SEICHU
Fall 2024 October 3 to December 12
For ten weeks, participants are invited to make a personal commitment, 1) to practice, 2) to study, 3) to community. Seichu schedule includes....
Retreats: one-day, Sunday, October 6, and ending with a five day sesshin (Rohatsu) (December 4-8)
Weekly Study sessions, Thursdays, 7 to 8:30 pm with guidance from guest teachers (to be announced) .
Costs are by donation, with $75 per retreat day and, $150 for ten study sessions suggested, Package Deal $500.
Questions or to Register: contact us . To donate on-line go here .
Commitment
The following offers suggestions and space to record your own Seichu commitment. (Copy and paste to print your own copy.) For questions or consultation, contact Gendo ([email protected]). Participants are invited to join a Seichu opening ceremony Sunday, October 6, 7:30 pm, with opportunity to share your commitment with others (on Zoom or in person at the Zen Center).
1) Practice. For both new and experienced practitioners, there are ways to challenge yourself, make a commitment to a daily schedule of contemplation, either on your own or together with others, virtual or in person. UVZC offers a schedule of introductory sessions, daily practice and retreats that all are welcome to join (on Zoom and in-person.) Website at UVZC.org
2) Study. Participants are invited to join a weekly Study Group, Thursday nights, 7 to 8:30 pm. Sessions begin with a period of meditation, followed by study of Everyday Zen. Our invited teachers will offer their commentary, followed by group discussion.
3) Community. Participants serve community by commitment to learning the forms and taking leadership in our practice together; and/or by working together to make Zendo improvements (a Work Day, TBD); by joining Gendo in support of Dartmouth Zen Practice, Wheelock Terrace residents group and/or prison visits (Springfield, VT); or joining the project of your choice that gives back to the wider Upper Valley commuunity.
Retreats: one-day, Sunday, October 6, and ending with a five day sesshin (Rohatsu) (December 4-8)
Weekly Study sessions, Thursdays, 7 to 8:30 pm with guidance from guest teachers (to be announced) .
Costs are by donation, with $75 per retreat day and, $150 for ten study sessions suggested, Package Deal $500.
Questions or to Register: contact us . To donate on-line go here .
Commitment
The following offers suggestions and space to record your own Seichu commitment. (Copy and paste to print your own copy.) For questions or consultation, contact Gendo ([email protected]). Participants are invited to join a Seichu opening ceremony Sunday, October 6, 7:30 pm, with opportunity to share your commitment with others (on Zoom or in person at the Zen Center).
1) Practice. For both new and experienced practitioners, there are ways to challenge yourself, make a commitment to a daily schedule of contemplation, either on your own or together with others, virtual or in person. UVZC offers a schedule of introductory sessions, daily practice and retreats that all are welcome to join (on Zoom and in-person.) Website at UVZC.org
2) Study. Participants are invited to join a weekly Study Group, Thursday nights, 7 to 8:30 pm. Sessions begin with a period of meditation, followed by study of Everyday Zen. Our invited teachers will offer their commentary, followed by group discussion.
3) Community. Participants serve community by commitment to learning the forms and taking leadership in our practice together; and/or by working together to make Zendo improvements (a Work Day, TBD); by joining Gendo in support of Dartmouth Zen Practice, Wheelock Terrace residents group and/or prison visits (Springfield, VT); or joining the project of your choice that gives back to the wider Upper Valley commuunity.
Study Thursdays, 7-8:30 pm
The text, Intructions to the Tenzo by Eihei Dogen zenji is divided among ten weeks starting Thursday, October 3. Copies of the text are available here. Advance reading of the text is recommended, though you are welcome to attend sessions regardless.
We are grateful to have our study guided by guest Zen teachers (to be announced) joining us via Zoom or in-person. A Schedule follows below.
We are grateful to have our study guided by guest Zen teachers (to be announced) joining us via Zoom or in-person. A Schedule follows below.
Shinshu Roberts is ordained in the Soto Zen lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi and received Dharma Transmission from Sojun Weitsman Roshi, Abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. She holds the appointment of Kokusaifukyoshi (international teacher) with the administrative headquarters of Soto Zen in Japan. Rev. Roberts and Rev. Daijaku Kinst are co-founders and teachers at Ocean Gate Zen Center in Capitola, CA.
Zen Master Jok Um (Ken Kessel) received transmission in April 2017. He began studying with Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1975. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a psychotherapist, working with children and families. He is guiding teacher for New Haven Zen Center, Hwa Um Sa-Orlando Zen Center, Gateless Gate Zen Center (Gainesville) and Cypress Tree Zen Group (Tallahassee).
Eko Jeff Kelley has led the Seattle Soto Zen sangha since 2009. In July of 2013, Jeff received formal Dharma Transmission from his teacher Byakuren Judith Ragir. In addition to his work with the SSZ sangha, Jeff currently shares the leadership of two groups within the Washington State prison complex in Monroe. Jeff worked as a licensed architect for over twenty years before retiring in 2008.His life is also enriched by a life-long passion for literature, poetry and myth. Jeff married Bonnie Drew in 2013.
Misha Shungen Merrill is the primary teacher for Zen Heart Sangha in Menlo Park and Woodside, California, as well as the guiding teacher for the Twining Vines Sangha of New York. She has been practicing Zen since 1984 and received Dharma Transmission (permission to teach) in 1998 in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, the founder of SanFrancisco Zen Center. Misha also teaches at Peninsula School in Menlo Park where she is the librarian. She resides in Woodside with her husband and four-footed friends.
Jill Shunzan Kaplan has been practicing Zen since 1993 with Zen Heart Sangha and received Dharma Transmission from Misha in July 2013. She received priest ordination in 2001 and was Shuso (Head Monk) for the Sangha’s first practice period in 2008. Jill has a psychotherapy practice in San Jose, is a teaching member of Sandplay Therapists of America, and has taught Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. She resides in Redwood City with her husband and has two grown sons.
Seiso Paul Cooper is a Soto Zen Buddhist priest and teacher and Director of the Two Rivers Zen in Narrowsburg, NY, and Realizational Practice Studies Group in New York City, a venue for psychotherapists to study psychotherapy from a Zen perspective. He is Former Dean of Training at the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis (NPAP), New York, and maintains a private practice in Manhattan and Narrowsburg, NY, USA.
Koshin Christopher Cain is Abbot of the Puget Sound Zen Center on Vashon Island. He trained in the Rinzai-ji lineage with residency at Mt. Baldy Zen Center from 1990 to 2002, serving as Vice-Abbot there. In 2003 he moved to Vashon Island and became the founding teacher of the Puget Sound Zen Center. Since 2009, Koshin has also been the formal teacher of the Rinzai Zen Center in Oslo.
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Kenzan Zuise Sojiji Seidenberg was ordained by Rev. Taihaku Priest in 2008, was shuso (head monk) in 2013 and received dharma transmission (authorization to teach in the Soto Zen lineage) in January 2016. His training included monastic practice in both the United States and Japan.
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Gendo Allyn Field began his study of Zen in 1974, received lay ordination from Joshu Sasaki in 2003 and suishiki (teacher ordination) from Sandy Gentei Stewart, in 2013; founded the Upper Valley Zen Center in 2005, is a “per diem chaplain" at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, supports practice at Dartmouth College, at Wheelock Terrace Assisted Living and at a Vermont State Prison. He lives in Lebanon New Hampshire with his wife and two cats.