Sumeru News

This weekend on Sunday September 27, Roshi Shinko will be delivering the dharma talk for the Zen Life and Meditation Center, Chicago.  It will be part of their Sunday Morning Zen. They will be doing a service from 8:30 - 8:55 am (CST) - chanting the Heart Sutra, Identity, and 2 dharanis.  Then they have zazen followed by Roshi’s talk which starts at 9:00 am Colorado time (10:00 in Chicago).  She will base her talk on her book The Zen Priestess and the Snake.  You can join the program at any time before the talk. Here’s the link for Sunday...

Almost ready to go into production on "Kalyāṇamitra: A Model for Buddhist Spiritual Care" by Rev. Monica Sanford. This is a great resource for anybody in or considering entering the field of chaplaincy. We're doing it as two volumes. The first volume covers the theory and we hope to have it available in October 2020. The second volume covers practical applications. We hope to have that available in May 2021.

Dōgen's Mountains and Rivers Sutra has been a central Zen text since its publication in the 13th century. There's a long history here of study and practice. In this latest reflection, SFZC teacher emeritus Zoketsu Norman Fischer's commentary on the sutra is organized as 52 weeks of focused attention by Kuya Minogue, resident teacher at the Creston Zen Centre in British Columbia. Tricycle Magazine recently featured an article about the book, published by Sumeru earlier this year, along with reflections on several other companion books on the same topic. Here's the link:  https://tricycle.org/magazine/dogen-mountains-and-rivers/

Like a sand mandala, the Sumeru Directory of Canadian Buddhist Organizations, aka canadianbuddhism.info, is soon to be swept away like the sands of time. I've had the joy of creating and maintaining it for more than 10 years now, but it is time to direct my energies to other projects. May it have been auspicious for the growth and nurturance of the Dharma in this beautiful place, and a source of positive energy for those entering the path. May the more than 600 Dharma centers in Canada continue to flourish and be beacons in these difficult times. Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu....

Paul Keddy, author of Darwin Meets the Buddha: Reflections on Human Nature, Buddha Nature, Wild Nature was recently interviewed by Ted Meissner at the Secular Buddhist podcast. Here's a link to the audio:  https://secularbuddhism.org/episode-336-paul-keddy-darwin-meets-the-buddha/