Tassajara lost another structure this afternoon when the woodshed by the inside parking lot burned. The pool is now full of debris and rocks. There are small problems with pretty much all of the infrastructure.
There is no helicopter access to the Tassajara site. In previous emergencies we have had to ferry people to the ridge so that they can be airlifted from there. So thank you for the offers to helicopter people in and...
Please do not come to Jamesburg. There is nothing you can do from here to help Tassajara that you can't do just as well from home.
The Jamesburg area has just been moved one notch up the evacuation scale to a Voluntary Evacuation notice. The local fire service seem confident that the firelines will hold the fire which continues to burn vigorously on the north and that the new evacuation order is just precautionary.
Fire crews backburned away from The Observatory today and that is now safe.
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Tassajara Jamesburg Community
226 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 226 of 226Over my 50 years of life I have really only learned one thing. When I am feeling Happy, open hearted, compassionate, I find Happy Open hearted and compassionate people around me. When I am feeling Isolated, Insulated, Aloof, superior, and insecure, I find others who verify my understanding.
I think we always find what we most belief about ourselves in other people, which is why most spiritual traditions in one form or another have some line like "If you are pointing a finger at someone else, there are three pointing back at you." It always starts with how I feel about myself and my place in the world, Then everyone else verifies that, since that is what I am able to see.
To everyone who is critical: they call it "practice" for reason. Who is perfect? Why do you think people are practicing? My guess is that they are all very aware of their shortcomings - although the feedback on this thread helps keep it specific. Be kind, folks, be gentle if you can. If you can't, well, that's why they call it practice.
Most glad to hear everyone is safe and that the material damage to Tassajara was minimal. So much gratitude to those who stayed behind to meet the fire and worked so tirelessly to make sure that the material aspect of the pratice center was spared. No need to create emotional damage in this thread with lack of kindness amidst feedback. I don't think ZC can be damaged spiritually. Suzuki-roshi's heart remains. TO SFZC (as if you didn't know): you are perfect the way you are and you could use a little improvement. To every single poster on this thread : you are perfect the way you are and you could use a little improvement. That's why they call it practice. May all beings practice together in the heart of kindness.
Namaste friends.
> does any of that give you pause
> for reflective thought, if so,
> id be honored to listen if u
> shared them
Of course, plenty. Thank you for the offer of listening. Listening is such a rare gift these days, so I treasure it whenever I come across it.
I'm not sure, though, if what I have to say is helpful right now. Sorry if my talk of "lashing out in grief" sounded like an over-generalization that unduly included you; it wasn't meant that way. It's just... some of those anonymous posts (not yours, obviously, since you didn't post anonymously) seemed a bit venomous to me, and I was wondering if there might be feelings of hurt and loss behind them. It would make some of their intensity more understandable. But, who knows, maybe I'm just wallowing in my compulsive need to understand everything and to find a simple, neat, and handy explanation for what ultimately is a mystery. I tend to do that (and without my practice of Zen I actually wouldn't know that about myself). Or, who knows, maybe there was no venom at all, and I was simply projecting. Hard to tell sometimes.
Everybody has a right to their opinion, I feel, and I read the other day on a website about free speech, that it is better to have "spit in one's eye than a knife in the back," a sentiment that resonated with me quite a bit. I feel it's great that stuff like this is seeing the fresh air to be vented, listened to, and sorted through into what are
--> legitimate grievances that deserve a sincere, creative, and caring response, what are
--> simply forms of frustrated venting (or "moans," as some people said) to which we may open our heart with compassion without trying to patronizingly "fix" the person making them or going into an automatic hurt fight-or-flight response, and, last but not least, what are
--> expressions of our human inadequacies, problems that we might eventually have to learn to accept and live with but that, in one form or another, will be with us at all times.
I was raised Lutheran and dabbled in quite a few different belief systems before finding what I currently consider my spiritual home, Soto-Zen. In each of those practices that I encountered, I was sincere and open and meeting the people who I met on their terms. Each of those systems (and each of these people) had something to teach me, as long as I was open to hear it. Each of those systems and the groups of people practicing it had its problems, too. I sang in a Missionary Baptist Gospel choir, until one of the people in it openly questioned that I belonged there. I felt hurt at the time, but ok, because I felt it was better he told me than stew over it and let it fester. And in some way he was right. It was time to move on. I practiced with Pagans and got yelled at by a self-professed witch with issues. If you want to see "cold," then you should come to one of the Lutheran churches, into which I was raised and with which I practiced for a while. It was hit or miss there. You might find living practice, or you might find a pastor who stiffly read each and every statement during the service from a script. I practiced a taoist-buddhist-confucian-inspired style of martial arts for more than 14 years, that helped transform my mind and body, but that also showed me that even advanced practitioners with great skill are not immune to getting lost in ego. It seemed as if half of the advanced practitioners at some point gave up working with their teacher and started a new schism of the style by starting a new school. It was a Chinese style, and some of the dynamics of Eastern and Western values both clashing and inspiring each other were similar to what I can see at Zen Center's attempt at a healthy synthesis between Japanese and Western wisdom. That interaction that can be viewed as a dance or a struggle, continues into my own private life, since my husband was born in Hong Kong, and I have a whole lot of (rather traditionally) Chinese relatives.
Each and every one of those people had something to offer, and each and every one of those people had difficulties and challenges, with which they were wrestling. San Francisco's Zen Center is no exception to this basic rule of what it means to be human with human weaknesses and shortcomings, in addition to all the fun stuff we tend to bring to the table (as I mentioned in my only other post, I have never been to Green Gulch or Tassajara, so I don't know what it's like there). As a matter of fact, due to this being a non-mainstream practice here in the U.S., it seems to me that some of the people who come here are on the more dysfunctional part of the human interaction skills continuum (keep in mind that, again, they might be fine and I might just be projecting). Maybe they have abuse histories. Maybe they are somewhere on the autism spectrum and socially relating to other people takes them great effort. Maybe they are simply wrestling with personal issues that sometimes make it hard to see beyond their own little universe of hurt and pain. Or, who knows, maybe I am trying to emotionally protect myself from the occasional hurt and pain of my (sometimes successfully, sometimes in vain) seeking acceptance and support by happily diagnosing other people. Maybe I'm simply a spoiled brat and going "boo-hoo" whenever something doesn't go my way. Maybe. But without my practice of Zen there is a good chance that I wouldn't even ask myself these questions.
So, I am grateful for this practice and to the people maintaining a space for my and others practicing it, in each of our own funky and imperfect ways. To me, it's been a good fit, hitting a spot that none of what I practiced before was able to touch. Warts and all. Will I still be here 10 years from now? Hard to tell. I'll just keep going, moment by moment, and will report back to whoever I'm still in touch with at the time. That's as much of a commitment as anybody is going to get out of me at this point in time. I love this practice, I appreciate this practice, but I don't think I would thrive as a resident, so I don't even go there. And, every time I see somebody here on this thread use generalizations such as "Zennie" or "Whitey," I cringe. Maybe it's helpful to use such forms of shorthand when taking time out of your busy life to write something. It just doesn't seem to fit, because it makes me feel as if that person looks at me as some form of cardboard cutout rather than a human being. But, then, I might just be in denial. Maybe I'm a whole lot less complex than I think I am. And who am I to tell other people how to look at things or me or anything or anybody else?
I have had a similar experience as one of the previous posters in most situations in which I felt offended or trespassed against by somebody at Zen Center. I either actively sought out a conversation with that person or, one time, I wrote a letter, since that helped me better sort through my thoughts at the time. One time I and another person sought mediation in a practice discussion with a teacher. I found satisfactory resolutions in about half of those situations, and ran against what felt like a mental or emotional wall in the other half of them. But in either case, I feel I learned something. And in either case, it took courage to go and try to find resolution. I did stand up and find a way to speak up (sometimes with a racing heart and flushed face, because I'm actually, deep down inside, sensitive and painfully shy, something I learned to generally hide well most of the time). My practice of Zen has helped me to, moment by moment, stop pretending to be somebody I'm not while gently and stubbornly pushing beyond the limits of who I think I am. It has taught me and keeps teaching me courage and acceptance. There is still much left to learn. As everybody, I'm work in progress.
SF's Zen Center to me looks a bit as if it is structured like one of those experiments some behaviorists conduct, with too many rats in one place, pitching them against each other to watch what transpires, thus giving them opportunity to practice. Don't know if that's deliberate, accidental, or a mix of both. The residents are woken up early and subjected to odd, complex rituals and (depending on individual personality and temperament more or less) passing feelings of shame and embarrassment when "messing up" and not bowing or hitting some fancy gong at just the right time. I've only seen carrot cake for special occasions and celebrations, but, then, I'm not there all the time. Overall, the food is rather humble, but of course no comparison with the small bowl of rice, on which an alms-seeking Hinayana monk has to subsist.
To some who look at it from the outside, it might not sound like a very joyful practice, but it's interesting what kinds of joy we can find in our heart, when reducing everyday stimulation and challenging ourselves in unusual ways. In some people it may take years, though, and when you catch them at the wrong moment, well, they'll be grumpy... But I fully and passionately agree that whatever joy we may find in practice is worth squat, if it's simply feeding our narcissistic hedonism and if we don't translate it into practical action, if we don't bring it back into the hustling, bustling, noisy market place of social engagement with all of its hurt, pain, indifference, ridicule, and inspiration. But this "bringing back" ultimately, like any change, can't be forced. It has to come from the inside. Let's hope that some of the concerns voiced here will be seeds that fall on fertile ground, to grow into something constructive and positive. But, I'm sorry, the way the SF Zen Center is presented by some people on this thread as terminally aloof and greedy just doesn't match the way I have experienced it.
Is this the right time and place for such a discussion? If not, when is it? It can be intensely painful to encounter harsh criticism and sarcastic remarks, when you already feel down, raw, vulnerable. But then, maybe that's how life picks our initiations, to see to it that what is rebuilt (both physically and psychologically) includes a stone or two that haven't been there before. But the process may of course be a painful one.
It would be great if some of the discussions in this thread encourages those of us, who are not just naturally inclined to do so anyhow, to reach out in whatever way we can, to think, and to continue asking ourselves the tough questions. Should somebody who is constitutionally painfully shy force him- or herself to the outside and cheerily greet and engage neighbors? Or would that simply be another form of hypocrisy? Should that person find a safe spot inside the monastery to never have to go out and reach out into the bad, bad world? Or would that simply be a coward's escape? Is this even an either/or choice?
As a Taoist, most likely you will agree with me that it isn't. Or won't you?
I am not planning to post anything else to this thread, because I feel that the more words we pile onto it, the less likely it is to be read in its entirety by the people who need to read it and who have to sort through what it says, and the more it'll discourage others who have not yet spoken but who might have something important to say from participating. But, dear Lifetraveler, I also don't just want to make hit-and-run statements. So, I invite you (or anybody else so inclined) to, if anything that I said brings up things rather dealt with in personal communication, things that would clutter this particular venue rather than enrich it, feel free to e-mail me to somehopesnoregrets@yahoo.com
This is merely an option and is not meant to be an attempt at making anybody shut up. Grievances, encouragement, or comments that help all and would ideally be read by as many of Tassajara's, Green Gulch's, SF Zen Center's teachers, administrators, residents, and affiliates as possible might of course be better off finding their way to this place rather than a private location.
Just another opinion,
with open ears, heart, mind
(I hope),
:-) Julia
1,000 thank yous for your reflective sharing - Julie
You saw correctly. .as a taoist, i see no right or wrong to seeking refuge .. its just in one's nature or it's not.
A appreciate the depth and calmness with which you chose to respond, and that your response was not focused on defense.,. just a reflection of what opportunities this thread affords you for improving your perfection.
I am confident that the sense of community on the road can be improved by actions, not by words.
It will be interesting to see what people take what actions, once the smoke has blown over so to speak.
One thing that I have learned in my life journey, is that when someone lashes out... there is some kind of genuine hurt behind it.
The folks expressing pain with the folks at the end of the road... have been hurt "by the actions by the folks at the end of the road".
That does not mean that anyone is right or wrong... just that sometimes our individual and collective behavior hurts others ..whether we think it does or not.
I choose to see the slams, as a pain unrelieved .. rather than some character flaw or experiential deficit on the part of the sharer.
I agree with you about the get it out in front, not a knife in the back.. and as such, I celebrate each sharing, slam or not.
And, for that matter, one person's slam is another person's truth.
Thanks from the bottom of my heart for sharing your reflective insights.
namaste
lifetraveler
Anon/6:20am,
Just to echo what you've said: I've heard it that when people would compliment Suzuki Roshi he would say to the person complimenting that he/she sees that because that's what's in his/her heart. To me, that sounds a lot like what you are saying.
WOW !!!! - U GO GIRL !!!!
" ........whatever joy we may find in practice is worth squat, if it's simply feeding our narcissistic hedonism and if we don't translate it into practical action, if we don't bring it back into the hustling, bustling, noisy market place of social engagement with all of its hurt, pain, indifference, ridicule, and inspiration. But this "bringing back" ultimately, like any change, can't be forced. It has to come from the inside. Let's hope that some of the concerns voiced here will be seeds that fall on fertile ground, to grow into something constructive and positive."
Gassho
I choose to see the slams, as a pain unrelieved .. rather than some character flaw or experiential deficit on the part of the sharer.
I agree with you about the get it out in front, not a knife in the back.. and as such, I celebrate each sharing, slam or not.
And, for that matter, one person's slam is another person's truth.
I also choose to see "slams" and mean-spirited generalizations of entire groups of people as unconscious manifestations of pain. But I don't always find it necessary to buy into the generalization, because it doesn't always describe me.
I find blanket categorizations of other people to be an excuse for not really looking. It's easier to deride a group than it is to look into another's eyes and see the mirror there. I would much rather do the latter. Viewpoints that include us and them have never really promoted understanding, have they?
There is a part of me that won't line up to recieve others' unresolved pain any longer. I was raised as a Quaker, practicing simplicity and nonviolence. I was taught that it was wrong to fight; far better to walk away. Violence begets more violence, always. In the schoolyard, I was a pretty common target for anyone with unresolved anger or who just wanted to prove themselves a tough guy. I never provoked the other kids, ever, except by being the quiet one who didn't want to fight. I was punched in the back while I was walking away.
It's easy to slam a group of people who profess compassion and understanding, from behind an anonymous comment on the internet. I want to understand, I really do. This truth, this pain, what is it?
How have I added to it? While asking these questions, I will politely refuse to own it, or feed it with retaliation. Still, there is that Quaker kid, practicing.
I am more than willing to examine my thoughts, speech, and actions, every day. Every moment. This is the best I can do, and I'll always ask if it is truly the best I can do.
May all beings be happy.
Gassho.
1,000 thank yous for your reflection
here's one place where our choices in how to perceive the input of other's differs
I also choose to see "slams" and mean-spirited generalizations of entire groups of people as unconscious manifestations of pain. But I don't always find it necessary to buy into the generalization, because it doesn't always describe me.
I am 55 years old, a father and a teacher.
In my life's experience, I have found it to be of great benefit to me, to allow the legitimacy of the positions of others as a starting point for productive dialog.
I have found that in 99.999 percent of all the issues, the person with the opinion:
1) genuinely had that opinion (slam or not)
2) held that opinion because of something I had said or done
3)that person thought that they were a good person, as good as I was and
4) that their opinion was as true as any opinion i had to the contrary
Once I learned to grant the other party equity in the argument.. or disagreement, or discussion, it greatly facilitated coming to a positive, tangible resolution.
Until, I was able to come to that place, the interchanges were just a tournament of dogma smack downs, each side hoping to be righter by choosing better words.
Well, I hope this speaks to your condition.
For what its worth, I believe that your opinion is as "right" as my opinion.
I believe that you genuinely hold it.
I believe your opinion is in response to things that I have said, been, or done and as such I am responsible for it.
I believe that you are a good person, no better nor worse than I.
And I believe that you hold your opinion to be as "true" or "truer" than I hold my contrary opinion.
I offer the same starting point for the opinions (and slams,as you choose to see them) on this blog
Yours in perceptual equity,
Namaste,
lifetraveler
Wow, how does the near destruction of the Zen Center property translate into a therapy session on the perceived ills of the place?
Come on people there should be a celebration of bravery and survival not recrimination and negativity.
As the editor and chief bottle washer for Firefighter Blog I have come to appreciate Tassajara by the members and residents who commented on my coverage of the fire as it related to their Center.
I see a group of polite and dedicated people who needed help and reached out wherever they could to get it.
Sadly they were denied the ultimate help and a few of their members were left to fend for themselves against a great danger.
Those of you throwing stones, stop. The guy who wanted a soak? Sounds like a pr mistake, they would have you over for a soak and tea now I think.
The guy who says they service upper class yuppies to become Japanese Samurai?
Upper class yuppies need help more than anyone, they can pay too.
Peace!
ROTFLOL
"Upper class yuppies need help more than anyone, they can pay too."
You have a point there!!!
As I have been following this thread, my heart is aching with the pain of disconnection expressed. All of the posts seem to be made by goodhearted people who long for connection and community. Is there a conversation we can have that is about "us", all of us, that is, with no "them" to disparage?
When I lived at the Jamesburg house at the end of the paved road in 1973, the only residents between there and Tassajara were Fred at the fire lookout on Chew's ridge, Buddy Jones and the caretakers at Church Creek Ranch. Everything else was either Bill Lambert's ranch or national forest. As Bill began to sell some of his ranch, the numbers have grown exponentially, and it's much harder for us all to stay connected.
The most awesome community feeling, I think, occurs during the spring and fall work periods between the monastic training periods in the winter and the guest season in the summer. Many people, including many local residents, join in working, eating, soaking, swimming, sitting together--there is such joyful sharing and mutual generosity and respect.
I sincerely hope that this conversation can continue without rancor and that we can find ways to build connection and mutual caring and respect. Whatever our practice may be, whether we realize it or not, we ARE all connected, all beings without exception, which is why it is so painful to feel disconnected.
laffing out loud
we ARE sll connected.. some of us joyously... others reluctantly
I am replying to the original poster, though perhaps too late.
It's easy to resent people who have more privilege than you. The sad thing is that most people who have privilege will defend it. Their defense will often consist of insisting they are not privileged, and so forth. In this thread, I see this partner dance.
SFZC students are a privileged bunch. They (we) are mostly white, upper-middle-class people who can afford to quit their jobs, leave their lives, and study the Dharma. When I was a student, I believed (incorrectly) that I was the only person there without a trust fund account. It is perennially difficult for Zen Center to admit how privileged most students are.
Nonetheless, Zen Center students work _very hard_ at running a business, the summer resort at Tassajara, that provides them their livelihood. The market sets the prices at the resort. Without the resort business and the kindness of benefactors, students would be unable to study the Dharma at all, privileged or no.
Everyone here seems to be accusing Zen Center students (leave the retreat-goers aside) of living in extraordinary opulence for religious people. Think about other religious people you know. Does your protestant Christian minister live in poverty? Do Catholic religious people live in abject poverty? They do not. Even cloistered, Trappist monks have beautiful monastery grounds for their use-- even ones over on the coast!-- and Protestant ministers have middle-class salaries.
Buddhist monks in other countries also live in this very material world. Through the generosity of benefactors, they live in amazing temples, run businesses that fund the spreading of the Dharma, and eat good food on a regular basis. The person who accuses Zen students of living in extraordinary luxury is holding American Zen Buddhists to a higher standard than what is expected of other religious people. But while these other religious groups can rely on culturally-embedded traditions of donations (e.g. tithing, plate collection), SFZC students must rely in part on the proceeds from a very labor-intensive business they run for six months every summer. Accusing them of greed misses the mark.
In sum, I understand feeling resentment towards people who can quit everything in order to work and live at SFZC for a while. I've felt it! It takes a certain privilege to leave home, e.g. being debt free and without family. Nonetheless, SFZC is one of the few places in North America where students can study the Dharma without paying for it with cash. Charging $25 for a day pass is what makes this miracle possible. Don't be too quick to judge.
In terms of coldness, I'd like to point out that when I was coming to be a student at SFZC, the coldness attracted me.
There was no one there asking me for money or insisting that I join. More importantly, no one was paying attention to whether I came or left. I was treated the same as anyone. People bowed at me even without knowing my name.
By contrast, if I had to make conversation with someone, or connect socially, or explain myself, I would not have stuck around past the first sitting. I was so glad that all I had to do
It's just like Suzuki said when Dick Baker and others showed up in Japantown fifty years ago. "You want to know more? Come and sit. I start every day at 5:30." An honest interest in showing up is all that is required.
This thread is, I believe, of great value to anyone who has any sense of community or desire for it, whether it be in a spiritual home, as part of a scattered group of poets and writers in Sonoma County, as a member of any nonprofit seeking to make some aspect of life better for themselves and others, or to any group of people of like mind who gather together, including a group of neighbors on a lonely road near a burning forest. In one fell swoop, so many of the issues of community life reared their heads: isolationism, arrogance, strength, beauty, giving, taking, jealousy, support, challenge, pride, anger, sarcasm, shared pleasure and grief, meaning and meaninglessness.
Hey, we're all in this together! This thread offers each of us a way of seeing into ourselves and reexamining our roles in whatever community we belong to, formal or informal. So many of the posts gave me pause for thought and consideration. Out of the fire, to be sure, comes new growth, and we have the opportunity once again to be the caregivers and stewards of that new growth--in the forest, on the land, in the community, and within ourselves.
I've visited Tassajara, a respite, a treasure of nature, and I'm glad it's been saved. The issues that have arisen in this discussion are part of what will guide recovery and the nurturing of the seeds that will blossom in ways we cannot yet know. May there be peace on the road--and at the end of the road. And may we all learn how to be better members of those communities whose lives we share.
That includes ALL of us, doesn't it?
1000 thank you's for your reflection gail
for what its worth, i concur with your observations about the value of this thread and the opportunity this fire creates for "new growth"
namaste
lifetraveler
What a dharma lesson...this long and sacred blog roll over past few days...I have watched my own mind soar and sink.:) Thanks to everyone for their heartfelt shares. The more than 200 blog entries capture a broad range of the human experience, including feelings of pain and isolation,.Reminding me why the SFZC and Tassajara are so needed today.
I also loved Blanche's typically wise words, reminding us about our interconnectedness regardless of the brand of car we drive...or, as Martin Luther King put it, "all men are caught in the inescapable network of mutuality." Yes, in small but profound ways, the good PEOPLE of SFZC are practicing to help to heal the deepest human wound: our sense of separation.
Blessings to all and good night.
Joe
Finding my Way
The orange lilies
sway in summer dawn above
the stone fence (stacked
and mortared as though
by magic hands) each petal
a bright taut compass.
Joe,
1000 thanks for your reflections
they remind me of an old poem
(apologies for parenthetical additions)
No man (or woman)is an island unto themself.... each is a part of the main.
Don't ask for whom the bell tolls (or for whom the fire burns). It burns for thee.
Hopefully, this fire will clear the view and each will be able to see that they are not an island unto themselves, but each part of the main... and that the fire burned for us, each of us.
lifetraveler
A lot of posts criticising Tassajara is understandable. And, a lot of posts supporting it is wonderful. Tassajara, the SF Zen Center, and anything else isn't removed from this very moment that we live in. Human beings run these places and we all waver left and right (back and forth) from the center path. And thus, institutions themselves also waver since institutions are but conglomerations of people. The book « Shoes Outside the Door » is worth reading as it narrates the difficulties that the SF Zen Center (and thus Tassajara) and its affiliates ran into in the 1980s. It's a dark history of the center but nevertheless part of it.
Given all this, it is understandable the criticisms and scepticism continues to exist and yet at the same time there are also those who find the retreat centre and city centre helpful to their lives.
I don't think it's exclusively one-sided. It's all of them.
By the way, I should say that I too am a Zen/Ch'an Buddhist student though I'm not affiliated with SF Zen Centre but with another sangha.
Gassho.
Utterly relieved that the fire has spared Tassajara, a true Dharmic gem for all non-practitioner visitors who need a break from the trappings of modern civilization.
I was tensely reading this blog, praying for the pacification of the elements...for the second time this year! Pema Osel Ling, another favorite Buddhist retreat center in Corralitos, also almost perished in flames just a month before! And without a magnificent blogsite like this one to keep one abreast of the situation.
To respond to the vajrayana practitioner: The SFZC and Green Gulch folks can seem a bit cold--although I never ever experienced this at Tassajara--I always thought the beauty, food and warm weather kept everyone in cheerful spirits during the guest season. At any rate, as a guest, I always attributed this "aloofness" to being a part of the Soto Zen practice. As a yogin, I believe that we all have prana, and that when practicing and undertaking serious sadhana, as many of these brave and amazing Zen practitioners are doing, it behooves one to engage in pratyahara, or withdrawl of the senses. This drawing inward entrains the natural chi / prana reserves, which have a tendency to exit through one or more of our sense organs; i.e. via speech and/or sight. (and what about the prana factor in relation to the carrot cake and organic pecans? Or uneccessary bitterness or sarcastic speech, for that matter. 8 fold path, Continence and continuity in Body, SPEECH, and mind!) Many Vajrayana Buddhist practitioners will take three year retreats in order to practice without any interruptions whatsoever, in silence, and alone. I would love to hear from other Soto Zen practitioners if there are practice oriented reasons for the general "less eye contact is more" factor which is occasionally characteristic of the SF and GG sanghas...?
Or maybe its just the fog. Maybe its a Vitamin D seratonin thing. Not trying to be frivolous...this blog has been enlightening, very fiery (in the alchemical good way)), and I salute every single marvelous person posting for contributing to this lively discussion. Robert the sfzc director came in like the most elegant, stunning example of a practitioner who listens without turning away and actually made a promise to an anonymous voice of dissent that most people might have written off. If the Buddha Maitreya arrived tomorrow disguised as a demanding,cantankerous beggar, Robert and Steph might be the ones to actually see through the disguise.
fyi I predominantly practice Sri Vidya from the Hindu tradition, but also study tantra in the Mahayana & Vajrayana traditions, including Zen--many Yogic scholars agree retains tantric elements. Not sure what Suzuki thought about this, however.
Om Shanti!
wow.... impressive reflections
1,000 thank yous
this is from an outsider (neither a current zen practictioner nor a resident of the road)
i have watched this debate with some interest, as a sentient being and a member of the world community
your perspective offers some insights into what the neighbors seem to see as aloofness and egocentricism,
i also agree with your observation that robert and steph have in this moment embodied some of what the buddha spirit entails
as an interested observer, i sincerly hope that this fire within the community of the road, clears the path so that more can see their connection to the greater community of the world
i think your observations help with that clarity of vision and connection
three deep bows to you
namaste
lifetraveler
I've been thinking about writing a letter to SFZC about some thoughts and feelings that have been coming up for me around the whole idea to bring students back in quickly and re-open guest season by Aug. 3. Maybe I'll start here...
I am a distant participant in all this... but I have sat with the SFZC sangha quite a bit, and many people I care about were/are in Tassajara. I have to say from a distance, I sense an urgent push to get things going again. This is not necessarily a bad thing in itself, but as practitioners, it seems a good thing to look deeper at our intentions... and to pay attention to concerns without falling into excessive fearfulness.
So here are some of my concerns and questions:
What IS the big rush toward re-opening guest season about?
What would be truly nourishing right now, for the students who put so much labor into making Tassajara run?
What would be truly nourishing now for the land, which has gone through so much trauma this past month between the fire and all the efforts to 'fight' the fire (water drops, fire retardant drops, dozer lines, etc.)
And some very pragmatic questions -- is it safe to go back into Tassajara? At various levels... For both guests and students. I realize the immediate danger of fire is over, but what about smoke and our bodies respiratory systems? What about the erosion to the land and the road into Tassajara?
And so many huge and deep issues were raised in the forum of this blog... relationships to neighbors along the Tassajara road, the welcoming and inclusiveness of SFZC (or lack of it), questions about judgments made during the saga of the last month, safety concerns.
There is so much there that could be fruitful to dive into, for everyone. Might there be a need for some more time and space to allow this process to unfold? I have witnessed how time- and energy-consuming guest season can be for Tassajara students, so it's hard to see how this process could happen in a spacious way in the midst of all the hard work that has to be done to clean up and then the busy schedule of guest season.
Again, the sense of urgency raises a red flag for me. I know when I feel it in my own life and march toward it fairly blindly, I usually feel the karmic results later on.
So I offer these questions without judgment, but with care and love for the greater sangha of which I am part.
in dhamma,
Maia Duerr
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Pleasant study. Writing skill. Loved the story. saunajournal.com
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