Weekly
Sitting/Teaching on Tuesdays
and Fridays
Tuesdays 7:15-8:45 p.m. (except first Tues. of
month) in "Loka" building
Fridays
, 9-11 a.m. --in
the "Gallery" building
O'Hanlon
Center for the Arts
616 Throckmorton Ave.
Mill Valley, CA
Half
and One Day Sittings at the O'Hanlon Center
Usually Sundays every month. See home page for dates and description..
For info or to sign up call 415-381-3015 or
email vimalasangha@earthlink.net
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
October,
2009
With
all the emails coming out of Vimala in the last couple of months,
we seem to have gotten out of the habit of posting monthly newsletters
on the website, but we are planning to resuscitate these! We will
also be emailing the newsletter to all sangha members with emails
using our Constant Contact mail account.
First
some Sangha news: As many or most of you should know by now, due
to changes in the O'Hanlon Center's use of their facilities, we
have moved back into the Gallery for our Tuesday and Friday meditations,
while using the Loft building for meetings and other events. While
it is a bit sad to leave the Loka building, which served our needs
well, we subsisted quite nicely for several years in the Gallery
and Loft and can do so again.
Karen
Geiger has taken over from Al Tribe as Ino (Zendo manager), and
Carrie Stambaugh has joined Karen as Assistant Ino. We had a nice
ceremony a few weeks back in which we “passed the torch” from
Al to Karen. Karen has also just graduated from a 4-year Sangha
leader training that I co-led with Palden Alioto, who is a teacher
in the Tibetan Mahamudra tradition. Congratulations, Karen!
This
weekend also marks the end of the first three-year SPOT priest
training program that I co-led with four other teachers in the
Suzuki Roshi lineage. On Sunday Oct. 11 th we had a graduation
ceremony for 28 trainees. This is a milestone in the SPOT program
and in our lineage, and we congratulate all those who participated.
Peter Schireson, an ordained priest and a Vimala Sangha member,
was one of the graduates.
The
next SPOT 3-year program begins in February, and five Vimala Sangha
members will be participating: Peter Coyote, Stephen Damon, Karen
Geiger, Al Tribe, and Chris Wilson. They will be joining about
32 others in the SPOT program. For those of you who did not see
the article about SPOT in the recent edition of The Buddhadharma
magazine, you can read it at the Shogaku Zen Institute website
here:
www.shogakuzen.org/pages/mission.php
One
of the things I have asked Karen to do as she takes on the Ino
position is to revive the tradition of Sangha members giving “way
seeking mind” talks on some Tuesday evenings. We look forward
to Sangha members telling us about their spiritual histories as
the months proceed!
As
the holidays approach, there are some Sangha events coming up
I would like everyone to know about. On November 8, from 2-4 pm,
Vimala Sangha is sponsoring a book reading for Grace Schireson
and her important new book Zen Women. The event will
be at the Tamalpais Community Center , and in addition to our
Sangha I have invited members of all the Marin County Sanghas
in the Suzuki Roshi tradition to attend. I hope we can have a
good turnout for Grace and her book, which I consider a vital
contribution for the study of Zen in America .
Our
annual Winter Solstice potluck is coming soon, date to be announced.
Usually we hold it on a Tuesday evening close to Christmas and
Solstice. Also, as I did last year, I will be co-leading a sesshin
at Empty Nest Zendo (in the foothills near Yosemite ) with Grace
Schireson. The full sesshin is 7 days, from Sunday Dec. 27 th
through Saturday Jan. 2 nd (with bonfire ceremony and celebration
on New Year's eve). I will be there teaching from Dec. 30 through
Jan. 2. Since Vimala Sangha does not have the wherewithal to hold
long meditation retreats, this is our once a year chance to sit
together and join the members of Grace's Sangha. Partial attendance
is available.
Here
is a chronological list of upcoming events (in addition to our
regular Tuesday and Friday sittings:
Half
Day Sitting Oct. 25
Study
Class Nov. 4
Grace
Book Reading Nov. 8
Half
day sitting Nov. 15
Study
Class Dec. 2
Half
Day sitting Dec. 12
I
would like to extend a heartfelt welcome to all those who have
joined the Sangha in the last few months. We appreciate your participation
and support!
I
look forward to continuing to practice Buddha's way with all of
you in the coming months!
Bows,
Lew