SKY ABOVE GREAT WIND
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Not Two by Kaz Tanahashi, 2020

The Sky Above altar with offerings for The Gate of Sweet Nectar, a ritual from the time of the Buddha to feed all hungry spirits. 2022

Manjushri, Bodhisattva of Wisdom. His right hand wields a sword to cut through illusion. His left hand holds the Prajanaparamita Sutra, of which The Heart Sutra is a distillation. On the right is a sculpture of Manjushri’s hand with the sutra. 2023

Sky Above practices Shakyo, or sutra copying. Practitioners copy The Heart Sutra in Japanese stroke by stroke, breath by breath. Are we copying the sutra or is the sutra copying us? Church of the Holy City. 2018

Shakyo practice at the Chastleton Co-op. Maezumi Roshi says, “Trust in yourself as the sutra, as the dynamic, boundless Dharma itself.” 2023

Kannon, Bodhisattva of Compassion. Although painted black, she is resplendent in the afternoon May light. The statue is an homage to monk Enku, born in 1632, one of the greatest Japanese sculptors. He sculpted a hundred thousand buddhas. Statue given to sangha by Mike Fiora of Tokyo.

Sensei meditates near the selection site by the train tracks at the Bearing Witness Retreat at Auschwitz/Birkeneau, led by Bernie Glassman. The watch tower at Birkeneau is in the distance. November 2013

Kinhin, or walking meditation, during a Zen retreat at Tallaght, Ireland, Dominican Retreat Center. 2017 Sensei offered a dharma talk at the retreat.

Saihoji (Moss Temple), the first garden designed for meditation, conceived by Rinzai priest and poet Muso Soseki in the 14th century. It has strongly influenced subsequent Japanese garden design. Kyoto, Japan, 2015

Sensei Efird with her teacher Roshi Robert Kennedy, S.J., after being installed as a teacher empowered to transmit the Dharma. Jersey City, NJ, 2018

Banner for Sky Above, displayed in front of the Russian Embassy, Feb. 2022

We began to meet on Zoom during the Pandemic. We now offer hybrid practice, in-person and on Zoom. 2022

Sky Above members sit in zazen in front of the Russian Embassy in solidarity with Ukraine after the Russian invasion. Feb. 2022

Statue of Zen Master Dogen with ceremonial whisk. He is considered the father of Soto Zen. Taken at the temple Dogen founded, Eiheiji (Temple of Eternal Peace) in 1244, Fukui, Japan. It is one of the two head temples of Soto Zen.

Zen Master Keizan, called the mother of Soto Zen, who founded Sojiji (Ancestor Temple) in 1321. He is credited with spreading the Soto school of Zen in Japan and opening it to laypeople.

Wooden Buddha in teaching mudra, altar, Church of the Holy City, 2018.

Statue of Jizu Bodhisattva with faded red bib, Jomyo-in-Temple, Kyoto, 2015. Jizu is known as a guardian of children including children who have died. He is also the guardian of travelers and other voyagers through physical and spiritual realms. Jizo has been on pilgrimage for two thousand years.

Photos by Karin Halvorson Hillhouse
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