July 21, 2020

From our dharma brother, Jim Little:  

Here in Salinas in the summer (my first), the weather is pretty much the same; 60s in the morning, 70s in the afternoon, and high clouds most if not all of the day.  Grey days, one after the other, after the other.  Add to that the routine of work from the same room in this "shelter in place" world, it starts to seem like Groundhog Day where each day seems to mimic the day before.  And much like Bill Murray in the movie, the redundancy of each passing day starts to get old fairly quickly.  What was it about the same day over and over again, that was grinding on my mind?  And then I stopped looking at what was the same, to notice what was different.

As the distractions of a varied routine diminished to become more of a backdrop or canvas, I began to see what was in fact different.  I could see that I was letting "the shiny things" distract me from eating healthy, being active and paying attention.  I think of this like being able to hear the spaces between the notes, or all of us bowing "the same way" such that our teacher can see how we bow uniquely.  Or even the perfection of a single flower.

Perhaps no more striking example of this sense of the "luxury of austerity" is the story of Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi's visit to the teahouse of Rikyu. Hideyoshi was astonished at the glorious color and sheer magnificence of the field of purple morning glories nearby. He remarked upon them, and brashly asked if Rikyu would provide a tea ceremony for him. Considering his importance and position, Rikyu could hardly refuse, and the two set a time for tea the next day.

The shogun arrived at exactly the appointed time and was aghast to find the field of glories completely razed. Shaken, he continued up the quiet stone walkway to Rikyu's tea room, poured water over his hands from the beautifully made ladle and bucket, and, bending his body downwards, entered through the lower portion of the two part doorway.

When he was inside the small, intimate tea room, warmed from the steam hissing from the kettle over the brazier, he saw Rikyu kneeling in front of the brazier, an exquisite tray on the mat to his side, holding his finest tea utensils and a small caddy of precious tea.

Looking at the alcove, the shogun immediately understood why the field had been razed. There, in a serenely plain vase was a single, perfect purple morning glory, the like of which the shogun had never seen.  (excerpted from 

https://www.teamuse.com/article_020202.html)

This "shelter in place central coast COVID-19" world is presenting to me what Sen no Rikyu insightfully (yet destructively) crafted for Hideyoshi; the opportunity to see the familiar with new eyes and the space to appreciate it.

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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 John Lewis, civil rights leader, who died on July 17th
• 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:   
• Sherril Miller, Shannon's aunt, who has a broken humerus
• Brent DeNardo, Aaron's brother, who has contracted COVID
• 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.