Also, reference made to Kaz Tanahashi's work: "Treasury of True Dharma Eye" -Appendix 1: "Recommending Zazen to All People" by Dogen

Source book: 'The World Could Be Otherwise' by Norman Fischer

* At the tail end of the recording after most people had signed off, Melissa Nelson recited a prayer for the winter solstice. She opened the winter solstice event at the Mill Valley Public Library the evening before with this invocation acknowledging this sacred gem of place we live in here in Marin County. It begins at about the 42:15 minute mark.

Please note that around the 6 minute mark and again at the 23 minute mark there are interruptions in the recording. Yet, nothing is really lost. Apologies for the loss of flow.

Note: the recording has a glitchy patch from minute 7:46 through to 9:12  and at 9:05 it is silent until 9:12. (The recorders internet connection was unstable.)

During the glitchy time, Norman is speaking about the philosopher John Sallis and refers to Sallis' book: Force of Imagination: The Sense of the Elemental   (Studies in Continental Thought)

Precept 14: Do not mistreat your body. Learn to handle it with respect, preserve vital energies (sexual, breath, spirit) for the realization of the Way. Be fully aware of the responsibility of bringing new lives into the world. Meditate on the world into which you are bringing new beings.

Precept 13: Possess nothing that should belong to others. Respect the property of others, but prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.

12. Do not kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect life and prevent war. 

Note: This recording begins with Jaune reading the 14 Precepts. It completes at the 12:50 mark.

11. Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Select a vocation that helps realize your ideal of compassion.

10. Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit, or transform your community into a political party. A religious community, however, should take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts.

9th Precept:

Do not say untruthful things for the sake of Personal interest or to impress people. Do not utter words that cause division and hatred. Do not spread news that you do not know to be certain. Do not criticize or condemn things of which you are not sure. Always speak truthfully and constructively. Have the courage to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten your own safety.

Recommended: 'Beginning a New' by Sister Chan Chong

Precept 8:

Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to break. Make every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.

Precept 7:

Do not lose yourself in dispersion and in your surroundings. Practice mindful breathing to come back to what is happening in the present moment. Be in touch with what is wondrous, refreshing, and healing both inside and around you. Plant seeds of joy, peace, and understanding in yourself in order to facilitate the work of transformation in the depths of your consciousness.

Included in the talk were a dozen or so slides depicting paintings and photos that show anger throughout time in various expressions.

Precept 6:

Do not maintain anger or hatred. Learn to penetrate and transform them when they are still seeds in your consciousness. As soon as they arise, turn your attention to your breath in order to see and understand the nature of your anger and hatred and the nature of the persons who have caused your anger and hatred.

5. Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry. Do not take as the aim of your life fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure. Live simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.

4. Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact, images, and sound. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.

3. Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money, propaganda, or even education. However, through compassionate dialogue, help others renounce fanaticism and narrowness.

2. Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice nonattachment from views in order to be open to receive others' viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times.

1. Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.

• Interbeing by Thich Nhat Hanh
• For A Future To Be Possible by Thich Nhat Hanh

• Primary study text: Love Letter to the Earth, Thich Nat Hang
• Article: The San Francisco Standard, August 22, 2024 -"Redwood forest with Sonoma County's most famous tree is now protected forever"
• Poets: Pattiann Rogers, Dorianne Laux, Khalil Gibran

Jaune Evans, Wendy Johnson, Claire Peaslee

Jaune Evans and Wendy Johnson

Patricia Sullivan

June Ryushin Tanoue of the Chicago Zen Life and Meditation Center

Andrea Glass, Bob Andrews, Eden Clearbrook, and Jane Flint