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Thank you to everyone who made Buddha’s Birthday Celebration on April 30, 2023, such an enjoyable event! Around 50 people showed up, many lined up to bathe the Baby Buddha, and some shared poems and musical performances with us. There were food donations, including some amazing Buddha cookies. Even though the weather was not what we had hoped for, it was a memorable community gathering.
Here are some photos:
This video was made for an initiative of Faith Voices for Justice in Wisconsin to counteract the attempts for suppressing the truth and not teach children the American past. Thank you, Noah, for your effort!
WISCONSIN PRISON ART EXHIBITION at MIAD, 273 E. Erie Street, Milwaukee
January 19 through March 11, 2023
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
FREE Admission
Tom Tolan, Kinho Bokushu, a member of the MZC Sangha, has been shuso (head monk) for the Winter ango at Ryumonji in Iowa. Several of us went there for a weekend sesshin and the shuso ceremony on the first weekend in March. It was a great experience for all of us, and Tom gave perfect answers,
Congratulations, great congratulations, Tom!
The Warehouse Art Museum at 1635 W St. Paul Avenue in Milwaukee is currently (January 13 - March 31, 2023) showing an exhibit:
Rediscovering RUTH GROTHENRATH (American 1912-1988): All Things Belong to This Earth, the first solo museum retrospective of this Milwaukee artist. Featuring never-before-seen artworks alongside award-winning paintings and prints that cover the artists career of over 50 years.
https://www.wuwm.com/2023-02-02/influential-milwaukee-artist-ruth-grotenrath-honored-in-new-exhibition
Since Ruth Grotenrath was highly influenced by Japanese art, traveled to Japan several times and considered herself a lay Buddhist, I was asked to give a presentation of Zen practice at the museum.
Here are some pictures:
Zhenbao Jin, who lives in China, gave a wonderful presentation on Tuesday, February 7, on the power of healing through “Qi”, as it is known in Taoism. Since Zen has traditionally a strong relationship with Chinese culture and philosophies, much of what Zhenbao talked about sounded familiar.
Dr. Zhenbao Jin has a PhD degree in the philosophy of law. He had been a lawyer and a law lecturer in China. Due to the diagnosis of non-hodgkin's lymphoma in 2012, he started to practice meditation for the purpose of healing. His approach is based on an integrative understanding of Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, philosophy and science and emphasizes the role of Qi, or life energy in the development of consciousness and physical and mental health. Dr. Jin has fully recovered from the lymphoma as well as the other problems he has had, including atrophic gastritis, prostatitis and ankylosing spondylitis simply through meditation and sports. Dr. Jin now lives in Shenzhen, China and is a teacher of healing meditation as well as a researcher on meditation, spiritual traditions and their relationship with philosophy and science. More information about Dr. Jin can be found at Zhenbao Jin | Process & Faith (processandfaith.org) and his Wordpress blog:meditationtaoist.
Taoist Meditation for Healing and Transformation
According to our annual tradition, we celebrated the transition into the New Year with zazen, Japanese noodles, 108 strikes on the peace bell and a fire ceremony, burning off old karma.
Winter Solstice is a time for deep reflection on the impermanent nature of reality, the constant (ex)change of dark and light, growth and decay. On December 21, we celebrated with zazen, a special service, words of the season and a potluck. Here are some photos:
Two of our sangha members, Frank Fischer and Jonathan Elmergreen, were ordained in the Soto Zen lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. They received the 16 Bodhisattva precepts, a Dharma name, a rakusu (mini Buddhist robe), which they had sewn themselves and which was inscribed by their teacher Reirin, and the lineage papers with the bloodline from Shakyamuni Buddha through all the ancestors, down to them, and back to the Buddha.
Frank’s Dharma name is Daijin Angyo - Great Virtue, Peaceful Practice
Jonathan’s Dharma name is Kosan Mumon - Old Mountain, No Gate
The interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, together with Souls to the Polls, organized a press conference on Monday, 11/7, in City Hall for diverse faith leaders. It became an urgent call for voting in this midterm election that would have consequences for citizens.
In October, I spent a Sunday afternoon non-partisan canvassing near Sherman Park with a few other people of faith (mostly Jewish), who feel that the election may have a stark effect on marginalized faiths.
On November 8, Election Day, I spent many afternoon and evening hours in a parking lot in front of a polling station in Harambee (at 100 ‘ distance from the building) as polling chaplain. Pastor Karen from Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church and I kept each other's spirits up. We had been trained in “Active Bystander” and De-escalation” techniques, in order to be ready for any difficult encounter. Luckily none of that was necessary. People were continuously entering the polling station, happily showing their stickers when the were done voting. A few observers showed up, even two parliamentarians from Scotland! It is obvious that the world was anxiously following the procedures.
(Sorry, just found this as a draft from August! Later entries follow…)
"What is Zazen?" was the theme for Hokyoji's 2022 Jewel Mirror sesshin led by Reverends Daigaku Rummé, Reirin Alheidis Gumbel and Dokai Georgesen. This, in-person only, 7-day retreat began Saturday, August 13 at 4:00 pm and ended on Saturday, August 20 at noon.
We had 17 attendants, and everyone agreed at the end, it was the deepest and quietest retreat that they had experienced at Hokyoji. There were three participants from MZC, and we would like to return for the Rohatsu Sesshin in December, 12/3/22 - 12/10/22: https://www.hokyoji.org/event/hokyojis-rohatsu-sesshin/
Photos: 1. Entrance to Hokyoji, with Mauss Hall and Guesthouse 2. Guesthouse and “Teachers’ Hut” 3. Bell Tower and Zendo 4. Zendo 5. Jewel Mirror 2022 participants (one had to leave because of a family emergency) 6. Beau, who took picture 5
The Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, in collaboration with the Milwaukee Art Museum, invited the faith community for a show: FAITH AS THE ARTIST’S MUSE on October 6. This was part of the AMAZING FAITHS Project, which
Five artists (all women!) were selected from Bahai, Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist communities.
Each presented her work in a live gallery and slide show during a superb vegan dinner.
Susann Stone from Great Lakes Zen Center presented among other photographs this B&W image of a heron, which reminded me of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi!
The open atrium in the Quadracci Pavilion, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary with a visit by the architect Santiago Calatrava, was a perfect backdrop for this exquisite event.
As you may remember, in an earlier entry (July 2020) I wrote about Jarvis Masters who is currently incarcerated on death row at San Quentin, California. San Francisco Zen Center and Berkeley Zen Center have had many years of contact with the prisoners there.
Hozan Alan Senauke, the Abbot of BZC recently sent this email:
Jarvis called some of us yesterday to say we should tune in to CBS Mornings today for some amazing news, though he wouldn’t say what it was. Well, I watched this morning as Oprah Winfrey announced Jarvis Master’s autobiographical book, That Bird Has My Wings, as her latest Book Club choice. See today's excellent segment here (You have to wade through a commercial first.): https://www.cbs.com/shows/video/qZCeUchUs4wiP2SpyGEf_cKFBg71YBUd/
This wonderful news comes as this extraordinary legal team have filed a federal appeal of Jarvis Masters’ California capitol conviction for a crime he did not commit. Jarvis, his supporters and friends are optimistic about this new appeal. In a short time, Jarvis could be a free man after 33 years on San Quentin’s death row, free to share his wisdom and energies in society at large. Here is a link to a press release and further information about his case.
https://www.freejarvis.org/press-release
Peace,
Hozan
On August 5, 2012, a white supremacist entered the sanctuary of the Sikh temple in Oak Creek and shot and killed six worshippers; a seventh died later of his injuries.
This year, on the 10th Anniversary, the Interfaith Community was invited for a memorial service. A very large presence from diverse faith communities showed up, also representatives from the local, state, and federal government appeared. It became obvious to everyone that the violence had the opposite effect of what had been intended: instead of fear and hate, openness, hope and love prevailed.
This is the text I read:
PRAYER FOR 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF SIKH MASSACRE
With admiration for the Sikh community who did not give in to hate when the unthinkable happened, I bow my head - thinking of the grief that has been endured for these many years after the terrible incident.
Chardi Kala, relentless optimism, guides the Sikhs' actions of service and compassion, because the only way to world peace is nonviolence and faith in one's God.
If all people followed the Sikhs' mindset, the world would become one that was kinder, friendlier and more compassionate, and peace and harmony would result. This has to be all our aspiration.
May penetrating light dispel the darkness of ignorance.
May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature.
May all beings be free.
Please join me in a Moment of Silence.
The “Zendo” at Siena Center
From Sunday, June 26, until Tuesday, June 28, Milwaukee Zen Center held a residential sesshin at Siena Retreat Center in Racine, Wisconsin. We were graciously hosted by the Racine Dominican Sisters, who had given us Buddhists refuge before. The Spacious Oak Room provided ample space for a zendo and oryoki dining. We even had a private kitchen.
The fifteen of us were coming from different directions: Hogetsu Laurie Belzer, Dylan Toropov, Gerrie Griffin and David Wray from Ancient Dragon Zen Gate in Chicago, Chuck Hutchcraft from Mundelein, Il, Taizan Alford from Appleton, Kim Hartman from Oshkosh, Fay Akindes from Kenosha, Wren Deetjen-Priester from Twin Lakes, and Susan Winecki, Frank Fischer, Kellett Koch, Jonathan Elmergreen, Jason Farris and Reirin Gumbel from Milwaukee.
Everyone had a job, either in the kitchen or in the zendo, and each had their own private bedroom with bath. There was plenty of time to enjoy the perfect weather and lovely surroundings.
We were all grateful for having an opportunity to being together in person and enjoying the intimacy of sitting together in silence.
waiting for oryoki meal
Circle
Break
Zazen
On Monday, June 19, 2022, a peace pole was erected on the grounds of the Archdiocese in Milwaukee. Faith leaders from the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee were asked to offer reflections and prayers for world peace. After each person had finished, they took a shovel of dirt and added it at the foot of the pole.
Some of the Interfaith Conference members
This was my prayer for peace:
As people of faith we have come together today to plant a peace pole on the grounds of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. We dedicate it to world peace,
to the safety and wellbeing of all victims of war, discrimination and racism, to all who live in fear of persecution, to those who have experienced homeless and abandonment, who have been forgotten in the world of privilege.
May we arouse the vow to bring about conditions for peace and healing throughout this city, this nation, and the world.
As the wind carries our prayers for Earth and all life, may respect and love light our way. May our hearts be filled with Buddha’s compassion for others and for ourselves. May all beings be free from suffering, enjoy liberation and justice. May the light of Buddha’s awakening illuminate the mind of all beings.
May they attain complete freedom.
May peace increase on Earth.
Please join me in a moment of silence. - Thank you.
Last week some of us attended a Faith Community Townhall Meeting at the Kingdom Faith Fellowship Church that was organized by the Office for Violence Prevention, a division of the City of Milwaukee Health Department. I received an impressive manual: BLUEPRINT FOR PEACE (www.414LIFE), a guide for coordinated action to prevent violence.
JUNE 5th was A National Day To End Gun Violence, and we were encouraged to WEAR ORANGE, which we did. We also put up a banner to end gun violence. (Next year will be more sophisticated…)
Early Friday morning, after service. Our friend Taizan was visiting and took the picture.
In an interview with the Santa Cruz Sentinel Zenju talks about her latest book The Shamanic Bones of Zen: Revealing the Ancestral Spirit and Mystical Heart of a Sacred Tradition
Last time I invited her to visit us on a book tour, she declined for health reasons. But I would like to invite her again, to give a talk on zoom. Will keep you posted!
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel is an ordained Zen Buddhist priest who previously led the Kasai River Healing Sangha in Oakland. (Contributed — Anna Cummings)
By John Malkin | Santa Cruz Sentinel correspondent
May 18, 2022 at 3:01 p.m.
“The Shamanic Bones of Zen: Revealing the Ancestral Spirit and Mystical Heart of a Sacred Tradition” is the new book by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel. Published in February by Shambhala Publications, the book dives deeply into the Indigenous and mystical roots of Zen Buddhism. Zenju asks us to, “Consider the Indigenous beginnings of all cultures” and submits, “There are underlying esoteric, mystical, or shamanic, histories to all spiritualities and religions.”
Zenju is an ordained Zen Buddhist priest who previously led the Kasai River Healing Sangha in Oakland and now lives in New Mexico where she leads the Still Breathing Zen Sangha, which she says was established at a time of “increased anti-blackness in this country.” For many years Zenju has also practiced singing, drumming and ceremonies from a variety of Indigenous traditions including Caribbean, Native American Lakota and Vodou from Dahomey, Africa. She writes, “I wondered: if the shamanic bones or Indigenous roots that were suppressed in the rising of Buddhism were unearthed, would the practice make more sense to practitioners, especially to black, Indigenous and people of color?” Some of Zenju’s other books include “Sanctuary” and “The Deepest Peace.” The Sentinel recently spoke with Zenju about rituals, Zen and ending white supremacy.
Q: “You write that, “I experienced Zen practice as a shamanic journey of the Spirit.”
A: “When I entered Buddhism, even chanting “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” felt to be something very shamanic. It’s from the Soka Gakkai Nichiren Buddhist tradition,” Zenju explains. “I chanted this mantra and watched my life change from doing just that. It was a great experience of learning shamathah (concentration) without a lot of Buddhist dogma. I did that for 15 years!
Q: “How did you come to Zen Buddhism?”
A: “I had been doing silent meditation on my own and a friend invited me to a people of color retreat at Spirit Rock. I didn’t go. It didn’t make sense to me. Because where I was in East Oakland, we were all people of color! My whole sangha was Black women!” Zenju continued, “Later, in 2002, I did go to an African American retreat and I saw these two Zen practitioners, who I thought were teachers. There was something about how they presented their talks that struck me. It wasn’t what they said. It’s how they bowed to their seat, how they sat up, spoke, how they got down off their seat. I said, ‘I want that.’ So, I ended up checking out Berkeley Zen Center. When I got there, they said, ‘There’s a people of color group over at San Francisco Zen Center.’ And again, I was like, ‘I’m not getting it! What’s this people of color group?’ I went with a friend to San Francisco Zen Center and did join the people of color group. My friend ended up leaving Zen and I went deeper into it. I did an intensive three-week retreat and I came out a different person. I felt at ease with my life.
I considered entering Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic Order of Interbeing but I was too old. I think you have to be between 16 and 30 to become ordained. When he passed away, I was telling my students, ‘The oldest people you see at the funeral ceremony have been with Thich Nhat Hanh their whole lives. They were 16 together.’ Can you imagine being 16 years old, and then being 90-something, together, burying your 95-year-old brother? Now that’s sangha!” (community)
Q: “Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh has been so important to me. His practice of engaged Buddhism is revolutionary, acknowledging that it’s not enough to sit in the meditation hall if there are bombs dropping outside, or children who need food. Sometimes direct action is necessary. He came to the U.S. to try to stop the war that was devastating his country.”
A: “Thich Nhat Hanh was definitely a great teacher. I had my students listen to ‘A Cloud Never Dies.’ I get a little perturbed sometimes when people talk so much about the Dalai Lama and not so much about Thich Nhat Hanh. I tell people that sit with me, Do you know why they don’t talk about Thich Nhat Hanh? It’s because he came out against our war! And then he still built a counterculture religion in a Christian country!’ He’s amazing,” Zenju reflects. “He was among a group of young people who wanted to create a new kind of Zen. He knew it had to be something engaged. And it didn’t mean what we have today with, ‘Now we’re going to go protest the war in Ukraine.’ No, it was about what’s outside your own door. What bomb is dropping outside your door, in your own city?”
Q: “At one point you told one of your Zen teachers, ‘Vodou and Zen are the same.’ It didn’t resonate for your teacher.”
A: “When you’re doing the rituals and practices of Vodou, just like in Zen, you’re discovering life and discovering yourself. That’s the link between the two. Vodou embraces all of life, just like Zen. It has the same principles as Zen. What’s different are the specific rituals and ceremonies, and how you come to understand nature and life. A lot of the Vodou dances are about protection, upholding a wholesome good life, healing. It’s always made out that Vodou is done to hurt somebody and has nothing to do with wellness. It’s just the opposite,” Zenju offers.
“I am completely called to Vodou because I’m a descendant of Africans who were taken away from their home. After that, most of us were unable to fully practice our Indigenous practices. But I think there’s some imprints in us that call us to particular African Indigenous practices,” Zenju continued. “For me, it’s been Vodou. Vodou means spirit. I’ve gotten a lot of information by drumming. I’m a drummer. That is far from sitting, but it’s very concentrated. The sounds and the rhythms open you up just as much as sitting. Stillness and quiet is not the only way. Whatever that thing is that opens you, you have to find it.”
Q: “You write that, ‘Zen leaned away from rituals and acknowledging itself as shamanic for fear of being mistaken for new age, witchcraft or Vodou.’ It seems to me that anti-ritual attitudes are rooted in a modern Western belief that Indigenous practices are backwards and need to be refined. And this belief has supported colonialism, racism and violence.”
A: “When people say, ‘I don’t want to do a ritual, I don’t like ceremony, I just do Zen,’ then there’s something in there. When people say they dislike something primal, it’s because they associate it with being uncivilized. It’s like what we see in movies with the ways Indigenous cultures are depicted. That’s what I’m asking people to look at,” Zenju told the Sentinel.
“None of that has come up in any of the interviews I’ve had so far. And that’s one of the most important things in my book! So, I’m glad we’re talking about it. One guy said, ‘I heard you talking about all these different rituals, but the focus of Zen is just zazen.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, that’s the biggest ritual of them all!’ I’m thinking, ‘What happened in your mind, in which you could not hold that zazen is a ritual?’ If we can release our negative ideas about ritual and ceremony, we can begin to see a more integrated way.
“Even church is shamanic!,” Zenju says. “Eating a cracker for the body of Jesus Christ and drinking grape juice for his blood? Completely shamanic! Mostly, Zen is a lot of incense and flower offerings and eating. It reminded me of how church was for me; everybody’s in church together, babies and old folk. A Buddhist abbott asked me what kind of Zen Center I would establish and I said, ‘Well, there’d be a lot of children and grandparents, music and a whole lot of food.’ And he said, ‘Wow! That’s how they do it in Thailand!’ I said, ‘Yeah, that’s kind of how colored people do it.’ Everywhere you go, in every practice, the whole community’s there.”
Q: “In ‘Shamanic Roots of Zen,’ you write, ‘There is no religion or spiritual community in the United States that is without systemic oppression.’ And, ‘Beginning very early in the colonial era, there have been violent efforts, including the annihilation of African and Native American medicine people, and the burning of those accused as witches to suppress that which was viewed as magic.’”
A: “There are political and social ramifications of not respecting Indigenous ritual. Not understanding it, or respecting it, can lead to some horrific experiences like genocide, massacre, slavery and things like this. We were hoping things wouldn’t go back to “normal” after the pandemic. And there is no way for us to go back. But what’s happening now is that the social structures are still there and they’re still crumbling. We’re trying to fit ourselves back into the structures but we ourselves have changed. We’re still in these structures because we didn’t build anything new. Over time, things will begin to show themself, but we have to take time to be in the darkness,” Zenju said.
“My next book is called ‘Opening to Darkness: Eight Gateways for Being with the Absence of Light in Unsettling Times.’ It’s coming out in March, 2023. I’m bringing all of my transmissions in this book; Vodou and Buddhism. It’s integral because we are in an integral world. None of us are only that or only this. And it’s hard for us to be with darkness. We long for the light. Now, it’s mask on, mask off, mask on. OK, wear a mask, period! This pandemic is ongoing. It doesn’t matter if you had a shot, or you had COVID; put your mask on if you’re not feeling well. Try to protect others – that should be a new way of being! This is something we’re learning. And it’s transitional. Everything’s transitional.”
Listen to this interview with Zenju Earthlyn Manuel today at noon on KZSC 88.1 FM / kzsc.org on Transformation Highway with John Malkin.
Branching Streams 2022Participants
By Tova Green
Branching Streams, a network of over seventy Zen Centers and sanghas in the Shunryu Suzuki Roshi lineage, hosted biannual conferences prior to the Covid pandemic. The last conference was hosted by Milwaukee Zen Center in 2019. During the last two years the group had several “mini-conferences” via Zoom to maintain connections. It was very joyful to meet again in person April 25 – 29 at spacious Ancient Yoga Center near Austin, Texas.
The conference was hosted by Austin Zen Center. There were 40 participants from 20 Branching Streams sanghas from all corners of the U.S., Vancouver, and Berlin. The Conference theme, Healing Relationships, was intended to provide opportunities to connect with ourselves, one another, and our planet after two challenging years. A program committee of seven sangha leaders met monthly for nearly a year to plan the program, and a local committee of Austin Zen Center staff and members worked on the logistics.
Several attendees wrote about the conference in their recent sangha newsletters.
Eden Kevin Heffernan, leader of the Richmond, VA Zen Group, noted, “In addition to spending time with old and new friends from other Zen sanghas in our Suzuki Roshi lineage, the program included three powerful workshops: Healing Circles, introduced by Jaune Evans, The Work That Reconnects led by Stephanie Kaza, and From Deep Places, a writing workshop with Naomi Shihab Nye. We learned a lot and were vivified by everyone who attended.”
Hakusho Ostlund and Reirin Gumbel
Upon returning to Brattleboro, Vermont, Hakusho Ostlund wrote: “Other than the heart-to-heart connections, what was moving to me was to get to experience how many others are making efforts such as ours, establishing and caring for a community of Zen practitioners, training in forms and ceremonies, and extending practice and care beyond the realms of the temple. Though all Sanghas faced unique challenges during the pandemic (several lost their physical meeting spaces), my sense was of a vitality of practice as new and creative ways for practicing together have emerged.”
Reirin Gumbel, guiding teacher of Milwaukee Zen Center, wrote: “This year’s theme, Healing Relationships, seemed to be poignant for our time of enforced separation and estrangement on many levels. The Branching Streams program committee and the Austin Zen Center local logistics committee had been spending many hours over the last two years to finally come together again in person and enjoy live workshops that were heartwarming, enlightening and fun, and to experience the intimacy of sangha again every morning and evening during zazen and service.”
Inryu Ponce-Barger, guiding teacher of All Beings Zen Center in Washington, DC compiled a Gatha from words of participants, which she read during the closing portion of the conference.
May we together with All Beings
Cultivate broad view
Reaffirm connection
Remember the beauty of the sound we make together
Look after our new friends and old friends
Keep the vitality we feel
and be encouraged for the benefit of All Beings in the Ten Directions.
Affiliated Sanghas who attended the Conference: All Beings Zen (Washington, DC), Ancient Dragon Zen Gate (Chicago, IL), Austin Zen Center (Austin, TX), Akazienzendo (Berlin, Germany), Berkeley Zen Center (Berkeley, CA), Brattleboro Zen Center (Brattleboro, VT), Brooklyn Zen Center (Brooklyn, NY), Everyday Zen Foundation (SF Bay Area and beyond), Heart of Compassion (Pt. Reyes, CA), Houston Zen Center (Houston, TX), Mid-City Zen (New Orleans, LA), Middle Way Zen (San Jose, CA), Milwaukee Zen Center (Milwaukee, WI), Mountain Rain Zen Community (Vancouver, B.C.), Richmond Zen (Richmond, VA), San Antonio Zen Center (San Antonio, TX), San Francisco Zen Center (San Francisco, CA), Santa Cruz Zen Center (Santa Cruz, CA), Tuscaloosa Zen (Tuscaloosa, AL), Zen Center North Shore (Beverly, MA).
Program Committee Members: Choro Antonaccio (Austin Zen Center), Teresa Bouza (Kannon Do Zen Center), Jaune Evans (Heart of Compassion and Everyday Zen), Douglas Floyd (Ancient Dragon Zen Center), Reirin Gumbel (Milwaukee Zen Center), Michael Newton (Mountain Rain Zen Center), Inryu Ponce-Barger (All Beings Zen), and Tova Green, Branching Streams Liaison.
Austin Zen Center Logistics Committee (LOCO): Choro Antonaccio, Karen Laing, Wendy Salome, Pat Yingst, with support from Head Teacher Mako Voelkel and staff members Jess Engle and Maida Barbour.
David Zimmerman, Tova Green, and Sozan Miglioli attended from SFZC
It was wonderful to experience the intimacy of sangha again every morning and evening during zazen and service. On the first full day we held Healing Circles in small groups, where we pondered personal questions that were prompted from Alberto Rios’ poem We Are of a Tribe (below). In the afternoon poet and songwriter Naomi Shihab Nye conducted a writing workshop. The third day was filled with The Work That Reconnects, presentations and workshops about a Buddhist response to climate change and ecological healing that was led by Buddhist and Ecologist Stephanie Kaza.
There was plenty of time for conversation over sumptuous vegetarian meals and walks on the vast temple grounds. On the last day Austin Zen Center gave a warm reception at their exquisite home. Here is a photo of Reirin with her Dharma brother Hakusho Ostlund who heads the Brattleboro Zen Center in Vermont.
Entrance to Ancient Yoga
MZC member Isabel Kent has been participating in monastic practice at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center -Zenshinji. Here is a photo from the Winter 2022 Practice Period. Isabel is in the last row on the left.
