Springs Mountain Sangha, October 2023
Overview of October Offerings
Monday, October 2, 6 PM, on Zoom and in person at Shove Chapel:
Meditation, Sutra Service, conversation
Tuesday, October 3, 6:15 PM, on Zoom: Steering Committee Meeting
Wednesday, October 4, 11, 18, 25 and Nov 1, 7 PM, on Zoom: Open Source Koan Series; note different zoom link:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83134916713?pwd=UmZYM291YlVNMlhqS2NTL0s0bjhyQT09
Thursdays, October 5 and 19 (and continuing), 5:30 PM: Refuge Series with Sarah Bender
Monday, October 9, 6 PM, on Zoom and in person at Shove Chapel: Meditation and Dharma Talk with Sarah Bender, Roshi
Tuesday, October 10, 7:30 PM, on Zoom: Open Source Ecodharma Group
We are discussing Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh and Sister True Dedication for one more session. You’re welcome to join us even if you haven’t read the Book!
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87435206671?pwd=MFkwVDZnMmliTS9CS1dXRmcycEZmdz09 For questions and thoughts, contact Jennifer Sellers: jen@inspiredmastery.com
Sunday, October 15, Interfaith Habitat Build, we are scheduled to volunteer with members of Temple Beit Torah, contact Brandy Lancaster for more info and to sign up bdl0824@gmail.com
Monday, October 16, 6 PM, on Zoom and in person at Shove Chapel: Meditation, Wayfaring Mind Talk with William Holtz
Sunday, October 22 10 AM Oryoki (formal meal service) Practice, all invited
Monday, October 23, 6 PM, on Zoom and in person at Shove Chapel: Meditation and Koan Exploration with Sarah Bender, Roshi
Thursday, October 26, 7 PM, on Zoom: Movie Night – Peace by Chocolate
Monday, October 30, 6 PM, on Zoom and in person at Shove Chapel: Meditation, Ceremony for the Beloved Dead
Ongoing Meditation Schedule, Zoom except Monday Eves
Sundays: Candlelight Meditation 8 to 8:30 PM (Meditation, evening dedication)
Mondays: Meditation and evening starting at 6 PM; We meet both in person at Shove Chapel on Colorado College Campus and on Zoom
Weekday Morning Meditations: 6:30-7:30 AM; A simple, early morning sit is offered on weekday mornings. Someone will ring bells, and 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. This way, people can come and go easily as needed. Sometimes the whole hour is in silence; sometimes, a koan or poem appears.
Saturdays: Morning Meditation 6:30-8:00 AM, discussion 8-8:30 AM
On Saturday mornings discussions are kicked off by a sangha member with a brief talk pertaining to their own experience of practice we call Zen Threads. On alternate weeks, a “mini-threads” group discussion gives each participant a chance to share what is up for them right now. Both formats lead to rich and lively conversation. Join us! It’s a beautiful way to jump-start the weekend. You can join the meditation at 6:30, 7:00, 7:30 or 8:00.
Coming in October
Continuing Oct 4th: Open Source Koan Series
Deep in the Mountains: Koan Roots and Branches
Wednesdays, October 4, 11, 18, 25 and November 1
7 to 8 PM Mountain Time
with Sarah Bender, Tenney Nathanson, and Megan Rundel
Online: Zoom link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83134916713?pwd=UmZYM291YlVNMlhqS2NTL0s0bjhyQT09
In our fall 2023 koan series we’ll try something new, coordinating our conversations with the Cloud Dragon subscription talks to be distributed this September and October to subscribers of Cloud Dragon: the Joan Sutherland Dharma Works.
These four “Deep in the Mountain” talks, from the final retreat Joan Sutherland taught in 2013, take up key matters of practice. Organized around the description of three bodies—Nirmanakaya, Sambhogakaya, Dharmakaya—the talks weave their way among such topics as the sometimes troublesome self and how to engage it in the unfolding process of awakening; the labile, metamorphic aspect of reality often made palpable in dreams, poems, koans, and meditation; the radiance and timelessness of the vastness; and the unending process of interweaving all these into a life and world. In our sessions we’ll meet and engage with selected koans as they invoke and reveal the real life of these three bodies in and around us. Each of us will offer two talks, but all three of us will participate in all sessions.
Here’s how to subscribe to CDDW: https://joansutherlanddharmaworks.org/cgi-bin/dharma/page.cgi?g=Support%2FSubscribe%2Findex.html;d=1
We strongly encourage subscribing, first as a way to support and thank Joan Sutherland, Roshi , and second, because talks are sent out monthly to subscribers.
Questions? Contact Sarah at sembender@gmail.com
Refuge Series Continues
every other week through November 2nd
It’s about refuge in the Bodhisattva Way as it finds us and we find it now. What better time could there be to discover and express the depth and extent of our relatedness, our intimate connection to all of life?
Meeting these vows, these precepts up close and personal offers a refuge that is not from, but in this very life.
Requested dana is $15 per session, you can mail a check to Sarah Bender, Roshi or send her donations via paypal at sembender@gmail.com.
Habitat for Humanity Interfaith Build, #3 Support
We are signed up! We are going to participate in
2 work days: Sunday, Oct. 15, and Sunday, January 21
Come, and bring a friend!
We’ll be working together with members of Temple Beit Torah.
You can participate for morning, afternoon or both
(sharing lunch is part of the fun)
For more info or to sign up, please contact Brandy Lancaster, bdl0824@gmail.com
Early sign ups really help! So if you are pretty sure you want to join this community action, please let us know.
Wayfaring Mind Talk
Monday, October 16th by William Holtz
Wayfaring Mind talks are an opportunity to hear from our sangha members about their practice. There will be time following the talk for questions and conversation. Join us either in person at Shove Chapel on Colorado College Campus or on Zoom to hear from our sangha member, William Holtz.
Springs Mountain Sangha
Formal Meal Service (Oryoki)
October 22 starting at 10 AM
720 West Monument Street, Colorado Springs
Please register with Kayci Barnett
The formal meal practice is a way of extending our meditation into the meals during a retreat. It is a monastic tradition over a thousand years old, and most people who try it come to deeply appreciate its elegance and simplicity. You receive, eat your food, and clean your bowls, while remaining on your meditation cushion.
Our November retreat will offer Formal Meal Practice, so we’ll gather together one more time to familiarize and remind ourselves of these beautiful forms. Everyone is welcome, even if you aren’t planning to attend the retreat. Learning this together is actually a lot of fun.
The practice will be on Saturday October 22 from 10am – 12pm at Andy’s Bike Shop at 720 West Monument St, Colorado Springs, CO 80904. Oatmeal, fruit, yogurt and tea will be served.
If you would like to try out this beautiful meal service with us please email Kayci at kuhpow@gmail.com by Sept. 24th with the following information:
Name-
Cushion or Chair-
Have an Oryoki set? Yes, or No I need to borrow one
Movie Night
Thursday, October 26th at 7 PM
Peace By Chocolate
After the bombing of his father’s chocolate factory, a charming young Syrian refugee struggles to settle into his new Canadian small-town life, caught between following his dream to become a doctor and preserving his family’s chocolate-making legacy. Based on the incredible internationally recognized true story.
We watch the movie ahead of time and then gather on Zoom for discussion.
November
Way of the Bodhisattva Retreat
Springs Mountain Sangha
Way of the Bodhisattva
Retreat Registration is open
November 7-11, Meditation Retreat in-person
at the Abbey, in Canon City
with Sarah Bender, Rōshi
Dearest Sangha ~
We are pleased to announce that we have filled up our spaces for the upcoming retreat!
That said…we all know that sometimes plans change and unexpected “life things” can crop up, so in the event that any members need to drop out, we will be making a Wait List for those still interested in attending. You will need to fill out the registration form so that we can add you to the list on a first-come, first-served basis.
Sign up for the wait list here: https://forms.gle/7gE9Ytgonk6BUSjZ9
Meanwhile, be well and enjoy these beautiful days of autumn!
~ Sincerely, Your SMS Retreat Planning Committee ~
Important announcements:
The Open Source Email List
If you’d like to join the info/discussion group for The 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
Work in the Room
Work in the Room by telephone or Zoom or in person can be arranged 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 as it arises in your life right now—it is a practice central to our Koan Way.
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
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
Maui Fire Community and Recovery
The Hawaii Community Foundation- Maui Strong Fund https://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/maui-strong
The Hawai’i Community Foundation (HCF) is a 501 (c)(3) organization whose mission is to “inspire generosity, advocate for equity, forge connections and invest in community to create a better Hawai’i. Every contribution to HCF’s Maui Strong Fund, large or small, will make a difference as we work to support communities through services including shelter, food, financial assistance and other needs as they arise. 100% of funds raised will be distributed for the community needs in Maui.
Ecodharma Meetings
The next meeting of the Open Source Ecodharma is this coming Tuesday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m. Mountain on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87435206671?pwd=MFkwVDZnMmliTS9CS1dXRmcycEZmdz09 (or Meeting ID: 874 3520 6671 and Passcode: 520753).
We are discussing Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh and Sister True Dedication for one more session. You’re welcome to join us even if you haven’t read the book! For questions and thoughts, contact Jennifer Sellers: jen@inspiredmastery.com.
Support for Springs Mountain Sangha
You can donate to Springs Mountain Sangha in person at Shove Chapel using the dana bowl at the entrance to the dharma hall. You can also donate through our PayPal account. You can get to the SMS PayPal link on the SMS web site at:
https://www.smszen.org/supportsms/
Or you can mail a check 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*