We know there are many talented people in our community and we would love to feature your art in a calendar for the BDC community! This can be an original drawing or painting, or photograph. Either scan or take a photo of your creation, and send in .jpg or .png format to info@bozemandharmacenter.org by October 1st for consideration. You are welcome to submit multiple pieces.
On Saturday, October 3rd, the Bozeman Zen Group will host guest teacher Heather Iarusso for a hybrid, half-day zen retreat. This event offers sitting and walking meditation and a dharma talk on the question of “who am I.” Receive a discount when registering before September 20. Register here.
Who am I? These three little words have been contemplated for millennia by prominent philosophers and psychologists, spiritual teachers, as well as us ordinary folk. It’s a perennial question with innumerable responses. Siddartha’s quest to investigate and end suffering resulted in his awakening to the profoundly liberating experience of “not-self.” Or as Suzuki Roshi poetically said: “What we call ‘I’ is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and exhale. It just moves, that is all.”
Heather Shōren Iarusso lives San Francisco and is the Branching Streams director, providing guidance and support for San Francisco Zen Center affiliate sanghas. Before this role, Heather spent nine years living at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. She completed 17 cloistered, 90-day practice periods and 10 summers of work practice. Heather has held numerous roles at Tassajara, including being the supervisor of the meditation hall (ino), the head cook (tenzo), the director, and the tanto (head of Zen practice).
Heather first received the precepts in January 2003 and was ordained as a Zen priest in October 2014. She received Dharma transmission in 2022. Heather holds master’s degrees in communications, creative writing, and English literature. She writes and podcasts on her Spark Zen Substack.
On the last Friday of every month, we gather at Fork and Spoon, Bozeman’s first and only pay-what-you-can restaurant, for dinner. Our next monthly gathering is coming up on Friday, September 25, from 6-7pm. This is a great way to meet others who practice at the BDC, while supporting the broader community of Gallatin Valley. Please RSVP so we can reserve a table that allows our group to sit together!
On Saturday, September 26, from 12 to 1 PM we will come together for a silent contemplation for compassion and peace. Sit on the lawn or a picnic bench; bring camp chairs and cushions for sitting; or enjoy silent walking meditation. This free event is open to the public, and no prior experience with meditation is required. Drop in, no registration or RSVP needed.
Greetings Bozeman Dharma Center Library community!
We are excited to restore the Buddha’s Bookshelf monthly newsletter to bring you all the news of the BDC library, new books, pop-up book sales, and more.
Our current library crew includes Michael Palmer, Trish Kunz, Matthew Yaeger, and Melissa Guillory. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions regarding the library please email library@bozemandharmacenter.org. We’re happy to help!
Library Improvements
You’ve probably heard that we had a major reorganization last summer to update our loan management system, relocate books, and tidy up shelf organization. The changes are on-going as we continue to make improvements that contribute to the accessibility of the dharma for everyone to read. Check out last month’s newsletter for the full scoop on this transformation!
Book recommendations
New in September! Book recommendations from leaders at the BDC and sangha members will start getting posted on library shelves. We’d love to have your recommendations too! If you’ve read a book from our shelves that helped deepen your practice, please share! Send your recommendation to library@bozemandharmacenter.org and a member of the library team will fill out a slip to hang on our library shelf. We’ll also list it in this newsletter every month. Many thanks for partaking in this collaborative effort to share the dharma.
New books on the shelf
If you have a recommendation for a buddhist book that we do not have, please let us know! We now have a suggestion box on the book checkout table. You can fill out your book request and we’ll work toward getting it into the BDC collection. We will let you know if and when we procure it! You are also welcome to email your request to library@bozemandharmacenter.org. Along with the title and author, please include why you think it would be a good addition to our collection.
Generous Donations
A deep bow to everyone who generously donates books to our library. We have a donation box (separate from the book return basket) located in the library on the bottom shelf of the tea table. Any books that we are not able to keep get put in one of our many book sales. These are wonderful events that offer books for personal collections while raising money for the BDC.
We would like to extend our great appreciation to Susan Morgan and her daughter, Swithin for their recent large book donation. And also to John Theil, who brought us multiple boxes of books from his personal library. Both of the donations provided a number of beautiful books on the Theravada tradition, Tibetan Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Koans, Art and Calligraphy, Poetry, as well as books for study of the Pali Canon.
Thank you Susan, Swithin, and John! We are so grateful for your gift.
POP-UP SALE!
Our next donation-based book sale will start Saturday September 12th and run through September 18. Please come by to peruse. We look forward to seeing you there!
And as always, please let us know how we can assist you in your study of the dharma.
With a Deep Bow,
Bozeman Dharma Center Library
Join us this Tuesday, September 1st from 5-6pm for Newcomer Orientation! We know it can be intimidating to walk in the door! This evening is intended to be a welcoming place to ask questions before coming to an official event. Learn more about meditation, the Bozeman Dharma Center and the seven groups that practice here. All welcome! Free. No registration necessary.
Join us on Saturday, July 18th, from 8am to noon for a half-day with the Bozeman Zen Group. Sometimes knowledge is equated with wisdom; we have a picture of a wise old master who knows all the answers. Yet Zen practice teaches us to be okay with not knowing. What is it about “knowing” that’s so compelling and how do we cultivate wisdom? This half-day of practice offers an opportunity to sit with these types of questions and discern our own meaning. Register here.
Come get to know each other outside of the meditation hall at our third annual mahasangha picnic on Friday, July 17th, from 5-7pm at Bozeman Ponds Pavilion. Everyone is welcome! Please join us.
Wondering what to bring? Here are some suggestions based on your last name:
A-G: Beverages
H-M: Appetizer/Snack/Side
N-T: Salad/Main
U-Z: Dessert
You may have noticed that the main altar in the meditation hall looks a little different now! On May 30th, during our Mahasangha 1/2 day, we placed a Green Tara statue on the altar. Green Tara is sometimes known as “the Mother of all Buddhas” and represents the awakened activity of compassion. In the Tibetan lineage, the Green Tara practice helps liberate oneself from fear and afflictive emotions.
Having more female representation at the BDC was requested during the 2025 Community meeting. Having Green Tara on our altar partly meets our goal of making the BDC a more inclusive, welcoming space. Other actions we’ve taken to feel more inclusive is to start having our handouts available in both English and Spanish and to post a land acknowledgment on the wall in the foyer. We hope to add books in Spanish to our library soon. If you have other suggestions, please let us know!
Celebrate the connections we have to ourselves, each other, and all beings on Saturday, July 4, 9-11AM. In a world trying to divide us, it’s more important than ever to recognize our interdependence. This morning will include reflection and meditation practice.
This event is freely offered; no registration necessary. You may want to bring a journal and a pen or pencil.
