Our neighbors at North Stowell Ave have expressed some interest in our presence here. I talked with Meagan Schultz about an OPEN HOUSE in the spring, and here is the date:

SUNDAY, April 28, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

We will need some volunteers who would like to host the event with coffee, tea and cookies/refreshments and give tours. Should be fun!

Every month, on the full moon morning,
we renew our bodhisattva precepts in an ancient ceremony:
This month, on Tuesday, April 23, at 7:30 am, in the place of morning service, after zazen.
The whole morning will be available on ZOOM.

The full moon has a special meaning in Zen: As it is reflected in each dewdrop, so is buddhanature reflected in each of us.

Please join us for a short ceremony in honor of EARTH DAY 2024 and a leisurely walk along the Milwaukee River. We’ll meet at 9 am at the Arch in the parking lot West of Urban Ecology Center.

Everyone interested is invited to this year's Annual Meeting, which will be held in person at the Center on Sunday, April 21 at 11:00AM CDT. We will also hold a Zoom meeting for those who cannot attend in person (using the Zoom button on the homepage of our website).

We will review last year's events, discuss this year's opportunities and enjoy some refreshments and conversations. Every sustaining member will have a vote on the slate of candidates for the board.

We are seeking candidates for open board positions! No experience at all is necessary - we welcome your spirit, ideas and fresh energy and will help you along the way if you haven't been part of a non-profit board previously. The time commitment is not great, but the impact is, so please consider nominating yourself or someone else you know has interest by reaching out to Reirin or anyone on the board before April 21!

Please reply to this email (info@mkzen.org) with your intention:

1) I will attend the MZC Annual Meeting on April 21, 2024 in PERSON.

2) I will attend the MZC Annual Meeting on April 21, 2024 by ZOOM.

3) I am unable to attend the meeting and give my vote by proxy to Greg York, President.

4) I am unable to attend the meeting and abstain from voting.

Thank you very much!
In gassho,

Greg York, Board President
Milwaukee Zen Center

You are invited to a peaceful morning of silent sitting. This is a good start for a beginning sitter, to try out a longer period.

We will offer a vegan oryoki breakfast. Let Reirin know if you have any dietary needs. Bring your own oryoki bowls or borrow some from us.

Fee: $20, membership discount applies.

You may also join by Zoom: 349 905 3117 password: 2825

SCHEDULE
7:00 am zazen
7:30 kinhin
7:40 zazen

8:10 morning service
8:20 oryoki breakfast
9:10 soji and break

10:00 zazen
10:30 dharma talk
11:00 short break

11:10 zazen
11:40 kinhin
11:50 zazen

12:20 pm noon service
12:30 end of day

As Bodhisattvas, we have made vows to support all beings. Since  Democracy is still the best political system currently available, to ensure some measure of justice and equity, Milwaukee Zen Center, together with the Milwaukee Buddhist Peace Fellowship, and MICAH, have decided to help protect the process of voting.

In March of 2020, just before we had to close the doors because of COVID, we invited the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, which is a non-partisan organization, to conduct a voter registration training here in the zendo. Many people showed up, and we ran out of chairs. This year we are offering it again and hope that there will be a good response. Liz Aelion from LWVWI has graciously offered us her expertise.

Liz needs to know how many people will attend. Please register at info@mkzen.org.

This is only one step of this kind of work. As in the past, some of our sangha have been election observers and I will again serve as an election chaplain. We also write letters to prospective voters and go out to local neighborhoods to ask people to vote, in a non-partisan way.
 

If you feel moved to help us with this important effort,
please let Reirin know and register by email: info@mkzen.org.

This Half-Day Sitting includes the Closing Ceremony of the Practice Intensive.
Anybody is welcome to join us for a peaceful morning with zazen, walking meditation, service, a short dharma talk and the ceremony.

You may also attend by zoom. Please use the link on our home page.

We will offer a formal vegetarian breakfast. Let Reirin know if you have any dietary needs. Bring your own oryoki bowls or borrow some from us.

Fee: $20, membership discount applies.

SCHEDULE
7:00 am zazen
7:30 kinhin
7:40 zazen
8:10 morning service with Loving Kindness Meditation
8:25 oryoki breakfast
9:15 soji and break

9:45 zazen
10:15 dharma talk
10:30 closing ceremony with Heart Sutra
11:00 break

11:10 zazen
11:40 kinhin
11:50 zazen
12:20 pm noon service with Harmony of Difference and Unity
12:30 end of day

The Siena Retreat Center in Racine, 5637 Erie Street, Racine, WI 53402, founded by the Racine Dominican Sisters, is a congenial place for Zen practice. MZC held a conference and several retreats there. We are meeting this time for an afternoon in a relaxed atmosphere, with time for discussion and friendly encounter.

This is a great opportunity for “beginners” to start a serious Zen practice!

Call Reirin about carpooling: 414-399-3498

The cost for the retreat is $10.00 per person.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
1:00 pm introduction
1:20 zazen
1:50 kinhin
2:00 dharma talk/Q&A
2:30 (outside) walking meditation
3:00 zazen
3:30 informal tea/conversation
4:20 zazen
4:50 service
5:00 end of day

Join us for a peaceful day of silent sitting, walking meditation, a short dharma talk, moving and/or outdoor walking meditation, chanting services and two formal meals.

This is the last one-day sitting during the Spring 2024 Practice Intensive, let’s take advantage of this opportunity!

There will be time for dokusan. Please sign up.

This event will be broadcast by zoom teleconferencing.
Use the same zoom link as usual by clicking on the button on the website.

We will have formal oryoki breakfast and lunch. Oryoki bowls can be borrowed.
The food is vegetarian, and you may contact me with special needs.

Please register by sending an email to info@mkzen.org.

Fee for non-members is $30, and membership discounts apply.

TAKING REFUGE

The Four Noble Truths are the most basic expression of the Buddha's teaching. These four truths are best understood, not as beliefs, but as categories of experience. They offer an alternative to the ordinary way we categorize what we can know and describe. The four noble truths drop ideas of me/not me, and being/not being, and replace them with skillful (and unskillful) categories for thoughts and actions.

Learn more through Carl’s extensive scholarship and wisdom!
If you would like to read ahead of the workshop, you may receive an email with attached notes, when you register.

Registration by email to info@mkzen.org
Dana for the Teacher is requested.

CARL JEROME  currently teaches meditation and the dharma at the North Shore Meditation & Dharma Center, which he founded. Carl has practiced Buddhism formally for the past twenty-five years. His practice began in San Francisco under Zen Master Zenshin Philip Whalen Roshi, and fifteen years ago he became a student of Master Ji Ru, abbot of the Mid-America Buddhist Association (MABA), from whom he received lay teaching endorsement.

You are invited to a peaceful morning of silent sitting. This is a good start for a beginning sitter, to try out a longer period.

We will offer a vegan oryoki breakfast. Let Reirin know if you have any dietary needs. Bring your own oryoki bowls or borrow some from us.

Fee: $20, membership discount applies.

You may also join by Zoom: 349 905 3117 password: 2825

SCHEDULE
7:00 am zazen
7:30 kinhin
7:40 zazen

8:10 morning service
8:20 oryoki breakfast
9:10 soji and break

10:00 zazen
10:30 dharma talk
11:00 short break

11:10 zazen
11:40 kinhin
11:50 zazen

12:20 pm noon service
12:30 end of day

February 15 is the traditional date for the commemoration of Shakyamuni Buddha’s death and his passing into Parinirvana. It is a solemn ceremony with offerings, a reading, chanting and circumambulation of the altar. It will take place after zazen, in the place of morning service.

The Siena Retreat Center in Racine, founded by the Racine Dominican Sisters, is a congenial place for Zen practice. MZC held a conference and several retreats there. We are meeting this time for an afternoon in a relaxed atmosphere, with time for discussion and friendly encounter.

This is a great opportunity for “beginners” to start a serious Zen practice!

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
1:00 pm introduction
1:20 zazen
1:50 kinhin
2:00 dharma talk/Q&A
2:30 (outside) walking meditation
3:00 zazen
3:30 informal tea/conversation
4:20 zazen
4:50 service
5:00 end of day

Sena Center beach

Longer sittings, “sesshins”, are the lifeblood of Zen practice, where we are encouraged to “put aside the intellectual practice of investigating words and chasing phrases and learn the backward step that turns the light and shines it inward.” (Dogen, Fukanzazengi)

This first One-Day Sitting of the Year is also the beginning of the Spring 2024 Practice Intensive.
There will be several 30-minutes zazen periods with walking meditation and other movement meditation, chanting and bowing services, two oryoki meals, and the Opening Ceremony in the afternoon. For participants in the Practice Intensive the Zazenkai is obligatory, but anybody can sign up. (Let me know if you do not have experience in formal meals; you can still do it.)

Please register by email: info@mkzen.org
The day is free for members at the “Red Bird” level, and the fee for nonmembers is $30.00.

Every month, on the full moon morning, we renew our bodhisattva precepts in an ancient ceremony:
This month, it will take place on Thursday, JAnuary 25, at 7:30 am, in the place of morning service, after zazen.
The whole morning will be available on ZOOM.

The full moon has a special meaning in Zen: As it is reflected in each dewdrop, so is buddhanature reflected in each of us.

Photograph by Tim Keane www.timkeanephotography.com

The Milwaukee Buddhist Peace Fellowship
cordially invites you to a presentation on the
Buddhist teaching of the deep interdependence of all beings

as expressed through
• The Interbeing of Thich Nhat Hanh
• The Beloved Community of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Our own lives

Presenters:
Tonen O’Connor • Paul Norton • Rev. Joseph Jackson, Jr. • Rev. Marilyn Miller

when: Saturday, January 20th 2024, at 2:00 pm
where: Washington Park Library
2121 N. Sherman Blvd. Milwaukee, WI 53208

The Buddhist Peace Fellowship Milwaukee invites you to our Annual

New Year’s Day Peace Gathering

on Monday, January 1st 2024 10am to Noon
at Milwaukee Shambhala Center 2344 N Oakland Avenue, Milwaukee 53211

All are welcome to this annual gathering to cultivate peace and celebrate our community connections. The morning consists of silent meditation, readings on peace, dialog, a potluck and sock drive. If you like, bring a dish to pass.
We’re looking for donations of new, warm socks to donate to the homeless.

Any questions, email tendershootofjoy@gmail.com

Every month, on the full moon morning, we renew our bodhisattva precepts in an ancient ceremony:
This month, it will take place on Wednesday, December 27, at 7:30 am, in the place of morning service, after zazen.
The whole morning will be available on ZOOM.

The full moon has a special meaning in Zen: As it is reflected in each dewdrop, so is buddhanature reflected in each of us.

PLEASE NOTE: The date has changed. We are celebrating on Friday, December 22!

Nature’s great cycle is celebrated in Buddhist practice with acknowledgement of impermanence and change, and also the wisdom that is behind our experience. We are aware that our inner light shines bright with wonder, awe, and gratitude for the life that we have been given and that we share with the universe.

As we celebrate the Winter Solstice, we recognize darkness as a necessary part of the yearly renewal, and we know that this darkness is not absolute: in the dark there is light, even if we don’t see it as light.

At this time, we value our intimate relationship with friends and family and gather to share meals and stories.

This year, I would like to invite the whole sangha for 20 minutes of zazen, ceremony and potluck! If you can, please bring music, a poem or story of the season, as well as a vegetarian dish to share!

Rohatsu is Japanese for "eighth day of the twelfth month." In Japanese Buddhism, December 8 is commemorated as the ENLIGHTENMENT of the historical Buddha, also called Bodhi-Day.

In Zen temples, this is a joyful celebration at the end of a seven-day sesshin. Today, we are observing the enlightenment experience of Shakyamuni Buddha, when he saw the morning star. We will honor our own awakening with bows, chanting, and circumambulation of the zendo with drum accompaniment, and rain of flowers.

Please join us for morning zazen at 9:30 am, kinhin and a short dharma talk, and the ceremony at 10:45 am.
Zoom participation is also an option, as always.

Every month, on the full moon morning,
we renew our bodhisattva precepts in an ancient ceremony:
This month, on Monday, November 27, at 7:45 am, in the place of morning service, after zazen.
The whole morning will be available on ZOOM.

The full moon has a special meaning in Zen: As it is reflected in each dewdrop, so is buddhanature reflected in each of us.

Today, four of our sangha members, Greg York, Kellett Koch, Helen Norris and Devin Drobka, will be ordained as lay Soto Zen practitioners. For several months, they have been diligently sewing their rakusu, the mini version of the okesa (Buddha’s robe), and studied the Soto Zen Bodhisattva precepts.

The ceremony - Zaike Tokudo, Ceremony of Staying Home and Attaining Liberation - is very similar to the priest ordination, only there you would be leaving home (at least for some years), and they have chosen to do the hard work of staying in the world.

The event will take place at 11:30 am on Sunday, November 19, 2023, and family, friends and sangha members are warmly invited to attend, either in the zendo or on zoom (349 905 3117, password 2825).
Our regular Sunday morning practice will happen as usual, and there will be a short Sunday talk. Afterwards you may enjoy a cup of tea in the meeting room while the ceremony is being set up.

The conclusion of the ceremony is a celebratory reception, which everybody is invited to stay for.
Please consider making a food donation for this joyous event!

This Half-Day Sitting includes the Closing Ceremony of the Practice Intensive.
Anybody is welcome to join us for a peaceful morning with zazen, walking meditation, service, a short dharma talk and the ceremony.

You may also attend by zoom. Please use the link on our home page.

We will offer a formal vegetarian breakfast. Let Reirin know if you have any dietary needs. Bring your own oryoki bowls or borrow some from us.

Fee: $20, membership discount applies.

SCHEDULE
7:00 am zazen
7:30 kinhin
7:40 zazen
8:10 morning service with Loving Kindness Meditation
8:25 oryoki breakfast
9:15 soji and break

9:45 zazen
10:15 dharma talk
10:30 closing ceremony with Heart Sutra
11:00 break

11:10 zazen
11:40 kinhin
11:50 zazen
12:20 pm noon service with Harmony of Difference and Unity
12:30 end of day

SHUSO HOSSEN is a ceremonial rite-of-passage for the student FRANK FISCHER who has served as a model to the sangha during the 2023 Practice Intensive.
The event is both a crucible and an empowerment for the student in that his understanding is tested by the community. As such, it is a participatory and deeply moving experience for all.

Frank will give a short dharma talk on a given koan and take questions from the community in a ceremonial conversation known as dharma dialogue.

The afternoon will conclude with a reception.
Please let us know if you would like to participate, and if you are able to bring a refreshment.

Join us for a peaceful day of silent sitting, walking meditation, a short dharma talk, moving and/or outdoor walking meditation, and chanting services.

This is the last one-day sitting during the Fall 2023 Practice Intensive,
let’s take advantage of this opportunity!

There will be time for dokusan. Please sign up.

This event will be broadcast by zoom teleconferencing.
Please use the same zoom link as usual: ID 349 905 3117, password 2825

We will have formal oryoki breakfast and lunch. Oryoki bowls can be borrowed.
The food is vegetarian, and you may contact me with special needs.

Please register by calling 414-399-3498 or sending an email to info@mkzen.org.

Fee for non-members is $30, and membership discounts apply.

SEJIKI is an ancient Buddhist ceremony, a food offering to the Hungry Ghosts. A separate altar will be put up on the opposite side of the zendo, so that the spirits may not feel intimidated. There will be many delicious food items prepared (you may also add your favorite candy!) and offered.

The ceremony will be celebrated at 6 pm. Afterwards you may stay and partake of the bounty!

The Sejiki Ceremony has an unusual chant from the sutra Kanromon, Gate of Sweet Nectar, which the entire assembly participates in. It contains the core teachings on the practice of making offerings and a series of incantations handed down from the Buddha. The chant forms the basis of the ritual.

At the end we will read the names of people who died in the recent past, either sangha and family members or other important people in our community. They can also include people who you did not know personally. Please send me names in writing that you would like to be included.

Please familiarize yourself with the chant prior to the actual ceremony at 6:00 pm on October 31st. See below for the transcript of the chant.

Hungry ghosts are all those spirits who feel unsatisfied and cannot get enough nourishment. They have large stomachs and thin throats. These beings can also be within ourselves. Sejiki-e is conducted for the benefit of these sprits, to whom we offer food and the Dharma.

GATE OF SWEET DEW:
Homage to the buddhas in ten directions.
Homage to the dharma in ten directions.
Homage to the sangha in ten directions.
Homage to our original teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha.
Homage to the great merciful, compassionate reliever of suffering, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva.
Homage to the expounder of the teachings, the venerable Ananda.

Giving rise to the awakened mind, we unconditionally offer a bowl of pure food to all the hungry ghosts in every land to the farthest reaches of vast emptiness in the ten directions, including every atom throughout the entire dharma realm.  We invite all our departed ancestors going back to ancient times, the spirits dwelling in mountains, rivers, and earth, as well as demonic spirits from the untamed wilderness, to come and gather here.  Now, with deep sympathy we offer food to all of you, sincerely hoping that you will each accept this food and turn it over, making offerings to buddhas, sages, and all sentient beings throughout the vast emptiness of the universe, so that you and all the many sentient beings will be satisfied.  Moreover, we sincerely wish that your bodies be conveyed by these mantras and food so that you may depart from suffering, be liberated, find birth in heaven, and receive joy.  In accord with your intentions, may you travel freely through the pure lands in the ten directions and arouse awakened mind practicing the awakened way and in the future become a buddha without regressing.  We entreat those who have previously attained the way since ancient times to vow to realize liberation together with all beings.  Day and night, constantly protect us so that our vows will be fulfilled.  We offer food to beings throughout the dharma realm, so that every being will equally receive this fortunate offering.  Whatever virtue and merit this produces, we completely transfer and dedicate to the unsurpassed awakening with total clarity and wisdom of the whole dharma realm of true reality, that all may speedily attain buddhahood without incurring any other destinies.  May all sentient beings of the dharma realm take advantage of this teaching to quickly attain buddhahood.

KAN RO MON [Italicized portions of the text are not chanted.]

Dharani for Summoning Deceased Spirits to the Great Assembly
Nō bō bohori gyari tari tatāgyata ya

Dharani for Breaking Down the Gates of Hell and Opening Throats
Ōm boho tēiri gyatari tatāgyata ya

Dharanis Summoning the Five Tathagathas with Precious Names
Homage to the Many Jewels Tathagatha,
Nō bo bagya batēi hara bota ara tānnō ya tatāgyata ya
Removing the karma of greed, fully complete with blessing and wisdom.

Homage to the Wondrous Form Body Tathagatha,
Nō bo bagya batēi soro baya tatāgyata ya
Destroying disgrace and vileness, fully complete with good marks.

Homage to the King of Sweet Dew Tathagatha,
Nō bo bagya batēi ami ritēi arān jaya tatāgyata ya
Pouring the Dharma into body and mind, granting pleasure.

Homage to the Boundless Body Tathagatha,
Nō bo bagya batēi biho ragya taraya tatāgyata ya
Opening wide all throats, satisfying them with food and drink.

Homage to the Freedom from Fear Tathagatha,
Nō bo bagya batēi aba ēn gyara ya tatāgyata ya
Completely banishing fear, freeing all from rebirths as hungry ghosts.                  

Dedication (chanted by whole assembly):
By the positive energy of this assembly, we repay the virtue of our parents’ toil and care.  May the living be blessed with joy and longevity without misery.  May the deceased be freed from suffering and be born into peaceful nurturing.  May conscious beings in the three realms, having received the four benefactions, together with those born to suffering in the threefold path and the eight difficult situations, all thoroughly repent their errors, wash away their defects, finally depart the round of samsara, and be born in the pure land.