by Tawni Anderson | Sep 26, 2009 | Uncategorized, Zen
Today in Salt Lake City Doen held a book signing for his just-released Wonderland: The Zen of Alice. We had known that Wonderlandwas swiftly rising up the Amazon best-sellers (in the Zen and philosophy categories), but were all a bit surprised when Doen’s book was sold out a mere 45 minutes after the signing started!
We eked out the books, promising to hold another signing as soon as we could get one put together, and Doen graciously chatted with the crowd that had come hoping to walk out with several copies each. But one determined biker would not be deterred. After riding to the book store on a fairly warm day, hearing that the book was sold out, and making sure (“very sure, no, Doen is not kidding”) that it really was sold out, he hesitated not a moment longer, pushed up his shirt sleeve, and presented his arm for Doen to sign and stamp with his chop.
Doen and Stephen
The party continued for quite a while after the books were gone. For those of you in Salt Lake, stay tuned: we hope to organize another signing (with a reading, perhaps, and maybe even a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party) in the next few weeks.
If you’re outside of Salt Lake City, please check out the list of upcoming signings here. Doen will be in San Francisco this Thursday, October 1st, signing copies of Wonderland at Books Inc.
We’ll try to keep you up to date with his flurry of book signings as he goes through the West coast. Check back here at the blog (subscribe to the RSS feed for the easiest updates) or on the Lost Coin website‘s Events page. We’re also using Lost Coin’s Facebook group page a lot more; if you’re on Facebook, search for Lost Coin and sign up!
by Daniel Doen Silberberg | Aug 29, 2009 | Uncategorized, Zen
photo credit: Flowery *L*u*z*a*
In Lost Coin practice we talk about actions being “mechanical” happening on their own, without consciousness. It seems negative but it really isn’t. Because we are mechanical we have a wonderful opportunity for freedom. We do so much asleep imagine what we would do and realize if we just began to awake.
We have heard this requires, knowledge, practice, a group to work with and a teacher. The teacher needs to be connected to a real source. Even if we find these things it isn’t easy but it is an objective way in which we can make real efforts and produce real results. We can run our lives rather than being the recipient or victim of our experience.
In our normal state its like being in an airplane that is on automatic pilot. The pilot has gotten used to this convenience so he is fast asleep. The airplanes destination has been decided a long time ago by conditioning, by others’ aims. The flight plan doesn’t include the pilots desires or deeper understandings of a meaningful destination.
We are these pilots. Some of us are fast asleep, some sleeping lightly, some just drowsing. The ones that are just drowsing have dreams in which they have lost or forgotten something, something important.
by Tawni Anderson | Aug 11, 2009 | Uncategorized, Zen
Wonderland: A Voyage With Doen Sensei and the Lost Coin Sangha
Venture down the rabbit hole with Daniel Doen Silberberg Sensei, author of the forthcoming Wonderland: The Zen of Alice, as he reveals the Wonderland that is our lives.
Doen Sensei will conduct a retreat in the dramatic Wasatch Mountains of Utah from September 18 through 21, 2009.
We often hear about and search for the “other shore,” or Wonderland, and try to figure out how to get there. The practice of Buddhism has pointed to this other shore for thousands of years; it’s the realm where body and mind fall away. If we persist in our search for it and are lucky enough to find a rabbit hole, at the end of our travels we might find that this shore really is the other shore, and our wondrous lives and deaths are themselves the Wonderland that we seek.
The retreat will be held at The Inn at Solitude. Rooms are very reasonably priced (a special rate of $139) and can be shared. For a 360 degree view, check out http://www.skisolitude.com/accommodations/inn.php. Camp sites are also available at the nearby Spruces Camp Grounds or, even closer to Solitude, Redman Camp Grounds. It may be best to reserve your camp site in advance.
Please call 1-800-731-5061 or email contact@lostcoinzen.com with any questions. To register for the retreat, please visit www.lostcoinzen.com/retreat. Registration fees for the retreat are $275.
If you would like to reserve a room at Solitude, please contact Jeremy Chase at 801-536-5721 or jchase@skisolitude.com and mention that you are with Lost Coin.
by Tawni Anderson | May 3, 2009 | Uncategorized, Zen
Better Than Good
Boulder, Utah June 26-28, 2009
We are returning again to the beautiful alpine meadows and red rock desert of Boulder, Utah for the Better Than Good workshop this June. Although we have had many Lost Coin retreats, this one will be different. It will emphasize the core training of Lost Coin Zen. Participants will come away from the workshop with tools to apply to their daily lives. These tools are contemporary as well as deeply rooted in traditional practice and are part of the emerging paradigm Lost Coin embraces and Doen Sensei refers to as the “age of amplification”.
We will sit zazen, have talks and interactive group trainings. As always, Doen Sensei will conduct daisan (individual interviews and koan study with students), and we will also have time for solitary walks in the beautiful desert surrounding Boulder Mountain Lodge.
Please plan to arrive on the evening of June 25th to settle in. We will start zazen at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, June 26th. Our sitting area and the patio where we do kinhin (walking meditation) have lovely views of a pond that is also a bird refuge.
Boulder Mountain Lodge has very comfortable accommodations and an on-site restaurant, Hell’s Backbone Grill, which is known nationwide for its innovative cuisine. We often share lively (and delicious) dinners at Hell’s Backbone. Other options for lodging and dining are available, including nearby motels and camping sites and one restaurant within walking distance. You are welcome to share rooms at the Lodge to reduce costs and enjoy each other’s company; if you are not a member of Lost Coin and would like to ask about room-sharing, please email contact@lostcoinzen.com.
We have reserved a block of rooms; please call and make your own reservations. Rates vary by type of room, and more information can be found at the Boulder Mountain website (www.boulder-utah.com). When you call, please let them know that you are part of Lost Coin.
Please bring your own zafu and zabuton-and if you’re coming from Utah and have extra zafus or zabutons, please bring them to share so that people arriving by plane do not have to pack them in their suitcases.
The tuition for this retreat/workshop is $250.
If you have any questions, please email contact@lostcoinzen.com or telephone Rebecca Long Okura at 801-550-8805 or toll-free at 800-731-5061.
by Daniel Doen Silberberg | Apr 23, 2009 | Uncategorized, Zen
I have been looking at a number of interesting blogs that deal with personal development. I think there is a great deal of valuable information out there. However an important element, sometimes missing is addressing the nature of our minds. How the mind works unconsciously and mechanically and how we can actually train our minds to understand and do so much more. Adding this meta-element – observation and training – changes the whole thing. We have understood this in music, athletics, chess, business and many other fields. Are we ready to start work on breaking the walls rather than decorating them with ideas, default behavioral patterns and beliefs.
We can look at is as a new age. The one after the age of information – the age of amplification. With information and amplification combined the limits expand exponentially.
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