Author: TetsuGen KeiDo

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14 March – honoring the first Buddhist nun and mother

220px-Prince_Siddhartha_with_his_maternal_aunt_Queen_Mahaprajapati_GotamiNext Saturday is the annual observance of  Mahapajapati‘s life as well as a great opportunity to celebrate women in Buddhism through the first female nun. It is also shortly after international Women’s day.  Mahapajapati Gotami, the first woman to be ordained from the Buddha and to join the Sangha. She was the Buddha’s maternal aunt and adopted mother after her sister, Queen Maya (Mahāmāyā), the Buddha’s birth mother, died.

Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), morning service, a brief drop-in meditation instruction at 8:30 am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. Dharma talk at 10:15 am followed by ceremony (when we have one) and then tea and cookies. We also have a regular schedule 6 days each week.

Please join us this Saturday for this celebration and we hope to see you often!

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7 March, Saturday – Full Moon Ceremony 11am

It is our renewal of our Bodhisattva vows this upcoming Saturday morning after the Saturday Morning Dharma talk.

The ceremony takes about crowmoona 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.

March is the full worm moon, as the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. the more northern tribes knew this moon as the full crow moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the full crust moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. the full sap moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. to the settlers, it was also known as the lenten moon, and was considered to be the last full moon of winter.

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!

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14 February – Multiple events: Parinirvana, Sangha Council & Guest Speaker!

In addition to St Valentine’s day ♥, we will have a morning and early afternoon packed full of events:

Regular Saturday Scheduleparinirvana.jpg.w300h360

Guest Speaker – Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick is an American Nichiren Shu convert to and longtime practitioner in the Nichiren Shu school of Buddhism, who has written prolifically on the topic asking us to look deeper at this path and is also a long-time practitioner of zazen (seated meditation) and a student of the writings of Dōgen-zenji.

Following the talk we will commemorate in a ceremony  the passing of the Buddha to nirvana known as Parinirvana

We then go on to have social time, tea and cookies and suggest folks grab a quick lunch. So at 12:30pm we can reconvene for the Sangha Council and run for 90 minutes with a break mid-way — We’re  continuing this format that is flexible enough for a diversity of needs. The scaffold we’ll be working from is based on the Council process developed by the Ojai Foundation.

You do not need to have an ‘issue’ or overt concern to attend.  Council is sangha building, connection and healing.  All are welcome and invited to all of these events!

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Wed, 11 Feb @7pm hszc member annual meeting

On Wed @ 7pm, we will meet in lieu of a board of director meeting with the full membership of hszc to have our annual meeting for the year 2014. Please all members and to be members join us, and please also see the letter below the image from the board of directors:

zen-monks

Dear Sangha (hszc community) Friend,

We hope this finds you doing well.

HSZC is expanding the membership of its Board of Directors, and seeking board members both inside outside of our immediate ‘temple family.’

This coming Wednesday (February 11) at 7 p.m., we’ll hold our annual Board meeting; it’s an opportunity for those interested in participating to observe, and ‘meet and greet.’

Our sangha and friends have a wide and varied depth of experiences across it’s membership, so I’m making a sales pitch to you…

HSZC is an active, intimate temple with 5 full time residents and twice daily zazen and service. 2015 holds an ambitious agenda for us; a nascent capital campaign, plans for a symposium to mark the 25th anniversary of our founder- Issan Dorsey’s- passing and celebrating the ongoing practice today, expanding our relationship to Maitri Compassionate Care, etc. We also host Meditation in Recovery (MIR) on Fridays, HIV and HIV Caregiver’s meditation groups, and monthly Women’s and Men’s MIR evenings.

Being a board member is a very meaningful way to ‘practice in the world.’ We care deeply about Issan-ji, and we all work with the ‘primary purpose’ of it’s well being as our intention.

So, think about being part of the HSZC Board of Directors: we’d be grateful to welcome you. And come visit this Wednesday, 11 February, at 7 p.m.

In gassho,

Hartford Street Zen Center Board of Directors

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Saturday 31, January – Full Moon Ceremony & Dharma talk by Daiko Tanzen, David Bullock

Join us this Saturday for a couple of events! A talk at 10:15am offered by  Rev. Daiko Tanzen, David Bullock; Tokuriki_Tomikichiro-30_Subjects_of_Kyoto-22-Chion-in_Temple_in_Full_Moon-011734-05-19-2012-11734-x800our current connection to the early days of Hartford Street’s Zen Center founding, the garden’s long term friend, current Board President and many other capacities past and present of HSZC (as well as the past Maitri); and he was ordained by the temple’s founder – Rev. Issan Dorsey.

Then, the Full Moon Ceremony is at around 11:00am — 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. This month according to the Farmer’s Almanac it’s the full  snow, or hunger Moon.

The ceremony will begin around 11am roughly after the Dharma Talk. 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 with socializing. Please know you are welcome and invited!

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Sat. January 24 – Dogen Zenji’s birthday

DogenZenjiDogen Zenji, the founder of Soto Zen School as well as of Daihonzan Eiheiji, was born on January 26, 1200 CE. This was during the Kamakura Period of Japanese history, the year following the death of Minamoto Yoritomo. It is said that his father was Koga Michichika, a government minister, and that his mother was Ishi, the daughter of Fujiwara Motofusa. Presumably, young Dogen Zenji lived in comfort. However, at the age of thirteen, he climbed Mt. Hiei, and the next year he shaved his head and became a monk. It is said that he became a monk because he felt the impermanence of the world on his mother’s death when he was eight years old. (more here)

As the founder of our school of Zen Buddhism, we would like to offer a bit of a celebration after the Dharma talk of his life and contributions to Zen & Buddhism in Japan and study and practice in China. Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation) at 6:30am, morning service, 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 ceremony if applicable) and then socializing,  tea and cookies.