Misplaced Pages

#34965

60-538: Before his death in 1971, Shunryu Suzuki had asked that his sole Dharma heir — Zentatsu Richard Baker —look for a farm near the San Francisco Bay area where a lay community of practitioners could live amongst one another. When Baker had found just such a place at Green Gulch Farm, some members of the San Francisco Zen Center were hesitant to commit themselves initially to such an endeavor. But Baker saw

120-630: A Petrie polygon projection plane of the tesseract . The list (sequence A006245 in the OEIS ) defines the number of solutions as eight, by the eight orientations of this one dissection. These squares and rhombs are used in the Ammann–Beenker tilings . A skew octagon is a skew polygon with eight vertices and edges but not existing on the same plane. The interior of such an octagon is not generally defined. A skew zig-zag octagon has vertices alternating between two parallel planes. A regular skew octagon

180-524: A hay barn into the zendo , caring for the land, and building houses. Green Gulch is particularly concerned with the effects that human beings are having on nature . They hold the philosophy that humans need to protect the environment from us, not the other way around. They do this with religious texts as the basis of such philosophy. Architect Sim Van der Ryn created his first composting toilet for Green Gulch Farm in 1974, built by David Chadwick and Ken Sawyer. Stuart Cowan writes, "The first composter

240-398: A power of two : The regular octagon can be constructed with meccano bars. Twelve bars of size 4, three bars of size 5 and two bars of size 6 are required. Each side of a regular octagon subtends half a right angle at the centre of the circle which connects its vertices. Its area can thus be computed as the sum of eight isosceles triangles, leading to the result: for an octagon of side

300-460: A zafu and staring forward at the white wall. In closing, Suzuki invited everyone to stop in at Sokoji for morning zazen. Little by little, more people showed up each week to sit zazen for 40 minutes with Suzuki on mornings. The students were improvising, using cushions borrowed from wherever they could find them. The group that sat with Suzuki eventually formed the San Francisco Zen Center with Suzuki. The Zen Center flourished so that in 1966, at

360-542: A . The coordinates for the vertices of a regular octagon centered at the origin and with side length 2 are: Coxeter states that every zonogon (a 2 m -gon whose opposite sides are parallel and of equal length) can be dissected into m ( m -1)/2 parallelograms. In particular this is true for regular polygons with evenly many sides, in which case the parallelograms are all rhombi. For the regular octagon , m =4, and it can be divided into 6 rhombs, with one example shown below. This decomposition can be seen as 6 of 24 faces in

420-667: A more relaxed atmosphere than Eihei-ji. At Sōji-ji Suzuki travelled back to Zoun-in frequently to attend to his temple. In 1932 So-on came to Sōji-ji to visit with Shunryu and, after hearing of Suzuki's contentment at the temple, advised him to leave it. In April of that year Suzuki left Sōji-ji with some regret and moved back into Zoun-in, living with his family there. In May he visited with Ian Kishizawa from Eiheiji and, with So-on's blessing, asked to continue studies under him. He went to Gyokuden-in for his instruction, where Kishizawa trained him hard in zazen and conducted personal interviews with him. Sometime during this period Suzuki married

480-629: A novice. He had completed his training as a head monk. In 1925 Shunryu graduated from preparatory school and entered Komazawa University , the Soto Zen university in Tokyo. During this period he continued his connections with So-on in Zoun-in, going back and forth whenever possible. Some of his teachers here were discussing how Soto Zen might reach a bigger audience with students and, while Shunryu couldn't comprehend how Western cultures could ever understand Zen, he

540-613: A number of octagonal churches in Norway . The central space in the Aachen Cathedral , the Carolingian Palatine Chapel , has a regular octagonal floorplan. Uses of octagons in churches also include lesser design elements, such as the octagonal apse of Nidaros Cathedral . Architects such as John Andrews have used octagonal floor layouts in buildings for functionally separating office areas from building services, such as in

600-414: A reference octagon has its eight vertices at the midpoints of the sides of the reference octagon. If squares are constructed all internally or all externally on the sides of the midpoint octagon, then the midpoints of the segments connecting the centers of opposite squares themselves form the vertices of a square. A regular octagon is a closed figure with sides of the same length and internal angles of

660-404: A regular octagon of side length a is given by In terms of the circumradius R , the area is In terms of the apothem r (see also inscribed figure ), the area is These last two coefficients bracket the value of pi , the area of the unit circle . The area can also be expressed as where S is the span of the octagon, or the second-shortest diagonal; and a is the length of one of

SECTION 10

#1732858632035

720-447: A side a , the span S is The span, then, is equal to the silver ratio times the side, a. The area is then as above: Expressed in terms of the span, the area is Another simple formula for the area is More often the span S is known, and the length of the sides, a , is to be determined, as when cutting a square piece of material into a regular octagon. From the above, The two end lengths e on each side (the leg lengths of

780-484: A truncated square. The sum of all the internal angles of any octagon is 1080°. As with all polygons, the external angles total 360°. If squares are constructed all internally or all externally on the sides of an octagon, then the midpoints of the segments connecting the centers of opposite squares form a quadrilateral that is both equidiagonal and orthodiagonal (that is, whose diagonals are equal in length and at right angles to each other). The midpoint octagon of

840-500: A wage and occasional advice. In 1924 Shunryu enrolled in a Soto preparatory school in Tokyo not far from Shogan-ji, where he lived on the school grounds in the dorm. From 1925 to 1926 Suzuki did Zen training with Dojun Kato in Shizuoka at Kenko-in. He continued his schooling during this period. Here Shunryu became head monk for a 100-day retreat, after which he was no longer merely considered

900-536: A while. Here Shunryu studied a very different kind of Zen, one that promoted the attainment of satori through the concentration on koans through zazen. Suzuki had problems sitting with his koan. Meanwhile, all the other boys passed theirs, and he felt isolated. Just before the ceremony marking their departure Suzuki went to the Rinzai teacher and blurted out his answer. The master passed Suzuki; later Shunryu believed he had done it simply to be kind. In 1919, at age 15, Suzuki

960-603: A windowless room with an adjoining office. At the time of Suzuki's arrival, Zen had become a hot topic amongst some groups in the United States, especially beatniks . Particularly influential were several books on Zen and Buddhism by Alan Watts . Word began to spread about Suzuki among the beatniks through places like the San Francisco Art Institute and the American Academy of Asian Studies , where Alan Watts

1020-403: A woman who contracted tuberculosis . The date and name of the woman is unknown, but the marriage was soon annulled . She went back to live with her family while he focused on his duties at Zoun-in. Suzuki reportedly was involved with some anti-war activities during World War II, but according to David Chadwick, the record is confusing and, at most, his actions were low-key. However, considering

1080-491: Is r16 and no symmetry is labeled a1 . The most common high symmetry octagons are p8 , an isogonal octagon constructed by four mirrors can alternate long and short edges, and d8 , an isotoxal octagon constructed with equal edge lengths, but vertices alternating two different internal angles. These two forms are duals of each other and have half the symmetry order of the regular octagon. Each subgroup symmetry allows one or more degrees of freedom for irregular forms. Only

1140-667: Is vertex-transitive with equal edge lengths. In three dimensions it is a zig-zag skew octagon and can be seen in the vertices and side edges of a square antiprism with the same D 4d , [2 ,8] symmetry, order 16. The regular skew octagon is the Petrie polygon for these higher-dimensional regular and uniform polytopes , shown in these skew orthogonal projections of in A 7 , B 4 , and D 5 Coxeter planes . The regular octagon has Dih 8 symmetry, order 16. There are three dihedral subgroups: Dih 4 , Dih 2 , and Dih 1 , and four cyclic subgroups : Z 8 , Z 4 , Z 2 , and Z 1 ,

1200-404: Is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A regular octagon has Schläfli symbol {8} and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square , t{4}, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t{8} is a hexadecagon , {16}. A 3D analog of the octagon can be the rhombicuboctahedron with the triangular faces on it like the replaced edges, if one considers the octagon to be

1260-444: Is executive chef. Every Sunday Green Gulch opens to the public, beginning with zazen at 8:15 a.m., followed by a lecture at 10:15 a.m., tea at 11:15 a.m., and finally lunch at 12:45 p.m. (donations are suggested for these events). The Green Gulch nursery and garden are open seven days a week, and throughout the year many classes are offered on gardening , pruning , flower arrangement and herb culture. Admission

SECTION 20

#1732858632035

1320-463: Is free, though parking space is limited and a fee is associated unless your car has three or more occupants. During the summer Green Gulch also offers an apprenticeship program for those interested in becoming organic farmers. Carmen Yuen writes, "The apprentices put nonviolence and mindfulness into action as they work. When digging the soil, they are careful not to expose the worms and split them in half—even if they will regenerate!" Guest houses include

1380-559: Is one of the largest Zen training facilities in Japan, and the abbot at this time was Gempo Kitano-roshi. Prior to coming to Japan, Kitano was head of Soto Zen in Korea . He also was one of the founders of Zenshuji , a Soto Zen temple located in Los Angeles, California . Suzuki's father and Kitano had a tense history between them. Sogaku had trained with Kitano in his early Zen training and felt that he

1440-595: Is one of the most popular books on Zen and Buddhism in the West. Shunryu Suzuki was born May 18, 1904, in Kanagawa Prefecture southwest of Tokyo , Japan. His father, Butsumon Sogaku Suzuki, was the abbot of the village Soto Zen temple. His mother, Yone, was the daughter of a priest and had been divorced from her first husband for being too independent. Shunryu grew up with an older half-brother from his mother's first marriage and two younger sisters. As an adult he

1500-697: The Sandokai are collected in Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness , edited by Mel Weitsman and Michael Wenger and published in 1999. Edward Espe Brown edited Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen which was published in 2002. A biography of Suzuki, titled Crooked Cucumber, was written by David Chadwick in 1999. Octagon In geometry , an octagon (from Ancient Greek ὀκτάγωνον ( oktágōnon )  'eight angles')

1560-733: The g8 subgroup has no degrees of freedom but can be seen as directed edges . The octagonal shape is used as a design element in architecture. The Dome of the Rock has a characteristic octagonal plan. The Tower of the Winds in Athens is another example of an octagonal structure. The octagonal plan has also been in church architecture such as St. George's Cathedral, Addis Ababa , Basilica of San Vitale (in Ravenna, Italia), Castel del Monte (Apulia, Italia), Florence Baptistery , Zum Friedefürsten Church (Germany) and

1620-597: The Lindisfarne Guest House and the Wheelright Center. Lindisfarne is in the shape of an octagon , complete with twelve rooms, six baths and an atrium with a woodburning stove where guests can come to read or for conversation; Lindisfarne's kitchen offers its guests tea and snacks. For larger families, the Wheelwright Center has larger living areas for families and a suite equipped with a kitchen. At

1680-1206: The Mountain Gate Study Center, classes in Buddhist practice and philosophy are offered. As of 2006, Green Gulch Farm plans to team up with the National Park Service to help restore Muir Beach to its original beauty. They will apparently remove the parking lot area — which was originally wetlands — in order to restore the area to its original condition. 37°51′56″N 122°33′50″W  /  37.86556°N 122.56389°W  / 37.86556; -122.56389 Shunryu Suzuki The way The "goal" Background Chinese texts Classical Post-classical Contemporary Zen in Japan Seon in Korea Thiền in Vietnam Western Zen Shunryu Suzuki (鈴木 俊隆 Suzuki Shunryū , dharma name Shōgaku Shunryū 祥岳俊隆, often called Suzuki Roshi ; May 18, 1904 – December 4, 1971)

1740-621: The area as a place for communal living , where entire families could come together and live as they practiced Zen Buddhism together. So, in the spring of 1972, the farm area was purchased from rancher George Wheelwright (a co-founder of Polaroid ). Part of the agreement attached to this sale was the San Francisco Zen Center's commitment to Wheelwright that it would always remain open to the public and engage in agricultural awareness. Community members quickly held various fundraising efforts and constructed their new community, converting

1800-524: The behest and guidance of Suzuki, Zentatsu Richard Baker helped seal the purchase of Tassajara Hot Springs in Los Padres National Forest , which they called Tassajara Zen Mountain Center . In the fall of 1969, they bought a building at 300 Page Street near San Francisco's Lower Haight neighborhood and turned it into a Zen temple. Suzuki left his post at Sokoji to become the first abbot of one of

1860-401: The circumradius as The regular octagon, in terms of the side length a , has three different types of diagonals : The formula for each of them follows from the basic principles of geometry. Here are the formulas for their length: A regular octagon at a given circumcircle may be constructed as follows: A regular octagon can be constructed using a straightedge and a compass , as 8 = 2 ,

Green Gulch Farm Zen Center - Misplaced Pages Continue

1920-668: The first Buddhist training monasteries outside Asia. Suzuki's departure from Sokoji was thought to be inspired by his dissatisfaction with the superficial Buddhist practice of the Japanese immigrant community and his preference for the American students who were more seriously interested in Zen meditation, but it was more at the insistence of the Sokoji board, which asked him to choose one or the other (he had tried to keep both roles). Although Suzuki thought there

1980-495: The formal English style. In the bowl of the valley is the core of the gardens: an herbal circle of shrubs, roses and perennials, enclosed by a yew hedge with rose arbors and paths out to the larger garden. At the center of the circle is a Japanese snowbell ( Styrax japonica ) encircled by herbs and lichen-covered rocks." The garden is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., though groups of more than six should call before arriving. Volunteers, also, are welcome to help cultivate

2040-478: The garden on Tuesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (again, call in advance). The vegetable farm sustains the community living at Green Gulch and also sells its produce at various local farmers markets and to whole foods stores. Green Gulch Farm also provides organic produce from the vegetable farm around the year to Greens Restaurant in San Francisco , a vegetarian restaurant where Annie Somerville

2100-402: The last implying no symmetry. On the regular octagon, there are eleven distinct symmetries. John Conway labels full symmetry as r16 . The dihedral symmetries are divided depending on whether they pass through vertices ( d for diagonal) or edges ( p for perpendiculars) Cyclic symmetries in the middle column are labeled as g for their central gyration orders. Full symmetry of the regular form

2160-551: The same size. It has eight lines of reflective symmetry and rotational symmetry of order 8. A regular octagon is represented by the Schläfli symbol {8}. The internal angle at each vertex of a regular octagon is 135 ° ( 3 π 4 {\displaystyle \scriptstyle {\frac {3\pi }{4}}} radians ). The central angle is 45° ( π 4 {\displaystyle \scriptstyle {\frac {\pi }{4}}} radians). The area of

2220-403: The sides, or bases. This is easily proven if one takes an octagon, draws a square around the outside (making sure that four of the eight sides overlap with the four sides of the square) and then takes the corner triangles (these are 45–45–90 triangles ) and places them with right angles pointed inward, forming a square. The edges of this square are each the length of the base. Given the length of

2280-616: The temple for Shunryu. In January 1930 a ten'e ceremony was held at Zoun-in for Shunryu. This ceremony acknowledged So-on's Dharma transmission to Shunryu, and served as a formal way for the Soto heads to grant Shunryu permission to teach as a priest. On April 10, 1930, at age 25, Suzuki graduated from Komazawa Daigakurin with a major in Zen and Buddhist philosophy, and a minor in English. Suzuki mentioned to So-on during this period that he might be interested in going to America to teach Zen Buddhism. So-on

2340-649: The temple with the others. They would work throughout the day and then, in the evenings, they all would resume zazen. Suzuki idolized his teacher, who was a strong disciplinarian. So-on often was rough on Suzuki but gave him some latitude for being so young. When Suzuki turned 13, on May 18, 1917, So-on ordained him as a novice monk ( unsui ). He was given the Buddhist name Shogaku Shunryu, yet So-on nicknamed him Crooked Cucumber for his forgetful and unpredictable nature. Shunryu began again attending upper-elementary school in Mori, but So-on did not supply proper clothes for him. He

2400-430: The triangles (green in the image) truncated from the square), as well as being e = a / 2 , {\displaystyle e=a/{\sqrt {2}},} may be calculated as The circumradius of the regular octagon in terms of the side length a is and the inradius is (that is one-half the silver ratio times the side, a , or one-half the span, S ) The inradius can be calculated from

2460-469: The wholesale enthusiastic support for the war expressed by the entire religious establishment in Japan at the time, this fact is significant in showing something of the character of the man. On May 23, 1959, Shunryu Suzuki arrived in San Francisco to attend to Soko-ji, at that time the sole Soto Zen temple in San Francisco. He was 55. Suzuki took over for the interim priest, Wako Kazumitsu Kato. Suzuki

Green Gulch Farm Zen Center - Misplaced Pages Continue

2520-466: Was Sogaku's adopted son and abbot of Sogaku's former temple Zoun-in . His parents initially thought he was too young to live far from home but eventually allowed it. Zoun-in is in a small village called Mori, Shizuoka in Japan. Suzuki arrived during a 100-day practice period at the temple and was the youngest student there. Zoun-in was a larger temple than Shōgan-ji. At 4:00 each morning he arose for zazen . Next he would chant sutras and begin cleaning

2580-424: Was a Sōtō Zen monk and teacher who helped popularize Zen Buddhism in the United States, and is renowned for founding the first Zen Buddhist monastery outside Asia ( Tassajara Zen Mountain Center ). Suzuki founded San Francisco Zen Center which, along with its affiliate temples, comprises one of the most influential Zen organizations in the United States. A book of his teachings, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind ,

2640-416: Was a renowned scholar on Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō , and was also an acquaintance of his father from childhood. Kishizawa was strict but not abusive, treating Suzuki well. Suzuki learned much from him, and Kishizawa saw a lot of potential in him. Through him Suzuki came to appreciate the importance of bowing in Zen practice through example. In December Suzuki sat his first true sesshin for 7 days, an ordeal that

2700-401: Was about 4 feet 11 inches (1.5 m) tall. His father's temple, Shōgan-ji, was located near Hiratsuka , a city on Sagami Bay about fifty miles southwest of Tokyo . The temple income was small and the family had to be very thrifty. Suzuki became aware of his family's financial plight when he began school. Suzuki was kind and sensitive, but prone to quick outbursts of anger. He

2760-585: Was adamantly opposed to the idea. Suzuki realized that his teacher felt very close to him and that he would take such a departure as an insult. He did not mention it to him again. Upon graduation from Komazawa, So-on wanted Shunryu to continue his training at the well known Soto Zen temple Eihei-ji in Fukui Prefecture . In September 1930 Suzuki entered the training temple and underwent the Zen initiation known as tangaryo . His mother and father stayed on at Zoun-in to care for his temple in his absence. Eihei-ji

2820-401: Was attractive to libertarians, organic purists, outlaw builders, and people engaged in reexamining and redesigning all aspects of their daily lives." Green Gulch operates, in addition to the Zen center, a 7 or 8-acre (32,000 m) organic vegetable farm and a 1 to 1.5-acre (6,100 m) fruit, herb and flower garden. The fruit, herb and flower garden is, "arranged in a series of 'rooms' in

2880-452: Was brought back home by his parents, who suspected mistreatment by So-on. Shunryu helped out with the temple while there and entered middle school. Yet, when summer vacation came, he was back at Rinso-in and Zoun-in with So-on to train and help out. He didn't want to stop training. In school Suzuki took English and did quite well. A local doctor, Dr. Yoshikawa, hired him to tutor his two sons in English. Yoshikawa treated Suzuki well, giving him

2940-469: Was built in a house at Green Gulch Farm, a Buddhist retreat in nearby Marin County. Soon Sim's neighbor built one, and people started calling for plans. The virtues of the system were that it saved ten to fifteen thousand gallons of water that otherwise would disappear down the toilet each year; it reduced the need for large leach fields, and it literally made people responsible for their own excrement, an idea that

3000-522: Was challenging initially but proved rewarding toward the end. This concluded his first practice period at Eihei-ji. In September 1931, after one more practice period and sesshin at Eihei-ji, So-on arranged for Suzuki to train in Yokohama at Sōji-ji . Sōji-ji was the other main Soto temple of Japan, and again Suzuki underwent the harsh tangaryo initiation. Sojiji was founded by the great Zen master Keizan and had

3060-399: Was intrigued. On August 26, 1926, So-on gave Dharma transmission to Suzuki. He was 22. Shunryu's father also retired as abbot at Shogan-ji this same year, and moved the family onto the grounds of Zoun-in where he served as inkyo (retired abbot). Later that year Suzuki spent a short time in the hospital with tuberculosis , but soon recovered. In 1927 an important chapter in Suzuki's life

SECTION 50

#1732858632035

3120-419: Was made head of a second temple, on the rim of Yaizu , called Rinso-in . Shunryu followed him there and helped whip the place back in order. Soon, families began sending their sons there and the temple began to come to life. Suzuki had failed an admissions test at the nearby school, so So-on began teaching the boys how to read and write Chinese . So-on soon sent his students to train with a Rinzai master for

3180-441: Was much to learn from the study of Zen in Japan, he said that it had grown moss on its branches, and he saw his American students as a means to reform Zen and return it to its pure zazen- (meditation) and practice-centered roots. Suzuki died on December 4, 1971, presumably from cancer. A collection of his teishos (Zen talks) was published in 1970 in the book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind during Suzuki's lifetime. His lectures on

3240-411: Was once director. Kato had done some presentations at the academy and asked Suzuki to come join a class he was giving there on Buddhism. This sparked Suzuki's long-held desire to teach Zen to Westerners. The class was filled with people wanting to learn more about Buddhism, and the presence of a Zen master was inspiring for them. Suzuki had the class do zazen for 20 minutes, sitting on the floor without

3300-422: Was ridiculed by the other boys because of his shaved head and because he was the son of a priest. He preferred to spend his time in the classroom rather than on the schoolyard and was always at the top of his class. The teacher told him he would become a great man if he left Kanagawa Prefecture and studied hard. In 1916, 12-year-old Suzuki decided to train with a disciple of his father, Gyokujun So-on Suzuki. So-on

3360-530: Was such a high priest due to familial status and connections. Shunryu did not see this in Kitano, however. He saw a humble man who gave clear instruction, and Shunryu realized that his father was very wrong in his assessment. Often monks were assigned duties at the monastery to serve certain masters. Shunryu was assigned to Ian Kishizawa-roshi, a well known teacher at the time who had previously studied under two great Japanese teachers: Sōtan Oka and Bokusan Nishiari . He

3420-512: Was taken aback by the Americanized and watered-down Buddhism practiced at the temple, mostly by older immigrant Japanese. He found American culture interesting and not too difficult to adjust to, even commenting once that "if I knew it would be like this, I would have come here sooner!" He was surprised to see that Sokoji was previously a Jewish synagogue (at 1881 Bush Street , now a historic landmark). His sleeping quarters were located upstairs,

3480-431: Was the subject of ridicule. In spite of his misfortune he didn't complain. Instead he doubled his efforts back at the temple. When Shunryu had first come to Zoun-in, eight other boys were studying there. By 1918, he was the only one who stayed. This made his life a bit tougher with So-on, who had more time to scrutinize him. During this period Suzuki wanted to leave Zoun-in but equally didn't want to give up. In 1918 So-on

3540-513: Was turned. He went to visit a teacher of English he had at Komazawa named Miss Nona Ransom, a woman who had taught English to such people as the last emperor of China, Pu-yi, and more so his wife, the last empress of China, Jigoro Kano (the Founder of Judo ), the children of Chinese president Li Yuanhong , and some members of the Japanese royal family. She hired him that day to be a translator and to help with errands. Through this period he realized she

3600-512: Was very ignorant of Japanese culture and the religion of Buddhism. She respected it very little and saw it as idol worship. But one day, when there were no chores to be done, the two had a conversation on Buddhism that changed her mind. She even let Suzuki teach her zazen meditation. This experience is significant in that Suzuki realized that Western ignorance of Buddhism could be transformed. On January 22, 1929, So-on retired as abbot of Zoun-in and installed Shunryu as its 28th abbot. Sogaku would run

#34965