Recommended activities for the coming weeks

• Koan, in Zen Buddhism of Japan, a succinct paradoxical statement or question used as a meditation discipline for novices, particularly in the Rinzai sect. The effort to “solve” a koan is intended to exhaust the analytic intellect and the egoistic will, readying the mind to entertain an a.
• The wise Zen teacher was walking on the mountain pass with one of his young students. The teacher kept silent while the student spoke the entire time of Zen and the mind. After some distance the two men reached a giant boulder. Zen Story: The Warrior’s Question. A noble warrior went to the Zen temple seeking peace.

6 Awesome Zen Stories That Will Teach You Important Life Lessons 1. Everything changes 'Suzuki Roshi, I've been listening to your lectures for years,' a student said during the question and answer time following a lecture, 'but I just don't understand.

It may be more than a year later than hoped for, but Golden’s Miners Alley Playhouse is finally getting a new season off the ground - and it’s doing so with the world premiere of a show written …

Recommended activities for the coming weeks

It may be more than a year later than hoped for, but Golden’s Miners Alley Playhouse is finally getting a new season off the ground - and it’s doing so with the world premiere of a show written by a mainstay of the local theater scene.

“I’ve been taking writing very seriously for more than a decade now, but this is the first piece of mine that I’ve had fully produced,” said Luke Sorge, an ensemble member of the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company and performer on stages like Curious Theatre and The Edge. “It’s really tethered me to the world lately and has become my passion.”

Sorge’s “Zen and the Art of Profit,” directed by artistic and executive director Len Matheo, runs at the theater, 1224 Washington Ave., through April 26. The show will be available On Demand in Miners’ new pay-it-forward model - audiences pay what they can, which helps pay for those who normally wouldn’t be able to afford to see the show. There will also be limited in-theater (15 seats) performances on Friday and Saturday, April 16 and 17 and 23 and 24.

“I’ve always wanted to fully workshop a play - taking a piece of work and going through the process of making it better a collaborative art piece,” Matheo said. “It’s great because Luke understands the collaborative process and isn’t afraid of it. Lots of writers want to change things… but he’s willing to do things that serve the story and the play.”

Based on Sorge’s own affinity for meditation, “Zen and the Art of Profit” features Bill Hahn and Heather Lacy in the story of a hot-shot executive who has his personal emails publicly leaked. This creates a cascade of problems, and to better himself, he hires a spiritual counselor. The last thing he expects is for the lessons to make a difference.

“I was actually meditating when I came up with the idea for the play, and I mainly workshopped it with the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company,” Sorge said. “Once Len and I started working with it, that’s when it really started taking shape. I’m much happier with the script now than I was a month ago.”

Through various experiments over the last year, Miners Alley has found that the audience element is crucial to any show, and so they filmed this with people watching - just like it used to be. Moving forward, live audiences will undoubtedly be a component of any broadcast, even as the theater looks to upgrade its live streaming and film equipment.

“When we were there, we looked at each other and were just giddy,” Matheo said. “I hope it’ll help people to walk away with a sense of excitement that you can only get from live theater.”

“There’s been a kind of existential exhaustion all year, but at the end of filming, it was just the feeling of a job well done,” Sorge added.

Tickets and more information can be found at 303-935-3044 or www.minersalley.com/zen-art-profit/.

DMNS considers clearer climate conversations

To highlight the importance of fighting climate change, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and the CU Boulder Center for Humanities and the Arts, in collaboration with the Institute for Science & Policy and Inside the Greenhouse at the University of Colorado Boulder is hosting Seeing Differently: The Art of Communicating Climate Change.

The virtual event will be live-streamed at 7 p.m. on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22. Hosting the conversation will be Denver7 Chief Meteorologist Mike Nelson and a diverse group of filmmakers, artists, performers and more. Visit www.dmns.org/visit/events-and-activities/ to register for the event.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week - Virtual 30th b’Earthday Celebration

The eTown radio show, podcast and multimedia nonprofit is being inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame this year to celebrate its 30th birthday. And on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22, the organization will be live-streaming a massive party.

The Virtual 30th b’Earthday Celebration will be at 6:30 p.m. and feature performances from Los Lobos, The War and Treaty, Lyle Lovett, Bob Weir, Sam Bush, City and Colour, and Raquel Garcia. Former U.S. Senator and environmental advocate, Tim Wirth, will join for the conversation portion of the live stream on the importance of environmental preservation.

For all the necessary info, visit www.eTown.org.

Streaming style - Welcome to Amityville!

Horror is a genre overflowing with series and extended universes, and one of the most inexhaustible is the Amityville series - a group of films centered on a house with some serious demons. Denver Film and Scream Screen is celebrating its run with Welcome to Amityville! - a virtual series that kicks off at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 22 and runs through 11:45 p.m. on Sunday, April 25. The films will be streaming on Denver Film’s virtual platform, which allows for viewers to stream their selected films on Roku, AppleTV or their computer or mobile device.

The program is hosted and curated by Theresa Mercado and will feature four selections from the 20-plus Amityville oeuvre. Mercado will present the films from the Black Monarch Hotel - a haunted location in Victor, Colorado. Visit www.denverfilm.org for all the details and to get a virtual room in the house.

Clarke Reader’s column on culture apears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail.com.

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Other items that may interest you

Zen has a rich tradition of storytelling. Actually, just about the entire human race has a rich history of storytelling. Why do we like stories so much? Because we can identify with them. Stories, whether real or not, pull and tug at our emotions. We connect personally with stories.

Whereas someone can tell us that it’s important for us to appreciate and care for our parents, another person can tell us a story about the life of a daughter and her mother, and about how neither could ever see eye-to-eye all the way up until the day that the mother passed away.

Even if you aren’t a daughter, but a son, or if it was your father whom you had that type of relationship with, or even if you just feel like you don’t appreciate your mother or father (or both) enough, regardless, a story like that can touch you in a way that someone simply telling you, “hey, it’s important that you appreciate your parents”, could never do.

We need to experience something directly in order to really learn what it’s about. This is wisdom, as opposed to knowledge much like you’d acquire in a class at school, a parrot-like type of learning that serves as a nice basis for establishing the necessary foundation for certain larger tasks, but which can serve little real use elsewhere particularly in advancing your well-being.

I love Zen stories. Not just because I find them fun, because I do (most Zen Buddhist short stories require some level of meditative contemplation to figure out), I love them because their purpose is to teach a lesson. Also, Zen short stories go beyond just Zen. They're really just stories about life. So keep in mind I only say Zen stories because they originated from the Zen Buddhist tradition. They speak of truths which everyone can learn from, though (as does all of Zen).

The lesson can be anything- any undeniable life truth which can be discovered through a life devoted to looking within yourself. This is the life of any Buddhist, many non-Buddhists, and should be the life of anyone who cares to find the path to true peace and happiness.

These stories only seek to point the way. Don’t take any of them for the truth without investigating them for yourself. The point isn't to believe blindly, it's to develop confidence in your life and in the way. By the way, I mean the way to live our best life and ultimately find peace within ourselves and with others. Here's some of my favorite Zen stories: ______________________________________

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If you'd like to be notified when more information is available, as well as get some cool exclusive bonuses from here until release, fill in your name and email below:

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6 Awesome Zen Stories That Will Teach You Important Life Lessons

1. Everything changes

'Suzuki Roshi, I've been listening to your lectures for years,' a student said during the question and answer time following a lecture, 'but I just don't understand. Could you just please put it in a nutshell? Can you reduce Buddhism to one phrase?'

Everyone laughed. Suzuki laughed.

'Everything changes,' he said. Then he asked for another question.

Explanation: One of the foremost teachings in Buddhism is that everything in life is impermanent. Suzuki Roshi (Shunryu Suzuki of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind) is referring to this impermanence by saying 'everything changes'. This is a very deep teaching, but I'll attempt to sum it up in a way that can be understood and immediately helpful in a few words.

Because it encompasses everything, you can contemplate for hours on end and not realize the full magnitude of the principle of impermanence. You are impermanent, your loved ones are impermanent, your home is impermanent, even our planet is impermanent.

Why is this important? Because it teaches us that grasping onto things is one of the major reasons as to why we suffer. We need to live being aware of the ever-changing nature of reality and appreciate the present moment. It's not about letting go, it's really about not grasping in the first place. If we can learn to live in this way, we can find peace in everyday life.

2. Empty your cup

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”

“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

Explanation: The story tells it how it is, so I'll leave it at that.

3. Non-judgment

Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

“Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“Maybe,” said the farmer.

Explanation: The farmer is practicing non-judgment. He understands the true nature of life, that you can't judge any event as an 'end' in a way. Our life doesn't play out like a work of fiction. There aren't definite breaks that separate one moment versus another, and there isn't a perfectly formulated end which everything builds to.

There's always tomorrow. And whether the day was good or bad, there are a million effects which can arise from one event. Good and bad are interconnected. They are, in fact, two sides of the same coin. If things seem perfect, they aren't. If it seems like it's Armageddon in your corner of the world, it's not. Things can change in an instant, at all times. And they will at some point or another.

This doesn't mean that we can't be happy. On the contrary, it means that we need to realize this truth and live in a way that we're constantly aware of it in order to find peace and happiness. Don't let this change the way you live too much just yet, though. For now, just think on it, observe your life through the lens of this infinitely co-arising universe. This act in itself can bring you a great sense of peace.

4. Right and Wrong

When Bankei held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of Japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to Bankei with the request that the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case.

Later the pupil was caught in a similar act, and again Bankei disregarded the matter. This angered the other pupils, who drew up a petition asking for the dismissal of the thief, stating that otherwise they would leave in a body.

When Bankei had read the petition he called everyone before him. “You are wise brothers,” he told them. “You know what is right and what is not right. You may go somewhere else to study if you wish, but this poor brother does not even know right from wrong. Who will teach him if I do not? I am going to keep him here even if all the rest of you leave.”

A torrent of tears cleansed the face of the brother who had stolen. All desire to steal had vanished.

Explanation: This story is pretty straightforward, but it certainly doesn't make you think any less than the rest. How quickly would most people turn their back on those who commit a crime like stealing, just as the pupils did. But look deeper and you might just see another human being. Someone that simply needs to be shown the path.

Don't write people off so easily. Expressing compassion isn't always easy, but we're all together in this life, so we can't just help those that keep good behavior. Those people who commit such crimes are often some of the people that need help with the most basic spiritual and human principles, such as right and wrong.

If you have a loved one who's committed a crime before you'll know exactly what I mean. You know they can be better and they shouldn't be thrown out just because they did something wrong at some point. Sure, we need to keep order, so they should be disciplined for their behavior, but we also need to take the time to teach them right and wrong. We should strive to lift them up just as we strive to lift ourselves and those we love up despite their own flaws.

5. Be the boss

A horse suddenly came galloping quickly down the road. It seemed as though the man had somewhere important to go.

Another man, who was standing alongside the road, shouted, 'Where are you going?' and the man on the horse replied,

'I don't know! Ask the horse!'

Explanation: This is a short but well-known Zen story with a powerful meaning behind it. The horse symbolizes our habit energy. The story explains the way we usually live, at the mercy of our old habit energies which have been established not by our intentional actions, but by our surroundings and mindless activity.

The horse is pulling us along, making us run here and there and hurry everywhere and we don't even know why. If you stopped to ask yourself from time to time why exactly you're running around so much, sometimes you might have an answer, but it's never a very good one. You're just used to it, it's how we're taught to live.

But as much as we run, it gets us nowhere. We need to learn how to take back the reigns and let the horse know who's boss.

You're the boss, you've always been the boss, so start acting like it.

6. Watch yourself

There was once a pair of acrobats. The teacher was a poor widower and the student was a young girl by the name of Meda. These acrobats performed each day on the streets in order to earn enough to eat.

Zen Stories Book

Their act consisted of the teacher balancing a tall bamboo pole on his head while the little girl climbed slowly to the top. Once to the top, she remained there while the teacher walked along the ground.

Both performers had to maintain complete focus and balance in order to prevent any injury from occurring and to complete the performance. One day, the teacher said to the pupil:

'Listen Meda, I will watch you and you watch me, so that we can help each other maintain concentration and balance and prevent an accident. Then we'll surely earn enough to eat.'

But the little girl was wise, she answered, 'Dear master, I think it would be better for each of us to watch ourself. To look after oneself means to look after both of us. That way I am sure we will avoid any accidents and earn enough to eat.'

Explanation: This one isn't a specifically Zen story, but it's said to have been told by the Buddha himself. This story is meant to illustrate that taking care of yourself is the most important thing you can do to take care of others.

Zen Stories On Peace

By learning how to nourish your mind and body you'll naturally begin to treat those around you with more compassion, love, and kindness and create a more positive impact on the world around you as a whole. There is no division, taking care of yourself (in a spiritual sense, not in a material 'buy myself things' kind of sense) equals taking care of others.

Specifically, by taking care of yourself, the Buddha was referring to mindfulness. The Buddha also said that by taking care of others, by showing them compassion and loving-kindness, we take care of ourselves.

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Zen Stories Of Wisdom

Living Zen Spirit...Coming Soon

If you're interested in learning how to bring more authentic Zen spirit into your life, then you'll love my upcoming book Living Zen.

If you'd like to be notified when more information is available, as well as get some cool exclusive book bonuses from here until release, fill in your name and email below!

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