Zendo books,  videos, notes

The Images below show a selection of paintings created by Sensei Amy Yee with the calligraphy of Roshi Kennedy and are available for purchase. To order any selection please email Amy at: yeeamy02@gmail.com. 

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A treasure trove of videos, courtesy of Empty Cup Zendo, Christopher Smith, at St. Boniface, the Brooklyn Oratory:  

• Narrated chapters from Shunryu Suzuki Roshi's Zen Mind / Beginners Mind, a collection of talks that have introduced generations of Americans to Japanese Zen practice:

• * "Beginners Mind"

• * "Right Practice: Nothing Special"

• * "Right Effort: Right Attitude

Facing the reality of war, political fanaticism, racism, mass shootings: Ram Dass, describes how he keeps an open heart when life seems like hell. Listen here.

Listen to Thich Nhat Hanh, who died in January 2022, describe in his own words, his origination, who he is, and where is his now.

In this dynamic TEDx talk, Fr. Robert Kennedy, S.J., Zen Roshi  points to the flesh, bones and marrow of Zen practice.

This "Korea Today" TV vignette features Rev. Bernard Senegal, a Canadian Jesuit priest who teaches Buddhism in Korea.

Fr. Tom Hand, S.J., who spent 29 years in Japan, reflects HERE, on the the influence of Zen meditation on Christian contemplative practices, and considers the evolution of Japanese Buddhist Zen into American Christian Zen.

Benedictine Brother David Steindl-Rast talks about the significance of Buddhist-Christian dialogue. Listen here.

Meet Sister Elaine MacInnes, a Catholic Nun and a Zen Roshi trained in Japan and fully accredited, HERE

Here, Catholic theologian, Richard Rohr's insightful account of "Original Sin" parallels Buddhism's First Noble Truth: the unsatisfactoriness of life; that something is missing.

Episcopal priest and renowned leader in the Christian contemplative prayer movement, Cynthia Bourgeault, describes 'objectless awareness' in prayer.

This biopic features Hugo Makibi Enomiya-LaSalle, S.J. (1898 - 1990), an influential bridge builder between Zen and Christianity, and Jesuit priest who was 1,400 yards from ground-zero when the atomic bomb leveled Hiroshima.

Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD is a renowned theologian, Franciscan Sister, authority on Teilhard de Chardin, and specialist in the area of science and religion. HERE, she reflects on "the overwhelming wholeness of being at the heart of cosmic life."

Step into the colorful family dynamic of famed Zen teacher, Shohaku Okumura, here. Powerful family values are expressed mainly in action rather than via words or letters.

Non-dual insight is the theme of Hsin Hsin Ming (Affirming Faith in Mind). Listen, here. Read the text, here.

Theologian, Rev. Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, draws on the ancient contemplative spirituality of the Desert Fathers, and distinguishes between true and false "self-discovery". Listen here.

The universality of sacred chant is expressed by a Gregorian chant ensemble here, and by Japanese Buddhist monks, here. The harmony and non-duality of sacred chant is embodied and expressed in simultaneous Gregorian and Buddhist chant, here. (Skip the ads!)

Listen HERE to Christian theologian, Paul Knitter, talk about the urgent need for inter-religious dialogue, and the increasingly common experience of dual religious belonging where believers follow more than one religious path. (Conference sponsored by the Asia-Pacific Centre for Inter-Religious Dialogue in the Australian Catholic University.)

Other Voices:

     Passionist theologian, Fr. Joseph Mitchell, click here

     Zen Master Bon Yeon (Jane Dobisz), click here

     Alan Watts, click here

    J. Krishnamurti, click here

    Eckhart Tolle, click here

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RIP 2022: Sister Elaine MacInnes, beloved teacher of Roshi Seiryu Blackman, passed away in Toronto on November 29, 2022; she was ninety-nine years old. Many in 0ur sanghas have worked with the koans in her book The Flowing Bridge, and her teishos have been inspirational to us. If you are interested in learning more about this remarkable Zen teacher and Catholic nun, please refer to: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/monkeymind/2022/11/recalling-the-catholic-nun-zen-master-sister-elaine-macinnis.html.

RIP February 12,2023 Rich Holm MSZ sangha member.  Earl Richard Holm, Jr., “Rich,” age 81 of Toms River, passed away unexpectedly at home on February 12th, 2023. Rich was born in Albany, NY and lived in several wonderful places throughout his adult life, until eventually settling down in Fort Lee, NJ, before moving to Toms River in 2005. A proud graduate of Boston College, Rich joined the Jesuits and began a life of service through his work in the religious order and as a Social Worker. After leaving the Jesuits, he spent over 40 years working with the Minuchin Center in NYC. Rich went on to receive his Master’s and Doctorate in Social Work through Fordham and Adelphi Universities. Rich loved being outdoors. An avid hiker, Rich was a member of the Catskill 3500 Club, Adirondack 46ers, completed the Fire Tower Challenge, and walked 500 miles on El Camino de Santiago, in his most recent years. Through the different facets of his life, Rich developed and nurtured many strong relationships over the years. Rich lived life intentionally, making sure to “cherish the moment and make beautiful memories” with all those he cared about. Rich was predeceased by his wife of 27 years, Mary Ellen (Bock), his parents, Earl Sr. and Eileen (Caulfield) Holm. Surviving are his daughter, Erin Barna, and her husband, Paul Jr. and his grandchildren, Julia and Brendan; four sisters: Cristine Lonnstrom and her husband, Doug, Kathleen Wood and her husband, Frank, Patsy Holm, and Jeanne Holm; as well as many nieces, nephews, godchildren, and close family and friends. 

• RIP 2022: Sr.Barbara Craig, RSM, a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas died at home in Dallas, Pa., on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. Born in Flushing, N.Y., Sr. Barbara was the daughter of Merriman G. and Grace (Denley) Craig. She entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1951, and celebrated her 70th anniversary as a Sister of Mercy in 2020. A graduate of College Misericordia (BA), Middlebury College, Vt. (MA), and Georgetown University, D.C. (Ph.D.), Sr. Barbara ministered in the Dioceses of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Scranton, Pa. She also served the Sisters of Mercy as Director of Formation and Director of Incorporation, a position that focused on the spiritual mentoring of new members. Sr. Barbara was a faculty member at College Misericordia, Penn State (W-B Campus), and King's College. As a scholar of Spanish language and literature, Sr. Barbara brought her passion for social justice advocacy to the classroom and the marketplace. Her academic study at the University of Madrid where she concentrated on the work of Chilean poet-humanist and Noble Prize winner Gabriela Mistral eventually led her to membership on the Commission for Human Rights for Guatemala and Mexico. In more recent times, Sr. Barbara, along with Sr. Constance Kozel, was one of the founding members of the Peace and Justice Center of Wyoming Valley. In addition to her lifelong outreach to migrants, Sr. Barbara served in Prison ministry at the State Correctional Institute in Dallas, Pa. Over the years, Sr. Barbara maintained ongoing contact with scores of prisoners, testifying at their parole and commutation hearings. In the early 1990s, Sr. Barbara began her study of Zen and together with Sr. Stephanie Olek, RSM started a Zen group in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Soon after, the group became known as the Flowing River Sanga, an interfaith gathering of people who support one another in the practice of Zen meditation and in a spiritual life grounded in the reality of the present moment. In 2002, Sr. Barbara was installed as a Zen teacher (Sensei) with the Dharma name of Shoshin (Beginner's Mind). She is the Dharma successor of Roshi Janet Richardson in the lineage of the White Plum Asanga Memorial contributions in Sr. Barbara's name may be made to the Sisters of Mercy, Dallas, Pa. 18612 or Flowing River Sanga, 20 Church Road, Wyoming, Pa. 18644. Condolences can be sent to: eblakecollins.com

• by Edward Sangetsu Sullivan Red Rose Sangha Lancaster, PA : Sr. Barbara Shoshin Craig R.S.M., the Spiritual Director of The Flowing Bridge Sangha, passed away peacefully. Members of her order, The Sisters of Mercy, kept vigil during her last days. She elected to have a “green” burial in a pauper’s cemetery. No casket or headstone will mark her resting place. She will be buried in a simple shroud. Even in death she maintains her vow of poverty. Roughly two decades ago, I met Barbara at a seven-day retreat where she received Dharma transmission. While The Zen Community of Baltimore/Clare Sangha performed the ceremony beautifully, she seemed somewhat nonplussed by the attention she received. Over many retreats and personal interviews, she and I slowly strengthened an acquaintance that blossomed into an enduring friendship. Barbara played no small part in my becoming a teacher. She believed in me more than I ever believed in myself. While still a callow Dharma holder, I attended a weekend retreat sponsored by her sangha. Upon arriving, she informed me that I would be holding interviews with her students the next day. Oh. It was the first time I ever held interviews. During one summer, Roshi Janet Jinne Richardson, then the Spiritual Director of ZCB, decided that I should study Hongzhi’s Cultivating the Empty Field with Barbara. Every week we would correspond via email. These were pre-Skype and Zoom days. We presented to each other our responses to the teishos, and she would patiently provide explanations to my questions. Fortunately, I kept her responses and continue to reference them when teaching Hongzhi. During my last conversation with her, I told Barbara that I still used the notes from that summer, and that her teachings would be passed on to the next generation of students. I believe she was genuinely touched. i last saw Barbara this past summer for Courtney Gessho Michak’s transmission ceremony. Although she was frail and sat through most of the ceremony, I have a photo of us which I cherish. She is holding onto my arm as we proceeded to the ceremony. It was a happy day, although I sensed that I would never see her again. A few days ago, we shared a last conversation. Her voice was weak, but her mind was clear. I thanked her for all she had given me. I told her I loved her. She told me that she loved me, too. It was a good goodbye. 

• RIP 2021: Roshi Bruce Seiryo Blackman of Clare Sangha, Baltimore. For information contact seicho@claresangha.org.

Bruce Blackman was a Zen teacher in the White Plum lineage. He began meditation in 1981 and studied Zen several years in Southeast Asia with Sr. Elaine MacInnes-roshi of the Sanbo Kyodan, and later with the Diamond Sangha of Robert Aitken-roshi. He joined Clare Sangha in 1996, becoming a student of Janet Richardson and Bernie Glassman-roshis. Named a dharma holder in 2001, Bruce was installed as Sensei in 2004. He is the guiding teacher with Clare Sangha and lay preceptor for transmitting the Bodhisattva precepts. 

Sensei wrote an article in Pearls of Ash and Awe (2015) on bearing witness at Auschwitz. He has compiled a story collection of “People in A Pinch Getting Free.” Stories that correspond reduce the gravity and lighten us up, he says of their value in Zen training. His dharma name is Seiryu (“clear stream”). He was installed as Roshi in 2020 by Janet Richardson and Robert Kennedy-roshis.

Bruce worked for 25 years in East Asia and Latin America, specializing in economic program development. A Spanish speaker, he received his BA from the University of Oregon, and masters degrees from UC Berkeley and Johns Hopkins U. Since his work overseas, he transports special needs children to school, and works with a restorative justice agency - mentoring and teaching awareness to inmates. Sensei was also elected to the board of an international adoption agency. He and his wife Joan resided in Northern Virginia.

• R.I.P. Willigis Jäger OSB (1925-2020)  Father Willigis Jäger, a monk of Münsterschwarzach and well-known Zen Roshi, died on March 20, 2020, at the age of ninety-five. Father Jäger began Zen training with Yamada Koun Roshi in 1975 at the Sanbō Kyōdan in Kamakura, Japan. He founded a center of Zen and contemplation at Münsterschwarzach in 1983. Ordained a Zen Master (Roshi) in 1996, he founded his own Benekiktushof: Zentrum für Meditation und Achtsamkeit [Centre for Meditation and Mindfulness] in Holzkirchen (Unterfranken) near Würzburg in 2003. His obituary, which appeared on the website of Münsterschwarzach, can be found here with an English translation.

• Marcia Spitz died December 3, 2020. She and her husband Bernie, were mainstays at Morning Star Zendo for many years. Both had studied with Eido Roshi before coming to work with Roshi Kennedy. They lived in Ridgewood NJ where they founded New Moon Zendo at the Unitarian Church and where Sensei Carl Viggiani is now the principal zen teacher. Marcia was also an accomplished concert pianist. 

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and from Neil Smith, Inisfada zen:

We are not a discussion group or pursuers of relaxation. We are not a religion. There are no sermons selling fixed ideas or narrow moralities. Preconceptions, opinions and expectations (always and everywhere) are a barrier to seeing further.

We are serious practitioners learning to awaken to ourselves, and therefore to everything else. We are a non-denominational practice that will (if you wish it to) deepen any faith you espouse.

Zen is simply life study, nothing special. There is no dogma or belief, only personal experience. In silence we allow ourselves to open to the 'real' behind the blizzard of stultifying internal blather.  Zen grows slowly, like grass - let it.  Don't expect anything the first day, or ever. 

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• Buddhist-Christian Relations, Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, Georgetown University, Zoom    Tuesday December 1, 2 pm. https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/events/buddhist-christian-perspectives-on-contemplative-practices-and-religious-belonging#rsv

• Ellen Birx Sensei, new book: EMBRACING THE INCONCEIVABLE, Interspiritual Practice of Zen and Christianity

Review by William Skudlarek, monk of St. Johns Abbey, Collegeville, MN, July-December 2020  Monastic Interreligious Dialogue

One does not have to read very far into Ellen Birx’s insightful and accessible book on the interspiritual practice of Zen and Christianity to recognize that this is an author who is worthy to stand among other fine writers— Aelred Graham, Hugo Enomiya LaSalle, William Johnston, Ruben and Maria  Reis Habito, Tom Chetwynd, Elaine MacInnes, Robert Kennedy, and so many others—who have given testimony to the way their Christian faith and practice has been enlightened and strengthen by the practice of zazen. What sets this book apart is her insistence that if you do decide to incorporate another religious tradition into your spiritual practice, do not pick and choose. As she says at the end of her book, “In my life I have focused on these two spiritual traditions because it is difficult to go deep enough into more than two traditions, and depth is of the essence” (p. 190).

 Birx’s concluding comment echoes a statement made by Father Pierre de Béthune, first Secretary General of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, in the 2016 documentary film “La voie de l’hospitalité” / “Strangers No More.” I quote here from the subtitles of the English version, beginning at 23’36”:

 If you are deeply rooted in your own tradition . . . you don't have to be afraid of immersing yourself in another religion. It’s not a question of compromise, saying I’ll accept this, but not that. No. I accept everything!  But I accept it with all that is mine. It's a meeting from faith to faith or, more exactly, from fidelity to fidelity.

 Virtually every page of this fine book indicates just how deeply rooted Ellen Brix is in the spiritual and doctrinal tradition of Christianity. As a dharma successor of Roshi Robert Kennedy SJ, she has also gone deep into the Zen tradition, not only that of the Sanbō Kyōdan, the lineage of her teacher, but of “all Zen teachers and practitioners back to Buddha who kept this practice alive to this day” (p. xi).

 The theme that runs through the entire book is that the essence of Zen is the experience of nonduality, “seeing through the illusion of a separate ego self to directly experience ultimate reality, which manifests as you and the whole universe, from which you are not separate (p. 51). What Zen offers those seeking this illumination is training in practices that can prepare one for this life-altering experience, especially meditation, but also rituals, chanting, and working with koans.

 How to conceive of or even recognize the experience of nonduality is often difficult for those formed in a Western culture that is so focused on individual dentity and distinctiveness. Birx’s reference to what the Council of Chalcedon (451) said about the hypostatic union of Jesus is helpful. In him  divinity and humanity are distinct but not separate realities. Her own practice of zazen led her to the experiential realization that this teaching applies to us as well. We are “already one and not separate from ultimate reality, or God. Yet we are distinct; we do not merge like a drop into the ocean—at this time, nor in the future” (p. 45; emphasis added).

 Early in her book, Birx recognizes that Zen terminology such as nonduality can seem abstract and confusing. “However,” she continues, “before I was a nurse, a nursing professor, or a Zen teacher, I was a first-grade teacher, so I am confident that I can make Zen terms clear and simple” (p. 3). She then goes on to clearly describe and explore the various ways in which “the Zen awakening experience did not negate [her] previous Christian awakening to God’s love [but] expanded it” (p. 17), organizing her reflections  under five headings: “Entering Interspiritual Practice,” “Experiencing Nondual Spirituality,” “Discovering the Nonseparate Self,” “Meditating and Praying,” and “Embodying Loving Action.”

 Embracing the Inconceivable offers the reader an extended and compelling reflection on the ways Zen can aid Christians in the fulfillment of their vocation to recognize and experience that God is closer to us than we are to ourselves, as Saint Augustine so memorably put it, that we are one in Christ and one with the world we serve through works of compassion, justice, and truth.

 As a Benedictine monk who has long admired the courageous and eloquent witness that the French Benedictine, Henri Le Saux  (Swami Abhishiktananda) gave of the nondual spirituality that Birx describes and elucidates so masterfully, I cannot help calling attention to her mistaken reference to him as a Dominican priest (p. 110). However, since he believed that “You will only find yourself in the total loss of yourself” (diary entry for February 3, 1960 in Ascent to the Depth of the Heart, p. 231), he probably would not have minded in the least.

https://dimmid.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7b10BCA1E1-EA2C-44BE-9527-09001052A57C%7d