At the time of morning service, there will be a short ceremony to honor this root teacher.

More Information>>

This will be both in person and on zoom. We will be joined by the Arcata Zen Group.

Here is the translation we will use.
(Diamond Sutra, English, Price & Wong).

Maybe when we first come to practice we thought some miracle would happen. The miracle actually is coming to practice; we still have to do the work of cutting through delusion. The Diamond Sutra gives very clear teaching for this, and it is especially clear when read aloud continuously in one sitting.

Here is a quote from Red Pine’s book on the Diamond Sutra.  The context is a verse talking about the perfection of forbearance. 

“The Buddha is concerned that Subhuti’s understand of this teaching begins and ends with prajna (wisdom).  But prajna does not exist in isolation and cannot be practiced without practicing the other perfections. In this sutra, the Buddha focuses on three of the Six Perfections, namely, those that counteract the Three Poisons:  the perfection of charity, which counteracts the poison of desire, the perfection of wisdom, which destroys the poison of delusion, and the perfection of forbearance, which eliminates the poison of anger.  Although this sutra only mentions these three by name, each is closely related to the other perfections:  Charity with morality, forbearance with vigor, and wisdom with meditation. Thus, by focusing on these three, the sutra provides instruction in all six.  The reason the Buddha mentions forbearance here (in this chapter) is that without it, bodhisattvas will not be able to endure what is the most traumatic teaching they will ever experience or know.”

This sutra takes about an hour and a half to read straight through. Gene will facilitate this gathering of Santa Cruz and Arcata people, inviting participants one at a time to read aloud a section; others, while muted, will read along in their homes. We will open with brief introductions and an orientation to the event, then just read, closing with an appropriate dedication.

All are welcome to ask their Zen questions of Reverend Eugene Bush and Reverend Patrick Teverbaugh.

What is Shosan?

This dharma inquiry ceremony, often done at the culmination of Practice Period, is a tradition in Zen temples around the world. In this SCZC shosan via zoom, practitioners will signal the teacher(s), put their hands in gassho and ask a question related to their practice then receive a response from Patrick or Gene. Together we nourish the Dharma by engaging in this heart to heart encounter.

This ceremony will occur in place of the usual Wednesday evening zoom lecture on Dec. 15, and will mark the closing of Practice Period 2021.

-Join at: https://zoom.us/j/2951668406
-Zoom meeting ID 295 166 8406, password 753
-To connect by phone, call 1 (669) 900-6833 and enter the meeting ID and password.

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During the time of regular evening lecture, we will have in-person and Zoom Buddhism enlightenment ceremony. All are welcome to attend outdoors with masked chanting. It will also be filmed on zoom.

At the time of morning service, there will be a short ceremony to honor this root teacher.

More Information>>

At our regular morning service time, we will memorialize our ancestor Bodhidharma.

An annual memorial service for our ancestors Dogen Zenji and Keizan Zenji will occur at the time of morning service.

More information about Dogen and Keizan courtesy of Sotoshu.

The Sangha is invited to the Jukai ceremony for Christine Marez, Saturday August 21, 3:00 p.m. We will be outside in the zendo patio supporting Christine as she takes the Bodhisattva Vows and expresses her intention to live according to the Buddhist Precepts. A reception will follow the ceremony.

What is this?

At the beginning of the pandemic on the weekend that would have been an acknowledgement of our first abbot Katherine's birthday, Gene touched a paintbrush to the eyes of each Buddha figure on our temple grounds with a promise to keep the schedule going even though we would be absent physically.

In this brief ceremony, the eyes of each Buddha figure at SCZC will be gently touched with a paintbrush, accompanied by a short call and response recitation, symbolically celebrating our return to a more complete on-site practice schedule. Tea and treats, enjoying each other's in-person companionship, to follow.