The Notion of Refuge
A carpet of baby maple trees, in the Pakenham Mountains, Ontario.
I am grateful for the gift of a few days in a tiny cabin in the woods with my husband — a break from the city and our daily entanglements, time to connect with the ground in a new-to-us place, new vistas — even new flora and fauna. (Tamarack! Chickadees!)
I am grateful for a mini-retreat with a gang of you, just last week. Another opportunity to set new patterns, to contemplate teachings, and to simply SIT with it all and each other, five mornings in a row. (Save the date — we will do this again December 28–January 1.)
I chose the timing of these events deliberately, to build support into a time that was easy to predict would be fraught with tensions and anxiety. As a dual citizen, I am highly aware of US politics both as a voter, and as a Canadian — from the special vantage point of the mouse in bed with an elephant, to borrow Pierre Trudeau's apt image. This vigilance is necessary, and it is exhausting. I know I am absolutely not alone in feeling how much psychic real estate this event takes up, particularly with the lingering trauma of the last election and so many current, global, urgent matters.
This week, Tuesday Sangha happens precisely on Election Day. I propose we NOT talk about the results as they are trickling in, nor project outcomes. We need to be patient with the count, which may take days. But we will come together as we always do, in support of each other in whatever state we find ourselves. I will lead a 30 minute somatic practice with a focus on simple actions for energetic release, grounding, and psychic protection. Then we will have our usual sit together: being here, attuned to the moment in the refuge that is community, or sangha.
Resourcing Resilience:
• Mondays — Attune Body+Mind ... NEW weekly class ...
This complete yoga class will begin on November 16. It will include 60 minutes of movement practice, plus an optional sit. (12 pm – 1pm, + 15 min.) Accessible for all levels of experience and ability. Sign-up coming very soon.
• Tuesday Sangha, a weekly meditation at 7:30 pm, ET. (Contact me to register for the Autumn session.)
• Saturdays — Unwind & Restore online yoga class with Breathe Yoga Studio, 11:15 am to 12:30 pm, ET.
• Contact me for private yoga or meditation sessions to support your home practice.
My online calendar is up-to-date with current classes and offerings.
Find additional writing on my blog or on Medium.
Attuned to the Moment
On the last day of our mini-retreat last week, I read a story from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, a collection and republication of four books by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki. This story was originally published in 101 Zen Stories (1939), which translated the 13th century book Shaseki-shu (Collection of Stone and Sand), as well as anecdotes of Zen monks in books published around the turn of the 20th Century. Deep roots! And resonant still: our intentions may be brilliant and just, but alignment with right action requires engagement with and adaptation to present circumstances.
37. Publishing the Sutras
Tetsugen, a devotee of Zen in Japan, decided to publish the sutras, which at that time were available only in Chinese. The books were to be printed with wood blocks in an edition of seven thousand copies, a tremendous undertaking.
Tetsugen began by traveling and collecting donations for this purpose. A few sympathizers would give him a hundred pieces of gold, but most of the time he received only small coins. He thanked each donor with equal gratitude. After ten years Tetsugen had enough money to begin his task.
It happened that at that time the Uji River overflowed. Famine followed. Tetsugen took the funds he had collected for the books and spent them to save others from starvation. Then he began again his work of collecting.
Several years afterward an epidemic spread over the country. Tetsugen again gave away what he had collected, to help his people.
For a third time he started his work, and after twenty years his wish was fulfilled. The printing blocks that produced the first edition of sutras can be seen today in the Obaku monastery in Kyoto.
The Japanese tell their children that Tesugen made three sets of sutras, and that the first two invisible sets surpass even the last.
