Spring Weeks 9 & 10

Meeting BOTH in person AND on zoom.

Sat May 21

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
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 May 21: Practice to be led by Meredith Hotetsu Garmon

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

Spring Week 9:
Mon May 16 - Sun May 22

Reading

Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, The Way of Tenderness,
"There Are No Monsters," pp. 117-126.
Reading Schedule HERE

Koan

"Wufeng's 'Shut Up'" (Blue Cliff Record #71)

Sutras

Opening Verse for 3rd Fourweek (Mon May 16 - Sun Jun 12): "Coming and Going," p. 4.

Sutra Service 9.A.

• "Fukanzazengi," p. 26.
• "Raihai Tokuzui," p. 26.
• "Shinjin Gakudo," p. 27.
• "Kaiin Zanmai," p. 27.

Closing Verse for 3rd Fourweek (Mon May 16 - Sun Jun 12): "The Necessity of Great Doubt," p. 39.

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

Spring Week 10:
Mon May 23 - Sun May 29

Reading

The Essential Dogen,
"Aspiration and Search," pp. 3-7.
Reading Schedule HERE

Koan

"Yunyan's 'Can You?'" (Blue Cliff Record #72)

Sutras

Opening Verse for 3rd Fourweek (Mon May 16 - Sun Jun 12): "Coming and Going," p. 4.

Sutra Service 10.

• "Heart Sutra," p. 11.
• "Song of the Grass Roof Hermitage," p. 29.
• "Torei's Bodhissatva's Vow," p. 29.

Closing Verse for 3rd Fourweek (Mon May 16 - Sun Jun 12): "The Necessity of Great Doubt," p. 39.

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.

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/