Alabama Pilgrimage; Civil Rights Journey by Bob Andrews

Justice as Dharma Practice. The group is facilitated by Chris Fortin of Everyday Zen and Dharma Heart Zen sanghas and Doralee Grindler Katonah, a priest with Valley Stream Zen in Sacramento. The group is committed to study, investigate, explore and embody bodhisattva practice. The seed for this Pilgrimage came from my participation in the group along with a conversation with Doralee in which we each expressed our desire to travel to the South to learn more about the Civil Rights Movement and the struggles of the African American people.

We spent five days in Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery. The journey was sometimes difficult, uncomfortable, raw, and definitely emotional. The emotions ran from deep sadness to anger. We were bearing witness to the history of evil and suffering. And we had each other, our little sangha, for support. Each day began with a sitting practice together as well as setting our intentions for the day. Most days ended with some reflection time together. The container we created as sangha, was filled with love and a shared respect for individual as well as collective experiences. 

We began the Pilgrimage in Birmingham where we visited landmarks like the Bethel Baptist Church, where the civil rights movement took hold in the 1950’s and 60’s, and the 16th Street Baptist Church where four girls were murdered when a bomb exploded. That event brought national attention to Birmingham. Our journey continued to Selma, where we were led through the history by a local guide and activist, JoAnne Bland. JoAnne and her sister marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge as young girls, on Bloody Sunday. That was JoAnne’s first involvement with civil disobedience. (She was arrested 11 times by age 13). She marched across the bridge again on the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday holding the hand of President Obama on one side and Representative John Lewis on the other. JoAnne was and is an incredible person - and inspiration.

Our journey continued from Selma to Montgomery via a small bus. Our driver’s name was Jake Williams. He was part of the Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery with Dr. Martin Luther King that took place in the 1960s. It’s impossible to describe how incredible it was to re-live the march through Jake’s experience as a teenager during that time. We were really blessed to have JoAnne and Jake guide us through the civil rights movement history via their own personal life experience. They remain activists today.

In Montgomery, my emotions were pushed to the edge. The experience of bearing witness at the National Memorial for Peace & Justice, often referred to as The Lynching Memorial, was deep. The Memorial stands on a hilltop where iron slabs hang from the ceiling - each representing a County in the U.S where lynchings took place. Each slab had the name of who was lynched and the date the lynching took place. It became very personal as I found the iron slab for a lynching that happened in my mom’s hometown when she was a child. Every cell and bone in my body had a reaction. I was comforted by an African American man who came to me with the question, “as a White man, I’m curious what you hope to learn here today?”. We had a long and heart opening conversation.

Also in Montgomery, is The Legacy Museum. You must put this on your list to visit. It takes you through the history of African Americans from the time they were put on ships in Africa, to slavery in the U.S., to the modern-day struggles for freedom. The experience was profound. Imagine walking by a prison cell from the 1700s and having a hologram appear with a slave telling you their story. Then an hour later walking by another prison cell from the 2000’s where you pick up the phone as if you were visiting the prison - and hear an innocent man tell you his story. The museum was transformative.

When I came home, I wanted to re-live and remember the experience. That’s impossible. But I hope the attached slideshow provides a humble attempt to share this extraordinary experience with you.

With love,

Bob

 [here is a link to the slideshow]

Bob Andrews is a regular supporter of our Red Cedar Community and served as Benji during our recent Winter Practice Period.  He is devoted to his teacher, Zoketsu Norman Fischer and his root community--Everyday Zen--which he has practiced with for many years.

Red Cedar Zen--October 2023 News!

From Nomon Tim

Dear Sangha,

Buddhism and Zen are full of fantastic teachings, images, and ideas.. I'm looking forward to diving into the Lotus Sutra again later in the month and enjoying that enthusiastic depiction of the transformational power of our practice in a human life.

And yet the essence of Zen isn’t that.

It isn’t fancy, it's down to earth. It helps us stay deeply rooted in our lives. The core practice here, you know it, is zazen. To just sit. 

But it's hard for us to sit with purpose and depth regularly in the way we deeply need. The mind is so conditioned to want to keep us busy. And there is much to do. It's hard to settle down. 

That's were sangha comes in. This is one of the great supports we offer each other. Your practice supports my practice and mine supports you. And without sangha it's so much harder to sit regularly. 

I include myself here. I'm a recovering workaholic and I'm a lot more attracted to doing one more thing than stopping, setting it all aside, and sitting down on the cushion. When I was first moving to Bellingham in 1990 actually, I went to see my teacher, Norman Fischer, and told him that I didn't think there were any Zen sanghas in Bellingham so I was probably done with Zen practice. I felt certain that without that support I just wouldn't keep it up without sangha.

(That ended up going another way as you know, but that's a story for another day!)

A great supports for daily practice that arose during the pandemic is our weekday morning sits over Zoom. I hope we'll be able to keep this going for many years. 

Most weekday mornings at 7am I have the delight of sitting down on my cushion, opening the laptop, and there "ba-ding!" are a dozen and more wonderful sangha members at their sitting spots ready to start the day together. It's amazing.

I still need to make a little inner effort to take this half hour opportunity for deep setting seriously. The screen is a portal to sangha here but also a portal to a million distractions and work associations for me. But usually I pull this off pretty well. Sitting up straight, letting the body soften into the earth, allowing my breath drop into my belly, lowering my gaze. (Pro tip: you can also turn sideways to the laptop or sit further away from it). 

As I write this I can feel my body respond to the years of zazen. That this deep settledness becomes available most of the time. Maybe eventually all of the time! What a gift from our ancestors. I know I never would have thought of all of this.

After 30 minutes of zazen we enjoy a brief service dedicating the merit of our practice and chant a verse setting intentions for the day. Sometimes a brief reading or someone has an announcement to share. We're off by 7:40 at the latest. 

If it at all fits your schedule I encourage you to visit the weekday morning sit. What a wonderful gift we received from those traumatic years of the pandemic. 

Announcement:

Change to the Board Structure frees up Nomon Tim:  We’ve recently made a change to our Board structure.  At Nomon Tim’s request, we have unanimously decided to eliminate the “Ex-Officio” board position that Nomon Tim has been occupying.  In lieu of this structure, we’ve decided instead to form a regular communication link between Board administration and sangha practice; our “east/west” communication (A reference to a koan in which the administrative monks live in the east hall and the meditation monks in the west hall).

 This allows Nomon Tim to ease out of routine board decisions and monthly meetings, freeing him up to devote more time to our sangha dharma practice itself, and ongoing programs within the zendo.  

Our East/West communication group currently consists of Nomon Tim and Board President Bob Rose. Desiree Webster and Board Secretary Terrill Thompson will also be present to help ensure accuracy and transparency.  We will have a short meeting prior to the Board meeting monthly with a “rolling agenda” throughout the month to contribute items to ensure continued two-way communication. 

Gassho to Nomon Tim for your many years of service to the Board.

FALL DHARMA STUDIES CLASS: The Lotus Sutra

Mondays at 4pm starting October 16th; description and registration are here!

WILDERNESS DHARMA CONCLUDES FOR THE YEAR

Our series of hikes and walks each year runs across the seasons from April to October including rituals of carrying and exchanging the waters of our watershed.

The last event in the series Closing the Mountains / Returning Waters is on Saturday October 14th with a hike up to the Oyster Dome on Blanchard (by Chuckanut) mountain and a ceremony at Larabee State Park.

ONE DAY SITS

Our September one-day sit was lovely!

We had a full group and a quiet, enjoyable time together.  These "mini-sesshin" days give us a chance to enjoy the routine of a sesshin with a fairly gentle schedule, Dharma talk, Dokusan (interview with our teacher/s) and the sharing of delicious meals.  Thanks to all who participated.

The next One Day sit will be on December 2nd including the Rohatsu ceremony which celebrates Buddha's Enlightenment. Sign up here.

CEREMONIES IN NOVEMBER

During our Fall Sesshin at Samish (a few spots left if you can attend!) there will be two big ceremonies the sangha is warmly invited to attend in support of our sangha members who are taking big steps in their practice life.

JUKAI: RECEIVING THE PRECEPTS

Members Toi Geil, Peter Pretkel, and Michael Kelberer will receive the precepts from Nomon Tim Burnett and Hanho Chris Burkhart at a jukai ceremony on Saturday November 4th at 3:30pm. RSVP and info.

LAY ENTRUSTMENT

And Seiu Hannah Sullivan will receive Lay Entrustment from her teacher Sokaku Kathie Fischer on Sunday November 5th at 2:00pm. This ceremony empowers and acknowledges Hannah as a lay teacher of Zen. RSVP and info.

Both ceremonies are the large zendo building at Samish Island Campground and everyone is welcome. Leave some time to park and walk across the lawn.

October Feature:                                Branching Streams Conference

Branching Streams Conference Santa Cruz, CA Oct 18-21,2023

Branching Streams is an organization based out of San Francisco Zen Center to support groups who have formed following the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi.

We at Red Cedar joined this group in 2021 and I was able to attend their conference last week. Over 60 sanghas are members of this worldwide group, and 31 sanghas were represented. It was a group of about 60 sangha leaders (teachers, both transmitted and lay, priests, board members and a few folks fairly new to the practice). A strong group of “under 50’s” was present, vocal, and vital.

Our topics (in four multi-roomed breakout sessions a day) were self-generated and consistently lively. Topics included Taking Bodhisattva Practice into the Community, Succession & Developing Leaders, Women In Zen, Understanding Lay Practice, Paying Teachers, Conflict, Future of Branching Streams; what can we do in the next 5 years? (and those are just the ones I attended!)

I came away feeling excited about the support, existent and offered, for isolated sanghas, groups currently functioning without guiding teachers, possibilities for trainings at Zen Center &/or Green Gulch, and the knowledge that we are part of a large community. Anyone interested in learning more, kindly contact me.

--Hannah Sullivan

and/or, check out the Branching Streams "Newsette" !==##%$@_7_@$%##==!branchingstreams@sfzc.org

And...did you know...

...we have a wonderful section on Ethics and a process for difficult communications in our Ethics and Communication Guidelines on our website...find it here

...and--especially for those going on our Japan trip-- that we have a Japanese pronounciation guide here on our chanting page.

For our chanting it's helpful to focus especially the pronunciation of the vowels "o" and "i".

For example: on is like "own" and shin is like "sheen". 

Cedarwood Zendo Update: No new news, but things will be happening very soon as we meet with our architect and get things rolling this month--stay tuned!

*We welcome your submissions--news, announcements, photos, poetry and art!  Please send these to newsletter@redcedarzen.org by the 15th of the month prior--thanks!

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Red Cedar Zen - August 2023 News

Greeting from Nomon Tim

Dear Sangha,

I'm grateful that our regular newsletter has been reborn!

And I'm also grateful that we choose to let it go during the transition between Program Administrators.

One thing I've tried to learn over the years is that while it's so important to be deeply committed in the practice of Zen and the ways we support that practice, it's also important to to be flexible, including when to let go for a while!

One of my deepest hopes for us as a community is sustainability and that requires both of these qualities: deep commitment, steadiness, continuous practice on the one hand; and great flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances on the other.

So in a way the disappearance and later reappearance of our regular newsletter is in itself a wonderful model of this.

I want to thank several behind the scenes folks from then and now in making this newsletter possible: Bob Penny, Ryan Wentzel, Michael Kelberer, Desiree Webster, Amanda McLaurin, and I'm sure several others I'm not thinking of right now. There are so many willing hands and hearts behind everything that manifests at Red Cedar!

And just a note from my corner: I write this during my early morning "Tim time" during my annual July Sabbatical. This year's July is unique and wondrous as you've probably heard as Raizelah and I are getting married (tomorrow!!). By the time you read this perhaps we'll have had the pleasure of celebrating together at the sangha reception we're holding next week. I'm feeling deeply held and loved on so many levels. Letting that in is a wonderful practice for someone who's so accustomed to taking care of others first.

Of the two qualities I mentioned earlier: the steadiness and commitment and sometimes ceaseless effort in service is my usual go to. It's a great thing to practice relaxing and letting others serve and help Raizelah and I as family and friends gather to celebrate and support our marriage and to feel the incredible support of sangha. Amazing!

With love and a deep bow,

Nomon Tim

Throughout this newsletter you’ll find this lovely watercolor paintings from Desiree Webster depicting scenes from her recent stay at Tassajara.

Thank you Desiree for sharing these with us!

Announcements

A New Study Group

with Desiree Webster and Chris Burkhart

We will be studying the Śūrangama Sūtra. If you’re interested in studying together, please join us on Zoom on the 2nd and 4th Fridays from 7-8 pm.

The text we’ll be using is The Sūrangama Sūtra/ with excerpts from the Commentary by the Venerable Master Hsüan Hua. (From the Buddhist Text Translation Society c 2017, 2009)

Also!--for the Dogen study group--A new fascicle begins! Chapter 24--"Awesome Presence of Active Buddhas" Every Tuesday, 7-8 PM.

New Board Members

Please welcome our new board members: Barbara Noda, Mari Ritalahti, and Desiree Webster. Their photos and bios will be on our website shortly! Also, thank you to Valerie Davenport for her dedication and service as she ends her stint with the board. Sending good wishes.  Gassho!

Sangha Japan Trip 2024

It's happening! Our April, 2024, trip to Japan is on the website. Registration opens on September 1st.

Joan is a member of the Red Cedar Zen Community and previously practiced with the Olympia Zen Center. She received Jukai from Eido Francis Carney Roshi.

Joan is also the author of two other books: A Pilgrimage in Japan: the 33 Temples of Kannon, and Heaven and Earth are Flowers: Reflections on Ikebana and Buddhism.

She currently resides in Mt. Vernon, WA

Zen and Ikebana

By Joan D. Stamm

In 2020, I planned to spend the month of April researching a flower temple pilgrimage in Kyoto and Nara, Japan where the Buddhist abbots refer to flowers as “little Buddhas.” Instead of my Japan adventure, I spent the year exploring my own garden as the encroaching COVID-19 pandemic kept everyone homebound.

Sequestered like a hermit on a mountain on Orcas Island, I focused on my Buddhist studies, creating ikebana and writing a book that would eventually be called The Language of Flowers in the Time of COVID: Finding Solace in Zen, Nature and Ikebana. My Zen practice, coupled with my “flower practice,” led me deeper into Kado: The Way of Flowers, a path that encompasses impermanence, interdependence and the internalization of nature’s peacefulness as one surrenders to seasonal changes, the humble beauty of flowers and their eventual demise.

Again and again, my Zen practice and my flower practice restored my sanity as the many other challenges of 2020 unfolded: riots and demonstrations over racial injustice, unprecedented wildfires and hurricanes, days and days of suffocating smoke-filled air, and an attempted coup d’état at our nation’s capital. Through it all, the seasons continued to produce beauty and abundance as buds formed, blossomed, withered and died, only to be reborn again. Like the magical enso of our lives, nature presents birth and death in a myriad of dazzling forms.

The Language of Flowers in the Time of COVID, published and released in June of this year, tells something of the 2020 story that unfolded for me while researching flower lore, tending my garden, and practicing ikebana and Zen. The book includes thirteen black and white ikebana photos. Included here are two of those photos in color. You can see more on my website:

https://joandstamm.com/

Red Cedar Zen Updates

Cedarwood Building update: We are eagerly looking forward to the design of the new building renovation starting next month. Our original architect made good headway with getting surveys done and building an electronic model of the building. Because of the regulatory intricacies of converting a commercial space into an “assembly” space, an architect more specialized in renovation codes, commercial properties, and navigating the Bellingham Planning Department was needed to avoid impossibly high renovation costs. Commercial architects typically have a 1 year backlog now, so we were grateful to be jumped up to a 6 month wait which is ending soon.

Great appreciation also goes to the volunteers who have been working on the building to keep our tenant happy and to set the stage for work to begin as soon as we have a city-approved permit on a design. Neal Engledow performs repairs regularly, Dave Lynch keeps the lawn mowed, and Bob Penny arranged upgrades needed immediately when we purchased the building. If you’re able to contribute a few hours, see the website for Saturday work parties being hosted this month by Tina Cummings and Mari Ritalahti.

Talus Latona/Design and Build Committee Chair

Sangha News

Tim and Raizelah were married on July 22nd and we had a wonderful picnic the next week to celebrate their marriage! A beautiful day on Lake Padden with food galore and a chance to have leisurely chats with many sangha folks!

*We welcome your submissions--news, announcements, photos, poetry and art!  Please send these to newsletter@redcedarzen.org by the 15th of the month prior--thanks!

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