STUDY at appamada

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The foundation of Zen practice is daily sitting meditation,  zazen. But that is not all of Zen practice. Study, regular meetings with a teacher, intensive retreats, participating in the life of the sangha—the community of practice—and deep inquiry into our everyday lives are essential complements to zazen. Appamada offers opportunities to engage Zen practice more deeply in these ways. There are many other possibilities locally and online as well. 

Zen living is abundant living, not austere ascetic detachment: it is the very fabric of your everyday life, and the lives of those you touch. We teach Zen practice as relationality: we are in intimate relationship with ourselves, with other beings, with everything we experience, in this very moment. Here you can find links to more information about the teachings offered here at Appamada. As your practice matures and deepens, you will probably find these opportunities helpful in supporting your practice and your life.

NEW TO ZEN PRACTICE?

Here are some resources to start with:

Sunday morning orientation, 7:00 AM

Appamada Guidelines
Guidelines for Online Participation
Appamada Chant Book
Appamada Chant Book, Large Print
Our Daily Chants, Explained and Annotated
Chanting the Ancestors Names
Appamada Practice Map
Glossary of Zen Terminology
Basic Background: Buddha's Teachings
Zen Buddhism in a Nutshell
Foundations of Zen Course Series
Buddhist Precepts
Metta (lovingkindness) Practice

More information:

About roles at Appamada
About Practice Discussion with a teacher
About Zen mentors—spiritual friends
Studying the Precepts
About Intensives
About our Councils
Sewing Buddha’s Robe
Depth in Practice

FIRST BOOKS:

  • Everyday Zen: Love and Work by Charlotte J. Beck

  • Nothing Special: Living Zen by Charlotte J. Beck

  • The Feeling Buddha: A Buddhist Psychology of Character, Adversity and Passion by David Brazier

  • Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen

  • Living by Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Texts by Shohaku Okumura

  • Waking Up to What You Do: A Zen Practice for Meeting Every Situation with Intelligence and Compassion by Diane Eshin Rizzetto

  • Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki

  • Bring Me the Rhinoceros: And Other Zen Koans That Will Save Your Life by John Tarrant

Today's quote:
Buddha

Standing or walking, sitting or lying down, during all these waking hours, let him establish mindfulness of good will, which is called the highest state!

Sylvia Boorstein

…the delicacy, the impermanence, the emptiness of mind states. Just like the weather, they blow in and out. Good mood. Bad mood. Tranquil mood. Frazzled mood.

Bashō

Such stillness
the cries of the cicadas
sink into the rocks

Anne Cushman

The dharma, it seems, is big enough not just to endure us, but to embrace us, in all of our muck and glory.

Ronna Kabatznick

In trying to deny that things are always changing, we lose our sense of the sacredness of life. It’s easy to forget that life and death are part of the natural scheme of things, intrinsic to our lives in an eternally shifting universe.

Nipun Mehta

The path from transaction to trust goes through relationships. So if we cultivate such a field of deep relationships, trust will naturally arise. Then the question is: How do we cultivate such a field? I think it starts with small acts of service. Its the small acts of service that create an affinity between us, and that connection over time creates deeper bonds. That’s the home for virtue to grow.

Abbess Fushimi

Our hearts and minds change from moment to moment, just as the clouds shift in the evening sky as the sun goes down. Who are we to think we have grasped the true nature of our souls?

Daisy Hernández

Equanimity is said to be an anchor. It protects you against the “worldly winds”—pleasure and pain, praise and blame, gain and loss, and fame and disrepute—by keeping you anchored so you’re not tossed about by those winds.

Theodore Roethke

The self persists lie a dying star.

Jack Kornfield

Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well. 

About practice discussion

Meeting individually with a teacher to discuss your Zen practice as it manifests in your everyday life and relationships is an important part of the Zen path. More about practice discussion…

About inquiry group

Inquiry is an opportunity to ask practice questions and open to the Great Mystery in a supportive practice environment. In this open and intimate group setting, we can learn from each other and learn with each other by engaging the teacher in the questions and issues we are wrestling with in our practice of everyday living. Inquiry group meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM. Everyone is welcome. 

Intensives and one-day sittings

Practice intensives are intentional experiences for exploration and for deepening our practice. We come together to support each other in a simplified way of living so that we can open our awareness fully to our life and our path. Part of that experience includes giving ourselves permission to experience and work with whatever arises in the context of our practice. Appamada offers one-day sittings and longer intensives regularly through the year. More about intensives…

Classes and workshops

Regularly scheduled classes and workshops are excellent opportunities to sample the teaching at Appamada and to learn more about Zen practice and the Appamada community. Unless specific prerequisites are noted, all classes and workshops are open to everyone. For other offerings, please consult the calendar.