May we exist in muddy water with purity like a lotus; thus, we bow to Buddha.
—Oryoki meal chant
Dear Sangha,
One of the things I love about the spring is the mud. Up in Vermont where my sister lives, they actually have a name for this time of year—Mud Season—all the snow and ground-frost has melted, and the result is thick, wet, dark earth, sucking at tires and boots and pant cuffs and getting all over everything. Down here towards the city, it’s a less dramatic event, but my suburban yard is not immune from the muck, either. After a good romp back there, digging, perhaps, in some forbidden corner of the garden, my dogs show up at the door with their paws and muzzles all muddy and big, happy grins.
I want to show up at my door with a similar look—guilty, disheveled, pleasure-soaked, grass stains on my knees. I’ve had enough of this sanitary existence. I want to get down into the muck of life, and of myself—the mud, after all, is the good stuff: It’s where all the complications are, the nutrients. It’s how the lotus blooms. And so much of my time has been spent actively avoiding this very element—trying to keep things orderly, all buttoned up—but the attempt is laughable. Life is mud—the dirt, the imperfections, the endless little awkward moments—and nothing is clear. And yes, one might say the answer is to sit still till the silt settles and the water unclouds, but maybe the answer first and foremost is to love the mud itself. It’s to immerse yourself in it, roll in it, in the reality of it, of life as it is: rich, overwhelming, ubiquitous, opaque—and sure, a little stinky, sometimes, too.
How will you get muddy this spring?
Taylor Plimpton
Editor
APRIL CALENDAR
Thursday, April 3: Zazen with Dharma Talk by Yugetsu
Sunday, April 6: Online: Practice and Inquiry with Joshin Roshi, 9:30 am
In-Person: Intro to Zen with Howard, 9:30 am
Thursday, April 10: Zazen with Dharma Talk by Musho Hoshi
Newcomer’s Meeting, 6:40 pm
Saturday, April 12: Zazenkai with Dharma Talk by Fusho Sensei
Annual Meeting at 4 pm
Sunday, April 13: Zazen and Dharma Talk by Ryoshin Hoshi
Music Improv, 4 pm
Thursday, April 17: Zazen and Dharma Talk by Jinno
Saturday, April 19: Prison Letter Writing Group 1:30 pm
Sunday, April 20: Zazen and Dharma Talk by Seiryu
Thursday, April 24: Fusatsu and Precepts Talk by Ryotan Roshi
Saturday, April 26: Staying Safe in a Digital World, 2:00 pm NEW!
Sunday, April 27: Zazen and Dharma Talk by Fugan Sensei
——————————————-
ONGOING GROUPS
The Bolivian Sitting Group meets online Saturdays: 8 am
Bolivia Zoom Meeting ID: 297 525 8394; Password: 1234
The People of Color Sitting Group meets online Saturdays: 10:30 am
How to Meditate meets Monday evenings online: 6:30 pm
Sorting Out Your Stuff meets online Tuesdays: 10 am
Liturgy Training: In-Person
1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month: 6 pm
Grace and Grit meets online, first Thursday of each month at 3 pm
April 12, 2025, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Online only
Online Annual Meeting for
Village Zendo Members Only.

The meeting will include a review of our membership,
financials, programs and special announcements.
There will be time for questions, comments and suggestions.
Join HERE
Saturday, April 26 at 2:00 pm eastern.
Online Only
Staying Safe in a Digital World
With Benjamine Kojin Heath

In our increasingly digital world, staying safe online has become an essential part of daily life—but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. This workshop offers a simple, supportive introduction to online security, designed especially for those who may not consider themselves tech-savvy. Together, we’ll explore everyday strategies for protecting your personal information, recognizing common scams, thwarting methods that hackers use to compromise our data, and building strong security habits.
You don’t need to be an expert—just a little awareness goes a long way. With a few mindful habits and a clearer understanding of the online world, you can better protect yourself and others as we navigate our digital world.
There will be time for questions, but please note this will not be a “help desk” event where fixes for individual situations can be pursued in detail.
No registration required. Donations to the Village Zendo are welcome.
Questions? Contact kojin@villagezendo.org
JOIN ONLINE

Kojin has been a student of the Village Zendo since 2014, and he became a senior student in spring 2021.
He has managed the Village Zendo's website since 2020, relaunching it in 2021.
Kojin has been working in web design and development for over 20 years, with a focus on e-commerce, online product development, and digital branding. He's collaborated with a wide range of clients—from small nonprofits and local businesses to larger corporations.
Tangaryo 2025
On Saturday, March 22, 2025, the following people sat Tangaryo from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm, followed by a ceremonial tea and welcome by Shinryu Roshi on behalf of the Village Zendo teachers. Participants were able to sit online as well as in person.
This practice dates to the earliest days of Zen when those wishing to enter into training would sit for long periods of time in order to demonstrate the sincerity of their aspiration.
Becoming a formal student is not a requirement to study at the Village Zendo, but represents an ongoing commitment to Zen training and entering a formal teacher/student relationship with Shinryu Roshi and the Village Zendo teaching staff.
This Tangaryo, with 15 students becoming Formal Students, may be the largest we have ever had at the Village Zendo.
Mark Tōshi Solan
Shelley Hanson
Paul Zuiken Trapani
Iris Lentjes
Jerome Keigen Miller
Alysia Shōzan Thaxton
Jason Remsen
Irene Soloway
Ricardo Kōtoku Laremont
Ben Zensei Ingraham
Joe Madrigano
Dillon Robun Floughton
Myra Paci
Khanh Tran
Mike Soto
(Students are list in the order of their association with the Village Zendo, from earliest to most recent.)
Shuso Hossen for Guy Ryugin Barash
A Portfolio of Photographs
By Joel Tendo Avery



TRUE EXPRESSIONS
Creative Contributions from the Village Zendo community:
The Robe
By Adam Seido Levy
When I open the online Zendo, I like to prepare the night before. I make sure my laptop is charged and that the bell, chant sheet, and rakusu are in place. I crave a sense of order in what otherwise feels like a chaotic life.
In the morning, I fetch my robe from the top drawer of my great-grandparent's hand-painted chest of drawers. It’s a calming ritual. But this week, when I opened the drawer, the robe was gone.
My reaction was instantaneous: a shout of rage followed by a salvo of hideous curses.
Here is a record of the thoughts that spun through my head with increasing velocity:
Pragmatic:
Left at the Zendo, lost on the subway, left in a different drawer, thrown in the wash.
Irrational, slightly hysterical:
Stolen from the drawer by a Robe thief, practical joke by a friend, early dementia.
Self-loathing:
I’m a pathetic person who can’t keep track of his things, is selfish, and clings to objects.
Spiritual self-loathing:
I’m a bad Buddhist, always bumbling around, burning my fingers, and forgetting the words to the chants. I am a bad Buddhist who is going to be late opening the Zendo, letting everyone down, so then I will be an even worse Buddhist.
Lightbulb Thought:
My daughter’s admonition: “Dad, when you lose something, look in the safest place.” (I have such a fear of loss that I put things away safely, so safely that I forget where they are, which means I lose them.)
So what is the safest, most logical place I would put my robe? The closet, of course. And there in the closet was the robe, hanging peacefully, waiting.
I put on the robe and open the Zendo just in time.
Of course, it didn’t matter if I wore the robe or if I didn’t wear the robe. It didn’t matter if I had lost the robe or if I had found the robe. There is no good Buddhist, there is no bad Buddhist.
It’s the stories that make you crazy.
REFLECTIONS:
From Chuang Tzu, translated by Burton Watson:
Master Tung-Kuo asked Chuang Tzu, ‘This thing called the Way—where does it exist?’
Chuang Tzu said, ‘There’s no place it doesn’t exist.’
‘Come,’ said Master Tung-Kuo, ‘you must be more specific!’
‘It is in the ant.’
‘As low a thing as that?’
‘It is in the panic grass.’
‘But that’s lower still!’
‘It is in the tiles and shards.’
‘How can it be so low?’
‘It is in the piss and shit!’
Master Tung-Kuo made no reply.

We communicate in three places online:
our email list, a Facebook page, and a Groups.io list
where we share events and information among the whole
Sangha. Explore these various ways of staying connected and
up to date here: https://villagezendo.org/connect-with-us/
Editor: Taylor Plimpton
Editor Emerita: Nina Shuka Klippel
Managing Editor/ Design & Production: Howard Thoresen

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