On-Line Class Offerings
Just Sitting: The Heart of Zen – I
Shikantaza (Just Sitting) Zazen is the core practice in the Soto Zen School. Course participants will engage in a systematic and comprehensive study of this core Zen practice. The course integrates practice and Zen theory but will emphasize the practical through selected readings, weekly on-line discussions led by Seiso, Sensei and through offering clear, concise, concrete suggestions for working through difficulties and deepening personal practice that derive from the extensive Zen literature. [Readings to be assigned. Class limited to 8 participants]
Just Sitting: The Heart of Zen -II
Just Sitting: The Heart of Zen II is a deep emersion into Zazen from Eihei Dogen’s perspective. Course participants will engage in a deep, systematic and comprehensive study of this core Zen practice. The course integrates practice and Zen theory but will emphasize the practical through weekly on-line discussions led by Seiso, Sensei and through offering clear, concise, concrete suggestions for working through difficulties and deepening personal practice that derive from Dogen’s writings on shikantaza,. [Readings to be assigned]
Six Weekly Sessions: Mondays 8:00 – 8:45 P.M. Beginning Monday April 9 [Class Limited to 8 Participants]
Fee: $15 per class, Full Course Fee: $40 In Advance [$20 TRZC Members]
Required Reading:
The Art of Just Sitting: Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Shikantaza. John Daido Loori, Editor, (2002), Boston: Wisdom.
Suggested Optional Readings:
Carl Bielefeldt (1988). Dogen’s Manuals of Zen Meditation. Berkeley: University of California Press. {In depth scholarly study of Dogen’s writings on meditation]
John Daishin Buksbazen, (2002). Zen Meditation in Plain English. Boston: Wisdom.[Practical instructions and advice]
Rei Ryu Philippe Coupey (2006). Zen: Simply Sitting: A Zen Monk’s Commentary on the Fukanzazengi by Master Dogen. Chino Valley, AZ.: Hohm Press. [Clear exposition and discussion originally given as dharma talks. Playful and accessible]
Uchiyama, K. (2004). Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice. Chapters 2 & 3. Boston: Wisdom. [A fine and clear description of how the minds works during the process of shikantaza]
Waddell, N. & Abe, M. (2002). The Heart of Dogen’s Shōbōgenzō. “Fukanzazengi” (pp. 1-6), “Bendowa” (pp. 7-30). Albany: State University of New York Press. [Excellent translations of two major writings on meditation by Dogen enhanced by numerous footnotes]
Realizing the Ox: Talks on the Ten Ox Herding Pictures
Created by 12th-century Chinese master Guo-an Shi-yuan, the 10 oxherding pictures, and accompanying poems function to graphically portray the path of enlightenment from the Zen Buddhist perspective. Seiso Sensei will facilitate a discussion that views this series from the realizational perspective of Soto Zen with practical significance for engendering personal growth and for exercising wisdom and compassion for self and others in everyday life. [Readings to be assigned. Class limited to 8 participants]
Bhavachakra: The Wheel of Life & Death
The “Wheel” functions as a pictorial representation of cyclic existence or “samsara.” It is comprised of a series of concentric circles that detail how the mind is structured and functions. It serves as a template for mapping out and understanding internal mental processes, the range of emotional and psychological states that contribute to our sense of identity and their behavioral manifestations that can contribute to identifying both internal and relational causes of suffering and their antidotes, which in turn expands our awareness and choices that in turn can contribute to compassionate and constructive responses to self and others. [Readings to be assigned. Class limited to 8 participants]
Two Rivers Zen Community: 