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

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Anybody who is sewing a rakusu with the permission of their teacher, is welcome to sew with us. Please come for instruction or community. Participation by those who need to sew an envelope, repair an old rakusu or robe, or wish to sew a robe as a gift, is also encouraged.

In person at SCZC.

Anybody who is sewing a rakusu with the permission of their teacher, is welcome to sew with us. Please come for instruction or community. Participation by those who need to sew an envelope, repair an old rakusu or robe, or wish to sew a robe as a gift, is also encouraged.

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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.

Anybody who is sewing a rakusu with the permission of their teacher, is welcome to sew with us. Please come for instruction or community. Participation by those who need to sew an envelope, repair an old rakusu or robe, or wish to sew a robe as a gift, is also encouraged.

This event is in person at 113 School St. Outdoor seating will be available.

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Five classes: Sundays 10/17, 10/24, 11/14, 11/21, and 12/19, 6:40-8 p.m. via Zoom

Looking North, East, South and West we will take up the little-explored Esoteric teachings of Zen that originated before the Buddha and are hidden in plain sight throughout our everyday practice.

More Information and RSVP

-All SCZC online events are 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 above meeting ID and password at the prompts.