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Letter June 2009 Greetings from Melbourne Zen Hospice People very often ask us "... and so whereabouts are you?" It is a good question, and we try and answer it on an individual basis. At the moment, I am sitting in our small office, in a house in Glen Iris, typing this letter. Tomorrow, several of our team will each visit homes across a 15k radius from the city, to provide complementary palliative care to our patients, their carers and families. Most of our patients have hours or days or weeks to live, so where we meet them is here and now. One dear patient recently quipped with a big smile, "I wish I had known earlier mate - just being here is the only real estate there is, and it comes with no bloody mortgage!" (Melbourne Zen Hospice is indeed very fortunate in terms position, position, position). Now in our 3rd year of providing mobile palliative care across Melbourne, with each visit we are touched by the moments of joy, sorrow, wisdom, and humour which our patientsand families share with us - and inspired by their way of letting go into boundlessness. "The expansive sky does not obstruct the floating clouds" (Sekito Kisen, 700-790) We are now in the planning stages for the creation of a physical Melbourne Zen Hospice as an addition to our existing services in the next couple of years. Melbourne Zen Hospice deliberately limits its fundraising to only two mailouts a year. All donations to Melbourne Zen Hospice are fully tax-deductible. Thank you for your interest and support. Gassho
Letter December 2008 Warm Greetings from Seikan The Melbourne Zen Hospice is now nearly two years old. Slowly and steadily we are growing and providing support to those who call on us. From very small seeds may worthwhile things continue to grow. An old Zen story tells of a man walking through the wilderness who stumbles upon a vicious tiger. He tries to run away, but soon comes to the edge of a very high cliff. Desperate to safe himself, he climbs down a vine and so becomes suspended over the fatal precipice. As he dangles there, two mice appear from a hole in the rock face and start gnawing on the vine. Suddenly the man notices a plump ripe strawberry right next to him on the vine. He plucks it and pops it in his mouth. How delicious! I often get asked what the Melbourne Zen Hospice is all about. It is about being with dying AND being alive to the strawberries that are with us HERE and NOW. Over just the first 9 months of 2008, we have been able to make nearly 300 home visits, offering direct support and personal companionship to 18 patients and their families - theree times as many as for all of 2007 - right through to bereavement support. Many more persons and groups have contacted us for informal support or advice of one kind or another by telephone and email. This has also been reflected in the access statistics to this website, with a twelvefold increase from 50 to currently around 600 unique visitors per month. I take pleasure in inviting you to consider making a financial contribution to the Melbourne Zen Hospice in support of what we do. All contributions to Melbourne Zen hospice go directly to:
All donations to Melbourne Zen Hospice are tax deductible in Australia. Tax receipts will be sent out by post for postal donations, and by email for online donations. I thank you for your interest and your support. Gassho
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Donations to Melbourne Zen Hospice can be made either securely online by credit card here.
Melbourne Zen Hospice (ABN 40599795690)
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