August work-day

This past Saturday, August 28th, was a work day following the usual morning program.  In order to prepare for next weekend's funeral ceremonies, the cabins were cleaned from top to bottom, the grounds were tended, solar lights installed, windows washed and more.  Following the work time, we enjoyed an outdoor lunch together made from produce fresh from the garden - the first meal with a public program in well a year and a half.

Thank you to everyone who came together for this work-practice time.

 

August Zazenkai

On Sunday, August 15, a group of sangha members came to the temple on a splendid Vermont morning to participate in the first in-person Zazenkai since the temple closed in March, 2020 due to concerns over COVID-19.  The half-day retreat included opening & closing ceremonies, zazen (sitting meditation), kinhin (walking meditation), and a Dharma Talk.  In order to allow for social distancing, participants sat in the zendo, the Sangha Hall, on the temple porches, and outside next to the gardens and under the trees.  The outside temple bell was used to mark the beginning and end of the 30-minute zazen and 10-minute kinhin sessions to coordinate participants in the different locations.  Rev. Kenzan gave an encouraging Dharma Talk entitled "Being a Voluntary Participant in your Present Moment Life". The talk was based on notes from a 2007 Dharma Talk by Rev. Taihaku combined with experiences, stories and thoughts from Kenzan.  After the program, participants burst into a spontaneous round of applause at the delight of being back at the Temple for practice.

Animal senses & tasty gifts - children's program

We celebrated our fully in-person Children's Program this month by appreciating the great abundance of late summer. We started with gratitude for the shelter of the temple awnings during a beautiful rainstorm, while we shared interesting things that we have observed in nature. We then explored our various animal senses (deer ears, fox walking, bear nose, owl eyes, and groundhog taste) as we ventured on a nature walk to the vegetable garden. Along the way we encountered numerous gifts: brilliant red dahlia flowers, tart crabapples, pungent spearmint, juicy blueberries, and crunchy carrots, among many others. We then helped the Garden Day crew with planting, weeding, and harvesting in the vegetable garden. We reflected on the many gifts we continue to receive from Taihaku, who dedicated her life to caring for this land and community.

Temple Nature/Land Greeting

 Every year in August we have a time of greeting and gratitude to the Temple land and all the nature and protecting spirits that support our practice.

This year's simplified program, on Saturday's beautiful sunny morning, was rich in experience.  We began in front of the Temple and walked with chanting past the Peace Pole garden, the supporting buildings, the pet cemetery, down to Connie's Pond, then back up to the Cemetery and continuing up to White Jewel Mountain, then down the other side to the vegetable garden and back through the woods, past the house to the front of the Temple and closing with a poem written by Taihaku.

Walking with chanting

Standing meditation on top of White Jewel Mountain

Food offering (fish!) at Connie's Pond