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News & Events

Sunday June 4

Sangha Hike

Group photo of sesshin participants

June 10-17, 2023

7 Day Hybrid Sesshin

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Help with the Cost of Sesshin

RZC’s Training Fund

Saturday June 24

Finding Your Seat

Sunday June 25

Annual Meeting

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June 27 - July 1

Chapin Mill Work Retreat

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Chapin Mill

Our Retreat Center

A spacious, light-filled setting
designed for meditation practice

Podcast

Recent Zen Talks

May 21, 2023

Taking the Precepts: An Introduction

How do we embody the Precepts in our everyday lives? An overview of morality in Zen and the RZC’s Taking the Precepts Ceremony. Teisho by Sensei Donna Kowal. Automated Transcript

May 14, 2023

Discovering Awe in Just This

Exploring the intersection between Zen practice and neuroscience on our capacity for experiencing awe in ordinary activities. Commentary on Dacher Keltner’s “The Quiet Profundity of Everyday Awe”, The Atlantic: January 13, 2023. Teisho by Sensei Donna Kowal. Automated Transcript

May 7, 2023

Not Too Hard, Not Too Soft: Finding the Sweet Spot in Practice

May 2023 Sesshin, Day 2
Question:  Should I try or should I not try? Do I apply effort in practice or do I surrender? Ought there be discipline or should it come naturally? Answer: Yes! Sources: Awakening to Zen by Roshi Philip Kapleau; Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart by Christina Feldman and Jack Kornfield. Dharma Talk by Ven. Jissai Prince-Cherry. Automated Transcript

May 6, 2023

Making the Most of Each Moment of Sesshin

May 2023 Sesshin, Day 1
How to make the most of chanting, talks, and personalized instruction during sesshin. Sharing the teachings of Roshi Philip Kapleau, founder of Rochester Zen Center, on the 19th anniversary of his death. Source: Zen: Merging of East and West by Roshi Philip Kapleau. Dharma Talk by Ven. Jissai Prince-Cherry. Automated Transcript

April 27, 2023

The Dalai Lama and the Boy

Bodhin-roshi’s comments on the controversy surrounding the February video of “the Dalai Lama and the boy.” (Correction: the Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959, not 1951 as was stated in the talk.) Talk by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript

Treasure Trove of Past Talks

Our Quarterly Magazine

Zen Bow

Zen Bow is our quarterly publication featuring writings from members of our Sangha

Painting of Nansen and cat by Shōkei

From Winter 2018, Vol. XL, No. 4

Nansen Kills the Cat
by Roshi Philip Kapleau

From Spring 2018, Vol. XL, No. 1

One Tow In the Water
by Robert Veeder

Contact Us

Rochester Zen Center
7 Arnold Park
Rochester, NY 14607-2082

Telephone: (585) 473-9180
Fax: (585) 473-6846
Email: receptionist@rzc.org

Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 8:00am – 12:30pm, 1:30pm – 3:30pm

Our offices are closed on Sundays and Mondays

Map to the Rochester Zen Center

Practice With Us