Begging Bowl – Annual Letter from Larry
True compassion does not come from wanting To help out those less fortunate than ourselves, But from realizing our kinship with all beings Pema Chodron My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness The 14th Dalai Lama Hello TTS members and Friends, This is the end-of-the-year letter asking for your continuing support of Three Treasures Sangha. Every year it seems I point out that we all appear to be riding in a hand-basket heading you know where. This year this journey feels to be picking up speed with more vitriol, incivility, meanness, sorrow, and suffering worldwide. I...
Read MoreZenkai (January 11, 2026) with Lee Shields – In Person and Zoom
Three Treasures Sangha will hold this event in-person at our Dharma Gate facility and live by Zoom. Registration information (for in-person) and current Covid-19 Guidelines are posted below the schedule. Guidelines are likely to change before the event, so check again as the date gets closer. If you are able, please join all or part of this opportunity for intensive practice with others. Zoom Link: Send email to ttssangha@gmail.com. If this will be your first event with TTS, we will arrange for an orientation prior to the...
Read MoreMarch 2026 Sesshin (6-Day Meditation Retreat)
Three Treasures Sangha typically holds two, seven-day sesshin each year. Residential Sesshin with Jack Duffy and Lee Shields, March 8-14, 2026 These retreats are rigorous and quite demanding, consisting of about 10 hours of zazen (sitting meditation) per day. They are silent except for the teacher’s daily teisho (dharma talk), and for dokusan (practice-related interview with the teacher). Online and part time attendance are welcome. See the Sesshin page for more information.
Read MoreBeyond Words — a talk by Leland Shields (November 9, 2025)
Beyond Words Leland Shields, November 9, 2025 I’ll begin with the first part of verse 14 of the Taoteching, translated by Red Pine. We look but don’t see it and call it indistinct we listen but don’t hear it and call [it] faint we reach but don’t grasp it and call it ethereal three failed means to knowledge I weave into one … Lao Tzu. Lao-tzu’s Taoteching: With Selected Commentaries from the Past 2,000 Years (p. 28). Copper Canyon Press. Kindle Edition. There is an inherent challenge in a Zen talk for the writer, the presenter and the listener. The words are what’s most apparent...
Read MoreZenkai (December 13, 2026) with Lee and Madelon – In Person and Zoom
Hear What You Hear Instead of a dharma talk this Zenkai, we invite attendees to offer a piece of music or an excerpt for all in the dojo, even if no one is left to hear it. To give everyone time to have their music played, please pick an excerpt or something that is 3 minutes or less. No need to have any comments prepared to describe your piece; in the morning schedule we will let the music speak for itself. Feel free to include a second piece as well in case there is time for more than one. You can send your music to Lee as a digital file ahead of time, or give the information to...
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