5th Saturday – November 30th, 2019: Half-Day Zazenkai

Nov 282019
 

Dear Upaya Sangha of Tucson Friends:

Upaya Sangha of Tucson is holding a half-day silent meditation retreat, also called a zazenkai, at Tucson Community Meditation Center (TCMC) on Saturday, November 30th.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 8:45 am and will end promptly at noon. 

What is Zazenkai?

Zazenkai offers an opportunity to deepen practice that is less intensive than a several-day retreat or sesshin. It will consist of alternating sessions of zazen (seated meditation), and kinhin (walking meditation). Expect zazen sessions to be 30 minutes, and kinhin 10 minutes. There will be a brief silent morning tea break. Andy and Joe will be facilitating the zazenkai, since sensei Al will be away at Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe. 

No registration is necessary.

Plan to arrive promptly by 8:45 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, etc.).

Anyone arriving late should sit in silence in the entry area, joining the rest of the group during the next kinhin (walking meditation) period.

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. Please wear darkly colored, modest clothing. Meditation robes or samue may also be worn.

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.

Please help us to accommodate our participants who are chemically sensitive to fragrances or other scented products. Thank you for not wearing perfume, aftershave, or similar products.

Also, please don’t forget to regularly check the Community Page of this Sangha Website for new announcements.

Thanks

3rd Saturday – November 16th, 2019 – Sangha Meeting & Jukai Ceremony

Nov 122019
 

Dear friends,

 

For those joining us this Saturday, November 16th, for our third Saturday of the month Upaya Sangha of Tucson meeting, we will meet from 10:00 am to 11:45 am, and our meeting will include brief sutra chanting, sitting meditation (Zazen), participant check-in, announcements, and a brief tea break. After this, Sensei Al will offer a dharma talk on “What does it Mean to Live by Vow?.”

 

Following our sangha meeting, there will be a brief break for set-up, and at 12:30 pm, we will be holding this year’s Jukai ceremony, conveying the precepts to Mike Carson and Lawrence Armstrong. All of our sangha community are invited to attend. The ceremony will be beautiful, and marks Mike and Lawrence formally becoming Zen Buddhists in our tradition. There will be a luncheon immediately following the ceremony.

 

If this is your first time to join us, we meet at Tucson Community Meditation Center (TCMC), 1231 E. Edison St., one block south of Grant, just west of Mountain, on the north side of the street. We meet the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month. There are plenty of zafus (meditation cushions) and chairs.

 

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.

 

Please help us to accommodate our members who are chemically sensitive to fragrances or other scented products. Thank you for not wearing perfume, aftershave, or similar products.

Also, please don’t forget to regularly check the Community Page of our Sangha Website (see below) for new announcements.

 

Thanks.