“We have ultimately only to be there, simply, fervently, as the earth is there, in harmony with the seasons, dark and light and absolutely in space, not demanding to be cradled in anything but this web of influences and powers in which the very stars feel safeguarded.”

-- Rainer Maria Rilke

We chose to have our 20th Anniversary celebrations at Matariki, the depths of winter and the turning of the Maori new year, in order to move in harmony with the changing seasons here. For us, as a relatively small Centre, the Anniversary celebrations were a big event, and planning for the weekend dominated the first half of the year. Now that the dust has settled, I feel a sense of curiosity: what will this third decade of the Centre’s unfolding bring, especially now that we have two teachers? 

This newsletter shares some highlights from the riches of our 20th Anniversary:

We apologise for the lateness of this six-monthly newsletter, usually sent at the end of the year. There just wasn’t time after my sabbatical ended to get the newsletter out before the summer break, but here it is at last!

In June 2023 Richard and I travelled to Rome, where we spent a week working with the small group there, followed by a wonderful Italian holiday. Besides giving a public talk, with Francesco Nanni translating for me, we offered a mini-workshop and a 2-day sitting, and conducted a rakusu ceremony for Rory McCarthy and Francesco, and a lay ordination ceremony for Paolo Andrizzi. It was a delight to spend this time with our Italian Sangha and to return to Italy, where Richard and I lived for a year in the early 80s. Thank you to Fabiana and Paolo for their generosity and warm hospitality.

We just celebrated Vesak and it was heartening to see numbers of both children and adults return to pre-Covid levels. Such annual celebrations naturally draw our attention to the impermanence of things. The adults get older and new generations of children take the places of the ones that have now outgrown the bathing the Baby Buddha ceremony. But at the same time the wonder and delight on people’s faces, young and old, is perennial.

Most readers will be aware that I recently spent 7 weeks in the USA at the Rochester Zen Center, accompanied by Lassara Hall, an AZC student and Shiatsu practitioner. During our time in Rochester there was a moving teacher-sanctioning ceremony for Donna Kowal-sensei who has become co-director of the RZC with John Pulleyn-sensei, now that Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede has retired from administrative duties. The RZC is in the midst of a changing-of-the-guard, which is a huge transition. Roshi was Abbot for 36 years! He had just taken on the role when Richard and I came for our first training programme in 1986. On this visit I was once again impressed by the caliber of RZC members, including staff and people in residential training -- their kindness, responsiveness, and enthusiasm for the Buddhadharma. The RZC is in good hands.

Gratitude in plague times.

As for much of the country, life since our last newsletter in December has continued to be dominated by the pandemic. After an initially enthusiastic return to the zendo post-lockdown, attendance has been quite sparse since Omicron took off. There seem to be a number of pandemic-related causes and conditions for this: caution about exposure to the virus; needing to quarantine because family members have caught the virus; and then, for some, catching the virus. While there is a special synergy that comes with sitting together, we are grateful to be able to also keep in touch with people via our audio streaming service, podcasts and remote dokusans. We also want to thank you for your continued support at a time of steeply rising costs and ongoing uncertainty. We send much mettā to all those people around the world who have lost loved ones to Covid and who are suffering hardship because of the pandemic and its consequences. We’re learning the hard way about how interconnected we are.

Welcome to the Summer AZC newsletter.

What a delight to be open again. We began sitting together again in person with a one day sit (photo below). Coming soon we have a number of events: Buddha’s Enlightenment will be marked on Tuesday evening, 14 December, and then New Year’s Eve celebrations on 31 December (both will be simplified). For sesshin, 7-14 January, numbers will be limited so everyone can have a single room, and the zendo will be in the Bella Rakha Hall not the Chapel, so participants can be more spread out and the room better ventilated.

Mangere Mountain Hīkoi

At the beginning of May a group of members from the Zen Centre, St. Peter's Anglican Church and Beth Shalom Progressive Jewish Synagogue participated in a hīkoi on Māngere Mountain (Te Pane o Mataoho), led by kaiārahi Elleshia Whaanga-Aiono (Te Wai o Hua) from the Māngere Mountain Education Centre, who introduced us to some of the history of the maunga. Her stories recreated the structures of the pā that once stood on the maunga, and gave us vivid glimpses of the village life: the harvesting and storing kumara crops, the gathering of kaimoana and food from the forests, the gatherings and rituals. Many of us came away with a stronger sense of connection to the maunga and the local hapū. The walk was a first step in getting together with other Onehunga faith groups to work on a local climate change response.

Finding Your Seat Book Launch

Finally, after a recent Sunday sitting, Sensei's and Kathryn Argetsinger's book Finding Your Seat, A Zen Handbook was launched. Auckland people gathered for the celebration, joined by Kathryn on Zoom. Finding Your Seat is designed as a comprehensive step-by-step guide for the serious Zen practitioner, starting with detailed instructions for the physical and mental aspects of zazen, and including chapters on working with the teacher, koan practice, sesshin, and Zen in daily life. Each chapter includes a transcribed talk which shines a light on some aspect of the topic addressed. The majority of these are teishos, one is Dharma talk by Richard von Sturmer, whose photographs also grace each chapter. Kathryn's husband Mark did the book design.

Panel Discussion

Back in February the Centre hosted Sensei Ron Hogen Green, his wife Cindy Eiho Green and members of the Auckland Mountains and Rivers Zen Group for a lively panel discussion on Zen and Marriage, followed by a shared lunch.

From Amala-sensei

Religious leader’s gathering

In my capacity as chairperson of the New Zealand Buddhist Council I attended a post-15 March meeting of religious leaders, hosted by the Prime Minister and Minister of Ethnic Affairs. The purpose of the meeting was to build on the aroha generated in repose to the attacks, encourage collaboration between religious leaders, and explore what can be done to prevent religious hatred. One of the recommendations was the teaching of religious literacy in schools as part of the social studies curriculum. The hope is that if young people have greater understanding of and familiarity with people of different faiths they will be less likely to fear or hate them.

From Amala-sensei

Trip to Featherston

At the end of February Richard and I traveled to Featherston to participate in the remembrance ceremony to mark the anniversary of another New Zealand massacre, known euphemistically as the "Featherston Incident", where on 25 February in 1943, 49 people, 48 Japanese prisoners of war and one New Zealand soldier, were killed when a group of prisoners staged a sit-down strike. Together with Japanese artist, Mayu Kinamori and her partner, Martin Edmond, we were given permission by a local farmer to enter the actual site of the prisoner of war camp, in order to do a chanting service for the men who died.

From Amala-sensei

In Ohio I conducted a 2-day weekend intensive for the Cleveland Zazen Group, which has been sitting together for over 30 years, led by Susan and Larry Rakow. I also ordained Kathryn Argetsinger as a lay member of the Three Jewels Order. The ceremony was a culmination of Kathryn's seventeen years of Zen practice and many bouts of training both here at the Auckland Zen Centre and at the RZC, and her making many contributions to the life of the Sangha in both places. Kathryn played a huge role in the founding of the AZC, travelling here countless times to assist me and also continuing to support the Centre at a distance on projects such as creating our current website, choosing and setting up our database, and more recently helping me get the Pool of Radiance chant ready for chanting. Such devoted and substantial work continues -- Kathryn is currently collaborating with me on a book project

From Amala-sensei

People who attend sittings at the Centre will have already met our new zendo Buddha figure, which arrived from Vietnam in March. It is wonderful to finally have in our meditation hall a seated Buddha figure with a straight back, serene face and hands in the zazen mudra, to model our sitting practice for us. The figure and base are carved from jack-fruit wood, polished to a rich chestnut colour. Many, many thanks to Ven. Sudama Ngo (a priest at the RZC) for negotiating with the sculptors in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as making a substantial contribution toward the cost. And many thanks to others here and abroad, who also contributed.

John Seed visit

Rainforest activist John Seed was in New Zealand in April and we hosted an evening talk from John at the Centre. The title of John’s talk was “Buddha Touched Earth” and in it John explored the ways that Deep Ecology and Buddhism inform his work as an activist. The Deep Ecology approaches that John has developed, along with Joanna Macy and others, can be thought of as collective meditations that aim to widen and deepen our sense of connection with the world.

Rochester Zen Center's 50th Anniversary

Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede led the Rochester Zen Center's 50th Anniversary celebrations this year. Here are the other teachers in the Kapleau lineage at the celebration. From left to right: Karl Kaliski, Rafe Martin, Robert Goldman, Karin Kempe, Taigen Henderson, Amala Wrightson, Gerardo Gally, Kanja Odland, Sante Poromaa, Mitra Bishop, Lawson Sachter, Sunya Kjolhede and Sunyana Graef.

The recent Vesak celebrations at AZC where a great success again for our family. We have been attending regularly over the last few years. A wonderful way of introducing children and newcomers to the dharma, while giving seasoned practitioners the chance for celebration and being mindful of the roots of the practice.

Everyone went away with special imprints on their minds. The skillfully told life story of Gautama Buddha, beautiful craft activities, an introduction to mindfulness meditation, the special ritual of bathing the Baby Buddha and of course the ever popular dharma story of the Sleeping Sage kept everyone captivated for the whole morning. —Sabine, Sangha member

From Amala-sensei

New Trainees and New Plans

Recently we have had several people join us for training… The spike in demand for residential training has informed our recent explorations into the possibilities for developing the Centre's facilities further. One of the other things that came out of our brainstorming back in May was that we needed to make any building plans (we had talked about doing caretaker's quarters first) in the context of the big picture, that is, our long-term vision for the Centre. Decent living quarters for residents is a part of that vision, and so is strengthening community.

Patch of green adopted by the Centre

As part of our Earth day celebrations we cleaned up a small piece of Auckland Council land behind the Centre. We started by removing years of accumulated junk, and by planting a row of small hibiscus bushes that will eventually grow into a hedge along the south edge of the carpark the land surrounds. Zoe Carafice has made a planting plan for us and we will make an application for funding to the Council to purchase plants to beautify the area.

From Amala-sensei

Fundraising Concert

Many thanks, especially to the performers who were so generous with their time and energy, and to all who helped make the night so enjoyable. Funds raised will go towards the next stage of alterations to 52 Princes Street.