Where we are now.

Although this blog is no longer active, we still are.  Find us on facebook as Northern Sky Zen Community.

Left Behind

Hello,

If you have found this group, I would like to invite you to check out our facebook page (Amherstburg Zen Meditation Group).  We are still active as a group, but our blogspot blog has fallen into disuse.

A season for all things.

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)

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.