September 2025

Village Zendo Bulletin ~ September 2025

BULLETIN

September 2025




  The beginning of autumn;
What is the fortune teller
Looking so surprised at?

                                  —Buson

 

Dear Sangha,

I hate the end of summer. It goes back to childhood, probably, when the end of summer meant the end of fun: back to school, back to work, no more sunshine, no more sea. In many ways, I’ve lived my life like this—hanging on to summer with all my might, refusing to let go: of these long, sunlit days, of my youth. If I get the opportunity, I plunge into the ocean in October, early November—the water still warmish but the crisp air biting at you when you get out. Winter, ignored. Middle age be damned.

I mention all this because, well, I’m nearing fifty now and I still don’t want to grow up. I want to be young and stupid forever, even though I know how stupid that would be. Why this resistance to growing, evolving, becoming who I always knew I was meant to be?

I am meant for so much more than this, or at least that’s what my delusions of grandeur tell me. And I wonder sometimes if that’s what gets in the way—the idea that life is supposed to be any other way. Or, to frame it differently, maybe the only real hindrance is exactly the fact that I believe there’s a hindrance—that I think there’s something’s wrong with me and with my life, something that needs to be fixed.

In Maezumi’s wonderful book, Appreciate Your Life, one of the sections is titled, “Where Is the Hindrance?” On the opposite page is a photograph of Maezumi himself, and he is smiling the most beautiful smile. At ease, holding a rake, happy, his whole presence offers a kind of answer to the question. “Where is the hindrance?” we ask, desperately. And Taizan’s smile responds, quite simply: “What hindrance?” 

With love and freedom,

Taylor Plimpton

Editor
 


 

SEPTEMBER CALENDAR
 

Monday, September 1:         Zendo closed for Labor Day

Thursday, September 4:       Zazen and Dharma Talk by Kojin

Sunday, September 7:          Practice & Inquiry Circle with Joshin

                                             Body Breath and Mind ~ Intro to Zen 

Thursday, September 11:     Zazen and Dharma Talk by Musho

Saturday, September 13:     Zazenkai, with Dharma Talk by Soten

Sunday, September 14:        Zazen and Dharma Talk by Torei

Thursday, September 18:     Zazen and Dharma Talk by Kenko

Friday, September 19:          Letters to Solitary, prison letter-writing group

Saturday, September 20:      MEDITATENYC at the Zendo

Sunday, September 21:        Zazen and Dharma Talk by Fugan

Thursday, September 25:     Fusatsu Ceremony, Precepts Talk by Myoko

Sunday, September 28:        Zazen and Dharma Talk by Fusho
 



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: 3 pm
 



Sunday, September 14, 4 pm
 


4:00–4:30 pm: Instructional session

                        Learn simple, fun techniques for freeing up your sound

4:30–6:00pm: Music improv

How do you translate Beginner’s Mind into sound? Easy. By listening. Harmonizing. Allowing space.

We are all musicians whether we practice an instrument or not. This is a musical improvisation that welcomes all, from beginners to professionals. Based on Music for People techniques and led by Todd Rogers, a generous and trained facilitator, this open kind of improvisation is inspiring and fun for performers, singers, teachers, dancers, and amateur musicians. No experience needed!

“A highpoint of the month for me,” says Joshin Roshi. “A superb practice in not knowing.”

Donation: $10

This is an in-person only event.

 



Friday, September 19, 6:30 pm

Letters to Solitary


Online Only



“Angry, Sad, Alone.”

This print was made by a young, incarcerated woman in Oaxaca, Mexico. She participated in a project where artists brought printmaking workshops into the prisons. This print was for sale as a fundraiser for the project. I’m sharing this print by Santiago Cruz as it is such a powerful expression of her experience as a young, incarcerated woman.

With gassho,

Seishin

If you are already writing to an incarcerated person or are interested in learning more about this practice, come to the next VZ Lifelines to Solitary online meeting. Join us for an evening of sharing our experiences of letter writing to our incarcerated partners. All are welcome, no need to pre-register.

If you have questions, concerns or topics for discussion, contact Seishin: prisonlettergroup@villagezendo.org.



  JOIN US ONLINE HERE  

 



Saturday, September 20, 2025, 1 – 4pm (ET)


At The Village Zendo

260 West Broadway, NY, NY (Entrance at rear of the building on St. John’s Lane)

 

Feel free to RSVP—if not, just come as you are. We’ll be happy to see you.

Meditate NYC has become a cherished annual tradition—an oasis of calm in the heart of the city.

This year’s theme, “Meditate Now for a Peaceful World,” reflects the 2025 International Day of Peace theme: “Act Now for a Peaceful World.” It invites us to respond to the challenges of our time with clarity, compassion, and courageous stillness. As the world calls for peace, we begin with the breath—grounding ourselves in presence to nurture peace within and around us.

Join us for an afternoon of guided meditation and reflection led by respected Buddhist teachers from a wide range of traditions. Whether you are new to meditation or a longtime practitioner, this gathering offers a rare opportunity to experience the richness of Buddhist wisdom and the power of collective practice.

This event is free and open to all—offering accessible, welcoming space for anyone seeking peace, healing, and deeper connection.

Come meditate with us—and help create a more peaceful world, one breath at a time.

Temple/Center Participants: You are encouraged to bring your own brochures and promotional materials to contribute to the Sangha tables.

Speakers include:

Ven. Aluthgama Dhammajothi,   New York Buddhist Vihara
Ven. Dr. T.Kenjitsu Nakagaki,   Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation
                                             Foundation of New York

Roshi Shinryu Thomson,   The Village Zendo
Geshe Tashi Dorje,   Shi-De Kunkyabling
Ven. Chang Hwa,   Chan Meditation Center


  RSVP TO ATTEND IN PERSON  

  OR, JOIN ONLINE  

 



REFLECTIONS FROM SUMMER ANGO 2025

THE HEART OF WISDOM AND COMPASSION



Shuso Hossen 2025 for Torei at Wisdom House                         Photo by Seido


Two poems by Monica Raymond


(
photo by Michelle F. Ross)

Written at Wisdom House, Litchfield Connecticut, July 2025 


rabbits are hopping all around 


the rabbits are hopping all around 
like here one races past the Virgin Mary 

the white marble statue of her holding her skirts 
as if she were Alice in Wonderland or a dancing teacup 

and back at home one is running across the tarmac 
of Brookline Street and darting under Peter's fence 

they don't care about boundaries and borders 
gods and goddesses, living or vanquished, are nothing to them 

they are galloping, scampering, infiltrating, racketeering— 
rabbits running all over the world 

with their long hind legs and leaping front paws 
their ears thrust back in the wind


votives 

Mushrooms of light, you may find them 
on saints' altars 
where the near hopeless 
pray for access, infinite redress 

in parish churches 
or cathedrals 
where priests caress 
altar boys, confess parishioners 

in santeria bodegas 
next to the tall blue mermaid candles 
to Oshun, among packets 
of sweets and plaster skulls 

in zendos at dusk and dawn 
where American monks in saffron 
chant what sounds like Japanese gibberish 
as the sun rises or goes down 

apparently even among 
Methodists or Lutherans– 
these small white wax candles 
in their small glass cylinders 

safe from each other 
and from any larger fire, 
till liquid 
they burn and burn. 

If they were to join, crack open– 
think what a rush 
of paraffin, a conflagration— 
so they do not do that. 

Each burns alone, 
in its transparent prison, prism 
takes on others’ gold light, 
beams back at them 

till it burns down, burns out 
leaving charred wick 
a smear of itself on the glass 
and soot with which to write this poem



 


A Photo Essay by Seido (Adam Harrison Levy)



There were three days left of Sesshin, and Torei asked me to take a few snaps on my iPhone. I agreed. But as soon as I lifted the phone, my relationship to Sesshin changed; I was no longer a participant, I was also an observer. 

I didn’t much like this sense of separation, so I decided to take mostly black and white photos, which defamiliarized the “real,” and to try to take photos of aspects of the experience that were otherwise overlooked. 

As a result, the phone became an extension of my curiosity rather than a recorder of facts. These photos posed questions. It felt like I didn’t take them; they took me.



KINHIN

  
    

Which Way is the head heading?          Which way are the feet stepping?
 



How do we express the ancient way?

 



SHUSO HOSSEN

It is hard to find the words to describe the experience of serving as shuso, but I do know that it was a great privilege  to be able to support the sangha in this way. In this photo that Seido took, he captured the joy I was feeling during the Shuso Hossen ceremony, and the overwhelming  gratitude for the intimacy and depth of our practice that sustains me. How wondrous is that my path of life led me to the Village Zendo, and that I get to continue to walk on it together with everyone.    —Navah Torei Steiner



JUKAI 2025


Our new bodhisattvas are:

Jacynthe Bigras — Shindō 信 道 / Trust in the Way

Joe Madrigrano — Genshin 現真 / Truth of the Present Moment


 

 

Photo by Paloma Enmei Martinez-Cruz
 


 

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


 




In these trying times, the Village Zendo still relies on your support.

If you are able, please make a donation.



VILLAGE ZENDO – True Expression Temple

260 West Broadway ~ New York NY 10012

 








Village Zendo · 260 West Broadway · #1G · New York, NY 10013 · USA

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