by Nomon Tim Burnett
March 17, 2008
Dear Sangha,
The new Dharma Hall is open and seems to be running well but I'm sure there are various kinks to work out and improvements to make as we go along. And as I've mentioned before I hope we will be able to share the new space widely and offer a variety of new programs, but one step at a time. I'm focussing some of my energy now on catching my breath, spending time with my family, and catching up on other shelved and overdue projects. It's interesting working through a sustained period of stress and then really trying to slow down, to stop, to allow the stress to release. I can actually feel my body unbending and opening and my spirits gradually (with more than a few stops and starts!) rising and settling more deeply. I am so grateful to all of our community and our many donors and supporters that we could create this beautiful center but we also need to take good care of ourselves. That is my focus for the next month or two and I hope it is yours also.
An upcoming event that is very much in the line of taking good care of ourselves is I am teaming up again with local yoga teacher Amy Robinson. We've hit on a format we think will be sustainable and fun for us as teachers and accessible and helpful for everyone coming: a series of Saturday morning retreats at the new Red Cedar Dharma Hall. The schedule runs from 9am to 1pm and you are welcome to arrive any time from 8:30am on. We will open with two periods of meditation (instruction available to those who need it) with a little guidance from me, follow this with a full length yoga class from Amy, and then have a short Dharma Talk a little discussion and a closing service that will be a combination of the Zen practices of making offerings and bowing with the Buddha and the more yoga-style of chanting. Amy and I had a joyful organizing meeting about this a few days ago and we hope it can be a real source of joy and renewal for the community.
We also are picking a theme for each of what we hope will be a series of Saturday morning Zen and Yoga retreats, probably about every 6 weeks or so. The theme for the next one, on Saturday March 29th, is compassion - such a central theme in both Buddhist and Yoga practices. They say that the great bird of awakening flies on the two wings of compassion and wisdom.
And compassion is especially topical as his holiness the Dalai Lama will be in Seattle just a few weeks after our March 29th retreat teaching on compassion and planting the seeds of compassion with our children. More information about that event which includes a live webcast of the Dalai Lama's events (which using the Red Cedar Dharma Hall's wireless internet we might think about watching together) at
http://www.seedsofcompassion.net/
Speaking of the Dalai Lama, I'm sure you're as concerned as I am about the emerging situation in Tibet. I'm sure from the point of view of Tibetans who have been in Tibet all this time it's just a part of what's been going on there for 50 years now, but it's worrisome and a violent crack down seems sure to come. A few things I have done in response are to give a donation to this strong and well established Western advocacy group for Tibet: the Campaign for Tibet at http://www.savetibet.org and there's a newish online political pressure group called Avaaz that seems reasonably effective, I signed their online petition at http://www.avaaz.org. May there be peace and understanding and an end to coercive violence there, and everywhere someday.
Compassion and wisdom do need to arise together the way we understand our Zen way. Recently both our wonderful visiting head student, Kotasu John Bailes, and myself have been speaking about the challenging but important Mahayana teachings on emptiness. Wisdom was understood by the early teachings of Buddhism to be understanding reality in the light of the Buddha's wonderful teaching on the Four Noble Truths on how suffering rolls through our lives. (These earlier teachings being the Theravada teachings as found in the Pali Canon, sometimes pejoritively called the Hinayana or lesser vehicle in contrast with the Mahayana or greater vehicle). In Mahayana Buddhism wisdom was expanded to include understanding reality in the light of emptiness.
Like all words "emptiness" is perhaps not quite the right word for what they were getting at, but really no word is quite right. This emptiness wisdom is understanding the non-separate, non-dual, true nature of reality beyond all of our words and concepts and projections. To say one "understands" this is also a little slippery. There is an intellectual component to the study of emptiness for sure, but most critically there is a lived and experiential aspect to the understanding of emptiness and the growth of wisdom. As we practice little by little we start to actually feel the empty nature of reality. We feel in our bones that things are not so cut and dry, not so black and white. That people are not so separate or different from each other as we think they are. With the eyes of practice we can look at our life and the places we are stuck and worried and upset and find some release from suffering by shifting the ground of our being, allowing our life to be wider than the narrow and conceptually framed life we hold it to be. To also let ourselves be the wind, be the grass, be each other, be nothing and everything. This is really possible, practical, and real. It's a slow process with many stops and starts but little by little as we practice we lighten up more and more about our rigid views and concerns and start to embrace this unknowable life more fully.
The other evening Norman gave a wonderful talk about American mystical poetry and he mentioned that he should have started the talk with Walt Whitman. We've all been a bit inured to Whitman maybe from having to read excerpts from "Song of Myself" or "I Sing the Body Electric" , but please enjoy a minute appreciating Whitman's understanding of emptiness. Whitman's entire book, Leaves of Grass, is available online thanks to the volunteers at Project Gutenberg. Find it here
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1322
Rather than paste in the long, and really wonderful, "Song of Myself" which is well worth re-reading, here are a few of the shorter poems in the collection. I recommend finding a little space to re-read Whitman's longer poems in the collection too though. What an amazing and surprising thing that a journalist and type setter without all of the support and resources we enjoy was able to write these poems. Reading the article on him in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_whitman) I learned that he was a volunteer nurse during the Civil War. Maybe the suffering he encountered there was his teacher. He was truly an American mystic as Norman was saying the other night. He was fired from his job and banned for the more sensual and sexual poems too, so you have those to look forward to as well if you re-read Whitman!
Beginners
How they are provided for upon the earth, (appearing at intervals,)
How dear and dreadful they are to the earth,
How they inure to themselves as much as to any--what a paradox
appears their age,
How people respond to them, yet know them not,
How there is something relentless in their fate all times,
How all times mischoose the objects of their adulation and reward,
And how the same inexorable price must still be paid for the same
great purchase.
Out of the Rolling Ocean the Crowd
Out of the rolling ocean the crowd came a drop gently to me,
Whispering I love you, before long I die,
I have travel'd a long way merely to look on you to touch you,
For I could not die till I once look'd on you,
For I fear'd I might afterward lose you.
Now we have met, we have look'd, we are safe,
Return in peace to the ocean my love,
I too am part of that ocean my love, we are not so much separated,
Behold the great rondure, the cohesion of all, how perfect!
But as for me, for you, the irresistible sea is to separate us,
As for an hour carrying us diverse, yet cannot carry us diverse forever;
Be not impatient--a little space--know you I salute the air, the
ocean and the land,
Every day at sundown for your dear sake my love.
We Two, How Long We Were Fool'd
We two, how long we were fool'd,
Now transmuted, we swiftly escape as Nature escapes,
We are Nature, long have we been absent, but now we return,
We become plants, trunks, foliage, roots, bark,
We are bedded in the ground, we are rocks,
We are oaks, we grow in the openings side by side,
We browse, we are two among the wild herds spontaneous as any,
We are two fishes swimming in the sea together,
We are what locust blossoms are, we drop scent around lanes mornings
and evenings,
We are also the coarse smut of beasts, vegetables, minerals,
We are two predatory hawks, we soar above and look down,
We are two resplendent suns, we it is who balance ourselves orbic
and stellar, we are as two comets,
We prowl fang'd and four-footed in the woods, we spring on prey,
We are two clouds forenoons and afternoons driving overhead,
We are seas mingling, we are two of those cheerful waves rolling
over each other and interwetting each other,
We are what the atmosphere is, transparent, receptive, pervious, impervious,
We are snow, rain, cold, darkness, we are each product and influence
of the globe,
We have circled and circled till we have arrived home again, we two,
We have voided all but freedom and all but our own joy.
Mp3 Dharma Talk Downloads
Norman's talk "Mystical American Poetry" can be downloaded from the Dharma Talks page of our website. See
http://www.redcedarzen.org/dharmatalk.html?talk=16
Or take the Dharma Talks link from our home page.
My recent talk "Vimilakirti's Nonduality: Accepting what is" is also available in written and mp3 download form.
Membership
Membership is more important than ever as we look towards paying the rent on our new space as the Earth Room donation transitions out. If you have not yet become a member and would like to support what we are doing please consider doing so. If you were a member last year please consider renewing and whether it is feasible for you to increase your monthly donation somewhat. Our memberships all renew with each calendar year. Membership Coordinator Bernadette Prinster is available to help with membership questions and sign ups. There are membership forms in the lobby of the center and available online from the "sangha" page of http://www.redcedarzen.org. You can print out and mail in a membership form or sign up online using PayPal or a credit card for payment. Automatic monthly payments are also available (either through the online system or ask Bernadette to help you set it up). Bernadette can be reached at brndet@comcast.net or 360-752-0888.
Red Cedar Dharma Hall weekly schedule
Our regular weekly schedule is currently:
Monday-Friday 6:30am-7:15am non-sectarian morning sit (simply 45 minutes of sitting meditation followed by a short recitation)
Monday noon - 1pm, Zen
Tuesday 7pm - 9pm, Insight
Wednesday noon - 1pm, Zen
Wednesday 5:30-6:30pm Tai Chi with Bob Lau
Wednesday 6:30pm new sitter orientation
Wednesday 7pm - 9pm, Zen
Thursday noon - 1pm, Insight
Friday noon - 1pm, Zen
Still to come are regular hours for drop in, individual practice, library use, family programming and study and Earth Room open hours. We hope the center will be open most days in future.
Milestone 1: Red Cedar Zen tax status update
The IRS has granted us status as a 501c(3) tax exempt non-profit religious organization and as such all donations to Red Cedar Zen are tax deductible as of July of 2007. We will be sending tax receipts for 2008 donations in January 2009 and can send you a tax receipt for donations made in the second half of 2007 on request. Please contact our bookkeeper, Marti Bartlett at 306-0038 or bartlettmartha@gmail.com with questions. And please note that Marti has a new email address.
Milestone 2: All Inspections Passed
We have passed final inspection on all of the work done on Red Cedar Dharma Hall. Our occupancy permit is being processed by the city and soon we will be all squared away and legal as can be. A real learning process for all involved.
Renting the Red Cedar Dharma Hall
Red Cedar Dharma Hall will be the home practice space for Red Cedar Zen Community and Bellingham Insight Meditation Society (BIMS), but did you know we are making the space available to other community groups for hourly rental or regular weekly use? Our new building manager, Latona Maillard (thank you Latona!) has created a web site to explain the building, handle scheduling and rental. See his fine first draft at
http://dharmahall.redcedarzen.org and if you know of a compatible group who might be able to use our facilities please let them know. Latona's contact information is on this website.
We picture Red Cedar Dharma Hall as a lively center for community. A place for peacefulness, growth and inner work. A place decided to mindfulness, peacefulness, and compassion. We hope offerings will include things like mediation in different traditions, yoga, tai chi, chi gung, non-violent communication. Please spread the word and help make this possible. (and along the way we hope with the help of these other groups to be able to afford the rent once the initial Earth Room donation is depleted!).
Family Programs…coming soon?
It is one of my goals to make Buddhist practice more available to families with children. Both so that parents can practice but also so that children can have the opportunity to consider and experience the benefits of meditation practice and the Buddha's straight forward teachings about cause and effect, awareness, and morality. The energy and time won't be available to start family programs for another few months yet but I am now collecting names of people who would be interested in supporting this project on any level. I envision a small organizing committee which based on our previous positive experience with the Family Dharma Program in the old Bellingham Dharma Hall could brainstorm a program that fits our needs in the new space. It would also be very helpful just to hear about families who would be interested in attending a program even if you don't have time to help with organizing. Please drop me a line at 360-223-0687 or tim@redcedarzen.org if you are interested in supporting, organizing, or attending family programs at Red Cedar Dharma Hall.
Upcoming Events
Tai Chi with Bob Lau
Ongoing, Wednesdays 5:30 - 6:30pm
Red Cedar Dharma Hall
Red Cedar Zen member and Tai Chi teacher Bob Lau is offering Tai Chi classes on Wednesdays before zazen. Contact Bob at boblautaiji@yahoo.com or 734-2847, see his website at http://www.boblautaiji.com/ or just show up for class.
Zen and Yoga with Nomon Tim Burnett and Amy Robinson
Saturday March 29, 9:00am - 1:00pm
Red Cedar Dharma Hall
Join us for a quiet morning of Zen meditation and Yoga asanas at our beautiful new meditation center in Bellingham. The morning will include sitting and walking meditation, Zen teachings, and Yoga instruction. Teachings will be on the theme of "Compassion."
Appropriate for beginning and experienced Zen students and Yoga students.
Amy Robinson has developed her dynamic therapeutic style of Hatha Yoga over 10 years of practice of Forrest, Ashtanga, Sivananda, Iyengar and Kundalini yoga. She dove deep into the many waves of yoga living in an ashram in India and has completed Ana Forrest's teacher training: a rigorous process of finding her true inner voice and exploring yoga deeper in her body. She teaches at the Yoga Room in Bellingham
Nomon Tim Burnett is Resident Priest of Red Cedar Zen Community where he leads meditation, offers classes and workshops, and officiates at ceremonies.
$30-$60 sliding scale donation includes support for the teachers. Drop in, no pre-registration required.
Zen and Yoga with Nomon Tim Burnett and Amy Robinson
Saturday June 07, 9am - 1pm
Red Cedar Dharma Hall
Samish Sesshin 2008
Friday 6/20 at 5:00pm - Saturday 6/28 at noon
(half time attendence an option)
Samish Island
REGISTRATION OPENS APRIL 1.
This year we return to the Everyday Zen Community Retreat format.
First half will be classes with several EDZ teachers, daily dharma talks by Norman, part of the day silent, part with time to talk and get to know each other.
Second half will be silent sesshin. Friday June 20th 5pm - Saturday June 28th noon.
Attend the first half (workshops), second half (sesshin) or the entire retreat.
First half: classes and workshops while still maintaining a daily schedule of zazen, service, dharma talks. Arrive 5pm Friday June 20th and leave 5pm Tuesday June 24th.
Second half: formal Zen sesshin, arrive 5pm Tuesday June 24th and continue to the end of the retreat at noon on Saturday June 28th.
October 2008 Study Retreat
Saturday October 11, 8:00am - Sunday October 12, 3:00pm
Red Cedar Dharma Hall
In this two-day study retreat Norman will teach on an important topic in Buddhism. Details TBA.
In previous retreats Norman taught on the Prajna Paramita wisdom sutras, Shantideva, and Zen Koans.
A study retreat is a regular feature in our fall practice schedule. These retreats include sitting and walking meditation, but their main focus is study and discussion. There will be two talks and question-and-answer periods each day. Individual interviews with the teacher (dokusan) are not available at study retreats.
yours,
Tim
Nomon Tim Burnett
Resident Priest
Resident Priest Nomon Tim Burnett has been a student of Zoketsu Norman Fischer since 1987 when he was a resident at San Francisco Zen Center's Green Gulch Farm. After sitting practice periods at Green Gulch and Tassajara Zen Monastery, Tim helped found the Bellingham Zen Practice Group in 1991. Tim was ordained as a Zen Priest by Norman in June, 2000. Like his teacher, Tim is interested in the possibility of deep and complete practice by lay people.
A person of wide-ranging professional interests, Tim has been a botanist, elementary schoolteacher, writer, and computer programmer. In addition to his work at the Resident Priest of Red Cedar Zen Community, Tim works as a software developer.