COVID-19 Report

In response to the tighter restrictions announced by New York Governor Cuomo, the Zen Center staff is dividing itself a bit as follows:

• Of the three residents broadly categorized as “vulnerable,” Scott Jennings, Jack O’Shaughnessy, and Joe Carino, the latter two will relocate for now to Chapin Mill, where they will initially self-isolate. Scott will remain at the Center to manage his usual myriad assignments plus matters involving his family in California.
• Roshi, John Pulleyn, and Trueman Taylor all report excellent health, but because they live in households with others, who theoretically could raise the risk of contagion, they will avoid, almost entirely, going into the Center for now, in accordance with the Governor’s orders.
• Dené Redding, the Center’s Head Cook, will return today to her husband, Scott, and stepdaughter, Eloise, outside Buffalo. The added risk for Dené and Scott is that Eloise’s mother, whom she sees occasionally, is a nurse, and thus exposed more than most of us.
• Center resident Sharon Bennet had a slight sore throat this week, which is not one of the standard symptoms of the coronavirus, but at this hour she is quarantined in the dorm out of an excess of caution. Once the two “vulnerables” move to Chapin Mill tomorrow, Sharon has been given the okay to leave quarantine.

Remote Dokusan

• Local members: email Roshi (bodhin@rzc.org) if you would like dokusan by phone at one of the following times in the coming week: Monday 7:30 – 8:30 pm; Wednesday 8:30 – 9:30 am; Friday 8:30 – 9:30 am. Include your phone number, and he will set up the times.
• With respect to dokusan by Skype, Facetime, or Zoom, Roshi is working on some technical complications (this morning Zoom was overextended and thus unavailable) and his own resistance. If these issues are resolved, look for an email announcing that.

Keep Calm and Carry On!