MWA – Return of the Light

Writing just after winter solstice, I’m aware of the winter light slowly growing – and I call to the light on every level. There’s an image of a crust breaking open as the life inside grows and grows. May it be so with each of us, and with all of us.

Zen teaching and practice:

I begin by offering two gifts.

First is a new talk introducing the practice of zazen, also known as sitting meditation. This talk begins with my understanding of what zazen is, in connection with my understanding of the Buddhist teaching of the way we belong to the earth. The first six or seven minutes are about this, and then the talk moves into practical matters of posture, breath, and mental awareness.

Second, I’m asking what Buddha offers to us in a difficult time. This talk begins with some current thoughts, includes readings from the Sutta Nipata, and concludes with an amazing discussion with the people online. They have given permission to include them in this post. (The talk begins a few minutes in, lasts about half an hour, and is followed by discussion.)

Upcoming study opportunities

Our Wednesday evening online study group will be focusing on the sixteen Zen precepts during the next few months. If you would like to join us, please do. More information is at the link, and you will want to email me to make sure you have all details. You can also make an appointment to talk, and I can share useful recordings from the past.

I will be offering the precepts to a few people after our basic study is complete. If you have interest in this, you can talk with me about it. (If you don’t know what this phrase means, wait until you’re more familiar with Zen.)

Calendar:

Here is a link to the 2025 calendar. It offers a general sense of what we do here, plus some specific dates. Things always evolve.

Consulting the Oracle:

This is a personal note. A year ago I threw all my energy into a fundraising campaign, and you responded beyond my wildest dreams. For the first time I received a stipend from MWA, and I began to dream of doing this work full time. Then shoulder surgery took more out of me than I could have imagined. I cancelled events to focus on recovery, and wondered what I was doing. I kept the basics going. And I finished editing the manuscript of The Shape of Reality Is Open: Walking Together Through the Polycrisis. It’s now at several publishers, and early responses have been encouraging. Meanwhile, I’ve been living what you might call a “normal” life. I’m starting to recover from the medical exhaustion, getting in touch with my meditation practice, exercising, and relaxing a bit.

I’ve come to look at these last few months as consulting an oracle. I wrote a thoughtful fundraising letter and sent it to as many people as I could, but didn’t start a GoFundMe or vigorously pursue possible donors as I did last year. It felt like putting a question out to the universe, and seeing what answer came back. The answer was “Don’t quit your day job.” I’ve accepted new therapy clients, and let go of my wish to retire, to go on long retreats, and so forth.

Sending the book to publishers is like that too: I make my offering, of six years’ work and struggle, and wait for the response. Will it be welcome? Of course, the answer to that will come in stages: first, finding a publisher, second, book sales, third, whether it becomes a vehicle for my teaching.

Last, I’m allowing my health (kidney issues) to rely on my own knowledge rather than doctors, even alternative ones. I can change course if needed, based on lab tests; intuition says I’ll be fine.

So here we are, going into a new year with a great many unknowns, some of them frightening. That’s why I gave the talk above, about the Buddha and difficult times. I’m watching too much news but mostly calm. This is a time for steady practice – including meditation, exercise, good social relationships, and remembering that we are in the care of the universe at all times.

Love and blessings,

Shodo

Mountains and Waters Alliance year-end report and donation request

Dear Friends,

I write to you after a year of growth and transformation supported by your love and care for Mountains and Waters Alliance. 

Also, let me mention two events. In December we’ll outline the full calendar.

• The Wednesday evening online Zen class will be focusing on the precepts for a while. If you’re interested in studying with us, this would be a good time to begin, December 11.
• Locally, we’re hosting a winter solstice celebration on December 21.

Last year, in addition to long-time supporters and volunteers, people responded to our fundraiser in an amazing way, creating a quiet revolution. Even though I named this work, dreamed it and poured my heart into it, you let me know that it was bigger than I imagined. I’ve been digging the roots in deeply, and need to follow through.

The Roots: 2024 in Review

Here’s a brief summary of what we did this year.

Teaching and Discussion:   weekly online Zen class with 4-6 people, plus individual meetings with students. “The Gift of Fearlessness” group continues to meet twice a month online, now five of us, supporting each other in dealing with events of the world. Newcomers are welcome.
“Earth Apprenticeship” – weekend retreats on becoming an apprentice to the earth – listening, learning, acting – was born in fall 2023. A grant proposal for a two-week program almost got funded. ZCNS plans to visit for an Earth Apprentice Retreat in June 2025.
Retreats: We had four retreats here at the farm, plus some volunteer days and community events.
Guest teaching: Leading Zen retreats in Duluth, MN, and in Atlanta, GA, dharma talks at various Zen communities, and co-teaching an 8-week class at Zen Center North Shore (Massachusetts).
Study and retreat time is essential for doing this work. In 2024, I attended two online ten-day study intensives with my teacher, and a 4-day retreat at Hokyoji (southern Minnesota) plus some solo retreats here.
Networking and building community: This includes participating with other groups, speaking at conferences, informal events at the farm such as the winter solstice bonfire, and lots of phone and email conversations, hosting visitors, and the like. The direction includes strong organizational relationships plus a small residential community and a strong group of people for whom this is a spiritual home.
Administration:  Thanks to generous donations in 2023-24, we were able to pay for some website upgrades and administrative help.

The book: The Shape of Reality is Open: Walking Together Through the Polycrisis

For the last six years, I have been writing the essence of Mountains and Waters Alliance. Originally, I imagined a book about asking for help from beyond-human beings, to address climate change in a different way. As I was writing, the covid epidemic began, and then extensive tumult culturally and politically. Studying and writing, I became engrossed in learning who humans are and how we can play our part in the universe – and am profoundly encouraged by what I’ve learned. The book is now out for consideration by likely publishers. If you’d like to read a short excerpt plus some endorsements, look at: https://mountainsandwatersalliance.org/the-shape-of-reality-is-open/. 

Future Unfolding: Visions for 2025-6

Building community here at home. After ten years here, the time is ripe. People know us. Our small farm hosts MWA activities. I could fruitfully spend a third of my time on active local outreach including community education, schools and colleges, churches and civic groups, and news resources, plus welcoming volunteers, offering more workshops and retreats, and personal connections. We’re also ready to add two or three more residents to the current two.

Reach out nationally and internationally, using the book launch as a vehicle for education and inspiration on the ideals that MWA was founded on. We hope for publication next fall/winter including a book tour. (Note: If your group would like a presentation as part of the book launch, please email me.)

Administration and maintenance: It’s time for both a website overhaul and a truly functional communication system so we can take better care of our people. We have found the (free) software and know what to do; we just need time for a one-time push consolidating everything, with easier upkeep later.

Requesting your financial support

In order to continue the momentum we have achieved this year, we need to execute on the plan above full-time. Applying a frugal approach, including money on hand plus anticipated income for a $35,000 budget, this year’s fundraising goal is $20,000.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation through this link, or mailing a check to Mountains and Waters Alliance, 16922 Cabot Avenue, Faribault, MN 55021, or learn how to get us free support through online shopping that you were already doing.  If your employer has a charity program, you might ask them to match your donation.

If you gave either money or time in 2024, thank you so much. 

Questions?

I’m happy to send additional information, including a tentative 2025 calendar, more numbers, a more detailed report on 2024, and personal thoughts, if you would like. Email me here.

With love and commitment,

Shodo Spring

For Mountains and Waters Alliance

Mountains and Waters Alliance – October 2024 – Fall events and news

Online study group

• Wednesday October 23, 6:30 pm Central Time, through Oct 30, Nov 6, 13, and 20. Focus will be on engaged Buddhism, based on a dharma talk “Trauma, Suffering, and Liberation” by Beth Kanji Goldring. I’ll send a copy of the talk to participants, and we’ll listen to it in class, piece by piece. Please register through the link above. If you have difficulty, email shodo@mountainsandwatersalliance.org.
• December 11 and 18 IF four people commit. Otherwise we will take a break for December.
• In 2025, study group will be January 8, 15, and 22 if four people commit.  Same for February 5, 12, and 19, March 5, 12, 19, and so forth. Topics and texts are not yet determined.

On-site events:

November work weekend

will be November 15, 16, and/or 17. If interested in coming for any part of this, email Shodo for more information and to make arrangements. We have several small projects, outdoors or indoors, depending on weather. Average temperatures would be in the low 40’s, which suggests short outdoor work alternating with indoor work or rest. Outdoor possibilities include adding a railing to the stairs, creating a better landing for those stairs, other small repairs, and firewood in its many aspects.

Rohatsu sesshin, Dec 1-8,

silent long days of sitting meditation, minimal shared work, staying onsite encouraged. We’ll gather Saturday evening Nov 30, and close Sunday morning December 8, Buddha’s Enlightenment Day. Please register soon. Ask questions now, ask about partial participation and whatever you need to know.

Winter solstice gathering, Saturday December 21 –

three parts. Register by emailing Shodo. Mention plans, number of children and adults, and rides offered/needed.

• • • The shortest day: Come any time to join us in preparing food and fire. If you come at sunrise (7 am) or the night before, you can join us for meditation and breakfast.
    • Bonfire, and potluck, arrive about 4 (sunset is 4:34 pm), sharing circle around the fire, and potluck when we’re ready – probably indoors. (Moon rises 11:44 pm, but stars will be out.) In case of terrible weather, the fire will be indoors.
    • Longest night: If you love sitting meditation, please join us for an all-night sit or a sleepover and greet the morning together.  Indoors or out depending on weather.

Looking ahead in 2025:

Each month has a different kind of farm work, including tapping sugar maples, planting pines, garden prep, garden planting, foraging, and so forth through the season. Sesshins and retreats will be announced, beginning in early February in Atlanta.

2025 calendar will appear in November. Also, that will be an invitation to membership and fundraising appeal, with plenty of information.

Book tour:

In fall 2025, I expect to be doing a book tour. If you think your group might like me to offer a talk, a reading, or a workshop, in person or online, now would be a great time to talk with me about how to make that happen. Of course, you’ll wonder what the book is about. Working title is The Shape of Reality Is Open: Walking Together Through the Polycrisis.  I can send information.

And news:

We currently have room for two more residents. If you’re attracted to the thought of living collectively, shared work, spiritual community, good conversation, activism in its various forms – and stars, trees, grasses, creeks and rivers – we’re interested in talking with you. It’s a gradual process. We also accept short-term and long-term guests as interns or while considering residency.

The job posting:

We’ve hired someone part-time, and it’s looking good. If you know someone who has professional-level experience with a marketing program called Hubspot, who would be interested in a few hours per week, send them to me.

Mountains and Waters Alliance – September Updates and Job Posting

This is a brief update plus announcement of a part-time job opportunity with Mountains and Waters Alliance.

UPCOMING

The Zen study group is returning to Wednesday evenings, 6:30-8 Central Time. You are welcome to join or to visit. We are just finishing “Instructions for the Cook.” In late September or early October, we’ll start a new study topic. We’re planning to work with a recording; I won’t post it until  we actually have it. We meet the first, second, and third Wednesdays each month, except for holidays and such. There’s an email list for notices, sharing of class recordings, and so forth. When there is a fifth Wednesday, we decide by group consensus.

There is no wild rice trip as previously hoped.

October 19-20 Shodo leads a retreat in Atlanta.

Rohatsu sesshin will be December 1-8, here at the farm.

Work days or work weekends are not yet scheduled, but things happen along the way. Email Shodo to be in touch.

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Part time, flexible. Primary purpose is office support, so I can focus on other tasks. Up to $800 per month, depending on how things evolve.

• Monitor event postings on website and social media. Make sure everything is functional (e.g. registration pages) and that postings are timely and informative.
• Monitor human interactions and create records accessible to me, to help things run more smoothly. This includes using Hubspot (a marketing software) to store information.

Qualifications:

Well-organized, thinks clearly, creative, good at coordinating.

Comfortable with social media and able to do minor website updates.

Communicates well, verbally and in writing. Is willing to use email.

Ideal:

• already skilled with Hubspot.
• Local (southern Minnesota).
• Wants a long-term part-time job.
• Supports our ideals.

If interested, send an email telling me about yourself, including expected salary range, time availability, goals for working with us, and a resume or equivalent.

Thank you all.

With love,

Shodo Spring

Mountains and Waters Alliance – staying steady

Since I last wrote, the United States has changed. The Democrats have a new presidential candidate, a vice-presidential candidate (my Minnesota governor), and enthusiasm abounds. It’s a relief.

Buddhist practice is to keep going, whatever seems to be happening.

Also war, killing, starvation and sickness continue in Gaza; Israeli media report literal torture within Israeli prisons, but U.S. mainstream media says nothing. In Bethlehem, Combatants for Peace resists illegal settlers taking their homes – and some foreigners join them in the old tradition called accompaniment – but this time they’re shooting Americans too. https://www.dropsitenews.com/

Some voters imagine that Harris/Walz will do it differently, others don’t. Some refuse to participate in an election with no peaceful alternative, others plan to organize after the election. I don’t know how many just don’t care.

Buddhist practice is to keep going, whatever seems to be happening.

Climate catastrophe is in our faces – floods, droughts, wildfires – and it’s getting a tiny bit more attention, but most people aren’t yet ready to consider giving up their conveniences. Even when driven from their homes by floods, storms, or fires, they try to resume normalcy as much as possible.

What does practice mean, in such a situation?

I ask because I don’t know the answer. Today, even though I have a list of what practice means to me now, I’m leaving this space blank.

What does practice mean to you, now?

UPDATES

We just keep going here. We continue at the slower pace required by Shodo’s medical situation, still expecting full recovery. Summer retreats included a weekend Earth Apprentice retreat, in which we spent time with the white pine grove and developed a plan to turn an old shed into a small, screened zendo.

Summer classes included our regular weekly class plus a joint class at Zen Center North Shore (Massachusetts) co-taught with Joan Amaral and Catherine Gammon, both dharma sisters from Shodo’s time at San Francisco Zen Center.

Summer is in full abundance, flowers and green plants, the first tomatoes, more flowers.

UPCOMING

August sesshin will be August 16-18, almost here.

September (dates unknown) there will be a trip for wild ricing with the Honor the Earth camp at Palisade, Minnesota. October 19-20 Shodo leads a retreat in Atlanta, and Rohatsu sesshin will be here December 1-8.

Work days or weekends are not yet scheduled, but things happen along the way.

ALWAYS

We have two rooms available for residents, short or long term, please ask. (You will need outside income.)

I’ll tell you when the book finds a publisher.

MWA – Reflections, and July and August schedule

It’s a magnificent summer day and I can’t bear to be indoors at the computer. So I’m sitting on a bench outside in the shade, warm breeze, scent of trees and flowers and grasses, sounds of insects and birds and squirrels, wondering what to say to you.

I’ll start with announcements.

July 19-21, Earth Apprentice Retreat: a combination of meditation, community time, and work with the land guided by the land itself. You can come for part or all, give financial support or ask for a scholarship, stay in the house or camp or commute. We have three people coming so far, and could easily include several more. Depending on weather and inclination, recreation might be hiking, swimming, bonfire, talking about Zen, playing in the kitchen.  Music? Star-gazing? Please register now, or give a hint if you’re not sure. It’s two weeks away.

August 16-18, Sesshin: basic sitting meditation for several hours a day, in the cool basement, with flexibility about breaks for outdoor walking and such.

Dharma talks July 28 and September 8, Hokyoji, Sunday morning online.

Study group continues Monday evenings through August, then returns to Wednesdays. If interested please email me.

Reflections

The book is written and almost ready to seek a publisher.  I have a description:

The Shape of Reality Is Open: Walking Together Through the Polycrisis speaks to the world behind and underneath our daily collective trauma. It offers creative support for today’s vibrant and multi-dimensional movements for environmental regeneration, spiritual healing, and peace with justice.  Looking at how today’s dominant hopeless narrative was created, the book opens possibilities for moving forward into a shared, flexible culture that knows the natural world both as family and as working partner.  The new narrative is based on history, anthropology, and archaeology, as well as current psychological, spiritual, and activist experience.

Stopping: After six years focusing on writing, ten living at the farm, eight creating Mountains and Waters Alliance together with an incredible group of advisors, and nine earning a living in psychotherapy – while my grandchildren moved through their teens – and facing another year of post-surgery partial disability (shoulder surgery) – I find myself stopping, reflecting on what I’m doing, before plunging further into more actions, more teaching, etc.

I’m doing more of going to retreats, less of organizing them, and still happy when people join me. During this time, until the way is clear for me, you won’t hear from me as much. That’s already happening, and will continue for at least the rest of the year, maybe until the book has come out. I dream of long retreat time, of spending month walking across the country, of reading voraciously, and of course of lying on a beach in the sun. I’d like to retrieve the vigor of my body, beginning with the shoulder and continuing to tennis, basketball, and all of that. And more time with children, grandchildren, and friends. (Today my truck died, leaving me with one less thing to take care of – and one less thing to use.)

There’s a kind of panic in the world these days, that I have to mention. I would like to be saying more here, but not until I can speak from the calm place. Thus, I will just encourage you to find your own calm place, and I offer you this poem by Wendell Berry:

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free. 

Notice that he wrote this in 1980. We were worried then too. Now we’re living through it and, perhaps, can feel the beginning of the next phase – whatever that is. And the world is still there in its beauty and grace.

I  offer photos from the land, from this day, and some from actual farm work.

Love to you all.

Warmly,

Shodo

MWA – Notes from the heart, plus schedule updates – June 2024

“Not knowing is most intimate.”

Life continues to be uncertain. It seems more so than usual these days – with climate change, U.S. politics and fears, the actuality of genocide, and civil liberties issues. Relatively safe, I don’t know what to do. Some people have chosen a course and are pursuing it wholeheartedly, and I thank them. Meanwhile, Zen Master Dizang’s “Not knowing is most intimate” is here for me. My advisory group recommends avoiding distractions, sitting more zazen – a lot more – and waiting for clarity, intimate with uncertainty, allowing Life to create me.

I can’t say much more to you. If your direction is clear, please follow it with all your heart. If you are like me, you’re welcome to join me in allowing intimacy, waiting for clarity. If you’d like to connect in that space, feel free to send me your name.  I’ll chant for you, as I do for myself: may we find wisdom, peace, and commitment. May we know our next step, and be willing to take it.

You’re also invited to morning sitting, 6 am Central Time: no zoom, just sitting together wherever we are. Any morning; I’m usually there, and others may be too. We might even call or email each other, for support and encouragement. Or we might take a walk in the woods, or put our hands in the dirt, and listen inwardly and physically, allowing all beings to create and teach us. Here, now, the lilacs are blooming and the iris promise; nettles are offering food and morels are already done. Green and blue, bird song and sun and shade, everywhere says summer.

Zen classes and talks:

June and July: Classes Monday evening again, on Dogen’s writing about the work of the Zen cook. Registration please, donations encouraged but not required.

Thursday evening classes, co-teaching at Zen Center North Shore, Beverley, Massachusetts, Mountains and Waters Sutra. June 6-August 1. Note that the times for zazen and talk are in Eastern Time. In Central Time, zazen begins at 5:30 pm and the talk starts at 6:15 pm. You are strongly encouraged to register and make a donation to support ZCNS, which will give me an honorarium.

Zen classes here will return to Wednesdays in September; we’re not quite sure about August.

Saturday, June 15: online talk with No Barriers Zen.  Two half-hour zazen periods starting at 9 Central Time, followed by talk and discussion. There will be an ASL interpreter; this group is committed to inclusivity. Having spent a year working within the Deaf community, I’m delighted to spend the morning with them.

Retreats:

July 19-21: Earth Apprentice Retreat. (fee, registration required)

August 16-18: Weekend sesshin. More information later.

Nov 30-December 8: Rohatsu sesshin, sitting in silence, honoring Buddha’s enlightenment. More information later.

Things I’m going to attend that might be of interest:

June 19-23, “Practicing the Way in this very moment” Zen retreat at Hokyoji (SE Minnesota) https://hokyoji.org/event/practicing-the-way-in-this-very-moment-2/  registration required

September, wild rice gathering in northern Minnesota with Honor the Earth. More information later.

November 1-10, online class with Shohaku Okumura, ten days, 2 hours each day.

With love,

Shodo

For Mountains and Waters Alliance

Mountains and Waters Alliance – schedule update

Dear Folks,

We have rescheduled the online Zen study group to Mondays. If this allows you to come, we’d love to have you.

The next class will start April 15 and continue through May 20. Register here, ask questions here.

Earth Apprentice Retreats are currently scheduled for April 20-21, May 17-19, and July 19-21. The April one is in doubt due to Shodo’s medical situation, but if this is when you can come, ask and we can see. May and July are still planned, as are sesshins in August, October, and December.

Thank you.

An offering

Wendell Berry on Our Real Work:
It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.
The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.

Mountains and Waters Alliance – spring 2024 notes

Dear all,

Here are a few notices as we head into spring. I’m still in recovery from shoulder surgery, keeping typing to a bare minimum. This takes us through June and begins July.

Zen things:

Sunday morning dharma talks online, March 24. April 7.

Wednesday evening classes, starting April 3 and May 1: Bendowa, or “The Wholehearted Way.” Please register.

April 6, daylong retreat at Midtown Atlanta Zen, no online. For more information email here. Topic: Zen practice in challenging times: We’ll talk about fear, hope, despair, and how to practice when the world seems to be falling apart.

Land things:

April 20-21, May 17-19, July 19-21: Earth Apprentice Retreat. (donation requested, registration required)

We’re starting spring cleanup and garden projects. Volunteers are welcome. Specifically, Saturday afternoon volunteering, in the spirit of Earth apprenticeship, will start when weather and my body allow. Contact me to get on the email list for when we get started.

Things I’m going to attend that might be of interest:

March 24 (11 Central Time, after my dharma talk): free showing of the short film, The Opening, and discussion, likely with the filmmaker.

March 26, 10:30 Central Time, presentation on the Congo to a climate discussion group, by David Albert. I know him, it will be good, and email me for the link, which I don’t have yet.

May 2-11, (2 hours every morning), Virtual dharma study intensive (9-11 Central Time, 10 days) online with Shohaku Okumura. Registration required.

June 19-23, “Practicing the Way in this very moment” Zen retreat at Hokyoji (SE Minnesota) – registration required

Please look at the annual schedule for further events.

As weather is crazy, politics are frightening, and violence overseas is unthinkable, please do a few things:

Pray, or chant, or ask for help from the many living beings who make our world. We are not alone here. Even in this scary election year. Volunteer for candidates, issues, and situations that make sense to you.

If you have donations to give, please do.

I’ll mention https://bodhicitta-vihara.com/, which is literally changing the lives of girls and women in India, helping them from poverty and half-slavery to education and a workable life. Of course, sending money to https://www.unrwa.org/, the most reliable provider of food relief in this desperate situation. In the U.S., Censored News is an independent and honest news source for Red Nations news, surviving on donations for over 20 years.

I will stop here, skipping fine organizations in many tribal nations, states, and countries, because I don’t want to go on forever.

To support Mountains and Waters Alliance, I encourage you to sign up with iGive.com, but we also accept money. Everything is here: https://mountainsandwatersalliance.org/donate-support/.

Thanks for following. May your life be joyous and your heart peaceful.

With love,

Shodo

For Mountains and Waters Alliance

Mountains and Waters Alliance – upcoming events for March 2024

Dear Friends,

This is just a brief summary of coming events, with registration links. The schedule has been reduced slightly while Shodo is recovering from minor shoulder surgery. We expect a full retreat schedule summer and fall.

Wednesday night study group, March 6-13-20, 6:30-8 pm.

Focus is on Dogen’s Genjo Koan, “The matter at hand,” a succinct statement of the core teaching of Dogen’s Zen. Registration and more information here. Please register early, with or without payment. If you have questions, contact me.

The first three Wednesdays of each month are study group. We’re currently reading some key writings by Dogen. April and May will both focus on Bendowa, “the wholehearted way.”

March 10 talk at Minnesota Zen Center, in person and online.

3343 East Bde Maka Ska Parkway, Minneapolis. Sitting 9:10, Dharma talk 10 am
Also available on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87103057402?pwd=bnZQYlNJZWk1eHNmZjFvekNBUHlRQT09

March 15 – 17 sesshin is cancelled for medical reasons.

If you would like to come and sit quietly together for part of the weekend, please contact me. I’ll be happy to have your company. At the farm, Faribault, MN.

March 24 talk online at Hokyoji

Sunday morning, info here. No registration required.

April 6 daylong retreat at Midtown Atlanta Zen

This is a one-day retreat including a dharma talk, formal zen ceremonies, optional individual meetings, sitting and walking meditation. To register contact Daiki Barlow at https://www.midtownatlantazen.org/

April 7 Sunday morning dharma talk at Red Clay Sangha in Atlanta, GA

9-11:30 am Eastern Time includes sitting, chanting, and talk. In person at 3315 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd, Chamblee, GA, or online – click for the link.

https://redclaysangha.org/

Mountains and Waters Alliance Feb 6, 2024: Quick updates and a statement on Gaza

Dear Friends,

I’ve had to modify my schedule because of some medical issues requiring minor surgery. Here’s a reminder of offerings for the next couple of months.

Classes:

In 2024 we’re doing a series of 3-week classes addressing core teachings. The next one begins this Wednesday, February 7, and focuses on the practice and meaning of zazen, or sitting meditation. It’s still possible to register and receive a copy of the text before we begin. Information here.

The March online class begins March 6, and focuses on core Zen teaching through the well-known Genjo Koan – “the matter at hand.”

April class begins April 3, on “Bendowa” or “The wholehearted way.”

The rest of the 2024 schedule is found here.

Talks:

Friday, February 9: It’s still possible to attend the in-person talk in Duluth, Minnesota. Information here.

Sunday, March 10, 10 am: I’m giving a dharma talk at Minnesota Zen Center, both in person and online. Information and link here. Keep clicking until you find “Sunday talk” on March 10.

Sunday March 24 is an online dharma talk at Hokyoji (also in Minnesota, and part of my Zen history). Information and link here.

Retreats:

Sesshin – a silent weekend retreat – will be March 15-17, here at the farm in southern Minnesota. Registration is essential. (Also in August)

Earth Apprentice retreats – combining spiritual relation with land and in meditation – April 19-21, May 17-19, and also July. More information later, feel free to ask.

Other land-based activities (such as work days) will be clarified as my physical recovery progresses.

Call for ceasefire in Gaza

Then I offer this call for a ceasefire in Gaza, Israel, and the Middle East. It became impossible to say nothing, so here it is.

We call for

·       immediate and lasting ceasefire in the Middle East.

·       Immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas or in Israeli prisons, the term hostage including anyone held without charge or with only political charges;

·       A negotiated settlement providing peace, security, human rights, and dignity for all inhabitants of the region known variously as Israel or Palestine, and moving to establish the same on a long-term basis;

·       A Truth and Reconcilition Commission comparable to that of South Africa after apartheid, seeking restorative justice and building a path forward, while not excluding consequences for harmful actions;

·       Reparations to individuals, families, and organizations that have lost people, health, home, livelihood in this region. Reparations for events occurring elsewhere (such as the Nazi holocaust) shall be sought from those who caused them.

And a note: the history is so long and the injustices so many that rather than trying to address them, I choose simply to point toward resolution.

Gratitude

Dear Friends,

Ending the fundraiser, grateful for support, I wondered what to say. I chose poetry.

It’s winter in 2024, here in North America. Cold and snowstorms are driving people indoors. Around the world storms, cyclones, typhoons, and all the rest are doing what they do in this time of climate change. Here at home, the storms skipped us but a few hours away people are snowed in, sometimes without power or heat. Bombs continue to fall in Gaza, in Ukraine, and in other places we don’t hear about so much. This is our life.

It brings to mind a simple poem by Dogen, founder of Soto Zen, my school of Buddhism.

All my life false and real, right and wrong tangled. 
Playing with the moon, ridiculing wind, listening to birds. 
Many years wasted seeing the mountain covered with snow. 
This winter I suddenly realize snow makes a mountain.

For myself I will say,

All my life looking for the truth, trying to do good,

seeking to uncover the real world from under civilization’s gloss. 
But the world is right here among us. 
Nothing is hidden.

The paradox of trying and hoping to stop climate change, seeking causes and power to change them, while the world does what it does. Even if it shakes us off like fleas, cooks us or drowns or freezes us, still we are just here, embraced by it all. The only thing we can count on is that things will be as they will be. And our actions together with that framework create our lives, and create the whole. We do not turn away from our own pain, that of those close to us, and the enormous suffering of the world, including humans dying and ecosystems failing. Do not look away. Take it into your heart, and recognize it as your own life. Love it dearly, madly, beyond reason or hope. Do not judge right or wrong, only love.

It’s too long since I’ve written poetry, but as I say good-bye to this phase of our connection, it seems like the right thing to offer. The mountain is not covered with snow: the covering makes the mountain. Same for our lives in every detail.

I had not seen that for myself before.

The fundraiser succeeded beyond my dreams. Asking for $15,000, receiving $21,580 – I am still amazed. Also amazed at the power of connections. I made myself reach out to everyone who has ever helped me (as far as I could remember) to send my thanks to them, not to ask for more. There were some lovely reconnections, and more important was the growing awareness of how well and thoroughly supported I have been, for so long. That deep knowledge is worth more than any dollars.

Borne on that energy, I planned offerings – teachings and retreats and talks – for the coming year.  The list always changes, so here it is now. Please notice there are several online talks in the next few weeks, plus an in-person talk and retreat in Duluth MN, an “intro to Zen” day-long retreat in February, and a new Wednesday night class beginning February 7.

As for the things on the fundraiser list, here’s a photo of the new meditation cushions.

Full disclosure on the winter photo: That was last January. Our snowstorm did not materialize yet.

With love,

Shodo Spring for Mountains and Waters Alliance

Happy New Year

Dear sweet friends,

It’s the turning of the year. This past year has contained everything.

• Horrific attacks in Israel/Palestine/Gaza, and disagreements turned into hate. Chaos and uncertainty in the United States about our future government. Climate disasters and more covid.
• But also a long string of court wins for environment, climate, and humanity. More and more of us are finding our place as younger siblings in the family of life. More are taking care of the plants and beings where we live, and ever-more are saying no to the powers of greed and destruction.

Celebrating that sweetness, I also celebrate all of you who were somehow drawn to support this dream, that we can ally ourselves with the others of this planet. We’ve passed the goal. Because of you, now I become paid staff of Mountains and Waters Alliance, and this work will have my first and best, most creative, completely joyful engagement.

2024 has a vigorous schedule of teaching, talks, retreats, and events, shown here.

Here is my gift for you today:

Loving-Kindness Meditation

May you be happy.

May you be joyous and live in safety.

May you be well in body and mind.

May you have enough food, clean water, fresh air to breathe.

May you live in loving family and warm community.

May you know the work of your life,

and may you do that work with others and with joy.

Whatever you plant, in the soil or in life, may you see it sprout, flower, and fruit.

May you love yourself just as you are,

allow the world to grow you to fullness,

and know the deep embrace of the sacred.

Love to all

Shodo Spring for Mountains and Waters Alliance

Mountains and Waters Alliance – calendar for 2024

Dear Folks,

You never know when evening sun will light up the sky. It happened tonight, and I offer it to you.

Here’s a calendar for next year’s events. It’s an outline, still subject to change, but pretty close. There’s a link for the January 3 class, because I hope people will sign up for it right now.

A note about fees and donations:

For the first time we’re suggesting fees. Donations were always welcome, yet mostly I earned my living as a psychotherapist, subsidizing the MWA work while leaving little time for preparation, study, and retreat. There are two things:

• First, a rigorous series of short classes in Zen, beginning with some key teachings by founder Dogen. Long ago, I would spend 6 hours preparing for one class. In order to do that again, I am cutting my outside work time.
• Second, I’ve become clear about a vehicle for Mountains and Waters Alliance. It is called Earth Apprentice Training, and will involve both weekend retreats and a series of Saturday afternoons on the land. I’ll write about it later. But it requires study time for myself, reaching out to co-teachers, and inviting people. Most co-teachers will have travel costs. In order to do this for the first time, I am cutting my outside work time. The success of the fundraiser allows a beginning.

For each event, then, there will be a scale of fees: the highest will cover all costs plus support for those who need scholarships. The second will cover costs, including teacher time, prep time, and travel, space use including rental, zoom, utilities, and food. The third is your own choice of fee, down to zero. Each event posting will have the suggested fee structure.

2024 calendar

Daily:

• 6-7 am zazen – without internet, just sitting together in the company of all beings

Weekly:

• Wednesday evenings Zen classes online. Register for individual classes at website.
• Most Saturday afternoons 1-5: Workdays in the spirit of Earth Apprenticeship. Register by phone or email. In warmer weather, but you never know.

January:

• 3, 10, 17: Zen class on Eihei Koso Hotsuganmon, Dogen’s vow as inspiration for our lives.
• 6: dharma talk, Treeleaf Zendo (online only)
• 12-14: closed for personal retreat
• 21: dharma talk, Hokyoji (online only)

February

• 7, 14, 21: online Zen class, Fukanzazengi (a zazen workshop)
• 9-10: evening talk and 1-day sesshin in Duluth, MN with Bluestone Zen Community
• 24: intro to Zen one-day retreat
• 25: optional continuation of intro retreat, with short work practice tapping maple trees

March:

• 7, 14, 21: online Zen class, Genjo Koan (“the matter at hand”) – the whole teaching, in short
• 10: dharma talk at Minnesota Zen Center, in person and online
• 15-17: sesshin (“to settle the mind”) – long quiet time for calming down in stillness
• 24: dharma talk, Hokyoji
• March 29-April 7: Visit to Atlanta, GA

April:

• 6: daylong retreat at Midtown Atlanta Zen
• 7: dharma talk at Red Clay Sangha, in Atlanta
• 3, 10, 17: online Zen class, Bendowa I (wholehearted way) – how to live completely
• 20-21: Earth Apprentice retreat (formerly Land Care)
• 27: Earth Day – community event in Northfield, MN

May:

• 2-11: Shodo attends Genzo-e (daily online classes with Okumura Roshi. Register at Sanshinji.org.)
• 1, 8, 15: online Zen class, Bendowa II (more of the same)
• May 17-19: Earth Apprentice retreat

June:

• 5, 12, 19: online Zen class, Tenzo Kyokun (instructions for the cook), in daily life
• June 21-23: sesshin (“to settle the mind”) – long quiet time for calming down in stillness

July:

• 3, 10, 17: online Zen class (TBD)
• July 19-21: Earth Apprentice retreat

August:

• 7, 14, 21: online Zen class (TBD)
• August 16-18: sesshin (“to settle the mind”) – long quiet time for calming down in stillness

September:

• 4, 11, 18: online Zen class (TBD)
• 14-15: probable wild ricing with Honor the Earth, northern Minnesota
• 21: International Day of Peace – community event in Northfield MN
• 23-26: SZBA – Shodo will attend and present at the Soto Zen Buddhist Association conference.

October:

• 2, 9, 16: online Zen class (TBD)
• October 18-20: sesshin (“to settle the mind”) – long quiet time for calming down in stillness

November:

• 6, 13, 20: online Zen class (TBD)
• (dates TBD) Shodo will attend online Genzo-e, as in May

December:

• 1-8: Rohatsu sesshin, traditional 7 days of silent meditation commemorating Buddha’s enlightenment.
• To be arranged: Dharma talks, retreats, and other events are scheduled from time to time by request. Private interviews can be arranged.

Remember this, as you undoubtedly do:

Let’s call it sadness in Gaza and Israel; and death. Call it controversy, anger and cold hate here in America. It feels to me like the world is breaking apart, and it’s happening most violently in the place many of us call the Holy Land.

If you support a ceasefire, please contact your elected officials about it. If you want to help suffering people in more direct ways, donate to an organization you trust. Perhaps Doctors Without Borders, but there are many good organizations bringing direct help now.

I’ve been chanting for everyone there: the innocent victims, and also for healing the hearts of all those committing evil.

These words are from the Metta Sutta: I offer them for your contemplation or prayer:

May all beings be happy.

May they be joyous and live in safety,

All living beings, whether weak or strong,

In high or middle or low realms of existence.

Small or great, visible or invisible,

Near or far, born or to be born,

May all beings be happy.

Let no one deceive another nor despise any being in any state.

Let none by anger or hatred wish harm to another.

Even as a mother at the risk of her life

Watches over and protects her only child,

So with a boundless mind should one cherish all living things.

Suffusing love over the entire world,

Above, below, and all around, without limit,

So let one cultivate an infinite good will toward the whole world.

Standing or walking, sitting or lying down,

During all one’s waking hours,

Let one practice the way with gratitude.

May you be happy, and at peace. And may you have the peace that comes with doing good.

With love,

Shodo

for Mountains and Waters Alliance

Mountains and Waters Alliance 12/16/23 – Celebration

Dear Friends,

I write to let you know that we’ve reached our fundraising goal. Thank you to those who have helped, or shared. It’s still possible to donate; I’m leaving it open into early January, as I finish notes to donors and share them to you.

This is a great shift in the energy of our work. During 2024, MWA will be my primary occupation: four days a week, including caring for relationships, working with other organizations, preparing thoroughly for classes, dharma talks, and retreats, and (finally) I’ll take care of administration, including keeping track of people, preparing an invited grant application, and the rest. I will take time for the rest and restoration essential to both teaching and leading. I’ll gradually wind down my other work to under two days a week, then less if all goes well.

Expect to get a post about 2024 plans, a year-end report, and a discussion of Earth Apprentice Training – in the next few weeks.

Offering

Last, here is an offering that I shared with the fundraising donors. It’s the meditation tonglen, used in Tibetan Buddhism for practicing with difficulties.

Find a quiet place where you can be undisturbed for a while. Sit comfortably erect, eyes closed or half-open. Settle into your breathing, allowing the nourishment of breath, body, and your surroundings. Notice your heart, imagining it as a radiant pure light, even though it may be clouded or shielded.

Bring your attention to the suffering, whether general or specific. Imagine it emits a stream of smoke – hot, dark, acid, toxic – and imagine drawing that smoke toward you, courageously breathing it into your heart. It is powerful enough to burn through the shield around your heart. As it enters the brilliant light within, watch it be absorbed by the brilliance until the flame burns even brighter and more pure.

Exhaling, send from your pure heart to the place of suffering. Imagine white smoke, or cool mist, a color of healing, a rainbow. Breathing in, receive pain and fear, breathing out, send calm and love.

Continue as long as you like.

What if we all practiced tonglen for the people in the Middle East conflict, or in Ukraine? What if we all practiced tonglen for the climate, for places of pollution, for dying species, for people caught in pain, fear, or even hate? Who might we become, if we welcome all that suffering into our hearts? I can’t say how this practice might change the literal suffering in those other places, but I am quite certain that when we change, the world changes.

With love,

Shodo

for Mountains and Waters Alliance