Classes
In addition to the daily meditation schedule, MZMC provides many different opportunities for practice and learning, including:
- Classes on Zen, Practice Periods, and ongoing groups
- Sesshins (which include formal services and oryoki meals) and Retreats (which are contemporary in context)
- One-to-one meetings (dokusan and practice meetings)
- Work Practice days
- Guest Teacher lectures and workshops
All of these activities are open to the public. Where noted, fees are charged or donations requested for events. Financially supporting members of MZMC are eligible for discounts on fees for sesshins and other selected events.
Classes, Practice Periods, and Ongoing Groups
Tuesday Night Gatherings
Join us Tuesday evenings from 7:15 to 8:30 for meditation and Zen teaching. Each session includes guided meditation, a brief talk, silent meditation, and an opportunity for questions and discussion. Newcomers and experienced practitioners alike are invited and encouraged to participate. Donations are gratefully accepted.
Introductory Classes
For those who are curious about meditation, or would like to test the waters, Introduction to Zen Meditation is an introductory series of talks offered each week.
Introduction to Zen Meditation
Sundays, 10:00 – 11:00 am
Participants are welcome to stay for tea and social hour at 11:00
Cost: Donations gratefully accepted. No pre-registration required; class size limited to 20.
This class is open to ages 12 and up. Parents with small children may contact MZMC to make special arrangements.
If you are new to Zen Buddhism or MZMC, our four-part introductory series of talks is the place to start. Each session includes meditation instruction and teaching on how meditation and Zen relate to daily life.
Join us any Sunday and then return the next three Sundays to complete the four-week cycle. (For those months that have a fifth Sunday, a fifth talk is offered. It is considered an "optional" part of the cycle.) The four parts are not sequential, so you may attend them in any order. You are welcome to attend as many sessions as you like, but attend all four for the best overview. These classes are open to all with no pre-registration necessary. Please arrive five minutes early.
Please note: If you are visiting MZMC to fulfill a class requirement, our Sunday morning lecture at 10 a.m. is a better choice for you. You may also contact our office to set up an appointment.
Foundations of Practice 2012
Creativity and Zen: How do we express our practice?
with Ben Connelly
Four Thursdays, 7:30 – 9:00 pm; January 19 – February 16, except no class on Feb 2
Cost: $60 members; $72 nonmembers
Class is full; contact office for waitlist.
Art and Zen have always been intimately connected. This class is designed for people working with or interested in any type of creative expression. We will investigate the deep relationship between discipline, freedom, the arts, and the heart of wisdom, exploring practices to help us let go of our self-centered ideas and open to a pure commitment to creation. Register early; class size is limited.
Original Zen: What were the first Zen teachings?
with Susan Nelson
Four Mondays, 7:15 – 8:30; July 9 – 30
Cost:$50 members; $60 nonmembers
Register
1500 years ago Buddhism in China took a new and dynamic form that still thrives to this day: Zen. Direct knowledge beyond words, spontaneity, harmony with nature, and bare attention to just this moment are hallmarks of this tradition. We'll study some of the earliest and most influential Zen teachers, each with a unique and beautiful expression of every person's ability to awaken now. Each session will include a talk by the teacher and group discussion of assigned reading. A sitting meditation practice of some type is encouraged (but not required) to help participants connect more fully with the material. Other creative learning activities may be introduced by the teacher, whose goal is to help participants experience the flavor of these dynamic early Zen teachers' lives and teaching.
Zen Ritual and Liturgy: What is at the heart of bowing and chanting?
with Ted O'Toole
Six Wednesdays, 7:15 – 8:30 pm; Sept. 5 – Oct 17, except Sept 19 (retreat at Hokyoji)
Cost: $75 members; $90 nonmembers
Register
Ritual is a basic component of our traditional style practice at MZMC and has been central to Buddhist and Zen practice for thousands of years. Why do we engage in ritual? What does it mean to bow? Why does ritual sometimes make us uncomfortable? In this class we will explore those questions. We will also take a participatory approach, looking at rituals that commonly occur at MZMC, both how to do them and the meaning behind them. We will also look at other rituals that may be less familiar, and engage in a process of developing our own individual or small-group rituals.
Practice Periods 2012
Spring Practice Period: The Six Paramitas
with Ben Connelly and Tim Burkett
Monday Evenings, February 20 – April 9, 7:15 – 8:45 p.m.
(There is also a Tuesday morning option for those who cannot make Monday evenings, 7:30 – 9:00 a.m.)
Cost: $120 members; $145 nonmembers
Register
Practicing the six paramitas of generosity, acceptance, ethics, energy, meditation, and wisdom has been central to the Buddhist way of liberation for two thousand years. In this spring Practice Period we'll take on a variety of practices to help us bring the paramitas into our lives and to help us realize the Bodhisattva ideal of openness, service, and availability to life as it is. The final session for both the Monday evening and Tuesday morning groups will be Ben’s Shuso ceremony, Monday April 9 at 7 p.m. This ceremony has been a favorite at MZMC for many years. In it, the Shuso responds to participants’ public questions about practice.
Practice Periods continue the 2500-year-old tradition started when Buddha and his students settled down for an extended period of practice during the monsoon season. Participants make a commitment to read and discuss the selected material, maintain a daily sitting practice, attend a minimum of two days of retreat, and attend at least one afternoon of work practice, and have weekly contact
with their assigned "practice buddy."
Fall Practice Period: Topic to be announced
with Tim Burkett
Monday evenings, October 1 – November 19, 7:15 – 8:45 p.m.
(There is also a Tuesday morning option for those who cannot make Monday evenings, 7:30 – 9:00 a.m.)
Cost: $120 members; $145 nonmembers
Register
Practice Periods continue the 2500-year-old tradition started when Buddha and his students settled down for an extended period of practice during the monsoon season. Participants make a commitment to read and discuss the selected material, maintain a daily sitting practice, attend a minimum of two days of retreat, and attend at least one afternoon of work practice, and have weekly contact
with their assigned "practice buddy."
Advanced Studies 2012
Zen Koans: How do we live in not-knowing?
with Guy Gibbon
Five Mondays, 7:15 – 8:30 pm; May 7 – June 11, except May 28 (Memorial Day)
Cost: $65 members; $75 nonmembers
Register
The Zen tradition has two main meditative practices, "just sitting" (shikantaza) and "sitting with koans." Koans – brief paradoxical Zen stories and questions – are one of the most unique aspects of our tradition. They pose an impossible barrier to our conventional minds, encouraging us to break through to a new and vibrant way of being. This class is an invitation to encounter Zen thought in its most spontaneous and dynamic form.
The class begins with a review of the history and study of koans, and differentiates between the uses of koans in the Soto and Rinzai branches of Zen (we rest on the Soto branch). Each class begins with a short review of some aspect of koan study from a Soto Zen perspective by the instructor. During the remainder of each class, small groups discuss the results of their sitting with a koan of their choosing during the week in a non-discursive, non-intellectual manner. The purpose of the course is to learn to use "sitting with koans" as a dharma gate into a fuller understanding of the problems of our daily lives.
Dogen: How do we realize the fundamental point?
with Lee Lewis
Six Wednesdays, 7:15 – 8:30 pm; July 25 – August 29
Cost: $75 members; $90 nonmembers
Register
Eihei Dogen founded the Soto School of Zen and is renowned as one of the world's most remarkable religious thinkers. During this class we will explore the later writings contained in his Extensive Record: short formal discourses to monks in training at his temple, longer informal talks, koans with his commentaries, as well as short verses on various topics. Text: Dogen's Extensive Record.
2012 Spring and Fall Study Group Dates
Topics to be announced.
Spring: Thursdays, April 19, May 3, May 17, May 31, June 14, June 28
7:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Cost: $75 members; $90 nonmembers
Fall: Thursdays, Sept 13, Sep 27, Oct 11, Oct 25, Nov 8, Nov 15
7:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Cost: $75 members; $90 nonmembers
One-to-one Meetings (Dokusan and Practice Meetings)
Do you have questions about Zen? Do you want advice about establishing or maintaining a meditation practice? Does sitting present you with physical challenges? Are you struggling to apply your practice in your daily life? Do you wonder if you're really ready to do a retreat?
Zen Center offers meetings with experienced Zen teachers to address these kinds of questions. Teachers at Zen Center very much enjoy getting to know other Zen practitioners and encouraging others in their practice.
Two kinds of meetings are offered. Dokusan is a meeting with Guiding Teacher Tim Burkett, or a dharma heir (Lee Lewis, Rosemary Taylor, and Susan Nelson). Tim meets in dokusan only with Zen Center members; Lee and Rosemary meet with both members and non-members. Practice Meetings are opportunities to meet with the Center's other teachers, all of whom have been ordained by Tim. Anyone, members or non-members, can sign up for practice meetings. The participating teachers are: Guy Gibbon and Ted O'Toole.
Both types of meetings are simply opportunities for conversation. Topics might include zazen instruction, appropriate sitting posture, ritual, Zen Center programs, applying practice to daily life, or finding ways in which the practice can be helpful in difficult situations. It's also perfectly appropriate to sign up for a meeting just to get to know a teacher better. Repeat visits, to the same teacher or another teacher, are welcome. All matters disclosed in dokusan and practice meetings are kept confidential.
If you would like to meet with a teacher, check the sign-up sheets on the front bulletin board at MZMC. If none of the designated times work for you, contact the office to arrange another time. You may ask for a specific teacher or have one assigned to you. 612-822-5313 or info@mnzencenter.org
