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Newsette 6-18-2024

I returned from Tassajara on Sunday after co-leading Queer Dharma sangha week. A highlight was offering a Pride event in which many staff members and guests participated. Queer Dharma was there at the same time as my long-time dharma friends Kathryn Stark with Sonoma Valley Zen and Meg Levie with Stone Creek Zendo. It was wonderful to spend time with Meg and Kathryn in the valley where we practiced together over twenty years ago.

After my visit to Centro Zen L’Arco in Rome in April, I interviewed founding teacher Dario Girolami about his interfaith work and wrote a blog for SF Zen Center’s Sangha News. Here’s the link if you’d like to read it.

On June 9, Ancient Dragon Zen Gate in Chicago held its first Guiding Teacher Transition Celebration, including two ceremonies and a garden reception. Hōgetsu Laurie Belzer, a founding member of ADZG and dharma heir of Taiyo Lipscomb, was formally installed as the new Guiding Dharma Teacher in an entry ceremony. After almost two decades of leadership, Founding Guiding Teacher, Taigen Dan Leighton, was honored in a stepping down ceremony. Taigen will continue teaching at ADZG as Guiding Teacher Emeritus. “This leadership transition was the fruit of innumerable sincere efforts and a joyous occasion for our sangha.”

Santa Cruz Zen Center celebrated a priest ordination on June 14, when Sara McClellan was ordained by her teacher Neti Parekh. Neti, who trained at Santa Cruz Zen Center and was given dharma transmission by Kokyo Henkel, leads Twining Vines Zen Centre in Canberra,Australia. Sara’s new dharma name is DaFu KoRei, Gentle Breeze, Luminous Spirit.

Ashland (Oregon) Zen Center is hosting its 18th community-wide yard sale June 28 – 30.

“Browse a huge selection of [donated] furniture, toys, books, collectibles, clothes, home decor, kitchenware, sporting goods, linens and housewares. The Little Zen Farm Stand will also be open during the Yard Sale. Shop a wide variety of plants, preserves, fresh produce and more. Proceeds from the Yard Sale and Farm Stand support the ongoing Dharma offering at Ashland Zen Center.”

Crestone Zen Mountain Center (Colorado) is hosting an onsite and online retreat lead by Richard Baker Roshi from July 9 to July 14. The topic is “The Breath is the Teacher. The Body is the Path.” Click here for more information.

Konjin Gaelyn Godwin, and the staff of the International Center of Soto Zen Buddhism, based in San Francisco, is hosting an online presentation on Affordable and Clean Energy on Saturday June 29, from 2-4pm PDT. The speakers are Rev. Honda Shijo from Jodo shinshu Honganjiha, and Rev. Zengyu Paul Discoe, a Soto Zen teacher. “You and everyone in your sangha are invited to attend this free event. Please pre-register and a link will be sent to you. T

As the summer solstice approaches, our planet is once again experiencing its hottest summer. May you stay cool if you are living in an area experiencing extreme heat and may you and your loved ones be safe if you are in an area close to wildfires.

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Newsette 6-5-2024

I returned from Tassajara on Sunday, after attending a deep and delightful retreat with Paul Haller and poet Naomi Shihab Nye. The summer is off to a robust start, with some retreats in addition to the many sangha weeks.

There are several wonderful practice opportunities coming up this week, as well as a leadership transition ceremony and a celebration of life for a long-time sangha member.

Kannon Do Zen Meditation Center in Mountain View CA will host a one-day sitting in their zendo on Saturday June 8, led by Sokaku Kathie Fischer. “If you are interested in attending there is still time to join. Please provide your contact info here  for more information.”

Akazienzedo in Berlin will host Tatsudo Nicole Baden Roshi, who will lead a Zen practice day on June 9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the topic “Roots of Wisdom – What is the state of Zen practice in the West?” Participation is possible both on site and online. Nicole will become the Abbot of Zen Buddhist Center Black Forest, German in September, succeeding Zentatsu Richard Baker Roshi.

Greg Snyder, co-guiding teacher of Brooklyn Zen Center, will offer an eight week class on Karma and Collective Liberation starting June 13. “The whole of Buddhist ethics is grounded in the teaching of karma and rebirth. The intention of this course is to begin to provide a nuanced understanding of this complex and essential ethical principle.” The class takes place in person at the Millerton Zendo (Millerton, NY) and online, during eight consecutive Thursday evenings from 6:45 to 8:30pm.

San Antonio Zen Center shares an invitation to a celebration of life ceremony on Saturday June 8 for their long-time member Gerald Schulz, who died recently. I met Gerald when he came to Tassajara nearly every summer with his wife Pat and son G.

The transition ceremony at Ancient Dragon Zen Gate, when Taigen Leighton will become Teacher Emeritus and Hogetsu Laurie Belzer will become the Guiding Teacher, will take place on Sunday June 9 at 10:15 a.m. CDT. It’s possible to attend by Zoom, with this link.

The next event in the Soto Zen Buddhist Associations series, Celebrating the Voices of Women in Buddhism features Osho Zenju Earthlyn Manuel on June 30 from 2 to 3:30 EDT online. Her theme will be “A Trace of Mahapajapati: The Elements of Dharma Transmission Woman to Woman

Joan Amaral, guiding teacher of Zen Center North Shore, wrote “I wanted to share this image with you and the Branching Streams Sanghas. I think it uplifts us all. JT was the ZCNS intern this spring as part of finishing his senior year of high school. We met through his World Religions class, which I’ve taught at his high school for the past decade.He learned the role of fukudo and became familiar with the han.” JT shared this image of the cap he wore to his graduation:

It’s Pride month in San Francisco and rainbow flags are flying on Market Street. I will be co-leading a Queer Dharma sangha week at Tassajara next week and will write again the week of June 17.

May you enjoy the long days as Summer Solstice approaches.

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Newsette 5-9-2024

Although this is a time for blossoms, berries and asparagus, and warmer, longer days in many parts of the U.S. and Europe, sanghas in Texas report temperatures in the 90’s and much of Houston experienced flooding and strong winds. Houston Zen Center has been without power for several days and many of their trees were damaged by wind.

Thirty-one Zen Centers and sanghas have responded to the Branching Streams Teacher Support Survey. Thank you to those who responded! We will be summarizing the responses and will share them on the Branching Streams website soon. Meanwhile, you may be interested in how two centers, Valley Streams Zen Sangha in Sacramento CA and Mountain Rain in Vancouver BC are planning for future needs.

Guiding teacher Jim Hare and the Valley Streams Zen Sangha (Sacramento CA) board and members have started a fund they call their Maitreya Fund. Jim writes, “Set in place last October, the primary purpose of the fund is to support the future spiritual leadership of Valley Streams Zen Sangha. Everything changes. The sky, the seasons, you, and me. In recognition of this truth and to plan for future change, we established this legacy fund with the Sacramento Region Community Foundation.” I will include more information about this initiative as a feature article on the Branching Streams website.

Mountain Rain Zen Community in Vancouver, BC is launching the Mountain Rain Zen Community Endowment Fund in conjunction with the Vancouver Foundation, one of the oldest and largest Community Foundations in Canada. “The purpose of this fund is to create long-term financial stability for Mountain Rain while maintaining creative flexibility…An endowment fund will allow people to include Mountain Rain in their wills and estate planning…Therefore, it is also an opportunity to help address the economic disparity that is an increasing reality in our society, by having those with the financial capability support the practice of those who have lesser means.”

Ancient Dragon Zen Gate in Chicago, IL is about to have a change in leadership. After over seventeen years “of generous and devoted leadership, our treasured Guiding Dharma Teacher Taigen Dan Leighton will step down to enter an emeritus dharma teacher role…Hogetsu Laurie Belzer, one of the founders of our community will begin as our new Guiding Darma Teacher on June 1.” The transition ceremonies will be held on Sunday June 9, both in person and online. The Stepping Down Ceremony for Taigen will be at 10:30 a.m. CDT, and the Entry Ceremony for Hogetsu will follow at 11:30.

Great Spirit Sangha’s guiding teacher Cynthia Kear writes, “we finished a sangha week at Tassajara on May 12. We had two ceremonies: Ja’nice Hoobler, Dai Toku/Great Devotion Jin Zan/Compassion Mountain was given Dharma Entrustment by Cynthia and Craig Edlebut ShuSei/Excellent Effort Ko Do/Authentic Way who was Shuso for Great Spirit’s spring practice period, had his Shuso Hossen Ceremony.

MiR (Meditation in Recovery) Sangha (San Francisco CA) just completed its sangha week on 5/19. During that time, they held a memorial for their dear Dharma Brother Tom Ingalls at the Suzuki Roshi memorial site.

Steven Tierney’s San Francisco-based sangha, which recently became a Branching Streams affiliate, Ocean’s Compassion, also held a Jukai at Tassajara for two longstanding members, Andrew Korniej whose Dharma name is Sei Do (Sincere Way) Kei Gyo (Joyous Traveler) and Chuck Yenson, Ko En (Beautiful Garden)  Shi Kan ( Stopping, Listening

Djinn Gallagher, abiding teacher at Black Mountain Zen Centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland, writes: We have three half-day sittings coming up, in May, June and July, 7 am to 1 pm Belfast time, both in person and online. The dates are May 26 (next Sunday): https://bmzcbelfast.org/events/half-day-may/, June 30:  https://bmzcbelfast.org/events/half-day-jun/, and July 28: https://bmzcbelfast.org/events/half-day-jul/ BMZC is also offering a five-day sesshin with Paul Haller in September.

Tonight at City Center we will have a full moon ceremony. The night sky in San Francisco has been fog-free the last few nights. It will be clear tonight, allowing us to enjoy the brightness of the moon as we leave the zendo after renewing our vows.

May the practice of our sanghas ripple out widely and bring ease and wellbeing to our troubled world.

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Newsette 5-9-2024

This Newsette highlights expressions of the dharma through writing and art by members of Branching Streams sanghas, and more widely.

First, however, some Branching Streams news:

Welcome to new affiliate, Oceans Compassion in San Francisco. Oceans Compassion has grown over the last two and a half years and just celebrated its first Jukai ceremony. Founding and guiding teacher Steven Tierney was ordained by Dairyu Michael Wenger and received dharma transmission from Ryotan Cynthia Kear, guiding teacher of Great Spirit Sangha.

Since the 2023 Gathering in Santa Cruz, the Branching Streams Advisory Group and I have been following up on some issues that were explored at the Gathering. We have been focusing on how Branching Streams sanghas support their teachers. We created a survey that I sent two days ago to over 70 teachers. We think the results will be helpful to teachers, board members and sanghas experiencing teacher transitions, as well as more broadly. We will summarize the results and share them on the Branching Streams website.

Arts and Letters

Ryan Wong, the Director of Brooklyn Zen Center, relates, in his personal newsletter, “On Chanting, Protest and Faith,” his morning practice at Brooklyn Zen Center’s Ancestral Heart monastery with the experience of joining a student march in Manhattan this week in solidarity with Palestine.

An exhibit of Blythe King’s artwork, “Time Beings,” opened recently at the Eric Schindler Gallery in Richmond, VA. Richmond Zen sangha member Blythe’s collages “give expression to her ongoing de/re-construction of our images of women as re/de-fracted through the lens of Zen practice. This exhibit specifically explores Dogen Zenji’s teaching on time, in which he directs our awareness from our usual sense of time as “merely flying away,” to an understanding that “time itself is being, and all being is time.” This view brings an urgent vitality to every moment of being.”

“Are You Really Present All the Time?” – an article   by Kaishin Victory Matsui discussing a modern koan about waking up in this lifetime – was recently published in Tricycle. Kaishin. a priest of the Brooklyn Zen Center sangha, currently serves as the Director of Brooklyn Zen Center’s Ancestral Heart Temple, in Millerton, New York.

Lien Shutt, founding and guiding teacher of Access to Zen in the San Francisco Bay Area, has been hosting a podcast series available on the Access to Zen website. On May 1, in honor of Asian and Pacific Island month, she posted an interview with the 2024 May We Gather co-organizers, Funie Hsu, Chenxing Han, and Duncan Ryuken Williams. Lien will be co-hosting the next series of podcasts with Dana Takagi, who trained at Santa Cruz Zen Center.

Lion’s Roar just launched “Bodhi Leaves: The Asian American Buddhist Monthly” written and edited by Asian American Buddhists. Editors Noel Alumit and Mihiri Tillakaratne write, “Bodhi Leaves centers Asian American experience and is part of a larger movement creating a more inclusive American Buddhism.”

Turning toward summer

The Tassajara guest season began on April 30. The first Branching Streams sangha to go for a Sangha Week was Zen Heart Sangha from Woodside, CA. Twenty-five Branching Streams sanghas will be enjoying Sangha Weeks at Tassajara this summer.

Dharma Rain Zen Center in Portland OR offers a Buddhist Summer Camp for children. Dharma Camp, from July 21 to 26, is “an overnight summer camp for kids aged nine through eighteen who are interested in Buddhism. The camp experience combines traditional camp activities, such as swimming, crafts, sports, and a campfire, with Buddhist practices like meditation, a chanted morning service, silent breakfast, and mindful work practice. Campers come from a variety of traditions and have different levels of familiarity with Buddhism but are willing to participate in our forms for the week of camp.” Please spread the word if you know families who may be interested.

I hope you are enjoying the colors and fragrances of spring.

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Newsette 5-2-2024

Earlier this week I returned from nearly two weeks of vacation in Rome and Venice. In Rome I visited Dario Girolami, Abbot of Centro Zen l’Arco and his wife Annalisa Miglioni, enjoyed many walks with them in the ancient and modern streets of the city, and practiced with Dario and the sangha.

I went to Venice for the opening of the Biennale, an international display of art that occurs every two years. This year’s theme was Strangers Everywhere, and many artists created work related to the experiences of migration, refugees, and the impact of colonialism.

Several Branching Streams teachers and sanghas participated in the April pilgrimage to Eiheiji and Sojiji Japan to honor the 700th Anniversary of Keizan Zenji, the founder of Sojiji, and many were able to visit Rinso-in, Suzuki Roshi’s family temple. Houston Zen Center’s Abbot Konjin Gaelyn Godwin reported on the pilgrimage, including some wonderful photos.

In the latest Mountain Rain Zen Community (Vancouver, BC) newsletter, co-guiding teacher Kate McCandless writes: “I want to say something about the war in Gaza, and beyond, the war that is all wars, the dead children that are all the children killed in wars – and at the same time this war, and this child, and this one. Like so many others, I am heart-broken at the news every day.” If you would like to read more, here’s a link to the Mountain Rain newsletter.

Kate invites us to listen to a Ted Talk given in Vancouver by “two men of tremendous courage and heart, a Palestinian, Aziz Abu Sarah, and an Israeli, Maoz Inon, both of whom have lost family members in the conflict, and both of whom are whole-heartedly working for peace. Their conversation opened TED2024 in Vancouver April 15.” Click here for link 

Djinn Gallagher, resident teacher at Black Mountain Zen Centre in Befast, Northern Ireland, writes that Paul Haller from San Francisco Zen Center is offering two workshops this Saturday, May 4, in person and online. The first, at 10 am, is The Essentials of Zazen, which will explore the awareness of posture, breath, and mental/emotional activity. The second, The Path of Zen, at 2 pm, investigates how to let the insights that have been revealed guide us to bring kindness and wisdom into our life. 

The current Brooklyn Zen Center newsletter includes a beautiful description of the coming of spring at Ancestral Heart temple, Brooklyn Zen Center’s monastery in Millerton, NY written by a student named Larissa P.

Also, Brooklyn Zen Center is offering a new class with co-guiding teacher Kosen Gregory Snyder, Karma and Collective Liberation, in person at the Millerton Zendo and online, during eight consecutive Thursday evenings from 6:45 to 8:30pm, June 13 – August 1. Registration is now open!

Valley Streams Zen Sangha in Sacramento CA celebrated a Jukai Ceremony in April. Malia McCarthy received the Dharma name Hō Etsu/Dharma Joy.  Dave Jarrell received the Dharma name Kō Shin/Generous Heart.  Myō Lahey, Abbot of Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco was the preceptor. Guiding teacher Jim Hare gave the dharma names and prepared the rakusus and documents. He reported, “Many people pitched in to set up the hall and hold a reception afterwards.  It was a lovely day.”

Joan Amaral, guiding teacher of Zen Center North Shore in Beverly MA, recommends a new book by Tim Ream, Fallen Water: A Novel of Zen and Earth. Joan says, “I just finished it, and was deeply moved by his thorough and compassionate view of beings – plants, birds, stars, fire, water, earth, animals, and humans. I think others might enjoy it, possibly recognizing with fresh eyes aspects of their own practice and training at Tassajara as I did.” The book is  available in print and on Kindle here.

This month’s event in the Soto Zen Buddhist Associations yearlong series, Celebrating the Voices of Women in Buddhism, Yesterday, today, and tomorrow is a talk by Eijun Linda Cutts on Receiving the Marrow by Bowing, Raihai Tokuzui on Sunday May 11, 12:30 to 2 p.m. PDT, on Zoom. Eijun says, “Besides his unfolding of the issue of gender in relation to the Dharma of nonduality and in the choosing of a guiding teacher, Dogen does not hold back in his diatribe and strong admonishment of the biased practices of the time in relation to women…” There will be time for discussion and Q&A. Registration is now open to all who are interested, including your sangha members.

I welcome news you would like to share with other sanghas. I also welcome your comments and feedback about these newsettes.

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Newsette 4-10-2024

I sent my last Newsette on March 21, just before I left to visit Montana de Silencio in Medellin, Colombia. In that Newsette I wrote that Tassajara resident Caroline Meister had been missing for several days. On March 22, the day I arrived in Colombia, her body was found after an extensive search and rescue effort. For those of you who knew Caroline, a Buddhist funeral for her will be held on Sunday May 5 at 3:00 p.m. at Green Gulch Farm. It will be livestreamed for those who can’t attend in person. More details to follow.

Caroline was a student of Jiryu Rutschman Byler, the Green Gulch Farm abiding Abbot, as well as the guiding teacher for Montana de Silencio. He and I had planned to travel together and, with local guiding teacher Sanriki Jaramillo, to conduct a priest ordination and a Jukai ceremony, and lead a four-day sesshin. Jiryu felt that he needed to be available to those who were grieving at Green Gulch and to Caroline’s family and postponed the priest ordination to a future time.

I will write more about my stay in Medellin, the grief and the joy. Meanwhile, here are the names of the of the seven bodhisattvas who received the precepts in the Jukai at Montaña de Silencio on March 31: Luz Amparo Hena, HeiGetsu MyoKan, Luna Pacífica Beneficio de la Barrera; Gustavo Adolfo Montoya, JuRiki ShuSo, Poder de la Suavidad Proteger la Sangha; Julian David Posada, JiMon ShuSho, Escucha Compasiva/ Proteger la vidas (seres);Lorena Jaramillo, HeiKai JoKo, Mar pacífico (tranquilo) Realizar los estable; Alejandra Vaquez, GenJu AnShin, Perla oculta Paz del corazón; David Usuga, KanGyo ShoKi, Acción perfecta (completa) Energía de creación; Julio Bueno, JuGyo JoDo, Acción Suave (tierna) Camino Estable.

April is being ushered in by Buddha’s Birthday ceremonies in many sanghas. At City Center we had a festive ceremony, including families with children, in the Conference Center and across the street in Koshland Park.

In the second half of April, teachers and sangha members from many Branching Streams groups will be visiting Japan to attend the 700 year anniversary and commemoration of Keizan Zenji’s life and teaching organized by the Soto Zen International Center. Several will also visit Rinso-In, Suzuki Roshi’s family temple. Please send photos and brief reports for a future Newsette!

Welcome to a new Branching Streams affiliate, Sellwood Soto Zen in Portland OR, whose co-guiding teachers are Cynthia Ziegler and Kirk Phillips. Cynthia and Kirk received dharma transmission in March 2023 from Peter van der Sterre at Oak Street Zendo in San Francisco.

Austin Zen Center is launching a monthly Queer Dharma group. Also, inspired by the offering at Mid City Zen in New Orleans, AZC is offering another Universal Ceasefire Sitting on Saturday April 20. “We invite everyone to support and join us in our commitment to non-violence in ourselves and the world. We will sit zazen in peace and silence, concluding with the Metta Lovingkindness Sutta. We will dedicate our practice to the cessation of hatred and lasting peace everywhereREAD MORE

This month’s event in the Soto Zen Buddhist Associations yearlong series, Celebrating the Voices of Women in Buddhism, Yesterday, today, and tomorrow is The Body as a Doorway to Practice, with four panelists with different embodied experiences: Gyakuden Steph Blank, Dr. Grace Dammann, Karen DeCotis, and Susan Moon. The event is online-only via Zoom. Registration is now open to all who are interested, including your sangha members.

To end on a lighter note, Richmond (VA) Zen Center is having a movie night, screening my own current favorite film, Perfect Days, a film by Wim Wenders. Guiding teacher Eden Heffernan writes, “A perfect expression of Dogen’s teaching on uji, “being time, Wim Wender’s award winning film continues his life-long exploration of the human experience of time and meaning…Wenders’ eye for intimate detail results in films that reveal words using very few words.”

I will be travelling to Rome and Venice from April 14 to 28 and will send my next Newsette in early May.

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Newsette 3-21-2024

I wasn’t planning to send a Newsette this week, as I’m leaving for Medellin tonight, but there are two very time-sensitive matters that you may want to know about.

Some of you may have heard that a Tassajara student, Carolyn Meister, has been missing for several days since leaving the valley on a hike. There are many people involved in search and rescue efforts. We are doing daily wellbeing ceremonies for Caroline. Please hold her in your thoughts.

I want to share with you a message from Abbots Mako Voelkel and David Zimmerman: “We wanted to be sure that you knew of Kaiji Jeffrey Schneider’s passing, and that you receive an invitation to his Memorial. His practice at San Francisco Zen Center spans decades, and so many of you might remember Jeffrey.

“Held by Jeffrey’s family, there will be a Memorial on Saturday, March 23rd in the Parish Hall of St. Francis Lutheran Church,152 Church Street in San Francisco. The doors will open at 9:30 am, and service is from 9:45–11:00 am. 

“There are many ways to honor Jeffrey in his passing – there is a fundraising effort to install a memorial bench in the San Francisco Botanical Garden, and also several local organizations that Jeffrey significantly cared for.  More information about the Memorial and ways to give are found here. 

May all the ways that Jeffrey gave of himself lighten the heart and continue.”

And I want to note a correction to my last Newsette: The guiding teacher of Red Cedar Zen Community is Nomon Tim Burnett. Tim Burkett is a Senior Teacher at Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis. I

May you be well.

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Newsette 3-15-2024

Today I will be attending May We Gather, a national pilgrimage to honor our Asian American Ancestors. It will be held in Antioch, CA, a small city in the East Bay, starting at 1 p.m. PDT, and will be livestreamed.

Why Antioch? Their website explains: “When our Chinese immigrant ancestors came to the United States in the 19t century, we faced acts of exclusion and destruction. We remember the scapegoating of Chinese women that incited the burning of Antioch Chinatown in 1876, and the subsequent loss of a temple on Wyatt Street. In 2021, Antioch became the first city in the United States to sign a formal apology acknowledging its history of discrimination against its Asian American Community.”

From the Pacific Northwest, two celebrations and a mourning:

Seattle Soto Zen’s guiding priest Allison Tait and Nomon Tim Burkett, the guiding teacher at Red Cedar Zen Community in Bellingham WA, held a Jukai Ceremony in Seattle on February 25 for Susan Hautala, whose new name is Kaikyo Zenshin, Ocean Mirror, Whole Heart and Chris LaTerza, whose new name is Myozan Junshin, Wondrous Mountain, Sincere Heart.

On March 3, Mountain Rain Zen Community held a Jukai Ceremony for five students. Co-guiding teachers Shinmon Michael Newton and Myoshin Kate McCandless officiated. “Because we have a relationship with the Vancouver Buddhist Temple, a Jodo Shinshu Temple founded in 1906, and Rev. Aoki, he generously let us hold the ceremony in their spacious main hall, so that we didn’t have to limit attendance. Like weddings, some people weep with joy, and many renew their vows along with those receiving the precepts. 

The students and their new dharma names are Moe Zakzouk, Shiryū Daishin, Branching Stream, Magnanimous Heart; Wynnie Smithies, Jifū Kūdō, Compassionate Wind Boundless Way; Seph King, Myōshin Shinkyo, Bright Forest, True Abode; Jason Dunphy, Myōrin Sōyū Bright Presence, Original Friend; and Nik Bladey, MyōKai Tetsugen, Wondrous Ocean, Penetrating Source

A message from Red Cedar Zen Community: “Our senior priest Edie Norton died in the early morning on March 5. She passed peacefully at home with family nearby. At Edie’s request, a few members of the sangha sat with her body the day that she died, sometimes meditating in silence, sometimes sharing stories, gratitude and laughter. Edie was dressed in her exquisite hand-sewn priest’s robes.”  

The next offering in the Soto Zen Buddhist Association’s monthly presentations in the series Celebrating the Voices of Women in Buddhism is The Body as a Doorway to Practice

on Saturday April 13, from 3:30 to 5 pm ET. Click here for more information

San Francisco Zen Center is hiring an AR & AP Specialist to work at our Page Street location. See this job description. Interested candidates can send a cover letter and resume to humanresources@sfzc.org.

On the Spring Equinox, March21, I will be going to visit Montana de Silencio Zen Community in Medellin, Columbia. I’ll be assisting guiding teacher Jiryu RutschmanByler (who is the Abiding Abbot at Green Gulch Farm) and resident teacher Sanriki Jaramillo with a Jukai Ceremony, a priest ordination, and a sesshin. I’m looking forward to meeting sangha members and practicing with them – as well as visiting a city and a country I’ve never been to. I will be back on April 2, and will send my next Newsette that week.

May you thrive as buds unfold, spring flowers blossom, and the days grow longer.

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Newsette 3-6-2024

It’s the beginning of Women’s History Month. Many sanghas are offering ceremonies honoring Mahapajapiti this month, our first woman ancestor, some in conjunction with International Women’s Day on March 8.

This Newsette begins with an update about Hozan Alan Senauke. Many of us are holding Hozan in our thoughts and including him in our well-being ceremonies.

I’ve included news from Branching Streams centers in Belfast, Northern Ireland; Vancouver, BC; Chicago, and New Orleans, a message from the Buddhist Election Retreat Organizing Committee, and descriptions of two residential retreats happening this summer in the U.S., one on the East Coast, the other on the West Coast.

This update about Hozan Alan’s Senauke’s condition was written by Laurie Senauke on February 19: “It’s been eight weeks since Abbot Hozan Aan Senauke experienced a cardiac arrest while being hospitalized for complications from surgery. After spending most of January unconscious, Hozan began to wake up – first with eye contact and hand squeezes, then by gradually finding his voice again and interacting more and more fully with visitors. Silvie, Genpo, and I are very encouraged by the progress he has continued to make.” Hozan is now at Kentfield Rehabilitation Hospital in Marin County. To keep up with the latest developments, visit the “Journal” section at Hozan’s CaringBridge site.

Paul Haller will be visiting Black Mountain Zen Centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland from April 23 to May 5. He will lead a sesshin at Ards Friary, April 23-28, which still has places available: click here for more information, and will teach two workshops and participate in the BMZC schedule during his visit. All events will be both in person and online. For more information, check their calendar.

In the Mountain Rain Zen Community (Vancouver, BC) newsletter, co-guiding teacher Myoshin Kate McCandless describes a way in which their sangha encourages a wide range of voices to be heard. Sangha members are invited to give “Zed talks,” 20-to-30-minute informal talks about how they take their practice into everyday life through work, activism, art, teaching, parenting or other ways.

Ancient Dragon Zen Gate in Chicago will be hosting an online Dharma talk with Paula Arai, on the topic “Women Wielding Liberating Power,” on Sunday March 17, following zazen, from 9:30 to 11:30 CT. Dr. Arai, a prominent Buddhist scholar, heads the Soto Zen Program at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley.

On February 28, Mid City Zen in New Orleans LA joined an interfaith prayer vigil and press conference in Baton Rouge to call for an end of the death penalty in Louisiana. Read the statement from Mid City Zen Board regarding the death penaltyhere.

The Buddhist Election Retreat organizing committee is devoting themselves this year, as they have since 2004, to getting out the vote for Democratic candidates in swing states. Their Zoom kickoff event is Sunday, March 24 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. PT. Here’s the link to their webpage.

Looking ahead to summer here are two retreats:

Red Cedar Zen Community in Bellingham WA recently announced their annual Samish Island sesshin, which will be led by Zoketsu Norman Fisher from June 14 to 22.

Kosen Gregory Snyder and Shingetsu Laura O’Loughlin will co-lead Brooklyn Zen Center’s annual week-long summer retreat at the Watershed Retreat Center, “an opportunity to deepen practice through living communally on a 73 acre farm adjacent to a state forest. The retreat will culminate with Shukke Tokudo (priest ordination) for two sangha members.

With gratitude for our shared practice,

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Newsette 2-21-2024

I began writing this Newsette while visiting Austin Zen Center and planned to finish it and send it after I returned to City Center a week ago. The day after I returned, long-time resident Jeffrey Schneider died. This was a shock for many of us. Jeffrey’s network, particularly in the Recovery community, was wide, and some of you reading this may have known him and may be hearing this for the first time. If so, please be gentle with yourself. Here is a link to San Francisco Zen Center’s announcement on Sangha News.

I found it difficult to focus on writing last week and this Newsette is a week later than I intended it to be. The week I spent in Austin included the Lunar New Year and I want to share an offering from Two Streams Zen Sanctuary in Westhampton, MA, a teaching from Zen Master Dae Kwan. You will find the entire teaching here.

Dragon Needs Space

Happy New Year of the Dragon!

Dragons need space to move. This year is a great year for us to wake up to our original mind, which is like space and clear. Then, we can use this space to live our lives freely with wisdom and can support each other without any conflict or hindrances.

I was invited to visit Austin Zen Center by guiding teacher Choro Antonaccio. We planned ways that I could support her, as she is the only priest, and the sangha during my visit. I followed the daily schedule, offered practice discussions, met with several board members, led a one-day sitting and gave a dharma talk on “Finding Spaciousness in Challenging Times.” A sangha member and I convened a meeting for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, which was well-attended and joyful.

The incoming teacher for San Antonio Zen Center, Karen de Kotis, and long-time SAZC board member Heather Martin drove to Austin to meet with me. Choro and I drove to Houston Zen Center on the last day of my visit to attend their Sunday program and stopped at Auspicious Coud, their country retreat center, so that I could see it. I had last visited all three centers in March, 2020, at the start of the Covid pandemic. It was wonderful to see and hear that all three are thriving.

What follows is news from Brattleboro Zen Center in Vermont and Zen Center North Shore in Massachusetts, an invitation to read three recently published books by Branching Streams authors, and the Soto Zen Buddhist Association’s March Voices of Women in Buddhism offering..

“I thought you might appreciate this article in our local newspaper,” writes Hakusho Ostlund, founding and guiding teacher of Brattleboro Zen Center, “about the early steps of transforming the Christian church where we have our zendo into a space that can hold multiple faiths. Here’s a link to the article, which I found inspiring.

Joan Amaral, guiding teacher of Zen Center North Shore, recently gave the precepts to Julia Lawrence, SekiShin KoYu/Red Heart, Nora Williams, BokuJin EiGen/ Pasture Benevolent, Eternal Source, Expansive Repose, and Jason Aylsworth, KoshuKu SeiKa/Tiger Dwelling, Authentic Home.

Catherine Gammon’s book of short stories, The Gunman and the Carnival, was recently released by Baobob books. She has published four novels and another book of short stories.  Catherine is the guiding teacher of Neighborhood Zen in Pittsburgh. Writer Laruen Acampora comments: “Her characters are recognizable in their striving for human connection in our time of despair and isolation—and in their struggle for footing upon a sinking landscape. Stylistically limber and by turns meditative, restless, and moving, these stories bravely attempt to channel what it means to be alive in this world now, and now, and now.”

Dr. Toni Pressley Sanon’s first Buddhist book, Lifting as they Climb, Black Women Buddhists and Collective Liberation, was published by Shambhala this month. Toni Pressley-Sanon is a long-time Buddhist practitioner and has written five books on other topics. She is a student of Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, founder and guiding teacher of Still Breathing Zen Sangha. The book features profiles of six Black Buddhist women, including Zenju Earthlyn Manuel and angel Kyodo Williams.

On February 18 poet and writerMaura High, who practices at Chapel Hill Zen Center, gave a reading from her book, The Field Index, published in 2023. Maura trained as a wildland firefighter and volunteered with Nature Conservancy burn crews in North Carolina for many years. Her book celebrates what she learned about the ecology of the Piedmont in NC.

On Saturday, March 2, from 12:30 to 2 pm. PT the Soto Zen Buddhist Association’ yearlong series on the Voices of Women in Buddhism will offer a Zoom panel, Navigating Relationships in Buddhist Communities. The speakers are Reverend Byakuren Judith Ragir, Reverend Grace Shireson, and Pamela Weiss. They will “delve into the intricacies of cultivating healthy boundaries within the spiritual community.” Here is the link to register

The many rainy days we’re having in the Bay Area lend themselves to reading. I think of it as one of the gifts of winter.

May you experience spaciousness in your life as this Year of the Dragon unfolds.