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Zhi Dao Guan: A View of the Ultimate Way
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Zhi Dao Guan, The Taoist Center
3824 MacArthur Blvd.,
Oakland CA 94619
510-336-0129 |
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April is Celebration of Poetry Month
The Perfect Poem
In god's gleaming empire, herds of triceratops
lunge up on their hind legs to somersault
around the plains. The angels lie in the sun
using straight pins to eat hollyhocks. Mostly
they just rub their bellies and hum quietly
to themselves, but the few sentences
they do utter come out as perfect poems.
Here on earth we blather constantly, and
all we say is divided between combat
and seduction.
Combat: I understand you perfectly.
Seduction: Next time don't say so out loud.
Here the perfect poem eats its siblings
in the womb like a sand shark or a star turning
black hole, then saunters into the world
daring us to stay mad.
We know most of our universe is missing.
The perfect poem knows where it went.
The perfect poem is no bigger
than a bear. Its birthday hat comes with
a black veil which prattles on and on about
comet ash and the ten thousand buds of
the tongue. Like people and crows, the
perfect poem can remember faces and hold
grudges. It keeps its promises. The perfect
poem is not gold or lead or a garden gate
locked shut or a sail slapping in a storm.
The perfect poem is its own favorite toy.
It is not a state of mind or a kind of doubt
or a good or bad habit or a flower of any
color. It will not be available to answer
questions. The perfect poem is light as dust
on a bat's wing, lonely as a single flea.
Copyright © 2017 by Kaveh Akbar.
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We are moving through this Rooster Year quickly! The prediction for this year is proving true:
"This year will share its representative element with 2016: fire. Another super-charged year, infused with intensity!
The Fire Rooster, specifically, is an already-intense sign with an extra side of focus and drive. To say that this year will move at top speed is an understatement.
So, if you were expecting to get a break this year, you're out of luck. But that doesn't mean 2017 will be totally thankless, either. Take it as a challenge to meet - and even exceed - the precedent of tirelessness, hope, and pluck that the Rooster sets.
That's how you'll find your reward this year, according to Lau. "The Rooster respects those with strong opinions and a good work ethic," she says. "Be thoughtful about what's in your heart and go with it." Sarah Coughlin
Study of the Tao with Dr. Alex Feng is tonight, Friday April 28 at 7:00 PM.
Dr. Feng will teach and then lead the meditation with the crystal bowls, followed by tea and cookies.
The project to replace the building next to Zhi Dao Guan has begun! The old Laurel Theater will be demolished beginning Monday May 1; the demolition is expected to last 3 weeks and then construction begins. By March, 2018 there will be a new building with 3-4 retail shops on the first floor and a Davita Dialysis Center on the second. We are excited about this development on MacArthur. There will be some days of noise and dust, but we will remain open. We will all have to develop some resilience around parking during the construction! The new facility will have its own parking behind and under the new building in M Arch.
Needles and Gongs class will meet Sunday May 21 at 11:30 AM at the Center.
Special shout out to our friends Gandmaster Crimi and Shizumi in Grass Valley as they celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Hikari Ryuza Center. We are looking forward to the joy of recognition of dedication and love for the martial arts next weekend!
There will be no May, 2017 Study of the Tao as we will be on vacation and attending great niece Chelsea' s graduation from Brown University.
Dr. Feng & Charlene
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THE WHISPER- What is Zhi Dao Guan?
My father, Grandmaster Wei Ren Feng, named our temple Zhi Dao Guan 至道觀。I like to share the discovery of the first character ZHI 至. He explained to me that ZHI can be written as two lines running parallel = with two different symbols inside of these running linesmen -
an example: ☯️ ✝️.
He said that the two lines can represent moving boundaries, and the two characters or symbols can represent " differences" - Yin and Yang.
The character Zhi from the oriole of bone script 甲骨文 loops like a bird flying down to the land.
Zhi 至 from various interpretations and dictionary sources can also mean some of the following:
1. Extreme, ultimate , utmost, very, or the most . Example: Solstice.(至冬，至夏). Zhang Zi （庄子-逍遥遊)- mentioned " the Ultimate being has no "self". (至人无己).
2. Arrive, reach . Example: Arriving at the Capital next day. （至京之次日）。
3. Until /reaches: Example: from morning until night (从早至晚), from ancient to now(从古至今).
4. Extreme, most sincere, most considerate. Example: Best of friends (至交), YES would be the answer to our most sincerest wishes and hope. ( 是为至盼).
5. To: to, listen, obey, to follow, to act, to do or carry out what was instructed or told. (至嘱).
道Dao (Tao) ways, path , profess..
觀 Guan - perspectives , views ..
Now to put the idea of Zhi Dao Guan 至道觀 together .
Come back next month for more!
Dr. Alex Feng
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Upcoming Events
at The Taoist Center
Sundays from 4-6 PM Learn Meditation with Michael Small
Thursdays, 10-11:30 AM Tai Ji with Mary Lynne Morales, NEW CLASS!
Sunday May 21 at 11:30 AM Needles and Gongs Class
Dr. Feng's Events
Every Tuesday 6:30 PM
Qi Gong for People Living with Cancer
Alta Bates Summit
Comprehensive
Cancer Center
Herrick Campus,
2001 Dwight Way, Berkeley
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Community Spotlight: Classes at Zhi Dao Guan
- Community Meditation lead by Michael Small at 4:00 PM
Mondays
- Tai Ji Yang Style 6-7:00 PM $85/month or $20/class Dr. Feng, Instructor
- Ba Gua Zhang & Tai Ji Chen Style & Wu Chien Pai Broadsword 7:00-8:00 PM Dr. Feng, Instructor, $85/month or $20/class
Tuesdays
- Tai Ji Yang and Chen Style Tai Ji, 6-7:30 AM $85/month or $20/class Dr. Feng, Instructor
- Wu Style Tai Ji with Di Rosario 6:30-7:30 PM Info at 510-835-3922; $15 a class
- Tai Ji Yang and Chen Style 6-7:00 AM (Chen at 7 AM) $85/month or $20/class Dr. Feng, Instructor
- Ba Gua Zhang and Wu Chien Pai Broadsword 7:00-8:00 AM, $85/month or $20/class
- Tai Ji Yang style with Mary Lynne Morales, 10-11:30 AM
510-326-7928
- Tai Ji Yang and Chen Style, Ba Gua Zhang 6-7:00 PM $85/month or $20/class Dr. Feng Instructor with Sky Sandoval
Taoism Class & Meditation Last Friday of every month 7:00
PM
- $10 open to the public -
Daoist Medical Qi Gong and Five Animal Frolic Qi Gong with Dr. Alex Feng 8:00-9:00 AM $85/month or $25/class
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Zhi Dao Guan, The Taoist Center| info@thetaoistcenter.com
3824 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland CA 94619| 510-336-0129 | www.thetaoistcenter.com
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