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ANNUAL SANGHA MEETING THIS SUNDAY!
Our annual Sangha Meeting is this Sunday, February 28th. We will begin at 9:00am and hold the meeting along with a board meeting. We encourage everyone to attend to provide feedback and to meet with the board members. Following the days activities, which will include a special service for Katagiri-roshi's memorial day, we will enjoy a vegetarian pot-luck lunch. Please bring your favorite covered dish, a salad or a dessert to share with the Sangha. We hope to see you there.
Impermanence is a core teaching in Buddhism, but certain things at Zen Center of Pittsburgh seem ever present and familiar. We are not hanging clothes out to dry just yet, but the scene from the picture above reminds us that spring is not far off. During the winter months we pull the drapes in the community room and turn down the thermostat to fifty degrees each night. Small things like this and the replacement of incandescent bulbs with the compact fluorescent bulbs have saved our energy costs by twenty percent or more.
Have you seen that Buddhism has been in the news lately? Here is a recent article we thought you may enjoy reading.
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DID YOU KNOW?
We offer an Introduction to Zen each Sunday morning at 8:30 and then
join the regular Sunday schedule that runs from 9:00am until noon. Zen Buddhist teachings are always offered freely, but perhaps you would consider making a donation to support our temple when registering. Click here to register.
And please
remember that if there is snow forecast we are closed. An up-to-the
minute calendar is kept on our web site at www.deepspringzen.org. You can also check KDKA Channel 2 (www.kdka.com) or WPXI Channel 11 (www.wpxi.com) in Pittsburgh for updated closing information.
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ZEN PRACTICE:From time to time we all have questions regarding our spiritual practice. When this happens, we encourage you to meet with either Jisen ( jisen@deepspringzen.org) or Kyoki, ( kyoki@deepspringzen.org) for assistance. They are usually available Tuesday - Saturday 9:00am-4:00pm.
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WEEKLY ZAZEN SCHEDULE:
Please arrive 10-15 minutes before starting time.
- Deep Spring Temple: 124 Willow Ridge Road Sewickley, PA 15143 (map)
- Mattress Factory: 505 Jacksonia Way Pittsburgh, PA 15212 (directions)
- Zen Friends: 4836 Ellsworth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (map)
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DEEP SPRING TEMPLE:
- Katagiri Memorial Service/Annual Sangha Meeting: Sunday, February 28; 9:00am-noon
- We will have a special service to remember Katagiri-roshi whose memorial day is March 1.
- Following the regular Sunday schedule, we will hold our annual Sangha Meeting. All are encouraged to attend.
- A vegetarian pot-luck lunch will be held at the conclusion of Sunday's activities. Bring your favorite covered dish to share.
- Sesshin: Friday, March 12; 7:00pm - Sunday, March 14; noon
- In
this sesshin we will engage in an intensive two-day period of practice
consisting of sitting/walking meditation, service, work and an
interview with Kyoki.
- Please register in advance kyoki@deepspringzen.org.
- Suggested donation: $100; minimum $30.
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ZEN FRIENDS:
- Wednesday evening zazen; 6:00pm-7:15pm. Friends Meeting House (map).
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MATTRESS FACTORY:
- Tuesday morning zazen; 7:00am-7:40pm. Mattress Factory (map).
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BEGINNING ZEN PRACTICE
by Rev. Kyoki Roberts
Many of us come into a Zen temple having read a book about
Zen or maybe a friend told us about it. Perhaps, we come in out of a deep
dissatisfaction with our life. Either way, we are stepping into a world that is
quite different from our ordinary experience. You will be greeted at the door, certainly
by Mya the German Shepard, and perhaps by someone with a shaved head and black
robes. (No, you don't have to shave your head to practice here; that is only
for ordained priests!). One of the members will give you a short introduction
to basic Zen Buddhism and then you will be asked to sit staring at a wall. Now
what?!?
Actually, that is up to you. We call this seated meditation zazen. You will have been taught to sit up straight
(cross-legged on a cushion or in a chair), to allow thoughts, sensations, and
emotions to arise, shutting nothing out and to allow anything that arises to
pass away returning to breath. The art of zazen is to not cling. "Am I really
supposed to just sit here?" "Can I scratch that itch?" "Is it okay to move if
my knee hurts?" "What do I do if my feet fall asleep?" "What if I need to go to
the bathroom?" "Will I disturb people if I cough?" Questions come flooding in
and one certainly doesn't feel peaceful and quiet. This is crazy. "Why in the
world would anyone want to do this? But people have been doing this for thousands
of years. There must be something going on here."
What that something is, is Mind. We are having a direct
experience of how we create the idea of self from the thoughts and sensations
we have. We experience how things are constantly changing. And just maybe, we
might become aware of the space that is between thoughts and sensations. All of
this is the beginning of Zen practice.
Let's take up that itch on our nose. Normally, we just
scratch and it goes away. This time we are just going to be with an itchy nose.
We take a breath; we notice the instinctual desire to move our hand; not
moving, we become acutely aware of how much it itches until it is all-consuming.
We also notice that it changes. When our knee is hurting, where is the itchy
nose? Our mind flicks back and forth, but it doesn't seem to be able to do both
at the same time. Suddenly, we are aware of time passing and we wonder when we
will be stopping and if the teacher is watching us. When did our nose stop
itching?
The ringing of a bell startles us from what finally had felt
like a quiet place. People are moving. "What am I supposed to do?" And there is
mind again, doing its very best to protect us and keep us from being thought of
as a fool. "Now they are bowing-what does that mean-how do I do that-which way
do I turn-and now!?" Mind again-but perhaps this time there is just that little
bit of space and uneasiness is replaced by curiosity.
"Who am I?" "What is the nature of the universe?" "What is
my place in that universe?" "How do I live out this life as a human being?" "Why
is there so much suffering in this world and what can I do about it?" This
simple quiet sitting leads us directly to these questions and also to Zen
Master Dogen's "practice-realization of totally culminated enlightenment."
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GIVING WHILE SEARCHING OR SHOPPING
Did you know you can support Zen Center of Pittsburgh by using the Internet? We are registered with Goodsearch.com, which is based on the Yahoo search engine. By making Zen Center of Pittsburgh your charity, each search done on the site earns a 1 cent donation. You can take this a step further by using GoodShop when making online purchases. You can support Zen Center with purchases from online stores including Amazon, Ebay, Apple, and even airfare by first going to the Goodshop page on their website. So if you would like to support Zen Center while you surf or work, please use this service and make every click count.
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UPCOMING CLASS: ZEN DRAWING/ZEN SEEING
A one day class at Deep Spring Temple that will include a brief introduction to Zen meditation followed by Drawing and Seeing Instruction. The day will focus on a specific technique of line drawing. This style connects our eyes and our hands as we relearn how to see.
Open to anyone; beginners are most welcome.
A vegetarian lunch will be provided. Drawing tools will be supplied.
Saturday, April 24, 2010; 8:30am-4:30pm
Donation: $50
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SHORT ZEN STORY
Public Case 46.3 Ryushin asked his Master, "How can I practice more than twenty-four hours a day?" The Master replied, "Get up an hour earlier." |
UNTIL NEXT TIME:
- Please check out the latest edition of Prairie Wind Online, the quarterly newsletter offered by Abbot Rev. Nonin Chowaney.
- Visit the e-Newsletter archive to read past editions.
- To make a tax-deductible contribution to the Zen Center of Pittsburgh, please click the 'Make a Donation' button. We are deeply grateful for your generosity.
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