Everydayzen Tempel
Since 2019 „Tiny Temple“, later „Little Zen Temple“ mutated to a tempel with an ipad on a low desk Tibetan style, surrounded by books, I needed or to continue to study, or to quotate from them in talks and texts or just have them at hand during the classes and workshops, preparing longer Zazen-sits, for later writing projects.
Often I asked myself whether I could or should still call this study-room a „Temple”.
Then I decided: Yes, of course. There is an altar in the center, with a candle and fine sand to fix the incense, and the statue of the Buddha – which originally was that of my ex-husband, he had then asked for my statue, and I gave it to him. There are six black zafutons, but only three of them spread out, the other three piled up. The remaining space is reserved for prostrations and a chair for the one person who personally joins Zazen from time to time. This is always a feast!
I am looking forward for our first practice-weekend, at ends of September: this familiar feeling of practicing together, sharing real space, having tea/coffee and some meals in ways, we may practice with intensely, distributing “jobs” for the many tasks. Even a relatively small and short sesshin from Friday until Sunday is demanding. This is such a good, precious way to engage not only mind, but also body, body work, and our creativity. Motivation will arise to create a beautiful container for our processes and joy to take hope into everydayzen practice.
As a zenpeacemaker, dialogue-art- and-reconciliation-activist , I often found myself in bearing-witness-retreats guided by Bernie Glassman as well as in self-coordinated ones: under free sky, often in places like cemeteries representing deep grief, loss, unimaginable violence, unfathomable resilience, incredible denial.
With the intensifying practice and study of Zen, it really FELT as everyDAY zen what we trained to embody, and also as everyWHERE zen. When I, for example, got off the ferry from Sicily to Lampedusa, and six hours silence, we, my friend Beate and myself committed to, lay behind us, I fell on my knees, front touching earth, and the soil felt like a tempel-ground. That was in 2014, and such strong urge would occur many times, since then.
The everydayzen foundation has no home-temple, and it does not or seldom use the term “Sangha”. That speaks to me. The Sangha is, where we sit with people in the name of Buddha. I might also say, in the name of love. In the name of bearing witness to what is and often, of what is not.
When I go on, playing with the name, I also get to everyBODY zen. Yes. Body, for sure, plays such a big role in zen, that for a while I regarded our practice as body-therapy. Often am I noticing some subtle inside shifts, and the muscles are resonating. It just happens. Or is it in truth breath-therapy. Would not surprise me. Writing is, of course, also deeply connected to breathing, wording is breathing. Gestures of mouth. Mouthing.
When we founded KALLIOPE, Lisa Becker-Saaler and I, both with the same poetrypedagogical certificate by Humboldt University, Berlin. Lisa with an addional journalist and literature training, myself with academic philosophical, languages and pedagogical studies as well as therapeutical and awareness training – women’s writing school and it’s two leaders neither had a place. There was a main place, a Franciscan monastery in the countryside, called Westerwald – I literally cannot count how often I have been there – my colleague and close friend, beloved Lisa, had been dying from breast-cancer, after the first two or three years of our shining „baby“.
Often I day-dreamt of going further with this homelessness of KALLIOPE, and just travel around, teach and train with people who feel resonating. Everydayzen foundation reminds me of such model. Definitely and, on purpose, not property-guided.
Free, in an essential way.
Link to Everydayzen Foundation
Link to San Francisco Zen Center
