Archive for December, 2009

New Year’s Eve Celebration 2009

Please join us on December 31, 2009 to say good bye to the old year and to welcome 2010.
We will have a three hour program from 6pm through 9pm at the Sparks Street Zendo. There will be some formal cleaning to help us realize to not leave traces, followed by zazen, a brief talk, and the communal ringing of the large bell. The program finishes at 9pm so you’ll have a chance to celebrate the ‘scientific’ new year with your friends and families.

Please come and get your turn ringing out the old and welcoming the new.

Schedule 2010

Our regular schedule consists of

  • Monday, Wednesday 7:30pm – 9pm  (except Monday holidays)
  • Tuesday morning 7am – 8am
  • Sunday 10am – 12pm (please note the new start time)

Open House: The first Open House will be on January 6, 2010.

2010 Open House Schedule

Please come by the Cambridge Buddhist Association on the evening of the first Wednesday between January and April. The dates are January 6, February and March 3, April 7, and May 5. We will start around 7:30 pm. If you arrive earlier we can send one of the sangha members to give you a tour of the house; otherwise, please come by 7:30 pm so we can start on time!

  • January 6
  • February 3
  • March 3
  • April 7
  • May 5

December Retreat Update

It is Sunday morning, and we are just about the start the regular morning sitting. This is the second day of our retreat to commemorate Buddha’s enlightenment.  About ten participants joined us for the retreat, some of them part-time, the majority full-time for both days.

The Saturday schedule looked like this – if you’re ever interested in joining one of our retreats:

6:00 am Sarei – formal tea, followed by the morning chanting (choka)
7:00 am Zazen (seated meditation), kinhin (walking meditation) alternating unti
8:10 am Informal, silent, self-serve breakfast
9:30 am Zazen, kinhin (alternating)
10:30 am Dharma Talk, followed by zazen, kinhin
11:45 am formal lunch followed by 20 minutes of cleaning (nitten soji)
1:15 pm Zazen, kinhin
1:50 pm Hosan sarei (tea) followed by afternoon chanting (banka), zazen
3:30 pm Samu, one hour of meditate action, i.e., “work”
4:45 pm Gyodo – walking chant (Heart Sutra), zazen, kinhin
5:45 pm Closing

The officers were:
Joju
Shika: Shuko
Shoten: Hogen

Donai
Tanto: Dokuro
Jikijitsu: Myoki
Shoji: Jodo

Members
Eigetsu
Taigen
Paul
Eileen
Peter

Participants had a chance to sit for an extended time, chant the entire Sutra Book three times, and reap the benefit of a strong group sitting together. The formal meal also offers a good entrance into the world of extended formal practice and surely is a good preparation for participation in a Dai-sesshin with Joshu Roshi. Participants also had the option the meet privately with Dokuro.

We are going to plan the retreat dates for the coming year and will announce them here, so that we have a longer lead time and our friends can make plans with plenty of notice.