“Casting Indra’s Net” study group begins September 6

“To start repairing the world, and ourselves” writes Dan Harris about this book by Ayo Yetunde. theologian, spiritual counselor, and activist. In this spirit, we begin a fall study group with Casting Indra’s Net, exploring our lives in relation to Yetunde’s offering. The ongoing study group is welcoming new member at this time. More information is at this link. You can register by email. No fee, but donations are welcome.

Here are a few other upcoming events:

August 12, community day at the farm, from afternoon through evening, concluding with meteor showers and moonrise. Click for information. Registration encouraged.

Every Monday morning, online zazen (sitting meditation), 6 am Central Time. Registration encouraged.

These events are coming, but do not yet have registration access yet.

September 21, in Northfield MN: We’ll be at the International Day of Peace, 5-7 pm, participating in a community event.

October, date TBD, weekend sesshin (meditation retreat) in Duluth, MN.

November 5, dharma talk at Northfield Buddhist Meditation Center – online and in person.

December 1-8, Rohatsu sesshin – 7 days of sitting meditation, at the farm. Partial participation welcome.

August 12 invitation – blessing ceremony, meteor shower and more

Dear Friends,

This post is about the August 12 day/night at the farm, involving afternoon work, potluck, ceremony, and stargazing/meteor shower. Here’s the full description. Starts mid-afternoon, goes into the night, come and go as you like.

This is my first time to offer the actual work of Mountains and Waters Alliance: a ceremony connecting humans with plants, earth, water, sky, all beings – for the well-being of the earth. It’s embedded in a day of things we do often,  potluck and land care, and something new, the meteor shower, an opportunity worth sharing.

In a way this is a response to the climate crisis, to the wildfires and heat domes and all of that frightening and uncomfortable news. In another way, it’s just finding a way to live in harmony within our family, all beings.

I hope you can come, if you’re near. Many people have come and gone here. This summer we’ve been quiet – no retreats or workdays, just one party at my birthday. The next few events will be online, and then some retreats this fall and winter.

Soon I’ll post the other things that are coming up. And I hope your summer is being as beautiful as the one we’re having here.

Shodo

Mountains and Waters Alliance – July 1, 2023

Greetings from the land of summer!

This newsletter includes a short event listing, plus some reflections on learnings from recent retreats and travels.

Events:

• July 2, online Dharma talk at Hokyoji Zen Practice Center. https://www.hokyoji.org/sunday-talks/. The talk and discussion are 9:30-10:30 am Central Time; please join for zazen beginning 8:30. The link gets you to the Hokyoji page with a zoom link plus explanations.
• July 5, 19, and first and third Wednesdays at 6:30 pm, drop in for Q&A about Zen, spiritual practice, or related matters. We’ve been talking about real Zen community and how it works. I’m there at 6:30 pm Central Time, and stay until 8 or end earlier if the energy is done. https://us06web.zoom.us/j/91552957428 Passcode Zen.
• September 6 and the first three Wednesdays each month: study group with Casting Indra’s Net by Pamela Ayo Yetunde. I had promised a read-and-discuss format, but on working with the book I think a lecture-and-discuss format will work better. The August newsletter will have a registration link. The Zoom link is above.
• Monday mornings: zazen continues weekly, but here is this detail: if you would like to join online, please email Shodo by Sunday evening. Otherwise, we can sit together without electronics, each in our own locations. I will be sitting 6-7 am Central Time.

There will be later events and talks, including

• November 5, Sunday morning Dharma talk at Northfield Buddhist Meditation Center
• November or December, TBD: “Awakening to love this world / insight and kinship with all life”. A day-long retreat with me and Insight teacher Rosamaria Seguro, sponsored by Insight LA. I’ll share more information when the date is finalized.
• December 1-8, Rohatsu sesshin, in person at the farm.
  A note: I’m still working on the book, and taking care of my job, my health, and the farm; few formal events are scheduled until the book is ready.

The Farm:

We have space now for two more residents. Perry is now leading on farm and outdoor work, and there’s plenty of room for both labor and creativity from new residents, long-term guests, and short-term helpers. Just contact Shodo. We’re not scheduling work days, but welcoming you at times that work for all of us.

Reflections:

The past few months I’ve been in learning mode. I’d like to share a little.

First, in March I took a week for a writing retreat, then a week in a cabin up north (very cold). I thought I would sit zazen and walk outdoors, but mostly I slept a lot and recovered from exhaustion. I gave a dharma talk at Bluestone Zen Community in Duluth, and went for a walk on slippery rocks above Lake Superior.

Second, Kincentric Leadership Training, a week in Colorado at Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center, with a group of people who share a love and respect for beyond-human beings.

Third, a family vacation in the Carribean.

Fourth, an inipi (sweat lodge) ceremony.

Then it was time to settle down and ground myself in ordinary life before any more adventures.

Studying patterns:

• First, alone with the North, walking on the ice, reading, sitting zazen, and admitting human frailty as I slept, got sick, and all of that.
• Second, surrounded with people who share something about our relationship with the natural world, and then a solitary day on a high rock, facing the Continental Divide, sitting with sun, clouds, thunder, hail, rain, and sun again. Much of that time I was in an altered state, talking and shouting and listening with a whole range of beings – not much to say about that. I asked for help with the healing and protection of the world. …. At first I thought it was the mountains who called me there. But I came back with a sense of reconnecting with the Thunder Beings, beings of my personal spiritual journey and more known to the Lakota people. These words came for me to share: “The Thunder Beings have promised to help.” Now I’m studying how to ask, especially to clarify shared ceremony. First I need to do some personal ritual, and deepen myself with more zazen. I’ll write more later. If you wonder about the group, here is their website, and it’s possible to register for their training retreats at Findhorn, Scotland (September 9-16), and at Auroville, India (later).
• Third, the family vacation with warmth, sun, and sky, in luxury, connecting with people very different from myself: it was calming and restful, and I was glad to be warm. I gave zazen instruction twice, on request. And this happened: During a day on a boat, when they stopped for snorkeling and play, I saw a cave and was called there. Dark, wet, deep; the opposite of mountains and sky. And coming back from it was hard, paddling against the waves and finally towed back to the boat. The challenge of the journey, and human helpers, there too. I don’t have words yet, just a shift in my body.
• Fourth, inipi (sweat lodge) an hour away in Wisconsin. I’d recently reconnected with an old friend, was invited, and went. Hot, dark, steamy. It feels private, and still mysterious to me. But somehow I’m breathing easier.
• Here is another thing: My Zen teacher, Shohaku Okumura, retired. People came from all around the world for the ceremonies, and I went too. It was just a weekend, but a time out of ordinary life, connecting with my Zen roots as well as old friends.
• Maybe we could say the fifth was returning to ordinary life, going to work and seeing clients, catching up on long-ignored tasks putting one foot in front of another in ordinary life. We’ll see what manifests. Right now, I don’t need more adventures, these are still digesting.

The Thunder Beings have promised to help:

What I can see now is how easy it could be to do the original vision of Mountains and Waters Alliance, in which groups of people get together and do ceremony connecting with their local plants, waters, soils, animals, everything beyond human, asking for help with this incredible task about climate and environment – including healing the way humans are harming each other and the natural world. If doing this calls to you, let me know; it will encourage me to move forward sooner.

I’ll say farewell for now, and be back in about a month. Be sure to write if you want to connect. And if someone shared this with you, you can subscribe at the website, bottom of front page.

Love,

Shodo

for Mountains and Waters Alliance

Mountains and Waters Alliance: Summer Newsletter & online invitation

Hello and welcome. Here’s catching up with a little of everything.

Events:

Online:

• Summer Wednesday nights will be in semi-vacation mode: First and third Wednesdays, drop in for Q&A about Zen, spiritual practice, or related matters. Hopefully we’ll have some good. discussions. I’ll be there at 6:30 pm Central Time, and stay until 8 or end when the energy is over. Latecomers please arrive by 6:45.
• Fall Wednesday nights will return to the read-and-discuss format, starting September 6. We’ll be exploring Casting Indra’s Net by Pamela Ayo Yetunde.
• Monday morning zazen continues but we might change the time. If you think of coming, please ask about details.

Farm:

With new resident Perry Post, there’s lots of activity in the garden. Perry is a permaculturist and experienced gardener and landscaper, and he welcomes help.

• Volunteers will find this a good way to learn; I’m enjoying helping and learning instead of managing by guess.
• Visitors for days or weeks will also find opportunity to learn.
• Occasionally we hire help.

The best way to get involved is to let me know so we can get in touch when there’s an appropriate opportunity. After conversation so we know what you’re up for.

Retreats:

I’m holding the schedule until after I return from the Kincentric Leadership Training (late May) because I expect to have new ideas. But there will be land care retreats, ceremonies, work days and work retreats, and sesshin.

Personal markers:

I’m noticing anniversaries.

• Last week marked 75 years since my birth. It’s been an amazing journey.
• It’s just over 10 years since I received dharma transmission, authorization to teach in the Soto Zen tradition. Which in a way marks the beginning of my adulthood – accepting the work that is mine to do. I didn’t know that before.
• And it’s about 10 years since I set off on the Compassionate Earth Walk, through the Great Plains, along the KXL route. That journey not only brought me into deep connection with the land itself, but also began my connection with indigenous people, as individuals, with their collective struggles, and embracing their spiritual and political leadership.
• Mountains and Waters Alliance is not quite 8 years old; that story is here.

Gratitude:

This is for the many people who’ve supported Mountains and Waters Alliance through the years; I won’t name them individually for reluctance to miss someone, but we have these groups:

• The Advisors, who meet with me monthly, help with decisions, and help me believe in what I’m doing.
• Donors, who have faithfully sent money every month, with the result that MWA can afford things (though it can’t yet afford to pay me), or who have given tangible things that we use daily.
• Farm volunteers and supporters, some of whom have donated valuable professional time, others who have put in hours digging, cutting, hauling, weeding, cooking, painting, cleaning, sewing, and the like.
• Practitioners and students, who have joined in the many kinds of spiritual practice, here and online and in every way.
• Residents, who have given a try at living this life and exploring what community might mean.
• Of course, the land, the river and creeks, the weather, the soil. And also spiritual tradition, both the Soto Zen Buddhism of my training, and the many others that have offered their gifts here.

May it continue.

New possibilities

I’ve been invited to participate in the Kincentric Leadership Training, which will begin next week. I know just these things about this:

• The leaders involved are people I have read and quoted for years, and have longed to study with.
• The language they use matches my understanding of how the world works and how we need to interact with it, as we go forward.
• I am too easily tired and discouraged, even though I feel strong hope that healing and change are possible. Both networking and leadership training would be helpful.

The book is nearing completion. Working title is Being Earth: Unleashing the power of the natural world.

Donating and support:

It’s going like this: donations support the land and facilities. I’ve never been paid, but MWA rents space at the farm, and covers some of my retreat and study travel. Working  half time makes that harder but supports the whole thing. In 2022 I borrowed money to upgrade the house to have space for four residents. Four would pay the loan down fast, but there’s one plus me. So I’m working extra, and doing less study and teaching.

• If you’d like and are able to offer financial support, look at this page.
• If you don’t have extra money, look at iGive, on the same page. This is a program that automatically sends us a small percentage of purchases from participating online stores, at no cost to you. It includes several airlines and some bookstores plus a lot of smaller stuff. (It’s automatic once you’ve set it up.) There’s a special offer right now, doubling the payment for purchases in May.

Spring is here.

Warm and cold, sunny, rainy, blossoms everywhere, spring ephemerals; the fiddleheads have come and gone, the nettles are offering themselves for eating, and when the rain stops we should find morel mushrooms in the woods.

The world is doing what it does.

Looking at the violence and polarization all around, I think societal collapse is well along the way. That thought helps me forgive the individuals involved. At the same time I see a thousand – no, a million signs of renewal. Reasons to be Cheerful is a pleasant place to hang out to see encouraging news. One of these days I’ll write about world issues again. Maybe.

• Meanwhile, if you have time to support Thacker Pass  please do. They are getting ready for an indigenous-led camp on the scale of Standing Rock, bodies and prayers in the way of the bulldozers, protecting land, beings, and sacred spaces. Or engage with your own people or cause, closer to home.
• If you like politics watch your local elections or run for office, and support the National Popular Vote program when it comes to your state.
• And if you pray, or chant, or do energy work – please bless all of us. If you like, use some words from my chant dedication. (Last page at the link.)

What else is there to say? Life is good. Even when it isn’t.

Mountains and Waters Alliance – land care retreat, notes, and a poem

Dear Folks,

Land Care Retreat April 14-16

Next weekend is the Land Care Retreat: arrive Friday evening, leave Sunday afternoon. About half meditation and discussion, generous time outdoors in the warm weather (predicted 50’s and 60’s, some showers but not steady rain) including garden work Saturday afternoon, expecting a small group. (You might want rubber boots.) I’ll be in touch with people who register.

If the fee is an issue, email me and we’ll work something out. I’d love to have you if possible.

This is the last practice-related event for a couple of months, due to commitments I have elsewhere.

A Few Thoughts

I puzzle over what to say about the news. Sometimes I’m encouraged, sometimes outraged. Today I have more hope about fascism, because of public response to some outrages.

I’m less encouraged about climate change. It’s still true that we have the technology (mostly biological) that we need, and it’s still true that we need to completely change our expectations about “standard of living” and we need fewer people on the planet. The resistance to both is fierce. Still, there are a few hopeful notes:

The UN addresses climate responsibilities

The Vatican repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, which had been used to excuse genocide and destruction around the globe for centuries. (no link)

And A Poem

All That Is Joy –

by Rabindranath Tagore

Let all the strains of joy mingle in my last song —

the joy that makes the earth flow over in the riotous excess of the grass,

the joy that sets the twin brothers, life and death,

dancing over the wide world,

the joy that sweeps in with the tempest, shaking and waking

all life with laughter,

the joy that sits still with its tears on the open red lotus of pain, and

the joy that throws everything it has upon the dust,

and knows not a word.

Blessed spring. I hope to see you soon.

Love,

Shodo

Farm events and residence – Mountains and Waters Alliance – March 5 and later

Here’s a quick note to share some opportunities coming up.

Workdays:

Sunday, March 5, 12-5: coppicing black locusts.

We planted black locust trees in 2015, and it’s time to manage them – cutting back and trimming. Black locust wood is highly valuable as firewood and fence posts; it’s also an invasive species and we’ll probably be managing it forever.

Two or three helpers would be good. The trees have thorns, so heavy leather gloves are a good plan, but I can lend. Skilled or unskilled volunteers are both welcome.

Saturday, March 11, 10-4, maple sugaring.

We’ll gather sap and cook it, from trees already engaged, and tap some additional trees. There will be some tromping in the woods, and there’s a fire to build; dress accordingly. Lunch provided.

For both of these, register by email, and I’ll send a reminder with directions and parking information. Leather gloves and good boots are recommended (ask me about loaners), dress in layers, and there will be hot soup at the end or at a break. Weather looks good.

A note: When we do these projects, we’re asking for gifts from the land. I’ll be talking with the trees in advance, asking their understanding and consent, and we may open our day with such a conversation as well.

Land care retreat:

April 14-16, weekend. There will be meditation, dharma talks, and discussions, with afternoons spent in work-as-spiritual-practice projects. Work details are unknown, but likely may include garden prep work and/or more tree work, coppicing or whatever. There’s a fee, and please register through the website.

Summer work practice:

We’re inviting people to join us to work in garden, farm, and land care, living here for two weeks or more, spring to fall. Meals and housing are provided, private or semi-private room. No money changes hands. If interested, email or call Shodo for more information.

Residence:

We have two spaces for longer-term residents; one opening is now, the other probably October 1. There’s a process for joining that includes discussion and a two-week trial period; you’ll need a part-time job; and I’m hoping for people interested in both Buddhist practice and farm/outdoor work. The website tells you what it’s like. Currently we have three residents, looking to have four.

February Events at Mountains and Waters Alliance – corrected

Dear Folks, this is embarrassing. The date is February 11, not February 4th. Forgive any confusion. This is correct!

Introduction to Zen:

February 11 at 10 am. This two-hour program includes meditation instruction, meditation (zazen), a talk about Zen, and discussion. You need to register; directions and more information will be sent.

Tapping Maples and other trees:

1-5 pm February 11. If you come for the morning, we’ll provide lunch and you can spend the day. Or just arrive by 1 pm. Be sure to register by email in advance. We have extra warm things, but dress for being outside in the weather and ask for help if you need extras.

(If weather is completely impossible, we’ll do indoor projects instead. But the forecast suggests weather in the 20’s, and sap will be flowing very soon.)

Weekend Sesshin

February 17-19. Just sitting meditation. Probably just a few of us, but you’re welcome to come for part or all. It’s okay to register by email.

It’s likely that the next event will be a workday on March 11, but we’ll see about that.

Blessings and love,

Shodo

Deep listening offerings

In starting Mountains and Waters Alliance, I looked for a way for ordinary humans to enter the magical, liminal quality of relationship with the other beings. I assert that the other beings are conscious. In that, I join with millennia of humans who, in a variety of languages, have lived with the trees spirits and earth gnomes, talked with them, and worked together with them.

This talk from January addresses this; it’s my first spoken attempt to address this way, and I find it a good beginning. The first 40 minutes are the talk itself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej0Tdu0YymA

The next talks from others go deeply, each in a different direction, that add much to what I say.

David Suzuki:

This hour-long talk spins out the nature of the problem – how we live, too many of us, and the mindset – “We don’t need nature” – “We create our own habitat” – and other nonsense that brings us to this miserable state. Even though the talk is about the situation and not about solutions, the first step is to really understand the problem, and it’s good on that.

https://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/david-suzuki-an-elders-vision-for-our-sustainable-future/#.Y9Y9nOK3f4k.facebook

Bayo Akolomafe and Post-Activism

He speaks and writes about failure, about the cracks in reality, and about monsters. He takes us to a different place; it can be hard. Can we allow the earth to shift under our feet? Bayo invites us to a profound welcome of the movement of Life.

https://vimeo.com/750490178/41eff6db22

We’re in a time of creativity and new growth; I imagine offering a long list of resources, but it’s an overwhelming thought. So I offer these two plus my own.

There are a few events coming up at the farm; I’ll post them separately.

Love to you all,

Shodo

for Mountains and Waters Alliance

Quick update – listening circle January 22

The listening circle announced for Sunday afternoon, January 22, has been moved to a more convenient location, in Northfield MN at the Northfield Buddhist Meditation Center. It still begins at 4 and potluck is at 6. More information at https://mountainsandwatersalliance.org/event/listening-circle/.

Feel free to email Shodo for questions or to register.

Mountains and Waters Alliance, January 2, 2023

Entering 2023: waxing moon first quarter, daylight growing, snow paused

I greet you from the land of cold and snow, entering the next winter storm, knowing that the erratic weather is from climate change. Imagining Mother Earth shaking us off, freeing herself – and dreaming that we can still make peace, become friends, live in the hands of the gods again, in the hands of all beings.

I asked for a poem for the time, and here is what came.

Eight years here now,

listening to the birds,

asking the trees and hills and sometimes feeling their reply,

just barely beginning to know my welcome,

to take my place.

The next step is to ask for help.

Oh yes, I’ve asked –

for the earth, for this land itself,

for water protectors at Line Three

and land protectors at Thacker Pass,

wherever my attention landed.

But now,

learning so slowly,

I will ask for myself.

For health, and rest, and human community.

It seems as if she’s moved in spite of me,

calling people here, helping with work and softening my heart.

I forgive myself for being so slow.

After writing, I went down to the altar at the creek, and asked for my health to improve. I could feel an answer. Still a mystery.

The river has two names, Dakota and English. Inyan Bosndata (Standing Rock River) and Cannon River (from the French for canoes).

The creeks have no names. People ask their names. But I honor their wildness and their changing, and don’t want to burden them with a fixed name. The state DNR calls them “intermittent streams,” which seems to acknowledge their wildness.

Perhaps some day they will tell me their names; until then I leave them to themselves.

Changes:

There are now three residents, with space for one more now, probably an additional space this fall. Pleae write if you’re interested in joining us.

One of us will be focusing on the land; we expect more activities, more workdays. Watch here for announcements.

The Facebook page for Mountains and Waters Alliance is now closed, and will be shut down. There are two ways to stay connected. You can subscribe to the blog at the website, and receive emails. Or you can follow my personal Facebook page (Shodo Spring), where the blogs are always posted.

Some online events, old and new:

• The Wednesday night Zen group becomes a class, beginning January 4; you can still register.
• Monday morning zazen continues online.
• The Gift of Fearlessness has moved to 2nd and 4th Tuesdays each month, discussing current events.
• I’m giving a dharma talk at Hokyoji on January 22.
• On January 21, 2-4 Central Time, I’ll be attending “Climate Change as Spiritual Teacher” a council led by Adyashanti, a well-known spiritual teacher whom I respect a great deal. No cost; here’s a link.

Local events:

• Talking circle, Sunday January 22, 4 pm with potluck at 6. You probably know talking circle by now: deep listening, opening to wisdom, clarifying intention. “What is mine to do?” could be our guiding question for this meeting. If we choose, then, we may meet again, monthly or as we are guided. Location at the farm; in-person only. (There could be support and encouragement to do the same in your own place.) Please register by email.

Retreats and Farm events:

If there are additions, we’ll announce them here.

• February 11, morning: Intro to Zen, 2-hour workshop
• February 11-12, either a land care retreat or a simple work day, tapping trees for sap for maple syrup.
• February 17-19: sesshin – silent meditation retreat.
• March 11: work day including processing maple syrup and other seasonal activities.
• late March: closed for a personal walking retreat
• April 14-16: land care: Meditation plus dharma talks and conversation, plus work with the land, probably involving fire – biochar, and/or burning fields to make prairie or to calm invasive plants.
• May will be closed, no weekend events.
• June 10: maybe a workday, focused on gardening
• July to December: to be announced.

Dharma talk January 21 at Hokyoji

I’m giving a talk online at Hokyoji, a Zen practice center in Southern Minnesota. You can find information and access the talk at https://www.hokyoji.org/sunday-talks/ The talk begins at 9:30 am Central Time; sitting meditation is offered at 8:30 and 9:00.

Giving, upcoming classes and talks, and communications

Giving:

This is the season of fundraising appeals. I’ve been invisible, underground, working on the book, occasional talks, and leading one study group and one discussion group. With nothing to see, I make no claim to your dollars. Still, if you would like to support this work here is a window. Gifts make it possible to give more time to teaching and writing, and ultimately to center my life on our mission. https://mountainsandwatersalliance.org/donate-support/

Currently I work more than half time as a psychotherapist. It’s good work and also demanding, and helps me repay the loan I took out to expand the house and make space for a beginning community. (There will be three of us here by January, with one space open for an additional resident.)

Classes

An online study group will begin Wednesday, January 4, 6:30-8 pm, on Dogen’s writing “Being Time” through Dainin Katagiri’s Each Moment is the Universe. Registration is necessary, preferably by December 15; donations are requested but not required. More information here.

There will be an in-person “Introduction to Zen” on a January Saturday morning, not yet scheduled. If interested, you’re encouraged to contact me; it will help planning.

Retreats and Farm events

The general monthly pattern is a retreat on the third weekend, a workday on the second weekend. Retreats are either sesshin, an intensive meditation retreat, up to five days long, or “land care retreat” including meditation, dharma talk and discussion, and mindful work on the land. There’s a flexible fee, registration required, and I love doing these.

Workdays are usually informal and involve whatever is needed, mostly farm and land work. Lunch and snacks are provided, and no money changes hands. Sometimes people stay after for dharma conversation.

Speculative schedule (that’s even less than tentative, and none of these are event listings yes.)

• January 14: workday indoors, either sewing or construction of the painting/rehab sort.
• January 21: intro to Zen, which could be followed by a half-day of sitting meditation.
• February 11: workday, tap maple trees
• February 18-19, land care retreat, maple trees and meditation
• March 11: just possibly a workday involving maple syrup
• late March: closed for a personal walking retreat
• April 15-16: something involving fire – burning fields to make prairie, biochar, remove\calm invasive plants.
• May closed: I’ll be at my teacher’s last teaching retreat, then various family occasions.
• June 10: possible workday, gardening
• late June: probably no events due to travel for ceremonies at Sanshinji, my teacher’s temple
• July-December: similar pattern, no details yet. Except that I will sit Rohatsu sesshin, December 1-8, either here or with another sangha. There will be at least one or two sesshins and land care retreats.

Talks

November 27, this Sunday, I’m giving a dharma talk online for Hokyoji Zen Practice Community in southern Minnesota. The talk starts at 9:30am Central Time; zazen begins at 8:30 and you can join at any time.Here’s the link: https://www.hokyoji.org/sunday-talks/

December 10, Saturday, I’ll talk online with Heartland Zen about the text Sansuikyo (Mountains and Waters Sutra) and the book I edited for Okumura Roshi. 11:00 am, meditation 10:30. Link is at https://www.heartlandzen.org/

Communications:

At the end of this year I will discontinue the Facebook page for Mountains and Waters Alliance. If you have been following there, you might sign up for blog posts (bottom of this page), or switch to my personal page (Shodo Spring) if it’s not too crowded for you. The reason is that organizational pages keep becoming more and more difficult to use, and I don’t think the page is that useful.)

In Memoriam:

On this day in 1963, an assassination took the life of John F Kennedy, a courageous leader in many ways. It’s 59 years, and the world has changed incalculably. Or perhaps just its appearance has changed, except that now we face climate disaster and open fascism and so much else. We also have great upwellings of humanity, love, and creativity. I imagine a great event at the 60th anniversary, a celebration of life and humanity. My part in that celebration will be to honor the gifts of trees, mountains, rivers, oceans, prairies, meadows, mycelia, all of life – and to ask for their continuing participation.

I’ll follow that with acknowledgment of how it goes in our world today. I’ve given too much attention for too long to external events. December’s post will look outward at it all, hopefully from a calm place.

Mountains and Waters Alliance: a blessing at the Celtic new year

I just want to send you a blessing, as the Celtic year shifts toward winter, and as we move toward the elections and other unknowns. This poem is from John O’Donohue. At the end, you can listen to him reading it.

Beannacht

On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.

Blessings.

Please Vote. And Breathe.

Voting is an exercise of political power. Self-expression has nothing to do with it. We vote all the time for people we don’t prefer, in order to avoid potential disasters. If you’re worried about possible disasters of any kind, please vote in addition to your other actions.

To make sure you’re still registered correctly: https://www.usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration. It also has information on how to register in each state, and whether you need ID.

Quoting an email from my friend Bob Ciernia:

“In Mein Kampf, Hitler said what he would do if his party came to power. People didn’t believe him. Let’s not make the same mistake …. Despite losing the popular vote by over 7 million votes (and losing the Electoral College vote 306 to 232), a majority of Republicans believe they won the 2020 Presidential election. What does it say about your view of the world if you think the only way you could ever lose an election is if it is rigged? Again, please take them at their word ….

“If you want to do something… there is still time to affect the outcome of the 2022 election. I [Bob] am a member of this group: https://www.fridayaction.org/projects/#current   [They identify critical races and send postcards, sometimes increasing voter turnout by 10%. Of course there are many options for action.]

“Please remember the words of Martin Niemöller (1892-1984), a Lutheran minister who spent eight years in prisons and concentration camps between 1937 and 1945.

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Remember that local candidates matter, Secretaries of State control voting, and school boards make a difference for our children.

And still there is this:

From Edna St. Vincent Millay, over a hundred years ago.

O world, I cannot hold thee close enough!

   Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!

   Thy mists, that roll and rise!

Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag

And all but cry with colour!   That gaunt crag

To crush!   To lift the lean of that black bluff!

World, World, I cannot get thee close enough!

Long have I known a glory in it all,

         But never knew I this;

         Here such a passion is

As stretcheth me apart,—Lord, I do fear

Thou’st made the world too beautiful this year;

My soul is all but out of me,—let fall

No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.

A bit of news:

September sesshin had 3 participants, and was a gift. Even though I spent my free time protecting the garden plants from the first frost, as well as building fires to warm the zendo, at the end my heart was lighter and I was able to engage wholeheartedly with daily life having released some kind of burden.

Here are some photos from that daily life:

Next summer when the garage gets hot, it will be like our own kiln. (This lumber was milled from our own trees. There’s more of that to come.)

For upcoming events, see last month’s post. Except this update: the Wednesday night Zen group is on hiatus, and will begin January 4 with an organized class on Dogen’s writing “Being Time” using Dainin Katagiri’s Each Moment is the Universe: Zen and the way of being time. We’ll meet at 6:30 pm on the first three Wednesdays of each month January through April. It will be more formal than our past reading/discussion, and a donation is requested at a level that works for you.

And there will be at least one introduction to Zen event – a day or a half-day – probably January 21.

There’s space for two more residents.

I wrote last month; now I’m keeping it simple. Please email me if you have interest in either a short-term visit or a long-term stay.

Being Earth

The book is nearly done and has a working title: Being Earth: What to Do With the Time that is Given Us. The initial description: “A Buddhist response to the crisis of our times, Being Earth draws on history, anthropology, archaeology, biology, and psychology to invite new perspectives and possibilities.”

Money is tight

because of the construction, inflation, medical expenses, and life in general. I’m working more hours, but also encouraging donations, tax-deductible, either on the website or by mailing a check.

There’s also a free way to support through www.iGive.com. You set things up with them, then automatically a small percentage comes to MWA when you buy online from one of their sellers. Most airlines and many major companies are on it.

If you’re experiencing problems with wildfire, flood, drought, storm, covid, or social crisis, my heart is with you. Ask if you would like us to chant for your well-being.

Warmly,

Shodo Spring

for Mountains and Waters Alliance

Mountains and Waters Alliance September news and thoughts

Please forgive the long silence. I’m back and will try to be more regular.

First, upcoming events:

Sesshin, September 23-27

(arrive Thursday night, end Tuesday noon)

The term sesshin means “to settle the mind.” We sit quietly together, 6 am to 9 pm with breaks for walking meditation and for meals. It’s a gentle time, and if you haven’t done it before please call and talk with us first. I love this way of just sitting together, but for most people it’s best to explore gradually. Partial participation can be arranged.

Details are here, registration is required. There is no extra charge for staying here.

Workday, October 8

followed by a potluck supper. (There is not an event post for this.) Work is 9-4, break and socializing 4-6, potluck about 6.

Most likely projects involve garden and land care. If there are enough of us, moving wood and other heavy projects are offered. Lunch is provided.

Register by email; say whether you will come for work, potluck, or both.

Introduction to Zen October 14 – Friday evening 7-9

Stands alone or leads into land care retreat. Includes instruction in sitting and walking meditation, brief discussion of chanting and ceremonies, and questions and answers. By donation. If you would like to come just to this and not the land care retreat, please email.

Land care retreat October 15-16 (Friday evening to Sunday afternoon)

This weekend begins with introduction to Zen, then combines meditation, dharma talks, and outdoor work in the spirit of being one with the earth. Registration is required, there is a fee, and more information is here. You may also begin Saturday morning after breakfast, at 9 am.

Online groups continue:

• Zen study group, Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm Central Time.
• Gift of Fearlessness, Sunday evenings 7 pm Central Time
• Monday morning zazen is still at 6 am Central Time. 50 minutes of sitting followed by a short chanting service and conversation.

These are all coordinated by email rather than website. If you are interested in joining any, email me.

Dharma talk online October 2, Sunday morning

This is at Northfield Buddhist Meditation Center The talk is in person and online. For online, use this link   The password is “med” followed by “55057” sitting is 9:30-10, talk is approximately 10-11.

Residents

Having finished major construction, upgraded to four bedrooms, and long work with  volunteers outdoors in garden and woods, I find myself talking with several potential residents. If you are tempted to come and practice here, please

contact me soon. Here are a few basics:

• I hope for people interested in joining in morning zazen and retreats. Zen background is helpful because we share a language, but it’s not required at all.
• Most people pay a modest rent, a share of what it costs to have this beautiful place. There are people who could make that from the land, and welcome to do so: farmers and gardeners, especially permaculturists; herbalists; woodworkers; and possibly basket weavers and other traditional skills.
• Community matters. A weekly house meeting is essential. We share decision-making, yet as owner (until that becomes shared) there are responsibilities that are mine.
• There is no incense or fragrance indoors, because of my chemical sensitivities. We will try to honor other disability needs as well.
• This is an incredibly beautiful place, and it needs care. Everyone who lives here shares in that.(There are photos throughout the website.)
• I hope eventually to share ownership.

Some thoughts on Zen and action:

Tuesday I had a lovely interview with Siddhesh Mukerji, who is writing a book about Buddhism and activism. His questions brought out my thoughts beautifully. Here is a recording of our conversation, unedited.

Last Monday, I learned of an opportunity to support Lakota-led prayer action protecting the Black Hills, He Sapa. My friend Karen Little Thunder and others gathered for prayer outside a Federal courthouse where there was a hearing on violations of the laws regarding new lithium mining. I emailed and used social media to reach whoever I could, and spent an hour at the Central Altar on this land, offering chanting, meditation, and energy. The Black Hills Clean Water Alliance will know what happened.

Blessings in the fall. Please remember to breathe.

Warmly,

Shodo Spring

for Mountains and Waters Alliance