05/10/2026
YORKTOWN ZEN
Weekly Newsletter
May 10, 2026
SANGHA (PRACTICE COMMUNITY) NEWS
🙇🏻♂️ Overview of Saturday Zazenkai — Yesterday we were thrilled to welcome back our fearless founder Tetsumon Jeff, who with wife and pup now spends half the year watching rockets take off by the beach in sunny Florida. We learned how his southern sangha does some things the same, and some things quite differently such as fewer weekly chants, erratic lengths of time for sits during sesshin, dokusan order by name invites, and a bit of common American (you know, where anyone can be a monk just like anyone can be president) resistance to our authentic tried-and-true Japan-recognized 1000 days (over 20 years) in a monastery requirement for legitimate monk ordination. We miss you Mumon Matt and all wish you comfort and swift post-yet-another-surgery healing. Big congrats to Yuho Grace's son Justin who has just graduated from college in Michigan, and will be living back here beginning next month. Wishing swift healing to Gogen Wendy's mom in NJ as well, and safe travels to Louis who will be away for a few months traveling and visiting friends (in Argentina was it?) We wish Tekkan Alex luck in grappling with how to balance practice with little boys while the wife advances her studies, with online Zoom streaming as the viable option for all who choose to join us in respectful consideration of the quiet stillness generated by our sincere sitters in the physical zendo space. Great to see your smile Kris, and welcome back Panindra, free of the beard!? We almost didn't recognize you. Warm wishes for a happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, including non-dualistically all our pet and plant moms too of course.
🙏🏼 Summer 2026: Jukai Ceremony — This week we were told by Roshi that we will soon have a Saturday Jukai class day when fellow previous Jukai participants are asked to come lay out details on what is needed for the ceremony for this year's Jukai participants without Roshi's presence. Soshin Stace will distribute the printout guide, and all prior Jukai recipients are invited to come share info/advice/stories. Jukai is our annual summer ceremony that all are warmly invited to attend, where sangha members choose to publicly dedicate themselves to Zen Buddhism by receiving the precepts in a celebration of uniting with our Soto Zen authentic lineage, one that is among very few in the US that are crucially recognized as following legitimacy steps by Soto Zen Headquarters in Japan. Video of our past Jukai ceremonies can be viewed on the website. This summer we congratulate Maryann Smith and Kathleen Dannenhoffer on receiving the precepts, receiving a black rakusu (bib-like garment that represents Buddha's patchwork robe), and receiving a dharma name that represents ever-wise Roshi's vision for their path ahead. Everyone is invited to join us for both the ceremony and big lunch afterward that is usually a potluck, date t.b.d. Training each year begins around February for each summer ceremony, so those who are interested to participate next year, do feel free to ask anyone with a rakusu about it. Stay tuned for this summer's Jukai date, which will now be set very soon.
🪘 Ongoing: Instrument Station — All are continually invited to learn the Instrument Station roles whenever's clever. We have all messed up a little in the beginning, the effort is what matters! If interested, let us know in person or reply to this newsletter to reach Tetsumon Jeff and Soshin Stace. The more sangha members who know these the better, to cover for each other in our inevitable occasional absences. All who know our chants fairly well may choose to learn the bowl-shaped bell with the drum, and/or the handbell, anytime.
🛍️ They "Need More Stuff": Fourth UU Annual Tag Sale — Donations Needed Please! The big Fourth UU Annual Tag Sale will take place in just six weeks from Friday June 26th through Sunday June 28th, and the Tag Sale Committee who are mostly done pricing current wares indicates they "need more stuff." For pickup of large amounts of smaller items, please reply to this newsletter to ask Soshin Stace to come by. For pickup of large items and furniture, please reply to the weekly Friday 'Fourth Word' Fourth UU Newsletter, or speak directly with Pam Cook at their Sunday morning service. The Tag Sale times on Friday and Saturday are 9am-4pm, and Sunday is 10am-4pm. During this time our Saturday morning Zen service will be held upstairs. Donated items are now being accepted, please bring stuff to the room at the top of the stairs, last door on the right marked 'Do Not Enter' (you may enter to drop stuff off). Accepted items include small furniture, shelves, bags, accessories, sporting goods, working electronics, flat-screen TVs, kitchenware, home goods, games, books, records, artwork, jewelry, linens, craft items, children's clothing and toys, etc. Not accepted are magazines, encyclopedias, VHS, cassettes, non-flat-screen TVs, adult clothing, mattresses, and cribs. We're reviving the Plant Sale of years past! Please do not bring plants until week-of. Please save the last weekend in June to volunteer with us if you can, and/or buy stuff to support our loving home.
🧘🏽 For Our First-Time Meditators — Warmest welcome! Tesshin Explains Zazen is the brief YouTube video that Tesshin Roshi asks newcomers to view, with zazen meaning seated meditation. For more, see the official Soto Zen site's page How to do Zazen. Of note is this well-said bit, read slowly multiple times if it helps to process: "Awareness (Kakusoku) Do not concentrate on any particular object or control your thought. When you maintain a proper posture and your breathing settles down, your mind will naturally become tranquil. When various thoughts arise in your mind, do not become caught up by them or struggle with them; neither pursue nor try to escape from them. Just leave thoughts alone, allowing them to come up and go away freely. The essential thing in doing zazen is to awaken (kakusoku) from distraction and dullness, and return to the right posture moment by moment."
🍵 Now: Low on Matcha Green Tea — Update: thank you Maryann for the green tea, and Doshin Bob for the cookie assortment including macaroons! Mmmmm. While the fridge is pretty packed out right now for snacks, we are still running low on Japanese Matcha Green Tea (or any green tea if you cannot find matcha). We use 6-8 bags per Saturday so it tends to go rather quickly. Thank you everyone who has contributed snacks and green tea! The snack varieties now abundantly fill our 'Yorktown Zen' labeled bottom-left fridge drawer, in addition to the full middle shelf of snacks labeled in black marker with 'Zen'! In the future, if you have the means please bring unopened snacks in their original packaging with ingredient labels for those with allergen sensitivities, to share generously with our wonderful sangha community. The ever-growing Indra's Net connection is bonkers strong here, fellow glistening gems.
🌱 In Our Community: Garden of Hope Yorktown — Planting help is needed on Saturday afternoons throughout May at The Garden of Hope in Willow Park, Yorktown, located at the corner of Tulip and Curry Streets at 3501 Curry Street. Yorktown's Garden of Hope is a non-profit community-driven organic garden that supplies fresh produce to local food pantries as well as offering organic gardening training. This week's 'Fourth Word' Fourth UU Newsletter tells us that plants donated by Graymoor will need to go into the ground every Saturday through the month of May from 10am-2pm, and we learned this week that it very likely happens rain or shine. This is not only a passion project of Roshi's but also a phenomenal local cause. "Please come join us on Saturdays, we need your help." Soshin will aim to check it out next weekend, please do come assist in service to their request.
💵 Always: Dana (Generosity) — The Fourth UU is now hosting their Annual Fund Drive, please see their Fourth Word email newsletter on Fridays for details. Roshi encourages us to please be generous with dana for our Fourth UU hosts, if you have the means. If you can please contribute toward building utilities, maintenance, landscaping, etc. into the donation box in the lobby each week, no matter who has decided to print their signature on the bills.
ZAZENKAI (MEDITATION + SERVICE) WEEKLY INFO
📖 Tesshin's Teishos (Dharma Talks) — Tesshin Roshi's latest dharma talk from yesterday is here, tremendous thanks to Goryo Tom and we continue to miss your presence: Open the Hand. Browse the full teisho archive for over eight years of Tesshin Roshi's past talks.
🏯 Saturday Service In Person — Our next zazenkai (meditation + service) is Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 9:00am, please arrive 15 minutes early for setup, and mute your phone. There is no cost to participate, and cushions and chairs are provided. Our gracious Fourth Unitarian Universalist home is located at 1698 Strawberry Road, Mohegan Lake NY 10547.
💻 Saturday Service on Zoom — Join our weekly Saturday morning 9am zazenkai (meditation + service) online, and please mute your microphone: zoom.us/j/794295548. Call in: +1 929 205 6099 US (New York), Meeting ID: 794 295 548.
ZEN STUDENT OUTREACH
🧘🏻♂️ Ossining NY — All are welcome to participate in a transmissionless student-led basic meditation group held Mondays at 6:30pm at the Ossining Public Library Theater lower level, 53 Croton Ave.
🧘🏼 Peekskill NY — We seek a weekly weekday evening practice space here and have some potential leads to explore this spring. Please do continue to send your leads to us at [email protected].
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Namu kie butsu 🙏🏼 I take refuge in the Buddha
Namu kie ho 🙏🏼 I take refuge in the Dharma
Namu kie so 🙏🏼 I take refuge in the Sangha
