The Yokoji-Zen Mountain Center held a free public talk on April 8 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach. The event focused on the background of Zen practice and how it can be achieved in Long Beach.
The talk was led by Charles Tenshin Fletcher Roshi, the abbot of Yokoji-Zen Mountain Center (YZMC). Tenshin Roshi began the talk with an introduction to the teachings of Zen Buddhism, and then proceeded to talk about starting a sitting group in Long Beach.
“We have a certain amount of energy,” Tenshin Roshi. “We will put that forward. If you meet that energy, we will go from there.”
YZMC currently has a Zen center in the San Jacinto Mountains. The city center anticipated to open in Long Beach would work in collaboration with the San Jacinto Mountain Center. It will be a residential center, but full-time training will not be as necessary as in the mountains. The goal of the center is to integrate the practice into the daily lives of the residents.
Jung Kwon, a former CSULB philosophy professor currently resides at YZMC. “Living at Yokoji gives me a rare opportunity to live in a truly philosophical spirit that dates back to Socrates,” Kwon said in a press release. ” I plan to return to the classroom soon where I hope to inspire my students to examine and explore this life through their own engagement with what’s happening right here and now. I find that Zen practice would offer students such a precious experience.”
According to the press release, “Yokoji hopes to blend Zen with the artistic, cultural, and intellectual sensibilities of the West.”
“The core of the practice is to see what you are without the definitions society gives you,” Tenshin Roshi said.
Tenshin Roshi said the heart of Zen practice is meditation, which allows one to sit still and see into the self. He said doing this will help a person understand one’s nature.
“We don’t need to look outward for these things,” Tenshin Roshi said. “The beauty of the human condition is our life is so vast, but we really don’t have to look that far.”
Tenshin Roshi concluded his introduction to Zen practice, the audience began asking questions, ranging from “What is Buddhism?” to “When will Long Beach have a Zen center?”
Tenshin Roshi described Buddhism as “the ending of suffering.”
In order to end suffering, it is essential to know yourself and understand what works and what doesn’t, according to Tenshin Roshi. Not all aspects of Zen teaching apply to everyone.
“If they work, use them. If they don’t work, throw them away. Use the energy and intuition that you have,” Tenshin Roshi said. “Practice that which satisfies you.”
Tenshin Roshi described Zen as a way of life. Therefore, he said converting people is not an issue since once converted, you are still the same person.
“You already are that, so get up to the plate and start exhibiting it,” Tenshin Roshi said.
Once you start making changes to your life, suffering will become a thing of the past, Tenshin Roshi said.
Tenshin Roshi has been practicing Zen for more than 30 years. He received his Dharma transmission, or permission to teach, in 1994 and his Inka, or Zen Master, in 2006.
CSULB students are invited to participate in any of YZMC’s current programs.
Tenshin Roshi said he is willing to return to Long Beach if there is enough interest. For more information regarding YZMC’s programs at the mountain center visit www.zmc.org.
There will be weekly sitting groups in Long Beach until a permanent city center is constructed. The next sitting group will meet at the Catalyst Community space at 430 East 1st St. on April 24 at 9:00 a.m. These sitting groups will be held here every Saturday and will help raise support for the city center.
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