Dear SZBA Members,The SZBA Board of Directors and the DEIA Committee are pleased to announce the establishment and first round of scholarship opportunities available to BIPOC members and practitioners. The description of the fund is as follows: The Soto Zen Buddhist Association recognizes that there are inequities in access to Zen practice due to systemic racism. To make reparations for these inequities, the SZBA has formed a scholarship fund to begin to redistribute economic resources to BIPOC Soto Zen practitioners. BIPOC SZBA members, and BIPOC students of SZBA members will be invited annually to apply for funds in the first quarter of each year. To accommodate needs that may arise throughout the  year, applications will be accepted and reviewed as needed. Applicants are welcome to apply for funds to support their Zen practice including events, classes, conferences, retreats, and travel costs. If you are a BIPOC member of the SZBA, you may apply for funding beginning today and ending March 31, 2022. We ask that you share this message with your students and sangha members as well. This year, we have $4,000 available to BIPOC members and encourage you to apply for grants that do not exceed $350 so that we are able support as many BIPOC members and their BIPOC students as possible. Understanding that needs and opportunities may arise throughout the year, we are reserving some of this money for applications received later in the year. To apply, please send your application to info@szba.org by March 31, 2022.  With palms pressed, The SZBA Board of Directors and the SZBA DEIA Committee

BIPOC Scholarship Application

Tuesday Dharma Tea at Two pm for February 15, 2022

Ayesha Ali will join All Beings Zen Sangha as a guest speaker on the topic of ‘Black History and Meditation”.Ayesha Ali is a storyteller, poet, writer, and mindfulness teacher who believes that meditation practices can confront the delusion of separation that hinders from connecting to themselves and hinders the ability of connection between all peoples. She has shared the liberation to be found in mindfulness to various organizations dealing with domestic violence. She is one of the founders of the Heart Refuge Mindfulness Community. She has been engaged in mindfulness practice and work for over twenty years. She is an Affiliate Teacher at the Insight Community of Washington DC and facilitates the Heartwidth Sangha, an all-inclusive community as well as teaching at Insight on the Inside. She is also a co-teacher for Mighty Real, a sangha for LGBTQI

Month.        Use this link to join.  If asked use this password 784873

Tuesday Dharma Tea at Two pm for February 8, 2022. Use this link to join.  If asked use this password 784873

E. Ethelbert Miller will join ABZS for a remembrance and talk about his interview with Buddhist Author and Teacher Charles Johnson.  You can read the interview by going to this link.  

E. Ethelbert Miller is a writer and literary activist. He is the author of two memoirs and several books of poetry. For 17 years Miller served as the editor of Poet Lore, the oldest poetry magazine published in the United States. He hosts the WPFW morning radio show On the Margin with E. Ethelbert Miller and hosts and produces The Scholars on UDC-TV which received a 2020 Telly Award. Miller’s memoir Fathering Words: The Making of An African American Writer (St. Martin’s Press, 2000) was selected by the DC WE READ for its one book, one city program sponsored by the D.C. Public Libraries. He was also awarded the 2019 Literary Award for poetry by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association for his book If God Invented Baseball. Most recently, Miller received a grant from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and a congressional award from Congressman Jamie Raskin in recognition of his literary activism. Miller’s latest book is When Your Wife Has Tommy John Surgery and Other Baseball Stories (City Point Press, 2021).

*ABZS does keep an attendance of participation in sangha events*  this is done for the welfare of it’s members and for guidance in future programing

Use this link to join.  If asked use this password 784873

Tonight we will have a short service following by one period of Zazen and a Dharma Talk by ABZS Abiding and resident teacher, Rev. Inryū Poncé-Barger, Sensei on the topic of “Tea as Medicine“.  Following the talk we will have a “Pass the Feather” sharing and conclude with chanting the refuges.

Here is the link to join us via the cloud zendo at 7PM for the All Beings Zen Sangha evening program.

If you are asked for a password please use this  641260

Please put your zoom in gallery mode, and keep your video link on while muting your mic until the end of the service – Feel welcome to face away from your device camera while keeping your presence visible in the frame for others in attendance to see and know you are there. Please refrain from moving your device around while others are sitting zazen with you.

Order of Service

Greeting by the Kokyo

Enmei Jukko Kannon Gyo

Heart Sutra in English

All Buddhas Chant

25 Minute Zazen Period

Four Great Vows

Dharma Talk by Inryū Sensei

Pass the feather

Refuges in Pali

THE FOUR GREAT VOWS

Beings are numberless; I vow to save them.

Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow to end them.

Dharma Gates are boundless; I vow to enter them.

Buddha’s way is unsurpassable; I vow to become it.

Enmei Jukko Kannon Gyo

KAN ZEON

NA MU BUTSU

YO BUTSU U IN

YO BUTSU U EN

BUP PO SO  EN

JO RAKU GA JO

CHO NEN KANZEON

BO NEN KANZEON

NEN NEN JU SHIN KI

NEN NEN FU RI SHIN

Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra

Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,

when deeply practicing prajña paramita,⨀

clearly saw that all five aggregates are empty

and thus relieved all suffering.

Shariputra,

form does not differ from emptiness,

emptiness does not differ from form.

Form itself is emptiness,

emptiness itself form.

Sensations, perceptions, formations,

and consciousness are also like this.

Shariputra,

all dharmas are marked by emptiness;

they neither arise nor cease,

are neither defiled nor pure,

neither increase nor decrease.

Therefore, given emptiness, there is

no form, no sensation, no perception,

no formation no consciousness;

no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue,

no body, no mind;

no sight, no sound, no smell, no taste,

no touch, no object of mind;

no realm of sight… no realm of mind consciousness

There is neither ignorance nor extinction of ignorance…

neither old age and death,

nor extinction of old age and death;

no suffering, no cause, no cessation, no path;

no knowledge and no attainment.

With nothing to attain,

a bodhisattva relies on prajña paramita,⨀

and thus the mind is without hindrance.

Without hindrance, there is no fear.

Far beyond all inverted views, one realizes nirvana.

All buddhas of past, present, and future

rely on prajña paramita ⨀ and thereby attain

unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

Therefore, know the prajña paramita ⨀ as

the great miraculous mantra,

the great bright mantra,

the supreme mantra,

the incomparable mantra,

which removes all suffering

and is true, not false.

Therefore we proclaim the prajña paramita ⨀ mantra,,

the mantra that says:

“Gate Gate ⨀ Paragate ⨀ Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha.” ∅

All Buddhas

All Buddhas, ten directions, Three times

All Honored Ones, Bodhisattvas-Mahasattvas

Wisdom beyond wisdom

Maha Prajna Paramita

Refuges in Pali (Call and Response)

Accapella, inflections as follows:

➞Buddham Saranam Ga➚cha➘mi➞iii

BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

DUTIYAMPI BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

DUTIYAMPI DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

DUTIYAMPI SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

TATIYAMPI BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

TATIYAMPI DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

TATIYAMPI SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI



Tuesday Dharma Tea at Two pm for February 1, 2022. Use this link to join.  If asked use this password 784873

Randy Shingler will lead a discussion about Black History,  which is really American History.  Randy published an article entitled “I lived Southern Racial Integration” on Medium.com.   Please take a few minutes to read the article here. Randy will share other experience’s following the period described in the article for the Tuesday Dharma Tea. He will then lead a discussion on the topic during this first day of Black History Month.

Randy Shingler is long time Washingtonian and was senior leader in the DC business community until 2015 when he turned his energies to writing. His work can be found on www.medium.com

Born and then educated through his university years in the state of Georgia. Randy became active in civil rights and anti-war efforts both in Georgia and later when he moved to Washington DC often finding fellowship and refuge in the Presbyterian and Catholic circles who aligned with these struggles.

The faint beginnings toward practicing meditation and an interest in Buddhism began in 1996 when he purchased a book titled Anger by Thich Nhat Hanh. This led to a solo meditation practice until learning about and joining the Vipassana meetings led by Tara Brach. In 2017 he began reading and studying more about Zen and joined All Beings Zen Sangha.

Asian Americans and the Zen Boom Saturday, February 5, 8:00-9:30pm EST Email webmaster@zenshuji.org for the Event’s Zoom Link. This event is free and donations to Zenshuji are welcome.

Here is the link to join us via the cloud zendo at 7PM for the All Beings Zen Sangha evening program.  Tonight we will have short service followed by two periods of  Zazen.  We will close by chanting the Refuges.

If you are asked for a password please use this  641260

Please put your zoom in gallery mode, and keep your video link on while muting your mic until the end of the service – Feel welcome to face away from your device camera while keeping your presence visible in the frame for others in attendance to see and know you are there. Please refrain from moving your device around while others are sitting zazen with you.

Order of Service

Greeting by the Kokyo

Enmei Jukko Kannon Gyo

Heart Sutra in English

All Buddhas Chant

25 Minute Zazen Period

5 minute Kinhin (slow walking) or stretch

25 Minute Zazen Period

Four Great Vows

Refuges in Pali

THE FOUR GREAT VOWS

Beings are numberless; I vow to save them.

Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow to end them.

Dharma Gates are boundless; I vow to enter them.

Buddha’s way is unsurpassable; I vow to become it.

Enmei Jukko Kannon Gyo

KAN ZEON

NA MU BUTSU

YO BUTSU U IN

YO BUTSU U EN

BUP PO SO  EN

JO RAKU GA JO

CHO NEN KANZEON

BO NEN KANZEON

NEN NEN JU SHIN KI

NEN NEN FU RI SHIN

Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra

Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,

when deeply practicing prajña paramita,⨀

clearly saw that all five aggregates are empty

and thus relieved all suffering.

Shariputra,

form does not differ from emptiness,

emptiness does not differ from form.

Form itself is emptiness,

emptiness itself form.

Sensations, perceptions, formations,

and consciousness are also like this.

Shariputra,

all dharmas are marked by emptiness;

they neither arise nor cease,

are neither defiled nor pure,

neither increase nor decrease.

Therefore, given emptiness, there is

no form, no sensation, no perception,

no formation no consciousness;

no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue,

no body, no mind;

no sight, no sound, no smell, no taste,

no touch, no object of mind;

no realm of sight… no realm of mind consciousness

There is neither ignorance nor extinction of ignorance…

neither old age and death,

nor extinction of old age and death;

no suffering, no cause, no cessation, no path;

no knowledge and no attainment.

With nothing to attain,

a bodhisattva relies on prajña paramita,⨀

and thus the mind is without hindrance.

Without hindrance, there is no fear.

Far beyond all inverted views, one realizes nirvana.

All buddhas of past, present, and future

rely on prajña paramita ⨀ and thereby attain

unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

Therefore, know the prajña paramita ⨀ as

the great miraculous mantra,

the great bright mantra,

the supreme mantra,

the incomparable mantra,

which removes all suffering

and is true, not false.

Therefore we proclaim the prajña paramita ⨀ mantra,,

the mantra that says:

“Gate Gate ⨀ Paragate ⨀ Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha.” ∅

All Buddhas

All Buddhas, ten directions, Three times

All Honored Ones, Bodhisattvas-Mahasattvas

Wisdom beyond wisdom

Maha Prajna Paramita

Refuges in Pali (Call and Response)

Accapella, inflections as follows:

➞Buddham Saranam Ga➚cha➘mi➞iii

BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

DUTIYAMPI BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

DUTIYAMPI DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

DUTIYAMPI SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

TATIYAMPI BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

TATIYAMPI DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

TATIYAMPI SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI



Offered with permission from www.morethanlupus.com and the author

Lupus and Meditation 

To Sit or Not to Sit, That is The Question:

Believed to have originated in India thousands of years ago, meditation has become increasingly popular in the U.S. at a time when the impact of technology on work has meant an increase in the rate of production and the speed at which we get things done, even despite the challenges of an almost crippling pandemic—maybe, especially so.

People want ways to relieve stress they haven’t tried. They want to feel well.

The use of meditation and mindfulness as an adjunct to conventional medical therapies for conditions such as depression, anxiety, and chronic pain, as well as in some patients’ fight against cancer, has also been on the rise.

Quoting data from the National Health Interview Survey in an article for the LA Times in 2018, Science and Medicine Editor Karen Kaplan notes that

“The proportion of adults who at least tried meditation more than tripled over five years, while the proportion of children who meditated at least once increased by a factor of nine.”

The National Health Interview Survey is a long-running study of the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As far as the types of meditation practice themselves, the study included “transcendental meditation or other forms of mantra meditation; mindfulness meditation, such as Zen Buddhist meditation or mindfulness-based cognitive therapy; and spiritual meditation based on prayer.”

While meditation is central to some religions, you don’t have to change your beliefs (agnostics and atheists included) or the way you worship to reap the benefits. And there can be many benefits. Meditation can help to:

• reduce stress and manage pain;
• control anxiety;
• increase focus and self-awareness;
• support addiction recovery;
• improve age-related memory loss; and
• generate an overall sense of wellbeing.

But where to start? Meditation styles, preferences, and practices vary widely. Some people find it best to focus on their breath and others to chant a mantra. Some prefer listening to guided meditations while others prefer to stare quietly at a point on a wall. Some like to stand, others to sit, and some turn to walking meditation. Others are driven by their chronic health conditions to lie down.

However you choose to meditate, the more often you practice, the more comfortable you’ll become at doing it and the more benefits you’ll reap.

Here are some tips to help you get started:

• Cultivate curiosity in your search for what feels right and works best for you.
• If you think you’d prefer to meditate in community rather than alone, look for a workshop or group that may be part of a yoga or healing arts center, a healthcare facility, or a nondenominational place of worship.
• You can also look for a Zen or meditation center near you. Many cater to beginning meditators.

• At the outset of the pandemic, many meditation groups and organizations took their practices to Zoom. Joining online from home may help you take the leap sooner rather than later.
• Some groups and workshops are free to join, and a contribution of a size you can afford may be expected. Others charge a small fee to cover expenses related to gathering.
• Be wary of anyone who expects you to pay large amounts of money, promising to turn you into an overnight yogi and the like.
• If you’re a tracker like me, apps can be great helpers in building good habits. You have plenty to choose from when it comes to meditation, and some of them feature free versions. I’ve used Sattva’s (https://www.sattva.life) for several years and love its timer and tracking features.
• That said, the opportunity to practice in a community of like-minded people who support your efforts is a great gift.

Above all, start small and be consistent. Pat yourself on the back for showing up, even if it’s for a single minute. And, of course, don’t give up. You’ve got this.

Written By:

Naomi Ayala

Naomi Ayala Poet, Teacher, Writer

Naomi Ayala has published three books of poetry. Her most recent, Calling Home: Praise Songs and Incantations, was published by Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe. Meditation is a part of Naomi’s everyday life. In 2018, she took her precepts as a lay practitioner in the Soto Zen lineage.

_________________________________________

Sources:

Small Business Chronicle. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/technology-affect-work-environment-today-27299.html

Accessed January 20, 2022.

“A Lot More Americans are Meditating Now Than Five Years Ago,” LA Times. Karen Kaplan [November 8, 2018] https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-americans-meditating-more-20181108-story.html

Accessed January 20, 2022.

“Use of Yoga, Meditation, and Chiropractors Among U.S. Adults Aged 18 and Over,” National Center for Health Statistics (Data Brief No. 325, November 2018). https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db325.htm

Accessed January 20, 2022

*All resources provided by this blog are for informational purposes only, not to replace the advice of a medical professional. MTL encourage you to always contact your medical provider with any specific questions or concerns regarding your illness. All intellectual property and content on this site is owned by morethanlupus.com. This includes materials protected by copyright, trademark, or patent laws. Copyright, More Than Lupus 2022.

**The author has protection under these copyrights; however, the words belong to the author and can be used for other creative purposes or for personal archive’s.

January 2022

Tuesday Dharma Tea 2pm, This discussion will be led by our Abiding and resident teacher, Inryū Poncé-Barger on the topic of “Tea as Medicine”.  We will begin with 5 minutes of silent tea drinking.  Inryu Sensei will play a short interview which was recently recorded for an upcoming exhibit at the  Freer Museum to launch our conversation .  Use this link to join.  If asked use this password 784873

“The International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism announces that our beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has passed away peacefully at Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, Vietnam, at 00:00hrs on 22nd January, 2022, at the age of 95.

We invite our global spiritual family to take a few moments to be still, to come back to our mindful breathing, as we together hold Thay in our hearts in peace and loving gratitude for all he has offered the world.”