April 15, 2020
This Week’s CoronaCast “Hot off the press,” here’s the latest: CoronaCast from Roshi: April 15 Zooming Cross-Legged To call the morning sittings we’ve been having via Zoom the greatest discovery since the wheel would be an exaggeration. But it is a terrific new way of keeping the Wheel of the Dharma turning during this period…
April 12, 2020
Instead of engaging the coronavirus simply on a “war” footing, can we see ways in which it is educating us–right now? A pandemic reveals the consequences of our misuses of the natural world and the dis-ease we incur through the illusion of separation. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.
April 9, 2020
Online Group Zazen Following the example of other Zen groups, we’ve starting online morning sittings (7 to 8 a.m. EDT) for our Sangha using the Zoom app. (Thanks to the Puget Sound Zen Center and the Louisville Zen Center for their help.) If you’d like to join us, just follow these instructions: You’ll need the…
April 9, 2020
As the pandemic and social isolation stretch on, Roshi speaks again to the Sangha from his kitchen table. Talk by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.
April 7, 2020
As this issue of Zen Bow goes to press (on the Web), the Center is on lockdown. Sittings are continuing but for residents only, spaced wide apart in the zendo in assigned seats. Teishos and Dharma talks are available to members as podcasts, and phone calls and FaceTime have replaced traditional dokusan practice (“knee to…
April 7, 2020
Progress Report As one of several diversity initiatives that are underway, the Zen Center will hold a Safe Zone training session for those who serve in leadership roles, including staff members, trustees, and residential trainees. Led by facilitators from Rochester’s Out Alliance, the four-hour interactive workshop will focus on developing LGBTQ+ inclusive language skills, understanding…
April 7, 2020
The Book What it’s about: The central idea of this classical work of sociology is that people are constantly engaged in a process of “impression management” to project a favorable view of themselves. We achieve this purpose by having a collective “definition of the situation,” where all agree on an expected outcome defining how everyone…
April 6, 2020
A monk once asked Master Kempo, “A sutra says, ‘The Bhagavats in the Ten Directions, one straight road to Nirvana.’ I wonder, where is that road?” Kempo lifted up his stick, drew a line in the air, and said, “Here!”
Later a monk asked Ummon about this. Ummon held up his fan and said ….
April 6, 2020
An Interview with Rebecca Gilbert The discovery of interconnection, on the stage and in the zendo. Zen Bow: Were you raised in a religious or spiritual tradition? Rebecca Gilbert: My mother had more of an interest than my father in making sure we had a spiritual path, so we were enrolled in a Sunday School…
April 6, 2020
Lobbying for Climate Legislation How to Persuade Politicians to Do the Right Thing The first time I met with a member of Congress on climate issues was when I went to Washington, DC in November of 2019. I was struck by how different it was from my 20 years of meeting with members of the…