Sunday, July 19, 2020

July 19, 2020

From our dharma brother, Rick Moss:  Part 1

Like a cat with more than one life, I officially retired twice – the first time in 2010, but (according to
methods obscure to others squirreled within Stanford University’s labyrinthine faculty policies) as planned was rehired the next day, transitioning my formal title from Professor to Professor Emeritus in the School of Medicine in the specialties of allergy, immunology and pediatric pulmonology. The second time I retired was in 2017. In my academic career there has been a lot of joy, a ton of satisfaction, and not a little stress and heartbreak. Zazen and ZHS have been a big part of maintaining whatever equanimity I’ve had and whatever moments of awakening I’ve glimpsed, since I first sat in 1995.


Since late 2017 I’ve continued to volunteer time at Stanford Children’s Health to collaborate on research, to teach and write, and to supervise students and trainees in pulmonary clinic. I was sort of planning to give all that up about now, capped by attending and speaking at what I thought was my last medical conference, a biennial event that I’ve helped organize and run since 2004, in Lugano Switzerland, at the end of February. A funny thing happened while I was there: I almost didn’t get back, as the gateway city was Milan, in Lombardy (where I stayed before and after the conference), watching the region collapse under Covid-19’s early European assault. After a scramble to reschedule a canceled flight I made it home before lockdown. Planned trips to Spain, Chile and elsewhere have gone down the tubes. Instead, Cystic Fibrosis Research Institute (CFRI), where I’ve served on the Board since 2015, asked me to field queries about CF and Covid-19. That developed into a series of popular videos on YouTube and Facebook. It’s been a whole new education with a lot of homework, but it feels good to give some hope to a beloved community. I’ve been consulting with biotech companies for years, but now with a group of other Stanford biomedical faculty have designed a clinical trial of a CF drug which we believe can be repurposed for early (outpatient) Covid-19 treatment; we hope to be able to begin this trial in August. Science-based medicine still gives me hope as well as engagement.  (Part 2 tomorrow...)


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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 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 continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • 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:
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