid core of a half-dozen meditators, with new members coming in frequently to receive introductory zazen instruction. And now that spring is here we're starting to truly enjoy the setting of the nature center where we meet: located within 17 acres of forest and restored prairie, it's an ideal place for practice. We look forward to seeing this new community grow through the rest of 2011.

We're focused now on our next work weekend at Korinji (May 7-8) and on planning the decisive progress we'll make at Korinji this year. More information shortly on this, as well as some other exciting developments that are in the works...

Another season

2011-04-05T20:24:00.012-05:00

Our first monastery work weekend of the year kicked off in a winter mood. Fat, wet snowflakes fell a good portion of Friday. By evening the trees at Korinji were all white, making a scene that was more December storm than April thaw.

Saturday morning dawned bright and warm, however, with temperatures hitting the 50's. The trees shed their snow and our creek began gurgling with snowmelt. White patches gave way to mud. Perfect spring working weather. After zazen, we got to it.

With summer's dense foliage still several months away the timing is ideal now for land work since stones, dead trees, thorn bushes and vines are all exposed to view and easily accessible. The chainsaws started flying, and our crew cleared out one exceptionally thorny area that blocked our re-routed construction access road. A local gravel company came out to give us their quote on the completion of that as well as our parking area, and we hope to have that done shortly.

While this was going on up the hill, a few crew members worked inside to complete some remaining work on our roof substructure. 2x4s were added on top of the 2x12 spreaders below the cupola, beefing them up and giving them a more finished "i-beam" look. Other 2x4s which had been temporarily affixed to the bottom of our large structural beams to prevent twisting were cut and inserted into their permanent positions between the beams. The result is something that is starting to have the final look of our ceiling.

After a full day the entire crew (and dog) joined together in a future storage room (where we've installed our lunch table, portable stove and microwave) for Greg's now-famous Korinji camp tacos. Sore muscles were later soaked in the jacuzzi at the local hotel where most of us stayed, though one hardy crew member did sleep in the building...the first of the year.

A bit more work was finished Sunday morning, and Korinji is now officially open for the work season. The building weathered a severe winter admirably, including unusually heavy amounts of snowfall. We're now anxious to get up there again and make some real progress: May 7-8 is our next work weekend.

Here's a final shot from the porch. Usually we post shots taken from here looking downhill into the ravine, but this one looks uphill for once toward the site of Phase II: the future Korinji residential building.

It's not too early to plan.

Spring sesshin report

2011-03-29T09:51:00.009-05:00

Spring sesshin, co-sponsored by Daiyuzenji and Korinji, was completed this past Sunday. It turned out to be a solid, strong training period with twenty-one participants. The beginning students in particular displayed tremendous effort.

The weather was cold at the camp we rent in Lake Delavan, Wisconsin; outside the building which served as our zendo the lake itself was still caked with ice upon which flocks of gulls huddled for warmth. There was even snowfall on Saturday. Though little of it stuck, it combined with a bitter cold wind coming off the lake to give us a truly wintry, rather than spring-like, feeling. The uphill hike from the zendo to the dining hall or sanzen room was often rather invigorating.

Tesshin Brand served as jikijitsu, and James Traywick performed the role of shika. Soen McCarthy Roshi served as tenzo (and the shojin riori meals were truly excellent as always). Teisho were given by So'zan Miller Roshi and Meido Moore Roshi. Sergey Petrov and Dionne Milton were our handaikan, with Nikolai Miczek and Alex Shakar serving as inji.

Thank you to everyone who participated in and supported this sesshin!

SAVE THE DATES for Daiyuzenji's and Korinji's summer sesshin. It will be held in Burlington, WI, on August 2-7 (~7pm Tuesday evening through ~8am Sunday morning). And if you'd like to join our European friends for practice, we'll again be conducting sesshin this year in Laufen, Germany: August 25-28. For more information on these events, email Korinji (info@korinji.org).

Japan benefit: results

2011-03-21T22:25:00.007-05:00

About 30 people came out for Korinji's benefit event this past Sunday. After zazen, a traditional memorial ceremony was conducted by Meido Roshi. Following that, Aikido students gave us their energy with an hour-long training led by Enmei Hunter Sensei.

A few donations are still coming in, but the total amount raised at this point is over $700.00*...not bad for an impromptu event. Upon advice from contacts on the ground in Japan (as well as the Japanese consulate here in Chicago) Korinji will be donating the entire amount to the Red Cross' Japan earthquake/tsunami recovery fund. Many thanks to everyone!

Here's a recent photo from Korinji to get everyone geared up for the next event on our calendar: the first monastery work weekend of the year on April 2-3.

Don't worry, the snow should be gone by then...

*[UPDATE: the final total from Sunday stood at $715.00, but we've just received a matching donation: our total is now $1430! Thank you!]

Japan relief: memorial ceremony and benefit

2011-03-14T12:12:00.006-05:00

We're relieved to report that, as far as we've been able to ascertain, our numerous friends in Japan are safe and personally uninjured by the disastrous earthquake and tsunami.

Especially because of our many connections to people and places in Japan, we're certain that Korinji community members share our desire to make some contribution to ease suffering there. For that reason we'll come together this Sunday, March 20, for a short meditation, memorial service and benefit event in Chicago. There will be a donation box there, and any funds received will be passed on to an appropriate relief organization.

Location:

Shinjinkai
3717 N. Ravenswood #113
Chicago, IL 60613

Schedule:

11:30am - 12:45pm: Zazen (Zen meditation). Non-meditators are welcome to come in and sit silently with us, on cushions or chairs, during this time.
1:00pm: Zen Buddhist memorial ceremony, for the many disaster victims who lost their lives.
1:30 - 2:30pm: Budo training: Shinjinkai Aikido students will train together.
Tea will be served afterward.

Even if you can't donate, please come participate to share your energy and good wishes. If you can't make it but would like to pitch in, feel free to drop off a contribution beforehand - or consider sending a donation to one of the reputable relief organizations which are easily found online, such as here.

Seminar: Energy and Healing Practices of Zen

2011-03-10T23:57:00.008-06:00

Shinjinkai in Chicago is hosting a seminar on Saturday and Sunday, April 16-17 entitled The Energy and Healing Practices of Zen. Participants will learn internal training practices handed down within the Rinzai Zen lineage for cultivating ki (internal energy) in the body.

Some of these methods come from from the 18th century master Hakuin, and have been valued for their ability to improve health, increase longevity and deepen meditative attainment. Also taught will be self-massage, breathing and movement exercises for circulating energy and removing blockages to its flow. A more detailed description of these practices may be seen on the Shinjinkai site here.

The seminar will explore in depth the history and theory behind these various methods, as well as transmit the details of their practice. This April seminar will cover foundation practices and get through as much material as possible. A second seminar on September 3-4 will review the fundamentals and then complete the main block of instruction. A study manual will be distributed to participants in both seminars.

Donations for this seminar benefit the construction of Korinji monastery.

Please RSVP to info@korinji.org, or by phone as shown on the flyer.

Spring Sesshin: March 24-27

2011-03-07T11:52:00.004-06:00

The 2011 Spring sesshin, jointly sponsored by Daiyuzenji and the Korinji Foundation, will be held starting on the evening of Thursday, March 24 and ending in the early morning of Sunday, March 27.

Sesshin is an intensive Zen retreat, and one of the most important training methods used in Zen practice. Beginning very early each morning and lasting until late in the evening, sesshin includes meditation, chanting practice, art practice and other activities.

The intention of sesshin is to completely focus and unify mind and body; the schedule facilitates concentration, and forces participants to face themselves clearly without distortion or distraction. Sesshin is a unique opportunity to see who and what you really are...and to emerge with new insight and the strength to change old patterns of thinking, doing and being.

We encourage everyone who is ready to take advantage of this precious practice opportunity. For more information about attending sesshin, eligibility, what to bring, suggested donation info, directions, etc. please visit Daiyuzenji's sesshin information page.

Winter quiet

2011-02-18T18:34:00.029-06:00

Stillness and winter fog still cover Korinji, with snow clinging to north-facing slopes despite the warmer weather this week (it's common for patches of snow to remain well into spring). Winter is certainly not done with us by a long shot. But the days are slowly lengthening, and construction season is coming!

We've adjusted and tweaked our schedule of monastery work weekends for 2011, and here they are:

April 2-3: Opening weekend
May 7-8
May 27-30
June 18-19
July 2-3
August 20-21
Sept. 17-19
October 15-16
October 17-22: End-of-year wrapup, training and party at Korinji.
November 12-13 (as needed)

As usual the schedule is subject to change: please go here to join the Korinji mailing list and receive invitations and updates. In particular, we're working on a plan that may well allow us to finish this first building in one fell swoop in the first half of the year. That would, of course, lead to a radical re-scheduling of these dates which we'd be very pleased to announce.

Our first fund-raising event of the year is in fact approaching: an April 17th seminar at Shinjinkai in Chicago instructing internal (energetic) training used in Zen which is among the training methods to be practiced at Korinji in the future. For more information on this curriculum, check out Shinjinkai's Internal Training page.

Two Zen ancestors: happy birthday

2011-01-19T11:39:00.008-06:00

Today is the anniversary of the birth in 1686 of Hakuin, the great Rinzai master and common ancestor of all surviving Japanese Rinzai lineages.

Yesterday marked the anniversary of his death in 1769.

Today also marks the anniversary of the birth of Dogen, transmitter of the Chinese Caodong (Jpn: Soto) lineage to Japan.

A self-portrait of Hakuin, painted not long before his death...

Upcoming retreats and events

2011-01-17T11:07:00.003-06:00

The 2011 schedule of sesshin, or intensive meditation retreats, has been published on Korinji's Events Calendar page. These events, jointly sponsored by Daiyuzenji Zen temple in Chicago and the Korinji Foundation, are precious opportunities to deepen our practice in community with friends and teachers.

The first sesshin of the year is coming up: March 24-27 in Lake Delavan, WI. We look forward to seeing you there! Please contact us for more information: info@korinji.org.

Also shown on the calendar: some exciting seminars which benefit Korinji's monastery fund, the tentative 2011 monastery work weekend schedule, and this year's Fall-a-thon fundraiser conducted by Shinjinkai.

A busy year coming up! We started 2010 up at Korinji in March with nothing more than a platform on a hillside; by the end of the year, we had an enclosed building. This year will see even more dramatic progress, as our building's exterior nears completion and major landscape features are finished.

If you've donated or helped out in the past, thank you...and please continue! If you've followed Korinji's progress but never visited the land or lent a hand, now's the time we need you...welcome! And if you're a Zen practitioner, or interested in Zen Buddhism, by all means come to one of the Zen groups in the Chicago area, come to sesshin, and come to our other events. This Zen practice is what it's all about, after all, and providing access to it is the goal of all our hard work. Please join us!

First snow, and the Chicago Zen Community

2011-01-06T16:22:00.005-06:00

We're in those few precious winter months now when our primary activity is planning rather than building. I visited Korinji a few weeks ago just after a heavy snowfall: in contrast to the frenetic scenes of the summer and autumn, the land there was silent and frozen under two feet of white. Tracks of deer, coyotes and various smaller creatures were everywhere in evidence, while our own muddy construction trails were neatly covered.

In addition I was pleased to see that our new roof has passed its first test well, holding the snow for more than a week; no movement or leaks were seen, validating our choices of both designers and builders.

The first 2011 events have been added to the Korinji site's events calendar, with more soon on the way including the first extended training events at Korinji itself. We're happy also to announce a new website specifically for the Korinji-associated Zen practice groups in the Chicago area: The Chicago Zen Community.

For now, Happy New Year from all of us. We'll be back shortly with more news, and with the schedule of 2011 work weekends at Korinji.

Images

2010-12-08T12:02:00.005-06:00

Please take a look at the new video embedded on the front page of Korinji's site. We think you'll find it inspiring, and a wonderful summary of where Korinji has come from...and where we are now.

Many, many thanks to Eden Roemer who created this, with editing help from Billy Vegas and the voice over skills of Chris Viverito. And a nod to Ken Burns! Video here.

A roof over our heads, II

2010-11-21T14:28:00.013-06:00

Our appeal for donations to put us over the finish line with our roof was quickly answered by a half-dozen generous individuals. I'm pleased to report that the shingles are done...on-time and several hundred dollars under budget.

Korinji is now sealed up and safe for the winter, thanks to all of you. We'll still do a bit of interior work before spring, but for now we'll work to replenish our bank account as we pore over window and wood burning stove catalogs.

Some fundraising events are planned for just after the new year; more news soon. We also have a new promotional video being worked on, which may eventually anchor the front page of our web site.

For now, happy holidays from all of us at the Korinji Foundation!

Halloween at Korinji

2010-11-01T14:07:00.012-05:00

About 20 volunteers from Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan came out over the course of the week to help with Korinji's end-of-season clean-up and celebration. The week started cold, with winds gusting up to 50mph; by Saturday, though, we were back to glorious fall weather.

A ceremony was held on this occasion of the first formal zazen as well as budo training to be conducted at Korinji.

After a few more hours of afternoon work, we then motored over to the Wisconsin Dells for a scenic Halloween-themed boat ride. Twilight found us cruising upstream under sandstone cliffs and spires, past Devil's Elbow and with a final destination of Witch's Gulch...

During the week, we took bids from roofers. More news soon...

One weekend

2010-10-20T14:32:00.029-05:00

Autumn at Korinji...and this past weekend has seen the last of our major construction for the year. The interior framing is now truly and finally done, and we'll soon knock out the last of the support bracing to reveal a completely open space.

It's been a long, hard year of work. One more week to go: October 22-31 is our final call for a crew in 2010. However, during that time we've also scheduled visits from local roofers...it's indeed possible that we'll begin that project before the end of the year. Still, for now we can take a small breather.

Though some of us might confess to feeling slightly run down and ready for a break after many months of constant activity, we continue to balance our work time with enjoyment of the land, and of each others' company. This enjoyment, and the friendships which have grown through our work, are aspects of our Korinji project which are perhaps less obvious. To remedy that, we thought it might be interesting to describe exactly how a typical Korinji weekend goes. Rather than describe it solely with words, however, I'm here able (thanks to J.C. Epong) to share some images with you. I hope this will give you all a sense of what it's like to come up for a weekend to labor beside these amazing people who are building Korinji...

1. Friday

Mike Malitsky and I both pull up at 3:30pm, just in time to take delivery of a load of lumber. We immediately set to work. Mike preps the site for our weekend - setting up the compressor and nail guns, running cords - while I tighten all the nuts on our substructure bolts with a ratchet wrench: a long overdue job that needed to get done before winter.

As it has almost without exception since the beginning of Korinji's construction, the weather agrees with us. What a gorgeous fall day, with temperatures in the high 60's or low 70's: certainly a fine day to work in the woods.

Our mutual assignments take us up to 7pm or so, and with the light failing we retire to a campfire for dinner and talk. Korinji volunteers, I've found, tend to be well-read and interesting folks: this evening the conversation ranges from the Roman conquest of Judea according to Flavius Josephus, to early Christian history, to Buddhist philosophy, vegetarianism, life in late Soviet Russia, the Irish diaspora, and dogs. We run out of energy long before we run out of things to talk about.

Since most of our work crew tends to arrive on Saturday, I treasure these quiet Friday evenings with their peaceful mood and quiet forest atmosphere. On this occasion we'd earlier in the day rigged up some work lights inside the building. Now we suddenly find ourselves amazed to look up and see - for the first time - our building lit from the inside.

2. Saturday

The main crew arrives Saturday morning: this time it's J.C., Sergey Petrov and Dan Bogdanovich. Karen Radtke arrives a little later, with dogs in tow and fresh brownies for the crew which vanish quickly. Over the course of the day we finish boxing out our joists with 3/4" plywood (the main goal for the weekend). A few of the crew get to work removing the remnants of scaffolding still affixed to the building from our roof construction.

That evening, we once again adjourn to our dinner spot: the stone fire-ring (constructed last year by Rodger Park Sensei from Ann Arbor) which has seen such constant use. It's time for the traditional Saturday evening work crew party.

Our dinner consists of potluck fare pulled from individual coolers and packs. We share everything. Sergey cooks his famous borscht. Mike grills something non-vegetarian that will never be served at sesshin. J.C. produces home-made hummus. I chop kindling and heat up a rice and shitake stew. We eat chocolate and cheese, dark rye bread and brown rice, radishes and nori. Reflecting the typically diverse makeup of our crews, "cheers" is said in Russian, Hebrew, Tagalog and several other languages.

As the campfire burns to embers and work crew members depart until morning, great horned owls begin their nightly performance. Faolan, Korinji's half-lab/half-border collie mascot, returns from a mysterious hour's absence covered in mud and burrs. The evening winds down with a great feeling of satisfaction at the work accomplished that day.

3. Sunday

Morning comes too early and too bright, even for October. The work crew gathers on site, and a quick communal breakfast of oatmeal and matcha heated on a propane stove gets us moving. Though most of the work is done, there's still enough for a Sunday to be sure. A few solid hours are needed to finish up and then pack everything away. Everything is set now for the sealing of the building which needs to take place later in the month.

Finally finishing around noon, and after a final lunch of leftovers washed down with Sergey's strong black tea, we're ready to say our goodbyes. Walking down the trail toward the parking area, we can look back across the ravine now that the leaves have mostly fallen and see Korinji up above us. This first view will be what future visitors see from below as they walk down the trail - perhaps arriving for sesshin - toward Korinji's gate.

Turning back up the trail, the cars aren't far. But in these last moments we tend to walk slowly, even to linger. There's always a reluctance to leave this place.

Luckily there's still a lot of work to be done, and a lot of time to be spent at Korinji in the future.

We welcome you join us October 22-31, and especially for the zazen, ceremony and celebration we'll conduct on the 30th. Email Korinji for more information (info@korinji.org).

Planting a garden

2010-10-11T13:19:00.008-05:00

Work has begun on Korinji's food and medicinal garden. The garden site - a southeast-facing, gentle slope above the future residence, has been marked and cleared. It's a unique spot. Most of Korinji's land is rocky, forested ravine with clay and sandy soils. The garden, though, has a thick layer of nearly black, loamy earth. Apparently this layer is the remains of cow manure and hay deposition over many years that the spot was used for pasture by a local farmer. This history also means that our garden location is already open and sunny.

Eden Roemer, a Korinji supporter and volunteer, has begun designing the garden. Here's some more information from her:

The planning has begun for Korinji's vegetable and herb garden! The design is a fusion of the French poterage (or kitchen garden), the traditional Midwestern vegetable garden as well as other aspects that will further define and refine the layout.

What is exciting about Korinji's garden is that it is deeply rooted in the theory and practice of companion gardening. Simply put, this means that the placement of each plant is specific to its particular needs as it relates to growth enhancement, nitrogen giveaway, and pest-controlled ecosystem. Companion gardening is a type of organic and sustainable farming that is not new - just an art that has been more or less abandoned as a result of the use of pesticides.

As this new paradigm of self-sustainability evolves an awareness that is more self-aware and connected to the earth, Korinji will lead by example through the creation of its own independent food source that is environmentally friendly, self-sustainable, and constructed in harmony with its natural surroundings.

There is a saying among farmers that what a garden needs to grow is a little "loam, light, love and luck." Given the intention, energy and passion of the Korinji volunteers (not to mention the amazingly rich, nutrient-dense Wisconsin soil) there should always be an abundant harvest.

For more on Eden and her work, see her site Raw Earth Living.

Just now while posting this, I've received word that another of our supporters has been buying up purple coneflowers (echinacea) with the plan to over-winter them in her garage and plant them at Korinji in the spring. Wonderful!

Now we just need to start planning the bees we'd like to keep...

A gathering of friends

2010-09-30T13:10:00.010-05:00

Here is the schedule for our October 30th Korinji Shinbokukai, or "Gathering of Friends":

1) 10:00 AM : 500 suburi (martial art training/sword cuts...non-martial artists are welcome to watch)
2) 11:00 ~ 11:30 Zazen (meditation)
3) 11:30 ~ 12:00 Zazen (meditation)
4) 12:00 ~ 12:30 Zen ceremony, dedicating our building on this occasion of the first formal Zen practice there.
5) 1:00 ~ 4:00 PM : Samu (work practice): general site clean up, equipment maintenance and storage and any other final work needed to prepare Korinji for winter.
6) 5:30 PM Group boat excursion through the famous scenic river gorges of nearby Wisconsin Dells (since it's Halloween weekend, this will be a themed "Haunted Boat Ride").
7) 7:30 PM Group dinner, location TBA.

Please RSVP to Korinji, and bring your family and friends (recommended age for the boat excursion is 10 or older).

Images of progress

2010-09-27T19:05:00.008-05:00

We just spent our first autumn work weekend of the year at Korinji, continuing to finish off the interior framing supporting our roof. The maples and birches are just beginning to turn. A few of us spent evenings around a campfire shaking off the chill and enjoying our view of the brilliant, nearly full moon.

Here is a new video showing the dramatic progress made over the past two months; thanks to Greg Dekker for being our cameraman.

The next work weekend is October 16-17th, and then our final wrap-up week will be October 26th-31st. On Saturday the 30th, we'll have our first formal group zazen in our new building, followed by a brief dedication ceremony and end-of-season party. All are welcome!

Katsujinken: the sword that gives life

2010-09-20T11:51:00.011-05:00

This past weekend saw the visit of T.K. Chiba Sensei, an Aikido master and Zen practitioner, to Chicago. Though Chiba Sensei is not in our particular Zen lineage, he is nevertheless one of the important and immensely powerful teachers whose energy has made Korinji's development possible. More than this, in fact, I can say very definitely that without Chiba Sensei, there would be no Korinji.

This may be a surprise to many of you since Toyoda Sensei, another Aikido master and one of our original teachers, is most often mentioned in this regard. Certainly it was Toyoda Sensei's dream of a rural Zen training monastery that was the seed of Korinji, and his work to plant both Zen and traditional martial arts in the West that set the tone for our practice. Toyoda Sensei was one of those who labored to transmit the spirit of Omori Roshi's training, and all of us now endeavor to do the same.

But it was Chiba Sensei who, during the difficult time immediately following Toyoda Sensei's sudden death, stepped in and encouraged many of us - in the true meaning of the word - to continue with our work. Had he not done this, I can say for sure that Korinji would not be happening. None of the resources currently going into Korinji, and none of the many hands building Korinji (belonging almost entirely to Aikido students, interestingly) would be here.

This was no coincidence. Toyoda Sensei and Chiba Sensei had a relationship rooted in their common ties to Aikido, Zen and misogi training, and their common work of transmitting these mind-body practices to westerners. In supporting us now with his energy and advice, one could perhaps say he is following through on the intentions behind that relationship.

Leaving aside "reasons" and "intentions", however, we can also simply say that Chiba Sensei is a good and wise teacher who has been immensely kind to us. We therefore count him among the key persons whose groundbreaking efforts have made everything in the future possible for Korinji. As we watch Korinji take physical shape, we should remember such remarkable individuals - a network of energy and intention stretching back through generations - who continue to be the benefactors enlivening our work.

Sesshin in Bavaria

2010-09-14T07:47:00.010-05:00

I was grateful this past week to have the opportunity to travel for sesshin to Laufen, in southern Germany on the Austrian border. Our organizers, Raymond Schroder and Anselm Stahl, are among a group of long-time Zen practitioners with whom we've had connection for some time. They are also martial artists, and many of their community are bodyworkers.

Beautiful Bavarian weather, just starting to feel of autumn, greeted us in Laufen. The sesshin venue was an old Capuchin monastery just outside the medieval city gates. Built in the early 17th century, it was for centuries an important residence for Catholic monks observing the rigorous Capuchin rule. Though the last friar left in the 90's, inevitably something of their spirit seems to remain. Walking in the cloister garden, or doing zazen near the monastery cemetery during free sitting time in the evenings, we caught some sense of the atmosphere of intense devotion and simple, silent discipline that must have prevailed in that place.

Our rooms, interestingly, were originally the monk's cells...with the difference that two cells are now cobbled together for each modern single guest room. A few cells have been kept in their original state, however, with straw mattresses and worn writing desks being the sole evident luxuries. Our zendo was the room formerly used by the monks for chanting, and we practiced our own okyo there with an appreciation for that history (and for the acoustics). Perhaps the place bearing the most powerful feelings from the past, however, was the small prayer chapel nearby, barely 10 feet on a side, where we met for dokusan.

In short, I found myself over our few days of practice feeling a strong sense of appreciation for these monks, whose humble grave stones crowd a small courtyard just off the main garden and whose orchard still displayed for us some of the literal fruits of their labor.

Not less is the appreciation felt for our friends from Germany and Austria, who so obviously take very seriously the call in our lineage to physically embody Zen. I now gratefully know something also of Bavarian hospitality and cuisine. Many thanks to these training brothers and sisters in Europe, who are doing so much to bring alive the Zen teachings in a truly relevant and concrete manner.

Silk road Buddha revisited

2010-08-25T08:49:00.006-05:00

Chicago artist Jennifer Dickson has continued her work creating the full-size Sakyamuni statue which will serve as Korinji's honzon (primary image). The 10" maquette she completed earlier this year (see February 2010 posts) serves as the model for this 30" final piece. Jen sent us this photo revealing the work in progress.

When done, the statue will be hollowed, fired and possibly covered with metal leaf (though we're going to wait and see what the rough, fired finish looks like by itself before deciding).

As described earlier, the design process for this statue led us to examine Buddhist sculptural styles from Japan, T'ang China, India and Gandhara. The Gandharan tradition, with its synthesis of Asian and Hellenistic influences, was particularly of meaning to us. We knew from the beginning that we didn't want to ape a Japanese style; like our buildings, it's important that the statue's style not feel completely out of place in the Wisconsin woods! And yet it still has to authentically represent the continuity that is Buddhism's journey through many cultures.

A fascinating project. Jen was told not to feel any pressure; the statue's image would just be plastered all over our website, and physically enshrined at Korinji, for decades to come.

Autumn work dates

2010-08-24T21:42:00.006-05:00

Here is another view of the newly framed roof.

Upcoming work dates at Korinji have been announced:

September 25-26
October 16-17
October 26-31

Those final dates will be our cleanup and winterizing session, to ensure that our structure is ready to weather its first Wisconsin winter. Please come for any of these dates you can! To volunteer, please email Korinji: info@korinji.org.

Rumors are flying regarding an end-of-season party on that Halloween weekend, which may involve a visit to one of the nearby Wisconsin Dells water parks (and no doubt someplace with many jacuzzi tubs where construction-weary muscles might find relief). More information shortly.

Touching the sky

2010-08-13T16:54:00.002-05:00

The structure of our roof is finished. After several weeks of work, including one intensive week during which a crew of professional builders did the actual roof raising, we now have the shell of a building.

In a word, it's huge. We thought it looked big when the deck was completed, but now with walls and roof erected the actual size of our structure is apparent. Standing on the top of the cupola gives a dizzying view out over our ravine.

Within the past few days we completed the attachment of a waterproof underlayment which will last us through the winter as we continue to raise funds. In the spring, we plan to be ready to go with our steel roof.

Now its wrap-up time for the year. We'll shortly announce a revised work weekend schedule through the fall, and our focus will be winterizing what we've accomplished: closing up doors and windows, cleaning up the building site, working on some final landscaping and trail-building, etc.

More images (video) soon. Right now we're too tired!

Refining posture, breath and awareness

2010-07-13T09:49:00.005-05:00

Ko'gen (Tom) Nagel, Zen priest and author of "Zen and Horseback Riding", will teach a seminar entitled "Vertical Living" on August 21st in Mt. Prospect, Illinois. Tom has a fascinating and wide-ranging background not only in Zen, but in bodywork and martial arts. His instruction on body usage is immensely valuable for meditators, martial artists and all of us who strive to exist in our bodies with greater balance, integrity and center. It has also become highly regarded in the world of...you guessed it...horseback riding.

Proceeds from this event will benefit the Korinji Foundation; thank you, Tom. Please take a look at the flyer here.

Falling down to raise a roof

2010-07-07T20:08:00.008-05:00

The annual Fall-a-thon fundraiser for Korinji, conducted on June 26 by Shinjinkai, the Japanese Martial Arts Society, was once again successful beyond our wildest expectations: pledges now total just under $12,000.00! The intense energy demonstrated by these Aikido students has of course helped to physically build Korinji from the ground up (who can forget their work on groundbreaking day, carrying hundreds of bags of concrete deep into the woods). But this Fall-a-thon reminds us again that their work and dedication have largely funded Korinji's very existence. This seems only fitting, given that our Zen lineage emphasizes the importance of physically intense training, and historically has used martial arts for that purpose.

Because of this success we're now in position to raise our roof. The complexity of that task, however, means that we're going to turn the work over- for the first time - to hired professionals. A crew of carpenters led by Jim Mills (a builder of several dojos in the past under our late teacher Toyoda Sensei) will spend a week in July framing the roof that is so desperately needed to enclose and protect our structure.

This coming weekend, July 10-11, is our next work weekend at Korinji, when we set the stage by receiving delivery of the lumber needed for the roof. Our job is to get it all down to the site and ready for the professionals. As always, we need volunteers, so please contact Korinji if you'd like to help out!

If all goes well, this weekend will be the last that a few of us camp on the floor and look up to see stars. Our next video and photos from Korinji will be of an enclosed structure...

Wall video

2010-06-09T16:44:00.003-05:00

A new video clip has been added to the Korinji site showing our recent wall-raising. We're in the middle of a hectic week preparing for the next stages, so for now we'll just let the images speak for themselves...

A roof over our heads

2010-05-24T19:30:00.012-05:00

The Korinji Foundation has issued the following appeal:

Dear Korinji Friends,

We've come a long way at Korinji. It was only in 2005 that the Foundation began, and two years ago that we purchased our land near Madison, Wisconsin. Now this year will see the completion of the first structure there.

All of this has been accomplished entirely with donations, and our land development and construction have been done entirely by volunteers. Truly, the power of our united community to accomplish the Korinji vision is awe-inspiring!

But we're far from the finish line. In order to create a place where sustained residential dharma practice can take place, we have a lot of work to do...and resources to gather. Right now is an especially crucial time: before the end of August, we must have the resources to complete our roof! If we fail to do this, then all our construction work could be exposed to the elements, potentially causing great damage.

We need you to accomplish this. Please consider supporting Korinji in whatever way you can. There are two ways to help right now that would benefit Korinji tremendously:

1. Sign up for a monthly donation: on the Korinji website, you can sign up to make an automated monthly donation of as little as $15.00 a month. Even $15.00 helps us tremendously, and will go immediately toward the purchase of building materials for our construction (of course a larger donation helps more!) If you prefer, you may also opt to make a secure one-time, instant donation of any amount that you wish. All of these options may be found here.

(Remember, donations made to Korinji are tax-deductible. If you usually donate a certain amount to charity each year for tax-purposes, why not do it now? You'll receive a receipt for tax purposes documenting your contribution.)

2. Support the Fall-a-thon: the Fall-a-thon is an annual fundraiser conducted by our friends at Shinjinkai, the Japanese Martial Arts Society. Students of the martial art Aikido get together once a year to throw each other, using Aikido techniques, as many times as they can in 15 minutes. Much like a walk-a-thon, they obtain pledges from family and friends for this. In the past, their amazing effort has raised up to $15,000.00 within two hours!

We need them to be just as successful this year, and for that to happen our fallers need sponsors. If you'd like to be a sponsor, please contact us: info@korinji.org. We'll match you up with a faller needing sponsors, and you can let us know if you prefer to pledge a certain amount per fall, or to give a flat donation. And please come to the Fall-a-thon on June 26th in Chicago! It's an exciting event to watch, and you'll get to see the remarkable effort and spirit of these martial artists first hand.

For more information on the Fall-a-thon, please see this site.

Thank you again for supporting Korinji in the past. Please also accept our invitation to visit us there during one of our "monastery work weekends": as we continue our work throughout this summer and autumn, we'd be pleased to show you our progress and give you a tour of the land. Progress is happening fast there, and it's a thrilling time to be involved in this project.

We look forward to seeing you at Korinji soon, and long into the future.

Wall-raising

2010-05-20T17:48:00.006-05:00

This past weekend at Korinji we were able to complete the final work preliminary to raising our walls, two of which lie already framed and ready for lifting.

Moss-covered stones also now line most of the trail leading from the parking area to the building site. It was a busy weekend, with a lot of rocks being moved.

We're now issuing an urgent call to action for Memorial Day weekend, May 29-30, when we'll be lifting walls! We very much need strong arms for this: a 60-foot long wall, even in sections, is enormously heavy. Volunteers, please contact Korinji: info@korinji.org.

If all goes according to plan, we're now on schedule to be enclosed and under a new roof by the end of August...

On deck at Korinji

2010-05-04T14:01:00.007-05:00

The decision to cancel our last work weekend due to severe thunderstorms was made up for by the glorious weather we had at Korinji this past weekend. Bright sun, clear skies and flowering apple and hawthorn trees were the setting for two long, hard days of construction.

There were some dicey moments. We actually had rain and thunderstorms, again, on the Friday before. A few of us worked in a drenching downpour that afternoon to unload wood; our friend from the local lumber yard went above and beyond the call to help us get all our materials as close to the building site as possible. He paid for his kindness, however: the sudden storm turned our construction drive to greasy mud within minutes, trapping his truck. Another truck was sent to pull him out, which immediately became stuck as well. The third truck was the charm.

By the time the general crew arrived Saturday morning, though, all was well. That evening saw the completion of the deck. After sunset I pitched my tent there, determined to finally sleep in - or at least on - our new building. Come Sunday we got back to work early, and the end of the day saw the two long walls framed. In the meantime a trail-building crew had also gathered hundreds of stones from across the property, which they moved into place along the edges of our woodland paths and at the base of the hill, where the largest may form stone steps below a future gate.

Thanks as always to all our dedicated crew members. May is a busy month, with two more work weekends to go: the 15th and 16th, and then the long Memorial Day weekend (29th-31st). It's also now beautiful camping weather at Korinji; we hope to see you on-site, and around the camp fire in the evenings.

We've added a video clip to the Korinji website (and to YouTube) showing this past weekend's progress, here. It shows something of a time lapse: I shot about 7 seconds of footage every hour or two. We'll stick to this format throughout the year, so that by fall we can edit together a longer video showing the entire season's progress.

Korinji Work Weekend: May 1-2

2010-04-26T13:49:00.004-05:00

Following the cancellation of last weekend's Korinji work crew due to severe storms, we're back on track for this coming weekend!

If you'd like to volunteer to help out during this crucial stage in Korinji's construction, please email Korinji: info@korinji.org.

Bread for Korinji

2010-03-29T12:29:00.037-05:00

Rich Bryant, a Chicago Aikido student, has started a new fundraiser baking and selling bread for Korinji. Here's his report...

I recently started baking loaves of bread when I became disappointed with what I was getting from the store and it's rising cost. I got tired of spending so much money on something I knew I could do better. There was also the satisfaction that what I was eating was a more organic food because I knew what I was putting into it. Soon I began to look into a various recipes and recipe books and the seed for my idea was born. After a few unexpected results and a lot of course corrections, I finally started to see and taste the results of my efforts.

That's why I'm here. I'm hoping to be able to share those results with you. On Facebook, I set up a small group page called "AI KI Dough". On this page, I've posted pictures of some of the breads I've made recently and how to contact me in case you might want to order some (hint, hint). I am donating a portion of the money from each sale to the Korinji Foundation Monastery Project and investing the other portion into buying yeast, flour and spices. I am hoping to have this fundraiser throughout the year. This Facebook website will be where I put photos and various updates of what's available and the progress we've made in raising funds.

To keep it simple, I am currently offering only three bread types at the moment, a sesame, a white and an Italian spiced. I have shipped some bread out of Chicago but shipping costs can be expensive. I'm hoping to find a way to set-up a paypal account to ease the process. I will offer special limited time only breads throughout the year as well. Even more reason to keep checking in. The first is a cinnamon raisin bread.

Please contact me via Facebook and I'll respond to you as quick as I can. If you don't have a facebook account, you can e-mail at rabryant@yahoo.com. Please put in the subject line Korinji Dough. That way I don't accidentally delete it. Also, there is usually a week between when you order and when your bread is delivered. So if you send your order in on a Tuesday, and your local, you can get your bread by the following Tuesday unless other arrangements have been made.

Thank you for your continued support to a very worthy cause.

Korinji kick-off

2010-03-25T14:28:00.003-05:00

This past weekend, March 20-21, saw the beginning of the 2010 construction season at Korinji. With the snow gone, we were able to closely inspect our completed substructure to see how it weathered the final part of winter. The verdict: no movement whatsoever, and everything remains rock-solid. After some final tweaking of our deck bracing, we're now ready to lay down the deck plates and start framing walls. Measuring the nearly 70-foot long structure, we found the width at the north end to be 29 feet, 8 inches. At the south end: 29 feet, 7.5 inches. Not too bad!

Our next construction dates are April 23-25. After taking delivery of materials on that Friday, we'll need our usual dedicated volunteers to come up on Saturday and Sunday. Now, especially, we need people with basic construction or carpentry skill sufficient to frame our simple (but large) structure with direction from the managers. If you're one of these people, please join us for one or all of the coming work weekends! With each work weekend now, our structure gets higher...

The updated calendar of construction dates can be found on the Korinji site here.

Sango, Jigo II

2010-03-10T11:54:00.004-06:00

Here's a link to a video of Engakuji, the temple referenced in our earlier post, courtesy of Tozan Park who's just returned from Japan. While there he happened to film the Byakurokudo: the "White Deer Cave" from which, legend says, emerged the the deer that came to listen to Mugaku Sogen's lecture.

Sango, Jigo

2010-03-09T13:58:00.007-06:00

A recent question from one of our members prompted us to examine the tradition of naming Zen temples, which comes originally from China and was maintained in Japan.

Temples have two names: the sango (mountain name) and the jigo (temple name). You will often see these written on the temple gate.

For headquarters temples, the sango is generally Daihonzan ("Great Origin Mountain"). In the medieval Japanese system of temple ranking, Daihonzan are temples that serve as the ceremonial, training and administrative headquarters of distinct lines of Zen, or ha. Daihonzan Tenryuji in Kyoto, for example, is still today the headquarters for all of the temples affiliated to it, which are part of the Tenryuji-ha. Daihonzan Myoshinji has its affiliated temples. These divisions are best thought of as the result of lineage and history, and do not represent sectarian divide or any fundamental differences in practice.

Temples which are not Daihonzan, however, have varying sango. This is where it gets interesting. Many of these "mountain names" seem to be actual place names, or names descriptive of scenery or events. For example, a temple located on a mountain with an existing name of "White Cloud Mountain" may well have that name as its sango. The sango of Engakuji, a famous Rinzai temple in Kamakura, is Zuirokusan: "Lucky Deer Mountain". This comes from a legend relating that on the day of the temple's founding ceremony, the first abbot, Mugaku Sogen, gave the customary sermon. A herd of white deer, it is said, walked onto the scene and stood listening to him. This was considered a fortunate omen.

Jigo, the actual temple names, more often have distinct meaning in terms of Buddhist teaching. Daitokuji, for example, is the "Temple of Great Virtue". Myoshinji is the "Temple of Wondrous Mind".

Closer to home: the sango/jigo for our temple in Chicago is Sokeizan Daiyuzenji. Sokeizan is the sango for one of the temples related to the Sixth Patriarch. It seems to be an original place name; its use for us, however, is due to this connection with Huineng. Daiyuzenji means "Great Sublime Zen Temple". The "Great Sublime" comes from Daiyu-ho, "Great Sublime Peak", which was the mountain associated with Pai Chang/Hyakujo Ekai, considered the founder of the Zen monastic system. (see Hekigaroku case #26 "Hyakujo Sits on the Great Sublime Peak").

Hosokawa Roshi, Daiyuzenji's founder, picked these two names associated with pivotal early Zen ancestors to indicate roots and energy that go back before Zen's split into the so-called Five Houses and Seven Schools.

For Korinji: the sango is Sotekizan, "Patriarchal Target Mountain". This can be interpreted several ways from a Zen standpoint. On a more prosaic level, however, the name can be translated simply as "Ancestors" or "Grandfather's" mountain, and is in honor of one of our neighbors, a farmer in his 80's, who at one time owned the land on which Korinji is being built.

The jigo Korinji is fully Korinzenji: "Bright Forest Zen Temple". Korinji's forest is actually fairly dark and dense, but "Bright Forest" in this context refers to something else!

As we look at temple names, and the distinction between Daihonzan and other temples that exists in Japan, we see a different development in the West. There seems to be little or no attempt to organize Rinzai temples in a hierarchy. This is probably due to the fact that the various temples that have sprung up have roots in different Japanese ha, and thus there is no central Rinzai authority striving to exert organizational control outside of Japan. Rather, what we see here are loose associations of temples, bound together by common training roots, lineage and personal relationship.

For now, this seems perfect.

First 2010 Korinji Construction Weekend!

2010-03-05T12:58:00.011-06:00

The Korinji Foundation Board of Directors has announced the following preliminary schedule for construction at Korinji this year. These are the primary work weekends for which we hope to have strong volunteer support. There will be additional weekends, however, during which we'll also welcome help...these will be announced as the building season progresses. Please note that some of these weekends may be subject to change.

3/20-21: Setup weekend
4/14-16: Work Weekend
4/23-25: Work Weekend
5/14-16: Work Weekend
5/28-31: Work Weekend
6/18-20: Work Weekend
7/10-11: Work Weekend
8/21-22: Work Weekend
9/10-12: Work Weekend
10/15-17: Work Weekend
10/26-31: Year End Work Week and wrap-up

Within the first couple of weekends, we'll see our walls start to take shape on the substructure we completed last fall. We look forward to seeing you at Korinji during this exciting time!

RIGHT NOW, we are calling for volunteers for the first weekend, March 20-21. There will not be major construction going on that weekend, but we'll need willing hands to help us with site prep, getting tools out of storage and back on-site, the clearing of winter debris from trails, etc.

To volunteer for this or any other weekend, in whole or part, please email us: info@korinji.org.

Carpooling will again be conducted from Daiyuzenji temple in Chicago on the morning of the 20th, and additional drivers are helpful if you have a car. If the weather is too cold for our usual camping arrangements on the land, we do still have an extremely reasonable rate at a local hotel. More details will be sent out to our volunteers shortly.

Thank you as always, and see you on the 20th!

Silk Road Buddha 2

2010-02-23T22:09:00.005-06:00

The maquette is finished and drying. Here are some more views...

Silk Road Buddha

2010-02-18T16:26:00.006-06:00

Zen student and talented Chicago sculptor Jennifer Dickson has been commissioned to create Korinji's honzon - the main image venerated on the altar. At Korinji this will be Shakyamuni, accompanied by the Bodhisattvas Monju (Manjusri) and Fugen (Samantabhadra).

A 10" high maquette is nearing completion, and gives some sense of the process of design on which Jen has worked so closely with us. We knew early on that we did not want a completely Japanese-style sculpture, just as we are not replicating a Japanese monastery structure: somehow these don't completely fit the Wisconsin woods. And so we strive for designs which preserve the form and spirit of our roots yet feel more organically at home here in the Midwest.

In considering sculptures, we've been inspired not only by Japanese and Indian precedents but also by the Gandharan styles that arose in what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan. These areas, marking the eastern-most extent of Alexander the Great's conquests, were the scenes of much cultural contact and ferment. The Buddhist sculptures from that region have a uniquely mixed Asian-Greek pedigree, bringing together eastern and western aesthetics in a sometimes shockingly beautiful manner that can feel very accessible to westerners.

So, here is the beginning of what will be our Buddha statue. Once finalized, work will begin on the final piece: three feet tall, fired terracotta, likely to be covered in a copper leaf that will darken and patina with age.

Opening the mirror

2010-01-30T14:17:00.005-06:00

2010 will be a year in which tremendous energy and sweat will be expended on behalf of Korinji. January 23-24 marked a properly energetic start to such a year with the Kagami Biraki event hosted by the Aikido practitioners of Huron Valley Aikikai in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Rodger Tozan Park Sensei, Huron Valley's chief instructor and a brother in the Dharma, organized the event to benefit both the Korinji Foundation and Brooklyn Aikikai. Ryugan Robert Savoca, founder of Brooklyn Aikikai and also a Dharma brother, traveled from New York to take part. I was honored to help instruct the Aikido portion of this training weekend and to lead zazen; Park Sensei and Savoca Sensei also instructed Aikido, and Ryugan led us in the misogi training he practices as an affiliate of the famous Ichikukai Dojo in Tokyo.

Kagami Biraki is a traditional New Year's ceremony, which literally translates as "opening the mirror". Shinto shrines typically contain mirrors, and the ceremony of opening the shrines and exposing the mirrors within is considered a greatly auspicious event. Huron Valley Aikikai's opening to 2010 was certainly auspicious for everyone who attended. I'm pleased also to report that Park Sensei was able to make a generous donation to the Korinji Foundation as a result.

As always, our gratitude to our Aikido friends who so often sacrifice their energy on behalf of Korinji.

Winter at Korinji: Community Meeting on Feb. 21st

2010-01-20T16:32:00.005-06:00

We've just returned from a visit to Korinji, and are pleased to report that our structure is weathering the winter perfectly. Though our foundation pilings extend several feet below the frost line, one always worries about movement. Or at least I did. Happily, none was detected, and our deck is as level as we left it in October. The treated lumber has dried, and everything feels rock solid. Jim Mills, a master carpenter and woodworker among other interesting things, accompanied me on a snowshoe tour of the site. That our work thus far met with his approval was a very good thing.

With the foliage all down, once again we're able to see every contour and rock in the land , and future development becomes easy to envision. Also interesting is that the individual characters of each tree are more easily seen without the dense canopy. I was surprised to see not only the birches and maples that seem to predominate, but also that we have a great number of hawthorne, apple and musclewood trees.

On the way up, I should mention, Jim and I also stopped in to speak with some wood-burning stove folks: based on the information we were able to get regarding efficient wood stoves, our options for heating Korinji's zendo may have expanded.

Finally, another important meeting occurred in Chicago this past weekend, and another is shortly to occur: project managers Tom Teterycz, Greg Dekker and myself have sketched out a draft construction schedule for the year. We'll be giving presentations on this and other aspects of our monastery project at the annual Korinji Community Meeting, to be held at Daiyuzenji in Chicago on Sunday, February 21st, 11am.

We invite all our donors, supporters and any other interested persons to come. 2010 will be the year we see a roof over our heads at Korinji, and we welcome your participation!

Rugs and throws

2009-12-14T16:45:00.008-06:00

Two fundraising initiatives are currently gearing up to ensure that Korinji starts off a new year of construction with the resources it needs:

First: Jessica Cobb, a local Chicago artist, has completed the first of the felted wool rugs she's weaving to benefit Korinji (see this post). Woven entirely from upcycled sweaters donated for this purpose, the rugs are thick, colorful and beautiful. Faolan, our ubiquitous lab/border collie mascot, prefers it by far to all other soft surfaces on which he is not permitted to sleep.

The rug will be raffled. Tickets are now available for $10.00, and the drawing will take place on Feb. 27th. You can view the rug at Daiyuzenji temple in Chicago. Please contact Korinji to purchase a ticket. Take a look at Jessica's site also: EmmetCobb.com

Second: Huron Valley Aikikai, a community of martial art and Zen practitioners in Ann Arbor, Michigan led by friend, dharma brother and Korinji work crew volunteer Rodger Park Sensei, is hosting an Aikido, Zen and Misogi training event on January 23-24. Instruction will be led by myself and by Robert Savoca Sensei from Brooklyn Aikikai, with proceeds going to support both Korinji and Brooklyn Aikikai. For more information, please go to Huron Valley's site here. You can learn more about Brooklyn Aikikai and Savoca Sensei here.

2009 Roundup

2009-11-30T19:00:00.015-06:00

It's been a month since our last construction date at Korinji. Though snow has yet to fall in any appreciable amount, the trees are now long bare and the evening temperatures are routinely dropping below freezing. Soon the ground will be frozen solid, and our concrete foundation piers will be locked in for their first winter.

We started the year with high hopes and very little money. We knew that our construction plan would take everything we could give - in terms of energy, time, and resources - to complete. Our original goal was to have the building enclosed before winter. Had we been working with a professional crew, this would have been easy.

We soon learned, however, the reality of depending upon our own volunteer, and usually amateur, labor: a slow pace results in good work, while a rushed pace produces errors. And another reality struck us quite early on: the difficulty of the building site we'd chosen. When a four-wheel drive vehicle was not available to navigate our slippery construction road, we carried building materials and gear in on our backs. Over 300 bags of concrete, hundreds of pieces of lumber, concrete mixers and generators, fasteners and tools, water, food and camping gear, all were carried down by hand. On weekends when we had thirty volunteers, this was arduous at best. When we had 10 or less, it was at times impossible.

And let's not forget the slope. Imagine this: the southwest corner of our building's floor level (the corner nearest you when looking at the photo in the previous post, below) is 18" above the ground. At the northeast corner, farthest from you in the photo, it's 14 feet. Some of our crew no doubt have nightmares of the long hours spent leveling and re-leveling; the land, it seemed, changed daily beneath our feet. Our laser level was the best purchase the Foundation made this year. Without it, the sharp and varied terrain would no doubt still be playing tricks on our eyes.

True, we accomplished somewhat less than what we'd hoped. But not too much less. We didn't enclose our building, but we got the hardest part done. Within a weekend or two this spring, the walls will be framed, and the roof not long after that. It will all take place on a foundation that we literally chopped, dug and scraped out of what was only months before a briar-choked, rocky hillside surrounded by forest.

Looking back on the immense amount of work our volunteer crews performed - camping out in storms and summer heat, working without reward other than the satisfaction of contributing to something worthwhile - it's hard to find words to express our feeling of gratitude. Similarly, the steady donations that have continued to come, of both funds and items, are times almost unbelievable to me.

Here is a brief summary of what happened at Korinji this year:

1. Building site located, cleared, surveyed and staked. Overall Korinji site plan determined.
2. Construction road, parking area and trails partially graveled or wood-chipped.
3. Foundation excavated.
4. Reinforced concrete foundation piers poured.
5. Structural support posts set on piers, leveled, cut and trimmed to accept beams.
6. Structural support beams affixed to posts and bolted.
7. Floor joists affixed to beams and cross-braced.
8. Support posts x-braced below floor structure.
9. Wood bench/lamp post constructed along foot trail.
10. Location of wood foot-bridge at ravine bottom determined and surveyed.

To accomplish all of this, we spent just under $12,800.00. An estimate we received from a contractor for the same: $56,000.00. We are determined that the donations we receive will be used in the most efficient and sensible manner possible; I'm pleased to report this result for our first year of work to found Korinji.

To close, I should mention a few of the memories that stand out most sharply in my mind. Despite the work and exhaustion, it truly was nothing less than the fulfillment of a dream watching our vision become physically manifest before our eyes. Many wonderful moments - and a few truly magical ones - served to remind me how fortunate I am to be a part of this undertaking, and to have so many truly good people along for the ride:

- The "battle with the briars" during our initial site clearing, and the determined, at times desperate chainsaw confrontation that Greg Dekker and I waged with the two-inch thorns that seemed to pierce us from all directions.

- Our wood-chipper and trail crews coming together spontaneously as teams: the moment when we knew for sure that it would all work.

- Surveying: Tom Teterycz laying out our exact building location, and the moment when we realized how big it would actually be. This was also the moment, looking down into the ravine, that we saw confirmed what a beautiful, appropriate location we'd chosen to be a place of Zen training.

- Groundbreaking weekend: the amazing pump arrangement that brought water for our concrete mixing hundreds of feet uphill from the valley stream.

- Violent rainstorms one evening, camping out under a thin tarp. Miraculously, this was the only time the entire summer that rain bothered us...and by next morning, it was gone in time for work.

- The boulders broken up, bit by bit, by our sledge-hammer wielding crews.

- Our concrete carriers, covered with white dust and exhausted, at the end of their work. Our concrete mixers and pourers, spattered and bleary-eyed, at the end of theirs.

- Sitting in moonlight at the construction site; the calls of owls back and forth across the valley.

- The slavic-speakers and their always well-supplied tent (also the place to be for strong, black tea in the morning).

- Campfire gatherings, good conversation and good cheer under the leaves in our beautiful forest...

Thank you again, to everyone. Stay tuned for more posts over the winter, keeping you updated on our ongoing planning.

And spring will be here soon, so keep your hammers and saws in good order!

Gassho,
Meido

Winter break

2009-11-04T17:39:00.007-06:00

In a final flurry of work last week at Korinji, a few die-hard work crew members finished up our floor joists and bracing, as well as the x-bracing that ties together our 36-odd 6x6 posts. Though rain and a few flakes of snow served to remind us of season's end, we finished our final day with glorious fall sunshine. It helped to dry out the blisters on our hands.

Since it makes no sense to put flooring on our deck structure that will only hold snow, we're now done for the winter. The generator and tools are in storage, the site is battened down, and the treated timbers of our building are drying out, settling and knitting themselves together. Ahead are a few months of planning and fundraising to position us well for a spring start. Our next weekend of work will see the first walls framed.

But for now we're all ready for a much-needed rest. We'll have a full progress summary shortly. We learned a lot over this past year, and while we didn't get as far as we originally thought we could, we did pretty well for an all-volunteer crew. Within 18 months we've gone from an unmanifested dream to the purchase and clearing of land that now has a building beginning to take shape.

A few more images, and a final video for the year, are on the Korinji site's images page.

Autumn colors

2009-10-12T19:58:00.002-05:00

The floor joists are done; just a day or so of bracing left to do. Now that the floor sub-structure is tacked in, the thing looks big.

A few photos from this past weekend - of both construction and the land - have been added to the Korinji site images page. The maples haven't yet reached their peak, but yellows and reds are everywhere in sight. With temperatures reaching the 20's in the evening, we wonder what the forest view will be this coming weekend.

Final push, 2009

2009-10-06T15:13:00.003-05:00

We're in the midst of our final push for the year now. This coming weekend (Oct. 10-11) and the following (Oct. 17-18) will be the last major construction weekends at Korinji. In a total of only 9 work days since June, we've cleared our building site, excavated and poured our foundation piers, erected our support posts, and now are near to completion of the structure's sub-structure. Truly remarkable!

Please consider joining us for one or both of our final weekends. In particular, we need hammer-swingers now: there are a lot of floor joists and braces to put in place. If we can finish up this part of our structure, we'll be well-placed to take a breather for a few months over the winter.

If the weather holds for these weekends, many of us will still camp out on the land. If not, Korinji has arranged a group rate at the local Quality Inn that is ridiculously reasonable.

If you'd like to pitch in, please RSVP to info@korinji.org. If you haven't yet seen how far we've come in a few months, please take a look at the construction photos and videos on the Korinji website here.

We're looking forward to seeing many of you again at Korinji this month. The fall colors should be at their height, and the temperatures ideal for work as well as campfire gatherings in the evening. Finally, many of you will be relieved to learn that we have no deliveries of lumber scheduled this time: everything we need is already at the site, and will not need to be carried through the woods by our trusty (but tired) work crews!

Beams

2009-09-21T17:43:00.004-05:00

Another weekend of beautiful weather, with fall colors just starting to show at Korinji.

More progress made, and more images here.

Posts

2009-09-15T15:14:00.007-05:00

Here's a shot showing the results of last weekend's work crew: 6x6 posts now jut upward from the concrete foundation pilings. Visiting the work site very early Sunday morning after most of the posts had been set, we learned that the local great horned owls had discovered them; pairs of orange eyes stared at us from several post-tops , reflecting our headlamp beams. More photos and a new video can be found on Korinji's Images page.

This weekend: beams.

In the thick of things

2009-09-09T15:33:00.003-05:00

A quick update: this past weekend's work crew went spectacularly well. The foundation is completely finished: we'd decided to bolster two of our 50-odd 18" concrete pilings by dropping 24" tubes over them and filling in with reinforced concrete. This puts them more squarely where they need to be, and gives us extra strength at the crucial lowest corner of our building that will bear the most weight.

We also raised the very first structural timbers. It was quite a moment as Tom Teterycz -the building designer - and I maneuvered a 10-foot 6x6" onto its base plate on top of a corner piling, leveled it, and tacked it in place. We both suddenly realized that a building was indeed going to exist on this wooded slope in the forest, that has long been such a focus of our work and concern.

This weekend will see many more of these timbers raised, and with luck the completion of our under-floor structure. As usual, we're pleased that the volunteer turnout has been enthusiastic, though a few more would be welcome...I've just sent out an appeal to the returning students of our Northwestern University Zen Society, who have been helpful in the past.

The weekdays are now spent organizing for weekend work crews, and purchasing building materials. It feels good to see donations collected over several years now actually buying lumber, nails and tools. I'm also pleased to report that our $100.00 generator worked like a charm, and we didn't even burn through the half-tank of gas that came with it.

I'll try to get some more video or photos this time around. Stay tuned.

Ladders and lineage

2009-08-27T14:46:00.009-05:00

Volunteers are beginning to swell the September work crew lists. This throws our tool needs, however, into sharp relief. A recent coup was the location of a 5000-watt generator, in good working order, on Ebay...Chicago pick-up only! We managed to obtain it for $100.00 - an utter steal. We now continue to scan online for circular saws.

Ladders are one thing we're not seeing many of. We hope to avoid buying new ones, wasteful as that would be. We need a 6' and an 8' step ladder, and two 20' extending ladders. If you happen to have one of these lying around and care to donate it, by all means let us know! In the meantime, please keep your eyes out for them on Ebay, Craigslist, at local sales, etc.

Finally: the Korinji website has a slightly different look, somewhat cleaner in layout. Let us know what you think.

One new page of interest details the Rinzai Zen lineage that has given rise to Korinji, coming down through Omori Sogen Roshi. Actually, temples themselves don't have lineages (other than the historical succession of their abbots); only people do. The lineage chanted daily by monks (Teidai Denpo) at a given monastery is therefore the lineage of dharma transmission of that monastery's current shike (abbot), and so could change over time.

When Korinji is dedicated and begins functioning as a residence for practitioners, such will also be the case; for now, however, our page shows the lineage held in common by the various teachers who are working to establish Korinji.

Bring a hammer...

2009-08-19T18:35:00.007-05:00

Our zendo construction plan and timeline have been set. If all goes according to schedule, we'll have the main structure up by mid-October. Now, we just need you.

So far we've been amazed at the number of supporters who have turned out for our past monastery work weekends, during which we cleared the building site and and poured the foundation. As many as 40 volunteers have been present at a time. Can we expect more of the same? Now that we've gotten to the point of actually seeing a structure rise from the ground, we hope that we can...

It's crunch time at Korinji, in other words. Here are the monastery work weekend dates for September, with some descriptions of what we hope to accomplish each time:

Saturday, Sept. 5th (one day only): finish the foundation and install plates on our pilings.

Saturday and Sunday Sept. 12-13: place the support posts on the pilings, and begin the main deck.

Saturday and Sunday Sept. 19-20: finish the main deck, and begin the walls and ceiling structures

Saturday and Sunday Sept. 26-27: continue with walls and a-frames, working toward beginning of roof construction

For Sept. 5th, we need 3-5 volunteers. For the rest of the September weekends, we need a minimum of 10 volunteers each trip. More volunteers are better, of course, and will insure that our work is completed before cold weather comes in the fall.

Come one, come all. No pair of hands will be turned away. All of you will be directly contributing to the actual construction process. One bonus for those of you who have enjoyed camping out on Korinji's beautiful 17 acres: once we have the deck up, we can camp on that...no more searching for a flat spot to pitch a tent!

To volunteer for any or all of our September work crews, please email Korinji: info@korinji.org.

As always, thank you all.

Work Needs

2009-08-17T12:20:00.005-05:00

This week, Korinji board members will meet with our construction managers to finalize weekend work dates through the end of the year. To get the main structure of our first building up and enclosed before the weather turns, we estimate a minimum of five solid weekends. We look forward to announcing those to you shortly.

We'll be needing many hands as usual, both skilled and unskilled: during the recent foundation pouring, the crucial work was done not only by those excavating the site and mixing the concrete, but also by the gangs that carried hundreds of bags of concrete down to the construction site, and hundreds of buckets of water from the stream. Without their labor, nothing would have been possible. Had a lesser number of volunteers come, we might not have finished our work that day.

Now that we have a few folks bringing four-wheel drive vehicles capable of navigating our construction road, that kind of old-fashioned transport of materials won't be as necessary. But still, don't think that your help is not needed - and indispensable - because you don't have actual construction experience.

The board is also calling for needed tools. If you have any of the following items and care to donate (or loan) them, please let us know! Donations of items are tax-deductible, of course:

1 Generator
1 Extension cords, 12-gauge
Ladders: 2 A-frame and 1 extension (28'+)
2 Wheelbarrows
Drills and drill bits/driver bits
Sawzall and blades
Circular saws and blades
Miter saw and blades
Hand saws
Clamps
Levels: 1 x 96", 4 x 48", 4 x 9" torpedo levels
4 Framing squares, large and small
1 Plumb bob
6 Tape measures
Crowbars/prybars
Screwdrivers, set
Pliers
10 Hammers
Box cutters/utility knives and blades
Shovels
Rakes
Sledgehammers
Axes, mauls
Pruning saws, polesaws

Old sweater = new Zen temple

2009-08-11T15:38:00.005-05:00

A local artist, Jessica Cobb, is seeking your old sweaters and other woolen goods: sweaters, blankets, wool socks, shirts, skirts, cardigans, hats, gloves, leg warmers, etc. These items will be felted and used in hand weaving beautiful one-of-a-kind rugs. The rug sales will then support Korinji.

Community, friends and family are excellent resources. These materials can also be inexpensively acquired at local garage/rummage/lawn sales (sometimes for as little as 25 cents!).

Anyone interested in learning or participating in the craft can also help in ways which include color design/selection, material prep, loom building or weaving. It's a fun, fast moving project!

Donations are being accepted at Daiyuzenji: 3717 N. Ravenswood #113, Chicago, IL 60613. Please direct questions to Jessica by email: liveloveart@gmail.com

Falling for Korinji

2009-08-11T15:08:00.003-05:00

The 2009 Fall-a-thon, a fundraising event organized by Shinjinkai, the Japanese Martial Arts Society, was conducted on July 8. The result: more than $10,000.00 raised in two hours by 20 fallers!

Similar to a walk-a-thon, participants in the Fall-a-thon gather pledges from sponsors. Rather than walking, however, they commit to being thrown (via Aikido technique) as many times as possible in 15 minutes. The participant with the most falls got up to 431.

We're grateful every year for the amazing spirit and fortitude shown by these martial art students in support of Korinji; many of them are also participating in our work crews at Korinji, and so regularly give of their sweat and strength. If you'd like to make a donation in support of the Fall-a-thon, or just to learn more about it, please see the Fall-a-thon website. And here is a video clip to give you a feeling for the energy and excitement of this fundraiser.

A groundbreaking weekend

2009-07-20T18:20:00.008-05:00

The grassy clearing on the hill is now, incredibly, a building site. Nearly 50 holes have been dug, and after two days of at times backbreaking labor they contain foundation pilings of concrete and rebar.

Our volunteer work crew was nothing short of inspiring. On Saturday more than 300 bags of concrete and 800 feet of rebar were carried by hand from road-side pallets down through deep forest to the remote building site. Hundreds of buckets of water were pumped uphill from the stream in the valley, thanks to the last-minute genius (and available pump) of one of the crew; we had expected a bucket brigade to be necessary for this.

With all the foundation holes excavated and more than half of them filled with curing concrete, darkness finally forced an end to the day. Saturday evening saw the usual gatherings as the crew was released from duty. A campfire fueled by recently cleared maple and oak was the center of one gathering near the south entrance. Another large group descended onto the nearby town for dinner. Our Russian-speaking contingent was discovered holding a separate party - not to be missed - gathered in a quiet circle on grass above the site. By midnight, all had retired except the usual visiting coyotes and owls.

Sunday morning came early, and saw a mad rush to complete the pouring of concrete. There was some concern that our mix would run short. Amazingly, the job was done...with not a single bag to spare out of the 300 plus. In the meantime our parking area received its first load of road gravel: Korinji now has an entrance drive usable as such.

Today, most of us are recovering, nursing sore backs and arms. But as I write I notice with amazement that many of the crew have showed up at the Chicago dojo tonight for martial arts training. These hardcore volunteers, who for two days exhausted themselves carrying and pouring concrete, are tonight practicing Aikido.

After this weekend, Korinji's property has been transformed. We now have the beginnings of a place to which they lead. We know exactly where our gate, and our main house, will be, and what it will look like walking there in the future. From the ravine below the building site, one can now look up to see a row of grey concrete pilings jutting up from the grass like rows of blunt teeth.

With the intense spirit our crew displayed this past weekend, I have no doubt that a roof and walls will soon also be seen through the leaves.

Korinji's Images page has been updated with video from this past weekend.

What goes into the Korinji foundation

2009-07-15T13:20:00.005-05:00

No, not the charitible organization. The base of the building:

21,040 lbs. of concrete mix
37,500 lbs. (15 cubic yards) of crushed stone
840 feet of rebar
60 feet of forming tube
One Skidsteer with 12" and 18" augur bits
A lot of buckets
38 volunteers

The forecast is good for this weekend. We'll receive our stone and other materials Friday, with the crew arriving Saturday morning.

Look for a full report (with video!) next week.

GROUNDBREAKING: July 18-19

2009-07-03T15:03:00.003-05:00

The following announcement has been made by the Korinji Foundation:

Dear Korinji Friends,

At long last, I'm grateful to be able to invite you all to participate in the groundbreaking of Korinji, our new Zen monastery.

Saturday and Sunday, July 18-19, will be one of our "Monastery Work Weekends". This time (following a brief groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday morning) we'll actually be pouring the foundations of Korinji's zendo, or training hall. We've got the machines and materials prepared...now we just need your hands and sweat.

Similar to our last work weekend when we completed the clearing of our first structure's building site, we'll be camping out together on the Korinji land, and will spend Saturday evening around the campfire. Also similar to last time is our need for a large crew. We need many hands this time to gravel the parking area, to haul water, to mix concrete, and to help us get the foundation in the ground. Once this is done, we can relax just a little bit: future construction of the building can be done with smaller crews. So, if you've considered helping Korinji with this project, now is a very good time to come up and pitch in.

We really need you...it's crucial that we have enough folks helping to excavate and pour in one weekend. Please join us, and take part in the historic beginning of this new training center!

I plan to be on the land Friday. As before, if some of you wish to come up early, you are very welcome to join me. Your family and friends are also welcome to join us.

PLEASE RSVP by emailing Korinji: info@korinji.org. I'll have details coming shortly as our work crew list is finalized.

We're finally there. Please accept my thanks, again, for all the support and work you've contributed to bring us to this point. We'll continue our fundraising and other work to complete and develop Korinji, of course (more news on upcoming fundraisers shortly), but for now we've earned a pat on the back.

I'm looking forward to working together with you all on July 18-19 as we begin to see an actual building grow...

Sincerely,

Meido Moore
President
The Korinji Foundation

Breaking News (About Breaking Ground)

2009-06-30T16:31:00.007-05:00

We've been granted our building permit! More shortly on a groundbreaking date. We'll be needing a large work crew then to help us drill holes, mix concrete, and pour our concrete pilings...

This past weekend a few of us spent a day clearing out some of the lush summer growth that had started to encroach on trails. The building site remains relatively clear, though we did add some more visible metal stakes. At the entrance to the parking area, a standing dead tree we'd predicted would probably fall, did. With some hard work we were able to move it from blocking the drive. It's good dry hardwood; we may take some portions of it to use for lining trails.

The land itself is now deep in shadow and very quiet, under its canopy of maple and oak leaves. Even the coyotes and owls which had been so vocal recently seem to have moved away down the valley. In the evening we were entranced by the silent, electric-blue strobing of thousands of fireflies in the hollows.

Report: May 9-10 Monastery Work Weekend

2009-05-11T16:16:00.006-05:00

It looked rough Friday evening for the few of us who arrived early: 30 mph winds (a few limbs came down on the land) and driving rain most of the night - except for a surreal half-hour when the full moon, between banks of cloud, illuminated a very cold but clear sky. Then more rain sweeping in, tapering off to heavy mist in the morning...

By the time the rest of the crew arrived, though, the day had brightened somewhat. We even had some sun. And with the rain spring had fully arrived: by Sunday, the light green new leaves had begun to unfurl into broad, dark green. We're now able to visualize again the lush summer canopy, which will soon cover the ravines and deepen the silence of the place.

All in all, a great and enormously productive weekend. 24 total made it up, with most camping out on the land. Six hours of chain-sawing and chipping gave us a completely clear site: the chips were used for our trail. On the other side of the ravine, our parking area was being cleared of brush. One stump and a rock that I'd been convinced would require dynamite are now gone; the sandstone boulder was broken up in place by a rotating sledgehammer team. One particularly nice slab of sandstone stands at the far end, marking the point where the trail leads down into the ravine.

We also now have 32 railroad ties, ready for next time. One was cut into two posts, which were set at the parking entrance. Next time I'll attach small reflectors to these.

Finally, we finished our most crucial work for the weekend: the final surveying and staking of the construction site, with concrete piling locations gridded and marked.

We're ready to break ground.

Our deepest gratitude to everyone who worked so hard. Special thanks go to our crew chiefs (who were not as grumpy as I'd expected), our cooks for a perfect campfire-cooked breakfast, and to everyone for the rather inspiring teamwork that seemed to just spontaneously happen.

Here's a video montage and some photos from our first Monastery Work Weekend, on the Korinji Images Page.

Weekend excitement

2009-05-07T14:55:00.005-05:00

Looks like a merry crew for this weekend's work crew: 26 at last count! The response to our work invitation was much greater than anticipated.

With that many bodies, we'll not only clear our building site but also get to work on other projects. I'm looking forward to gathering some good stone from the rocky southern ravine. With any luck, we'll find enough to outline our parking area, and perhaps even get a stone bench constructed along one of our trails.

In Chicago over the last week leaves have appeared on the cottonwoods and maples lining the streets; grass and dandelions are suddenly everywhere. The season should be a bit less far along up at Korinji, but we hope to have some good, green spring photos to share next week when we post our report on the weekend.

Images from Korinji

2009-04-27T19:09:00.007-05:00

We've added quite a few new photos to the Korinji website "Images" page. These include many recent views of Korinji's future site, in which bare trees make the land's character very easy to see. A number of photos showing recent work, including trails that have been laid out throughout the forest connecting our parking and zendo areas, may be viewed there. Please take a look!

Clearing away the thorny tangles

2009-04-26T15:15:00.004-05:00

As we grow closer to the groundbreaking for our first building, the time has now come to ask for your assistance. Of course we've been asking for the generous help of our supporters for some time, in the form of donations and ideas. But now, we also need your hands and sweat...in other words, it's time to clear some land!

We're very happy to announce our first "Korinji Work Weekend", at the future site of Korinji near Madison, Wisconsin.

On Saturday and Sunday, May 9-10, we need your help to clear a future building site. It's partly covered with trees, dead wood and some fairly nasty thorny shrubs. We've got chainsaw experts. We need your help to move what they cut down, as well as to help us clear smaller vegetation.

It's crucial that we finish this job within one weekend, so that the site will be ready for the crucial next step: pouring the foundation of a building.

Now is the time to pitch in, and help us found Korinji!

Those of you joining us both days: our plan is to camp out overnight on the land and enjoy each other's company as well. There will be time around the campfire in the evening. One might say that it will not be an entirely working weekend. Join us in our beautiful wooded valley, and spend a weekend in nature doing good work.

PLEASE VOLUNTEER. We're actually ready to start building Korinij...but without a sufficient number of bodies, we can't move forward. If you can make it for one or both days, please email us: info@korinji.org. We'll then be in touch regarding carpooling from Chicago, meeting times, etc.

We're looking forward to seeing you then, and to showing you around the place...

Zendo

2009-04-01T20:48:00.009-05:00

Here is a first look at our future first building: a wonderful design by Korinji supporter Tomasz Teterycz, who is generously donating his time and professional skill.

The approximately 30'x60' structure is supported on concrete piers, allowing it to be built onto the slope of the site without excavation or the pouring of a slab.

The engawa, or covered wooden deck, allows ravine views. Eventually this may connect to the main monastery house.

More drawings to be posted soon!

Evolution

2009-03-24T14:18:00.025-05:00

One of the remarkable aspects of a project like ours is the manner in which good people seem to appear just as they're needed; after numerous such occurrences, one almost gets used to it. We've recently had another such unfolding.

As noted in recent posts, we're at the point where we deem it suitable to establish a first structure on our land. I'd thought this would be something small and inexpensive: a meditation cabin or hut, sufficient for 3 or 4 people to practice. The idea was that by building such a structure, at least our minimum responsibility would have been fulfilled: we would have successfully created a place where intensive dharma practice could be undertaken. My plan was to then take up residence in the area, to practice and work the land, thus hopefully creating affinity links that might support later development of the property.

It was with such thoughts that we began preparing for, and announcing, our meditation hut. The response we received, however, was more than I'd hoped for: not only donations of tools, but offers of help from a home designer/builder, an architect, construction managers, and a large crew of strong bodies. After some intensive discussion, we realized that our plan to build a small meditation structure had evolved. We were now discussing the possibility - financially and logistically - of going straight forward and building stage one of our overall Korinji project, a larger structure to serve as the staging ground for our future residence.

Right now an engineer is designing a 60 x 30' barn structure, sincluding an engawa (covered deck), and containing a main space as well as smaller rooms built out for storage and other needs. Our architect friend has offered to take that design and produce drawings. We have information coming on the materials cost: it looks to be a bit more than we currently have, but not out of reach given the generosity we continue to experience from our donors, and the success of fundraising events like the annual Fall-a-thon. As for labor, we have willing hands, and the simplicity of the post-and-beam construction we plan allows us to largely do it ourselves. The building will not be residential...it will not have bath, kitchen, or other important amenities; those we save for stage two, the main house. But most importantly, we'll have a place to begin working on Korinji together.

I spent four days on the land over this past weekend. The feeling of the place, even now at the end of winter, is remarkable. An electric, humming stillness covers the land there this time of year; other than a brief exchange of great horned owl calls in the early evening, and some yapping and fussing from coyotes across the far side of the valley around midnight, a deep, silent clarity seemed to well up from the hollows and ravines. Sleeping on the ground under a tarp, I awoke around 1am to see brilliant stars spread out from ridgetop to ridgetop, illuminating silvery patches of snow that still lay on the north facing slopes. Truly, our future home is a place well-suited to Zen training.

The days were warm, and we got some good work done: the parking area, an existing flat ridgetop accessed by the drive on the south end of the property, has been cleared of dead wood and brush. From there an already defined trail drops down east to an overview of the valley, zig-zagging then more or less north to the bottom of the main ravine (there we eventually plan a wooden footbridge, or at least flat walking stones, to allow passage over the bottom of the ravine) before rising up to the building site, a south-facing slope looking directly into the deepest part of the land. We needed to clear only thorn trees there: we'll get some good sunlight. The view from there in March is of snowy forest, gray rock, and the valley beyond. In summer I expect the valley will be obscured, and only a sea of waving trees will be seen.

We've identified other future sites as well, including the locations of our future house and a possible small retreat cabing. Yes, we'll still build it at some point for use as a solitary practice place. From its doorway there, one will just be able to see, north across the valley and past a grove of white birches, the zendo rooftop. Perhaps - if the wind is quiet - one would hear the sound of the meditation bell.

Tools for the Job

2009-03-07T13:36:00.007-06:00

The weather seems to have broken here in the Chicago region, at least for the time being: the lake this morning is largely free of the white ice sheet which only a few days earlier stretched to the horizon. We'll most likely have another snow, and temperatures will still hit the twenties and thirties. But the worst may be over.

This means it's time to start our meditation hut. Our temple land in Wisconsin is a few hours north, so temperatures there in the Madison area are a bit lower still. But I'll be spending several days on our temple land later in March, to confirm the hut's exact location and orientation (along with the location of some other important features such as our access drive, parking area, trails, footbridges, and steps to be inset into hillsides - all of which we'll be working on this spring and summer).

Once those decisions are made and plotted on the GPS, it will be time to begin cutting the hut's major structural pieces back in Chicago for assembly on the land. We're still planning a wood frame structure, with plastered straw bale walls. Interior floor space will be four tatami: three actual tatami, and one tatami-size area of exposed wood flooring as an entry area and location for our woodstove. The hut will have a small engawa (covered walkway) on one side, overlooking one of the ravines we'll most likely build into.

We still have some small details to work out: rather than windows set into the walls, for example, we may use recycled bottle glass. But the form of our structure has been largely defined.

Now is the time we'd like to appeal for donations of items we'll be needing to use this year: tools! If it can be used for simple construction, clearing land, landscaping or gardening, we probably need it. Here's a partial list:

Shovels and spades
Wheelbarrow
Pick
Hoe
Sledge
Axes and hatchets
Pruning tools
Measuring tapes
Hammers
Handsaws
Chainsaws

If you have items like these you'd like to donate, we'd be very happy to hear from you (and to send you a receipt for the value of your tax-deductible donation).

One recent purchase by the Foundation was small, inexpensive hand-held video recorder (a Flip Mino HD). We'll be using this to film our next land visit, and to document the construction of our hut. Keep an eye on the blog and on the Korinji website for these posted videos.

A small hut...

2009-01-12T16:59:00.017-06:00

If your hermitage is deep in the mountains
surely the moon, flowers, and maple trees
will become your friends.

Men of the world passing this way are few,
Dense grass conceals the door.
All night in silence, a few woodchips burn slowly,
As I read the poems of the ancients.
- Ryokan (1758-1831)

The Korinji Foundation will be having it's beginning-of-year community/board of director's meeting on Sunday, January 25th, 11am at Daiyuzenji temple in Chicago. Items of business to discuss include the construction of the first building on our land in Wisconsin: a small (three-tatami floor space, about 54 square feet) meditation hut.

Initially, this hut will be used for solitary practice as well as storage. Thinking forward to a time when more substantial structures exist, the hut will continue to be useful as an individual retreat space or a structure for dokusan (private meetings between Zen master and student).

We're currently exploring design and construction options, and are very interested in straw-bale construction. Our shiny new wood stove has arrived (above)!

Other items of business for the meeting include fund-raising strategies for 2009; all are welcome.

Land Visit: 11/16

2008-11-13T15:23:00.002-06:00

The Korinji Foundation Board of Directors will be visiting Korinji's future site on Sunday, 11/16 to review potential building areas and specify acreage for topographical survey; departure from Daiyuzenji temple in Chicago will be at 11am. Guests are welcome to join us! Please RSVP to info@korinji.org.

Land Ho!

2008-08-04T14:42:00.012-05:00

The following announcement has just been released by the Korinji Foundation board of directors:

Dear Friends of Korinji,

This past weekend, the annual "Fall-a-thon" fundraising event conducted by Shinjinkai was a resounding success: total funds raised through pledges and day-of-event donations amounted to $14,791.05! Our deepest gratitude goes out to the Fall-a-thon participants and volunteers, who once again stunned us with their intense effort and inspiring performances.

It was an exciting day for another reason, however. I was pleased to announce publicly for the first time at the Fall-a-thon the important news we'd now like to share with all of you: the Korinji Foundation has contracted to purchase land.

After several years of searching, we've found the future site of Korinji. We are no longer raising funds for a vision or and idea, but for an actual place where our new Zen monastery will be founded: 17 acres of rolling hilltop and ravines, covered with mature hardwood forest. Our land is located in Wisconsin, a short distance north of Madison. A link below will take you to some photos of the site.

Because of the successful fundraising we've done so far - that is to say, because of the generous donations of supporters like you - we expect to purchase this property outright, leaving us unencumbered with a mortgage and ready to move forward into the first stages of developing Korinji.

After so much work, our vision is finally becoming real.

Of course, the work is only starting. We'll continue to raise funds, and if anything our need will be more pressing...the land purchase will more or less exhaust our resources, and we'll need to hit the ground running with new appeals for support. But now, supporters will have the satisfaction of knowing that their donations are taking form into something concrete. Because of donations, concrete things will now happen: surveys will be completed; a well will be drilled; foundations will be laid; stone steps will be set into a hillside; eventually, Korinji will take shape.

We don't have the words to express our elation, and our deepest gratitude. To all of you, on behalf of the Korinji board, thank you.

More updates are coming soon. For now, please take a look at some photos here

And finally, if this exciting news moves you to consider supporting the Foundation and our work to establish a new Zen monastery in the heartland, please do so. Now is a crucial time. There are many ways you can support Korinji; please go to our website to learn more. I also welcome your questions and correspondence regarding our project.

Sincere best wishes,
Meido Moore

Korinji Land Search Announcement, and Urgent Appeal

2008-04-24T12:12:00.016-05:00

The Korinji Foundation has made the following announcement, and is appealing for donations. Please consider helping!

Dear Korinji Friends,

We're excited to announce that our dream of founding a new Rinzai Zen monastic training center in North America’s heartland – Korinji – is closer to coming true. In recent months our land search committee has reviewed piles of real estate listings, and visited a dozen properties that appeared promising. It’s been exhausting, but very exciting! Now, we’ve identified several "final candidate" properties in the beautiful wooded hills of southwest Wisconsin…including one on which we've begun negotiation.

Think of it: we've had the incredible good fortune to receive the precious Zen teachings, passed down through centuries by a long line of Indian, Chinese and Japanese masters. But if this treasure is to survive, we must help it take root in our own soil. If all goes well, we may be only weeks away from having a home for our dream.

Will you join us in this crucial work?

Why is a residential practice center so important? A Zen temple is not a cloistered hermitage cut off from the world. It’s a vibrant place of training and community, conducive to deep meditation practice. The people who train at Korinji will take their experience back out into the world, to improve their lives and relationships, perhaps eventually to found other Zen centers and create new aways of expressing Zen wisdom that we haven’t even dreamed of.

The premise of Zen Buddhism is simple: there is a fundamental human wholeness and sanity which lies at the very root of what we are. It can be recognized and realized. It can be manifested and embodied through practice. Its authentic expression is compassion and tolerance. Our society will benefit from this stream of wisdom we’ve now inherited…provided we can keep it alive and help it grow. This will be the gift of Zen to our future.

Currently there are major Rinzai Zen residential training centers on the West and East coasts of North America – but not in the Midwest. This is the “shining forest” (Ko-rin) we intend to plant here in the heartland with Korinji.

We urgently need your help today.

Though we’ve successfully raised enough funds for a down payment to purchase our property, obtaining a mortgage has become more challenging these days for everyone. It’s crucial that we not only show periodic large donations and successful fund raising events, but also regular donations from a community of supporters

This is where you can help. Will you consider signing up for a tax-deductible, automated monthly donation to Korinji?

Any donation is appreciated and useful: 10 people donating 100.00 a month can nearly pay a mortgage. 20 people donating 50.00 a month will do the same. Even a monthly donation of 15.00 (the price of three or four beverages from the local coffee chain) can help pay to feed resident monks at the future Korinji, to sponsor university student retreats as part of Korinji’s Collegiate Zen Initiative, to plant trees or a vegetable garden…in short, to ensure that Korinji is founded and continues onward through the years as a viable center.

We need help now. We are committed to purchasing land this year - before summertime.

If you’ve ever contemplated donating to Korinji or to promote the spread of the dharma, now is the time. Please consider signing up today. All donations are tax-deductible (we’re designated a 501c3 public charity by the IRS). Anything you can give will go directly to our new temple fund - and thus to our work of preserving and spreading Zen, for now and for the future.

You can instantly and securely donate to Korinji online using PayPal by going here. You’ll see options there to sign up for automated monthly donations, as well as information on many other ways to donate to Korinji.

Another way you can help us is by forwarding this message to anyone and everyone. Send it out to your list, and ask others to do so. The more people know about Korinji and our temple project, the greater our community strength. Talk us up, and help awareness of Korinji to snowball!

We believe that now, more than ever, the world needs the compassionate, tolerant perspective of the Zen teachings. Now, more than ever, Korinji needs your help to become something real. Please consider signing up for a donation today.

Thank you for caring about Zen, and for believing in Korinji. We look forward to hosting you at the future Korinji temple.

With gratitude,

Enmei Hunter
Treasurer
The Korinji Foundation

Please click here to see ways you can contribute to the founding of Korinji

Korinji Land Search - April 5

2008-04-01T17:07:00.003-05:00

The land search committee will be traveling on Saturday, 4/5 to view properties of interest in the Driftless Region of SW Wisconsin. More information shortly!

Online Sutras

2008-01-12T15:13:00.000-06:00

Here is an excellent site providing links to various translations of all the major Mahayana sutras. Of particular interest to Zen students: the Heart, Lankavatara, Avatamsaka, Surangama, Vimilakirti, Diamond and Lotus sutras.

Traces of Bodhidharma

2008-01-03T00:20:00.002-06:00

South Mountain Tours, which leads trips to sites in China connected with Zen history, has a number of interesting clips on YouTube. Take a look at this one, dealing with the recent rediscovery and restoration of the burial place of Bodhidharma, the Indian monk whose teachings mark the beginning of the Zen lineage in China. An interesting thing to see in the South Mountain clips is evidence of what has been called a resurgence (or perhaps reemergence) of Buddhism in China.

Tenryuji

2008-01-02T18:19:00.002-06:00

The famous dragon painting on the ceiling of Tenryuji's Hatto (teaching hall). From the Tenryuji temple brochure.

Here is a history of Tenryuji, the temple through which our line of Zen was transmitted to the west: from the excellent website of the Joint Council for Rinzai and Obaku Zen.

Land Search Committee Meeting 12/15

2007-12-14T16:28:00.000-06:00

The Land Search Committee will have a brief meeting at Daiyuzenji (3717 N. Ravenswood #113, Chicago) on Sat., 12/15 at 7pm.

Visions of the Future

2007-12-14T13:23:00.001-06:00

The Future Korinji Temple

Style: American Prairie School

Design and Drawings by Mark Keane (Professor, School of Architecture and Urban Planning,University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee; Director of the UWM Frank Lloyd Wright Initiative)and Linda Keane (Professor, School of the Art Institue of Chicago)

1. Sanmon (gate)
2. Shoro (bell cote)
3. Shikaryo (office, library and visitor's reception center)
4. Hojo (classrooms, lecture/ceremony hall, guest rooms, abbot's quarters)
5. Covered walkway connecting all three buildings
6. Sodo (meditation hall/monk's residence, including kitchen, dining, bath and sanitary facilities)
7. Vegetable gardens
8. Ornamental gardens, including nature trails, water feature, tea house, outdoor lecture area.

After a number of meetings and a lot of back-and-forth, the Keanes have completed their design and drawings of the future Korinji temple. What does an American Prairie School Zen temple look like? For more views please go to the Korinji site here.

Omori Sogen

2007-11-16T15:23:00.000-06:00

Omori Sogen Roshi

Here is a brief but fascinating biography of Omori Sogen Roshi, who transmitted to the West the line of Rinzai Zen to which we belong: Institute of Zen Studies site.

Obaku, Teacher of Rinzai: 2

2007-11-02T00:26:00.002-05:00

Rinzai: painting by Hakuin Ekaku

The acount of Rinzai's enlightenment, from the Rinzairoku (Record of Rinzai):

When the master [Rinzai] was a new monk in Obaku's community, his behavior was simple and direct. The head monk recommended him, saying: "Though he is a new monk, yet he differs from all the others." He asked him: "How long have you been here?" The master replied: "For three years." The head monk asked: "Have you been for an interview yet?" The master said: "Never. I do not know what to ask." The head monk said: "Why don't you go and ask the reverend head of the monastery what is the essence of Buddhism?"

The master accordingly did so. But even before he had finished speaking, Obaku hit him. The master withdrew. When the head monk asked him how the interview had gone, he said: "Even before I had finished speaking, the Osho [venerable monk, i.e. Obaku] hit me. I do not understand." The head monk said: "Simply go and ask again." The master did so. Obaku hit him again. Like this it happened for still a third time, the questioning and the hitting. The master went to the head monk and said: "You had the kindness to send me to question the Osho. Three times I asked, and three times I was beaten. I am afraid I am obstructed by my previous circumstances [i.e. karmic hindrances], and could not understand his deep intention. So for the time being, I am resigning and am leaving." The head monk said: "Before you go, you should take leave of the Osho." The master bowed his acceptance and left.

The head monk went at once to Obaku and said: "That young monk who earlier came and questioned you is really suited for the Dharma. When he comes to take leave of you, find a way for him to continue. Planting a seed for the future, he will grow into a big tree that will give shade to all men."

The master came to take leave. Obaku said to him: "You must not go anywhere else but to Daigu who lives near the shoals of Koan [a place]. He will explain it to you."

The master went to Daigu, who asked where he came from. The master replied that he came from Obaku. Daigu asked: "And what did Obaku have to say?" The master replied: "I asked him three times what was the essence of Buddhism, and three times he beat me. I do not know whether I was at fault or not." Daigu said : "When Obaku, like a kindly old grandmother, has taken all this trouble over you, you still come here asking me whether you were at fault or not."

At these words, the master had the great awakening, and exclaimed: "After all, there is nothing much to Obaku's Buddha-Dharma!" Daigu grabbed him and said: "You little devil still wetting your bed! You come here saying you do not know whether you were at fault or not, and now you say that after all there is nothing much to Obaku's Buddha-Dharma. What have you seen? Speak quickly, speak quickly!" The master, while Daigu was still grabbing him, gave him three punches into the ribs. Daigu released him and said: "Your master is Obaku. That has nothing to do with me.

The master left Daigu and returned to Obaku who, seeing him come, remarked: "When will there be an end to the comings and goings of this fellow?" The master said: "It is only because of your grandmotherly kindness." Then, after the usual courtesies, he stood to attend on Obaku. The latter asked where he had come from. The master replied: "The other day you were kind enough to send me to Daigu for an interview." Obaku asked: "What did Daigu have to say?" The master then related what had happened. Obaku said: "How do I have this fellow coming here? Just wait, I'll beat you up." The master said: "What do you mean about waiting? Get it right now!" and accordingly punched Obaku who said: "This madman, coming here to stroke the tiger's whiskers!" The master gave a Katsu [a shout]. Obaku called: "Attendant, bring this madman into the monks' quarters."

Later, Issan mentioned this story to Gyosan and asked him: "At that time, was it with Daigu or with Obaku that Rinzai found his strength?" Gyosan said: "He not only knew how to ride the tiger, he also knew how to grab its tail."

Obaku, Teacher of Rinzai

2007-10-28T13:28:00.000-05:00

Obaku Kiun

The Buddhism Study Group that meets at Daiyuzenji in Chicago has begun study of its new text for the fall: The Zen Teaching of Huang Po, On the Transmission of Mind (P`Ei Hsiu, Huang Po, John Blofeld. 1959, Grove Press.)

Huángbò Xīyùn (黄檗希運; Japanese: Ōbaku Kiun)was born in Fujian, China in the Tang Dynasty, and died in 850. His teacher was Baizhang Huaihai (720-840, famous as the originator of the Zen monastic code) and he was the primary teacher of Linji Yixuan (Rinzai Gigen).

An excerpt from Huang Po book:

The Master said: All the Buddhas and all sentient beings are nothing but the One Mind, beside which nothing exists. This Mind, which is without beginning, is unborn and indestructible. It is not green nor yellow, and has neither form nor appearance. It does not belong to the categories of things which exist or do not exist, nor can it be thought of in terms of new or old. It is neither long nor short, big nor small, for it transcends all limits, measure, names, traces and comparisons. It is that which you see before you - begin to reason about it and you at once fall into error. It is like the boundless void which cannot be fathomed or measured. The One Mind alone is the Buddha, and there is no distinction between the Buddha and sentient things, but that sentient beings are attached to forms and so seek externally for Buddhahood. By their very seeking they lose it, for that is using the Buddha to seek for the Buddha and using mind to grasp Mind. Even though they do their utmost for a full aeon, they will not be able to attain it. They do not know that, if they put a stop to conceptual thought and forget their anxiety, the Buddha will appear before them, for this Mind is the Buddha and the Buddha is all living beings. It is not the less for being manifested in ordinary beings, nor is it greater for being manifest in the Buddhas.

Q: From all you have just said, Mind is the Buddha; but it is not clear as to what sort of mind is meant by this “Mind which is the Buddha.”
A: How many minds have you got?
Q: But is the Buddha the ordinary mind or the Enlightened mind?
A: Where on earth do you keep your “ordinary mind” and your “Enlightened mind?”
Q: In the teaching of the Three Vehicles it is stated that there are both. Why does Your Reverence deny it?
A: In the teaching of the Three Vehicles it is clearly explained that the ordinary and Enlightened minds are illusions. You don’t understand. All this clinging to the idea of things existing is to mistake vacuity for the truth. How can such conceptions not be illusory? Being illusory, they hide Mind from you. If you would only rid yourselves of the concepts of ordinary and Enlightened, you would find that there is no other Buddha than the Buddha in your own Mind. When Bodhidharma came from the West, he just pointed out that the substance of which all men are composed is the Buddha. You people go on misunderstanding; you hold to concepts such as “ordinary” and “Enlightened,” directing your thoughts outwards where they gallop about like horses! All this amounts to beclouding your own minds! So I tell you Mind is the Buddha. As soon as thought or sensation arises, you fall into dualism. Beginningless time and the present moment are the same. There is no this and no that. To understand this truth is called complete and unexcelled Enlightenment.
Q: Upon what Doctrine (Dharma-principles) does Your Reverence base these words?
A: Why seek a doctrine? As soon as you have a doctrine, you fall into dualistic thought.
Q: Just now you said that the beginningless past and the present are the same. What do you mean by that?
A: It is just because of your SEEKING that you make a difference between them. If you were to stop seeking, how could there be any difference between them?
Q: If they are not different, why do you employ separate terms for them?
A: If you hadn’t mentioned ordinary and Enlightened, who would have bothered to say such things? Just as those categories have no real existence, so Mind is not really “mind.” And, as both Mind and those categories are really illusions, wherever can you hope to find anything?

Korinji Board Meeting 10/28

2007-10-26T09:42:00.000-05:00

11am @ Daiyuzenji temple, 3717 N. Ravenswood #113, Chicago. Draft temple drawings from architects will be presented for review.

Beginning

2007-10-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

First post. We hope you enjoy the blog.

Exciting progress these days: most recently, a meeting by board members with architect Linda Keane. Linda and her husband Mark are architects, professors, Prairie School experts and animators. He's Director of the Frank Lloyd Wright initiative at the University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee. She teaches at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago.

We had a good talk. She expressed their passion for preserving regional styles of architecture. The nature of our temple project appeals, she said. We had ourselves hit upon local architectural traditions as a likely path to go down: early on we knew we had no desire to simply recreate a Japanese-style temple here. A Kamakura or Muromachi period sodo (monk's hall) doesn't live on a Wisconsin bluff or in a Michigan grove. The question we've had from the beginning - "How might a native temple architecture look?" - continues to be an interesting wrestle. But being in Chicago, it was natural to hit upon the Prairie School as a possible inspiration.

After meeting Linda we feel more strongly that this was correct. Preliminary sketches she'd brought reveal buildings that look as if they might have sprouted directly from local soil. They have that Prairie School solidity of form that is, well, very midwestern...even as they flow into and from the land on which they sit. Like the Japanese forms, they aren't walls enclosing square footage so much as points of fluid transition between inner and outer space.

If you've ever visited some of the Kyoto temples or a traditional Japanese inn, you know this feeling. Visiting the hojo (abbot's quarters) at Tenryuji, you don't feel that the garden pond outside is apart from the room in which you sit to view it. It's much like being in a surf zone, really: when you stand knee-deep in waves, you don't feel you're in a "place" at all (and certainly not at any kind of static boundary between land and water). You understand, rather, that you're within a serial phenomenon.

We gave Linda some input: minor tweaks reflecting the requirements of monastic use. But in general we felt that they pretty much nailed our vision. "The utopian vision," she dubbed it. Got a chuckle from that: we have to remember to ask future residents how they're enjoying their utopian temple lifestyle of little sleep, much meditation, physical labor and rice gruel. But after a half-hour of visionary talk, her comment did serve to bring us back to earth.

Sure, it's a utopian vision. In one sense, a leaky barn with a wood-burning stove would suffice (especially one of the beautiful Amish barns you see in these parts). But the people involved in our temple project bring so many talents and resources to the table that we can carefully - and excitedly - plan more.

Next draft of drawings will come in a few weeks, followed by the final set. We'll get them up here for you to see.

Here's Mark and Linda's site. Google them as well.