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The Zen Group of Western Australia Newsletter
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The ZGWA Newsletter - January 2021

The ZGWA Program for January 2021

Please note we will not be sitting at St Paul's hall on New Year's Eve (31st Dec). 
 
Date Event Where Time
Sunday         3 Sit on Country Kings Park 9:30 – 10:30am
Thursday     7 Opening of the Year St Paul’s Hall 6:30 – 8:30pm
Sunday       10 ZGWA Council Meeting Online 9am- 11am
Thursday   14 Zazen & Dokusan with Ross St Paul’s Hall 6.30 – 8.30pm
Tuesday     19 Telephone Dokusan with Mari   4  – 6pm  
Thursday   21 Zazen St Paul’s Hall 6.30 – 8.30pm
Friday        22 Summer sesshin Online 6:30 – 8:30pm
Saturday   23  Summer sesshin Online 8:30am – 4pm
Sunday      24 Summer sesshin Online 8:30am – 4pm
Thursday  28 Zazen St Paul’s Hall 6.30 – 8.30pm
 
Dokusan with Ross Bolleter Roshi Returns to St Paul's on 14 January 

Starting on January 2021 Ross will be offering Dokusan at St Paul's Hall once a month on a trial basis.  The arrangements for dokusan will be similar to those for Zazenkai e.g. a sneeze guard will be used in the dokusan room. 

Face to face dokusan will cease immediately if there is community transmission of COVID 19 in WA.

 
Recording Your Name When Attending St Paul's Hall

On December 5th new record keeping rules were introduced, for attendees at venues in WA, to allow contact tracing in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak.
 
To comply with these new regulations, when attending St Paul's,  you will need to register your name and contact details on the sheet provided at the entrance to the hall.  

 This requirement is in addition to: 
  • Using the hand sanitiser and wipes, provided at the hygiene stations, on entry and before and after handling equipment.
  • Maintaining social distancing of 1.5m as much as possible.
Please don’t attend if you are feeling unwell or you have been in contact with a person who has or is being tested for COVID-19.
ZGWA Events for 2021 

Here are some important  ZGWA events you can add to your 2021 diary. If you need a reminder when these events are occurring and want to see updates you can visit the ZGWA website and click the events tab: https://www.zgwa.org.au/events

Summer Sesshin (Online)
22-24 January 
Further details below 
Every Day Zen (Online)
15-16 May
22-23 May
Further details to come.

AGM 
25 July
Spring Sesshin - Residential
25 - 30 September 
Zazenkais (Online/St Paul's Hall)
There will be six Zazenkais in 2021 three with Ross and three with Mari as indicated in the list below. 

Feb. 20 with Mari
Apr. 17 with Ross
Jun. 19 with Ross
Aug. 21 with Mari
Oct. 23 with Ross
Dec. 11 with Mari
 
Online Summer Sesshin with Ross Bolleter Roshi and Mari Rhydwen Roshi 
22  - 24 January 2021 

The  2021 ZGWA summer sesshin will commence at 6:30pm (WST) on Friday 22nd January and finish at 4:00pm Sunday 24 January . It will include, zazen, dokusan (with both teachers) and teishos.

The schedule for the weekend will resemble a Zazenkai schedule. 

The online sesshin will be held between  6:30pm -8:30pm  Friday, and  between 8:30am to 4:00pm on Saturday and Sunday. Voluntary zazen (not online) is strongly encouraged before breakfast on Saturday and Sunday and after dinner on Saturday.

Part time attendance is possible for those who cannot attend the full Sesshin.

The teachers will be offering telephone dokusan simultaneously each day. You can go to dokusan once a day with one of the  teachers.   You can choose which teacher you want to go to for dokusan and which day when registering.    
If you would like to register for the summer  Sesshin please click here. Registrations close on Wednesday 20 January. 

If you have any queries about the Sesshin, please send them to Andrea Donohue at donohues@iinet.net.au.

 
Sit on Country at Kaarta Gar-up  - Sunday 3 January

Our monthly Sit on Country with Michael Wright will be on Sunday 3 January at Kaarta Gar-up (Kings Park). We will join together in zazen and kinhin on Whadjuk Noongar Country. Gather at 9.15 am for a 9.30 start. We will finish by 10.30 am. Feel free to join us for a hot drink at the cafe afterwards. Meet beneath the Marri trees to the south of the war memorial.
 
Telephone Dokusan with Mari Rhydwen Roshi – Tuesday 19 January  

Telephone dokusan with Mari begins at 4pm (i.e. 7pm EST) with a notional finish time of 6pm (i.e. 9pm EST).
To accommodate this earlier start time the dokusan list will be compiled according to the earliest and latest times you can attend dokusan (between 4pm and 6pm WST), rather than the order in which you register (as for Ross).   

However, for those of you who want to attend dokusan with Mari but cannot do so before 6pm, it may be possible to include you at a later time. So please register anyway, as indicated below, and consideration will be given to your situation.        

If you wish to have telephone dokusan with Mari either:
  1. click here to add you name to the online sheet with your availability for dokusan - earliest to latest times or,
  2.  send an email to Alistair Reid, alreid@iinet.net.au informing him your availability (earliest to latest times, even if the earliest is after 6pm).
Registration for dokusan, with Mari, closes Sunday evening. Registrants will receive an email  shortly afterwards with the time they have been allocated to call Mari and her phone number.

For those of you who may want to call Mari from overseas you may be able to use some of the apps available to make free international calls (e.g. FaceTime, WhatsApp and Messenger).  

If you have any queries about dokusan with Mari, please contact Alistair using the email address given above. 


 Please note it is highly recommended that non ZGWA members, who do dokusan regularly, make a financial contribution to the group by becoming a member.  Becoming a member of the group helps to sustain Zen practice in WA.  As a member you have a right to a reserved place and discount for zazenkais and sesshins and the use of the group’s library. You also have the opportunity to offer your ideas, creativity and energy to the group as you can opt to be on the ZGWA Council and you can vote at general meetings. 

You can click on this link (to the ZGWA website) where instructions are provided on how to become a member

 

Leonard Cohen Soiree: Raised $400 to Support the Environment  

 

It was such a good evening – to be entertained so richly by poet singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen and also by the live music and singing of two Cohen songs with Ross, Herman and Daniel.  Sixteen people attended and we raised, through donation and raffle a total of $400, an excellent amount to send to the  Conservation Council of WA.

Many thanks to the people who donated so generously and specifically to: Lizzie (the coordinator), Nick (IT production manager), Phil and Kathy (who donated books) Kevin and Andrea (hosts) and Ross, Herman and Daniel (live performers). 

Thanks to everyone else in supporting this fundraising event for the environment and bringing a plate to share.

 
We acknowledge  that we live, work and meditate on the unceded boodja of the Wadjuk Nyoongar people, the traditional custodians of this land. The ZGWA pays respect to Nyoongar Elders, past, present and emerging. We are grateful to the Nyoongar people, who have cared for this land for more than 60 000 years, and continue to do so.



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