|
|
Meditation Groups at FUSN
FUSN sponsors two meditation groups, both in Buddhist traditions. Both groups are open to the public. Dana, traditional free-will offerings for support of the groups are not expected but are accepted.
Henry David Thoreau Zen Sangha
Within the Zen universe, Hank is considered very informal. But those who are not used to Zen groups may find it very structured. If you’ve not sat with a Zen group before you are encouraged to attend a brief introductory meeting which starts at 7:10 pm.. If you arrive later, you are still welcome, but to receive instruction you’ll have to return the next Monday. Once the meeting begins there are no opportunities for questions.
Every meeting begins at seven thirty with a brief Buddhist liturgy (chanting), followed by a twenty-five minute sitting period, then a short (five to seven minute) period of kinhin, walking meditation and another sitting period. The second sitting period is occasionally replaced by a Dharma talk given by a senior member of the Boundless Way Zen community and at least once a month there is an opportunity for dokusan with a teacher. Dokusan is a private meeting with a teacher focused on practice and your spiritual path. There are usually three to four periods of sitting meditation on these Mondays. People feel free to leave during any kinhin period. Once or twice a month following the liturgy and the two sitting period’s tea and cookies are served and the group has the opportunity to socialize.
Hank meets at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 297 Lowell Ave. (at the corner of Lowell and Otis) in Newton. Please enter on the Otis Street side. Wear loose fitting clothing. Dark clothing without patterns is the height of Zen fashion, but not required. People are asked to refrain from wearing perfumes or other strong scents. (Incense is burned.) Meditation pillows (zafus and zabutons) are provided and sitting in a chair is always an option.
The Boundless Way Zen network also offers meditation retreats of three to seven days length several times a year.
If you have any questions please contact hanksanghainfo@gmail.com.
Empty Sky Vipassana Sangha
We practice meditation in the Vipassana, or Insight tradition on Thursday evenings at 7:30. (We do not meet during the Summer) We meet in the Children’s Chapel.
You will find our approach to practice to be simple and straightforward. A typical evening practice group involves a sitting period of about 40 minutes, followed by 15-20 minutes of walking meditation, followed by another sitting of about 30-40 minutes. There is usually some instruction each evening, a talk of about 30-40 minutes twice a month and time for a discussion period of 15-30minutes most evenings. There are occasional opportunities for individual meetings with the teacher, who is always available upon request, though most formal interviews occur during retreats.
Retreats follow the same format as evening practice groups with alternate periods of sitting and walking throughout the day, communal meals, a daily work period, individual meetings and yoga sessions at least once a day. Retreats are conducted in strict silence.
Our teacher is Douglas Phillips. Doug has practiced Vipassana and Zen for over 30 years. His primary teachers have been Maureen Stuart, Roshi, Zen Master George Bowman (with whom he took Jukai) James Ford, Roshi and Larry Rosenberg. Doug began his work in Vipassana with Larry in 1990, received permission to teach in 1995 and Dharma Transmission in 2003. He is also a licensed clinical psychologist and maintains a private psychotherapy practice in Newton, Massachusetts.
You can learn more about us at our website: http://www.emptyskysangha.org/index.htm
References
Reading List
Martine Batchelor Thorsons Principles of Zen (Arguably the best short introduction to Zen in the English language)
James Ishmael Ford This Very Moment (A concise introduction to Zen and Buddhism aimed particularly at Unitarian Universalists and other religious liberals.)
Stephen Batchelor Buddhism Without Beliefs (A reflection on Buddhist practice from an engaged agnostic approach. Highly recommended)
David Brazier The Feeling Buddha (A contemporary exploration of Buddhist psychology)
Bernie Glassman Bearing Witness (Zen reflections on social action and social justice)
Stephanie Kaza & Kenneth Kraft Dharma Rain (Explorations in ecological consciousness from a Buddhist perspective)
The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen (A highly useful reference work for Buddhist and Zen terminology)
Tricycle: The Buddhist Review (A glossy Buddhist oriented quarterly magazine. http://tricycle.com or 1 (800) 873-9871
Web Sites
Zen Buddhism WWW Virtual Library
http://www.ciolek.com/WWWVL-Zen.html
(An exhaustive Internet guide to Zen online resources. Of particular interest might be the Harada-Yasutani School of Zen Buddhism, which situates the historical connections of the Henry Thoreau Zen Sangha)
Boundless Way Zen
http://www.boundlesswayzen.org
Pacific Zen Institute
http://www.pacificzen.org
(HTZS is affiliated with this experimental Zen community. Our teacher, James Ford, is a member of the Pacific Zen Institute teacher’s Collegium)
Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship
http://www.uua.org/uubf
(Networking Unitarian Universalist Buddhists and friends)
Spring Hill Zen
http://www.springhillzen.org
(A Zen community at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford, MA, affiliated with the Henry Thoreau Zen Sangha)
Ralph Waldo Emerson Zen Sangha
http://newtonzen.org
(A Zen community at First Church of Boston, MA, affiliated with the Henry Thoreau Zen Sangha)