Springs Mountain Sangha, June 2026
June Offerings
Monday, June 1; 6 PM, on Zoom only, Precepts, Meditation and Community Night
Tuesday, June 2; 6:30 PM, on Zoom, Steering Committee Meeting – all are welcome
Friday – Sunday, June 5 – 7; In person at Creek Bend, Weekend Commuter Integrative Retreat, with Sarah Bender
Saturday, June 6; 9-10:30 AM, online (not available on the SMS zoom link), Introduction to Koan Practice with Sarah Bender, Roshi, please register: https://dorjedenmaling.org/program/2851/online-introduction-to-koan-practice/
Monday, June 8; 6 PM, on Zoom & in person at Shove Chapel, Meditation and Dharma Talk by Sarah Bender, Roshi
Thursday, June 11; 6:30 PM, on Zoom, Summer Book Group – Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Saturday, June 13; 9-10:30 AM, online (not available on the SMS zoom link), Introduction to Koan Practice with Sarah Bender, Roshi, please register: https://dorjedenmaling.org/program/2851/online-introduction-to-koan-practice/
Monday, June 15; 6 PM, on Zoom & in person at Shove Chapel, Meditation, Sutra Service and Conversation
Tuesday, June 16; 6:30-7 PM, on Zoom
Welcome to New Comers Evening with Brandy Lancaster
Thursday, June 18; 6 PM, on Zoom, Great Matters Group
Thursday, June 18; 7:30 PM, SMS Movie Night
Saturday, June 20; 9-10:30 AM, online (not available on the SMS zoom link), Introduction to Koan Practice with Sarah Bender, Roshi, please register: https://dorjedenmaling.org/program/2851/online-introduction-to-koan-practice/
Monday, June 22; 6 PM, on Zoom & in person at Shove Chapel, Meditation and Dharma Talk by Sarah Bender, Roshi
Thursday, June 25; 6:30 PM, on Zoom, Summer Book Group – Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Saturday, June 27; 9-10:30 AM, online (not available on the SMS zoom link), Introduction to Koan Practice with Sarah Bender, Roshi, please register: https://dorjedenmaling.org/program/2851/online-introduction-to-koan-practice/
Monday, June 29; 6 PM, on Zoom & in person at Shove Chapel, Meditation and Wayfaring Mind Talk by Shane Nelson
Candlelight Meditation
Every Sunday from 8 to 8:30 PM, you are invited to join candlelight meditation online. Simple and lovely.
More information on the offerings listed above:
Introduction to Koan Practice
with Sarah Bender Roshi
Date & Time Details:
Four Saturdays – June 6 – June 27, 9-10:30 am online
Contact:DDLOnline@dorjedenmaling.org to register
For more information see:
https://dorjedenmaling.org/program/2851/online-introduction-to-koan-practice/
Please Note – this series will be offered online but not in our usual Zoom Zendo
Koan practice is a methodology peculiar to Chan and Zen Buddhism, treasured for its power to evoke experiences of sudden awakening, from most subtle to most earthshaking, that leave one’s world irrevocably changed; and over time, to help release a person from the bondage of their own opinions, leaving them more and more free to welcome experience as it happens and to respond, with gratitude for life just as it is.
The koan itself is a kind of story—sometimes just two words, sometimes much longer—recounting encounters marked by a sudden shift or transformation. Collected over more than 1,500 years in China, Japan, and elsewhere, these stories carry that same transformative quality, even on the printed page. Yet they come most fully to life in relationship—with teachers and companions on the Way—where an intimate, personal connection with the koans can unfold.
What to Expect
In each session you’ll learn a little more about the tradition and what it’s like to practice within it, but mostly we’ll directly encounter a number of different kinds of koans and have an opportunity to practice with them.
Open to all, whether you are new to koan practice or more familiar.
Springs Mountain Sangha
Online Summer Book Group!
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Annie Dillard’s meditation on the interweaving of life and death, experienced with deep presence, through four seasons in nature,
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1975.
Thursdays 6:30-7:30 pm MT
June 11 and 25,
July 9 and 23,
August 6 and 20,
September 3 and 17
This will be a peer-led group. Susan Wiser will coordinate, and we’ll take turns leading.
Suggested donation: $10 per group to SMS at the following link:
https://www.smszen.org/supportsms/ and click the yellow donate button on the left side of the page
For more info or to register, please contact Susan Wiser at cayugadogrescue@gmail.com
The Great Matter of Livingdying
a series of conversations with Sarah Bender
continues Thursday, June 18, 6:00-7:30 PM MT
Zoom Zendo
We’ll continue our dive into the teachings Joan Sutherland has offered in our Ceremonies Manual, around caring for someone dying and after death. You can find these on page 29 at
https://joansutherlanddharmaworks.org/cgi-bin/dharma/jump.cgi?ID=177;view=PDF3
Suggested dana $10-$15 per session
If you’d like to join the series and haven’t let Sarah know already, please do so, to be added to the email list. sembender@gmail.com
Welcome to New Comers Evening
with Brandy Lancaster
Tuesday, June 16th, from 6:30-7PM MT
on SMS Zoom
New to the practice or Sangha? Have questions to ask? Pop on the Zoom at 6:30 on the 3rd Tuesday of the month to meet with a Sangha member and learn more about our practices.
We look forward to connecting with you!
SMS Movie Night
Thursday, June 18th, 7:30 PM MT
on SMS Zoom
Keep an eye out for more details in upcoming newsletters
Leadership Development group
Dear Ones,
We are happy to announce that Open Source/Cloud Gate
will be offering a Leadership Development group, open to all.
The group will meet monthly on Sunday evenings,
starting Sunday, May 31.
This group is designed for those who may be interested in stepping into sangha leadership within Cloud Gate, and will help participants hone leadership skills and identify suitable projects with mentorship.
We define leadership broadly and welcome participants with a variety of levels of leadership and practice experience. The only requirement is an interest in sangha service as a practice of the Way, and an openness to learning together.
The group will meet with the three teachers on the last Sunday of every month, from 5:30-6:30 PT, 6:30-7:30 MT.
Together we will explore leadership as Dharma practice, honing skills, identifying appropriate service projects, working supportively on obstacles, and developing a culture of service
within the sangha.
If you are interested, please fill out this quick Google form and we will keep you posted. If, for some reason, you can’t fill out the form, just contact your teacher.
Warmly,
Megan, Sarah, and Tenney
Spring Retreat Talks now available on the SMS website!
The Spring SMS Retreat talks are now available online. You can listen to the full collection of talks by visiting https://www.smszen.org/dharma-audio/. You are warmly invited to dive back into the the retreat or listen for the first time.
New Welcome Packet available online
Huge thanks to the Welcome Packet team who has refreshed our welcome packet available to all on our website at this link https://www.smszen.org/newcomers/. Many thanks to Zina Mercil, Mary Montoya, Phil Brown, Alo McGarigal and Susan Wiser for the months of hard work!
2026 Upcoming Retreats
Mark your calendar and save the date for these retreats coming up in 2026 – more information will be available as the dates get closer
June 5-7 Integrative retreat: Jizo Bodhisattva
Weekend Commuter Integrative Retreat June 5-7, 2026 with Sarah Bender, Roshi
Our integrative retreat will open us to the life of Jizo Bodhisattva, also known as Ksitigarbha…..Protector of Children, and Guide Through the Underworld.
Sometimes revered as the stone figure that still stands after the whole temple has burned down, sometimes the one whose clear eye sees all the comings and goings without judgment.
In this time of war and devastation across the globe and at home, steeping ourselves in the stories and koans, and bringing Jizo into our meditations, is a natural, easing and encouraging move.
We will spend a weekend together doing just that, and we invite you to join us!
In an integrative retreat, we move back and forth between silent meditation and conversation, taking up a story of transformation as our own,
in the koan way.
Location: Creek Bend Zendo, 7528 Jenkin Place, Colorado Springs, CO 80919
Dates/times:
Friday June 5th, 6:30 PM – 9 pm
Saturday June 6th, 9 am – 5 pm
Sunday June 7th, 9 am – 2 pm (Please stay until 3 to help us clean up).
Cost: $125. (Scholarships available)
Meals: Vegan/vegetarian lunches will be provided.
Creating a retreat is a wonderful part of our life in Springs Mountain Sangha. Together, we bring into being a community for our own practice, as well as for the practice of others.
To register for the retreat,
Email Susan at cayugadogrescue@gmail.com a and ask if late registration is possible.
August 30 Ullambana retreat
Stay Tuned!
October 17-23 Open Source retreat in Tucson
Stay Tuned!
December 6, 2026 Bodhi Day retreat
Stay Tuned!
Ongoing Meditation Schedule, All available
via Zoom; Monday Eves available in person as well
Weekly Meditations (all times MDT) on Zoom:
- Weekdays from 6:30 to 7:30 AM. We sit for two periods and people come and go as they need to, and leave camera off. (Often a poem or koan will drop in at some point.)
- Saturday we sit from 6:30 to 8:00 AM, then someone speaks for a bit about their practice to kick off a deep and lively discussion (til roughly 8:30) These Zen Threads talks are now alternating every other week with “mini-threads” group discussions of practice with multiple paths emerging and joining seamlessly. You can join the meditation at 6:30, 7:00, 7:30 or 8:00.
- Sunday 8:00-8:30 PM Candlelight Meditation
Support for Springs Mountain Sangha
You can donate to Springs Mountain Sangha in person at Shove Chapel using the dana bowl at the entrance to the dharma hall. You can also donate through our PayPal account. You can get to the SMS PayPal link on the SMS web site at:
http://www.smszen.org/supportsms/
or by selecting the donate icon:
Or you can mail a check to:
Springs Mountain Sangha
P.O. Box 2613
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
*We depend on the generosity of our members to support the work of our sangha*
If you want to make a donation to Sarah Bender specifically, for example, dana for classes, group meetings or work on the phone (suggested donations for these are $10 per class, or $20 for a 20 min. individual meeting) you can do this by sending a check directly to her.
Sarah Bender
7528 Jenkin Place
Colorado Springs, CO 80919
or by Paypal to sembender@gmail.com