Center Reopens This Thursday, April 21

The Center’s Arnold Park and Chapin Mill locations will reopen tomorrow, April 21. This morning, staff and residents retested themselves, and all were negative. However, mask wearing inside the buildings will continue whenever we are in motion (kinhin, dokusan, etc.) as well as during chanting. (It’s fine to remove your mask during zazen when on your mat.) Hope to see in the zendos!

Webinar on Zen Buddhism & Mental Health This Thursday

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Greater Cleveland will be hosting a webinar this Thursday, April 21, at 7:00 pm, via Zoom: “Cultivating Insight: Mental Health & Zen Buddhism.” The keynote speaker is Sangha member Susan Rakow, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor & Group Leader of the Cleveland Zazen Group. Sangha member Jeanette Prince-Cherry, leader of the Louisville Zen Center, will also participate on the panel. Click here to register for this free event.

Tom Kowal at the Climate Solutions Summit This Saturday

Tom Kowal will be representing the Rochester Zen Center in a panel discussion during the Climate Solutions Accelerator Virtual Conference on Saturday, April 23. He will be one of the panelists in the Rochester Area Interfaith Climate Action (RAICA) section of the conference, presenting the climate actions taken at the Zen Center and providing the Buddhist perspective on climate change. He will show how Zen practice can be environmentally friendly. The Zen Center is a member of the Climate Solutions Accelerator and RAICA.

You can learn about and register for this conference at: Summit – Climate Solutions Accelerator (climategfl.org).

Extended Sitting on Sunday, April 24, 6:15 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Besides the Sunday sitting and Dharma talk that will run from 8:30 to around 10:30, there are three more blocks of formal sitting scheduled. In addition, Trueman Taylor will offer private instruction during the late-morning block. Here’s the extended sitting schedule.

For Zoom access or questions about how to participate in private instruction, email Jeanette.

Also Youth Sunday

Parents: we will meet in the backyard of Arnold Park, near the community space at 8:30; you’ll be able to pick up your children in the same place at 10:30 after the Dharma talk. Please RSVP to Chris Maley by Friday evening to help us plan accordingly.

And a Dharma talk by Donna Kowal

A Dharma Talk is a talk on some aspect of the Buddhist teachings from a Zen perspective given by a senior student of Roshi or Sensei. You may join us on Sunday in-person in the zendo at Arnold Park, on Zoom, or via our audio livestream.

Past Dharma talks by Donna can be found in our Podcast and Audio Archives at https://www.rzc.org/library/archives-podcast/ 

Minutes of Trustees’ and Annual Meetings

During the pandemic, we fell behind in posting meeting minutes to the Center’s website. The minutes are now available at www.rzc.org/about/governance/meeting-minutes/