zcpHeadSept

SEPTEMBER 2009, Vol. 1 No.8
WELCOME:Priests

Our 10th Anniversary Celebration, "A Taste of Zen", ended this past Sunday with a beautiful ceremony, lead by Rev. Kyoki Roberts with Revs. Edward Espe Brown and Jisen Coghlan, and the dedication of a time capsule to be opened at the 25th Anniversary in 2024. The week's activities were a huge success as old friends returned to visit and new friends experienced Soto Zen Buddhism for the first time. From sunrise zazen and movie screenings to Zen cooking classes and formal dinners, our Sangha was happy to welcome over 300 people to experience our practice in some way.

As our board president, Mr. Gary Crouth, said many times throughout the week, our deepest gratitude go out to our head priest, Rev. Kyoki, and our senior priest, Rev. Jisen, for leading and supporting our Sangha since 1999. Special thanks also goes to Rev. Edward Espe Brown for helping us celebrate this very special event. To those who stopped in and met new friends or returned to visit old ones, many thanks and we hope to see you again.

If you would like to see photos from the events, please visit the following digital photo album here.

Of special note: Please join us Sunday morning August 30th at 10 AM for Dan Kendgia's Lay Initiation Ceremony. Formally taking the precepts is our oldest and most important tradition.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Weekly Zazen Schedule
Location Schedules
Thank you!
Newest Library Book
WEEKLY ZAZEN SCHEDULE:
Please arrive 10-15 minutes before starting time.

ZCP Weekly Schedule
  • 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)
DEEP SPRING TEMPLE:
  • World Peace Ceremony: Sunday, September 6; 10:00am-12:30pm
    • Celebrated on the first Sunday of every month, this ceremony helps us rededicate our practice to bringing about a more peaceful world. An open discussion of Zen practice follows the ceremony.
  • Precept Renewal (Ryaku Fusatsu): Tuesday, September 8; 6:00-7:00pm
    • This evening of the full moon ceremony offers practitioners an opportunity to renew their commitment to the sixteen Bodhisattva precepts.  All are welcome to attend!
    • Read more about Ryaku Fusatsu here.
  • Intro to Zen: Thursday, September 10; 6:00-8:00pm
    • These two-hour introductory workshops are a combination of gentle sitting, lecture, question and answer, and walking meditation.  They also provides instruction on the forms of Soto Zen practice (bowing, entering the zendo, chanting), how to sit comfortably (should you use a cushion, a chair or a bench?), and suggestions for reading material in a variety of areas.
  • Sesshin: September 11, 7:00pm - September 13, noon
    • Fairly short, but intense periods of practice, sesshins are comprised of numerous 75-minute-long meditation periods interspersed with the following activities (all performed with the same mindfulness practiced in meditation):
ZEN FRIENDS:
  • Wednesday evening zazen; 6:00pm-7:15pm. Friends Meeting House (map).
MATTRESS FACTORY:
  • Tuesday morning zazen; 7:00am-7:40pm. Mattress Factory (map).
THANK YOU:

The Board of Directors is deeply grateful to:
 
Rev. Edward Espe Brown for his guidance, his gifts, and his humor;Origami
 
The Mattress Factory, Friends Meeting House, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, and Sweetwater Cooking for use of their space for 10th anniversary events;
 
The East End Food Co-op, Ginza Restaurant, Leetsdale Giant Eagle, Mandarin Gourmet, Mary Ellen Kendgia, Nicholas Coffee, Pho Kim 88, and Taj Mahal for their donation of food and our very own chefs Caitlin Martine and Adam Litchfield for their desserts;
 
Oriental Star Dance School and Appalasia for their music;Intro to Zen
 
John Radzilowicz and Karl from the Carnegie Science Center for their telescope.
 
To Spectrum Home Services and Kim's Martial Arts for use of their equipment;
 
To Leslie Hospodar, our "project manager" , Jay Volk for running the web site, Kaethejean Bleicher for the Auction, Tony Roscoe for the photography, Doug Gouge for managing the film viewing and reception and Ed's cooking class, Rob Moore for organizing the Family Fun Day, the set-up, cooking and clean-up crews for the Dinner, and all our Sangha members who donated an incredible amount of energy to make these events happen;

And finally the donors, buyers, supporters, and attendees of our fund-raising dinner:Priests
 
  • Adam Litchfield
  • Al Schnur
  • Amy, Rob, Damon, & Gillian Moore
  • Anna Mikolai
  • Anthony Roscoe & Ryan Minster
  • Appalasia
  • Bill Evans
  • Brief Theraputic Solutions
  • Caitlin Martine
  • Claudia Giannini
  • Cressida Magaro
  • Dan Kendgia
  • Debra & Geoff Callahan
  • Dennis & Marlene Moran
  • Doug Gouge
  • Dr. John  & Joy Bray
  • Dr. Tim and Meghan Murphy
  • Dustin Misosky
  • East End Food Co-op
  • Edward Espe Brown
  • Elizabeth Engleman
  • Fr. Kevin McNight
  • Gary Crouth
  • George MacDonald
  • George Schlict
  • Giant Eagle
  • Ginza Restaurant
  • Hernan & Linda Brizuela
  • Horse Country Saddlery
  • In the Moment Massage
  • Jana Thompson
  • Jay Volk & Joan Stevenson
  • Jean Roberts
  • Jeanette Schubert
  • Joan Stevenson
  • John & Christina Radzilowicz
  • John Ott
  • Julia Kurtz
  • Julia Slater
  • Kaethejean Bleicher
  • Karla McNamara
  • Kevin and Jisen Coghlan
  • Kim's Marial Arts
  • Laura Gouge
  • Leslie Hospodar
  • Louise, Ed, Bryan, and Paige Ritti
  • Lucine Folgueras
  • Mandarin Gourmet
  • Marc & Cheryl Dunn
  • Marinus Iwuchukwu
  • Mary Dieter
  • Mary Ellen Kendgia
  • Mattress Factory
  • Melinda O'Rourke
  • Mimi Jong
  • Nicholas Coffee
  • Nonin Chowaney
  • Oriental Star Dance School
  • Pam Bram
  • Patricia Coghlan
  • Patrick Le
  • Pho Kim 88
  • Pittsburgh Filmmakers
  • Prudence Dinardis
  • Religious Society of Friends
  • Rick Campbell
  • Rick Lohmeyer
  • Rosaly Rossman
  • Rose Roscoe
  • Sara Morton
  • Seth & Rebecca Rosenberg
  • Spectrum Home Services
  • Sr. Marlene Kline
  • Steve & Molly Bend & Ann Forrest
  • Sue Brandell
  • Sweetwater Cooking
  • Sydelle Pearl
  • Taj Mahal
  • Tom and Cindy Persinger
  • Tom Shields
  • Trish and Joanne O'Donnell
  • William Weaver
  • Wiltrud Fassbinder & Jason Campbell
  • William Allen
If we have missed your name, please let us know so we can make a correction.
NEWEST LIBRARY BOOK:

The library will be receiving two copies of the book: My Stroke of Insight by Dr. Jill Taylor. She was a brain scientist for Harvard and a spokesperson for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) when she suffered a major stroke brought about by a hereditary condition called arteriovenous malformation or AVM.
 
The book is a description of the brain in general and which halves do what. Here is a quote from page 29:
 
"To the right mind, no time exists other than the present moment, and each moment is vibrant with sensation. Life or death occurs in the present moment. The experience of joy happens in the present moment. Our perception and experience of connection with something that is greater than ourselves occurs in the present moment. To our right mind, the moment of now is timeless and abundant."

It also decribes the deterioration of Dr. Taylor's left hemisphere in the hours after her stroke and the remarkable insights  that the deterioration brought her. The later chapters detail her 8 year recovery. This word is in italics and you will have to read this incredible book to find out why.
 
There is a section on her recovery where she outlines the importance of trying, and the effect of kindness and respect on her determination to reqain both left brain function, and physical abilities. One more short quote and that is all:
 
"...there was both freedom and challenge for me in recognizing that our perception of the external world, and our relationship to it, is a product of our neurological circuitry. For all those years of my life, I really had been a figment of my own imagination!"
 
While these particular words may not be familiar, the concepts surely are. It is my hope that this short review sparks a desire to read the book.

In gassho,
Kaethejean
UNTIL NEXT TIME:
  • Please check out the latest edition of Prairie Wind Online, the quarterly newsletter offered by Abbot Rev. Nonin Chowaney.
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