Monday, October 19, 2020

October 20, 2020

Sixty-six times...

Sixty-six times

have these eyes beheld the 

changing scene of autumn.


I have said enough 

about moonlight,

Ask no more.


Only listen to the voice
 
of pines and cedars 

when no wind stirs.

- Ryonen (1797-1863)

Persimmon watercolor by Misha/2014

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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 all those families who have lost their lives or their homes in the recent fires in Oregon, California, and Washington
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Charles Kennicott Leech, Nancy's father who died on 10/9/20
    • David Shaw, who suffered a stroke on 9/30/20
    • Takiko Kawakami, Fumiko Arao's mother who died 9/2/2020
    • 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:

 

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Sunday, October 18, 2020

October 19, 2020

 Autumn, Queen of Year

 by Winifred Sackville Stoner, Jr.



When the pumpkins are so yellow
And the vines with grapes abound,
When the melons are so mellow
And the nuts fall to the ground;
When persimmons lose their bitters,
And the apples are so red;
When we love to eat corn fritters
Since the roasting ears have fled;
When vacation days are over
And the children go to school,
They no longer play in clover,
But much learn “Arithmos-rule,”
When weird Hallowe’en’s most naughty elves
With gnomes and sprites appear,
While fat Thanksgiving fills the shelves –
‘Tis AUTUMN, QUEEN OF YEAR.

_______________________________________

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 families who have lost their lives or their homes in the recent fires in Oregon, California, and Washington
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Charles Kennicott Leech, Nancy's father who died on 10/9/20
    • David Shaw, who suffered a stroke on 9/30/20
    • Takiko Kawakami, Fumiko Arao's mother who died 9/2/2020
    • 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:

 
























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Saturday, October 17, 2020

October 18, 2020

Three Contemplations

by Pamela Ayo Yetunde 


How have you been 
conditioned to recognize 
what is true, legitimate, 
and valid and deny 
what is false, 
illegitimate and invalid?


How have the political rhetoric, 
change in policies against 
“political correctness”, 
protests against colonization 
by tearing down 
Columbus and Confederate statues, 
as well as the armed 
defense of war heroes, 
impacted what you value?

-
Can one practice the Zen mind of equanimity, nonduality, non-polarization 
and non-polemics and still act as a franchised citizen?  

_____________________________________________________________________

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 families who have lost their lives or their homes in the recent fires in Oregon, California, and Washington
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Charles Kennicott Leech, Nancy's father who died on 10/9/20
    • David Shaw, who suffered a stroke on 9/30/20
    • Takiko Kawakami, Fumiko Arao's mother who died 9/2/2020
    • 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:

 


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October 17, 2020

Taking Refuge (Fall Sesshin theme)

From Jill's talk on refuge: 

I take refuge in my redwood tree, so big and vast, born before me and will live many generations after, if people leave it alone. 


I’ve had a garden here for going on 40 years; often I think the redwood is the real beneficiary, for its roots go more than a hundred feet in all directions, soaking up the fertilizer and water and compost, saying thank you, growing taller, wider. 

I take refuge in the oak tree nearby, a volunteer that we did not take care to remove 35 years ago; we might have more sun in our yard had we noticed it, but without our care and feeding, directly anyway, it is home to birds and squirrels and insects and stays bright green all year round. 

I think of these two sometimes as embodying life's active and receptive principles, tall and nurturing, reaching to the sky, reaching out with arms to many creatures. The redwood probably over 85 feet; the oak perhaps half that size, but rounder, fuller. Both of them taking care of us, probably taking care of each other through their root systems, for all I know. 

I take refuge in these trees which teach me that life is longer and deeper and wider than I can imagine, they teach me patience and forbearance and uprightness. All that coming and going we humans do; staying in one place, growing year after year, harboring so many beings – they give beyond measure.

And in the end I will return to the earth, return to the trees, become compost, humus, one with the earth again.


______________________________________________________________________

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 families who have lost their lives or their homes in the recent fires in Oregon, California, and Washington
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Please offer bows for Charles Kennicott Leech, Nancy's father who died on 10/9/20
    • David Shaw, who suffered a stroke on 9/30/20
    • Takiko Kawakami, Fumiko Arao's mother who died 9/2/2020
    • 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:

 

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October 16, 2020

INNER Peace


If you can start the day without caffeine,


If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without alcohol,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,


...Then You Are Probably ..............


The Family Dog!

And you thought I was going to get all spiritual...

Have a great day and make someone smile.

Submitted by Camille Spar

_____________________________________________________________________

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 families who have lost their lives or their homes in the recent fires in Oregon, California, and Washington
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Charles Kennicott Leech, Nancy's father who died on 10/9/20
    • David Shaw, who suffered a stroke on 9/30/20
    • Takiko Kawakami, Fumiko Arao's mother who died 9/2/2020
    • 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:

 





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Monday, October 12, 2020

October 12, 2020

 Charlie Chaplin wrote this at age 70:

 “As I began to love myself 

I found that anguish and emotional suffering 


are only warning signs that I was living 

against my own truth. 

Today, I know, this is Authenticity.

 

As I began to love myself 

I understood how much it can offend somebody 

if I try to force my desires on this person, 

even though I knew the time was not right 

and the person was not ready for it, 

and even though this person was me. 

Today I call this Respect.

 

As I began to love myself 

I stopped craving for a different life, 

and I could see that everything 

that surrounded me 

was inviting me to grow. 

Today I call this Maturity.

 

As I began to love myself 

I understood that at any circumstance, 

I am in the right place at the right time, 

and everything happens at the exactly right moment. 

So I could be calm. 

Today I call this Self-Confidence.

 

As I began to love myself 

I quit stealing my own time, 

and I stopped designing huge projects 

for the future. 

Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, 

things I love to do and that make my heart cheer, 

and I do them in my own way 

and in my own rhythm. 

Today I call this Simplicity.

 

As I began to love myself 

I freed myself of anything 

that is no good for my health – 

food, people, things, situations, 

and everything that drew me down 

and away from myself. 

At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism. 

Today I know it is Love of Oneself.

 

As I began to love myself 

I quit trying to always be right, 

and ever since 

I was wrong less of the time. 

Today I discovered that is Modesty.

 

As I began to love myself 

I refused to go on living in the past 

and worrying about the future. 

Now, I only live for the moment, 

where everything is happening. 

Today I live each day, 

day by day, 

and I call it Fulfillment.

 

As I began to love myself 

I recognized 

that my mind can disturb me 

and it can make me sick. 

But as I connected it to my heart, 

my mind became a valuable ally. 

Today I call this connection Wisdom of the Heart.

 

We no longer need to fear arguments, 

confrontations or any kind of problems 

with ourselves or others. 

Even stars collide, 

and out of their crashing, new worlds are born. 

Today I know: This is Life!”

 

Submitted by Kathleen Dickey

Photo by Marya Shahinian

______________________________________________________________________

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 died on 10/9/20
  • 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 continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • David Shaw, who suffered a stroke on 9/30/20
    • Charles Kennicott Leech, Nancy's father who is in the hospital
    • Chief Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died 9/18/2020
    • Takiko Kawakami, Fumiko Arao's mother who died 9/2/2020
    • 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:

 

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