Firefly
Peacemaker Newsletter (September 10th, 2024)
(photo, Catskills fireflies)
Solstice
The Earth today tilts one way, then another.
And yes, though all things change,
this night again will watch its fireflies,
then go in to a bed with sheets,
to lights, a beloved.
To running water cold and hot.
Take nothing for granted,
you who were also opulent, a stung cosmos.
Birds sang, frogs sang, their sufficient unto.
The late-night rain-bringing thunder.
And if days grew ordinarily shorter,
the dark’s mirror lengthened,
and one’s gain was not the other lessened.
- Jane Hirshfield
Photo: Taiki Ishikawa
Dear Friends,
I could feel the weather change this week. Winds now carry a dry, almost brittle sensation. In the Northern Hemisphere, fall is approaching and always seems to arrive within a single moment, without pretense.
How do we arrive? Do we announce that we will be arriving before stepping in? Do we walk into a room whistling a tune, drawing attention, clever at our choice of melodies? Even with good intentions, we can often stand in the way of being present when entering a new space. We draw an outline around ourselves; a radiant light, or perhaps the chalk outline of a crime scene. Heroic, or shameful, we bring our agendas with us.
And in this honesty, this is the opportunity we have been waiting for. This is where the phrase “enter here”, comes to mind. With every pretense and assumption, we tune into our authentic moment. This is our Dharma, our lessons, and where our teachings live.
In a few months, Zen Peacemakers will be arriving once again in Poland to spend a week at the Auschwitz/Birkenau death camps. I am honored to be able to join this gathering once again. It has become one of the most important aspects of my life, and so many people share this experience.
Please consider joining me in November.
In Gratitude,
Jim Hōden Fricker
Much has been written about these annual retreats; at least half a dozen films have been made about them in various languages. Not confined to Buddhists, Zen Peacemakers members, or only those who have been affected by the place and the narrative surrounding it — the retreat at Auschwitz-Birkenau is open to all, is multi-faith and multinational in character, and has a strong focus on the Zen Peacemakers’ Three Tenets: ¹Not-Knowing, ²Bearing Witness, and ³Taking Action that arises from Not-Knowing and Bearing Witness.
BEARING WITNESS RETREAT
Zen Peacemakers Auschwitz-Birkenau Bearing Witness Retreat 2024
November 17, 2024 - November 23, 2024
Genocide is about rejecting a part of ourselves. 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. This retreat is not about history. As Bernie Glassman taught, this is our one body. We are victims, perpetrators, and those bearing witness.
Together Apart: Building Beloved Community Behind and Beyond Bars
Wednesday, September 25th, 12pm Eastern Time
From artwork made in a prison from the dye of M & Ms to the creation of collective meditation practices on death row, Human Kindness Foundation has had the privilege of receiving and sharing the wisdom and creativity of people experiencing incarceration for the past 50 years. This talk explores Human Kindness Foundation’s work to nurture spiritual community and collaboratively create resources that promote spirituality, mindfulness, and wellness behind and beyond bars.
Zen and Art: Becoming Intimate With a Leaf
Wednesday, September 18th, 12pm, Zoom
"Jacqueline was wonderful and created such an open and peaceful space to share, learn, and practice."- Hannah G (previous ZP event attendee)
There is magic and intimacy in the experience of really seeing what is in front of us. When our senses are over loaded, as they usually are, it can be difficult to bring our focus to a deeper level. By taking one leaf, or one stick, or one flower petal, and really taking the time to see it our perception shifts and we enjoy a heightened awareness of the world around us. In this workshop we will look closely at a leaf of your choice, talk about it and draw it.
CORE TRAINING
Core Training: Meditation Instruction with Jorge Koho Mello, Sensei
Monday, October 14, 5pm Eastern Time, Zoom
Human beings have been practicing mindfulness or meditation for millennia. It is a natural activity for us, like sleep, or walking, or moving about. Often, this practice is part of a religious or spiritual tradition, taking on many varied forms. And many of us meditate unaffiliated with any doctrine or lineage. We will offer a basic, introductory training in meditation, unattached to any specific tradition, that participants can put into personal practice immediately. It has been said, “Stillness answers every question.” Let’s explore that together.
WAY OF COUNCIL
Ecosattva Council with Kathleen Hoêtsu Battke
Wednesday, September 17th, 2:00pm US Eastern Time, Zoom
Uniquely, Ecosattva Councils focus on bearing witness to and dealing with ecological crises and climate change. All members are invited to join, listen and share, especially those active in eco projects as their social engagements.
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.
MORE ABOUT CORE TRAININGS
Many in our community belong to local practice centers in various traditions where training is available. Others have elected to join the Zen Peacemaker Order two-year training program. With our Zen Peacemaker Core Trainings offering, we want to make the very most important and fundamental Zen Peacemaker practices of meditation, Council, and the Three Tenets easily available to everyone.
These Core Trainings are by donation (all are welcome regardless of whether you are able to donate), offered at different times to support work and school schedules, and repeated quarterly. These can be taken à la carte and repeated as you wish.
"As someone relatively new to Zen study, I find these classes invaluable and engaging! Many thanks for the programming you create, it has been a huge help to my studies and practice.” - Josh Cretella (Core Training - Three Tenets)
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)
SEP. 12th - The Way of Council with Kineret Ando Yardena
SEP. 16th - Women Only Council with Barbara Wegmüeller Rōshi
SEP. 17th - Ecosattva Council with Kathleen Hoêtsu Battke
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
Haiku
Monthly Haiku Page
Please participate in our Haiku Poetry Challenge
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