Clear Water Zendo (Vallejo Zen Center)

Black lives matter. I want to be an ally. That means I want to practice to educate myself about the racism in our past, against black people and against Native Americans and other people of color. I also want to face my own racism, unconscious sense of white privilege and fear. We are all corrupted by racism. Even people of color hand internalized the oppression. For Zen folks, the question must be How do I practice with this? How do I turn toward it? A bodhisattva intends to be useful. Useful, in my view, begins with educating and facing what we learn then acting upon it in whatever way seems useful. We protect this process, ground it, in zazen. Let us use our Sangha jewel to support one another in this difficult time.

From the Abbess...

Yes. Isn’t it true. Those damned expectations. This is from a friend.

https://vimeo.com/400763668 Our Sangha member Nick sent us a little musical pick me up to help bring us all together in troubled times. Enjoy.

Dear all, The Practice Committee has looked at what others are doing and what is happening in Italy where healthcare professionals are having to make painful decisions as to whom to treat because of a lack of adequate resources. In an abundance of caution, we have decided to close the physical zendo at least for this week, probably longer. I am completely available for dokusan (practice meeting) by Zoom, FaceTime, or phone. ... We will have a Sangha Meeting, by Zoom, on Wednesday. We will virtually sit together for 20 minutes first so join that if you like. The Zoom invitation will go out at 5:35. You can join anytime. The meeting will start at 6:00, or as soon as we get organized. We can talk about how to support one another during this time. Dharma talks can be attended by Zoom or maybe live-streamed. Same with classes. Perhaps folks would like to have a virtual practice buddy? If you have questions in the meantime, please ask me or any other member of the Practice Committee. They are cc'd above. We will support each other and get through this. Please treasure yourselves. warmly, Mary

This weekend will mark Clear Water's twentieth anniversary! If you have any memories that you'd like to post here, please do!

Dear friends, Due to some scheduling issues and some illness, we've had to cancel the One-Day Sit on Sunday. Our regular Saturday schedule is still in effect this week. Early Schedule: 7:30 Zazen, Service, Informal Breakfast Late Schedule: 9:30 - 10:05 Zazen 10:10 - 10:30 Work period ... 10:35 - 11:15 Lecture/Q&A 11:20 Informal Tea See more

We are on our winter interim break for the next several weeks. Next regularly scheduled day is our normal Saturday program on January 4th.

Holy cow, I got behind posting the lectures and classes and such! If you're subscribed to the podcast, you probably just saw a deluge from October and November come through. If not, you can go to the site itself and see what's available. There is the entirety of our Wednesday night classes on the Tenzo Kyokun. There are all the lectures through the Winter Practice Period and Sesshin which mostly circle around the same text and commentary. Enjoy!

Notes from Mary on the upcoming weeks... 1. This coming Saturday, December 7th, is not a Soji morning. It will be a regular morning with the new schedule. 7:30 zazen, service and informal breakfast, 9:30 zazen, 25 minute soji, lecture and tea. 2. December 11th, Wednesday, is the last Full Moon Ceremony this year. 3. Tim Wicks will be our guest speaker on Saturday, December 14th. 4. Interim starts on December 15th and runs until the beginning of the new year.... I will get the lectures from the Winter Sesshin posted on the podcast page shortly... http://vallejozencenter.org/podcasts/

We had a Jukai! Meet Shozui Hogetsu and YuDo Gengi and, of course, their teacher, Abbess Zenki Mocine.

I just wrote something and it got posted as a visitor. Well, aren’t we all? I wish you all a Jappy New Year. As we navigate these difficult, even dangerous, times, let us keep our zazen seats. Let us find a way to be useful and not reactive. Please take good care of yourself!... Warmly, Mary See more

Happy New Year all! We at Clear Water will eat long life noodles and sit zazen tomorrow to welcome the New Year. We will ring the big bell 108 times and burn up what we wish to let go of in the coming year. Please join us in person or virtually. This coming year will be challenging. May we find our seat and not allow hate and fear to dislodge us. May we act from that stable seat so as to be deeply useful. Do no harm. Gassho, Mary