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Newsette – May 5, 2025

Spring is in full swing in Healdsburg, as it is in many locations. At Enso Village we celebrated Beltane, the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice at Enso Village on April 4th, honoring the earth and the other elements that make our human lives possible.

On the theme of Spring, Hogetsu Laurie Belzer, guiding teacher of Ancient Dragon Zen Gate in Chicago, writes: “On a cool spring morning, sangha member and birder, Lou, led a group of ‘dragons’ through a morning bird and nature walk in the local West Ridge Nature Park. Walking mostly in silence, Lou gently indicated birds and other park-beings. With their help, I met a golden-crowned kinglet for the first time and spied a kestrel, red wing blackbirds, a gold finch, wood ducks, Virginia bluebells, redbud, cherry blossoms and even a turtle. As a hawk glided away, someone asked, “was that a Cooper’s Hawk?” “We’ll never know”, responded Lou. On our walk, delight in the not knowing arose along with delight in the momentarily named and known.”

In the spirit of celebration, San Antonio Zen Center (SAZC) participated in a Buddhist Interfaith event, the 20 year anniversary of Lien Hoa Buddhist Temple, on April 5. The SAZC sangha “joined hundreds of Buddhist practitioners from San Antonio and around the world. Monks and lay practitioners from several Asian traditions, including Vietnamese, Taiwanese, and Tibetan offered chanting and teachings throughout the day. SAZC was honored to be invited to participate by chanting and a sangha leader offered teaching on the power and benefit of sangha practice.”

The newsletter of Everyday Zen (EDZ), based in the San Francisco Bay Area, reports: “Senior EDZ teacher Jaune Evans opened our April All-Day Sitting at Green Gulch Farm (GGF) by reading a beautiful and timely letter [by GGF’s Abiding Abbot Jiryu Rutschmann-Byler] sent out to the San Francisco Zen Center community. The letter begins, “I’ve been aspiring these days to the practice of kindness – kindness in defiance of cruelty, in refusal of the pull towards cynicism and numbness…kindness as an expression of our innate deep vow.” You can access the entire letter.

Engaging the Heart of Wisdom, Pathways for Meeting Uncertainty, is a weekend of free online teachings from May 23 to 25.The ten teachers include Tatsudo Nicole Baden Roshi, Zentatsu Richard Baker Roshi, Valerie Brown, Jiryu Rutschmann-Byler, Rev. Lien Shutt, and Roshi Joan Halifax. A flyer with more information is attached. “This isn’t a weekend packed with information. It’s a rare invitation to explore your own experience, listen to inspiring talks, connect with a living community – and settle into silence.”

Karen Sundheim, President of the Berkeley Zen Center board, has sent a letter to Soto Zen teachers: “As you know, our beloved Abbot Hozan Kushiki Alan Senauke passed away in December 2024. While we continue to feel the loss deeply, we are beginning the process of finding our next Abbot (or two co-abbots). We welcome applications, preferably before June 1, 2025.” Attached you will find a more official announcement describing Berkeley Zen Center, a list of desirable qualifications, as well as a job description.

San Francisco Zen Center welcomes a gathering of ten local writers of diverse faiths and backgrounds who will hold a reading in support of ceasefire and ongoing peace in Gaza and Israel on Sunday May 18 from 4 to 6 p.m. This event is hosted by poet Naomi Shihab Nye and SFZC Senior Dharma Teacher Ryushin Paul Haller. Admission is free. Donations will be collected and distributed through the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) of Berkeley. I had the pleasure of  interviewing Naomi and Paul about their long friendship and what led them to offer this event. The interview was posted on SFZC’s Sangha News.

May you find joy in this season of new growth.