From the Guide

Gasshō,
 
Last Wednesday was my turn to send out a blog, and having nothing to say I elected to pass on the opportunity. A few short days later I find I have so much I want to say. A process worthy of notice.  In no particular order:
 
FAZC is getting all snugged in for the winter. The tent is put away, ready to go into service next summer. The Gazebo is rainproofed, we hope and shall see. We have every intention of continuing to have meditation and group there until we go beyond my “you think practice is hard now, you should have been there when…” story of sitting in an unheated room when it was 16 degrees outside. (I feel pretty sure that’s not going to happen to us here, but who knows?).
 

 
We receive so many questions about a Practice approach to sleep, sleeping, and sleeplessness. They do get responded to but in a piecemeal sort of way, never having been addressed in a way that I would want. This morning during meditation it dropped in that I could make a recording that might assist people to practice with sleep issues. The first recording explains the approach I offer and the second recording is one to practice with. My wish would be that anyone wanting to try the approach would practice with it for a few weeks and then let me know if it does assist and offer any suggestions for improvement.
 
We are moving forward enthusiastically with our vision of a restaurant/soup kitchen, soup kitchen/restaurant. It’s phrased that way because we’re currently putting the pieces together, and a full-fledged restaurant seems, let’s just say, ambitious.
 
Many of you who visited Sequim for Summer of Sangha know about The Ramen Shop. It’s open from 11-2 on Monday through Friday (or until they run out of soup) and everything is by donation. They do say what a helpful donation would be, but there’s no requirement. It’s a “pay if forward” operation. The staff is all-volunteer. That’s our vision, except for the ramen!
 
We want to create organic, vegetarian options for people. To begin with it could be a “sign up and come by with your own takeout container if you want the soup on offer.” We’re thinking to do a Wednesday and a Friday offering. Maybe decide on four soups to begin with and then expand as we go. We’ve already heard from several folks we’ve mentioned the idea to that they want to be included. Now we have to figure out sourcing ingredients, a commercial kitchen we can rent, suggested donations, etc.  And, as we figure it all out we’re going to get to taste test lots of delicious soups and stews. Can’t beat that, huh?
 
The orientation behind the model just described is what I would have written about earlier, but it just didn’t come together. That “pay it forward” approach is, perhaps you’ve noticed, where our Practice in general has been heading. Increasingly our offerings are on a donation basis. The reason is obvious and the “dangers” are equally obvious. The current email class on money was offered on donation and the amount received was less than half of what would have come in for a class offered with a stated cost. In addition, participation has been much lower than “for pay” previous classes.
 
Two very common takes on “for pay” vs “by donation” are: 1) “by donation” means “free” and what’s free tends not to be valued. (We could offer air, water, and the earth as proof of that point.) And 2) it’s assumed that when things don’t come with a charge, the people offering it don’t need the money.
 
The Ramen Shop and our vegetarian vision are meant to prove that those assumptions about selfishness and generosity aren’t true. Seems to me that “not caring” is more often than not a matter of not understanding. People go to The Ramen Shop and are moved by the kindness, generosity and compassion. Being moved makes us want to respond in kind. If someone goes to a place of assuming a lack of value because there’s no stated cost or that those offering it don’t need the money, it’s an opportunity to inform. The Ramen folks are from a local church and their ability to continue that endeavor absolutely depends on locals who enjoy the product paying generously for it. Those of us who can. It’s exactly the geese image we often refer to. Some folks are strong and able and can lead the flock. That might not always be the case and there’s no shame in needing to fall back and gain strength from those feeling stronger. There are also times when we feel so spent and depleted that the best we can do is bring up the rear. 
 
I’m guessing we’ve all been in each of those positions. And, it’s good to be aware that we might be at any time. As the old saying goes, when we’re suffering it’s important to be aware that we don’t need to, and when we’re not suffering it’s important to be aware that we could. That’s true for each of us regardless of the stories ego tells in conditioned mind about being in such control that nothing “bad” can ever happen to us. This, of course, especially shows up with money. In our more lucid moments, we know we’d rather have pocketsful of lovingkindness, generosity and compassion sustaining us than pocketsful of money. As those oracles of timeless wisdom, the Beatles, pointed out, can’t buy me love.
 
An addendum: The Yearlong retreat is the only offering that will continue to come with a price tag. It’s because of what was laid out above, but with the additional aim of assisting folks, over the long haul, not to get talked out of practicing. Trying to go up against month after month of ego voices working hard to get a person to quit is tougher than it needs to be. Paying for the class gives the practitioner extra heft on their side of “I committed, I paid, I’m gonna do this.” Oh, and if paying it forward appeals to anyone, we always accept donations!
 
In gasshō,
ch