Practice Period Week of March 28th |
| Welcome to the fourth week of Practice Period! See bottom of flyer for SMS *Zoom link for appropriate events All times are MDT Heron Dreams: words from Roshi Sarah  Hello to you, deeply immersed in practice these days, and me deeply immersed with you, with the help of quarantine. What a gift! I’ve included two poems as our koans for this week. I’ve been thinking a lot about koans. I’m thinking of them more as a kind of interaction than as a kind of thing. The word koan, coming from a Chinese word that referred to a public case, already implies that what makes it a koan is the way that it is examined by more than two eyes at once, and considered as an instance of something. In our context, we look at something as a case, a “for instance” of awakening, an invitation to join in—to inhabit—a moment of awakening in a similar way. A sort of “Try this, and see what happens” invitation. It’s an invitation to enter deeply or to welcome in deeply, and the koan is in the entering, more than it is in some thing to look at. My invitation to you this week, then, is to take these two poems in that koan way: to be filled as a great tree with the wind, as a sponge with ocean, as a great life with suffering, as time with death. And if we cut the tree of your life open looking for Spring blossoms, what do we find? Can you take a little time to give yourself over to this sort of meditation, letting all the other pressing matters of your day take care of themselves for a bit? Sarah Bender, Roshi, currently has availability for WITR times during practice period. Appointments are for 20 min. meetings. Please email to schedule with Sarah: sembender@gmail.com Saturday, March 27 6:30-8:00 AM Wednesday, Mar. 31 noon to 2 PM Wednesday, April 14 6-8 PM Sunday, April 25 9-11 AM People can still schedule with her outside of the the above times. Please email Sarah: sembender@gmail.com Spring Koan Meditation series with Roshi Sarah Saturday 4:00-6PM Mar. 20,27, Apr. 3, 10, 17, 24 In the SMS *Zoomdo To be on list contact Sarah: sembender@gmail.com I Am Filled with Love Anna Swir I am filled with love as a great tree with the wind, as a sponge with the ocean, as a great life with suffering, as time with death “The cherry-blossoms of Yoshino, which will bloom with the spring— if we cut the tree open to find them, where would they be?” attributed to Ikkyū  Early morning meditation via *Zoom 6:30am-7:30, This is a simple sit led by volunteers. Enter as you are, your video off. Join at any point, sink in…Vows at end. Early morning meditations this week are Mon,Tue, Wed (the regular SMS meditation), Thur, Fri, Sat (the regular SMS meditation), Sun. |
 Earth Walk Thur. April 1. 5:30pm – Stratton Open Space Join us for a socially distanced 30 minute meditative saunter as we move our feet with the rhythm of our earth. We will meet at the Stratton Open Space trailhead located in the southwest area of town- in Cheyenne Canyon. Please email Debbie with any questions: gardenmail@msn.com Text Deb when you get there if you can’t find us 719-209-2260  |
We tried, it…. just wasn’t a hit- Hakuin Happy Hour will no longer be offered.  Art Gallery facilitated by Fox LoveA place for sangha to gather works that inspire and are inspired by practice. This may be anything you make or that you find, in any medium. Please include artist, title, and date if it’s relevant. Please do not include commentary. Art functions best if it’s allowed to speak for itself.  Contact: foxloveart@gmail.com to submit your piece.Click on rockcycleceramics.com to peruse the gallery.  This image is titled “Blue Cloud Dragon”Piper Leigh |
A Zen Community
