April 2, 2020
I want you to imagine that your significant other just broke up with you. You are sitting on your couch at home, ruminating about all of the “mistakes” that you made leading up to the break up. Considering that one of the biggest predictors of depression and anxiety is a pattern of self-blame and rumination,…
April 2, 2020
Sitting vs. Smartphone: Throwing Insight Timer, Etc., to the Mat Through my many years of practicing Zen, I’ve struggled to establish a daily sitting routine. I would start off strong, but as the very stresses that brought me back to sitting decreased, so did my motivation to sit. Inevitably, the stresses would return, the sitting…
April 2, 2020
From the Editor Volume XLII, Number One “Our house is on fire.” With those five short words, young Greta Thunberg articulated the climate crisis in a way nobody had done before. And the devastating fires in Australia provided additional impetus for the RZC to increase its attention to climate activism. For decades, the Center has…
March 29, 2020
In his 2010 book The Active Life, acclaimed educator Parker Palmer cites three opportunities for painful growth that any of us are likely to face during our life: disillusionment, dislocation, and unbidden solitude. Zen practice enhances our ability to navigate through these three portals and to adapt to the coronavirus aftershocks that will change our…
March 27, 2020
Podcast from Roshi Here’s a short talk from Roshi, delivered from his dining room table. You can use this link or find it on the home page of the Center’s website (www.rzc.org). New Zen Bow Issue is Online The company that prints Zen Bow for us is shut during the lock-down, so, for now, you…
March 26, 2020
As the pandemic ramps up, with isolation in place, Roshi speaks to the Sangha from his dining room table.
March 25, 2020
Zen Center COVID-19 Update All is still well with the Zen Center staff at Arnold Park and Chapin Mill, with no signs of illness (or stir-craziness) worth mentioning. At Arnold Park we are down to six residents, now that two joined the crew at Chapin Mill (where they are now eight) last weekend. We are…
March 22, 2020
The current crisis can help us develop a more immediate awareness of the Buddha’s fundamental teaching and encourage us to find our refuge in opening to life as it is. – Dharma talk by John Pulleyn
March 21, 2020
COVID-19 Report In response to the tighter restrictions announced by New York Governor Cuomo, the Zen Center staff is dividing itself a bit as follows: Of the three residents broadly categorized as “vulnerable,” Scott Jennings, Jack O’Shaughnessy, and Joe Carino, the latter two will relocate for now to Chapin Mill, where they will initially self-isolate….
March 19, 2020
Remote “Dokusan” From Roshi: Since the Center is closed these days except to staff, I will start offering dokusan by phone to others. This will start with just local formal students of mine – that is, local members who have gone through a New Student Ceremony. Depending on the demand, I may extend it to…