Online: Meeting Master Rinzai and Knowing Yourself

An Eight-Week Course Taught by Hokuto Sensei

As practitioners of Rinzai Zen Buddhism, we all have a profound debt to the “Mountain Monk” who gave his name to one of the two great schools of Zen that have come to America by way of Japan. Still, many Zen students are intimidated by the compilation of his teachings called the Rinzai Roku, or The Book of Rinzai. His words seem as austere and uncompromising as the sheer face of a granite cliff — where and how to grab hold?

Over the eight weeks of the course, Hokuto Sensei and class participants will examine Master Rinzai’s words as a way of approaching Zen practice and bringing forth one’s own Dharma light. Each 90-minute class will combine meditation, a close reading of selected passages of the Rinzai Roku, and discussion. To help give further perspective on the master’s words — and perhaps make them more approachable — we will also make use of the Tibetan mind training Lojong slogans. In this way, we may find the common chords of these two great Mahayana traditions and more easily see into our own heart/mind.

The course will meet Sundays from 4:00-5:30 PM, starting on April 18 for eight weeks, but will not meet on May 9. Suggested course fee is $100, $85 for members—more if you can afford it, less if you cannot. 

Note: Registration for this class is closed. Please check the calendar for other events of interest!