New Year's Sittings? We Have A Bunch!

[Jundo]

Hi,

A couple of folks asked me about a special New Year's Eve or New Year's Day sitting at Treeleaf. In fact, with our members in so many time zones around the world, that is a little tricky to do.

However, what we have are all our usual sittings and other events for the coming few days, with all our friendly faces coming together, and they are each always brand new! Times will vary depending on your location, but here is a sample from our Sangha Calendar ...
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TREELEAF CALENDAR

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... AND THERE ARE MORE!

Please consider each one a New Year's Zen Party!

And that's not all ...

Friday January 2nd in most places, and any time thereafter, you are invited to sit with our special ....
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JOYFUL NEW YEAR 3-hour Treeleaf ZAZENKAI - Eko Echoes

TO WELCOME and CELEBRATE an AUSPICIOUS NEW YEAR (LINK)

We hope to see many friendly faces there too.

The following are the words of formal New Year's greeting hung in Soto Zen temples ...
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New Year’s day brings good fortune. Year after year, this temple’s
brilliance doubles, and the myriad phenomena are all renewed;
day after day, we are glad that there is peace in the land.

May it be so.

Gassho, Jundo
stlah

[michaelw]

In fact, with our members in so many time zones around the world, that is a little tricky to do.

Actually, that could work in our/its(?) favour. Kosen Sangha often have a twenty-four hour sit divided into twenty-five minutes zazen, five minutes kinhin. The five minutes kinhin allows people to join and leave plus person hosting to change over either on the hour or half hour depending on how long they signed up for. Their distribution through Europe, South America, Caribbean and North America means the sit can be continuous by using the time zones difference.
There is an interactive spread sheet to control things and strict rules about timing and camera position. It also gives someone the opportunity to host who has never done it before that can make for in interesting array of improvised bells.
Kosen were able to keep this going for 24 hours a day over 43 days in memory of Stephens passing.
Just a thought.
Happy New Year to all.

Gassho
MichaelW

satlah

[Jundo]

Kosen were able to keep this going for 24 hours a day over 43 days in memory of Stephens passing.

We have done something like that a couple of time over the years, and kept it going for a day, but we are a smaller, more cozy group so really lack that many people to sustain that much. I think the Deshimaru Lineage is quite big.

It is not always how much one sits, or big or small, but that we are together.

Gassho, Jundo
stlah