top of page
Search
Unshin Sangaku

So What's Your Point?


What's the point seems a simple question until we realize the WHAT is a many pointed thing-porcupine comes to mind. I became involved in the Civil Rights in 1973 when I took a job at a Historically Black College in Atlanta Georgia, I was 28 and been wrestling with not being commissioned in the army and struggling with not accepting the politics of the Vietnam war but backing every single member of the military who went there. So now divorced and having moved to a new city I was adrift--I thought. My point above is broad but many are narrow and sharpe. I value the sanctity of all life and the freedom to being open, accepting and being able to reach out to others. This point is liberating giving me the chance to see things more clearly, consider pro's and con's, pause (most times) before acting, accepting the moment and doing what I can to reduce suffering.

Charlottesville, in 2017 and Detroit in 1967 is my point today. Why these two events happened is not hard to understand in retrospect. Both saw escalation of conditions that few in power wanted to name, acknowledge, or address, let along be fully engaged in and resource prevention or intervention. Today we turn a blind eye to the law of cause and effect somehow agog at what happened in a small college town in Virginia. In other words the point is we are delusional. But my sharpest and most important point is that we are being encouraged to be that way by the person who by definition is the leader of our nation. A person who like I did 52 years ago, swore to uphold The Constitution from enemies foreign and domestic. He however, by his actions deems a different agenda. The reality of which is to make something different out of We The People. That is his point not mine...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dharma Talk for Tuesday August 1, 2017 is "What's The Point," Dokusan will be offered, and we will also bless a new icon for the Zendo that I bought at the 40th Anniversary auction when in Atlanta.

As continued outreach in the Falmouth community, I will be working on a "Connectivity and Relationships" as a central feature of a group discussion fellowship on remaining sober and not using, as a path to address alcohol and drug abuse. More about this as it unfolds...

On August 22, 2017 Unjitsu Chris Chyrak will be acting Doan...

DATES SENSEI IS AWAY: Sangha Services will be lead by different members who have taken Jukai.

In November I will be away on a 30 day Priest's Ango or teaching sesshin, but will Skype in Dharma Talks...

November 7, 14, 21 and 28

December 5

Our Beach sitting on the Bike-Path at Oyster Pond and Surf Drive has begun, from 6:30AM until 7:00AM then we all go to PIE-IN-THE SKY in Woods Hole for coffee.

1. Like String for Beads, is a compilation of my Dharma talks, notes, poems and Facebook comments I have produced over the last five years. Special thanks to Enjitsu-san Chris Charyk for pulling the pieces together in this book! There will be copies available every Tuesday night, or let me know if you want me to mail you a copy. The book is $15 per copy.

2. Visit our new library named for Diane “Yugen” Tucker. The cart was a donation to the Sangha by Kyoshin Elin Kinney as Dana for her Jukai on November 5, 2016…many bows! The books will be added over the next few weeks and Kyoshin-ni has agreed to be our Librarian. A donation of $1 is recommend to check out books and magazines for up to three weeks. It really is a cute cart drop-by and see it soon. Oh, we wheel it out each Tuesdays and for zazenkai and sesshin, or if you would like to see if we have a book you want, get in touch with Elin <elinkinney@gmail.com>.

3. Meditation is also held each TUESDAY at 10:00AM at the Falmouth Senior Center.

4. Last night the Buddhist Book Bunch met and finished discussing Being Upright which we found to be practical and inspirational. Look for a copy in our rolling yellow library. (Thanks Phil!) At the meeting, Sensei announced our summer book. Remember that the Falmouth Soto Zen Buddhist Book Bunch does not hold meetings from June to August and we will resume our monthly meetings in September.

5. Over the summer, we invite you to read, The Fruitful Darkness by Joan Halifax. Grove Press describes the book published originally in 1993 as: Buddhist teacher and anthropologist Joan Halifax Roshi delves into "the fruitful darkness” --the shadow side of being, found in the root truths of Native religions, the fecundity of nature, and the stillness of meditation. In this highly personal and insightful odyssey of the heart and mind, she encounters Tibetan Buddhist meditators, Mexican shamans, and Native American elders, among others. In rapt prose, she recounts her explorations--from Japanese Zen meditation to hallucinogenic plants, from the Dogon people of Mali to the Mayan rain forest, all the while creating "an adventure of the spirit and a feast of wisdom old and new” (Peter Matthiessen). Halifax believes that deep ecology (which attempts to fuse environmental awareness with spiritual values) works in tandem with Buddhism and shamanism to discover "the interconnectedness of all life,” and to regain life’s sacredness.We will discuss The Fruitful Darkness at our meeting on September 24th from 6:30-8:00 at 41 Carol Avenue in East Falmouth.Gassho~Koin-ni (Sue)

6. Our Zendo is open at 6:30PM (good time for newcomers to get aquatinted) at the UUFF, 840 Sandwich Road, for our weekly service which starts at 7:00PM. Also feel free to stay afterwards to chat and or ask questions...


20 views1 comment

Recent Posts

See All
bottom of page