From: Upaya
February 25, 2008
UPAYA INSTITUTE | ZEN CENTER Santa Fe, New Mexico 505-986-8518 [email protected] www.upaya.org
The only medicine for suffering, crime, and all the other woes of mankind is wisdom. -Thomas H. Huxley
We have met the enemy, and it is us. -Pogo
COMMUNITY Council, one of the oldest forms of human communion - was fully present at Upaya this last week. Gigi Coyle, master council leader and co-author of "The Way of Council," led both the residents and guests through the unpredictable and creative territory of this ancient circle. Sometimes the talking piece is passed, sometimes we pass movement or sound. Sometimes council is silent, but the purpose is the same - to open up a huge collective listening space so that honesty, a prerequisite for change, has a chance to show up.
The Upaya resident community holds council twice a month. And the three periods of zazen are actually three silent councils held everyday. These practices serve us well considering the demographics of the community. Among 20 residents, we represent ages 19 to 65; the countries of Nepal, Japan, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, and the US; the religions of - Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and the languages of the countries above plus, Arabic, Hebrew, and French, at the least.
Nationality, ethnicity, and religion, the sources of huge world conflicts, are not a problem here as we have all chosen to study and practice zazen which provides us with a solid common ground. The real frontier of conflict and growth lies in the struggles of our basic human nature, our need to deal with this apparent self through protection, projection, control, judgment, avoidance, and presence. Someone resists ritual; someone else feels their work isn't valued enough, and another finds fault with the food. At a deeper level, people are afraid of others and of themselves. And this is where council works its wisdom. The mirror like nature of individual mind is magnified into one big group mirror which shows us all what is present each moment. Something about the chemistry of reflection enables profound change.
Council is undeniably an ancient and effective tool for problem solving. And suddenly it seems dramatically necessary to find useful tools to meet the complex realities of the present on every level - individual, family, community, national, and global. There is no return to simpler times, and no time for nostalgia or romantic notions of tribal pasts, but unless true listening is out of date, or real honesty no longer possible, council's way can continue to teach us to be still, to reflect and wait for the collective wisdom to tell us what will serve our common good.
Wednesday, February 27th DHARMA TALK at 5:30pm in the zendo will be given by Meg Wheatley entitled "How Do We Name Ourselves?." In many cultures, naming is related to the contribution we are expected to make to our community. "Upaya," and "Circle of the Way," are bold names that call us to be fearless. How do we practice, live and work together to live into our fearlessness? ======
>> DATE CHANGES FOR MARCH AND APRIL EVENTS - Cancellation of The Non-Dual Dimension of Life, scheduled for March 11-12. Matt Flickstein. - Zazenkai will be held on April 12th (originally scheduled for April 5th) - Introduction to Chaplaincy will happen April 2-10 (originally scheduled for April 4-10) - Thinking Like a System is now scheduled for April 3-6 (originally scheduled for April 10-13) ======
>>SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Roshi Joan is in need of a vehicle and she would love to find a donated 4WD Fourrunner, X-Terra, or pick-up truck that can get her reliably up to Prajna and around town. The Toyota is no longer viable, so even a sedan on loan for local errands would be WONDERFUL. Please call or email with any helpful ideas. ======
>>UPCOMING RETREATS
April 03, 2008 - April 06, 2008 THINKING LIKE A SYSTEM: How to Intervene in a System for Social Change Merle Lefkoff, Ph.D, John Goekler For many of us, the greatest challenges to living our principles arise in the social systems of which we are a part, such as our families, communities and work places. This training blends complexity science and Buddhist principles to guide our interventions in these systems to foster positive social change. Drawing on emerging work in physics, neuroscience, biology and systems dynamics, we examine how the alignment of spiritual practice with science can open space for joyous collaboration and creativity, and give deeper meaning to all our endeavers. Tuition (Members): $440.00 Tuition (Non-Members): $490.00 More details: Required for Chaplaincy. Plus lodging. Dana to teachers. To register, call Upaya at 505-986-8518 or email [email protected]
2008 BEING WITH DYING training: April 25 - May 2. Early registration is advised. This revolutionary and practical training program for health care professionals gives essential tools for work with dying people and their families. Designed for physicians, nurses, social workers, hospice workers, and clergy, the training covers core issues related to dying, death, and grieving; ethical issues in end- of-life care; community building around dying persons and relationship-centered care; cross- cultural and family concerns around religion and ethnicity; approaches to psychological and spiritual care of the dying; the relationship between pain and suffering; peri-death phenomena; and care of the caregiver. Over the years, this program has been a key resource for hundreds of health care professionals in the U.S., Canada, and Europe who are dedicated to transforming the environment around dying. For more information please call the office at 505-986-8518, or visit the website at www.upaya.org.
May 05, 2008 - May 11, 2008 MOUNTAIN AND MONASTERY SESSHIN Roshi Joan Halifax, Roshi Enkyo O'Hara, Marty Peale This is the practice of the Ancients who revered the great mountains. It is a time of deep solitude with Roshis Joan and Enkyo at remote Prajna Mountain Forest Refuge. Sitting, mountain walking, with Roshis Joan and Enkyo at remote Prajna Mountain Forest Refuge. Sitting, mountain walking, exploring Buddhism and bioregion with environmentalist Marty Peale, accommodations are camping; food is simple; mountains are high, clear and accessible from the Refuge. Utter simplicity of practice. Daily zazen, simple liturgy and dharma talks. Shared transportation to Refuge. Roshi Joan Halifax is Abbot, Upaya Zen Center; Roshi Enkyo O’Hara is Abbot of Village Zendo; Marty Peale is an environmentalist and teacher. Tuition (Members): $480.00 Tuition (Non-Members): $525.00
Includes dormitory at Upaya (upgrade available) and camping at Refuge. Registration is limited to 12. Please call office to be placed on waiting list upon reaching our maximum. Thank you. Dana to teachers.
May 22, 2008 — May 25, 2008 LIBERATION THROUGH YOGA AND BUDDHISM Richard Freeman, Roshi Joan Halifax This powerful and rare retreat brings together Yoga and Buddhism with two master teachers in a radical approach to healing and liberating body and mind. Richard Freeman, a renowned teacher of Ashtanga yoga in the tradition of K. Pattabhi Jois, integrates yoga practice with Dharma. Roshi Joan, Abbot of Upaya Zen Center, explores the shared principles of yoga and Buddhism through dharma exchanges with Richard in the evenings. The spirit of yoga and Buddhism is realized in a retreat setting that includes five hours of guided yoga practice, evening talks, two hours of meditation, and silence. Call 505-986-8518, visit the website www.upaya.org.or email [email protected] for more information. Tuition (Members): $475.00 Tuition (Non-Members): $525.00 More details: Plus lodging. Dana to teachers.
Jun 26, 2008 — Jul 06, 2008 WILDERNESS FAST AND COMPASSIONATE ACTION Roshi Joan Halifax, Marty Peale A time for deep practice and a rite of passage, participants enter the wilderness in solitude and fasting to see how to bring forward greater energy and depth in their lives to serve others. Preparations include intensive teachings, interviews, meditation, and council. A basecamp is established at Prajna Mountain Forest Refuge. From there, participants find a natural refuge where they spend four days alone and fasting. In the vastness of the mountains and sky, we hope to discover how to bring wisdom and compassion forward to actualize compassion in the world. Tuition (Members): $750.00 Tuition (Non-Members): $825.00. Plus lodging. Dana to teacher. Registration limited to 12 participants. Contact Upaya for application prior to registration. Phone: 505-986-8518 or email [email protected] ======
ENGAGED BUDDHISM
METTA COUNClL - Living with Illness Tuesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12.00 noon--a weekly group for people who are ill, their partners, caregivers, hospice volunteers, nurses, and anyone interested in exploring issues around living, sickness aging and death. Beginning around 12:05 p.m. until 1:00 p.m. the group engages in contemplative writing. This is not a writing group per se but rather an alternative way of exploring what is alive for people in the moment. No previous writing experience is needed, just a willingness to be fully present. Please call Jean at 505-986-8518 or email [email protected] for more information.
PRISON OUTREACH PROJECT Volunteers in the Prison Outreach Project offer weekly mindfulness instruction classes in three correctional facilities: Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility (both state and county inmates), Santa Fe County Youth Development Facility, and Central New Mexico Correctional Facility (at Los Lunas). In addition, one of our workers visits the prisons at Hobbs and Roswell, NM. The classes consist of instruction in meditation, yoga, and conversation from the heart leading to problem solving. The classes provide the prison residents with a way to reduce the stress encountered during their incarceration and encourage a shift in thought and behavior patters away from violence and harming. Studies have shown that this training reduces violent behavior among inmates as well as between inmates and corrections staff, preparing the residents to re-enter society without relapsing into addiction and violence. Through this training we expect to see a reduction in prison entry recidivism.
Persons interested in working “inside” with prison residents are warmly welcomed. Volunteers may choose to train and work in the Santa Fe County Youth Development Center or in the SF County Adult Detention Center. There is a defined training program, in which a volunteer works as a co-facilitator with a trainer at weekly group meetings. Volunteers who choose to work with youths are invited to contact Susan Benjamin at [email protected]; those who desire to work with groups of adult inmates should contact Ray Olson at [email protected]. A volunteer commitment of several months’ to one year’s services is requested.
Inmates in prisons around the country continue to write for information about Zen practice and meditation, often claiming that their past spiritual practices no longer seem appropriate to them. They seek an alternative. Many are referred to us by meditation centers that do not have this social action program. Many ask for a pen-pal, someone in the Upaya sangha, both resident and widespread, with whom they may correspond regularly, sharing the ups and downs of the Buddha Way.
At the present time we have 18 volunteers corresponding with 41 prison residents, and we have eight inmates waiting for volunteers to step forward in this Pen-Pal Program.
We are in deep need of volunteers who maintain a meditation practice, who would be willing to enter into correspondence with a prison resident. If you think you might be interested in corresponding with an inmate, email Ray Olson at [email protected] and request a description of the program and the Guidelines by which we expect all participants to abide. It’s easy, and it’s a very satisfying spiritual practice, allowing correspondents on both sides of the wall to learn from each other. ======
PATH OF SERVICE AT UPAYA Dear Friends. Upaya is very happy to let you know that we have once again opened up our powerful Path of Service program - living in a practice community with 15-20 people for three months to a year in the historic east valley of Santa Fe, New Mexico; having the precious opportunity to receive teachings from our Roshi and many other extraordinary teachers, weekly seminars and dharma talks, dokusan and retreats, and the deep joy of living in community; this is in exchange for serving all the many beings who come through our doors every day. If you are interested, or know of someone who might be interested, please let Yushin know ([email protected] ). Path of Service candidates must have a deep appreciation of practice and community, and be physically and mentally healthy. You can find more information and the requirements for this program on our website, as well as the application form. We are looking forward to you!
OUR GREAT VOLUNTEERS So many wonderful people have come here to help out at Upaya with whatever is needed in the moment. Volunteers make a difference in every practical way with all kinds of know how. And they also contribute their spirit of cheerful, willing giving. This is a beautiful form of Dana and we are so grateful to be part of these volunteers' lives. So THANK YOU to all those listed below and WELCOME to all those yet to come. Sofia Amaru, Cheqa Amaru Rodgers, Arlen Baden, Susan Benjamin, Mary Ann Bennett, Kristen Bentz, Bonnie Bishop, Darrell Blair, Meg Blissell, Dusty Brunson, Carol Brown, Megan Callow, Andrea Campbell, Mary-Ray Cate, Carol Clark, Susan Crall, Karuna DiLibero, Diane Diler, Alyiah Doughty, Megan Dyer, Judith Freilich, Tony Pavello, Dana Garza, Sharon Ishin Gerlofs, Nancy Gilchrist, Scott Hey, Noah Jennings, Peggy Jennings, Nancy Jensen, Mary Keough, Micki Kibler, Sarah Knutson, Winnie Lee, Laurence Lebreren, Sharon Leftwich, Greg Lewandowski, R.C. Luna, Wendy Mapes, Michael Marx, Talissa McCormick, Carol Merrill, Liza Molina, Kate Moon-Walsh, Julia Oliver, Nancy and Ray Olson, Clare Ratlif, David Reed, Susan Emmet Reid, Katherine Rivera, Gabriel Roybal, Bertrand Sauzier, Howard Schwartz, Ellie Sernet, Taylor Scott, Shayma, Marian Scottmyhre, Tom Slater, Kim Spencer, Julie Sprott, Kate Snider, Marty Swanson, Shana Swiss, Gretta Thomas, Lisa Thomas-Adeyemo, Dante Valore, Carol Walker, Akira Watts, Chalo Wells, Nancy Wilkinson, Joyce Williams, Tara Zanghi, and Hiumaya Tamang.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Upaya is always grateful for a helping hand. We have volunteer opportunities in the office, kitchen, and housekeeping, and there is the possibility of earning retreat credit (up to 80% of the total cost of a retreat) for hours volunteered. If you are interested, please call Roberta at 505-986-8518 ext. 2 or email [email protected]
NEW TITLES AT UPAYA BOOKSTORE: "The Essence of Zen; The Teachings of SEKKEI HARADA," Sekkei Harada, one of modern Japanese Zen's most subtle and sophisticated minds, skillfully pushes us to drop those parts of ourselves that grasp and make demands regarding our understanding or progress in meditation practice. He enables us to see clearly - and steer clear of - the philosophical stumbling blocks that can make the Zen path precarious.
"The Final Crossing; Learning to Die in Order to Live," by Scott Eberle. Roshi Joan Halifax comments: This is an extraordinarily wise and compassionate book written by a physician of the body and the heart. In this beautifully written account of the death of his beloved teacher and friend we can discover the great mystery of meeting death as a teacher and friend. This book is for all of us. Its depths plumb ours, its wisdom opens ours, and the compassion of its author reminds us that this quality resides in all of us.
Coming in April - "The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teaching of Buddhist Psychology," by Jack Kornfield.
ROSHI JOAN HALIFAX ON THE WEB Roshi Joan discusses dharma, offers koanic poetry, considers the works of Ken Wilber, William Irwin Thompson, and Francisco Varela, and brings us into her lifestream. To find out more, go to http://jhalifax.zaadz.com/blog. This complements her Flickr photo site, http://flickr.com/photos/upaya/, where she constantly adds new photos of current Upaya happenings, as well as some great archival photos of her life.
* The Chinese filmmaker Kam Sung has made a fascinating and visually poetic account of Roshi Joan in Tibet and her teachings, which you can view here: video.google.com/videoplay This is a low-resolution video; a high-resolution version on DVD will be available shortly, which you can order from Upaya.
• Roshi's new book, Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death. It can be pre-ordered from Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/2ullul The book is a powerful exploration of nearly 40 years of contemplative work with dying people.
• Her 6-CD series on Being with Dying (from Sounds True Audio) is now available. Call 505-986-8518 to order.
• Also, the Upaya bookstore has a number of Roshi's dharma talks on DVD, including one with Brother David. We are happy to make this wonderful series available to you. Please call the front office for titles and ordering. ======
>>OTHER EVENTS SPONSORED BY UPAYA SANGHA MEMBERS: March 14-16. LEADING WITH WISDOM. An exploration of the feminine with Meg Wheatley and Susan Skjei. Call Shambhala Mountain Center at 888-788-7221 or click www.shambhalamountain.org/programs/813 for more information.
Saturday, March 22, ‘08 DAY OF MINDFULNESS IN STILLNESS AND MEDITATION Daniel Bruce, founder and director of the Santa Fe Center for Conscious Living Participants will be guided through a series of gentle yoga exercises, qigon (energy cultivation) and mindful movement interspersed with deep sitting practice, wallking meditation and guided Forgiveness and Loving Kindness meditation. Bring your lunch and dress in layers. Suggested donation $50.00 or whatever you can afford. Time:8:45AM - 4:30PM. RSVP as soon as possible as space is limited - 988-5106.
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