A TREELEAF PROJECT with EVERYONE’S PARTICIPATION REQUESTED: “LAH” (Lend A Hand)

Today it is Mike Tango who I see in the south of Sudan on a humanitarian mission, an what that might be today I can only guess. It hardly compares my paltry amount given to UNICEF, but back in the day, yes, I was 30 on the NAVAJO Reservation teaching speech and social science to people who lived speech in tribal ceremonies, and social science in the forced foster parent programs meant to socialize the children, and so much still goes on. Me earning $1800 for 2 college courses incorporating Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

Tai Shi
std LAH
Gassho

Well I was wondering what LAH was about. So now I know and you can count me in. Gassho
Heisoku
Sattoday LAH.

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Also Jundo, every week I work in the coffee shop at my Senior Center, I teach creative writing once a month at my Senior Center, and each day I call a disabled person to just add support--I love my work, and I just hope my health holds out so I can continue my work.

Tai Shi
st-lah
Gassho

Hi all,

Often I go trough some forum threads in the morning when I have not yet had oportunity to "Lend a hand" so I just put the LAH after the SatToday in case it is later in the day when I actually did LAH. That way many of my post will occur without the LAH simply becourse I did not yet but will/might do later in the day.

Q: Is that the correct way to handle it?

The "SatToday" is different for me since I start every day with sitting first so the question does not arrise.

Thank you

Gassho
Marcus
SatToday

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marcus

Hi all,

Often I go trough some forum threads in the morning when I have not yet had oportunity to "Lend a hand" so I just put the LAH after the SatToday in case it is later in the day when I actually did LAH. That way many of my post will occur without the LAH simply becourse I did not yet but will/might do later in the day.

Q: Is that the correct way to handle it?

The "SatToday" is different for me since I start every day with sitting first so the question does not arrise.

Thank you

Gassho
Marcus
SatToday

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Hi Marcus,

Thank you for caring. This is not a some rigid standard. I would say that anytime in the previous day is fine.

Keep going!

Gassho, Jundo

SatTodayLAH

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jundo

Hi Marcus,

Thank you for caring. This is not a some rigid standard. I would say that anytime in the previous day is fine.

Keep going!

Gassho, Jundo

SatTodayLAH

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Thank you Jundo, much obliged.

Gassho
Marcus
SatToday/LAH

Good Afternoon!
The nicest thing just happened to me! I am an office manager at a charter school in Toledo & once a week I go & spend about 20$ on snacks for the kids at my school that come in & missed breakfast or are hungry during the day. (Pop Tarts, breakfast bars, crackers.. etc.) When I was at the register being rung up, the cashier said something about me coming in to buy these students food every week. I told him that I just had 2 students come in my office for food, but I was out of snacks, so I ran up here real quick to replenish my stock for the week. Well, the lady behind me said, “Excuse me, but can I please pay for that food?” She had heard us talking & wanted to do something nice. She was so sweet, she said, "just payin' it forward"! Her name is Tammy, if anyone would like to join me in sending her positive energy!

We are in a poor community where every student gets a free breakfast (if they make it to school on time) & free lunch. For a lot of these kiddos, the food they eat here daily is the best food they get.

Gassho
Sat2day LAH

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cosmiceye

Good Afternoon!
The nicest thing just happened to me! I am an office manager at a charter school in Toledo & once a week I go & spend about 20$ on snacks for the kids at my school that come in & missed breakfast or are hungry during the day. (Pop Tarts, breakfast bars, crackers.. etc.) When I was at the register being rung up, the cashier said something about me coming in to buy these students food every week. I told him that I just had 2 students come in my office for food, but I was out of snacks, so I ran up here real quick to replenish my stock for the week. Well, the lady behind me said, “Excuse me, but can I please pay for that food?” She had heard us talking & wanted to do something nice. She was so sweet, she said, "just payin' it forward"! Her name is Tammy, if anyone would like to join me in sending her positive energy!

We are in a poor community where every student gets a free breakfast (if they make it to school on time) & free lunch. For a lot of these kiddos, the food they eat here daily is the best food they get.

Gassho
Sat2day LAH

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How wonderful.

The conversation in the engaged center right now is about hunger, and this type of situation is happening all over the place. It is not usual for many children in America to only eat the free meals that are available at school. Then they go without dinner, and maybe eat over the weekend. But what happens when there are summer, winter and spring break? Well the kids probably go without even more.

But thank you so much for your contribution to your students.

Gassho,

Shoka
sattoday

In three ways I give money to those charities where I can. I wish the world were an easier softer way.
Gassho
st/ lah
Tai Shi

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cosmiceye

Good Afternoon!
The nicest thing just happened to me! I am an office manager at a charter school in Toledo & once a week I go & spend about 20$ on snacks for the kids at my school that come in & missed breakfast or are hungry during the day. (Pop Tarts, breakfast bars, crackers.. etc.) When I was at the register being rung up, the cashier said something about me coming in to buy these students food every week. I told him that I just had 2 students come in my office for food, but I was out of snacks, so I ran up here real quick to replenish my stock for the week. Well, the lady behind me said, “Excuse me, but can I please pay for that food?” She had heard us talking & wanted to do something nice. She was so sweet, she said, "just payin' it forward"! Her name is Tammy, if anyone would like to join me in sending her positive energy!

We are in a poor community where every student gets a free breakfast (if they make it to school on time) & free lunch. For a lot of these kiddos, the food they eat here daily is the best food they get.

Gassho
Sat2day LAH

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Thank you and thank Tammy.

Gassho
Doshin
St

Thank you everyone. This is good!

I feel this as being very much in unity with our core Zazen practice. Right effort and paying attention are two ingredients we are looking to integrate outside of our physical sitting space.

Reading through the thread, so many good points and experiences have been shared. Thank you everyone!

Interestingly, just as the mind can have a tantrum about sitting, our mind can quickly overthink, have an opinion or ‘talk judgementally to’ our inspired or loving actions. It is sometimes quite shocking to realise what we may have just been thinking. Hopefully, bringing awareness to these realisations, ‘calling them out’, will help to lessen any significance we give this suffering.

Gassho,

Frank

Sat today, lent a hand


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If one is living the Bodhisattva ideal, it seems incumbent to LAH daily as a matter of course.

sat/lah

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kyousui

If one is living the Bodhisattva ideal, it seems incumbent to LAH daily as a matter of course.

sat/lah

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gassho2

Hi all

I'm sharing this un-anonymously because it is more about an attitude towards LAH, practice, and general life. How often do think of doing or saying something nice, but hold back for some unknown reason, and then wish later (when the moment has passed) that you had done/said it after all. Since the start of Ango I have made a deliberate effort to acknowledge others efforts. A non-specific example is a person telling me the story of how stressful it was to do something for me at work, that I had no idea they were doing, to resolve a situation without me having to get involved. I acknowledged the deed, the stress that had arisen for them because of it, and that they hadn't needed to do that for me. Their stress lifted and they had that bashful "oh it was nothing" demeanour about them. Although I often do this anyway, because I was coming from a place of "practice" I felt that the encounter had a non-ego-reward aspect to it - call it what you will - the vow to save all beings - bodhicitta in there too. Yes this LAH created a positive vibe in me (that I did not attach to) but it also reminded me of the Three Tenets (a-la Zen Peacemakers), not-knowing, bearing witness, and compassionate action, which not so much underpin the LAHs, but enable LAHs to arise spontaneously if you are fully present in the not-knowing to begin with. Thinking and typing out loud. gassho1gassho1

Sat and LAH today, Leon

It's very strange to look at my posts of two years ago, and I'm not as bad--life is good, though my health? Well? I have no resistance to LAH, and I've been volunteering for more than 10 years with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and I've received award after award for my service. Basically, I'm retired from that as I don't drive a car anymore. I drive to and from with my wife, and I am more sensitive,

Finally, I will say I've tried to be kinder to my wife, and care for others. This is tough for me because I have had the habit of easily getting mad. This is, however, changing.

Tai Shi
Gassho
sat today

That's wonderful Taishi. We do what we can and our abilities change over time. The main point is you are committed and engaged. Don't beat yourself up over the things you can no longer do. As it says in the Desiderata; "gracefully surrendering the things of youth."

be well
gassho, Shokai
stlah

I don't drive anymore because my neck and back are bad, so I give each month to Spondylitis Association of America.

Tai Shi
sat today/lah
Gassho
Deepest sincere bows.

Am currently living in a Nursing home, and have aides and Nurses as caretakers.
I am not in a position to go out into the community to do " good deeds ".
Most of the time my good deeds are to be pleasant with the people who take care of me instead of
getting to the point of raising my voice and making things worse. The seed practice is useful here,
As it enables me to not water the seed of anger, even though I feel justified in doing so.

Richard Carlsen

Howdy Richard,

Your being nice to those around you is a good thing to do. You have a positive affect on them and that is good

Gassho
Doshin
St.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Doshin

Howdy Richard,

Your being nice to those around you is a good thing to do. You have a positive affect on them and that is good

Gassho
Doshin
St.

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Precisely. gassho2

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Richard1

Am currently living in a Nursing home, and have aides and Nurses as caretakers.
I am not in a position to go out into the community to do " good deeds ".
Most of the time my good deeds are to be pleasant with the people who take care of me instead of
getting to the point of raising my voice and making things worse. The seed practice is useful here,
As it enables me to not water the seed of anger, even though I feel justified in doing so.

Richard Carlsen

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Thank you for your practice Richard, it is in no way less meaningful or significant than anyone else’s. We practice right where we are with what we’ve got, and it sounds like you have plenty of opportunity for that. Deep bows [emoji120]
Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Doshin

Howdy Richard,

Your being nice to those around you is a good thing to do. You have a positive affect on them and that is good

Gassho
Doshin
St.

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Lovely! =)

Gassho
Shingen

Sat/LAH

I was wondering what LAH was and was going to inquire but luckily I found this thread! I have to say I am so touched and surprised at what it means! It's great to see the encouragement for kindness and compassion active in the forums. I am grateful for the future recipients of any good deeds. I am grateful for the opportunity to post future LAH's. I am grateful for Zen.

Thanks Jundo

Gassho,

SatToday

I have had to give up volunteering with the Senior Center in Sioux Falls. Too far for my wife to drive. I still cry when I think of your gift of my rakusu. I tell you I care for you all very much.
Tai Shi
Gassho/ LAH
sat

I was poor as a kid, and we had the wrong types of food, sometimes less food than others. From my heart, thank you cosmiceye! I appreciate you.
Gassho
st/ lah
Tai Shi

Some little examples of recent LAH activity here: I received a receipt for my donation to the political party I feel best supports the causes I believe in.

My husband and I gathered and recycled some items around the house.

I helped some folks, outside of work who have messaged me with pet issues the past several days.

I am putting in extra horse care duty for my daughter who is studying for college exams.

In recent weeks we have heard from members who have run races for charity, purchased from local small businesses to help support them (yay, thank you! There are real people like me, my staff and my family behind those doors trying to make a living!) and streamed the ingestion of a reaper [emoji892] for sick children. Let’s keep ‘em coming everybody! We can bypass the debate and the Bompu Zen and go right to the practice of saving all beings.

Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH




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:encouragement:[claps]

Good idea! Will do. Thanks.
Gassho, Jeff
St, Lah

This year has certainly brought about some unique challenges and opportunities for lending a hand. I generally prefer to keep my LAH activities anonymous, but in case they provide others with ideas, here are just a couple to share:

Like Jakuden above, we have been working to reduce our household waste on a daily basis, and we now recycle about 2-3 times as much waste as we send to landfill. This year, we've also started composting again to further minimize waste while also contributing to our annual garden. Going forward, I want to do even more to engage with meaningful environmental groups/causes, but the current restrictions are making it difficult to gather. Therefore, I figure we can do more at our personal level for now and expand next year as restrictions (hopefully) ease.

Additionally, within my means, I've been trying to tip more generously when picking up take-out (even just from a coffee shop) as our food service workers are bearing a disproportionately large amount of the financial burden from the pandemic.

Lastly, without the ability to smile at strangers (due to mandatory mask wearing), I have been working hard to find other ways to express a sense of friendliness through other small actions and have even trying to "smile with my eyes" more. There is enough fear and uncertainty these days, and every little gesture we make can go a long way toward making others (especially complete strangers) feel just a bit more at ease in their day. I'm finding that, even here in America, some folks respond well to a very slight bow/head tilt as a sign of thanks or friendly acknowledgement. gassho2

I look forward to learning of new ideas from others, especially with regard to what folks are doing to LAH during these unusual times.

Gassho,
Rob

-stlah-

I stopped writing LAH because it felt weird. I am legally my partner's fulltime carer although the roles have been reversed this year. I don't care to notice when lending a hand, I am just me and do what feels right. Today for example I went to check on the older bloke I used to walk daily with. We had a yarn about how he's travellin' and organised to start walking daily again. Is this LAH? Absolutely, but I feel uncomfortable thinking of it in this way. I prefer to frame it (if I have to) as my intrinsic personal politics and my Practice in practice without the need to label it as anarchy in action as I once would've.
Gassho
Sat today

There are many others that feel as you do, Onka, it has surprised me greatly to hear how many people find it so difficult to post about their engaged activities. As if boasting about them will destroy their fragile karma. It makes me sad too though; in the business world, so many people have no reservations whatsoever about expressing their greed and desire as the normal way to be that I always felt like a fish out of water. I wonder if the accepted normal topic was LAH, putting others welfare first, instead of “me, I feel like and think that and want you to give me this”—maybe we wouldn’t be inundated by so much anger and greed all the time. If we want to make it the norm, we gotta blab about it and make it cooler than the quite accepted selfishness, greed and delusion.

Sorry to blab on so much.
Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jakuden

There are many others that feel as you do, Onka, it has surprised me greatly to hear how many people find it so difficult to post about their engaged activities. As if boasting about them will destroy their fragile karma. It makes me sad too though; in the business world, so many people have no reservations whatsoever about expressing their greed and desire as the normal way to be that I always felt like a fish out of water. I wonder if the accepted normal topic was LAH, putting others welfare first, instead of “me, I feel like and think that and want you to give me this”—maybe we wouldn’t be inundated by so much anger and greed all the time. If we want to make it the norm, we gotta blab about it and make it cooler than the quite accepted selfishness, greed and delusion.

Sorry to blab on so much.
Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH


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The only reason to put "LAH" (Lent A Hand) at the end of posts is to encourage/stimulate others to do the same through group spirit ... --NOT-- to brag about ourselves and our acts.

That's one reason that we don't say what we did, big or small.

Gassho, Jundo

STLah

well now i feel sheepish lol. ive posted a couple of times now without using these or even knowing what these abbreviations meant. its alright tho im sure, and i am absolutely on board with this! this is great motivation for me to do good in my family and community. thank you for this motivation, Jundo!

Gassho, John
ST/LAH

ST & conciously LAH today
Gassho

Kyousui, have I misspelled your name anywhere? I have not attended the sit you lead, and this is not on purpose. I gladly acknowledge your gifts of Buddhism to me. I miss, I do come to meet you, and as you say, maybe we will resume our face to face meetings. For you, a phone call is learning, and we learn from each other. Thank you for being a dear friend and for being my equal, and often my teacher.
Gassho
sat/ lah
Tai Shi

I have a bigger heart than I used too, and I hope it is with gratitude for the Zendo that is teaching me to be honest and care for people. I hope it is for a bit of rice for a young monk, or a new computer, or a trip for one of our priests-in-training or even for that teacher there for all of us. May we all grow in gratitude. My heart is big today. My brain surgery has been schedualed, and I would ask in gratitude that you sit, and offer Loving Kindness, metta, for our little family and other family members.
Gassho
sat/ lah
Tai Shi

Hi Folks,
I'm older and I am a good man. I have given money and that is good because I don't have much as much as some, I paid off a sum which was a lot last March. First, it may not seem like much but for me it is a lot because I try to give money other places. BUT, I have raised my gift to Treeleaf by percentage for a number of years. NOW, do you think I'm going to tell you how much I give Treeleaf every month? NO. I would not be sp dumb. but a certain amount of my money goes to Ankylosing Spondylitis Association Association of America, some has gone to Worthy Prison Pen Pals.org and now to CLF, AND All Souls Churches. A certain amount goes to helping folks with people who can't afford food yat's All Souls, a group in Sioux Falls. And a certain amount to a national conservation group in America. Now I challenge each of you to raise your contribution to Treeleaf, which I love with my heart, just give Treeleaf $2 each month if you are able, or start giving US $2 a month to a charity if you are able, and perhaps if you can't give or if you can, show up to a regularly scheduled sitting on Treeleaf Zendo Scedualed computer room, and if you don't know how, as any of the Priests in Training. usuri, The Buddha wasn't all Sutra or reading. He was action and more action saving lives, caring for people just LIKE JUNDO says, "All the World is a Temple." Give just a little. $2 a month to Treeleaf. and then turn around like me and try to help others. All of this if you are able. Give like I have if you can, and just a little because these priests follow the Buddha and try to help, the same Jukai vows we take.
Sorry this went on a little Jundo, please don't deleat. It had to be said because her in South Dakota I try not to help with just money and showing up; I an 70+. I try to help with gratitude, compassion, and my actions.
Gassho
sat/ LAH just like you
TAI SHI
calm poetry

I helped a friend celebrate a birthday with joy for her 79 years. We made a gratitude list
for 2022 and gathered with others for dinner. It is a delight to hear first hand from one
who grew up going to Brooklyn Dodger games and watching Jackie Robinson play.
peace, Paul
SATLAH ANANDA

I contributed to The Nature Conservancy, an organization devoted to buying and setting aside land for parks and conservation, and to Feeding South Dakota.
Gassho
sat/lah