The annual Founders Day Celebration and party was held on Sunday January 16, 2000 to remember and honor the contributions to practice of Tayu Center Founder Robert Daniel Ennis, and all other spiritual “ancestors.” As is customary on Founders Day, participants brought contributions of food and drink, and both young and old brought impression contributions as well: music and song, readings, a magic show, etc. The festivities concluded with the Tayu gift game, in which, as usual, some of the attachments of participants were challenged in entertaining ways. In summary, it would be fair to say that Robert’s admonition to “Have Fun!” was faithfully observed by participants.
For a number of students of Tayu, the highlight of the last several months may have been the week-long Tayu Meditation Intensive held in Ajijic, Mexico, on March 4 through March 12. Students from northern California, and one from as far distant as England, joined students from the Lake Chapala region of Mexico in daily meditation practices. For visitors to Mexico, the stress of being surrounded by a foreign culture constituted an additional challenge to those which arose out of the various meditative practices. In addition to conducting the intensive, Tayu teachers Rob Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick gave a joint talk entitled “No Escape from Temptation” at the Casa de la Cultura on the town square in Ajijic, and also conducted a one-day workshop for new students in the area entitled “No Escape from the Other.”
Upcoming Events : A workshop entitled “Impressions of Eternity” will be conducted jointly by Zen Master Jim Wilson, founder of Zen Wind, and Tayu Center director Rob Schmidt on Saturday May 6 (see poster elsewhere in this issue of The Way Fourth for details). This event will constitute a unique opportunity for students of the Fourth Way tradition to expose themselves to relevant ideas and practices from the Buddhist tradition. Don’t miss it!
The second annual Commemoration of Robert Ennis’ Life will be held at Tayu Center in Sebastopol on June 3 (two years to the day since his death) beginning at 11am. Join us for a special set of meditative practices to honor our debt to Robert; bring a pot-luck dish.
Dates in this quarter for the Sunday Morning Yoga, Meditation, and Darshan at 11am at Tayu Center: April 16; May 21.
The first meeting of a new Tayu Meditation Study Group in the East Bay area (in the vicinity of Alamo and Danville) will be held on Wednesday May 3rd at 7:30pm, and will meet twice per month thereafter, on the first and third Wednesdays. Call 925-855-4792 for directions and information