Victoria Vipassana Community Weekly Sunday Sit

The Victoria Vipassana Community meets for a community meditation every Sunday from 7:00-9:00 pm. at the Lynn Wylie Yoga Studio. This includes 45 min. of silent meditation followed by taped Dharma talks, discussion or occasional guest speakers. We welcome everyone whatever their faith gender, race, abilities, sexual orientation, age or ability to pay.

Our intention is to have a central place to gather and practice in order to support our growing community. We invite you to pass this announcement on to others who may be interested.

The Victoria Vipassana Community Sits will continue over the Summer.

Aug 15: The Sunday night sit will be facilitated by June Fukushima. After the 45 minute sit, there will be reflections on Metta practice. Participants of Heather Martin's Metta retreat weekend are welcome to share what they learned from the weekend.

Aug 22: This Sunday night sit will be facilitated by Isabelle House. Following the 45 min. sit she will play a recorded talk by Tara Brach. This Dharma talk is structured around the Inuit story of "Skeleton Woman". Untangling the bones helps us to focus our attention on what is in our life right now. We all face the inevitability of change and loss but with unconditional presence we discover deep wisdom.

Aug 29: The Sunday night sit will be facilitated by Margo McLoughlin and following the meditation, she will give the second in a series of talks on karma and rebirth, drawing on material in the Jataka tales and the Dhammapada to explore the role of perception in our lives: "How can we become conscious of our habitual ways of perceiving the world? What effect does the filter of our perception have on our experience?" The evening will include time for small group discussion.

Location: Lynn Wylie Yoga Studio, #202 – 1600 Bay Street (Shakespeare St. entrance) View Map

Day and Time: Sundays 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Format: We will start with a 45 minute sit followed by a taped talk or a speaker with time to share or reflect.

Cost: By donation (to cover rental of yoga studio and dana for the occasional guest speaker)

Additional Details: There are chairs, yoga mats, bolsters and blankets for our use, but feel free to bring your own sitting gear.

We invite sangha members to suggest talks or speakers.

Please contact Brock Brown at 250-472-6065 or brock1492@shaw.ca for more information.

Level I: The Art of Being Human
Through the practice of meditation, we glimpse unconditional goodness as the ground of our existence. Opening to ourselves with gentleness and appreciation, we begin to see our potential as genuine and compassionate human beings.
Shambhala Training Level I is an excellent introduction to the practice of meditation and the basic view underlying the entire Shambhala Buddhist teachings.
Steve Seely will lead the two day program, which begins on Friday evening, August 27 and continues on Saturday, August 28. Mr. Seely, who currently lives in Seattle with his wife and daughter, has practiced and taught in the Shambhala tradition for many years. Mr. Seely completed the three year retreat at Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia, and is currently a student of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche and Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.
The suggested fee for the program is $75.00. Under the Centre's generosity policy participants are encouraged to pay what they can afford, either more or less than the suggested fee.
August 27: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm & August 28: 9:00 am – 5:30pm

To register go to the Web page of the Victoria Shambhala Centre http://victoria.shambhala.org/index.php
For More information contact Mark Hazel youthful_moon@hotmail.com

New Translation of Dogen's Complete Shobo Genzo Now Available

Dear Dharma Friends

As the Associate and Translation Editor of this new translation: Shobo Genzo: Zen Master Dogen's Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi (Moon in a Dewdrop, etc.) I'm very pleased to let you know that it is now available for ordering at a pre-publication discount if you order before August 20,2010.

Shambhala Publications produced a beautiful two volume boxed set for this 1300 page text. Please take a look at:

http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-59030-474-7.cfm

Here is some of the material Shambhala is making available about this translation:


A vast, beautiful translation of the Shobo Genzo, the master work of the Japanese genius Dogen Zenji.”—Peter Matthiessen (Muryo Roshi)

Available August 20, 2010.
Pre-order now and save $35!
Use coupon code TTDE35 at checkout.
Offer expires 8/20/2010.
http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-59030-474-7.cfm
List price: $150
Price with code: $115

We’re delighted to announce the arrival of this milestone in American Zen: a complete translation of Dogen Zenji’s masterwork, Treasury of the True Dharma Eye. The translation was done by a team made up of some of the most prominent teachers of Zen in the West, under the leadership of Kazuaki Tanahashi, and is accompanied by maps, glossary, lineage charts, and other materials to enhance understanding. This beautifully produced, two-volume, boxed set will be a treasured addition to any Zen student's library. It is available only though our website—you won’t find it in bookstores.


Praise for the new translation

“At long last! A discerning, poetic, and, intimate rendering of Dogen’s true expression of the dharma. Dogen’s devotees have long awaited Tanahashi’s complete translation of the Shobo Genzo into a contemporary and deeply profound version. Those new to the wisdom of this great teacher as well as those who treasure him will delight in the extraordinary work by our foremost translator and interpreter of Dogen’s masterpiece.”—Pat Enkyo O’Hara, Abbot, Village Zendo, New York

“Kaz Tanahashi, a renowned translator of Dogen and noted artist, has put together an outstanding team of co-translators to create a complete rendering of Dogen's magnum opus, the Shobo Genzo. This publication, which will be in great demand by all scholars, students and practitioners of Zen Buddhism and Eastern thought more generally, is both accurate and accessible in following the original text literally while capturing the spirit of Dogen's poetic genius. Although there are numerous versions of the work available in English, this new edition is sure to be the one turned to and cited consistently by knowledgeable readers .”—Steven Heine, Professor of Religious Studies and Director of Asian Studies, Florida International University

“Reading over Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen’s Shobo Genzo, I am astonished first by the incredible range and variety of Dogen's writings, and second by the immense task that has been done to translate this major text. With the possible exception of Hakuin's complete writings, there is nothing in Japanese Zen to equal the immense breadth and depth of Dogen's work, which ranges from direct instructions in simple language to the most complex and profound teachings that use words to go far beyond words. I am convinced that Zen students will find this text especially valuable to contemplate, study and absorb over the entire course of their lifetimes.”—Stephen Addiss, author of The Art of Zen

Dharma Entrustment Ceremony

The Salt Spring Zen Circle is pleased to announce that Eihei Peter Levitt received Dharma Entrustment from Zoketsu Norman Fischer, former Abbot of San Franscisco Zen Center and founder of Everyday Zen, on May 17, 2010. Dharma Entrustment, a lay form of Dharma Transmission, authorises Eihei as a lay Zen teacher in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi, founder of San Francisco Zen Center and author of the Zen classic, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind.

Salt Spring Zen Circle, on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, was founded in 2001 by Eihei Peter Levitt after he emigrated to Canada and became a Canadian citizen. It is a continuation of the Topanga Zen Group of Topanga, California, which Eihei began in 1986.

The evening Entrustment Ceremony was attended by sangha members and friends in the Salt Spring community at The Gatehouse on Stowell Lake Farm on Salt Spring.

Great congratulations!