Zen Blog

After a whole bunch of years living in San Francisco, at last, it was time to leave. But how to leave? How to say goodbye to a home that through my twenties had always been more than crowded streets and tall buildings, had always been the human scene plus the surrounding waters, the fog and wind, the redwoods, the songbirds and seals?

I developed a project, a fare-thee-well tour, and thanks to support from an outfit called the Awesome Foundation (check ’em out, they’re awesome indeed) was able to devote myself to it entirely. Each day that December, rain or shine, I walked a random route northward from my apartment, exited the metropolis via the Golden Gate Bridge, and trudged into the chaparral hills of the Marin Headlands. There, I sat on a cliff overlooking the ocean for a couple hours, scribbling poems and watching the sun sink, before finally tightening my shoelaces and returning to the city beneath night’s first stars.  

These were huge outings, at least 20 miles a day, sometimes closer to 30—driven yet aimless. Perhaps I was trying to grind myself down so I could better commune with the Bay Area, so I could better appreciate the ways that “nature” and “civilization” interpenetrate one another. Perhaps this was a spiritual exercise, an exercise in humility and perspective. Perhaps it was a kind of ecopoetic meditation. 

Honestly, I don’t know. All I can say for certain is that my legs hurt and my heart ached and the cars honked their horns and the pelicans glided past without beating their wings. The following poems are a selection from a book-length poetry manuscript that emerged from the project, Golden Gate: Poems of Walking and Sitting. 

           —Leath Tonino

Nothing is permanent, so everything is precious. Here’s a selection of some happenings—fleeting or otherwise—in the Buddhist world this week.

CDC Releases Pandemic Guidelines for Faith Communities

On May 22, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidelines for faith communities that choose to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. The guidelines include instructions on hygiene practices, face coverings, disinfection, and social distancing. Although President Donald Trump last week deemed places of worship “essential” during the pandemic, CNN reported that faith leaders across the country have stressed the need for caution. Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, told CNN that God “has given us the gift of science” and urged her congregations to abide by the CDC guidelines. “Protecting others is a faithful response,” she said. 

Many Buddhist centers remain closed while continuing to offer online teachings and meditation sessions. (Tricycle’s live online meditation sessions will continue as well.) In an update explaining their decision to keep their doors shut, the Insight Meditation Society said, “The alleviation of unnecessary suffering is a way to honor our mission even when no one is sitting in our meditation halls.”

Tibetan Nun Found in Rare Meditative State

A Tibetan nun, Ven. Tenzin Choedon, died on May 22 at age 82 and was found a few days later in a rare meditative state called thukdam, reported the Central Tibetan Administration. Thukdam is a phenomenon in which a person is deemed clinically dead but their body shows no signs of decay for days or weeks without preservation. Some Tibetan Buddhists believe this is a sign that a realized master’s consciousness remains in the body despite its physical death. Over a decade ago, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama commissioned research from Russian scientists to try to better understand the neurophysiological science of thukdam, according to the Central Tibetan Administration. The research remains ongoing. 

Japanese Temple Expands Wedding Ceremonies for Same-sex Couples

After the city of Kawagoe became Japan’s 48th local government to legally recognize LGBTQ partnerships through a “partnership oath system” on May 1, a local Buddhist temple expanded its wedding ceremonies to include services for same-sex couples. According to Yahoo News Japan, Saimyo-ji temple now offers weddings (photography and traditional outfits included) for 200,000 yen—about $1,858 USD. “With the increasing understanding of LGBTQ in society as a whole these days, we’re working on creating a new temple with people who are sexual minorities,” vice priest Akihiro Senda told Yahoo News Japan. He also said that the ceremonies will provide “rainbow malas” and rainbow-colored kesa [Buddhist vestments] for the couple to wear. While Saimyo-ji is not the first temple in Japan to provide same-sex wedding services, it may be the only Buddhist temple that offers these sartorial accompaniments. 

Meditate together virtually with people from around the world on June 13.