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Newsette – July 16, 2024

It’s midsummer now and some of you are experiencing extreme heat, intense storms, and other manifestations of the climate crisis.

This is the week of the attempted assassination of former president Trump and the Republican National Convention. The Democratic National Convention will soon follow. It’s a time of intense polarization and heightened anxiety for many of us in the U. S. and around the world. How can our Zen practice and our sanghas help us stay grounded now and in the coming months?

Santa Cruz Zen Center has an EarthCare practice group, which addresses the question: “How can we engage in care for the Earth as an expression of our spiritual practice? How might we weave together activism and our Bodhisattva Vows? As an expression of caring for the Earth, we decided to begin writing letters to increase voter participation throughVote Forward. Please sign in, make an account, print some letters, and start writing!” The EarthCare group is meeting twice a month to write these letters together.

Please send news of dharma talks, study sessions, Interfaith activities or actions, or other ways in which you and your sanghas are responding to the cries of the world.

Other offerings:

At San Antonio Zen Center visiting teachers Greg Fain and Linda Galijan offer a weekly online and in person reading of the Avatamsaka Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture, translated by Thomas Cleary on Wednesdays from 6:45 to 7:15 pm CST “We will read together from a projector screen.  Here is the link for Zoom participants. The passcode to access is: 674394. A free PDF copy of the text is also available

Red Cedar Zen Center in Bellingham, WA is involved in the showing of a new movie about Red Pine, a translator of Zen poetry and Buddhist sutras, “Dancing with the Dead: Red Pine and the Art of Translation.” A special screening of the film will occur in Bellingham on Saturday, July 27.

There will also be two screenings of the film at the Roxie Theatre in San Francisco on Sunday, August 11 at 12 and 3:15 p.m., at which Red Pine will be present, as well as a worldwide online screening in September. 

The Soto Zen Buddhist Association’s series, Celebrating the Voices of Women, continues on Saturday July 20 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. PDT with Chozen Bays speaking about the life of Zenshin, “a woman whose early experiences with Buddhism amidst adversity helped shape the spiritual landscape of Japan. We will explore how her quiet commitment to her faith provided a foundation during great political and social upheaval…This gathering aims to foster a thoughtful dialogue on sustaining spiritual practice through personal and collective challenges, honoring the gentle legacy of Zenshin and the quiet power of persistence in faith.” The event is online-only via Zoom. Registration is now open to all who are interested, including your sangha members.

In closing, here are some words from a recent talk on Self-Nature given by Josho Pat Phelen, Abbot of Chapel Hill (NC) Zen Center: “Life itself, the Life Force or energy we share with everything, is most important. So, the question is: “Right now, right here, how do I honor life?” How do I make the most of this precious “life opportunity” that I have right now?”

I’ll close with bows of appreciation for our shared practice.