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General Information: Overview : : History Index : 1998 - 2003 ZPO Director![]() In 2000, Sensei Robert Joshin Althouse joined the Peacemaker Community staff as Director of the ZPO. He had the task of weaving together the many elements of the ZPO history into a Greater ZPO Sangha that could function and support zen activists in making our world a more harmonious place to live and practice. Spirit HoldersIn 2000, it was decided to form a group of Spirit Holders representing different cultures and lineages of Zen practicioners to help make the ZPO more inclusive. This group originally consisted of Joan Halifax, Amy Hollowell, Francisco Lugoviña, Eve Marko, Fleet Maull, Wendy Nakao, Pat O'Hara, Alan Senauke, Paul Schwerdt and Suhita Dharma. Over the years, this group stopped meeting. The Spirit Holders sat on the ZPO Council to hold and clarify the vision and mission of the ZPO. They were an advisory council to the Co-Founder and Spiritual Director, Bernie Glassman and Executive Director, Robert Althouse. First International ZPO GatheringMarch 2001 - December 2001On Dec. 31, 2001 we finished a nine-month ZPO membership transition period. During that transition time, which began with the ZPO gathering in March 2001, we communicated new requirements for continuing as an active member of the ZPO. We laid out a training path in a new manual and began to develop a handbook that would support our members in practicing this training path. To facilitate these changes we offered introductory ZPO workshops in Albuquerque, Paris, New York, Boulder, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Greater SanghaWe started to work on the intergration of the many diverse ingredients that make up the Zen Peacemaker Community. If we do this with respect and patience, we will learn how to make the supreme meal together. Should you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact us. We are currently working on:
Oct 3, 2002Report by Sensei Robert Joshin Althouse MinistriesMembers of the Circle have ministries in some of the following areas: prisons, hospice, AIDS, diversity issues, environment, inner city, youth, social justice, homelessness, mental health, and various forms of peacemaking. Closing the DoorAt the beginning of 2002, the ZPC closed its door to further membership. Before opening our doors again, we want to have resolved the following:
Greater SanghaIn trying to create a committed membership base of strong spiritual, social activists, we developed membership rules which excluded people who had earlier joined the Circle, but did not wish to go forward with the new membership requirements. Some felt excluded. Some felt disappointed. Some just got tired of the changes we seem to undergo on a regular basis. Starting a new Circle has been challenging for all of us. But the original vision of creating an Circle which could be a container for holding and supporting spiritually-based social action through Zen practice has not changed. We are working to acknowledge, honor and recognize those people who have been previous members of the Circle by including them in what we are calling the Greater Sangha of the ZPC. While these people have chosen to not be active members of the Circle, we wish to acknowledge their contributions to our development and continue to explore ways to include them in all that we do. ZPC-EuropeDuring the first six months of 2002, we formed an ad hoc ZPC Circle in Santa Barbara to address outstanding issues and set policies. At this time, we made an important decision to separate ZPC into ZPC-USA and ZPC-Europe. Bernie committed to meeting with the ZPC-European Circle once every two months. They have already met, and have elected five seat holders and their Director, Paul Schwerdt. Move to MontagueIn June of 2002, the Peacemaker Community Hub Staff moved from Santa Barbara, California to our new 26 acre home in Montague, Massachusetts. Offices have been set up offices in the large barn and eleven of us are living together in the big old farmhouse. As I write this update — the trees outside my window change colors with each passing day. I am grateful for our community and for the ongoing sense of commitment from all our staff in the Peacemaker Community who work tirelessly to bring forth a large vision of peacemaking in the world. Formation of ZPC-USA CircleIn early September, 2002, the ZPC-USA Circle was elected at an Intensive Training Circle of ZPC members who have been working with Bernie Glassman for the last few years. This election was done using the Sociocratic voting process. These seatholders and their respective spheres of activity are:
Some changes that came out of our first ZPC-USA Circle are as follows: PartnershipWe reaffirmed the value of partnership which had been very much a part of Jishu Roshi's vision of the ZPC at the beginning. Out of some painful struggling and honest evaluation of our personal shortcomings in this regard, we reaffirmed our desire to bring this forth as an active ingredient that would inform all aspects of our Circle. The ZPC-USA Circle voted to have Bernie Glassman and Eve Marko serve as Spiritual Co-Directors of the ZPC-USA Circle. MalasThe ZPC-USA Circle agreed that while the mala begging was an important practice for all ZPC members, it should not be tied to a fixed amount of money or depended upon as the sole source of funding for the Circle. To date, the only income received by the Circle to cover its annual budgets has been the funds received through the begging of the Circle's members. As a result of this policy decision, we are discontinuing the mala system that we have been working with over the past year as the way of funding our operations. At the beginning of 2003 I will present a budget for 2003 to all ZPC members and ask that membership fees cover this budget. Accompanying the budget will be a description of our operating plan for 2003 and what we wish to accomplish, and we will ask all members to commit to supporting that budget through their membership fees. As I begin to explain this new development to members, I sense in myself and others relief. I believe the mala practice we tried to implement over the last year, while it was an important practice, caused much resistance, confusion and misperception when it was used as the sole source of funding for the Circle. I hope that the new system of covering our expenditures through membership fees will be cleaner and more transparent. Also, in the past the ZPC acted as a clearinghouse for monies that members had raised for projects and programs that were not directly connected to ZPC. This was an onerous administrative burden that the Circle can't afford to sustain. For this reason, in the future, when members do their begging practice, it will be personal. They may choose to beg for a specific project, event or ministry or non-profit organization and ask for checks to be made out to whatever entity they desire. The Circle will no longer serve as a clearinghouse for receiving and distributing these checks (other than for donations made specifically to the Circle). GuidesThe ZPC-USA Circle made a policy decision to have all ZPC members be in an active relationship with a ZPC-Guide. Guides are all members that belong to an Intensive Training Circle that is led by Bernie Glassman. One of their functions is to personally support and nurture other ZPC members. Their role is not to be confused with that of a spiritual teacher. They function as a friend who has been trained by the Circle to help members individualize their training paths. Support CirclesThe ZPC-USA Circle made a policy decision to have all ZPC members belong to a Support Circle. These circles exist as a means of peer-group support to nurture their members, practice and ministries. We are using Tova Green's book, Insight and Action, as a reference for these circles. |
Bernie's Zen
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