“The white moon, a cool breeze, the dawn of a fortunate day”
A note from Sarah Bender:
Dear Springs Mountain Sangha and friends,
Sangha members and friends have emerged from our first five-day online meditation retreat with a pervasive joy in the discovery that a meditation retreat held in the very little and very big rooms/Dharma Hall that we create in our homes and online together is mysteriously very real and intimate. We brought our heart-minds together and relaxed into being in a way that was deeply desired and shared with delight. People noticed that their relationships with their homes changed. Home felt fresh, new and yet also warm and dear.
Recordings of the talks from the retreat will be available soon on our website, as well as the recording of the Refuge Ceremony.
We’ll be offering a multi-day retreat in the spring, too, this time an Open Source retreat with all four Open Source teachers, so stay tuned for dates and more news about that.
Meantime, in this time of never-befores we can practice as never before; we can discover reserves of courage, caring and connectedness both inward and outward that we didn’t know or had forgotten. We are surprised by joy in the nooks and crannies of our days and nights. It helps to continue to be out of doors a lot, to take care of the bit of earth around you, to which you belong, and the people around you—many of whom are suffering or in need right now—and to allow yourself some pockets of delicious idleness every day.
The schedule for the rest of this year is ample, so have a look. We hope to see you soon.
Yours in the Dharma,
Sarah
The Dharma of thusness
is intimately conveyed by Buddhas and Ancestors.
Now you have it,
keep it well.
Filling a silver bowl with snow,
hiding a heron in the moonlight.
from Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi
by Dongshan Liangjie
For our ongoing schedule please see our website at smszen.org
Please watch for a new November zoom link,
to be sent by email in the next few days.
All times listed below are Mountain Time
October
Saturday October 31: 4-6 PM Fall Koan Series, Sarah Bender, Roshi
November
Sunday, November 1: 10-noon Garden Work Day at Creek Bend Zendo
Monday, November 2: 6:10 PM Ceremony for the Beloved Dead
Wednesday, November 4: 8 PM Candlelight Meditation
Saturdays November 7, 14, 21: 4-6 PM Fall Koan Series, Sarah Bender, Roshi
Sunday, November 8: 4 PM All Sangha Meeting
Monday, November 9: 6:10 PM Community Night
Wednesday, November 11: 8 PM Candlelight Meditation
Monday, November 16: 6:10 PM, Dharma Talk, Sarah Bender, Roshi
Tuesday, November 17: 6:30 PM Ecodharma Group
Wednesday, November 18: 8 PM Candlelight Meditation
Monday, November 23: 6:10 PM Dharma Talk, Andrew Palmer, Sensei
Wednesday, November 25: 8 PM Candlelight Meditation
Monday, November 30: 6:10 PM Wayfaring Mind Talk
December
Saturday, December 5: Bodhi Day Retreat
Monday, December 21: Winter Solstice – the four Open Source teachers will be gathering to teach together
Ongoing Meditation Schedule
Mondays: Meditation and evening starting at 6:10 PM
Wednesdays: Morning meditation 6:30-7:30 AM
Saturdays: Morning Meditation 6:30-8:00 AM, discussion 8-8:30 AM
Upcoming Events
Fall Koan Series
With Sarah Bender, Roshi
Saturdays, October 31, November 7, 14, 21 4-6 PM
In these sessions we sit in meditation with a koan, let it permeate us thoroughly for a while, and then, together, see what appears. Sarah will provide some introduction, usually with a bit of background about the koan or the characters along the way. Together, we get to discover some of the many ways of being in relationship with a koan. Each one has its own character, and its own particular sorts of experience to evoke. A koan is about you and for you. It can light up parts of your experience that you didn’t even know existed.
Garden Work Day at Creek Bend
• When: Sunday, November 1 from 10-noon
• Why: A wonderful way to give back to our outdoor Creek Bend Zendo and teacher, Sarah, who now solely teachers from Creek Bend
• What: Volunteering for our sangha is a great way to give back to our sangha and is considered dana in our tradition. Learn some new gardening techniques, be together and with the plants, enjoy some fresh outdoor air, get some sun
• How: COVID19 safety measures will ensure our safety
• Who: We hope you! There’s everything from tiny tasks to more physical
We will share a physically distanced lunch together at noon, please bring a brown bag lunch to enjoy along with us.
Please Contact Debbie for details gardenmail@msn.com; 719-209-2260
Ceremony for the Beloved Dead
Monday, November 2, 6:10 PM
On this evening, in lieu of our usual sutra service, we’ll hold a ceremony to remember and express our love for those who have died, those we have cared for deeply. The service is simple, and it includes a time for you to light a candle for your loved ones, say their names and speak a few words of remembrance. You might want to have an altar ready on which you’ll have an unlit candle for each loved one you wish to remember, and perhaps a photo or other memento of each.
Candle Light Sit Wednesday Evenings
Wednesday Evenings in November at 8 PM
Wednesday evening candle light meditation is just that, one period of meditation at 8:00, no conversation.
All Sangha Meeting
Sunday, November 8, 4 PM
Please join us at our annual All Sangha meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to allow for you to share your thoughts on the direction of the sangha, where we are going, what is working and what could use some sprucing up. Additionally, at this meeting we approve the annual budget and elect new members of the steering committee.
Ecodharma Group
If you’d like to be on our smaller Ecodharma group email and receive our monthly newsletters, please email Debbie: gardenmail@msn.com
Springs Mountain Sangha just finished our fall retreat: Three Roads, One Vow.
Roshi Sarah Bender shared the dharma of Dongshan’s teachings:
A teacher asked a pilgrim, “Where have you come from?”
“From Dongshan’s,” replied the pilgrim.
“What does Dongshan teach?”
“He usually teaches in three ways.”
“What are they?”
“The dark way, the bird path, and the open hand.”
November Hike!
Keep your hiking boots close by for a meditative hike led by Debbie on a soon-to-arrive, lovely November fall day. This is a great way to safely be in person together and get our bodies moving with earth as inspiration.
Newcomer’s Orientation
Newcomer’s orientation is offered by request. This is a brief introduction to our meditation sessions and forms, which we pre-covid had offered on Community Night on the second Monday of the month. Please contact Kelly McFarland at s.kelly.HLS@gmail.com if you are interested in this orientation.
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.
Recordings of Talks
Did you know that you can listen to previously recorded talks online? Sarah Bender, Roshi’s talks are available here. This link also includes talks she has given through Pacific Zen Institute. Andrew Palmer, Sensei’s talks are available here.
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
Make Yr Vote a Prayer
Joan Sutherland
Autumn 2020
If you can vote, you have the immeasurable honor of casting yr ballot for those who can’t ~ for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have died in the pandemic … for fellow citizens whose vote is being stolen from them … for children just starting out … for people you will never meet, living in countries affected by our policies … for ancient forests burned on the West Coast and bayous flooded on the Gulf Coast and Midwest fields scoured by derecho windstorms … for all the creatures struggling against extinction ~ as if we’re one tribe
as if we’re one tribe
Vote what you love and what has loved you … Vote what you believe in, vote what you don’t believe in anymore so it can find its way back to you … Vote the sunrise and the sky-filled stars, cousins with feathers and aunties who graze, grasses that bend in the wind and grasses that push up through the pavement … Vote yr broken, fierce heart … Vote for the day after tomorrow, which will come
which will come
Make a vote as wide as the sky, as steady as the earth … Make yr vote a prayer
Organization Spotlight
Reminder this winter, poverty is right here among us in our town even more than usual. Colorado Springs Food Rescue and Westside Cares are two great organizations that are especially inspiring. For more information, please see their websites: http://www.coloradospringsfoodrescue.org/ and https://westsidecares.org/what-we-do/
Another wonderful organization is Inside Out Youth Services
Your tax-deductible gift to Inside Out Youth Services directly supports LGBTQ+ youth in the Pikes Peak region. Together, we are making our mission a reality: to advocate for and alongside LGBTQ+ youth ages 13-22, building confidence, community resilience, and empowering them to meet their full potential as healthy and happy community members and leaders. https://www.insideoutys.org/
Black Lives Matter
The Sachs Foundation Community Assistance Program is administered by the Sachs Minority Opportunity Fund. The program is designed to assist Black families from El Paso County, Colorado. The Sachs Minority Opportunity Fund can be contacted by calling 719-633-4895. https://www.sachsfoundation.org/community-assistance.html
The Center for African American Health (CAAH) is a community-based organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the African American community. The CAAH partners with a wide variety of faith and community organizations in the metro Denver area work to develop and provide culturally appropriate disease prevention and disease management programs to thousands of African Americans each year. The CAAH offers evidence-based programs on diabetes prevention (the DPP National Model) and diabetes self-management (the Stanford School of Medicine DSM Model) education, cardiovascular disease management (Just Check It) and fall prevention (A Matter of Balance) for older adults. The Center also produces health education materials and events, including an Annual Health Fair and Destination Health Walk/Run/Learn, aimed at promoting active and healthy lifestyle behavior. The Center for African American Health is a Connect for Health Colorado Assistance Site with a number of certified Health Coverage Guides focused on assisting people to secure affordable health care insurance coverage.
Please call, e-mail and/or visit the web-site for the most current Class, Activity and Program information. https://coloradoblackhealth.org/colorado-black-health-directory/center-for-african-american-health-caah/
Wellness Committee
Our sangha’s wellness committee is headed by Linda Hodges, who updates the committee regularly on needs of particular members so that we can reach out to each other when needed!
If you could use a boost of any sort, or if you’d like to be available to respond when the need arises, please contact Linda at hikerhodges@gmail.com.
Our fellow sangha member, Liz Cramer, is home from extensive back surgery and recovering with the help of her amazing daughter, Britt, and her best furry pal- Issa. If you’d like to bring her a meal, have one delivered from a restaurant, or provide a meal gift card, here is Liz’s Meal Train link.
https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/rw1or7
Meal Train for Liz Cramer
I started this meal train for a month to include, mostly, after I leave. I can make meals and there are lots of dates but I just wanted to make sure there were plenty of options and she’s covered for a while. Not every date needs to be filled! There are coolers on my moms stoop! Meals can be left there if we are not around and/or for covid-19 safety. www.mealtrain.com
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