White Forest Sangha

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United States
Denver, CO
White Forest Sangha

Zen Buddhist layperson oriented non-sectarian (with strong Soto leanings) practice group.

08/13/2024

White Forest Sangha Newsletter 8/11-8/18 2024 -

What is Your Koan? The Dharma is expressed through innumerable means. As languaged creatures, we inevitably use a lot of words in service of this perceived endeavor. Words have their limits, a warning that is probably familiar to most by now, but they have their uses as well. They cannot give us "...

08/06/2024

White Forest Sangha Newsletter 8/4-8/11 2024 -

Here Not Here During this week's Practice Council, one of the specific topics of discussion was the "rolldown", the point at which the the doan strikes the rin (small bell) repeatedly with increasing speed before striking the keisu (large bell) to signal the three bows performed by the officiant...

07/31/2024

White Forest Sangha Newsletter 7/28-8/4 2024 -

Two Zen Masters Yesterday a friend in the Way came to visit. We sat outside, drank some tea, and enjoyed meeting and speaking. Our topic of conversation turned towards the “Great Mystery” of life and death, more particularly the latter, and two stories came to mind. Now they are offered to you. ...

07/23/2024

White Forest Sangha Newsletter 7/21-7/28 2024 -

Watering Rock Gardens As mentioned above in the "Past" section of the Sangha News, this week myself and two others visited the old WFS property for the last time. With the sale of the land having been made official earlier this summer, our final task was taking apart the rock garden that we had p...

07/17/2024

White Forest Sangha Newsletter 7/14-7/21 2024 -

Eleven years ago, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, with bone metastases at the time of diagnosis. Uncurable and terminal, prognosis two to five years. Seven years later the cancer spread to my liver and last year to my lungs. Now eleven years later, this particular I-carnation is nearing its en...

07/09/2024

White Forest Sangha Newsletter 7/7-7/14 2024 -

On Compassion The past week's chapter of the Diamond Sutra saw the Buddha describing his enlightenment within the context of the bodhisattva path. He goes on to describe what it means to walk this path while remaining non-attached. The key, in a word, is compassion. In another word, it's prajna. O...

07/02/2024

White Forest Sangha Newsletter 6/30-7/7 2024 -

Monkey See, Monkey Do There is no limit to the means through which the Dharma can be transmitted. Those who have studied the major koan collections will be familiar with the numerous subtle and clever ways that teachers throughout the ages have expressed the Buddha's teaching. Those who practice wi...

06/25/2024

White Forest Sangha Newsletter 6/23-6/30 2024 -

Recognizing Impermanence Impermanence shows itself in countless ways. The natural world often illustrates the concept through means that our minds can readily grasp. Whether it’s the moment to moment crashing of waves on the ocean, the yearly cycle of freeze and thaw accompanying the change of s...

06/19/2024

White Forest Sangha Newsletter 6/16-6/23 2024 -

Teaching and Learning Sometimes the questions we ask aren't exactly the questions we seek to have answered. Perhaps they are a single step in a line of inquiry, or just one side of a multifaceted object of reflection. Sometimes we may choose our words not for the sake of directness or clarity, bu...

06/11/2024

White Forest Sangha Newsletter 6/9-6/16 2024 -

Cultivating Sojido The quarterly cleaning of the zendo, which we have often referred to as samu, is a longstanding practice in the White Forest Sangha. Traditionally, samu refers to the physical maintenance of a temple or monastery. The word can often carry a connotation of larger projects. In the...

06/04/2024

White Forest Sangha Newsletter 6/2-6/9 2024 -

Revisiting Two Koans While engaging in any sort of Zen study, the experience of the present moment is informed by that which surrounds, precedes, and penetrates it. One might find parallels to other texts and teachings that have been encountered in the past which may shed light on the reading at ha...

05/29/2024

White Forest Sangha Newsletter 5/26-6/2 2024 -

Digital Dharma Regular readers of the newsletter will be aware of (and perhaps tired of hearing about) the creation of a new website for the White Forest Sangha. "Finished" is not the right word to describe the point that has been reached, but it can be confidently said that we are officially "live"...

Address

2253 No Downing Street
Denver, CO
80205

Website

http://www.whiteforestsangha.org/

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