Thursday, April 30, 2020

May 1, 2020

Happy May Day!
Our ZHS on-line schedule 
(for more information: www.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 all those in residence at Gordon Manor suffering from COVID-19
    • Please offer bows for Donald Kennedy, former president of Stanford University, who died from COVID-19
    • Please continue to offer bows for Nick Battaglia, Camille Spar's father, who died Aprill 13th 
    • Please continue to offer bows for the family of Alison Templeton, a PS parent, who died on April 1st 
    • Please offer bows of well-being for dharma sister, Marya Shahinian, who will be having surgery on May 8th
    • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
      • Claudio Pannunzio, dharma friend of Twining Vines Zendo, who is undergoing chemotherapy
      • 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 
      • Mario Dacanay, Lucille Dacanay's stepson, who has tested positive for COVID-19
      • Michael Tieri Ricaud, Dainuri Rott’s brother, who is suffering from MS
    Wonderful links shared by sangha and friends:
    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    From our dharma teacher, Jill Kaplan from her talk on Monday the 27th: Planetary Crossroads
    Here at this crossroad time, we are on the threshold in a time of passage. The crossroads signals a change of direction, new possibilities, new directions, but choices must be made, we cannot go one way without leaving behind another. We can’t go back, we can’t stand still, but which way? We are on the threshold.
    Threshold is the doorway, a liminal space between worlds, between times, a place of careful discernment. Threshing is part of the harvesting, winnowing out the seed from the shaft, seeing what must go and what needs to stay. This is also a time of great learning, as we sort through the seeds; the virus is in many ways a generous teacher. It asks us to discern which parts of our old path were not serving us. What has been merely habit, outlived its usefulness, piled up in drawers or on shelves. It has given us the chance to slow down, to rest, to move slowly through our days. The word thresh is also related to the world thrash, and that might also reflect our position as we stand here at this crossroads; thrashing around with judgments and resentments and anger and trying, trying to find compassion and loving-kindness.

    Liminal space, doorway to another time, and we are between times. Watch your mind: do you want to get over it, have it be over, get through it? Do you find yourself yearning for the past? Or holding on to the present because you are actually enjoying the quiet and space? This threshold time might be easy to dismiss or ignore, but it’s an opportunity for exploration, for just sitting with things as they are, just being. To sit still in this threshold, at this crossroad, will serve us well to choose the path to take, to take it consciously, to move along it towards re-incorporation with awareness.
    _________________________________________________________________

    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. 
    Posted by at

    No comments:

    Post a Comment

    Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)