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Dear
Friends, It’s dark outside, but the air under the porch light is full of sparkles—a blessing of snow blowing through on this cold, cold night between the solstice and the new year. Tomorrow’s sun will actually rise a minute later than on the solstice. Soon enough we’ll notice the first signs of brightening, but this week, there’s a sense of lingering here at the turning of the arc of winter. It’s a fine time to take a peek into the new year, for those with the luxury to be tucked in, so cozy in the night that the future can be the distant dream it is. So here’s a word about what’s coming up with Springs Mountain Sangha. NEW YEAR’S EVE First off, if by chance you find yourself footloose and fancy free on New Year’s Eve, and if your idea of a good time is to sit down with friends and strangers for some meditation and sharings by a fire, come on out: 7528 Jenkin Place (Creek Bend Zendo) Starting at 8:30, going to 12:30; come and go at any times in there. Bring a brief reading or song if you like—we’ll share them at the start of meditation periods. We’ll ring 108 bells at midnight, and have a bowl of posole and some spiced cider or hot chocolate. contact: sembender@gmail.com and, on into the new year…… We’ll be holding our annual practice period from Feb. 4 to March 20. More info on that will follow. But even before that, for those who are up for some sustained study, THE LANKAVATARA SUTRA: foundational text of Zen Buddhism We’ll take this up with Sarah Bender, Roshi in eight sessions: Saturdays, 10:30 to 12:00 January 12, 19, 26; February 2, 16, 23; March 2, 9 at Creek Bend Zendo , 7528 Jenkin Place In order for this practice of close reading and koan practice to be strong, we ask for a commitment to the series. So please register in advance, by contacting Liz Cramer Elizabeth.cramer51@gmail.com Suggested dana for the series is $80.00. Our text is The Lankavatara Sutra, Translation and Commentary by Red Pine, from Counterpoint Press. There are several other translations, but we have found Red Pine’s commentary to be enormously valuable. Red Pine’s Preface says this: “The event that brought Bodhidharma to the attention of historians and hagiographers alike occurred in or around 534 when he chose Hui-k’o as his successor and handed him a copy of the Lankavatara. Bodhidharma told him everything he needed to know was in this book, and Zen and the Lanka have been linked ever since, if they were not already linked in India.” This text is not easy! The experience of our group, last time we studied it, was that at first it seemed so dense as to be impenetrable, but soon something started to happen. The teaching seemed to be unweaving each concept we could form about what is real, patiently, step by step, until we could start to have glimpses of what remains when concepts about consciousness dissolve, in the gaps before we can form new ones. And the more we allowed this experience, the more the teaching felt transformative. It turned out to be about us, in our time, in our lives. So we recommend it! Will it help us with the day to day challenges of meeting the world, our lives, just as they are? Oh yes it will! Again, to register, please contact Liz Cramer Elizabeth.cramer51@gmail.com |