Roshi in Maine, July 7–14

Roshi will be away on vacation for all of next week. Dokusan will resume on Monday, July 16.

Finding Your Seat Resumes, July 7-28

Trying to establish a daily practice? Have questions about posture or zendo protocol, but can’t make it here during the work week? We are here to help! Although Zen practice is simple and direct, it’s not easy, and getting the habit of daily sitting established can be difficult. Between Introductory Workshops, the Center offers a series of Saturday sessions that aim to help with that.

Anyone who’s attended a Workshop, whether you’ve become a member yet or not, is welcome. Sessions are led by senior students prepared to answer questions, offer advice and encouragement, and lead a short round of sitting. The program runs between Introductory Workshops, and we’ll be having weekly sessions for the next four Saturdays, from 11:00 am to noon, starting this Saturday, July 7, in the Community Space.

Esther Gokhale Zazen Posture Clinic, Friday, July 20

Esther Gokhale, the author of the excellent book 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, is returning to Rochester to give more classes. She’ll be offering a free workshop on posture for sitting and walking meditation at 8:00 pm on Friday, July 20. (There will be no formal sitting that evening.) You can also check out her website at https://gokhalemethod.com/.

Sangha Book Club, Sunday, July 22, 6:30 pm

The Book Club is starting Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits, by Red Pine (aka Bill Porter). The goal is to read the first half for this upcoming July meeting. However, as always, people can read whatever they have time for, and are still welcome to come to the meeting even if they did not read everything. We’ll be meeting in the Community Space; snacks will be provided.

In Memory of Tangen-roshi

The current issue of Zen Bow highlights the karmic connection – and debt of gratitude – the Zen Center has to the late Roshi Harada Tangen through our Founder, Roshi Philip Kapleau. In view of this, our Trustees have agreed to send a gift of $4,000 to Tangen-roshi’s temple, Bukkoku-ji, in his memory (as Tangen-roshi did for the RZC after Kapleau-roshi died in 2004). 

Anyone in the Sangha who would like to contribute in the same way to Bukkoku-ji may send a check in any amount payable to the Rochester Zen Center and earmarked for that purpose, and we will pass the contribution on.