Redding Zen Buddhist Priory

Exquisite iris! extraordinary color! Thanks to all who bring the Priory garden to life!

Dogen, in the Shushogi says: The life of this one day, today, is absolutely vital life; your body is deeply significant. Both your life and your body deserve love and respect for it is by their agency that Truth is practiced and the Buddha's power exhibited. The pictures show this morning's sunlight at the Priory after 6:30am meditation. Today, this one day, please take care of yourselves and those around you.

We celebrated Mothers Day reflecting on the teaching that "...all sentient beings have been our mother..." in the presence of an image of Prajnaparamita - the Mother of All the Buddhas.

Exquisite iris! extraordinary color! Thanks to all who bring the Priory garden to life!

Nadia is a good example for us. She's making the most of this time at home appreciating forest songbirds. We can breathe more easily and explore the songs of our own heart (or the songbirds outside!)

Written in the 1400s by Kabir, the Indian mystic and poet, isn't it relevant for us today? Don't go outside your house to see flowers. My friend, don't bother with that excursion. Inside your body there are flowers.... One flower has a thousand petals. That will do for a place to sit. Sitting there you will have a glimpse of beauty inside the body and out of it, before gardens and after gardens. - Kabir See more

Dogen, in the Shushogi says: The life of this one day, today, is absolutely vital life; your body is deeply significant. Both your life and your body deserve love and respect for it is by their agency that Truth is practiced and the Buddha's power exhibited. The pictures show this morning's sunlight at the Priory after 6:30am meditation. Today, this one day, please take care of yourselves and those around you.

It's the first day of Spring in the Priory garden. Happy Spring!

I've created a Sangha Resources Page on the Redding Zen website under the About Us tab. I hope to upload resources each day we are closed that may be helpful in your at-home practice these days. May I also point you to our website's Lay Practice Page - again under the About Us tab - which offers teaching on setting up a home altar, as well as teaching by Rev. Kodo on The Offering of Lay Practice. It also offers links to helpful articles on daily practice. And finally Nicholas and Nadia remind me about the importance of making space for play in taking care of ourselves.

While I sat in meditation by myself this morning, I didn't feel alone. I appreciate that so many of you are sitting on your own seat in front of your own altar during this time. For these next two weeks, I will be sitting daily at the Priory at 6:30am, at 12:30pm and at 5:30pm. Please join me at your own sitting place as your schedule allows.

I invite you to take this time to develop and deepen your own individual meditation practice by sitting in meditation with me in spirit, at your home sitting place, as I sit here at Redding Zen Priory every day at our usual 6:30am and 5:30pm meditation periods each day. I am also adding an additional sitting period from 12:30 to 1:00pm. This is our opportunity to offer merit for all those affected by the coronavirus, in all the ways they are affected medically, economically, psychologically, spiritually. Please join with me as your schedule allows.

May I let you know that the Redding Zen Buddhist Priory is closed through March 31. To protect the health of our Sangha and to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Redding Zen Buddhist Priory is closed through March 31. The Priory will be closed Tuesday, March 17 through Tuesday, March 31. Over these next two weeks, we will evaluate whether to reopen at the beginninof April, or to extend this closure. Tuesday’s usual 5:30pm meditation period here is cancelled. ... I invite you to take this time to develop and deepen your own individual practice by sitting with me in spirit, at your home sitting place, as I sit here at the Priory every day at our usual 6:30am and 5:30pm meditation periods each day. I am also adding an additional sitting period from 12:30 to 1:00pm. This is our opportunity to offer merit for all those affected by the coronavirus, in all the ways they are affected medically, economically, psychologically, spiritually. Over the next few days I will look to explore some of the ways to keep in touch with each other (as well as to study and meditate together) we discussed last Sunday. I’ll keep you informed as these develop. Indeed, I welcome your ideas, suggestions, and technical ability. Please call or email me with any questions. And we can schedule our sanzen (spiritual counseling) conversations over the phone or via Skype during this challenging time. This decision may surprise some of you, since at our discussion last Sunday morning we decided to keep things simple, but keep things open. I wanted to remain open as a refuge and safe meditation place for our community. However, overnight, the various government guidelines have become more restrictive. I’ve also realized how difficult it would be to maintain the six-foot distance guideline as we walked about, got our tea, visited, and such. This seems serious enough to err on the side of caution. Please take good care of yourselves. We have the opportunity to offer merit and compassion to those in our family, friends and those we encounter in our days. May we continue to offer responsible fearlessness to our world. With gratitude and appreciation, Rev. Helen

At Redding Zen we want to be sure you know that we are thinking of you and your families, and hoping that you are safe and well. We will continue to hold you in our offerings of merits and in loving-kindness as the days and weeks unfold. We also encourage you to follow the guidelines for recommended measures (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavi/2019-ncov/community/index.html) to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your community from the continued spread of the virus. The Prior...y is currently open and following CDC, State of California, and Shasta County recommendations and advice. In the spirit of compassion, and concern for others, please consider your own health before joining in Priory activities. Please consider practicing at home if you are symptomatic or if you’ve been around someone who it. For the next week the Priory schedule is below. And it is subject to change as things unfold over the next week. Please note that we have cancelled the remaining Precepts and History of Our Tradition classes. We’ll keep the situation under regular review in order to do what needs to be done. If you are in self-quarantine, or otherwise sick, please let me know. I will offer a Transfer of Merit, as well as offer support by other means, including phone, email and Skype. I hope tomorrow to send out a summary of our Sunday Dharma Discussion on the coronavirus situation tomorrow. I welcome your feed back on the topics we discussed. Thank you all for your training in this challenging time, as well as for the many ways you offer responsible fearlessness in our community. With gratitude and appreciation, Rev. Helen Redding Zen Buddhist Priory Current Schedule Tuesday, March 17 Meditation at 5:30pm The Priory is otherwise closed on Tuesday. Wednesday, March 18 - Meditation at 6:30am Short Morning Service at 7:00am Meditation at 5:30pm. Thursday, March 19. Meditation at 6:30am Short Morning Service at 7:00am Meditation at 5:30pm. Friday, March 20. Meditation at 6:30am Short Morning Service at 7:00am Meditation at 5:30pm. Saturday, March 21, Meditation at 8:00am Short Morning Service at 8:30am Coffee and Questions from 9am to 10am. Sunday, March 22, Meditation Sunday at 10:30am. With gratitude and appreciation, Rev. Helen

At this time of concern about the corona virus, I am offering merit daily for the health of all who share the life of the Priory, all beings who are affected by the virus, the medical professionals and caregivers, the researchers and decisionmakers. May I ask - if you don't feel well - to please practice at home while you are symptomatic. Please let me know so I can offer merit for you particularly. Please check the World Health Organization and/or the Centers for Disease C...ontrol for the latest information. If you live in Shasta County, you can also check Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency for additional local information. The Priory is keeping our regular schedule. While you're here, if you need to sneeze or cough, do so in a tissue or the crook of your elbow, and wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use hand sanitizer as often as possible and avoid touching your face with your hands. When washing your hands, consider chanting The Invocation for the Removal of Disasters or a scriptural verse or mantra of your choosing. In this time, may we practice wholeheartedly with kindness, generosity, and compassion for all beings.

Thanks to all who shared a full morning with Rev. Ando Mueller, Director of Ceremonial and Chief Precentor at Shasta Abbey, this past Saturday. She offered rich teaching on the importance of ceremony in our practice, as well as instruction in chanting our Morning Service Scriptures and other ceremonial music. She also gave instruction in the use of gongs, clappers, and inkins. The measure of the day was that two Sangha members chanted - yes, chanted - the offertory for our Sunday Transfer of Merit Ceremony. Thanks to them and to Rev. Ando.