Happy Holiday, and assorted notes:
Please dont forget we are closed this thursday & friday, please have a great holiday! Please if you can join us for some or all of the Winter Retreat Sesshin and;
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Winter Light Retreat Dec 2 – 6, 2015
21 November @11am – Full Moon Ceremony!
the “frosty” or “beaver” moon – november 21 @ 11am– this was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Full Beaver Moon comes from the fact that the beavers are now actively preparing for winter. It is sometimes also referred to as the Frosty Moon.
This is thus our renewal of our Bodhisattva vows this upcoming Saturday morning after the Saturday Morning Dharma talk.
The ceremony takes about a half-hour and involves some thirty full prostrations, but simple standing bows are also all right if prostrations are too strenuous. All are welcome to join in this ceremony/celebration.
Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), morning service, a brief drop-in meditation instruction at 8:30am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. We wrap up with a dharma talk at 10:15am followed by ceremony when applicable and then right to social time, tea and cookies. Please join us!
14 November @ 10:15am – Guest Speaker, Fugan Eugene Bush!
Fugan Eugene Bush, D.D., began formal Zen practice in 1982, was ordained as a priest in 2005 and received Dharma Transmission from Katherine Thanas in 2010. Gene currently serves as the Support Net Leader of Santa Cruz Zen Center.
He also teaches the traditional practice of sewing Buddha’s Robe (rakusu and okesa). His paid work is as teacher in a public alternative high school in Santa Cruz. He is most interested in the ways in which formal practice trains us for everyday life.
Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), a brief drop-in meditation instruction at 8:30 am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. We wrap up with a dharma talk at 10:15 am followed by a ceremony if applicable, then tea and cookies.
Please join us Saturdays and we hope to see you often!
11 November 2015 – HSZC closed for Veterans day –
7 November @11am – Daruma Memorial (Darumaki)
Please join us on November 7th for – Daruma Memorial.
Daruma is a Japanese name for the famous Indian monk 
Bodhidharma who lived during the 5th/6th century A.D. The accounts of his life are largely legendary (see Comics “Bodhidharma” 1-12 at Sotozen-net International website) but according to Denkoroku (The Record of Transmitting the Light) written by Keizan Zenji, he was born as the third son of the king of Koshi in southern India. He became a monk and practiced under the guidance of Venerable Hannyatara (Prajnatara). He is considered to be the 28th Indian Buddhist teacher in a direct line from Gautama Buddha, and also regarded as the first master in Chinese Zen tradition.
Following the instruction of his Master to transmit Dharma to China, Bodhidharma traveled east to Southern China in 526 A.D.
Please join us for a memorial recognizing our first ancestor in China!
31 October – Sejiki Ceremony!
Following the Dharma talk we’ll celebrate the ancient ceremony known in Japanese as Sejiki, or “Feeding the Jiki (wandering spirits)”.
This ceremony addresses our connection to the “unseen world”, typically overlooked in the West. All aspects of our life that have been disowned, disrespected and denied are invited to come forth from exile and be nourished, a gesture that may have particular significance for members of the LGBTiQQ community, whose own place in the social order has been undermined by fear, prejudice and violence. Costumes and sundry noisemaking devices are encouraged, and everyone is invited to participate. (Time approximate after the Dharma talk, at about 11 a.m.)
Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), a brief drop-in meditation instruction at 8:30 am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. We wrap up with a dharma talk at 10:15 am followed by a ceremony if applicable, then tea and cookies.
Please join us Saturdays and we hope to see you often!