Windhorse Update: July 27-August 3

Greetings, all! And warm greetings, also, from our sister sangha in Poland. Another member of that sangha has come back with me: Magda Kadlubowska (aren’t you glad we’re all on a first-name basis). She’ll be staying and training here at Windhorse for the next few weeks.

Also just arrived today is Meredith Rolley, recently of Florida, but who lived for years in New Mexico. She too will be living here in training and attending the upcoming 5-day sesshin.

And after several weeks once again hiking the Appalachian Trail, former and periodic resident John Swart is back in town. He will also be staying with us through the August sesshin and perhaps longer. This weekend, more guests will be staying here for the workshop and teisho. A lively place, this 580 Panther Branch!

Wonderful to look down yesterday early evening, in the last leg of our long trip, and to see these beloved mountains. It brought to mind those words engraved on a bench at the UNCA botanical gardens – the words of a local poet, Christine Lassiter, who died in 2001 at the age of 50:

I go home to North Carolina wet with the mist of trees breathing life, each mountain singing into the next, green ridges rolling into blue -- softer, softer, then silent.

Yes, good to be home! -- Sunya

Tuesday, July 27

Our weekly Tuesday schedule includes 3 rounds of zazen with dokusan (both teachers) and chanting; 7- 9 at Panther Branch.

Thursday evening, July 29

We’ll resume our usual schedule: 3 full rounds of zazen with dokusan.

Friday, July 30

We’ll hold our in-town evening sitting at the rented zendo on 12 Von Ruck Court: 5:30 – 7:15, with 3 shorter rounds of zazen followed by chanting.

For the sake of getting along with neighbors there, many of whom have no garage and need to park their cars on the street, please remember to park your vehicle in the driveway if at all possible.

If you arrive late: Please park in the driveway anyway, enter quietly, and simply do zazen in the entrance room until kinhin.

Saturday, July 31

Lawson-sensei will be leaving early Saturday morning to visit his mother in Albany.

Because of the workshop from 9:45am – 2:00pm, our morning sitting this Saturday will be from 6:30 – 7:30am.

Cost of this workshop, including a vegetarian lunch, is $25 for those who preregistered and $35 at the door.

Sunday, August 1

We’ll have our usual Sunday morning program with chanting and teisho from 9:30–11:30, followed by tea and whatever vegetarian brunch offerings people may bring to share.

Tuesday, August 3

Same schedule as usual -- see above.

What’s Happening at Windhorse:

We’ll hold to our usual schedule tonight, with 3 rounds of zazen with dokusan, followed by chanting. 7- 9 PM at Panther Branch.

Thursday evening, July 22 & Friday morning, July 23

Thursday night and Friday morning sittings will continue to be informal until next week. People are welcome to come at any time, sit as long as you want, and leave whenever. The zendo is open, but the rounds will not be timed.

Friday evening, July 23

Our Friday in-town sitting starts, as usual, at 5:30. We'll sit three shorter rounds with dokusan offered by Lawson-sensei. We'll be ending the sitting with the weekly memorial service for Fran.

Sunday, July 25

On Sunday, July 25, Lawson-sensei will be giving the third of three Dharma talks on "Zen and Psychotherapy." These talks are open to members and non-members, and more detailed information will be sent out later in the week.

As usual, our program begins at 9:30, ends by 11:30, and is followed by a vegetarian potluck brunch. (No one has to bring anything, but we’ll share whatever offerings arrive.)

Monday, July 26

Sunya-sensei will be returning from Poland late on Monday, July 26th.

Upcoming events:

On Saturday, July 31 there will be an introductory workshop:

“In Every Leaping Moment: The Spirit & Practice of Zen”

If you haven’t been to one of these workshops, please consider joining us; and if you know someone who might be interested, please don't hesitate to spread the word.

And as a reminder, our next sesshin will be August 10-15.

This Week July 13, 2010

We'll hold our usual schedule tonight with 3 rounds of zazen with dokusan offered by Lawson-sensei, followed by chanting, 7-9 PM at Panther Branch.

Thursday night and Friday morning sittings will continue to be informal until the week of July 26th. People are welcome to come at any time, sit as long as you want, and leave whenever. The zendo is open, but the rounds will not be timed.

Our Friday in-town sitting starts, as usual, at 5:30. We'll sit three shorter rounds with dokusan offered by Lawson-sensei. We'll be ending the sitting with the weekly memorial service for Fran.

On Sunday, July 18, Lawson-sensei will be giving the second of three Dharma talks on "Zen and Psychotherapy". These talks are open to members and non-members, and more detailed information will be sent out later in the week.

As usual the Sunday program will begin at 9:30 AM, and be followed by a vegetarian brunch.

Rakusu Information:

Last Sunday we had our first group meeting about the significance of receiving a rakusu, and the role of ordination here at Windhorse. Now, in terms of planning for this fall's rakusu ceremony, it would be helpful to get some idea of the number of Windhorse members who are considering the possibility of sewing a rakusu for the precept ceremony. So if you are interested, or would like further information, please send us an e-mail.

And for those of you new to this area of practice, a rakusu is an abbreviated kesa, the robe worn by bhikshus and bhikshunis since the time of the Buddha. During the persecutions of Buddhism in T’ang China many bhishus and bhikshunis were forced to return to lay life, so to remind themselves that they were still Homeless Ones they fashioned a small version of kesa and wore it around their necks under their lay clothing. Since that time receiving a rakusu has symbolied the time of formally joining the Buddha's family.

Coming & Going (but not leaving Home)

June 29 through July 6



Sunya-sensei will be traveling to Poland this Thursday, July 1, and will return late on Monday, July 26th. During this time we’ll have a somewhat different work & sitting schedule (see below).

Next Monday, former resident Simon Goldberg will be moving to Madison, WI (home of Bucky Badger) to attend graduate school in Counseling Psychology. Simon will be missed & we wish him well.

This Week’s Schedule

Tuesday, June 29

We’ll hold to our usual schedule tonight, with 3 rounds of zazen with dokusan, followed by chanting. 7- 9 PM at Panther Branch.

Thursday evening, July 1

This week and for the next month, we will not have our usual Thursday night sittings with dokusan. The next regular Thursday sitting will likely be on July 29. Members are welcome to come out and sit at Panther Branch on Thursday evenings during this time, but sittings will be informal.

Friday, July 2

We’ll hold our in-town sitting at the rented zendo on 12 Von Ruck Court: 5:30 – 7:15, with 3 shorter rounds of zazen with dokusan (with Lawson-sensei), followed by chanting.

For the sake of harmonious relations with Von Ruck neighbors, many of whom have no garage and need to park their cars on the street, please remember to park your vehicle in the driveway if at all possible.

If you arrive late: Please park in the driveway anyway, enter quietly, and simply do zazen in the entrance room until kinhin.

Sunday, July 4th

Doshin (Mitch Doshin Cantor) will be giving the Dharma talk this Sunday morning on Independence Day. Doshin is a Dharma heir of Peter Muryo Matthiessen, of the White Plum Sangha, and leads the Southern Palm Zen Group in Boca Raton, FL. Doshin and his wife Fran spend their summers here in the Weaverville area and often sit with us on Sundays.

As usual, our program begins at 9:30, ends by 11:30, and is followed by a vegetarian potluck brunch. (No one has to bring anything, but we’ll share whatever offerings arrive.)

Coming Up: Save the Date!

On Sunday, July 11, we’re having another benefit for Windhorse: a magical evening of storytelling with writer and storyteller Rafe Martin at Unitarian Universalist church, 7:00 PM. Many of you attended a similar event last August, when Rafe enchanted listeners with a fine spectrum of stories, including Jataka tales. His work has been featured in Time, Newsweek, The NY Times and USA Today; this year he will be a featured storyteller at the annual National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN, over the first weekend of October. Rafe has generously offered Windhorse this evening of storytelling as a way for us to raise funds and to open up to the larger community. All proceeds will go to Windhorse and our building fund. Suggested donation at the door: $15.00, but no one will be turned away.

Bakers Needed

We're hoping to enlist volunteers to make desserts for the bake sale portion of our this event. Elisa Alvarado has again kindly offered to coordinate the menu for the sale; you can reach her at 828-768-2039. We'll be sending out more information soon, but if you’re wiling to do some baking, please let Elisa know ASAP. Thank you!

Tuesday, June 29

We’ll have our usual schedule this evening, with 3 rounds of zazen with dokusan with Lawson-sensei, followed by chanting. 7- 9 PM at Panther Branch.

Tales of Wisdom and Wonder

Rafe Martin ‘Tales of Wisdom and Wonder’ July 11, Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville, 7:00 P.M.

Windhorse Zen Community invites you to “Tales of Wisdom and Wonder” – an evening of storytelling with award-winning author and storyteller Rafe Martin. Rafe’s books have been cited in Time, Newsweek and USA Today. He has been a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough TN, (where he will be featured again this October!) the International Storytelling Center, the Joseph Campbell Festival of Myth and Story and is a recipient of the prestigious Empire State Award. He has been practicing Zen since 1970, and has received full lay ordination.

His most recent book is The Banyan Deer, a parable of courage and compassion. “The Banyan Deer shows that the lives of all living beings are equally important” — His Holiness, the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje.

“Rafe Martin is an amazing storyteller. Every time he appears he makes 500 new devotees because he is magical.” Arthur A. Levine, editor and publisher of Harry Potter. Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic, Inc.

Date: Sunday, July 11, 2010
Unitarian Universalist Church, 1 Edwin Place, Asheville
For information call 828-645-8001

Book signing to follow performance.

Summer Update - June 22-29

Now, after the Solstice, the days begin to shorten ever so gradually, as the sun’s power seems to grow fiercer. Even the richly colored day lilies in the front garden seem to be taken aback by this recent heat wave. We’re working to keep things as cool as possible at the Center, especially in the zendo, so come on out when you can and join us for sittings.


Comings & Goings, and Summer Schedule

Vlastik Karlik, our 3-month resident from the Czech Republic, will be leaving Asheville early in the morning on Thursday, June 24. Vlastik has been a great addition to the training program here; we will certainly miss him, and look forward to his promised return. Vlastik now returns to his environmental work in Czech, where he plays a significant role in a river-protection group (‘Arnika’), a group that has recently been awarded a $100,000 grant for its river ecology programs. Congratulations, Vlastik!

Also on Thursday, Lawson will be leaving for Florida in the afternoon, to spend a few days working with our sister sangha in Clearwater. He returns next Monday. The following Thursday, Sunya will leave on her summer trip to Poland, from July 1st through July 26th. With only Lawson and Andy in the training program for most of July, the Windhorse work and sitting schedule for that month will be a bit different:

Thursday evening and Friday morning sittings will be informal, and if you want to volunteer to work on those days, please call ahead. Dokusan with Lawson will continue to be offered as usual on Tuesday evenings at Panther Branch, but not on Thursdays. Instead, it will be offered during our in-town sitting (5:30 to 7:15) on Friday in conjunction with Fran Mazeski’s weekly memorial services, which will continue throughout July.

This Week’s Schedule

Tuesday, June 22

We’ll hold to our usual schedule, which includes 3 rounds of zazen with dokusan and chanting; 7- 9 at Panther Branch.

Thursday evening, June 24

We’ll sit 3 full rounds of zazen with dokusan (with Sunya), finishing with our weekly memorial service for Fran. 7:00 – 9:00 PM

Friday, June 25

We’ll hold our in-town sitting at the rented zendo on 12 Von Ruck Court: 5:30 – 7:15, with 3 shorter rounds of zazen followed by chanting.

For the sake of getting along with neighbors there, many of whom have no garage and need to park their cars on the street, please remember to park your vehicle in the driveway if at all possible.

If you arrive late: Please park in driveway anyway, and simply do zazen in the entrance room until kinhin.

Saturday, June 26 -- Full Moon!

Sunday Morning, June 27

We’ll have our usual Sunday morning program with chanting and teisho from 9:30–11:30, followed by tea and whatever vegetarian brunch offerings people may bring to share.

If you arrive late (after the han has sounded): Please do not enter through the side door off the zendo; it can be disturbing for those already doing zazen. Come in through the front door and take a seat in the Kannon Room, or sit somewhere on the deck. You may enter the zendo at the first bell (on Sundays this is rung at 9:50). Since this bell isn’t easily heard when both zendo doors are closed, someone will exit the zendo at that point to see whether anyone is waiting to join the sitting.

Next Tuesday, June 29

Our normal Tuesday schedule, with dokusan with both teachers, and chanting. 7:00-9:00 PM.

Fran Mazeski

Dear All,

Fran Mazeski, former resident and beloved Dharma brother, died simply and peacefully at 9 AM this morning, in his quiet room with friends present, at the VA hospice in Asheville. We will hold a funeral service for him this Sunday at Panther Branch, preceded by zazen beginning as usual at 9:30. Fran's brother, sister and sister-in-law will be coming down from Massachusetts to attend the service.

As part of this event, people will have an opportunity to speak briefly to or about Fran -- to share Fran anecdotes (there are many!), and to honor his life and his moving on. And of course we will be chanting for him -- our regular chants and also the Memorial Prayer.

Tonight's sitting will be informal; after this week's constant vigil at hospice, folks here need to just stop for a bit. (We did a lot of chanting right there in the room with Fran this week, especially today, with a special jukai ceremony, etc..) Tomorrow morning we'll have a formal sitting starting at 6:30, with chanting; and tomorrow evening we'll hold our usual sitting in town. Please come if you can -- all chanting will be directed toward Fran, to help him on his way.

With many deep feelings,

Sunya