If we weren’t unanimous about keeping our lives so much in motion, if we could do nothing for once, perhaps a great silence would interrupt this sadness, this never under-standing ourselves and threatening ourselves with death.
From the poem “Keeping Quiet” by Pablo Neruda
December 2023
Hello TTS members and friends,
Recently I have been struggling with how to respond to the suffering and misery coming about from current wars being waged around the world. What can I do to reduce the harm and, more particularly, what can a small sangha do to make a difference? How can we help bring more love into the world?
Amid all the uncertainties and at the risk of at least sounding naive, if not totally foolish, here is my take. I th ink that, at its core, our sitting together is about unconditional love and acceptance. It is about falling in love over and over again with ourselves, our large selves that “contain multitudes” as Whitman said. It is about waking up to no self and no other which leads to an understanding that we exist here for only a short time, are totally interdependent with one another, and are uniquely precious just as we are. I feel that this recognizing of ourselves as embodied love has the power to make a difference in our own lives and the life of the world. Anyway, for now, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!
Our practice is to abandon ourselves by paying attention to whatever comes up in the present moment and to welcome that without defending, explaining, blaming, or wishing it to be otherwise. This is a remembering of who we are and challenges us to actualize this insight in our daily lives. Zazen cannot fix the world or spell out what to do but can illuminate a way of how to be and how to do in this world . Zazen is a deep place from which we hear the sounds of the world and act accordingly.
Three Treasures Sangha lays a foundation in which we can practice this discipline of paying attention and welcoming reality. We provide the physical and virtual space to sit down and be quiet. We provide guides to help us navigate the non dual path of love and compassion, and we create a community of mutual respect and support on this journey together of experiencing who we truly are and living that wisdom in this world of birth and death, sorrow and joy.
Hatred never ceases by hatred; But by love alone is healed. This is an ancient and eternal law.
—Maha Ghosananda
The past two years have seen some growth in sangha membership and attendance at daily and weekly practice opportunities. However, we remain a small sangha with increasing financial concerns. The last two years we have run budget deficits which have been covered by a generous donor. We need to bring in more revenue and make our way toward a more balanced budget if we want to continue to be able to provide sitting opportunities in the future.
I am asking for your financial support so that we can keep sangha dues low, zenkais free, provide scholars hips for sesshin, maintain Dharma Gate, and give our wonderful and hard working teachers a nominal stipend with cost of living increases. We really need your participation and generosity in this coming year.
The anthropologist Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world.” I have faith in and gratitude toward our small sangha and our practice together to touch, receive, and convey the vast and unfathomable mystery of love that leaves no place for hate.
Please check our website for the events we have planned in 2024.
With Love, Larry
Larry Keil, for the TTS Board
Donations can be made by sending checks to: Three Treasures Sangha, P.O. Box 12542, Seattle, WA, 98111 or through our website (via PayPal). Make an online donation.