Lingyun was wandering in the mountains and became lost in his walking. He rounded a bend and saw peach blossoms on the other side of the valley. This sight awakened him and he wrote this poem:
For thirty years I searched for a master swordsman.
How many times did the leaves fall
and the branches break into bud?
But from the moment I saw the peach blossoms,
I’ve had no doubts.
APRIL
For our ongoing schedule please see our website at smszen.org
Zoom schedule has been designed to leave time for open conversation via Zoom after each of our scheduled meditations.
Friday, April 24, Arbor Day: Tree Planting Ceremony 10:30 AM
(contact Sarah Bender for Zoom invitation sembender@gmail.com)
Saturday, April 25: 10-12 Koan meditation, Sarah Bender, Roshi
Monday, April 27: Dharma Talk, Andrew Palmer, Sensei
MAY
Saturday, May 2: Zen Threads talk, Brandy Lancaster
Monday, May 4: Sutra Service
Saturday, May 9: One-day Open Source Zoom Retreat
(watch for further announcement)
Saturdays, 4 PM: May 16, 23, 30 Koan meditations, Sarah Bender, Roshi
Monday, May 11: Community Night with precepts conversation
(byo tea and cookies)
Monday, May 18: Dharma Talk, Sarah Bender,Roshi
Tuesday, May 19: 6:30 PM EchoDharma group (all are welcome)
Monday, May 25: Dharma Talk, Andrew Palmer, Sensei
Work in the Room
Work in the Room by telephone or Zoom can be arranged with Andrew Palmer, Sensei at alpalmer128@gmail.com or with Sarah Bender, Roshi at sembender@gmail.com.
~UPCOMING EVENTS~
Updates on 2020 Residential Retreats
(Spring 2020 Residential Retreat Canceled)
May 9 Open Source Zoom Retreat
(further info upcoming)
The SMS retreat scheduled for May 6-10, 2020 at Pueblo Mountain Park has been cancelled owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Those who have registered and paid their fee will receive a full refund.
In its place we will hold a one-day retreat by way of Zoom on May 9.
2020 Fall Retreat at Pueblo Mountain Park on the Calendar!
Looking further ahead, we have scheduled a full 5-day residential retreat at Pueblo Mountain Park for October 14-18, 2020. We are hopeful that the virus threat will have sufficiently diminished by then that we can meet in person and sit together in that lovely setting where we held our multi-sangha retreat last June. More about that later. To see the list of upcoming retreats, check out the SMS web site.
Many Arms of Guanyin
Members of our sangha are continuing to make masks. Many designs are available.
Needed for a current project:
*100% cotton 200 thread count twin size flat sheets (can be purchased at Walmart for $5 and each makes at least 40 masks) Please launder the sheets. Preshrinking is essential before sewing the masks.
*1/8 to 3/8″ elastic (each mask requires 14″. We need more elastic than fabric at this point)
* washable 1/2″ ribbon or homemade ties (used for tying on the mask if we don’t have enough elastic) Each mask would require approx. 1.5 -2 yards.
*hospital grade filtration fabric interfacing from Timberline Fabric, 3200 N Stone (Call them and they will donate and bring enough interfacing for 14 masks. They will bring the fabric to your car.) interfacing is used as a filter in the mask pocket.
Please check with Cheryl Osteroos before purchasing:
costeroos@yahoo.com
About Dana
During these times when we cannot meet in person, you can donate to Springs Mountain Sangha through our PayPal account. You can get to the SMS PayPal link on the SMS web site at:
https://www.smszen.org/donate.html or by selecting the donate
Support for Cloud Dragon
An easy way to support Cloud Dragon, the Joan Sutherland Dharma WorksAmazon shoppers, sign in at smile.amazon.com and choose Cloud Dragon Dharma Works as the charity you would like 0.5% of your purchases to go to. It costs you nothing extra. We’re grateful for your generosity.
See also Joan Sutherland’s new Patreon site,
https://www.patreon.com/posts/do-you-trust-yr-31567633
This is another good way to support Joan’s work and receive fresh teachings from her.