2024 FALL PRACTICE PERIOD
September 14 to December 15
This fall, our theme will be Prajnaparamita – Non-Dual Wisdom
Shuso Hossen (Dharma Combat) for John Kyogen Rosania
Sunday, October 20 • 11:00 a.m.
John Kyogen Rosania's year as Head Trainee/Shuso will culminate in the ancient ceremony of Dharma Combat with the Sangha. The Shuso will present a case (koan) from the Book of Equanimity to the Sangha, offer brief comments, and then challenge the dragons and elephants (you!) to dharma combat, in which everyone is invited to test their understanding. This is an important rite of passage for the Shuso and Sangha, so please come support this practice effort. Everyone is invited to attend. Followed by group photo & celebratory lunch.
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The Book of Householder Koans: Waking Up In The Land of Attachments
by Eve Myonen Marko and Wendy Egyoku Nakao
Zen teachers Roshi Eve Marko and Roshi Wendy Nakao (Appreciate Your Life) update centuries-old koan stories and reflections for modern life in this engaging, empathetic collection. Zen koans are educational dialogues that have become literary devices used to understand and respond to everyday experiences with spontaneity, imagination, patience, and acceptance. The authors argue that koans help readers access Zen judgment principles; when one faces a challenge, one must reject the observer mentality and embrace what is unfolding in the present. Sixty-six brief koans by contributors from around the world and various Zen paths target home, children, work, illness, death, and Zen meditation practice. For example, koans offer spiritual guidance for adult sibling rivalry, letting a screaming child finish her screams while Mom meditates, contemplating the labor and life cycle of food, and taking care of an elderly parent. With its sophisticated Zen Buddhist ideas and reflections, this intricate, stimulating collection of koans offers constructive advice that will appeal to those with at least some experience as Zen practitioners.
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