August 6, 2007 UPAYA ZEN CENTER Santa Fe, New Mexico 505-986-8518 [email protected] www.upaya.org "A good relationship has a pattern like a dance and is built on some of the same rules. The partners do not need to hold on tightly, because they move confidently in the same pattern, intricate but gay and swift and free, like a country dance of Mozart's. To touch heavily would be to arrest the pattern and freeze the movement, to check the endlessly changing beauty of its unfolding. There is no place here for the possessive clutch, the clinging arm, the heavy hand; only the barest touch in passing. Now arm in arm, now face to face, now back to back -- it does not matter which. Because they know they are partners moving to the same rhythm, creating a pattern together, and being invisibly nourished by it." --- Anne Morrow Lindbergh This past weekend's Lindisfarne Fellows Meeting went exceptionally well, reuniting for the first time in ten years a group of men and women who have transformed our cultural, social and environmental landscape. It was wonderful to see four generations of friends together: from Saul Mendlovitz, Dag Hammerskjold Distinguished Professor of International Law Rutgers University, age 80, to Gabo Varela, age 15, son of the renowned neuroscientist Francisco Varela, who died in 2001. Poet Wendell Berry celebrated his 73rd birthday at Upaya, and Roshi reunited with her dear friend Mary Catherine Bateson, who is a writer, anthropologist, and daughter of Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead. Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute (with his 96 year old father and his new wife) and Wes Jackson, founder of the Land Institute, brought us to earth comment after comment. Philosophers David Abrams, Robert McDermott, and Evan Thompson offered rich perspectives on vital questions related to sustainability and moral imperatives. Neuroscientist Tim Kennedy, mathematician Ralph Abraham, past Dean of the Cathedral of St. John The Divine in New York James Morton, and political scientist David Orr were all in attendance, listening and weaving together their lives and concerns. Wendell Berry brought the room into silence and awe as he spoke about his life, and then read a story about death. And the Fellows' beloved Founder, William Irwin Thompson, wove it all together in high Druid form. Each Fellow gave a short presentation, followed by wild and wide ranging discussion, a Lindisfarne specialty. An incredibly diverse range of topics were covered, from genocide to herbicides, sustainable agriculture to cosmology, from social ills to the great potentials present in our challenged and hyperconnected world. The Fellows have met for over 30 years and have included such luminaries at Gregory Bateson, Stuart Brand, Gary Snyder, and many others. In addition to our Fellows, kind and generous funders were in attendance, including Jodie Evans, founder of Codepink, Jonathon Altman, Gay Dillingham, Andrew Ungleider, Liane Collins, and Tom Callanan of Fetzer. Amy Cohen Varela, Rebecca and Gareth Todd, Nora Bateson, Jane Fonda, Bokara Legendre, Peter Baumann, Jim and Suzanne Gollin, and Tsultrim Allione also attended sessions. Upaya is itself an outgrowth of the Lindisfarne spirit, and we are deeply grateful to our sponsors at the Threshhold Foundation and other good friends for helping to make it all possible, including John and Margo Steiner, Paul Winter, and John Clausen who could not join the meeting. As Wendell and others commented, the Fellows have a chance to learn from each other in a way that no other opportunity offers. At the end of the meeting, the Fellows agreed to gather at Upaya at the end of July next year, and to extend our reach through inviting new Fellows into the circle, and focusing our discussions in the upcoming meeting on science, art and the political landscape. One final note: the Upaya residents were deeply enriched by the presence of the Fellows, with residents joining Wendell and others for meals, stepping into the meeting room to listen, and as Wendell Berry put it, "We are returning to Upaya because it is a place of practice and we like the people here!" Upaya likes the Fellows too, and are happy that they found a home in our midst. Wednesday, August 8th DHARMA TALK will be given by writer and longtime Zen practitioner Natalie Goldberg, on "Zen and Art." We are looking forward to her upcoming Upaya retreats in August and September of this year. For information on her latest work and workshops, please go to http://www.nataliegoldberg.com/ ROSHI ON FILM! All the previews are now up on YouTube, where you can see thumbnails of all 12 videos of Roshi's dharma talks. http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=upayazencenter We are hoping to have full length DVDs of these talks available by the end of this month...stay tuned! * WANTED: HOUSE-SITTER FOR UPAYA CAMPUS, August 25-29 With all the residents going north to Prajna Mountain for the Natalie Goldberg "Nature of All Things" retreat, we are seeking a person who would serve as Upaya's caretaker for a few days. This would involve spending the night of the 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th here. The main purpose is to watch after things. There will be explicit directions provided, in case we get some more of the sudden torrential rains that caused the flash flooding a few weeks ago. This person could come and go during the day when the professional staff will be here, then return in the evening and overnight hours. For more details about this assignment are available by calling Juan Torres, Assistant Director, at 986-8518, ext. 7. ** URGENT: VOLUNTEER LEAD COOKS NEEDED for August 11-24 Not so much for chopping veggies and washing up, but to head the preparation of some very simple oryoki meals. Breakfasts and lunches consist of one bowl of grains, one bowl of soup/veggies/protein, and one bowl of salad; dinners have only the first two bowls. Keizan, our kitchen manager, swears that if you know how to operate a rice cooker, you will be more than qualified enough to do it! Deep thanks for your kindness and generosity in allowing our kitchen staff the chance to participate fully in the Summer Ango practice period along with everyone else. ~ STRANGER THAN FICTION ... China has now extended its sovereignty even into otherworldly realms, with its new policy on reincarnation: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article2194682.ece * CORRECTION: Our retreat catalog incorrectly lists the start date of the Summer Ango Bodhidharma Sesshin as August 18th. The correct date (which does appear on our website) is August 19th. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused. ================ INVITATION: 2007 Summer Practice Period Dear Friends, Each August, one of the most beautiful and lush seasons of Santa Fe, we gather together at Upaya to affirm our practice and our life by stepping inward together for a time of intensive practice and learning, offering our whole lives to the realization of the Way. Please join us for our Summer Practice Period: Ango and the Arts, from August 10-30. This training period is rich with practice, learning, exploration and experimentation. It is “buddhism out of the box,” a way for us to learn that is both innovative and traditional. During all of Ango, Roshi Joan will guide us through the various lenses of Buddhist practice, experience, art, engaged Buddhism, and learning. Along the way, we will explore Big Mind with Genpo Roshi, learn traditional Zen craft from Kyojo Bakker, practice traditional and wild calligraphy with Kazuaki Tanahashi, drop into a very concentrated space of intensive practice with Roshi Joan, learn from the natural world and the arts with Natalie Goldberg and Roshi Joan, and be touched by the traditional when many of our community will receive Jukai and formally become Buddhists. We will do daily zazen, sit in council, do yoga, art practice and chi gung, meet Roshi Joan and other teachers in private interviews, and engage in the profound life of the sangha. You may participate in the whole retreat, by the week, program, or day. Each year, many of our friends gather to offer our whole presence in practice. Please join us for this time of complete practice and learning and a time of closeness with Roshi. Appropriate for both seasoned practitioners and beginners. Tuition: For entire period, $1350 member; $1650 non-member. Per week, $470 member; $550 non-member. Includes lodging. Dana to teacher. To register, email [email protected] or call 505 986-8518. Individual programs are priced below: Aug. 10 - 12: THE ESSENCE OF BIG MIND. Genpo Merzel Roshi The Big Mind process is a direct exploration of our true nature. Genpo Roshi (http://www.zenriver.nl/genpo_merzel_roshi.htm) draws from over thirty years of Zen teaching and Western therapeutic practices to bring forth a radical technique that can unlock the wisdom of Zen with directness and clarity. The Big Mind process gives one a profound perspective on our great potential to be free. Participants learn to sit with non-seeking mind in its vastness, rather than grasping after the truth. Genpo Roshi is Abbot of Kanzeon Zen Center and author of many books on Zen. Tuition: $220 members; $250 non-members; plus lodging. Dana to teacher. Aug. 13 - 16: THE ART OF ZEN TRAINING. Irene Kyojo Bakker The craft of Zen permeates every aspect of monastery life, and can inform and deepen every dimension of our life in the world. In this training retreat, students will learn liturgy, nuances of meditation practice, explore koans, and discover a path of precision and gentleness that liberates the mind and body, as well as open compassion and wisdom.