Ango

School is back in session and we are starting to see hints of cooler weather to come.  Summer is over.  All things have seasons, even practice.  This past weekend I traveled to Toledo to take part in the the opening sesshin for TZC's Ango.

Ango is a Japanese word that translates as "peaceful dwelling".  It is a time to intensify their practice.  At the core of practice is zazen, our particular form of sitting mediation.

Zazen turns the light of awareness inward, allowing us let our thought stream rest, just being what it as while we focus out attention on the breath.  Developed and trained, zazen gives us the capacity to put our mind where we want it, when we want it, for as long as we want it.  It gives us the power to unhook from being pulled around, automatically by our thoughts and our impulses.  It brings us in touch with our original nature and gives us the the chance to act and live our lives out of that state, and not just simply as a victim or product of our own conditioning.

If you already practice zazen, Ango is an opportunity to ramp up your practice a little bit.  Start simple.  If you sit 3 times a week, try making it 5.  If you have not given zazen a try, come out to see us at Love it Yoga on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month.

Each session we do two short periods of zazen (seated meditation) and kinhin (walking mediation).  Afterwards we share a cup of tea.

If you have any questions, contact us at robbondy2@gmail.com

Practice well.

Kaishin

Time and Growth

"We may not be big, but we're small."

If you listen to CBC radio, you might recognize the motto of the Vinyl Cafe. Not the radio show, but the fictional record store from which it draws it's name.

After a year and half of operation, this continues to be a fitting motto for the Amherstburg Zen Mediation group. On a small night, we are 3. On a big night, 4 or 5. But on any give night (if it the first or third Tuesday of the month), we are there.

Sure, we meet pretty late, and being that we currently don't accept donations we have absolutely no budget for advertising, but still we sit.

Is it ideal? No.

Is it the best possible opportunity to gather and sit? Yes.

Why? Because it is the time that we have, and it is a space made available out the generosity of those who understand the importance of this type of practice.

If life has taught me anything, it is that those who wait for ideal conditions to act, don't.

We're still here, and you're still welcome to come out.

We meet from 8:30-9:30 on the first and third Tuesday of the month. Our goal is to provide beginning instruction to zazen. How it affects your life, like most things, is up to you.

Latest Podcast from the Toledo Buddhist Temple

Zazen Gathering Tonight

Just a reminder that we sit on the first and third Tuesday of each month. Please arrive between 8:30 and 8:45.

TZC = TBT

Here is the latest offering from the Toledo Zen Center (Toledo Buddhist Temple)