Fall Week 5 & 6

Meeting BOTH in person AND on zoom.

Sat Oct 23

Join the BoWZ-Westchester Sangha on Saturday mornings:
(Times: US Eastern)
9:45-10:00 -- Informal conversation
10:00 -- Opening Dedication, Readings, Zazen, Kinhin, Zazen
11:00 -- Sutra Service
11:15 -- Dharma Talk and Conversation
12:00 -- Closing Readings

IN PERSON (only if you are fully vaccinated, please)
Room 43 at
Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation
468 Rosedale Ave
White Plains, NY

ON ZOOM
https://zoom.us/j/2898507899
Audio Only: telephone 646-876-9923 & Enter Meeting ID: 289 850 7899

Passcode: 468468

Sat Oct 16: Practice to be led by Meredith Hotetsu Garmon and Seth Zuiho Segall

Zoom with Boundless Way Zen Temple in Worcester, MA at any of these times:
Mon-Fri, 7:00-8:00
Tue, Thu, Sun, 19:00-20:00
Zoom link: CLICK HERE

Autumn Week 5:
Mon Oct 18 - Sun Oct 24

Reading

Barry Magid, Ending the Pursuit of Happiness,
"Asses and Horses," pp. 93-97.
Reading Schedule HERE

Koan

"Vimalakirti's 'The Gate to the One and Only'" (Blue Cliff Record 84; Book of Serenity 48)

Sutras

Opening Verse for 8th Fourweek (Mon Oct 4 - Sun Oct 31): "Menju -- Face-to-Face Transmission," p. 5.

Sutra Service

• The Compassionate Heart of Wisdom, p. 16.
• Harmony of Relative and Absolute, p. 17.
• Song of Zazen, p. 17.

Closing Verse for 8th Fourweek (Mon Oct 4 - Sun Oct 31): "Hope in the Dark," p. 40.

To chant along with audio recording, find the recordings HERE.

Autumn Week 6:
Mon Oct 25 - Sun Oct 31

Reading

Barry Magid, Ending the Pursuit of Happiness,
"Thomas Merton in Love," pp. 97-102.
Reading Schedule HERE

Koan

"The Diamond Sutra's 'The Transgression is Wiped Out'" (Blue Cliff Record 97, Book of Serenity 58)

Sutras

Opening Verse for 8th Fourweek (Mon Oct 4 - Sun Oct 31): "Menju -- Face-to-Face Transmission," p. 5.

Sutra Service

• Eihei Koso Hotsuganmon, p. 18.
• Mangala Sutta, p. 18.
• Yongjia's Song of Realizing the Dao, p. 19.

Closing Verse for 8th Fourweek (Mon Oct 4 - Sun Oct 31): "Hope in the Dark," p. 40.

To chant along with audio recording, find the recordings HERE.

Sutra Book

For printing (double-columned pages):CLICK HERE. (Page references are to this double-column version.)

For reading on your computer screen (single-column pages):CLICK HERE.

Chant Along with these Audio Files: CLICK HERE.

Home Practice

Practicing every day, or nearly every day, is a crucial aspect of the Zen path. Other central aspects include sangha (meeting weekly or so to practice with a group), and sesshin (going on occasional week-end or week-long Zen retreats).

Home practice ideally includes Zazen, study of zen text (or listening to a recording or podcast of a dharma talk), and chanting/reciting some of Zen's central texts.

Recommended:

• Sitting supplies: A zabuton (mat) and either a zafu (round cushion, usually of kapok or buckwheat hulls), or a seiza bench (kneeling bench); or a chair that is your meditation chair
• A dedicated space: A corner of a room that is used only for Zen practice, where your sitting supplies and a small altar reside
• An altar: a small table with a Buddha statue and maybe an incense holder, candle, or sacred items.

There are many ways to structure home practice. Here's one:

• Light a candle, stick of incense, or both, on your altar.
• Standing in front of altar, facing it, make three bows (prostrations or standing bows) to Buddha.
• Recite "Gatha of Atonement" (odd-numbered dates) or "The Three Refuges" (even-numbered dates);
• Recite Dedication and Opening Verse (see Sutra Book)
• Zazen (25 mins)
• Recite the Sutra Service Readings for the week (see Sutra Book)
• Dharma Study time: reading a dharma book or listening to a dharma talk recording (15-30 mins). (Check out "A Quarterly Study Plan" on the Reading/Videos page.)
• Recite Closing Verses (see Sutra Book)

Additional Practice Opportunities

White Plains Zen Center:
Tue evenings: 7:30 PM
https://zoom.us/j/122286388

Hudson River Zen Center:
http://hudsonriverzencenter.org/

Insight Meditation with Nina Nagy
Mon evenings: 6 PM
https://www.awakeabiding.com/