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NYZ: Open AA 11th Step Meeting

December 26, 2024 by Sabrina Plum

We welcome you to “Acceptance,” an open AA 11th Step meditation meeting at New York Zendo.

Doors open at 10:30 a.m. Meditation begins promptly at 11 a.m. and lasts 30 minutes. If this is your first time attending this meeting, please arrive early to receive a short orientation. Both cushions and chairs are provided.

Please arrive on time, there will be no entry during the meditation period to avoid disruptions. Doors re-open at 11:30 a.m., and an open AA meeting begins at 11:45 a.m. on the second floor.

Registration is not required. ZSS Health Protocols apply.

2024 Year-end Offering from Shinge Roshi

December 23, 2024 by Devyani Sadh

By Shinge Sherry Chayat Roshi

More than 40 of us came together for Rohatsu Sesshin at Dai Bosatsu Zendo from November 30 through the morning of December 8. The sesshin was deep and still. As the snow accumulated around us, I was reminded of the poem by Santoka Taneda that Eido Tai Shimano Roshi quoted in his last teisho, which he presented at ShogenJi Junior College in Gifu, Japan, just before his passing on February 18, 2019:

Snow falls endlessly amidst life and death.

For Rohatsu at New York Zendo, a strong group, with many more joining online, sat every morning and evening, through the last night and the dawn of December 8, commemorating the Buddha’s enlightenment.

Rohatsu. This kind of strenuous and intensive training done in the traditional way is one of the Zen Studies Society’s most important offerings; it’s the culmination of the year’s practice, which is grounded in the essential consistency of day-in, day-out sitting. What develops is the open, attentive mind, the mind of radical acceptance that excludes no one, no situation. It’s an embrace in which we feel our utter unity. This is what we learn, what we experience, through our dedicated zazen. This is what we offer, naturally and gracefully, to all beings.

D. T. Suzuki said, “To practice is to open up to the fundamental sacredness of this mysterious world where we don’t really understand what’s going on; we don’t even understand what’s possible until we try our best.” When we open to this sacredness, it’s no longer about understanding; in the midst of no-knowing, we try our very best. At this time of global instability and challenges of every sort, let us be here for each other. We sit with all our might. We sit down, and then we get up, ready to respond appropriately and clearly to the urgent calls of our time.

The darkest day and the longest night have come and gone. Subtly at first, then more noticeably, dawn comes earlier; soon our morning zazen will be bathed in light, which is none other than the light of Buddha’s wisdom.

Poetry – Psithurisms

December 13, 2024 by Devyani Sadh

By Shigyo Alexander Marrero

quietly porous
this body vast like the wind
roars in all leaf colors

2024 Year-end Invitation from Hokuto Osho

December 11, 2024 by Devyani Sadh

By Hokuto Daniel Diffin Osho

May you live in interesting times.

This curse, supposedly from ancient China, was first pronounced in a speech by a British diplomat in 1936. At that time, the Great Depression had a grip on America and Europe, Hitler was building the German army and threatening neighboring countries, and the great international debate centered on whether it was communism or fascism that would eventually rule the world. Interesting times, indeed.

Once again, we live in interesting times. The world seems filled with madness, badness, and worse. And yet, we have no choice but to go on, turning to one another to lift each other up.

At times like these, the concept of refuge becomes increasingly important. How do you take refuge? Where do you take refuge? When the world is filled with madness, where do you find sanity, purpose, and community?

I take refuge in the Buddha
I take refuge in the Dharma
I take refuge in the Sangha

We find refuge in the example of the Buddha and the living Bodhisattvas among us; we find refuge in the teachings, accumulated and refined over the centuries, and renewed in each of us every time we sit in the clarity of zazen; and we find refuge in the community of like-minded practitioners, practicing for no other purpose than to find the wisdom, compassion, and joy that is everybody’s birthright.

The three treasures are our refuge; the three refuges are our treasure.

These treasures are available to each of us, and are accessible anytime, anywhere. And yet…discovering and exploring them through practice also requires an actual physical place of refuge and dedicated teachers to guide us deeper into the dharma.

We are very fortunate that the Zen Studies Society provides us with both an urban temple and a beautiful mountain monastery where the Sangha can gather and study with wonderful teachers, especially our Abbot, Chigan Roshi, and our beloved retired Abbot, Shinge Roshi, as well as a growing number of associated Dharma teachers.

NYZ: Mandala Day Service, Zazen and Informal Lunch

December 7, 2024 by Sabrina Plum

Mandala Day commemorates the spiritual exchange between Soen Nakagawa Roshi and Nyogen Senzaki who shared Dharma greetings to each other across the Pacific on the 21st of each month through chanting, zazen, and bows. Celebrated simultaneously at Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji, this ceremony honors those in our lineage and all related teachers known and unknown who have helped to further the Buddha-Dharma.

Our monthly Mandala Day service begins promptly at 10 a.m. The service is followed by kinhin (walking meditation), zazen, nittensoji (temple cleaning), and an informal lunch. Food offerings are welcome, but not required. Doors open at 9:30am.

A quiet atmosphere with minimal distractions is essential to our practice. Please do not wear scented cosmetics, and set any electronic device to silent mode. Wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing. Refer to Zendo Etiquette for more details.

Newcomers to the temple are kindly requested to attend one Introduction to Zen Meditation class, held on Thursday evenings, before joining the community for other practice events.

A $10 donation (payable online) is requested from non-members. Please consider becoming a Supporting Member of ZSS. Registration is not required. ZSS Health Protocols apply.

Online: Morning Zazen

December 7, 2024 by Sabrina Plum

Join us online for zazen Monday through Thursday from 6:45 to 7:45 a.m. The Zoom meeting room will open at approximately 6:30 a.m. Short morning service begins at 6:45 a.m. Zazen begins at 7 a.m. and continues until 7:40 a.m.

We will use our sutra book. A quiet atmosphere with minimal distractions is essential to our practice. Please set any electronic device to silent mode and wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing. Feel free to come and go at whatever time your schedule allows.

Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 824 2548 5117
Passcode: DailyZazen

Registration is not required.