Join us on Saturday April 5 from 9 AM to noon for a Koan Salon.
Koans can be offered in multiple ways. They can be healing stories, conversations, poems, fragments of song. Technically, koan is a Japanese term that refers to a legal public case. In Zen, koans are designed to give us pause, to enter deeply our own “case”, revealing how we look at the world. During several short periods of meditation, we will sit with a phrase, a story, a poem. There will be walking meditation and time after each koan to consider together. All are welcome, no previous experience with koans is necessary. In person and online.
The former Executive Director of the BDC, Zen priest, and good friend, Karen DeCotis, will be back at the end of February to lead a retreat on “Practicing with the Hindrances.” She will give an eventing talk on Friday February 28 from 7-8:30 PM and a Saturday day long retreat on March 1 from 9 AM to 4:30 PM. Both events will be held in-Person and on Zoom and registration is available for the full retreat or the Friday event only.
We face so much in our lives: within society, community, and family. Yet, it is with our own good selves where we have some agency and possibility for growth and healing. There are states of mind and heart we encounter over which we have little control, but we do have influence. Our practice is a creative endeavor, rooted in the here and now. Working with obstacles is an opportunity to be fully alive, interested and brave.
Karen DeCotis is a Zen student and teacher who received priest ordination in the Soto Lineage in 2016 and Dharma transmission in 2019. She taught the Bozeman Zen Group for almost 20 years before moving to San Antonio in October of 2024. Devoted to service and engaged learning, Karen brings knowledge of and experience with the Buddhist traditions along with a clear-eyed view of human life, suffering and transformation. She is known for her humor and warmth, bringing her intelligence, wit and humility to every teaching opportunity.
Joining Rivers Sangha and the Bozeman Dharma Center invite you to a full Day of Mindfulness on Saturday, November 2, from 9:00am – 3:30pm with Plum Village Dharmacharya Greg Grallo.
Meeting our ancestors fearlessly: Transforming, healing and nurturing the seeds we inherit: Thich Nhat Hanh’s powerful Touching the Earth practice invites us to place ourselves in the stream of spiritual and blood ancestors and see ourselves as their continuation. When what we have received is positive, this is an inspiring contemplation. But difficult experiences in our church, biological, or adoptive families can cause lasting distress. We may not want to carry those actions of our ancestors.
During this Day of Mindfulness, we’ll learn ways to find peace with both our skillful and unskillful ancestors and what continuation can mean.
We will enjoy sitting and walking meditation, a Dharma Talk, and a mindful meal. We will craft a personal Touching the Earth practice that directly speaks to our own lived experience.
Practitioners from all traditions and previous experience are welcome.
About Greg: Dharmacharya Greg Grallo received the Lamp Transmission in Plum Village in June 2018. He practices with Open Way Sangha in Missoula, MT and serves as a chaplain at St Patrick Hospital and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Missoula. He also is the owner of Foundational Dialogues Mediation and Facilitation LLC, dedicated to providing transformative conflict resolution in organizations, couples, and families.
Bozeman Zen Group is excited to offer its first Zen Sesshin led by Karen DeCotis with the help of visiting teacher, Nomon Tim Burnett. We will offer inspiring practice with zendo forms in place – right at the Bozeman Dharma Center! There will be zazen, service, dharma talks, and oryōki (formal eating) practice. Hours are 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Thursday – Saturday, with a half day on Sunday. This is a draft schedule for the four days.
Although participation can be flexible, priority for attendance will be given to those who sign up for all four days.
About the Bozeman Zen Group
A group of lay and ordained practitioners, we come together to encourage and inspire each other to be mindful and compassionate in our everyday lives. We provide regular opportunities for Zen practice and education in Southwestern Montana.
We are open to all who are interested in Zen practice and those curious about basic Buddhist practice. Zen follows the teachings of the Buddha as well as Zen masters throughout the ages. Our Zen group is affiliated with the Branching Streams of the San Francisco Zen Center, in the Soto lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. Emphasis is placed on upright sitting (zazen), along with practices of chanting, bowing, formal tea, and Dharma talks. Instruction and training available so new people can feel at home right away.
To stop your mind does not mean to stop the activities of mind. It means your mind pervades your whole body. —Shunryu Suzuki
And remember to unplug the tea kettle when finished.
The Bozeman Zen Group invites you to a half-day retreat on Saturday, July 13 from 9AM – 1PM. Stabilize and deepen your meditation practice, hear the teaching and engage with Zen forms. Karen DeCotis will offer teachings from Sojun Mel Weitsman’s book, Seeing One Thing Through.
This class on Taoism, Ch’an and The Tang Dynasty Poets is led by Michael G. Smith, PhD of the Bozeman Zen Group and will be held over two Wednesdays in June: June 19 and 26. The workshop will explore Tang Dynasty history and life, and the influence on its poets; important Taoist and Buddhist teachings relevant to Tang poets; and the challenge of translating poems written in a homophonous language into English. There will be time in each session for participants to craft poems modeled by the Tang poets, if desired. Register here.
Considered the golden age of China, the Chinese Tang Dynasty was a flowering periodically interrupted by uprisings, invasions, starvation and mass migration. Inspired by Nature and educated within the tenets of Taoism and Buddhism the Tang poets responded with plain-spoken poems of hardships and the natural world that resonate today. In this series we will discuss several poets, including Li Po, Du Fu and Cold Mountain, with respect to their historical context and respond with our poems written during the workshop and elsewhere.
Suggested Reading List – before class, if you can.
Kathie Fischer returns to Bozeman with this weekend retreat on the Therigatha– Teachings of the First Buddhist Women. Hosted by the Bozeman Zen Group, the retreat will take place May 3-5. This retreat will take place in person and via Zoom.
During the weekend, Kathie Fischer will help us discover the lives and teachings of early Elder Buddhist nuns through their stories, poems, and histories. These poignant tales of courage, tragedy and commitment can inspire us in our lives even 2500 years later.
With a mixture of zazen, stories, poems and dialogue we will enjoy the weekend with Kathie, our good friend and teacher.
About Kathie Fischer
Sokaku Ryotan Kathie Fischer began practicing Zen in 1971 with Sojun Mel Weitsman at the Berkeley Zen Center. She was ordained a Zen priest at San Francisco Zen Center in 1980 by Zentatsu Richard Baker, and continued residential practice at Zen Center for 15 more years. Kathie also studied and practiced with Maurine Stuart MyoOn Roshi.
She received Dharma transmission from Sojun Weitsman in 2011 while in the midst of her 28-year career as a school teacher in Mill Valley. Since retiring from teaching science to adolescents she has turned her attention to studying and teaching Dharma.
This half-day Koan Salon on Saturday, April 20 with Michael Smith and Karen DeCotis is a restful, inclusive way to practice with koans. Koan is a Japanese term that refers to a legal public case. In Zen, koans are designed to give us pause, to enter deeply our own case. We will spend the morning sitting several short periods of zazen, each with a phrase, a story, a poem. There will be walking meditation, and time after each “koan” to consider together. All are welcome. No previous experience with koans is necessary. Sliding scale of $25-$50; scholarships available. Space is limited. Please register in advance for the half-da Koan Salon by clicking here.
About the Bozeman Zen Group
The Bozeman Zen Group provides half-day practice retreats regularly on Zoom and in-person to offer a time to stabilize and deepen our zazen practice, hear the teaching and engage with Zen forms. If you are new to retreat practice, and wish to learn more about how to participate, contact us at bznzen@gmail.com.
We are open to all who are interested in Zen and those curious about basic Buddhist practice.
We are currently affiliated with Branching Streams, an organization of sanghas in the Soto Zen lineage of Suzuki Roshi and the San Francisco Zen Center. Several of our members work with Zen teachers of other lineages. We are one of the resident sanghas at the Bozeman Dharma Center. All are welcome!
Sit with the Bozeman Zen Group on Saturday, January 20 from 9am-1pm. Bozeman Zen Group offers these half-day sittings monthly which are appropriate for beginners who wish to try a retreat practice opportunity as well as for experienced practitioners to deepen their practice. Regular retreat practice is a cornerstone of Zen practice. Join us for periods of sitting and walking meditation as well as a dharma talk with Zen priest, Karen DeCotis. Register here.
There will be 5 periods of meditation and breaks for stretching and tea.
Join the Bozeman Zen Group in welcoming Brad Warner, Zen teacher, Punk Rock musician, blogger, and all-around Not A Jerk! Brad will help us learn more about our ancestor, Eihei Dōgen through the writings of Dōgen in a weekend retreat November 10-12.
A “Friday night only” option is available at registration. No one turned away for lack of funds.
You can learn more about Brad on his website: Hardcore Zen.
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