The All Beings Zen Sangha welcomes and affirms all who come here to seek the Way, and who will work toward respectful acceptance of others across our many differences, harmonizing the one and the many. May all beings be happy!
Tuesday: Dharma Tea at Two pm for June 7, 2022 . Use this link to join. If asked for a password use 003827
Inryū Sensei will talk about the fifth Ox Herding Picture. The Zen (Chan) Ox Herding School originated in China. The lessons were designed as a series of short poems and accompanying drawings to describe the stages of a practitioner’s progress toward enlightenment, and their return to society to enact wisdom and compassion. We begin with five minutes of silent tea drinking. Please have a piece of paper and a writing implement in hand as Inryū Sensei will offer a guided reflection/meditation and ask the participants to write and draw on paper as part of the tea.
The Branching Streams Conference is a gathering that happens about every two years. Branching Streams is a network of Suzuki Roshi lineage sanghas of which All Beings Zen is a part. Our Guiding Dharma Teacher and Senior Priest, Inryu Ponce-Barger, and Koryu Naomi had the privilege of attending the recent Branching Streams conference in-person on April 25-28 in Austin, TX. There were approximately 40 practitioners from the Suzuki Roshi lineage from Vancouver, BC, Germany, and many places in between. The conference was held at the Ancient Yoga Center, a retreat center situated on a 230-acre Hindu temple and ashram.
We practiced zazen in the mornings and evenings, with brief accompanying ceremonies, attended workshops, and connected with new and long-time friends in the larger sangha. In addition to new friendships we learned practical sangha administration ideas from each other, for example how other sanghas are approaching hybrid zendos and conducting outreach with young sangha members. We also did some spontaneous hiking!
Here’s a brief overview of the workshops from this year’s Branching Streams conference:
Healing Circles: During the first morning of the conference, we did a 2-hour small group activity called Healing Circles, a deep-listening practice based on compassionately bearing witness and experiencing our interconnectedness. It uses the basic-yet-powerful human tools of social support, sharing time, and humbly being present together creating a spirit of acceptance to explore suffering, uncertainty, and finding meaning to promote healing and a sense of community.
Poetry Workshop with Naomi Shihab Nye: Naomi Shihab Nye, a prolific awarded American poet, creative writing educator, and bright shining light of a human being, led us in a poetry workshop. She said, “We live in a poem,” and then read aloud some text (instructions for using the retreat center bathroom) that transformed our perspective of the ordinary as extraordinary. She presented many simple but powerful poetry compositions and guided us through scribbled poetry drafts. To learn more about Naomi Shibah Nye, this interview from On Being conveys her warmth, kindness, and her message that poetry loves us.
Work that Reconnects: Based on the life’s work of Joanna Macy, Stephanie Kaza, Environmental Studies Professor Emerita of the University of Vermont and Lay Entrusted teacher, led us through the four steps that were aligned with Buddhist practice which were: Coming From Gratitude, Honoring our Pain for the World, Seeing with New/Ancient Eyes, and Going Forth.
There’s so much more to share, but to sum it up: the Branching Streams conference conveyed the power of good spiritual friends, that spiritual friends are the whole of our practice, here in our sangha, and reaching across the globe. And we cannot do this bodhisattva work without each other and the friendships that sustain us.
L to R: David Zimmerman SFZC Abbot, Tova Green Branching Streams Liaison and Sosan Diego Miglioli SFZC PresidentKoryū Naomi Knoble and Inryū Bobbi Poncé-Barger atop the hill at the Conference Host Site in Austin TX
Tuesday: Dharma Tea at Two pm for May 31, 2022 . Use this link to join.
Inryū Sensei will talk about the fourth Ox Herding Picture. The Zen (Chan) Ox Herding School originated in China. The lessons were designed as a series of short poems and accompanying drawings to describe the stages of a practitioner’s progress toward enlightenment, and their return to society to enact wisdom and compassion. We begin with five minutes of silent tea drinking. Please have a piece of paper and a writing implement in hand as Inryū Sensei will offer a guided reflection/meditation and ask the participants to write and draw on paper as part of the tea.
Catching the Ox by Max Gimblett
Use this link to join. If asked for a password use 003827
Tuesday: Dharma Tea at Two pm for May 17, 2022 . Use this link to join.
Inryū Sensei will talk about the third Ox Herding Picture. The Zen (Chan) Ox Herding School originated in China. The lessons were designed as a series of short poems and accompanying drawings to describe the stages of a practitioner’s progress toward enlightenment, and their return to society to enact wisdom and compassion. We begin with five minutes of silent tea drinking. Please have a piece of paper and a writing implement in hand as Inryū Sensei will offer a guided reflection/meditation and ask the participants to write and draw on paper as part of the tea.
Glimpse of the Ox by Max Gimblatt
Use this link to join. If asked for a password use 003827
Tuesday Dharma Tea at Two pm for May 10, 2022. Use this link to join. 2-2:45 pm Eastern.
Inryū Sensei will offering teaching on the second of the 10 Oxherding drawings on May 10, 2022. The Zen (Chan) Ox Herding School originated in China. The lessons were designed as a series of short poems and accompanying drawings to describe the stages of a practitioner’s progress toward enlightenment, and their return to society to enact wisdom and compassion.
brush painting by Max Gimblatt
Use this link to join. If asked use this password 003827
Tuesday Dharma Tea at Two pm for May 3, 2022. Use this link to join. 2-2:45 pm Eastern.
Inryū Sensei will offering teaching on the first of the 10 Oxherding drawings on May 3, 2022. The Zen (Chan) Ox Herding School originated in China. The lessons were designed as a series of short poems and accompanying drawings to describe the stages of a practitioner’s progress toward enlightenment, and their return to society to enact wisdom and compassion.
brush painting by Max Gimblatt
Use this link to join. If asked use this password 003827
Dear DC Metro All Beings Zen Sangha, One of our members as been accepted to and is participating in the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center Work Practice Period. She requests support from the sangha to find a temporary home for her beloved feline. See below. Inryū Sensei
Hello dear sangha,I am currently in need of a volunteer to care for a sweet black cat named Ginny, for a duration of 3 months to one year and possibly longer. She is extremely affectionate! Ginny enjoys curling up on warm laps and hearts, purring, and being vocal.There have not been any incidents of scratching furniture or other materials including skin. She will be 10 in November and has been with me for almost all of those years.If you are interested in meeting and potentially fostering Ginny, please contact Beth McClain (bethcmcclain@gmail.com), who is currently acting as cat grandmother while i am a summer student in Tassajara Zen Center. Kitty is currently living in northern virginia. I miss her very much and hope someone from All Beings will be able to give her all the love and attention that i cannot offer right now. Beth and i will be happy to support with transportation and other logistics. Yours in community,grace mcclain — grace mcclain, MPH, they/she 703.431.4854
Tuesday Dharma Tea at Two pm for March 22, 2022. Use this link to join. 2-2:45 pm Eastern.
Dharma Tea at 2pm with Seido David Sarpal on April 12, 2022 – focusing on the “no mow May movement.
At today’s tea Seido will discuss dandelions and the efforts to redeem and appreciate this important pollinator food. He has created a wonderful slide show to make his case for rethinking how we as a culture treat dandelions.
First 5 minutes are spent in silent tea drinking.
Tuesday Dharma Tea at Two pm for March 22, 2022. Use this link to join. 2-2:45 pm Eastern.
brush painting by Max Gimblatt
