May 15, 2020

A note from our dharma brother, David Shaw:

I’m in Washington now - Poulsbo - housesitting for my sister-in-law.  I’m alone except I brought Lani with me. She's my 13 year princess girl cat.  Stays close to me day and night except when she wants to go exploring in the yards.  I kept her in or under close supervision for almost two weeks so she could be familiar with scents and geography.  The house is on a point 3+ acres and a wonderful 180-degree view of the Puget Sound.  Front of the house faces the road and our new house which is due to close tomorrow.  Main or driving reason for the purchase is that the house is just across the road from Nancy’s sister, so couldn’t get any closer!

Now it is May 8, Nancy is back up here, and mad running about attempting to begin process of making the new house livable while still continuing our house sitting duties across the road.The best part of sister Sheila’s house is, for me, their eclectic collections of books in many genres except fiction.  Hundreds of books on China that reflect their 17 years building airports there, learning the language, economic knowledge, etc.  Many books on aviation and airplanes.  More on cars, hot rods, and foreign exotics.  Many on Eastern religions, esoteric astrology, architecture and home design.

My healing journey continues as I experience painful hip and knees climbing and descending stairs, of which both houses have many.  Walking is getting easier, though I still cannot walk normally and pain-free.  One advantage of the isolation and emptiness here is we don’t have to worry about contacting the SARS Covid-19 novel virus cuz there are no others around.

______________________________________________________________________

Our ZHS on-line 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
• For more information: www.zenheartsangha.org)  

_____________________________________________________________________

Special bows for today: 

• Please offer bows for Annette Merrill, Misha's cousin, who died on May 13th from lung cancer
• 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 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 
• Michael Tieri Ricaud, Dainuri Rott’s brother, who is suffering from MS

____________________________________________________________________________________

Wonderful links shared by sangha members and friends:

• Zen Heart Sangha website: resources about COVID-19: www.zenheartsangha.org
• From our dharma sister, Kat: Psalm 53 Sung in Aramaic for Pope Francis by Georgians  https://www.chonday.com/25879/palaramic5/
• From our dharma sister, Jill, from the Daily Good: from the Gratefulness Team comes this compilation of resources, practices, and reflection questions  geared towards supporting grateful gatherings in this new era: http://wc4.net/t?ctl=156C3:D22F7A12A0729249FE58D5D72D6D80C92669F00B7081D5F5&
• From our dharma sister, Camille: a modern fairy tale about the pandemic:  
• https://www.facebook.com/826415330774102/posts/2904759752939639/?vh=e&d=n
• From our dharma sister, Kathleen, on grieving: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/opinion/esther-perel-coronavirus.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
• From our dharma sister, Lucille, for a little humor on 'What You Should and Should Not Do:   https://youtu.be/wVs5AyjzwRM

__________________________________________________________________________________

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.