WELCOME TO THE AUGUST NEWSLETTER

May this find you well. When you receive this newsletter, we will be in the midst of our summer retreat. May each of us take some time this month to appreciate and cultivate some silence—between crickets or car horns.

We are thrilled to announce that both our Foundations in Buddhist Contemplative Care Training and our ACPE Buddhist Clinical Training cohorts are both filled. The groups are comprised of students from all over the country, from California to Virginia and, internationally from England. We look forward to another rich year of learning together. There are still openings for our Foundations in Buddhist Contemplative Care for Certified Yoga Teachers. The deadline for applications is September 1.

Three bows to our donors this month. In order to continue to compassionately serve thousands each year and train people in contemplative care, we rely upon your support. Thank you to Christine Myogetsu Swann who provided matching donations for our scholarship fund. Thank you to the students of past and present who have, with Christine, allowed us to provide scholarships to two CPE students. Thank you to Roy Leone of Leone design studio for his pro bono help with translating our vision of the center into an architectural plan. You can read about our vision here. (http://www.zencare.org/about/ourvision.html) Bows to the anonymous donor who generously donated our first large temple bell. As the donor said in their note, “thank you for allowing me to practice generosity.” Please see the Wish List at the end of the newsletter for other opportunities to practice generosity.

In the Dharma,

Koshin + Chodo

Co-Founders

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September 15 Application Deadline for Foundations in Contemplative Care Training For Certified Yoga Teachers

New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care and OM yoga, are collaborating to create a year of rich training in Contemplative Care for Certified Yoga Teachers.

This innovative new program is designed for yoga teachers who are inspired to integrate contemplative care with their yoga teaching skills in order to deepen their own spiritual practice and their understanding of care based in Buddhist traditions. The students will offer their expertise in hospice, hospitals, and other health institutions. For more information and the application, go to: http://www.zencare.org/chaplaincy/yoga/index.html

KOSHIN PALEY ELLISON, ON RITUAL, LITURGY, AND INTIMACY

A town with no temple bell

—What do the people do?

Basho
 

When I read Basho's poem, I feel a pang of sadness. What would it be like to live without a sense of ritual, liturgy, or intimacy?

To read the full story, click here

My first exposure to prayer was through television. Children were told, “Don’t forget to say your prayers.” This was obviously considered crucial in some homes, whereas in mine, it was non-existent. This was consistent with my family’s lack of religious beliefs or practice. Although Jewish by heritage and culture, we were secular. I first heard the word God spoken by my friend when I was seven years old. The concept did not ring true to me then, and it still does not. I later came to view prayer as a threat. Organized prayer in public schools had been banned, having been deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Nevertheless, some groups were advocating its return. Most of my friends were strongly opposed to this. As Jews, we feared that prayers would inevitably have a Christian flavor, and marginalize Jewish students. I shared these feelings, but felt even more strongly. To me, any mention of God felt like an imposition. Even the Pledge of Allegiance, with its inclusion of the phrase “under God,” made me uncomfortable. Many controversies took place over the years with respect to prayer at graduation ceremonies, sports events, and other occasions that were not part of the basic school curriculum. I always viewed such efforts as attempts to sneak prayer into the schools. To me, each of these attempts was nothing short of a hostile act.

To read this complete piece, click here

The New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care is looking for a new location. We have outgrown our present space at 80 East 11th Street and, our rented spaces for our training programs. In the Fall, we are expanding to offer four, year long training programs in caregiving and our regular weekly programs. At the moment, all our workshops, public education and trainings are held at various locations that we rent. Our administration and consultations are held in a separate office suite. We are looking for a dedicated training home for the Center, where we could expand our offerings, provide more direct care, train more people and expand our public education programs. Ideally, we are looking for 3,000 + square feet in the Union Square/Flatiron/Greenwhich Village/Soho areas—centrally located to public transportation and near our partner Beth Israel Medical Center. We are hoping for a donated or subsidized loft space that would house a contemplative training space, two consulting rooms and an administrative office. This new space will enable us to offer a 60 plus seat meditation room, two/three consulting rooms, office, library and classroom, kitchen and multi-purpose common area. In an effort to better serve the needs of our caregivers and the New York practice community with this new space, we ask for your support. All offers and/or leads are welcome.

Please contact us at: info@zencare.org.

Make a tax deductible donation to support our work helping others. You can do that here.

We need a large (15” +) Japanese Wooden Mokugyo for our retreats and offerings. It would look similar to the one pictured here.

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We need a donation of 2 new Mac Book Pros. If you can offer these wishes, please email us at info@zencare.org.