I've been doing Zen in one form or another (well, haven't we all?) for many years, but have never sat in company (and therefore of course have never done Zen at all), and now I'd like to. I'm in Westchester County NY, about an hour North of New York City. Can anyone recommend, or just tell funny stories about, a sangha or zendo anywhere around here that might welcome a rank beginner (and a pantheist one at that)? I'll probably go down into the City to Fire Lotus Temple and/or the Village Zendo for one of their Introductory Sessions, just for the adventure, but for longer term practice they're perhaps too far away to be practical.
I'm looking for nice simple shikantaza-flavor practice, just sitting because one is sitting, and not necessarily courting the lightning of satori, or the ability to shoot fire from my fingertips or anything (although that would be way cool, eh?). Someone to bash me 'cross the shoulders when I start to nod off might be nice, too; one thing the rock out in the back yard lacks is an encouraging hand on the kyosaku...
So to reply to myself *8) I still don't know anything about any zendos in the county, but I did go down to Fire Lotus Temple in NYC the other weekend for their introductory thing, and it was a good time. They're very friendly to newcomers. And by a lucky choice of day, I got to hear a dharma talk by John Daido Loori himself, and even to bug him with a question afterwards at the informal chat.
On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 22:49:53 -0500, dmch...@gmail.com wrote (in message <1106365793.626013.187...@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>):
> Messer Xin wrote: >> Here's a page that isn't that useful to me in my limited knowledge of > New >> York's geography. Isn't Rye in Westchester?
> Exquisite, thanks! Lots of leads there (I'll > keep in mind that some of it's stale). Yep, > Rye's in Westchester. Also Katonah and some > of the others. DC
Judging by that listing, there's so much Zen shit happening north and south of you, who cares how much is actually in Westchester. But the closer the better . . .
Btw, A Jersey Chan friend and I (essentially Jap. Soto), were driving back from Rutland, VT, to get on NY roads south, when we passed a place calling itself a Tendai Temple! We just had to double back and investigate. It is the only Tendai training place in the US recognized by Tendai-shu. The director gently reminded me and my friend that Zen can be seen, in both China and Japan, as an offspring of Tendai (Ch. T'ien-t'ai, I think).
There's a lot of Buddhist stuff out there. All of it has something to teach you. Even the fake stuff. (Oh, and I do not mean either Tendai nor Nichiren teachings by that. But take time to read, say, Frederick Lenz's teachings and consider.)
Messer Xin wrote: > Btw, A Jersey Chan friend and I (essentially Jap. Soto), were driving back > from Rutland, VT, to get on NY roads south, when we passed a place calling > itself a Tendai Temple! We just had to double back and investigate. It is the > only Tendai training place in the US recognized by Tendai-shu. The director > gently reminded me and my friend that Zen can be seen, in both China and > Japan, as an offspring of Tendai (Ch. T'ien-t'ai, I think).
Yeah, I've passed that place a bunch of times driving to and from Plymouth VT; beautiful little place in a gorgeous location. I've never had the time to stop and look inside, but it's entirely possible that just seeing the sign and the setting started the chain of thought that rekindled my interest in Zen and led me here. All Is One. *8)
> There's a lot of Buddhist stuff out there. All of it has something to teach > you. Even the fake stuff. (Oh, and I do not mean either Tendai nor Nichiren > teachings by that. But take time to read, say, Frederick Lenz's teachings and > consider.)
