photo: John Harder, Pueblo, CO November 2020
A note from Sarah Bender:
Dear Springs Mountain Sangha and friends,
The first dedication we offer in our sutra service is an expression of our gratitude for the meditation, the companionship, the teaching of all sorts of ancestors and all the beings who awaken with us now, and now, and now:
Buddha nature pervades the whole universe
existing right here now.
The wind blows, waves fall on the shore
and Guanyin finds us in the dark and broken roads.
We give thanks to all the ancestors of meditation in the still halls
The unknown women, centuries of enlightened women
Ants, and sticks, and big brown bears.
May wisdom go to every corner of the Hall.
Let people have joy in each other’s joy.
And to that, at this difficult moment in time I would add some words:
To the stars we are made of
To all that sustains us on this improbably perfect planet
To all those whose awakening is not visible to us,
and to those who can’t see it in us, either
since this may be exactly how we are awakening together.
We recognize that every bit of this is shot through with the light
of awakening, and we give thanks.
Yours in the Dharma,
Sarah
For our ongoing schedule please see our website at smszen.org
Please watch for a new December zoom link,
to be sent by email near the end of November.
All times listed below are Mountain Time
December
Wednesday, December 2: 8 PM Candlelight Meditation
Saturday, December 5: Bodhi Day Retreat
Monday, December 7: 6:10 PM Sutra Service
Wednesday, December 9: 8 PM Candlelight Meditation
Monday, December 14: 6:10 PM Community Night
Tuesday, December 15: 6:30 PM Ecodharma Group
Wednesday, December 16: 8 PM Candlelight Meditation
Monday, December 21: 6:10 PM, Winter Solstice Ceremony- the four Open Source teachers will lead together
Wednesday, December 23: 8 PM Candlelight Meditation
Monday, December 28: 6:10 PM Dharma Talk, Andrew Palmer, Sensei
Wednesday, December 30: 8 PM Candlelight Meditation
Thursday, December 31, 10:30 PM New Years Eve Ceremony
Ongoing Meditation Schedule
Mondays: Meditation and evening starting at 6:10 PM
Wednesdays: Morning meditation 6:30-7:30 AM,
Candlelight Meditation 8 PM
Saturdays: Morning Meditation 6:30-8:00 AM, discussion 8-8:30 AM
Most Saturday mornings, a sangha member will kick off a discussion with a brief talk, pertaining to their own experience of practice right now. These conversations are rich and real!
About Candle Light Sit Wednesday Evenings
on Zoom at 8 PM
Just that, one period of meditation at 8:00, no conversation. It’s pretty sweet.
Check it out!
Upcoming Events
In the Vastness, This Point of Light
Bodhi Day Retreat
with Sarah Bender, Roshi and Springs Mountain Sangha
Saturday, December 5, 2020
in the online Dharma Hall,
9 AM to 5 PM MST (evening conversation optional)
December Zoom link to be announced
No registration required; *donations to SMS gratefully accepted
Contact: Debbie Stavish: gardenmail@msn.com
Ecodharma Group
Tuesday, December 15, 6:30 PM
Contact Debbie Stavish gardenmail@msn.com
If you’d like to be on our smaller Ecodharma group email and receive our monthly newsletters, please email Debbie: gardenmail@msn.com
At our November meeting, with a stunning presentation about hunger in Colorado Springs and beyond from Zac Chapman, we found ourselves immersed in questions about how we as individuals and collectively continue to respond to the ongoing challenge of poverty which is so deepened by pandemic.
We’ve decided to let our December meeting be a time for further exploration of actions around this crisis.
Solstice Ceremony
Monday, December 21 at 6 PM
with Open Source Teachers
Andrew Palmer, Megan Rundel, Sarah Bender, Tenney Nathanson
With ceremony, we bless the dark and call the light that will begin to strengthen, slowly to warm the earth for the season of growing.
New Year’s Eve
December 31, 10:30 PM to 12:30 AM
Get together on Zoom
for meditation, reflection, bells, snacks and celebration
to welcome 2021!
And, looking forward into 2021
Open Source Wednesday Evening Koan Meditation
for the four Wednesdays of January, 7 to 9 PM
with Open Source Teachers
Dharma Study with Sarah Bender, Roshi
Saturdays, 4 PM MST, Jan. 9,16,23,30 and Feb 6, 13
We’ll be anchoring our study in David Hinton’s new exploration, Chan Roots
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration
Monday, January 18
Organizers are hard at work designing an online celebration.
Percy Pellerin is part of the organizing committee and keeps us informed. If you’d like to volunteer to help, contact Percy at percy.pellerin@gmail.com
Percy and Phil Brown have put forward an idea about collecting people’s stories about their early encounters with racism or more recent transformative experiences.
These will be collected into an e-book and some will be read on MLK day; and the committee will carry them forward into community building activities through the year.
Sarah Bender will also be offering a guided meditation as part of the day.
Introduction to Zen Practice
Thursday evenings, Feb 11,18, 25 and Mar 4
Open Source Meditation Retreat
March 9-14
with Andrew Palmer, Sensei, Megan Rundel,Sensei,
Sarah Bender, Roshi and Tenney Nathanson, Sensei
Newcomer’s Orientation
Newcomer’s orientation is offered by request. This is a brief introduction to our meditation sessions and forms, which we pre-covid had offered on Community Night on the second Monday of the month. Please contact Kelly McFarland at s.kelly.HLS@gmail.com if you are interested in this orientation.
Work in the Room
Work in the Room by telephone or Zoom can be arranged with Andrew Palmer, Sensei at alpalmer128@gmail.com or with Sarah Bender, Roshi at sembender@gmail.com. Work in the Room is a close encounter of the sacred/ordinary kind—an encounter among you, a teacher, and the great matter that is most deeply real for you right now—and what clearly matters because it shows up in a conversation about the Way, whether, on the face of it, it seems sacred or ordinary. No special undertaking is required. Sarah Bender Rōshi is also able to offer in person work in the outdoors, when weather permits
Recordings of Talks
Did you know that you can listen to previously recorded talks online? Sarah Bender, Roshi’s talks are available here. This link also includes talks she has given through Pacific Zen Institute. Andrew Palmer, Sensei’s talks are available here.
Newsletter Additions?
Do you have artwork, a poem or a volunteer story to share in our newsletter? If so, please send them to Kelly McFarland at s.Kelly.HLS@gmail.com.
- SMS member, Debbie, would like to share one of her favorite fall poems by Faith Shearin, The Fox, about an ordinary November morning https://poetrying.wordpress.com/2017/06/28/the-fox-faith-shearin/
the fox by faith shearin
It was an ordinary morning: November, thin light,
and we paused over our pancakes to watch
something red move outside. Our house is on
an untamed patch of land and, across the lagoon,
another house surrounded by trees. On the banks
of their shore, facing us: a fox. We thought
he might be a dog at first for he trotted and sniffed
like a dog but when he turned to us
we knew he was nobody’s pet. His face was arranged
like a child’s face — playful, dainty — and his eyes
were liquid and wild. He stood for awhile, looking out,
as if he could see us in our pajamas, then found
a patch of sand beneath a tree and turned himself
into a circle of fur: his head tucked into his tail.
It was awful to watch him sleep: exposed,
tiny, his eyes closed. How can any animal
be safe enough to rest? But while I washed
our dishes he woke again, yawned, and ran
away to the places only foxes know. My God
I was tired of being a person. Even now his tail
gestures to me across the disapproving lagoon.
Many Arms of Guanyin
- December Coat Drive: This time of year, especially this year, many unsheltered people truly struggle to stay warm. Coats can come from your own closets or can be purchased new or used.
- Pet Bed Drive: Has your pup or cat gotten a new bed and you aren’t sure what to do with the old one? Petco takes them as they are- don’t worry about cleaning. They are then re-used at our local Humane Society and San Luis Valley Animal Welfare Society.
- Coats and pet beds can be donated up until Dec. 18th when Debbie will pick them up from your doorstep! Please contact Debbie to schedule a pick up- gardenmail@msn.com
Work Day at Creek Bend was a hit! Thanks to everyone who helped!
Wellness Committee
Our sangha’s wellness committee is headed by Linda Hodges, who updates the committee regularly on needs of particular members so that we can reach out to each other when needed!
If you could use a boost of any sort, or if you’d like to be available to respond when the need arises, please contact Linda at hikerhodges@gmail.com.
Volunteer with SMS
Are you interested in volunteering to help with a specific project within the sangha? Do you have a particular skill or enthusiasm for something that might be helpful? Would you like to help out, but not sure how? SMS truly values and depends on the many efforts given freely by the sangha to the sangha. This is dana and is so much appreciated. If you have questions or want to help, please contact Kelly McFarland S.Kelly.HLS@gmail.com
About Dana
During these times when we cannot meet in person, you can donate to Springs Mountain Sangha through our PayPal account. You can get to the SMS PayPal link on the SMS web site at:
https://www.smszen.org/supportsms/ or by selecting the donate icon:
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