June
Friday-Sunday, June 3-5, Zoom: Inside the Dream Reunion: The Tale of the Lindworm; A weekend online retreat with a koan and an old story
Monday, June 6, 6 PM: Meditation and Sutra Service
Tuesday, June 7, 6:15-8:15 PM, Zoom: Steering Committee Meeting
Wednesday, June 8, 9 AM, In Person: Initial Informal Tai Chi Meeting for Wednesday and Friday morning series, Thay Pho Khai; series runs for 3 months
Sunday, June 12, 8:30 AM-4:30 PM, In Person: Habitat for Humanity Interfaith Build
Monday, June 13, 6 PM: Community Night: Meditation and Conversation
Wednesday, June 15, 7 PM, Zoom: Book reading and conversation, Joan Sutherland, Roshi
Thursday, June 16, 7:30 PM, Zoom: Movie Night: Beasts of the Southern Wild
Saturday, June 18, 10-11:30 AM, Zoom: Women’s Ways…Ordinary and Sacred Series, Sarah Bender, Roshi and Piper Leigh
Monday, June 20, 6 PM: Meditation and Dharma Talk, Sarah Bender, Roshi
Monday, June 27, 6 PM: Koan exploration, Sarah Bender, Roshi
July
Saturday, July 9, 10-11:30 AM, Zoom: Women’s Ways…Ordinary and Sacred Series, Sarah Bender, Roshi and Piper Leigh
Saturday, July 16, 10-11:30 AM, Zoom: Women’s Ways…Ordinary and Sacred Series, Sarah Bender, Roshi and Piper Leigh
Monday-Saturday, July 25-30, In Person: Open Source Maha Sangha Retreat
August
Saturday, August 6, 10-11:30 AM, Zoom: Women’s Ways…Ordinary and Sacred Series, Sarah Bender, Roshi and Piper Leigh
Ongoing Meditation Schedule
Sundays: Candlelight Meditation 8 to 8:30 PM
Mondays: Meditation and evening starting at 6:00 PM
On Mondays you can also join at 6:25 or 6:55
Wednesdays: Morning meditation 6:30-7:30 AM
Saturdays: Morning Meditation 6:30-8:00 AM, discussion 8-8:30 AM
Most Saturday mornings, a sangha member will kick off a discussion with a brief talk, pertaining to their own experience of practice right now. These conversations are rich and real!
Additional Early Morning Meditations
A simple, early morning sit is offered on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 6:30-7:30 AM. There will be no designated leader, but the Zoom Zendo will be open and available for those who would like to join. Please leave your camera off while the meditation is in progress.
Upcoming Events
SMS Integrative Retreat
June 3-5, 2022
Springs Mountain Sangha Integrative Retreat
Online this Friday evening, June 3rd through Sunday, June 5th, 2022
INSIDE THE DREAM, REUNION: The Tale of the Lindworm
An weekend online retreat with a koan and an old story
To spend a weekend with the images and poetry of a very old story gives us a chance to dream on our own voyages, to notice what it’s like right now to be walking an ancient Way together. In our integrative retreat, we invite a koan and a very old tale into our waking mind and our dreaming mind. In meditative community, we find the dream is larger than our individual stories. Our lives and our insights are interwoven.
*See the full story here that we will be sitting with*
Retreat Schedule June 3-5 (all times in MDT):
Friday 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Saturday Optional Meditation 6:30 am – 8:00 am
9:00 am – 8:30 pm
Sunday Optional Meditation 6:30 am – 7:30 am
9:00 am – ~12:00 pm
This retreat will include a fair bit of silent meditation, interspersed with Dharma talk and conversation and some time for stepping away from your screen into the day while staying in your retreat space.
Cost of the retreat is $100. Scholarships are available; we don’t want finances to stand in the way of you attending the retreat.
TO REGISTER:
Please email piperleigh@icloud.com with the following information:
1. Your name, email, and phone number
2. Portion of the retreat you’ll be attending (full retreat or which days)
3. If you would like more information about scholarships
You can pay on the Springs Mountain Sangha website (please choose the donate button, and then on Paypal indicate in the note that it is for the 2022 Integrative Retreat): www.smszen.org
Steering Committee Meeting
Tuesday, January 3; 6:15 PM on Zoom
The Springs Mountain Sangha Steering Committee meets once a month for approximately 2 hours on the first Tuesday of the month. All are welcome to attend. We plan to continue discussions about the upcoming calendar for 2023.
Tai Chi
Wednesday June 8, 9AM Initial Meeting
Series will take place for 3 months
Thay Pho Khai, Abbot of Dharma Rain Buddhist Temple will offer a 3-month Beginning Tai Chi Class Wednesday and Friday mornings, 9 to 10 AM at Creek Bend, by the creek free of charge Initial Informational Meeting Wednesday, June 8, 9 AM a chance to find out if this is for you!
RSVP Sarah Bender sembender@gmail.com
Habitat for Humanity Interfaith Build for Unity Volunteer Day
Sunday, June 12th
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Regan at rrarntzen@gmail.com
We are looking for a total of 10 volunteers:
– 5 morning slots (8:30am-12:00pm)
– 5 afternoon slots (12:30pm-4:30pm)
Springs Mountain Sangha members are participating in this wonderful opportunity to show our inner bodhiciatta in a demonstrable way to our community in need. The expectations of Habitat for Humanity is that volunteers work and work hard. It is not necessary to have exceptional construction skills, but it is imperative you are willing to give your full effort for the time you volunteer.
Through Forests of Every Color; Awakening with Koans Book Reading and Conversation with Open Source Founding Teacher, Joan Sutherland, Roshi
June 15, 7 PM Online
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear Joan Sutherland speak and share excerpts from her new book: Through Forests of Every Color, Awakening with Koans.
Joan Sutherland has generously offered to meet with our Open Source communities to read from her new book. This event is online and free, but advance registration is required.
When: Tuesday, June 15, 7 pm MST/ 6 pm PST
Registration: email nathanso@arizona.edu
Shambala Publications is accepting preorders now $19.95, expected to ship 6/21/22:
https://www.shambhala.com/through-forests-of-every-color.html
Receive 30% off with the code Forest30.
also available from Amazon
Through Forests of Every Color: Awakening with Koans takes an intimate spiritual and literary journey through the world of koans. Joan Sutherland explores the profound potential of this Classical Chinese and Japanese practice to make us permeable to the joys and the anguish of this life—and to the primordial mystery we glimpse behind the veil of the everyday.
Joan Sutherland has always seemed to be one of the ancient Chinese sages, reborn. They studied the mind and heart and found a way even in difficult times. She tells us the koans, healing stories, poems, and jokes that are so helpful to us now. It’s nice to be in the hands of a good writer too. If we’ll just step into the mystery, she’ll guide us on moonlit paths. She shows us a gate inside the obstacle, a path where there is no path. She is a true guide to the practices for our time.
—John Tarrant, author of Bring Me The Rhinoceros
Joan Sutherland’s Koan Salon in Santa Fe was something new, an innovation in a very old tradition that loved and respected both the ancestors and the participants. The field in that room was alive and expansive. Something enlightening was going on. I’m excited that this book will introduce many more people to her work.
—Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones
A clearer path or a better guide would be hard to find. Of course,
you still won’t be getting out of this forest alive.
—Red Pine, author of Three Zen Sutras
SMS Movie Night
Join SMS movie night to discuss Beasts of the Southern Wild on Thursday June 16, at 7 PM. Please watch the movie ahead of time and join the conversation on June 16th.
Women’s Ways… Ordinary and Sacred
Saturdays June 18, July 9 and 16 and August 6; 10-11:30 AM
Sarah Bender and Piper Leigh invite you to join them in an ongoing conversation about women’s ways in koan practice, sangha and our world. Our SMS winter study, Calling in the Feminine in Buddhism, was the beginning of a rich journey together. The strength of our voices was compelling in a landscape where women’s voices have been missing. We are excited to host a series of experiences for those who identify as women. We will incorporate Piper’s particular work, Ancestors, Mothers Muses, and continue our investigation of emerging themes, such as:
How do we mend? How do we create? Together and in solitude?
How do we invite the voices who are missing?
What rituals offer a personal and communal embodiment of our vows and practice?
Sessions will include meditation, koans, dreams, and stories to guide our exploration.
To register and to share your questions and thoughts, contact Piper at piperleigh@icloud.com.
Mark your calendar. The sessions are spread over three months to give us time to live these questions. You need not have attended the winter study series. Suggested dana is $40.00 for the series. All are welcome regardless of ability to contribute monetarily.
Open Source In Person Retreat
July 25-30 In Person at Pueblo Mountain Park, CO
Open Source Mahasangha Retreat
A Midsummer Dream
Monday, July 25th through Saturday, July 30th, 2022
Pueblo Mountain Park, Beulah, CO
In-Person Meditation Retreat
With Open Source Teachers Sarah Bender, Roshi; Tenney Nathanson, Sensei; Andrew Palmer, Sensei; and Megan Rundel, Sensei
Taking part in the Gathering
Over pandemic time, Open Source Zen communities have become more interconnected than ever. This summer, we can finally gather in person again, streaming in from our different directions to dream a Dharma dream with the mountain pines of Colorado. Come and share koans, dreams, walks, conversations and the deep stillness of meditation under the starry skies and the new moon of mid-summer.
Daily retreat schedule includes periods of sitting and walking, Dharma talks and discussion, individual meetings with the teacher, ample time for meals, rest and walks outside.
Cost for full-time attendance starts at $650 for dorm-style accommodations
July 8, 2022 is the due-date for registration and full payment!
Vaccination and current boosters are mandatory for all participants
TO REGISTER:
Please choose one of the options below:
1. Click on this link and fill out the online registration form: online registration form
2. Click this link, download, print, fill out the registration form and mail it to the address below: registration form
TO PAY:
The registration and full payment deadline is July 8, 2022. The registrar must receive the registration form and full payment by the registration deadline. Payment may be submitted via PayPal through the “donate” button at www.smszen.org (please specify in the description that it is for the summer retreat).
Checks may be sent to Springs Mountain Sangha:
Springs Mountain Sangha
Attn: Regan Arntzen
PO Box 2613
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
The registrar for the retreat is Regan Arntzen. Please email any questions to rrarntzen@gmail.com
*Scholarships are available for the asking. Please do not let funds keep you from attending the retreat.
THE MANY CASSETTE TAPES
Sangha Friends, Kathryn McWilliams has a couple of cassette tapes of Richie Domingue’s singing of our sutra service. Richie was the music master for PZI, and his Zydeco-flavored sutra singing is unique and wonderful. We’re wondering two things:
Would anyone like to have these?
And would anyone like to listen to, and perhaps digitalize a few of the many cassette tapes of talks that some of us have, talks by Robert Aitken, Joan Sutherland, and other teachers?
If so, please contact Sarah Bender directly at sembender@gmail.com.
Open Source Email List
If you’d like to join the info/discussion group for Open Source (which is a place for you to offer your insights, spark discussions, etc. as well as receiving notices) just email the address below with your name and email address.
opensourcezen+subscribe@groups.io
AND, LOOKING AHEAD
Movie Night, Thursday, February 23 on Zoom, 7 PM
Have a movie you’d like to propose? We watch them beforehand at our leisure, and then meet to discuss.
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. Work in the Room is a close encounter of the sacred/ordinary kind—an encounter among you, a teacher, and the great matter that is most deeply real for you right now—and what clearly matters because it shows up in a conversation about the Way, whether, on the face of it, it seems sacred or ordinary. No special undertaking is required.
Newsletter Additions
Do you have artwork, a poem or a volunteer story to share in our newsletter? If so, please send them to Kelly McFarland at s.Kelly.HLS@gmail.com.
Many Arms of Guanyin
UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING
Verified ways to help victims of the Texas school shooting can be found at the following link
Source: KXAN news
Click here to read the article with ways to help
https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/verified-ways-to-help-victims-of-the-texas-school-shooting/#:~:text=Robb%20School%20Memorial%20Fund%20A%20memorial%20fund%20has,victims%2C%20the%20distric%20t%20said%20in%20a%20tweet.
Inside Out Youth Services Colorado Springs
In honor of Pride month, please consider donating to Inside Out Youth Services of Colorado Springs. IOYS builds access, equity, and power with LGBTQIA2+ young people, through leadership, advocacy, community-building, education, and peer support. Every dollar you spend with us is put directly toward aiding and assisting the LGBTQIA2+ youth of the Pikes Peak region. Your thoughtful donation makes a big difference for the youth attending Inside Out.
Donate here: https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E118328&id=1
Open Source Website
The Open Source is looking for help building content for a new website. Please email Megan Rundel at meganrundel@gmail.com if you are interested in joining this team.
Volunteer with SMS
Are you interested in volunteering to help with a specific project within the sangha? Do you have a particular skill or enthusiasm for something that might be helpful? Would you like to help out, but not sure how? SMS truly values and depends on the many efforts given freely by the sangha to the sangha. This is dana and is so much appreciated. If you have questions or want to help, please contact Kelly McFarland S.Kelly.HLS@gmail.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/supportsms/
You can also mail donations to Springs Mountain Sangha, P.O. Box 2613, Colorado Springs, CO 80903.
We depend on the generosity of our members to support the work of our sangha.If you want to make a donation to Sarah Bender specifically, for example, dana for classes, group meetings or work on the phone (suggested donations for these are $10 per class, or $20 for a 20 min. individual meeting) you can do this by sending a check directly to her.
Sarah Bender
7528 Jenkin Place
Colorado Springs, CO 80919
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 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.