Christmas Shutdown

We will be shutdown for the Christmas / New Years break. Our first sitting of the new year will be on Januray 17th. However you mark this time of year, be well.

TZC in December

While Rinsen and Do-on renovate their facilites, there won't be a sesshin in December. However, there is a one day zazenkai on December 31st from 10-5. This will have sitting, kinhin, talks and interviews. Bring your own lunch. There is no set cost, but an open donation is welcome.

Heroic Spirit

Here is the latest Podcast from the Drinking Gourd and the Toledo Zen Center.

Ango

Although the details are not set, I am very excited to tell everyone that TZC is going to be having its first Ango in the new year.

Ango is a tradition that dates back to the time of the Buddha, before there was a tradition of established monasteries. Monks at that time were travellers, but during the monsoon season, they would gather together and practice intensively as a group.

In modern Western Zen communities, this usually takes to form of a period of 3 weeks to 3 months in which practitioners make a public commitments to intensify their sitting.

How it will look for our Zen family has not been outlined, but in general people intensify their sitting practice, participate in more retreats (zazenkais and sesshins) as well as other forms such as art practice.

Ango has always struck me as Zen's Lent or Advent.

Rev. Do-on will be the shuso for this first Ango. a Shuso is a senior practitioner that is set up as a model of practice during the Ango. For the Shuso, Ango often culminates with them giving their first dharma talk and the concluding sesshin. (Granted, Rev. Do-on has already given many talks, but this is a beautiful place to start for the TZC family).

What will this mean for AZMG? Julie and I will be participating to be sure. We will be coordinating AZMG's first Zazenkai with the start of Ango, and are trying to work out the details of doing Skype interviews with Rinsen. There may also be an opportunity to travel to Toledo for their Zazenkais or to use technology to see the talks given there LIVE.

Once more details are hammered out on their end, the nature of our ability to participate will be clarified.

In the meantime, we will be sitting this Tuesday night. Afterwards we will discuss the upcoming Ango and the plans for our own Zaznekai.

Keep well.

Zazenkai Cancelled

Hi all,

I am sorry to announce that the Zazenkai has had to be cancelled for this weekend. The Weiks have had some illness in their family and have had to make that the priority. We are still planing on travelling down for the Sesshin in December, although I won't be able to stay al the way through. See you this Tuesday.

Upcoming Zazenkai in Toledo

On December 4th, the Toledo Zen Center is holding a Zazenkai. This is a half day intensive sit that includes private interview with a teacher, a Dharma Talk and lots of meditation time. It begins with regular Sunday Service held at the center and goes forward from there.

Suggested contributions for is $35. ($25 for seniors, pledging members and young students).

A number of us from the AZMG are planning on going to this.

The Three Levels of Dealing With People

Extending the Practice.

The starting point and heart of authentic Zen practice is Zazen. This is inescapable. Until sitting takes root in a practitioners life, the obstacles that prevent us from manifesting the practice in our daily activities seem insurmountable.

So, we are very happy to announce that AZMG will be expanding its schedule to meet twice each month.

Although we are in silence, there is a strength in sitting together. The presence and efforts of others lends us strength on the cushion. This is a very important resource to developing home practice.

It is important to be able to sit regularly on your own, but attempting to do this in complete isolation can be very difficult. Checking in with a community can help to renew our intention and resolve.

With so many more opportunities to come and sit with our community, I hope you can take advantage of it.

See you soon.

New Drinking Gourd Podcast

This is a the latest Podcast released from the Toledo Zen Center.

Upcoming meeting

TZC will be holding it's monthly gathering on Tuesday, October 4th. During tea we will be discussing the possibility of returning to a weekly sitting.

We began, just over a year ago with weekly sittings, and only went to a monthly schedule after a stretch of winter nights that alternated between being snowed out and just Julie and I sitting by ourselves.

Much has happened since then, and I would be quite happy to return to a weekly program, even if there are weeks where we sit alone. I have always said that although sitting is better than not sitting, sitting regularly and with support is important for encouraging the kind of practice that spills over from the cushion to the rest of your life.

We will decide together.

See you then.

The Hermit of Lotus Peak

From the Toledo Zen Center and the Drinking Gourd Podcasts

Dharma Talk from the Toledo Zen Center

Turning Inward.

The more I engage the contemplative life, the more I feel the impact of the energy of nature and the people around me. As Autumn begins to creep in on us, the days of children roaming the neighbourhood are numbered. Soon, the parks will empty, the leaves will turn, and driving or staying in will be a preferable option to going out.

There is a strong connection between this season and Zen practice. Turning inward to see the self, practice what we encounter, and then giving that back to the world. This is the practice of Zen.

Zazen is the front gate.

Please come join us on Tuesday, September 6th at Love It Yoga in Amherstburg. We gather at 8:30 pm for Zazen and walking mediation. All are welcome and beginning instruction is available.

Please feel free to contact us at azmg@bell.net if you have any questions.

Upcoming events

At the end of this month, a number of us are heading down to Toledo for Sesshin.  This is an intensive retreat that focusses on zazen.  It is at the very heart of the practice.

There is no Zen without Zazen, it is often said.

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There are a number of classes coming up this fall at the Toledo Zen Center, and I recommend them to anyone who is interested at getting to the heart of the matter.  This simple, yet infinitely subtle realization has been handed down from teacher to student fro over 2500 years.  There is a lot of rich history and teaching to help guide us on our way.

Please visit www.toledozencenter.org for more information.

July

In the month of July, we will be meeting on the second Tuesday (the 12th).

We will be back to the first Tuesday as usual in August.

June Gathering

We will be meeting on Tuesday, June 7th, at Love it Yoga.  See you at 8:30 pm.

Untill then, here is a recent podcast from the Toledo Zen Center.

Unitarians and Zen in Providence RI

My Zen Teachers are the Reverends Jay Rinsen Weik and Karen Do'on Weik. Rinsen's teacher is James Ford Roshi, who also happens to be a UU minister. Here is a article written in Ford Roshi's own community about Zen practice and it's interaction with some other traditions.

First Unitarian Church offers free Buddhist mediation groups | Lifebeat | projo.com | The Providence Journal

May's Gathering

On Tuesday May 3rd, we will be having our monthly gathering at Love it Yoga.  All are welcome.

Until then, here is another podcast from the Toledo Zen Center.  These are available for free at http://www.thedrinkinggourd.org/

More from the Drinking Gourd.

A new talk from the Toledo Zen Center. This talk was given durring sesshin at the Toledo Zen Center in April of 2010. Sesshin is an intensive retreat that emphasizes Zazen as the primary practice.

"Spring" Board

Spring can be awonderful time to revitalize ourselves and our practice. Tonight we got to see some familiar faces and make new friends.

It is always so helpful to be able to get together and practice with each other, but when we can't, or for those times in between, it is important to try and sit on our own. The mental weight that comes from zazen needs cultivation.

Since other guidance can help aswell, I offer some of the teachings of my teachers.

The Drinking Gourd podcasts are the Dharma Talks of the Toledo Zen Center, lead by the Reverends Jay Rinsen Weik and Karen Do-on Weik (and are free). Here some of their early talks that I recommend...

"Study Yourself" http://thedrinkinggourd.org/2007/10
"The Four Noble Truths (part 1) http://thedrinkinggourd.org/2007/11
"The Four Noble Truths (part 2 and 3) http://thedrinkinggourd.org/2007/12

May your practice nurture your life. See you on May 3rd.

Montly Gathering

This Tuesday at 8:30 is the first meeting of AZMG since we have gone over to a monthly schedule. The practice is always available to us, but the support of others can be very helpful. Please come out and sit with us. We are located at Lvoe it Yoga in Amherstburg.

New Schedule

Please note that the schedule for AZMG has been changed. We will be meeting at Love it Yoga on the first Tuesday of every month, starting immediately.

Working with Anger and the Body

A podcast from the Toledo Zen Center.

Regular Sittings

We continue to meet at Love it Yoga on Tuesday nights. Beginning instruction is always available.

Bad weather tonight

The weather is getting bad and the roads will deteriorate quickly. I will be there tonight, but if you have to drive to reach us, please consider practicing at home. Sit with us from home from 8:45 to 9:15. Be well and keep safe.

TUESDAY - January 11 2011

The snow coming down and the roads are very bad. Please stay home tonight. We will resume next week.

Awakening: A Resolution for 2011

The practice of zazen is nothing more or less than the manifestation complete enlightenment. Through practice and training, we deepen it, stabilize it and develop the capacity to manifest that same clarity as we move through our everyday lives.

Join us for practice in the New Year, starting on Tuesday, January 4th.