I hope you are in good health and finding practice nourishing in these still uncertain times.

Next Monday I will be leaving for a week at Tassajara to participate in work practice. There will be no Newsette next week.

Jon Voss will offer a Zoom Clinic this Wednesday, August 25 from 9 to 11 PDT. Here is the Zoom link or Meeting ID: 222 402 816, Passcode: 057143.

This Newsette includes news from Zen Centers in Columbia, South America; Chapel Hill and Austin; and a job announcement from San Francisco Zen Center.

Montaña de Silencia in Medellin, Columbia “is launching the first (to our knowledge) queer sangha in Spanish for Latin America. The group will officially introduce itself next Sunday at 10:00am through the Facebook page of Montaña de Silencio. It will meet online once a month.” They are looking for a LGBTQIA Spanish-speaking Zen practitioner who could lead one of the sittings every 4 months or so.”

Chapel Hill Zen Center is offering a workshop, Keizan’s Zazen, by Zoom on Saturday, September 25, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT. Koun Franz will speak on Keizan Jokin’s Zazen Yojinki or Notes on What to be Aware of in Zazen. The day will begin and and with zazen. To sign up or for questions, please contact Josho at info@ chzc.org.

I am intrigued by an online Conversation Cafe practice offered by Austin Zen Center last weekend. It’s described as “a simple and open community-based conversation-practice format for sangha members interested in having dialog with and hearing what really matters from other sangha members.” There are enough details on their webpage to replicate the process, which I’m planning to do at one of SFZC’s monthly Queer Dharma meeetings.

San Francisco Zen Center has an openin for the SFZC Reservations Manger. The ideal candidate for this position would have some experience with the three temples, especially Tassajara. If you know someone who is interested, have them mail their resume and cover letter tp job applications@sfzc.org. The start date is as soon as possible.

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This Newsette contains news from two Texas sanghas, a creative response to encourage Covid vaccinations, a request from a sangha in search of a sewing teacher, a sangha member’s interesting website, and a link to register for the Soto Zen Buddhist Association’s Fall course.

Jon Voss will be offering his Zoom clinic again next week, Wednesday, August 25 at 11a.m. PDT. Here is the Zoom link or Meeting ID: 222 402 816, Passcode: 057143.

Abbot Gaelyn Godwin of Houston Zen Center reports that members are preparing for another Sangha Day at their new retreat center, Margaret Austin Center/Auspicious Cloud West. “A convoy of members will spend the day at the 40 acres, cleaning, painting, and gardening. We are looking forward to it with enthusiasm and joy.” In order to open the retreat center HZC needs funds to purchase a new commercial refrigerator, replace decking around a building, and care for trees on the property. Here’s the link to read more about it or donate.

Choro Antonaccio, Tanto at Austin Zen Center, shared that “Kokyo Henkel and Shoho Kuebast are going to be in residence with us for four months starting this weekend. Kokyo will offer a Genzo-e August 27-31. At this time, we don’t know if we can be in person. He will also visit Houston Zen Center in Sept. for a 3-day retreat at their new retreat center, and lead Rohatsu here in December.”

The Global Vaccine Poem is a global community poem inviting all to share their voices to promote Covid-19 vaccination through the imaginative language of poetry. It is easy to add a verse, inspired by Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Dear Vaccine,” by following this link. Naomi, a poet who lives in San Antonio, Texas, has accepted our invitation to speak at the April, 2022 Branching Streams Conference, which will be held near Austin.

Kannon Do in Mountain View, CA: is looking for a new sewing teacher. Their current sewing teacher, Valorie Beer, will bow out at the end of the year. If you know of a sewing teacher who might be interested in stepping into the role, please have them contact Abbot Keido Les Kaye, medatwork@sbcglobal.net.

Vanessa Able, a priest at Kannon Do, launched a website in 2018 called The Dewdrop. It began as a weekly newsletter in which Vanessa posted Zen texts or interesting reads connected with practice and has grown to include interviews with Zen teachers, poetry, and “book bits.” You may want to check it out!

Registration is now open to everyone for the Soto Zen Buddhist Association’s fall online course Many Communities, One Sangha: Exploring the Reality of Equity & Inclusion with Rhonda Magee, Mushim Ikeda, and Crystal Johnson – a 5-session course that will take place on Saturdays in October from 1 to 3:30 p.m. PT. For more information, visit szba.org/courses. Here is a link to  a flyer. Please help spread the word!

This Newsette contains news from two Texas sanghas, a creative response to encourage Covid vaccinations, a request from a sangha in search of a sewing teacher, a sangha member’s interesting website, and a link to register for the Soto Zen Buddhist Association’s Fall course.

Jon Voss will be offering his Zoom clinic again next week, Wednesday, August 25 at 11a.m. PDT. Here is the Zoom link or Meeting ID: 222 402 816, Passcode: 057143.

Abbot Gaelyn Godwin of Houston Zen Center reports that members are preparing for another Sangha Day at their new retreat center, Margaret Austin Center/Auspicious Cloud West. “A convoy of members will spend the day at the 40 acres, cleaning, painting, and gardening. We are looking forward to it with enthusiasm and joy.” In order to open the retreat center HZC needs funds to purchase a new commercial refrigerator, replace decking around a building, and care for trees on the property. Here’s the link to read more about it or donate.

Choro Antonaccio, Tanto at Austin Zen Center, shared that “Kokyo Henkel and Shoho Kuebast are going to be in residence with us for four months starting this weekend. Kokyo will offer a Genzo-e August 27-31. At this time, we don’t know if we can be in person. He will also visit Houston Zen Center in Sept. for a 3-day retreat at their new retreat center, and lead Rohatsu here in December.”

The Global Vaccine Poem is a global community poem inviting all to share their voices to promote Covid-19 vaccination through the imaginative language of poetry. It is easy to add a verse, inspired by Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Dear Vaccine,” by following this link. Naomi, a poet who lives in San Antonio, Texas, has accepted our invitation to speak at the April, 2022 Branching Streams Conference, which will be held near Austin.

Kannon Do in Mountain View, CA: is looking for a new sewing teacher. Their current sewing teacher, Valorie Beer, will bow out at the end of the year. If you know of a sewing teacher who might be interested in stepping into the role, please have them contact Abbot Keido Les Kaye, medatwork@sbcglobal.net.

Vanessa Able, a priest at Kannon Do, launched a website in 2018 called The Dewdrop. It began as a weekly newsletter in which Vanessa posted Zen texts or interesting reads connected with practice and has grown to include interviews with Zen teachers, poetry, and “book bits.” You may want to check it out!

Registration is now open to everyone for the Soto Zen Buddhist Association’s fall online course Many Communities, One Sangha: Exploring the Reality of Equity & Inclusion with Rhonda Magee, Mushim Ikeda, and Crystal Johnson – a 5-session course that will take place on Saturdays in October from 1 to 3:30 p.m. PT. For more information, visit szba.org/courses. Here is a link to  a flyer. Please help spread the word! May you enjoy these last weeks of summer.  

I am sending this Newsette on August 9, the 76^th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki. I first went to Japan in 1986, when visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and spoke with Hibakushas (atomic bomb survivors) in Nagasaki. As a way of remembering these days I’d like to share a piece of music called “August 6” composed by a friend, Shinji Eshima.

The headlines today include reports of the largest wildfire in the history of California, wildfires in Greece and Turkey, with extremely hot temperatures. There is a surge of new Covid cases across the United States as well as in other countries. In Austin, TX, there is a shortage of intensive care beds, while the Governor prohibits cities in his state from requiring indoor masking and encouraging people to get vaccinated.

At this time, some sanghas are opening their doors again, some are meeting in person outdoors, and others are continuing a combination of in-person and virtual offerings. Protocols for meeting inside change from no masks to masks, as CDC and local guidelines keep changing.

Myoshin Kate McCandless and Shinmon Michael Newton, guiding teachers at Mountain Rain Zen Community in Vancouver BC write, “As we go forward into the fall, the time when we usually strengthen and intensify our practice, many are noticing the cumulative fatigue and emotional toll the pandemic has taken…As we transition to whatever the next phase of this second pandemic year brings, let’s recognize that we will need to renew our energy, rehabilitate relationships, and recommit to our practice. The home page of their website includes a slide show of photos from members’ gardens this summer – very inspiring!

This Newsette includes some good news from Houston Zen Center, several study opportunities coming in September and October, and a link to my interview with Zenju Earthlyn Manuel on her life-long love of poetry.

Jon Voss’s Zoom clinic resumes this week, on Wednesday August 11 from 11 to noon PDT. Here is the Zoom link or Meeting ID: 222 402 816, Passcode: 057143.

Houston Zen Center recently received the gift of the Margaret Austin Center, which provides a retreat center and 40 acres of land. Their announcement states, “The gift from the Margaret Austin Center board to HZC is … the fruit of a decades-long relationship among the members of Margaret Austin Center and Houston Zen Community, based in mutual respect, confidence, and trust.” . Congratulations to Abbot Gaelyn Godwin, board chair Royce Johnson, and all those who contributed to the unfolding of this gift.

Fall classes:

For meditators who want to enter Zen deeply, to investigate the mind of daily life, Houston Zen Center offers Entering the Path of Practice, an 8-week  advanced program of guided exploration, study and training.  The program begins on September 5.

The Soto Zen Buddhist Association is announcing its Fall course, Many Communities, One Sangha: Exploring the Reality of Equity & Inclusion with Rhonda Magee, Mushim Ikeda and Crystal Johnson. This 5-session online course will take place on Saturdays in October from 1-3:30 pm Pacific Time). Registration for the general public opens on August 13th. I will include registration information in next week’s Newsette.

The Shogaku Institute is offering Honoring Asian American Buddhists an 8-week online class from October 6 to December 10, Wednesdays, 6-8 pm PST, 7-9 pm MST, 8-10 pm CST, 9-11 pm EST. Here’s is a link to a flyer with more information about the course and how to register. The course begins with the history of Asian Buddhist immigration to America and ends with examining ways that we might identify and work to bridge some of the issues that often have kept ethnic and convert Buddhists apart.

Many sanghas have invited Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, founder of Still Breathing Zen to give talks during the last year – and many of us may not know about her life as a poet. Here’s the link to an interview I did with her about the importance of poetry in her life.

In the midst of many reminders of the fragility and preciousness of life on our planet, may our practice continue with persistence, creativity, vigor, and joy.

I am sending this Newsette on August 9, the 76^th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki. I first went to Japan in 1986, when visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and spoke with Hibakushas (atomic bomb survivors) in Nagasaki. As a way of remembering these days I’d like to share a piece of music called “August 6” composed by a friend, Shinji Eshima.

The headlines today include reports of the largest wildfire in the history of California, wildfires in Greece and Turkey, with extremely hot temperatures. There is a surge of new Covid cases across the United States as well as in other countries. In Austin, TX, there is a shortage of intensive care beds, while the Governor prohibits cities in his state from requiring indoor masking and encouraging people to get vaccinated.

At this time, some sanghas are opening their doors again, some are meeting in person outdoors, and others are continuing a combination of in-person and virtual offerings. Protocols for meeting inside change from no masks to masks, as CDC and local guidelines keep changing.

Myoshin Kate McCandless and Shinmon Michael Newton, guiding teachers at Mountain Rain Zen Community in Vancouver BC write, “As we go forward into the fall, the time when we usually strengthen and intensify our practice, many are noticing the cumulative fatigue and emotional toll the pandemic has taken…As we transition to whatever the next phase of this second pandemic year brings, let’s recognize that we will need to renew our energy, rehabilitate relationships, and recommit to our practice. The home page of their website includes a slide show of photos from members’ gardens this summer – very inspiring!

This Newsette includes some good news from Houston Zen Center, several study opportunities coming in September and October, and a link to my interview with Zenju Earthlyn Manuel on her life-long love of poetry.

Jon Voss’s Zoom clinic resumes this week, on Wednesday August 11 from 11 to noon PDT. Here is the Zoom link or Meeting ID: 222 402 816, Passcode: 057143.

Houston Zen Center recently received the gift of the Margaret Austin Center, which provides a retreat center and 40 acres of land. Their announcement states, “The gift from the Margaret Austin Center board to HZC is … the fruit of a decades-long relationship among the members of Margaret Austin Center and Houston Zen Community, based in mutual respect, confidence, and trust.” . Congratulations to Abbot Gaelyn Godwin, board chair Royce Johnson, and all those who contributed to the unfolding of this gift.

Fall classes:

For meditators who want to enter Zen deeply, to investigate the mind of daily life, Houston Zen Center offers Entering the Path of Practice, an 8-week  advanced program of guided exploration, study and training.  The program begins on September 5.

The Soto Zen Buddhist Association is announcing its Fall course, Many Communities, One Sangha: Exploring the Reality of Equity & Inclusion with Rhonda Magee, Mushim Ikeda and Crystal Johnson. This 5-session online course will take place on Saturdays in October from 1-3:30 pm Pacific Time). Registration for the general public opens on August 13th. I will include registration information in next week’s Newsette.

The Shogaku Institute is offering Honoring Asian American Buddhists an 8-week online class from October 6 to December 10, Wednesdays, 6-8 pm PST, 7-9 pm MST, 8-10 pm CST, 9-11 pm EST. Here’s is a link to a flyer with more information about the course and how to register. The course begins with the history of Asian Buddhist immigration to America and ends with examining ways that we might identify and work to bridge some of the issues that often have kept ethnic and convert Buddhists apart.

Many sanghas have invited Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, founder of Still Breathing Zen to give talks during the last year – and many of us may not know about her life as a poet. Here’s the link to an interview I did with her about the importance of poetry in her life.

In the midst of many reminders of the fragility and preciousness of life on our planet, may our practice continue with persistence, creativity, vigor, and joy.