As the weather has warmed in some parts of the U.S., sanghas in Texas may be resuming many of their activities and finding ways of supporting those who have suffered during last week’s power and water outages. I checked back with the guiding teachers of Austin, Houston, and San Antonio Zen Centers last Thursday. If you’d like to read what they reported, you can find their words here.
At City Center we are getting ready for a three-week intensive led by Kathie and Norman Fischer on Dogen’s Zuimonki, from March 2nd to March 20th. Here is a link to an interview with Kathie Fisher that you may enjoy reading. Norman is the teacher of many Branching Streams guiding teachers. Perhaps some of you will be participating in this intensive.
I am wondering what questions you have for other sanghas. What information would you like to share or hear from Branching Streams groups in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Columbia, and several countries in Europe?
Jon Voss and I are still working on the Branching Streams website. Pat Yingst of Austin Zen Center is assisting us with updating the links, particularly on the Resources page.
Jon’s weekly Zoom class has been lively, and you or any member of your sangha are welcome to participate. It’s a drop-in group, although some people attend week after week to hone their skills and ease in creating ceremonies, using breakout rooms in creative ways, and solving audio and video problems. The next class is Wednesday, February 24th, from 11 a.m. to 12 PST. Here’s the Zoom link or Meeting ID: 222 402 816, Passcode: 057143.
Can you please share this message with any members of your sangha you think might be interested? Guest Student Program Reopens at City Center
We’re pleased to announce that the guest student program at San Francisco Zen Center’s City Center location has reopened to the public. For this new iteration of the program, guest students participate in a three-month residency designed to deepen one’s practice, connect to the community, and experience what it’s like to live the temple life. The temple schedule includes morning and evening zazen, service (sutra chanting and bowing), work as a form of practice in action, Buddhist classes, and communal vegetarian meals. To ensure the health safety of guest students and residents alike, we have created a hybrid program where some of these activities occur in person and others online. This allows new students to live, work, and practice in the temple, while supporting the health and well-being of the sangha.
To learn more about the new guest student program as well as our health and safety protocols, visit the guest student stay webpage.
February is the shortest month, yet it can seem very long, especially in places where spring doesn’t begin to show its colors until March or even April. Many people may be feeling exhaustion, especially after nearly a year of meeting the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the weather has warmed in some parts of the U.S., sanghas in Texas may be resuming many of their activities and finding ways of supporting those who have suffered during last week’s power and water outages. I checked back with the guiding teachers of Austin, Houston, and San Antonio Zen Centers last Thursday. If you’d like to read what they reported, you can find their words here.
At City Center we are getting ready for a three-week intensive led by Kathie and Norman Fischer on Dogen’s Zuimonki, from March 2nd to March 20th. Here is a link to an interview with Kathie Fisher that you may enjoy reading. Norman is the teacher of many Branching Streams guiding teachers. Perhaps some of you will be participating in this intensive.
I am wondering what questions you have for other sanghas. What information would you like to share or hear from Branching Streams groups in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Columbia, and several countries in Europe?
Jon Voss and I are still working on the Branching Streams website. Pat Yingst of Austin Zen Center is assisting us with updating the links, particularly on the Resources page.
Jon’s weekly Zoom class has been lively, and you or any member of your sangha are welcome to participate. It’s a drop-in group, although some people attend week after week to hone their skills and ease in creating ceremonies, using breakout rooms in creative ways, and solving audio and video problems. The next class is Wednesday, February 24th, from 11 a.m. to 12 PST. Here’s the Zoom link or Meeting ID: 222 402 816, Passcode: 057143.
Can you please share this message with any members of your sangha you think might be interested? Guest Student Program Reopens at City Center
We’re pleased to announce that the guest student program at San Francisco Zen Center’s City Center location has reopened to the public. For this new iteration of the program, guest students participate in a three-month residency designed to deepen one’s practice, connect to the community, and experience what it’s like to live the temple life. The temple schedule includes morning and evening zazen, service (sutra chanting and bowing), work as a form of practice in action, Buddhist classes, and communal vegetarian meals. To ensure the health safety of guest students and residents alike, we have created a hybrid program where some of these activities occur in person and others online. This allows new students to live, work, and practice in the temple, while supporting the health and well-being of the sangha.
To learn more about the new guest student program as well as our health and safety protocols, visit the guest student stay webpage.
February is the shortest month, yet it can seem very long, especially in places where spring doesn’t begin to show its colors until March or even April. Many people may be feeling exhaustion, especially after nearly a year of meeting the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
May you be well, and may you find moments of delight even in difficult times.