MZMC classes support and encourage meditative practice, compassion, and joyful living. Our course curriculum provides structured support for exploration of Buddhist teachings to clarify the fundamental questions of our lives. On this page, you will find information about:
We offer scholarships for all our classes, retreats, and events to lower accessibility barriers to people of color, members of other historically marginalized communities, and those who would be prevented from participating by financial need. Look for the scholarship rate and scholarship supporter rate listed below the description of each class. Click here to find out more about scholarships.
- Beginning Classes
- Foundations of Practice Classes
- Practice Periods
- Study Groups
- Advanced Classes
- One-to-one Teacher Meetings
We offer scholarships for all our classes, retreats, and events to lower accessibility barriers to people of color, members of other historically marginalized communities, and those who would be prevented from participating by financial need. Look for the scholarship rate and scholarship supporter rate listed below the description of each class. Click here to find out more about scholarships.
Introduction to Zen MeditationFor 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. Each session includes meditation instruction and teaching on how meditation and Zen relate to daily life.
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Basic Zen Forms and EtiquetteWould you like to become familiar with the basics of traditional Zen forms: bows, entries and exits, walking meditation, etc? This offering is designed for anyone who'd like an overview of forms to become more familiar and comfortable joining us for morning zazen or one of our sesshins.
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Foundations of Practice
A Buddhist Response to the Climate Crisis
with Ted O'Toole and Janet Brown
Offered online and in person
Wednesdays, February 16 – March 23, 7:15 – 8:45 pm
$110 members | $135 nonmembers | $50 scholarship | $140 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Please register five days in advance.
Register
How do we respond to the climate crisis as bodhisattvas, when it can be so easy to feel overwhelmed with grief, loss, and a sense of urgency? In this class we will each create our personal climate story in a supportive environment. We will employ a combination of journaling, small group work, and lectures relating to the science and spirituality of climate change, as well as to the intersection of the climate crisis, racial injustice, and rising inequality. We will use as our text Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis, by David Loy.
Presenters: Ted O'Toole is the Guiding Teacher of Minnesota Zen Meditation Center. He has attended MZMC since 1993, received the lay precepts from Shohaku Okumura in 1995, and was ordained by Tim Burkett in 2005.
Janet Brown is the former Associate Director of Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy for 12 years, a trainer with Climate Reality, and the leader of a delegation to the UN Climate Conference in Paris in 2015. Janet has been part of MZMC since 2011 and has served on the board of directors and currently serves on the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA) and Children’s Programming Committees.
Zen Ritual and Liturgy: What is at the heart of bowing and chanting?
with Susan Nelson
Offered online and in person
Wednesdays, May 25 – June 29, 7:15 – 8:45 pm
$110 members | $135 nonmembers | $50 scholarship | $140 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Please register five days in advance.
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. This class is an investigation of both how and why we do ritual: bowing, chanting, tending altars, and others. We'll also study the meaning and purpose for some of the chants we use at our Center.
Original Zen: What were the first teachings?
with Bussho Lahn
Offered online and in person
Thursdays, August 18 – September 15, 7:15 – 8:45 pm
$110 members | $135 nonmembers | $50 scholarship | $140 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Please register five days in advance.
Register
1500 years ago in China, Buddhism took a new and dynamic form called Zen that still thrives to this day. 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.
with Ted O'Toole and Janet Brown
Offered online and in person
Wednesdays, February 16 – March 23, 7:15 – 8:45 pm
$110 members | $135 nonmembers | $50 scholarship | $140 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Please register five days in advance.
Register
How do we respond to the climate crisis as bodhisattvas, when it can be so easy to feel overwhelmed with grief, loss, and a sense of urgency? In this class we will each create our personal climate story in a supportive environment. We will employ a combination of journaling, small group work, and lectures relating to the science and spirituality of climate change, as well as to the intersection of the climate crisis, racial injustice, and rising inequality. We will use as our text Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis, by David Loy.
Presenters: Ted O'Toole is the Guiding Teacher of Minnesota Zen Meditation Center. He has attended MZMC since 1993, received the lay precepts from Shohaku Okumura in 1995, and was ordained by Tim Burkett in 2005.
Janet Brown is the former Associate Director of Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy for 12 years, a trainer with Climate Reality, and the leader of a delegation to the UN Climate Conference in Paris in 2015. Janet has been part of MZMC since 2011 and has served on the board of directors and currently serves on the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA) and Children’s Programming Committees.
Zen Ritual and Liturgy: What is at the heart of bowing and chanting?
with Susan Nelson
Offered online and in person
Wednesdays, May 25 – June 29, 7:15 – 8:45 pm
$110 members | $135 nonmembers | $50 scholarship | $140 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Please register five days in advance.
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. This class is an investigation of both how and why we do ritual: bowing, chanting, tending altars, and others. We'll also study the meaning and purpose for some of the chants we use at our Center.
Original Zen: What were the first teachings?
with Bussho Lahn
Offered online and in person
Thursdays, August 18 – September 15, 7:15 – 8:45 pm
$110 members | $135 nonmembers | $50 scholarship | $140 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Please register five days in advance.
Register
1500 years ago in China, Buddhism took a new and dynamic form called Zen that still thrives to this day. 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.
Practice Periods
Practice Periods are an integral part of traditional Buddhism, and trace their origins back to the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, when the nuns and monks would take time during the monsoon seasons of India to devote themselves to intensified meditation, study, and community building.
Participants are expected to attend the eight weekly meetings (Wednesday evenings from 7:15 – 8:45 pm OR Thursday mornings from 7:30 – 9:00 am), commit to regular zazen practice, attend at least one day of retreat (for which there is an additional cost) and one work practice day, read the assigned text(s), and have regular meetings with an assigned practice partner.
Spring Practice Period: Awakening Together
with Ben Connelly
Offered online and in person
Wednesday evenings, March 30 – May 18, 7:15 – 8:45 pm (There is also a morning option for those who cannot attend Wednesday evenings: Thursday mornings March 31 – May 19, 7:30 – 9:00 am)
$145 members | $180 nonmembers | $70 scholarship | $180 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Please register five days in advance.
Register
Mahayana Buddhism offers a way of awakening with all beings. Early Buddhist literature and the koans that formed Zen are mostly records of conversations. The embodied tradition of Buddhism is largely one of community ritual, study, and meditation. This practice period will focus on the joys and challenges of devotion to this intimate way in the flux of reality: our personalities, cultures, harmful systems, interdependence, and buddha nature.
Please bring a copy of Larry Yang’s Awakening Together, The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community to the first practice period meeting. The book is available directly from Wisdom Publications or Better World Books.
Fall Practice Period
with Ted O'Toole
Offered online and in person
Wednesday evenings, September 28 – November 16, 7:15 – 8:45 pm (There is also a morning option for those who cannot attend Wednesday evenings: Thursday mornings September 29 – November 17, 7:30 – 9:00 am)
$145 members | $180 nonmembers | $70 scholarship | $180 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Please register five days in advance.
Register
Topic TBA
Participants are expected to attend the eight weekly meetings (Wednesday evenings from 7:15 – 8:45 pm OR Thursday mornings from 7:30 – 9:00 am), commit to regular zazen practice, attend at least one day of retreat (for which there is an additional cost) and one work practice day, read the assigned text(s), and have regular meetings with an assigned practice partner.
Spring Practice Period: Awakening Together
with Ben Connelly
Offered online and in person
Wednesday evenings, March 30 – May 18, 7:15 – 8:45 pm (There is also a morning option for those who cannot attend Wednesday evenings: Thursday mornings March 31 – May 19, 7:30 – 9:00 am)
$145 members | $180 nonmembers | $70 scholarship | $180 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Please register five days in advance.
Register
Mahayana Buddhism offers a way of awakening with all beings. Early Buddhist literature and the koans that formed Zen are mostly records of conversations. The embodied tradition of Buddhism is largely one of community ritual, study, and meditation. This practice period will focus on the joys and challenges of devotion to this intimate way in the flux of reality: our personalities, cultures, harmful systems, interdependence, and buddha nature.
Please bring a copy of Larry Yang’s Awakening Together, The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community to the first practice period meeting. The book is available directly from Wisdom Publications or Better World Books.
Fall Practice Period
with Ted O'Toole
Offered online and in person
Wednesday evenings, September 28 – November 16, 7:15 – 8:45 pm (There is also a morning option for those who cannot attend Wednesday evenings: Thursday mornings September 29 – November 17, 7:30 – 9:00 am)
$145 members | $180 nonmembers | $70 scholarship | $180 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Please register five days in advance.
Register
Topic TBA
Morning Study Groups
These are advanced study groups open to those who have been in a previous study group at MZMC or by permission of the teachers.
Spring Morning Study Group with Tim Burkett
Not Always So
Offered online and in person
Tuesdays, May 10 – June 15, 7:30 – 9:00 am
$110 members | $135 nonmembers | $50 scholarship | $140 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Register
Tim will be using the book Not Always So by his root teacher Suzuki Roshi; he will focus on the last two thirds of it. Tim feels fortunate to be able to pass on teachings that include: “Be yourself in the present moment, always yourself, without sticking to an old self. You forget all about yourself and are refreshed.” The mornings will include short talks by Tim, as well as small and large group discussions.
Fall Morning Study Group with Tim Burkett
Offered online and in person
Topic TBA
Tuesdays, August 30 – October 4, 7:30 – 9:00 am
$110 members | $135 nonmembers | $50 scholarship | $140 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Register
Spring Morning Study Group with Tim Burkett
Not Always So
Offered online and in person
Tuesdays, May 10 – June 15, 7:30 – 9:00 am
$110 members | $135 nonmembers | $50 scholarship | $140 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Register
Tim will be using the book Not Always So by his root teacher Suzuki Roshi; he will focus on the last two thirds of it. Tim feels fortunate to be able to pass on teachings that include: “Be yourself in the present moment, always yourself, without sticking to an old self. You forget all about yourself and are refreshed.” The mornings will include short talks by Tim, as well as small and large group discussions.
Fall Morning Study Group with Tim Burkett
Offered online and in person
Topic TBA
Tuesdays, August 30 – October 4, 7:30 – 9:00 am
$110 members | $135 nonmembers | $50 scholarship | $140 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Register
Advanced Classes
Selections from the Pali Canon: What were the first teachings of Buddhism?
with Ben Connelly
Offered online and in person.
Wednesdays, January 5 – February 9, 7:15 – 8:45 pm
$110 members | $135 nonmembers | $50 scholarship | $140 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Please register five days in advance.
Register
The Pali Canon is the first written record of Buddhism and is widely regarded as the closest we can come to the actual teachings of the Buddha and his earliest followers. Emphasizing practical teachings and complete devotion to letting go of the causes of suffering, the Pali canon has inspired billions of people. We'll study how to bring these first Buddhist practices and teachings into our lives.
Participants should arrive at the first class with a copy of Bhikku Bodhi's, In the Buddha's Words which can be acquired online here:
https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/In-the-Buddha-s-Words---An-Anthology-of-Discourses-from-the-Pali-Canon-9780861714919
Or from the publisher directly.
https://wisdomexperience.org/product/buddhas-words/
Zen Poetry: How is the inexpressible expressed?
with Ted O'Toole
Offered online and in person.
Wednesdays, July 6 – August 10, 7:15 – 8:45 pm
$110 members | $135 nonmembers | $50 scholarship | $140 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Please register five days in advance.
Register
Many of the greatest expressions of Zen wisdom have come in the form of poetry, often focusing on encouragement for practice and appreciation of nature. Many great teachers of our past have used poetry as one of their principal means of revealing their way and their wisdom. This class will allow you to wade into one of the world's great bodies of spiritual literature.
with Ben Connelly
Offered online and in person.
Wednesdays, January 5 – February 9, 7:15 – 8:45 pm
$110 members | $135 nonmembers | $50 scholarship | $140 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Please register five days in advance.
Register
The Pali Canon is the first written record of Buddhism and is widely regarded as the closest we can come to the actual teachings of the Buddha and his earliest followers. Emphasizing practical teachings and complete devotion to letting go of the causes of suffering, the Pali canon has inspired billions of people. We'll study how to bring these first Buddhist practices and teachings into our lives.
Participants should arrive at the first class with a copy of Bhikku Bodhi's, In the Buddha's Words which can be acquired online here:
https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/In-the-Buddha-s-Words---An-Anthology-of-Discourses-from-the-Pali-Canon-9780861714919
Or from the publisher directly.
https://wisdomexperience.org/product/buddhas-words/
Zen Poetry: How is the inexpressible expressed?
with Ted O'Toole
Offered online and in person.
Wednesdays, July 6 – August 10, 7:15 – 8:45 pm
$110 members | $135 nonmembers | $50 scholarship | $140 scholarship supporter
Find out more about scholarships.
Please register five days in advance.
Register
Many of the greatest expressions of Zen wisdom have come in the form of poetry, often focusing on encouragement for practice and appreciation of nature. Many great teachers of our past have used poetry as one of their principal means of revealing their way and their wisdom. This class will allow you to wade into one of the world's great bodies of spiritual literature.
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:
If you would like to meet with a teacher, contact the office to arrange a time. You may ask for a specific teacher or have one assigned to you.
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 Ted O'Toole, or a Senior Teacher (Tim Burkett, Ben Connelly, Bussho Lahn, and Susan Nelson). Ted O'Toole meets in dokusan with Zen Center members; the Senior Teachers meet with both members and non-members.
- Practice Meetings are opportunities to meet with the Center's teachers. Anyone, members or non-members, can sign up for practice meetings.
If you would like to meet with a teacher, contact the office to arrange a time. You may ask for a specific teacher or have one assigned to you.
Location:
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