Category: Newsette

Kaishin Victory Matsui, the director of Ancestral Heart Monastery in Millerton NY, connected to Brooklyn Zen Center, sent this photo of the view from their garden.

Two Streams Zen in Western MA posted a quote from the late historian Howard Zinn that speaks to this time in our country and the world:

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places – and there are so many – when people behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in another direction.

“The future is an infinite succession of presents and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

Reirin Gumbel, guiding teacher of Milwaukee Zen Center in the battleground state of Wisconsin, has been hosting an Election Retreat. She writes, “The Election Retreat is a vibrant group of Zen people, mostly from Berkeley, CA, but also from Chicago and locally…People meditate, eat, work, and go out together to canvas for the election. Almost every day, there is a dharma talk given by Taigen Dan Leighton, Zenshin Florence Caplow, Hozan Alan Senauke, Greg Fain or myself.” Reirin is also preparing to be a poll chaplain for the November 5election.

On September 22, Reirin gave the precepts to three students: Eli Lu, Fragrant Breeze,Field of Virtue; Fay Akindes, Clear Lake, Supreme Peace; and Meg Lucks, Brilliant Moon, Circle of the Way.

News from Tassajara Zen Mountain Center: The application for the 2025 Winter Practice Period, led by Eijun Linda Cutts, from January 7 to April 2, is online, with a deadline of Nov 20th.

 Summer 2025 Applications are also now open! Director Ashley Ng writes, “We are looking for volunteers to help with the summer guest season, especially volunteers with kitchen experience or trade skills. We will have visiting teachers in residence throughout the summer, and as usual, there will be weekly dharma talks, offered by visiting and resident teachers.” Please email zmcdirector@sfzc.org if you have any questions.

The Soto Zen Buddhist Associate is offering two more events in this year’s series Celebrating the Voices of Women in Buddhism. The first isThroughout the Body, Hands and Eyes: Compassion and Bodhisattva Activism on November 9, and the Finale event is on December 15, Full Moon Bodhisattva Ceremony (Ryaku Fusatsu). Both events are online via Zoom, with a sliding scale of $10 -$15 (no one turned away for lack of funds) and open to all.

May you have ease of well being in this uncertain time.

On Sunday, many SFZC residents attended the 90^th anniversary ceremony of Sokoji in Japantown. Konjin Gaelyn Godwin, the Director of Soto Zen Buddhism International Center, and Abbot of Houston Zen Center describes Sokoji as “the temple from which hundreds of North American temples emerged after Shunryu Suzuki arrived to serve as their Abbot in 1959. The celebration was deeply moving, beautiful, elegant.”

Welcome to a new Branching Streams affiliate, Facing the Mountain Zen Group in Reno, NV. Founding and guiding teacher, Shinzan Sekibu Alice Tulloch received dharma transmission from Baika Andrea Heaton in 2018. Facing the Mountain has have had a physical location in Reno since 2014, and offers both in person and online zazen and other practice events.

As Election Day in the U.S. now less than two weeks away, many sanghas are responding to the intensity and uncertainty of this time by offering ongoing or Election Day vigils or sittings

Guiding teacher Koshin Steven Tierney writes, “Oceans Compassion Sangha (San Francisco) and friends have been sitting together for Peace and Justice in response to the world in which we live online on Tuesdays at 7:00 a.m. and Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. PDT. The format is 25 minutes of Zazen followed by a poem or verse on peace read by somebody different each time. Here is the Zoom link.

On Election Day, Steven will join me to co-host Election Day Zazen at San Francisco Zen Center, in person in the Conference Center at 308 Page Street from 4 to 8:30 p.m.

Zen Center North Shore’s (MA) Guiding Teacher Joan Amaral, writes: “we’re holding an Election Day sesshin on ZenZoom as a way to encourage grounding and connection at a particularly anxious time for many. You can log on at any time from 6am-11pm – the whole time the polls are open East-West. We’ll be sitting half-hour periods of zazen and walking five minutes in between. There will be breaks at 7:30am, 12:30pm and 5:30pm for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with chanting before each meal. But otherwise, just sitting. Sitting with it all, with ourselves and with each other.”

So’on Jim Hare, the guiding teacher of Valley Streams Zen Sangha in Sacramento, CA wrote an article, “Funding the Future,” describing the way his sangha is investing funds in a Community Foundation to provide support for future teachers after Jim retires. He offered to make it available to other Branching Streams sanghas. It’s posted on the website.

Here’s a correction to my last newsette: Dharma Heart Sangha (not Heart of Compassion Sangha) in Cotati CA began their Fall Practice Period this week, focusing on Training in Compassion, the Practice of Lojong, studying Norman Fischer’s book.

Two more programs in the SZBA’s 2024 series, Celebrating the Voices of Women in Buddhism, are coming up – on Sunday October 27.Receiving the Marrow by Bowing; and in November,  Throughout the Body, Hands and Eyes: Compassion and Bodhisattva Activism. All events are online via Zoom, and open to all on a sliding scale donation.

Autumn is unmistakably here, even in San Francisco. The air is crisper, and pumpkins and skeletons are appearing on the steps of houses in our neighborhood. Many Zen Centers have embarked on Fall Practice Periods. All have themes which can support practice in the uncertain and stressful time in which we’re living. Here are a few of the offerings:

The Fall Practice Period at Mountain Rain Zen Community in Vancouver BC focuses on “The Flower Garland (Avatamsaka) Sutra, which offers us a path inspired by the vision of Indra’s Net, a boundless net, with a jewel at each node, or intersection, which reflects every other jewel. …We will explore the richness of this text along with contemporary teachings that bring this vision into the twenty-first century.”

Dharma Heart Sangha, in Cotati CA began their Fall Practice Period this week, focusing on Training in Compassion, the Practice of Lojong, studying Norman Fischer’s book.

Brooklyn Zen Center’s Fall Practice Period began on 9/11. The sangha is exploring the relationship between Zen practice and ways of healing, referring to work by Dr. Paula Arai.

This week Austin Zen Center (TX) launched its Fall Practice Period, on the theme “We Could be Heroes and Enter the Mind of Buddha,” inspired by Tenshin Reb Anderson’s book on the paramitas, Entering the Mind of Buddha.

Preparations have begun at several Branching Streams sanghas for Sejiki and a ceremony to feed the hungry ghosts, sometimes combined with Halloween

Mountain Rain describes it: “In this ceremony we will make food offerings to the hungry ghost realm within ourselves and in the world. Costumes and masks are welcome, so that the hungry ghosts will not be too intimidated to join us. We will have a Food Bank basket at the zendo, for donations.”

Santa Cruz (CA) Zen Center’s description is: “The Sejiki ceremony has two purposes: First, we remember people close to us who have died. And second, we invite the Hungry Ghosts of ourselves to be fed, fully welcomed, and fully nourished.”

Other sangha news:

Catherine Gammon, guiding teacher of Neighborhood Zen in Pittsburgh PA, writes about a Jukai ceremony in September: “The preceptor was Korin Charlie Pokorny, who came from Brooklyn Zen Center to lead the jukai retreat and perform the ceremony — and was stricken with covid as soon as he got off the train!” Details and photos are here —https://neighborhoodzen.substack.com/p/jukai-photos. The “five newborn bodhisattvas” are Jodi Reeves –Kiko Yugen, Playful Tiger, Courageous Manifestation; Brent Nakamoto –Meikan Yugetsu, Bright Mirror, Courageous Moon; Britt Davis–Kigen Yuryu, Returning to the Source, Courageous Dragon; Varun Ravindran –Koji Yukan, Luminous Word, Courageous Investigation, and Westri Stalder –Dokai Yuzan, Servant of the Way, Courageous Mountain.

Houston Zen Center is offering a class on Preparing for Your Own Death on November 9 and 10, taught by Abbot Gaelyn Godwin and guest professionals. “An essential part of spiritual practice is to face the fact of our inevitable death and prepare for it. The classes include Buddhist meditations on death, writing advance directives, learning about the biological facts of death, and learning about palliative care and hospice.”

Long time member of Brooklyn Zen Center, Camille Shigetsu Goodison, has recently published an article in Tricycle entitled, “Letting in the Ancestors: Reckoning with her return to life outside the monastery, a Zen student finds solace in calling upon her ancestors.” It is a very moving and powerful self-reflection. You can read it here or download the PDF here. Camille presently serves as co-ino (head of the meditation hall) for BZC’s Boundless Mind Temple,where she’s been a member for over ten years.

With Richard Baker Roshi recently stepping down as Dharma Sangha (Black Forest, Germany and Crestone, CO) Abbot and Head Teacher, this time of transition marks a new beginning for him. To acknowledge and honor this turning point, several events are planned, including his teaching a six-day class on Attentionality.

From the Soto Zen Buddhist Association: We are pleased to announce three events coming this fall: October’s Hearing Younger Women’s Voices, Receiving the Marrow by Bowing; and November’s Throughout the Body, Hands and Eyes: Compassion and Bodhisattva Activism.

All events are online, fees are on a sliding scale (no one turned away for lack of funds), and are open to all. They focus on the voices of women in Buddhism, offering unique perspectives and an opportunity to continue the discussion on Celebrating the Voices of Women in Buddhism.

May you enjoy the colors and tastes of Autumn.

I am writing from Chicago, where I’m visiting Ancient Dragon Zen Gate, after a brief visit to Milwaukee Zen Center. The two centers will be co-hosting the 2025 Branching Streams Conference from September 15 to 18 at Loyola University Recreation and Ecology Center. I’ve been meeting with guiding teachers Kogetsu Laurie Belzer (in Chicago) and Reirin Gumbel (in Milwaukee) and members of their sanghas to begin forming the local committee that will work with me on logistics for the Gathering.

This trip followed quickly on the heels of a trip to the East Coast to attend the Soto Zen Buddhist Association meeting at Pendle Hill, near Philadelphia. While on the East Coast I visited Ancestral Heart Monastery in Millerton NY, connected with Brooklyn Zen Center, and Richmond VA Zen Center. These will be the last sangha visits I will make outside the Bay Area in 2024.

On these visits, I have been warmly welcomed and found it inspiring to practice with each sangha and to meet with teachers, board members, and sangha members. I gave dharma talks in Millerton and Ancient Dragon and spoke informally about the role of Branching Streams. At the SZBA Conference, Patrick …, the guiding teacher of Santa Cruz Zen Center, and Kate McCandless, co-guiding teacher of Mountain Rain Zen Community joined me to co-facilitate a discussion on how we can welcome more young people to our sanghas.

Several sanghas have recently held Jukai ceremonies. Congratulations to the new Bodhisattvas and their teachers!

In September, Karen de Kotis (third from the left) was the preceptor for a Jukai ceremony for five students at Bozeman Zen Group (MT). Their names (from left to right) are: Ryan Erickson – Yusho Kanjaku, Courageous life, Perfect Nirvana; Jack Pearson – Seigaku Seido, Sincere Study, Clear Path; Doug Beaudoin – Daiki Seisho, Great Veneration, True Vow, Marilia Librandi – Seishin Myogen, Pure Heart, Subtle Source, and Sean Tillotson – Jushin Keijo. Tender Heart, Joyous Samadhi.

Bozeman Zen Group also held its first sesshin, with Karen and visiting teacher Nomon Tim Burnett from Red Cedar Zen Community (Bellingham, WA) co- leading. On October 20^th, the Bozeman sangha will hold a formal stepping down ceremony for Karen prior to her departure to San Antonio Zen Center, where she will be the new guiding teacher.

On Sunday September 22, Taigen Leighton and Hogetsu Laurie Belzer led a jukai ceremony at Ancient Dragon Zen Gate for four dragons, Chris Cadman, Compassionate Melody, Sage Mountain; Jikyokū, Tettsuzan, Mike Evans, Bamboo Sound, True Dragon; Chikuon Shōryū, Simone Salis (Radiant Path, Gate of Determination: Kōdō Shimon, and Kerstin Schaars (Abiding in Light, Following the Stream; Jūkō Zuiryū.

At Richmond (VA) Zen on September 29 Josho Pat Phelen, Abbot of Chapel Hill Zen Center, was the preceptor for a Jukai ceremony for Blythe King, Poke Keishin and Indranil Bagchi, Kakushin Hokki.

From left to right: guiding teacher Eden Heffernan, guiding teacher at Richmond Zen, Blythe King, Indranil Bagchi, Josho Pat Phelan, and Zenki Batson, Vice Abbot of Chapel Hill Zen Center

Renshin Bunce, guiding teacher of Beginner’s Mind Zen in Eureka CA, priest ordained Marie Ferreboeuf (Sei Kyo Ji Shin, True Mirror Compassion Heart) on September 28^th..in Eureka CA. Renshin noted that “the ceremony was a true group effort.”

It’s not too late to register for Hearing Younger Women’s Voiceson October 17 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. PDT,the October offering in the Soto Zen Buddhist Association’s yearlong series, Celebrating the Voices of Women in Buddhism. The series continues through December.

May you and your sangha thrive, in the midst of a stressful time for our countries and the planet.

I returned a week ago from several days of ceremonies at the Zen Buddhist Center Black Forest (ZBZS) in Germany. About 250 current and former students, family members and friends from many countries, joined the ZBZS staff and volunteers to honor the leadership of Zentatsu Richard Baker as he stepped down from his position as Abbot, and to support Tatsudo Nicole Badden in her Mountain Seat ceremony, as she became the new Abbot.

A highlight of the ceremony for me was seeing Richard Baker give Nicole Baden the kotsu he had been given by Suzuki Roshi decades ago…warm hand to warm hand.

Several people from San Francisco Zen Center, past and present, attended, including David Zimmerman, Furyu Schroeder, Victoria Austin, Norman and Kathie Fischer, and David Chadwick. Our presence was greatly appreciated.

SAVE THE DATES: the 2025 Branching Streams Gathering will be co-sponsored by Chicago-based Ancient Dragon Zen Center and Milwaukee Zen Center from Monday, September 15 to Thursday, September 18, 2025. The venue will be Loyola University’s Retreat and Ecology Center in Woodstock, IL, about an hour from Chicago’s O’Hare airport. We will share more information as plans develop.

Jon Voss, the Branching Streams webmaster, and I recently refreshed the Resources section of the Branching Streams Website. We updated and added some information, and grouped resources by categories to make them easier to find.

Montaña de Silencio in Medallin, Colombia had their first Jukai ceremony in their new country location. Jiryu Rutschman-Byler gave the precepts to his student Brenda Zambrano, supported by founding teacher Sanriki Jaramillo. Brenda’s dharma name is Shogan Koichi, Voto Radiante, Imperturbable Unidad.

In my last Newsette I welcomed Saltspring Island Zen Circle as a new affiliate. Here is an amendment to what I wrote: The sangha’s founding teacher, Peter Levitt, gave Lay Entrustment to Simon Rompre and Judy Daylen in 2023.  Judy Daylen is currently serving as the sangha’s guiding teacher.

Santa Cruz Zen Center’s Earth Care Practice Group is meeting weeklyto do voter outreach. “As an expression of caring for the Earth and social justice, we are writing letters to increase voter participation throughVote Forward. This is a non-partisan effort supporting less-likely voters to vote more often. We have been having a wonderful time writing and chatting with each other and strengthening our connections. It has been beautiful to see the Sangha House serve as a community center; people have been inviting friends and our Buddha-field is expanding.”

The recently released film about Red Pine will be available to screen at home or with your sangha from September 20 to 29. Mountain Rain Zen Community in Vancouver, BC shared this description in their newsletter: Dancing with the Dead Red Pine and the Art of Translation is a film about Port Townsend’s Bill Porter, who goes by the pen name Red Pine. The film follows Bill’s adventures as a child of a bank robber, raised in a gilded household, who turned his back on American devotion to materialism and went off to live in monasteries and mountains in Taiwan. He pursued a fascination with Buddhism and poetry and traveled to remote regions of China to rediscover an ancient tradition of mountain hermits vital to Chinese culture.” HERE is the link to view the film.

The October Soto Zen Buddhist Association offering in the Voices of Women in Buddhism series will be a panel, Hearing the Voices of Younger Women on October 19 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. EDT. The panel features Blythe King who practices at Richmond Zen, Heather Martin who practices at San Antonio Zen Center, and Zenki Kathleen Batson from Chapel Hill Zen Center. I will be the moderator.

I’ll be traveling from September 19 to 30, to attend the Soto Zen Buddhist Conference at Pendle Hill, near Philadelphia PA. I look forward to seeing some of you there. Before the Conference I will visit Brooklyn Zen Center’s Ancestral Heart Temple in Millerton, NY, and after SZBA I will head to Richmond Zen in VA for a few days.

I wish you good health and virya (joyful energy) as we turn towards the Autumn equinox.

I am preparing to travel to Germany, with SFZC’s Central Abbot David Zimmerman, to attend ceremonies at Zen Buddhist Center Black Forest (ZBZS) from September 5 to 8. Zentatsu Richard Baker will be stepping down as Abbot, and Tatsudo Nicole Baden will climb the Mountain Seat to become the new Abbot. Hoitsu Suzuki (Shunryu Suzuki’s son) will be participating in the ceremony.

Tatsudo Nicole Baden will also become the Abbot of sister temple Crestone Mountain Zen Center in Crestone, Colorado. ZBZS became a Branching Streams affiliate in 2023 and now the Crestone temple is also an affiliate. Both Baker Roshi and Abbot Nicole Baden will teach at the two centers, though Baker Roshi will primarily be in Crestone, while Nicole Baden will split her time between the two centers.

Welcome to another new affiliate, Salt Spring Zen Circle, on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada. The new guiding teacher, Judy Daylen, is a long-time member of the sangha who has practiced at Green Gulch Farm and with Tenshin Reb Anderson and Zoketsu Norman Fisher. She received Lay Entrustment from Salt Spring Zen Circle’s founding teacher Peter Levitt in 2023.

Beloved teachers Greg Fain and Linda Galijan have spent the last several months as visiting teachers at San Antonio Zen Center (TX), which was transitioning between teachers after founding teacher Colin Gipson stepped down in December 2023. The new SAZC guiding teacher, Karen deKotis, has moved to San Antonio from Bozeman, MT and will begin leading the sangha. There will be a Chosan ceremony and farewell lunch for Greg and Linda on August 24 just before they move on to Berkeley Zen Center for the Fall, supporting Alan and Laurie Senauke and the BZC sangha as visiting teachers.

In April I visited Montaña de Silencio in Medellin, Columbia, whose founding and guiding teacher is Sanriki Jaramillo. Sanriki was Shuso for the Fall 2023 practice period at Green Gulch Farm and received dharma transmission from Jiryu Rutschman-Byler in December 2023. During my two weeks with the Montaña de Silencio sangha I experienced the dedication to practice of Sanriki and the sangha. They have begun a crowd-funding campaign to finance their relocation to a rural area near Medellin. If you would like to contribute, here is the link to the crowdfunding site.

Brooklyn Zen Center is offering a six-session class, Writing to Study the Self, meeting Sundays, 3–5:00 PM EST, every two weeks: September 8, 22, October 6, 20, November 3, 17. More info and registration here. “How might the practice of writing allow us to look deeply at our personality, karma, history, and social conditioning—a sustained engagement in studying the self? Participants will be offered craft talks, prompts, and practices to look deeply at the self. Sessions will feature guest teachers Chenxing Han, Ruth Ozeki, Norman Fischer and Jenny Xie, along with BZC practice leaders in a non-dual exploration of dharma and writing. This course is open to all, whether new to writing, or those with a long-term writing practice.”

The Sati Center for Buddhist Studies is accepting applications for its yearlong Buddhist Chaplaincy Training programs that start in September. “There are two programs – an in-person one for folks who can make it to the monthly workshops in Redwood City, CA; and an online program for those living further afield. Both programs deliver the same level of training and are suitable for those wishing to engage in spiritual care on a voluntary basis, or as the first step in a professional trajectory. The program is also a wonderful way to engage dharma practice in the world, and to develop facilitation skills in other areas, as well as in one’s own sangha. It can also be a rich parallel track for priests in training.” To apply, use this link, or contact Vanessa at bct@sati.org for more information.

I have found some of the speeches at the Democratic National Convention this week uplifting, and am motivated to continue writing postcards to get out the vote in swing states.

Several months ago, I sent a Survey regarding Branching Streams Teacher Support to teachers and/or board members of about 75 sanghas. The Report is now ready (attached). We will also make it available on the Branching Streams website. Great appreciation to Jon Voss of Mid City Zen in New Orleans and Douglas Floyd of Ancient Dragon Zen Gate for the many hours they spent crafting the survey and summarizing the results. We hope you will find it useful and welcome your comments. Does the report raise any questions for you? Are there other resources you feel you need?

I began writing this Newsette last week, but was unable to finish it until today. Last Tuesday on August 6 at City Center we held a service to remember those who died in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 59 years ago. I remembered going to those cities in 2005 with the Jizos for Peace Pilgrimage led by Chozen and Hogen Bays from Great Vow Monastery in Oregon. We brought 270,00 images of Jizo in the form of prayer flags, origami, and clay Jizos, one for each person who died in the first year after the bombs were dropped. As wars are being waged and tension is high in our country and around the world, may we all find ways to work for peace.

During Dharma Heart Zen’s (Cotati, CA) Sangha Week at Tassajara, their guiding teacher, Chris Fortin, led a Jizo Bodhisattva Ceremony for Those Who have Died and for the Well Being of the Earth and her many Beings. Participants adorned the Jizo statue with hand-sewn garments and messages for our planet as well as loved ones who have died. (photo by Chris Fortin)

Dharma Heart Zen also held a Jukai Ceremony during their Sangha Week at Tassajara. Chris wrote, “Because it was too hot (104 degrees) to do it at the Suzuki Roshi Memorial, as they had planned, they were given permission to hold the ceremony on the central lawn.” Yael Raff Peskin received the dharma name KanJin DoI, Compassion Stream Awakened.

Photo by Richard Owens

Chris noted that a member of the sangha, Priest Joni Ejo Goldsmith, ordained by Toni Patchell, guiding teacher of Russian River Zendo, died peacefully on Friday July 26 .

Houston Zen Center will hold a traditional Buddhist Funeral Ceremony for Louise Dreyfus, a Lay Entrusted Dharma Teacher and co-founder of Houston Zen Center, on Saturday August 32 from 11 to 1 p.m. CDT.  This ceremony marks the culmination of the traditional ceremonies to protect and guide Louise after her passing on January 6, 2024.

Welcome to a new affiliate! Dharma Coast Sangha in Cocoa Beach FL (near Orlando), is led by founding and guiding teacher Danny Parker, who received dharma transmission from Edward Brown in 2023. In addition to his sangha.in Cocoa Beach, Danny leads sitting groups in Milan, Italy and Linz,Austria.

And an invitation from Val Szymanski, guiding teacher of Bamboo in the Wind, in Sunnyvale, CA to attend a Nonviolent Communication session on August 20 at 8:15 p.m. in person at 690 W. Fremont Avenue #4 in Sunnyvale. For online participation, email val@bamboointhewind.org.

I recently changed the quote below my email signature to Dogen’s words: “Kind speech can turn the destiny of a nation.”

This Newsette focuses on resources that may be helpful in leadership transitions and in meeting some of the challenges presented by the heightened tensions in the U.S. and around the world.

Resources offered and requested

In response to a query from a Branching Streams teacher, I found an archived Branching Streams document, Looking For a Teacher, written by Kosho McCall, former Abbot of Austin Zen Center. This document suggests a process for an existing sangha to find a teacher. It may be helpful for board members and leaders of a sangha whose teacher has retired or is stepping down. I’m sending it as an attachment.

Two members of the multi-sangha Racial and Social Justice as Dharma Practice Group, Doralee Grinder Katonah and Lini Wollenberg, have compiled an extensive Racial and Social Justice resource list (attached). They write: “The items below represent material that members have found valuable. While our focus has been on the experience of Black Americans and racism, our interests include the experiences of many socially oppressed groups. Some categories are better represented than others and we welcome suggestions of additional resources.” Correction:  The email address for Doralee Grinder Katonah in last week’s Newsette was incorrect; it is grindkaton@icloud.com.

Ryushin Andrea Thach from Berkeley Zen Center writes: Our temple has not raised its class fees in probably 20 or 25 years. We want to hear from you about what you charge for your classes. Do you calculate on the basis of a series or have a formula based on how many are in the series? Do you have a sliding scale or a different differentiation between members and nonmembers. Do you charge a different amount depending upon whether the teacher is the Abbot, or of another background? Please respond to Ryushin directly at andrea.thach@gmail.com.

Other offerings:

An invitation from the Election Retreat group: “Join us for online Postcard Writing Retreats on:
   Sunday, August 4, 10 – 1 Pacific (speaker: Roshi Joan Halifax),

   Sunday, August 11, 10 – 1 Pacific (speaker: Dekila Chungyalpa)

   Wednesday, August 21, 10 – 1 Pacific (speaker: Anne Johnson)

   Sunday, August 25, 10 – 1 Pacific (speaker: Hozan Alan Senauke)

To learn more about the program and to register, click HERE. We will be writing postcards to voters in swing states, to encourage them to get out and vote.” The Soto Zen Buddhist Association is offering Women in Himalayan Buddhist Traditions: Transmission and Transformation with Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo, on August 24, at 3:30 PM ET This event is part of the Celebrating the Voices of Women in Buddhism; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, a monthly, year-long speaker series in 2024. The event is online-only via Zoom. Registration is now open to all who are interested, including your sangha members

I received several responses to my request in last week’s newsletter to share ways in which your sanghas are engaging with some of the challenges facing our countries and our planet.

Misha Merrill, guiding teacher of Zen Heart Sangha in Woodside CA, wrote: “I read your Newsette this morning. I’m glad that so many sanghas are addressing the fear and anxiety that is arising due to the current political situation–it’s a major concern right now for everyone. I just finished a two-part talk on ‘Buddhism and Politics’ for this very reason, and next Monday we will follow up with a discussion about how sangha members are using their practice to deal with anxiety.

“My own view (expressed in the lectures) isn’t popular with those who are eager ‘to do something’, but it’s fundamental Buddhism. Rather than promote political or social change, the Buddha specifically advocated personal transformation as the way to end suffering. As I told my group, that sounds selfish if you do not understand the truth of emptiness, but when you realize the interdependent nature of all things, then personal transformation actually becomes universal–the opposite of selfishness. When something changes, no matter how small, everything changes–but it takes a long time. That’s the real conundrum: we don’t feel that we have that kind of time given the terrible things that are happening right now.”

Chris Fortin (Dharma Heart Zen in Cotati CA) and Doralee Grinder Katonah (Valley Streams Zen Center in Sacramento) CA continue to co-lead a monthly online multi-sangha Racial and Social Justice as Dharma Practice group. A flyer describing the group is attached. Chris and Doralee would be “happy to advise and support others who might want to start similar groups.” Chris can be reached at chris.fortin@comcast.net and Doralee at grindkaton@icloud.com.

Mid City Zen (New Orleans LA) posts on their website’s home page: “Mid City Zen calls for a ceasefire in Palestine/Israel. Read our statement here. And join us for our Ceasefire Sits, each Monday morning at 8am” in person or via Zoom. “Support and join us in our commitment to non-violence in ourselves and the world. We will sit zazen (meditation) and practice loving kindness, dedicated to a lasting ceasefire in Palestine/Israel. All are welcome.”

A Universal Ceasefire sitting was held at Austin Zen Center on July 20, “two periods of zazen dedicated to disarming our hearts and minds and the hearts and minds of others.”

Reirin Gumbel, guiding teacher of Milwaukee (WI) Zen Center, participated in a press conference last week as a supporter of Death Penalty Action. Sangha members canvassed with an interfaith group “100 Women on the Move” during the Republican National Convention.

A query and upcoming classes and other dharma offerings

Hogetsu Laurie Belzer, guiding teacher of Ancient Dragon Zen Gate in Chicago asks: “Are any branching streams sanghas willing to share course plans for an in-person ‘Introduction to Zen Meditation?’ Ancient Dragon is in the midst of developing a 4 session (or so) intro to Zen meditation course with some history of Zen, intro to Suzuki Roshi’s way, and orientation to our temple. Hoping to turn and not re-invent the wheel. Please respond to Hogetsu at: hogetsu.laurie@gmail.com.

Houston Zen Center priest Sengetsu Tricia McFarlin will be teaching a class on The Dream of Gender in the Historical Unfolding of Buddhism, 6 Tuesdays, August 6 – September 10, 6:30 – 8:30 pm CDT. “In this six-week course, we will trace the twists and turns of the identity category of gender in the historical enactment of Buddhism from India to China to Japan to the US. Course readings will be in pdf form, consisting of legends, sutras, and scholarly articles. In person and possibly online as well.

Djinn Gallagher, guiding teacher of Black Mountain Zen Centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland, writes, “we are offering a half-day sitting on Sunday July 28 from 7 am to 1 pm Belfast time in person. It will also be possible to participate online on our usual link. There are still places available for our five-day sesshin with Paul Haller, September 8 to 13.

Ashland (OR) Zen Center is offering a ten day practice period for householders, called Everything Matters, from September 13 – 22. It ends with a three-day sesshin.

Red Cedar Zen Community in Bellingham WA is offering a Mountains and Rivers Backpacking retreat from September 6 to 11. “Inspired by Eihei Dogen’s 1240 AD text the Mountains and Rivers Sutra (Sansuikyo), this retreat includes a day of guided nature awareness and meditation in the front-country followed by four days and three nights of silent backpacking through a beautiful old growth hemlock forest to a seldom-visited base camp at Mazama Park, just south of Mount Baker at the foot of Park Butte. Our days will be interspersed with some social and free time.”

In the last week I noticed that several Branching Streams teachers were giving dharma talks based on Dogen’s fascicle “The Bodhisattva’s Four Methods of Guidance.” One of my favorite lines is “kind speech can turn the destiny of the nation.” May it be so!

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.