May 29, 2020

From the New York Times:

Velibor Božović, a survivor of the siege of Sarajevo  For the first months, he said,  he didn’t thrive and  he wasn’t resilient.   That came only once the part of him that longed for normalcy, that planned for the future, that aspired to control his circumstanced had been broken. "It was the first winter when you realized this is going to last,” he said.  “And you realize that this is your life.”

“When I remember the siege now, I always remember the good moments,” he said.  “We had some fun. Because otherwise we would all go completely mad. "I don’t remember being desperate,” he said. “I remember thinking, ‘This is life. OK. Let’s do something with this as much as we can.’”

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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)  

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Special bows for today: 

• Please offer bows for Dottie Kelly, Misha's family member, who died of lung disease on May 20th
• Please offer bows for Annette Merrill, Misha's cousin, who died on May 13th from lung cancer
• 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:   
• Beverly Klemme whose beloved horse Saphire died May 26th
• Rev. Les Kaye, Misha’s Zen teacher, who is recovering at home undergoing chemotherapy

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Wonderful links shared by sangha members and friends:

• Zen Heart Sangha website: resources about COVID-19: www.zenheartsangha.org
• From our dharma sister, Kathleen: Daily haiku from Cornell https://haiku.mannlib.cornell.edu/    
• From Bill: Where the Buddha's lessons began from Lion's Roar Magazine:  https://www.lionsroar.com/where-the-buddhas-lessons-began/
• From Misha's husband, Keith: genetic blood types and Covid-19 susceptibility:   https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-your-genes-predispose-you-to-covid-19/
• 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, Lucille, for a little humor on 'What You Should and Should Not Do:   https://youtu.be/wVs5AyjzwRM  
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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.