Cultivating a life of contemplative practice in the Soto Zen tradition
Bench overlooking pond at sunset, Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Site near Joseph, Oregon.
“If you become thus utterly free you will be as the water wherein the dragon dwells or as the mountain whereon the tiger roams.”
– Great Master Dogen
The monks of the Wallowa Buddhist Temple are two of the celibate, ordained members of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives, an international Buddhist order founded by Reverend Master Jiyu-Kennett in 1970 (originally as the “Zen Mission Society”). The Order’s North American headquarters are at Shasta Abbey at Mt. Shasta, California, in the USA; its European headquarters are at Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey in Northumberland in the UK. Women and men train equally in our Order, making a lifelong commitment to live the Buddha’s teaching.
Serene Reflection Meditation: This term is Rev. Master Jiyu’s translation of the Japanese Soto Zen, Chinese Caodong Chan, or Sanskrit Dhyana — words for the Buddha’s simple and ancient Way expressed by doing seated meditation. This is essentially the same practice of following the Buddha’s Eightfold Path in daily life as passed on through the ages by the historical Buddha Shakyamuni (Siddhartha Gautama), Nagyaarajuna, Bodhidharma, Dogen and Keizan, and Rev. Master Jiyu, among many generations of others. In our practice today, we follow in their footsteps.
Anyone may follow the teachings of Serene Reflection Meditation, whether lay or monastic, and whatever our gender or ethnicity may be.
At the heart of this practice is the recognition of the Buddha Nature within all things, and the direct knowing of the Buddha Nature within oneself. This is the heart of Great Compassion.
Our straightforward practice is comprised of ordinary life lived from the heart of compassion, love, and wisdom. How do we do this? How may we sanctify the mundane?
Living Practice (The Sangha Refuge): To join others in the practice at the Wallowa Buddhist Temple, a first step is to request to come to the temple for individual meditation instruction from the monks. To arrange a time, please phone the temple at 541-432-6129.
Meditation Instruction: The basic guidelines for doing seated meditation in the Soto Zen tradition can be found in Dogen’s Rules for Meditation, which dates to medieval Japan. A copy is available for viewing with an option to download as a pdf here:
Ongoing Practice: In establishing a regular habit of turning within for formal seated meditation, practice with others is of great benefit. This practice may be part of a balanced daily life which also includes work, family, and relaxation. Meditation done properly leads to a peaceful heart and clarity of purpose in life. Keeping in touch with those who have been walking the Eightfold Path for some time offers the resource of the Sangha refuge for the mutual benefit of both self and others.
Deepening Refuge: There come times in a life of practice when it is helpful to turn more fully within. This may take the form of setting down our usual responsibilities for a while, and going to a place where the spiritual work of the heart is the main focus, such as a monastery or a temple.
Signal gong used in Soto Zen Buddhist ceremonial.
The Fourfold Sangha: The Buddha, Dogen, and Rev. Master Jiyu (among others) clearly taught that laity and monastics, male and female trainees all have equal Buddha Nature. For some, training takes the form of a householder, and for others the form of a monk. The merit of all forms of Buddhist training is endless, and none is superior to another; rather, it is a matter of what is right and wise for each being. In the long run, the important question is not so much whether to train as a layperson or a monk but how to train wholeheartedly.
The Temple Monks: The monks of the Wallowa Buddhist Temple, like the other monks in our Order, are full-time monastics ordained in the Soto Zen lineage of Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett. Our Order is not cloistered; the monks do commit to live and train in the temple itself, caring for the buildings and grounds as part of our daily practice. Monks spend time seasonally in private retreat, to renew and deepen our own inner spiritual work.
The Wallowa Buddhist Temple monks are priests and teachers as well as celibate monastics who have made a lifelong commitment to contemplative practice. We live on alms, eat a vegetarian diet, and do not use intoxicants. Our heads are shaved as a symbol of cutting off attachments. Our robes represent the Precepts. The alms bowl represents an open mind and heart.
A monk’s folded Kesa, Mat, and Alms Bowl.
Buddhist monks offer the Dharma freely to those who ask for teaching, trusting that our basic needs will be met by those moved to offer the means for food, clothing, medical care, and shelter. We train to make our lives an offering of every-minute meditation, kindness, and gratitude.
Deepening Practice
The Eightfold Path: The booklet “The Eightfold Path of Buddhism” by Rev. Daizui MacPhillamy offers helpful teaching on the Buddha’s guide for living a preceptual life of meditation, for both householders and monastics. It is available for viewing with an option to download as a pdf here:
Working meditation:Working meditation is the centuries-old Zen and Chan practice of bringing the mind of meditation from our formal sitting place into every moment of daily life. Also known by the terms mindfulness practice, offering service, and every-minute Zen, what we call working meditation is integral to the Soto Zen path.
Working meditation is how the opening heart becomes as much a part of our every action as the very air that we breathe. To learn more about working meditation and see photos of this practice taking place at the Wallowa Buddhist Temple, click on the button below:
The Precepts are the ethical guidelines for living a Buddhist life by ceasing from harm, doing only good, doing good for others. Even in the transience of life, in searching the heart we may find deeper refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.
Pans hang in the temple kitchen.
The text of one version of the Buddhist Precepts as expressed in Soto Zen is available for viewing with an option to download as a pdf here:
A lay Buddhist wearing the wagesa, the vestment symbolizing the Precepts.
The Temple Congregation: Those who follow the Buddha’s Eightfold Path along with the temple monks, as well as temple friends and supporters who join us for various activities and who turn to the monks regularly for spiritual guidance, make up the Wallowa Buddhist Temple congregation.
A small group of lay Buddhists and others who follow our practice sits together with the monks in the meditation hall during our weekly Sunday Morning Retreat and gather for seasonal Buddhist festivals. Our liturgy includes the singing of scriptures and invocations in English in Western plainsong.
Closeup of a statue in the temple’s meditation hall: Kanzeon’s robe with lotuses.
On Buddhist Statues and Ceremonial: Below is a link for a question and answer reflection regarding Buddhist statuary such as that found at the temple, and the place of ceremonial in our practice:
For more from the Wallowa Buddhist Temple monks about Reverend Master Jiyu-Kennett, Founder of the Wallowa Buddhist Temple, including a suggested reading list, click on the button below:
Below are three links to more online resources at other O.B.C. websites, for those curious to learn more about Reverend Master Jiyu, the Order, and the practice and teachings of Serene Reflection Meditation:
From time to time, the monks and congregation of the Wallowa Buddhist Temple are honored to host monks of our Order as guests at the temple. We are sincerely delighted to welcome these dear brother and sister monks, when they’re able to make the journey.
Order monks visiting from Lions Gate Buddhist Priory in B.C., Canada, together with the Wallowa Buddhist Temple monks here on the temple porch.
Sometimes guest monks are here solely for rest and retreat, and some may also or primarily be invited to offer Dharma talks, teaching, and occasionally also individual counseling upon request. Public events featuring our monastic visitors are posted on the website when offered.
Reverend Master Haryo Young, Head of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives, offering the Dharma during a weekly Sunday Morning Retreat at the Wallowa Buddhist Temple.
