September 28, 2020

 Case 41 of the Mumonkan: Bodhidharma's Mind-Pacifying

Bodhidharma sat facing the wall.

The 2nd patriarch stood in the snow. 

          

He cut off his his arm and 

presented it to Bodhidharma, crying,

"My mind has no peace as yet!

I beg you master, please pacify my mind!"

"Bring your mind here and 

 I will pacify it for you," 

replied Bodhidharma.

"I have searched for my mind, 

and I cannot take hold of it, " 

said the 2nd patriarch.

"Now your mind is pacified," 

said Bodhidharma.

(Excerpted from Two Zen Classics by Katsuki Sekida and the basis of Misha's lecture on 9/28/20, "Finding Your Courage in the Midst of Grave Difficulty")

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 Charles Kennicott Leech, Nancy's father who is in the hospital
• Please offer bows for Chief Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died 9/18/2020
• Please offer bows for all those families who have lost their lives or their homes in the recent fires in Oregon, California, and Washington
• Please offer bows for Takiko Kawakami, Fumiko Arao's mother who died 9/2/2020
• Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
• Phyllis Merrill, Misha's mother, who is dying
• Rev. Les Kaye, Misha’s Zen teacher, who is recovering at home undergoing chemotherapy

__________________________________________________________

Wonderful links shared by sangha members and friends:

• From our dharma brother Merrill regarding Christian charity: https://www.facebook.com/david.ison.35/posts/10224463110390401
• From our dharma brother Jim: I thought that Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing was an appropriate poem/song to celebrate. They played in at the beginning of each NFL football game this week. More information can be found here:     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lift_Every_Voice_and_Sing.  
• Need something to lift your spirits?  https://youtu.be/JNgCM7zp30M
• Zen Heart Sangha website: resources about COVID-19: www.zenheartsangha.org
• From our dharma sister, Misha:  incredible graphics and information about COVID-19  https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/covid-19-coronavirus-infographic-datapack/
• 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
• If you would like to leave a comment on this blog: Here is a quick video on how to--it's from 2017, but should work:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T4RflO5Wgg
_____________________________________________________________________

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.