bzc fundraising letter 7.8.94

7.8.94

dear friends in the dharma,

some 1400 years ago emperor wu of china, known as a builder of temples, asked bodhidharma what merit he had accrued for his efforts. bodhidharma's repsonse has been transmitted to us as the fundamental teaching of non attachment--"no merit whatsoever!"

well, that takes care of the ego; now what about the temple? had the emperor asked bodhidharma's advice about taking care of those temples, i'd wager an encouraging word or two would have come from the blue-eyed barbarian's lips. "take care of your temples, take care of your life!"

here we ask for your continued support of the berkeley zen center. we are about to begin a major renovation of our 1929 russell street building, replacing its crumbling brick foundation and modestly remodeling the community room kitchen. we also hope to improve wheelchair access. the necessary renovation of the foundation will better secure the building in the event of an earthquake. as our sangha grows, the kitchen remodel provides space to prepare food for community events and for increasing numbers of us who attend sesshin. at last we will have sinks that our big cooking pots fit in! so far we have raised $5000 towards projected costs of about $35000.

at the monthly ceremony commemorating our temple's founder, shunryu suzuki roshi, we acknowledge all of us, the cooperating founders both hidden and revealed, who have made this practice place possible. please reveal yourself by contributing as generously as possible and let's continue attaining bodhidharma's "no merit" in a well-maintained temple.

with palms together,

ross estes blum
president