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

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

Zen talk May 11, plus classes, retreats, and a biochar workshop

Dear friends,

Forgive me for not writing more deeply. I’ve been distracted by the Middle East and the response in this country. Finally I have a way to participate: there is an encampment at a local college. I dropped in yesterday, and am invited to offer some support in the form of meditation instruction. This give joy: it’s the best I have to offer, and they want it.

Other reasons for being slow: My recovery from surgery is going well but far from complete.

Zen events:

Zen talk, “A Blazing Light: notes on Bendowa”, Saturday May 11, online at Heartland Zen Community. Bendowa is translated “wholehearted way” or “negotiating the way” or “on the endeavor of the way” – many expressions. It may be my favorite Zen writing.

Monday evening classes on Bendowa – through the end of May.

Zen classes return to Wednesday evenings in June.

Land events:

May 18, 1-8:30 pm, Biochar workshop. Making biochar from start to finish in our home kiln.

May 17-19, July 19-21: Earth Apprentice Retreat. (fee, 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:

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

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.

I mentioned donations last month; you can look there.

May we find spring in our hearts and peace in the world. May we be bringers of peace.

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

Mountains and Waters Alliance – quick note on upcoming class

This is just a quick note about the upcoming study group, beginning January 3, Wednesday evening. If you would like to come, please do register so I can send the text. Do not be deterred by the suggested donation. Here’s where to register.

Topic is Eihei Koso Hotsugammon, Dogen’s vow, as encouragement in hard times.

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 – a poem and a class announcement

Gifts

Poems

Surrounded by the generosity of donors, I find myself wanting to offer gifts., which mostly means teaching, or inspiration. Here I offer two poems and a class announcement. First, I refer you to the beautiful words of my teacher Shohaku Okumura, found on the front page of the website.

And then a sweet thought from modern poet Antonio Machado:

Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures.

Teaching

Our first offering this year is an online Zen class studying the “Eihei Koso Hotsuganmon.” This remarkable document sets out the view of Dogen Zenji, founder of Soto Zen, which differed sharply from his contemporaries. “Buddhas and ancestors of old were as we. We in the future shall be Buddhas and ancestors.” We’ll explore the implications of this radical view for our lives and spiritual practice.

The class begins Wednesday, January 3, for 3 weeks. Each month will be a new class, addressing a different writing of Dogen. Here’s a link to the January class, asking you please to register in advance. By donation, as always.  https://mountainsandwatersalliance.org/event/january-zen-class-dogens-vow/

Donations

You probably know that we’re running a fundraiser, https://www.gofundme.com/f/qfwwbz-mountains-and-waters-alliance. At this point we have enough for more study and retreats, our own Zoom, and a start on freeing up my time for all we might do – like preparation and teaching. The dream is that I could spend most of my time in practice and teaching, rather than focusing on livelihood. If you would like to support MWA, please either donate what you can afford, or share this with people you know who might be interested. And while we’re looking for money, in the background is always the intention to gather more practitioners and members.

“Thank you for doing this on my behalf”

Dear Friends,

In 2006 I went on a pilgrimage that was funded by donations each of us solicited, and by begging food and shelter along the way. There were donors who said “Thank you for doing this on my behalf.” In 2013 I led the Compassionate Earth Walk, funded in the same way.

That’s in a long tradition in which some people do a needed thing and others support them.

In religions with monastic traditions, monastics engage in deep spiritual practice, follow a strict lifestyle supporting that practice, and offer teachings freely to lay people. Lay people have fewer ethical rules, live their lives as householders, and offer material support to nuns and monks, who share spiritual teachings with them.

In modern America and many other places that reject hierarchy, there are few instances of such full-time support. Yet congregations support ministers, Buddhist sanghas support teachers, and donors support many kinds of peaceful activism.

Nothing I do now is as dramatic as that walk was, and even that was less dramatic that the resistance to fossil fuel pipelines (and mining and other environmental causes) in which people use their bodies to block harm. Yet my whole life is given in that way. I loved living on the road, yet when I returned it was clear that there was something else to do, and that something is Mountains and Waters Alliance.

I planted myself in the earth, here in southern Minnesota, in 2014, and since then the direction has gradually revealed itself. A few years later I went back to work, to support the farm and its function as a learning/teaching center and residence. I spent most of the pandemic writing the book – will announce when I have a publisher – and am now ready to move into action. Something is clearly ready to be born. I long to give it my full attention.

If you would like me to do that – please use the GoFundMe to support me in doing so. There are more details there. https://gofund.me/cc0ded9b

If you’d like to do it with me, by all means get in touch.

With love,

Shodo Spring, for Mountains and Waters Alliance

Dharma talks and events

This is upcoming events, especially Dharma talks.

Two talks are coming up, both are available online.

Sunday, November 5, 10:00 am Central Time, in Northfield and online. Here’s the information: Dharma Talk November 5 – Northfield Buddhist Meditation Center – online and in person

Saturday, November 11, 11-12 Central Time, online only. https://mountainsandwatersalliance.org/event/dharma-talk-nov-11-2023-heartland-zen/

I’ve mentioned Rohatsu sesshin, Dec 1-7 all day, so won’t say more here.

Next class begins in January and will be announced when we have details.

There is no official online zazen, but we are always supporting each other. Please pray or chant for peace and justice, especially in the Middle East.

At the farm, Saturday afternoons are work events in the spirit of Earth Apprenticeship, which I’ve mentioned before. Be sure to check in, to make sure it’s happening. Usually 1-5 pm, with possibility of potluck and evening gathering, and indoor practice if weather is difficult.

Finding peace and bringing peace

I write to you in peace, during war in the Middle East and an ongoing catastrophe in American government.

Listening to the shouting about the disaster in Israel and Palestine, about atrocities and genocide, I recall that there has never been a country where Jews were safe, and that Muslims have been a target for a long time. Beyond that, I will not bring my opinions here. (You’re welcome to ask me personally, or check my facebook page.)

If we are to be of use, rather than part of the problem, we need to calm down and remember who we are. We belong to the family of life, to the ongoing co-creation of everything that is called Indra’s Net.

We have some ways to help us remember that.

The core practice of Zen Buddhism is sitting meditation, zazen, and the practice of taking a long retreat to allow the body and mind to settle down (away from both news and projects) and recover their wholeness, to allow the universe to create us even as we recognize that we also create what is around us in an ever-cycling relationship.

I invite you to join me in Rohatsu sesshin, December 1-7, for whatever part of it you’re able to attend. Register here.  I said a few words about it here.

For questions about sesshin or about anything I said, email me to set up a conversation.

While Rohatsu sesshin is usually a gathering of long-time practitioners, I’m inviting newcomers as well – and that means I’m willing to support you by explaining and by answering questions.

May our practice help the earth turn, even though it always does. May our practice help humans remember what humanity is, even though we often forget. My all beings be happy, joyous, and safe.

With love,

Shodo Spring

for Mountains and Waters Alliance

Chanting for peace and healing

What do do in times of war, hate, and brutality?

Since Hamas invaded Israel I have been looking for something to say. Finally I offer an action, created by my dharma sister Mary Thanissara of Sacred Mountain Sangha. I’ll be joining her every morning that I can, the coming two weeks (weekdays) until October 27. I encourage you to do the same.

My voice will return, and I’ll write again. Meanwhile I offer a quote from the Buddha that applies to all of us:

Hatred never ceases with hatred. By love alone is it healed. This is an ancient and eternal truth.

Guardians of the Sacred: Daily Meditation, Chanting, Mantra & Prayer Circle (Limited Time)