Considerations for a Dharma Box



Photo by Byron Hovey



On Sunday, June 19, a group of people met after the Sunday morning program at Windhorse, to look into coming up with individual Dharma wills and a ‘Dharma Box.’  Claire Hicks, hospice physician, started the meeting with an invitation to imagine our own death:

Take a few minutes, still yourself, and imagine you are dying, as you would want to die -- not sometime far in the future, but now. What is your vision for the death that you would want? What can you do to inform your family and friends about how they can help you realize your vision for your ideal death? What are the things that came out of this thought experiment that you might want to do something about?

Some of the things that came up for us were:

Dharma Circle - Thursday, June 23

To follow up with the interest in surveying some of the sutras, we plan to read and contemplate an abridged selection from Ch. 4 of the Lotus Sutra, Belief and Understanding.  It contains the parable of the Lost Son (referenced in Hakuin's Song) which illustrates how the ultimate truth (i.e., the Lotus Sutra) could be taught by the Buddha only when the disciples were mature enough to accept it.

Because the texts we discuss are copyrighted, we can only make copies of the sutra translations we work with for those attending the Circle. If you can attend the Circle, email us at Windhorse (via the Contact Page) and we will email you the selections we plan to work with.

The Dharma Circle meets on Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:30 pm

Depression & Healing Support Group Organizing

Recently some people have expressed interest in forming a support group for those who struggle with depressive states and who are, or would like to be, involved in some form of meditation practice. The point of this post is to find out how much interest there might be in such a group, and if there’s enough response we’ll work out the next step.  To clarify:  you don’t have to be a sangha member to be part of this group, just someone who wants to work on these issues with others in the context of a meditation practice.

    So many people now struggle with depressive states, and when they hit, it can be tough going. As Windhorse member Keith Carpenter writes:

    When one is in a depressive state, the world is gray, energy to do the simplest tasks is not there, the tendency is to want to isolate oneself from the world. One feels frozen and drowning in a sea of negative thoughts. Emotions are raw, primitive, and deep - there is something, reptilian, instinctual about them. One tends to do the opposite of what is healing - getting out, telling people what is going on and making healthy choices. Getting rest, refreshing sleep, adequate and nutritious food, exercise, an adequate amount of zazen, talking to trustworthy friends and taking an antidepressant if needed, have all been helpful. I believe the trick is to stay aware of what is going on moment by moment without judgment, and without trying to push the experience away or deny it.  Life may be suffering (or 'unsatisfactoriness'), but depression adds suffering stacked on top of suffering.

        So if you’re interested in working on this with others, send an email to Windhorse (via the Contact Us page). Feel free to send a link for this article on to others who may wish to participate, and know that all names and email addresses will remain confidential.

Dharma Study Circle

The Dharma Study Circle meets on Thursdays at 5:30-6:30 pm. Next Thursday, June 16, we will read and contemplate the Heart Sutra, The Prajnaparamita Hridaya.

We use the council circle format. We read a section of the sutra aloud together and share what has inspired us. 

Chinese text of the Heart Sūtra, by Yuan Dynasty artist and calligrapher Zhao Meng Fu, 1254-1322 A.D.

2nd Meeting of the Dharma Study Circle

"The discussion in the last group led me to think that a piece of the Avatamsaka Sutra might be fitting and inspiring. The chapter, Appearance of the Buddha, gives a taste of the Sutra and a glimpse into the true nature of reality discovered by the Buddha upon his enlightenment. It's lofty, mind-blowing reading." Wynn Seishin

The group intends to read and discuss 3 pages of the Sutra this Thursday, June 9, 5:30pm to 6:30pm. If you are planning to participate, email windhorse@windhorsezen.org and we will return an attachment of a copy of the text.

Vegan kefir

Those who know Sensei Sunya are well aware of her interest in healthy nutrition and her concern for the impact we have on other living beings. Every so often her research in these subjects leads to  new experiments in the Windhorse menu. Today we'd like to introduce you to the latest one: the vegan kefir.
Kefir grains came to Windhorse by mail. Fed with raw sugar, they are still recovering after the trip. This, however, does not prevent them from doing some useful work - namely turning sugar water into kefir! With the amount of grains we have now  (hopefully, they will grow) we can make about 2-3 cups of water kefir in 3 days. The kefir tastes great (something between milk kefir and champagne....) and is a wondrful source of  B12 vitamin, so hard to find in a vegan diet.

Dharma Study Circle

Some of the Windhorse sangha are interested in beginning an informal study group of Dharma texts.  They’re talking about surveying a wide variety of Dharma teachings, and are beginning to make a tentative selection for the first few meetings, beginning with Hakuin's "Chant in Praise of Zazen." (Click "Read more", and you'll find the text on the bottom of this post.)

The meetings will use a modified "council circle" format, where everyone will be invited to share a brief section of the text that they find inspiring.  But the structure and content of the study group is open for discussion.  If there’s enough interest, this could become an ongoing event at Windhorse.  The hope is to get better acquainted with both the Dharma and each other.

The first meeting will be this Thursday, June 2nd, from 5:30 to 6:30 PM at Panther Branch (before the sitting from 7 to 9).  All are welcome to join in.