The Program Committee for the September 15-18 Branching Streams Gathering met this week for the first time. We are a group of eight, four members who have planned past gatherings and four who are new to the planning process, bringing fresh energy, skills, and ideas. We spent much of the meeting discerning the theme for the gathering, Bridging and Belonging – Living a Zen Life A in the Midst of Conflict.
A question that has arisen for me and for many of my friends, Zen Center peers and students is how to respond to the cries of the world – including the climate crisis, ongoing wars, and the divisions in the U.S., intensified by the actions of the new president and administration in the last week. Here is one sangha’s response:
The Zen Center North Shore (in Beverly MA) newsletter states: “Weare committed as a sangha to being in and with our world, along with whatever happens to be arising at any given time. On Monday evenings beginning 1/27 we will hold space for grief, anxiety, anger, confusion, determination, and love. This will be a time for sharing emotions, resources, and practices to help us stay buoyant and connected in times to come. You can join at any time and stay for as long as you’d like.” The schedule for Monday evenings (ZenZoom only) from 6:30pm to 8:00pm EST, includes zazen, followed by Jizo Chanting for Total Accompaniment, and Open Space for Sharing and Organizing.
If your sangha is offering listening circles or other gatherings in that vein, please let me know so I can share the information. At this time it’s important to remember what nourishes us and our sanghs, including the gifts of retreats and the wonders of natural environments.
Houston Zen Center is offering an in-person retreat, Awakening with Birds, at HZC’s Auspicious Cloud Zen Retreat Center from March 28 to 30. “What is it like to share our lives with birds? What can we learn from this observation? Join Mary Carol Edwards and Stuart Nelson for a weekend of practicing meditation and observing birds. Both Mary Carol and Stuart are lifelong naturalists.”
Everyday Zen, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, will hold its 20th annual Bay Area sesshin from March 24 to 30, in person at Villa Maria del Mar in Santa Cruz and virtually by Zoom. Guiding teacher Zoketsu Norman Fischer will lead the sesshin.
Red Cedar Zen Community in Bellingham WA will hold their annual Samish Island Sesshin from June 13 to 20, co-led by Zoketsu Norman Fischer, Nomon Tim Burnett, and Kanho Chris Burkhart.
There will be a memorial service for Peter Schneider conducted by Tenshin Reb Anderson at Green Gulch Farm the afternoon of Sunday, March 2. If you want to know the exact time, please email me after Friday 1/31. Peter Schneider was an early student of Suzuki Roshi and the co-founder and co-guiding teacher of Beginners Mind Zen Center in Northridge CA.
May our practice nourish us and ripple out widely in our communities and countries.