ZEN IN THE OC: Announcing our new Zen sangha gathering in Anaheim

ZEN IN THE OC: Announcing our new Zen sangha gathering in Anaheim March 25, 2019

Anaheim Zen Sangha

Jointly sponsored
by the Empty Moon Zen Network
& the Unitarian Universalist Church in Anaheim

Meeting at
The UU Church, 511 S. Harbor Blvd, Anaheim, CA

Beginning in April our Empty Moon sitting groups currently meeting at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach and the Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church in Costa Mesa will consolidate as the Anaheim Zen Sangha, and will meet at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Anaheim.

This will allow us to substantially expand how we can support Zen practice. Our new schedule will include regular zazen and liturgy on both Saturday mornings and Tuesday evenings. We will also begin our “First Saturday” program, derived from various sources, and featuring a program including music, a dharma talk and discussion. We will also offer regular classes, as well as regular opportunities for extended Zen meditation practice.

There is no charge for any of these offerings, although there will be an opportunity to make a free will offering in support of the programming.

On Saturday the 6th of April

9:00am An Introduction to Zen Practices. Learn or revisit the basics of Zen meditation. We will talk about posture, breath, and where to “put your mind.” We will also introduce the forms of a Zen group. This class will be led by Jan Seymour-Ford, Chris Hoff, and James Myoun Ford.

10:00am First Saturday. Today’s talk will be “Your Moment of Zen” by Reverend James Myoun Ford. Reverend James will explore the word “Zen” and what it might mean as a touchstone for our lives. Music by Tom Bowman.

Refreshments will be offered.

On subsequent weeks the schedule will shift from this first gathering, starting at 9am with two twenty-five minute periods of Zen meditation, followed by liturgy in the Soto Zen tradition. Then, at 10:30am most Saturdays there will be additional programming.

Our Schedule for April & May

(As noted above April the 6th will begin at 9am with an introduction to Zen meditation and Zendo forms. It will be followed at 10am with our inaugural First Saturday.)

Tuesdays starting on the 9th of April

7:00pm Zazen. The evening begins with a brief liturgy following the patterns of the Diamond Sangha Zen tradition, and two twenty-five minute Zen meditation periods. Dokusan, private spiritual direction interviews will be offered most Tuesdays, usually either by Senior Dharma Teacher Jan Seymour-Ford or Reverend James Ishmael Ford.

We begin the program promptly at 7pm. If you need a brief orientation to Zen meditation please arrive fifteen minutes early.

Saturdays starting on the 13th of April

13 April
9:00am zazen & liturgy
10:30 class: An Introduction to Soto Zen Liturgy led by the Reverend Seigaku Devin Amato. This class will provide a lightning overview of the basics of Zen liturgy within the Soto tradition.

Reverend Seigaku Amato is an artist and Zen priest. He has a book forthcoming from Wisdom Publications describing traditional Zen training in North America. He is currently head of practice for the Zen monastic group at the Long Beach Buddhist Church.

20 April
9:am zazen & liturgy
10:30am class: Zen & The Environmental Crisis Tom Bowman
In this crossroads moment, the futures of humanity and the myriad species sharing this world are vividly inseparable. Urgent, and some would say impossibly complex, both the challenges and solutions can actually be unlocked by a few, straightforward insights. Zen practice helps us see more clearly and act more appropriately in the present moment. The environmental crisis, meanwhile, can bring a clarity of purpose that connects our lives inside and outside the meditation hall.

Tom Bowman combines expertise in social ethics and environmental communications with a lifelong exploration of spiritual practice. He helps science institutions and federal agencies translate research on health and environmental issues for the public, and he has received numerous green business awards. Author of The Green Edge, he has appeared in Time, the New York Times, NPR, CNN and other leading media outlets.

27 April
9:00am zazen & liturgy
There will be no additional programming today

4 May
9:00am zazen & liturgy
10:30 First Saturday

Dharma Talk “Recalling Nyogen Senzaki: American Zen Ancestor” Reverend James Myoun Ford will reflect on one of the earliest of the Zen missionaries to North America, and what his life might mean for us today.

Reverend James Myoun Ford is a Soto Zen Buddhist priest and a Unitarian Universalist minister. He has written five books on Zen, the most recent Introduction to Zen Koans: Learning the Language of Dragons, available from Wisdom Publications. He serves as minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Anaheim and as resident priest & teacher at the Anaheim Zen Sangha.

11 May
9:00am zazen & liturgy
10:30am Book Club with Jan Seymour-Ford

We will launch our monthly book club reading What is Zen? Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind by Norman Fischer & Susan Moon. An accessible and enjoyable introduction to Zen Buddhist practice—in a reader-friendly question-and-answer format—by two highly regarded teacher-writers. We do not plan on having copies on sale, so please purchase a copy in advance of the first meeting. It is available through Amazon and other online book dealers.

Facilitator Jan Seymour-Ford is a retired librarian and long-time Zen student. She was named a senior dharma teacher by Melissa Myozen Blacker, and is a central leader of the Empty Moon Zen Network.

18 May
9:00am zazen & liturgy
10:30am Zen and the Art of Recovery Dr Chris Hoff

Chris will examine how Zen practice can support and sustain those in recovery from addictions of any kind. Topics that will be covered include the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, Zen Meditation practice, and how a consistent spiritual practice can support us in the uncertainties of recovery.

Dr Chris Hoff is a senior dharma teacher with the Empty Moon Zen Network. He is also assistant professor of counseling at California State University in San Bernadino and Executive/Clinical Director at the California Family Institute.

25 May
9:00am zazen & liturgy
There will be no additional programming today

Contact us:
Email: emptymoonzen@gmail.com
Phone: 562.624.5870
Mail to: Empty Moon Zen Network, 2436 E Fourth St #889, Long Beach, CA 90814


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