Category: Dharma Talks

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Welcome to 2016!

Welcome to 2016!

in Chinese astrology the year of the Monkey (Element Fire). We will celebrate the Chinese new year on February 6th. Using the Gregorian calendar, as we do in the U.S.A. as does Japan, we have started the new year as of today and wish you joy, peace and a prosperous year!

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We are closed today but hope to see you tomorrow as we go back to our regular routine!

In Chinese astrology:
Full of strength and determination, Fire Monkeys are excellent at not only setting goals, but in meeting them as well. Others enjoy being in the company of Fire Monkeys, even though these Monkeys want the upper hand in every situation.

The positive and negative quality of the Monkey Year 2016 culminate in a year that anything can happen. There is little point in storing up goods or planning one’s life. The influence of the Monkey puts everything into flux. Things will get accomplished, but largely through personal and individual efforts. Group movements, such as political upheaval or revolutions, will not make a mark during this year.

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19 Dec – Way Seeking with Rev Rin McCarthy @10:15am

20150712_091304As many of you know our own Rin McCarthy ventured earlier this year on a cross country walk to raise awareness of the negative impact to our planet and encourage compassion and attention to the way we interact with our mother with a BIG “M” meaning Mother Earth of which we are all made and will return to. Due to mid journey health concerns she didn’t make it all the way in this first attempt, but did get all the way to Colorado which is no small feat!

She has graciously offered to come and tell us a bit about that journey, her life journey and include the whole of it within the Dharma.

Please join us for this event! 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. We wrap up with a dharma talk at 10:15 am (followed by ceremony if applicable) and then socializing,  tea and cookies.

 

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12 Dec @10:15am, Guest Speaker Rev. Ryuei, Michael McCormick

nichiren-on-sado-islandPlease join us this Saturday morning for a Dharma talk by Rev. Ryuei, Michael McCormick, who was ordained to the Nichiren-shū (Lotus Sutra School) ministry in 2001 by Rev. Ryusho Matsuda, of the San Jose Nichiren Temple.

Rev. McCormick is also a long-time practitioner of zazen (seated meditation) and a student of the writings of Dōgen-zenji.

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. We wrap up with a dharma talk at 10:15 am (followed by ceremony if applicable) and then socializing,  tea and cookies.

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14 November @ 10:15am – Guest Speaker, Fugan Eugene Bush!

bdd9e9b626e361903a2dc1929814272dFugan 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!

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12 September 2015 – Guest Speaker, Peter van der Sterre @10:15am

Peter was ordained by Richard Baker in 1975 and practiced at Zen Center in San Francisco, Tassajara and Green Gulch, returning to the market place in 1983 to 21establish a construction company and support his family. Prior to his arrival at Zen Center in 1971, he was practicing the solitary path of unguided meditation and rough carpentry in Zuni New Mexico, Bolton Mass. and Custer South Dakota. In addition to the exquisite geography, his practice in those years was influenced by his extended family, good friends and the work of Castenada, Gurdieff and Ouspensky. He was Shuso with Everyday Zen in San Francisco two years ago this past October.

His live/work history with Zen Center began with kitchen practice of the “getting to know you” school, followed by stone wall building at Tassajara, with tours in the treasury, carpentry and kitchen realms. His strongest associations with teachers during that period were Jerry Fuller, Issan Dorsey, Darlene Cohen and Okusan, who taught tea ceremony (one of the most durable influences from that era.)

His current commitment to Everyday Zen involves him with an ever-widening circle of friends from weekly classes and monthly sittings. The great bonding seems to occur with practice periods and sesshins, both in California and Mexico. In a wider sense, he states his practice includes bay swimming, residential construction and development, and cooking for family and friends. His immediate family includes my two sons: Max, a dancer in New York; and Sam, his younger brother, the word wizard.

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.

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July 25th @ 10:15am – Dharma talk by Daiko Tanzen, David Bullock

Join us next Saturday for  A talk at 10:15am offered by  Rev. Daiko Tanzen, David Bullock; Jizo_Bosatsu__Oth_._Insp._Webone of our current connections 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.

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!