dear friend of berkeley zen center,
a thousand years ago zen master yunmen was asked, "what is buddha?" his reply, "dried shit-stick!" pointing directly to the personal hygiene tool used by everyone, dispelled the lofty ideas of enlightenment. waking up was available to any sincere follower of the way even during the most mundane activity.
"our buddha" is toilet paper. i am asking for your support to help bzc build an altar for this buddha in the form of an accessible bathroom in and around the present garden shed/laundry room.
the increased attendance at bzc has pushed our facilities to the limit. the rental toilet in the alleyway has been an effective interim measure. a permanent structure built with the same care and attention as the recently completed community room will further enhance our temple in a very practical way. at the same time we will be able to repair the termite damage within the same building vicinity giving life to two birds with one project. the estimated cost of the $11,000 has been reduced with the gracious anonymous contribution of $5000!
your past donations have been most generous. during previous fundraising efforts, i've felt the needs of the temple be met with the warm heartfelt response of the sangha. we can look at this project as bzc's pay-in-advance version of the pay-toilet. please give what you can and remember suzuki roshi's instruction the next time you sit down, "as we go to the rest room everyday, we have to practice zazen everyday."
sincerely,
ross estes blum
president
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