Without
The world will keep trudging through time without us
When we lift from the story contest to fly home
We will be as falling stars to those watching from the edge
Of grief and heartbreak
Maybe then we will see the design of the two-minded creature
And know why half the world fights righteously for greedy masters
And the other half is nailing it all back together
Through the smoke of cooking fires, lovers’ trysts, and endless
Human industry—
Maybe then, beloved rascal
We will find each other again in the timeless weave of breathing
We will sit under the trees in the shadow of earth sorrows
Watch hyenas drink rain, and laugh.
- Joy Harjo
BEARING WITNESS RETREAT
Zen Peacemakers Auschwitz-Birkenau Bearing Witness Retreat 2024
November 17, 2024 - November 23, 2024
There is no escaping what was or what is. The Holocaust was the state-sponsored persecution and mass murder of millions of European Jews, Romani people, the intellectually disabled, political dissidents and homosexuals by the German Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945. Adolf Hitler’s “Final Solution” came to fruition during World War II, with mass killing centers in concentration camps. About six million Jews and some five million others, targeted for racial, political, ideological and behavioral reasons, died in the Holocaust—more than one million of those who perished were children. Join us in Poland.
PEACEMAKER CIRCLE
David Hinton will discuss his new book published by Shambhala, The Blue-Cliff Record: A once-in-a-generation translation of the definitive Ch’an (Zen) koan collection. An excerpt from the book:
“There are no answers, only depths. If there were an anthem for The Blue-Cliff Record and Ch'an [Zen] more broadly, this might be it: there are no answers only depths. But the depths--oh my, the depths are wonderous indeed!”
Illuminating Our True Nature with Michelle Cassandra Johnson
Tuesday, September 10th, 1:00pm Eastern Time, Zoom
Join Michelle Cassandra Johnson as she talks about her new book (Shambhala Publications), Illuminating Our True Nature Yogic Practices for Personal and Collective Healing.
Learn how to dissolve hurtful patterns and emotional hardship through the five yogic points of suffering, or kleshas. Her work includes powerful and practical meditations, mantras, asanas, reflection questions, and more, to reduce our suffering—and the suffering of others.
SERIES EVENT
The Supreme Meal: Group Koan Study with Roshi Ken Byalin
Thurs., Sept. 26th (first session in a 6 part series), 12pm Eastern Time, Zoom
Roshi Bernie Glassman has been gone for five years. How do we study with him today? One way is through The Bernie Koans, the collection of teaching stories and reminiscences shared by Bernie’s successors. In this series we will look together at seven of these stories. They provide glimpses, through varied eyes, of Bernie engagement in life. Together, can we catch the heart and marrow of his Zen? Can we continue to learn from Bernie and each other?
We request that you commit to attend all 6 of the classes (Sept. 26th, Oct. 10th, Oct 24th, Nov. 7th, Nov. 21st and Dec. 3rd)
CORE TRAININGS
Core Training: The Three Tenets with Jorge Koho Mello
Monday, September 9th, 12pm Eastern Time, Zoom
Bernie Glassman articulated the Three Tenets of the Zen Peacemakers early in the evolution of the organization. But these three, simple, profound, vows or commitments can also be taken as a complete practice for our life:
I will embody Not Knowing, thereby giving up fixed ideas.
I will Bear Witness, opening my heart to the joy and suffering of life.
I will take Loving Action arising out of not-knowing and bearing witness.
We can practice and manifest our true selves in every situation and with everything that arises, using the Three Tenets. This is a lifelong practice, one we never complete on our hourlong session we will present and describe the Three Tenets and have time to take your questions.
WAY OF COUNCIL
Bearing Witness Council: A focus on Gaza
Monday, September 23rd, 12pm Eastern Time, Zoom
Please join us in this ongoing Way of Council series, as we seek to Bear Witness to the suffering in Gaza. We will use the Way of Council format.
Council is one of our most important core Zen Peacemaker practices. We share Council during our Bearing Witness retreats most every day. In Council, we come together in a small group in a profound way. We create a shared liminal space that is safe, confidential, and perhaps sacred. We each listen and speak from the heart, encountering and experiencing one another gently and with awareness. We are not solving problems or debating issues or making plans. We are making a healing space for each of us to hear and be heard, see and be seen.
UPCOMING COUNCILS (click on title to learn more & register)
September 12th - The Way of Council with Kineret Ando Yardena
September 16th - Mental Health Professionals & Caregivers with Dr. Iris Dotan Katz
September 17th - Ecosattva Council with Kathleen Hoêtsu Battke
September 23rd - Bearing Witness Council: A focus on Gaza (September)
ZEN PEACEMAKERS AFFILIATE EVENTS
VIDEO:
In this presentation, meet Zen Peacemakers’ Affiliate, Holy Land Trust’s Executive Director, Elias Deis to learn more about his organization and current projects. Holy Land Trust is a non-profit Palestinian organization committed to fostering peace, justice and understanding in the Holy Land.
ZAZEN
Experience a connection with your personal landscape through the transformative power of online meditation sessions with the Zen Peacemakers. Whether you're part of a local sangha or other spiritual community, we invite you to join us in this virtual space where we can gather across geographies and time zones.
Join us for these online meditation sessions and experience the profound benefits of collective mindfulness. The Zen Peacemakers are here to support you on this transformative journey.
Monday - Friday
10:00 - 10:40 am US Eastern
MORE INFO HERE
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OFFERING
The Bernie Koans
Edited by: Ken Byalin, Francisco "Paco" Lugovina, Christopher Panos
‘It’s just my opinion, man’, as Bernie would say. We all have our opinions about Roshi Bernie Glassman. To some of us, he is the stern head monk at Zen Center of LA; to others, he is the socially engaged Buddhist who built up the Greyston Bakery and Foundation. To others he is the founder of Zen Peacemakers International and the instigator of bearing witness plunges on the city streets and at Auschwitz and to others he is the clown, the founder of the Order of Disorder. He is all of these and more. As the stories in the book show, he is Bernie, the mensch, who spent his life feeding the hungry ghosts of society and teaching that Zen is to realize the oneness and interconnectedness of life.
-Gerry Shishin Wick, grateful Dharma brother and disciple of Roshi Bernie
Thank you for reading this week's Zen Peacemakers newsletter.
We look forward to connecting at upcoming events, on social media, and via email.
With gratitude,
The Zen Peacemakers Team