Dec 12-13-14 Retreat Participants List

These are the folks that I have as registered for the upcoming TZC Community Retreat:

Jay Rinsen Weik- All
Karen Do'on Weik- All
Elizabeth Jun'en Allen - All
Simon Morgan-Russell- All
Angela Macek -All
Chuck Greer - All
Andy Lesniewicz- All
Philip Andrew Dickinson - All
Kay - All
Rob Bondy - All
Victor Van Deilen- All
Susan Purviance - All
Donna - All
Paul - Sat/Sun
Leigh Macaro - All
Eric Patrick Loesch - All
Bruce D'Cruz- All
Joya D'Cruz- All

If there are any additions or changes to this please post a comment below.


2. The Drinking Gourd Podcast now has its own facebook group. This will hopefully facilitate connections between some of the far flung regular listeners, each other, our local TZC Sangha, and myself. I think that we may end up with discussion threads relating to the different podcast episodes and other things as well. If you are not yet a facebook user, know that joining facebook is free, private, and you can so so here if you are interested.



Gasssho,

- Rinsen

Stuck in Emptiness

Clear Guidance from an important modern teacher...

Zen and Creativity

Encountering the Ancestors: Wang Wei (part 2 of 3)
from The Drinking Gourd Podcast

Jay Rinsen Chikyo Weik leads a retreat workshop at the Toledo Zen Center on May 18, 2008.

"Mindful creativity - or Zen art, if you will - requires a certain kind of consciousness to be able to really call itself Zen art. There's a quality required, expressed in the body, of tranquillity; open, receptive, clear, awake presence. It's absolutely essential. In other words, not discriminating, not judgmental, not tangled up in ideas and concepts."


For those who would like to join a discussion on this podcast using your facebook account, please visit the Toledo Zen Center Group page here.

An Excerpt from Rinsen's Non-Discrimination Talk at the Ohio Statehouse November 13th, 2008.

"Those discriminations and distinctions that we fight for and with, actually don't exist, save in our own mind. And so a simple practice that almost any Buddhist, and specifically the Zen lineage, the one that I hold and represent, will engage in is the practice of silence. Contemplative silence. And from the point of view of our particular lineage, if to some degree that contemplative intelligence has not been awakened, then we suffer. We suffer from the effects of our own entrapment in conditioning. And so I thought it might be a nice thing for us to just take a second, and please sit straight with me if you would for a moment. In zen you know words fail. And by the way, also, most mystic and contemplative traditions (practice this), its not strictly a Buddhist thing. If you look at Christian mysticism, Jewish mysticism, over and over the gate is silence. And so as we take just a second, please bring your attention to your breath, and please just feel the breath enter the body, and leave the body. And as you hear the discussions outside let them continue. Don't try to fight them, but don't let yourself get pulled out and distracted by them. All of us share this breath. There is not a Buddhist breath, there is not a Democratic breath, or a Republican breath, or a gay or a straight breath. There is simply this breath. Thank you everyone."

-Jay Rinsen Weik

Encountering the Ancestors workshop this Sunday

Its that time again, and we will be holding our usual open zendo sitting practice from 9-noon in the morning and afternoon workshop from 1:30 to 4:30pm this sunday. As always, the morning is open to all those who have received initial guidance in the practice of zazen and have attended at least a few of the wednesday evening meetings, and the afternoon workshop is open to everyone.

This time, we will work with the teachings of Pai-Chang (J., Juakujo).

"In reading scriptures and studying doctrines, you should turn all words right around and apply them to yourself."
Pai-Chang

The Dali Lama's Letter to Barack Obama

Full text of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s message to President-elect Barack Obama:
November 5, 2008

H.E. Barack Obama
President-elect of the United States of America
Washington, DC
U.S.A.


Dear President-elect Obama,

Congratulations on your election as the President of the United States of America.

I am encouraged that the American people have chosen a President who reflects America's diversity and her fundamental ideal that any person can rise up to the highest office in the land. This is a proud moment for America and one that will be celebrated by many peoples around the world.

The American Presidential elections are always a great source of encouragement to people throughout the world who believe in democracy, freedom and equality of opportunities.

May I also commend the determination and moral courage that you have demonstrated throughout the long campaign, as well as the kind heart and steady hand that you often showed when challenged. I recall our own telephone conversation this spring and these same essential qualities came through in your concern for the situation in Tibet.

As the President of the United States, you will certainly have great and difficult tasks before you, but also many opportunities to create change in the lives of those millions who continue to struggle for basic human
needs. You must also remember and work for these people, wherever they may be.

With my prayers and good wishes,

Yours sincerely,

THE DALAI LAMA

TZC Facebook Group

Sangha -

I have created a Facebook Group for the Toledo Zen Center. For those who use this networking site, please join it (and send me a friend invite too) so that we can all connect that way as well!

Thanks,

- Rinsen

December Community Retreat Date Set

After considering all the input we recieved, it has been decided that the later weekend,December 12-13-14, will work best for most of the sangha.

Check in time will be from 5-6pm on Friday the 12th. We will need some volunteers to help with zendo set up and other retreat prep work earlier in the day as well. The retreat will close Sunday after lunch.

Fees for the weekend are twofold. Lourdes College requires $20 total for your room, and a share in the fees for the Conference room and Kitchen. These fees will total around $150 and will be divided equally between all retreat participants. Dana for the teachings are made out to the Toledo Zen Center and are on a sliding scale. Recomended donation for the weekend is $100. Lastly, there will be responsibilities to take care of food for the weekend. Retreatants will be asked to contribute some food items. Do'on will be coordinating the kitchen.

The daily schedule and outline for the weekend will be posted in the comming days.

Please register asap by adding a comment below or conecting with myself or Do'on in the zendo.

We are so looking forward to this adventure together, thank you for your practice.

Gassho,

- Rinsen and Do'on

Encountering the Ancestors: Wang Wei (part 1 of 3)

Jay Rinsen Chikyo Weik leads a retreat workshop at the Toledo Zen Center on May 18, 2008.


"Hidden on this mountain, many Buddhist monks

Chant sutras, meditate together;

Men on distant city walls gazing towards the peaks

See only white, enshrouding clouds."


-Wang Wei, A Poem to my Brothers and Sisters

Listen Here.

TZC Community Weekend Retreat

At long last, we have found a location for our sangha to hold our first overnight retreat. The retreat will be held at Lourdes College in Regina Hall. There are two possible dates that would work, December 5-6-7 and Dec 12-13-14. Please leave a comment as to which of these dates are possible for you to attend. I expect that check in will be between 5-6pm on friday with a light supper and zendo set up from 6-7. The retreat sessions will start at 7pm. The schedule for the rest of the retreat is in development, but you can expect lots of Zendo time with liturgy, talks and deepening of the our practice.

The fees at Lourdes are more than reasonable. They are asking $10 per person per night for lodging - this includes your own private bedroom. The kitchen will cost us $12 per day, and the conference room that we will use as our Zendo will cost $50 per day. We will be responsible to bring and prepare our own food, and Do'on will be coordinating these efforts. Dana for the TZC is on a sliding scale, with a suggested donation of $50 per day. Scholarships are available for those who may need them. The days are calculated thusly: 1/2 day on Friday and 1/2 day on Sunday plus 1 full day on Saturday.

Please let us know which of these dates may work for you and we will get this set up soon.

Bows,

- Rinsen

Save $$

Family and Friends Savings Days at the Libbey Factory Outlet Store starts Friday, November 7th.Holiday parties and shopping are just around the corner and the Libbey Factory Outlet has the best selection of glass tableware products in NW Ohio. This is the time to shop and save, while you can take advantage of the same discount that Libbey associates enjoy.....30% off your entire in-store purchase of regular and sale priced merchandise during Family & Friends Savings Days. Shop Friday, November 7th through Thursday, November 13th. It's easy to use the coupon and the savings, just click on the web link below and print your coupon, then save 30% on your in-store purchase. http://toledostore.libbey.com/ The 30% off applies to ALL merchandise in the store, even items on sale. Check these new tabletop items:Rock-Tails 6 pc Cocktail SetSelene Trifle BowlsSelene Chip and DipSelene Footed Cake PlateImpressions Colors 4 pc Tumbler Sets Province 24 pc Tumbler SetTempo 5 pc Salad SetPrestion 4 pc Stemware SetSestina 4 pc Stemware SetSquare 12 oz 3 pc Canister Set2009 FlutesWe look forward to seeing you at the store!Libbey Factory Outlet205 South Erie StreetToledo, OH 43604419-254-5000