Contributed by Judy Dauberman:
THE BUDDHAS LAST INSTRUCTION
- Mary Oliver
“Make of yourself a light”
said the Buddha,
before he died.
I think of this every morning
as the east begins
to tear off its many clouds
of darkness, to send up the first
signal-a white fan
streaked with pink and violet,
even green.
An old man, he lay down
between two sala trees,
and he might
have said anything,
knowing it was
his final hour.
The light burns upward,
it thickens and settles
over the fields.
Around him,
the villagers gathered
and stretched
forward to listen.
Even before the sun itself
hangs, disattached,
in the blue air,
I am touched everywhere,
by its ocean of yellow waves.
No doubt he thought of everything
that had happened in his difficult life.
And then I feel the sun itself
as it blazes over the hills,
like a million flowers on fire-
clearly I’m not needed,
yet I feel myself turning
into something of inexplicable value.
Slowly, beneath the branches,
he raised his head.
He looked into the faces of that frightened crowd.
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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:
Special bows for today:
- Please offer bows for Gail Boreman Bird who died on June 27th at age 75
- Please offer bows for Harada Sekkei Roshi who died on June 20th at age 93
- Please offer bows for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and others who have died from police brutality
- 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 continue to offer bows of well-being for:
- Beverly Klemme whose beloved horse Sapphire 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 friends, Diane and Wing: Mindfulness Moments https://mailchi.mp/angelkyodowilliams/mindfulness-everywhere-nytimes-amazon-museum-oh-my?e=56557c6ad3
- From our dharma friend, Janie: Rhiannon Giddens featuring Yo-Yo Ma - "Build A House"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYDo0ZjXegM
- From our dharma friends, Diane and Wing: The History of Juneteenth from The Daily on Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily/id1200361736?i=1000478602271
- From our dharma sister, Kathleen: PBS series called "Race Matters": This is a 7 minute interview between Charlayne Hunter Gault and Kevin Murphy Go to minute 44:44 of this show:
- From our dharma sister, Jill: Rutger Bregman, author of Humankind: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/rutger-bregman-our-secret-superpower-is-our-ability-to-cooperate
- From our dharma sister, Camille: an important commentary on race, riots and society to help us understand from Trevor Noah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4amCfVbA_c
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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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