Village Zendo Bulletin

December 2022

December 2022

In this holiday season, when the act of giving is on our minds and in our hearts, I am moved by Maezumi’s comment that the best thing to give is no-fear. (What about ugly Christmas sweaters, you ask? Well, those come in as a close second.) For me, this “no-fear” is in part a leap of faith—faith that we are already who we are meant to be, buddhas, bodhissatvas, each and every one of us. But the other (and perhaps most important) part of no-fear is that we show up. At the Zendo, on the cushion, for our family and friends, for the whole universe. Then, having summoned the courage to be ourselves, and to be truly present, we do what we can.

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November 2022

November 2022

As many of you already know, the formal name of the Village Zendo is Dotokuji, which translates as True Expression Temple. I am reminded today, gathering together this Bulletin, of how many forms this expression—this true expression—can take. True expression manifests in action, like, for instance, when Sangha members come together to support a refugee, as Doshin reflects upon below. True expression happens in the clear, intentional ringing of a bell, as we’ll learn during the upcoming Rituals Workshop. True expression occurs in Dharma Dialogue, as Shuso Jeff Shugo Bergman has just proven—the natural spontaneity of response when it comes from a place of openness and presence. (Congratulations, Shuso!) And true expression reveals itself even in the fixed form of the printed word, as it does in Sal Gessho Randolph’s new book, The Uses of Art, which we are grateful to be able to excerpt below in our Reflections section.

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October 2022

October 2022

Ever since long-time editor of the Bulletin Nina Shuka Klippel came up with the wonderful idea to have Sangha members write about practicing from afar, I’ve been thinking about distance, separation, longing. (A romantic at heart, the quote above from the poet Robert Hass has always been one of my favorites). But in a practice that is, at least in part, about closing distances and finding a way to not separate—what does it mean to practice from a physical distance? And is separation just an illusion? After all, I know from experience you can be sitting in the Zendo itself and be distant from it—mind three thousand miles away. And it’s clear from reading the moving personal reflections offered below that you can be in an entirely different country and yet be fully present, right there in the Zendo, intimately connected with your fellow Sangha members.

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September 2022

September 2022

Maybe it’s because I never really grew up, but September still feels to me like the start of the year—summer drawing to a close, back to work, back to school. It’s a time to begin again, and recommit to our practice, our inquiry. We are, after all, students of the Way, and the Village Zendo is our school—the institution that helps us conduct our investigations into this great matter of life and death.

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July 2022

July 2022

It’s been a strange month to want to celebrate freedom, even if that’s what we’re supposed to do on the 4th, or on Bastille Day: mark our independence. But even though—and perhaps especially because—our very rights and freedoms are being so threatened, it is worth celebrating freedom right now. Fighting for it. Practicing it. Because freedom of course is what we do in Zen—not just the goal of it, but the very practice of it. Which is one of the many reasons to be grateful for all the practice opportunities the Village Zendo offers us: day after day, we get to practice—to proclaim—our independence.

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June 2022

June 2022

So here we are in June, on the very edge of summer—change of season, and for many, a change of lifestyle and, maybe, a different sense of time.

This summer we may also be experiencing a variety of places for practice. Many of us will be sitting in our new space, while others participate from home via video. And we will able, at last, to return to Wisdom House for our summer Ango, a two-week retreat starting July 25. (For intimate reflections on returning to the new space by Torei and Fusho, see below.)

Two of our ongoing groups will be meeting this month: the Book Group, on June 24th and the prison letter writing group the following day. All VZ members are welcome to attend these groups.

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May 2022

May 2022

Here we are in the month of May—the height of spring, with its dazzlement of flowers, and surely a transition to summer.

For the Village Zendo, a time of transition, too, as we move into our new space. Roshi tells us, “We are in the midst of a ‘soft opening’ and there’s availability for 12 of us to sit—so please do check our website and come on down!”

As you’ll see on the calendar, some of our Dharma Talks this month will be given in person from the new space, though most remain remote. Check the calendar for which events are online only and which are hybrid, and remember that you have to register for in-person practice.

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April 2022

April 2022

So here we are in April—wonderful to know that the month gets its name from the Latin aperio, meaning “to open,” as plants begin to open and grow. And how apt as the Village Zendo prepares to open its long-awaited new space!

Although the opening date has not yet been announced, we can offer a glimpse of the completed space, thanks to the photo below from Myoko.

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March 2022

March 2022

It is March, the month that brings us spring, and yet right now, it still feels like the world is shrouded in darkness and winter.

There was a recent thread in the Village Zendo community email list on groups.IO that addressed the following theme: “What supports you in times of suffering?” The question—posed by a Sangha member in need—was an earnest and intimate one, as were the myriad reactions from other Sangha members (see below for a selection of these). People responded with their own personal experiences of suffering; they responded with poems, and with links to music and movies and Dharma Talks; they responded with their hearts. All of which was a clear reminder that in times of suffering, we can always count on the Sangha itself to support us—all of us there for one other when we need it most.

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February 2022

February 2022

Wishes do come true! After the last Path of Koan class, we wanted more koan study with Roshis Enkyo and Joshin, and here it is! Not Knowing, The Path Of Koan begins Sunday, February 20 and will meet monthly through July 24. Read all about it it below.

Next—more good news about the new space! Myoko Sensei has given us a lively progress report on the setting-up process, assuring us that it is “in various states of swing.” It is so exciting to hear what is being done, and the part so many Sangha members are playing in bringing this new space to life for us.

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