December 19, 2020

You who let yourselves feel:  enter the breathing

that is more than your own.

Let it brush your cheeks

as it divides and rejoins behind you.

Blessed ones, whole ones,

you where the heart begins:

You are the bow that shoots the arrows

and you are the target.

Fear not the pain.  Let its weight fall back

into the earth;

for heavy are the mountains, heavy the seas.

The trees you planted in childhood have grown

too heavy.  You cannot bring them along.

Give yourselves to the air, to what you cannot hold.

 -    Rainer Maria Rilke

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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) 

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Special bows for today: 

• Please continue to offer bows in honor of:
• Nora Hayes-Roth, a dear friend of Misha's, who died on 11/25/20
• Dan Pomeroy, a friend of dharma brother, Dainuri Rott, who died on 11/20/20
• Ofelia Mendez, Lilliana Mendez-Soto's aunt who died  on 11/12/20; her relatives Jorge and his sister were able to be with her at the end
• Phyllis Merrill, Misha's mother, who died on 10/18/20
• Charles Kennicott Leech, Nancy's father who died on 10/9/20
• Please offer bows of well-being for:   
• Please offer bows for Roshi Sojun (Mel) Weitsman) who entered 12/14/20
• Please offer bows for Angie Boissevain who was ill but has returned home 
• Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
• Shannon's daughter, Lilith, who is suffering from complications from knee surgery
• Nancy Leech's mother, Doris Leech, who is recovering at home 
• Flip Dibner, who is undergoing chemotherapy while at home 
• David Shaw, who suffered a stroke; he is home now with his wife, Nancy, and beginning the long slow process of rehabilitation
• Rev. Les Kaye, Misha’s Zen teacher, who is in the final month of chemotherapy

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Wonderful links shared by sangha members and friends:

• From Kathleen: Irish open-air cellist strikes coronavirus lockdown chord.   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55007563
• From Anna: a modern Heart Sutra: https://youtu.be/nvIGCMhjkvw 

• Zen Heart Sangha website: resources about COVID-19: www.zenheartsangha.org
• 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