“Healing Our Way Home . . .” Book Study Group

In person at Insight Santa Cruz, 740 Front Street, Suite 240, Santa Cruz

Co-facilitated by ISC Teachers and Reverend Patrick Teverbaugh

Members of Insight Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz Zen Center invite all to join the book study group “Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy and Liberation,” by Kaira Jewel Lingo, Valerie Brown, and Marisela Gomez.

For the first meeting read the Introduction and Chapter 1.

We will discuss two chapters at each meeting. Meets in person at ISC, May 12 & 26, June 9 & 23, and July14.

Sewing Buddha’s Robe

Led by Rev. Gene Bush

@ 6:45 to 8:00 pm

Anybody who is sewing a rakusu with the permission of their teacher is welcome to sew with us. Please come for instruction or community. Participation by those who need to sew an envelope, repair an old rakusu or robe, or wish to sew a robe as a gift, is also encouraged.

More Information

Contact Rev. Gene Bush

At 6:40 pm on Wednesday evening, join us for our weekly, live dharma talk following by an open question and answer period at the Santa Cruz Zen Center. You may also participate via Zoom. All are welcome.

You are also invited to join us for zazen at 6 pm., just prior to the dharma talk.

Weekly Dharma Study Group on Monday mornings at 7:50 a.m. with Rev. Patrick Teverbaugh in person in the Sangha Home or on Zoom.

We are reading Living by Vow. This is a commentary on our daily Zen chants by Shohaku Okumura. In a clear and engaging voice, Okumura roshi explains the historical side as well as the noumenal side of our core Zen teachings

Join here.

@ 6:40 pm

In person at SCZC or on Zoom.

We usually meet the first Thursday evening of each month, 6:40 in-person and on Zoom to study some of the foundational teachings of our Buddhist lineage.

We have just finished studying the foundational poem on non-duality, Trust in Mind, by our third ancestor in China, Sengcan. We are guided by the commentary entitled Trust in Mind by Zen teacher, Mu Soeng.

On February 1, we will begin the study of "the heart sutra," translation by Red Pine. The translation can be found online here:

https://appamada.pbworks.com/f/Heart%20Sutra-Red%20Pine.pdf

At 6:40 pm on Wednesday evening, join us for our weekly, live dharma talk following by an open question and answer period at the Santa Cruz Zen Center. You may also participate via Zoom. All are welcome.

You are also invited to join us for zazen at 6 pm., just prior to the dharma talk.

Weekly Dharma Study Group on Monday mornings at 7:50 a.m. with Rev. Patrick Teverbaugh in person in the Sangha Home or on Zoom.

We are reading Living by Vow. This is a commentary on our daily Zen chants by Shohaku Okumura. In a clear and engaging voice, Okumura roshi explains the historical side as well as the noumenal side of our core Zen teachings

Join here.

Sunday Suppers for a Sustainable Planet

5 pm — 6 pm cooking lesson and 6 pm meal (come for one or both)

Join Sangha members for a plant-based meal together, learning new cooking techniques, sharing recipes, and socializing. A plant-based diet is an easy and nutritious way to reduce one’s carbon footprint. This event springs out of dialogue in our monthly EarthCare group.

The first hour will be a cooking lesson and demo. But feel free to come just for the meal at 6 pm. Please be sure to sign up either online or on the bulletin board so we’ll know how much to cook. A donation of any size will be gratefully accepted.

PLEASE RSVP before april 22 - seating is limited

Meet fellow Zendo creatives and art lovers once a month to explore the intersection of Art & Zen. Let’s support our creative practices in art and life via prompts and exercises offered by Valéria (“Val”) Miranda, inspired by John Daido Loori’s book The Zen of Creativity and Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way.

Val is a long term SCZC practitioner and a local nonprofit arts administrator who practices dance and visual arts. Please bring a journal with unruled pages or a sketchbook, pencil, and/or pen, and, as an option, art materials such as colored pencils/watercolors/, and images and words cut out from magazines. 

Monthly on Saturdays - 1:30-3 pm in the Sangha Home

Sometimes we feel anxious, depressed, powerless, restless, stressed out. 

Sometimes we feel stable and ready to offer support and encouragement.

The Wellness Group is a support group for everyone. We will recite Maylie's Prayer for Peace together. We will practice deep listening. We will share how we care for ourselves. We will help each other to continually cultivate the ground of peace for ourselves and others.

Meetings are at 6:45 pm in the Sangha home (113 house). There is also the option to attend via Zoom.

Maylie Kushin Seisho Scott, 1994, Founding teacher of Arcata Zen Group

Maylie’s Prayer for Peace

(recited not chanted)

May I be well, loving, and peaceful.

May all beings be well, loving, and peaceful.

May I be at ease in my body, feeling the ground beneath my seat and feet, letting my back be long and straight, enjoying breath as it rises and falls and rises.

May I know and be intimate with body mind, whatever its feeling or mood, calm or agitated, tired or energetic, irritated or friendly. Breathing in and out, in and out, aware, moment by moment, of the risings and passings.

May I be attentive and gentle towards my own discomfort and suffering.

May I be attentive and grateful for my own joy and wellbeing.

May I move towards others freely and with openness.

May I receive others with sympathy and understanding.

May I move towards the suffering of others with peaceful and attentive confidence.

May I recall the Bodhisattva of compassion; her 1,000 hands, her instant readiness for action, each hand with an eye in it, the instinctive knowing what to do.

May I continually cultivate the ground of peace for myself and others and persist, mindful and dedicated to this work, independent of results.

May I know that my peace and the world’s peace are not separate, that our peace in the world is a result of our work for justice.

May all beings be well, happy, and peaceful.

At 6:40 pm on Wednesday evening, join us for our weekly, live dharma talk following by an open question and answer period at the Santa Cruz Zen Center. You may also participate via Zoom. All are welcome.

You are also invited to join us for zazen at 6 pm., just prior to the dharma talk.

At 6:40 pm on Wednesday evening, join us for our weekly, live dharma talk following by an open question and answer period at the Santa Cruz Zen Center. You may also participate via Zoom. All are welcome.

You are also invited to join us for zazen at 6 pm., just prior to the dharma talk.

Please join us at the Santa Cruz Zen Center for a Full Moon Bodhisattva Vow Renewal Ceremony in place of zazen/meditation. In person and on Zoom.

Weekly Dharma Study Group on Monday mornings at 7:50 a.m. with Rev. Patrick Teverbaugh on Zoom.

We are reading Living by Vow. This is a commentary on our daily Zen chants by Shohaku Okumura. In a clear and engaging voice, Okumura roshi explains the historical side as well as the noumenal side of our core Zen teachings

Join here.

Sewing Buddha’s Robe

Led by Rev. Gene Bush

@ 1:00 to 3:00 pm

Anybody who is sewing a rakusu with the permission of their teacher is welcome to sew with us. Please come for instruction or community. Participation by those who need to sew an envelope, repair an old rakusu or robe, or wish to sew a robe as a gift, is also encouraged.

More Information

Contact Rev. Gene Bush

Hi Earth Care Friends,

Good news! We have been given time to do a simple ceremony at the Earth Day stage at 12:45-12:55 at Abbot Square. (I just found out-my contact at the City was out sick all week).

So let's plan to meet at 11:30 am at SCZC tomorrow, so we can go over our ceremony and then head downtown.

We will need to be down at Cooper Street by 12:15 to scope out our spot and set up, and then be at the Stage at 12:35. 

Here is a ceremony that we can do in 10 minutes, and would love your help and participation with it! 

Attached are participant guidelines, which we will share with the people we listen to, and also volunteer guidelines for ourselves as a quick reminder of the training we have done. I'll bring copies of this and chant cards.

We're really looking forward to seeing you all there!

Since we have these activities, we will skip our regular Earth Care meeting in April, and will meet on May 14, at 12 noon in the Sangha House. 

I look forward to engaging in our Earth Care practice with you!

Deep bows,

Steve 

At 6:35 pm on Wednesday evening, join us for our weekly, live dharma talk following by an open question and answer period at the Santa Cruz Zen Center. You may also participate via Zoom. All are welcome.

You are also invited to join us for zazen at 6 pm., just prior to the dharma talk.

Monthly Board of Trustees Meeting

@ 6:45 pm

in person at SCZC or join on Zoom here.

UPDATE: 4/12/23 CANCELLED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER

This is an event of the Coastal Watershed Council that supported by the SCZC Service Committee.

From the Coastal Watershed Council Website:

Join us for our River Health Day and plant and maintain native seedlings along the banks of the San Lorenzo River to increase biodiversity and revitalize the river ecosystem.

We will meet on the east riverbank between the Soquel Ave and Laurel Street bridges. Free parking is available in the CWC parking lot at 107 Dakota Ave. Paid parking is also available on Dakota Avenue or across the river in downtown Santa Cruz. The closest parking garage is at 601 Front Street.

We recommend that all volunteers dress in comfortable gardening clothes, including long pants, socks and sturdy closed-toe shoes. Bring layers, sun protection and a reusable water bottle. Gloves, tools and light refreshments will be provided.

All ages and abilities are welcome. Volunteers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Call (831) 464 9200 x104, or email CWC River Ecologist Kaiya Giuliano-Monroy with any questions before the event. RSVP for this and other Coastal Watershed here.

Dear Earth Care Friends,

At our last meeting, we decided to do these events:

• Cancelled due to Inclement Weather - On April 13 at 8:30-9:45 am, we will meet at the West Side Farmers Market to do our first round of listening stations!  After that, people can go to the River Health Day at 10am and care for our beloved river.

• On April 20, 12-4pm (exact time to be determined).  We will offer Listening Stations at Earth Day, downtown Santa Cruz at Abbott Square. There may also be a brief ceremony to honor the Earth led by SCZC and others. 

Please let us know if you'd like to participate in the Listening Stations with this Sign Up Sheet. If you have missed the meetings to prepare, no worries, we can get you up to speed quickly. Please join in if you are interested! It is a wonderful gift to our community. 

Since we have these activities, we will skip our regular Earth Care meeting in April, and will meet on May 14, at 12 noon in the Sangha House. 

Finally, for those of you who can't be in our sesshin, please come to the Interfaith Climate Service on 4/5. It will be a wonderful event. 

I look forward to engaging in our Earth Care practice with you!

Deep bows,

Steve 

Dear Earth Care Friends,

At our last meeting, we decided to do these events:

• On April 13 at 8:30-9:45 am, we will meet at the West Side Farmers Market to do our first round of listening stations!  After that, people can go to the River Health Day at 10am and care for our beloved river.

• On April 20, 12-4pm (exact time to be determined).  We will offer Listening Stations at Earth Day, downtown Santa Cruz at Abbott Square. There may also be a brief ceremony to honor the Earth led by SCZC and others. 

Please let us know if you'd like to participate in the Listening Stations with this Sign Up Sheet. If you have missed the meetings to prepare, no worries, we can get you up to speed quickly. Please join in if you are interested! It is a wonderful gift to our community. 

Since we have these activities, we will skip our regular Earth Care meeting in April, and will meet on May 14, at 12 noon in the Sangha House. 

Finally, for those of you who can't be in our sesshin, please come to the Interfaith Climate Service on 4/5. It will be a wonderful event. 

I look forward to engaging in our Earth Care practice with you!

Deep bows,

Steve 

 

How can we engage in care for the Earth as an expression of our spiritual practice?

How might we weave together activism and our Bodhisattva Vows?

Please join us at 10:30 am

in the Sangha House

to explore ways we can engage in our practice to

address the environmental and climate crises.

“The purpose of a human being is to participate in the flourishing of life…Beholding earth as a being, a magnificent being, a gorgeous being, a sacred being, we fall ever deeper in love.” -Charles Eisenstein, How the Environmental Movement Can Find Its Way Again

May we bring the Warm Jewels of our practice out into the world:

Presence, Compassion, Interbeing, Service

For more information, please contact Steve:

Steve@stevepalmisano.com

Buddha's Birthday is an opportunity to celebrate Spring together in our garden, surrounded by flowers and friends. We start with a short and lively outdoor ceremony that includes the story of Buddha's birth and chanting. This is followed by snacks and good company! See you there!

Please join us as we come together in prayer and song to explore how our respective faiths encourage us to protect the earth and all its inhabitants.

Following the service, refreshments will be served. Representatives from local climate action groups will be available to talk about their activities and ways you can get involved.

Please join us at the Santa Cruz Zen Center for a Full Moon Bodhisattva Vow Renewal Ceremony in place of zazen/meditation. In person and on Zoom.