Earth School Ordination in Africa

Earth School Ordination in Africa

One of the apprentices at BEZA’s Zen Academy in Cape Town, engaged in mindfulness and spiritual growth through Shamanic Gatekeeper training and Zen meditation practices.

Ordination in Africa – By Ekan Nangaku Leisching

South Africa is one of the most diverse nations on Earth. It is a complex matrix of many languages, traditions, religions, economic and societal history and trauma. While diversity and complexity are the foundations of healthy human ecosystems, oftentimes emphasis can be focussed on these powerful illusionary differences causing separation, alienation and ultimately conflict. Zen’s Relative and Absolute Heart Wisdom practice can create a strong spiritual Way here, because unity and diversity is inescapably obvious in South Africa. Hence the Buddha Way is already present for all South Africans, even if it isn’t called that. Like water, it reflects diversity while at the same time heals and holds unity.

“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” – Buddha

I was first introduced to Buddhism 35 years ago when I attended my first retreat at the Buddhist Retreat Center in South Africa. I learned to meditate regularly from a Tibetan Buddhist monk. A few years later I immigrated to the United States of America. Soon after arriving in Maine I was introduced to Daido Loori Roshi of Zen Mountain Monastery in New York state, and studied with him from 1997 until his passing in 2010.

Upon my return to South Africa, I deepened my lay practice on my own, occasionally holding Zen style meditation retreats. I kept in touch with Esho Sudan, who I had met at ZMM, and we often talked about her monastic life at Toshoji and her study with Seido Suzuki Roshi – who had assisted Daido Roshi in establishing Zen Mountain Monastery in the 1980’s. I was no longer married and my children were grown. I realised that my heart’s calling was to do what I can to bring the Sōtō Lineage to Africa. I asked Seido Roshi to ordain me, and surprisingly, he suggested coming to South Africa to hold the ordination here.

Roshi and Esho arrived in Cape Town on 16 September 2022. It was the first time to meet Roshi. Upon greeting him and seeing Esho, I struggled to contain my emotions. We travelled to my home in the village of Stanford, in the Western Cape, where we began preparations for my ordination. The curious Stanford community were intrigued by our visitors from Japan.

The evening before the Tokudo Ceremony, dear one’s close to me gathered to shave my head. As they began, the electricity went out, leaving us in darkness for the duration of the shaving. Just as they finished the lights came back on.

September 20th, the Spring equinox in the Southern Hemisphere, was a beautiful day filled with fresh blue sky and bright flowers. The night before, Roshi and Esho had transformed the house into a temple with a shrine room. Roshi found an auspicious sign in the visiting two doves (happiness birds as he called them) that seemed to greet us on the gate just prior to the ceremony.

Before departing Roshi gave me a precious teaching. He encouraged me to greet life with open hands – that the Buddha’s work is best done through hands that are open – fully open in their giving and in their receiving.

So as I stumble on, slowly finding a modicum of grace as a novice monk, I trust the Heart of Buddha and Zazen to guide me in the Way. In alignment with my vows, I dedicate my life to bringing the Dharma to life wherever I find myself. There is both a great need for the Dharma here, and a generous and large-hearted South African spirit that is ready and appreciative – and I will be continuously planting seeds, so that the Sōtō School will find a welcoming soil in which to germinate, root and flower in Africa. I trust Zen will find its unique way to thrive on this continent.

Gassho
Ekan Nangaku
The Ancient Art of Divination

The Ancient Art of Divination

Celebratory announcement: BEZA proudly becomes an official Non-Profit Company, marking a new chapter in its mission to alleviate suffering.

The Ancient Art of Divination

Divination is an ancient healing craft which has been used for centuries to make the invisible world visible. To be a diviner, or seer, into other realms requires the Art of responsible Gatekeeping between the Worlds.

Gatekeepers and diviners are shamanic practitioners whose function is to purify the energies they let in and out of their being. By attuning to, cleansing, and bringing these energies into balance, Gatekeepers become the Wisdom Keepers of the World. 

BEZA Initiates of the Five Elemental Bodies of the Medicine Wheel serve the transformational power of love for the benefit of all beings.

Introduction to Divination

Divination (from Latin divinare ‘to foresee, reveal, foretell, predict, prophesy, etc.’) is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed to attain harmony and balance in their lives by reading signs, events, or omens, or through contact or interaction with ‘supernatural’ agencies such as ancestors, spirits, elemental spirits, gods or god-like-beings, or the “will of the universe”.

Divination can be seen as an attempt to organize what appears to be random so that it provides insight into a problem or issue at hand. Some instruments or practices of divination include Tarot-card reading, rune casting, tea-leaf reading,automatic writing, water scrying, and psychedelics like psilocybin mushrooms and DMT. If a distinction is made between divination and fortune-telling, divination has a more formal or ritualistic element and often contains a more social character, usually in a religious or spiritual context, as seen in traditional African medicine. Fortune-telling, on the other hand, is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and religion.

In its functional relation to magic in general, divination can have a preliminary and investigative role. The diagnosis or prognosis achieved through divination is both temporarily and logically related to the manipulative, protective or alleviative function of magic rituals. In divination one finds the cause of an ailment or a potential danger, in magic one subsequently acts upon this knowledge.

The History of Divination

Antiquity

The eternal fire at Nymphaion in southern Illyria (present-day Albania) also functioned as an oracle. The forms of divination practiced in this natural fire sanctuary with peculiar physical properties were widely known to the ancient Greek and Roman authors. The Oracle of Amun at the Siwa Oasis was made famous when Alexander the Great visited it after conquering Egypt from Persia in 332 BC.

Deuteronomy 18:10-12 or Leviticus 19:26 can be interpreted as categorically forbidding divination. But some biblical practices, such as Urim and Thummim, casting lots and prayer, are considered to be divination. One of the earliest known divination artifacts, a book called the Sortes Sanctorum, is believed to be of Christian roots, and utilizes dice to provide insight into the future.



Middle Ages and Early Modern period

The divination method of casting lots (Cleromancy) was used by the remaining eleven disciples of Jesus in Acts 1:23–26 to select a replacement for Judas Iscariot. Therefore, divination was arguably an accepted practice in the early church. However, divination became viewed as a pagan practice by Christian emperors during ancient Rome.

In 692 the Quinisext Council, also known as the “Council in Trullo” in the Eastern Orthodox Church, passed canons to eliminate pagan and divination practices. Fortune-telling and other forms of divination were widespread through the Middle Ages. In the constitution of 1572 and public regulations of 1661 of the Electorate of Saxony, capital punishment was used on those predicting the future. Laws forbidding divination practice continue to this day. 

Småland is famous for Årsgång, a practice which occurred until the early 19th century in some parts of Småland. Generally occurring on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, it is a practice in which one would fast and keep themselves away from light in a room until midnight to then complete a set of complex events to interpret symbols encountered throughout the journey to foresee the coming year.

In Islam, astrology, the most widespread divinatory science, is the study of how celestial entities could be applied to the daily lives of people on earth. It is important to emphasize the practical nature of divinatory sciences because people from all socioeconomic levels and pedigrees sought the advice of astrologers to make important decisions in their lives. Astronomy was made a distinct science by intellectuals who did not agree with the former, although distinction may not have been made in daily practice, where astrology was technically outlawed and only tolerated if it was employed in public. Astrologers, trained as scientists and astronomers, were able to interpret the celestial forces that ruled the “sub-lunar” to predict a variety of information from lunar phases and drought to times of prayer and the foundation of cities. The courtly sanction and elite patronage of Muslim rulers benefited astrologers’ intellectual statures.

The “science of the sand”, otherwise translated as geomancy, is “based on the interpretation of figures traced on sand or other surface known as geomantic figures.” It is a good example of Islamic divination at a popular level. The core principle that meaning derives from a unique occupied position is identical to the core principle of astrology.

Like astronomy, geomancy used deduction and computation to uncover significant prophecies as opposed to omens, which were a process of “reading” visible random events to decipher the invisible realities from which they originated. It was upheld by prophetic tradition and relied almost exclusively on text, specifically the Qur’an (which carried a table for guidance) and poetry, as a development of bibliomancy. The practice culminated in the appearance of the illustrated “Books of Omens” (Falnama) in the early 16th century, an embodiment of the apocalyptic fears as the end of the millennium in the Islamic calendar approached.

Dream interpretation, or oneiromancy, is more specific to Islam than other divinatory science, largely because of the Qur’an’s emphasis on the predictive dreams of Abraham, Yusuf, and Muhammad. The important delineation within the practice lies between “incoherent dreams” and “sound dreams,” which were “a part of prophecy” or heavenly message. Dream interpretation was always tied to Islamic religious texts, providing a moral compass to those seeking advice. The practitioner needed to be skilled enough to apply the individual dream to general precedent while appraising the singular circumstances.

The power of text held significant weight in the “science of letters”, the foundational principle being “God created the world through His speech.” The science began with the concept of language, specifically Arabic, as the expression of “the essence of what it signifies.” Once the believer understood this, while remaining obedient to God’s will, they could uncover the essence and divine truth of the objects inscribed with Arabic like amulets and talismans through the study of the letters of the Qur’an with alphanumeric computations.

In Islamic practice in Senegal and Gambia, just like many other West African countries, diviners and religious leaders and healers were interchangeable because Islam was closely related with esoteric practices (like divination), which were responsible for the regional spread of Islam. As scholars learned esoteric sciences, they joined local non-Islamic aristocratic courts, who quickly aligned divination and amulets with the “proof of the power of Islamic religion.” So strong was the idea of esoteric knowledge in West African Islam, diviners and magicians uneducated in Islamic texts and Arabic bore the same titles as those who did.

From the beginning of Islam, there “was (and is) still a vigorous debate about whether or not such [divinatory] practices were actually permissible under Islam,” with some scholars like Abu-Hamid al Ghazili (d. 1111) objecting to the science of divination because he believed it bore too much similarity to pagan practices of invoking spiritual entities that were not God. Other scholars justified esoteric sciences by comparing a practitioner to “a physician trying to heal the sick with the help of the same natural principles.”

Mesoamerica

Divination was a central component of ancient Mesoamerican religious life. Many Aztec gods, including central creator gods, were described as diviners and were closely associated with sorcery. Tezcatlipoca is the patron of sorcerers and practitioners of magic. His name means “smoking mirror,” a reference to a device used for divinatory scrying. In the Mayan Popol Vuh, the creator gods Xmucane and Xpiacoc perform divinatory hand casting during the creation of people. The Aztec Codex Borbonicus shows the original human couple, Oxomoco and Cipactonal, engaged in divining with kernels of maize. This primordial pair is associated with the ritual calendar, and the Aztecs considered them to be the first diviners.

Every civilization that developed in pre-Columbian Mexico, from the Olmecs to the Aztecs, practiced divination in daily life, both public and private. Scrying through the use of reflective water surfaces, mirrors, or the casting of lots were among the most widespread forms of divinatory practice. Visions derived from hallucinogens were another important form of divination, and are still widely used among contemporary diviners of Mexico. Among the more common hallucinogenic plants used in divination are morning glory, jimson weed, and peyote.

Contemporary divination in Asia

India and Nepal

Theyyam or “theiyam” in Malayalam is the process by which a devotee invites a Hindu god or goddess to use his or her body as a medium or channel and answer other devotees’ questions. The same is called “arulvaakku” or “arulvaak” in Tamil, another south Indian language – Adhiparasakthi Siddhar Peetam is famous for arulvakku in Tamil Nadu. The people in and around Mangalore in Karnataka call the same, Buta Kola, “paathri” or “darshin”; in other parts of Karnataka, it is known by various names such as, “prashnaavali”, “vaagdaana”, “asei”, “aashirvachana”, and so on. In Nepal it is known as, “Devta ka dhaamee” or “jhaakri”.

In English, the closest translation for these is, “oracle.” The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in northern India, still consults an oracle known as the Nechung Oracle, which is considered the official state oracle of the government of Tibet. The Dalai Lama has according to centuries-old custom, consulted the Nechung Oracle during the new year festivities of Losar.

Japan

Although Japan retains a history of traditional and local methods of divination, such as onmyōdō, contemporary divination in Japan, called uranai, derives from outside sources. Contemporary methods of divination in Japan include both Western and Chinese astrology, geomancy or feng shui, tarot cards, I Ching (Book of Changes) divination, and physiognomy (methods of reading the body to identify traits).

In Japan, divination methods include Futomani from the Shinto tradition.

Personality types

Personality typing as a form of divination has been prevalent in Japan since the 1980s. Various methods exist for divining personality-type. Each attempt to reveal glimpses of an individual’s destiny, productive and inhibiting traits, future parenting techniques, and compatibility in marriage. Personality type is increasingly important for young Japanese, who consider personality the driving factor of compatibility, given the ongoing marriage drought and birth rate decline in Japan.

An import to Japan, Chinese zodiac signs based on the birth year in 12 year cycles (rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, cock, dog, and boar) are frequently combined with other forms of divination, such as so-called ‘celestial types’ based on the planets (Saturn, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, or Uranus). Personality can also be divined using cardinal directions, the four elements (water, earth, fire, air), and yin-yang. Names can also lend important personality information under name classification which asserts that names bearing certain Japanese vowel sounds (a, i, u, e, o) share common characteristics. Numerology, which utilizes methods of divining ‘birth numbers’ from significant numbers such as birth date, may also reveal character traits of individuals.

Individuals can also assess their own and others’ personalities according to physical characteristics. Blood type remains a popular form of divination from physiology. Stemming from Western influences, body reading or ninsou, determines personality traits based on body measurements. The face is the most commonly analyzed feature, with eye size, pupil shape, mouth shape, and eyebrow shape representing the most important traits. An upturned mouth may be cheerful, and a triangle eyebrow may indicate that someone is strong-willed.

Methods of assessment in daily life may include self-taken measurements or quizzes. As such, magazines targeted at women in their early-to-mid twenties feature the highest concentration of personality assessment guides. There are approximately 144 different women’s magazines, known as nihon zashi koukoku kyoukai, published in Japan aimed at this audience.

Japanese tarot

The adaptation of the Western divination method of tarot cards into Japanese culture presents a particularly unique example of contemporary divination as this adaptation mingles with Japan’s robust visual culture. Japanese tarot cards are created by professional artists, advertisers, and fans of tarot. One tarot card collector claimed to have accumulated more than 1,500 Japan-made decks of tarot cards.

Japanese tarot cards fall into diverse categories such as:

  • Inspiration Tarot (reikan tarotto);
  • I-Ching Tarot (ekisen tarotto);
  • Spiritual Tarot (supirichuaru tarotto);
  • Western Tarot (seiyō tarotto); and
  • Eastern Tarot (tōyō tarotto).

The images on tarot cards may come from images from Japanese popular culture, such as characters from manga and anime including Hello Kitty, or may feature cultural symbols. Tarot cards may adapt the images of Japanese historical figures, such as high priestess Himiko (170–248CE) or imperial court wizard Abe no Seimei (921–1005CE). Still others may feature images of cultural displacement, such as English knights, pentagrams, the Jewish Torah, or invented glyphs. The introduction of such cards began by the 1930s and reached prominence in the 1970s. Japanese tarot cards were originally created by men, often based on the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot published by the Rider Company in London in 1909. Since, the practice of Japanese tarot has become overwhelmingly feminine and intertwined with kawaii culture. Referring to the cuteness of tarot cards, Japanese model Kuromiya Niina was quoted as saying “because the images are cute, even holding them is enjoyable.” While these differences exist, Japanese tarot cards function similarly to their Western counterparts. Cards are shuffled and cut into piles then used to forecast the future, for spiritual reflection, or as a tool for self-understanding.

Taiwan

A common act of divination in Taiwan is called the Poe. “The Poe” translated to English means “moon boards”. It consists of two wood or bamboo blocks cut into the shape of a crescent moon. The one edge is rounded while the other is flat; the two are mirror images. Both crescents are held out in one’s palms and while kneeling, they are raised to the forehead level. Once in this position, the blocks are dropped and the future can be understood depending on their landing. If both fall flat side up or both fall rounded side up, that can be taken as a failure of the deity to agree. If the blocks land one rounded and one flat, the deity indicates “Yes”, or positive. “Laughing poe” is when rounded sides land down and they rock before coming to a standstill. “Negative poe” is when the flat sides fall downward and abruptly stop; this indicates “No”. When there is a positive fall, it is called “Sacred poe”, although the negative falls are not usually taken seriously. As the blocks are being dropped the question is said in a murmur, and if the answer is yes, the blocks are dropped again. To make sure the answer is definitely a yes, the blocks must fall in a “yes” position three times in a row.

A more serious type of divination is the Kiō-á. There is a small wooden chair, and around the sides of the chair are small pieces of wood that can move up and down in their sockets, this causes a clicking sound when the chair is moved in any way. Two men hold this chair by its legs before an altar, while the incense is being burned, and the deity is invited to descend onto the chair. It is seen that it is in the chair by an onset of motion. Eventually, the chair crashes onto a table prepared with wood chips and burlap. The characters on the table are then traced and these are said to be written by the deity who possessed the chair, these characters are then interpreted for the devotees.

Contemporary divination in Africa

Divination is widespread throughout Africa. Among many examples it is one of the central tenets of Serer religion in Senegal. Only those who have been initiated as Saltigues (the Serer high priests and priestesses) can divine the future. These are the “hereditary rain priests” whose role is both religious and medicinal.

Cultures of Africa to the year circa C.E. 1991 were still performing and using divination, within the urban and rural environments. Diviners might also fulfill the role of herbalist. Divination might be thought of as a social phenomenon, and is thought of as central to the lives of people in societies of Africa (circa 2004 at least).

South Africa

AmaXhosa and AmaZulu

The Xhosa peoples contain individuals who practice divination known as sangomas. The diviner of the Amazulu (the Zulu people) of South East Africa is known as Izinyanga Zokabula, or an Inyanga.

Traditional Initiation

In the period of initiation, the man, to begin with, abstains from certain foods, and eats only a small amount of the foods he does eat. He complains about bodily pain. He dreams many things (he has become a house of dreams). He finally becomes ill and goes to a diviner to seek help, but the man stays unwell for perhaps two years. At this time he is already possessed by Itongo. His hair falls out. His skin is now dry. About this time he becomes aware of his divinatory powers which are heard and seen by his sneezing and yawning repeatedly, and is also now liking snuff very much, taking this often. He suffers convulsions in illness and has water poured over him, at which time the convulsions stop for a while. He cries and weeps. During the night sometimes others go to sing with him, after he has awoken them with his own singing, after having composed a song. His body is now emaciated. During the initiation the sleep pattern of the initiate changes to a number of brief periods and awakens to be active singing songs and leaping inside and outside (like a frog). The village makes an effort to make the initiates Itongo white. At this time, a well-respected and known Inyanga makes ubulawo (an emetic) for the initiate, the initiate and the Inyanga spend two days together, then the initiate is himself an Inyanga.

Impepo

The initiating Inyanga first eats black impepo, to take away dimness from the inner sight, then white impepo. White impepo is used to maintain trueness of inner sight after the black impepo. Both are emetics. The Inyanga sleeps with black impepo (under the head) to make the dreams clear and true.

Divination Training with BEZA

Human beings are the current expression of millions of years of evolutionary transformation. We have emerged into existence from galactic stardust, into foundational Earth elements, into life forms, homo-sapiens, and then, through a very long line of ancestors, we arrive on the scene as who we are today.

Humans are inherently mythological beings – the species that uses the language of symbology to create meaning. Countless mystics from traditions the world over, speak of our mythological journey as a cycle of dream-like states in which we are constantly prodded to awaken into our inherent enlightenment.

Divination is one of many guiding tools used to access awakening – the state where our ancient mystical wisdom is made visible and practical. Becoming a diviner or seer is akin to being a mentor and guide into the mystical realm.

The year-long Gatekeeper Apprentice Training around the Elemental Medicine Wheel and a 22-Day Divination Training Intensive in South Africa facilitated by Ekan Nangaku, a master-diviner of 15 years, teaches how to engage Mother Earth’s Elements as harmonic tools to reveal the rituals needed for clients to create harmony between the realms.

During training, BEZA supplies their apprentices with a divination manual and all the items needed for their starter divination kit. Students are asked to acquire some additional items beforehand and personalize their divination cloth. While on the training apprentices embody the healing remedies or prescriptions during their initiation into ancient ceremonial practices.

Ancestral Divination Sessions

Divination is an ancient healing craft which has been used for centuries to connect with the ancestral realm and make the Invisible World, visible.

Usually you come to a divination session with a deep question. Your question and the ensuing divination lifts the veil to the invisible world which is complete in potential. By way of your ‘ask’ of the invisible world (Other World and Ancestral Realm) for guidance (to make visible) as to what hidden energies are constellating in your life, you discover how to open the way for healing. Various prescriptions or remedies will flow out of the divination session which ask of you to perform a ritual or ceremony in acknowledgment of having received a profound message and to restore balance and wholeness in your being.

Private Divination sessions are offered on a sliding scale.

Born as the Earth Zen Academy | BEZA | Elemental | Zen | Mentoring | Meditation | Generational Healing | Ancestors | Divination | Shamanic | Shamanism | Gatekeeper | DANA | Community Council | Buddhism | Spirituality | Nature | Mindfulness | Enlightenment | Awakening | Daido Roshi | Consciousness | Holistic | True Self | Wisdom | Medicine

A Moment of Celebration! BEZA is officially a Non-Profit Company!

A Moment of Celebration! BEZA is officially a Non-Profit Company!

Celebratory announcement: BEZA proudly becomes an official Non-Profit Company, marking a new chapter in its mission to alleviate suffering.

A Moment of Celebration!

Born as the Earth Zen Academy has been in gestation for the past two years. Supported by the heart of the BEZA Sangha we have been in a precious time of growth as we anchor our roots and deepen into creation with solid foundations. Now, like a stem of a young tree piercing through the soil, we open to a whole new world.

BEZA has been formally birthed! We are officially a Non-Profit Company.

We are deeply grateful for crossing this threshold into a new moment where we can expand and continue our dedication and commitment to a world free of suffering.

As BEZA blossoms our hands remain open in service to that sacred gift that keeps on giving. Thank you to everyone who has registered for an offering at BEZA, read our mailers, attended a training or listened to a talk. Thank you for the spiritual gift of DANA. Deep bows of gratitude to you and your devotion to your path of transformation, self-empowerment and healing. It is because of this growing community that the doorways open for us all to continue in kindness and offer a helping hand on the collective road to reclamation and remembering.

BEZA has never belonged to any one person. It belongs to all of us. And it is only in our coming together that we can truly create a new human story.

In the West African Dagara culture there is no word for ‘Thank you’. They are the words. They are ‘thankful’ in everything they do for each other.

May we continue to be and embody the act of gratitude in all we do.

Ekan & Raine

For a Regenerative Future!

On Saturday, 26th October a few members of the local BEZA Community along with 7 youth from the Creative Skills Factory in Stanford, WC planted 25 indigenous trees!

BEZA, and Raine in particular, supports the valuable work the Creative Skills Factory does in the Stanford area.

We were all held in their delightful songs as each youth planted two trees for someone close to them who had recently passed plus one for themselves to open the way for a wholesome future.

While planting these young trees into the ground we held heartfelt intention for their thriving growth. This became a powerful symbolic honouring of these wonderful children and their blossoming, fruitful futures.

Four additional trees were planted  – two by special request from a BEZA sangha member and two to commemorate BEZA becoming a Non-profit.

These trees were donated by you! We plant a tree for each new person who attends their first training through the academy. Thank you for regenerating you (and our environment)!

Mountains, Rivers, and the Song of Zen: A Journey Beyond Perception

Mountains, Rivers, and the Song of Zen: A Journey Beyond Perception

Discover the timeless teachings of Zen as we explore the profound connection between mountains, rivers, and the nature of all things. Learn how Zen practice deepens our awareness, guiding us beyond perception to the essence of life.

The Mountains and the Rivers sing eighty-four thousand verses. Do you hear them?

An ancient master once said:

Thirty years ago, before studying Zen, I saw mountains as mountains and rivers as rivers.

When I had more intimate knowledge, I came to see mountains not as mountains and rivers not as rivers.

But now that I have attained the substance, I again see mountains just as mountains, and rivers just as rivers.

“The zazen of a beginner is innocent. It’s free, open, and receptive. But after a while, it becomes rote. It’s one thing to really practice this incredible Way with the whole body and mind, and quite another to simply look like a Zen practitioner. Much of our practice involves maintaining this freshness, this receptivity.”

Daido Roshi, the late abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery, illuminates further…

“This teaching is not saying that mountains are mountains; it says that mountains are mountains. The river sings the eighty-four thousand verses. Do we hear them? The mountain reveals the form of the true dharma, the virtue of harmony. Can we see it?

This is the mountain of the nature of all dharmas, the ten thousand things, the whole phenomenal universe. It pervades all time and space, from the beginningless beginning to the endless end. In other words, it’s the body and mind of the ten thousand things—and, it’s just a mountain.

Thus, we should thoroughly study these mountains. When we thoroughly study the mountains, this is the mountain training. Then these mountains and rivers themselves spontaneously become wise ones and sages.

When Dogen says, “thoroughly study the mountains,” he means for us to take these mountains and rivers as the koan of our lives. Whether we look at these mountains and rivers with the eyes of a biologist, a geologist, a hydrologist, a sage, a deer, as the mountain, as the river, the fact is that they are constantly proclaiming the dharma. The river sings the eighty-four thousand verses. Do we hear them? The mountain reveals the form of the true dharma, the virtue of harmony. Can we see it?

When we go deep into ourselves, when we engage Zen practice fully, that practice becomes the practice of all buddhas past, present, and future. It is the verification and actualization of the enlightenment of Shakyamuni Buddha and all of the subsequent buddhas. It is also the practice and verification of these mountains and rivers, and of your life and my life, the life of wise ones, sages, and ordinary beings.”

~ John Daido Loori: from Lion’s Roar

“These mountains and rivers themselves spontaneously become wise ones and sages.”

Traveling deeper into the unknown spaces of ourselves, we naturally expand in relationship with the mystery of everything. Our ideas of how things appear begin to dissolve. We become more intimate with what is beyond what ‘seems to be’.  We pick up a scent of what those ideas and things actually are. Tending ourselves now toward a truer reality the scent of seeing life just as it is without our conditioned projections – their is-ness, becomes stronger.

Simultaneously, an intimacy with the mystery continues with what lies beyond this unadorned is-ness. Our mind, becoming less tainted and more innocent, we begin to see the simple ordinariness of phenomena while continuing to expand and open to what has birthed the ten thousand things.

To truly hear the songs of the rivers and mountains, to communicate and be intimate with the grasses and trees, to develop sincere, love-filled exchanges with all our relations, a maturing intimacy is called forth. For this, a deepening connection and grounding supports our movement beyond the edge of what our minds have framed this life to be. Meeting life with the practice of going beyond, we polish ourselves into the spotless place steadily dissolving into this unknowable source of being.

We cannot hear the eighty-four thousand verses when framed in what we think we know of what it all ‘seems to be’. However, the edges we experience in the mind, the frame, can become a gateway, as starting place from the ‘known’ into the absolute unknown where the “mountains and rivers are not mountains and rivers”. Yes, we can confine ourselves in what seems to exist and in so choosing accept a particular kind of restriction or barrier.

Or, in practicing oneness and interconnectedness, begin to hear the song and walk the path with increasing presence and awareness, becoming aware of its edges, as we follow the scent of the path’s edge-less-ness.

Beyond the edges, the edges that define ‘things’ – the path invites a letting-go of the edges that define and separate it from the unknown. Going beyond the edge of separation ultimately dissolve the path. Here is where the mountain is no longer a mountain. This edge-less-ness is an empty spaciousness of no-thing-ness, the primal womb of creation, the being we call Mother, the mother of all Being.

Having dissolved into, and re-emerged from the emptiness beyond form we “gain the substance”. We return with insight into diversity in its multitudinous and specific forms and their interdependent oneness. Returning with this substance we are sovereign, liberated and henceforth engage life as it is, free of conditioned entanglements. This is the practice of being intimate with just what is – where “a mountain is just a mountain”. Here we see the true medicine nature, the dharmas of all being and beings, of life’s diverse existence – the defined and undefinable existing together. Gaining the substance, our true nature, restored with our gift received from that intimate place where a mountain is not a not mountain, we are liberated, free from our entanglements, and see that it is “just” a mountain.

Oftentimes it can be challenging to live in the moment in this way because we are limited in our mind of comparison, in the rational part of our self that divides everything into this and that, into self and other, and so we bring our hands together, the left and right, into gassho (prayer), and unify the separateness within with what is without.

Bowing with gratitude, we receive the healing nectar of forgiveness, abundance and generosity waiting for us in our hearts. We open the channel for the oracle of love, the Dharma, to sing its true song in the sacred choir of life, into being.

~ Ekan Nangaku

Participants sharing their stories of authenticity during a workshop at BEZA’s Zen Academy in Cape Town, Western Cape, fostering personal growth and genuine connections through mindfulness practices.

Experiencing Depression? How Meditation can help.

To help understand how the brain changes during meditation, we look at the brain’s neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to change and adapt in response to new experiences and environmental changes. In order for the brain to adapt and change, new neural pathways need to be created. Originally believed to only happen in childhood, it has been proven that new neural pathways are created throughout one’s lifetime. During bouts of depression, the creation of new pathways are disrupted. This is where meditation comes in.

Poetry as a medium for mindfulness and self-expression at BEZA’s Zen retreat in Cape Town, connecting spiritual growth with Zen meditation and creative exploration.

There are Mountains Hidden in Hiddenness.

Stones hold a storehouse of secrets. Our evolution has depended on them. They were our first tools; our first art; symbolised our first myths; and the first sounds and languages. Stones have oriented our human collective from conception through to memorialised immortality. Gatekeepers to unknown realms, they inspire us to their noblest peaks and, they become barring barriers and porous boundaries.

“When we connect with our bones, the stones of our bodies, we connect with the powerful medicine of the mountains.”

Poetry as a medium for mindfulness and self-expression at BEZA’s Zen retreat in Cape Town, connecting spiritual growth with Zen meditation and creative exploration.

Ask the Earth and the trees and plants, soil, rocks, rivers and mountains.

Ask the weather systems for guidance.

How can I help you?

How can I serve you?

Ask the birds. Honour and tend all beings.

Let them know with your kindness that you are an ally.

Then listen carefully, with your whole body.

Ears of your hands.

Frequency detector of the heart.

Listen for the subtleties that ripple beneath.

Listen for the new stories rising.

Purify. Open up. Free yourself of yourself. Become empty. Hollow body.

A dancing bag of bones.

The new ways will come through us.

The ancient ways will come through.

~ Red K Elders

Expressive art as a form of mindfulness and spiritual exploration at BEZA’s Zen retreat in Cape Town, blending creativity with Zen meditation and personal growth.

Japanese Rock Wrapping

 

Rocks and Stones have travelled with human evolution right from the beginning of time. In the early 9th Century in China an interest in learning from the ancient wisdom of rocks and stone was initiated. Later the Daoist sages and medicine people considered rocks as the bones of the Earth. Confucianism honoured the natural world in its’ ability to embody human qualities, holding in great regard the reciprocity between the human and nonhuman worlds. In Zen Buddhism stone has a significant

Mizuhiki (水引 which literally translates to ‘water-pull’) is an ancient Japanese artform of knot-tying. ssociated with sacred ceremonies, offerings, and gift-giving, the Mizuhiki has evolved in importance and significance. When a gift is tied with a Mizuhiki, it suggests it has been safeguarded and shielded from prying eyes and creates a sense of “cleanliness and purity”.

In Zen Buddhism practices, rocks have a special place. The karesansui or “dry gardens” are particularly famous for their representation of still or moving bodies of water using pebbles. Unlike the Daoists who would admire nature for its wild wisdom, the Zen Buddhists were looking to go beyond it.

A Zen practitioner herself, Betsy brings her mind to a meditative state with each piece of wrapping. Sometimes it might take her weeks before she achieves the level of perfection she seeks. The natural, organic qualities of shape, size, and texture of the rocks inspire her.

“The fact that they are infinitely older than we are is humbling and opens up soulful creative energy for me to work with from the start. Some nights I go to sleep just seeing different rock shapes and forms and wake up excited to begin a day in the studio with the rocks” she said in the American Craft Council interview.

Poetry as a medium for mindfulness and self-expression at BEZA’s Zen retreat in Cape Town, connecting spiritual growth with Zen meditation and creative exploration.

I was introduced to Born As The Earth Zen Academy over a year ago. I have been a student / apprentice in their Gatekeeper Training program. I have also participated in their Meditations, Community Council, and have had several Divination sessions with Ekan Nangaku.

I hold Gil, Raine, and Nangaku in high regard. My life has been forever changed as a result of the outstanding teaching and warm welcome from the BEZA community!

I encourage anyone interested in expanding their own spiritual practice to reach out to BEZA to find out more about the Academy and how they can participate in such an incredible place of healing and learning.

May BEZA continue to grow and expand worldwide. Blessings and love to all of those that I was able to meet along the way. I look forward to continuing my studies with BEZA. The Academy has proven to be an outstanding teaching facility and now, my new found spiritual partner.

Apprentice Training

The Academy Medicine Wheel at BEZA’s Zen Academy in Cape Town, South Africa, used for spiritual growth and healing, integrating mindfulness, Zen meditation, and Shamanic practices.

BEZA’s Medicine Wheel

Training includes:

  • Personal development within a spiritual community

  • Zen and Elemental Meditation training

  • Private Mentoring sessions

  • Community Council (talking circle) training

  • Private Divination sessions

  • Embodiment practices: breath work, qigong, art, rituals and so much more….

It takes 12 months to complete the journey around the Medicine Wheel comprised of 5 Elemental Bodies – Fire, Water, Earth, Nature, & Stone.

Join Apprentice Training cycle at the beginning of any Elemental Module

What is Mindfulness?

Beyond Meditation Apps & Beyond the ‘Mindfulness Movement’ & its commoditization?

Without context, there is no mindfulness! Joshua from The Emerald says that without context, “we are swimming in our own detritus”.

Exploring the Element of Fire at BEZA’s Zen Academy in Cape Town, Western Cape, symbolizing transformation and passion through mindfulness practices and fire ceremonies.

Module 1

Visionary Fire Module

Way of the Ancestors

1 February – 16 March 2025

Work with what inspires – your dreams, aspirations and passion for life. Transmute all that stands in the way of your spiritual potential. Channel your purpose into realities that align with your truth. In this gateway you work with light & vision; alchemical illumination; dreams & myth; divination; and ancestral healing.

Practical Spirituality

Dreams | Vision | Ignition | Transmutation | Ancestral Connection

Poetry as a medium for mindfulness and self-expression at BEZA’s Zen retreat in Cape Town, connecting spiritual growth with Zen meditation and creative exploration.

All in Exchange for your Donation (DANA)

Way of Balance

Zen Meditation Training

29th Oct: 7-9PM(SAST)

Master Dogen said, “To study the Buddha Way is to study the self, to study the self is to forget the self, and to forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things.” 

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced practitioner, engage this precious and easily accessible opportunity to awaken to your True Nature.

Find revelation, joy and solace in the serene landscapes of your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual body.

We tend to see body, breath, and mind as separate, but in zazen we begin to see how they are one inseparable reality. 

See more Featured events with BEZA

Visionary FIRE Module

Visionary FIRE Module

Visionary FIRE Module

Way of the Ancestors

1 February – 16 March 2025

Exploring the Element of Fire at BEZA’s Zen Academy in Cape Town, Western Cape, symbolizing transformation and passion through mindfulness practices and fire ceremonies.

Work with what inspires – your dreams, aspirations and passion for life. Transmute all that stands in the way of your spiritual potential. Channel your purpose into realities that align with your truth. In this gateway you work with light & vision; alchemical illumination; dreams & myth; divination; and ancestral healing.

Unlock the transformative power of Fire with BEZA. Journey through the element of Fire to connect with your ancestors, embrace divination, and ignite deep personal transformation. This sacred training invites you to harness Fire’s wisdom for profound change and insight.

A group of deeply curious and dedicated BEZA Students and Apprentices will embark on an 8 week deep dive into their authentic medicine.

This training is for committed ones who are eager to uncover their authentic selves and give the gift of their unwavering Truth to the world.