The NC Zen Center was honored to host a visit in June by distinguished Zen teacher Tenku Ruff.  Tenku came to the Center on Thursday evening, June 16 and again on Sunday morning, June 16.  While she was here she gave Dharma talks during both services she attended, and also visited with a number of members of the Sangha.  Tenku came at the invitation of the Teacher Search Committee, with the intention of helping us focus and refine our search processes. At the same time we were happy to have the opportunity to meet her and get to know her a bit, and to introduce her to our community.

We are happy to say that the zendo was full for both occasions, and on Sunday required the placing of additional cushions down the center isle to accommodate everyone!  After the service on Sunday Tenku spent two hours simply meeting and talking with various Sangha members in an informal manner, which was very pleasant.   She also stayed for an additional hour or two to meet with Matt Young, who is heading the Search Committee, and Jason Dowdle, Board President, for further discussions about our search process.  All in all it was a very pleasant, enjoyable visit, and we offer our deep gratitude to Tenku for making herself available to us, offering her advice, and being so gracious and generous with her time.

Dear Sangha,

The NCZC Spring Zazenkai will be held over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Orientation begins at 6:30 pm Friday evening (May 27th); formal opening starts at 8:00 pm. The retreat ends at noon on Monday, May 30th.

The retreat will be conducted as a formal Zen retreat, in a manner similar to formal retreats and sesshins at other Zen centers. The retreat is open to beginners and long-term practitioners alike.

The schedule will consist of zazen, kinhin, formal meals, work practice, and Dharma discussion. Lodging is available. Please visit the Retreats Page of the website for more information.

Cost for the retreat is $55 per night. If you are interested in attending, please contact the Center.

Please contact the Center for additional questions.

Shindo Tim Holmes

From the North Carolina Zen Center

Winter moves on to spring.  The cold nights give way to warmer mornings, the first buds give the tree-tips a reddish hue, the early daffodils and crocuses bloom.  Change is endless, all things forever losing their old forms and becoming something new, nothing static or permanent to be found, yet through all the change there is continuity.

Here at the North Carolina Zen Center we have been moving through a period of substantial change and growth, looking toward the future with renewed vigor, while always endeavoring to preserve and retain the best of what we have been.  Over the past few months many people have stepped up to help with this process, and we want to give you, our sangha, an update of where we have been, where we are now, and where we are going.

Throughout 2015 the Board of Directors put in many hours working to revise and refine the organizational structure of the Center.  We did this in conjunction and consultation with many parties, in particular the closely engaged membership, but also with people from around the country with experience we could benefit from.  In addition we held three meetings of the Voting Membership, two in the summer and one in December, in order to closely consult with the membership, present our ideas, hear ideas from the membership, and refine an approach to bringing the Center back to a firm footing.

At the same time we studied the organizational structures of a number of other small centers such as ours. We also looked at the organization of other types of small non-profits including churches, in order to avoid reinventing what others have already done.  And we looked at ways other Zen centers have handled transitions from one teacher to another in order to find guidance for ourselves going forward.

All of this work came to fruition at the end of 2015.  At that time the Board introduced a set of policy and organizational documents which create a new organizational structure for the North Carolina Zen Center.  This structure is based around the creation of a number of committees.  These committees are staffed with volunteers drawn from the local sangha, and are charged with responsibilities for various aspects of the administration of the Center.

First and foremost is the Practice Committee.  The Practice Committee is staffed by three of the Center’s most senior, long-term members, all of whom have many years of committed Zen practice and have a long, demonstrated commitment toward the NC Zen Center.  Their responsibility is to provide guidance to the Board and to the community concerning practice at the Center.  Going forward they will form the core of the sangha, and will work directly with the Board, the teacher/abbot, the sangha, and the staff of the Center.  Also, currently they are charged with overseeing all aspects of the religious affairs of the Center during this transitional period when we do not have a teacher at the Center

We also have in place a Membership Committee.  The duties of this committee include overseeing all questions of membership status including Voting Membership, in addition to maintaining the Center’s membership lists, overseeing the proper handling and use of the Center’s private information, and addressing any issues raised by individual members.

A third committee in place is the Facilities and Finance Committee.  This committee is tasked with overseeing the day-to-day operation of the Center, including bookkeeping, booking and managing retreats, managing the Center’s various accounts, and maintaining the Center’s buildings and grounds.

More information about these committees may be found on the Center’s website.  We still have one more committee to fill, the Programs and Outreach Committee, and we are looking for volunteers.  Duties would include writing and/or editing the Center’s newsletter, setting up visits by visiting scholars and teachers, and arranging for outside groups to use the Center in ways that benefit the sangha and the community at large. 

We can also use further volunteer participation in the Membership, and Facilities and Finance Committees.  In particular we would like to have a volunteer join the latter committee who has bookkeeping experience.  If you wish to participate either formally or informally with any of these committees, please do not hesitate to contact the Center.  We would be glad to hear from you.

The other big step the Center took in December was to put in place a Search Committee, whose goal is to conduct a national search for a Zen teacher who will come to the NC Zen teacher, take up residence in the area, and begin teaching at the Center as the Center’s Teacher/Abbott.  This team has been working diligently in consultation with the Board and the Practice Committee to develop and refine a presentation of the Center’s history, mission, organization, and facilities, and of the expectations concerning a new teacher.  It has also been working to develop and implement a process whereby we successfully conduct a national search.

This process is well underway, thanks to dedicated and very professional work by the Search Team.  It is our expectation to make a public announcement of our search within the next two months.  At that point we will begin placing ads, making official contacts, and pursuing other avenues to let it be known that the North Carolina Zen Center will be accepting applications and conducting interviews.  It is our goal to conduct a process of interviews and visits to the Center by interested teachers over the course of the summer and fall, and it is our hope to find a teacher for the Center by the end of the year.

In the meantime, the Center is continuing as it has.  We have general meditation services on Thursday evening and Sunday mornings, usually conducted by a member of the Practice Committee.  Sunday mornings usually see around 10-12 attendees, often with one or two new visitors to the Center.  We also hosted the Center’s Winter Zazen-kai in January, which was attended by 12 participants, some from the local sangha and some from further afield. 

It is the wish of the Board to offer our humble and sincere thanks to all who have so selflessly offered their time, care, efforts, love and support to the Center over the past year.  In particular we would like to thank those who have joined committees and taken official responsibility for the care and operation of the Center.  I think we all agree that we are well established and firmly moving forward.

I would also like to personally offer the thanks of all who are close to the Center toward those who are more distant and yet hold the Center in their hearts, and also assist the Center with their donations.  Your continued support for the Center is a blessing, and it is not taken for granted.  In all our efforts we continually dedicate ourselves to the Center’s core mission, “providing a place for the study and practice of Zen,” and the further spread of the Dharma as a message of compassion and freedom from suffering, a mission I believe we all share.

Thank you all for helping to keep the North Carolina Zen Center alive and happy.  We at the Center wish you all a happy, prosperous and peaceful 2016.

Yours on behalf of the North Carolina Zen Center,

Jason Dowdle

President, Board of Directors

jason@nczencenter.org

Dear Friends of the North Carolina Zen Center,

I am writing to you here at the end of what has been a very challenging year for the Center.  Indeed, one might call 2016 a watershed year, a turning point in the history of the Center.  Friends of long standing have moved on to other things and other lives.  New friends and new faces have emerged.  Some friends who were distant have been brought closer, and some who were close have become more distant.

In January of this year the Center’s Voting Membership elected members of a new Board of Directors, to replace the Board that had resigned in the fall of last year.  Matt and Kim Young, who were for so long fixtures at the Center with their two beautiful young girls, left the Center in the late Spring after being the Center’s residents for more than 12 years.  In May, Dan MacKinnon joined the Center as its Senior Resident, and rapidly made himself indispensable in the smooth day-to-day operations of the Center.

The biggest change of all took place in March, when Sandy Gentei Stewart, the Center’s guide and teacher since its earliest days more than 35 years ago, gave up his teaching duties at the Center.  For the first time in its history the Center has been without a teacher for most of the last year.

Through it all, what has truly amazed me has been the willingness of a group of dedicated members to step up and contribute their time, energy, and thoughtfulness to help the Center survive and find a new way forward.  In spite of many challenges and difficulties, on Sunday mornings the kaihan can still be heard echoing through the woods by the creek, incense smoke curls above the butsudan, and there are people sitting in the zendo in silent meditation. Without the dedication of the Center’s closest friends, this small flame of the Dharma might well have been extinguished.

The business of the Center goes on, as well.  Over the last year the Board has met either formally or informally in excess of a dozen times.  We have put in countless hours of discussion and consultation with the senior members of the community, and with any one else who has cared enough to be involved and offer their opinions.  We have worked extremely hard to put in place a foundational structure on which the Center can build for the future.  And we have had three meetings with the Voting membership to consult with them directly concerning their thoughts and wishes for the future of the Center.

The results of all of this work became manifest at the most recent Voting Membership meeting held in early December.  At this meeting the Board presented the members with documents outlining a new organizational structure based on committees peopled by volunteers from the sangha.  These include a Practice Committee composed of the Center’s most senior members, which is charged with overseeing the ‘religious affairs’ of the Center while there is no teacher. We also put in place a Search Team, whose job is to begin the process of finding and bringing to the Center a new Zen Teacher, and a Facilities and Finance Committee whose job is overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Center.  We gratefully accepted volunteers for a number of positions on these committees.

We will be writing in more detail about these developments after the holidays.  But I would like to say that at this point, it really feels to me like the Center has turned a corner, and has regained its equilibrium and focus.  Through the efforts of everyone who has chosen to be engaged with the Center, it has weathered a difficult time.  Certainly challenges remain, but I personally feel very confident about the future of the North Carolina Zen Center.

As we close the door on 2016 and look toward the future, it is with sincere humility that I offer thanks on behalf of the Center to all who have worked and cared for it over the years, and to those who have carried it forward through this last year.  The Center’s mission is bigger than any of us.  It is a small part of the great Turning of the Wheel of the Dharma, whereby the Buddhist message of freedom from suffering, and compassion for all who suffer, can find its way into new hearts and minds.  It is an honor and privilege to share a tiny part of that mission, and we, your Board, are honored to serve and to share your trust.

On behalf of the North Carolina Zen Center, we, your Board, wish you all a pleasant holiday, and hope that your New Year is filled with happiness and peace.

Gasso,

Jason Dowdle
President of the Board of Directors
The North Carolina Zen Center.

This is to let you know that the Board has posted draft documents concerning the Center’s new committee structure.  You will find them under the Governance tab at the top of the page.  Here’s a direct link:

Committee Structure Documents

We are hopeful that this upcoming meeting will begin the transition to the new future for the Center.  We are putting in place organizational structures on both sides of the Center’s institutional framework, the Operations side and the Religious Affairs side, which we hope will provide grounding, clarity and structure, both for the current situation wherein we have no teacher or director, and for later when those positions are filled.  We are looking to the Practice Committee to stand in for a teacher, then support the teacher once he is in place (and also review his/her performance).  Likewise, we are looking to the Facilities and Finance Committee to stand in for a director, and to support and review that person once he/she is in place.  Additionally, we will be looking to the Search Team to begin the process of finding a teacher.

Thanks for taking the time to review these documents.  We look forward to your feedback, either at the meeting or otherwise.