2019 Year End Letter
Yes It could happen any time, tornado, Earthquake, Armageddon. It could happen. Or sunshine, love, salvation. It could, you know. That’s why we wake And look out—no guarantees In this life. But some bonuses, like morning, Like right now, like noon, Like evening. ~William Stafford December, 2019 Hello Sangha Members and Friends – Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! This has been my mantra for the past five months as I have been recovering from a serious bicycle injury that occurred in late May. Although I was debilitated for a time and am still a bit gimpy, I am happy to be alive and to not have...
Read MoreZenkai (February 9, 2020) with Madelon Bolling
Beginners who are interested in Zen and experienced Zen students are welcome. Schedule 8:15am Work period 9:00am Opening, Five Remembrances, Zazen 9:35am Zazen 10:00am Dharma talk 11:00am Zazen 12:00pm Informal lunch (Soup will be provided. Please bring food to share.) 1:00pm Sutras 1:30pm Zazen, Interviews 2:50pm Closing, Great Vows
Read MoreBroken Raven Sesshin – September 7-14, 2019
Three Treasures Sangha holds two, seven-day sesshins each year at Mountain Lamp, a rural practice center near Bellingham, Washington. 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). If you have no prior sesshin experience, you will probably first want to attend one of the shorter retreats (zazenkais) in Seattle. See our Sesshin page for more details.
Read MoreReaching with Effort – Being with No Effort – A Talk by Leland Shields
Lin-Chi was sleeping in the [Monks] Hall. Huang-po came in, and seeing him struck the front plank [of the sitting platform] with his staff. Lin-chi lifted his head, and seeing it was Huang-po, went back to sleep. Huang-po again struck the front plank, and went to the upper part of the Hall. Seeing the head monk sitting in meditation, he said: “That youngster down in the lower part of the Hall is sitting in meditation; what’re you doing here, cooking up wild fancies!” “What’s this old man up to?” said the head monk. Huang-po struck the front plank once more and left. (The Record of Lin-Chi,...
Read MoreZenkai (October 13, 2019) with Madelon Bolling
Beginners who are interested in Zen and experienced Zen students are welcome. Schedule 8:15am Work period 9:00am Opening, Five Remembrances, Zazen 9:35am Zazen 10:00am Dharma talk 11:00am Zazen 12:00pm Informal lunch (Soup will be provided. Please bring food to share.) 1:00pm Sutras 1:30pm Zazen, Interviews 2:50pm Closing, Great Vows
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