Upaya Sangha of Tucson is holding a half-day silent retreat, also called a zazenkai, at Tucson Community Meditation Center (TCMC) on Saturday, March 31st. TCMC is located at 1231 E. Edison St., one block south of Grant, just west of Mountain, on the north side of the street. This Zazenkai will start at 7:45 am and will end promptly at noon.
What is Zazenkai?
Zazenkai can be translated as “to come together for meditation.” It offers an opportunity to deepen practice that is less intensive than several day retreats or sesshin. It will consist of alternating sessions of chanting, zazen (seated meditation), and kinhin (walking meditation). Expect zazen sessions to be roughly 30 minutes.
(An opportunity for dokusan, an optional brief private interview focused on practice, will be available with our Sensei.)
No registration is necessary
Plan to arrive promptly by 7:45 am and remain in noble silence throughout the morning. A brief orientation will precede the first practice period. This will cover the necessary details to make the event go smoothly (minor logistics, schedule, information about dokusan, etc.).
What to bring?
TCMC has chairs & cushions (zafu/zabuton, seiza benches) available for use. If you wish to have a different setup for meditation, feel free to bring your own from home. You may wish to bring a blanket or scarf to ensure comfort. You may also want to bring a water bottle.
Parking reminder: It’s important to the future of TCMC to observe mindful parking by not parking on the same block as the Center and by leaving an empty parking space in front of the homes on the neighboring blocks. Please reserve TCMC driveway parking for people who cannot walk far.