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1726 S. Olive St., Bloomington, IN 47401
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​Working with change: the pandemic

March 23, 2020

For all Sanshin Zen Community practitioners:

Sanshin Zen Community is based in Indiana, in the United States, but our practitioners come not only from the local community of Bloomington, but from the Midwest region of the United States, from places across the country, and from locations across the world. We are providing this announcement for the benefit of all of our practitioners.

The Board of Directors of Sanshin Zen Community, including the abbot and vice-abbot met on the evening of March 22 to discuss and affirm our direction in light of the global pandemic. Together, the board and clergy outlined the intents behind our decision-making process, among them:
  • Board and clergy working together to determine our course of action
  • Protecting the health and safety of employees and sangha
  • Complying with official directives
  • Adapting to the new reality
  • Finding safe and reasonable alternatives for our activities where possible
  • Setting planning horizons and continuously monitoring our plans

To enact these intentions, we are canceling the Sanshin daily in-person schedule and all in-person Sanshin events through the end of the summer practice period in July. Some alternatives will be explored for the major events of the practice period, and for the May genzo-e; these details will be announced on our website as they become available. Alternatives for the local practitioners in Bloomington are already beginning to roll out.

The pandemic is requiring all of us to rethink how we do things, and that means changes to many things we thought of as routine, including the day-to-day life at Sanshin, and the offerings we provide through our larger events such as sesshin and genzo-e. As a community, our hope is that we can move forward together and adapt to these difficult changes. We hope that we can continue to find new ways to support each other and balance the needs of our different stakeholders – whether they are local, regional, national, or international – with our resources and capabilities.

We hope that everyone who reads this announcement is well, that your families and friends are safe, and that all are bearing up under the current conditions. Thank you for your practice.


Gassho,

Shohaku Okumura, Abbot
Hoko Karnegis, Vice-Abbot
David Fukudo Thompson, President


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