Monday, August 31, 2020

September 1, 2020

 

Being Time


...we must study and learn 

that myriad phenomena 

and numberless grasses 

exist over the entire earth, 

and each of the grasses 

and each of the forms 

exists as the entire earth.

- Dogen Zenji


(From a lecture by Shinshu Roberts on 8/31/20 as 

an example of particularity as moment/place/being)


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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
  • M-F: 7-7:30am - zazen
  • Saturdays: 8:00-10:15am - zazen, short service, tea, discussion/study
  • For more information:  www.zenheartsangha.org) 
_____________________________________________________________________

Special bows for today: 
  • Please offer bows for John Lewis, civil rights leader, who died on July 17th
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Phyllis Merrill, Misha's mother, who is dying
    • Ofelia Mendez, Jorge Luis Mendez, Lazara and her mother, relatives of Lilliana Mendez-Soto who have contracted COVID
    • 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
__________________________________________________________


Wonderful links shared by sangha members and friends:

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Sunday, August 30, 2020

August 31, 2020

Uji (Being-Time) 

by Dogen

An old Buddha said:

For the time being, I stand astride the highest mountain peaks.

For the time being, I move on the deepest 

depths of the ocean floor.


For the time being, I'm three heads and eight arms.

For the time being, I'm eight feet or sixteen feet.

For the time being, I'm a staff or a whisk.

For the time being, I'm a pillar or a lantern.

For the time being, I'm Mr. Chang or Mr. Li.

For the time being, I'm the great earth and heavens above.

The 'time being' means time, just as it is, is being, 

and being is all time.


_____________________________________________________________________

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
  • M-F: 7-7:30am - zazen
  • Saturdays: 8:00-10:15am - zazen, short service, tea, discussion/study
  • For more information:  www.zenheartsangha.org) 
_____________________________________________________________________

Special bows for today: 
  • Please offer bows for John Lewis, civil rights leader, who died on July 17th
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Phyllis Merrill, Misha's mother, who is dying
    • Ofelia Mendez, Jorge Luis Mendez, Lazara and her mother, relatives of Lilliana Mendez-Soto who have contracted COVID
    • 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
__________________________________________________________


Wonderful links shared by sangha members and friends:

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August 30, 2020

 The Truth of Emptiness

A hammer striking emptiness


The word 'emptiness means 'empty of a permanent abiding nature, a permanent abiding self'.  Emptiness is the understanding that there is no such thing as a self that is exactly the same moment after moment--you can't put a finger on the self because it (and everything else) is in dynamic motion.

Every single thing you did today, every person you spoke with, every gesture you made, has changed you.  You are not the person who got out of bed this morning.  Right now you are not the person who walked in the door. 

We’ve all been breathing each other’s air.  We do not exist separately.  Right now there’s just this big group of us.  We're all here together. In a little bit we’ll all be getting in our cars.  Again it will appear that we are all separately going home.  But you are still breathing air and everyone is sharing that air.  There is no such thing as just you, a permanent unchanging you...and that is the best news of all!

Excerpted from an October 10, 2011 talk by Misha Merrill on “The Three Marks of Existence”

______________________________________________________________________

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
  • M-F: 7-7:30am - zazen
  • Saturdays: 8:00-10:15am - zazen, short service, tea, discussion/study
  • For more information:  www.zenheartsangha.org) 
_____________________________________________________________________

Special bows for today: 
  • Please offer bows for all those displaced by the CZU fires
  • Please offer bows for John Lewis, civil rights leader, who died on July 17th
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Evacuated sangha members and their families (Lidia, Kathleen,  and Kat) 
    • Phyllis Merrill, Misha's mother, who is dying
    • Ofelia Mendez, Jorge Luis Mendez, Lazara and her mother, relatives of Lilliana Mendez-Soto who have contracted COVID
    • 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
__________________________________________________________


Wonderful links shared by sangha members and friends:

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Saturday, August 29, 2020

August 29, 2020

Tips from the Tenzo, Kathleen Dickey:


if you have some garlic, 

Cloves of garlic

(home-grown if possible), 

a spoonful of oil, an onion, 

a couple of eggs and a bit of cheese, 

plus a stove...an old frying pan...a knife... 

this can make the most delectable meal 

when feeling in any way unsettled. 

- Bows, Kathleen  


__________________________________________________________________________

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
  • M-F: 7-7:30am - zazen
  • Saturdays: 8:00-10:15am - zazen, short service, tea, discussion/study
  • For more information:  www.zenheartsangha.org) 
_____________________________________________________________________

Special bows for today: 
  • Please offer bows for all those displaced by the CZU fires
  • Please offer bows for John Lewis, civil rights leader, who died on July 17th
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Evacuated sangha members and their families (Lidia, Kathleen,  and Kat) 
    • Phyllis Merrill, Misha's mother, who is dying
    • Ofelia Mendez, Jorge Luis Mendez, Lazara and her mother, relatives of Lilliana Mendez-Soto who have contracted COVID
    • 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
__________________________________________________________


Wonderful links shared by sangha members and friends:
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Thursday, August 27, 2020

August 28, 2020

 PPE as Mindfulness Practice 

                  Personal Protective Equipment. PPE. A radical act of love! Wear a mask. Why? To save all beings. To save all beings, save yourself. Saving all beings, saving yourself. Right donning and right doffing. Be aware of the breath and whether or not it leaks out of the mask. Remove the mask with the right posture. Do not let the head fall toward the chest. Calm the mind. Do not rush. Touch only the straps. Do not touch the front of the mask. Be present for each step. 

 Wash your hands. Your hands: fingers, nails, your palms, the back of the hand, the thumb, under the rings.... When you wash your hands, just wash. What do your fingers feel like? How does the water feel on your hands, what does your skin feel like? Vow to clean. Your hands are the extension of the whole world like Avalokiteshvara’s many arms reach out to all beings. 


 Seeing the reality as it is (facts of COVID virus infection) responding with mindfulness, wisdom and compassion (PPE, social distancing, emotional support) to reduce suffering and support life. 

 Corollary:  How do we have compassion for those who will not wear a mask? What might motivate that behavior? Myriad things. Attachment to an image of themselves and the world. In attachment blossoms fall and in aversion weeds spread. Both attachment and aversion. All people suffer. The body learns before the mind. Just sit. Just wash. Just wear a mask. Just practice. Just be. 

This is a process. When coming from deep delusion, there is no guarantee that a fact will wake you up. Let us encourage us to awaken. Hoping for a great collective realization if only for one moment. And the next moment too, and the next.

- Alisa Mallari 

___________________________________________________________________________

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
  • M-F: 7-7:30am - zazen
  • Saturdays: 8:00-10:15am - zazen, short service, tea, discussion/study
  • For more information:  www.zenheartsangha.org) 
_____________________________________________________________________

Special bows for today: 
  • Please offer bows for all those displaced by the CZU fires
  • Please offer bows for John Lewis, civil rights leader, who died on July 17th
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Evacuated sangha members and their families (Lidia, Kathleen,  and Kat) 
    • Phyllis Merrill, Misha's mother, who is dying
    • Ofelia Mendez, Jorge Luis Mendez, Lazara and her mother, relatives of Lilliana Mendez-Soto who have contracted COVID
    • 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
__________________________________________________________


Wonderful links shared by sangha members and friends:
Posted by at No comments:

August 27, 2020

At twilight            

In the silence

Before man starts his day

You can hear her breathe

A subtle rolling vibration

Penetrating each cell


Listen...Feel...Fall back... 

into her invitation.

 

- Shannon Bergman




______________________________________________________________________

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
  • M-F: 7-7:30am - zazen
  • Saturdays: 8:00-10:15am - zazen, short service, tea, discussion/study
  • For more information:  www.zenheartsangha.org) 
________________________________________________________________

Special bows for today: 
  • Please offer bows for evacuated sangha members and their families (Lidia, Kathleen, Kat, and Misha) and all others displaced by the CZU fires
  • Please offer bows for John Lewis, civil rights leader, who died on July 17th
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Phyllis Merrill, Misha's mother, who is dying
    • Ofelia Mendez, Jorge Luis Mendez, Lazara and her mother, relatives of Lilliana Mendez-Soto who have contracted COVID
    • 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
____________________________________________________________________________________

Wonderful links shared by sangha members and friends:
Posted by at No comments:

Monday, August 24, 2020

August 24, 2020

 

In the zazen posture, 

your mind and body have great power to 


accept things as they are, 

whether agreeable or disagreeable.  


Suzuki Roshi


 ______________________________________________________________________

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
  • M-F: 7-7:30am - zazen
  • Saturdays: 8:00-10:15am - zazen, short service, tea, discussion/study
  • For more information:  www.zenheartsangha.org) 
________________________________________________________________

Special bows for today: 
  • Please offer bows for evacuated sangha members and their families (Lidia, Kathleen, Kat, and Misha) and all others displaced by the CZU fires
  • Please offer bows for John Lewis, civil rights leader, who died on July 17th
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Phyllis Merrill, Misha's mother, who is dying
    • Ofelia Mendez, Jorge Luis Mendez, Lazara and her mother, relatives of Lilliana Mendez-Soto who have contracted COVID
    • 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
____________________________________________________________________________________

Wonderful links shared by sangha members and friends:




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Saturday, August 22, 2020

August 23, 2020

The other side of Microbes by Jim Little

A lot of difficulty these recent days could be attributed to our human response to a tiny little virus, but a lot of joy comes from our microbial friends as well.  At the beginning of the shelter-in-place process I was fascinated at what people were “stocking up on” at the stores.  I saw that flour and yeast was flying off the shelves, thinking “Wow, everyone is going to have time to make bread?”  I love bread, and homemade is the best, but I opted for another fermentation option: kombucha.  (The “pancakes” floating in the jar are called SCOBYs.  Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast.)

 

I have actually been making kombucha for a few years off and on.   It was pretty easy in Sacramento because I could manage the temperature having a two-story house.  But now in Salinas (well really in Castroville) the temps were much cooler here.  And some of you may know that we were without heat for most of the winter. Though my poor little SCOBYs went dormant in the cold, they did survive.  In the spring, they started to perk up again and now they seem to be doing great with the warmer weather.

 The SCOBYs (and COVID) remind me that in and of themselves they are neither benevolent nor malevolent.  I am grateful for the tea that they ferment and the “relationship” that causes me to reflect on life at the microscopic level and how it impacts this macroscopic being.

 


 ______________________________________________________________________

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
  • M-F: 7-7:30am - zazen
  • Saturdays: 8:00-10:15am - zazen, short service, tea, discussion/study
  • For more information:  www.zenheartsangha.org) 
________________________________________________________________

Special bows for today: 
  • Please offer bows for evacuated sangha members and their families (Lidia, Kathleen, Kat, and Misha) and all others displaced by the CZU fires
  • Please offer bows for John Lewis, civil rights leader, who died on July 17th
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Phyllis Merrill, Misha's mother, who is dying
    • Ofelia Mendez, Jorge Luis Mendez, Lazara and her mother, relatives of Lilliana Mendez-Soto who have contracted COVID
    • 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
____________________________________________________________________________________

Wonderful links shared by sangha members and friends:
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August 22, 2020

 Excerpted from Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh


The Wheel and the Cross (watercolor/collage) by Misha Merrill


    Meditation is not to get out of society, to escape from society, but to prepare for a reentry into society. We call this "engaged Buddhism." When we go to a meditation center, we may have the impression that we leave everything behind-family, society, and all the complications involved with them-and come as an individual in order to practice and to search for peace. This is already an illusion, because in Buddhism there is no such thing as an individual. ...

     In the same way, the individual is made of non-individual elements. How do you expect to leave everything behind when you enter a meditation center? The kind of suffering that you carry in your heart, that is society itself. You bring that with you, you bring society with you. You bring all of us with you. When you meditate, it is not just for yourself, you do it for the whole society. You seek solutions to your problems not only for yourself, but for all of us. 

https://wtf.tw/ref/nhat_hanh_being_peace.pdf


____________________________________________________________________

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) 
_____________________________________________________________

Special bows for today: 
  • Please offer bows for evacuated sangha members and their families (Lidia, Kathleen, Kat, and Misha)
  • Please offer bows for John Lewis, civil rights leader, who died on July 17th
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Phyllis Merrill, Misha's mother, who is dying
    • Ofelia Mendez, Jorge Luis Mendez, Lazara and her mother, relatives of Lilliana Mendez-Soto who have contracted COVID
    • 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
____________________________________________________________________________________

Wonderful links shared by sangha members and friends:
Posted by at No comments:
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