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MONTAGUE FARM ZENDO NEWSLETTER
March - April 2009

All you hungry spirits in the Ten Directions, please gather here. Sharing your distress, I offer you this food, hoping it resolves your thirsts and hungers. Gate of Sweet Nectar

The Montague Farm Zendo, led by Sensei Eve Myonen Marko, offers Zen meditation, liturgy, study, and retreats. There is private study with a teacher, liturgical training, as well as group study and circle processes. As the sangha comes together, we also hope to become involved in social action. The Montague Farm Zendo is the zendo of the Mother House of the Zen Peacemakers Sangha, founded by Roshi Bernie Glassman. It's also part of the White Plum Sangha, founded by Taizan Hakuyu Maezumi Roshi.


Sensei
Myonen
Sensei Eve Marko


March 1, 2009



Dear Friends:

campus

In the early evening of the first day of March we are awaiting another storm. The slope behind the house is already white, but what has this to do with tonight's snow? Just make contact with one snowflake--and the journey's done!

I am startled to see the end of the Intensive Practice Period only three weeks down the road; a good reminder of the passage of time. Come join us at the Montague Farm Zendo. It's a simple practice. At evening zazen we greet the darkness, at morning zazen the light. Can you do this?

May our life and practice be renewed for the benefit of all beings.
Eve Myonen Marko


March - April Schedule

Graphic depiction of the House of One People
The Montague Farm Zendo is Located in the Maezumi Institute's House of One People in Montague, Ma.
Morning Sitting meditation:

Monday, Thursday, and Friday: 6:45-8:00 am

Saturday: 8:30-11:00 am

Sitting Meditation

 

8:30 am

Study

 

9:30 am

 

3/28, Reflection on Precepts

 

Chanting

 

10:40 am



Evenings:

Tuesdays:

 

Beginning Instruction for Zen Meditation
     [Please call ahead of time]

7:00 pm

 

Sitting meditation

7:30-8:30 pm

 

Study

8:30-9:30 pm

3/31, 4/28

Meditation, Council and Tea

 

4/21

Meditation, Renewal of Vows

 

Wednesdays (during Intensive Practice Period 1/20-3/22): 7:00-8:00 pm


THERE WILL BE NO ZENDO SCHEDULE ON 3/23 AND ON 4/4.

INTENSIVE PRACTICE PERIOD

The two-month intensive practice period led by John Genyo Sprague, focusing on the study of mind, will end on Sunday morning, March 22, at 11:00 am, with a ceremony of dharma combat. Genyo will give a brief talk on the topic he's been studying and then will invite all Dragons and Elephants-everyone in the Zendo--to question him to test his mettle and clarity. Everyone is invited to take part in the festivities regardless of whether you attend the preceding sesshin or not. Light refreshments will follow.


LIFE PATHS AND THE THREE TENETS

In April, the Zendo will return to working with the Zen Peacemakers’ Three Tenets--Not Knowing, Bearing Witness, and Loving Action--as they pertain to life paths and committed action. Building on our previous study of mind, and with the help of teachings, koans, group study and exercises, we will focus on thoughts and feelings as they affect our decisions and conduct. This will be co-taught by Sensei Eve Myonen Marko and Dharma Holder Jim Daikan Bastien.


NEW PRECEPTS STUDY GROUP

A new group studying the Zen Peacemakers Precepts will start in the spring of ‘08 and work towards a Ceremony of Receiving Precepts. Please contact Eve Myonen Marko (eve@zenpeacemakers.com) for more details.


SHARED STEWARDSHIP

The study of shared stewardship continues on Saturdays, March 7 and April 11, at 11:15 am.


UPCOMING EVENTS OF THE MONTAGUE FARM ZENDO

Intro to Zen Practice 2:
Sensei Eve Myonen Marko

For those people who have received basic instruction for Zen meditation, here are follow-up sessions describing various Zen practices and study possibilities at the Montague Farm Zendo.

Each session will offer a brief review of meditation instruction and will include meditation sessions. These offerings are free as part of the Zendo’s commitment to making Zen practice open and available to everyone in our community.

Review of basic meditation practice;
meditation;
Circle practice;
Retreats;
Ritual.

March 8: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

No fee, but a donation is appreciated.

To register online, please click here.

3-Day Zen Retreat:
Sensei Eve Myonen Marko

eve

Silent retreat includes sitting meditation, formal oryoki meals (Friday breakfast through Sunday breakfast) , dharma talks, personal study and body practice.

This retreat offers an opportunity for both beginning and experienced meditators to deepen their practice. The daily retreat schedule will officially begin at 6 am and end at 9 pm. The retreat will end with the ceremony of dharma combat with Head Trainee John Genyo Sprague.

Fee does not include housing. Please check our onsite and local lodging webpage for accommodations.

Dana will be requested on behalf of Sensei Eve.

Begins March 19 at 7:30 pm and ends on March 22 at 12:00 pm

To register online, please click here.


A World of Our Own: Women, Power and Spirituality

Faculty:
Mirabai Bush, Sensei Eve Myonen Marko, Sr. Helen Prejean, Rev. June Ryushin Tanoue

Mirabai Bush
Mirabai Bush
Sensei Myonen
Sensei Marko
Helen Prejean
Sr. Prejean
june_tanoue
Rev. Tanoue

This is an intimate retreat for women with time for discussion and relationship among the participants and leaders. Our presenters will each share how they awakened to their own power, found their path of action, and discovered unexpected lessons and skills on their way to leadership.

There will meditation, talks by the leaders, small and large councils and some breakout interest groups. In addition, June Tanou will be teaching the body-mind spiritual practice of Hula, which she mastered in her native Hawaii.

Begins April 3 at 7:30pm and ends on April 5 at 12:00pm

Fee does not include housing or meals. Please check our onsite and local lodging webpage for accommodations.

A Gourmet meal ticket ($50) can be purchased for the weekend by clicking here.

April 3-5

To register online, please click here.


1-Day Zen Retreat:
Sensei Eve Myonen Marko

Silent retreat includes meditation, dharma talk, lunch, private study, and a final circle.

April 18: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Fee: Montague Farm Zendo Members: $20; Non-members: $25. This includes lunch.

To register online, please click here.

Intro to Zen Practice 3:
Sensei Eve Myonen Marko

eve

For those people who have received basic instruction for Zen meditation, here are follow-up sessions describing various Zen practices and study possibilities at the Montague Farm Zendo.

Each session will offer a brief review of meditation instruction and will include meditation sessions. These offerings are free as part of the Zendo’s commitment to making Zen practice open and available to everyone in our community.

Review of basic meditation practice;
meditation;
everyday life as practice;
precepts study;
optional private study with a teacher and teacher-student relationship.

No fee, but a donation is appreciated.

Sunday, April 19, 1-4 pm.

To register online, please click here.


The Seventeenth Koan of the Blue Cliff Record

(From a talk given by Eve Myonen Marko during a one-day retreat on February 21.)

The seventeenth koan of the Blue Cliff Record reads:

A monk asked Hsiang Lin, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?" Hsiang Lin said, "Sitting for a long time becomes toilsome."

You all know, of course, that asking about the meaning of the Patriarch's, or Bodhidharma's, coming from the West is like asking about the meaning of Zen. What is Zen? What is the meaning of life? That is the question poised to Hsiang Lin.

The introduction says:

Cut through nails and shear through iron, then you can be a genuine master of our school. If you run away from arrows and avoid swords, how could you possibly by a competent adept? The place where even a needle cannot enter, I leave aside for now; but tell me, what's it like when the foamy waves are flooding the skies?

We have been studying mind. Last time we met, the Head Trainee challenged us to examine what happens to our mind while doing zazen. When we went around the room most people focused on how they are trying--and succeeding or failing-to keep distractions away and cultivate some quiet.

In giving instructions to Zen practice we encourage people to breathe deeply, concentrate, and cultivate a quiet and clear mind. I'm glad to hear people say it's good to come here and sit, especially after a busy day in the office or the classroom or with one's family. Certainly I'm glad that people find refuge in this warm and welcoming space. And in order to have a strong, sustained practice one first must learn how to slow down the endless internal chatter and have a quiet mind.

But that's for the beginning. I'm reminded of the saying that ships can stay safe and snug in a harbor, but that's not what they are for. A ship is meant to travel, cross the seas, land in different ports. Cultivating a quiet mind carries a risk, the same risk we find everywhere, the conditioning towards permanence and self-clinging. I arrive at some quiet and that's where I want to stay. I learned how to breathe deeply, I learned how to shift my focus from my brain to my belly-in fact I can have this quiet not just during sitting but throughout the day. But practice isn't about finding quiet, some safe and snug harbor, it's about life. Zazen is not about attaching oneself to anything-including to peace and quiet. Please don't make that state of mind special.

Cut through nails and shear through iron, then you can be a genuine master of our school. If you run away from arrows and avoid swords, how could you possibly by a competent adept?

The Patriarch Bodhidharma sat in the cave for 9 years. What was that about? The eyes are horizontal and the nose is vertical. In winter it's cold and in summer it's warm. The light in morning zazen, the knocking in the risers. There's nothing special about it.

When you're sitting, are you just sitting? Or, having cultivated a quiet mind, do you cling to it? Can you smell about yourself the slightest stench of permanence-including permanent quiet? I don't think that's what Bodhidharma was doing. Be the open space for things to come and go. A big emotion threatens, let it come and then leave. Strong regret--let it come and then leave. Do you scrunch up or stiffen in resistance? Do you block out thoughts to preserve your calm? Do you keep your mind blank and quiescent, like an empty screen? That is not just sitting.

When you are just sitting, things arise and go. No stiffening against disharmony or pain, no moving forward towards peace and quiet. Just sitting. Dogen asked, how do you think not-thinking? He replied: Nonthinking. Not getting to a place beyond thinking, not getting to some transcendent destination or safe harbor.

What's it like when the foamy waves are flooding the sky? Look!


Membership in Montague Farm Zendo

Do you consider yourself part of the Montague Farm Zendo community? If so, please consider becoming a member and making a monthly financial commitment of $35.00 to the Zendo. These funds will help to support its teacher, Sensei Eve Myonen Marko, and will also pay for basic zendo supplies. You can also do service in lieu of some of the membership fee. As a member, you will receive a bi-monthly newsletter as well as reductions in retreat prices. You will receive a discount on programs given at the Maezumi Institute. Most important, you will be supporting the flowering of the sangha's practice.

For more information, please contact Anne Seiki Bull:
email: seiki@zenpeacemakers.com,
phone: 413-367-5269.


I invite you to read more about the Zen Peacemakers

and/or to explore their three main areas of activities by linking to them below:

For more information please contact:

Montague Farm Zendo
email: Anne Seiki Bull
phone: 413-367-5269


177 Ripley Road | Montague, MA 01351 | Phone: (413) 367-2080 | 2007 Zen Peacemakers