July 13, 2019
Summer is here, and the potluck picnic at Chapin Mill , our retreat center outside of Batavia, is coming soon! This year’s picnic is set for Saturday, August 17. Come and enjoy Sangha, great food, and 125 acres of woods, ponds, foxes, turtles, and much more. It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with members –…
June 19, 2019
Welcome! The family program at the Rochester Zen Center is rooted in the belief that Zen practice can be integrated with family life. We welcome the children and families of all Zen Center members, no matter what their spiritual backgrounds. We work to create opportunities for children and parents to engage in regularly scheduled activities…
May 5, 2019
Each year in June or July we hold our annual work retreat in honor of Ralph Chapin. Our objective is to work together with Sangha friends on upkeep of the buildings and grounds – and at the same time intensify our meditation practice and enjoy the beauty of Chapin Mill. We sit a bit more than…
March 1, 2019
Please join us the weekend of May 24 – May 26 for a celebration of the Buddha’s birthday. Friday, May 24: Temple Night/Jukai 5:45 p.m. Children’s Jukai (in the Buddha Hall) Refreshments for children immediately after the ceremony (in the dining room) 7:00 p.m. Temple Night concluding around 9::00 with Jukai (Taking-the-Precepts) An unstructured time…
January 3, 2019
Beginning on January 24 and ending on February 28 just before the March 2-day sesshin, we’ll have a 5-week Term Intensive. These “TI’s” (we have two each year) are excellent opportunities to step up our sitting and to work with habit patterns we’d like to change. They’re also an good way to get to know…
November 30, 2018
If you’d like to start the new year fueled by zazen rather than by intoxicants or TV, come join with others in the Sangha for our annual celebration. We’ll welcome in the New Year on Monday evening with sitting and ceremonies, starting at 8 pm and winding up a little past midnight. For the many…
November 27, 2018
On Thursday, November 29, we’ll hold the annual ceremony that commemorates the Buddha’s great Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, complete with sutra reading, chanting, and warm milk-rice in the candle-lit dining room. Sitting begins at 7 pm, and the ceremony will follow at 8:00. Don’t miss this one!
November 20, 2018
Temple Night – Friday, November 23 During Temple Night, we transform the Buddha Hall into a space for free-form devotions and sitting meditation, buoyed by exquisitely appointed altars bathed in soft light. Beginning around 7:00 pm, you’re invited to join in our twice-a-year informal sitting in the Buddha Hall (right behind 5 Arnold Park). All are welcome,…
November 15, 2018
On November 18, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the Center will hold our annual Ceremony of Gratitude, beginning with zazen at 8:30 am. In some ways, Thanksgiving is the most Buddhist of national holidays – a time when we pause to contemplate all the things we are grateful for. During the ceremony, offerings will be made…
September 12, 2018
No Thursday Dokusan With Roshi leaving tomorrow (Thursday, September 13) to give sesshin in Madison, the next dokusan will be next Monday, September 17. Roommate Wanted Sangha member Gretchen Targee is seeking a new tenant; one of her housemates will be living in October. Her house is located in the Neighborhood of the Arts, very…