Walking with nothing

Dear Artists & Friends,

Hello on this pre-winter morning. I am reaching out with news. I’ve been accepted to a 5-day STREET RETREAT with ZEN PEACEMAKERS (https://zenpeacemakers.org/street-retreats/). Three times a year, a group of 15 individuals goes out to bear witness to the conditions of the homeless through the Breadloaf Mountain Zen Center. This winter's retreat is in San Francisco. I cannot say what the experience will be, but I know it will challenge me.

After raising $500 and assembling a mala, I will join a sanga of 15 individuals and bear witness to the homeless situation by living on the streets and begging for money. We will have no cell phones, no tents and no money, no resources other than our true nature. We will experience homelessness first hand, begging for money, finding places to get food, shelter, bathrooms, etc. By bearing witness to homelessness in this way, we start to directly see our impulses, assumptions, prejudices, and boundaries. Practicing with Not-Knowing and Bearing Witness we experience our interconnection, recognize our common humanness, and realize our responsibilities.

We begin our practice before our retreat by assembling a mala, beads strung and worn like a necklace. I have chosen plum seeds and pink carnations. Each bead represents one person. The entire mala represents my community. I will wear my mala on the retreat and plant it afterwards. Donations in any amount may be directed to Breadloaf Mountain Zen Center (BMZC) or given to me (info below). Money collected through this begging practice goes to the social service agencies and public non-profit organizations that will support me on the streets and support the social action projects at Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Center.

Last year, I sat 60 meditations and you helped me raise $1,200 for the homeless in Brattleboro, VT. In 2010, I lived for 3 months in a homeless camp in Seattle to bring awareness to the conditions of the homeless in the Pacific Northwest. I am no stranger to sleeping outside or navigating city streets. This practice goes further. This is not a conceptual work, but a physical meditation. It requires me to be in community and fully present for 5 days. I invite you to sit meditations with me on 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 December.

THANK YOU for supporting me. May you be engaged in your work, happy in your choices & reading something riveting.
I kiss you,

Mimi
............................................................................................

DONATE-->

Online at Zen Peacemakers https://zenpeacemakers.org/

Earmark your donation “Mimi Allin, SF Street Retreat”

or Paypal Amy K Allin: mimiallin@gmail.com
or send a check to: Mimi Allin, 420 30th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112

ZEN PEACEMAKERS INFO-->

Founded in 1994 by Bernie Glassman. On Bernie’s 55th birthday, he led the 1st street retreat in Washington DC, contemplating the question of what to do to serve those rejected by society, those in poverty & those with AIDS.  Upon returning to Brooklyn, he discussed his vision of a container for people wanting to do spiritually-based social engagement with his wife, Sensei Sandra Jishu Holmes. They developed Zen Peacemakers, a Zen order with a strong social action component that would bear witness on the streets, at sites of atrocity & meet the troubles of the world. Here are the street retreat archives: https://zenpeacemakers.org/zpi_media_library/. 

“When we go to bear witness to life on the streets, we’re offering ourselves. Not blankets, not food, not clothes, just ourselves.” – Bernie Glassman (Founder, Zen Street Retreats)

RépondreRépondre à tousTransfér