November 21, 2023
COVID Update A heads-up that two Sangha members who attended sittings at Arnold Park over the past week have tested positive, and Dhara-sensei is one of them. Both have relatively mild symptoms. Since transmission likely transpired during the Ceremony of Aid (Thursday) or Ceremony of Gratitude (Sunday), if you attended one of those ceremonies and…
November 18, 2023
About the Ceremony of Gratitude, Sunday, November 19 Gratitude is the living heart of Zen practice and of our American tradition of Thanksgiving. You’re invited to join us tomorrow morning in the zendo at Arnold Park or online at 8:30 am (EST) for zazen, hearing personal expressions of gratitude from fellow Sangha members, and sharing…
November 16, 2023
Ceremony of Aid, Thursday, November 16 Tonight, we’ll sit for two rounds followed by the Ceremony of Aid (more details here). As usual, you can listen in on the audio livestream or join on Zoom. Each year, on this Thursday before Thanksgiving, we have a day of fasting here at the Center, and during the…
November 10, 2023
John-sensei and Dhara-sensei’s New Schedule Now that John-sensei has made his way through the initial phase of recovery from his knee replacements, he and Dhara-sensei have begun sharing duties, rather than following the six-month on/six month-off schedule we adopted after Roshi’s move to Florida. This means that our two teachers will divvy up responsibilities for…
October 27, 2023
DepreshZen, Saturday, Oct. 28, 3:00 pm DepreshZen is a peer support group for Sangha members with depression and anxiety disorders. If you’re interested in participating or have any questions, please contact Iriz Robles or Tom Kowal. Joining the 7-day Sesshin on Zoom (Oct.28 – Nov. 4) Although the regular schedule of Zoom sittings is suspended…
October 24, 2023
Message from John-sensei Now that my recovery from two knee replacements is well under way, Dhara-sensei and I are going to begin sharing daily teaching duties. With sesshin coming up on Saturday, I’ll offer dokusan this week on Wednesday morning and Thursday evening. I don’t feel I’m ready yet to cover all of this upcoming…
October 20, 2023
Saturday Dokusan with John-sensei, October 21 Dokusan is occasionally offered on Saturday mornings to accommodate members who can’t attend regular sittings with dokusan during the week. To participate, take a seat on the left side of the Arnold Park zendo, near the Kannon Room, any time before 10:00 am. An announcement will be made before…
October 13, 2023
Weekly Schedule Change Starting today, Friday, October 13, we’re going to experiment with making our Friday evening in-person sittings informal and optional for staff at Arnold Park and Chapin Mill. As many of you know, our staff numbers are low, and demands on everyone have increased. Over the years, the nature of residential training at…
October 6, 2023
Saturday Dokusan with John-sensei, October 7 Dokusan is occasionally offered on Saturday mornings to accommodate members who can’t attend regular sittings with dokusan during the week. To participate, take a seat on the left side of the Arnold Park zendo, near the Kannon Room, any time before 10:00 am. An announcement will be made before…
September 21, 2023
The Fall 2023 calendar is available here. Sangha Meeting Recap This past Sunday, we held a Zoom conversation that highlighted differing needs and expectations regarding the Center’s engagement with anti-racism and social justice issues in general. With some 50 participants, including members of the Board of Trustees and other leaders, it was an opportunity to…