Ongoing Events
Newcomer Orientation: 2nd Monday of the month,
CC Shove Chapel, Dharma Hall upstairs at 5:45 pm for anyone who would like some orientation to meditation, to our tradition, or to our sangha and customs.
5:15 Dharma Study and Discussion before Monday night meditation. Until mid September when Sarah returns, Frank Actis and Clay Taylor will be substituting as discussion leaders.
These discussions focus on supporting an ongoing practice in all of its aspects. Anyone is welcome to join in. This summer, we’ll be taking up short chapters from two books: Samurai Zen: The Warrior Koans, by Trevor Leggett, and The Hidden Lamp, ed. by Florence Caplow and Susan Moon. Each chapter is self-contained, so you can join in at any time.
Place: Shove Chapel downstairs from the north entrance.
Buddhism and the 12 Steps
For more information contact Jacque Minehart at jqminehart.com
September
September 9th: Zen Threads will begin its third season with Brandy Lancaster.
September 7th: Steering Committee Meeting at Linda Hodges’ house. Contact Linda at hikerhodges@gmail.com for further information.
September 16th: WITR with Sarah Bender, Roshi
September 18th: Dharma Talk by Sarah Bender, Roshi
September 25th: Dharma Talk by Andrew Palmer, Sensei
Introduction to Zen
September 22 – 23
Given by Frank Actis and Liz Cramer with a Dharma Talk by Sarah Bender, Roshi
Shove Chapel on the Colorado College Campus
Friday: 7-9:00 pm
Saturday 9 am – 1:00 pm
Dana*: $20 to support Sarah’s teachings. CC students attend free. And, no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Contact: Liz Cramer at elizabeth.cramer51@gmail.com
Fall Koan Series
with Sarah Bender, Roshi
at Creek Bend Zendo, 7528 Jenkin Place
September 24, October 1,8, 15, November 5
3 – 5:00 pm
A commitment to the series is desired but not required. We will create an email list for koans and for help. This time, in an attempt to free Sarah from the work before her teaching, a coordinator will organize a sign-up sheet of volunteers for each session. This would include making tea and setting up the hall. An early arrival of 30-45 minutes ahead of time is sufficient. And, for all attendees, please consider bringing a healthy snack to share.
Dana: $10 per session is requested and can be placed in the dana bowl at Sarah’s house. No one will be turned away for an inability to pay.
Coordinator: Liz Cramer @ elizabeth.cramer51@gmail.com
For questions regarding koans please contact
Sarah Bender, Roshi at sembender@gmail.com
Looking Ahead
October
October 7 Saturday Meditation: During the 4th meditation Clay Taylor will be teaching the form of Oryoki Breakfast.
October 9th Monday Meditation Community Night: Following a meditation period and recitation of the precepts, Clay Taylor will teach our Tea Ceremony.
October 14 Saturday Meditation cancelled due to CC Homecoming
October 30th (5th Monday): There will be a Wayfaring Mind Talk by Camilla Fuller.
Fall Retreat
October 23 – October 29 at The Abbey in Canon City
with Sarah Bender, Roshi
mark your calendar!
deadline for registration is October 13th
contact: Steve Milligan at steve_milligan08@comcast.net
If you are new to retreats, please contact
Sarah @sembender@gmail.com
November
Celebration of Sarah Bender’s Roshi transmission.
November 4th
Time: 2-4:00 pm
Place: Shove Chapel on the Colorado College Campus
save the date!
All-Sangha Meeting
Sunday November 12th
Time: 4 – 7 pm, location TBD
A chance to offer your thoughts and suggestions on the sangha
and its role in the greater community. All are welcome.
Indra’s Net
Somebody Needs to Tell the Locusts
Steve Milligan
I was taking a delightful late summer walk down in Monument Valley Park, not far from where I live. The locusts were crooning like youthful boys who had just realized that the prom was coming up this weekend and they didn’t have a date. Or perhaps their carpe diem urgency was something I had projected upon them, infected by the sense of the days trickling down to a precious few, announced by the barely perceptible lengthening shadows. My mum always averred that the singing of the locusts meant that the first frost was only thirty days away. This always struck me as an assertion of dubious validity, but I’m a sucker for lore. Of course, that was in the days before those pesky climate change hoaxers started raising the temperatures. They will stop at nothing. Our first average frost comes much later now. Somebody needs to tell the locusts.
Wet Mountain Sangha
Dharma Talks by Andrew Palmer: the 3rd Wednesday of each month at Wet Mountain Sangha’s Center for Inner Peace in Pueblo, 740 W 15th St, 81003. The service will begin at 6:00 pm. Starting at 5:00, Andrew will lead a Practice Check In. This is a chance to meet with Andrew and other members to discuss our actual practices and our lives. Feel free to bring any inquiries, or just yourself.
Opportunities for Engagement and Interest
(In the wider community,not sponsored by SMS)
You are welcome to submit requests for posting here to elizabeth.cramer51@gmail.com
About Dana
We depend on the generosity of our members to support the work of our sangha. Donations are gratefully received in the Dana bowl in the alcove of the meditation hall in Shove Chapel. Also, everyone is invited to contribute flowers for the altar and cookies for Community Nights.
We now accept PayPal donations. You can get to the SMS PayPal link on the SMS web site at:https://www.smszen.org/donate.html or by selecting the donate icon:
Support for Cloud Dragon
An easy way to support Cloud Dragon, the Joan Sutherland Dharma Works
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