Tribute to a friend and teacher - Dennis Junpo Kelly.

 Found out that my first Zen Teacher, Junpo Dennis Kelly had passed away sometime on May 12th. 2021, Dennis was born the 14th. of April 1942. I met Dennis through his mother Mrs. Rosella Kelly of Green Bay Wisconsin. We were both members of the Print Making Club at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay. She must have been in her sixties back then and me in my thirties and she was a very outspoken and tough no nonsense elderly lady who one evening changed the direction of my life. I know I have written of this episode of my life a few times at least in the past postings of this lengthy blog, but it is worth it today to share again this event in light of discovering the passing away of my first Zen Teacher, Dennis Junpo Kelly. Dennis was the eldest of Rosella's children and the most controversial in character. 

Jun Po Denis Kelly began his Buddhist practice at Zen Center San Francisco in the early ’70s, later becoming a student of Eido Shimano Roshi in New York and subsequently a monk. He received his Zen Master recognition in 1992. Interested in bringing his Zen lineage (Rinzai tradition) into American culture without the Japanese cultural bindings, Jun Po left the monastery and founded the lay Buddhist Hollow Bones order, of which he is abbot. A yoga instructor as well, he traces his lineage to BKS Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois. He established the Hollow Bones seven-day Zen retreats for the Mankind Project.

Latest information I had of Mrs. Kelly is;-

Rosella R Kelly, aged 97,lives in 119 Union St Apt 107, River Falls, WI 

Although the exact date has now become a blur in my consciousness, however the episode that took place between Rosella and I is always still vivid in my mind. We were both standing side by side cleaning our copper plates, polishing them till the shine which was part of the printmaking process. While wrapped in what I was doing I felt an elbow jabbed into my side from my elderly neighbor who said out of the blue, "Sam, I think it is time for you to move on from this place and situation you are in! You can go and join my son Dennis in New York where he has just been ordained as a Zen priest. I understood and accepted her insight into my life's situation back then where I was becoming an alcoholic and a drug addict abusing my relationship to a very fine lady who was a member of the University faculty. I agreed and in the same evening decided to make preparations to leave for New York.

My destination was to be; 

Location
Location	223 Beecher Lake Road, Livingston Manor, New York 12758-6000
Country	United States
Architecture
Founder	Soen Nakagawa Roshi & Eido Tai Shimano Roshi
Completed	July 4, 1976
Website
http://www.daibosatsu.org

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji zendo

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji, or International Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji, is a Rinzai monastery and retreat center located in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. Maintained by the Zen Studies Society, Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji 

However this plan did not fan out because later that night I had a call from Rosella informing me of the change of my destination. Instead of New York I was to go to San Francisco because her son Dennis had decided to open his own Zendo or meditation hall in the West Coast instead of the East. Thus with yet another stroke from her my future was changed and I headed for the West Coast to meet her son Dennis, the ordained Rinzai Zen Monk. Dennis who was deeply involved with the Flower Power People at one time and had spen three years of his life at the San Quantin State Penitentiary for drug trafficking and who later explored Sri Lanka and India in search of truth and reality through Yoga and other meditation practices and returned to the US to join the Zen Buddhist school in New York.

When I first laid my eyes on Dennis he impressed me immediately as one who had that air of determination and commitment and willing to take on any challenge in pursuit of whatever he had laid his mind to accomplish. His appearance alone was awesome to behold especially when he was he was dressed up in the simple Japanese outfit of loose pants and the cross over top. Dennis was ball of energy it seems and was always in motion doing something and making things happen according to his plan. With the help of his younger brother Patrick we set up the Kanzeon Zen-Yoga Center at 20, Magnolia Blvd. in Corte Madeira. The Zendo was made out of two abandoned classrooms that Dennis had rented and converted into his scholl for the teaching of Zen meditation and his Hatha Yoga or as he called it Guerrilla Yoga classes. Dennis was a student of the Ashtanga Yoga, with BKS Ieyengar a famous Yoga teacher for his strenuous yoga techniques. 

Ashtanga Yoga is an eight-limbed path towards achieving the state of Yoga, also known as Samadhi. The definition of Ashtanga Yoga is found in the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali, an ancient text on the theory and practice of Yoga thought to have been compiled in about 200 CE by Sage Patañjali

Dennis was also a Shakuhachi player or was practicing to become one as the flute is known to be a difficult instrument to master.

A shakuhachi is a Japanese and ancient Chinese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the 'shakuhachi' was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the fuke shakuhachi. Wikipedia

Although our relationship was brief due to unforseen circumstances I held a great respect towards my teacher and friend and will forever hold him in high esteem as an accomplished individual who was able to turn his life from crime to spirituality serving many who in his later life benefited from his teachings. Rest in peace my friend.

#junpokelly,#daibosatsuzendo,#

 

In Loving Memory of Thich Naht Hahn, -Thay

 Peace! Peace! Peace! Ommm Shanti, Shanti, Shanti...Shalom! Asalamualaikum, Peace be with you! 

I call out to my self through the voices of others, teachers, gurus, Roshis and Rishis, mentors and guides, the old fisherman and the voice of the computer nerd; they all call out to me to share their take on life and I listen and I watch and I learn and I assimilate and I put to the test, I put it to practice and in the end it all does not really matter as I come to the conclusion of this my final phase of the journey; I am still groping in the dark for answers. Do I hear the calls, do I read the signs, take heed the warnings? The journey has been about this issues of what have I learned and or have to unlearn letting go of that which has become obsolete in my vocabulary of everyday life and move on. Thoughts and ideas, dreams and visions, imaginations and perceptions, these are my tools of expression in sharing and being a part of this realm of existence, the physical external realm of manifestations; I am not these. ...I am transcendent, I am detached from being identified with any form of thought and bodily actions, I am merely the watcher, the witness the observer and I pay attention to these phenomena with bare attention., detached/unattached involvement..wu wei., like plucking the lotus without wetting my fingers...

It is easier said than done, this spiritual act of detachment from the physical world, it takes  a whole lot of understanding the nature of consciousness itself and it is no piece of cake. It is a lifelong journey for most and only a handful gets the blessing or Grace to become awakened in one lifetime or within this  lifetime before the curtain is drawn. In a manner of speaking living this life is a gamble and those whose learn the ropes and rules of game gets ahead and some gets it into their head and exploit this Grace, this Gift and  squander it, enough is never enough...I'm guilty of this as the next man if not more so;Greed! Desire of more and more and never finding the point of satisfaction where enough is more than enough, greed is a very deep rooted karmic illness along with hate and ignorance. I am aware of my weaknesses and my human errors, my transgressions if not for them I would not be where I am at today. I played my fiddle and sang my songs and I ate when hungry and slept when sleepy and otherwise I sit and watch the grass grow, this too is who I am....and breathing in, I know I am breathing in...breathing out, I know that I am breathing out...stop breathing I know I am dead...this too is part of who I am...playing yet another role in my ongoing dream and knowing that it is time to quit...take a break! Go Lay down and take a nap... Ommm Shanti, Shanti, hi.

Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who was one of the world's most influential Zen masters, spreading messages of mindfulness, compassion and nonviolence, died on Saturday at his home in the Tu Hieu Temple in Hue, Vietnam. He was 95. The death was announced by Plum Village, his organization of monasteries.29 Jan 2022

A prolific author, poet, teacher and peace activist, Thich Nhat Hanh was exiled from Vietnam after opposing the war in the 1960s and became a leading voice in a movement he called “engaged Buddhism,” the application of Buddhist principles to political and social reform.

Thich Nhat Hanh dismissed the idea of death. “Birth and death are only notions,” he wrote in his book “No Death, No Fear.” “They are not real.”

He added: “The Buddha taught that there is no birth; there is no death; there is no coming; there is no going; there is no same; there is no different; there is no permanent self; there is no annihilation. We only think there is.”

And he said: “Do not try to find the solution with your thinking mind. Nonthinking is the secret of success. And that is why the time when we are not working, that time can be very productive, if we know how to focus on the moment.”

I was twice at a Vipassana  retreat with the late Rev.  Thich Naht Hanh when he visited Green Gulch Farm Zen Community sometime in the 80s. We sat and talked one on one on several occasions and mostly talking about the fate of the Vietnamese refugees who landed along the East Coast of the Malay Peninsula and particularly those camped at the Island of Bidong off the coast of Terengganu. 

When I rang the 'Big Bell' while there were over 70 people sitting in meditation inside the meditation hall, Thay decided that I be elected as the 'bell master', during the lecture periods where I kept time of 15 mins and ring the bell so everyone with the focus back to their breath, stops their wandering  mind and become present in the moment. It was a form of punishment for ringing the wrong bell at the wrong time during a Vipassan retreat. When I apologized to Thay when having a one on one meeting, he said to not worry too much about what the consequences of my actions would be, but to keep being who I am as I am.

I truly enjoyed the Mindfulness walking trips we often took with the small Vietnamese monk in his saffron robes leading the path from the Green Dragon Zendo area to the Beach at Muir Beach. The sound of flip flops as feet moved over wet muddy path was the only sound that filled the air and one feels like  we were truly in Buddha land. His teaching were simple and his insight into spiritual matters reaches far deep into the essence of what is Engaged/Active Buddhism. Thich Naht Hahn embodied the Bodhisatva virtue of the infinite wisdom and compassion, that of Mnajushri and Avalokiteshvara Bodhisatva,Mahasatva, with the ability to deliver his teachings with skillful means of the Bodhisatva Samanthabadra and he has attained the status of a chakravati

In Buddhism, a chakravarti is the secular counterpart of a buddha. The term applies to temporal as well as spiritual kingship and leadership, particularly in Buddhism and Jainism

#thichnahthanh,#buddhism,#bodhisatva,#vaipassana

 

The Ramblings goes on..taking a stroll on the spiritual path.

 And a new year begin according to the Muslim calendar and here we are on the morning of Aidil Fitri, Hari Raya Puasa, listening to some unheard of language from the music of Cafe de Anatolia, this  where I at 4 in the morning am writing notes to myself of what had happened, what is going to happen and what on this morning of the Aidil Adzhar where MUslims all over the planet celiberate in the worship of the One True Lord of Mercy and Compassion, Allah Subahanahu Wataala, Lord of the Universe; there no God, only Allah! and Muhammad is His Messenger. My prayers goes out to all those who are suffering in any form of discomfort or pain, to all those on the run for their lives to escape wars and tyranny, my prayers goes out to those whose children cry of hunger to sleep tonight wherever they be, may they find peace and comfort in their hearts even if for one day...my prayers goes out to the lost and confused, they who are oblivious to the fact that life is impermanent and that this realm of our existence, this physical, material realm of mental formations , the realm of Maya, the realm of illusions; only the Divine, Eternal, All Embracing Complete Consciousness is Permanent and Immortal, call it God in you may.

All except one of the kittens are sick, refusing to eat like they have stomach flu or have been poisoned  from eating one of the plants outside. I try to remain detached from being sucked into feeling sad or helpless as I see then growing skinnier by the day and listless. It must be hard on my daughter who adores every one of them and spends much money and attention on their well being. Yes I am still working out my 'cat karma' from the past, still cleaning cat poop and pee and cat buff. But I am beginning to also feel the anguish and the helplessness of Furby, the female mama cat as she look at me wishing there is something I could do to save her kittens. This morning she growled and scratched my hand out of the blue, while I was patting her which she never did before and I felt the anger in her accusing me it is all my fault. Perhaps it is, perhaps it was a mistake to have brought her home to begin with, perhaps, perhaps...letting go is never easy no matter the cause or the reason especially when you have grown attached to the feeling of love for something or someone. It is when the Love feeling becomes an obsession, a need, that is when the trouble begins. As Bob Marley sang out, "Every need has an ego to feed!" From wanting, desiring, from clinging wanting more, (out of life); desire is the cause of suffering, Shakyamuni Budha had expounded and if we look into each and every religion, the same truth is being shared.

How to detach yourself from your actions, how to not become, attached or identified with the whole process of doing something, like lifting a cup to have a drink; how to simply become action. There is not actor, nor percipience, no shadow or witness to the act; the sense of 'you', cease to exist. Call it what you may, personality, ego, human being...nada! not a trace of the doer!...Buddha on His last Breath uttered, it is said," I, Am No more! Even the 'Self' is becomes void.  

" Ma, take this badge off of mee...

I cant' use it anymore, it's getting dark too dark for me to see..ITaking a stroll on. feel like I;m knocking on heVEN'S DOOR...knock knock knockin on heaven;s door..."  

 Remember the song? My son just played it out loud on his consol, it took mto a whole new dimension of past nostalgic thoughts and memories; I was a devotee of Bob Dylan at one time in my life...and now the call for the Maghrib prayer is in the air from two different sources, one is the State Mosque on Jalan Ayer Hitam...and Dylan floats away from my mind... thoughts comes and goes like clouds in an empty sky, most of the time according to what triggers them into coming into being and what makes them float away. Clouds are the impermanent feature of a vast empty space of a blue sky. Where clouds are mental formations, the blue sky is consciousness itself. We are being lured into believing that the clouds are the real manifestation of who we truly are and thus we are said to live in a world of Maya or illusions. a world of fleeting clouds; the unreal. 

Om, Asato Ma Sadgamaya

Om, deliver us from the Unreal to the Real.  

From ignorance lead me to truth.

Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya,

May the Light of Wisdom remove the darkness of ignorance.

Amrutham Gamaya,

From Death lead me to Immortality.

                                                        Pavamana Mantra.

To remove the clouds of ignorance from our mental formations we need to learn to seek the 'silence of the mind'...in short learn to meditate, learn to become quiet inside and out. learn to become at peace within and without, well balnced with complete acceptance of whatever happens...right and wrong is a sickness of the mind, the Buddha is said to have said some 2600 years ago. To learn to become at one with, body, mind and spirit all in precise alignment and well balanced four physical elements that primarily constructs the human form. Earth, wind, fire and water...and consciousness. It is to slowly become aware the nature of being itself, how far or how near, how closed am I to my own divine consciousness, my Atman ...who am I? What is the real? What is the false? How do I keep being on track in making my concious choices so that I do not sway too far to one side or the other and cause a discord in my psyche...how ell can I maintain the discipline in keeping my silence mind for good silenced.

 This is my life study, has always been, this has been the focus of all my experiences and actions throughout my life; this is what it would take to be able to attain silence of the the mind; mind watching, I call it. Watch it rise, hanf around and disappear to be replace by another and another...watch what triggers it to arise and why I keep hanging on to it longer than most and what happened to it when I shift my thought process or change the channel in the middle of the program? How do I keep track of what arises and what falls and how do I make sense out of mosts the non-sense that arises in a moment, a day a year, a lifetime? Thoughts runs in a circular track often repeating itself with prercorded events and experiences, peaceful or traumatic encounters in the past, buried fears and shame all these will flow in a circular motion like record disc rotating on the player with a needle moving along each groove evoking the sound of music. There comes a time when I know what arises is  just a replay or  reset of the same  sound being raised in my mind and learn  to dismiss them without causing any attachment in the process. In other words I learn to let them go... letting go is never easy but it is one of the surest way to en-lighten your mind. ..after all what is enlightenment but to simply become light, not dark and heavy or grave-like.