No Dokusan This Thursday, August 16
After tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, the next dokusan will be Monday evening, August 20, and that will also be the last dokusan before the Center closes for our annual two-week summer break.
Annual Picnic This Saturday
It’s that time of year again! This year’s potluck picnic is set for this Saturday, August 18. (Reminder: no formal sitting Saturday morning.) Saturday’s forecast, so far, is looking pretty sweet: mostly sunny, with a high of 76. Come and enjoy Sangha, great food, and Chapin Mill.
Everyone is invited – Sangha, friends, children and dogs! Plan to arrive any time from 11:30 a.m. on, and lunch will be served from 1:00 to 2:00. Bring a vegetarian main dish or dessert to pass (enough for eight people). The Center will provide sweet corn, fruit, beverages, and ice cream. Bring clothes for swimming, volleyball, and hiking. Also bring blankets or folding chairs if you’d like. If you need a ride or can offer one, give us a call at the Center (585-473-9180), and we’ll make it happen.
Request from the Kitchen: Bring your dish directly to the Mill House once you’ve parked in the lot behind the barn (unless the ground there is too wet). If you don’t know which house that is, follow the signs. Please label your serving utensils and container(s); this will greatly help with cleanup. Finally, label your dish, particularly if it’s vegan and/or gluten free.
Safety note: If you’re planning to hike in the woods, please be aware that Lyme disease, a serious tick-borne infection, has become a problem in our area. Information is available online from the federal Centers for Disease Control: www.cdc.gov/lyme/.
Founder’s Day This Sunday (and All-day Sitting)
There’s a lot going on this coming weekend besides the Saturday picnic. On Sunday, we have Founder’s Day and an all-day sitting. We’ll be listening to an audio recording of one of Kapleau-roshi’s teishos. During the brunch that follows teisho, there’s an opportunity to view our annual photo exhibit, on display in the Oak Room. The schedule for the all-day sitting has been slightly altered so that there’s time for folks to have brunch and take in the photo exhibit too.
6:15 am Zazen
7:30 Breakfast (Center will provide)
8:30 Zazen & teisho (recording, Roshi Philip Kapleau)
~10:30 Special brunch
~11:10 Zazen
12:50 Lunch break (bring your own)
1:30-3:00 Zazen, ending with The Four Vows
A Message from Our Head Housekeeper
Keith Carpenter requests that you use some “discriminating wisdom” when it comes to donations you drop off at the Center. Wisdom aside, here’s what NOT to bring:
- Plastic/paper bags
- Very old appliances
- Computer equipment
- Used underwear
- Food
- Hair accessories
- Newspapers / newsletters / loose papers
- Anything broken
- Used cosmetics
- Opened medicine
- Anything nearly empty or out-of-date
- Miscellaneous small items, such as nails, bottle caps, and paper clips
Some of the items may seem to be obvious no-no’s, but they’re all among the donations we’ve received in the past.