A day without work is a day without food. — Hyakujo Ekai
The Zen Studies Society, founded in 1956 to support the work of the renowned scholar D. T. Suzuki, has a working Board of Directors that relies on volunteers for ongoing support. Its monastery, Dai Bosatsu Zendo, and city temple, New York Zendo, are now open to in-person practice, with abundant opportunities for practitioners to volunteer in a wide range of activities.
Dai Bosatsu Zendo
At DBZ, we’d love to have you come early for sesshin and other programs, to help with room set-up, meal preparation and cleaning, and stay on afterward if you can. Discounted fees are offered to volunteers. If you’d like to visit in between events for a few days or weeks, please let us know: Your help would be very welcome. These visits are a good chance to deepen your practice and learn ceremonial rituals and the daily workings of the monastery, including all aspects of residential life. To volunteer, please email us.
New York Zendo
At NYZ, volunteers are always welcome for temple cleaning, program preparation, repairs and similar activities. If you can volunteer on a regular basis — weekly, monthly — or just want to come for a few hours whenever you’re free, please email us.
The ZSS Board would love to know about any special skills you may have! In particular, we welcome assistance in the following areas:
- Zoom hosting
- Social media management
- Carpentry, sewing and other handy skills
- Gardening
- Office skills such as data entry
- Cooking
- Reading kanji
- Professional backgrounds in development, marketing, copywriting, architecture, photography, fine arts maintenance and archiving, hospitality/institutional facility management, finance, project management and law.
For more information, please contact us.
We look forward to working with you!
Our ZSS Covid Protocols apply to all in-person activities.
Breathing in, I see that I am part of a Sangha, and I am being protected by my Sangha. Breathing out, I feel joy. — Thich Nhat Hanh