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Saturday, June 24 9 am - 3 pm
A day of meditation, sitting and walking, led by Zen Priest Dōjin Sarah Emerson, the co-Head Priest at Stone Creek Zen Center in Sebastopol, California.
Dharma Talk by Zen Priest Dōjin Sarah Emerson, the co-Head Priest of Stone Creek Zen Center in Sebastopol, California.
Taught by Wilson Arabie, who holds a 225 hr. Teacher Certification from the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi (IIQTC) where he trained under Dr. Roger Jahnke. Wilson has a long history of training with Henderson Smith and is a recommended teacher with Living Well Therapies.
If you are new to Zen or meditation, please come to the one–hour introduction on the first Wednesday of each month. It begins at 6:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome and there is no charge.
A series of 5 classes that serve as an introduction to Zen Meditation for beginners. The class is taught by Abbot Gaelyn Godwin.
Join Rev. Shinchi Linda Galijan Roshi, and Rev. Zenshin Greg Fain Roshi for a weekend of events around Zen practice and forms.
bronze bell
Doan means, literally, caring for the hall. The doan marks the beginning and end of Zazen periods, but is also the first and last person in the hall, caring for the opportunity to practice there.
Everyone is welcome and we will have separate practice for beginners and advanced participants. Doan, kokyo and assistant to doan provide the zen center "music", supporting all the other parts of the center - Zazen, chanting, walking meditation, and more.
Doan practice will include beginning and advanced practice of temple bells and drums. Learning how to chant, including perhaps full moon ceremony practice for kokyo (chant leader). The role of playing the drums is called fukado, or "assistant to doan" and provides the rhythm section for services.
August 28 - October 2, 2017 (No class Labor Day, September 4) 6:30 - 8:30 pm
A class on Bodhidharma, whose teachings are at the source of Zen.
Bodhidharma is credited with bringing Buddha's teaching on sudden illumination fro India to China circa 530 ce and is identified as the twenty-eighth ancestor or successor to the transmission of the dharma (teaching, law, way) descending from Gautama Buddha, and the first ancestor in China. All Zen temples trace their lineage from Bodhidharma.
5 Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30 pm, September 5-October 3, led by Lynn Murphy & Gayle Klaybor
The greatest gift you can give your child is yourself. - Jon Kabat-Zinn
his class combines a focus on the inner work and experience of parenting mindfully, with information and discussion regarding the needs and challenges of children throughout their developmental stages. Classes include experiential exercises to learn mindful parenting strategies.
Dharma Talk by Rev. Setsuan Gaelyn Godwin, the Abbot and Abiding Teacher of HZC.
Dharma Talk by Hokyo Louise Dreyfus, co-Head of Practice (Tanto) of Zen Center. Louise is also a therapist in private practice and school counselor at Awty International School.
Kosen Brian Burrell, certified Yoga instructor and long-time Zen meditator, teaches a series of 6 classes that explore the close relationship between yoga postures and sitting meditation. Minimum of 8 participants guarantees the class.
Dharma talk by Kogen Glen Duval, co-Head of Practice (Tanto) of Zen Center.
Dharma Talk by Senior Dharma Teacher Tenshin Reb Anderson, Roshi. This dharma talk is open to the public; it is the concluding talk of the 5 day retreat.
5-Day Intensive Retreat with Tenshin Reb Anderson. May 23-28, 2017.
Led by Tenshin Reb Anderson Roshi
Senior Dharma Teacher of San Francisco Zen Center and Founder of Houston Zen Center
May 23-28, 2017
The Pivotal Activity of All Buddhas Our great ancestors have described our sitting meditation - zazen - as the pivotal activity of all Buddhas. This practice is also the pivotal activity of all events. It is our own pivotal activity.
5 Tuesdays - 6:30-8:30 pm
May 16 - June 13, 2017
Taught by Audrey Charlton & Mary Carol Edwards
This highly interactive workshop on Awakening Joy is inspired by the Buddha's teaching: Whatever you think and ponder upon, that will become the inclination of the mind. The instructors will lead the class through the first half of Awakening Joy: 10 Steps to Happiness, by James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander, and practice awakening the mind to joy.
Dharma Talk by Kaz Tanahashi, calligraphy master and translator of Dōgen Zenji, the founder of Soto Zen in Japan. Kaz is also a peace activist and artist whose work is in museums all over the world.
In this popular all day workshop Kaz leads the participants through the basic motions of the brush, using colored inks on paper. The brushes and paper are provided, and the participants use both small and very large brushes.
Calligraphy is a form of meditation, mindfulness and skilled artistry -- all levels of skill are welcome, especially beginners because, with calligraphy, we begin anew with every piece of paper.
Help Retire the Mortgage and Support Kaz’s Peace Work by participating in the live calligraphy demonstration and Benefit Auction!
Plan to a end in support of two members of HZC as they each receive the sixteen bodhisattva precepts along with a rakusu, or ceremonial robe which they have sewn. This wonderful ceremony is also a great opportunity for all who have previously received the precepts to refresh their vows. A reception will follow the ceremony.
Jukai Ceremony
Dharma Talk by Setsuan Gaelyn Godwin, Roshi, the Abbot and Abiding Teacher of HZC.
You are warmly invited to join the sangha (members of the Zen Center) in samu. Samu is the word for Zen temple upkeep: gardening and cleaning. At the Zen Center we practice Samu every 6 or 7 weeks at the time of Sunday morning meditation. After a short chanting service, we work mindfully to clean the temple and grounds. Everyone is welcome. The Dharma Talk happens at 9:45.
6 Monday classes: May 1 - June 5, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Taught by Kogen Glen Duval & Rev. Yazan Dave Johnson
The "Genjokoan", or the Koan of Everyday Life, is one of the finest writings on Zen by 13th Century Zen Master Dōgen Zenji, the founder of Soto Zen in Japan. This important piece is quite short but manages to contain in poetic form the central pivotal teachings of Zen: the beauty yet impermanence of life; the necessity of meditation even though everyone is uniquely awake already; the incompleteness of the human point of view no matter how advanced -- and more.
Dharma Talk by Sengetsu Tricia McFarlin, the President of the Board of Directors of HZC. Tricia also teaches American Literature at Awty International School.
Dharma Talk by Zen Priest Setsuan Gaelyn Godwin, the Abbot and Abiding Teacher of Houston Zen Center.
David Loy, professor, Buddhist activist and author, leads a workshop and study group on Buddhism and the Ecological Crisis. Houston Zen Center is honored to host this important thinker and activist.
The ecological crisis – which includes global warming but is much bigger than that – is the greatest challenge that humanity has ever faced. What does Buddhism offer, if anything, that can help us understand and respond appropriately? And what does ecological crisis mean for how we understand and practice Buddhism (or any spiritual path) today?
Zen Center is honored to host Professor David Loy for a free public lecture on Friday April 21 as well as a workshop on Saturday April 22. David is one of the founding members of the new Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center, near Boulder, Colorado.
David lectures nationally and internationally, focusing primarily on the encounter between Buddhism and modernity: what each can learn from the other. He is especially concerned about social and ecological issues.
Dharma Talk by Keikō Lynn Murphy, a long-time member of HZC. Lynn is an individual, child and parent psychotherapist currently in private practice. She will be co-teaching Zen Parenting at the Center beginning in September.
Join Professor David Loy before the public talk on Friday April 21 for a tour of the gas and oil industry along the Ship Channel.
Depart Houston Zen Center at 12:30 in a van with guide Stephanie, David, Juan Parras the Director of the Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, Abbot Gaelyn Godwin and other members of Houston Zen Center.
Dharma talk by Assistant Teacher of HZC Shinji Mary Carol Edwards. Mary Carol is also a landscape designer and wetlands restoration expert.
6 Tuesdays - April 4 - May 9, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Taught by Audrey Charlton, Judson Dunn, Maite Leal, Garth Monroe & Karl Singler
Designed for those who have taken the introduction to Zen Meditation series and practitioners who are interested in the ethical precepts of Zen. The 16 Bodhisattva Precepts are descriptions of mindful and responsible action that go hand-in-hand with Zen meditation.
Zen Priest Kokyo Henkel returns to Houston Zen Center to offer a dharma talk and lead a one-day sitting.
Saturday April 1
8 am - 3 pm
Rev. Kokyo Henkel is an important (and friendly) Soto Zen teacher and Zen Priest. He returns to HZC to lead a day of sitting and walking meditation. He will give the dharma talk on Saturday and Sunday. If this is your first one-day sitting, please contact the Head of Practice, Glen Duval.
Kokyo Henkel trained for 19 years in residence at Zen training Centers, including:
Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, where he served as Tanto, or Head of Practice; Green Gulch Farm a temple in the San Francisco Zen Center organization; No Abode Hermitage, a temple associated with Tenshin Reb Anderson; Bukkokuji in Obama, Japan.
He was ordained as a priest in 1994 by Tenshin Anderson Roshi, and received Dharma Transmission from him in 2010. Kokyo Roshi returned to Santa Cruz Zen Center in 2009, where he is currently Head Teacher.
"The Mask You Live In" follows boys and young men as they struggle to stay to to themselves while negotiating America's narrow definition of masculinity. Pressured by the media, their peer groups, and even the adults in their lives, the protagonists confront messages encouraging them to disconnect from their emotions, devalue authentic friendships, objectify women, and resolve conflicts through violence.
Dharma Talk by Zen Priest Gaelyn Godwin, the Abbot and Guiding Teacher of Houston Zen Center.
Dharma talk by Zen Priest Jiryu Rutschman-Byler. Jiryu is a teacher at San Francisco Zen Center, based at Green Gulch Farm. He also leads the prison sangha at San Quentin Prison in San Rafael, California.
Saturday March 11, 4 pm.
The ceremony of Tokudo, Attaining the Way, will take place March 11. Senior member Tim Schorre, whose dharma name, Seirin, means Peaceful Forest, will receive ordination from Abbot Gaelyn Godwin.
Everyone is welcome to this auspicious ceremony.
