July 20, 2020

From our dharma brother, Rick Moss:  Part 2

In the middle of the pandemic Jill and I have been drawn into the maelstrom of change that has followed the death of George Floyd, so agonizing amid so many others’ suffering in a society off the rails in so many dimensions of inequality, lies and cruelty, values of so many fellow citizens so egregiously askew from those the Buddha taught with his life and words. Sometimes hope seems hopeless; but there is, as teachers like Joanna Macy and Joan Halifax proclaim, a refuge of “active” and “wise” hope. To speak to that hope on this day of the death of John Lewis, I want to share Seamus Heaney’s poem: 

“The Cure at Troy”

Human beings suffer, they torture one another,

They get hurt and get hard. No poem or play or song

Can fully right a wrong inflicted and endured.

History says, don't hope on this side of the grave.

But then, once in a lifetime the longed-for tidal wave

Of justice can rise up, and hope and history rhyme.

So hope for a great sea-change on the far side of revenge.

Believe that further shore is reachable from here.

Believe in miracle and cures and healing wells.

Call miracle self-healing: the utter, self-revealing

Double-take of feeling.

If there's fire on the mountain or lightning and storm

And a god speaks from the sky, that means someone's hearing

The outcry and the birth-cry of new life at its term.

It means once in a lifetime that justice can rise up

And hope and history rhyme.

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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  Brent DeNardo, Aaron's brother, who has contracted COVID
• Please offer bows for Sherril Miller, Shannon's aunt, who has a broken humerus
• Please offer bows for Gail Boreman Bird, Stephen' Boremans sister, 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:

• Zen Heart Sangha website: resources about COVID-19: www.zenheartsangha.org
• From our dharma friends, Diane and Wing: Dismantling the master's house:  https://www.lionsroar.com/dismantling-the-masters-house/amp/
• From our dharma sister, Misha:  incredible graphics and information about COVID-19  https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/covid-19-coronavirus-infographic-datapack/
• From our dharma brother, Bill:  Buddhism in women's prisons:   https://tricycle.org/magazine/buddhism-in-womens-prisons/

• From our dharma sister, Nancy:  Spirituality and interconnectedness through time   https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/04/19/lynn-margulis-talking-on-the-water/
• 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.