Coincidence (maybe not?) has brought me 2 Zen weekends in a row: This past weekend, Florence Caplow, the author of The Hidden Lamp, came to Edmonton for a reading, public talk and Zen workshop. And on Friday I'll take the bus down to Calgary to sit a weekend retreat with the Soto gang there and visiting teacher Norman Fischer. Norman is Florence's teacher, but these events were organized completely independently. I'm really grateful they did not end up on the same weekend!
Florence was hosted by Westwood Unitarian Congregation for all three events. On Friday evening, she explained that she waited for years for somebody to collect all the stories about women practitioners, until she realized she would have to do it herself. The Hidden Lamp is modelled after the great koan collections, with the important difference that each story/ koan is commented on by a different (female) teacher, instead of one collector/ editor. I've only read a few stories so far, but all commentaries spoke very personally how the teaching/ experience in the story can be relevant to us today. At the end of each story, there are questions for personal reflection.
On Saturday, about 30 people gathered for a workshop titled "Zen and Nature". We shared our "special places", whether they be our front yards or far away. We read a poem by a Chinese hermit nun and each chose a line to reflect on in writing, then shared the results in small groups and the big circle. We considered what we associate with mountains and water, and did another writing exercise on that. Finally we walked outside, silently contemplating the snow, ice, dripping meltwater, and huge puddles in the neighbourhood. Everybody I talked to enjoyed this day and took something away from it.
On Sunday, Florence talked about her path into nature conservancy (she is a field botanist) and Zen. I'd say she considers this one path, very much influenced by Gary Snyder. She is now finishing up her training as a Unitarian minister. I found her to be very engaging and inspiring. It was a great weekend for the congregation.
Next weekend will just be plain old sitting
... and 15 degree Celsius weather should allow for snow free kinhin along the river. Well, maybe Norman will have something interesting to say as well, who knows?
Gassho
Nindo
sattoday
Florence was hosted by Westwood Unitarian Congregation for all three events. On Friday evening, she explained that she waited for years for somebody to collect all the stories about women practitioners, until she realized she would have to do it herself. The Hidden Lamp is modelled after the great koan collections, with the important difference that each story/ koan is commented on by a different (female) teacher, instead of one collector/ editor. I've only read a few stories so far, but all commentaries spoke very personally how the teaching/ experience in the story can be relevant to us today. At the end of each story, there are questions for personal reflection.
On Saturday, about 30 people gathered for a workshop titled "Zen and Nature". We shared our "special places", whether they be our front yards or far away. We read a poem by a Chinese hermit nun and each chose a line to reflect on in writing, then shared the results in small groups and the big circle. We considered what we associate with mountains and water, and did another writing exercise on that. Finally we walked outside, silently contemplating the snow, ice, dripping meltwater, and huge puddles in the neighbourhood. Everybody I talked to enjoyed this day and took something away from it.
On Sunday, Florence talked about her path into nature conservancy (she is a field botanist) and Zen. I'd say she considers this one path, very much influenced by Gary Snyder. She is now finishing up her training as a Unitarian minister. I found her to be very engaging and inspiring. It was a great weekend for the congregation.
Next weekend will just be plain old sitting
... and 15 degree Celsius weather should allow for snow free kinhin along the river. Well, maybe Norman will have something interesting to say as well, who knows?Gassho
Nindo
sattoday
The zendo erupted into clean up activities, and I headed off to catch the bus back home (a very nice lady offered to take me to the bus station). Everybody seemed astonished how quickly the weekend had gone by.
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