"What Zen offers is an invitation to "taste and see," the quiet joy of simply BE-ing, of sitting, of standing, walking, laughing, crying. Getting up in the middle of the night to soothe a crying baby back to sleep. Waking up in the morning, washing one's face. Going to work, coming home. Playing with the children. Listening to music. Putting out the garbage. Sorting out plastics and bottles for recycling. Writing a letter to one's senator. Joining a picket line. Lining up in a soup kitchen. Getting tired. Growing old. Battling with cancer. Dying of AIDS. Just that. And in the midst of all this, to experience a Miracle.

"To embody the Way of the Awakened in our daily life is just that -- nothing more than living every moment, just as it is, emptied of ego, filled with a sense of mystery and wonder.

"With Zen practice, one grows into an awareness that every heartbeat, every breath, or even every hair on my head, as well as every newborn baby, every blade of grass, every pebble by the wayside, is something 'unthinkable,' something that calls forth a sense of wonder on every count: a veritable miracle.

"It is the recovery of this sense of wonder and mystery of everything that can heal the rift I find between myself and nature, between myself and my fellow humans. As I live every moment replete with this sense of wonder and mystery, such a mode of awareness encompasses the whole of nature, all human beings, as well as my own self, and grounds the vivid sense of my connectedness with everything in the universe."

     — by Ruben Habito
     (from Healing Breath: Zen Spirituality for a Wounded Earth)

JUNE 2008 is "BIG MIND / BIG HEART" Month" —
June 1:	Br. ChiSing facilitating
June 8:	Monica Lecrone facilitating; Rod Koen and Melissa Cunningham speaking; music by Robin Hackett
June 15:	Br. ChiSing facilitating; music by Michael Gott
June 22:	*** Interfaith SUMMER SOLSTICE Celebration !!! Br. ChiSing facilitating; and special guest musicians (plus Community Potluck Dinner afterwards)
June 29:	*** Special "BIG MIND / BIG HEART" Evening Workshop !!! facilitated by Alan Davidson from Houston, TX (training under Genpo Roshi) 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm Suggested donation: $10 - $60 (dinner is provided) (need-basis scholarships are available for those who ask in advance) * please invite friends; you won't want to miss this!

Please see Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi's website for a fuller explanation of what "BIG MIND" is: www.Genpo.org. In short, BIG MIND is an innovative and effective process which blends traditional Zen and contemporary psychotherapy to facilitate a maximum number of persons in a relatively short time into the experience of initial "awakening / enlightenment" or "KENSHO" (the Zen word meaning "to see one's true nature"). It does not negate the necessity of further deepening and integration/embodiment through meditation, etc. But it is definitely going to bring your current spiritual practice to a whole new level, in just a few hours rather than several years.

* Br. ChiSing and Monica Lecrone will be co-facilitating a "Diving Deeper" mini-sangha starting in June for those who are ready to go deeper in their meditation practice and spiritual growth (location and day/time to be determined). Open to those who are fairly committed to their personal practice and sangha practice. More info coming soon. . . .

* THIS IS THE LAST CALL FOR YOU TO FILL OUT THE ONLINE SANGHA QUESTIONNAIRE. Click here to participate.

You can give online by credit card at: http://intermindful.com/contact/support.htm. Or, you can send a check to:

Here is a link for meditation instructions from a Zen perspective: http://www.mro.org/zmm/teachings/meditation.php