Thursday, April 9, 2020

April 10, 20202

Special bows for today:
  • Please continue to offer bows for the family of Alison Templeton, a Peninsula School parent, who died on April 1st after a long struggle with cancer
  • Please continue to offer bows for Jeff Ghazarian and his family, friends of Lilliana Mendez-Soto’s nephew who died on March 19th at the age of 34 from COVID-19
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Rev. Les Kaye, Misha’s Zen teacher, who is recovering at home while undergoing chemotherapy
    • Brendan, Kate Haimson’s son, who is recovering at home from surgery 
    • Lilith Armitage, Shannon Bergman’s daughter who is recovering well at home from surgery
    • Michael Tieri Ricaud, Dainuri Rott’s brother, who is suffering from MS
Our new ZHS on-line schedule (go to our website for more information: zenheartsangha.org):

 (Note: no Friday or Saturday schedule this week due to sesshin schedule)
  • Mondays: 7-8:30pm - zazen, short service, lecture/discussion
  • Tuesdays-Fridays: 5:30-6:10pm - zazen, offering of merit/bows
  • Saturdays: 8:00-10:15am - zazen, short service, tea, discussion/study
Wonderful links shared by sangha and friends:
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From our dharma sister, Jane Shuman, 
teacher of Twining Vines Sangha:
(Photo: Jane, Misha, Patty in 2013)

Greetings to our sisters and brothers on the other coast! We're thinking of you often in these difficult times and know that we're all practicing diligently together; we know that sanghas everywhere are sitting for all beings--this is a great comfort to us. 

Here at Twining Vines, we are now back on our regular schedule, on Zoom, without chanting service but including a bit more time than usual for discussion, and it seems to be going well. Actually, as one of the original online-resistant, I admit I am enjoying seeing everyone "in the room," including some of our members who don't live in our area.  

What I'm noticing right now as we are studying the Eightfold Path: we always have situations or contexts to "practice from." In "normal" times, the examples tend to be scattered: one person has difficulty with a relative, one with an illness, one with a mean boss, etc. Right now we are all dealing with one context, the pandemic, and yet as is always true, each of us is seeing it from a different viewpoint. This is the gift of practice and it is never so clear as now: that we can all come together and open the space, share our divergent views and also our common situation. We've already noticed in our discussions that fear is the common element, but how we translate that, how we get there, and how we practice with it comes in endless flavors. In sangha, we have an opportunity to share the "flavors" to encourage each other and carry that experience into the rest of our life with great compassion. The word that comes to mind is what Zen practice always is: creative. In our awakening mind, there are possibilities we've never imagined, and the sangha provides many teachers who are willing to open their experience and views to each other. In times of trouble like this, it seems that everything is magnified. So as we are doing, I know your sangha is also taking care of each other and the suffering world by coming together in new ways but with the same love. Keep going!

with love and gratitude, Jane  

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Many thanks to those of you who are sending me articles to share, links to helpful information, and for making comments…it is a gift beyond measure. Please know that you can either leave a comment on the blog itself, or send something directly to me and I will be happy to paste it in.  

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