Friday, March 20th, 7-8pm
As you may know, EBS was scheduled to host a retreat with renowned Zen teacher, Flint Sparks this coming weekend. Like everything else, the retreat was cancelled and Flint has returned home to Hawaii. However, we are able to offer the Friday night talk online using the Zoom platform. You are welcome to join in for free. Please email donations@ebslr.org so we can get a head count.
Perspective:
It is important to remember that we are facing a great contagion aside from the COVID19 virus, and that contagion is fear and uncertainty. There are four main streams which I believe fuel the profound vulnerability we all feel: terror, grief, helplessness, and rage. How do we contain these very infectious reactions and not spread them in our community? Buddhist practices are precisely designed to create this containment and this healing.
In addition, our current quarantine can be understood as a move toward temporary monastic practice. We are sequestered in our home temples, committed to continuing our practices, and offering the merit of our practice for the whole world and all beings. This is the function of a true monastic — not to turn away from the world, but to serve the world in a particular way. Now is our time. This is what is being asked of us.
Invitation:
All of the information you will need to participate in the Friday evening event is below. The talk is free and registration is not required although donations are gratefully accepted. Below you will find is a link for the Zoom event and a link for any donations you might want to offer.
Please Note: The presentation will not be a moderated event so remember a basic Zoom etiquette for larger groups — please mute your microphone when you come online so everyone does not hear your household noises, dogs barking, and phones ringing. I look forward to seeing your beautiful faces!
Join Zoom Meeting
Click this link: https://zoom.us/j/9732806043
When prompted, enter this Meeting ID: 973 280 6043
About the Talk:
Zen Mind Beginners Mind
"In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.”
This is one of the most famous quotations in all of contemporary Zen. It was offered by a transplanted Japanese Zen monk speaking to a very small group of his American students in 1965. The teachings of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi have continued to inspire Zen students for more than 50 years and the small volume of his talks, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, has helped shape the expression of Zen practice in the West. In this Zoom presentation, renowned contemporary Zen teacher Flint Sparks will lead us through a truthful and gentle exploration of our own “beginner’s mind” by revisiting the classic teachings of Suzuki Roshi, and investigating their relevance to the current moment.
About The Teacher:
Flint Sparks is a Soto Zen teacher who leads retreats throughout the United States and Europe. His traditional Zen training began at the San Francisco Zen Center and continued at the Austin Zen Center which he founded and nourished as a leader in its early years. He was ordained in 2001 by Zenkei Blanche Hartman of the San Francisco Zen Center and was given Teacher Acknowledgment in a ceremony at the Austin Zen Center in 2007.
Flint also spent decades in the practice and teaching of psychotherapy.
His early research and counseling experience with the terminally ill inspired him to continue investigating the influence of consciousness in physical healing and emotional well-being.
Today, Flint’s teaching and consulting bridge the fields of health psychology, the psychology of contemplative practices, and traditional Zen Buddhist practice.
Flint Sparks at EBS in 2019