“Years, months, days, and hours are the mind. Dreams and fantasies, and flowers in space, are the mind. The spray of water, foam, and flame are the mind. Spring flowers and the autumn moon are the mind. Each moment is the mind. And yet it can never be broken. For this reason the real form of all dharmas is the mind, and the buddhas alone, together with buddhas, are the mind.” — Dogen, Sangai Yuishin, “The Triple World is Only the Mind”
Thank you to all who participated in and supported our Rohatsu retreat with your presence and offerings in all their forms. Between the frigid weather and demanding work and unexpected health challenges arising for a few of us, we were off to a rocky start — but together we settled down into great silence and the warmth of sangha. We missed those who could not be with us and hope you will be able to join us soon again.
Last words —
During our final discussion, Koji Varun offered a closing verse, arisen in the washing of dishes:
Moving like a lake, a face,
the pine from the sudden sun—
In the soon-to-be heart of winter
water fills this chipped bowl and flows
out into the old night, old eyebrows, of old Shitou
— Varun RavindranPhotos from the last day of the retreat follow — but first old news and new announcements:
Full Moon Bodhisattva Ceremony
All are welcome to join us at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday December 15 for a period of zazen followed by the Full Moon Bodhisattva Ceremony, or Ryaku Fusatsu, the traditional Soto Zen ceremony for renewing practice of the bodhisattva precepts.
More details at
Lilacs and Snow
·“Birth is an expression complete this moment. Death is an expression complete this moment. They are like winter and spring. You do not call winter the beginning of spring, nor summer the end of spring.” — Genjokoan, Eihei Dogen
End-of-Year Interim: December 15 – 31
After the Full Moon Bodhisattva Ceremony our End-of-Year Interim will begin, a time for rest and renewal with no scheduled sittings or events.
New Year’s Day Reading of the Diamond Sutra, January 1, 2025
We end interim with our (now traditional?) annual reading of the Diamond Sutra, this year for the first time beginning with extended sitting on a three-hour open zendo schedule starting at 1 p.m. The bell will ring for periods of zazen and kinhin and everyone is welcome to enter quietly and join the practice at any time. The reading of the Diamond Sutra will begin at 4, followed by tea.
From the last morning of Rohatsu
Scroll down for more, and don’t miss the laughter at the end.
Looking ahead to the New Year
The regular schedule returns on January 2 with Thursday evening sitting and will continue as usual, with the addition of a weekly Sunday morning sitting, beginning on January 5 at 8 a.m., with two periods of zazen and a full morning service, ending with tea at 10. One Sunday each month silence and sitting will continue into the afternoon. See the calendar for dates, and please use the signup sheets to indicate your intention to join us. If you need access to the signup sheets, please leave a comment below or email Catherine or Brent at neighborhoodzen at gmail.
Early in January, the Monday evening discussion will complete study of the Four Noble Truths with a reading from the Avatamsaka Sutra, and the Tuesday evening Dogen Study Group will turn attention to the Genjokoan. Details on the new readings will follow.
Writing in January with Jonathan Callard
Our friend Jonathan Callard offers a variety of workshops and practices for writers of all kinds, starting the year with a “Free 10-Day Writing Sprint.” Jonathan opens his current announcement with these words:
In a time where we are more polarized as a people than ever, I return to my words. Raising my voice on the page, I find a way to respond to the world around me. I find agency, making choices on what to keep, what to cut. Often, it’s not easy to see what I’m making at first. But I trust the process. My writing becomes a conversation between what I think I want to say and what the work wants to say…
When you claim your voice, you claim your life. Days after the election, I attended a reading where local poet Camille Rankine stood up to speak. It was dark in the room. She bent over her phone to read “Vigil,” a poem she had just published in The New Yorker. She spoke about all her experiences of “night”—when the sky collapsed, when she couldn’t sleep, when she held someone in her arms, when she heard a “helicopter’s drone” and felt “a punishing rain.” I sat on the floor and closed my eyes. I glanced up to see her mouth the last line—"Watchful night, hand in hand, faraway pinprick of flame”—and a light shone from her phone onto her face. We all exhaled. Then we clapped her back to her seat, brought back to the moment and each other. I felt ready to run home and write. Because that is what I can do. And so can you.
This winter, I’m offering five ways for you to claim your voice.
The details of these and other offerings from Jonathan can be found here.
Invitation to an Erie retreat next year in October
This announcement comes from practitioners in Ohio, who for the second year invite anyone interested to join them in planning an October retreat in Erie. (This is a less formal and more broadly based retreat than the annual Stillpoint Zen retreat offered around the same time of year at Villa Maria.) Anyone who might like to help or to talk over ideas or questions is invited to email or call Ray Holan—ask Catherine for his contact information. Here are a few details from his invitation letter:
I wanted to let everyone know that I have reserved the first weekend in October 2025 for another retreat at the Benedictine Sisters of Erie facility in Erie PA. The dates are October 3rd - 5th. Please note these dates in your personal calendar as I hope you will consider joining us for another gathering to further your meditation and spiritual practice…. As we did in 2024, I'd like to have a series of planning meetings over Zoom to decide what sort of activities to include in this upcoming weekend experience. Please let me know if you would like to participate in the planning — everyone is welcome. It is likely these planning get-togethers will not happen until February or March.
One of our friends participated last year and found the retreat beneficial. If you’d like more details or want to get in touch with Ray directly, please indicate your interest by leaving a comment, or email Catherine at neighborhoodzen at gmail.
Readings
Finally, in case you’d like to join me for an online literary event, I’ll be reading on December 14 at 4 pm ET as part of the celebration of Beacon Radiant, an anthology of prose and poetry from great weather for MEDIA. Information and Eventbrite registration are here:
