Reminder: Summer Break, August 23 to September 5

During the break we’ll continue to hold Zoom sittings Monday through Saturday morning from 7:00 to 8:00, Sunday morning from 8:30 to 9:30, and Monday through Friday evening from 7:00 to 8:00. In addition, the Arnold Park zendo will be open for members to come and sit informally. The zendo at Chapin Mill, however, won’t be available during the break because of rentals.

Our regular schedule of formal in-person sittings and Zen training at Arnold Park and Chapin Mill resumes on Wednesday, September 6, with the morning sitting and dokusan.

September 7-day Sesshin Application Deadline

Thursday, September 7, is the application deadline for our next 7-day sesshin (September 23-30) led by Dhara-sensei. Click here to apply.

Free Gokhale Workshop, Thursday, September 14, 7:00 pm

Esther Gokhale, author of 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, an excellent resource on posture and body mechanics, will be in Rochester to lead workshops on September 14 and 15. As she has done in prior years, she has generously offered to lead a free session for our Sangha – this time related specifically to kinhin posture – on Thursday, September 14, at 7:00 pm in the Arnold Park zendo (details below). If you’re interested in participating, please RSVP to Keith.

Note that as a result of this one-hour, in-person posture workshop, the regular 7:00-9:00 pm sitting at Arnold Park is cancelled.

Posture Pillars of Kinhin: A little additional posture awareness can augment our experience of kinhin. Conversely, kinhin is a wonderful context in which to augment our posture. This free 1-hour workshop led by Esther Gokhale will shed insight on posture, gait, and kinhin.

“Esther is the creator of the Gokhale Method®, a breakthrough in back pain relief. After experiencing crippling back pain during her first pregnancy and unsuccessful back surgery, she began her lifelong crusade to vanquish back pain. Inspired by Aplomb® and other anthropological approaches, Gokhale has grounded her work in biophysics and anthropology. Her book 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back has sold over 300,000 copies and has been translated into 10 languages.”

Save-the-Date, Sunday, September 17, 11 am: Sangha Conversation on Social Justice Engagement

As a follow-up to the discussion that took place at our annual member meeting on June 25, this Zoom meeting will be an opportunity to share and learn about differing needs related to the Zen Center’s engagement with social justice issues. This question arose in response to the Board of Trustees’ recent decision not to display a Black Lives Matter flag at Arnold Park, as was proposed by our Uprooting Racism Sangha group. Details about the online meeting will be shared closer to the date.