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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250505T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250505T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250416T154320Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250522T232721Z
UID:10002051-1746468000-1746473400@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph: Finding Poland: We're Already in the Land of Awakening
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nA monk asked Zhaozhou\, “The ten thousand things return to one. Where does the one return to?” Zhou said\, “When I was in Blue Province\, I made a cloth shirt. It weighed seven pounds.” \n—The Blue Cliff Record\, Case 45 \n  \nWhy do we so often wish to be somewhere else\, be somebody else? Why is awakening always over there\, just around that foreign\, mysterious corner? Our restlessly seeking mind\, even in midst of that search\, is already naturally at rest. \nA dream visited me during a retreat a few weeks ago: \nI was in a large old house\, with rich and dark wooden paneling\, standing in a hallway crowded with people. There was a kind of reception going on. I went up to one of our Pacific Zen teachers\, and told him\, “I want to go to Poland.” He said\, “Come with me\,” and took me down a hallway\, through some double doors into a large library. The library was also beautifully paneled and had a wide desk in it. Sitting behind the desk was an elderly man\, flanked by two attendants. I knew him to be a Polish poet\, but could not remember his name: was it Bukowsky\, Orlowsky? \nI sat down\, and knew I had to get permission from him if I were to get to Poland. So\, still not recalling his name\, I started to bullshit him\, saying\, “I loved your last two collections of poetry.” It was obvious he was having none of it. He said nothing\, and after some minutes gave a doubtful grunt\, got up and left. \nI then stood up\, and turned left to some windows and a French door. I opened the door and looked outside. It was a beautiful Spring day\, and in my view was a parkland with large deciduous trees and people picnicking here and there on the cut green grass. I said to myself\, “Oh\, this is Poland. This is what it is.” Later\, I recognized the man at the desk as the famous Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz. \nI think in my dream Poland represented awakening. I wanted to go to the land of enlightenment.  That land was foreign and far away\, and I thought I had to work the system\, to bullshit the master\, to get there. But it didn’t work. The teacher clearly saw through me. After he left\, I had no more plan. Only then\, in going to the window and opening the doors\, did I realize I was already in the place I was seeking. \nWhere does the one return to? Is there a place to return to other than this one? This very place is the Lotus Land\, says Hakuin Ekaku. It is only here that we can know the weight of a seven-pound shirt\, the taste of honey in tea\, the sound of a lawn mower\, the light reflected on tree leaves. \nThe two monks Yantou and Xuefeng were traveling together and got snowed in on Tortoise Mountain. Yantou slept all the time while Xuefeng stayed up meditating. Yantou rolled over\, turned to his friend and said\, “Haven’t you heard that what comes in through the front gate isn’t the family treasure? You must let it flow out from your own breast to cover heaven and earth.” With that\, Xuefeng understood where the one returns to. \n—Jon Joseph \n  \nLATE RIPENESS \nNot soon\, as late as the approach of my ninetieth year\,\nI felt a door opening in me and I entered\nthe clarity of early morning. \nOne after another my former lives were departing\,\nlike ships\, together with their sorrow. \nAnd the countries\, cities\, gardens\, the bays of seas\nassigned to my brush came closer\,\nready now to be described better than they were before. \nI was not separated from people\,\ngrief and pity joined us.\nWe forget – I kept saying – that we are all children of the King. \nFor where we come from there is no division\ninto Yes and No\, into is\, was\, and will be. \nWe were miserable\, we used no more than a hundredth part\nof the gift we received for our long journey. \nMoments from yesterday and from centuries ago –\na sword blow\, the painting of eyelashes before a mirror\nof polished metal\, a lethal musket shot\, a caravel\nstaving its hull against a reef – they dwell in us\,\nwaiting for a fulfillment. \nI knew\, always\, that I would be a worker in the vineyard\,\nas are all men and women living at the same time\,\nwhether they are aware of it or not. \n—Czeslaw Milosz \n\nJon Joseph Roshi\n  \nCOME JOIN US on Mondays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation. Register to participate. All are welcome. \nJon Joseph Roshi\, Director of San Mateo Zen Community
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/monday-zen-with-jon-joseph-56/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Milosz_500x375.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250504T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250504T120000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250415T210609Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250502T230059Z
UID:10002030-1746354600-1746360000@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:Sunday Zen with John Tarrant & Friends: The Pilgrim’s Way
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nOne foot and then the other foot\, and then again\, and suddenly we’re on a journey. Our walking transforms us; we find that it’s not so hard to be at peace inwardly. \nThis is in spite of all that arrives: threatening\, painful\, and also as bright as the peonies in spring. Every step we take is into the unknown\, however\, others have walked the way before us\, and others will come after us—how many generations\, no one knows. The pilgrimage of this life is also joyous. Yes\, joy is a marvelous\, sudden thing and rises out of the depths\, rises in us\, and then we care for the world and each other. \nThat’s what I’ve noticed. \nLet’s have a meeting about the pilgrim’s way this Sunday. \n—John Tarrant \n\n\n\n \nMeditation is not a task with a known goal. It’s something you can’t do wrong\, a chance for the things of this world to come towards you and to meet you\, for doors to open by themselves\, and for us to see where the ancient paths lead. \n\n\nWaking up is something we do together\, in the online temple on Sunday. We love it when you join us.  \n—John Tarrant Roshi and all of us at PZI
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/sunday-zen-with-john-tarrant-friends-54/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/trail500.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250501T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250501T173000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250416T200906Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250425T170814Z
UID:10002062-1746115200-1746120600@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:THURSDAY ZEN with David Parks: In the Dark? Darken Further.
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nAt times of vulnerability\, when tough times visit\, this koan takes me to the place I would rather not go—straight into the dilemma\, into the vulnerability itself. Where I might want to take what I know\, an explanation or a solution\, off the shelf\, the koan counsels\, “Darken further\,” inviting me into the vastness of what I don’t know. \nThis is to let go of the barriers that I use to define myself\, these walls that I use to define the borderlines between myself and the places I dare not go. Unencumbered\, out beyond knowing\, the dark is a place of discovery and acceptance. Herein is the shift. Mystery opens into life\, the luminous dark moves through all. \n—David Parks \n\n\n\n\n\n \n  \nCOME JOIN US on Thursdays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation. All are welcome. Register to participate. \nDavid Parks Roshi\, Director of Bluegrass Zen
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/thursday-zen-with-david-parks-45/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Dusk500.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Parks Roshi":MAILTO:dparksbluegrasszen@gmail.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250429T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250429T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250130T182438Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250424T202716Z
UID:10001991-1745949600-1745955000@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:TUESDAY ZEN with David Weinstein: Attendant Huo Offers Tea
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nDeshan’s attendant\, Shoukuo\, asked\, “All the sages from the beginning of time—where have they gone?\nDeshan replied\, “What? What?”\nShoukuo said\, “I gave an order for a racehorse\, but a lame tortoise stuck its head out.”\nDeshan let it rest.\nThe next day\, when Deshan came out of his bath\, Huo brought him tea.\nDeshan patted him once on the back.\nShoukuo said\, “This old guy has begun to get a glimpse of the territory.”\nAgain Deshan was silent. \n—Book of Serenity Case 14 \nThis is the last story in a collection of koans about Deshan\, and we are told that he is old and near death. This time he is in a very different place than when we first met him as a scholar of the Diamond Sutra\, pulling a cart filled with his commentaries behind him. \nFull of pride about his knowledge\, he heads south to straighten out the Chan practitioners who don’t seem to appreciate the sutras the way he does. In the first of these koans\, he is put in his place by the woman who sells him tea and cakes\, which knocks some of the wind out of his sails. Then he is plunged into darkness by the Zen teacher to whom this “tea lady” has referred him. He appreciates the error of his ways\, burns all of his commentaries\, and sets out to meet other Chan teachers. Though\, having had an awakening experience\, he is still filled with pride and hubris. \nIn one of his next encounters\, Deshan enters a meditation hall carrying his pilgrim’s bundle\, an improvement over pulling a cart full of his commentaries. But he is still carrying something that needs to be put down. He ignores the teacher sitting in the hall and walks from one side to the other saying\, “There is nothing\, no one\,” and then walks out. Upon reaching the temple gate\, he reconsiders his actions and goes back into the hall\, bows to the teacher\, then yells and walks out again. \nYou might wonder how he could behave that way after having an awakening experience. There is a story about Sigmund Freud that comes to mind where he was asked how someone who had completed analysis could still be a jerk. Freud’s response was “They are a well-analyzed jerk.” In the case of Deshan I suppose we could say he was an enlightened jerk. In that way\, his is a cautionary tale about getting stuck in the emptiness of an awakening experience. \nIn another story about Deshan\, which happens later in his life\, he is again carrying something: this time\, his bowls. He arrives too early for the temple meal and is chided by the cook. Saying nothing\, he turns around and returns to his room. In that story\, as in the current story\, he is older and has integrated his awakening more\, and in both stories he responds by saying nothing. \nIn that story we are told that he did not know “the last word of Zen\,” but at the end of the story we learn that his talk had been different than any talk he had ever given. \nIn this way the stories of Deshan show us how an awakening experience matures\, how a teacher matures\, and continues to mature\, throughout the course of their life of having a meditation practice. It is not a one-and-done process\, but rather a lifetime practice that never stops deepening. \nAs is said about Oakland\, it can be said about awakening: there is no there\, there. It is always here\, here. \n—David Weinstein \n\nDavid Weinstein Roshi\n  \nCOME JOIN US on Tuesdays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation.\nRegister to participate. All are welcome. \nDavid Weinstein Roshi\, Director of Rockridge Meditation Community \n 
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/tuesday-zen-with-david-weinstein-37/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Offering-tea_500x375.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250428T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250428T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250212T202123Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250425T165901Z
UID:10002007-1745863200-1745868600@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph: The Buddha Asks the Earth Goddess for Help
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nMara’s final strategy was argument. He challenged Siddhartha\, asking\, “By what right do you claim the seat on which you sit?”  \nFor Siddhartha\, something unstoppable was unfolding. He didn’t really care what questions were being asked. Mara continued\, “I have my armies to bear witness for me\, but who will speak for you?”  \nSiddhartha’s hand answered—almost out of courtesy\, he reached down and touched the ground. The voice of the earth goddess\, Bhumidevi\, rose from below: “I can bear witness.”  \nThe sun and the moon paused\, the animals bowed. Mara howled\, and his howl diminished as he fled. \n—From The Story of the Buddha by John Tarrant \nIn the above segment\, one of the most important in Siddhartha’s long journey to awakening\, he affirms his foundational right to exist on this earth and find a way to fulfillment. Siddhartha also shows us\, and all things\, how to claim the same right—to realize the light that shines both in Mara’s arrows and Bumidevi’s rich soil. \nThe earth goddess as source of support has been a tenet of Buddhism from its earliest days. Later\, the enlightened Tathagata\, or “the one who is thus gone\,” instructs his son Rahula on how to meditate: \n…for when you develop meditation that is like the earth\, arisen agreeable and disagreeable contacts will not invade your mind and remain. Just as people throw clean and dirty things… on the earth\, and the earth is not repelled\, humiliated\, and disgusted because of that\, so too\, Rahula—develop meditation that is like the earth. \nThe translator and poet David Hinton\, in his new book\, Orient\, writes about his experience with the earth goddess as a young man\, an encounter that fundamentally changed his life: \nIt was sometime in my twentieth year when I saw it: rain on pooled water\, a few scattered drops\, circles of light igniting on the dark surface\, occurring\, originating\, then expanding and disappearing back into empty darkness.  \nDarkness of the pool\, but also darkness of mind’s mirrored depths… It felt like returning to home-ground I’ve never known\, like orienting…  \nDark pool\, dry leaves—each raindrop orienting\, opening this home-ground\, this mirror deep sincerity. It was from this magic of the rain that the word first appeared: from nowhere else\, occurrence. \nThe earth can and will heal herself. If we ask her\, she may heal us as well. \n—Jon Joseph \n\nJon Joseph Roshi\n  \nCOME JOIN US on Mondays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation. Register to participate. All are welcome. \nJon Joseph Roshi\, Director of San Mateo Zen Community
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/monday-zen-with-jon-joseph-55/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Buddha.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250427T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250427T120000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250227T155737Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250429T172718Z
UID:10002023-1745749800-1745755200@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:Sunday Zen with John Tarrant & Friends: How To Love The World We Have
DESCRIPTION:Acts of kindness\, acts of disaster\, kindness\, disaster\, kindness… \nIn human news\, Billy\, a factory trained mechanic\, drives out to rescue my daughter when my truck\, which she has borrowed\, breaks. I’m away and when I call him\, he refuses payment\, “Put down that phone\,” he says\, “End this call now!” \nIn Corvid news\, a raven flies over carrying a stick\, followed by another raven with a stick\, moving into the eucalyptus grove. The great horned owls\, the red shouldered hawks make no comment. \nIn 14th century news\, which I have been reading\, the Black Death kills between 30% and 50% of the population. On the bright side\, the feudal system begins to fracture. \nIn war news\, the war is still going on. \nIn radiology news\, the radiologist\, Japanese but born here after the war\, is very thoughtful & kind but says she doesn’t really get Zen. \nLoving the world we have\, that’s it! \nJoin us \n—John Tarrant \n\n\n\n \nMeditation is not a task with a known goal. It’s something you can’t do wrong\, a chance for the things of this world to come towards you and to meet you\, for doors to open by themselves\, and for us to see where the ancient paths lead. \n\n\nWaking up is something we do together\, in the online temple on Sunday. We love it when you join us.  \n—John Tarrant Roshi and all of us at PZI
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/sunday-zen-with-john-tarrant-friends-57/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/atwill-raven500.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250426T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250426T100000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250130T183918Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250418T144216Z
UID:10001996-1745654400-1745661600@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:SATURDAY ZEN: For PZI Members – Conversations with David Weinstein
DESCRIPTION:About Saturday Conversations \nDokusan is the Japanese word for these conversations about meditation practice. It means “to go alone” or “to practice alone.” It is to have a conversation so intimate\, that for both participants it is as if you were talking with and listening to yourself. \nThe word “conversation” (in place of the Japanese word dokusan) has its own way of speaking to the experience. \nEtymologically\, it means “to turn around together.” Meditation is often referred to as a turning around of our attention towards the inside. These conversations about meditation practice are an opportunity for a mutual turning the light around and exploring what’s there. \n—David Weinstein \n\nSaturday Conversations with David Weinstein Roshi\nOnline on Zoom from 8–10:00 am Pacific Time\nEvery two weeks \nIf you are a PZI Member and would like to have a conversation with David\,\nbook your 15-minute online meeting for April 26th here. \nDana gratefully accepted \nQuestions? Contact David
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/saturday-zen-for-pzi-members-conversations-with-david-weinstein-18/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:Saturday Conversations
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Buddha-laying-down.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250422T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250422T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250130T182347Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250418T145008Z
UID:10001990-1745344800-1745350200@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:TUESDAY ZEN with David Weinstein: Linji’s Blind Donkey – Equanimity #13
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nWhen Linji was about to die\, he gave this direction to Sansheng: “After my death\, don’t extinguish the eye treasure of my true teaching.”\nSansheng said\, “Who would dare to destroy the treasury of your true dharma eye?”\n“If someone asks you\, how will you answer?”\nSansheng shouted.\nLinji said\, “Who’d have thought that the treasury of my true teaching would be extinguished by this blind donkey?” \nIt might be jet lag\, but as I’ve been spending some time with this koan the first thing that came was the image that I used for another koan involving a donkey. In that koan\, two friends are discussing their practice and one says his practice is like when a donkey sees a well. The other friend says that his practice is like when a well sees the donkey. I’m thinking that when the well sees the donkey\, the donkey is blind. Then another koan came along that’s in our miscellaneous collection\, which invites us to extinguish the fire across the river. Then another koan in the miscellaneous collection came along which invites us to extinguish a star. And with those two koans paying a visit\, extinguishing Linji’s teaching revealed other facets. \nThen there’s that question that Linji asked Sansheng and how he would respond to it if asked by someone. But what is that question? That’s a good question. \n—David Weinstein \n\nDavid Weinstein Roshi\n  \nCOME JOIN US on Tuesdays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation.\nRegister to participate. All are welcome. \nDavid Weinstein Roshi\, Director of Rockridge Meditation Community \n 
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/tuesday-zen-with-david-weinstein-36/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Donkey-sees-a-well500.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250421T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250421T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250212T201951Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250416T152159Z
UID:10002006-1745258400-1745263800@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph: ON BREAK
DESCRIPTION:Jon Joseph is not teaching today\, but will return on April 28th. We hope you join us then! \n\nWe are not alone in the world. We have each other to turn toward. All we need to do is ask. \n—Jon Joseph \n\nJon Joseph Roshi\n  \nCOME JOIN US on Mondays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation. Register to participate. All are welcome. \nJon Joseph Roshi\, Director of San Mateo Zen Community
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/monday-zen-with-jon-joseph-54/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/wooden-bucketCALENDAR500x350.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250420T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250420T120000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250227T155713Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250414T151114Z
UID:10002022-1745145000-1745150400@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:Sunday Zen with John Tarrant & Friends: ON BREAK
DESCRIPTION:ON BREAK for retreat. Join us again on April 27th!\n\n\n\n \nMeditation is not a task with a known goal. It’s something you can’t do wrong\, a chance for the things of this world to come towards you and to meet you\, for doors to open by themselves\, and for us to see where the ancient paths lead. \n\n\nWaking up is something we do together\, in the online temple on Sunday. We love it when you join us.  \n—John Tarrant Roshi and all of us at PZI
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/sunday-zen-with-john-tarrant-friends-56/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/cavedoor500x350.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250417T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250417T173000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250211T223012Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250414T164101Z
UID:10002000-1744905600-1744911000@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:THURSDAY ZEN with David Parks: Suddenly It’s Midnight
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nOnce a student of Dongshan was asked\, “What does your teacher teach?” The student replied\, “He teaches in three ways: the dark way\, the bird path and the open hand.” In the last weeks\, we have been using koans that seem to arise from the dark way. First\, we sat with Bodhidharma and Emperor Wu\, then with the stone woman giving birth in the middle of the night. This week we will sit with Yunmen’s Midnight: \nYou come and go by daylight\, you make people out by daylight. But suddenly it’s midnight and there’s no sun\, no moon\, no lamp. If it’s a place you’ve been to\, then of course it might be possible\, but if it’s a place you’ve never been\, how will you get hold of something? \nAs Yunmen says\, mostly we travel\, make our way through life in the sunlight of a bright day. We know where we are going\, we see our goal off in the distance\, and we make our way. And then\, it is almost inevitable\, it’s midnight and the light\, the clarity of our goal disappears\, and we find ourselves in the dark\, unable to see our own hand in front of our face. This can happen in any area of our lives: relationships\, job\, life plans. We knew where we were going\, what we were doing\, and now\, we don’t know. \nYunmen asks\, “How will you get hold of something?” We might say\, “How do I navigate?” \n—David Parks \n\n\n\n\n\n \n  \nCOME JOIN US on Thursdays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation. All are welcome. Register to participate. \nDavid Parks Roshi\, Director of Bluegrass Zen
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/thursday-zen-with-david-parks-41/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/dusk500.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Parks Roshi":MAILTO:dparksbluegrasszen@gmail.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250415T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250415T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250130T182251Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250410T223004Z
UID:10001989-1744740000-1744745400@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:TUESDAY ZEN with David Weinstein: Dizang Saves the World
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nDizang asked Master Xiushan\, “Where do you come from?”\nXiushan replied\, “I come from the South.”\n“What’s Buddhism like in the South these days?”\n“We take it seriously and talk about it a lot.”\n“That’s not as good as planting this field and pounding rice to make food.”\n“What does that have to do with saving the world?\nDizang said “What are you calling the world?” \nDizang is the teacher who told Fayan that not knowing is most intimate. I hear Dizang talking about the intimacy of not knowing what the world is\, and also not knowing what saving the world is. \nAs I write this I am sitting in Hakone\, Japan\, at a hot spring hotel. I am here with my Japanese wife\, and my sister and brother-in-law who have never been to Japan. I have accompanied people visiting Japan for the first time and found that I saw things through their fresh eyes\, things that I’d stopped seeing\, having lived in Japan for seven years and visited annually over the last thirty-five. \nMy wife Sarasa also looked forward to introducing her country and customs to our guests. In a sense\, “saving” them during their first and perhaps only visit to Japan. \nOne thing she looked most forward to was introducing them to the pleasures of soaking in hot spring water. However\, my brother-in-law had lost his left leg below the knee in a work accident. He has a prosthetic that can’t get wet and he didn’t have crutches. \nI’ve never seen a person whose leg is missing have a bath at a hot spring. It’s interesting\, that in Japan\, where they take much better care of their elders and disabled than we do\, there are no accommodations. \nAs for my sister\, she had no interest in getting naked with a bunch of strangers\, perhaps not even with my wife. They also had little interest in Japanese history\, so visiting temples and shrines and other “must do\, must see” things we had wanted them to experience were not high on their list of things to see and do\, which was a little hard at first. \nBut I noticed that what seemed to interest them more were more mundane things. \nMy brother-in-law\, who works in construction\, was fascinated with the construction techniques he was seeing here. He was impressed by the level of cleanliness maintained even in areas where heavy machinery was operating\, not to mention the overall lack of litter. It gives him an appreciation for the attention to detail in Japanese culture that others might find in Tea Ceremony or another traditional art. \nAs an ex-fireman\, he smiled and nodded when he realized that the fire hydrants were buried underground\, marked by tall red poles topped with metal signs. It made complete sense to him as something one would do in a country the size of the Pacific West Coast\, with half the population of the U.S.\, and 75% of the land too mountainous for buildings. He very much appreciated the way manhole covers were works of art usually related to the town’s location or primary product. \nThey found a first encounter with a Japanese 7-11 fascinating\, seeing new offerings like fried burdock root chips and spaghetti sandwiches. There were also the two basements of the Mitsukoshi Department Store\, founded in 1673 by a kimono fabric merchant who introduced labelled pricing\, selling customers whatever length of fabric they wanted. We wound our way up and down every aisle on each floor\, sampling delicacies and resisting the temptation to buy just about everything. \nAfter viewing the cherry blossoms at Ueno Park\, we spent some time sitting in an outdoor café. As it happened\, the table in front of us was occupied by three young Japanese\, two women and a man. It was hard not to overhear their conversation\, which revealed that what we were witnessing was the introduction of two people by a mutual friend as potential partners for each other. My sister and brother-in-law were fascinated as my wife and I told them what was going on. That led to a deep conversation about Japanese culture\, more satisfying for all of us than any of our temple visits. \nAs we have learned to “not know” how to “save” their first visit to Japan\, we are “saving” their first visit to Japan\, as well as our own visit. \n—David Weinstein \n\nDavid Weinstein Roshi\n  \nCOME JOIN US on Tuesdays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation.\nRegister to participate. All are welcome. \nDavid Weinstein Roshi\, Director of Rockridge Meditation Community \n 
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/tuesday-zen-with-david-weinstein-35/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Manhole500.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250414T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250414T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250212T201810Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250411T184216Z
UID:10002005-1744653600-1744659000@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph: Our Mysterious Melody: Playing the Flute with No Holes and Other Impossibilities
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nPlay the flute with no holes\n\n—from the Pacific Zen Miscellaneous Collection \nWhat a marvelous and mysterious thing\, to cross the border from the land of sense to the country of sensibility and the play of no-sense. One old Zen dictionary interprets the “flute with no holes” as “one from which any sound may be heard.” \nWhat is the source of that sound? What is our natural virtuosity? \nThe origin of this phrase is found in Yuanwu’s comment on a koan in the Blue Cliff Record. Xuefeng\, before he became a teacher\, was living alone in a hut when two monks came to visit. Feng pushed open the door and asked\, “What is it?” One of the monks responded\, “What is it?” Yuanwu comments: \nGhost eyes. A flute with no holes. He raises his head\, wearing horns. \nHe mentions this magical instrument a few other times\, suggesting it be used like a rug beater: \nA flute with no holes strikes against a wool felt pounding board. \nThis flute is not picky about its sounds. \nIn a similar spirit\, the 18th c Japanese master Genro also gathered one hundred koans with commentaries\, calling it the Tekkei Tosui (鐵笛倒吹)\, which means “blowing the iron flute upside down.” But alas\, Genro did not include this koan in his collection except in the title. \nWhat is it\, to blow the flute with no holes? In a posthumous collection of her father’s poems\, Kim Stafford writes that her father would often say\, “Let’s talk recklessly… I must be willingly fallible to deserve a place in the realm where miracles happen.” \nWhatever the river says\, I say. \n—Jon Joseph \nASK ME by William Stafford \nSometime when the river is ice ask me\nmistakes I have made. Ask me whether\nwhat I have done is my life. Others\nhave come in their slow way into\nmy thought\, and some have tried to help\nor to hurt: ask me the difference\ntheir strongest love or hate has made.\nI will listen to what you say.\nYou and I can look at the silent river and wait. We know\nthe current is there\, hidden: and there\nare comings and goings from miles away\nthat hold the stillness exactly before us.\nWhat the river says\, that is what I say. \n\nJon Joseph Roshi\n  \nCOME JOIN US on Mondays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation. Register to participate. All are welcome. \nJon Joseph Roshi\, Director of San Mateo Zen Community
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/monday-zen-with-jon-joseph-53/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mayumi-flute_500w.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250413T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250413T120000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250227T155648Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250410T151300Z
UID:10002021-1744540200-1744545600@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:Sunday Zen with Guest Host Tess Beasley & Friends: Finding Companions on the Dark Roads
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nBodhisattvas come in all sorts of shapes and sizes\, and with all sorts of specialities: \nOne Who Hears the Cries of the World\, with those 84\,000 hands and eyes; \nGentle Glory\, who wields the sharpest sword to cut away delusion; \nEarth Treasury\, who vows to instruct all the beings of the six worlds\, between this Buddha and the next\, until all the hells are emptied. \nNot exactly small feats\, and the list goes on\, but the gist of being a bodhisattva is sincerely taking up the vow to stick around and practice until every last being is free. \nIt helps to have such company on the dark roads\, and especially to realize that somehow we are that company\, too. Their vows become our vows\, their existence reveals itself as inextricable from our own. \nJoin us Sunday for meditation\, music\, and good company on the ancient road. \n—Tess Beasley \n\n\n\n \nMeditation is not a task with a known goal. It’s something you can’t do wrong\, a chance for the things of this world to come towards you and to meet you\, for doors to open by themselves\, and for us to see where the ancient paths lead. \n\n\nWaking up is something we do together\, in the online temple on Sunday. We love it when you join us.  \n—John Tarrant Roshi and all of us at PZI
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/sunday-zen-with-john-tarrant-friends-55/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Bishamonten500.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250412T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250412T100000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250130T183826Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250321T170636Z
UID:10001995-1744444800-1744452000@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:SATURDAY ZEN: For PZI Members – Conversations with David Weinstein
DESCRIPTION:About Saturday Conversations \nDokusan is the Japanese word for these conversations about meditation practice. It means “to go alone” or “to practice alone.” It is to have a conversation so intimate\, that for both participants it is as if you were talking with and listening to yourself. \nThe word “conversation” (in place of the Japanese word dokusan) has its own way of speaking to the experience. \nEtymologically\, it means “to turn around together.” Meditation is often referred to as a turning around of our attention towards the inside. These conversations about meditation practice are an opportunity for a mutual turning the light around and exploring what’s there. \n—David Weinstein \n\nSaturday Conversations with David Weinstein Roshi\nOnline on Zoom from 8–10:00 am Pacific Time\nEvery two weeks \nIf you are a PZI Member and would like to have a conversation with David\,\nbook your 15-minute online meeting for April 12th here. \nDana gratefully accepted \nQuestions? Contact David
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/saturday-zen-for-pzi-members-conversations-with-david-weinstein-17/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:Saturday Conversations
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Buddha-laying-down.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250408T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250408T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250313T180749Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250330T140859Z
UID:10002026-1744135200-1744140600@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:TUESDAY ZEN with David Weinstein: ON BREAK
DESCRIPTION:David is not teaching today\, but will return on April 15th. We hope you join us then! \n\nEveryone is welcome here no matter how you are feeling\, where you come from\, what you believe.  \n—David Weinstein \n\nDavid Weinstein Roshi\n  \nCOME JOIN US on Tuesdays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation.\nRegister to participate. All are welcome. \nDavid Weinstein Roshi\, Director of Rockridge Meditation Community \n 
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/tuesday-zen-with-guest-host-michael-wilding-2/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/wooden-bucketCALENDAR500x350.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250407T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250407T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250212T201623Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250212T201623Z
UID:10002009-1744048800-1744054200@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph: ON BREAK
DESCRIPTION:Jon Joseph is not teaching today\, but will return on April 14th. We hope you join us then!\n\nWe are not alone in the world. We have each other to turn toward. All we need to do is ask. \n—Jon Joseph \n\nJon Joseph Roshi\n  \nCOME JOIN US on Mondays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation. Register to participate. All are welcome. \nJon Joseph Roshi\, Director of San Mateo Zen Community
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/monday-zen-with-jon-joseph-on-break-2/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/wooden-bucketCALENDAR500x350.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250407T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250407T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250114T232713Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250409T170750Z
UID:10001982-1744048800-1744054200@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:ZEN LUMINARIES: Things as It Is and Horses Where the Answers Should Have Been – Jon Joseph in Conversation with Poet & Teacher Chase Twichell
DESCRIPTION:  \n\nChase Twichell has published eight books of poetry including Things As It Is (2018) and Horses Where Answers Should Have Been (2010)\, and is currently working on a new collection. She began a lay Zen practice in the mid-1990s at Zen Mountain Monastery under John Daido Loori\, and her poetry and practice have been co-mingled since then. \n“Zen threw me a big curve ball\,” she has said. “There is almost no metaphor in Chinese poetry: Zen tries to see things as they are\, without the spin.” \nChase’s poems have appeared in many publications including The New Yorker\, The Paris Review\, and The Nation. In addition\, she has taught poetry at Princeton University\, the University of Alabama\, and Hampshire College. \nTHINGS AS IT IS \nLast night my hand began writing\nin the hand of some future me\,\nas if a branch in wind had scribbled\non freshly fallen snow.\nIn the dark\, coyotes called\nback and forth in the bird-silence.\nI put down the pen and went outside\,\nstood listening to wind in snow’s translation.\nWild dogs\, teach me\na few of your words before I die. \nHIS ABSENCE \nHis absence is hard to pin down.\nNo martini glasses in sight\nno secret ashtrays.\nI can ask him anything–\nlocked in a dark library.\nall that he knew and remembered is lost to us both.\nAnd the whole world of the night\nhas gone missing.\nIncluding the scent of our joy. \n\n\nChase Twichell’s poems are among my favorites ever written. Often brash\, always vivid\, smart\, and lyrical\, pointing toward essential things—this is a marvelous and rich body of work. \n—Tony Hoagland \n\nShort Bio \nChase Twichell was born in 1950\, and grew up in Connecticut and the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. She is the author of eight books of poetry\, most recently Things as It Is (Copper Canyon\, 2018). \nAfter teaching for many years (Hampshire College\, the University of Alabama\, Princeton University)\, she left academia to found Ausable Press\, a not-for-profit publisher of contemporary poetry\, which was acquired by Copper Canyon in 2009. \nFrom 2013 to 2016 Twichell served as Chair of the Kate and Kingsley Tufts Awards Jury. \nShe recently taught in the Warren Wilson College’s MFA Program for Writers. \nA longtime student in the Mountains and Rivers Order at Zen Mountain Monastery in upstate New York\, she splits the year between the Adirondacks and Saratoga Springs\, NY. \nsource: https://www.chasetwichell.com/about \n\n \nJon Joseph Roshi of San Mateo Zen and PZI created this series to support the hardworking innovators and shining voices of modern Zen: scholars\, writers\, poets\, translators\, activists\, artists\, teachers\, and more. \nAll proceeds for each event\, including teacher dana\, go directly to the guest speaker. Event attendees are encouraged to give as generously as you are able\, so we can offer deep thanks to Luminaries guests. \nOur suggested donation is $10 for PZI Members and $12 for Non-Members\, but the scale slides from zero depending on one’s ability to contribute. We also greatly appreciate Patrons\, who help support the program with larger gifts of $25—$250.
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/zen-luminaries-horses-where-the-answers-should-have-been-jon-joseph-in-conversation-with-author-chase-twichell/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chase-twichell_500x375.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250407T040000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250530T070000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250404T134825Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250404T134825Z
UID:10002025-1743998400-1748588400@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:OPEN TEMPLE: 8-Week Spring Meditation Pass – MEMBERS FREE
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nFREE to PZI Members!\nMorning Meditations 5 Days Weekly\nWherever you are in the world\, let’s sit together.\n \nOpen Temple Pass gives you unlimited access to two morning meditations\, Mondays–Fridays\,\nApril 7th–May 30th\, 2025. All are welcome. PZI Members attend FREE. \nPractice leaders will ring the bells and hold a cushion for you. Join us! \n\nWeekday Schedule\nJoin in as you can\, as often as you like. \nSESSION 1 Sits in the East Temple: 7–8:00 AM Eastern Time\n(or 4–5 AM Pacific) \nSESSION 2 Sits in the West Temple: 6–7:00 AM Pacific Time\n(or 9–10 AM Eastern) \n\nYour Temple Zoom Link\nThe recurring Zoom link for Open Temple access will be in your emailed receipt\,\nfor entrance to ALL morning meditations. \nPZI Members FREE\, Non-Members $125 \nQuestions? Or to check your membership status\, contact Lucas at PZI Support. \n\n\nNot a member of PZI? Now is your chance!  \nJoin us for free access to the Open Temple\, scholarships\, discounts for retreats\,\nour vast and growing library of dharma talks\, and other resources.\n \nBecome a Member
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/open-temple-8-week-spring-meditation-pass-members-free/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:Open Temple
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SpringOT500.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250406T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250406T120000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250227T155620Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250407T202901Z
UID:10002020-1743935400-1743940800@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:Sunday Zen with Guest Host Tess Beasley & Friends: Dissolving the Plot\, Discovering the Unforeseen
DESCRIPTION:  \n\nI remember a dream once in which the danger seemed certain\, but then a sliding door opened as if I were in a grocery store and a gaggle of turkeys wandered through. \nWhatever plot I’d been holding to suddenly gave way and the world stood open. \nBeing alive comes with plenty of good reasons to be afraid\, but having a practice means making way for the turkeys and other unexpected gifts of the mind to appear. \nAs we become more intimate with the world\, it shares its secrets with us. As we become less certain\, new pathways appear. \nJoin us Sunday for meditation\, music\, and stories of encountering the unforeseen. \n—Tess Beasley \n\n\n\n \nMeditation is not a task with a known goal. It’s something you can’t do wrong\, a chance for the things of this world to come towards you and to meet you\, for doors to open by themselves\, and for us to see where the ancient paths lead. \n\n\nWaking up is something we do together\, in the online temple on Sunday. We love it when you join us.  \n—John Tarrant Roshi and all of us at PZI
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/sunday-zen-with-tess-beasley-friends-54/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Turkeys500short.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250403T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250403T173000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250211T223119Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250401T235334Z
UID:10001999-1743696000-1743701400@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:THURSDAY ZEN with David Parks: The Stone Woman Brings Forth
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nThe stone woman gives birth in the middle of the night. \n—PZI Miscellaneous Koans Case 33 \nHere is a koan for transitions. In the darkest hour of night\, in the depths of your not knowing\, there is a quickening\, a stirring. The womb\, or should we say the womb-of-origins\, churning as it awakens to bring forth the new. \nIt could be said that the stone woman in the middle of the night is a koan for winter—the bare trees\, the cold ground\, the seamless cover of snow. In life we have those barren times\, like a woman unable to bear a child\, to bring forth. Here is a koan for the dark of night\, without sight or knowing. And yet\, against all expectation that which is bare is full of life. There is a stone woman giving birth\, a quickening\, the aliveness made manifest. As there is a light inside the dark\, there is a spring in every winter. \nAlso\, I found this in Wendell Berry’s essay\, “A Native Hill.” It could easily serve as a reflection on the stone woman. Employing all the senses Berry finds his place in the pattern of things. \n“Perhaps then\, having heard that silence and seen that darkness\, he will grow humble before the place and begin to take it in—to learn from it what it is. As its sounds come into his hearing\, and its lights and colors come into his vision\, and its odors come into his nostrils\, then he may come into its presence as he never has before\, and he will arrive in his place and will want to remain. His life will grow out of the ground like the other lives of the place\, and take its place among them. He will be with them—neither ignorant of them\, nor indifferent to them\, nor against them—and so at last he will grow to be native–born. That is\, he must reenter the silence and the darkness\, and be born again.” \n—David Parks \n\n\n\n\n\n \n  \nCOME JOIN US on Thursdays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation. All are welcome. Register to participate. \nDavid Parks Roshi\, Director of Bluegrass Zen
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/thursday-zen-with-david-parks-42/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/stonewoman.jpeg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Parks Roshi":MAILTO:dparksbluegrasszen@gmail.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250401T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250401T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250313T180540Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250330T140942Z
UID:10002027-1743530400-1743535800@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:TUESDAY ZEN with David Weinstein: ON BREAK
DESCRIPTION:David is not teaching today\, but will return on April 15th. We hope you join us then! \n\nEveryone is welcome here no matter how you are feeling\, where you come from\, what you believe.  \n—David Weinstein \n\nDavid Weinstein Roshi\n  \nCOME JOIN US on Tuesdays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation.\nRegister to participate. All are welcome. \nDavid Weinstein Roshi\, Director of Rockridge Meditation Community \n 
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/tuesday-zen-with-guest-host-michael-wilding/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/wooden-bucketCALENDAR500x350.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250331T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250331T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250212T201411Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T191301Z
UID:10002004-1743444000-1743449400@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph: Like A Mosquito Bites an Iron Ox: An Abiding Wisdom in the Absurd
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nA monk asked Zhaozhou\, “‘The Ultimate Path is not difficult—just avoid picking and choosing.’ Isn’t this a cliché for people of these times?” Zhou replied\, “Once someone asked me\, and I really couldn’t explain for five years.”\n\n—The Blue Cliff Record Case 58 \nYuanwu\, the commentator of The Blue Cliff Record\, speaks to the extraordinary difficulty of working with this koan; likening it to a mosquito trying to bite an iron ox\, or attempting to climb a silver mountain\, or breaking through an iron wall. We all know the feeling of deep frustration\, bordering on insanity\, in confronting the impossible over and over again with no satisfying result. \nA couple of months ago\, I found myself in a state of intense despair with some personal struggles. While watching TV with my wife—was it The Lincoln Lawyer\, Lioness\, or Succession?—tears suddenly welled up in my eyes. I asked myself\, “Why do you keep banging your head against the wall?” In that moment\, an unexpected answer rose from within me: “Because you can’t give up on Mu.” \nThe response was startling and strange. It came from a deep\, foundational place inside me. I haven’t worked on Mu as a koan in decades\, though I often sit with its English translation\, “No.” Yet\, in that moment it was an original statement\, familiar to me\, and one from the very beginning of my Zen practice\, more than fifty years ago. \nSomething shifted in that inner dialogue\, though I cannot fully explain how. The problems that once seemed insurmountable pretty much vanished. The iron ox\, the silver mountain\, and the iron wall no longer appeared as obstacles but rather as absurd partners in an intimate game. \nThe “Ultimate Path” koan appears four times in The Blue Cliff Record\, with Zhaozhou offering a different response each time. In one case\, he warns\, “As soon as you hear these words\, you think this is picking and choosing\, or clarity. This old monk does not dwell in clarity.” When a monk asks\, “What do you dwell in\, then?” Zhou replies\, “I don’t know\,” and tells the monk that simply asking the question is enough. \nHow inconceivable that just trying to bite the iron ox would be enough. That standing on the top of a hundred foot pole\, that holding onto a branch with our teeth would all be the full expression of our Buddha nature. Perhaps the Ultimate Path is not somewhere else\, in some sense-making\, light-filled universe. Maybe in some absurd way\, it is right here. Asking the question may be enough. \n—Jon Joseph \nSnow–Globe Vesuvius \nI live on the flank of Vesuvius\, in Pompeii.\nEach day the sky fills with leaflets\,\nsmokelets\, prayers to  powers\naglitter whether storming or still\n(the old ones mica\, the new ones who cares what).\n\nEveryone knows there’s more than one\nkind of consciousness. Everyone knows\nthat in the snow-globe of Vesuvius\,\nthe “snow” is really ash–\neach time the volcano buries the town.\n\nWould you meet me in a world like that?\nIf not there\, where?\n\n —Chase Twichell\, Horses Where the Answers Should Have Been \n\nJon Joseph Roshi\n  \nCOME JOIN US on Mondays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation. Register to participate. All are welcome. \nJon Joseph Roshi\, Director of San Mateo Zen Community
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/monday-zen-with-jon-joseph-52/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Oxen500.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250330T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250330T120000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250227T155556Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250331T171528Z
UID:10002019-1743330600-1743336000@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:Sunday Zen with Guest Host Jesse Cardin & Friends: No Reason To Be Happy
DESCRIPTION:  \n\nYunmen said\, “I’m not asking you about before the full moon. Come and say a word or two about after the full moon.”\nAnd he himself replied\, “Every day is a good day.” \n—The Blue Cliff Record Case 6 \nWhen I woke up this morning the air was hazy gray with smoke from our neighborhood volcano. I’m tired and my son is rambunctious and it’s getting on my nerves. The tiny bird that hit my window yesterday has flown off somewhere\, or at least I hope that’s why it’s not in the yard anymore. \nWhen I look inside\, I’m happy\, though not for any good reason. I’m in awe of the way the world just keeps showing up: trees and rain and small children and cars and impatience and political opinions and wondering what I’ll have for lunch. Maybe that’s reason enough. \nSee you Sunday. \n—Jesse Cardin \n\n\n\n \nMeditation is not a task with a known goal. It’s something you can’t do wrong\, a chance for the things of this world to come towards you and to meet you\, for doors to open by themselves\, and for us to see where the ancient paths lead. \n\n\nWaking up is something we do together\, in the online temple on Sunday. We love it when you join us.  \n—John Tarrant Roshi and all of us at PZI
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/sunday-zen-with-john-tarrant-friends-53/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kids-playing-in-Mud500.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250329T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250329T100000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250130T183402Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250321T170631Z
UID:10001994-1743235200-1743242400@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:ON BREAK — SATURDAY ZEN: For PZI Members – Conversations with David Weinstein
DESCRIPTION:David Weinstein is not meeting today\, but will return on April 12th. We hope you sign up then!\n\nAbout Saturday Conversations \nDokusan is the Japanese word for these conversations about meditation practice. It means “to go alone” or “to practice alone.” It is to have a conversation so intimate\, that for both participants it is as if you were talking with and listening to yourself. \nThe word “conversation” (in place of the Japanese word dokusan) has its own way of speaking to the experience. \nEtymologically\, it means “to turn around together.” Meditation is often referred to as a turning around of our attention towards the inside. These conversations about meditation practice are an opportunity for a mutual turning the light around and exploring what’s there. \n—David Weinstein \n\nSaturday Conversations with David Weinstein Roshi\nOnline on Zoom from 8–10:00 am Pacific Time\nEvery two weeks \nDana gratefully accepted \nQuestions? Contact David
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/saturday-zen-for-pzi-members-conversations-with-david-weinstein-16/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:Saturday Conversations
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/wooden-bucketCALENDAR500x350.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250325T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250325T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250130T181950Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250313T180357Z
UID:10001986-1742925600-1742931000@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:TUESDAY ZEN with Guest Host Michael Wilding
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nEveryone is welcome here no matter how you are feeling\, where you come from\, what you believe.  \n—David Weinstein \n\nDavid Weinstein Roshi\n  \nCOME JOIN US on Tuesdays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation.\nRegister to participate. All are welcome. \nDavid Weinstein Roshi\, Director of Rockridge Meditation Community \n 
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/tuesday-zen-with-david-weinstein-34/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/michaelWilding-HeadshotBW-cropped.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250324T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250324T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250212T201228Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250321T212049Z
UID:10002003-1742839200-1742844600@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph: Dios Pasas: The Gods Pass By
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nA couple of nights ago\, my dog Mocha Puppachino was restless in the very early morning\, so I got up to let her out. After a few minutes\, she came back\, and we returned upstairs. Falling into a half sleep\, I began to dream. \nI was standing on the side of a wide dirt road. Going down the lane was a procession of indigenous Aztecs or Mayans\, with high cheekbones and aquiline noses\, lightly dressed in ceremonial wear\, passing in profile from left to right. Their colors were earth tones of ocher\, soft yellows and browns. \nIn my sleep I began to repeat to myself\, “Dios pasas!”\, “Dios pasas!”\, over and over again\, almost as if I were saying a prayer or holding a koan. Though my Spanish is not very good\, I translated the phrase in my mind as\, “The gods are passing by!” (My Spanish-speaking daughter later corrected my grammar un piquito.) \nI’m not fully sure what the dream meant\, but I had a strong feeling of inclusion. I was witness to the sacred; not sacred as an idea\, but as a relationship. With great warmth and appreciation\, I understood I was being watched over. The gods too were being witnessed by me. Each of us was expressing our essential relationship to the other\, in that moment and place. To make ourselves whole\, we needed each other. \nA dream-like koan came to me in connection to the dream itself: \nShoushan said to the assembly\, “If you attain it with the first phrase\, you will be teacher of buddhas and ancestors. If you attain with the second phrase\, you will be teacher of humans and gods. If you attain it with the third phrase\, you will not even save yourself.” A monk asked\, “At which statement did you attain it\, teacher?” Shoushan said\, “The moon sets\, it is midnight. I walk through the marketplace.” (BS 76) \nOur movement through the dark and empty marketplace is singular and sometimes deeply lonely. Yet it is full of potential: absence completely open to receiving presence\, as David Hinton writes. \nSoon enough\, farmers and merchants arrive on their donkey carts and horses. The horizon lightens and the sun comes over the ridge. Women with sleepy children in tow come to shop for dinner; chickens squawk and dogs bark. And the buddhas\, ancestors and gods are there. They walk among us even now. \nHongzhi Zenghue in his verse on this koan writes: \nWe meet the lowly and then the noble\nWe meet the noble and then lowly\nGetting the jewel through formlessness\nThe ultimate way is continuous \n—Jon Joseph \n\nJon Joseph Roshi\n  \nCOME JOIN US on Mondays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation. Register to participate. All are welcome. \nJon Joseph Roshi\, Director of San Mateo Zen Community
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/monday-zen-with-jon-joseph-51/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/monday.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250323T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250323T120000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250227T155538Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250320T203622Z
UID:10002018-1742725800-1742731200@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:Sunday Zen with John Tarrant & Friends: In the Middle of Things—Silence
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nOn the left we have velociraptors\, above we have pterodactyls—not sure if my insurance will cover dinosaurs\, \nbut the mind is always running on\, now it’s sunshine and rain days\, a spring morning worth a thousand gold pieces says Sudong Po\, the time when foxes have their weddings\, and you have to peek at the procession from behind a tree. \nIn the middle we have silence. Silence which allows the madness to settle. \nHere’s the old spring koan: \nWe’re always talking about subject and object\nand even not talking is about subject and object\,\nhow do we get beyond subject and object? \nThe master said\, “I’m always thinking of the lakes in March\, partridges sing among the fragrant blossoms.” \nThe reverie of spring with its thousands of gifts is inside and outside. Let’s have that this Sunday. \nJoin us! \n—John Tarrant \n\n\n\n \nMeditation is not a task with a known goal. It’s something you can’t do wrong\, a chance for the things of this world to come towards you and to meet you\, for doors to open by themselves\, and for us to see where the ancient paths lead. \n\n\nWaking up is something we do together\, in the online temple on Sunday. We love it when you join us.  \n—John Tarrant Roshi and all of us at PZI
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/sunday-zen-with-john-tarrant-friends-52/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/fox500.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250320T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250320T173000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250211T223210Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250211T223210Z
UID:10001998-1742486400-1742491800@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:THURSDAY ZEN with David Parks
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nDon’t grab hold\, just allow the meditation to come to you. Same with koans\, they will come. It is like a dance\, a call and response.  \n—David Parks \n\n\n\n\n\n \n  \nCOME JOIN US on Thursdays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation. All are welcome. Register to participate. \nDavid Parks Roshi\, Director of Bluegrass Zen
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/thursday-zen-with-david-parks-43/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/DPR-Headshot_500x375.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Parks Roshi":MAILTO:dparksbluegrasszen@gmail.com
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250318T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250318T193000
DTSTAMP:20260503T033853
CREATED:20250130T181733Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250313T183021Z
UID:10001985-1742320800-1742326200@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:TUESDAY ZEN with David Weinstein: Nanquan's Cat – Equanimity Case 9
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nOne day at Nanquan’s\, students of the eastern and western halls were arguing over a cat. Nanquan held up the cat and said\, “If you can say something\, I won’t kill it.” No one could speak\, so Nanquan cut the cat in two.\n                                                                                                          \n That evening\, Zhaozhou returned from a trip and Nanquan brought up what had happened. Zhaozhou took off his sandals\, put them on top of his head\, and walked out. Nanquan said\, “If you had been here\, you’d have saved the cat.” \n—Book of Serenity Case 9 \nWhat came to me as I started keeping company with this koan was the first precept about killing. I can’t think of any other koans in which something is literally killed. Lots of people experience the “great death\,” “killed” by their teacher’s words or actions\, but none literally: It is their relationship to their ideas about themselves and the world that gets killed. \nI did come across a story about an old teacher named Chan Master Fori\, also known as Dahui\, who is credited with innovating the koan meditation practice. So\, a well known and respected teacher. The name “Fori” was given to him by the Emperor in recognition of his excellence as a teacher\, and it means “Buddha Sun.” \nFori was having tea with a group when he saw a cat coming\, and tossed a dove from his sleeve\, giving it to the cat\, which took it and went away. Fori said\, “Excellent!” It’s not exactly the same as Nanquan killing the cat\, but… \nWhat came next to keep me company is a story from the Bible called The Judgment of Solomon\, in which Solomon rules with two women who both claim to be the mother of a child. Solomon orders the baby to be cut in half\, with each woman to receive one half. The first accepts the compromise as fair\, but the second begs Solomon to give the baby to her rival\, preferring the baby to live\, even without her. Solomon orders the baby given to the second woman\, her love being selfless\, as opposed to the first woman’s selfish disregard for the baby’s actual wellbeing. \nWe don’t know exactly what the monks were arguing about in regards to that cat. It would be easy to assume\, since they were monks from different halls\, that they were arguing about where the cat belonged—perhaps they had a mouse problem. \nSome commentators note that monastic communities of the time were divided into two parts. One part devoted themselves to meditation and formal traditional spiritual practice and the other worked to support the monastery as their main practice\, in the fields and in the kitchens. As you might imagine\, they could have different ideas about what “practice” was. Perhaps they were arguing about whether the cat had Buddha nature or not. Whatever they were arguing about doesn’t matter\, really. What matters is that they could not respond. \nHave you ever found yourself in a situation where you couldn’t respond? This koan is an opportunity to look into that. The stakes don’t have to be as high as the life or death of a cat to create a situation in which we get stuck. \n—David Weinstein \n\nDavid Weinstein Roshi\n  \nCOME JOIN US on Tuesdays for koan meditation\, dharma talk and conversation.\nRegister to participate. All are welcome. \nDavid Weinstein Roshi\, Director of Rockridge Meditation Community \n 
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/tuesday-zen-with-david-weinstein-33/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Nanquans-cat500.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
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