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NYZ: Suizen Intensive

May 5, 2025 by Sabrina Plum

Suizen, or “blowing Zen”, refers to the spiritual practice of playing the shakuhachi flute during zazen. The honkyoku repertoire of the shakuhachi – which was developed specifically for Zen practice – has particular technical and aesthetic features that allow it to resist being heard as “music.” Therefore, it tends not to distract the meditating mind in the way that other music might. Compared to other shakuhachi repertoires, honkyoku pieces feature fewer notes with a focus on ornamentation and timbral effects.

There is a famous saying from the world of suizen: ichion jobutsu, meaning “enlightenment in a single note.” Come join us for an afternoon of immersion in this one mysterious note.

Our program will include six forty-minute periods of suizen, with kinhin (walking meditation) in between. Participants must have completed an Introduction to Zen Meditation class before registering.

Solo shakuhachi will be played by Karaku Marco Burmester, who has been studying shakuhachi in New York City and Kyoto since 2006. Karaku has a long-time connection to Dai Bosatsu Zendo as a student of Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin, who held workshops at DBZ for many years. He has recently been awarded his shakuhachi teaching certificate and is looking forward to sharing his practice of suizen with the Zen Studies Society Sangha.

The fee for this event is $40 for nonmembers and $30 for Zen Studies Society (ZSS) members. Note that the member price is for ZSS members only – please consider becoming a Supporting Member. If you have any questions, please email office@newyorkzendo.org before registering. ZSS Health Protocols apply. Note that there will be a second Suizen Intensive offered on July 20, 2025.

NYZ: Neurodiversity in Zen Series

May 4, 2025 by Sabrina Plum

Wednesdays | June 4th – June 25th, 2025 | 8:00pm – 8:45pm

In Faith in Mind, Sosan Ganchi Zenji, the third ancestor, teaches that when Mind and individual minds are not separate, the Way is truly perceived. But each mind is unique, shaped by its own complex inner workings, which in turn influence who we are and how we live in the world.

Some minds have a similar set of inner workings that set them apart from most others. These minds are often labeled with terms like Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and others—labels that set them apart, imposing on them a desire to change them and make them like most other minds. The concept of neurodiversity offers an alternative way of understanding minds labeled in this way, one that accepts and values them exactly as they are.

For four Wednesdays in June, Rogen Daniel Batkin, a neurodivergent Zen student, will lead us on an exploration of what it is like to be neurodivergent in Zen practice, from collectively exploring feelings of being left out, to unique ways of perceiving the sensory world, to how the concept of “normality” fits (or doesn’t fit) with the fundamental teachings of Zen. Each class will include a guided discussion or exercise designed to connect the concept of neurodiversity with aspects of Zen practice, fostering a deeper understanding of the many ways our minds perceive the world around us. Some prior experience with Zen philosophy is recommended, but not required.

Together, we can foster acceptance. Together, we can foster Mind.

The fee for this series is $40 for nonmembers and $30 for Zen Studies Society (ZSS) members, and it will be offered both in-person and online. Note that the member price is for ZSS members only – please consider becoming a Supporting Member. A Zoom link will be shared one week before the event. If you have any questions, please email office@newyorkzendo.org before registering. ZSS Health Protocols apply for in-person participants.

NYZ: Zen in Four Ways – Chinese Calligraphy Workshop

April 26, 2025 by Sabrina Plum

Fridays | May 9th – June 27th, 2025 | 6:30 – 8:30pm

Join Ines Sun at New York Zendo for an eight-week exploration of Chinese calligraphy, offering a hands-on introduction to four major styles. Each session provides time for focused practice, allowing students to deepen their understanding through direct experience. We’ll begin each session with a welcoming cup of tea in the garden, a gesture reflecting the spirit of literati leisure, followed by a continuation of our Tao Te Ching reading from where we left off last summer.

Towards the end of the course, the class will visit the Chinese and Japanese galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where you will view masterworks of calligraphy, including pieces by Zen monks whose practice connected their breath to their brushstrokes. Among them is Ryōkan Taigu (良寬大愚), one of Ines’ favorite calligraphy artists.

No prior experience necessary, all materials provided. ZSS Health Protocols apply.

Ines Sun began studying calligraphy as a child and later deepened her practice through painting. She weaves together her training in tea ceremony and calligraphy in her installation Heaven Earth Tea Hut (天地茶屋) – an intimate, silent performance where she invites a participant to engage in calligraphy and tea ceremony together.

The schedule will be as follows:

Seal Style (篆): Friday May 9th and 16th
Clerical Style (隸): Friday May 23rd and 30th
Regular Script (楷): Friday June 6th and Saturday June 14th*
Metropolitan Museum of Art Visit: Friday June 20th
Semi Cursive and Cursive (行草): Friday June 27th

*Please note that class will be held on Saturday June 14th instead of Friday.

The fee for this course is:

$40 single class
$300 8-week series

To make a payment and register, please use Venmo: Ines Sun @pencilnyc or Zelle: inesthsun@gmail.com

Please call Ines directly at 646-321-8331 with any questions.

NYZ: Samu Sunday!

March 11, 2025 by Sabrina Plum

Today we will skip morning service and zazen to focus on samu (work practice). Volunteers will address a number of cleaning and maintenance tasks in the temple such as washing windows, painting, dusting, and cleaning heat pump filters. Samu will take place from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and once our tasks are complete we will share an informal lunch together in the Dharma hall.

Registration is not required, please email office@newyorkzendo.org if you have any questions. ZSS Health Protocols apply.

DBZ: Entering the Zen Kitchen // Waiting List Only

March 7, 2025 by Sabrina Plum

Registration is now closed. Please email office@daibosatsu.org to be placed on the waiting list. Sign up for the ZSS Newsletter to receive information on upcoming events.

The Water Is Your Own Life: Entering the Zen Kitchen

A single grain of rice contains limitless possibilities. How will you illuminate them?

Join Muken Sensei, daitenzo (head cook) at Dai Bosatsu Zendo, for a three-day exploration of Zen practice in the monastery kitchen. The tradition of Zen monastic cooking, established in the earliest Chinese Buddhist temples, unites sharp attention with a nurturing heart to bring elegant meals from simple, seasonal ingredients to life. In the Zen kitchen, nothing is wasted – every movement becomes meditation, a reverential offering.

This workshop will begin with an introduction to Buddhist temple cooking and formal Zen meals, using jihatsu (nested bowls). Participants will practice preparing and serving nutritious vegetarian meals for the monastic community, working intuitively with few recipes. While carefully attending to the subtleties of flavor and the harmony of ingredients, participants will learn essential kitchen skills including knife techniques, dish presentation, and the art of no-waste. Drawing from a variety of culinary traditions, this course will invite participants to discover how to bring the practice of Zen cooking into their own kitchens.

The weekend includes regular zazen (seated meditation) with the monastery residents, as well as a group discussion around Dogen Zenji’s Instructions to the Cook, the foundational text for the Zen kitchen. Participants will also have the opportunity to forage for edible plants on the monastery grounds. No prior cooking experience is necessary, all that is needed is a curious mind and a sense of adventure.

Muken Mark Barber Sensei has served as daitenzo of Dai Bosatsu Zendo since 2020. Currently a teacher-in-residence at New York Zendo Shobo-ji, he began tenzo work at the Zen Center of Syracuse and has worked as a bread baker in Manhattan.

This workshop will be limited to six participants. The fee for this course is $175 for nonmembers and $150 for Zen Studies Society (ZSS) members. Note that the member price is for ZSS members only – please consider becoming a Supporting Member. If you have any questions, please email office@daibosatsu.org before registering. ZSS Health Protocols apply.

If you are able to support students in financial difficulty, please consider making an additional donation. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, you may apply for a reduced rate here.

DBZ: O-Bon (Waiting List Only)

March 4, 2025 by Sabrina Plum

Registration is now closed. Please email office@daibosatsu.org to be placed on the waiting list. Sign up for the ZSS Events Newsletter to receive information on upcoming events.

Join Chigan Roshi and Shinge Roshi for this beautiful and moving ceremony at which we we honor our ancestors, family members, and other loved ones who have passed away; as well as the hungry ghosts within and outside us.

O-Bon begins on Friday evening as we welcome the spirits with a ceremonial fire. On Saturday we paint their names on paper lanterns and gather for the O-Bon dinner offering. We then hold a traditional chanting service which includes calling out the names of the deceased. Chigan Roshi will give a teisho (Dharma talk) following this service.

Finally, we light our lanterns and make a silent, candle-lit procession to the bank of Beecher Lake, where we float our glowing lanterns across the dark waters while chanting Namu Dai Bosa. A bonfire and festive refreshments complete the evening. On Sunday morning, we gather in the zendo for short morning service and zazen, followed by an informal breakfast.

If you are not able to attend and would like the names of your deceased loved ones to be read aloud during the ceremony, please email their names to office@daibosatsu.org by August 7 and consider making a donation.

The fee for this weekend is $325 for nonmembers and $250 for Zen Studies Society (ZSS) members. Note that the member price is for ZSS members only – please consider becoming a Supporting Member. If you have any questions, please email office@daibosatsu.org before registering. ZSS Health Protocols apply.

If you are able to support students in financial difficulty, please consider making an additional donation. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, you may apply for a reduced rate here. If you would like to discuss a family rate, please email office@daibosatsu.org.