お正月 2025 Newsletter

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From Shaku Kojyu:
Happy New Year. This is the first newsletter from Daishu-in West. This newsletter is to share temple events with you and also to be an easy way for interested people to get an impression of life at the temple. Please feel free to pass it along to anyone.
Genjyo (玄定), disciple of Daishu-in West, has begun his monastic training at the sodo (training hall) at Daitoku-ji monastery this year. While we have not received direct communication from him yet, we know through people in Kyoto that he is well.
This winter we received a recorded interview from the early 90s with Morinaga Soko Roshi. You can watch it with subtitles here on YouTube.
We received a generous shipment of beautiful handmade bamboo brooms from Sakurada-san in Kyoto. Hopefully they will last us through the coming year.
Thank you for your ongoing efforts on behalf of Daishu-in West. We look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
合掌
釋宏樹

[請務其本] (Kou sono moto o tsutomeyo) is one of the few known phrases from Kanzan Egen, the founder of Myoshinji in Kyoto.
The first character [請] (kou) in Japanese means “to request.” Then there is [務] (tsutome) which means “to strive” or to undertake something.
Therefore [請務] means to request an endeavor. But what is one to endeavor for?
[其] (sono) simply means "that." The same “that” we often use. Here it doesn’t point to a specific word but means things or Dharmas in a general sense.
Finally we have [本] (moto). It means “root.” When applied to things, the word “fundamental” fits best. In other words, “其本” means “the fundamental thing.”
Now we can see that[請務其本] exhorts us with a “request to strive for the fundamental of things.”
They are words meaning “do not pluck leaves or look for branches.” Leaves and branches are not the fundamentals, but rather the surface or decoration.
“請務其本” means to not get caught up by the leaves and branches, but to focus on the fundamental Original Nature of all phenomena.

For more information and to see our weekly events, please visit our calendar page.

• Sesshin: January 14th - January 10th
• Rinzai-ki (臨済忌) - January 10th
• Sesshin: February 11th - 16th
• Nehan-e (Nirvana day): February 15th
• Sesshin: March 11th - 16th

If you are interested in attending an event, please call the temple or email us at contact@daishuinwest.org.

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