Come on Spring, we’re rooting for you!
Dear Friends,
I woke up this morning gratefully warm under my covers (and a cat), and looked out on a world also under its soft white blanket. Feeling rooted, and grateful for the roots underground and in our Zen tradition, roots unseen by me but continually making and renewing connections; roots resting, getting ready to feel the warmth of light, to be washed by the penetrating waters, to begin, even, to form shoots to reach the sky. To be rooted in all the uncertainty of our individual and collective lives means also to be responsive to it, to be washed by tears, open to the elements, fired by passion for the dance of life’s limitless creativity. To “try to praise the mutilated world”, as the poet Adam Zagajewski put it, might look like this right now: to rest deeply, to accept winter’s offer to go deep, to find underground the hidden connections, to allow them to ready us for new responses to both the heartache and the heart’s delight that are our birthright. Both: to reach down and to reach out, as we carry indelible light invisibly within us.
This month and next, our Zen community will be joining together in a time of increased practice support, as you’ll see below. Sixteen bodhisattvas—all of us who care deeply about the wellbeing of all—which is all of us, can join in entering the bath, as the koan invites, to discover together…..what? I wonder what you will discover. Whatever it is, may it bring joy.
Yours in the Dharma,
Sarah
For our ongoing schedule please see our website at smszen.org
We will continue to use the 2021 Zoom link from month to month. If there is a need to change it, we will send out an email.
MARCH
Monday, March 1, 6:10 PM: Meditation and Sutra Service
Monday, March 8, 6:10 PM: Practice Period begins; Dedication Ceremony Monday evening
Tuesday, March 9 – Sunday March, 14: Open Source Meditation Retreat
Monday, March 15, 6:10 PM: Meditation and Dharma Talk, Megan Rundel, Sensei
Saturdays, March 20, 27, April 3, 10, 17, 24 Koan Meditation, Sarah Bender, Roshi
Monday, March 22, 6:10 PM: Meditation and Wayfaring Mind Talk, Van Warren
Saturday, March 27 6:30-8:00 AM: Conversations with Sarah Bender by appointment
Monday, March 29, 6:10 PM: Meditation and Dharma Talk, Tenney Nathanson, Sensei
Wednesday, March 31, 12:00-2:00 PM: WITR with Sarah Bender by appointment
Ongoing Meditation Schedule
Sundays: Candlelight Meditation 8 PM
Mondays: Meditation and evening starting at 6:10 PM
Wednesdays: Morning meditation 6:30-7:30 AM
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!
Practice Period Early Morning Meditations begin: Mon. Mar 15th – Thur. Apr 29th.
A simple, early morning candlelight sit is offered
during this period on Mon, Tue, Thur, Sundays 6:30-7:30 AM
Upcoming Events
2021 Calendar
The Springs Mountain Sangha Steering Committee has generated our 2021 calendar which can be found here. There are a lot of exciting things planned for next year! Mark your calendars for the retreats. We are hoping to be able to gather in person for our Fall Retreat, October 18-24 and are planning more in person physically distanced things as the warmer weather arrives.
Candlelight Meditation – Sunday Evenings
No discussion, just meditation. Join us Sundays 8-8:30 PM.
Koan Meditation Series
with Sarah Bender, Roshi
Saturdays, 4 PM MST, March 20, 27, April 3, 10, 17 and 24
Koans are the particular gift of our Zen tradition. Collected over a very long time, under many different circumstances, they form an ongoing conversation with our ancestors about the deepest matters–life, and death; love, and loss; war, and peace. We pick up these shards of the great light that we have inherited and hold them in our heart-minds, where they join us in this particular time, these particular bodies of ours and enlighten us—light us up and lift us up, individually and together.
Open Source Meditation Retreat
with Sarah Bender, Roshi, Andrew Palmer, Sensei, Megan Rundel, Sensei, and Tenney Nathanson, Sensei March 9-14, in the Zoom Temple
The Secret of the Stream Bed
Since before anyone remembers
it has been clear
shining like silver
though the moonlight penetrates it
and the wind ruffles it
no trace of either remains
Today I would not dare
to expound the secret
of the stream bed
But I can tell you
that the blue dragon
is coiled there.
–Muso Soseki
Please join us for our March Open Source retreat, meandering through moonlight, stream beds, and dragon lairs. We will begin the evening of Tuesday, March 9, and end mid-day on Sunday, March 14. You are welcome to join us!
To register, please complete application and payment at: http://www.crimsongatemeditation.org/upcoming-events.html
Practice Period
Going Into the Mystery With Community
16 Bodhisattvas enter the bath
SMS Practice Period March 8 – May 3 
Practice Period is an opportunity for us to join together with the intent of rededication to our practice. It’s a time to enliven, renew, get playful, and rediscover our togetherness and support of our sangha and its teachings. Practice Period is a wonderful time for expanded opportunities with Work In The Room and koan study with your teacher.
The period opens on Monday, March 8th with a dedication ceremony led by Sarah Bender, Roshi during our regular scheduled evening meditation. One day later, we are invited to be a part of the Open Source Meditation Retreat. (Part-time participation available depending on your schedule availability). This may not work for you and that is ok- the level of participation during the entire practice period is up to you. Your Practice Period Team desires this to be a time you enter opportunities based on what feels right for you. There are many offerings that will be available. The period ends May 3rd with an Integrative Retreat that week and a Monday night summary/reflection of the practice period during the regularly scheduled evening meditation.
Examples of creative offerings to help us join together during this continuing pandemic include weekly Roshi insights, earth walks with Zoom capability, daily silent virtual meditation sessions, Hakuin Happy Hour, an interactive art gallery that inspires individual expression, koan practice sessions led by Sarah Bender, Roshi (Mar 20, 27, April 3, 10, 17, and 24), and even a weekly cartoon to make you smile or groan.
*Being a part of this time does not require formal registration. However if you’d like to receive a weekly mailing that includes details around offerings, Roshi insights, and more, please email Debbie Stavish: gardenmail@msn.com
*To receive our beautifully created Practice Period Booklet, or a pdf copy, please email: Regan Arntzen: rrarntzen@gmail.com
*Any other questions please contact Regan or Debbie at the above emails
Visit the Practice Period Tab on our website for more details: www.smszen.org
This March Practice Period Calendar will also be on our website under “Practice Period” tab
Open Source Email List
If you’d like to join the info/discussion group for Open Source (which is a place for you to offer your insights, spark discussions, etc. as well as receiving notices) just email the address below with your name and email address.
opensourcezen+subscribe@groups.io
Finance Committee
Did you know the sangha has a finance committee? This committee consists of sangha members to help with our annual budget and provide financial guidance to the steering committee. If you are interested in joining this committee, please contact Kelly McFarland: s.kelly.HLS@gmail.com
Online Presence Committee
We are looking for volunteers to help with a discussion of our online presence, to include our website as well as our Facebook postings. Please contact Regan Arntzen: rrarntzen@gmail.com if you are interested in joining this new team.
Steering Committee Minutes
Steering committee minutes are available to all sangha members. If you are interested in receiving these monthly minutes, please contact Debbie Stavish at gardenmail@msn.com
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.
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.
Many Arms of Guanyin
ORDINARY MIND:
EXPLORATIONS IN ZEN AND BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY
BEGINS MARCH 18, 2021, 8-9:30 MOUNTAIN
MEGAN RUNDEL, SENSEI
In this ongoing collaborative discussion group, we will take up Buddhist teachings on the nature of the mind, suffering, healing, and no-self from a Zen perspective.
Each evening will open with a period of meditation, followed by a short talk on the topic at hand, and group discussion. There may be short readings from time to time. We will begin with an exploration of the Four Noble Truths and other aspects of the Buddha’s teachings. Each evening’s topic will be paired with a koan, in the spirit of weaving and unweaving the mind.
If you would like to participate, or have questions, email info@crimsongatemeditation. This offering is donation based. To make a donation, go to http://www.crimsongatemeditation.org/membership.html.
About the teacher: Megan Rundel, Sensei is a teacher in the Pacific Zen School, authorized by Joan Sutherland, Roshi. She is also a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst in Oakland, CA. Megan has a longstanding interest in the uses of meditation to alleviate suffering and promote creativity and integration.
Eco-Dharma
Fridays 10:00-11:30 am
February 5, 19, March 5, 19, April 2, 16
This is a course that will show the interconnection of the Dharma (spiritual teachings of the Buddha) and Ecology. We will explore ethical principles and the law of interdependence and how they can inform an appropriate response to our current environmental crisis.
Aruna will be drawing upon the work of Joanna Macy, David Loy and Bhikkhu Analayo to present lessons which encourage inquiry and discussion.
Permaculture in Practice
Fridays, 10:00-11:30 am
Feb 12, 26, Mar 12, 26, April 9, 23
This course is for anyone who wants to learn about the principles of permaculture and how to apply them. You will watch short videos on your own before coming together to discuss them once every two weeks . You will apply what you learn to a project of your own choice, either at Deer Park Community Garden or at your own home.
Both courses will use the Zoom format as long as the Covid 19 situation prohibits group gatherings. Donations accepted on a sliding scale (see registration form).
To get a taste of the content, check out Lesson One Video put together by the Women’s Permaculture Guild.
To register for either or both courses, click on this link.
COVID-19 has exacerbated the food insecurity which one in four Americans have suffered at some point in their lives. Pets have indirectly suffered due to unemployment and financial crises abound. Consider learning more about the following local outreach groups :
- Colorado Springs Food Rescue:
- Westside Cares:
- San Luis Valley Animal Welfare:
- Colorado Springs Humane Society:
- Family Promise Shelter of Colorado Springs:
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
Support for Cloud Dragon
An easy way to support Cloud Dragon, the Joan Sutherland Dharma WorksAmazon shoppers, sign in at smile.amazon.com and choose Cloud Dragon Dharma Works as the charity you would like 0.5% of your purchases to go to. It costs you nothing extra. We’re grateful for your generosity.
See also Joan Sutherland’s Patreon site,
https://www.patreon.com/posts/do-you-trust-yr-31567633
This is another good way to support Joan’s work and receive fresh teachings from her.