Zen and The Sacred Drift
“no suffering, no extinguishing, no path, no wisdom and no Gain” –Heart Sutra–
You walking,
your footprints ARE the road,
and nothing else;
There is no road, walker,
you make the road by walking.
By walking you make the road,
and when you look backward,
you see the path that you
never will step on again.
Walker, there is no road,
only wind-trails in the sea.
-ANTONIO MACHADO-
It has fascinated me to no end, that along most of the touching and enriching journey called the Sacred Drift, there have been so many White Plum Lineage Zen Centers and other Zen Communities paralleling the Sound/Peace Chambers. I have had the blessed opportunity to explore, experience, learn about and sit Zazen with these beloved Sanghas, and I would like to share a morsel of the Zen aspect of The Sacred Drift!!! We are ALL, together, dancing the Dream Awake!!!
To become intimate with the way of enlightenment is to become intimate with the self. To become intimate with the self is to forget the self.
To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things.
–DOGEN–
PLUM VILLAGE
https://plumvillage.org/
My first introduction to Zen and Buddhism was through the compassionate teachings and books of Thich Nhat Hanh or Thay, as his students affectionately call him. In 1992, I had experienced the sudden loss of a beloved and proceeded to descend into the depths of a cocoon. In this darkness, I began to question EVERYTHING in this Life, and a wise Elder in my life held and guided me in a heart-space of compassion for many months after the shocking experience of this loss. She lent me tapes of Thay’s retreats at Omega and books that he had written, and the voyage into my true nature was sparked! I have since then participated in two deeply enriching and connecting mindfulness retreats within Thay’s lineage; the first with my dear adopted father in Estes Park, Colorado, that led to a voyage through India; the second, with my beloved partner, Jason, in May of 2017, at Plum Village France, where we and the Sangha learned how to mindfully and deliciously cook the supreme meal, that is Our Lives!
The New Hamlet-Plum Village-Mindful Cooking retreat, in France, was heartening, tasty and beautiful! Time was spent in Zazen, mindful eating, noble silence, kinhin (mindful walking on Grandmother Earth), cooking demonstrations, dharma talks, breathing, hearing the bell, stopping and returning to oneself, taking delight in amazing Vietnamese vegan meals, inter-being with the participants, nuns and our worldly dharma circle (‘the awesome pot washers’), making music, connecting with the French countryside, birdsong and sky, and, digesting all the bits of Thay, that were beautifully infused within the entirety of this retreat! It was truly a "how to cook the supreme meal with your life" retreat! Dogen would have reveled in the joy of the nuns and participants. (Joyful Mind, Compassionate Mind, Generous Mind, cooking the Supreme Meal!) Heeeee and I spent time slowly absorbing Dogen’s How to Cook Your Life. Synchronistic! Meeting some new “Spirit Sisters” from around the world at the retreat was delicious too!!! I spent precious time in council with Sister Peace, an African American Nun, who I first met at the Estes Park retreat. Sister Thang, facilitator of our smaller “pot washing” dharma circle, asked Jason and I if we would be interested in participating in Thay's "Beginning Anew" dharma class presentation that she was guiding one evening. It was a powerful relationship experience and we appreciated the opportunity. Jason and I received beautiful heart-centered feed back from many of the larger Sangha participants...it seems that our expressions of how we 'cook our lives' were inspirational. Quite Beautiful! HA!...and wouldn’t ya know it, our relationship has had several opportunities to benefit from holding council and ‘beginning anew’. We are thrilled to have these tools and are willing to use them! Jason and I were deeply inspired by our retreat experiences, and inter-being with the special hearts at Plum Village, that we both decided to receive the transmission of the 5 Mindfulness Training Precepts, and received touching Dharma names. Luminous Dana of the Heart is mine and Unfolding Lotus of the Heart is Jason's. Thank you Dears Thay, Sisters and Volunteers at New Hamlet. Much Gratitude and Love to you ALL. We continue to practice and recite the 14 Precepts of the Order of Interbeing often!
The first day of the retreat, a Nun sounded the Bell and offered the “End of Suffering Chant”. It was a powerful and transforming experience to absorb!
Here is the powerful version of the Plum Village Great Bell Chant (The End of Suffering)
“THIS IS IT!”
“Happiness is Here and Now…”
ADYASHANTI
https://adyashanti.opengatesangha.org/
Fast forward nearly 20 years, and the same wise loving Elder, who guided me to Thay’s mindfulness practice, led the way to the compassionate clarifying teachings of Adyashanti; a contemporary spiritual teacher of the Tao and Zen, who shares his wisdom from a compassionate, ‘down-to-earth’ Heart-Mind. I have participated in several of his Satsangs in Philadelphia and he shares a live free Satsang broadcast once a month from the above website.
“Who’s living in you? It’s pretty horrifying when you come to know that. You think you are free, but there probably isn’t a gesture, a thought, an emotion, an attitude, a belief in you that isn’t coming from someone else.”
-Anthony de Mello-
SOJI ZEN CENTER
http://sojizencenter.com/
One Sunday, many many moons ago now, I was walking through the neighborhood in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania with a friend of mine. We were talking about my life’s interesting, if anything else, journey, and I had stated that I would really like to deepen my meditation practice. No sooner than the words flew out of my mouth, my friend pointed across the street and said, “Well looky there! Soji Zen Center!” We proceeded to run, not walk, across the street, and I entered the ‘gateless gate’/ ‘the Universal Dharma Door for the second time. My friend and I were kindly greeted and welcomed by a Zen monk, named Ango, and he gave us the scoop on the Zen center, as well as the schedule of events. My heart was immediately drawn to the energies, the layout of the Zendo, the scent of pine incense and the practitioners at Soji. And so, the deepening of meditation began! I sat every Zazen, and Zazenkai session possible and received my first Zen teachings of form in the White Plum Lineage, from Dharma Brother, Oshin. I attended every class that Shuzen Sensei (now Roshi) offered, within my means, went to various workshops offered by Sangha members and participated in at least one or two days of the Sesshins. It is impossible to put into words, how this incredibly heart-centered Sangha and authentic teacher, Jules Shuzen Harris Roshi, opened and nurtured my Heart-Mind. What I can say is, I took refuge in these Three Treasures during a time of great conflict, suffering and transformation! The Soji Sanga is an incredible and diverse Sangha, and I am left with eternal gratitude and love for the loving kindness, compassion and generosity that I have received at Soji! 108 Deep Gassho Bows!
“Not knowing IS most intimate”
“Abiding no place, raise the Bodhi Mind”
“You ARE more than you could possibly imagine!”
ZEN PEACEMAKERS
https://hive.zenpeacemakers.org/
http://zenpeacemakers.org/bernie-glassman/
In January of 2015, while sitting Zazen, I had a vision. About six months later, this vision, what is now called the Sacred Drift, commenced with a complete dissolving of life as I had known it on the East Coast for over 33 years, and a commitment to dancing this dream awake. I then followed a silver thread that led me to the first Zen Peacemaker’s Native American Bearing Witness Retreat in the Black Hills of South Dakota! The social action work of the Zen Peacemakers International is phenomenal; like nothing I have ever experienced and learned about! If you are interested in understanding more about the Zen Peacemakers, I recommend the book, Instructions to the Cook by Bernie Glassman and cliquing the links above.
To access the memoir for the 2015 Zen Peacemaker's Native American Bearing Witness Retreat, scroll down to the bottom of this page.
The Three Tenants of the Zen Peacmakers
Not-Knowing; by giving up fixed ideas about ourselves and the universe
Bearing Witness; to the joy and suffering of the world
Taking Action; that arises from Not-Knowing and Bearing Witness
LAUGHING TEABOWL ZENDO
http://www.gosit.org/CenterDetails.asp?vST=SD&CenterID=593
After the Zen Peace Maker’s Native American Bearing Witness retreat and my last day in Rapid City, South Dakota, August 23, 2015, I was welcomed graciously and warmly to sit with the Laughing Tea Bowl Sangha in Rapid City. Shishin Roshi and Sensei Gyodo, of the Colorado Great Mountain Zen Center (GMZC), are the teachers in this sweet Zen community and they travel up to South Dakota a few times a year. Some of the Sangha members travel to Colorado for Sesshin at GMZC! Now there’s dedication and devotion!
“Sweep away the scattered thoughts, and practice charity without dwelling” –Buddha– (from the Diamond Sutra)
GREAT MOUNTAIN ZEN CENTER AT MAITREYA ABBEY
https://www.gmzc.org/
After my family invited me to make Colorado my home-base for the duration of the Sacred Drift, Shuzen Sensei (now Roshi), the Abbot of the Soji Zen Center, recommended that I connect with Shishin Roshi, at the Colorado Great Mountain Zen Center, once I settled. Life has a great sense of humor and timing! As it turned out, Life intended Shishin Roshi and I to meet much sooner. We connected the first day of the Zen Peacemaker’s Native American Bearing Witness Retreat, on the tour bus, and experienced this deeply moving retreat together, along with about 200 other retreat participants. Roshi kindly offered to carry my flute case at Wounded Knee, while I offered vibrations to Ancestors at this sacred painful site of remembrance, and, for some reason, this touched my heart.
A few weeks later, I landed in Colorado with my family and joyfully started sitting with the Great Mountain Zen Center Sangha and working koans with Roshi. The GMZC Sangha sits all over the Front Range! A lovely heart-ed senior student, Yugen, guides Zazen at Tranquility room in Lafayette on Sundays. Shishin Roshi offers Dokusan and Zazen every Wednesday at Dharma Ocean. Gyodo Sensei offers Zazenkai at Willow Farm, in Hygiene and regular Zazen on Mondays, in Boulder. Monthly sesshins, annual autumn ango periods, Great Heart Way Work Shops and more, are held at the Great Mountain Zen Center at Maitreya Abbey, in Berthoud, Colorado, where Shishin Roshi’s wife, Shinko Roshi is Abbotess of the Maitreya Abbey. Inter-being with these two amazing Protectors of the Dharma and the GMZC Sangha has been quite special and hearten-ing! It has been especially thrilling to inter-be with the HORSES and Goats during Samu practice at the Abbey!
"You can understand all of Buddhism, but you cannot go beyond your abilities and your intelligence unless you have robai-shin, grandmother mind; the mind of great compassion.
—Eihei Dogen—
ZEN CENTER OF LOS ANGELES
https://zcla.org/
In October and November of 2015, I was invited to Sacred Drift with an amazing community in the Los Angeles area. Here I had the exceptional opportunity to sit often with the Zen Center of Los Angeles-Great Dragon Mountain Sangha, where the White Plum Lineage originated! The Zen Center of Los Angeles and Abbot Wendy Lou Egyoku Nakao Roshi, celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2017! ZCLA was founded by Japanese Zen Master Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi Roshi in 1967 (the year I was born!), and was the training grounds of his influential successors, starting with Bernie Glassman. Today, ZCLA's robust residential and lay sangha is deeply involved with the local community of immigrants, artists, homeless and refugees. I was welcomed with open hearts and respectful gassho bows. I was delighted to inter-be with some of the Dharma Family that had just participated in the Native American Bearing Witness Retreat! In addition to Zazen, Fusatsu and Dharma Talks, I was invited to join 2 precept classes and I even participated in a Zen for Beginner’s class and learned additional comfortable ways of sitting Zazen! I bought a few books from the ZCLA book store about Taizan Maezumi Roshi and his teaching, as I was really curious about this White Plum Lineage that I have been karmically drawn to. This is how I learned that he started ZCLA the year I was born, and I was deeply struck when I learned that Maezumi Roshi took his mother’s name. Over the years of practice, I have learned that there are more women Roshis and Senseis in the White Plum Asanghas than in any Zen Practice WORLD WIDE! Now I know why my heart feels at home with this Dharma Family!
This afterword was originally delivered as a tribute by Father Robert E. Kennedy, S.J., a Catholic priest and Zen master, at the funeral of Maezumi Roshi, August 27, 1995.
Distinguished guests and dear friends. It is my pleasure to relate to you my last and most memorable conversation with Maezumi Roshi here in Los Angeles.
Maezumi Roshi told me that Buddhism today differs fundamentally from the Buddhism of the time of Sakyamuni Buddha.
“Surely not fundamentally different,” I asked the Roshi.
“YES,” Maezumi answered, “fundamentally different.”
Maezumi Roshi said that Buddhism in Japan today with its strong ascetic emphasis was nowhere known in the time of the Buddha.
More than that, Maezumi Roshi said that not only can Buddhism change fundamentally but it must change fundamentally. In every century and every culture Buddhism must find new forms to teach the people standing in front of them now. It is unthinkable to have a static Buddhism in a changing world. It is unthinkable for Buddhism to imitate old forms of teaching and living, no matter how precious those forms may be.
More than that, Buddhism must not only leave its old forms of expression Buddhism must leave Buddhism itself in order to enter the Field of Blessings, the Field of Blessings that transcends every human insight and every religious civilization.
More than that, Maezumi Roshi said that Buddhism must be open to the non-Buddhist. Self-giving knows no boundaries, self-giving know no end.
And then to my delight, Maezumi personalized his teaching. He said how happy he was that I, a Catholic priest, came to Buddhism to study and to learn. And he said how happy he was that Bernie Glassman Roshi had prepared me to stay and to teach.
For me this is the spirit of Buddhism: subtle and generous and open to the stranger. And for me this was Maezumi Roshi’s spirit-subtle and generous and open to the stranger.
More than that, Maezumi Roshi knew there was no stranger.
Maezumi Roshi, May I bid you farewell in a poem of your own language that you once said you appreciated and surely matches your spirit.
Kudakute mo
Kadkute mo ari
Mizu no tsuki
Though it be broken again and again
Still it is there
The moon in the water
VILLAGE ZENDO
https://villagezendo.org/
There is a special place in my heart for the Village Zendo. First of all, I would consider Enkyo Roshi to be my Dharma Granny, as she is Shuzen Sensei’s (now Roshi) Dharma Mother. I have found her to be a strong and compassionate teacher and protector of the Dharma in the Heart of New York City! She ventures to Philadelphia a few times a year to grace the Soji Zen Center with a Dharma Talk and her presence.
I have had the opportunity to sit with the Village Zendo Sangha many times, when visiting and staying in New York, with beloved Dharma Family, Oshin and Monshin, and when traveling abroad from JFK Airport, with long layovers. The very first time that I was enchanted by the Creative Village Zendo Teachers and Sangha, happened one early Sunday morning, when Shuzen Sensei (now Roshi) asked if I would be willing to drive him to New York, so he could deliver the Dharma Talk. It was a beautiful day, spending this time with Sensei and the Village Zendo Sangha. I was honored and gifted beyond words by simply being ‘the student driver’. Not long after my return from India, I ventured to New York to spend time with my beloved Dharma friends, Oshin and Monshin, and I experienced a very powerful Dokusan with Joshin Sensei (now Roshi) at the Village Zendo. The Tao was flowing fast and furious and Joshin’s calm clear ability to bear witness was exceptional in those moments. Thank You Joshin for your wise presence and responsive heart! I Gassho Bow to you.
nusubito ni torinokosareshi mado no tsuki
the thief
left it behind—
the moon at my window.
—Ryokan—
ZENDO BRAZIL
http://www.zendobrasil.org.br/
As I mentioned before, it is tremendously fascinating that along the Sacred Drift where the Peace Chambers exist, White Plum Lineage Zen Centers are found! Brazil was no exception! I had the pleasure of sitting Zazen with the Sangha and the beloved Zendo Dog of ZendoBrasil. The Zen teacher there is Roshi Coen De Souza, or as she is known in Brazil, Monja Coen de Souza. After Zazen, and while continuing to face the wall, Monja Coen de Souza gave a profound Taisho talk from Dogen’s Shobogenzo, first in the lyrical sounding Portuguese and then in English. She was amazing, shifting languages back and forth, and she did it to benefit this Sentient Sacred Drifter! Incredibly Musical!!! It was beautiful to meet Monja Coen de Souza. While we waited for my hosts to pick me up, Monja graciously offered me an apple and tea, and expounded a bit about her experience as a Zen student of Taizan Maezumi Roshi, and her many years spent practicing in Japan.
HUDSON RIVER ZEN CENTER
http://www.hudsonriverzencenter.org/
I have yet the opportunity to sit with the Hudson River Zen Center Sangha in New York, and at some point in my continuum would love to do so! I have, however, spent quality time with the teachers of this Zen Center during the Native American Bearing Witness Retreat. Roshi Grover Genro Gauntt is an exceptional patient teacher, by example and wholesome effort! He connected the Zen Peacemakers with the Lakota Elders of the Pine Ridge Reservation, and after, what I imagine years of hard work, co-created this extraordinary experience of bearing witness to what the First Nations peoples have had to endure and suffer. Sensei Paco Genkoji Lugovina was a delightful presence at this Bearing Witness Retreat in the Black Hills. His transformational joy and energies illuminated the council circle of which I was a part. Each day, in order to process through the heart, what we were bearing witness to, all 200 participants broke down into smaller intimate council circles. It was a powerful transformative experience to ‘circle up’ with the wise Zen practitioners of the White Plum Asangha. Unbeknownst to me, until much later, my council circle held the wise hearts of Sensei Paco (HRZC), Michel Genko Dubois Roshi (Dana Sangha), Egyoku Roshi (ZCLA), Sensei Deb-Faith-Mind (ZCLA), Roshi June-Ryushin-Tanoue (Zen Life Meditation Center and Hula, Oak Park, Il) and more, who I have continued to heart-connect with, along this Sacred Drift. If I ever doubted the existence of the Tao, I now have great Faith! How wonderful that we are ALL flowing in this mysterious miraculous flowing river of Life!
ONE DAY by David Whyte
One day I will say
the gift I once had
has been taken,
the place I have
made for myself
belongs to another,
and the words I have sung
are being sung by the ones
I would want.
Then I will be ready
for that voice
and the still silence
in which it arrives.
And if my faith is good
then we’ll meet again
on the road
and we’ll be thirsty,
and stop
and laugh
and drink together again
from the deep well
of things as they are.
DANA SANGHA PARIS
http://www.dana-sangha.org/Eng/index.php
I first met Roshi Michel Genko Dubois at the Zen Peacemaker’s Native American Bearing Witness retreat, where I knew him as simply Michel. We were in the same council circle together and I was deeply taken with the authenticity and warmth of his heart-sharing. Being completely enraptured by the French language, I was thrilled to learn that Michel was from Paris; not knowing at the time that Michel was a Roshi at the Dana Sangha in Montreuil, outside of Paris, and that his partner, Catherine Genno Pagès Roshi was the Abbotess of the Dana Sangha! I learned, after the fact, that this council circle was loaded with Amazing White Plum Lineage Roshis!
In May of 2017 my beloved partner, Jason Ruby, and I, Sacred Drifted together, through France and Belgium, with the intention of exploring Zen, Ancestry, Culture, Chocolate and Architecture. I had contacted Michel to see if he knew of an airbnb close to the Dana Sangha, where Jason and I could stay, so we could sit and practice with the Sangha, while exploring Paris. Michel responded graciously, and said, ‘why don’t you two stay with us at the Dana Sangha, this way you will have more opportunity to practice with the Sangha’! I was thrilled, and so Jason and I accepted Michel’s generous offer.
It was wonderful to experience the intimacy of the Dana Sangha Zen Center community via sitting Zazen, experiencing Dokusan with Michel Genko Roshi, hearing a Tibetan Lama expound on the Heart Sutra with Genno Roshi, chanting the vows and sutras in FRENCH, playing flutes and enjoying meals in the Buddha garden, interacting with visiting friends of the Roshis and inter-being with the rest of the Sangha for the first two weeks in France! What a gift!
Jason and I were invited to bring music to a Thursday Zazen, in lieu of the weekly council circle, and so we created a musical council circle out of the opportunity. Jason and I were struck by the profundity of a Dharma sister’s sharing. Her name is Basia and she was grown in Poland. Basia stated, after absorbing the Native American Flute sonorities and Jason’s synchronized percussion, that she experienced a rainbow between two mountains! WOW!
Roshi's Catherine and Michel are Gems, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to heart-connect with them.
One of the most striking qualities of the White Plum Asanghas, aside from their great determination to ‘study the self…” and offering extraordinary workshops, is their commitment and dedication to service work. Some dharma brothers and sisters serve in soup kitchens, in prisons, in ‘strip joints’…yes, compassionate Dharma-work has been offered in ‘strip joints’…, with the homeless, aiding elders, hospice, nursing homes, Bearing Witness Retreats, street sesshins and much Much MUCH more!
What is Zen? “ Simple, simple, so simple.
Infinite gratitude toward ALL things past; Infinite service to ALL things present; Infinite responsibility to all things future.”
–A Zen master’s answer to Huston Smith’s question “What is Zen”
Zen Peacemaker's Native American Bearing Witness Retreat 2015
ZEN, THE SACRED DRIFT AND THE BUFFALO PEOPLE - 2015
August 19th, 2015; Typing here and now, in the Rapid City, South Dakota home of kindred Kenna Eddy, with a soft friendly feline at my feet, MIND spins…Where do I begin??? …Where do I end??? :o))) … So many beautiful experiences and intertwining threads sewn lovingly into this tapestry! Impossible to relate the enrichment and depth through the written word! Imagine the difficulty of trying to shackle the ineffable profundity of one’s experiences with words. Perhaps these words will be only a crumb, a morsel, of the totality of these experiences to chew on. So I give you a mere taste…
Constant dissolving seems to be a center piece of this two-legged’s life, and eight days ago (August 9, 2015), this dissolving brought me “smack-dab” to “Center” with the Sacred Black Hills of Turtle Island, in a territory called South Dakota! At first, I thought that it was the Zen Peacemakers Native American Bearing Witness Retreat that landed me in the Black Hills, to bear witness to the story of the indigenous peoples of this Earth Space. Yes, this was part of the unfolding…AND…there was sooooo much more…
A beautiful being in this LIFE, Gosan Taido, prayed this, in a Sweat Lodge, on the Birdsong Peace Chamber Land in Pennsylvania, this past Spring; “…What is Zen? Simple…simple…Infinite gratitude to all things past. Infinite service to all things present. And, Infinite responsibility to all things Future.”
…and so, answering a visionary calling, there is now “Sacred Drifting”…blowing where Spirit Wind takes me and being of service…WITH…I might add, the incredible support of Community, Family, Loves, Sacred Beings along the WAY and Universe…ALL the Woven Glorious Golden Threads of this Sacred Tapestry. Life is a GIFT!
So, this Songbird, Jane-Honda a.k.a. the Red Pony, the inspirational poetry of David Whyte, Dharma talks, Pimsleur French lessons, music, camping gear, instruments and as much as the ol’ Pony could cart, departed from the Pennsylvania Earth-space on August 4th …heading West…
This Earth Drive is SPECTACULAR!!! The terrain through Western Pennsylvania is filled with luscious deciduous forest hugging the peaks and valleys of the Allegheny Mountain Range, pristine hilly farmland, the soaring of healing Hawks and graceful Turkey Vultures, and Mighty-Mighty-Colorful Semi-Trucks carting things to and fro. I found the truckers to be quite the gentleman drivers. There appears to be a trucking culture of respect and courtesy and I only witnessed one “crazy-ass” truck driver the whole way! Now that is impressive, eh!
Destination one; Cleveland, Ohio! I stayed overnight with lovely and hospitable Uncle Bill, Auntie Lynn and the four legged handsome canine in their care. OOOOh and I had the opportunity to see cousin Heather and her two adorable children, Fox and Navy! A first time connection! ;o))) What a pleasure! Our family is one of many beauteous extensions of cultures, blood, non-blood, challenges, generosity, wisdom and spirit. When I reflect on the beauty of this diverse family, gratitude warms the Heart.
August 5th, Jane-Honda-Red Pony and I headed out for the charming farming community of Three Rivers, Michigan and was welcomed with warm generosity and nurturing energies in this glorious Earth Space, by Christina Cusumano, a Spirit-Sista’ ExtraOrdinare and …ahem…an “elder in training” of the Earth Song Peace Chamber Community…Christina does not seem old enough to be an elder and yet, is wise in her being and simply looks fabulous! I honor her!
Part of the “Calling” a.k.a. “Sacred Drift” is to locate and offer one-on-one Sound Journeys in the Earth Spaces where the Peace/Sound Chambers, envisioned by Visionary Mystic, Joseph Rael-Beautiful Painted Arrow, have been built…Bridging…Threading…these sacred sites around the World. Christina and I worked together to manifest this, as she was secretary for the Elder Council of Chambers and held all the available addresses and contact information.
Earth Song Peace Chamber is a cozy, tranquil, intimate, nurturing Earth-chamber where sacred chanting and ceremony take place. There are dance arbors for the Sun-Moon, Drum, Long Dance and other Dances on most of the Peace Chamber lands. I was honored to give Sound Journeys to three delightful and amazing Women in the Earth Song Chamber, and ALL Sentient LIFE joined in the Song and Dance of Vibration through the open door! Exceptional!!! Vibrating…Balancing…Embracing…Listening…Spirit-Dancing…Healing…Peace-ing…
It is necessary and important to “empty” myself …”become the purified tiny hallow bone”…before giving sound journeys. Sometimes this manifests in Zazen, and other times it manifests through running upon Sacred Earth… HA!!!...and, sometimes both!!! :o))) This is what I did in Three Rivers, MI … AND … WOW!!! I ran through active producing fields of soybeans and corn and resting fields. Hmmm the wisdom of wise farmers…resting Earth interspersed with active, producing Earth! There was sun and Big Open Blue Sky, sounds of hawks and soaring hawks…Healing and Being…
The Hawks stirred a flock of Trumpeter Swans from a resting field of yellow and brown. The sounds they made were wild and frightened! These winged beings were large and white with a brownish-red tint around their long thick necks. Marvelous!
August 7th…the Red Pony a.k.a. Jane Honda and this motivated Songbird, moved off into the wee hours of the morning; 5:30am towards Sioux Falls, South Dakota; a voyage that took 14 hours of travel time across more amazing landscape. As the dawn’s early light kissed the land and sky, a veiled mist snaked around the crops, and I said aloud, “there is an adventure to be had today!” OOOOh…MY..MY…what Beauty… A couple of elegant wingeds flew before me, named Sand Hill Cranes!!! My heart jumped for joy, as I took in the sight, and remembered all the Sacred Sand Hill Crane Dances I danced with the Birdsong Peace Chamber Community in Pennsylvania. Hey! Hey Tom and Kristen…I take you with me, mes chers!
So, voyaging across Earth Spaces like this makes me giggle sometimes. We two leggeds love Love LOVE to name things, ourselves and places, and we position imaginary boundaries around Earth Spaces and call them cities or states or regions or towns or counties or territories … or MINE and YOURS. This MIND has never really comprehended this, and experiences Earth as a flow without boundaries. Driving along a super highway, across Earth, and seeing the landscape morph from region to region, in no way separates or boxes Earth in this MIND. I wonder if the Ant-Nations do this?
I had entertaining thoughts while driving this 14 hour adventure from Three Rivers Michigan, through Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and landing in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; the Ant Nation and the Human Nation are mirrors of each other. ‘How so’, you say? Well, the two-leggeds are constantly building cities, roads, transporting goods across Earth and Oceanic spaces, storing food in silos and gathering resources from the depths of the Earth Mother, then hauling it up to the surface to consume. When natural or man-made destruction occurs, the two-leggeds rebuild, and so do the Ant Nations. The Ant Nations, which, by the way, is one of the most abundant life forms on Earth, build ant-cities, super-ant-highways and gather resources from the surface of the Earth and transport these resources underground. The Ant Nation has a much better “track record” when it comes to recycling and being in harmony with Mother Earth though. Heee, so that is where this MIND goes when traveling long distances…who knew? ;o))) HA!!! Ant Nations and Two-Leggeds also seem to enjoy warfare, except Ants seem a bit cleverer. There are fascinating facts on the internet about ants.
With so many hours to practice Shikantaza and “rolling” Zazen, I enjoyed much silence, and then, taking in some favorite “tunes” of a 4 hour MP-3 mix I had made, I pondered over the paradox of the songs; Dust in the Wind by the group Kansas, Hands by Jewel and Michael Buble’s Feeling Good, to mention a few. I had the sense that doing this “pilgrimage” to the Zen Peacemaker’s Native American Bearing Witness Retreat, exactly in this way, was pertinent…fitting…appropriate...important to the Calling. I imagined what it was like for indigenous peoples to be forced Westward and eventually onto Reservations, and embodied this. Then, I imagined what it was like for the poor immigrants of Ireland, England, and other parts of Europe to move West, after given governmental permission, to settle in a very unfamiliar land, and, embodied this. I imagined what it was like for cavalrymen who “worked” under, what I understand was a tyrannical and dominating government, and I embodied this. Many two-leggeds, four-leggeds, wingeds, and Earth Spaces suffered and died as a result of the actions of the “American Government”. I remember growing up with stories of settlers moving West and needing to throw their ‘possessions’ off the Conestoga wagons to lighten the loads; of the Irish who experienced their own desolation in the great potato famine in Ireland, and finding Earth Spaces in North America to build families and livelihoods; of the Cherokee Nation being forced to move out of Tennessee towards Oklahoma and beyond in the dead of Winter, and most dying from Small Pox infected blankets; of how the Cherokee Nation broke off into two different Nations-One keeping their traditions and the other adopting a more European model of living, which included creating a unique written language, wearing European clothing and owning black slaves; of the Cheyenne Massacre; of Custer’s defeat in the Battle of the Big Horn; of the Massacre at Wounded Knee; of the poor treatment and discrimination towards the Chinese who worked the railroads; of how human beings/two-leggeds have acted out throughout our histories in attempts to dominate Earth and other Sentient Beings. AND…what is continuing to move through our World TODAY!!!
Yes, ALL of this ran through MIND as I was making the pilgrimage to Rapid City, South Dakota. We embody it all; the polluted rivers and the ones who pollute the rivers; the Earth and those who dominate her…ALL of it!
Then I took a deep breath and said aloud, the Three Tenants of the Zen Peacemakers, and felt lighter, aware of the Here and Now.
Not-knowing, by giving up fixed ideas about ourselves and the universe.
Bearing Witness, to the joy and the suffering of the world.
Taking Appropriate Action that arises from first two tenants of Not-knowing and Bearing Witness.
I reveled in the beautiful lush Mountains of Minnesota and this Heart did a happy leap to see the ‘herds of Wind turbines’ dotting the Earth-scape in Minnesota and parts of South Dakota. Wow! Yes! There are ALL kinds of ‘grass-roots’ movements that bring our World and Universe into balance!!!
These days, it is incredibly easy to travel across what the Oglala Lakota Nation and other First Nations call “Turtle Island” (North America)! I love the Indigenous saying, “The turtle crawls the red, red Earth, going nowhere, in plenty of time.” The rest stops were filled with lovely two-leggeds, tiny two-leggeds and four-leggeds exuberant to get out of the mechanical horses and stretch their legs. ;o))) There were clean places to relieve a full bladder and fill the water bottles up, and these rest-stops had beautiful plantings, trees and wild-life placards posted. More gratitude filled this Heart!
August 7th, 7:30pm, I arrived into the gracious, generous embrace of Spirit Sista’, Karen Johnson, and her Jasper Stone B & B, located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota! What unfolded in the next few days ‘blew this MIND’!!! First of all, Sioux Falls is a beautiful treasure of a town. It has a developed artistic and musical community, a sensational breathtaking 20 mile bike trail around the city that includes the wondrous falls…thus the name of the Earth Space, Sioux Falls, a lovely little Sushi restaurant operated by a Japanese “mom and pop”, as well as other recommended culinary destinations! Ahhh, Then, there is my Spectacular Spirit Sista’, Karen Johnson! I found myself completely nurtured by her, and the space I occupied in her Gorgeous Jasper Stone B & B! Karen gifted me with maps, directions, special tea, driving recommendations to Rapid City, touching connecting conversations, and she is one of my supportive Sponsors of the ZPM Bearing Witness Retreat! Merci Beaucoup Cherie! We had a blast together! I connected with two of her guests, staying at the Jasper Stone. We held deep conversation over a delicious breakfast, and I was moved to offer them and Karen a Sound Journey! It was powerful and private, so I will not relay the details. This Great Mystery of LIFE is such a Gift and Incredibly touching!!!
August 9th, after “tearing myself away” from Karen with such warmth in my Heart-Space, I departed towards Rapid City with recommendations for a more scenic pilgrimage from Karen, and this is some of what was experienced…
Driving along highway 44 to 18 and back to 44, taking in some of the beauty of the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservation land…Gorgeous Hilly Prairie, green, reddish and golden grasses (the kind the Buffalo loved to munch on), Horses and Horses and Horses!!! (This Horsey Gal was in HEAVEN!) …Black Angus cows…incredible cloud formations…helpful friendly Indigenous Women at a gas station, and then the spectacular Earth Spaces of “The Bad Lands”…
…Holy Cow!!! … the “Bad Lands” Earth Space is maaaagnificent and otherworldly…kind of like the Earth Space of Cappadocia, Turkey, just more desert like. Stunning absolutely STUNNING!!! I carefully took a treacherous hike up one of the loose gravely formations. Upon reaching the top, I found a breathtaking Mesa where prairie grasses and wild summer flowers flourished. It all seemed like I had been transported to a prehistoric time, and I felt like the character Ayla, from the novel, Valley of the Horses! Quite the interesting sensations!
When I arrived in Rapid City, I met the generous woman and her charming family, who opened their home to me and the “stuff” while I attended the Retreat; Shawna, Chad, Addie and Brady…
…Hmmm perhaps I will back up to share THIS incredible story! Two-Legged Generous-Hearts are ever present in this luscious LIFE, and the Roth family is EXCELLENT!!! The ZPMO sent out an e-mail a week or so before I departed Pennsylvania, suggesting “not to leave ANY valuables in the car while on the retreat land". AHHHH I had a quick moment of reacting…well … really … “freaking out”! The entire contents of the car were “the valuables”, as I was journeying on to the Colorado “home base” after the retreat! After a few deep breaths, I took action! I sent out an e-mail to all the family and friends around the world asking if anyone knew anyone in Rapid City that could store the valuables while I was at the retreat. What followed was delightful and a huge relief! I received a handful of eager responses and chose to contact the dear friend of Dawn, the mother of one of my darling flute students. So, this beautiful cyber-spirit friend, Julie, grew up in Rapid City and connected me with her dear friend, Shawna! Small World! Shawna and her family knew a few of the retreat participants! Life truly is a reflection of Indra’s Web/Net! Wow!
Back to August 9th…I quickly connected with Shawna and her darling family, unloaded “Jane Honda Pony” and then departed for the Motel 6 in Rapid City where the retreat participants would meet to go on tour the next day…
THE ZEN PEACEMAKER’S FIRST NATIVE AMERICAN BEARING WITNESS RETREAT 8/10/15 – 8/15/15
More than 200 two-leggeds gathered, from all over Grandmother Earth, to bear witness to indigenous peoples and one another, in the Black Hills of “Turtle Island” (North America). This was the first Zen Peacemakers (ZPO) Bearing Witness Retreat of its kind, and, as with anything newly attempted, we all got off to a bit of a rough unorganized start. With so many practitioners attending, “patients was the order of the day”. As the week progressed, there was an UNFOLDING of incredible beauty and understanding that penetrated our very beings! This unfolding took this Songbird’s breath away! I am pretty sure that some kind of “integration, transmission and transformation” took place deep inside my being!
August 10th; three large tour buses filled with two-leggeds departed for a tour of “The Bad Lands”, Wounded Knee and the Pine Ridge Reservation residence town. My bus mate, Mary, was delightful to connect with, and wouldn’t you know it, Shishin Roshi was sitting close to me! Shishin Roshi lives in Colorado and Shuzen Sensei, teacher from my home Sanga, Soji Zen Center in Pennsylvania, recommended that I connect with him when I land in Colorado….Heeeee…LIFE wanted us to connect sooner! INDRA’S NET, EH! Lovely Being, Shishin Roshi is, and I looked forward to Zazen in Colorado!!!
The First Stories of the Oglala Lakota (The Buffalo People), came from our tour bus guide, White Horse. White Horse is a lawyer, school bus driver, reservation councilman, father, grandfather, and ohhhh soooo much more. HA! I thought I had a full, active life! White Horse talked a lot about the complicated Reservation government and how it did and did not work with the U.S. Government, as well as sharing some of his life experiences. It was fascinating to take in! Our bus rolled through the hilly plains of South Dakota, through parts of “The Bad Lands” and then stopped at the burial site of Wounded Knee Massacre. There were incredible vibrations of sadness and suffering at this place. Colorful tobacco prayer ties graced the chain link fence around the burial mound. Graves of Native Soldiers who fought in the civil, Vietnam and World Wars surrounded the mound as well. I was inspired to take out the Raven Bear Shamanic Flute with the Buffalo Hunt engraved on it, and sing to the Ancestors! Tuffy Sierra, Indigenous-Two–Legged-ExtaOrdinaire, and Oglala Chief, spoke his first heart-touching words to all of us on this memorable somber Earth Space.
The buses stopped, at a beautiful small college on Pine Ridge Reservation Land, to enjoy lunch, allowing us all time to nourish ourselves and make more connections with retreat participants. I reveled in the vocal timbres and accents of those around me from Israel, London, California, Wisconsin, Paris…:o)))
Distances between places are expansive here, and we did not make it to the Pine Ridge Reservation resident town as planned, as we needed to fly off to the Flandreau Santee Sioux campsite in the Sacred Black Hills. Once back in Rapid City, the Red Pony, following Shishin Roshi’s Conestoga Camper, carted Mary, her partner Mark and myself through the Magnificent Black Hills to the Flandreau Santee Sioux Land, where we set up tents at dusk. OOOO EEEE Ahhh… One of the Buses broke down and many of us pitched tent at dusk or in the dark… or not at all! Now that was an interesting experience!
This Songbird found her perch at the top of a hill, overlooking the grassy floral basin surrounded by pine-tree covered mountains. This was to be my home/nest for the week! There was a fine “top-o’-the-hill village” by the next day, with 5 tents colorfully splashed upon the hill, and I grew to adore the comings and goings of our “hill Hobbit residents”! Life is such a Gift!
August 11th; 5:30am; emergence from the cozy tent into the fresh crisp air and dimly glowing light of dawn; LIFE’s rebirth! The beauty of the surroundings stuns me and I stand upon Mother Earth, breathing, viewing, smelling, absorbing and allowing the Wondrous Sacred Earth Space to envelope me. This entire “skin-bag” relaxes…softens… into its natural surroundings. As Brother Sun peeks his glow slowly over the Eastern ridge, hawk-calls pierce the air, and this Songbird, inspired to join the song, plays birdsong on the small Lakota flute. Then, a deep mellow flute is heard, later to find out these vibrations emanated from the magnificent Indigenous flutist, Tiokasan! A new dawn… a new day…in duet we play…Hooray!
In the days that followed our arrival upon Sacred Earth, called Black Hills (a.k.a. The Heart of Everything that IS or The Sacred Place of the Heart), over 200 precious Hearts bore witness to powerfully moving Stories. Engaging in ancient oral tradition, Indigenous Elders spoke their truths and touched us all deeply with their humor, their challenges, their deep connection to, love of, reverence for Grandmother Earth, their suffering, their pain, their intelligence, their extensive world travel and experiences, and their generous, brave and beautiful hearts! Some retreat participants, from all over Earth, had space and time to share their heart-moving stories as well! Through our communal baring witness, sharing meals, participating in sacred sunrise, pipe and vibrational ceremonies around the sacred center fire, sharing in the smaller council circles, touching the brilliant stars in the night sky with many eyes, taking in the beauty of the wildflowers, the grace of hawks, coyote song and soaring vultures, giving Sound Journeys to Elders and Youngers, and so much more…,we became One-Interconnected-Being of Compassion and Heart!
When it was time for us to carry what we had learned, experienced, and what will most likely continuing to unfold, out into other Earth Spaces, I felt a depth of sadness, or more to the center, a longing for the physicality of this interconnected group, in this nurturing Earth basin of the “Heart of Everything That IS”… The Black Hills! Perhaps this longing was an essence of what the indigenous peoples felt, when others first dominated the land and they were forced to move to reservations? A longing…a je ne sait quoi?
Everyday the 200 plus two-leggeds formed smaller council circles. The council circles were extremely helpful for this heart and other lovely hearts, for processing and speaking our truths, feeling the ever-changing feelings and baring witness to the incredible movement of energies through our manifestations. All of the sharing was powerful, and the vibrational disturbance, most likely cumulative, from the Wounded Knee experience to August 12, and throughout the retreat seemed to have a deep impact on us all.
I am moved to mention the affect of the sharing on August 12th. First, an eloquent Oglala Elder spoke her truth as a biologist, leaving me, and I am pretty sure, many others deeply disturbed, regarding the Uranium mining and other Earth destroying practices throughout the Black Hills. The title of this communication being, “Peace Without Justice is Tyranny”. Then a few retreat participants shared their heavy-hearted truths! The energetic vibratory waves were quite disturbed that evening…two of the dogs were disturbed and agitated, one dog bit a participant, the sweet baby in our presence was crying, a dear teenage heart was deeply affected and aided by wise beings, and the other two-leggeds seemed to hold an intensity in their physical and spiritual presence. I too felt it strongly and needed to go for a silent solitary walk into the Black Hills! The night of August 12th, Paco, a lovely lovely Heart, invited me to play flute. Again, I was called and inspired to play the Shamanic Raven Bear Flute with the buffalo hunt engraving. Vibrations from Native American flutes balance the masculine and feminine energies. Some kind of mysterious transformation happened that night between the vibrations that flowed from breath through this flute, from the breath-song of my talented duet partner, Morley, and from the musicians that played through the night…I was told that Gil, a Comanche with great presence, gifted the group with beautiful guitar song into the night by the fire. This Songbird was already nested for the night. We were all much LIGHTER the next day…ahhhh…vibrational healing! GOOD MEDICINE!!! Then, the next day, August 13th, Indigenous, courageous women of New Mexico spoke their truths and lightened our hearts even more… Ophelia, met the Dali Lama and her lightness and joy was transmitted to all of us! Thank you, lovely ONE!
“NOT KNOWING IS MOST INTIMATE” Creating a Container of Gentle Compassion and Safety
I am not going to go into depth or story about what unfolded in this retreat for a few reasons; it is impossible to really know the complete scope of a Life, and second hand stories are filled with error. Some of the Elders have been threatened for speaking their truths, and for what their respective line of work has uncovered with the EPA and the U.S. Government. It is important to protect their sacred lives. The complication of reservation and U.S. government laws, poverty, alcoholism and child suicide are something that one needs to bare witness to, before knowing what will arise in the form of appropriate action. I sense that the Zen Peacemakers will be invited back to bear witness and perhaps serve. After the depth of sharing, and touching Grandmother Earth so powerfully, through gifted shared ceremony, I am quite sure that each one of us, who experienced this bearing witness retreat, will be moved to share our own unique “GOOD MEDICINE” with the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island. Zen and Indigenous Practices are ONE.
As for me, I was willing to offer my gifts (medicine) to the children of Pine Ridge Reservation and surrounding reservations, in the form of music therapies and empowerment meditations. This Heart broke over and over, each time I heard the experiential stories of the Elders loosing their little ones through suicide. The highest child suicide rate in “North America”/Turtle Island is recorded to be on the Pine Ridge Reservation. After the retreat, I began speaking with Elders that I had been connected with, who have daughters teaching in the Reservation schools. I spent a week in Rapid City attempting to arrange music therapy sessions, and what I learned is that I needed a Village to help manifest this, and a Village I did not have. It seems to be a challenging complex process.
The generations of betrayal, genocide, abuse and unimaginable trauma have left the Oglala Lakota Peoples of Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations emotionally devastated and in poverty. I have heard that different organizations have offered their apologies, and well, … MORE is required to make amends! I sense the “key to the gateless gate” will be revealed through the healing of this 7th generation; the CHILDREN! This song, by the humble and strong hearted Karine Polwart, came to mind several times throughout the testimonial sharing…especially when Anger and Deep Grief arose for the injustices, and what sentient beings and Earth has suffered and lost, due to our actions of domination. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3syd8kF2fVI
To touch the Well of Grief, Anger, Joy or any number of those flowing seeds in our beings, takes courage and insight. Through this ‘touching’’, is how I have experienced the deep sense of compassion, and how I have come to understand our ONENESS. This, I experienced at the ZPO retreat, being together and bearing witness within “The Heart of ALL there IS”! The Alchemy of Love!
What touched me to the core, was standing next to Grandmother White Face one morning at the Sunrise Ceremony, as she slowly bent down to touch Mother Earth while honoring the Direction of the North (Earth)! Wells of tears began to flow…YES…YES…YES…no matter what form our struggle takes, touching, honoring, connecting with Our Earth Mother heals us! The Buddha was said to have touched Earth upon his awakening! I have witnessed, in Dokusan, teachers swear upon Mother Earth as their witness”! Countless times in my experiential earth walk, it has been the connection to Grandmother Earth and all sentient beings that have reminded me of my true nature and place in this Cosmos.
The Prayer Pipe Ceremony the last evening of our time together threaded our lives together in unimaginable ways. My whole being liquefied! I felt such a great Love vibrating all around us! I saw the Buffalo Hunt followed by a large Elephant in the flowing smoke of the sacred fire while the Shaman was singing to the Earth and Universe! I think this occurred after I offered my prayer through the prayer pipe? I do not remember. Yes, yes… sounds odd…and yet…this is what I saw… “Not knowing is most intimate”… (good Dharma to remember and good Medicine!)
In the end, I am left with deep seeded Gratitude for the preciousness of LIFE, and for the sacred opportunity to participate and connect with the Dear Hearts of this remarkable Zen Peacemakers Bearing Witness Retreat. I would like to send a Heart-Felt acknowledgement of GRATITUDE, out to those within my “Tribe”/Community, who made this retreat experience and voyage possible through their generous sponsorship, love and support!
Merci Beaucoup!!!
Jingo
Rakugo
Shodo and Shoki
Bets
John K.
Elise
Linda, Jamie, & Evan
Tom and Kristen
Jane M.
Lisa
Kenny
Ted
Karen J.
PaPa
Ma Judy
Shawna, Chad, Addie, Brady, Kenna, Julie, and Dawn
Merci Beaucoup Oshin, for sending me the link to the ZPO Native American Bearing Witness Retreat all those months ago! I adore your Heart and appreciate and thank you for your Bodhisattva practice and sharing your incredible LOVE of ZEN!!! XO
Merci! Merci Beaucoup to all the organizers and staff of the Zen Peacemaker’s Organization. YOU ALL ARE EXCELLENT!!!
Merci Beaucoup to the Practioners of the Laughing Tea Bowl Sangha, for embracing me with such warmth and kindness!
Merci Beaucoup (Thank YOU very much) to all the supportive hearts around the world who support the Sacred Drift. (AND to Spirit Sister-Ginger for gifting me with this poetic phrase!)
Thank YOU, Merci Beaucoup Grandmothers White Face and Delphine for the spectacular earrings! I have received numerous complements on them! Thank you to the special anonymous being who gifted me with your mala beads. I will wear them in my Zazen and sacred ceremony!
Vibratory Blessings of Peace, Love, Light, Healing and Beauty in a Deep Cyber Gassho Bow! Namaste!
Lisamarie
I would like to offer this Intimate Cyber Gift; A performance given in Taos this past April 2015! UNIMAGINED BRIDGES!!!
Taos Chamber Music Group: East; Unimagined Bridges, by Andrea Clearfield, performed by Lisamarie Windwalker –Native American Flutes and Nancy Laupheimer – transverse flute, and director of the TCMG
Photography by the illustrious Leny Foster!
Luminous Dana of the Heart / Lisamarie's "Mission Statement"...for lack of a better description.
"A person can be an 'instrument of peace' a catalyst of understanding, by getting herself out of the way. Training her mind, transforming personal passions, 'reducing herself to zero.' Nothing separates us from LIFE/MYSTERY/SOURCE/MU but self-will, the deep clinging to oneself as something separate from the rest of creation. The whole of the spiritual life is a dedicated, sincere and systematic attempt to remove this illusion of separateness once and for all." This is the "why" to my devoted practice to Shikantaza! I will serve the world more effectively as I liberate myself!