For the health and well-being of everyone, the zendo will continue be closed for in-person practice until the end of January 2022. We will continue to offer our normal services over Zoom in our cloud zendo, please join us!

We will reassess this in-person closure at the end of January and will communicate a path forward to the sangha at that time.

Please see the 2022 events page for FAQs and our COVID policy.

Join All Beings Zen Sangha for Zazen practice and a Dharma Talk offered by our abiding teacher Rev. Inryū Poncé-Barger on the topic of “Seeing what is in front of us as sacred”. Use this link to sign in. If asked for a password use 641260

Order of Service

Welcome from the Kokyo

Chanting of the “Song of the Grass Hut”

Dedication

30 minutes of Zazen

Inryū Sensei’s Dharma Talk

Chanting of the Refuges in Pali

Soanka: Song of the Grass Hut

I’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value.

After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap.

When it was completed, fresh weeds appeared.

Now it’s been lived in —covered by weeds.

The person in the hut lives here calmly,

Not stuck to inside, outside, or in-between.

Places worldly people live, he doesn’t live.

Realms worldly people love, she doesn’t love.

Though the hut is small, it includes the entire world.

In ten feet square, an old man illumines forms and their nature.

A Mahayana bodhisattva trusts without doubt.

Will this hut perish or not?

Perishable or not, the original master is present,

Not dwelling south or north, east or west.

Firmly based on steadiness, it can’t be surpassed.

A shining window below the green pines—

Jade palaces or vermilion towers can’t compare with it.

Just sitting with head covered all things are at rest.

Thus, this mountain monk doesn’t understand at all.

Living here she no longer works to get free.

Who would proudly arrange seats, trying to entice guests?

Turn around the light to shine within, then just return.

The vast inconceivable source can’t be faced or turned away from.

Meet the ancestral teachers, be familiar with their instructions,

Bind grasses to build a hut, and don’t give up.

Let go of hundreds of years and relax completely.

Open your hands and walk, innocent.

Thousands of words, myriad interpretations,

Are only to free you from obstructions.

If you want to know the undying person in the hut,

Don’t separate from this skin bag here and now.

Shitou Xiqian (Sekito Kisen 700-790)

Refuges in Pali (Call and Response)

Accapella, inflections as follows:

➞Buddham Saranam Ga➚cha➘mi➞iii

BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

DUTIYAMPI BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

DUTIYAMPI DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

DUTIYAMPI SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

TATIYAMPI BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

TATIYAMPI DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

TATIYAMPI SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

All Beings Zen Sangha Covid Protocol Effective December 22, 2021

In the spirit of our recent Ango, and for the time being All Beings Zen Sangha Board of Directors is updating our COVID protocol amidst the myriad concerns of the Omicron variant. 

Over the next three weeks, the zendo will be closed for in-person/group practice. We will continue to offer our normal services over Zoom in our cloud zendo during this period. We will reassess this closure in early January and communicate a path forward to the sangha at that time.

We are aware that returning to all-online services may be difficult for some of you. If you need help navigating or have any issues with Zoom, please reach out and we will do our best to assist you. Inryu-Sensei will continue to be available for dokusan. If you would like to have a 1-on-1 meeting with Sensei please send an email to:  inryu@allbeingszen.org. 

In an effort to be proactive in our care for you and the space we practice in, the following changes are effective starting on Wednesday, December 22^nd:

1. To attend in-person events, you will need to have received a booster shot in addition to the two-vaccines. A revised signature sheet will be provided for you to initial to this effect. 
2. In-person events will require a KN95 or N95 mask.  We have a small number of these available for distribution in the zendo but it would be helpful if you are able to get and bring your own KN95/N95 mask..

These decisions were not made lightly. We feel that ensuring your health and safety in our practice space is important, especially during this season of increased travel and exposure. We will continue to support your practice however we are able, and we will continue to post a link to our online practice events at  www.allbeingszen.org. We hope to see you there.

In gassho,

The Board of Directors of All Beings Zen Sangha

Tuesday, December 21, 2021:  7pm – 8:15pm Solstice Service closing the Fall 2021 Practice Period.

 Join ABZS in our cloud zendo for the end of the Ango closing ceremony.  The ceremony will include the reciting of the Enmei Jukko Kannon Gyo chant 108 times, the recitation of the male and female Soto Zen Ancestors and the 2021 Benji Poem by our All Beings Zen Sangha Fall 2021 Practice Period Benji Kōryū Naomi Knoble.    Use this link to join.  If asked use the password 173700

Tuesday, December 21, 2021: Tuesday Tea at Two pm lead by EiShin Mike Barreda on the Topic of “Play as Practice?  2-2;45pm  The first five minutes we will share together silently having tea.  Use this link to join.  If asked for a password use 784873 

EiShin will use this poem in his presentation

Ryōkan Taigu (良寛大愚) (1758–1831) was a quiet and unconventional Sōtō Zen Buddhist monk who lived much of his life as a hermit.

First Days Of Spring – The sky
First days of Spring-the sky
is bright blue, the sun huge and warm.
Everything’s turning green.
Carrying my monk’s bowl, I walk to the village
to beg for my daily meal.
The children spot me at the temple gate
and happily crowd around,
dragging to my arms till I stop.
I put my bowl on a white rock,
hang my bag on a branch.
First we braid grasses and play tug-of-war,
then we take turns singing and keeping a kick-ball in the air:
I kick the ball and they sing, they kick and I sing.
Time is forgotten, the hours fly.
People passing by point at me and laugh:
“Why are you acting like such a fool?”
I nod my head and don’t answer.
I could say something, but why?
Do you want to know what’s in my heart?
From the beginning of time: just this! just this!

The calendars have arrived!! Work practice Saturday is happening!

Join us for an All Beings Zen Sangha calendar mailing party, otherwise known as work practice, in-person tomorrow, Saturday December 18, at our urban zendo!!

Can’t make it in-person, but want to be a part of the fun? Pop by on Zoom and say hi! Here is the link. If you need a password use  263968

Dharma tea at 2pm led by Kōryū Naomi Knoble on the topic “The Paramita of Patience”. We will start with 5 minutes of silent tea drinking and conclude the discussion with the four great vows. Use this link to join. If asked for a password use  784873.

Fun Photo from our in-person (limited capacity due to Covid-19) final Rohatsu Day December 4th, 2021.  Fourteen  additional people joined us via our streaming cloud zendo during the 7 days and six additional people dropped in for in-person practice to support those pictured.  It was a great Rohatsu!  Zen practice will find a way….

Way Seeking Mind talk by EiShin Mike Barreda following a short period of Zazen. Use this link to join. If you are asked for a password use  471305

Dharma tea at 2pm led by Rui Sun on the topic “Right livelihood – incorporating practice into work”. We will start with 5 minutes of silent tea drinking and conclude the discussion with the four great vows. Use this link to join. If asked for a password use  784873.