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.
Join Michael Smith and Karen DeCotis on Saturday, October 7, for an easeful morning of sitting, walking and reflection as we take a dive into Working with Koans. Hosted by the Bozeman Zen Group, but all are welcome to this half-day retreat. No need to have prior Zen or koan experience.
Zen Priest, Kathie Fischer, returns to Bozeman next week to offer a retreat on Entering the Dharma Gate! Kathie will first visit with the Bozeman Insight Group on Thursday, September 14 at 7 PM. She will give an evening talk on Friday, September 15 followed by a daylong retreat on Saturday, September 16. With fifty years of dharma practice, Kathie is the perfect guide to help us enter the numberless Dharma Gates! Registration for Friday only is available.
Visiting Zen priest, Sokaku Kathie Fischer offers a meditation retreat open to all on September 15-16. According to Buddhist lore, there are numberless Dharma gates– ways in which to experience the truth of our circumstances with ease and joy. With fifty years of Zen practice, Rev. Fischer will be our knowledgeable, welcoming guide through.
The retreat begins with a Dharma talk, Friday, September 15 and continues all day Saturday, September 16. Registration for Friday only is available. Kathie will also speak at the Bozeman Insight Community on Thursday, September 14. Early bird pricing is available through August 24!
Join us for this half-day retreat on the topic of “Not Always So.” Bozeman Zen Group offers half-day sittings 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.
There will be 5 periods of meditation and breaks for stretching and tea.
Join the Bozeman Zen Group on Saturday, July 8 for a half-day retreat and koan practice.
Practiced by Zen students since the 600s, the study of koans encourages us to leave our beliefs and biases at the gate when we enter its space. While there are many fine collections of traditional koans, we will keep company with examples presented in a contemporary collection referred to as “the miscellaneous koans.” All welcome; no prior experience necessary! $20 donation to the Bozeman Zen Group is requested. Register here.
On Activity, from Suzuki Roshi: “When we practice zazen, we limit our activity to the smallest extent. Just keeping the right posture and concentrating on sitting is how we express the universal nature. Then we become Buddha and express Buddha nature…we just concentrate on the activity we do in each moment. When you bow, you should just bow; when you eat, you should just eat. If you do this, the universal nature is there. In Japanese, we call it ichigyo zammai or ‘one-act samadhi.‘ “
Despite our society’s love of “multi-tasking,” science is discovering that we really can only do one thing at a time. Our attempts at multi-tasking are actually our brains serially monotasking. This fragmented attention is the opposite of what the Buddha taught and of what Suzuki Roshi tried to remind us. Do you notice a difference in your mental state when you focus on one thing at a time and when you try to multi-task? Which one feels better?
This Dharma Thought is brought to you by the Bozeman Zen Group.
Bozeman Zen Group is having a half-day sit on Sunday, June 11 (everyone welcome!) and will not meet during the 8am or 5pm meeting times.
Because regular retreat practice is a cornerstone of Zen practice, the Bozeman Zen Group offers half-day sittings throughout the year, as well as weekend retreats. Join us for the next half-day sit on Sunday, June 11 for periods of sitting and walking meditation. Appropriate for beginners who wish to try a retreat practice opportunity as well as for experienced practitioners to deepen their practice.
There will be no evening Zen Group meeting on Sunday, May 21 due to the priest ordination ceremony of Joe Gastón and Michãel Palmer. Congratulations to the first Zen priests ordained by Karen DeCotis and the first Zen priest ordination ceremony in Bozeman!
