This Saturday, August 5: Annual Picnic and More

At Arnold Park we’ll have the usual formal morning sitting from 6:30 to 7:30 am (no chanting). Later, at Chapin Mill, we’ll have our annual picnic. All are invited – Sangha, friends, children, and dogs! We’ll get underway at 11 am with games, then have lunch at 1 pm. Bring a vegetarian main dish or dessert to serve eight people. The Center will provide sweet corn, fruit, beverages, and ice cream. If you need a ride or can offer one, contact Keith Carpenter.

For our online Sangha, we’ll have the usual 7 to 8 am Zoom sitting, Finding Your Seat at 11 am, and DepreshZen at 3 p.m.

Sunday, August 6: Priest Ordination Ceremony

At 11 am in the Buddha Hall, Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede will ordain Sensei Donna Kowal as a Zen Buddhist priest. You are invited to attend the ordination ceremony in-person or on Zoom. If you don’t have the Zoom codes, contact Jissai; they will be the usual codes to the Zoom zendo. The ceremony is about 45 minutes long and will be followed by a reception in the garden.

Ordination at the Rochester Zen Center entails a lifelong vocational commitment, dedicating oneself full-time in serving the Three Treasures – Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. As a reflection of this commitment, Donna-sensei will also be taking on a new name of Buddhist origin. We hope you can attend the ceremony.

Note: There will be no in-person sitting at Arnold Park or Chapin Mill that morning, as staff and volunteers will be setting up the Buddha Hall. However, there will be a Zoom sitting from 8:30 to 9:30 am.

The Following Sunday, August 13: Hybrid Extended Sitting

Besides the sitting that will run from 8:30 to 10:30 am (no teisho), there are three other blocks of formal sitting scheduled. Private Instruction will be offered during block 3.

While it’s fine to participate part-time, we ask that participants commit to staying for the two or three rounds of sitting in any given block. Here is the extended sitting schedule.

Save-the-Date: Founder’s Day: Sunday, August 2

As part of our annual remembrance of Roshi Philip Kapleau, in addition to a recorded teisho by Kapleau-roshi, we’ll have a special Sangha brunch. Details will be shared closer to the date.