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Open Temple Reminder - Early morning meditations continue, PLUS Meditation 3 hour Intensives! JoIn one or all: 6-7am, 7-10am, 12-3pm PDT September 26, 2022

Hello fellow pilgrims. 


Tomorrow, Saturday, the temple will be open for early morning meditation and also for our Saturday Intensive. 


Join us for any or all of these offerings!


A few members of a PZI Saturday meditation group will be hosting our PZI Saturday Intensives on June 12 and 19: Jan Black, Carla Thomas, Judith Swan and Chris Gaffney. 


—Our meditation group (founded by Vertiginous Direct Encounter, aka Jan Brogan) has found that the combination of two hours of koan meditation followed by a one hour of conversation can have a potent effect. We’ve been gratefully surprised at what’s been offered us during these encounters. So we offer them to you for exploration. It is highly desirable that you commit, if possible, to the entire three hour session. The stew needs to simmer, hope to see you in the pot.  


—Chris


The Saturday Intensive is made up of two 3-hour blocks, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.


Each block is made up of two hours of meditation, followed by an hour of conversation. You can choose a morning block or an afternoon block, or be there for both! 


Here is the full schedule for Saturday, June 12:

Early Morning Meditation

Eastern Temple:  Jesse Cardin will welcome you in the Eastern Temple from 7-8am EDT (or 4-5am PDT) to sit with a mystery koan from The Blue Cliff Record.


Western Temple:  Chris Gaffney will hold a cushion for you in the Western Temple from 6-7am PDT (or 9-10am EDT) with Case #80 from The Blue Cliff Record.

 

Western Koan: CASE #80: Zhaozhou and an Infant’s Sixth Sense:


A student asked Zhaozhou, “Does a newborn baby have consciousness?”
Zhaozhou said, “Tossing a ball on rushing waters.”
The went on to ask Touzi, “What does ‘tossing a ball on rushing waters’ mean?”
Touzi said, “Moment after moment, it never stops flowing.”


****


Saturday Intensive Meditation


Morning Block: 7-10am PDT (10am-1pm EDT)

Chris Gaffney will begin the Saturday Intensive in our open temple. He will sit with Blue Cliff Record Case #25:

Morning Koan:  CASE #25: The Hermit of Lotus Flower Peak Doesn’t Stay

The hermit of lotus flower peak held up her staff, saying to the group gathered around her. "When the ancestors reached here, why didn’t they decide to stay here?" Everyone was silent, so she answered herself. "Because it has no power for the Path."
Then she asked, "What does it come to in the end?" She answered her own question again, "I put my staff across my shoulders and set off without a backward glance, going straight into the endless mountains."

Afternoon Block: 12-3pm PDT (3-6pm EDT)


Carla Thomas will welcome you in the afternoon temple. She will sit with Blue CLiff Record Case #2

Afternoon Koan:  CASE #2: Zhaozhou’s Greatest Way Isn’t Difficult

Zhaozhou taught, “’The greatest way isn’t difficult if you don’t pick and choose.’ As soon as I speak, you’ll think, ‘That’s picking and choosing,’ or ‘That’s clear.’ But I don’t identify with clarity. Can you live like that?”
A student asked, “If you don’t identify with clarity, what do you live by?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you don’t know, why do you say that you don’t identify with clarity?”
“When you ask the question you already have it. Make your bow and step back.”

****

See you there! The lamps will be lit....

Warmly,
Karin & Corey of PZI

--

Corey Hitchcock
Pacific Zen Institute
?Interpreter of the Wild?

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