Last Thursday, five priests of Tassajara Zen Mountain Center faced down the huge California wildfires to save their monastery. TZMC is the oldest Soto Zen monastery outside of Asia and possibly the oldest Buddhist monastery in the Western Hemisphere. The five are still at Tassajara, and since the road is closed no one will be going in or out for the next few days. But word is that they are safe and even holding services.
The Sitting With Fire blog reports that even though the main buildings were saved, "There are small problems with pretty much all of the infrastructure." It sounds as if there will be a huge amount of repair and cleanup work to be done at TZMC.
The San Francisco Zen Center reports that the Black Mountain Zen Center of Belfast, Ireland, will be holding a fundraiser on behalf of TZMC. "The dharma tree roots run deep and wide, and know no barriers."