Join us on Saturday December 13 from 9 AM to noon for a Mahasangha Half-Day Sit! Leaders and members of all sanghas that meet at the BDC will be gathering to lead a half-day sit that introduces participants to the different Buddhist lineages that practice at the BDC. Group leaders will offer practices such as meditation, chanting, bowing, and readings. Please register online. In person and on Zoom.
On Sunday December 7 at 2 PM at the BDC the Bozeman Recovery Dharma sangha will host a Community Roundtable. Bozeman Recovery Dharma is a peer-led movement and community that uses Buddhist practices and principles of meditation, self-inquiry, wisdom, compassion, and community as tools for recovery and healing from addiction and addictive behavior. This sangha is relatively new (and growing!) and the group leaders would like to invite the community to provide input regarding the content and format of the weekly meetings. This meeting is intended to solicit input from everyone in our community who has an interest in finding support for addictive behaviors using Buddhist teachings. Prior attendance at a Recovery Dharma meeting is not required.
Want to start a meditation practice? Or learn about the Bozeman Dharma Center? On Tuesday December 2 from 5 PM to 6 PM we will host our monthly orientation. Join us to learn about the Center, get your questions answered, and receive basic meditation instruction. No registration required. Free!
The Dharma Book Club will meet on Monday December 1 from 1-2 PM. This book club is a monthly Informal discussion, come even if you haven’t finished the book! No registration necessary. In person. The book for December is: “Trusting the Gold,” by Tara Brach.
On Sunday November 30 from 2-4 PM we will take time to recognize the ecological losses our planet has suffered. This year we dedicate our practice on Remembrance Day for Lost Species (also known as Lost Species Day) to Dr. Jane Goodall. Our time together will include silent meditation, Metta practice (guided loving kindness meditation), 108 bell rings, and open sharing. No registration necessary; donations welcome.
Tergar Bozeman will host guest speaker Tim Olmsted on Wednesday November 5th via Zoom at their regular sangha meeting from 5:30-7 PM. Tim will be discussing the stresses that come with the holiday season and how to thrive, not just survive. All are welcome! In person or online.
Tim began his Buddhist studies in 1977 under the late Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in Boulder, Colorado. In 1981, Trungpa Rinpoche invited Mingyur Rinpoche’s father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, to teach in Boulder. Profoundly moved by him, Tim and his family moved just a few months later to Kathmandu to study with Tulku Urgyen and his sons. During the twelve years that he lived in Nepal, Tim studied with many of the older teachers living there and worked as a psychotherapist serving the international community. In 2000, Tim moved to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia where he served for three years as the director of Gampo Abbey, the largest residential Buddhist monastery in North America. He is presently the president of the Pema Chödrön Foundation, which supports Gampo Abbey.
In 2003, after a visit by Mingyur Rinpoche to Gampo Abbey, Tim started the Yongey Foundation to support and promote Mingyur Rinpoche’s activities in the West. Tim lives with his wife Glenna in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where he leads an active community that follows Mingyur Rinpoche’s teachings and those of his family lineage.
On Friday November 14, 5:30-6:30 PM, join us for an hour that includes silent meditation to center body and mind, reflections on interconnectedness and compassion, and concluding with a candle-lighting ceremony, where attendees may quietly declare intentions for peace—both within themselves and in the world.
The Bozeman Zen Group will not meet at 5pm on Sunday, October 26. See you for traditional practice night on November 2nd!
On Saturday October 11, step into a morning of exploration from 9:00 AM to noon where guided meditation, mindfulness, reflective exercises, and practical tools open the way to freedom from limiting patterns of heart, mind, and body. This retreat offers practical pathways for embodying your true nature, cultivating presence, openness, and love in everyday life.
Highlights:
Elaine Huang (MSW, MA, SEP) is a seasoned mindfulness teacher and guide, with 25 years of experience facilitating individuals, groups, and corporate teams. A dedicated meditator for over 35 years, she holds certifications in Mindful Leadership, Search Inside Yourself, and Somatic Experiencing. Elaine leads mindfulness retreats, intensive workshops, and half-day offerings in a variety of settings, and facilitates trainings for leaders and teams across companies of all sizes and industries. With master’s degrees in social work and clinical psychology, she brings a rich educational foundation to her work. Elaine’s focus is supporting individuals on their journeys of personal growth, presence, and awakening to their true nature.
The Zen Sesshin offers inspiring practice with zendo forms in place – right at the Bozeman Dharma Center. Enjoy zazen, service, dharma talks, and oryōki (formal eating) practice. We will be providing two oryōki meals with instruction provided by Nomon. These meals are part of the practice and will be held in silence.
The sesshin will happen over the course of four days, October 23-26, from 7:00 AM– 5:00 PM Thursday – Saturday and from 7 AM to noon on Sunday. Although participation can be flexible, priority for attendance will be given to those who sign up for all four days.
Nomon Tim Burnett has been a student of Zoketsu Norman Fischer since 1987 when he was a resident at San Francisco Zen Center’s Green Gulch Farm. After sitting practice periods at Green Gulch and Tassajara Zen Monastery, Tim helped found the Bellingham Zen Practice Group in 1991. Tim was ordained as a Zen Priest by Norman in 2000, received Dharma Transmission in 2011, and was installed as Guiding Teacher of the Red Cedar Zen Community in April, 2017. A person of wide-ranging professional interests, Tim has been a botanist, carpenter, elementary school teacher, writer, and computer programmer. In addition to his work at the Guiding Teacher of Red Cedar Zen Community, Tim is Executive Director of Mindfulness Northwest where he offers the Dharma in the form of secular mindfulness to many in local communities and professions.
