BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Pacific Zen Institute - ECPv6.15.17.1//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:Pacific Zen Institute
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.pacificzen.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Pacific Zen Institute
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/Los_Angeles
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0800
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:PDT
DTSTART:20230312T100000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0800
TZNAME:PST
DTSTART:20231105T090000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0800
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:PDT
DTSTART:20240310T100000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0800
TZNAME:PST
DTSTART:20241103T090000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0800
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:PDT
DTSTART:20250309T100000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0800
TZNAME:PST
DTSTART:20251102T090000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0800
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:PDT
DTSTART:20260308T100000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0800
TZNAME:PST
DTSTART:20261101T090000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241114T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241114T173000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241029T193823Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241120T181805Z
UID:10001910-1731600000-1731605400@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:THURSDAY ZEN with David Parks: Falling Down\, Together
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nWhat is the way?\nThe clear-eyed person falls into a well.\n \n—PZI Miscellaneous Koans Case 74b \nLayman Pang and his daughter Lingzhao were selling bamboo baskets. Coming down off a bridge he stumbled and fell. When Lingzhao saw this she ran to her father’s side and threw herself on the ground.\n“What are you doing?” cried the Layman.\n“I saw Daddy fall down\, so I’m helping\,“ replied Lingzhao.\n“Luckily no one was looking\,“ remarked the Layman. \n—From the Recorded Sayings of Layman Pang \nThese two koans take us places—down\, down\, down the well; falling\, falling\, and then off the bridge; stumbling\, falling into a ditch. \nThere is a magic in the moment when we meet. In unadorned meeting\, life meets life. Lingzhao throws herself down to the ground with her father. She takes the “exquisite risk” to fall down too\, to be there in life apart from her beliefs\, ideas\, the need to justify herself as kind or helpful. \nMany of us sang this nursery rhyme in kindergarten: \nRing around the Rosie\,\nA pocket full of posies\,\nAshes! Ashes!\nWe all fall down. \nAnd that’s it: If we are all in for life\, we will fall. \nWhen I fall it is always a surprise. I step onto the front sidewalk on a winter’s day\, a fleeting thought as I tumble down: “Black ice.” After the crash landing I look up\, laughing out loud: “That’s not what I expected.” Or I can be working in the kitchen with a new friend\, our hands accidentally touch\, and I find I care for her deeply even though we just met. Falling onto the ground\, falling in love. We all fall down\, bidding adieu to the realm of the expected\, the life we thought we had. The world becomes new\, uncertain and unpredictable. \nFinding myself in this place\, often I will say to myself\, “This is not what I signed up for.” A friend dies and I wake up in grief. A relationship ends; I am no longer who I thought I was. Your child is born and you fall into something you could not know: fatherhood\, motherhood. A friend of mine sits on the porch watching the sun rise\, and her world pivots: all is new. We fall into grace. \nThe truth? It is never what we sign up for. Life is uncertain\, dark. Expectations fall away\, desires shed. We fall into not knowing. And this is it—the vastness\, grace\, love\, God—doesn’t matter what you call it. As Dylan sang\, “It’s life and life only.” \nTogether we rest in the Dao\, the continual unfolding\, the life that is always changing. With luck we fall down together and wake up. The universe calls roll. “Here!” we respond. \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-34/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Rosie-500x320-1.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Parks Roshi":MAILTO:dparksbluegrasszen@gmail.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241112T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241112T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241029T192204Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241108T202110Z
UID:10001909-1731434400-1731439800@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:TUESDAY ZEN with David Weinstein: The Red Thread
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nThere is an old Chinese story featuring the red thread\, involving a young boy. \nWalking home one night a boy saw an old man standing in the moonlight. The man explained to the boy that a red thread was connecting him to his destined wife. The old man then showed him the girl who was destined to be his wife. Being young and having no interest in having a wife\, the boy picked up a rock\, threw it at her\, and ran away.  \nMany years later\, when the boy had grown into a young man\, his parents arranged a wedding for him. On the night of his wedding\, his wife waited for him in their bedroom\, with the traditional veil covering her face. Raising it\, the man was delighted to find that his wife was a great beauty. However\, she wore an adornment on her eyebrow. She explained that when she was a girl\, a boy threw a rock that struck her face\, leaving a scar on her eyebrow. She wore the adornment to cover it up. It was the same young girl\, connected to him by the red thread\, that the old man had revealed to him when he was a boy.   \nThe lesson of this old Chinese story would seem to be that you can’t fight fate. \nBuddhism took the story\, as it took many other stories and images from the existing Chinese culture\, and tweaked it. The way it changed is reminiscent of Indra’s Net\, a metaphor dating back to the pre-Hindu Vedic tradition\, used to describe the interconnectedness of all things. Indra’s Net has a jewel at each intersection which reflects all other jewels in the net. It is an image not only of interconnectedness but also of interpenetration. \nA millennium later Leonardo DaVinci put it this way\, “Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.” An alternate translation I have seen has it as\, “Everything is everything.” Half a millennium after Leonardo\, the Beatles put it this way\, “I am you and you are me and we are all together.” \nAs for the rock throwing in the original Chinese story\, it is not fate we resist\, it is our interconnectedness and interpenetration that we resist—the result of the anxiety of the self losing its rank. \nThrown any rocks lately? \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-peach-blossoms/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Red_Thread500.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241111T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241111T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241029T190158Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241029T190742Z
UID:10001903-1731348000-1731353400@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:ON BREAK: MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph
DESCRIPTION:Jon Joseph is not teaching today. Come join us next on December 2nd! \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/on-break-monday-zen-with-jon-joseph-13/
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:20241110T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241110T120000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241029T185300Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241112T004640Z
UID:10001899-1731234600-1731240000@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:Sunday Zen with John Tarrant & Friends: All Things Fall Under the Law of Change
DESCRIPTION:The Diamond Sutra says\, \nAll things fall under the law of change;\nall of existence\, all the conditioned paths\nare like a dream\, a waterfall\, an illusion\, a bubble\, a shadow;\nlike dew and like a flash of lightning:\nthis is how you should contemplate it. \nWhen Subhuti heard the Buddha’s words\, he understood their meaning and was moved to tears. He said\, \n“If you hear this sutra\, and understand it\, receiving and upholding it is no longer difficult. If there shall come into the world\, after five hundred years\, beings who hear this sermon with sincere understanding\, receiving and upholding it\, then they would be made most extraordinary. What is the reason? These people would be without the views of a self. Why is that? The view of self then is this non-sign. The views of a person then are this non-sign. What is the reason? Departing\, from all signs\, they then are called Buddhas.” \nThe world is not what we name it or think it\, and there is no such thing as a self or an other. \nThis is a wisdom that does not aim at completion and explanation. \n—John Tarrant \nOur Pacific Zen Mission: \nWhat we do is to provide a vessel for awakening. We keep the old wisdom alive. People go out into the world and do good work and we provide a place where they can grow wise and reflect and be consoled and free even when things are very difficult. This is the famous bodhisattva path. Thank you for showing up and helping us. \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-36/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/diamond-sutra-on-steel-plates500.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241105T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241105T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241029T192523Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241101T170509Z
UID:10001908-1730829600-1730835000@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:TUESDAY ZEN with David Weinstein: Entering the Bath Together
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nIn the old days there were sixteen bodhisattvas.\nThey all got into the bath together and realized the cause of water.\nThey called out\, “This subtle touch reveals the light that is in everything.” \n—Blue Cliff Record Case 78 \nBeing in retreat last week felt like this koan\, though it was more like fifty bodhisattvas entering the bath together. \nDuring the course of retreat I heard various experiences of entering the water. Some people entered the water easily but after a couple of days things got too hot. Others had a hard time getting in from the get go\, lowering themselves slowly inch by inch. Some folks seemed to dive in\, with various results. \nThe same was true for the sixteen bodhisattvas in the version of this story that appears in the Surangama Sutra. That version goes on to say\, \nWe did not wash off dirt\, did not wash the body.\nWe achieved peace of mind and obtained the state of no-possession. \nIf you have ever entered a bath so hot that once you were in you didn’t want to move because each movement renewed the experience of first entering the water\, which was no easy matter\, then I think you have some idea of what obtaining a “state of no-possession” is like. \nAs if to emphasize the point about not washing dirt off\, Xuedou\, who first collected the one hundred cases of the Blue Cliff Record\, commented in his verse on this case: \nIf the sixteen ancients said they were enlightened\,\nLet them emerge from the scented water\, and I would spit at them! \nWe don’t do this practice to purify ourselves\, to rid ourselves of delusions. If that is what you are doing\, watch out for Xuedou’s spit. \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-20/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Bath-Together500.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241104T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241104T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241029T185830Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241101T185508Z
UID:10001902-1730743200-1730748600@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph: The Sweetest Fig: Gifts From Unexpected Quarters
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nThis very place is paradise\,\nthis very body the Buddha. \n—Hakuin Ekaku\, Praise Song for Meditation \nWar\, conflict\, argument. These times have long been with us\, and because inside and outside are not two\, they penetrate our hearts and minds. Like the Bodhisattva of Compassion\, we cannot help but hear and see the cries of the world. But is it so strange to consider relief from those cries coming from simple\, unexpected quarters? \nThis year we had a tremendous harvest of figs from our family tree. And after making jam and pickled figs\, I slowly dry several pounds of fruit in the oven. Each afternoon\, as I take out a couple of figs from the plastic bag in the fridge\, I think of Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem about her Palestinian father\, a journalist who was a passionate lover of figs. \n“Appreciate your life\,” one of my Zen teachers often said. I take a dried fig in hand\, and feeling its leathery skin\, I hear the crunch of seeds between my teeth and taste the sweet pulp of its fruit. Because inside and outside are not two\, the precious fig-ness spills out to the far corners of the world\, making it a bit more rich in being. \nLast week\, like thousands of others\, I sent Naomi—a Pacific Zen Luminary—a note of congratulations for having received the prestigious Wallace Stevens Award for poetry. Her reply\, which included thanks\, was perfect Naomi: “I will try to be worthy!” Too late; already accomplished. Worthy of the largest\, fattest\, sweetest fig in the world. \n—Jon Joseph \n\nMy Father and the Fig Tree \nFor other fruits\, my father was indifferent.\nHe’d point at the cherry trees and say\,\n“See those? I wish they were figs.”\nIn the evening he sat by my bed\nweaving folktales like vivid little scarves.\nThey always involved a figtree.\nEven when it didn’t fit\, he’d stick it in.\nOnce Joha was walking down the road\nand he saw a fig tree.\nOr\, he tied his donkey to a figtree\nand went to sleep.\nOr\, later when they caught and arrested him\,\nhis pockets were full of figs. \nAt age six I ate a dried fig and shrugged.\n“That’s not what I’m talking about!” he said.\n“I’m talking about a fig straight from the earth –\ngift of Allah! — on a branch so heavy it touches the ground.\nI’m talking about picking the largest\, fattest\, sweetest fig\nin the world and putting it in my mouth.”\n(Here he’d stop and close his eyes.) \nYears passed\, we lived in many houses\, none had figtrees.\nWe had lima beans\, zucchini\, parsley\, beets.\n“Plant one!” my mother said. but my father never did.\nHe tended garden half-heartedly\, forgot to water\,\nlet the okra get too big.\n“What a dreamer he is. Look how many things he starts\nand doesn’t finish.” \nThe last time he moved\, I got a phone call.\nMy father\, in Arabic\, chanting a song I’d never heard.\n“What’s that?”\n“Wait til you see!”\nHe took me out back to the new yard.\nThere\, in the middle of Dallas\, Texas\,\na tree with the largest\, fattest\, sweetest figs in the world.\n“It’s a figtree song!” he said\,\nplucking his fruits like ripe tokens\,\nemblems\, assurance\nof a world that was always his own. \n—Naomi Shihab Nye\, from Everything Comes Next \n\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-37/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/figsB500.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241104T040000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250103T070000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241030T212734Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241101T172536Z
UID:10001913-1730692800-1735887600@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:OPEN TEMPLE: Late Fall 9-Week Meditation Pass – MEMBERS FREE
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\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\,\nNovember 4th–January 3rd\, 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) \nCheck for weekly updates here \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. \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\n 
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/open-temple-late-fall-9-week-meditation-pass-members-free/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:Open Temple
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/morning-mist_500x375-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241103T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241103T120000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241029T150105Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241101T213017Z
UID:10001895-1730629800-1730635200@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:Sunday Zen with John Tarrant & Friends: So Far\, So Good
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nSo Far\, So Good\nPublic life is full of tyrannosaurs\, pterodactyls and oligarchs. Elections can turn out well and also badly. We’re not here for long and we’re surrounded by cultural madness. As a pilgrim of the way our job is to tiptoe through the monsters. Uncertainty greets us every morning. So let’s have it\, really have this life full of stars\, sparrows singing\, mad leaders\, and kindness to each other. That last bit is really important; it means being unselfish. \nThe sunlight whispers\, “Don’t despair.” We have to find our own journey and our own true lives. Even rhinoceroses have to do it\, and wombats too\, walking the great way. \nKeep walking the dharma path\, friends. \nJoin us this Sunday. \n—John Tarrant \n\n“Curriculum Vitae” by Lisel Mueller \n1) I was born in a Free City\, near the North Sea. \n2) In the year of my birth\, money was shredded into\nconfetti. A loaf of bread cost a million marks. Of\ncourse I do not remember this. \n3) Parents and grandparents hovered around me. The\nworld I lived in had a soft voice and no claws. \n4) A cornucopia filled with treats took me into a building\nwith bells. A wide-bosomed teacher took me in. \n5) At home the bookshelves connected heaven and earth. \n6) On Sundays the city child waded through pinecones\nand primrose marshes\, a short train ride away. \n7) My country was struck by history more deadly than\nearthquakes or hurricanes. \n8) My father was busy eluding the monsters. My mother\ntold me the walls had ears. I learned the burden of secrets. \n9) I moved into the too bright days\, the too dark nights\nof adolescence. \n10) Two parents\, two daughters\, we followed the sun\nand the moon across the ocean. My grandparents stayed\nbehind in darkness. \n11) In the new language everyone spoke too fast. Eventually\nI caught up with them. \n12) When I met you\, the new language became the language\nof love. \n13) The death of the mother hurt the daughter into poetry.\nThe daughter became a mother of daughters. \n14) Ordinary life: the plenty and thick of it. Knots tying\nthreads to everywhere. The past pushed away\, the future left\nunimagined for the sake of the glorious\, difficult\, passionate\npresent. \n15) Years and years of this. \n16) The children no longer children. An old man’s pain\, an\nold man’s loneliness. \n17) And then my father too disappeared. \n18) I tried to go home again. I stood at the door to my\nchildhood\, but it was closed to the public. \n19) One day\, on a crowded elevator\, everyone’s face was younger\nthan mine. \n20) So far\, so good. The brilliant days and nights are\nbreathless in their hurry. We follow\, you and I. \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-35/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Godzilla.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241102T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241102T100000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241028T201504Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241104T184758Z
UID:10001894-1730534400-1730541600@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:SATURDAY ZEN: For PZI Members – Conversations with David Weinstein
DESCRIPTION:  \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 \nIf you are a PZI Member and would like to have a conversation with David\,\nbook your 15-minute online meeting here. (Event has passed.) \nDana gratefully accepted \nQuestions? Contact David \n 
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/saturday-zen-for-pzi-members-conversations-with-david-weinstein-9/
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:20241031T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241031T173000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241029T163927Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241120T181851Z
UID:10001896-1730390400-1730395800@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:ON BREAK: THURSDAY ZEN with David Parks
DESCRIPTION:David Parks is not teaching today. Come join us next on November 14th! \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/on-break-thursday-zen-with-david-parks-6/
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 Parks Roshi":MAILTO:dparksbluegrasszen@gmail.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241029T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241029T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241028T180536Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241029T155941Z
UID:10001838-1730224800-1730230200@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:TUESDAY ZEN with David Weinstein: Peach Blossoms
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nLingyun was wandering in the mountains and became lost in his walking.\nHe rounded a bend and saw peach blossoms on the other side of the valley.\nThe sight awakened him and he wrote:\n \nFor thirty years I sought a sword master.\nHow many times have leaves fallen\nand new buds appeared?\nBut from the moment I saw the peach blossoms\,\nI’ve had no doubts.\n \nSome centuries later\, across the water in Japan\, Keizan wrote: \nThe village peach blossoms didn’t know\ntheir own pink\nbut still they freed Lingyun\nfrom all his doubts. \n—PZI Miscellaneous Koans Case 37 \nWhat first jumped out at me from this koan is\,“…From the moment I saw the peach blossoms\, I’ve had no doubts.” \nI thought\, “But what about great doubt?” It is said to be essential for the practice. The formula is: Great doubt leads to great faith\, which leads to great effort. \nThen there were Keizan’s comments centuries later\, which seem to be equally about the peach blossoms as they are about Lingyun. A question arose in my mind regarding the phrase\, “freed Lingyun from all his doubts.” I thought\, “And that is a good thing?” No doubt would lead to no great faith which would lead to no great effort\, wouldn’t it? Was Keizan maybe pointing that out? \nI then bumped into a couple of comments that also caught my attention. The first was from Xuansha Shibei who said\, “Lingyun may well have been right\, but I’ll guarantee that his understanding was incomplete.” The other was from Dachuan who said\, “A thief has no peace of mind.” \nWhat arose in me upon these readings was\, “It has no power for the Way.” So I’m going to sit with all of this and with my doubtful character and make a report about it this Tuesday. \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-19-5/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/peachblossoms_500x375.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241028T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241028T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241028T175623Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241028T182639Z
UID:10001841-1730138400-1730143800@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph: Sesshin Field Notes: In Praise of the Dark
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nSesshin Field Notes: In Praise of the Dark \nYunyan asked Daowu\, “How does the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion use all her hands and eyes?”  \nWu said\, “It’s like reaching behind you for a pillow in the night.”  \nYan said\, “I understand.”   \nWu said\, “How do you understand?”  \nYan replied\, “All over the body are hands and eyes.”  \nWu said\, “You have said quite a bit there\, but you’ve only said eighty percent of it.”  \nYan said\, “What do you say\, Elder Brother?”  \nWu replied\, “Throughout the body are hands and eyes.” \n—The Blue Cliff Record Case 89 \nWhat is the heart-mind of the bodhisattva upon entering Zen sesshin—cloistered silence\, many hours of meditation\, walks through the wooded hills? I pay close attention to my dreams in the weeks before sesshin to perhaps understand what my psyche is trying to reflect back to me. Several days before our recent fall retreat\, I had the following dream: \nI am sitting in a comfortable public space where people are moving about. The sun is shining in a garden outside and people are enjoying the warm weather. I find myself chatting with a teacher whom I had known at Zen Center of Los Angeles forty years ago. He says to me\, “I shouldn’t have chosen that guy as my assistant; he wasn’t any good.” The implication was that he should have picked me instead. Mildly flattered\, I am also incredulous: I have not spoken with this teacher in thirty years\, yet I have a single important connection: the teacher in the dream was the first to give me the koan Mu. \nMore than ten years ago when I became a teacher in the Pacific Zen tradition\, I had a dream about Taizan Maezumi Roshi\, who had been this man’s teacher. Still in the dream with the younger man\, I tell him of my dream about Maezumi: \nIn the early one morning dark\, Maezumi comes down the stairs to do kentan\, a review of the zendo\, which is full of monks in black robes seated on cushions\, atop a raised platform. Only a single seat is open\, to my right. Maezumi sits next to me\, which I take to mean he approves of my teaching. \nThis telling ended my dream within a dream. \nWhat did my present dream mean to me? At first I thought it might have to do with the linkage of succession from the young teacher back to his teacher and further back to his. But that explanation did not seem to hold power. \nA few days later I spoke with a friend about the dream\, and she said it perhaps meant I had lost confidence in my own understanding and teaching. Seeking two approvals\, I was seeking validation outside myself when I should be seeking it inside. Though a touch painful to hear\, that interpretation rang of truth and had a warmth to it. \nIn meeting students in dokusan on the first couple of days of sesshin\, I heard them express similar doubts and fears. As bodhisattvas coming into retreat\, they too were struggling with the materia negra\, the dark matter of the soul. \nThough we do not realize it at first\, passing through the dark night of the soul is the place of true freedom. From Melville’s Moby-Dick: \nWe asked the captain what course of action he proposed to take toward a beast so large\, terrifying\, and unpredictable. He hesitated to answer\, and then said\, judiciously\, “I think I shall praise it.” \n—Jon Joseph \nWriter’s Note: As I send this out\, we are entering the final days of our annual fall sesshin\, “The Manifestations of the 1000-Armed Goddess of Mercy\,” held at the Santa Sabina Convent in San Rafael\, California. We have been holding two or three retreats here every year for a decade\, but ownership of this beautiful century-old Benedictine sanctuary will soon change and we will move our retreats elsewhere. We wish to thank the many generations of women who have lived here\, dedicating their lives to God and their community. We will miss them. \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-37-4/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/whaletail.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241027T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241027T120000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241009T195607Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241009T225542Z
UID:10001890-1730025000-1730030400@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:ON BREAK: Sunday Zen with John Tarrant & Friends
DESCRIPTION:John Tarrant is in Fall Sesshin this week. \nCome join us next on November 3rd. \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/on-break-sunday-zen-with-john-tarrant-friends-11/
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:20241022T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241022T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241009T200316Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241016T144001Z
UID:10001891-1729620000-1729625400@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:ON BREAK: Tuesday Zen with David Weinstein
DESCRIPTION:NO TUESDAY ZEN TODAY \nDavid is in sesshin today\, returning to Tuesday Zen on October 29th. \nHope to see you then! \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/on-break-tuesday-zen-with-david-weinstein-3/
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:20241021T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241021T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241015T172248Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241015T172659Z
UID:10001893-1729533600-1729539000@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:ON BREAK: MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph
DESCRIPTION:NO MONDAY ZEN TODAY \nJon is preparing for sesshin today\, returning to Monday Zen on October 28th. \nHope to see you then! \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/on-break-monday-zen-with-jon-joseph-12/
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:20241020T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241020T120000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241015T165952Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241018T155801Z
UID:10001832-1729420200-1729425600@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:SUNDAY ZEN with John Tarrant & Friends: Refuge\, Befriending the Animals
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nI keep coming back to the Ceremony of Refuge because to take refuge means to accept\, to embrace\, our participation in the world and the world’s way of entering us. \nTo let the world come to us is to welcome it. Refuge is a meeting between our own desires and hopes and the creatures of the world who notice us\, who also have hopes for their encounter with us. Zen is in the space between\, the meeting with each other. \nJoin us this Sunday. \n—John Tarrant \n\n\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 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration is FREE or you may elect to donate $10.\n\nDana and donations are gratefully accepted.\nOnce you register\, you’ll receive a PZI link for access to:\nSunday Zen at 10:30 am Pacific Time
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/sunday-zen-with-john-tarrant-friends-34-4/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Wolf-moon_500x375.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241019T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241019T100000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241010T182323Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241010T182426Z
UID:10001892-1729324800-1729332000@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:SATURDAY ZEN: For PZI Members – Conversations with David Weinstein
DESCRIPTION:  \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 \nIf you are a PZI Member and would like to have a conversation with David\,\nbook your 15-minute online meeting here. \nDana gratefully accepted \nQuestions? Contact David \n 
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/saturday-zen-for-pzi-members-conversations-with-david-weinstein-8/
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:20241017T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241017T173000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241009T215939Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241016T180726Z
UID:10001889-1729180800-1729186200@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:THURSDAY ZEN with David Parks: Surfing the Seas\, Living Life As It Comes
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nI’ve Got a Plan \nIf an enlightened person draws out the plan for a prison on the ground\, why can’t they get out? \n—Xutang’s Three Questions\, Entangling Vines\, Case 143 \nAt sixty-nine years of age the National Institutes of Health considers me “young-old.” If I lived in Japan\, I’d be “pre-old\,” and LinkedIn considers me to be middle-aged until age seventy-five. What I know is that I have lived enough life to know that things do not go as planned. Almost never. \nFor instance\, say I decide to go to the store fifteen minutes before it closes: I set my GPS\, find the fastest route and set out. I should be able to get there in five minutes\, leaving me ten minutes to shop. That’s a plan. However\, as I am driving to the store I get stuck in traffic\, a semi has driven off the road and the police send me on a detour. I get a little lost and arrive at the store five minutes before closing. As I walk up to the door there is a handwritten sign saying they had to close early because the store owner had to attend to some urgent business at home. \n“… the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” \nThat one line is from a poem by Robert Burns. In it\, Burns tells the story of a mouse who prepares for winter by making a nest in a field. A farmer comes along and accidentally destroys it while plowing the field. The mouse scolds the farmer\, who apologizes by saying\, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Indeed. \nA plan is an attempt to project a desired outcome into an unknown and uncertain future. It doesn’t work out like that. Ask the municipal planner. Her nightmare is the water project outside of town that comes in two years late and fifty million over budget. Plans do not work out. \nWhen I hold fast\, white knuckled\, onto my plan and it doesn’t work out and I don’t let go of the plan\, it is like a prison. No longer am I responsible\, able to respond to life as it comes. I suffer as I perceive that life is not working out the way I want. \nWhy hold on to that fiction? \n—David Parks \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-33-2/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Wave_500x375.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Parks Roshi":MAILTO:dparksbluegrasszen@gmail.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241015T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241015T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241009T215435Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241011T182327Z
UID:10001836-1729015200-1729020600@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:TUESDAY ZEN with David Weinstein: Jinniu's Spirit of Joy and Play
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nJinniu’s Spirit of Joy and Play \nEvery day at mealtime\, Jinniu himself would take the buckets of rice to the front of the monastery hall\, where he’d dance and laugh heartily\, saying\, “Bodhisattvas\, come and eat your rice!”\n\n(Xuedou comments: Jinniu wasn’t being kindhearted.)\n\nLater\, a student asked Changqing\, “In the old days someone said\, ‘Bodhisattvas\, come and eat your rice!’ What did he mean?”\n\nChangqing replied\, “That’s a grace before the meal.” \n—Blue Cliff Record Case 74 \nWhen this koan about Jinniu came along\, I immediately had an image to accompany it\, by the 18th-century Japanese Zen monk and artist Sengai. It is not an image of Jinniu\, but rather of Hotei\, one of the seven gods of good luck. He is often depicted playing with children and sometimes called the Laughing Buddha.  \nThe inscription by Sengai on the image says\, “How old are you\, dear moon? Thirteen and seven?” Hotei is always depicted carrying a large cloth bag over his back\, one that never empties; he uses it to feed the poor and needy. It includes an inexhaustible cache of treasures\, including food and drink. \nThere’s something about Hotei’s unbridled joy\, evident in Sengai’s picture\, that feels like the kind of joy Jinniu must have felt each time he brought the rice into the meditation hall. That kind of joy doesn’t get talked about much in the koans\, so I appreciate this example.  \nThough serious business\, koan practice is also a kind of deep play. In that way\, when having a conversation with someone about a koan\, it can feel less like an examination or a test than about playing together—entering each other’s imaginations and our own.  \nCan you imagine that? \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-19-4/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Hotei-dancing-with-the-moon.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241014T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241014T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241009T214933Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241011T181947Z
UID:10001840-1728928800-1728934200@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph: “Yoshi” Means Good in Our Dreams and Lives
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\n“Yoshi” Means Good in Our Dreams and Lives \nLast night when I was sleeping\,\nI dreamt—marvelous error!—\nthat a spring was breaking out\nout in my heart… \n—Anthony Machado\, “Last Night When I Was Sleeping” \nThis morning I woke up from a dream that I had finished writing this note while sleeping. Though it seemed I was working on the note through the second half of the night\, upon waking I couldn’t remember its contents\, only that it was called “yoshi (吉).” In Japanese\, yoshi means “good\, good luck\, or joy\,” and there are at least five different kanji characters that read as yoshi. \nI notice how often the word “good” appears in koans. Yunmen’s “good day\,” Layman Pang’s “good snowflakes\,” and Ching’s “good news” when a chick breaks out of its shell. Even “the whole world is medicine” and “Bodhisattvas\, come eat your rice” have the feeling of generosity.\n\nYet we also live in Huineng’s world of “before thinking good or evil\,” where a beautiful and essential light shines in all things. We can’t call that light “good”—that would make the world smaller because it is more than good: it drinks in the whole universe\, both good and bad. So instead we call it “the nature\,” and when we see the nature\, we call that kensho. \n\nDuring Open Temple this morning\, my thoughts wandered to my friend’s husband\, who died last week. He had been diagnosed with cancer three years go and it was in check\, and then suddenly it wasn’t. He was a good man\, a very good man\, and funny. As a child he was chosen to be the spokes-kid for Oscar Meyer\, riding the Wienermobile. And now\, like a dream\, he is gone. But his memory remains. It is yoshi. \n—Jon Joseph \n\nMachado’s poem continues:\n\nI said: Along which secret aqueduct\,\nOh water\, are you coming to me\,\nwater of a new life\nthat I have never drunk?\n\nLast night as I was sleeping\,\nI dreamt—marvelous error!—\nthat I had a beehive\nhere inside my heart.\nAnd the golden bees\nwere making white combs\nand sweet honey\nfrom my old failures.\n\nLast night as I was sleeping\,\nI dreamt—marvelous error!—\nthat a fiery sun was giving\nlight inside my heart.\nIt was fiery because I felt\nwarmth as from a hearth\,\nand sun because it gave light\nand brought tears to my eyes.\n\nLast night as I slept\,\nI dreamt—marvelous error!—\nthat it was God I had\nhere inside my heart.    \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-37-3/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/dreamybaloons.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241013T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241013T120000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241009T204956Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241014T222617Z
UID:10001831-1728815400-1728820800@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:SUNDAY ZEN with John Tarrant & Friends: The Mysterious Stone Crypt
DESCRIPTION:  \n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\nThe Mysterious Stone Crypt \nYou are locked in a stone crypt. There are no windows and the door is barred from the outside. How will you get out?\n—PZI Miscellaneous Koans\, Case 20 \nGreat koans give an image for our condition\, for climate change\, for being at the mercy of our leaders and of our own view. That’s the question we’re carrying: How will we get out? We’re in the same situation as Mr. Toad in Wind in the Willows\, locked up in the stoutest dungeon in Merry England.  \nIt’s a beautiful description of what we are in\, when we’re in. Whenever we’re suffering\, in essence we’re in that stone crypt. And how do we get out? Zen practice is for breaking those locks. \nJoin us on Sunday for an exploration of breaking out of prison. \n—John Tarrant \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n 
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/sunday-zen-with-john-tarrant-friends-34-3/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Warriors-Xian_500x375.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241008T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241008T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20240927T005656Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241011T171947Z
UID:10001834-1728410400-1728415800@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:TUESDAY ZEN with David Weinstein: Relying on Disorderly Consciousness
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nRelying on Disorderly Consciousness \nGuishan asked Yangshan\, “Suppose that out of the blue\, someone asks you\, ‘All sentient beings only have disorderly consciousness\, boundless and with no foundation to rely on.’ How would you conduct an inquiry into this?” \nYangshan said\, “If a student like that came\, I’d call\, ‘Hey so and so!’ When the student turns her head\, then I’d say\, ‘What is it?’ Then I’d wait while she thinks about it. Then I’d say\, ‘Not only is disorderly consciousness boundless but also there is no foundation to rely on.’”\nGuishan said\, “Good!” \nWe just got back from two weeks in Europe: half in Spain and half in Italy. Nothing like travel to appreciate disorderly consciousness being boundless. \nPlanning for the trip is an exercise attempting to make things orderly\, which is an exercise in disorderly consciousness itself. Plane reservations\, hotel reservations\, reservations for tours\, guidebooks. \nBut when you are told that the seats on your boarding pass\, which you chose so carefully months in advance\, are not the seats that you are going to be sitting in\, you can imagine the kind of disorderly consciousness that might arise. And when the plane taking you to Barcelona has only one working toilet for the entire plane\, you can imagine the kind disorderly consciousness that might arise. Or when Google maps correctly leads you to a shop that is listed as open\, but it is closed … it doesn’t feel like there is much that can be relied on. \nI suppose it’s no different than the kinds of situations I run into in my everyday life. But traveling is an adventure. Sure\, I make plans and get reservations\, but when in ‘traveling mode’ there is a higher likelihood of me appreciating that part of the adventure is things not going the way they are “supposed” to go and being open to see where they do go. \nRemembering that I am always ‘travelling\,’ even when home\, might be something like what Basho was thinking about when he wrote\, \nEvery day is a journey\, and the journey itself is home. \nJoin us Tuesday. \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-19-2/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/today-is-cancelled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="David Weinstein Roshi":MAILTO:dweinstein@pacificzen.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241007T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241007T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241004T170337Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T185154Z
UID:10001839-1728324000-1728329400@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph: Refuge in the Limbs and Branches of This Tree of Life
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\nI vow not to kill\nDogen: The Buddha’s seed grows when you don’t take life. Pass on the Buddha’s life and do not kill.  \nI vow not to steal\nDogen: Just as they are\, you and the things of the world are one. The gate to freedom is open.  \nI vow not to misuse sex\nDogen: The three wheels of yourself\, others\, and your actions are pure. When you desire nothing\, you follow the Buddha’s Way.  \nI vow not to lie\nDogen: The Dharma Wheel turns from the beginning. There is never too much or too little. Everything is wet with dew and the truth is ready to harvest.  \nI vow not to misuse drugs\nDogen: Drugs are not brought in yet. Don’t bring them in. That is the great light. \nIf the Refuge Vows (I take refuge in awakening\, the Way and my companions) are the very roots of our tree of life\, and the Pure Vows (I vow to do no harm\, to do good\, and to do good for others) are its trunk\, then the Ten Bodhisattva Vows (sometimes translated as the “Ten Grave Precepts”) are the tree reaching out into the world\, its branches and leaves touching the wind\, rain and sunshine of space. \nLike the previous\, the Bodhisattva Vows are studied over many months as koans. What does it mean to kill? To give a doctor orders not to resuscitate a dying loved one? To dampen some light in ourselves and others? Do not steal\, misuse sex\, lie\, misuse intoxicants? If in all the universe there is not one thing out of place\, how then is it even helpful to lean into making our lives and the lives of others better? Maybe just asking the questions is the best we can do. \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-37-2/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/tree.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241006T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241006T120000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241003T203849Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241003T221234Z
UID:10001830-1728210600-1728216000@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:SUNDAY ZEN with John Tarrant & Tess Beasley: Being the Host Wherever You Are—At Home in the Wide World
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\nBeing the Host Wherever You Are—At Home in the Wide World \nBeing the host is being genuine. It’s loving your life\, the one you have. \nFor this you have to settle into what you really want. What you really want is the deepest and purest thing. Alas\, you can never have enough of what you don’t really want. \nJoin us for a collaboration this Sunday—taking the position of host in all circumstances. \n—John Tarrant & Tess Beasley \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration is FREE or you may elect to donate $10.\n\nDana and donations are gratefully accepted.\nOnce you register\, you’ll receive a PZI link for access to:\nSunday Zen at 10:30 am Pacific Time
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/sunday-zen-with-john-tarrant-friends-34-2/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/cat-butterfly-host.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="John Tarrant & Tess Beasley":MAILTO:johntarrant@gmail.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241003T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241003T173000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042156
CREATED:20241007T181433Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241007T181433Z
UID:10001888-1727971200-1727976600@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:THURSDAY ZEN with David Parks
DESCRIPTION:LINK COMING SOON \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-33/2024-10-03/
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
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241001T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241001T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042157
CREATED:20240930T171404Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240930T171433Z
UID:10001835-1727805600-1727811000@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:ON BREAK: Tuesday Zen with David Weinstein
DESCRIPTION:DAVID IS AWAY TODAY: COME JOIN US NEXT WEEK \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-19-3/
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:20240930T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240930T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042157
CREATED:20240917T201442Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240927T004815Z
UID:10001821-1727719200-1727724600@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph: Three Pure Vows
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\nLast week\, in spending time with the Three Refuge Vows\, we talked about the act and experience of taking refuge in awakening\, the Way\, and our companions. Now we are looking into the second set of three vows\, the Three Pure Vows. \nI vow to do no harm.\nI vow to do good.\nI vow to do good for others. \nIn spending time with these vows as koans\, it naturally brings up questions like\, what does “pure” mean?  What is harm\, good\, and good for others? Where is the cave of the Buddhas\, and how do we find the source of their teachings? The path of perfect enlightenment\, it is said we all walk\, is that my path? Ordinary and awakened; free ourselves and others. Much to talk about. \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-36-6/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/woman-and-light.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240929T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240929T120000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042157
CREATED:20240925T230329Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250404T000558Z
UID:10001816-1727605800-1727611200@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:SUNDAY ZEN with John Tarrant & Friends: Just to Know That There Is a Path
DESCRIPTION:Autumn is really setting in and the delusion and cruelty of public life are setting in\, too. \nSo just to know that there is a path is our job—to hold the way\, to encourage those on the way. Triumph and despair come and go but the Way remains. Without words\, the autumn trees make a golden path\, while the leaves are falling around us. \nIn the midst of upheaval  and difficulties of every kind\, Fayen said \nHe\, he\, he\, I\, I\, I\nSouth north east west everything is all right\nAll right or not all right\nOnly for me\, there is nothing not all right \nWalking the ancient path—that’s what we do\, and hold for each other\, and there is only now … \n—John Tarrant \n\n\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 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration is FREE or you may elect to donate $10.\n\nDana and donations are gratefully accepted.\nOnce you register\, you’ll receive a PZI link for access to:\nSunday Zen at 10:30 am Pacific Time
URL:https://www.pacificzen.org/event/sunday-zen-with-john-tarrant-friends-33-6/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/autumn-moon_500W.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240924T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240924T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042157
CREATED:20240826T214938Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240829T221635Z
UID:10001825-1727200800-1727206200@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:ON BREAK: Tuesday Zen with David Weinstein
DESCRIPTION:NO TUESDAY ZEN TODAY \nDavid Weinstein is on break until October 1st. Please join us then! \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-18/2024-09-24/
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:20240923T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240923T193000
DTSTAMP:20260505T042157
CREATED:20240917T181643Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240921T012356Z
UID:10001820-1727114400-1727119800@www.pacificzen.org
SUMMARY:MONDAY ZEN with Jon Joseph: A Place Where One Belongs
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER\nA Place Where One Belongs\nI take refuge in awakening\nI take refuge in the way\nI take refuge in my companions \n —The Three Refuge Vows\, from Pacific Zen’s Ceremony of Taking Refuge in the Bodhisattva Way \nWhat does it mean to take refuge? The dictionary defines it as “a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit\, danger\, or trouble.” It is entering a safe place. \nAt the same time\, while most commonly the Chinese characters (三 帰) are translated as “the three refuges\,” their direct translation means “the three returns: returning home\, going to a place where one belongs\, return from whence one came.” Indeed. \nJoin us. \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-36-5/
LOCATION:PZI Online Temple
CATEGORIES:PZI Zen Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.pacificzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Fox_500W.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR