April 20, 2020

Our ZHS on-line schedule (go to our website for more information: zenheartsangha.org)  

• 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

Special bows for today:  

• Please offer bows for Nick Battaglia, Camille Spar's father, who died Aprill 13th at the age of 104
• 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 offer bows for Lucille Dacanay's stepson, Mario Dacanay, who has tested positive for 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 
• Michael Tieri Ricaud, Dainuri Rott’s brother, who is suffering from MS

Wonderful links shared by sangha and friends:

• New tab on Zen Heart Sangha website with resources about COVID-19 (zenheartsangha.org)
• From our dharma sister, Kat Haimson: Great Bell Chant from Thich Naht Hanh: https://youtu.be/F1ZwaEzMtJw
• From our dharma sister, Alisa Tu, an article on grief:  https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief?fbclid=IwAR2f8ajEFn_MpazcdxvTj8MsuQZ7xlNtS44KG2b0NukPh6K012FWfGCdd8A

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From our dharma sister, Alisa Tu: 

I wrote to the families of the residents that we care for at Gordon Manor and I included these quotes (one from Jill's dharma study group). I hope that they can provide comfort and understanding:

From The World Could Be Otherwise by Norman Fischer: “If you can find a solution, what’s the point of being upset? and if you can’t find a solution, what’s the point of being upset?”  “…why not recognize that the state of life you previously enjoyed has ended and you are in a new state? Why not make something out of that state? This is the practice of patience.”  

A fearless person is one “who has done what is good, has done what is skillful, has given protection to those in fear, and has not done what is evil, savage, or cruel. Then he comes down with a serious disease. As he comes down with a serious disease, the thought occurs to him, ‘I have done what is good, have done what is skillful, have given protection to those in fear, and I have not done what is evil, savage, or cruel… He does not grieve, is not tormented; does not weep, beat his breast, or grow delirious. This, too, is a person who, subject to death, is not afraid or in terror of death.”

(Photo of gingko spiral created by Alisa in honor of her friend who was a resident of Gordon Manor years ago)

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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.