KAIHAN Fall 2001
North Carolina Zen Center 919-542-7411
283 Quartz Hill Road http://www.nczencenter.org/
Pittsboro, NC 27312-6592 NCZENCENTER@prodigy.net
Regular Practice at Brooks Branch Zendo on Ironwood Road
Thursday from 7 to 9 PM Sunday from 10 to noon followed by tea until one.
Tuesday from 6 to 6:45 AM
Starting soon after New Year, morning sitting will be Monday through Friday, 6 to 7 AM.
The Bathhouse
With wiring roughed in, only the installation of four shower faucets is needed before the next inspection. Installation of the windows, doors and insulation awaits new gifts to the Building Fund.
We are extremely grateful to Woody Setzer & Carol Prokop, Be Gardiner, Linda Campany, Andy & Jennifer
Angyal, John Iler, Maureen Vivino, Katherine Hall, Daphne Jones, Jennifer Armstrong, Elizabeth Hearn, Cliff Mansfield, Todd & Elizabeth Bishop, Barbara Gordon, Jerry
Humphreys, Michael Brown & Roxanne Henderson and Tom Davenport for their recent contributions.
Landscaping
During the Fall Zen Weekend we discussed landscaping. Viewpoints included not cutting any more trees without careful consideration on a tree by tree basis, and clearing the brush and scrub growth to facilitate walking and seeing through a woods. Agreement was reached on smoothing out the existing pathway up to the zendo from the creek. A considerable pile of previously cut brush now awaits wetter weather before burning.
New Yearıs Eve Event
Last yearıs New Yearıs Eve celebration and fundraiser at Brooks Branch Zendo was great fun and a big success, so weıre excited to be planning the event again. Please join us for all or any part of the evening. Weıll start with a delicious meal at 7:30, prepared by our communityıs talented cooks. At around 10:00 will be chanting and sitting, then weıll ring in 2002 with bells, champagne, and dessert. To make reservations (by December 21, please) contact Roxanne Henderson: 919 942 3276; henderson2@nc.rr.com; 9111 Bethel Hickory Church Road, 27516. Suggested donation (to the NC Zen Center) for the full evening is $50 per person-- but whatever you can give, join us.
Rinzai-Ji
The board of directors has applied for reaffiliation with Rinzai-ji in Los Angeles. As many of you know, Rinzai-ji is the umbrella under which centers founded by Joshu Sasaki Roshi and his students gather. This may mean reduced rates at sesshin with Joshu Roshi for NCZC members.
On the Web
Linda Campany is now e-mailing people current news and events at The Center. If you would like this network service please notify her (LindaCampany@aol.com).
Thanks to Jason Dowdle who created our new web site.
Also, if you want to receive Kaihan by e-mail, please notify Be Gardiner (ambez@fastransit.net).
Work Weekend
The late summer work weekend was attended by Sandy Stewart, Linda Campany, Barbara Gordon , Roxanne Henderson, Amy
Durso, Jeff Humphreys, Grady Elrod, Kevin Moore, John Fitzgerald, Be Gardiner,and Joe Kenlan and his masonry crew Jesus, Chris, and
Joland.
The old platitude about many hands, sustained by good food and each other's practice, was once again proved true as curtains went up in the two bedrooms in the kitchen building, a block wall (later to be faced with stone) was built to define the lower edge of the courtyard, a low stone retaining wall was laid that allowed a backfilling of dirt that raised the ground level below the zendo walkway, block patching and wire routing were begun on the bathhouse, and cleaning, the never ending, was pursued.
Sesshin Schedule
Spring schedule to be announced in the Winter Kaihan.
June 29 - July 6, 2002 Southern Dharma Retreat Center, 828-622-7112, 1661 West Rd., Hot Springs, NC 28743; sdharma@main.nc.us
Memberships
There are now 34 members of the Center. Thanks for your generosity! Our estimate is that annually fifty memberships of fifty dollars each will support the expenses of electricity, insurance, phone, and office and residential supplies.
Gifts
Joe Kenlan contributed three black granite slabs to complete the kitchen counters, Hosen and Bodhi Manda Zen Center kindly sent a collection of kitchen knifes, and many of you made cash contributions. We are grateful to all.
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Fall Sesshin
Eight sitters attended the Fall Sesshin and were joined by as many as six others during the weekend. Sandy continued his discussion around two translations of Nagarjunaıs Verses from the Center. Of particular appropriateness was his talk about the Three Treasures: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, as expressions of the
emptiness,cognizance, and boundlessness of our own mind. On Sunday Jennifer Armstrong, Drew Dunn, Jason Dowdle, Roxanne Henderson, and Jerry Humphreys (all pictured with Linda Campany in the photo above) embraced the Precepts and donned new sitting robes and wakesas in the Five Precepts ceremony. We thank them for this opportunity to once again renew our own practice and congratulate them on their commitment.
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